Free Web NovelChapter 34: Chapter 33: Li Kuang’s Accomplices
"This is going to be good."
Tang Yi smiled slightly, crossing his arms to watch the show.
In fact, the moment Li Kuang had tried to start trouble with him, Tang Yi had already decided to help Liuu Tian and her group.
However, he had noticed Li Kuang’s shifty eyes and odd expression, which suggested a plot was afoot. That was why he hadn’t intervened right away. Instead, he feigned neutrality, wanting to see what scheme Li Kuang was trying to pull.
"Mad Dagger Chaos Skill!"
By now, the fight between Li Kuang and the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps was underway. Li Kuang let out a great roar, his short dagger becoming a vicious, impenetrable blur.
Meanwhile, the members of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps, each wielding a longsword, had Li Kuang surrounded. They maximized the advantage of their longswords, refusing to clash head-on with him and instead using their superior reach to skirmish and withdraw.
The six of them formed a circle, their coordination seamless. The moment one of them was overwhelmed, another would immediately provide support.
It appeared to be some kind of encirclement formation, and even with Li Kuang’s power as a Battle Grandmaster, he was temporarily trapped inside.
The two sides were locked in a stalemate, and it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand.
Li Kuang, however, was remarkably composed. Even while besieged by the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps, he didn’t show the slightest hint of nervousness.
It was as if this situation was exactly what he had wanted to see.
"Mad Dagger Heart Breaker!"
Li Kuang slashed his short dagger forward. A blood-red streak of light shot out from it, flying toward one of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps members.
The mercenary’s eyes widened in terror as he saw the light approaching. He was frozen for a moment, not knowing how to react.
This was the very move from Li Kuang that had killed four of their members earlier when they were caught off guard.
Thus, seeing this technique again sent a sliver of fear through every member of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps.
"Flying Snow Traceless!"
Gritting her teeth, Liuu Tian rushed over from the side and struck the streak of light with her sword. CLANG! The light vanished, but its immense power sent Liuu Tian stumbling back several steps.
A sweet taste rose in her throat, and she spat out a spray of blood.
A Martial Technique from a Battle Grandmaster was not something that could be blocked so easily.
Although Liuu Tian had managed to block the attack, she was significantly injured in the process.
"Captain!" the members of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps cried out in alarm, seeing Liuu Tian wounded.
"Don’t mind me, focus on Li Kuang! Qian Yun, don’t get distracted. I won’t be able to save you a second time!" Liuu Tian wiped the blood from her lips, raised her sword, and charged back into the fray with Li Kuang.
The corpsman she’d called Qian Yun was the one who had frozen in place after seeing Li Kuang use Mad Dagger Heart Breaker. Seeing Liuu Tian get injured for his sake, he was overcome with guilt.
He gripped his longsword, roused his spirit, and attacked with renewed ferocity. Determined to avenge his captain, his offensive power instantly surged.
The other members were moved as well. Gritting their teeth, they all redoubled their efforts, attacking Li Kuang with everything they had. The pressure on Li Kuang instantly skyrocketed.
If this kept up, it wouldn’t be long before Li Kuang was defeated.
But Li Kuang wasn’t worried in the slightest. On the contrary, he was delighted. He could already sense his companions’ auras. ’They’ll get here before I’m overwhelmed,’ he thought. ’And when they do...’
"Hm?"
Tang Yi also sensed people rapidly approaching their position. There were quite a few, and every single one of them had an extremely powerful aura—far more powerful than Li Kuang’s.
’Could they be Li Kuang’s accomplices?’
Tang Yi frowned, a realization dawning on him. ’No wonder Li Kuang isn’t worried in the slightest. He’s been waiting for his accomplices to arrive as backup.’
At first, Tang Yi had been trying to guess Li Kuang’s scheme. Now he knew. The plan was to stall for time, wait for his partners, and then kill everyone.
He had to admit, Li Kuang was a cunning man. Anyone fooled by his brutish appearance would surely die a miserable death.
From trying to talk Tang Yi into joining him to stalling for time now, everything he did was extremely clever.
If Tang Yi didn’t have a Divine Skill like the Celestial Eye Technique, or if he lacked the power to back it up, he might have been deceived by Li Kuang—or killed by the allies he was luring over.
"Hmph."
Tang Yi let out a cold snort and began to compose himself, preparing for the great battle to come.
The Nine Cities Mercenary Corps, of course, was oblivious to the impending crisis. Their entire focus was on Li Kuang. Gritting their teeth, they pushed their attacks to the absolute limit, fighting with double their normal intensity, determined to slay Li Kuang!
SHLICK!
Li Kuang finally made a mistake. A member of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps caught him with a sneak attack, his sword slicing a long gash across Li Kuang’s back. Blood began to pour from the wound as if it had a life of its own.
SHLICK! SHLICK!
"AHH!"
As his focus shifted to the wound on his back, two more swords slashed across his arms, causing him to cry out in agony.
He was in a perilous situation. The members of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps were attacking like madmen, their relentless and vicious assault wearing him down and deepening his fatigue.
’Hurry up, faster! Otherwise, this old man’s life is going to end right here!’
Li Kuang prayed inwardly, hoping his companions would arrive soon.
And just then.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Several figures rushed toward them, and in a few moments, they appeared in everyone’s field of view.
A total of five people arrived. Four of them wore identical gray Martial Artist Robes, while the man in the center wore a silver one and appeared to be the group’s leader.
Every one of them radiated a powerful aura, and their movements were exceptionally swift.
’They’re here!’ Li Kuang was ecstatic.
CLANG!
After his dagger clashed hard against Liuu Tian’s longsword, Li Kuang threw a palm strike at one of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps members. As the man dodged, he created an opening. Li Kuang seized the chance to withdraw, finally breaking free from the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps’ encirclement.
Just as the members of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps were about to give chase, a series of whooshes cut through the air, and the five figures landed in front of Li Kuang.
"And you are?" Liuu Tian asked, her heart sinking as she looked at the five figures that had landed before them.
The auras of the five newcomers were immense. Liuu Tian couldn’t gauge the strength of a single one of them.
Moreover...
They had positioned themselves in front of Li Kuang, as if...
’This is bad! These people must be with Li Kuang!’
When the realization hit, Liuu Tian’s face went deathly pale, and her heart filled with bitter indignation.
’It’s over. One Li Kuang was already difficult enough to handle. Now, five more have arrived, and they all seem even stronger than him. We’re going to meet our end in the Wind Moon Forest tonight.’
’In fact, something even more terrifying than death might happen to us...’
’No wonder... No wonder Li Kuang chose to flee into the Wind Moon Forest!’
’With Li Kuang’s power, he could have escaped long ago. Instead, he kept stringing us along, luring us into the Wind Moon Forest. This whole thing was a trap!’
’But it was too late to realize it now. There was no way we could escape from their clutches.’
’What do we do?’
Liuu Tian grew frantic. For some reason, her gaze fell upon Tang Yi, as if she felt he was the one who could help them overcome this crisis.
