Chapter 1171: First Reinforcements
Song Zining’s expression became solemn when he saw the crest representing the Summit of Peaks. Possessing such a domain meant that Doer was no ordinary duke. As someone who had obtained the werewolves’ core inheritance, he had probably been holding back against Duke Wei. This duke’s true combat strength was probably far beyond their expectations.
Doer only deployed his domain but didn’t attack immediately. He had fixed Song Zining in his sights, raring to launch an all-out attack.
Off in the distance, Digger glanced over in trepidation. He had challenged the werewolf’s authority more than once, yet he had never imagined that the difference in power between them was too great. There was simply no way for him to close that gap.
Doer paid no heed to Digger’s thoughts. A black sun rose up from the mountain peak behind him as he took aim at Song Zining’s forehead and fired!
The latter was focused entirely on defense.
It was at this time that a faint, black feather of light appeared behind Doer and drilled silently into his body.
The change happened so quickly that even Doer was astonished, let alone others. However, the werewolf duke’s hand remained steady and managed to pull the trigger out of instinct. Digger reacted a bit slower and only saw the feather entering Doer’s back.
The two dukes, of course, hadn’t forgotten that there was another powerful opponent hiding on the battlefield. It was just that Qianye was proficient in concealment and sniping, so it was more difficult to find him. They antic.i.p.ated that the other party would have to come out and rescue Zhao Jundu and Song Zining the moment they fell into danger. And once he was out in the open, he could forget about escaping the two duke’s lock.
Yet none of their expected strategies were of use. Doer and Digger had never expected that Qianye would remain undetected and even attack from within the two duke’s perception range.
Time seemed to slow down as Digger turned around and traced the feather’s trajectory. Only then did he notice Qianye at the street corner. The young man was only thirty meters away, yet no one had noticed him! Digger was overcome by a strange feeling—it was as if Qianye didn’t exist even though he was looking straight at him.
Bloodline Concealment! Digger immediately thought of an ancient vampire talent. This was the Monroe clan’s unique ability.
Its chances of appearing were shockingly low, and it required the backing of an outstanding bloodline to be effective.
It was said that this ability had only appeared in Nighteye throughout the years, and with her disappearance, it faded away into being just a legend. For some reason, however, Digger could only think of this name at this moment.
Naturally, Doer had no knowledge of the vampire race’s inside secrets. After firing at Song Zining, he turned around without waiting to confirm the outcome and immediately locked onto Qianye. He then hurled the axe in his hand toward Qianye’s chest!
The axe couldn’t lock onto Qianye, and neither did it possess any other ability, but it was sufficiently fast and heavy. This outrageously crude violence was definitely the style of a werewolf.
Doer had no way to counter Qianye’s Bloodline Concealment, but if he could see the target, he could attack it. The plan was to make full use of his overwhelming advantage as a duke to meet the enemy head-on!
With East Peak in hand, Qianye flicked the axe at the moment of peril and spun it along with his blade. The weapon revolved faster and faster in an increasing arc before it was sent flying off!
The strength, technique, and resolve Qianye had displayed in that split second was inconceivable, inhuman even. Doer suffered the second shock for today.
That axe was hurled at Doer’s full-strength. Despite using a heaven-defying technique to dissolve most of the force behind it, Qianye could hardly withstand the impact. His face turned pale as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
On the other side, Song Zining held his spear between his arm and ribs, slanting its tip toward the sky and piercing the incoming bullet with great precision. The projectile wasn’t big, but it bore the weight of a mountain range. The spear bent into a deep arch from the pressure, then exploded! Song Zining was sent flying backward, cras.h.i.+ng through several broken walls and digging a trench several dozen meters in length before coming to a stop.
Song Zining’s blurry shroud had dispersed, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Glancing at the spear in his hand, it was already mangled beyond recognition.
Doer’s attacks were indeed extraordinary, injuring Qianye and Song Zining in just one attack, and not lightly, either. The situation on the battlefield immediately took a turn for the worse.
Despite the good opportunity, Doer didn’t follow up with more attacks. He scanned the field with a snort, causing all mercenaries and Zhao clan soldiers to tremble. They couldn’t help but hold back and a.s.sume a cautious stance, allowing the dark race soldiers who were in danger to escape.
Doer raised his left hand and, drawing two circles, pointed back at their main camp. Digger was astonished because this was the signal to retreat!
With Song Zining and Qianye injured, Digger simply couldn’t understand why Doer would issue such a command. His killing intent surged sharply. In truth, he had wanted to kill Zhao Jundu the moment Qianye made his appearance, but only at that point did he realize that the fourth young master was quite difficult to deal with.
His sword techniques looked simple, but there was no opening at all. In terms of technical perfection, Zhao Jundu’s skill wasn’t inferior to Qianye’s stunning axe deflection from just now.
Although Zhao Jundu’s origin power cultivation was a level below Digger, he possessed much greater endurance. The vampire duke realized that he couldn’t suppress his opponent unless he went all out with every attack. This could only mean one thing—the grade of his blood energy was far below Zhao Jundu’s daybreak origin power in terms of purity. They weren’t even comparable.
Only at this point did Digger learn that Zhao Jundu’s fame as the number one character in the younger generation wasn’t just an empty t.i.tle. He had also realized that Doer wasn’t letting him have the contribution of taking down Zhao Jundu out of goodwill. The vampire probably knew he couldn’t capture the target, or that the price involved would be too high compared to what he was willing to pay.
He couldn’t deal with Zhao Jundu, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t handle the injured Song Zining and Qianye.
A thought flashed through his mind as he confirmed his target and flickered toward Song Zining. He avoided Qianye subconsciously because this young man’s fame was on par with Zhao Jundu, and there were too many mysteries surrounding him. That spectral entrance just now was enough to make anyone cautious.
But the moment he pulled away from the fight, Digger felt his hair stand on end as an intense sense of danger filled his heart. At that moment, Zhao Jundu stood straight as an azure brilliance shot up from his body and he was no longer as ordinary-looking as before. A single slash arrived with a momentum that could look down on the world in disdain!
This slash could neither be dodged nor blocked.
Digger cried out loudly and ferociously. In an unexpected move, he took Zhao Jundu’s slash and kept on charging at Song Zining. If he could kill this seventh young n.o.ble, his contributions would be sufficient even if he retreated thereafter.
But just as he was approaching his target, Digger suddenly felt his vision turn blurry and Song Zining’s image became hazy in his eyes. The surroundings s.h.i.+fted from the battlefield in Whitetown to a transition of myriad worlds.
Digger was greatly alarmed because he could not lock onto the target! Just how had Doer hit Song Zining just now? Clenching his jaws, Digger erupted with blood energy—failing to lock onto Song Zining meant that the efficiency of his attack would be greatly discounted. The only way to get over that was to fill the gap with an absolute difference in power.
Just at that moment, Digger felt his blood run cold! He turned around with every ounce of strength he had, only to see a feather of light flickering through the air. This feather wasn’t black, but Digger had no time to ponder on the difference. He rushed into the air, made a sharp turn, and flickered back to camp. He became the first to retreat among all the soldiers in Whitetown.
Doer was in no rush to leave. He gazed deeply at Qianye and asked, “How many more shots like that can you fire?”
“Take a guess.”
Doer shook his head, not willing to put in that effort. He simply took to the air and left at a leisurely pace. The mercenaries and Zhao clan soldiers in his path would all move aside to make a path. The lucky survivors from the dark races took this opportunity to escape with their lives.
It was easy to tell from the sudden retreat order that Doer’s injuries weren’t light, but no one dared to test the calm duke. A violent mercenary raised his gun, but Qianye quickly pushed it down, shaking his head. Even Zhao Jundu had no intention of giving chase. Instead, he walked over to check up on Song Zining.
The scattered battles in the city came to an end with Doer’s retreat. The soldiers took the time to clear the battlefield and collect necessary supplies for the next fight. Some simply collapsed and started sleeping to recover their stamina. All the injured had to dress their own wounds because no one in the city was uninjured at this point. Zhao Jundu was perhaps the only one who hadn’t suffered new injuries.
Song Zining and Zhao Jundu arrived near Qianye. The former asked, “How powerful was that shot of yours?”
Qianye hesitated for a bit. “How should I know?”
Qianye had hit several duke-rank experts with his upgraded Shot of Inception, but everyone reacted in the same way. The degree of damage was evident on the surface, but they immediately turned away and fled. Doer was the calmest after being shot, proving that he was much stronger than the other opponents. That made it rather difficult to gauge the damage.
Zhao Jundu asked, “What about your injuries?”
“I’m fine, I can keep fighting.”
Having fought side-by-side more than once, Zhao Jundu knew of Qianye’s abnormal endurance in battle. He patted his brother on the shoulder and said, “Be careful, survival is the most important.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on dying just yet.” Qianye’s smile was radiant.
The fourth young master wanted to say something but hesitated for a while. “I heard you have a good gun that’s related to the Pointer Monarch. Let me take a look.”
Qianye knew there was no problem, so he fished out Heartgrave and handed it to Zhao Jundu.
Zhao Jundu fiddled with the weapon for a while before saying with a sigh, “The name Heartgrave… is quite fitting.”
After offering praise, Zhao Jundu returned the firearm to Qianye. “Keep it on your back, you might not have the opportunity to retrieve it in battle.”
Those words were spoken from experience. Qianye strapped the weapon to his back just as advised.
They had just finished chatting briefly when they heard the sound of distant fighting . At the moment, the rear lines of the Evernight army began to fall into chaos. The three took to the air and gazed into the distance with serious expressions.
Song Zining sighed. “It’s actually her, seriously…”
Zhao Jundu’s expression was a bit strange as well.
A figure in simple clothing could be seen shuttling through the distant Evernight base. Although this person was entirely surrounded, she was completely fearless and fought with harsh ferocity.
Even though her face could not be seen, just the technique, fighting style, and origin power aura gave Bai Aotu away immediately.
Who would’ve thought? The first reinforcements to arrive were actually led by her. All three men in the city had a fair bit of conflict with her.
That courage to charge the enemy formation alone, only she would have it.
Zhao Jundu shook his head. “I really can’t tell if it’s bravery or idiocy.”
Song Zining said, “She’s letting the dark races know that the Empire’s reinforcements have arrived.”
Zhao Jundu replied indifferently, “Doer is no idiot.” That werewolf duke isn’t famous, and he didn’t really s.h.i.+ne while fighting the central army, either. But observing his actions just now, he’s definitely not one to be trifled with, be it in terms of combat strength or insightfulness.
Qianye frowned. “Are we just going to watch like this? Don’t we need to go over and help?”
“No need.” Song Zining glanced at Qianye with a smile. “She’s no idiot. She’s probably just feigning an attack to keep them occupied and will retreat after a while.”