It was already difficult for Ye Cha to stall the Fire Leopard King for the time for half an incense stick to burn. When he was at the top of his speed, he could be as fast as a Human Sovereign Realm warrior. That being said, Fire Leopard King was not slow, either.
What made it worse was that the surroundings were crowded with Fire Leopards. Ye Cha had a hard time moving around. He would have to risk his life in order to hold on for the time for half an incense stick to burn. If he were unlucky, he could perish.
"Come on!"
Hu Lang yelled. They must kill the Fire Leopard King within the time for half an incense stick to burn or else everyone would be in danger. The Human Sovereign Realm warriors began to try their best, attempting to slay the Fire Leopard King as soon as possible.
However…
What happened next was depressing. After the Fire Leopard King was smashed into the ground, it didn"t come out. Instead, it dug a tunnel underground and fled. It didn"t go far. It was lurking underground, ready to engage at any time.
"The Fire Leopard King is smart!"
Everyone felt frustrated. The higher the rank of a Xuan Beast was, the more intelligent the beast would be. Granted, the Fire Leopards didn"t seem to be Xuan Beasts, they did have lives and souls. It was understandable that it knew how to draw advantages and avoid disadvantages.
The situation was worsening. The Fire Leopard King was too fast for them to go underground and catch up with it. If they let it go and turned to attack the other Fire Leopard King, the nearer one would spring into action again.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom!"
The six Human Sovereign Realm warriors were blasted away. The nearby ground was cracked, in a state of devastation. Hu Lang even barged underground, trying to kill the Fire Leopard King.
But the Fire Leopard King was too agile underground. Hu Lang alone could not kill the Fire Leopard King yet. After he tried for a while, he had to give up against his will and came back up.
"Hu Lang, play cat and mouse!"
Lu Ling thought quickly and yelled when Hu Lang rushed out of ground. Hu Lang and the other Human Sovereign Realm warriors looked at each other. All of a sudden, they began to fly toward Ye Cha"s direction.
As she had expected…
Right after the Human Sovereign Realm warriors flew away, the ground cracked and a fire shadow broke free from it. The Fire Leopard King was tricked and it began to hunt down the Human Sovereign Realm warriors.
"Whoosh~"
A blue claw fell from sky, grabbing at the Fire Leopard King. If it hadn"t been wounded, it would have dodged. But given that it was slowed down, the claw grabbed it. The other five Human Sovereign Realm warriors took actions. They resorted to their strongest means, struggling to finish the Fire Leopard King in one move.
"Boom!"
The Fire Leopard King was knocked away. It rolled for more than two miles. It lay on its stomach, barely breathing. One of its leg was broken, mauled heavily evidently.
"Whoosh~"
Seeing the Human Sovereign Realm warriors coming over, the Fire Leopard King dug the ground with two claws and began to go under. It knew that if it didn"t run, it would be sure to die.
"I cannot hold on any longer…"
From the distance came a roar. It was the miserable cry from Ye Cha. He was being pursued by a stream of red light. Ye Cha had to alter his course constantly. He was running at the top of his speed and yet the distance between him and the Fire Leopard King was shortening.
Ye Cha"s wrinkled face was covered in blood. His armor was cracked. He was bleeding heavily, an indication of serious wounds. He couldn"t stall for the time for half an incense stick to burn.
Looking at the crowds of Fire Leopards behind the Fire Leopard King, everyone knew that Ye Cha had done his best. If Ye Cha were at the Human Sovereign Realm or the peak of the n.o.ble Lord Realm, it would have been better. It had already been hard on him, a warrior at the later stage of the n.o.ble Lord Realm, to avoid being torn apart by the Fire Leopard King.
The second Fire Leopard King seemed to be stronger and it was faster. The Human Sovereign Realm warriors looked at each other, gritting their teeth. They had to face the Fire Leopard King.
They couldn"t conquer the surrounding areas without killing the two Fire Leopard Kings. In that case, they wouldn"t be able to collect resources or go on an expedition to other areas. The Inferno was a land of treasures. The fact that it was easier to learn Profound Meanings was enough for the warriors to risk their lives to conquer it, not to mention the Mystical Materials.
Apart from G.o.d of Meng, the other five Human Sovereign Realm warriors weren"t wounded. G.o.d of Meng had taken healing pellets for a while and he had been recovering at an alarming speed. He was well now. n.o.body else had the reason to leave. They were ready to risk their lives.
As for the first Fire Leopard King that was wounded and underground, they had stopped concerning about it. What could the Fire Leopard King do with one broken leg? It couldn"t recover within a short time. All they needed to do was to watch out for surprise attacks from it.
"Take your places!"
Hu Lang yelled. The six Human Sovereign Realm warriors flew forward in a fan. After they flew past Ye Cha, they made their moves. G.o.d of Meng took the position in the front again in order to buy time for others to target their attacks at the Fire Leopard King.
"Woo, woo~"
The second Fire Leopard King was breathing red air stream as well. G.o.d of Meng was frozen in midair once again. The Fire Leopard King pointed its horn at G.o.d of Meng. He would have been wounded again if it was the same with the previous time.
But it was different!
The six Human Sovereign Realm warriors had been fighting together long enough to coordinate by tacit understanding. As soon as G.o.d of Meng rushed over, the others made their moves as well. They slowed the Fire Leopard King at once. Hu Lang swung his axe and knocked the Fire Leopard King away.
"Boom~"
In the distance, a pit appeared on a mountain. Stones and boulders rolled off. The loud noise lingered on. Dust clouded the air. The earth trembled and the mountain swayed.
"Alright~"
The warriors looked at each other, exhaling in relaxation. They had cooperated well. They should be able to slowly torture the Fire Leopard King to death. When the two Fire Leopard King died, the other Fire Leopards wouldn"t be of any concern. The warriors could be conquered easily.
"Bang."
The Fire Leopard King smashed into the mountain came back out. The six Human Sovereign Realm warriors came head on. Same as before, G.o.d of Meng distracted the Fire Leopard King and the others a.s.sisted.
"Whoosh~"
Ye Cha was on his way to the entrance of the valley. He was in need of treatment after suffering from serious wounds. The outside was crowded with Fire Leopards. He couldn"t have stayed.
"Bang!"
He used his golden hooks and smashed the Fire Leopards nearby away and dashed on.
"Um? Something is off—"
Right at that moment, Master of the Lotus Society shouted. He looked toward the ground behind Ye Cha and yelled, "Ye Cha, don"t go in there!"
Ye Cha halted, not understanding why the Master of Lotus Society had said so. Confused, he resumed his way back. Under the force of inertia, he rushed into the valley.
"Fall back!"
"Saintess, fall back!"
"Saint Lord, run…"
Master of Lotus Society, Hu Lang and G.o.d of Meng began to scream at the same time. Ye Cha finally understood why they had told him not to come in. A dark shadow was making its way into the valley from underground in an appalling speed. It was the wounded Fire Leopard King.
A wounded Fire Leopard King was a Fire Leopard King nonetheless.
Fire Leopard King was strong both in defense and offense. Regular n.o.ble Lord Realm warriors wouldn"t stand a chance. They couldn"t survive one move. Only extremely talented warriors like Ye Cha could have the chance to run away.
Ye Cha coming back to the valley shouldn"t be a problem but as of this moment, this was a grave mistake.
There was a wounded Fire Leopard King underground, one that was intelligent. It had been sensing the situation above ground. Ye Cha was running back and was at the n.o.ble Lord Realm, it was natural that the Fire Leopard King targeted Ye Cha to vent its anger.
Ye Cha coming to the valley had attracted the Fire Leopard King over. If the Fire Leopard King had wanted to go to the valley from above ground, it would have been confused by the ancient formation and it would walk around in circles.
But this Fire Leopard King was underground, immune to the influence of the illusion formation. It had its eyes on Ye Cha, tracked him and made its way into the valley from underground.
"All of you, get back to the Deserted World!"
For the first time, the composed Lu Ling was scared. But she wasn"t panicking. She took Lu Li in one arm and flew up on her Bead of Life.
While flying back in midair, she yelled, "Tu Hong, and you guys, the 30 of you must stop the Fire Leopard King even at the expense of your lives. The rest, go back to the Deserted World, quick!"
It was too late for the six Human Sovereign Realm warriors to come to rescue. If the Fire Leopard King made its way to the crowds, half of the more than 1000 n.o.ble Lord Realm warriors and the more than 1000 talented disciples in the base camp would perish. Therefore, someone must be sacrificed in order to stop the Fire Leopard King so that the rest could have time to flee.