Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 197: Underground Defense Works
The scholar suddenly launched an attack, moving with remarkable lightness. A hint of surprise flashed in Xia Zhou's eyes; although the scholar was still half a yard away, Xia Zhou felt an immense pressure closing in from all directions.
Ji Zichen's mind was exceptionally clear. With the Demon-Slaying Sword in hand, Kiko shouted, "Watch out for Lin Chuyu!" No longer waiting, Kiko swung the sword, and instantly, countless illusory sword shadows filled the scholar's vision. It was as if Kiko had merged into the phantom-like sword force, targeting the folding fan in the scholar's hand.
The scholar smiled slightly, and from the fan emerged Shadow Hands, like two strong arms blocking Kiko's path. The purpose of these Shadow Hands was straightforward: to intercept Kiko's Demon-Slaying Sword. They struck simply yet effectively, blocking the myriad of ever-changing sword shadows.
Kiko was well aware that the nearby divine beings and soldiers from Western King City were engaged in battle but were also watching closely to see who would win this duel.
Kiko knew he could not afford to be distracted by thoughts of the outcome or whether he would emerge victorious; all he could do was focus on the fight.
To Kiko, the scholar was not a respectable opponent, but his agile movements and stance certainly commanded attention.
Kiko understood that although the scholar was under Ling Xuan's control, he was not a mere lifeless puppet but rather someone more cunning than a snake. Ling Xuan had indeed mastered controlling this body.
As Kiko swung his sword to clash with the folding fan, it became evident that the scholar did not engage Kiko's Demon-Slaying Sword head-on. This confirmed that Ling Xuan and the scholar had become one.
With a flick of his right arm, Kiko retracted and then unleashed the sword shadows once more. Hundreds of sword shadows surged forth like a forming fire dragon, crashing toward the scholar with overwhelming force.
At that moment, however, the fan transformed; Shadow Hands had already retreated as the fan shadow emerged. With each inch it advanced, its power intensified, wrapping around the incoming sword shadows like a black net.
When the sword shadows collided with the fan shadows, a violent gust erupted, sending a fierce whirlwind spiraling outward in all directions.
The scholar wore a relaxed expression because he always managed to evade or deflect Kiko's attacks.
Dust filled the air and withered leaves danced wildly as an intense and oppressive killing intent permeated everywhere.
The two engaged in combat, and regardless of how relaxed they felt, the struggle for life and death often came down to a split second. Now was the moment to end it all.
Ji Zichen shifted to the right, pretending to stumble. Just as Ji Zichen's body seemed about to fall, Ling Xuan thought to himself, "How could he trip over nothing?" However, Ling Xuan was not foolish; he knew that if there were doubts, he should not act recklessly. Ji Zichen was aware that Ling Xuan would not easily fall for a trick, but doubt could lead to hesitation. It was often in those fleeting moments of uncertainty that victory or defeat was decided.
Suddenly, the ground beneath the scholar cracked open, and a Water Rope emerged from below. The scholar immediately leaped into the air upon seeing this, exactly as Ji Zichen had anticipated.
As long as the scholar was suspended in mid-air, there would be no chance to evade the fire dragon. Nearby, several Divine Soldiers were present. Ji Zichen conjured a fire dragon that lunged at the scholar. However, the fire dragon's intensity had slightly diminished due to Ji Zichen's focus; his sole aim was to kill the scholar, showing no mercy since this scholar was already considered dead in plain sight.
Seeing the fire dragon approaching, the scholar was taken aback but reacted swiftly. A Shadow Hand emerged from his folding fan as he struck at the fire dragon with both palms, forcefully sending it flying. The fire dragon then plunged into the fray, igniting more than ten Divine Soldiers and soldiers from Western King City simultaneously.
Screams of agony erupted immediately as the scholar landed on the ground. Blood trickled from his ears as he knelt in pain, clutching his head.
At this moment, Ji Zichen felt perplexed; the fire dragon had clearly not hit the scholar directly. Why was he in such a state? Then it dawned on Ji Zichen: "Could it be that Ling Xuan placed something in the scholar's ears? Did it explode from the heat of the fire dragon?"
The scholar knelt there holding his ears for a while before suddenly collapsing backward onto the ground, twitching lightly.
Ji Zichen became increasingly convinced of his earlier thought: "It must be true; Ling Xuan must have placed something in his ears to control him. When that thing exploded inside his ear, it resulted in this."
Seeing Ji Zichen defeat the scholar filled the Divine Soldiers with renewed vigor, while their opponents displayed an opposite reaction; soldiers from Western King City began to show signs of panic.
By this time, the scholar had stopped twitching, but Ji Zichen did not approach out of curiosity; who knew if getting closer would trigger an explosion from the corpse?
With the scholar dead, war drums began to sound throughout the camp. The soldiers from Western King City outside gradually retreated into their encampment.
The skirmish had not lasted long, yet everyone felt somewhat fatigued. Ma Tongwei noticed their retreat and although he wished to continue fighting, he saw many of his own soldiers were injured and decided it was best for them to fall back as well.
Ji Zichen and Yu Ren retreated into the forest, while Ling Xuan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood inside her tent. The Elder beside her looked on with concern and asked, "How are you?"
Ling Xuan bit her lip and replied, "I didn't expect him to break my control technique. Did he know in advance, or was it just sheer luck?"
The Elder said, "Have you encountered any trouble from him before at Corner Lodge?"
Ling Xuan seethed, "That time was different..."
The Elder remarked, "This is the consequence of your indulgence."
Ling Xuan countered, "I didn't indulge him; I was just a bit interested in his blood. But... never mind. When will the Master of Magical Artifacts arrive?"
The Elder responded, "At least by noon. The Western King has already ordered them to come. Without them, we cannot open the rift."
---
The forest was over thirty paces away from the camp. Xia Zhou had been fixated on Ma Tongwei ever since they retreated into the woods. Ma Tongwei asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Xia Zhou replied, "Why didn't you take the opportunity to pursue? Retreating isn't like you."
Ma Tongwei teased, "Can't you guess why I came here so recklessly to confront them?"
Xia Zhou shook his head. "I can't figure it out."
Ma Tongwei explained, "To open the rift, we need the Master of Magical Artifacts. I came just to see how many Thunder Mage Soldiers are in the camp. Since you have no plans, I can only proceed as I see fit."
"Since you know this, why didn't you tell me?" Xia Zhou asked.
"I'm telling you now, aren't I? You can see the situation for yourselves. There are no Thunder Mage Soldiers in their camp. The choice is in our hands now; once we strike, we can take down this large camp in one fell swoop," Ma Tongwei replied.
"They may not have magical artifacts, but we don't have many either. The Jade Emperor sent us here without considering that others might come in. Aside from our own artifacts, we have very few that can be of use. If we force our way in, we'll lose a lot of people," Xia Zhou cautioned.
"How can the divine race be afraid of death?" Ma Tongwei retorted coldly.
"Ma Tongwei, I've found out what you wanted me to investigate," Jiang Dahuzi panted as he ran over from a distance.
Excitement flashed in Ma Tongwei's eyes. "Did you really find any records?"
Jiang Dahuzi nodded.
"What did Ma Tongwei ask you to investigate?" Xia Zhou inquired.
Jiang Dahuzi slowly explained, "Corpse Rats. During the war a thousand years ago between Zhuque Chenjing, both sides suffered heavy casualties, which led to the breeding of Corpse Rats here. Those Corpse Rats are extremely ferocious and eat anything—living or dead, or even other animals."
Xia Zhou was aware of those Corpse Rats; the Divine Soldiers stationed at his Watchtower had been devoured by swarms of them. He lowered his voice, "What are those rats doing?"
Before Jiang Dahuzi could respond, Ji Zichen interjected, "Ah, I've seen those scrolls. They also recorded these Corpse Rats, but the records were quite simple. It seems the last of the divine race exterminated them completely."
"The rats weren't exterminated; they were just driven away to another location. According to the records, the largest among them was about the size of a child," Jiang Dahuzi gestured to indicate the size and height of a child.
As soon as Jiang Dahuzi mentioned the rats, Ji Zichen couldn't help but think of the rats from the Divine Clan. However, Ji Zichen believed that although they were all rats, their behaviors might differ depending on their environment. The rats from the Divine Clan were quite intelligent and could even raise humans as food; the rats here should be different from those of the Divine Clan.
If a mouse had even a little bit of wisdom, it surely wouldn't enjoy eating rotten meat.
"Where did they lead the Mouse King?" Ji Zichen asked.
"Of course, underground," Ginger Beard replied, tapping the ground with his booted foot. "According to records, there is a Defensive Works down there, but I don't know where the entrance is. The records are ancient, and some may have been lost."
"There's a Defensive Works underground?" This was a significant revelation, Ji Zichen thought excitedly, though he didn't show it. He felt a mix of surprise and joy. "How could I have been so foolish not to consider that Divine Dawn might be right beneath us?" There was also another Underground City at Corner Lodge; with the capabilities of the divine beings, it wouldn't be impossible for them to hide something below.
At that moment, Ji Zichen felt a glimmer of hope in the darkness, but the light was faint. Zhuque Chenjing was not present; without knowing the exact location, one would have no idea where it was.
Ginger Beard also realized that there existed a Defensive Works from a thousand years ago underground. Perhaps that Defensive Works was Divine Dawn itself. But what about the Mouse King? Mice were known to thrive in darkness, and being underground would suit their tastes perfectly.
But why did the divine beings choose to "lead" the Mouse King underground instead of killing it?
Could it be that the Mouse King was impossible to kill? Ji Zichen felt both astonished and delighted; delighted that Divine Dawn might indeed be right beneath him, and astonished at just how formidable the Mouse King must be.
After listening to Ginger Beard's words, Xia Zhou said, "Ma Tongwei, do you really want to release those mice?"
Ma Tongwei shook his head. "Who would want to let those disgusting creatures out? It's just that there are many magical artifacts within that Defensive Works. If we can obtain them, we could achieve our goals much more easily. Regardless of whether it's the Mouse King or some mouse spirit, after all this time, they must have perished."
Ji Zichen nodded in agreement. "Indeed, a thousand years have passed. Whatever is trapped in the Defensive Works now can only be bones."
Comment 0 Comment Count