Chapter 530
Flying Thieves
Initially, he came not for the Flaming Horn tribe. He only knew that a tribe came to this inaccessible mountain forest, but after he arrived, he heard that the Flaming Horn even destroyed the Wanshi tribe, and even forced the slave masters who had escaped from the desert to leave. Now he was suddenly interested.
The final goal was not important for the time being, because it could not be easily found any time soon. Let others scout first. He would stay and enjoy his time in Flaming Horn for a few days. Unexpectedly, the Flaming Horn tribe was an even more difficult target than what the rumours said. He’d been found several times, but he won in speed and his instincts were sharp. He could escape before the other party caught up to him every time. This was the main reason he continued to stay in Flaming Horn.
As long as he could escape, so what if they found him?
The Flaming Horn people couldn’t catch him anyway.
It was just that the Flaming Horn’s site defence in the forest was too tight. He waited for so long but still couldn’t sneak in. Especially last time, he’d remained in the wanderer’s settlement area for a long time, and almost found the chance to take a step forward, but people saw him.
As he thought about robbers eleven and twelve who were once caught, he chuckled softly. They were merely robbers who didn’t even make it into the top ten. How could they compare with him? The people of the Flaming Horn really thought that because they could catch one or two, they could catch even more “robbers”?
How naive!
He devised a plan to cut off the largest cabbage in the Flaming Horn’s tightly guarded ground to teach them a lesson. The more he thought about it, the more satisfied he was.
The fact that Flaming Horn guarded this piece of land so tightly showed that this was a very important property to them. If the vegetables in the field were stolen, more guards would definitely be mobilized. When the Flaming Horn shifted their complete focus onto the cabbage field, it would be his chance to sneak into the forest.
‘I’m so clever!’ he thought.
In the nighttime, a black shadow walked silently among the tall cabbage. It was more nimble and agile than the grass snakes that normally slithered in the dark night.
Even then, no guards noticed him.
As he focused on the biggest cabbage that he was getting closer to, he raised his brow slightly and bent his knees. His whole figure was like grass blown by the breeze, flying lightly, with a black thin blade in his hand. He was like a beast who had his eyes on prey. He revealed his claws and went straight for the cabbage ball in the middle of the cabbage.
But just as he was ready to put his hands on the cabbage ball, his scalp suddenly went numb. He sensed danger. In the dark night, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared!
No, it wasn’t only one pair, but two!!
Two people found him!
A spear flew swiftly, whistling as it split the air. It was like a viper waiting in the dark that finally revealed its fangs.
The spear came very quickly, and very suddenly. There was no time to prepare at all, and the shadow that was being ambushed had already jumped into the air. Theoretically, people who were mid-air had limited mobility.
However, before the spear arrived, the black figure leapt like a thin leaf suddenly pushed by another airflow. He flipped swiftly, smoothly dodging the spear, and retreated unharmed.
Ao never expected this person to change the direction of his flip in midair without the aid of any external forces. He even managed to dodge the spear attack.
Ever since he knew that “robbers” were extremely difficult to deal with, Ao thought of many ways and finally decided to stay in one place. Before he found the target, he hid his breath and didn’t use any totemic power. He even weakened his breathing and heartbeat as much as possible so he seemed just like everyone else. He did not focus all his attention on the person who sneaked into the cabbage field. Shao Xuan had told him before that the other party had an extremely keen insight. It could only work if he didn’t purposely put his attention on the robber. With just a stare, he would detect your presence and escape immediately.
Therefore, Ao only shot when Shao Xuan gave him a signal. Before that, Ao only pretended he didn’t notice the robber.
“Don’t even think of running!” Ao’s eyebrows were fiercely arched as he flipped into the vegetable field, took a huge stride, and jumped. He waved the stone axe in his hand while a majestic force rose instantly within him like an angry wave, powerful and ready to drown the people in front of him. His domineering presence and energy spread out and enveloped the entire cabbage field.
As a leader, Ao’s strength was never doubted.
If other fighters were threatened by Ao’s violent momentum, even if they made no mistakes, their actions would be slowed down. However, the shadow that escaped was not so.
Strange energy started to rise quickly, and it was different from the flame of the Flaming Horn, like a strong gust of wind that suddenly rose in the moonless night. It was as if everything around was blocked, giving people a hazy sense of perplexity.
The black shadow, like a sharp cold air rising in the dark, stirred in the night, disturbing Ao’s oppressive energy that enveloped the field.
All of this happened in the split of a second, with only a face-to-face encounter, the other party not only avoided the attack but also gained in momentum!
In order to hide better from the cunning thief, Ao did not discuss with those who guarded the vegetable field. However, after hearing their movement, the people around the vegetable plot became alarmed and wanted to stop the figure who was trying to escape.
Soldiers with various weapons jumped up and stood on the surrounding wooden fence, like a long wall made of people, sealing off the other party’s escape route. Outside, people started to surround the area.
Ao was very confident. There was no way the thief could escape. The clouds in the sky moved and revealed one of the two moons behind it.
Even as he was faced with the Flaming Horn’s tight defence and the pursuit of people led by Ao in the back, the thief was not at all worried. He munched on a piece of cabbage leaf left on the side of his mouth and there was not even a hint of tension in his eyes as he fled. His pupils were like stubborn stones lying in the dark night. Sly delight flashed across them.
Whoosh! It sounded like the howling of arrows shot into the air. Swoosh swoosh swoosh! The sounds continued one after another as if someone had suddenly shot ten million sharp arrows.
However, this was merely the sound made by the thief. Totemic power suddenly erupted and reached its climax. Under the ignition of the firepower, the airflow released from the inner layer of his skin were like tiny hurricanes rushing out of his pores.
As the man bent downwards and squatted slightly, he suddenly shot upwards, like a sky cannon set off by a burning fuse. With the whizzing noise, he flew out at a rapid speed and created a huge gap between him and Ao, who was chasing after him.
The opponent did not have any other ways to escape. He ran directly towards the wooden fence on the edge of the vegetable field. The path was the shortest route of escape from the vegetable field. Although there was a wall of Flaming Horn warriors blocking his way, he seemed like he didn’t care about them at all.
He chose not to detour, but to hit them directly?!
Faced with the figure rushing towards them, the Flaming Horn warriors were a little terrified, but they held their weapons tightly and prepared to stop him. However, they heard a short howl that was even sharper than before, like someone blew a whistle.
The black shadow that had rushed to the wooden fence suddenly flipped in the air, pulled upwards, and then rushed to escape from the vegetable field again. He broke away from this encirclement that was not easily formed.
He suddenly pulled high, completely beyond the expectations of the Flaming Horn warriors. Even if they tried jumping now it would be too late. They could only watch the other party fly over from above.
The chief himself was leading this expedition, and there were so many of them– yet they couldn’t stop a mere vegetable thief!
Ao looked at the figure who was drifting farther away, and his heart was full of anger and depression. He recalled Shao Xuan saying that “robbers” were difficult to catch, but now he really experienced it.
Uncanny behaviour, unpredictable, and unexpected techniques emerging one after another, is this “robbery”?
Under the moonlight, the one who escaped from the cabbage field had a growing smile on the corners of his mouth.
Think you can catch me? Do you really think I’m as useless as robbers Eleven and Twelve, the ones who couldn’t even make it to the top ten?
So what if you hide? So what if you all see me? All you can do is watch me escape!
Hah!
Flaming Horns, what a joke!!
Just as he thought about this, his eyelids twitched. It was as if a stream of cold breeze entered his head through the ends of his hair, leaving them standing upright in fear.
Who was that?!
He heard whistles like a huge sweeping palm was approaching. It was so fast he couldn’t change his direction in time.
His pupils dilated as he tried to see what was coming at him.
What was that?!
A net?
No, not a net!
Whatever it was, I must escape!
However, the net-like thing followed the shadow. There was the sound of friction as it whipped at the shadow in the air quickly.
Bang!
There was a loud explosion in the dark. Everyone heard the shuddering rumbles as it travelled far across the lands.
Everyone who heard this wondered whether the victim’s skeleton was still intact. Had it dismantled from the vibrations?
The black figure flew out as the huge “net” swept across. The whizzing airflow from his body stopped. Like a chicken suddenly caught by its neck, he stopped moving.
There was an arc drawn mid-air as the shadow finally fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and stopped moving.
Ao, who jumped out of the vegetable field, looked at the unidentifiable lump on the ground in the distance. He signalled the others to hurry and tie the person up, whether he was dead or alive.
After giving instructions, Ao looked at Shao Xuan who was standing there.
Shao Xuan stood calmly with a strangely shaped object in his hand. The lower end of the thing was like the handle of an enlarged spear, while the upper end looked like a square net that was the length of two people. If you looked closely, you would find that the net was fixed and hard, not as soft as the typical straw-woven nets, and connected with a long handle.
Ao had been puzzled when he saw Shao Xuan made this thing in the casting room.
When he noticed Ao and the others staring, Shao Xuan turned the long handle. The net above turned too.
“Just something designed to catch flying insects. Can’t believe the first one it caught was a flying thief,” Shao Xuan said with a laugh.