Chapter 1181: Chapter 1170: Chop Down the Trees, Brothers
“Hahaha…”
A few people burst into laughter, as if the forces of the Nalan Family had already been completely wiped out.
Now let’s talk about the hundred-man team led by Nalan Xiaotian.
They walked out of the Soul Confusing Formation without incident and made a strong advance towards the northeast.
Suddenly, a cold and dark forest appeared ahead.
Nalan Xiaotian frowned, looking at the dimness of the forest, which contrasted sharply with the blazing sun above.
“There might be an ambush waiting for us inside. Everyone be careful, don’t charge in recklessly. Who has the courage to scout ahead?”
“I’ll go!”
“I’ll go!”
This hundred-man team of the Nalan Family had yet to see blood, so their fighting spirit was high, and they all volunteered.
Nalan Xiaotian picked three strong young men to scout the path ahead.
These three young men didn’t take the task seriously at all and swaggered inside.
However, after walking less than 20 steps, a terrible scream suddenly broke the air.
“Ah…”
“What’s going on?”
The scream lasted only ten seconds before it became very weak, and then faded into silence, frightening the other two scouts, who looked over.
They saw dust billowing, and beneath the fallen leaves, a large pit with a diameter of two meters was exposed.
They quietly walked over to take a look, and found their companion was skewered on bamboo spikes in the trap, his clothes stained with blood, eyes and mouth bulging, dead as blood streamed from his seven orifices.
“Hiss…”
The two wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads, feeling chills down their spines.
“Brother, it seems our situation is quite dire.”
“What to do? Since we’ve taken the captain’s order to scout, we can’t exactly run back, can we?”
“Let’s just be more careful.”
The advantage of youth is their blood and vigor, fearless of the heavens and earth. Despite losing a person, they still harbored a fluke mentality, believing that as long as they were careful, they could escape the crisis.
However, reality proved them too optimistic.
Barely after taking two steps, one of them was hoisted up by a net, swinging in the air, yelling for help.
“Help me!”
“This is spooky!”
The last remaining team member was also greatly frightened, looking around, and noticed a rope tied to another large tree.
It was the same rope hoisting their companion.
If they could cut that rope, their companion could be released.
In a rush to save their friend, without thinking much, he strode over, drew his sword, and cut towards the rope.
Yet the sword had not even reached the rope when the sharp sound of air being pierced came.
Swish…
A dull thud of something sharp piercing flesh was heard, and this member of the Nalan family felt his body lifted, his bones disassembling inside him.
He looked down and found himself impaled on a small bamboo raft, with multiple wounds bleeding profusely.
With a thud.
He was nailed to the ground, his vision growing blurrier by the second, unable to cry out for help as his head tilted, dying with lingering grievances.
“Hmm?”
The Nalan clan member swinging in the net saw his companion’s tragic end and no longer called out, his face turning pale as tin foil, full of regret.
If he hadn’t volunteered for the scouting, none of this would have happened.
The only reason he was still alive was because the trap he fell into was relatively safe.
However, at this moment, he felt his body descending rapidly, faster and faster.
“What is happening?”
He used the weak light to look at the other end of the rope.
It turned out the rope wasn’t fixed securely to the tree, now sliding loosely.
If the knot on the tree broke, he would fall to the ground, and he hoped the best scenario was a harmless fall.
But reality proved harsher.
It was unclear what chain reaction had been triggered, but several shiny steel arrowheads suddenly emerged from the ground beneath him.
“Xiaotian, help…”
Seeing this, he shouted for help again.
But it was already too late, as the knot at the other end finally broke.
Undoubtedly, this member of the Nalan family plummeted to the ground.
Though he had a certain level of martial cultivation, trapped in a net he could do nothing.
Just as he attempted to muster his True Qi to form a weak defensive barrier, the protruding arrowheads already pierced his body.
Pfft…
Lying on the ground, blood foamed from his mouth, not believing his eyes.
He tried calling for help again, but it was no use. His body convulsed until it was silent, lifeless.
The chill of autumn wind stirred the leaves, bringing a whiff of blood.
Such a heavy atmosphere made Nalan Xiaotian frown deeply and listen intently, finding silence in the forest. He hesitated, “Are you three still there?”
“…”
No one answered him, as if the three had vanished.
Due to the dense forest, darkness was pervasive and terrifying; the scent of blood was clear, but there was no sign of the three.
“Captain, what shall we do?”
A young Nalan family member asked.
“Does anyone have a flashlight?”
Nalan Xiaotian inquired.
“No flashlight at all. We planned to seize the Ning family before nightfall, so we traveled light. We’re out of food and water, let alone flashlights,” the group replied, shrugging helplessly.
Upon hearing this, Nalan Xiaotian’s lips twitched, showing a look of defeat.
He realized the three must have been trapped and killed, but could not confirm if there were Ning family members in the woods?
If only traps, it would be easier to handle.
“This can’t go on; it wastes time and saps morale. Long-term, losses outweigh gains.”
Thinking of the worst option, Nalan Xiaotian commanded, “We all possess martial cultivation powers and aren’t afraid of facing hard fights, just deceit and tricks from behind. Given the scouts’ end, the woods either have Ning family members causing trouble or are filled with traps ready to kill us.
Thus, to permanently resolve this, we should cut down this forest.”
“What?”
The group couldn’t believe their ears. They came to fight the Ning family, not to chop trees!