Chapter 256: Opponent: North Gray Robe?
Outside Maple Forest Town, Fierce Wind Valley.
“Leader, just our team coming here alone, is it really alright?” A Half-Scale Race man at Bone Forging Realm Intermediate Level asked the nearby Leader Yinuo nervously.
As a member of the City Guard and a graduate of the Genius Training Camp, he had long been accustomed to life-and-death tempering.
But now, facing two wilderness mercenary groups and a guard regiment from Star Tower City, relying on their lone guard regiment was simply courting death.
Even though Leader Yinuo was now already a Half-step Top Tier Bone Forging Realm expert, it was still a dead end. After all, they were facing, by conservative estimate, three Extreme Advanced Level Bone Forging Realm martial artists. Even if Yinuo, with Super Tier Martial Skill Second Level Perfected, might be able to overpower one of them, and could fight to a draw against two,
once all three Extreme Advanced Level Bone Forging Realm martial artists attacked together, she would basically only fall into disadvantage, and with one careless move lose her life, not to mention that their numbers were half of the enemy’s.
“If we didn’t come, are you expecting those people from Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to be able to protect the transport convoy?” Yinuo rolled her eyes at the Half-Scale Race man.
The Half-Scale Race man fell silent at her words.
If the Hall Master Lin Qi of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall came in person, then protecting the transport convoy would not be difficult. After all, he was the Vice City Lord, someone who had mastered an Extraordinary Martial Skill, not to mention that back then at the Martial Artist Association he had killed that monster of the Holy Blood Mercenary Group with a single move.
He had been present at the time and knew very well how formidable that monster of the Holy Blood Mercenary Group was, yet in front of Lin Qi he was still as fragile as a baby, let alone when compared with three Extreme Advanced Level Bone Forging Realm martial artists.
But now Lin Qi had only sent Martial Arts Hall Disciples to act, and there was not even half of a Bone Forging Realm martial artist among them. Wanting them to protect the transport convoy was basically a fantasy.
Leader Yinuo said she was borrowing people, but in truth she wanted Lin Qi to make a move. Unfortunately, Lin Qi had no intention of personally acting and had really only sent Martial Arts Hall Disciples to step forward, being so stubbornly upright it made people want to cry.
“Stop talking, they are here. Everyone prepare for battle!”
Yinuo looked at the life detector in her hand. At this moment, the red dots that appeared within a range of three kilometers made her frown tightly. Every red dot on the detector represented a Bone Forging Realm expert, and the number of red dots far exceeded her expectations, reaching over forty Bone Forging Realm experts.
In an instant, among the one thousand five hundred martial artists of the seventeenth regiment, from Advanced Bone Forging Realm down to Intermediate Level martial artists, each of them could not help swallowing hard.
Their seventeenth regiment, counting to the utmost, had only twenty at Bone Forging Realm in total, among whom ten were at Bone Forging Realm Beginner Level, eight at Bone Forging Realm Intermediate Level, one at Bone Forging Realm Advanced Level, and one at Extreme Advanced Level Bone Forging Realm, that being Leader Yinuo.
Facing more than forty Bone Forging Realm experts, even if half of them were at Bone Forging Realm Beginner Level, it was still overwhelmingly unfavorable for them.
On the other side, the team from Star Tower City had likewise discovered Yinuo’s team through their life detector.
“Brother Blood Rider, it seems City of Light Chasing didn’t send many people. There are only twenty at Bone Forging Realm in total.” A burly Sub-demon Race man, nearly four meters tall and carrying two battle axes on his back, glanced at the life detector in his hand and said with a laugh, “This time you hired Iron Claw and me to come ambush City of Light Chasing’s guard regiment, you took a big loss.”
“Only one guard regiment came. It seems Maple Forest Town is even more empty than I imagined.” The Mountain Ridge Race man, over five meters tall, was also slightly surprised after looking at the life detector.
According to his plan, he had deliberately exposed his whereabouts so that people from City of Light Chasing would know they were going to attack the transport convoy, while his goal was never the transport convoy, but the guard regiment of City of Light Chasing.
In this city war, both cities were paying heavily in blood. Killing any martial artist at Bone Forging Realm Beginner Level could be exchanged for quite a few Type Three Potions. If he could kill an Extreme Advanced Level Bone Forging Realm martial artist, the City Lord had even taken out an Extraordinary Martial Skill and was willing to personally instruct for three days.
As a member of the Mountain Ridge Race, he himself was a genius from the City Lord’s clan and had already studied the Mountain Ridge Race’s Extraordinary Martial Skill, but had never been able to reach entry-level.
If he could be guided for a few days by a Blood Condensation Realm master like the City Lord, the probability of mastering the Extraordinary Martial Skill would undoubtedly increase greatly.
Once he mastered the Extraordinary Martial Skill, he would also leap to become a Vice City Lord, with a status that a mere guard regiment leader of a city could not compare to.
For this, he spared no cost. In addition to the employment fee given by the City Lord, he had emptied his own savings to hire two rather famous mercenary groups from the Wushan Region: the Stone Axe Mercenary Group and the Iron Claw Mercenary Group.
Although these two mercenary groups were far inferior to the Holy Blood Mercenary Group, the leaders of the two groups, Stone Axe and Iron Claw, were both top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts.
To ambush and kill the two leaders from City of Light Chasing would be as easy as lifting a hand.
What he had not expected was that City of Light Chasing had only sent one guard regiment to support the transport convoy, which caused half of his plan to fall through.
“Brother Blood Rider, are we still going in?” A nearby Winged Tribe man with three wings on his back could not help asking, “Stone Axe and I both agreed we can act once. If we make a move this time, next time will require separate payment.”
As mercenary groups, they worked only for money and took a fee for each action.
Originally, they were reluctant to get involved in the war between the two cities. After all, if they took part and the side that hired them won, it was fine, but if that side lost, they would also be implicated.
They were not the Holy Blood Mercenary Group, who even the Red Moon Merchant Guild had chosen to forgo avenging. If they really faced the retaliation of a whole city, they would not even need the City Lord to act; just the Vice City Lords would be enough to make them suffer.
If Blood Rider did not usually have some friendship with them, and had not offered double the usual employment fee, they would never have come.
“Do it!” Blood Rider gritted his teeth and still decided to take them down.
Now that their side had already been exposed, if they did not act, next time the guard regiment from City of Light Chasing would definitely be on guard. It would be difficult then to kill another guard regiment leader.
“Good! With your word, Brother Blood Rider, we will move!” Stone Axe of the Sub-demon Race laughed and unleashed his martial skill. His speed surged as he charged straight toward the guard regiment of City of Light Chasing two kilometers away.
Iron Claw, beside Blood Rider, also stepped out, shooting forward like a cannonball.
As the two men’s speed soared, Yinuo and the others who were preparing to meet the enemy changed expression.
“Leader! Something’s wrong! These two red dots’ speed is close to the speed of sound. They are very likely top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts!” The Half-Scale Race man at Bone Forging Realm Intermediate Level looked at the life detector and spoke in panic.
Although speed did not completely represent strength, it still reflected part of it.
A speed close to the speed of sound was usually only reached when an Extreme Advanced Level Bone Forging Realm martial artist had trained a super-tier footwork to Second Level Perfection and, using the super-tier footwork, could barely achieve it.
The other possibility was a top-tier Bone Forging Realm expert who had cultivated a super-tier footwork to Third Level Perfection.
Now, with the two suddenly accelerating, if they truly wanted to attack them, they could have approached slowly and did not need to expose themselves so early. Their willingness to reveal themselves now could only show that they were extremely confident in their own strength and did not even care about the twenty Bone Forging Realm experts on Yinuo’s side.
There was only one possibility.
Top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts!
Only top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts could completely ignore the twenty Bone Forging Realm experts on their side and come and go freely.
“I’m not good at speed. I can’t run.” Yinuo sighed. “They should be targeting me. All of you withdraw.”
To dispatch two top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts, if it were only to kill ordinary Bone Forging Realm martial artists, was completely unnecessary.
Top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts were not cabbages. Among the strong clans in the city, there was at most one each. The total number of top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts in City of Light Chasing was less than thirty, and Star Tower City was similar.
The only possible reason to send two top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts deep into enemy rear lines at great risk was to kill an Extreme Advanced Level Bone Forging Realm martial artist like her. After all, once top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts in the rear were discovered, the City Lord would definitely have the Vice City Lords take action, in which case escaping would be very difficult.
The members of the guard regiment could only clench their teeth and scatter to flee.
Against a single top-tier Bone Forging Realm expert, their seventeenth regiment might still be able to put up a fight, but facing two top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts plus more than forty Bone Forging Realm martial artists, they would not even have a chance to escape.
“Want to run? Not so easy!” Seeing the red dots on the life detector suddenly scatter, Stone Axe also increased his speed.
As mercenary groups who had lived in the wilderness year-round, speed was life. Whether chasing someone or fleeing, it was crucial. This was also the reason he and Iron Claw had survived so long.
Relying on the speed from super-tier footwork at Third Level Perfection, the two of them had escaped many times from experts at Vice City Lord Level. Now, chasing twenty Bone Forging Realm martial artists was a trivial matter.
Just as Stone Axe and Iron Claw closed in to within less than five hundred meters of the seventeenth regiment, a flying transport vehicle descended from the distance and came to a stop in the middle of the valley between the two sides.
“Hahaha! I knew renting a flying transport vehicle was the right call. Our team is the first to arrive!” Fang Zhen opened the door and, looking at the two groups down in the valley, could not help laughing.
“So, have they started fighting yet?” Chen Ya stretched lazily and asked boredly.
“From the looks of it, they are about to.” The Saiwai Qiangke at her side checked the situation below and explained, “But there seem to be few on the other side. Only two are charging at the front. Judging from their qi and blood, they should be Extreme Advanced Level Bone Forging Realm.”
“Two little Bone Forging Realm leaders?” Chen Ya’s interest waned. “Boring. Which of you is going?”
“Let Fang Zhen and me handle it.” Li Ranxing, somewhat eager, leaped down from midair.
Fang Zhen did not object and silently jumped down from the flying transport vehicle.
Previously, at the Smiling Skull stronghold, Chen Ya had fought the stronghold leader alone and had enjoyed herself thoroughly. Although she had been completely suppressed and unable to fight back, that Smiling Skull stronghold leader had been at Blood Condensation Realm. Now, with just two Bone Forging Realm opponents, she naturally could not get interested.
As Fang Zhen and Li Ranxing jumped down from the flying transport vehicle, everyone present, including Yinuo who had been ready for a death match, was stunned.
Because at the instant Fang Zhen and Li Ranxing landed, Stone Axe and Iron Claw, who had been brimming with killing intent, suddenly behaved like mice seeing cats. Without the slightest hesitation, they turned and ran, their speed even faster than when they had come.
“What’s with these two leaders?” Fang Zhen stared blankly at the two who were now almost at the speed of sound.
He had finally gotten a chance to try out the Golden Roar he had reverse-engineered from that stronghold leader, yet these two Bone Forging Realm leaders refused to give him the opportunity.
Was a sequenced martial skill mastered by a Blood Condensation Realm leader really that powerful?
At this moment it was not only Yinuo and the others who were stunned; even Blood Rider, who had rushed over from behind, was puzzled.
“Gentlemen, what are you doing?” Blood Rider asked in confusion through his smart watch. “The leader of that guard regiment is not dead yet!”
“Not fighting. We can’t fight.” Stone Axe refused directly, with a trace of anger in his voice.
“Can’t fight? What do you mean? You are mercenaries; you took the money! Are you afraid I’ll inform the Mercenary Alliance that you violated the contract?” Blood Rider shouted angrily.
He had paid double the price to hire them. Now that they had already arrived, they told him they could not fight. Was this a joke?
“You know nothing!” Stone Axe snapped. “Before we made the contract, you never said those grey-clothed people would be here. If I had known, I sure as hell wouldn’t have bothered with you. Whoever wants to fight, let them!”
“Grey-clothed people?” Blood Rider could not help looking toward the two human men in silver-gray clothing in the distance, full of doubt.
Judging from their qi and blood, these two human men were clearly just Peak High-Level martial artists and not even at Bone Forging Realm. To a top-tier Bone Forging Realm expert, they could be swatted to death at will. And yet, just because of their presence, Stone Axe and Iron Claw were giving up on the contract. How was he supposed to believe that?
“Brother Blood Rider, maybe you from Star Tower City don’t know, but over near the Mountain of the Dead, the grey-clothed people are now known by everyone. Even Smiling Skull has suffered heavy losses at their hands. Merchants coming and going now call them Southern Skull and Northern Grey Robe. We really cannot fulfill this contract. Please find someone else.” After Iron Claw finished explaining, he hung up and used his full strength to flee the area.
