Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“If I give such an order, wouldn't I be giving up a great opportunity for my Yu Family's army and placing my clan in danger of extinction? Be it to my country or monarch, family or self, there isn't a single benefit! If I make such a decision, I, Yu XueGong, would become a disloyal, unfilial, heartless, and immoral person!” Yu XueGong said with righteous indignation, “Duke Ling is truly dreaming! May Duke Ling grant us your moves. It wouldn't be a disgrace for us to die under the hands of the number one a.s.sa.s.sin in the world, the First Pavilion Head! At the very most, we shall risk our lives to end the battle in mutual destruction. It would be far better than returning to the Yu Family and having our nine generations executed!”
Upon hearing these words, the other experts of the Yu Family also began to hesitate. Just like what Yu XueGong had said, if they truly gave the order as per Ling Jian's instructions, while they wouldn't have to die in the battlefield, they wouldn't be able to escape Yu ManLou's blame when they returned and might even implicate their family and friends.
“With things developing to such an extent, you still want to act like a hero? What a big joke!” Ling Jian snorted with impatience. It is so rare for me to act with such benevolence and all of you still want to put up an act over here? Killing intent instantly filled his heart and he said coldly, “If all of you follow my orders, there would still be a chance to survive. If all of you dare to say another 'no', I will immediately take all of your lives! Do you truly think that I wouldn't be able to accomplish that?!”
Yu XueGong's heart turned cold. All humans were afraid of death. While his words sounded to be full of righteousness, he wouldn't want to die if he had the chance. He truly didn't dare to agitate Ling Jian further and turned around, “What does everyone else think?”
Previously, everyone one of them were worried about their family members back home and thus their hesitation. If they had the chance to survive, it would naturally be the best and thus they quickly replied, “Second brother is the wisest among all of us and as long as we can return alive, we shall follow second brother's arrangement.”
Yu XueGong frowned and said with difficulty, “How are we supposed to give an answer to the Emperor when we return? If we return in defeat after leading our army out in full force, what should we do if the Emperor flies into a rage?”
Someone replied, “We weren't able to defend against the might of the enemy and we chose to make a retreat to preserve our forces. I believe that the Emperor is an understanding individual and will not blame us. After returning, we just need to give an honest answer to the Emperor. After all, he can't possibly execute all of us right?!”
Yu XueGong also heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Alright then.” At least half of their lives were saved and they just need to resolve the present situation before them. Yu XueGong then turned back and said to Ling Jian, “Duke Ling, we have come to an agreement and are willing to retreat with our forces. From now on, we will not have any more military activities and will not chase the retreating soldiers. Duke Ling's martial arts are unparalleled in the world and we are like little infants in Duke Ling's grasp. However, us brothers are willing to face life and death alone and not a single one of us will escape alone! May Duke Ling rest easy.”
Ling Jian nodded his head and pondered for a moment, “If that's the case… alright then! It is rare for all of you to have such a strong brotherhood and I promise not to kill any of you!”
Yu XueGong let out a long breath, “Duke Ling is an unparalleled expert and your word is worth a thousand gold. Duke Ling is definitely someone who wouldn't go back on his word!”
The other Yu Family experts let out a collective sigh of relief and quickly pestered Yu XueGong to release the signal to release all of the Divine Prefecture Empire's captives before retreating. Every one of them felt as though they had taken a trip to the gates of h.e.l.l and were extremely thankful that Yu XueGong managed to protect their lives.
Seeing that the battle had come to an end and the Yu Family army was retreating, Ling Jian heaved a sigh of relief. After finally escaping from danger, the soldiers of the Divine Prefecture Empire immediately collapsed on the ground in fatigue and could no longer even sit up straight. There were even some who had pa.s.sed away on the spot the moment the enemy retreated. It was obvious to tell just how miserable the battle was.
Feng Mo endured his fatigue and gave out a series of orders to clean up the battlefield, bandage the wounds of the injured, gather the corpses of the dead and wait for reinforcements to arrive. Thankfully, they had previously plundered a large amount of medicine from the Yu Family army!
In their current situation, the remaining 4,000 of them were either crippled or injured. Not to mention traversing through the mountain in the snow, even standing up was a ch.o.r.e for them in their current state!
The cold winds blew and there wasn't the slightest bit of cover on the mountain slopes. As the various heads of the Yu Family faced Ling Jian, they were both cold and afraid with many of them trembling.
Ling Jian watched silently by the side and felt a wave of disgust. He was truly afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold himself back from killing them all and turned his face away. Right at this moment, a danger alarm went off in his heart!
Two figures shot out from the bushes by the side and two gleaming swords shot towards Ling Jian's back!
They were the two gold jade experts who followed the Yu Family troops! Ever since their arrival, they did not make a move because of their status. They had only watched by the side to offer pointers but did not personally make a move against Ling Feng and Ling Yun. Otherwise, the two of them would have probably disappeared from the face of the earth already. Furthermore, these two experts were full of arrogance and did not think much about the commanders of the army. As such, they did not follow the army today either.
Only when they received the order to retreat did the two of them realize that something was wrong! Thus, they hurriedly rushed over to take a look and saw Ling Jian ferociously glaring at the commanders from their family. They immediately flew into a rage and took action without hesitation.
While the attack was sudden, Ling Jian's body drifted forward slowly as though he was fully prepared. Unsheathing his sword, he stabbed it out without turning around and with two clanging sounds, the two incoming attacks were blocked.
The two of them snorted in anger and launched a flurry of attacks.
Ling Jian still did not turn around and fixed his gaze on the people in front of him coldly. His gaze was filled with killing intent to warn them not to try anything funny when he was facing an attack from the back!
As though his sword had eyes, his sword was easily able to deal with the incoming attacks with his back facing his opponents. Furthermore, the speed of the attacks became faster and faster and the sound of metal ringing sounded without any gaps like the sound of rain in a thunderstorm!
The two gold jade experts became more and more shocked as the battle continued. Ling Jian's martial arts were far too stunning! Despite the two of them launching a sneak attack, their opponent was still able to defend against them without breaking a sweat! However, what they didn't know was that the opponent before them was a grandmaster in launching sneak attacks and would naturally keep his guard up against sneak attacks at all times. How would the two of them with their lousy standards be able to kill this First Pavilion Head?
Upon witnessing Ling Jian's strength, the two gold jade experts knew that they weren't a match for him and their attacks slowed down slightly.
Right at this moment, Ling Jian suddenly turned around swiftly and let out a roar. His eyes glowed and killing intent exploded forth. With his left palm slapping out, a powerful shockwave was sent out and the gold jade expert on the left was forced to take two steps back. At the same time, the sword in Ling Jian's right arm shot out like a venomous dragon.
This sword was extremely sudden and the distance between seemed nonexistent at this moment!
Previously, he was on the defense and seemed to be on the losing end. No one could have expected that his attack would so sharp and ferocious the moment he turned around! This change was truly too sudden and out of everyone's expectations!
The sword of the expert on the right was currently stabbing towards Ling Jian's left arm and it was already too late for him to retract his attack. But if he was forced back by Ling Jian's attack at this moment, his advantage would also be eroded! With the martial arts that Ling Jian had displayed, if the two of them lost their advantage, they wouldn't be a match for Ling Jian and might even lose their lives! Clenching his teeth, he decided to increase the strength of his attack even further. Since you have the resolution to place your life on the line, do you think that I wouldn't have the guts to place my life on the line? I truly don't believe that you are truly indifferent towards death! The speed of both our swords are equal and since I launched my attack first, my attack will definitely land first!
With his sword speeding up, it did indeed land on Ling Jian's left shoulder first. Just when he was elated that his gamble paid off, he realized that his sword was stopped by something and unable to stab in any further!
No wonder this brat dares to place his life on the line in such a manner! It turns out that he has an impenetrable treasured armor! He immediately felt regret in his heart.
However, it was too late for him to have any regrets!
Ling Jian's sword stabbed up and he felt a cold feeling in his throat. A single sword to seal his throat!
With disbelief and regret in his eyes, his body collapsed slowly.
He truly made a wrong bet this time. If Ling Jian did not have absolute confidence, why would he dare to risk his life during this moment when his brothers needed him the most? The flood dragon armor which Ling Jian had was the biggest reason why Ling Jian dared to place his life on the line! However, such a method was truly being too much of a bully…
During any ordinary time, Ling Jian would naturally disdain to do so. However, after rus.h.i.+ng over for a few days and nights without rest, while Ling Jian still seemed to be full of energy on the surface, his inner qi was truly greatly exhausted. Facing two XianTian level experts at the same time, Ling Jian could only choose to end the battle quickly!
Any method that was capable of killing the enemy while keeping him alive was a good method! There wasn't such a thing as a despicable method! With regards to Ling Tian's teachings, Ling Jian had a new understanding! Looking and Feng Mo and the rest who were riddled with injuries, Ling Jian truly couldn't imagine the consequences of him collapsing at this moment.
The lives of thousands of my brothers are on my shoulders! A trace of cruelty could be seen on Ling Jian's lips. Thus, he could only kill!
When Ling Jian turned around and seemed to have been struck by the sword, Yu XueGong and the others exchanged looks and prepared to take action. As long as they could kill the First Pavilion Head, they would be able to atone for their crimes with merit and even wipe out all of the remaining soldiers. Just when this thought surfaced in their heads, they witnessed this unbelievable sight before their very eyes. Their hearts all froze up and they felt as though a bucket of water was splashed over them!
In just a single exchange! In just a single exchange, despite facing the combined attacks of two gold jade experts, he was able to force one into retreat and kill the other! Just what kind of strength was required?!
Ling Jian snorted coldly. Amid the furious roar of the other gold jade expert, Ling Jian shot up towards the sky together with his long sword and then descended like a divine dragon with a brilliant splendor of white light that no one could look at directly!
Knowing that he couldn't escape, the remaining gold jade expert brandished his sword and also unleashed his man and sword as one killing blow. He charged straight at Ling Jian's sword and intended to drag Ling Jian down to h.e.l.l with him!
With a loud bang, sword qi shot out in all directions. In the surrounding thirty feet, the thick layer of snow on the ground had been blown away completely and revealed the black soil on the ground. That gold jade expert from the Yu Family could no longer be seen and the only thing left was a thick fog of blood. Under Ling Jian's man and sword as one, the gold jade expert had suffered from hundreds and thousands of slashes.
All the spectators by the side turned pale and with the b.l.o.o.d.y rain falling down, they all bent down and began vomiting like mad.
“I am still unable to reach Shui WuBo's realm after his breakthrough! If I truly attained that realm, the snow on the ground and vegetation in the surrounding area would not have been affected. Young n.o.ble is right, I have wasted at least half the force of this attack!” Ling Jian floated down slowly with a couple of wounds on his legs. At the same time, his entire top was reduced to shreds and his glimmering flood dragon armor was revealed.
A commotion sounded from afar and seven to eight figures suddenly appeared. They were Ling Chi and the others. Behind them, flags fluttered in the winds and the army of the Divine Prefecture Empire marched forward neatly.
As the soldiers under Feng Mo's charge witnessed the majestic appearance of their comrades, they were all filled with complicated emotions. Some of them grabbed onto the corpses of their comrades, while others burst out into tears.
Ling Jian let out a long sigh and with his gaze sweeping past Yu XueGong and the others coldly, he waved his hands and said, “Retreat! Return to Sky Bearing!”
Yu XueGong and the others hurriedly gave thanks and they all heaved sighs of relief. For them to escape from the hands of the First Pavilion Head, they truly needed to offer incense to their ancestors. After a period of intense anxiousness, a couple of them collapsed onto the ground weakly without any strength in their bodies left.
Yu XueGong lowered his head, thought about Ling Jian's final order, and his eyes lit up!
