Chapter 44: Hurry and flee!

“What! How could this happen?” The remaining guardian, who was entangled with Tang Xiong, was shocked.

After killing the guard Liang Yong, the three guardians faced off against three Silver Moon Knights, including the relatively weak Si Borong. The three guardians had been very confident.

But as soon as this young man in black wielded his spear, the situation changed dramatically!

“Die!” Tang Xiong, with rich experience, roared loudly. The guardian, already outmatched in skill and experience by the 160-year-old Tang Xiong, was suppressed. In a moment of panic, he exposed a weakness. Swish! The dagger flashed, and a red spot appeared on the guardian’s forehead. He fell with wide, staring eyes.

“Brother Xueying, your spear techniques are amazing,” Tang Xiong laughed. “I haven’t seen such clean and decisive spearplay in a long time.”

Yu Jingqiu also looked at the young man in black before her with surprise.

“Pity Liang Yong fell too quickly; I didn’t get the chance,” Dongbo Xueying shook his head.

“Hmph.”

Si Borong, standing at the back of the group, wore a gloomy expression. A guard had died, and he had narrowly escaped death himself. Yet this Dongbo Xueying, whom he had looked down upon as hailing from a remote place in Yishui City, had proven so formidable.

Then Si Borong seemed to remember something. He stepped forward and directly removed the arm ring from Liang Yong’s severed arm.

Dongbo Xueying, Yu Jingqiu, and Tang Xiong all looked at him.

“Old Liang was my guard; naturally, I must take his belongings back to his family,” Si Borong said. “As for his body, we still need to continue our exploration. We’ll leave it here for now; the Longshan Pavilion will take care of it later.”

“Sigh, who knows whether Si Borong will actually return some of the treasures inside the storage artifact,” Tang Xiong sighed inwardly.

He had seen too much.

The Si Clan was a large family, centuries old, with numerous direct descendants, among whom were many of mixed quality. Although Si Borong had a high talent for cultivating battle energy, his character was clearly quite mediocre. But Tang Xiong was unwilling to provoke or confront him, because sometimes “small men” were the most troublesome and dangerous.

“Crack, crack, crack,” Yu Jingqiu stepped forward, and immediately, cold mist spread beneath his feet. In an instant, the mist spread and froze the entire corpse of Liang Yong, covering it with a layer of ice.

“These three don’t even have one storage artifact,” Tang Xiong muttered as he deftly searched the three guardians’ corpses. “It’s strange. Normally, Silver Moon Knights usually have storage artifacts. Also, they don’t have much money on them. Lord Borong, do you want these banknotes?”

Si Borong glanced at the banknotes. Since he hadn’t contributed to the battle, he still wanted to save face: “I didn’t kill any enemies.”

“You and Dongbo Xueying can divide them,” Yu Jingqiu also said.

“Haha, you take one share, and you two take another,” Tang Xiong handed over more than fifty thousand banknotes to Dongbo Xueying, who accepted them without hesitation.

“Let’s go,” Yu Jingqiu said.

“Continue.”

At this point, naturally, Dongbo Xueying took the lead at the front of the group, followed by Tang Xiong behind Yu Jingqiu, while Si Borong ended up at the very back. Clearly, he was genuinely somewhat afraid now, especially without a guard.

…

What followed was smooth sailing. They encountered no more significant traps or mechanisms. After exploring all eight areas, Dongbo Xueying’s team began heading underground, as the inner fortress obviously had another level beneath.

Following the corridor and stairs, they soon saw a massive temple door.

“Everyone, be careful. I sense a faint demonic aura,” Yu Jingqiu said solemnly, holding his staff.

“Mm,” Dongbo Xueying also became cautious. After all, this was a branch altar of a demon god in Qinghe Prefecture.

The temple doors were wide open.

Two giant ice serpents, now significantly smaller, slithered into the hall one after another, followed shortly by the four of them.

“Wow,” Dongbo Xueying and the others were somewhat surprised.

The hall was enormous. On the walls were carvings of a demonic god, emitting an evil aura. Even just a carved image made Dongbo Xueying and the others feel uneasy.

Atop the hall sat a monster-like muscular man on a throne.

Beside the throne stood a smiling man, who Dongbo Xueying and the others recognized immediately—it was their target, Lu Huaru.

“I didn’t expect the three guardians to be so useless. With the help of traps and mechanisms, they only managed to kill one of you,” Lu Huaru said with a smile. “Under normal circumstances, I would have fled through a secret passage at the first sign of trouble! With the Longshan Pavilion hunting me, my chances of escaping would have been extremely slim. Fortunately, I don’t need to escape now.”

Yu Jingqiu held his staff, while Si Borong and Tang Xiong stared at the monstrous man on the throne.

Each of them could feel the strong sense of danger emanating from the monstrous figure.

“Who is he?” Dongbo Xueying also felt the intense threat from this monstrous man. “Wasn’t the leader of this branch altar supposed to be Lu Huaru? Now Lu Huaru is standing respectfully aside, while this man, even more muscular than my Uncle Tong, sits on the throne. Who is he?”

“A Silver Moon mage.”

The monstrous muscular man suddenly spoke, his voice echoing from within his chest. He touched his beard, which was as hard as armor, and his eyes gleamed as he looked at Yu Jingqiu. “And such a young and beautiful female mage! A real gem! Haha, I love beautiful female mages the most. The younger, the better. They say female mages are extremely intelligent. It excites me to dominate these beautiful, intelligent women.”

“Who are you?” Tang Xiong, who had been frowning and watching closely, suddenly widened his eyes.

He had remembered someone.

Someone fierce and cruel who had disappeared more than eighty years ago.

“Run!” Without hesitation, Tang Xiong turned and transformed into a streak of light, fleeing outward while shouting urgently, “Run! Run now!”

“What?” Si Borong and Yu Jingqiu were both startled. Why were they fleeing before even engaging in battle? This made them feel uneasy.

“Want to run?”

The deep and low voice echoed in the hall, and suddenly the entire space darkened. An invisible force instantly covered every corner, as if an invisible giant hand had suddenly pressed down! Tang Xiong, who was fleeing at high speed, was immediately suppressed, his body trembling, his speed sharply decreasing. The surrounding air distorted, and the scenery became somewhat deformed.

“Heaven and Man United!” Si Borong’s face turned pale with terror; he was almost scared to wet himself.

Yu Jingqiu also showed fear.

The monstrous man on the throne casually broke off a piece of metal from the armrest and threw it.

Whoosh!

The metal piece transformed into a streak of light, as fast as lightning. Tang Xiong, fleeing outward, didn’t even see the metal piece behind him. It flew faster than the speed of sound, and he had no awareness of it at all. With a “plop,” the metal piece pierced Tang Xiong’s skull. Tang Xiong, eyes wide in shock, ran another dozen steps on inertia before collapsing with a thunderous crash.

“Fall.”

Lu Huaru, standing beside the throne, gently pulled a lever beside the throne.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Outside the hall, the massive gates fell one after another, sealing the escape route completely.

“A named-level existence? How could there be a named-level existence here?” Si Borong’s face was pale with terror, completely panicked. “A demonic god’s branch altar in Qinghe Prefecture, how could it produce a named-level existence?”

“This…” Yu Jingqiu, who had always been calm, could not hide his panic either. A named-level existence? Their control over the forces of heaven and earth would prevent her from drawing upon even a trace of external power, making it impossible to cast powerful spells! As for casting spells using only internal mana, their power would be reduced a thousandfold—mere tickles to a named-level opponent. Only spells that drew upon the forces of heaven and earth could be sufficiently powerful.

“Beautiful female mage, don’t struggle. I didn’t expect that before I left this branch altar, I would encounter a Silver Moon-level female mage, and such a young one at that. Tsk tsk tsk… I’m really lucky. You should just obediently come with me; I’ll take good care of you,” the monstrous muscular man said. “Surely a woman of your intelligence knows how to make the right choice.”

“As for these two men, they’re useless. Kill them,” the monstrous muscular man said, picking up another piece of metal.

“Mercy!”

Si Borong, drenched in cold sweat, knelt down and begged, “Great one, spare my life. Please spare me. This female mage, Yu Jingqiu, is only twenty-five years old. She is the most outstanding talent in Qinghe Prefecture. She will surely obey you. I am Si Borong, from the Si Clan. Please spare my life.”

He turned to look at Yu Jingqiu, urging anxiously, “Jingqiu, you should know what choice to make. Following a named-level existence is not beneath you! And if you resist, you will die, and we will all die! Only by surviving can there be hope. If we die, everything is over.”

“Hmph.”

Yu Jingqiu gave Si Borong a cold glance before lifting her gaze to the monstrous man seated on the distant throne.

“Everyone knows there’s a risk of life and death when taking on a Longshan Pavilion mission. I’ve long prepared for death. Since my luck ran out and I encountered an unexpected named-level existence, I don’t blame anyone. I can only say I was terribly unlucky. But if you think I’ll serve you, you’re dreaming,” Yu Jingqiu said. With her mind set on death, she naturally felt calm.

Still, Yu Jingqiu felt deeply resentful.

She had worked her way up step by step. She had studied and analyzed the forces of heaven and earth, and she had great confidence in her future to reach the named level. But now, everything was over.

“You truly disappoint me. But even a female mage’s corpse is a fine collection,” the monstrous muscular man said.

Si Borong knelt there, Yu Jingqiu held her staff and stared at him, despair in her heart.

“Never thought it would be like this. Originally just a Black Iron-level mission to gain experience, but I actually encountered a named-level existence.”

Dongbo Xueying’s voice suddenly rang out.