Mu Yudie’s delicate body trembled, and she leaned weakly against the trunk of the tree, a stream of clear tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks.
All along the way, Luo Hao and Zhao Xin had been protecting her with all their hearts; her ability to hold on until now was entirely due to Luo Hao, who served as her spiritual pillar.
Hearing that both Luo Hao and Zhao Xin were dead, Mu Yudie’s heart overflowed with sorrow, and the thought of continuing her escape vanished entirely.
Di Yalan’s eyes seemed ready to spew fire; she bit down hard on her teeth, her voice trembling as she demanded, “Who did this?”
Hu Long, his voice choked with grief, quickly recounted the situation, adding, “Besides ‘Dark Nether’ and the Fang Mercenary Group, there must have been the Mo family from the Merchant Alliance. That lightning power released by that fellow wasn't condensed from pure essence; it must be the Mo family’s ‘Lightning Martial Spirit’.”
“The Fang Mercenary Group! Dark Nether! The Mo Family!” Di Yalan spat out each word with gritted teeth, roaring, “I will make them pay the price!”
Shi Yan frowned deeply. Hearing Hu Long mention the ‘Lightning Martial Spirit,’ he immediately realized the Mo family’s true target might have been him.
A strange scent suddenly drifted into his nose and mouth. Shi Yan shot up, circling Hu Long once, his face suddenly changing hue. “Brother Hu Long, there’s a peculiar fragrance on you. You… you weren’t supposed to escape alive, alas…”
“What do you mean, kid?” Di Yalan glared. “Are you wishing Hu Long was dead?”
Hu Long himself paused, then immediately understood, letting out a bitter laugh. “So that’s it. They spared me so they could track me here. I thought I was just lucky, hah.”
With that, before Di Yalan could stop him, Hu Long suddenly dropped to his knees before Mu Yudie, bowing his head deeply three times. “Miss Mu, you must live on! You absolutely must avenge us!”
Standing abruptly, Hu Long bolted away, but his voice, filled with sorrow and indignation, carried far back to them: “Get out of here quickly! Take another route; I will lure them away and buy you as much time as possible!”
“Hu Long!” Di Yalan and Mu Yudie cried out in unison, weeping uncontrollably.
“We must leave immediately! Miss Mu, remember the hatred; we have to live!” Shi Yan’s face was grim. He stretched out his hand toward Di Yalan, demanding, “Give me the ‘Star Thunders.’ You take Miss Mu and leave now; I’ll catch up shortly.”
Because her friends were dying one by one, Di Yalan was momentarily lost, stunned for a beat before handing the three ‘Star Thunders’ to Shi Yan. Her voice was hoarse as she asked, “What are you planning?”
“To collect some interest for Uncle first!”
Shi Yan’s face was like ice. He moved swiftly to Tu Mu’s corpse, took his dagger, and carved a bloody gash into Tu Mu’s stomach. First, he shoved two ‘Star Thunders’ inside, then carefully smeared the ‘Seven Snake Saliva’ over them. Finally, he gently rolled Tu Mu over, positioning him face-down on the ground.
“Everyone has curiosity. When the Fang Mercenary Group people arrive and see Tu Mu like this, someone is bound to lose control and flip him over to check the situation. The ‘Star Thunders’ will detonate upon vibration. What do you think will happen when Tu Mu’s body is forcibly turned over?” Shi Yan sneered coldly.
“I understand,” Di Yalan replied with equal ferocity. “I hope a few more of them die!”
“I also added poisoned powder inside Tu Mu’s body. After the ‘Star Thunders’ explode, some of the blade fragments should be coated with the powder. Anyone whose flesh is grazed by them is certainly doomed!” Shi Yan’s expression was ruthless. “Let’s go. We must survive! Only by living can we avenge Uncle!”
“I hope Hu Long will be alright,” Mu Yudie murmured, her eyes distant.
Shi Yan sighed inwardly. He knew Hu Long was beyond saving, but he offered comforting words nonetheless: “Don’t worry too much. The traps we set might seriously injure them. We might still have a chance to see Hu Long again.”
“Really?”
Mu Yudie whispered weakly. She vaguely knew this was wishful thinking, but she still hoped someone could give her a definitive answer, even if it was a lie.
“Yes, he’ll be fine,” Shi Yan nodded confidently, then signaled to Di Yalan.
Di Yalan understood immediately, stepped forward, scooped up Mu Yudie, and sprinted toward the woods.
Shi Yan took a deep breath, channeling all his remaining strength, and rushed after them.
...
Fifteen minutes later.
Dark Nether, the Mo family, and the Fang Mercenary Group all emerged simultaneously, following the scent Hu Long left behind, arriving at this location.
“Tu Mu!”
Barnard spotted the battle-axe next to Tu Mu and immediately recognized that the man lying face-down was one of his own. His face changed drastically, and he exclaimed in shock, “How is this possible? How could they kill Tu Mu!”
“Didn’t you say that once we arrived, we just needed to separate the men and women?” The Dark Nether Moon Envoy had a sinister look in his eyes and scoffed, “Luckily, I left ‘Dark Moon Scent’ on that kid; otherwise, it would have been another long search.”
Barnard’s expression shifted unpredictably. He ordered, “Zuo Song, flip Tu Mu over and see what the situation is.”
“That kid killed him!” Mo Yanyu whispered to Mo Chaoge beside her. “Everyone killed by him ends up desiccated. That kid’s weapon must be quenched with potent poison!”
“This kid is not simple,” Mo Chaoge nodded gently, lowering his voice. “Be careful later; don’t be rash.”
“Yu’er understands.”
As the two spoke, Zuo Song of the Fang Mercenary Group, under Barnard’s command, had already rushed to Tu Mu’s corpse.
Zuo Song grabbed Tu Mu’s shoulder with one hand and flipped him over, intending to examine the state of Tu Mu’s body closely.
Thud.
The back of Tu Mu’s corpse slammed heavily onto the ground.
Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions suddenly erupted!
In an instant, Tu Mu’s body violently disintegrated into countless pieces!
Blade fragments mixed with Tu Mu’s flesh and blood scattered like a sky full of stars, shooting out in all directions from the epicenter of Tu Mu!
This happened without any warning; as soon as the explosion sounded, the blade fragments mixed with gore shot down upon the assembled figures like a deluge.
The Fang Mercenary Group members, closest to Tu Mu, bore the brunt of the attack, suffering the first casualties!
Under the onslaught of countless blade fragments, three Wolf Fang mercenaries were riddled with bloody holes.
Zuo Song, the one who performed the action, was directly blown apart; his flesh merged with Tu Mu’s, shattered into pieces, flying everywhere.
The Dark Nether and Mo family members, caught completely unaware, were not spared either!
Even though they were dozens of meters away, the warriors from both factions sustained injuries, especially the Mo family members who were only at the Innate Realm, having no ability to resist as they were scraped by the flying blade fragments.
Screams were incessant. The sudden detonation of the two ‘Star Thunders’ had turned this entire area into a living hell, with flesh and blood flying, leaving the ground covered in organs and severed limbs.
Sounds of sheer terror echoed through the field; everyone was plunged into extreme panic.
Mo Yanyu, protected by Mo Chaoge, could not endure the sight of flying meat and limbs. Her face turned ashen, and she doubled over, retching repeatedly.
A few warriors from the Mo family and Dark Nether whose skin had been merely scratched initially congratulated themselves silently, but they gradually felt numbness spreading in their bodies, and their vision began to blur…
“Damn it! The blade fragments are coated with poison!” Mo Chaoge’s face looked as though it had been severely kicked—as ugly as it could possibly be. He stared at the afflicted Mo family warriors and cried out in alarm, “Cut off the scratched flesh, quickly! Hurry!”
The giant Johnson’s arm was also pierced by a blade fragment, bleeding profusely.
Johnson, his face filled with terror, bit down hard and hacked off the lower half of his left arm with a single swing. He crouched down, screaming in pain, howling, “Miss Mo, please, please help me bandage this!”
“Ugh!”
Mo Yanyu had just managed to stand up, but glancing at Johnson’s severed limb, she felt her stomach turn again, and she doubled over, vomiting once more.
Staring at the pile of mangled flesh, organs, and severed limbs, and the corpses with bluish skin, Barnard and his men were so enraged they felt they might vomit blood themselves. Their expressions turned venomous, their eyes blazing with murderous intent, wishing they could chew the architect of this malicious scheme to pieces.
Among the three forces, Dark Nether lost three men, and the Mo family lost five.
Barnard, being closest to Tu Mu, suffered the greatest loss; after the explosion, he was left as a commander without troops—all his members were wiped out!
“I will kill them! I will kill them all! I will make them wish they were dead!” After a long silence, Barnard roared toward the heavens like a cornered, maddened beast.
“Hmph!” The Dark Nether Moon Envoy snorted coldly and said to Mo Chaoge, “Let’s continue the pursuit; ignore him.”
Having lost three men, he mentally placed the blame on Barnard, believing that if Barnard hadn’t ordered Zuo Song to flip Tu Mu’s body, such a devastating explosion would never have occurred.
“Let’s continue the chase,” Mo Chaoge nodded, paying no more attention to the nearly insane Barnard, and left with the Dark Nether contingent.
“I will definitely kill them all!” Barnard gasped, his sinister gaze darting back and forth toward the direction where Dark Nether and the Mo family had disappeared. After a long while, he followed them, his intent to kill boiling over.
...E