Ambush

For the Mountain Ghost faction, if they had to assemble the strongest five-man lineup from their ranks, it would be A-Yi, Little Fatty, I Alone Am Supreme, Dropout Fish, and Taboo-Free. Such a team was more than capable of taking down nine captain-level elites from the official organization. However, if those nine elites included powerhouses like Sun Miaomiao, Peeping at Bao Through a Pipe, and World Returns to Fire, then a five-versus-nine battle offered no guarantees. To begin with, Night Walkers were a class at the pinnacle of combat strength—not in the least inferior to the evil classes—and they commanded yin corpses and spirit servants. Moreover, experts like Sun Miaomiao, World Returns to Fire, the Maoshan Daoist, and Peeping at Bao Through a Pipe were only weaker than A-Yi. In truth, they were not a bit inferior to the other top-tier combatants of the Mountain Ghost faction. On the other hand, Yuanshi Tianzun's side had only five people. Even with two yin corpses, they amounted to six combatants at most. Meanwhile, their own side would have nine fighters—nine top-tier experts. If they staked all their trump cards, they were fully capable of going toe-to-toe with Yuanshi Tianzun's team. They might even win. "Going after Sun Miaomiao's side would mean fighting five against fifteen because they have yin corpses, and people like Sun Miaomiao and Yuan Ting are the cream of the crop—not easy to handle," Taboo-Free stated. "In my view, fighting Yuanshi Tianzun gives us our highest odds of winning. Granted, Yuanshi Tianzun won't be an easy mark either, but I believe our chances will be slightly better against them. Besides, our primary objective here is to eliminate Yuanshi Tianzun. If our odds of success are roughly the same on either side, why wouldn't we choose him?" His reasoning convinced everyone. Seeing that no one objected, Taboo-Free immediately selected the members who would hunt Yuanshi Tianzun and deliver the blood jade. They were A-Yi, I Alone Am Supreme, Taboo-Free, Dropout Fish, Good Minister Chooses His Master to Slay, Hongwei (My Fate Is Mine, Not Heaven's), Treading the Firmament into Shards, All Under Heaven Is White, and Kou Beiyue. —Kou Beiyue had volunteered, declaring through gritted teeth that Yuanshi Tianzun had tried to kill his little brother and was his irreconcilable enemy. Even though they had thoroughly brainwashed their members, Yuanshi Tianzun's earlier ploy to sow discord had still planted seeds of distrust within the Mountain Ghost faction. The eight experts figured that since the remaining candidates were all roughly on par with one another, picking someone who harbored deep hatred for Yuanshi Tianzun was certainly better than taking someone who might cower in fear of death. Just then, someone in the crowd spoke up. "Could we run a war of attrition in shifts? Instead of sending all nine inside, we could send eight and leave one spot open so the formation won't close. If one of the eight gets injured, we could immediately swap them out for fresh blood." Taboo-Free glanced at him and sneered. "You need to realize that even at nine against five, we can't guarantee a hundred percent victory. Do you really think our chances improve if we handicap ourselves to eight against five? Having people enter one by one as others get hurt is just slicing away our own flesh with a dull knife. "On top of that, that strategy is far too easy to counter. All the enemy has to do is wear us down for a few rounds, then have several Orderly classes from the other formations come over as reinforcements to fill the capacity to fourteen. When that happens, not only will our nine-to-five advantage plunge to eight-to-six, but the rest of our forces will also lose any chance of counterattacking the other formations." A Wood Monster in the faction added, "As long as the player limit isn't reached in the other three formations, they won't close. If I were the Mountain God faction, I would definitely send yin corpses, spirit servants, or controlled animals to secretly monitor the final formation. Your so-called war of attrition would be exposed to them in no time." Silence fell over the crowd. Taboo-Free continued, "Then it's settled. Next, let's discuss our second tactic." "A second tactic?" Kou Beiyue asked. Internally, Kou Beiyue thought, *Is this guy's brain a little too sharp? He actually has a backup tactic? He's definitely not going to be easy to deal with.* The corner of Taboo-Free's mouth curled upward. "Right now, Yuanshi Tianzun and his group have only five people, while we have eighteen. Our second tactic is... to ambush them!" *** Outside the killing trial. The female Grand Marshal, her head covered in white hair and her features blurred and indistinct, suddenly shifted her gaze away from the Saint-stage killing trial and turned toward the Transcendent-stage trial beside it. As if by unspoken agreement, the heavyweights on both sides made the exact same move, turning their attention away from the Saint-stage trial and focusing on the Transcendent stage. The Saints were still engaged in slaughter across their battlefield; their fight was far from over. In the Transcendent-stage killing trial, however, progress had already reached the critical final showdown. The grand figures cared little for the battle of wits and courage among the juniors, but they cared deeply about the outcome. Several elders from the White Tiger Guards and the Scarlet Fire Gang, along with Elder Dog, stared fixedly at the Transcendent-stage trial, their attention rapt. Yuanshi Tianzun belonged to the White Tiger Guards. Whether their organization would produce another Fu Qingyang hinged entirely on this battle. The Scarlet Fire Gang elders, meanwhile, were worried about Jiang Jingwei. Although their gang leader had always maintained that once one became a spirit realm walker, life and death were in the hands of fate, if Jiang Jingwei truly perished inside the trial, the leader would still grieve. Grief bred fury, and no one could withstand the wrath of the contemporary Flame Emperor. "I'm really looking forward to the clash of tigers and dragons ahead. If Six Fingers were here, he'd probably be excitedly offering to run the book, calling on everyone to place their bets," Fear Heavenly King remarked with a smile, his gaze piercing through the trial to fix upon the abandoned park. "Yet you did not bring him along, despite his bitter pleading," Wrath Divine General said in a deep voice. At this moment, Wrath Divine General could hardly wait to leave. He had not the slightest interest in the outcome of the killing trial; he was consumed by an agonizing thirst to know whether his wife had truly been Lust Divine General's sex slave. "Of course I couldn't bring him. If that fellow had come, he would probably be down on his knees begging everyone to gamble with him!" A look of distaste crossed Fear Heavenly King's handsome face. Turning toward the female Grand Marshal, he chuckled. "Care to guess what item we gave to our organization's little ones? I'll give you a hint: it's a rule-based item for the Night Walker class. Furthermore, it's an item that no one will ever be able to claim." The female Grand Marshal replied impassively, "Fear, you're just as loose-lipped and full of nonsense as you were back in our school days." Before Fear Heavenly King could respond, the President of the Spirit Society spoke up slowly: "He truly is a chatterbox. Shut your mouth and watch quietly." Fear Heavenly King shrugged, his smile unwavering. "Freedom of speech is a person's most fundamental right. What a pity that organizations and governments all over the world never want to give people much opportunity to speak." Just then, Empress Sandao shot him a glance. "You do talk too much. If you squawk any further, this empress will extinguish this wisp of your divine sense." Fear Heavenly King sighed. "Your Ladyship, that wouldn't be wise. You would make an enemy of me. And aside from the Grand Marshal and that beauty from the Water God Palace, not one of my enemies is still alive today." *** Having watched Sun Miaomiao and the others enter the city center mall, Zhang Yuanqing led his four teammates on without pausing, racing toward the abandoned park. "Pick up the pace! Run, faster, faster!" Zhang Yuanqing broke into a wild sprint, shouting, "We're in the greatest danger!" Before heading to the formations, the spirit realm walkers of the Mountain God faction had analyzed their quest descriptions and reached a consensus: only if all four Hearts of the Forest were returned to the formation cores within the specified timeframes could the seal be established. Thus, they devised a plan. Once the final team entered their formation, the team stationed at the Bank Tower would be the first to return their Heart of the Forest. Next would be the Bank Tower, then the city center mall, and finally the abandoned park. The intervals between placing each Heart of the Forest into its formation core would be kept at around nine minutes, which would grant the final group twenty-seven minutes in total. As for confirming when the last team had entered the formation, that was simple: Wood Monsters could share vision through controlled animals, and the Night Walkers' spirit servants and yin corpses could also serve as surveillance. However, there was an inherent vulnerability in this plan: the final team consisted of only five people. The Mountain Ghost faction would never pass up such an opportunity—they would undoubtedly attempt to intercept the five-person squad midway. "I know we're in danger, but while you're busy talking, could you run a little faster?" Jiang Jingwei, running at the very front, looked back and loudly complained. *Isn't Asano Ryo still behind me?* Zhang Yuanqing's speed gave him no advantage within the team; Guan Ya, Zhao Chenghuang, and Jiang Jingwei all ran faster than he did. Zhang Yuanqing turned back toward the Japanese schoolgirl and scolded, "I was talking to you! Pick up the pace, Ryo-chan!" Asano Ryo bit her lip. Without a word, she braced herself and quickened her stride. *She really is a pushover. Never fights back, never talks back... Her temper is almost too gentle,* he mused inwardly. Five people and two yin corpses bounded at high speed across streets strewn with garbage, rubble, and abandoned vehicles. Ten-odd minutes later, the entrance of the abandoned park came into view. Right at that moment, the birds circling overhead let out sharp, frantic shrieks, sounding an alarm. These were birds controlled by the Wood Monster Peony Fairy. Along with the avian cries, the buzzing hum of vibrating wings resonated through the air. A dark silhouette plummeted from the sky as the expressionless youth, A-Yi, dived from high above, swooping down to strike Asano Ryo at the rear of the formation!