“Prepare yourselves,” Shen Ji called out softly to their hidden subordinates. “Stay hidden until I give the signal.”
The men nodded, gripping their weapons tightly, their eyes fixed on the sky.
Moments later, a faint hum filled the air, growing steadily louder. Two figures, flying on their respective swords, approached the location, unaware of the danger lying in wait.
The tension in the forest rose to a peak as the moment of confrontation drew near.
‘Two? Does he have an accomplice?’ Shen Ji suddenly had a doubt. He and Kou Lau exchanged a final glance, a silent agreement passing between them.
This was their chance to strike against their enemy and turn the tide in favor of Kalingoot. As the two mysterious figures drew closer, Shen Ji raised his hand, ready to give the signal that would launch their carefully planned ambush.
But before Shen Ji could give the signal, the tables turned dramatically.
One of the figures, cloaked in black with a matching mask, raised his hands. In an instant, the night sky above Shen Ji’s head was blotted out by countless ten-foot-long Blood Thorns, each one shimmering ominously under the moonlight.
With a single wave of the mysterious figure’s hand, the Blood Thorns rained down, a deadly storm descending upon the ambushers.
The Blood Thorns, imbued with potent Spirit essence, hurtled toward the ground, their sheer force capable of shattering rocks and piercing iron shields. This was a blood art of Foundation Building level. The Spirit Pulse contained within the Blood Thorns was so potent that the air around them vibrated.
Shen Ji and Kou Lau’s subordinates, mere Spirit Refining realm cultivators, were paralyzed with fear at the sight of the impending attack, realizing too late that their isolation barrier had failed to conceal them from the enemy’s senses.
“Master Shen Ji! Help”
“Master Kau Lou, save me!”
“Aaaaah! Blood Art! These can’t be the members of that damn blood zombies clan, can they?”
Panic spread through the hidden camp as the Blood Thorns descended. Shen Ji and Kou Lau reacted with a mix of shock and desperation. The deadly thorns were seconds away from causing utter devastation.
“Senior, please stop!” Shen Ji yelled out, his voice a mix of desperation and plea. He had come to realize that the two figures weren’t Aksai and his ally. This was because, the masked man who launched the first attack was clearly in the late-stage of the Foundation Building realm.
At the same time, the second figure, a young woman with an alluring presence and graceful movements, took action. Under the moonlight, she seemed both enchanting and lethal.
She raised her hands, and from the ground emerged a herd of Blood Elks, their forms crimson and menacing. The Blood Elks surrounded Shen Ji and his group, their antlers gleaming dangerously as they stomped the earth, ready to charge at any moment.
Realizing the dire situation, Shen Ji and Kou Lau swiftly deployed double spectral barriers, their Spirit essence flaring as they formed protective shields around their subordinates. The spectral barriers shimmered with energy, standing as the last line of defense against the onslaught of Blood Thorns and the menacing Blood Elks.
The Blood Thorns collided with the spectral barriers, the impact resonating through the forest. The barriers held, but only just, as cracks began to spiderweb across their surfaces. The Blood Elks, undeterred, pawed at the ground, their eyes fixed on the intruders, ready to charge at any moment.
Shen Ji and Kou Lau exchanged a look of grim determination. They had not anticipated such a fierce preemptive strike. They were outmatched and outmaneuvered, caught in a deadly game they had hoped to control.
The realization that these attackers were not Aksai or his subordinates but entirely different foes added a new layer of complexity to their predicament. This misunderstanding had to be resolved before the two groups ended up harming each other for no reason.
“Senior, we mean no harm!”
Kou Lau came out of the barrier, flying high in the sky using his sword. His voice was steady as he tried to reason with the attackers. Shen Ji also did the same and flew towards his friend, standing beside him as both sides came face to face in the air.
Shen Ji and Kou Lau tried to steady their nerves as they faced the two mysterious figures. The masked man’s aged voice broke the tense silence.
“You mean no harm? Then why did you hide yourselves inside a formation? You were clearly waiting in ambush. I’m sure you were waiting for the right opportunity to attack us. And you have the guts to say that you mean no harm? Haah.
You think I still suck on my mother’s udders for milk? This is clearly the biggest joke I have heard in a while.” As he spoke, he summoned some Blood Thorns around him that started rotating at high speed, ready to be launched toward Shen Ji and Kou Lau.
Shen Ji and Kou Lau exchanged a glance. Shen Ji gestured for Kou Lau to remain quiet and let him do the talking. He took a deep breath, clearing his head before responding, “It’s true we were lying in wait to launch an ambush, but it wasn’t for you. We were waiting for an island owner from the Dadangar Island Alliance.”
The man’s eyes widened in shock. “Who is this island owner you speak of?” he demanded, his voice laced with suspicion.
Shen Ji gulped, feeling the weight of the late-stage Foundation Building Expert’s gaze on him. “Senior, his name is Aksai. Aksai Everwood.”
“Aksai Everwood?” The young woman beside the old man was visibly shocked. She removed her mask, revealing her charming features. “Tell me more about Aksai,” she urged.
Shen Ji’s eyes widened in recognition. The woman was Liana Lakir, and the old man was none other than Loshaar Lakir, the Foundation Building Expert ancestor of the Lakir Clan.
Before he could respond, Loshaar turned to the young woman. “Lass, do you know who this Aksai Everwood is?”
Liana nodded, hesitating before speaking. “Elder, no… grandpa, Aksai Everwood, he… he was one of the rental farmers we had on our estate back when we were still in Wuyum County.”
Liana found it quite awkward to imagine that a seemingly insignificant character she had met once in the past had risen to such prominence in recent years.