Chapter 172: Chapter 39 First Appearance of the Grim Reaper _3
Yan Shi noticed that the Black Knights had already split into two small teams enveloping them from behind. He realized that despite the formidable power of Ah Dai and Yan Li, they stand little chance of survival once encircled. Pulling Ah Dai, who was ready to charge forward, Yan Shi bellowed, "Let’s get out of here!" Having said that, he swiftly killed one of the Black Knights and, along with Ah Dai and Yan Li, tried to break free of the oncoming siege.
The Black Knights, however, were not inclined to let them escape. They quickly rearranged themselves, taking little time to encircle Ah Dai’s group again. From somewhere behind the enemy formation, three figures lunged at Ah Dai. After losing dozens of their men, the leader of the enemy finally emerged.
The clashing of blades echoed, followed by a barrage of attacks that Ah Dai’s group couldn’t fend off. Although the trio who attacked them were defeated, the remaining Black Knights had managed to inflict several wounds on them.
Despite their power, they were now fully surrounded, held at the mercy of countless steel blades, resembling hands of Hell, that were ceaselessly beckoning them. They felt their vital energies slowly deplete as the number of corpses around them kept increasing.
Just when it seemed the trio couldn’t hold out any longer, a clear cry of a phoenix echoed. The previously dark sky suddenly brightened, as a gigantic Fire Phoenix, with a diameter of three meters, charged towards the Black Knights.
Ah Dai was shocked. Through a gap in the enemy lines, he caught a glimpse of the white figure of Xuan Yue. Indeed, at this critical moment, Xuan Yue had utilized the Phoenix’s Blood to unleash the Dance of the Fire Phoenix, a high-level magic that surpassed her capabilities. Even with the amplification provided by the Phoenix’s Blood and the Angel Wand, the casting process drained Xuan Yue of all her magical power and physical strength. Even as the phoenix appeared, Xuan Yue collapsed; all she had left was her consciousness, her face as pale as a ghost’s.
The appareance of the Fire Phoenix was indeed timely and saved Ah Dai and his friends. With a fiery flare, a large number of Black Knights were turned into ash amid screams of agony, while the flaming Phoenix danced through the encirclement. After devouring a hundred lives, the vivid figure gradually disappeared.
On seeing Xuan Yue fall, Ah Dai became frantic. Ignoring the ongoing battle, he dashed towards Xuan Yue, covered by Yan Shi and Yan Li. As he moved towards her, the Black Knights, too, spotted her. They were seasoned fighters and weren’t overly perturbed by the loss of many of their allies. One of them shouted, "Kill the mage!" and the Knights charged towards Xuan Yue.
With their movement techniques in full throttle, Ah Dai and his team reached Xuan Yue first. Ah Dai scooped her up and darted away. Although Ah Dai, Yan Shi, and Yan Li were on par in terms of their skill levels, Ah Dai, who had used all his strength in the previous battle and was now carrying a person while wielding the Tian Gang Heavy Sword, quickly fell behind.
The Black Knights chased after them relentlessly. Bullied by the death of nearly two hundred of their allies, they had lost sight of their purpose and just wanted to slaughter those in front of them to vent their rage.
Soon, weakened Ah Dai was caught up. After swinging his Tian Gang Sword and killing two of the Black Knights, he found himself surrounded again. When Yan Shi and Yan Li tried to turn around and help, Ah Dai yelled, "Keep going and don’t worry about us!"
Yan Shi knew that even if they tried to help, they would only be throwing away their lives. Biting his lip, he called out, "Hang in there, Ah Dai! We’ll be right back!" With that, he gripped Yan Li’s arm, who was glaring with bloodshot eyes, and headed towards the gathering crowd of Ya Lian tribe.
Multiple swords struck Ah Dai, who was struggling to fend them off. The ceaseless nature of his True Qi was being pushed to its limits, summoning an energy that surpassed anything he had mustered before. Amidst a spray of blood, seven or eight more enemies fell under his Tian Gang Sword.
Suddenly, a cold glint came hurtling towards Xuan Yue in Ah Dai’s arms. As Dai was busily parrying attacks from all directions, he had no means to block the attack. The cold glint was directed on Xuan Yue’s slender neck. As she saw the impending strike, a sense of desperation flashed in her eyes. At that moment, many thoughts crossed her mind. She didn’t regret leaving her parents, as the time since then turned out to be the most thrilling period of her life. At this moment, all she wished for was to die in Ah Dai’s arms considering it as her luck.
Just as the cold glint was about to hit Xuan Yue, Ah Dai roared and turned around, taking the strike on his back. The only thought resonating in his mind was - "If you wish to harm Yue Yue, you’ll have to step over my corpse."
The one who had launched the attack was one of the leaders of the Black Knights. On seeing Ah Dai take the attack, he was overjoyed and intensified his strike to cut Ah Dai apart. But things didn’t go as he had expected. Although the blade cut a deep wound in Ah Dai’s back, at that moment, Ah Dai’s left hand emitted a bright white light that enveloped him completely. This light then exploded outwards, sending the surrounding Black Knights, including the leader, flying back. The leader’s blade left a deep cut on Ah Dai’s back. The blood soaking through his magic robe turned it from red to crimson. Amidst this intense pain, Ah Dai staggered forward but still held onto Xuan Yue tightly.
