Chapter 405. Ximen Erjin (2)

About an hour ago.

A bird flew across the vast plains.

Its dark blue wings drew a sharp horizontal line through the air.

The black stripes on its white belly were striking.

Its talons were curved like a blade, and its fierce eyes locked onto prey with deadly focus.

It was far faster than any well-trained homing pigeon. The hawk, carrying a letter, soared over the plains.

The messenger hawk continued south and landed on one of the magnificent pavilions in Hefei, the capital of Anhui, and knocked on the window.

“Zhou Xuchuan isn't in the North?”

Blessed Existence’s eyes moved rapidly as he read the letter.

The news from the Northern Front confirmed Zhou Xuchuan’s absence.

"The information we received from the Northern Front was false, but he isn’t in the South either..."

Blessed Existence was a genius who left no room for error. He was never careless and never let his guard down until a result was certain.

He was always prepared for every possibility.

But this very trait was now working against him.

Could it be that he's coming to headquarters?

Blessed Existence had stayed in Hefei in order to coordinate both the Northern and Southern Fronts from the center.

In the South, there was the Present Darkness, and in the North, there were the Dark Heavens Association Lord and Avaricious Wolf, who were both skilled in strategy. He could trust them.

The issue was that the South had been destroyed in an instant, to the point where he couldn't even get involved, due to the appearance of the Hainan Island forces.

"..."

Blessed Existence thought hard.

The battlefield was constantly changing. He couldn’t just sit at his desk and worry.

He had to make a decision.

One assumption gave rise to another, and soon questions began to multiply. His thoughts tangled like strands of thread.

After much thought, the conclusion he reached was that some of the Dark Heavens Army would have to return.

Avaricious Wolf's troops are too far away. Even if they hurry back, the timing is too tight. It's better to call the Lord's troops over.

The Dark Heavens Association used the old headquarters of the Martial Alliance as a base and spent some time reinforcing their forces.

Using Hefei as our new headquarters, we brought the scattered treasury arts and reorganized them, as well as storing our military funds and other materials required for war. We can't give it up easily.

Originally, the Association had no headquarters to speak of.

The officials, the predecessors of the Dark Heavens Association, set up hideouts all over the Central Plains in order to avoid the Emperor’s eyes.

In addition, they also purposefully didn't have a headquarters so that they could cut off their tails at any time, just in case they were discovered and tracked down.

"Zhou Xuchuan, what are you doing?"

He was running.

***

The grass, lush and tall enough to brush against their ankles, was being trampled.

Blades of green, now pale and brittle, crumbled underfoot.

“Haa, haa!”

Blood dripped from the cuts on her skin. Instead of pain, she felt an itch around her body. Her body also began to shiver.[1]

Luo Xiaoyue struggled to catch her breath, relying purely on instinct and trained senses.

Woosh!

She couldn’t see it, but she could guess the angle from the side.

The sharp edge of the blade spun around. The chakram curved in the middle and turned to aim at her side.

"Ha!"

Luo Xiaoyue turned her sword upward at a right angle.

Clang!

The chakram that flew from over her head hit the sword and bounced off.

“Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix!”

A First Class Realm assassin of the Hidden Gang called out her title.

Luo Xiaoyue pretended to turn toward the voice reflexively and then gripped her sword in the opposite direction.

“Don’t rely on your hearing alone!”

Luo Xiaoyue warned those around her and flicked the sword she was holding in her hand through her side.

From the side, it looked like she had stabbed herself, but it was actually the assassin who had aimed for her back that had been punctured.

“Ugh!"

The assassin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The strength in his hands gave out and the chakram he was holding dropped to the ground.

Soon after, his body slumped over his weapon and dropped to the ground.

"If you rely on your hearing as the easiest sense to perceive after your sight, the other gaps in your senses will be exploited! You must keep in mind that assassination is about killing your opponent without them noticing!"

Hidden Gang flinched at Luo Xiaoyue’s shout.

How does she know?

She seems to know about assassination methods quite well.

Even if she's a genius, it should be impossible to read movements in this darkness.

Is the Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix used to ambush attacks?

This really makes me doubt if she's truly a young swordsman.

To the Hidden Gang, it felt like not only their movements, but even their minds were being read.

Luo Xiaoyue’s advice was effective.

Although the warriors couldn't see ahead, they could communicate through their voices, which increased the survival rate of the Northern Upper Army.

Even in the darkness where they couldn't see anything, they weren't easily defeated and were able to withstand the Hidden Gang's offensive steadily.

To respond with this level of accuracy, such a leader must have been an assassin well knowledgeable in assassination methods, or a seasoned master with lots of experience.

However, Luo Xiaoyue may have been a Harmony Realm Master, but she wasn't a seasoned expert with decades of experience. She was just a young swordsman, barely old enough not to be called a juvenile.

That said, there was no way that she could have been an assassin either, having been taken in by one of the Five High Elders of Mount Hua when she was young and trained as one of the next generation of Plum Blossom Swordmen.

The Hidden Gang’s thoughts were not wrong.

While open attacks were one thing, Luo Xiaoyue wasn't used to ambushes. In fact, she had only ever fought a handful of assassins in her life.

Of course, she wasn't an assassin, either. However, there had always been an assassin around her who was better than the Hidden Gang.

“Where did you learn this?” Tang Hui asked, looking at the source of the voice.

“Oh, Senior Brother taught me.”

Of course, that assassin was the Phantom Sovereign, Zhou Xuchuan.

Ever since he became a target of the Dark Heavens Association, Zhou Xuchuan had been constantly worried that those around him might be assassinated.

The Heavenly Strategist and the Tactician Phoenix, the Zhuge Siblings, were protected by those around them, being in the core of the alliance, so at the minimum, their safety was guaranteed.

Li Yicai and Zhuge Shengji were also fine, as they had the Gold Will Sword Sect, Wu Qu, and the Valley of Phantoms.

Moreover, since none of the four were actually combat focused, there was little chance of contact otherwise.

However, Luo Xiaoyue was different. Since she was on the battlefield, she was directly exposed to danger.

Concerned about this, Zhou Xuchuan taught Luo Xiaoyue the tactics and basic knowledge of the Valley of Phantoms.

Since they had just recently left for the North Sea together, he had ample time to teach her. During that journey, he had taught her wholeheartedly.

Little Ghost had also assisted, which was helpful.

“I think it wouldn’t be strange if the secret of your Senior Brother’s birth was revealed soon. What do you think?” Tang Hui asked incredulously.

Luo Xiaoyue couldn’t answer and just smiled bitterly.

“Anyway...”

Tang Hui gathered the poisonous haze in her hand.

“It’s slowly becoming time to leave.”

The antipoison’s effects would soon wear off.

No matter how long they planned to hold out, they couldn’t forget that they were still trapped in poisonous smoke.

While the expert-level warriors could endure for a while even after the medicine wore off, the rest of the unit couldn’t.

Even for the experts, constantly detoxifying poison drained their qi reserves heavily.

“Understood.”

Luo Xiaoyue clung closely to Tang Hui.

“All troops!”

Tang Hui’s sharp voice echoed in the poisonous smoke.

“Retreat!”

“Retreat!”

The Tang Family’s escort warriors shouted at the top of their lungs.

“Retreat?”

Since the unit was focused on senses other than sight, their reactions were also fast.

“The order to retreat has been given!”

“Retreat! It’s time!”

The Northern Upper Army responded loudly, making it sound like they were complying because the antipoison was about to lose its effect.

But their acting wasn’t exaggerated.

Overdoing it could raise suspicion.

They moved cautiously, aware of the importance of the operation.

"I see, so it's time for your antipoison to wear off!"

A smile spread under the Hidden Gang Boss’s mask.

“Don’t miss this opportunity! We need to aim for their retreat!"

Assassins generally had high resistance to poison.

While they weren't at the level of Tang Family or the Four Poison Gate, since they were used to using poisons due to the nature of assassination, their natural resistance was also quite high.

Tang Mingren didn't bring the Hidden Gang for nothing. Not only were they used to the dark, but they could also withstand the poison for a long time.

"Agh!"

"Where do you think you're running to?! Ahahahaha!"

"Let go!"

"Ugh!"

It was one of the most chaotic melees imaginable. It wasn't easy to retreat in a situation where one couldn't see ahead.

More than anything, the pressure of the possibility of not being able to escape the poison smoke in time was quite intense.

“Just hold on a little longer!”

Squelch!

"Ugh!"

Luo Xiaoyue never lost her composure. Every time she swung her sword, a faint fragrance spread, giving her strength.

“It's not much further!"

"We're almost there!"

None of the warriors knew if it was true or not. Still, when they heard that there wasn't much left to go, they forced themselves to use all their strength.

"Anyone who's poisoned, come over here!"

"We'll help you detoxify!"

The Tang Family served as guides, walking antidotes, and physicians.

They supported the injured, and if the warriors were poisoned by the Hidden Gang's weapons and couldn't come to their senses, they detoxified them instead.

Even though it was emergency treatment, their ability to detoxify while moving was impressive.

“We’ve arrived!”

The frantic retreat finally ended.

It starts now.

Tang Hui reviewed the operation while being guided by the Northern Upper Army.

The power consumption wasn't as great as I expected.

Luo Xiaoyue’s movements and guidance had proven more effective than anticipated.

So, if we just guide them to the goal...

The veil had lifted. The first ones to break through the poison smoke were the Tang Family and Gold Will Sword Sect, who were in charge of guiding and leading.

The darkness that had felt unusually long was over. The sudden return to light made it difficult to open their eyes, like waking from a long sleep.

But they were martial artists. Their bodies adapted quickly, so they were able to adjust to the light with little trouble.

"What?"

Tang Hui stopped walking the moment she fully saw what was before her. She wasn't the only one. The troops ahead also stopped.

"Agh!"

"W-what's going on?"

The Mount Hua Sect disciples surrounding the Tang Family and the Gold Will Sword Sect also stopped. They had been guarding the retreat instead of taking the lead, but those before them had suddenly stopped and looked bewildered.

Luo Xiaoyue had also been closely guarding them, so when those before them blocked the way, the Mount Hua Sect disciples stopped as well.

“Why did you suddenly stop... moving..."

Luo Xiaoyue couldn’t continue speaking.

The moment she looked ahead instead of behind, her body froze like ice.

The Northern Upper Army, who arrived next, was the same. They wondered why they didn’t continue to retreat as planned.

However, that question was soon resolved in a bad way.

"We know that you would retreat as time goes by, so how could you think we were idiots who wouldn't surround you?"

A dry voice came from the front. The one blocking the back of the Northern Upper Army was the enemy commander, the traitor of the Righteous Faction and the leader of the Dark Heaven, Avaricious Wolf Tang Mingren.

"Wasn't the Peng Family Patriarch supposed to be fighting you?" the Milky Way Sage asked incomprehensibly.

"Yes, at first, that was true," Tang Mingren said in a dry tone.

"However, no matter how great I am, there's no way I could fight that monster in a direct battle. Peng Zihu must be fighting dozens of people right now."

"What, you bastard!"

“Coward! Aren’t you ashamed?!”

The Peng family warriors let out a snarl of anger.

“Tang Mingren!”

Tang Hui ground her teeth.

***

"Gasp, gasp!"

Shen Daoyun ran out of breath. The rest of the Northern Lower Army were the same.

He didn't know how much time had passed. However, they had truly run without stopping.

While there had been deserters along the way, he didn't care. He didn't have time to worry about that.

I can't let those who sacrificed themselves for us die a dog's death!

It was too late for them to ask for help now.

Hong Jin, Ximen Erjin, the Shaolin Temple, and the Ximen Family would all be destroyed. Shen Daoyun didn’t believe in false hopes.

He understood reality better than anyone else. That’s why he put all his effort into making sure that their sacrifice wasn’t in vain.

“In front of us!" someone shouted at the top of his lungs.

“D-Did they arrive? Is it the Northern Upper Army?”

Expectation filled Shen Daoyun’s pale face.

“No! There’s only one person!”

“What...”

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Shen Daoyun looked at someone in front of him in surprise.

“You!"

1. Cuts feel itchy during adrenaline. Also your body shivers when you lose too much blood. ☜