The Martial Academy and the military had long since decided to reopen the passage, and Cynthia had previously been ordered to hold out for three more days.
The strikes by several grand knights the previous night had been preliminary work to clear the periphery.
In terms of timing, the three-day deadline would not expire until tomorrow, but this sudden turn of events accelerated operational deployment on the perimeter.
The military personnel breaking out were carrying the latest frontline intel, so rendezvous and extraction were imperative.
The burly man now felt that waiting here was too passive.
Yet when it came to venturing into the mountains, Instructor Hong felt there was little point.
As for Wu Youren's opinion? That was not even on their radar.
Reluctant to let the matter rest, the burly man sent several messages via his smartwatch, then looked at the youth.
"When you came out, do you remember roughly where those powerful Guizu aura clusters were?"
"Not with certainty," Wu Youren replied solemnly. "And as you know, Guizu aura clusters can move."
Not long after he spoke, over a dozen figures crept over. Some were in military uniform while others wore civilian clothes, including five knights in total.
This was a rescue team hastily organized by the military.
The burly man looked at Instructor Hong. "How about your man leads them to scout while the two of us trail behind to provide backup?"
Hong Yan was speechless. Among the five newly arrived knights, one was actually an instructor from the Martial Academy.
"In such a hurry?" She pondered for a moment, nodded, and glanced at Wu Youren. "Make sure he is well protected."
She still did not ask the youth's opinion. It was taken for granted that the Martial Academy could order its students about.
During extraordinary times like this, the fact that she remembered to urge them to "protect" him was already decent enough.
Wu Youren had no right to object either; they had made that clear when he first entered the Martial Academy.
The burly man turned to a knight in military uniform. "Did you hear that?"
"Mission guaranteed!" The uniformed knight paused for only a fraction of a second before answering without hesitation.
Next, flanked and protected by two knights, Wu Youren and the others formed a loose formation and crept toward the mountains.
They did not take the main road, instead scaling the mountainside about a hundred meters away to advance along the slope.
The moment they entered the mountain pass, the two apprentice knights taking the lead froze, reflexively halting in their tracks.
Close behind, Wu Youren and the others stopped as well—the mountains were shrouded in dense, thick white fog!
Visibility was terrible, at most five or six meters!
Their loose combat formation reflexively began to draw together.
Mist in the mountains after rain was not strange, but the rain had not completely stopped yet—it was still drizzling intermittently—so how could the fog be this heavy?
"This doesn't make sense," muttered the knight to Wu Youren's left. "Feels like Guizu aura at work."
To his right was the uniformed knight, who asked in a low voice, "Little friend, which way should we go?"
No one dared disobey a grand knight's orders, but when it came to this young boy, none of them could place absolute trust in him.
"Tsk." Wu Youren frowned, pointed in a direction, and made a hand gesture.
Now that they had entered the mountains, they could no longer speak casually and had to rely on hand gestures to guide the way.
The others were skeptical of his directions, but at this point, they had no other choice.
The direction the youth pointed in shifted constantly, making their march stumble and falter.
Sudden ravines appeared, along with boulders over ten meters tall, not to mention ubiquitous thickets and bushes.
On ordinary days, such obstacles would hardly trouble an apprentice knight, let alone a knight.
Right now, however, they could not make a sound lest they disturb the Guizu aura, forcing them to remain on maximum alert.
After advancing for about twenty minutes, the uniformed knight grew restless. "Isn't this a bit slow?"
He was holding back; the pace was unusually sluggish, though he kept his voice barely above a whisper.
Even so, hearing him speak, Wu Youren shot him a cold glare brimming with irritation.
The knight to his left hastily made a hand gesture to diffuse the tension: *Are there lots of enemies around?*
Wu Youren simply stopped, picked up a twig, and wrote a line on the ground: *Very dense Guizu aura clusters!*
He was genuinely exasperated; right now, the Guizu aura clusters around them were even denser than when he had exited the mountain.
Though moving slowly, their progress was still smooth; if people kept opening their mouths at every turn, the danger would skyrocket.
His expression was grave, but the others did not necessarily take it to heart, as they truly had not run into any real danger along the way.
That was, until an apprentice knight accidentally stepped on moss and slipped off a boulder.
After several tumbles, he vanished into the white fog.
This man was also a soldier in uniform, and as he rolled downward, he clamped his mouth shut without making a peep.
Yet the sound of him tumbling down was not something the patter of light rain could mask.
Immediately after, everyone sensed faint, icy chills beginning to stir.
A moment later came a muffled grunt, followed by gunfire. "Come on, you bastards, I'll take you down with me!"
Yet after a few gunshots, another agonized cry rang out. "Ugh—despicable!"
Immediately following was an explosion, less than twenty meters away from the group!
No one moved to rescue him, however. For one, it would jeopardize the mission; for another, they could tell he had detonated a ghost-destroying mine.
These devices were far more expensive than ghost-vanquishing bullets without being vastly more powerful; often, they were used for self-destruction.
At the very least, it ensured that upon a martial artist's death, their corpse would not undergo Guizu mutation.
The remaining people inwardly ratcheted up their vigilance: they truly were surrounded by Guizu aura.
Perhaps a few still did not completely trust the youth's abilities, but no one dared let their guard down anymore.
Two to three hundred meters behind them, the two grand knights exchanged glances: *In that direction?*
Their sensory perception was far stronger than ordinary knights', but faced with such dense fog, even they were somewhat disoriented.
If not worried about exposing themselves, they could have unleashed their perception without restraint, but doing so now was ill-advised.
Their strength was not enough to eliminate such a massive volume of Guizu aura; right now, neither heaven nor earth favored the human race.
"Is that little guy not quite up to the task?" the burly man transmitted his voice to Instructor Hong's ear.
The raspy voice answered coldly, "You sensed how dense those aura clusters are too. If he weren't up to it, something would have happened long ago!"
"Then it's my men who didn't take my words seriously!" The burly man knew all too well what kind of proud, hardened soldiers he commanded.
Given the current circumstances, however, there was not much more he could do. "Let's hope they learn their lesson."
The group ahead had indeed heightened their vigilance, which only made them advance even slower!
Seeing that nightfall was barely an hour away and they had covered less than two hundred meters in a straight line, the uniformed knight grew anxious.
Having learned his lesson, he did not make a sound this time, instead writing on the ground: *Should we pick a spot to set up camp first?*
*Camp... you're really dreaming,* Wu Youren smirked and similarly wrote in reply: *Feel free to camp; I'm heading out of the mountains!*
The uniformed knight wrote again: *No way, you can't leave. We are responsible for protecting you!*
*I can get back on my own. Staying here is your choice, but forgive me, I won't be keeping you company!*
That Martial Academy instructor, having received Chief Instructor Hong's cue earlier, stepped forward silently in support of the student.
He had confirmed that the youth possessed real capability in dealing with the Guizu; otherwise, they would not have advanced safely for this long.
A talent like this needed to be safeguarded properly.
The uniformed knight hesitated, then scribbled another line: *Advance twenty more minutes, then turn back.*
Wu Youren shook his head. Just as he was about to write a refusal, he froze and turned in astonishment toward the forward flank.
The others had the same reaction, with two knights reacting even faster.
From deep within the white fog came faint wails—the classic response of Guizu being slain.
Immediately after, everyone sensed faint, cold currents surging around them.
A moment later, crackling bursts erupted, sounding like ghost-vanquishing bullets, or perhaps ghost-destroying mines.
Simultaneously, faint, persistent wails echoed out.
Everyone's eyes snapped to the Jin youth, clearly awaiting his judgment.
Among them were five Liang knights!
In that instant, none of them realized that what they were waiting on was merely the reaction of a single young boy!
"Hmm..." Wu Youren frowned deeply. "Very strong, exceedingly strong. You're no match for it."
Since the surrounding Guizu aura had been drawn toward the commotion, he spoke aloud, though keeping his voice very low.
"What if you include me?" A figure blurred into view—the burly man had arrived.
He still carried the heavy machine gun and two large packs on his back; to move with such agility under that load proved him worthy of a grand knight.
Wu Youren spread his hands candidly. "You can sense it yourself, sir. Don't tease a nobody like me!"
"I haven't released much perception," the burly man stated solemnly.
Grand knight or not, as a soldier, he never lacked caution on the battlefield.
He added straightforwardly, "You make the call."
"At the very least, it must be a fast strike and quick retreat," Wu Youren said carefully. "I don't feel... we might have to pay a price."
"We have to save them," a raspy voice drifted over, unhurried. "Likely an ability master, or... an apprentice?"
Apprentice ability masters were only certified after awakening, their combat power rivaling knights; genuine ability masters were more prized than grand knights.
"With this kind of commotion?" The burly man's brow rose. Raising his hands, he unslung the heavy machine gun and his packs. "Hong Yan, assist me."
"You take the lead attack, I'll skirmish," Instructor Hong finally appeared, though her form remained erratic and elusive.
"Done," the burly man grinned. An instant later, a shockwave of energy rippled outward.
This was a grand knight releasing his perception at full throttle, the wave carrying an innate aura of pressure.
"Die!" Drawing a greatsword shaped like a horse-cleaving saber, he vanished into the white fog in a flash.
Leaving behind only a shout: "Student, man the heavy machine gun!"
"Huh?" Wu Youren was dumbfounded. These firearms were... upgrading and iterating a bit too fast.
"What are you staring at? All of you, keep up!" The familiar raspy voice rang out again, and the faintly visible Instructor Hong vanished entirely.
"Fuck yeah, finally a real fight," swore the uniformed knight to Wu Youren's right, drawing his long saber and charging forward.
Chapter 74