Free Web NovelThe card house was surrounded by the city garrison knights.
All the adjacent streets were sealed off. The little attendants and the dealers inside were also marched away in disgrace, the whole process smooth like flowing clouds and running water.
But on the other side, Xubing had also invited his helper out from that so-called underground palace, and told her everything—what happened, how it happened, and what the outcome was now.
After Huangliang listened, her expression turned grave. “We’re actually surrounded...”
“Yeah.” Xubing took a step back, pushed the just-awakened Huangliang to the front, and hid behind her. “Those damn Alliance dogs and those stupid Tribe pigs have teamed up again!”
The “Alliance,” clearly, referred to the Human Alliance Army led by the Royal Capital. The “Tribe” referred to the nomadic tribes on the Western Plateau grasslands, the faction headed by the Great Khan.
Huangliang was still puzzled. “Aren’t those two forces full of contradictions behind the scenes? How could they join hands?”
“Of course they joined hands. Look at the people surrounding us!” Xubing said. “There are direct knights from the Alliance, outsourced knights from the Tribe’s side, and that Holy Sword swordmaster gang eyeing us like tigers!”
“Damn, that’s terrifying...” Huangliang widened her crimson eyes in shock. “How did you manage to provoke them?”
Xubing froze at the question, then said awkwardly, “Aren’t we the villains?”
“...That’s true. Looks like I’m still not fully awake.” Huangliang raised a hand to rub her eyes, but then realized she was still wearing a mask, so she could only lower her hand in irritation and clasp it behind her back.
As the knights advanced step by step toward the two of them, a trace of doubt also flashed through Vieya’s eyes. She felt that the reinforcement they’d brought looked a little familiar, but because that person wore a fox mask, she couldn’t remember where she’d seen her for the moment.
But it didn’t matter.
After faking his death and escaping with his life, Xubing’s entire set of gear had blown up clean—his overall strength had been cut by at least half... while on their side, not only had they suffered zero losses, they also had the right timing, the right terrain, and the right people.
Mm. Even the Lord Mayor of Aydin City had to give her a bit of face.
Vieya couldn’t help putting her hands on her hips. She looked at Xubing and the other fox mask, and shouted across the distance,
“Surrender and we won’t kill you—we’ll treat fermented tofu well!”
“You’re fooling ghosts! I’ve lived my whole life and I’ve never seen anyone kill as cleanly as you! When I was your age, I’d only just started learning how to kill chickens!” Xubing said. “And if I’m not wrong, that ‘Mo Ke Riverside Scroll’ of mine is in your hands too, right?”
“It is in my hands.”
Vieya nodded, neither confirming nor denying anything else. “But there’s one thing I have to correct. Don’t look at how young I am—actually, I’m an adult.”
Now that Xubing was hiding inside the city, even though the crowd had already been evacuated in advance and several surrounding streets were completely empty, the danger level had still risen sharply.
Even a dog will jump the wall when it’s driven into a corner. What she feared was that this thing, worse than pigs and dogs, would wave a hand at the critical moment, coordinate with the cover of that unknown Dice Lord, and pull the million “consumables” inside the city into his grasp and refine them in an instant.
After all, this wasn’t the wilderness. This was a town with abundant resources.
If it were the old her standing here, why would she need to waste words? As long as she found the enemy’s position, no matter how thick their HP bar was, no matter how many defensive methods they had, it would all be futile—one slap and she could smash them all to death, even shatter your famed blade...
But now was different.
Vieya suddenly felt that she still had to work harder in the future. After she revived the Demon King, she’d also have to see whether there was a way for her to climb back to the peak again.
Otherwise, if she revived the Demon King and couldn’t keep her suppressed, that would just become a joke.
Back to the point.
Right now, what Vieya was most worried about was still the fox-masked woman beside Xubing, whose intelligence was completely unknown. If this weren’t a city, she could let go and gamble everything.
“Sigh. I’m still too soft-hearted.” Vieya sighed, turned to Aislin and the Inspector at her side, and spoke earnestly. “If we really start fighting later, protecting the civilians will be up to you two!”
“Huh?” The Inspector froze.
Vieya continued sternly, “If I have too many concerns, my chances of winning will drop sharply...”
“Don’t worry, junior.”
Phoenix suddenly spoke, hands clasped behind her back, the fiery red feather sash at her waist fluttering in the wind, looking like a solitary master above the world. “With me here, mere wicked heretics—why would they be worth mentioning?”
“Move!”
Xubing’s eyes sharpened. Clearly, he had spotted a flaw when Vieya and Phoenix were chatting! Whether they did it on purpose or not, if he didn’t fight now, then when?
“Huangliang, you and I together—we can definitely take them down! When it’s done, the rewards will be huge!”
Even if the other side had the support of an entire city, in front of high-tier experts like them, no matter how many ants piled up, it would still be useless! From beginning to end, what he worried about had never been the knights closing in, but Vieya’s group and that old monster defending the city who might be alarmed.
But now, he chose to trust this colleague of his!
A mysterious origin, and in just a few years she had climbed from the three branches responsible for action forces—Wrath, Delusion, and Obsession—up into the core decision-making layer, becoming one of the nine Dice Lords. Such speed—she had to be one of those heaven-defying talents!
Thinking of this, Xubing grew even more confident. “Earlier I got screwed once by that Tribe pig of a First Prince, and then the swordmaster side outnumbered me with elites and set me /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ up, so I lost! But now, after dying once... I’ve already attained total enlightenment!”
Right then, Xubing suddenly noticed that the colleague behind him—Huangliang—wasn’t moving at all. She was yawning, and fiddling with her mask.
“Huangliang, why aren’t you moving?!” Xubing turned his head and shouted in rage.
Your teammate doesn’t move, but your opponent does!
The Inspector standing beside Vieya roared, tore open his clothes, muscles swelling explosively. His height shot up from 1.6 meters to 2.2 meters in an instant. With heavy force and overwhelming momentum, he smashed a punch into Xubing’s face and caved it in!
“Damn it, I didn’t tell you to move!” freewēbnoveℓ.com
Xubing spat out a mouthful of blood, kicked the Inspector away, then lashed out with a whip kick that sent a shockwave roaring out, blasting the circle of knights closing in so hard they flew backward!
“I’m joining too...” Aislin raised her elf slender sword and entered the battlefield. One thrust, and she stabbed a small hole into Xubing’s waist.
“Aren’t you going?” Phoenix asked the slime.
“I’m holding the line. There’s still someone who hasn’t moved...” Vieya’s gaze was heavy. She was staring at the fox mask, and the fox mask was also looking at her.
So strange. She really felt like she’d seen this person before.
“AAAH—!”
Under the crowd’s assault, Xubing was soon beaten until his face was swollen and bruised, blood spraying wildly.
“A tiger fallen to the plains gets bullied by dogs!”
Xubing sensed that his life was about to reach its end. He hardened his heart, clenched his teeth, stopped hoping for that wooden-post of a colleague behind him to help him turn the tables, and decisively chose to cut off his tail like a lizard—no matter the cost, he had to keep reincarnating!
Today’s humiliation—he could make it useful in the next life!
“Life-Substitute—activate!”
But it was already too late.
Vieya didn’t make a move. Phoenix didn’t make a move. But the fox mask moved.
Yet she didn’t strike at Vieya’s side—she struck at Xubing, who was about to activate Life-Substitute again! A gigantic white fox claw tore out of empty space and seized Xubing in one grip!
“Sorry. You shouldn’t have come to my turf.”
“How dare you—!”
Sensing the divine art on his body being nullified, the Life-Substitute formula he had triggered being reversed, Xubing’s eyes split at the corners!
In the next second, he exploded into a cloud of blood mist inside that gigantic fox claw.
Almost at the same time, everyone present was stunned by this sudden scene. They all retreated in succession, staring warily at the fox-masked woman who still hadn’t taken a single step, their eyes filled with shock, complexity, and fear.
