Chapter 695: Section 482: Zong Ge vs Zi Di
Walking out of the inn room, Zi Di informed Zong Ge of the discovery that the corpses of three Golden Level Axe Gang leaders could temporarily preserve their souls.
In addition, Zi Di also shared her speculation about the faith of the Snow Battle God.
Zong Ge furrowed his brows deeply.
Because Zi Di’s discovery and speculation suggested that the scale of their enemies far exceeded previous estimates, possibly representing a colossal force!
Zong Ge’s previous battle was indeed splendid, causing the enemy to lose three Golden Levels at once. This was undoubtedly a major loss, certainly causing significant damage and likely imposing a great deterrence!
However, if the enemy’s scale was vast, it meant that deterrence was not the end result—all of this was far from over.
Retaliation was inevitable!
Zong Ge said, “They don’t know how we eliminated the three Golden Levels.”
“So, the most likely thing to happen is gathering intelligence, fully probing.”
“Once they figure it out or lose patience, the retaliation we face will definitely be terrifying, like a thunderous fury.”
The Half-Beast sighed, “Such hatred is now hard to resolve.”
“For now, we only have to do our best to enhance our own strength and remain unchanged to respond to all changes.”
Zi Di slightly shook her head, “Such a huge force must have many complications. They lurk in the shadows, probably afraid of the light. Perhaps, we can expose them and then seek assistance through the connections of Snowbird Port’s City Lord, the Lijian family, or even the official channels of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.”
Zong Ge was slightly startled, this remark indeed served as a reminder.
Zi Di was a merchant, and in line with her thinking habits, her first thought was to leverage and capitalize on the situation. This time, she had thought ahead of Zong Ge.
Zong Ge was inspired, “You’re right, they must be a dark force. From the Saber Gang’s demise to the Axe Gang’s final downfall, they never exposed their relationships and didn’t receive support from the Axe Gang.”
“The Axe Gang, located closest to Snowbird Port in Blood Vengeance City, fully had the capability to provide support. However, when the Saber Gang was annihilated, they remained completely inactive.”
“If it’s said that Snowbird Port’s City Lord’s moves were too swift, even when Ice Eagles and others escaped from Snowbird Port, the Axe Gang did not lend a hand.”
“For Teng Donglang’s revenge, the Axe Gang leader sought retaliation against us but always acted in secret, never openly utilizing the power of the Axe Gang.”
“This included the ambush at Cold Wind Valley and our last counter-ambush in the heavy snow; they tried to privately handle us.”
“If they could act openly, why would they need to do this?”
“Right, they also have their own Teleportation Array!”
Initially, the Axe Gang leader and Lin had used a secret Teleportation Array to take a shortcut and meet up with Jia Bing ahead of Zi Di and Zong Ge, ambushing them en route.
Reaching this point, Zong Ge’s tone was invigorated, “They were able to block us ahead of time; they definitely set up the Teleportation Array secretly. This violates the laws of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom!”
“Exposing them, with the help of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom officials, is very likely an effective strategy.”
“Still, we need to choose carefully.”
“They were able to grow and strengthen in the dark; there might be influential people at the top providing them protection.”
Zi Di felt a chilling realization and fully agreed with Zong Ge’s speculation.
Not to mention others, just their military status alone represented a deeply interconnected relationship; the networking behind them could never be underestimated.
“We should probably not involve the Lijian family for now.” Zi Di mainly considered that the Lijian family managed the Kingdom’s second Navy, which had a deeply rooted military background.
It could be that among the Lijian family, there were members aligned with the Axe Gang leader and Teng Donglang.
“Perhaps, we could seek help from Snowbird Port’s City Lord.”
“I think, for now, it is safe. We shouldn’t hastily reveal our capability of slaying three Golden Levels… but telling him about the ambush at Cold Wind Valley might be feasible.”
After discussing for a while, the two headed to the dueling field together.
Snow Rabbit City possessed dozens of big and small duel fields.
This was a small duel field, very plain and unremarkable.
They entered it without any spectators.
This was a private duel.
After a thorough check, confirming there were no observers, Zi Di and Zong Ge stood opposite each other, ready to duel.
Through practical experience, Snake Shadow Ghost and Mouse Eye Ghost had fully demonstrated the strengths of the newly-born Undead faction in scouting and proved trustworthy.
Without further ado, the two began their confrontation.
Zong Ge, with empty hands, took a stride and charged towards Zi Di.
Zi Di slightly shook the Soaring Fire Staff in her hand and applied a Flying Technique to herself, retreating backward.
Zong Ge accelerated using Combat Skill Rapid March, surpassing Zi Di’s speed, closing the distance between them.
Zi Di remained calm and slapped her Golden Level belt.
Spatial fluctuations occurred, and then three Silver Level Ice Specter Ghosts suddenly appeared, blocking Zong Ge.
One Ice Specter Ghost had fierce claws, another had broad wings with astonishing speed, and the last emitted Cold Ice Beams from its eyes, mainly focusing on long-range attacks.
The claw-type Ice Specter Ghost mainly entangled Zong Ge, the broad-winged Ice Specter Ghost provided support, and whenever Zong Ge attempted to break through, it filled the gaps in the defense line.
At that moment, three ice ghouls surrounded Zong Ge in the center, moving back and forth with a well-coordinated attack that was quite lively.
Zong Ge, a master of weapons, deliberately chose to fight unarmed.
He used his Golden Fighting Spirit to conjure remote attacks from thin air, acting like a humanoid cannon, continually striking the ice ghouls.
The ice ghouls defended exceptionally, and even though they were hit repeatedly, it posed no problem.
Zong Ge’s fighting became more and more proficient.
He had only recently reached the Golden Level and urgently needed real combat experience to grasp the characteristics of Golden Level Fighting Spirit.
Previously, he had fought all-out against the Axe Gang leader and two others, consuming a large amount of Pearl Bubble, and had had no opportunity for such practical training.
Zi Di’s eyes sparkled frequently.
She gained a lot by controlling the ice ghouls. Many truths could only be deeply understood in real combat. Combat experience could not be acquired through regular cultivation.
Although she was only at the Black Iron Level, she was a ghost with a knack for spiritual abilities. With the accumulation of the Reduction Technique, Zi Di had spiritual power not inferior to that of the Silver Level.
This made it easy for her to control the Silver Level ice ghouls.
The three ice ghouls gradually showed signs of defeat, and as their injuries accumulated to a certain extent, Zi Di actively swapped them out.
Soon, all three ice ghouls were replaced, and the defensive line became strong and solid once again.
Zi Di had acquired twelve Silver Level ice ghouls from Jia Bing’s Alchemy Room, each with slight variations. There was even one Golden Level ice ghoul, although it was not yet fully completed.
Zi Di constantly rotated them, familiarizing herself with the differences and characteristics of these twelve ice ghouls.
Zong Ge demonstrated astonishing warrior talent, starting to condense his Golden Fighting Spirit into various weapons controlled by his hands.
Zong Ge was a master of weapons, and possessing weapons significantly impacted his combat strength.
Now, with weapons—even those just formed from Golden Fighting Spirit—he saw a significant surge in his combat ability, forcing Zi Di to control six ice ghouls simultaneously just to barely hold the line.
But this increased the speed of her spiritual power consumption, and she gradually struggled to keep up.
However, Zong Ge’s combat power declined more quickly and severely than hers.
Suddenly, a streak of blood light flashed across Zong Ge.
He quickly rolled backward to dodge the claw strike of an ice ghoul, awkwardly retreating from attack to defense.
“‘Blood Blade Revenge’ has triggered again!” Zi Di realized, yet she did not ease the offensive but instead intensified her control of the ice ghouls, attacking with full force.
Zong Ge, during a previous fight, was struck by the dying counterattack of the Axe Gang leader.
The power of the Blood Vengeance Axe penetrated deep into his bones and was difficult to remove. Periodically, it would act up, striking at his vulnerabilities.
Zi Di fought with all her might, yet even she could not detect where this power had rooted itself. However, through subsequent investigations and intelligence purchases, they unraveled many secrets of the special Golden Level weapon, the Blood Vengeance Axe.
Blood Blade Revenge was an attack ability inherent to the Blood Vengeance Axe. It emitted energy that could penetrate deep into an enemy’s body, drawing from the enemy’s strength to augment itself. Once it reached a certain level, the energy would shift from a dormant state to an aggressive state.
Because it was already inside the enemy’s body, it would immediately launch a brutal attack on both the internal and external parts of the enemy’s body.
If the enemy didn’t react in time, they could suffer severe damage or even death.
Zong Ge, while training with Zi Di, constantly monitored his own physical condition. As soon as the Blood Blade activated, he would immediately mobilize his Fighting Spirit to defend.
The assault of the Blood Blade disrupted his combat rhythm, forcing him to switch from offense to defense.
Facing the fierce assault of the ice ghouls, Zong Ge parried left and right, but ultimately, he managed to defend himself only with temporary weapons formed from Golden Fighting Spirit.
This was not the first training fight for them. Zi Di could clearly feel Zong Ge’s progress.
“Zong Ge’s combat talent is truly strong! His improvement is visible to the naked eye after a few training fights. And I’m just getting more familiar with the ice ghouls. Sigh…”
Zi Di thought of the young squad leader.
Zong Ge, having ascended to Golden Level and possessing such combat talent, would undoubtedly pose a strong challenge to the current leadership position of the youth!
Previously, Zi Di looked forward to the Dragon-man youth arriving soon to join them.
Now, Zi Di hoped the Dragon-man youth would arrive later, giving herself more time to avoid an early confrontation with Zong Ge.
“Cultivating Fighting Spirit can’t be achieved overnight.”
“Even with some time gained, it will be difficult for the squad leader to close the gap between him and Zong Ge.”
“After all, he is at the Silver Level, still some distance from the peak.”
“However, there are other methods to enhance personal combat effectiveness.”
“For instance, cultivating magic.”
“The King of Flame Dragon bloodline is Legendary, and thus he has excellent aptitude for cultivating Fire Magic.”
Zi Di, worrying and considering options for the youth, didn’t know that the young squad leader was already doing so.
However, unlike what Zi Di had imagined, his magical cultivation wasn’t in his Dragon-man form but as a Fishman.
The spell—Clear Spring Technique.
After the Fishman youth chanted, he pointed his finger, and immediately, a spring formed on the metal wall he touched, gushing a small stream of clear water.
Zhongyong standing nearby showed a look of astonishment, “Sir, you succeeded on your first attempt, you have an extreme talent for magic!”