"Now it's time to settle this old score..." Daron's powerful physique slowly rose, and then he stepped down from the war chariot! The other Orc generals beside him wisely backed far away!
"Good. If I kill you," I said in a deep voice, "all our problems will be solved."
"Hahaha." Daron burst into another wild laugh. "I won't deny you are strong, but you are not yet a match for this Emperor."
"Is that so?" I remained unmoved. "Then allow me to open my eyes."
"You will see," Daron declared!
Killing intent surged like a tide! Merely sensing his aura, I clearly knew that Daron's cultivation was absolutely the strongest foe I had ever encountered! This heavy, invisible killing intent pressed down on me, suffocating me, making my palms break out in a cold sweat! My heart pounded for no apparent reason.
Is he trying to crush me with sheer presence alone?
Not so easy!
After all, I am a seasoned veteran who has fought countless battles, and I immediately saw through Daron's intention.
In a duel between masters, presence is paramount; if one's momentum is suppressed, it’s half a loss. Sitting here waiting for death is not a good idea!
Without further hesitation, my Nine Dragons Bodyguard technique, sensing this immense pressure, immediately reacted and began to circulate!
"Crack, snap..." A string of crisp sounds erupted from my bones and joints due to the surge of Battle Qi!
A faint, seven-colored flame seemed to suddenly envelop my entire body! This was the result of pushing the Nine Dragons Lake Bodyguard to its limit, merging with the Phoenix Heaven Bodyguard from the Phoenix Heaven Demonic Armor, creating a strange transformation!
The Phoenix Heaven Wings behind me unfolded without warning—whoosh—as if a fire phoenix were taking majestic flight! At this moment, the aura I intentionally gathered quickly accumulated to its peak!
Even facing Daron head-on, I did not yield an inch!
"Good boy, you really have something." Daron's gloomy eyes showed a rare trace of surprise as he moved to engage!
However, a powerful figure stepped in front of Daron first. "Your Majesty's status is too noble. Why should His Majesty exert himself against this person? Let Dawang handle this."
"Who is this guy?" I stared impatiently at the sudden appearance of the Ape-man warrior. He was slightly smaller than Daron, but his imposing aura was just as fierce. "Big lug, you aren't scared, are you, just grabbing some poor sap to die for you?"
Daron looked grim, seemingly surprised, but he did not become angry. Instead, he calmly observed, "That's true. I hardly need to make a move against you." He then looked at the Ape-man warrior. "Teach this arrogant brat a proper lesson."
"What brat?" My nose nearly flared with anger!
"Not convinced?" Daron smiled faintly. "If you want to fight me, you must get past him first."
"Damn it!" I roared in anger. "How dare he look down on me!" But when I saw the fleeting cunning glint in Daron's eyes, I suddenly realized—this fellow was clearly trying to provoke me!
I never expected these simple-minded Orcs would resort to such tricky schemes. "You cunning devil, you almost fooled me."
"I don't need tricks to deal with you," the Ape-man warrior sneered. "I, Dawang, am enough to send you to hell."
I carefully examined the Ape-man warrior before me, cautiously sensing his aura.
Though his frame seemed a size smaller than Daron's, his aura was fiercely potent. Clearly, this fellow specialized in the path of hard and domineering martial arts.
And compared to Tuman, whom I had previously slain, this guy’s strength was definitely more terrifying! My intuition told me dealing with him would be far from easy!
Even if I managed to subdue him, it would certainly deplete my combat strength. This was clearly another of Daron's intentions: a war of attrition?
"Boasting!" Just as I was preparing for an all-out fight, several auras suddenly swept in—it was Xingye, along with Youquan and Youyue, who had suddenly appeared.
"Why are you back?" I was very confused. I had risked revealing myself precisely so they could escape under cover of the confusion, yet they had returned after leaving.
"Hmph," Youquan snorted coldly. "My Hanling Tribe does not wish to owe Your Highness any favors. If we leave, we leave together."
"Heh heh, Old Man, don't worry. Our reinforcements are arriving soon," Xingye said excitedly. "It's them who should be leaving, not us." Xingye stared intently at the Ape-man warrior with absolute confidence!
"Reinforcements?" I was quite surprised. "Could it be Jidu and the others?"
"It's people from White Mist and Blood Mist," Youyue said. "They will arrive here very soon."
"I see." Only then did I understand why Youyue and the others were so fearless!
"Old Man, you stand guard on the side," Xingye declared. "Leave this long-haired monkey to us." Xingye strode forward, positioning himself in front of me, his expression proud. "If you want to fight my Old Man, you'll have to get past us first." Behind him stood a grim-faced Youyue.
It was clear the two intended to team up against Dawang!
"Oh?" Dawang seemed slightly surprised and, at the same time, greatly intrigued. "It seems you are quite confident. But if even Tuman couldn't defeat you, coming here is just sending yourselves to die."
"Kid, now is not the time to show off," I urged, feeling a bit anxious.
"Relax, Old Man!" Xingye exclaimed. "Just wait and see my performance." Xingye then looked at Youyue. "It's time to start."
"Stinking brat, if you survive this time, all past grievances are wiped clean," Youyue said, drawing his sword and standing to Xingye's right.
"Let's get one thing straight, I'm not giving you that ring back," Xingye said with a strange look.
"Hmph," Youquan grumbled, his old face displeased. "You can only enjoy the spoils if you're alive. Be serious now."
I couldn't understand what they were arguing about, but I was certain Xingye and Youyue had some undisclosed past feud. Nor could I stop them from stepping up!
The situation called for watching and waiting. I could only hope the reinforcements they mentioned arrived in time!
Xingye and Youyue looked full of confidence, while I stood ready with my sword, prepared to assist at any moment!
"Here's my chance to shine," Xingye said playfully, drawing the Heaven-Cleaving Greatsword from his back and challenging, "Long-haired monkey, bring it on."
"Arrogant little brat," Dawang's verbal sparring was equally sharp. He held his massive battle-axe slightly raised across his chest, but his eyes shone as he fixed them on the Greatsword in Xingye's hands. "Kid, is that the Divine Weapon of Mafa, the Heaven-Cleaving Greatsword?"
"Long-haired monkey, you have some knowledge!" Xingye laughed. "You want it, don't you? Come and take it if you have the guts."
"Hahahaha!" Dawang laughed loudly. "As you wish. I'll take this sword." Without seeming to move, his tall body vanished on the spot as if turning to air!
But in an instant! A blur of movement appeared before Xingye, swirling like dark storm clouds whipped up by a gale.
"You block first." Faced with Dawang's fierce attack, Xingye didn't retreat an inch. Instead, he sank his stance, stepped forward, gripped the sword with both hands, and swept it in a rotation. The jet-black Heaven-Cleaving Greatsword churned up a dazzling long dragon of sword energy, tracing a beautiful and dazzling arc through the void!
Admittedly, the posture of this strike was incredibly cool and flashy, but the timing was completely off. I was certain that before Xingye’s greatsword could fully swing, Dawang’s battle-axe could have already shredded him into pieces!
"Watch out!" Terror caused cold sweat to break out on my forehead!
But before I could intervene!
In front of Xingye, a stream of light flashed—it was Youyue’s ghostly figure suddenly appearing, his powerful crescent sword energy shooting out like lightning, slamming directly into that violently swirling vortex!
This strike was pure brute force, meeting strength with strength, with no technique to speak of!
However, Dawang’s strength was not easily matched!
"Ah!" In just one clash, Youyue was sent flying back without question! But, because Youyue had desperately blocked him, Dawang's ferocious assault had a tiny opening!
Almost simultaneously with Youyue being thrown back!
"Well done. Now it's my turn." Xingye’s perfectly timed, powerful strike hit the gap in that dark vortex—a simple, singular move! It was the most common forward downward cut of the Hundred Battles Saber technique, relying purely on explosive, instantaneous power to smash through an opponent's attack head-on.
Boom! Crash!
The thick, brilliant long dragon of sword energy violently collided with the dark cloud vortex!
It then exploded into a dazzling, blinding sheet of light!
Everyone was stunned by the shocking shockwave of sword energy!
The light scattered, Battle Qi raged, and everywhere it passed, whether giant stones or trees, they were pulverized! It swept away everything nearby with destructive force, leveling the ground.
Good heavens, so they had planned this all along! It made me worry for nothing!
It seemed Youyue and Xingye's coordination was quite tacit! Youyue had desperately taken the brunt of Dawang's first wave of attacks, creating that instantaneous opening for Xingye. This mighty blow completely shattered Dawang's assault!
However, there was still a gap in their strength!
At the moment of impact, Xingye was shaken so hard he staggered back several steps involuntarily!
But Dawang, like a reef in a raging sea, remained utterly unshaken by the force of the explosion, no matter how strong!
And at the instant the saber and axe met, Dawang roared!
"Take this move, Blood Blade Bat!"
His huge battle-axe instantly spun out countless afterimages flying everywhere, like countless blood-red bats diving in, making it impossible to discern the precise location of the axe's attack!
Worse yet, Xingye had lost his balance and couldn't possibly block the swarm of blood-red bats flying at him!
"Help me!" Xingye yelled in retreat, looking rather pathetic!
"Idiot." Almost at the same moment Xingye cried for help, Youyue, who had just been thrown back, moved with incredible speed to block in front of him. "Couldn't you have held on a moment longer?"
As he spoke, another crescent sweep erupted!
Clash! Rumble! This crescent wasn't particularly flashy; it was simply big—exceptionally large. In the blink of an eye, it smashed the flying Blood Blade Bats into pieces!
But executing this extraordinarily large crescent drained a considerable amount of Youyue's Battle Qi, leaving him almost half-spent!
"Take this next move, Severing Two Halves!" The Orc Daron naturally saw that Youyue was already running on fumes, his entire body flashing forward like lightning. His massive battle-axe cleaved down towards Youyue's head with the sound of thunder!
The speed and ferocity were astonishing. In Youyue's current state, he didn't even have time to dodge!
"Damn it, I'm done for," Youyue’s face changed drastically as he stared fixedly at the great axe about to cleave him in two!
Just as the axe was about to split Youyue in half!
"Heh heh," came an insidious chuckle from Xingye. "Watch my move, Sweep Across a Thousand Armies." He spun and lunged forward, having used the moment Youyue desperately covered him to regain his footing, and immediately launched an attack!
A massive long dragon of sword energy instantly swept out horizontally!
However, Xingye was positioned directly behind Youyue, creating a straight line that overlapped with Dawang's position. While the power of this Sweep Across a Thousand Armies was formidable, its trajectory was completely wrong—it was headed straight for Youyue's lower back! Even if it hit Dawang, it would cleave Youyue in two first!
The giant crescent was astonishingly strong and moved with ridiculous speed!
"Ah!" Everyone gasped in shock! Even Dawang seemed startled by Xingye’s ruthlessness. Was he willing to sacrifice his own ally just to kill an enemy?
"Stop!" I couldn't help but roar!
But just as the crescent was about to strike Youyue, Youyue's stance suddenly lunged forward without warning! His entire body almost instantly pressed flat against the ground! He shot forward like an arrowfish breaking through waves, cleverly hiding beneath the crescent sword energy to close in on Dawang!
Whoosh! The massive crescent blade flew past, grazing the back of Youyue’s spine!
And the target was the momentarily stunned Dawang!
A brilliant move! I couldn't help but cheer.
This sudden turn of events caught Dawang momentarily off guard, but he quickly reacted!
His great battle-axe spun around rapidly, sweeping out a crescent of its own!
Clash! Another muffled explosion of colliding Battle Qi roared!
Only then did I finally see the pattern. The cooperation between Youyue and Xingye was unexpectedly tacit. They were fully leveraging their respective strengths, engaging Dawang in a direct, tit-for-tat offensive!
Xingye's current style was that of a pure power fighter! He fully utilized the Heaven-Cleaving Greatsword's length and solidity, meaning his sword style was entirely based on hard and domineering paths!
Especially the Hundred Battles Saber technique wielded with both hands, which he had modified, now displayed immense power in actual combat! His footwork, stance, and the direction of his sword momentum were all utilized to the fullest extent!
Every casual swing of his sword could unleash his strongest attack!
This wasn't simple arm strength, but the maximum explosive power a human body could generate by combining movement, footwork, and momentum! It was a perfect blend of strength and technique—hard and domineering, yet swift and agile! This was the true essence of the Hundred Battles Saber technique!
Thirty years ago, due to my insufficient innate strength, I couldn't fully unleash the ultimate power of the Hundred Battles Saber technique. I never expected to see this set of techniques flourish so brilliantly through Xingye today!
What shocked me even more was how thoroughly Xingye had grasped the essence of this technique. Although the Heaven-Cleaving Greatsword he used wasn't shaped like a Hundred Battles Saber, Xingye's formidable physique allowed him to exert all the characteristics of that saber style!
The force of this current strike was tremendous, the speed incredible, and the angle cunningly difficult. Combined with the Heaven-Cleaving Greatsword’s edge, sharp enough to destroy anything, Dawang was bound to suffer!
In terms of material hardness!
The Heaven-Cleaving Greatsword was absolutely second to none. Even the Dragon Shadow Sword lacked the astonishing toughness and resilience of the Heaven-Cleaving Greatsword. And this was Xingye's greatest shield!
However, the gap between Xingye and Dawang was still significant; Xingye couldn't match him in a direct confrontation. Defeating Dawang would require much more time and space to accumulate Battle Qi energy. This was arguably the only predicament Xingye currently faced.
But this became insignificant thanks to Youyue's cover!
Youyue's two desperate follow-up blocks successfully shielded Xingye from harm, allowing Xingye to unleash his most lethal killing move unreservedly! Just like this one!
Even Dawang, whose strength far surpassed Xingye's, couldn't fully withstand Xingye's suddenly launched killing move after building momentum!
"Boom..."
Another violent collision! Although he blocked this crescent, Dawang was shaken back several steps involuntarily by the massive impact of the explosion!
And almost as soon as Dawang was thrown back, Youyue, who had darted forward like a fish breaking waves under the cover of the crescent Battle Qi, suddenly burst forward with flashing steps, sticking close to the retreating Dawang!
Swish swish swish! He immediately unleashed a rapid barrage of sword strikes!
Giving Dawang absolutely no chance to breathe!
Completely opposite to Xingye’s hard and domineering style, Youyue’s swordplay was incredibly fast, accurate, and cunningly angled—every move aimed for a kill! This was very similar to my Lightning Sword Technique!
Dawang, having lost his balance after being hit by Xingye's crescent, was now in serious trouble!
Shaking the opponent off balance before striking decisively was my most frequently used trick, and it always worked! Now, Youyue was employing the exact same tactic, and he was no less effective!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Sword energy raged like a tide! It churned frantically around Dawang! Everywhere there were blurry afterimages of swords!
One misstep and he was forced into a perilous situation! Dawang roared in frustration, having no choice but to wildly swing his massive battle-axe to defend himself!
It must be said that Dawang was truly formidable—every single sword strike Youyue delivered was blocked by him in a straightforward manner!
It was just that, having lost the initiative to Youyue, Dawang couldn't find an opportunity to counterattack.
"Damn it, I'm going all out." Unable to break through the offensive, Youyue also went for broke, his sword intent surging, his speed increasing even further! This wave of fierce attacks was continuous; every sword stroke was as fast as lightning, coupled with bizarrely tricky angles and unpredictable trajectories!
This made every strike impossible to defend against!
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged over a hundred blows, and Dawang hadn't landed a single counterattack!
Even more pathetic was his armor; Youyue's rapid sword assault had left it unrecognizable! If not for his robust protective Battle Qi holding everything together, he would likely have been pierced by hundreds of holes already!
It seemed the combined efforts of Xingye and Youyue were enough to handle Dawang!