Chapter 594: Chapter 593 Proverbs
The news of Fire Stiff swiftly spread out like a tsunami, shaking the martial world with talks among everywhere.
"It’s hard to believe that such monsters truly exist!"
"Haven’t you noticed? Something’s very unusual. Over the years, the emerging prodigies and talents from the Flying Horse Dynasty have been countless. Just for Martial Emperors alone, four have appeared consecutively, which is a rare phenomenon throughout history. Now even the Fire Stiff has appeared. Could it be like someone said, a once-in-a-lifetime brilliant era is coming?"
"Who knows? Times create heroes. I wonder who can step up and eliminate the calamity of Fire Stiff?"
Yundai region, Bai Family.
In a secluded courtyard, a beautiful young girl was practicing her sword.
"Mei, you should go out for a walk."
Walking with a cane, an elderly man with dignity opened the courtyard door and walked in.
"Grandfather, you usually ask me to stay at home and practice martial arts. Why’s it different this time?"
The beautiful girl had eyebrows thicker than ordinary women, which gave her a heroic air. She’s the ’Sword Lady’ Bai Zhanmei from Yundai region’s twin stars.
"The Fire Stiff causing chaos is causing mass death and destruction. A battle can help you progress faster."
Said the old man.
Bai Zhanmei raises an eyebrow, doubting it but knowing her grandfather would not harm her, she nodded and said,"I’ll leave right away." She picked up her sword, didn’t even pack any luggage, she just went straight away.
"My dear Mei, this Fire Stiff chaos might be a great opportunity for you, grasp it firmly!"
No one knows that Bai Xianyong once accidentally read an ancient book left by his ancestor.
It detailed how, years ago, a legend had visited Bai family and left a prophecy predicting the upheaval of Fire Stiff. It suggested that while this marked the beginning of a disaster, it also presented a chance for a real dragon to appear.
If Mei could stand out during this chaos, she might gain the invisible predestined luck. Her future achievement couldn’t be imagined!
When Bai Zhanmei embarked, many masters and prodigies also began to move, vowing to contribute to the peace of the martial world.
...
Several warriors were near the place of the Fire Stiff disturbance. Therefore, when Shi Xiaole and his comrades withdrew to the mountains, they encountered several groups of people who voluntarily joined the team to protect the villagers.
Shi Xiaole and his comrades naturally welcomed them.
The number of Fire Stiffs exceeded imagination. There were only dozens to hundreds in the first few waves, and thousands in the back. Later, there were tens of thousands everywhere.
It seemed that the living breath here was particularly noticeable, attracting all the Fire Stiffs.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but feel fortunate. Fortunately, several powerful experts joined on the way, otherwise, they would not be able to resist the Fire Stiffs flocking around, and a large number of villagers would surely die horribly.
Of course, the current situation was far from optimistic.
Of the dozens of experts, only three reached the fifth tier of Dragon Gate Realm. The rest were Spiritual-Passage Realm, or even Xuanqi Realm local people from Tian State. It was hard enough to protect themselves, let alone the villagers.
"Heartless Wind and Rain."
Soaring into the air, Shi Xiaole swung his sword in all directions. The dense Sword Qi was even more intense than the pouring rain and shot out wildly.
Skriek, skriek, skriek...
Countless Fire Stiffs fell to the ground, their bodies pierced with numerous holes.
"Brother Shi is amazing!"
The boy who spoke was named Zhao Hong, a young man in the third tier of Spiritual Passage Realm. He looked at the figure in the sky with admiration.
"Don’t just watch, quickly take the villagers and run."
His master yelled in anger when he saw this, and Zhao Hong reacted. He and several of his Senior Brother and Junior Sister quickly shielded the villagers to escape to the distance, releasing several swords at the Fire Stiffs that were driven back.
The other Dragon Gate Realm experts also took the opportunity to unleash their ultimate moves and killed several Fire Stiffs.
Exhale!
Shi Xiaole landed on the ground, out of breath.
Although it seemed easy for him to kill, using the mass kill technique of Heartless Wind and Rain exhausted his Vigorous Air significantly. Now he was left with only forty percent of power. Looking around, there was an unending number of Fire Stiffs, like a red flood, rushing towards him madly.
Shi Xiaole had considered confusing the Fire Stiffs with illusion arts, but most of the Fire Stiffs’s consciousness had vanished, leaving only instinctive actions, so it didn’t help much. He could only rely on physical damage.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Shi Xiaole jumped around like a ghost. Each time he waved his sword, a Fire Stiff would be killed. In this process, he also rescued a few similarly distressed Dragon Gate Realm experts.
"You guys go first."
Said Shi Xiaole.
"Young Hero Shi, you must be careful."
A few masters, their faces full of excitement, dashed towards the distance.
During this period, Shi Xiaole’s strength had thoroughly conquered them. They knew well that their presence would only add to the chaos, so it was better for them to protect the villagers. Given Shi’s skills, even if he couldn’t kill all the Fire Stiffs, escape wouldn’t be a problem.
Alone, Shi Xiaole, free of concerns, began to fight among the group of Fire Stiffs.
His sword moves were simple, just side-chopping and vertical-slashing, but they were very effective. Although his killing efficiency had dropped significantly, the rate of his energy consumption had also slowed down, enabling him to maintain his state to the greatest extent possible.
The number of Fire Stiffs at his feet increased, the terrifying red tide gradually being torn open by a shadow in aquamarine. The fierce Sword Qi crisscrossed and prevented the Fire Stiffs from approaching him.
Roar!
A furious roar echoed from afar.
The remaining Fire Stiffs, as if receiving an order, turned around and retreated one after another. Shi Xiaole took the opportunity to kill quite a few more before he leaned against a tree, gasping for breath.
"Now I only have 20% of my strength left. If attacks of this scale continue, one day something will go wrong."
Through a few previous fights, Shi Xiaole had a bad premonition. It seemed the more Fire Stiffs he killed, the more there were. And that roar just now made his blood boil subtly. It was clearly from a much stronger Fire Stiff. Were they secretly planning something?
He couldn’t keep running around like a headless fly anymore.
He told his worries to the people chasing him.
"What Young Hero Shi said is reasonable, but the nearest city is thousands of miles away from here. I’m afraid it will take several days to get there with this group of villagers."
Shook his head, Sun Wei said.
Shi Xiaole said, "We’re not going to the city. It’s been burnt down by the Fire Stiffs."
"What? How can Young Hero Shi know that?"
Everyone was shocked. Master Jiang Yatang, Zhao Hong’s mentor, hurriedly asked.
"My horse told me."
Shi Xiaole pointed to Qingfeng.
A few days ago, he had sent Qingfeng to scout the surroundings. Qingfeng returned with a charred city brick, he immediately understood the situation.
"What should we do now?"
Everyone’s faces turned extremely grave.
The city is undoubtedly the best sanctuary. There were more masters, and the resources of the city authorities were there. But now the city was breached, they, ragtag vagabonds, leading a group of villagers who knew nothing about martial arts, where could they go?
They were doomed sooner or later!
If it weren’t for Shi Xiaole in the situation, at least ninety percent of the dozens of masters present would choose to leave.
Acting chivalrous and upholding justice is praiseworthy, but the precondition is the ability to do so. There aren’t many true heroes who would sacrifice themselves for others in this world.
"The Fire Stiffs might be preparing for another attack, which will be even more dangerous. There’s a mountain nearby with dangerous terrain that’s easy to defend and not easy to attack. Let’s go up to the mountain."
Shi Xiaole said.
"No, if it gets breached by the Fire Stiffs, wouldn’t everyone die?"
An expert reflexively contended.
"Gentlemen, if we don’t find a place with strategic advantage, we will only be defeated more quickly! Finding a place to defend is one thing, on the other hand, I hope that someone can leave to spread the news and call for more masters to come to the rescue."
Everyone understood. Shi Xiaole had already thought of a strategy and after careful consideration, they had to admit that there was no better plan for now.
"I will stay here to hold the fort. I wonder which heroes would be willing to go for help?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
"I will."
"And me."
A dozen or so people eagerly stepped forward, their eyes flickering. Others merely twisted their mouths in derision.
Going for help seemed extremely dangerous, but in reality, it was the safest thing. They could even leave without anyone stopping them. Conversely, Shi Xiaole, who was willing to stay here, aroused their endless admiration.
At the end, more than twenty people quickly left, which resulted in a significant reduction in the strength protecting the villagers. The sudden increase in responsibility struck Shi Xiaole, but he could not back down at this point.
Not only because of the villagers’ dependent gazes, but also because Sun Wei and others, including Master Jiang Yatang and his disciples, chose to stay. Wasn’t this their extreme trust in him?
Without any hesitation, Shi Xiaole and others led the villagers towards the mentioned place. After a day and night of jolting journey, they finally reached the top of the mountain.
During this journey, they indeed encountered another attack. Li Changde almost got his left arm bitten off, but was saved by Shi Xiaole just in time.
