Chapter 486 She’s Here (3k)
Deeper into the cave, occasional sounds of weapons clashing could be heard, causing the rocks to tremble slightly. Dust particles, illuminated by the crystals, danced in the air, filling it with tension.
Continuing further, after exiting the passage, a long horizontal corridor was revealed. Unlike the narrow passage, this corridor was quite spacious.
“Fortunately, this uncle with smoky makeup isn’t competing with us for the pool resources. Otherwise, with his strength, no one would be able to snatch the last Dream Cloud Pool.”
“I don’t know where these members of the [Mosquito Fishing Squad] offended this great god. This is troublesome. Their strength is generally average, and the team was carried by Frost Blade.”
“Shh, didn’t you hear the uncle asking: where is she? Could it be the captain of the Mosqutio Fishing Squad who has always been missing?”
The light from the crystals shone upon a dozen or twenty onlookers, including students and some “youths” who were forced to be there. They watched with keen interest as a few individuals, not fighting for territory, engaged in a dispute. Their faces showed amusement, as if they were watching a show.
Following the gaze of the onlookers, one could see a strapping White Bearded Man confronting three Dragon Country people. The leader of the Dragon Country people was a thin man, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. His face was pale, and he was hunched over, gripping his long saber for support.
A mocking expression adorned his face. He tightly gripped his Blaze Saber, his eyes fixed on the front with a cold glare, and sneered, “Heh, aren’t you afraid of retaliation when you get out?”
This person was Li Yi, who had entered the cave earlier. He had used various secret techniques to barely reach the Battle King Level. Furthermore, since the White Bearded Man, Rice, did not intend to kill them, they had not suffered serious injuries during the confrontation.
“Retaliation? You should worry about getting out first. If I kill you here, what can that swordsman do?”
Rice vibrated the silver threads on his fingers, surrounding any escape route for the three. He then slowly took two steps forward, looking down at the hunched figure and speaking in fluent English, “Tell me where she is. If I’m in a good mood, I might let you go.”
“I don’t know.”
Li Yi replied calmly, appearing fearless, which moved some of the students. Of course, his true thoughts were filled with complaints—
Do you think I don’t want to tell you her location? I genuinely don’t know!
If she were here, you might be the one on your knees, buddy.
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Rice’s expression gradually became displeased. He waved his hand impatiently, shaking the silver threads, “My time is limited. I won’t waste it with your nonsense. Do you intend to fall into my hands as bargaining chips or continue to resist?”
“Heh, bargaining chips? I’m afraid falling into your hands would be worse than death, wouldn’t it?”
Li Yi said calmly. Although he was complaining internally, he wasn’t foolish. If the three of them fell into Rice’s hands, they would truly be helpless.
The only hope now was for Chen Jia’er, who was behind them, to contact Su Jiu or Elder Mo quickly via alchemical communication.
Last night, Elder Mo went to notify the Snow Guard and has yet to return. Had something happened? However, with his High-Rank Battle King strength, this shouldn’t have happened.
It was likely the worst-case scenario: the local Snow Guard might be in cahoots with the Hark Gang. It was highly probable that Elder Mo was trapped.
Now all that could be waited for was…
Su Jiu!
“Good, very backbone.”
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Rice’s eyes narrowed. His patience was finally exhausted. He sneered and his gaze fell on Chen Jia’er, who was holding a short sword behind them. He suddenly grabbed with his hand, his veins bulging, and silver threads seemed to tremble.
“What about her?”
Rice then let out a sinister laugh, stomped his foot on the ground, and his figure flickered over, appearing behind Li Yi. He spread his hands, intending to grab Chen Jia’er behind him.
Seeing that the opponent intended to bypass him and attack Chen Jia’er, Li Yi’s heart sank completely. His gaze swept over the figure about to pass by him.
“Jia’er, continue notifying the boss. Ah Hu, attack together!”
He clenched his Blaze Saber with both hands. After a moment, he roared loudly, stomped on the ground, and his fiery external qi surged out. His Blaze Saber let out a thunderous roar of “Hoo—” and he slashed towards Rice, red blade edges continuously spitting out dense fire blades.
“You sissy, die for me!”
Ah Hu, who was standing next to Chen Jia’er, also roared. His expression tightened as he gripped his nearly two-meter-long wolf-tooth club in a reverse grip, cloaking it with scorching external qi. He swung it down directly towards Rice’s head.
“Is this all you’ve got?”
Seeing the two attack, Rice’s lips curled into a smile of disdain. He paused his movements slightly, and when the two attacks were only two feet away, he raised his silver-threaded hands in opposite directions and then clenched his fingers, instantly stopping Li Yi and Ah Hu’s attacks. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that silver strings were attached to the ends of their weapons.
Feeling the weapons in his hands, Li Yi’s expression changed slightly. He gritted his teeth and yanked his fire saber fiercely, but the opponent’s silver threads were like giant pincers, holding his fire saber rigidly in place.
“If I wasn’t afraid of that swordsman, I would have killed you both long ago!”
He sneered, looking at the two gnashing their teeth and struggling with their blood swords. Rice suddenly flicked his finger, flicking the silver string connected to his hand. A powerful force suddenly erupted!
“Clang!”
With a metallic clang, Ah Hu was thrown back like a sandbag. With a “thump!”, the sound of impact echoed throughout the cave.
Li Yi, on the other hand, retreated rapidly, his feet carving long grooves in the ground. The hand holding the Blazing Saber trembled constantly, and blood dripped onto the saber’s ring, making a “sizzling” sound.
“Bang!”
Seeing Li Yi injured, Chen Jia’er put down the communication device and placed her hand on his back, diffusing the force within him. Her gaze, however, was fixedly staring at a spot outside the crowd.
“Quickly notify…”
Coughing twice, Li Yi gritted his teeth and straightened up slightly, intending to gather his external qi to attack again.
“No need.”
Suddenly, Chen Jia’er patted his shoulder. He turned his head in confusion and was startled when he saw where she was looking. Following her gaze, his mouth opened slightly…
She’s here?
Under the awestruck gazes of the passersby, Rice stopped in front of Chen Jia’er, his eyes filled with a sinister grin, looking down at the two of them, and said sternly, “One more chance, tell me where Su Jiu is!”
“Otherwise…”
With that, he walked towards the two of them step by step, holding the silver threads in his hands, pointing them directly at Chen Jia’er to intimidate her. Of course, he wouldn’t dare kill her…
After all, her family was no less than the Henry Family.
Seeing Rice’s actions, the faces of the onlookers changed drastically. Some young girls couldn’t bear to watch any longer, while two older “youths” had cruel expressions on their wrinkled faces, as if blood would be shed at any moment.
“Otherwise what?”
Before he could finish speaking, a sudden explosion was heard in the air, followed by a flash of white light. A figure quietly appeared behind him like a ghost, and then, a loquat branch that seemed to have been left out for some time was placed on his neck.
All the passersby were startled. They had actually noticed the young girl earlier but hadn’t expected her to appear beside Rice at such a speed.
Especially the two “youths” with aged faces, who were greatly surprised. Such a powerful individual could very well affect their subsequent actions. They were not just participants experiencing the Dream Cloud Pool.
“Observe the situation. The other party is likely from the Hark Gang.”
But soon, they exchanged glances and calmed down slightly. They quickly guessed Su Jiu’s “identity.” In fact, they were people forced in by two other Demigods to share the spoils, possessing Intermediate Battle King level strength.
“Friend…”
Hearing Su Jiu’s somewhat familiar voice, Rice began to sweat from his forehead. He glanced at the broken skin on his neck, from which blood was beading, and dared not move a step.
Without giving him any room to think, Su Jiu asked calmly, “Why were you allowed to enter here under special circumstances?”
Hearing Su Jiu’s question, Rice frantically recalled the other’s appearance, trying to remember where he had seen her. Finally, he remembered it was the Dragon Girl wearing a mask, and he was shocked—
Indeed, that girl with the fox mask could crush him directly. How could the Dragon Girl with the mask who commanded her be ordinary?
“Because the Great Leader sent me to watch over the other troublesome factions here. He wants to control the other two Demigods.”
He quickly replied in rather non-standard Dragon Country language, and then paused, “…Besides that, I was looking for a wretch named Su Jiu. She killed the young master of our Henry family, and the family ordered me to kill her.”
“Heh heh… Do you know who I am?”
Su Jiu sneered, her actions with the weapon unchanged, but her voice grew colder. It was the first time she had encountered someone who cursed her to her face.
“You…”
Being asked this by Su Jiu, a terrifying thought flashed through Rice’s mind. The smile on his face gradually became unpleasant. He swallowed, his voice somewhat hoarse, and asked, “Aren’t you from the Crow?”
“You’ve been looking for me for so long, yet you don’t recognize my voice. That’s quite a failure.”
Without giving Rice any further explanation, Su Jiu smiled faintly, and her loquat branch hook pulled, instantly piercing Rice’s neck. She didn’t explain too much to him…
Reaching out, she pushed aside the headless corpse, glanced at the stunned crowd, and gently touched the mask brought by the [Rank 2 Elegy], causing it to dissipate.
Her gaze finally fell on Li Yi and the others, who were equally dumbfounded. She smiled and said, “There are two cave entrances, perhaps we can take one each.”
Her faint words fell into everyone’s ears. The students showed helplessness, knowing that she was actually speaking to them. The passersby exchanged glances and then turned their attention to other, slightly less favorable, chamber rooms.
Seeing the fearful expressions on the students’ faces, Li Yi once again looked up at Su Jiu in a daze, clicking his tongue repeatedly:
“In just one month, your strength has improved so rapidly! Killing a High-Rank Battle King is like swatting a bug now.”
He clearly remembered that she hadn’t been this formidable before, and now she could instantly kill a High-Rank Battle King. Indeed, there was a gap between geniuses.
Of course, it wasn’t as effortless as he imagined. Su Jiu herself knew that she had completely relied on the overpowered mechanism of [Prosperous Dream] to achieve the instant kill effect by catching him off guard.
