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“Look at how happy they are.” An alluring figure came close to Lu Ye as Yu Qing’s voice sounded. She was frail, and even her body was translucent. However, it couldn’t be denied that her frailty had somewhat enhanced her beauty.
Nonetheless, Lu Ye wouldn’t think that she was a fragile woman. Although it had only been a short time since they got to know each other, he had seen how fierce she could be.
“Aren’t you curious why they’re so optimistic?” Yu Qing whispered to the man.
Lu Ye nodded and asked the question that had been bugging him. “Senior, are all of you really unafraid of death?”
Yu Qing rolled her eyes and snapped, “Why are you calling me a Senior? You’re making me look old.”
A sentry of Xianyuan City Watch, who had been listening in to their conversation, guffawed. “You’ve been around for thousands of years, so it’s not wrong for this brat to call you Senior.”
Yu Qing bristled at that. “Liu Datong! I’ll tear your mouth apart if you dare spout nonsense again!”
The sentry named Liu Datong was unperturbed as he made a funny face at Lu Ye. “Brat, you’d better be vigilant and not let this old bat fool you. I’m telling you…”
Before he could finish his words, Yu Qing picked up a chair and hurled it at him. Liu Datong warded it off with his hand, and when he looked at how furious the woman was, he flinched and said, “Alright, I’ll stop speaking…”
With that, he ran his fingers across his lips as though trying to zip them up.
Yu Qing glowered at him for a moment before turning around with a bashful expression and speaking to Lu Ye in a soft voice. “Call me Older Sister!”
Lu Ye let out a sigh. “Please stop pulling my leg, Senior.”
Yu Qing pursed her lips. “You’re so dull. It’s no wonder you’re still alive. I’m sure no woman will love you in the outside world.”
At that, Lu Ye was rendered speechless.
Yu Qing put on a faint smile. “Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. Anyway, you don’t have to worry too much. Death doesn’t matter to people like us. It’s not that we’re unafraid of death; it’s just that we’re already used to it. Moreover, sometimes, death is a form of relief.”
Lu Ye had no idea what the woman had gone through that made her say such a thing. Apparently, the other sentries shared the same sentiment as all of them were unperturbed even in this situation.
“So…” Yu Qing lifted her hand to ruffle Lu Ye’s hair, treating him like he was a child. “If all of us die before your eyes, you don’t have to be too concerned. You’re different from us. Living in the moment is how you show respect to your future.” ṙàΝǑꞖĘş
After a moment of silence, Lu Ye said, “Why don’t you let Senior Butcher bring all of you back to the City Lord’s Mansion? The Pool of Divine Purification is over there, and it should help you all restore your energy.”
“The battlefield over there is even more dangerous!” Yu Qing shook her head. “The insectoids we come across here aren’t so powerful. However, the closer it is to the City Lord’s Mansion, the stronger the insectoids are. Given our current state, it’ll be hard for us to break through their siege and go back.”
Lu Ye asked doubtfully, “Is the City Lord’s Mansion their target?”
Yu Qing nodded seriously. “The foundation of the Lost City of Xianyuan is over there. If the insectoids manage to occupy the City Lord’s Mansion, the entire city will fall.” Suddenly, she smiled and spoke in a lighter tone. “Anyway, you don’t have to worry. With Sir City Lord and Madam Hong Yue around, the mansion will be fine. The insectoids haven’t been able to destroy us over the past thousands of years.”
“Yes, for as long as I can remember.”
Lu Ye felt that something was off. If those of the city had been fending off the insectoids for thousands of years, how did they even hold out? At the very least, where did they get so many sentries to defend the city?
Human lives were lost in any war, and apparitions were no exception.
Even if the insectoids had failed their mission one to two times, it wasn’t possible that they hadn’t been able to achieve their goal for thousands of years. Not even the City Lord and Hong Yue, as Yu Qing had mentioned, were able to protect the city forever.
Hong Yue was supposed to be the red-clothed woman that Lu Ye had come across previously.
Before he could ask any questions, the Butcher had come downstairs and ordered impassively, “Let’s go.”
In an instant, all the sentries rose to their feet.
Yu Qing patted Lu Ye’s shoulder. “Just fight alongside us like how you’ve always done it, and you must ensure your safety. Even if we’re in danger, don’t rashly try to save us.”
Lu Ye subconsciously dipped his head.
After stepping out of their resting place, the Butcher led all of them to continue destroying the insectoids.
It had been smooth sailing for them. Although the sentries were frail due to their prolonged consumption of energy, the insectoids were generally weaker as they moved towards the periphery.
Just like what Yu Qing had said, the insectoids’ target was the City Lord’s Mansion. Therefore, the closer it was to the mansion, the stronger the insectoids were, and the more insectoids there were. The area around the mansion was where the Divine Ocean Realm Masters contended with the enemies.
The insectoids, who were as powerful as Divine Ocean Realm Masters, were most active in that area.
That was the reason Lu Ye hadn’t come across insectoids in the Divine Ocean Realm. Considering his current power, he would be powerless to counterattack if he bumped into such insectoids. Even the Glyphs that could conceal his presence and curb his aura might not be effective.
As the noise of the battle was heard, more and more insectoids were attracted to this place. The Butcher and the others were soon besieged.
If they were at the peak of their powers, it wouldn’t be hard for them to deal with this situation. However, the Butcher and the other sentries were all exhausted, which was why the battle was rather intense.
Fortunately, they had Lu Ye with them.
He had been staying outside the battlefield, controlling his insectoid squad to kill the enemies amidst the chaos, which helped ease the burden on the sentries.
As long as there was no accident, the sentries would eventually be the winners.
Yet, an accident came without warning.
As a cold glint flickered, two sentries fell apart. Their already dim figures became transparent in an instant. The shock on their faces showed that they hadn’t expected the turn of events.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them vanished into thin air.
Beside them, a seemingly injured and ordinary mantis suddenly flared up, giving off an intimidating vibe.
It was apparently an insectoid in the Divine Ocean Realm.
Supposedly, such an insectoid shouldn’t appear here, and its injury showed that it had gone through an intense battle.
This insectoid must have come all the way from the City Lord’s Mansion. It was injured in the battle over there, so it had to devour other carcasses to restore its energy. For some reason, it arrived at the periphery and bumped into the sentries led by the Butcher.
No one had paid any attention to the mantis before it made a move, but its all-out attack caused two sentries to lose their lives in an instant.
Then, the mantis slashed its blade at Yu Qing, who could never fend off such an attack.
Upon seeing that, Lu Ye blessed his legs with Windwalk and dispelled his concealment before charging towards the battlefield without hesitation.
“How dare you!” Growled the Butcher as he wielded his knife and warded off the lethal attack.
The two of them, both in the Divine Ocean Realm, soon got into a fight. One was badly injured while the other was on his last legs. They could be considered equally matched, and the repercussions of the battle swept over the other insectoids and killed them.
The sentries reacted swiftly by joining forces to break the siege so that they could avoid the battlefield between the Divine Ocean Realm Masters.
Liu Datong lifted his head and saw Lu Ye charging towards them. He secretly cursed and led the squad to move towards him.
Since Lu Ye’s insectoid squad was creating chaos, the situation descended into turmoil.
Soon, the sentries reached Lu Ye, but the situation wasn’t in their favour.
Initially, with a Divine Ocean Realm Master such as the Butcher around, the sentries could handle the flood of insectoids. However, since the Butcher was tangled up in a fight with the mantis that was in the same Realm, Yu Qing, Liu Datong, and the others had to face immense pressure, considering that they were weaker.
If they were on their own, they wouldn’t mind losing their lives in the battle.
Nonetheless, Lu Ye was with them on the battlefield.
Before they departed, Yu Qing had told Lu Ye to disregard others’ safety and prioritise his own and not make a rash move to save them.
Lu Ye had certainly kept that in mind, but when he saw the two sentries getting killed, he couldn’t bring himself to be so unfeeling. His body had acted before he could even think at that moment.
“Break the siege and go back to the base!” Yu Qing ordered.
The nearest base was one street away from their current location. Under normal circumstances, such a distance couldn’t be considered long, but now, the chance of them breaking the siege of these insectoids was slim.
Nevertheless, they had no other choice. If they kept staying there, all of them would be killed.
None of them had expected an insectoid in the Divine Ocean Realm hiding among the other insectoids, which made them fall into a perilous situation.
Lu Ye’s insectoid squad proved to be immensely useful. Under his control, they formed a barrier behind these people, warding off the relentless insectoids.
Unfortunately, they were merely stalling for time; they were unable to turn the tide.
As they charged forward, more and more sentries collapsed to the ground.
There were initially more than ten sentries, but half of them were gone in just a moment.
Moreover, as they had exerted themselves, the rest of the sentries looked like illusory beings. Even Yu Qing appeared translucent now. However, she and Liu Datong steadfastly stayed by Lu Ye’s side to ensure his safety.
Behind them, the Butcher and the mantis were in a violent battle. The sentries surrounded Lu Ye as they ran for their lives.
As Lu Ye watched the sentries collapse, his grief spread through his heart like ripples.
“Send him to safety right now!” Liu Datong bellowed and turned around to contend with the insectoids.
When Lu Ye turned his head to look, he saw the man who was always so garrulous getting drowned in the flood of insectoids.
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