"Where did they go?"
Pu Wen shuttled across the Wilderness, his gaze constantly sweeping the surroundings, searching for Number 8's figure.
According to the original plan, the five Law Enforcers who had stepped onto the Way of the Soldier God were to fight the five Fire-Stealers, while he and Yan Xicai joined forces to set a trap and eliminate the leading Number 8. But unexpectedly, halfway through the plan, Yan Xicai was chased away by a Fire-Stealer.
Just when he thought he had to pull and drag with Number 8 by himself, Number 8 also ran away...
As this fight progressed, both teammates and enemies were gone, leaving only Pu Wen himself.
Thud——!
Just as Pu Wen was puzzled, a light tremor came from the sky. He looked up, his eyes full of surprise.
Beneath the sea of clouds, a black ribbon was gradually retreating back to the Dao Foundation at the hilt of the sword. However, upon that ribbon, there was actually a figure gripping one end tightly, seemingly struggling with all his might.
"Isn't that the Fire-Stealer?"
His palm reached into the black ribbon, grabbing consecutively several times, but only grabbing empty air... Yet he had no intention of stopping whatsoever, still constantly using 'Object Stealing'.
Finally, after consecutively 'Stealing Objects' dozens of times, a dark red shard fell into his palm.
This shard was about half the size of a palm. Compared to the complete Dao Foundation of the Martial God Path, it was equivalent to a stone sliding down a mountain, but this was already the limit of what he could do...
The moment this Dao Base Shard detached, the entire Ancient Vault of the Military Path suddenly trembled. The black ribbon shattered into nothingness on the spot. Losing his support, Number 8 fell in mid-air, plummeting straight toward the earth!
"His target is the Dao Foundation?" Seeing this scene, Pu Wen's expression congealed.
Pu Wen didn't understand the Dao Foundation... Although there would be a corresponding Dao Foundation in every Ancient Vault, people like them had no chance to come into contact with it. They only knew that this thing seemed very important to the Ancient Vault. By daring to steal the Dao Foundation of the Martial God Path, the Fire-Stealer would inevitably trigger a series of chain reactions.
Pu Wen didn't think those existences deep within the Ancient Vault of the Military Path would allow them to leave this sea area.
"That Fire-Stealer who stole the Dao Base Shard is Third Tier. Now Yan Xicai is missing, and I don't know where that guy Lu Xuanming is... It's just me left, how am I supposed to handle him?"
Pu Wen cast a glance in the direction Number 8 fell, and then looked at the battlefield still engaged in a chaotic fight nearby, suddenly feeling a bit of a headache.
The melee between the Law Enforcers and Fire-Stealers was nearing its end. Of the five Law Enforcers who had stepped onto the Way of the Soldier God, three had already been killed. On the Fire-Stealers' side, two had died as well. The casualties among the rest of the ordinary Law Enforcers were countless. Only a scant three or four figures remained fighting, and corpses littered the earth.
Pu Wen did a rough calculation. Of the more than seventy people who originally entered the Ancient Vault, there were probably no more than ten alive now... In nearly a hundred years, there had never been such tragic casualties in the trials of the Ancient Vault of the Military Path.
That group of Enforcers in Aurora City were still thinking of relying on this opportunity to train more Enforcers to recover their vitality. Who would have thought that these seedlings would all die in the Ancient Vault!
If the Ancient Vault opened like this, wouldn't those three Enforcers be scared to death on the spot?
Pu Wen shook his head, throwing all the messy thoughts to the back of his mind, and charged straight in the direction Number 8 fell... With the slaughter reaching this point, if they didn't eliminate that most troublesome Fire-Stealer, no one would leave here alive.
Meanwhile.
Falling from the sky, Number 8 tightly gripped that Dao Base Shard and grabbed at the earth below with his palm.
The hard stones were instantly stolen away, leaving only the soft sand and soil below. He smashed heavily onto it, sending large swathes of dust flying into the air.
Even though it was soft underneath, this still gave Number 8 a heavy fall. He staggered to his feet from the ground, only feeling pain in all his internal organs... But when he looked at the Dao Base Shard in his hand, joy still surfaced.
Mission accomplished!
Having stolen the Military Path Divine Core Fragment, when he returned this time, his ranking should advance by a large chunk. He might even be able to enter the top five.
Just as Number 8 was secretly rejoicing, a whistling sound of breaking air suddenly came from behind his head. He only felt a chill on the back of his neck and, without hesitation, rolled forward with a charge!
Snikt——
A long blade swept past Number 8's scalp, shaving off a large patch of blood color.
Before Number 8 could see clearly who the newcomer was, that blade gleam hacked over again at an astonishing speed. Thoughts flashed rapidly in his mind. With a lift of his fingertips, that cold glint pressing toward his brow vanished into thin air, instead being gripped in his palm.
But that palm seemed to have expected the weapon's disappearance. Not only did the attack not stop, the palm mimicked a blade, covered in steel-like black, and chopped toward Number 8's face like lightning!
Number 8 immediately swung the blade to block. The blade's edge rubbed against the palm, sending out a burst of dazzling sparks, but the terrifying force still sent him flying several meters away!
Number 8's combat experience was ultimately rich. He adjusted his figure in mid-air, finally landing steadily on the ground... He looked up ahead. A youth in black clothes and black pants was standing there, coldly shaking his chopped-red palm.
"He dodged it, huh..." Solemnity filled Lu Xuanming's brow.
"It's you?" A cold glint flickered in Number 8's eyes.
Lu Xuanming's attack just now came too suddenly. It was simply as if he had always been hiding beside him, abruptly striking when his vigilance was at its weakest... Just now, if not for Number 8's rich actual combat experience, his head would have probably been chopped off instantly.
But now he had escaped a disaster, and the two sides had widened the distance... Under these circumstances, the scales of victory could not possibly tilt toward Lu Xuanming again.
"A Law Enforcer who has just stepped into the First-Tier actually dares to come and ambush me." Number 8 slowly straightened up, his right hand gripping the long blade tightly. "Worthy of being the son of that famous Enforcer, commendable courage... What a pity, you have no chance anymore."
Lu Xuanming furrowed his brow. The soles of his feet violently stomped the ground, charging toward Number 8 like a ferocious beast.
Number 8 stood in place calmly, his right hand grabbing at the void ahead:
"Steal 'Light'."
Lu Xuanming's vision instantly plunged into darkness.
Target vanished, environment vanished. This sudden anomaly caused Lu Xuanming's figure to stagnate. At the same time, a whistling blade light chopped towards his neck!
That was his own blade.
Lu Xuanming didn't even think. 【Iron Raiment】 instantly covered his skin. A sharp sensation pierced through the hard iron raiment. His entire person was hacked to one side by this blade. Just as he was about to roll along with the momentum to dissolve the force, the clear sound of a bullet being loaded rang out.
Click——
Crap!
A thought flashed through Lu Xuanming's mind. The next moment, a blood-colored flower burst forth from his thigh!