The sky grew darker.
Gurgling spring water reflected the moonlight. In the pitch-black dense forest, two distinct beams of fire erupted with a roar, accompanied by a swift wind that gathered into a thundering fire dragon charging forward.
At the forefront of this fire dragon were two figures.
Xu Mu and Qian Qian.
"Only three thousand meters left, we're almost there, hold on!" Qian Qian was pulled by Xu Mu, while he continuously shot arrows into the dense forest behind them. The arrows flew like meteors and raindrops, incessantly striking down all sorts of hidden weapons flying towards them.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
Sparks flew, but several unidentifiable iron daggers still grazed Xu Mu's person, even cutting his shoulder.
"Even if you return to Wanyan Zhenyao's territory, it will be useless. Anyone I, Wei Daolin, want to kill, I'd like to see if he dares to protect you today!" Wei Daolin roared furiously, the ghostly figures behind him becoming even more sinister and terrifying.
"So much nonsense, too bad you can't catch up today," Xu Mu said calmly and mockingly, then continued to advance at full speed. Soon, he saw rows of neat marching tents appear before him, with familiar checkpoints in the light and shadows.
He had finally returned to the base.
"What's going on? It looks like Wei Daolin is leading people to attack, quickly report to the boss!" The sentry, seeing the vast group of people in the night sky, immediately turned pale and quickly used a magical artifact to transmit a message to Wanyan Zhenyao.
Upon receiving the news, the latter did not panic. His expression was solemn, but he calmly followed the pre-arranged method and loudly beat the drum to signal an emergency response.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
After three dull drumbeats, the esper-users resting in the marching tents instantly awoke. They formed ranks of ten people, then instantly converged, ready for battle.
"What's happening?" Xu Jingchu, Qi Lan, and others reacted a bit slower. They emerged from their resting places and were stunned to find everyone assembled.
In the middle of the night, what was this formation for?
Then, as they saw Xu Mu and Qian Qian being pursued in the night sky, their expressions drastically changed.
"Brother Wanyan, quickly save us!" Qian Qian, seeing Wanyan Zhenyao's ready-to-battle formation, immediately shouted hoarsely.
He, Qian Qian, was not afraid of death, but he wouldn't try to throw his life away. After the failed assassination of Wei Daolin, he hadn't expected to survive, so he was very emotional now. https:/
"Wei Daolin, stop! Do you want to start a war!" Wanyan Zhenyao flew towards the sky with his men, roaring angrily. His voice seemed to carry the force of thunder, his imposing aura like a raging storm, capable of confronting ten thousand troops. The ghostly power that Wei Daolin had attached to his subordinates was instantly driven back by more than half.
"Wanyan Zhenyao, you colluded with others to assassinate me, and now you're asking if I want to start a war? Do you really think I can't touch you? I advise you not to be too arrogant; tonight is your death day!" Wei Daolin's voice was sharp. The ghostly figures behind him transformed into a mass of mist and rushed out instantly, appearing to grasp Xu Mu and Qian Qian.
But before the latter could even try to dodge, Wanyan Zhenyao's body blocked them.
Boom! Crackle!
With a movement of his hands, he effortlessly pulled out two whips of lightning from thin air and lashed out, causing the ghostly figures to yelp in agony.
Seeing this, Xu Mu and Qian Qian successfully landed on the ground and were then surrounded by the crowd.
Thus, they had successfully escaped.
Wei Daolin, his face grim, gestured for his subordinates to cease their attack. They also landed on the ground and faced Wanyan Zhenyao.
"I'll give you one chance. Hand over these two people, and you can continue to establish yourselves in the upper reaches. Otherwise, pack up and leave tonight, or I will personally eliminate you!" Wei Daolin roared ferociously. However, Wanyan Zhenyao merely frowned, unafraid of him.
"You speak of collusion to assassinate me. What exactly happened? Did my two brothers go to assassinate you?" Wanyan Zhenyao looked at Qian Qian and asked, his brow furrowed.
He simply couldn't believe that someone as steady as Qian Qian would act rashly. It wasn't that it was impossible to kill, but it was far too dangerous, and thus impossible.
"What are you pretending for? If it weren't for your orders, would they dare to come?" Wei Daolin asked angrily, causing Wanyan Zhenyao's brow to furrow even tighter.
"Did the two of you really go to assassinate Wei Daolin?" He turned to Qian Qian and asked, his eyes still full of confusion.
"It's a long story, but yes, we did," Qian Qian said, cleaning the wounds left from his escape.
"Just the two of you, going to his stronghold to kill Wei Daolin?" Wanyan Zhenze exclaimed, clutching his head, finding it utterly absurd.
"Qian Qian, you are truly... I don't even know how to describe you." Wanyan Zhenyao took several deep breaths, forcibly calming his inner shock, then turned around helplessly, looking quietly at Wei Daolin.
At this moment, the latter was like a volcano about to erupt, and if handled improperly, it would explode.
The consequences of the eruption could very well be his defeat and the loss of his territory in the upper reaches of the Spirit Spring.
"It seems you truly don't know, but you must give me an explanation." Wei Daolin raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised by Wanyan Zhenyao's demeanor.
He knew that the latter would not lie. Wanyan Zhenyao had always prided himself on loyalty and bravery. If he said he didn't know, then perhaps he truly didn't. Moreover, if he had arranged it, he wouldn't have allowed himself to escape so easily.
This assassination attempt was too hasty and clumsy!
"How many points do you want? I will compensate you," Wanyan Zhenyao offered.
"Ten thousand points, and hand over these two people. Then I can pretend today's events never happened," Wei Daolin stated coldly.
"Twenty thousand. The people are not for you; these are my brothers!" Wanyan Zhenyao said, holding up two fingers.
"Brother..." Hearing the figure, Wanyan Zhenze couldn't help but panic, because even for them, paying twenty thousand points would leave them with very little; the price was too immense.
"This Mu Xu is not part of our team either, and we haven't agreed to ally with him. It's enough to bring Qian Qian back, why do you still want to help him?" Wanyan Zhenze glanced at Xu Mu, then said unhappily, "Besides, this incident was definitely caused by him. How could Qian Qian have taken such action voluntarily!"
Wanyan Zhenyao heard this and shook his head very seriously: "No."
"Since he is Qian Qian's friend, and we are negotiating an alliance on our territory, I cannot abandon him. However... it cannot be without reason."
Wanyan Zhenyao looked at Xu Mu: "Friend, in this matter, what price can you offer to quell Wei Daolin's anger?"
"I can kill him, then he will have no anger," Xu Mu said.
"But you can't kill him; the assassination has already failed once," Wanyan Zhenyao shook his head.
"That was because there wasn't enough time and manpower. Now, in our own stronghold, as long as you lead your people to fight with me, I guarantee that Wei Daolin will die today," Xu Mu said, the blood energy within him surging, wisps of the power of the Great Dao of Death spreading into the air, instantly pressing down on the entire scene.
Wanyan Zhenyao and Wei Daolin both sensed this powerful aura of death and involuntarily felt a trace of fear.
"Wanyan Zhenyao, I don't want the points anymore, but you must hand this person over, or don't blame me for being impolite," Wei Daolin said, looking at Xu Mu with lingering fear.
He had a feeling that Xu Mu was the only one present who could threaten his life, so he had to kill him.
"Let's form an alliance, Brother Wanyan. We will definitely win, believe me," Xu Mu continued to persuade, his eyes resolute.
"He can indeed deal with Wei Daolin," Qian Qian also said.
Wanyan Zhenyao frowned, falling into thought.
Did he really have to gamble the future of all his brothers for someone unrelated, or rather, for the life and interests of a brother?
"I can't fully trust you, so, I'm sorry," Wanyan Zhenyao shook his head, then forcefully pulled Qian Qian behind him and stepped back a few paces, leaving Xu Mu standing at the front of the formation.
"He has no actual connection to our team, but I will not hand Qian Qian over to you. I will trade ten thousand points for his life," Wanyan Zhenyao said, staring at Wei Daolin.
"Deal," Wei Daolin, who had initially intended to refuse, felt a surge of urgency upon remembering Xu Mu charging towards him.
He had to deal with Xu Mu quickly, the sooner the better.
"Then you don't need to pay the ten thousand points. I won't abandon him," Qian Qian said, slowly walking out of the formation and standing shoulder to shoulder with Xu Mu.
"Although it has nothing to do with me, and I believe Brother Mu Xu won't die, at this moment, I think I must step forward," Jiang Sheng said, also stepping forward slowly, a grin on his face.
"It's no use, count me in then," Qi Lan also stepped forward, saying with resignation.
Thus, four people now stood at the front of the formation.
Hundreds of esper-users from both sides watched these four people silently, their eyes flickering, wondering what they were thinking.
"Since you all want to die together, I shall grant you your wish," Wei Daolin said, slowly waving his hand.
With that, the more than three hundred esper-users behind him slowly advanced, encircling the four of Xu Mu.
...