At first glance, the barbarians' reaction speed and posture matched those of well-trained soldiers.
Unfortunately, looking cool didn't even last ten seconds.
The moment they discovered that the sky outside was suddenly filled with surging Guizu aura, wails and shrieks erupted, rising and falling in waves.
Pandemonium broke out instantly—a full-blown camp stampede!
Across two lifetimes, this was Wu Youren's first time witnessing such a scene with his own eyes.
This barbarian squad numbered under thirty in total, yet produced at least a dozen distinct reactions.
Some snatched up a few belongings and plunged headlong into the night—on the surface, the Guizu aura seemed sparse in certain directions.
Yet Wu Youren hadn't circled the camp for half an hour beforehand for nothing.
Others clutched their packs, glancing left and right in indecision.
Some rushed into tents to summon their companions, some stood frozen in place, screaming at the top of their lungs, while others simply collapsed onto the ground...
The fiercest was a bare-chested brute.
Bursting out of his tent, he thrust his blade straight through the comrade beside him, snatched the bundle from the man's shoulder, and bolted.
Talk about an eye-opener!
This vicious fellow wasn't just a knight in cultivation; he was exceptionally savage, clutching his blade as he charged forward madly.
Without warning, the whistling rush of wind sounded from an angle. He turned his head just as an arrow struck him squarely in the torso!
"What the fuck..." What came out of his mouth was barbarian speech, but that was roughly the gist.
He truly hadn't expected someone to be lurking in the dark, shooting cold arrows—he could have stomached a gunshot better.
Just how premeditated was the enemy hidden in the shadows?
Fortunately, as a knight, his physique was tough enough that taking a single arrow didn't hinder him from sprinting at all.
Weaving and dodging as he ran, he didn't forget to shout, "Enemy attack! It's an enemy attack!"
He had no idea who the enemy was, how many there were, or where they were hiding; running for his life was all that mattered.
Yet the next moment, three more arrows whistled through the air, concentrated on his lower body.
Crucially, the direction of fire had shifted—if the enemy didn't have a second archer, they were moving rapidly!
Of the three arrows, only one found its mark; after all, he was a knight, managing to dodge one and deflect another.
However, the third arrow struck his thigh. Though it didn't pierce deeply, it severely impeded his movement.
He stumbled and crashed to the ground. As he scrambled to his feet to run again, another arrow took him!
The next moment, a muffled bang rang out as another barbarian knight hurled a ghost-destroying mine.
Ability masters among the barbarians were scarce, and they produced virtually no ghost-destroying mines. The Liang natives also maintained strict control over ghost-destroying mines, though their control over ghost-vanquishing bullets was somewhat less stringent.
Still, the absolute number of ghost-destroying mines out there wasn't small. As long as one was willing to pay the price... those in the know knew.
Moreover, with the Liang government conscripting barbarians for this campaign, it couldn't send them without any supplies.
Even so, the quantity was truly meager, and most had been taken by the barbarians who ventured into the mountains.
That this squad had a ghost-destroying mine at all was because this knight had hoarded it for himself, and in desperation, he had no choice but to use it.
The gathered Guizu aura looked considerable, but its density was poor; a single ghost-destroying mine blew the cluster apart.
"Run!" the knight bellowed, leading the remaining dozen-odd men toward another direction.
There was clearly an ambush where the first knight had been shot; only an idiot would charge that way.
As for holding out? That was completely out of the question—the barbarian camp had barely any defenses to begin with.
To be able to lure Guizu aura into an attack was a remarkable feat, not to mention having archers lying in wait...
He truly couldn't fathom how his unit had provoked such an enemy.
Yet there was no time to ponder that now; using the cover of night to plunge into the boundless wilderness was the only sensible choice!
"That's our mark," Kenpa nudged the youth beside him with an elbow.
With more than twenty people fleeing in several directions, an ambush of four couldn't possibly handle them all.
They could only pick the highest-value target: knights first, and the largest cluster first.
Not only did this group have the most people, but they also possessed a ghost-destroying mine, meaning their assets certainly wouldn't be meager.
The next moment, two explosions detonated, shaking the ground violently.
The blast waves flared out directly on both flanks of the fleeing group!
"Go!" Three figures emerged from two positions, charging straight toward the center of the blasts!
They had planted more than two satchel charges, but there was no need to detonate them all. Besides being wasteful, it would appear overly deliberate.
The female archer didn't join the melee, but the violent explosions caused immense chaos.
Unleashing rapid volleys in succession, she brought down at least five individuals, all of them stragglers scattering in panic.
The relatively concentrated group was left to the other three.
Some still managed to escape into the scattered Guizu aura, though their cultivation was quite ordinary; whether they could survive until daybreak depended entirely on luck.
The female archer then stepped forward to finish off the fallen one by one, retrieving her arrows as she went—even the damaged ones couldn't be left behind.
Next came looting the bodies; woman or not, she didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Facing burning putrid corpses, she had casually chatted; her fortitude was anything but ordinary.
By the time she finished her tasks, the other three had completely wiped out that barbarian pocket.
Surprisingly, there were three knights among them. Fortunately, the violent blasts had left them thoroughly disoriented, heavily diminishing their combat prowess.
Even so, Manna had nearly been wounded.
The desperate counterattack of a barbarian knight was not to be underestimated, catching people completely off guard.
Thankfully, the youth had quick eyes and nimble hands, throwing a dagger that effectively checked the attacker.
The four quickly cleared the battlefield, took the spoils, and cleaned up any items that might reveal their identities.
From the moment the first grenade went off to their withdrawal, barely twenty-odd minutes had passed.
Before leaving, they tossed the corpses into the tents and set them ablaze.
The commotion here had alerted a few other squads, but in the dead of night, no one possessed that much curiosity.
About a kilometer away from their camp, the four buried the collected sabers, swords, and other gear, along with the four unused satchel charges.
After returning safely to camp, they didn't light a campfire, simply making do for the rest of the night.
The next morning, while everyone was catching up on sleep, Manna's wristwatch vibrated.
Before long, Instructor Hong arrived, riding her eye-catching motorcycle.
Stepping off the bike, she asked bluntly, "What happened early this morning—was that your doing?"
"Yes," Manna answered, truly stepping up to take responsibility this time. "Namuzha couldn't have died for nothing."
Hong Da offered no judgment on her response, asking with a grave expression, "Gathering Guizu aura... how was that done?"
This was what truly concerned her. Any methods capable of causing severe repercussions had to be understood.
After hearing the process explained, her expression softened slightly. She glanced at the youth. "How much Guizu-luring agent do you have left?"
"Enough for one primer," Wu Youren answered submissively, clearly aware that keeping some for himself in secret wasn't entirely proper.
Instructor Hong let out a soft snort. "Use it up as soon as possible."
The youth nodded silently without arguing. The agent was meant for emergencies, and adopting a compliant attitude was what mattered most.
Manna had fewer reservations and couldn't resist asking, "The news spread that fast?"
Instructor Hong looked at her. "The news of you being framed by the barbarians spread just as fast."
Kenpa caught onto something. "The friction between us and the barbarians... has it grown this intense?"
"Efforts are constantly being made to defuse it," Instructor Hong said, shaking her head impassively. "The results haven't been great."
Wu Youren suddenly spoke up. "Is it mainly because they ask for too much?"
"Of course," Instructor Hong replied casually. "The barbarians' demands know no bounds. They're far too greedy."
Then she subtly stole a glance at him, sighing inwardly: What a pity such a sharp youth isn't a Liang native!
Next, she inquired about the detailed course of yesterday's battle.
When she heard that they had buried the supplies that might provoke disputes outside, she gave a slight nod: they had acted with sufficient caution!
Her greatest worry was that, knowing they had her tacit approval, they wouldn't know restraint.
Noticing her expression, the four also breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Manna pulled up the footage of the suspected grand knight wearing a black hood. "Master, this person was eavesdropping on us."
Instructor Hong studied it, then shook her head and said offhandedly, "Can't identify him. Can't be a barbarian."
From her tone, so long as he wasn't a barbarian, a little leaked intelligence didn't matter in the least.
Next, Kenpa spoke up. "Hong Da, what about the corpse Guizu matter?"
Instructor Hong fell silent. After a few seconds, she shook her head. "It might really be as you guessed."
"Who is behind it cannot be determined for now... Don't let word of this get out."
The four fell silent upon hearing this. After a while, Manna remarked, "I think the barbarians are under greater suspicion."
Instructor Hong shook her head, glancing at her, then at the submissive youth: Both are young people, so why is the difference between them so vast?
Kenpa countered, "I think the likelihood of a fallen ability master isn't any lower than that of the barbarians."
Manna said nothing to that, while the female archer sighed softly. "Troubled times indeed."
After finishing their discussion and resting a while longer, Hong Da led them out on her motorcycle to roam the wilderness in the afternoon.
Before long, they encountered a military squad.
The two parties communicated from afar using the intercom on their wristwatches to confirm their identities, without even drawing close.
Next, they ran into three more squads, two of which were made up of barbarians. One of them visibly attempted to approach them.
Instructor Hong drew a short blade and casually swung it.
Over thirty meters away, a streak of dust and dirt blasted up from the ground.
She hadn't even stopped her motorcycle to deliver the strike.
Yet that effortless slash was enough to make the thirty-strong barbarian group immediately veer away.
No one was crazy enough to challenge a squad with a grand knight—even if they had a grand knight of their own, they wouldn't take such a risk.
As dusk fell, the five finally encountered a wave of Guizu aura and moved in to slay it, with Hong Da holding the line the entire time without intervening.
The next day followed the same pattern: they eliminated two pockets of Guizu aura. The good news was that they didn't encounter any more corpse Guizu; the bad news was that they gained no new spoils.
At dusk, while everyone was pitching camp, Instructor Hong suddenly called out, "Come out."
Three hundred meters away, a figure flashed—the same fellow in the black mask appeared silently.
Chapter 174