Meanwhile.
Hope City.
Tang Fang returned, exhausted. Catching Huang Jing’s eye, he shook his head slightly.
“I couldn’t find it...Moreover, a blockade has been set up outside Hope City...”
Tang Feng frowned and said, “When I came out from the Jiao’s Forest, Sky Gate City’s troops had already moved the blockade to the Grinder’s borders and blocked off the front lines...”
In the past, both parties were often at war with each other. However, wars came and went in the Catacombs and were generally started by the armies.
This time, the Sky Gate City had let their armies clean up along the way and even carried out a frontal blockade.
This made Tang Feng a little uneasy.
When he came out from the Jiao’s Forest, he was almost besieged. He was chased down by multiple Rank-6 martial artists from the Sky Gate City. He even felt the presence of a high-ranking powerhouse.
Huang Jing furrowed his brows. “It’s a bit strange. Previously, the opponents’ high-ranking powerhouse never appeared until the very end. But this time, they showed up quite early on and forced us to retreat to Hope City.”
When he thought of this, he realized he could not look after Fang Ping anymore. Compared to Hope City, Fang Ping was insignificant.
At this moment, just as war was about to break out, he could not allow Tang Feng to continue his search. If the Rank-6 powerhouse was killed in action, even finding Fang Ping would not make up for it.
“Let’s go find Xu Mofu first.”
Without any delay, Huang Jing escorted Tang Feng to the military camp.
...
In the military camp.
Upon hearing Tang Feng’s words, Xu Mofu nodded and said, “It’s not only happening in the North. Other than the South, all the other parts have been sealed off by the powerhouse. I suspect...that they might just want to finish things off with one swift assault!”
Huang Jing frowned and asked, “We’ve been at war for a long time. Now Sky Gate City thinks they can conquer Hope City?”
“I’m only guessing...” Xu Mofu rubbed his forehead. “The Military Department has already issued a call-up order. Some of Magic City’s powerhouses will be here to provide reinforcement very soon. Other than that, I’ve already sent someone to break through their defensive line to investigate the situation...but the Grandmasters are not allowed to go out now, lest we fall into a trap and get besieged. Even for a middle-ranked martial artist, it is extremely difficult to break through the defense line.”
Xu Mofu said softly, “The situation is dire and we should plan for the worst. Currently, Hope City has five 5 Grandmasters. Soon, a few more Grandmasters will be coming to provide reinforcements. Unless they come with us at full force, don’t they even dare to think that they can conquer Hope City!”
Huang Jing let out a soft sigh of relief. “We need to increase our reinforcements, 4 high-ranks have already appeared before. My prediction is that even if they don’t go all out, they may still send out 10 people or so.”
“Yes. Vice-chancellor Wu of MCMAU will be bringing his team here soon as well...”
Huang Jing nodded. Vice-chancellor Wu was a Rank-8, diamond-body state (TN: Directly translates as golden body state, but diamond is used here as another term for the word translates to diamond state, which represents the indestructibility of the person. Another word that embodies the meaning of this term would be Vajra, which is a weapon used as a ritual object to symbolize both the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force); the Sanskrit word has both these meanings.) powerhouse. It was a good decision for the old Vice-Chancellor to not come out to battle. With Vice-chancellor Wu bringing reinforcements, there was a greater guarantee for their safety.
Out of Sky Gate City’s 14 high-ranks, other than the city lord who had just entered Rank-9, there were only 3 people in Rank-8, in Diamond-Body State.
In Hope City, there was currently a Rank-8 Diamond-Body State powerhouse in town. Once Vice-chancellor Wu arrives, there will be another two in Rank-8. Even if the other party sent out all their high-ranks, they would still be able to hold down the fort for a while and wait for more reinforcements to arrive.
Huang Jing suddenly asked, “If Vice-chancellor Wu is leading the team, will Lu Fengrou be coming?”
Naturally, Xu Mofu knew who Lu Fengrou was. He shook his head and said, “I’m not sure, but I doubt she will come. Teacher Lu and Vice-chancellor Wu aren’t on the best of terms...”
“That’s true.”
Huang Jing let out a sigh of relief. If Lu Fengrou was to arrive now, he would not know how to explain himself to her.
For 96 out of the 97 students, only a few were injured and no one had died. After all, they had retreated only after a few days.
The only person that was left behind was Fang Ping...it would be hard for him to explain.
Since her daughter passed away, Lu Fengrou had become rather extreme. Previously, she had even suspected them of causing the death of her students.
If she came now, he would not be able to reason with her. All that would do was cause even more trouble.
Just as several people were talking, a signaler entered and reported, “General, Magic City Martial Arts University’s reinforcements have arrived!”
“Then I shall go welcome them. Dean Huang, Mad Lion, shall we go together?”
“Sure.”
Huang Jing nodded slightly. Wu Kuishan was here, and he had some things to talk to him about as well.
As the three of them approached the entrance of the Catacombs, they heard someone speaking disdainfully, “What’s wrong? Can’t you walk anymore, or are you just waiting for someone to pick you up? Are you not familiar with the Catacombs? Or are you just putting on airs as a Grandmaster?”
Huang Jing’s face fell. He waved at Tang Feng, gesturing for him to hide for the time being. Tang Feng did not say a word, nor did he leave. He just stood there, motionless.
Huang Jing rubbed his forehead and whispered to Xu Mofu, “Don’t bring up the Fang Ping incident later.”
Xu Mofu seemed confused.
“Her student.”
“Oh!”
Xu Mofu let out a gasp of understanding. This information was new to him. In the past few years, he had rarely ventured out of the Catacombs.
However, Xu Mofu’s airiness quickly disappeared. His eyes widened. “Hers?”
“Yep.”
“You guys!
At that moment, Xu Mofu, who could remain calm even when facing an oncoming war with Sky Gate City, felt like a deer caught in headlights. His throat tightened, and he whispered, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I should go find the Military Department!”
‘Are you kidding me? Out of all these newbies from MCMAU, you just had to lose the madwoman’s student? If this isn’t messing with me, I don’t know what this is. Even losing a few more students would still be better than losing just him! How am I supposed to explain this to her? This madwoman Lu Fengrou might not say it out loud, but every time her student died, she would come down to the Catacombs. Whether it’s to exact revenge or to investigate, she just did not have a lot of trust toward those in the Catacombs in general. They managed to brush over the past incidents...but now, her student had to be the only one you lost? And it happened right under the nose of a peak Rank-6 Grandmaster too!’
Xu Mofu felt like he needed to take some pills to calm himself down.
A few people whispered. From the small alloy house within the passage, Lu Fengrou was the first to step out, followed by Wu Kuishan and the others.
Upon seeing Huang Jing, Lu Fengrou nodded and glanced toward Xu Mofu and asked, ” Big Head Xu, how’s the situation?”
Xu Mofu coughed lightly and plastered a smile on his face. “Things are still under preparation. So far, we’ve only done small-scale scouting.”
“If there’s anything you want me to say, let Commander Li, Minister Zhang, Guardian Shen and Guardian Chen come together to obliterate Sky Gate City first. Then we’ll talk! If you keep carrying on with these fueling battle tactics, (TN: It is a method of heuristic attack that is exhaustive and insufficient to claim victory. Generally, refers to the method of using small units to attack one by one, like refueling an oil lamp) when will it ever end? You all act so anxiously every time, but it’s not like we can’t defeat them either!”
Xu Mofu smiled bitterly. Wu Kuishan felt his head throb and said, “The government and the military department have certain things they have to consider...”
Lu Fengrou sneered. “Consider? What else is there to consider? If it were up to me, I’d say we show them what we’re made of. After we completely level a city, no other cities in the Catacombs would dare to go against us. If they aren’t afraid of death, why should we be? If all we did was sit around and consider things, it would only be a matter of time before the 3 Catacomb entrances turn into 22...”
“Fengrou!” Kuishan frowned. “You’re being too radical. Don’t you remember how the first Capital City War ended? With half of our Grandmasters gone. The Catacombs are stronger than us, it’s more difficult for Grandmasters to turn up on our side...”
“What a joke. Even though many people died, that war led to the creation of the first human city in the Catacombs and made the Capital City stronger than ever. Unlike the Magic City we have here, and that big ol’ Hope City. Do they think it can become a land of hope?”
Wu Kuishan remained silent, it was pointless trying to talk to her. Was it worth it to exchange the lives of dozens of Grandmasters for the first big human city in the Catacombs?
Humans’ combat strength had always been weaker than the Catacombs. So many of them had died, and other places were almost conquered. To Wu Kuishan, it simply was not worth it.
From then on, the number of human radicals had decreased drastically. Before that, there used to be more talks of suppressing a Catacomb.
Lu Fengrou ignored him and looked toward Tang Feng instead. “Lion Tang, where are the students now?”
“In the new district.”
“I’ll head there first, so don’t bother me if it’s nothing important. You guys have your meeting, I’m not interested in listening!”
Without another word, Lu Fengrou promptly walked away.
“Sorry, don’t take that personally...” Wu Kuishan apologized on her behalf. Xu Mofu smiled, unbothered.
Huang Jing glanced at Lu Fengrou and waited for her to go a bit further. With a slight headache, he said, “Vice-chancellor Wu, you’ll have to face her again later...”
“Hm?”
“Fang Ping was lost.”
“...”
Wu Kuishan was stunned for a moment, then replied calmly, “The Catacombs is a dangerous place...Fengrou will understand.”
“It’s not that. It’s that...no one else was lost except Fang Ping,” Huang Jing explained.
Wu Kuishan was dazed again. It took a moment before he replied, “Just him?”
It was not that he would prefer if more students had died. However, in the team of nearly a hundred people, Fang Ping was the strongest. How in the world did they manage to only lose him?
Huang Jing felt like his head was splitting. In a muffled voice, Tang Feng said, “It’s me. I’m the one who let him go and kill the Catacombs martial artists on his own.”
“Old Tang, you...”
Wu Kuishan was having a headache too. He massaged his forehead gently and said, “Let’s go and take a look. Old Tang, it’s better if you don’t go.”
Tang Feng stayed quiet but continued walking.”Access Read.live if you like watching manga,comics.
Wu Kuishan said somewhat exasperatedly, “If you go there now, you’ll just add fuel to the flame. Exchange a life for a life? Even if you’re willing to do that, we won’t let you. Either you just avoid her for now, or return to Magic City.”
“I won’t go back!”
“Then just steer clear of Fengrou for now. A big war is coming, don’t add to the chaos.”
Upon hearing Wu Kuishan’s words, and a few words of advice from Xu Mofu, Tang Feng stopped speaking. He ceased his footsteps and turned to head in the other direction.
The moment he left, Wu Kuishan muttered to himself as he walked, ” He’s missing, but he’s not dead?”
Huang Jing shook his head. “He’s deep within the Jiao’s Forest, but that part has been blocked off now. It would be unwise to send a huge group of people there just to search for Fang Ping alone. We can’t enter the forest either, because once we do, the Jiao will go ballistic.”
“The Jiao’s Forest...was its dangers not mentioned during class?”
“It was.”
“And he still entered?!”
Wu Kuishan was a little infuriated.
“Maybe he had no other choice but to enter the forest?”
Huang Jing felt a bit untenable. Fang Ping had already killed 3 people, yet he still decided to go deep into the forest? What was he thinking?
...
“Maybe he lost his way?”
Meanwhile, Lu Fengrou was looking at Zhao Xuemei. She asked plainly, “How did he lose his way?”
Zhao Xuemei did not dare to keep the truth from her and quietly told her what happened.
“Are you saying he went out on his own?”
Zhao Xuemei seemed somewhat anxious and nodded. “After Teacher Tang finished speaking, Fang Ping said a few words to us, then headed northeast on his own. He never came back. Teacher, is Fang Ping...”
Lu Fengrou stayed silent for a moment before speaking again, “What about the rest?”
“They all came back.”
“All of them?”
“...Yes...”
Chen Yunxi whispered, “Teacher, Fu Changding said Fang Ping lacked a sense of direction...”
“Lacked a sense of direction?” Lu Fengrou said dully. ” Even if he lacked a sense of direction, he would notice the moment he entered an enemy’s camp. If he could return, he’d be back by now.”
As she spoke, Lu Fengrou’s eyes turned cold and her tone was scornful. “A Grandmaster, a Rank-6, a Rank-5, all lost my student within the 10km safe zone. What am I supposed to say?”
‘Why did they not lose anybody else? Why didn’t they lose Chen Yunxi? Afraid that her grandfather might cause them trouble? Her grandfather is a Grandmaster. I, Lu Fengrou, am not. Is that why you lost my student? Why didn’t Tang Fend lose his students instead?’
At that moment, Huang Jing and a few other people entered. Lu Fengrou was not surprised.
Huang Jing said helplessly, “Fengrou, Old Tang meant no harm. You’ve known him for so many years...you know very well what kind of person he is. This time, it truly was an accident...”
“What about you?”
“I followed him for a bit, but I encountered the Sky Tiger.”
“Is the Sky Tiger your equal?”
“The Ancient Spear appeared too.”
Xu Mofu added, “Dean Huang had sustained some serious injuries too..”
Lu Fengrou gave each of them a deep glare, and said lightly, “I understand, it’s more important that we look at the big picture. Moreover, I cannot defeat a Grandmaster. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything while I’m in Hope City. However, I will be staying in the Catacombs for a while, and I will travel deep into its depths. You should advise your students, families, and friends to stay out of the Magic City Catacombs!”
“Fengrou, what nonsense is this?” Wu Kuishan snapped angrily. ” Do you have any idea what you’re saying?”
“I do, I’m going against humanity.”
Lu Fengrou said lightly, “So what? My daughter is dead, my father is missing, and my husband might have been the culprit behind my daughter’s death. Even the MCMAU I had fought so hard for had let half of my students die...Tell me, what else do you want me to do? I let Fang Ping into the Catacombs. Based on my previous observations, if 96 of the 97 students had died, he would probably still be alive. Even if Tang Feng had died, he might still have survived. But now, you’re telling me that everyone else is fine and he’s the only one missing? If I hadn’t entered now, who would be next. Zhao Xuemei, right?”
Lu Fengrou toyed with that thought. “Would Chen Yunxi die next? I don’t think so. But Zhao Xuemei would die in the Catacombs soon, right?”
“Bullsh*t!”
Wu Kuishan snapped angrily, “It’s all in your head, we’ve already told you the truth! Old Huang even fought two high-ranks for his sake, what else do you want? Do you want other people to sacrifice themselves for Fang Ping? All these years in the Catacombs, whose students, families or friends have not been sacrificed? Because of your over-imagination, you dare to threaten the heroes who have bled for humanity. Lu Fengrou, if you dare to try anything stupid, I’ll kill you!”
Lu Fengrou looked at him coldly. It was a moment before she spoke up, “Wu Kuishan, you can continue being a hero, but stay out of my business! You want to kill me? Go ahead and try!”
“You...You’re being unreasonable!”
Wu Kuishan was furious, but Lu Fengrou ignored him and turned to Zhao Xuemei. “Live well. Remember my words. Always follow the big group and don’t rush ahead. You need to coordinate your defenses this time and follow Chen Yunxi closely. Chen Yunxi, I might not have taught you anything yet, but Xuemei is your friend. Remember, stay together. If she dies, I’ll find you!”
With that, Lu Fengrou left.
Huang Jing took a look at Xuemei, whose head hung low, rubbed his forehead and walked out of the house.
Once he was out of the house, Huang Jing smiled bitterly. “Let Xuemei return early.”
With a war approaching, it was not allowed for anyone to retreat.
In the Catacombs, when there was a war, it did not matter if you were a soldier or a martial artist, or even a businessman within the city. Everyone had to stand their ground. Hope City was the last big military camp. If they lost here, Magic City’s Catacombs would become a problem in the future.
However, compared to the combat strength of a Rank-2, and one of a Peak Rank-6 martial artist...No, Lu Fengrou could already be considered half a Grandmaster.
If a martial artist like her were to go ballistic, it would cause some major troubles.
Wu Kuishan shook his head. “With things the way they are now, she will only overthink more. Don’t care about her for now, but ask someone to watch her. Make sure she doesn’t do anything reckless.”
Xu Mofu smiled bitterly and sighed. “I hope Fang Ping returns. This could be trouble...”
A few people glanced at each other, shook their heads and said nothing. Now, Hope City had been sealed off. Even if Fang Ping, a Rank-3 martial artist was still alive, it would be difficult for him to return.