Chapter 821: Undaunted By Perils
The water spheres ruptured, and then the water puppets trapped inside woke up. They charged over when they sensed the auras of living beings. The group could sense the creatures’ powerful resentment even from far, far away. Those with lower cultivations couldn’t help but shiver all over.
“Everyone, get into position. Crossbow shooters, fire at your targets; scouts, prepare the traps; everyone else, prepare for close quarters combat…” Even though Bi Linglong’s face was a bit pale, she still firmly gave out orders one after another. Her steady voice began to affect everyone else. Their formation, which had been starting to become a bit disorderly, also stabilized.
Whoosh!
A barrage of bolts shot upward. Their surfaces flickered with white light, coming from special ice element formations carved by rune masters. They could turn ki into the ice element.
This was the crown prince’s great exam, so the royal family had given them abundant resources. The Jade Moon Serpent could devour other beasts and turn their souls into water puppets. That was why they had specially prepared ice element bolts.
The marksmen were all the clans’ elites. Soon afterward, many ice element arrows hit their targets. The water element puppets were quickly covered in chunks of ice.
If these puppets had only been at the sixth rank, they might have already turned into frozen sculptures after being hit by so many of the special arrows. Unfortunately, these were seventh ranked beasts before they had been killed. The arrows were able to cover them in chunks of ice, but it wasn’t enough to completely freeze them.
What remained of the beast souls’ fighting spirits made them furious at their injuries. They roared and charged at the group. With how close they were, there was already no time to fire a second round of bolts.
The scout troops, however, had already finished setting a trap in the path these water puppets had to take. Many lights flickered as the traps activated.
The four water puppets trembled all over, as if they were screaming miserably. Even their bodies began to grow dim. However, in the end, they still broke through the traps and charged into the group’s formation.
The warriors, who had already been waiting for this moment, charged forward. They surrounded their respective targets according to the prearranged plan.
Bi Linglong didn’t move and instead gave out instructions from the center. She transferred men over whenever she saw that one side was struggling. At the same time, she directed all kinds of attacks and defenses.
Some warriors screamed from their wounds, or even lost their lives. However, under Bi Linglong’s command, the formation didn’t collapse. On the contrary, everyone seemed to have been inspired by her, all of them charging at their enemy without any thought for personal safety.
Someone had his stomach ripped apart by the Golden War Ox’s horns, his intestines strewn across the ground. However, with the last of his strength, he thrust the weapon in his hand into the ox’s neck, doing his best to exhaust the water element power in its body.
Another person was slammed in the waist by the Lightning Devouring Tiger. His body was instantly blown into two pieces. However, his upper body continued to cling to its rear leg, doing what he could to at least slow its speed down a bit.
There was another whose entire body was bloody from the Hard Bristle Black Boar’s bristles. When he saw that there was no hope of survival, he threw himself at its body, using his body as a shield for his allies.
One person saw his allies easily ripped in half by the Giant Frost Bear, yet instead of backing up, he charged forward with reddened eyes.
…
Because of that, the four seventh rank puppets’ overwhelming advantage was actually being held off by these people.
Zu An felt deep respect for the group. Previously, because of how the young masters behaved, he couldn’t help but feel contempt for these warriors as well. But now, he finally understood that these were all individuals who had been carefully selected. No wonder the emperor was okay with these people accompanying the crown prince. It was because these were indeed the best from their clans.
He didn’t make a move, because his opponent wasn’t these water puppets, but rather that several dozen meter long ninth ranked serpent in the skies.
That Jade Moon Serpent had already locked onto his aura not long ago. The ninth ranked beast’s instincts immediately told it that he was the one that posed the greatest threat out of everyone here.
Zu An was also looking for an opening. A ninth ranked beast had an incredibly tough body and all sorts of innate skills. Its real strength was comparable to a human at the master rank.
There was no hope of victory for a normal human ninth rank cultivator. Even someone like Han Fengqiu, who was at the peak of the ninth rank, would only be able to run away at most.
Zu An was now at the ninth rank’s fourth step. Because of his various miraculous skills, his ki amount and density were much greater than that of others at the same level. However, compared to the master rank, he didn’t have much of a chance of success. But with all of his strange and miraculous skills, it wasn’t as if it were completely hopeless.
That was why the two faced each other, both parties looking for an opening to exploit.
The Jade Moon Serpent was also watching the battlefield. When it saw that its water puppets were actually fighting on even footing with those puny humans, it felt anger inside. It opened its mouth and spat out another water sphere, which instantly turned into a strange bird.
“It’s the Blackfeather Hawk!” Bi Linglong’s voice carried a hint of despair. It was because this was an eighth ranked beast!
This Jade Moon Serpent had actually devoured an eighth ranked beast! No wonder it was able to rise up to the ninth rank. However, fighting against those four seventh ranked puppets was already their limit. How could they possibly defeat an eighth ranked beast?
But Bi Linglong bit her lip. She wouldn’t give up until the absolute final moment. She gave the command for everyone to get into formation again.
Then, the marksmen that had been preparing to fire at the four seventh ranked puppets raised their bolts toward the Blackfeather Hawk in the sky. Countless bolts screamed out.
However, with a wave of the Blackfeather Hawk’s wings, water element bubbles filled the air. The vicious barrage of bolts was instantly trapped when they made contact with the bubbles. The ice element power they carried was also neutralized at once.
Then, the remaining bubbles landed on the Eastern Palace’s formation. The warriors felt as if they were trapped in a swamp as they were imprisoned in the water bubbles. They struggled frantically, trying to free themselves. Unfortunately, they were like drowning people who didn’t know how to swim. They were just wasting their strength, as it was futile
The Blackfeather Hawk raised its neck and released a silent roar. Then, it pulled in its wings and dove down. Its body transformed into a stream of light and smashed into the formation. Blasts of blood erupted from the chests of those who weren’t trapped in the bubbles. Huge holes appeared in their chests.
The Blackfeather Hawk’s charge was terrifyingly powerful, almost like the flying sword of a ninth ranked expert. Meanwhile, these people were only at the sixth rank at most. How could they possibly withstand this type of power?
Zu An made his move. The Jade Moon Serpent had actually revealed an opening earlier, but if he wanted to make use of that opportunity, the time it would take to take the serpent’s life might be enough for everyone below to die ten times over.
He had been filled with endless admiration when he witnessed the others’ bravery earlier. He really couldn’t find it within himself to use their lives to buy him more time.
He used his Grandgale ability to instantly arrive in front of a stunned warrior, pushing him away. Then, he raised the Tai’e Sword and blocked in front of him.
Clang!
A shrill and ear-splitting sound erupted. The Blackfeather Hawk’s beak that had torn through the chests of countless people slammed into the Tai’e Sword. The tremendous impact made even the Tai’e Sword bend a bit.
“It’s so freaking noisy!” Mi Li’s annoyed voice exclaimed from inside the sword. Then, a terrifying pressure rushed out. The Blackfeather Hawk trembled and stopped attacking.
How could Zu An let such a great opportunity go? His sword flickered, directly cleaving it in half. Originally, with the Blackfeather Hawk’s strength, even though he could win, it wouldn’t have been so clean and efficient. He hadn’t expected to receive Mi Li’s help.
“Big sis empress, you’re awake.” Zu An was happy and surprised as he secretly talked to her.
“Don’t get distracted, that damn bird won’t die so easily,” Mi Li said coldly.
Zu An lowered his head and saw the two lumps continue to wriggle about, as if they wanted to recombine with each other.
These were existences that used the souls of beasts the Jade Moon Serpent had devoured as their foundation, and then had bodies created through the water element. Water was a formless substance and possessed a powerful regenerative ability to begin with.
When Zu An saw that, he immediately used the Snowflake Sword. The two wriggling blobs of water were frozen into chunks of ice. Then he channeled his ki, smashing them to pieces with a kick. The Blackfeather Hawk was now completely destroyed.
At the same time, the bubbles that had trapped all of the warriors froze and shattered from the cold ki. Those inside were free again.
“This king only refined the Blackfeather Hawk after great difficulty, yet you actually destroyed it. So I’ll devour you and turn you into my new puppet!” The Jade Moon Serpent in the sky roared furiously.