Chapter 2411: Chapter 2411
The powerful figures controlling the indigenous warriors were currently locked in a desperate struggle against the formation, utterly unable to spare any attention for this area.
Having received no orders, they were more than happy to watch these invaders meet their demise.
Inside the Bloodslaughter Formation, the blood puppets launched indiscriminate attacks.
Not even the indigenous people were spared—clearly, the High Priest had anticipated that some might fall under the outsiders’ control.
Screams of agony from both natives and soldiers filled the air.
Xiao Muyu was paralyzed with fear, dragged along by martial experts as they rushed toward the edge of the formation, urging the soldiers to assault it with all their might.
If not for these formidable fighters, Xiao Muyu would have already perished.
Through their desperate efforts, a breach was torn open in the formation. Two of the experts strained to hold the gap, allowing the others to escape.
Both Xiao Muyu and the soldiers scrambled for their lives, too frantic to protect the two who held the line.
The blood puppets immediately targeted the pair, swarming them in a deadly assault. The two martial experts were swiftly overwhelmed and slain, the formation sealing shut behind them—trapping the remaining soldiers inside.
By now, Xiao Muyu had only six martial experts, one commander, two soldiers concealing their true strength, and about a hundred troops left at his side.
Then, some of the controlled indigenous warriors—freed from their contracts as their manipulators perished—turned on them, charging with renewed fury.
Ye Liuyun hadn’t gone far before doubling back amid the chaos. Seizing the opportunity, he took control of one of the disguised soldier elites.
Those two hidden powerhouses were actually the strongest combatants present. But before Ye Liuyun could subdue the second, the other detected his presence.
In an instant, the remaining elite struck at the spot where Ye Liuyun was concealed.
Ye Liuyun and his doppelganger joined forces to block the soldier’s strike, but the sheer force sent both of them flying backward.
"Now!" Ye Liuyun barked, decisively commanding the soldier under his control to strike.
In a flash, the soldier drove his blade straight into the other man’s heart. Yet, even in his dying moments, the opponent twisted violently, slashing his own knife across the attacker’s ribs. The brutal exchange left both men mortally wounded.
Seizing the chaos, Ye Liuyun shifted positions swiftly, using his Phantom Hands to whisk himself and his doppelganger away from the fray.
A few elite martial artists moved to pursue, but Xiao Muyu sharply raised a hand to stop them. He was unwilling to risk thinning his own defenses, leaving himself vulnerable.
The remaining indigenous fighters were quickly dispatched, and the battle gradually quieted.
Before long, the Bloodslaughter Array ceased its deadly operation, leaving behind a grisly scene—corpses strewn across the ground, blood pooling in dark rivulets.
Xiao Muyu hesitated to send his own soldiers into the carnage, instead ordering the surviving natives to drag the bodies out. Only after confirming the array had truly deactivated did he allow his men to inspect the altar again. The stone pedestal was indeed gone.
"What happened? Did their high priest move it beforehand?" Suspicion gnawed at Xiao Muyu, but everyone who might have known the truth now lay dead within the array, leaving him with no answers.
With no other options, he commanded his forces to clean up the battlefield before gathering them tightly around his temporary quarters, forming a protective cordon.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun dismissed his doppelganger and Phantom Hands, removed his invisibility cloak, and released Youming and Yidao. Through his soul contract, he summoned Kuangsha and Tianyan for reinforcements.
Both he and his doppelganger had sustained serious injuries—had it not been for their formidable physiques and coordinated defense, that single strike would have shattered them completely.
When Kuangsha and the others arrived, their expressions darkened at the sight of Ye Liuyun’s wounds.
"Don’t worry," he reassured them with a pained grin, flexing his shoulders. "Just need a moment to catch my breath—I’ll be fine."
Ye Liuyun swallowed a drop of Life Spring Water and administered a drop each to Youming and Yidao. He then instructed Kuangsha and Tianyan to release the energy seals on the two, allowing them to recover on their own.
"Stay alert," Ye Liuyun ordered Kuangsha and Tianyan as he began tending to his own injuries.
His wounds weren’t severe, and he recovered quickly.
Youming and Yidao, however, had suffered internal injuries. Though the Life Spring Water had roused them from unconsciousness, their full recovery would still take time.
"Keep resting. It’s my turn to settle the score now!"
Ye Liuyun intended to seize this opportunity to eliminate Xiao Muyu.
"Going alone is too dangerous!" Youming protested, her voice laced with concern. "Wait until we’ve healed, and we’ll strike together!"
"Yeah! You’ve just recovered too—better wait for another chance!" Kuangsha and Tianyan chimed in, trying to dissuade him.
"I’m fully healed, don’t worry," Ye Liuyun reassured them. "Most of Xiao Muyu’s forces were wiped out by the altar’s formation. This is the perfect moment to strike."
He shook his head firmly. "Trust me, I won’t take unnecessary risks. Kuangsha, Tianyan—guard Youming and the others. I’ll be back."
Ignoring their pleas, he turned and strode away with unwavering resolve.
"Let him go," Youming sighed, motioning for the others to stay put. "If he insists, he must have a plan."
Then, she turned to Kuangsha and Tianyan with a frown. "Was he injured earlier?"
Kuangsha nodded grimly. "Yeah, covered in blood. Looked pretty bad—he couldn’t even undo your energy seals himself."
"He used Life Spring Water—that means it was serious," Tianyan added, recalling how Ye Liuyun had once saved Youming with the same remedy. "And he gave you both a drop too."
"Did he save me again?" Youming murmured, as if asking Sky Eye.
Before Sky Eye could respond, Mad Shark chimed in, "Of course! He went back alone to rescue both of you! Sky Eye and I have been waiting here the whole time!"
"He went alone to save us?" Youming sounded genuinely surprised.
Blade sighed, shaking his head. "After all these years as an assassin, I suddenly feel like deadweight."
Sky Eye chuckled. "Tell me about it! Honestly, I think he could’ve handled everything by himself."
"Come on, that’s not the point!" Mad Shark retorted, frowning. "We’re a team. Sure, the stronger he is, the better. But that doesn’t mean we should underestimate ourselves!"
"It’s all my fault," Youming said remorsefully, her voice tinged with guilt. "If I’d listened to his advice and not taken that risk, Blade wouldn’t have gotten hurt either." She deeply regretted ignoring Ye Liuyun’s warning earlier.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun was once again approaching Xiao Muyu.
Xiao Muyu remained relatively calm at the moment. He knew the Black Killers operated in teams of five, and with some members severely injured, another immediate assassination attempt seemed unlikely.
He had already dispatched the local tribesmen to search for the missing stone pedestal. His elite guards and soldiers were resting and recuperating—breaking through the Blood Killing Array had taken a considerable toll on them.
Several tribesmen bustled about, hauling slabs of beast meat from the treasury to roast for the soldiers. Seizing the opportunity, Ye Liuyun shapeshifted into one of them, grabbed a portion of roasted meat, and headed straight for Xiao Muyu’s quarters.
The martial experts guarding Xiao Muyu barely glanced at him, allowing him to enter without question.
The moment Ye Liuyun stepped inside, he unleashed his doppelgänger and launched a direct soul attack on Xiao Muyu. Caught completely off guard, Xiao Muyu was swiftly branded with a slave seal.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that, after all his precautions, he would be subdued right in the safety of his own room.
