Chapter 172: Old Friend

“Go and take a look!” Qian Ye rushed ahead towards where the airship was plummeting.

The airship, swaying unsteadily, was descending towards the earth, with flames and thick smoke billowing from it. As Qian Ye reached the top of the hill first, he saw another airship burst out of the clouds, its side cannons roaring incessantly, sending countless shells that turned into fiery whips, lashing at the Zhao family’s small airship in front.

When the Zhao family’s airship was still several dozen meters above the ground, a figure leaped out from within, landing in a roll to dissipate the momentum, then kneeling half-crouched, holding an astonishingly thick origin gun, steadying it under his arm, and aiming it squarely at the pursuing airship.

With a boom, a blue flame shot out from the gun, instantly hitting the airship in the sky. The power of this shot was incredibly shocking; it actually blasted right through the pursuing airship, with blue flames erupting from the other side.

The Evernight airship, like a drunkard, began to spin in the air, and then thick smoke poured out continuously from the airship. Several dark warriors, their bodies on fire, screamed as they leaped out. But at this height, hundreds of meters from the ground, they fell like stones, bouncing a few times before lying motionless.

Suddenly, the cabin door was kicked open, and a tall man flew out. He was also engulfed in flames, but a surge of origin energy around him extinguished the fire in an instant. Hovering in mid-air, he gazed down at the figure below, and in the blink of an eye, his blood energy rose like a blazing fire!

Oh no! Qian Ye thought inwardly. In that moment, he realized that the man in the air had the blood energy of a second-rank count, definitely a formidable foe.

On the ground, a woman stood, her ponytail and long hair whipped by the blast of the exploding airship. A few strands brushed against her cheek, but her eyes didn’t even blink, fixed on the opponent in the air, and she fired another shot!

The vampire count, like a phantom, flashed in the air, dodging the shot.

Qian Ye, who had already drawn his Thunder, put the gun down in this situation. At this distance, it was close to the limit of Thunder’s range, and it was likely the enemy would evade it.

Qian Ye, who had killed many Evernight strongmen, instantly devised a strategy. Bending his body, he rapidly approached the battlefield. He planned to ambush the count from behind, hoping for a fatal strike when the count was unprepared.

However, before Qian Ye could make his move, Wei Po Tian let out a wild roar and charged forward. Beside him, Song Zining shouted, “Yu Ying!” and followed with his gun in hand.

As the two of them charged, the vampire count immediately turned his head, spotting Qian Ye and his team.

Qian Ye had to abandon the ambush plan, drawing his sword and following, preparing for a direct confrontation. He had recognized that the woman who escaped the airship was Zhao Yu Ying and felt that even against a second-rank count, she could hold her own for a while. But Wei Po Tian, like a bull with red eyes, charged without thinking. The usually calm Song Zining also joined in, which puzzled Qian Ye.

This area was filled with battlefields, extremely dangerous and chaotic. Seeing Wei Po Tian lead the charge, with Song Zining close behind, Qian Ye consciously fell back slightly, protecting their rear. In such a place, there were more snipers than just Qian Ye, and both the blood race and the demon race had a natural talent for long-range killing.

Zhao Yu Ying, focused solely on the count in the air, kept trying to lock onto him. The count, however, flew erratically, swiftly approaching Zhao Yu Ying.

Still some distance away, Wei Po Tian roared, “You damned bat, come at me if you dare! Let me smash you into bat pie!”

The vampire count glanced at Wei Po Tian, his gaze cold. But he wasn’t provoked, and continued to rush towards Zhao Yu Ying at full speed.

Wei Po Tian’s roar was in vain; he wasn’t fast enough to intercept in time. Then, Song Zining, who started later, easily overtook Wei Po Tian, streaking towards the vampire count like a silver thread.

Wei Po Tian, in a panic, yelled, “Running so fast, are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Ignoring Wei Po Tian, Song Zining charged at full speed, without even deploying his domain. If the vampire count attacked Zhao Yu Ying first, he might land a heavy blow on the count’s back.

Suddenly, Qian Ye sensed a strange, ominous feeling. He shouted, “Be careful!” and looked around. A thousand meters away, a silver shadow rushed like lightning, heading straight for Song Zining!

Before the attack, it had hidden well, even eluding Qian Ye’s notice. Only at the last moment, when it no longer concealed its killing intent, did Qian Ye become aware.

In an instant, Wei Po Tian changed direction, cutting between Song Zining and the silver shadow, his body surging with origin energy, forming illusory mountains, blocking the enemy.

The silver shadow didn’t hesitate, colliding directly with Wei Po Tian. With a loud crash, the mountain illusions collapsed, and Wei Po Tian was sent flying several meters, crashing heavily to the ground. But he quickly got up, with yellow origin energy glowing around him, re-forming the mountains. He stared grimly at his opponent, knowing he faced a powerful foe.

As the dust and origin energy mist cleared, a tall, heroic man appeared. Qian Ye’s heart chilled as he shouted, “William!”

It turned out the silver shadow was William, no wonder so powerful, almost breaking Wei Po Tian’s Thousand Mountains in one hit. Seeing William, Qian Ye slowly drew his Eastern Peak, took a deep breath, and walked slowly towards his opponent.

Although Qian Ye had once cooperated with William, that was a private deal, long since forgotten. Here on the floating island, in the midst of a full-scale war, that personal connection meant nothing.

Seeing Qian Ye, William seemed somewhat resigned, then bent slightly, drawing a silver round shield from his back and holding a heavy battle axe in his hand.

Werewolves were best at close combat, and even with Qian Ye’s advanced combat skills, facing William, he couldn’t be careless. So far, Qian Ye didn’t know the limits of William’s strength. Therefore, instead of attacking, he held his sword horizontally across his chest, taking a defensive stance. Qian Ye knew the key to the battle was to hold William, while Zhao Yu Ying, Song Zining, and Wei Po Tian surrounded and killed the vampire count, then returned to help him drive William away.

William didn’t attack either, glaring at Qian Ye, seemingly deep in thought or waiting for an opportunity.

While the two of them were at a stalemate, the fight on the other side was already intense. The vampire count rushed at Zhao Yu Ying, but she didn’t dodge as he expected. Instead, she charged forward, using the heavy origin gun like a club, smashing it down at him!

This unexpected, street-brawl-like attack caught the count off guard. Seeing Zhao Yu Ying’s fierce assault, he instinctively dodged to the side. But she didn’t let up, swinging the gun horizontally, aiming for his waist. She swung wildly, all the while yelling, “For chasing and attacking me! For destroying my airship! I won’t rest until I crush you, you bat!”

The vampire count was shocked and furious, not expecting such a rogue tactic from the beautiful woman. He was quickly overpowered. Song Zining and Wei Po Tian arrived, and the three of them overwhelmed him, leaving him with little chance to retaliate.

Seeing the battle going as he had anticipated, with the vampire count about to retreat, Qian Ye remained cautious. William was mysterious and powerful, capable of turning the tide of the battle alone.

In William’s eyes, Qian Ye saw no sign of worry or panic, only a composed expression. Qian Ye wondered if William had an ace up his sleeve.

Just then, Qian Ye sensed a change in origin energy to his right and immediately leaped back, avoiding a sniper bullet whizzing past!

The shooter, undeterred, fired another sniper bullet, targeting Qian Ye in the air, timing it perfectly. Unable to dodge, Qian Ye blocked the bullet with the Eastern Peak. The shooter, relentless, fired several more shots, each aimed at Qian Ye’s vital points.

But now on the ground, Qian Ye had room to maneuver. His body swayed slightly, advancing and retreating, dodging all the origin bullets at the last second.

“How is this possible?!” The distant shooter, revealing herself, called out in disbelief.

Her shots were at the master level, but Qian Ye, alert, used his true vision to see the origin disturbances, predicting the bullet paths, and easily evading them.

Seeing that she couldn’t harm Qian Ye, she quickly approached, shouting, “William! Why aren’t you attacking? Do you want to betray us?”

William shrugged, looking helpless, saying, “This is no simple opponent. How can I attack so easily?”

“William! If you don’t act, I will report to the duke when we return. Even if the Peaks of the Mountains can protect you, the two tribes will be wiped out!”

William’s expression changed slightly, and he sighed, slowly walking towards Qian Ye.

Qian Ye recognized the shooter as Dusk. But in his memory, Dusk’s strength was far less than William’s, yet now she seemed to outrank him. Qian Ye thought, “Is that Dusk? I remember she wasn’t very strong, how did she get on top of you?”

William seemed disheartened, waving his hand, saying, “Let’s not talk about this, it’s annoying. Come, Qian Ye, it’s been a long time. Let’s have a good fight and see how strong you are.”

As William was about to attack, the scenery suddenly changed, and a lush tree appeared, blocking Qian Ye. Surprised, William lost his sense of Qian Ye.

Qian Ye, seeing several trees and bushes appear around him, realized it was Song Zining’s domain. He heard Song Zining’s voice, “Go now!”

An invisible force then guided Qian Ye in a certain direction. Knowing it was Song Zining’s domain, Qian Ye followed the pull.

The invisible force changed direction, and Qian Ye adjusted accordingly, gradually syncing with it.

In a flash, Qian Ye had run several hundred meters, and the scene changed again, returning to the desolate land. Song Zining emerged from behind a boulder, with Zhao Yu Ying and Wei Po Tian following closely. Gathering together, Song Zining said, “Follow me, quickly!”

Leading the way, he headed towards the Zhang family’s troops, with Zhao Yu Ying and Wei Po Tian following. Qian Ye glanced back and saw a green forest behind them, out of place in the surroundings. The vampire count and William were still trapped in the forest, unable to escape.