Chapter Ninety-Four: Spearhead Assault [Seeking Monthly Votes]

In the end, everyone thought it through and volunteered their strength.

After all, no one wanted to be seized by the Mad God Cult.

Lusheng then assigned positions according to their strength. Since everyone here had been brought together by him, and for many of them he had even saved their lives, no one objected to his arrangements. Even if they had, they would have given him face, especially with Xiong Zijie standing nearby, watching them like a hawk.

Heroes' Stockade was a major power in the wilds. No one was willing to risk offending it, unless they no longer wished to survive in this wasteland.

...

Outside, the Mad God Cult's encirclement continued to tighten, and some of those who had entered the rocky strata area were now retreating out.

Seeing this, the leader of the Mad God Cult, mounted on a black eagle, could no longer bother to put on airs in the sky. He hurried down to ask what was happening.

Song Ce looked at the people who had rushed out and asked, "What is going on?"

"Deputy Cult Leader, it's like this. Inside, there's a fellow riding a White Cloud Horse who has gathered everyone together. With the few of us now, we can't beat them."

Song Ce was somewhat irritated. What were these people even doing? "A White Cloud Horse? You couldn't even catch one White Cloud Horse, and you still let him rally everyone together?"

His subordinate was drenched in cold sweat and hurriedly explained, "Sir, it's not that simple. That White Cloud Horse of his is a fifth-tier beast..."

Song Ce: ...

"Fine. If that's the case, I can't blame you. Let them gather then. It will only make it easier for us to wipe them out in one net."

"Since they've already assembled, tighten the encirclement quickly. Don't let them burst out and escape."

"Yes."

...

Lusheng said to the man in the Taoist robe and to Xiong Zijie, "Brother Zhang, Brother Zijie, then we'll have to rely on the two of you from here on."

Zhang Haoran cupped his fists. "Brother Lu, rest assured. Leave the next part to us. Once we break out, each of us will have to rely on our own fate."

Zhang Haoran was the young man in the Taoist robe.

Xiong Zijie curled his lip. "Don't worry. If it weren't for the fact that there seems to be a sixth-tier monster among them, Little Taoist and I would've hacked these bastards to pieces already."

"That damned thing dared to surround and kill us. When I reach sixth tier in the future, I'll settle this score properly. Right, Little Taoist?"

Zhang Haoran folded his arms and calmly uttered four words: "As it should be."

From their exchange, it was clear neither of them were harmless.

Hearing their answer, Lusheng felt somewhat reassured. These two were extremely strong, both at the peak of fifth tier, and capable of easily killing opponents of the same rank.

Having them here gave Lusheng a sliver of hope that they might escape.

The price for getting these two to listen to him was that his monsters would have to take the lead.

Lusheng did not mind. Without offering any leverage, why would anyone listen to him?

"Good. Since that's settled, there's no point hesitating any longer. If we wait until their encirclement closes, our chances of escaping will only grow smaller."

"Now, everyone, charge out with everything you've got!"

The crowd had already made up their minds, and at this critical moment no one dragged their feet. They all roared:

"Break out!"

"Break out!"

"Break out!"

Their momentum rose only a little, but it was enough to serve as a pre-battle rally.

Following Lusheng's earlier arrangements, the group moved swiftly.

A thousand-strong force in motion was a formidable sight, and by the time they reached the exit of the rocky strata area, the Mad God Cult had already surrounded them.

Now there was only one path before them: charge through!

"Kill!"

Lusheng released his goblins, frogmen, giant crocodile, and earth-and-stone bear to charge at the front.

Behind them followed Zhang Haoran, Xiong Zijie, and Lusheng himself.

Those at the very front faced the greatest danger, but they also had the highest chance of breaking through. If they were mixed into the crowd and the formation collapsed, they would be finished.

As long as Zhang Haoran and Xiong Zijie could perform well and tear a gap in the Mad God Cult's encirclement, their odds of escape would rise dramatically.

The giant crocodile's massive body barreled straight ahead, a perfect machine for blasting a path open.

The earth-and-stone bear, goblins, and frogmen followed behind, with the rest of the group at the rear.

Song Ce drew his weapon. He intended to make the move himself. When doing something, one should give it everything; only after the matter was settled could one relax.

"Have the others gather in. You follow behind me and block this group. If necessary, kill them."

"Yes!"

This time their mission had been to capture people for blood sacrifice, but clearly the situation was no longer suitable for capture.

After receiving Song Ce's order, they could finally fight without restraint.

Zhang Haoran spotted Song Ce at a glance. Among all these people, only this one gave him a sense of danger.

"Little bandit, you take the others and push forward. Leave this sixth-tier one to me."

Xiong Zijie was somewhat unhappy. "Fine. But next time, don't try to snatch him from me."

Lusheng was slightly stunned.

That confident?

A peak fifth-tier cultivator wanted to go head-to-head with a sixth-tier one?

And he was even arguing over who would take him on?

This made Lusheng's own blood stir a little. He truly wanted his true body to descend, spear in hand, clad in white armor, and slaughter his way through this battlefield with an overwhelming display of valor, crushing the two of them in style and making a name for himself afterward.

Admitting that one was weaker than one's peers was never easy.

Unless the gap between the two sides was truly as vast as heaven and earth.

He forced down the restless heat in his blood and the urge to act rashly.

He understood many great principles. He knew that staying hidden and biding his time was the choice most favorable to him.

Still, for a young man to remain calm and mature all the time was no easy thing.

He took a deep breath and pressed down the agitation in his heart.

If only his clone could use the power of his true body.

Perhaps he should keep an eye out for a skill like that.

...

Song Ce charged toward the giant crocodile with his long blade. The first thing he wanted to eliminate was this enormous beast.

He had to prevent it from scattering the Mad God Cult's encirclement.

Zhang Haoran had already decided to stop Song Ce. How could he let him succeed?

Zhang Haoran leaped into the air and surged forward at high speed.

He drew the greatsword from his back and brought it down toward Song Ce.

The sword was so large it occupied most of Zhang Haoran's body, seeming almost absurdly massive, yet in his hands it moved with complete ease, showing no sign of hindrance.

Song Ce sneered. Did he really think a peak fifth-tier cultivator could stand against him?

Even though he had only just stepped into the sixth tier, that was still not something a peak fifth-tier cultivator could contend with.

The sixth tier and the fifth tier were separated by a chasm as wide as heaven and earth.

With the enhancement of the basic wind element law, Song Ce's speed abruptly surged under the power of the wind as he lunged at Zhang Haoran.

Zhang Haoran showed no surprise. His greatsword swung and collided with Song Ce's long blade.

At the instant of impact, Song Ce, who had been full of confidence, was stunned. His entire body was sent flying. Thanks to the force of the wind, he did not go far.

"What a heavy sword!"

Song Ce stared in disbelief at the colossal blade in Zhang Haoran's hands.

At the same time, he was puzzled. Zhang Haoran's strength did not seem sufficient to control such a heavy sword.

He could tell that the overwhelming force from the earlier strike had come entirely from that monstrous blade itself.

Zhang Haoran's role was merely to swing it; there was no added strength behind it.

Zhang Haoran paid Song Ce no mind. What he needed to do now was simply keep attacking.

So he struck again, bringing the greatsword down in a frenzy toward Song Ce.

Having endured that first blow, Song Ce no longer wanted to meet Zhang Haoran head-on.