Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Luo Zhan Unleashes His Power
"What? It’s you! Weren’t you poisoned?"
No matter how strong Blood Saber’s composure was, seeing Ye Zhanyun and Ye Zhanzhen sent a great shock through his heart.
"Big Brother, didn’t the Wang family say this poison was incurable? Were we tricked?" Blood Fang looked as if he had seen a ghost.
The remaining members of the Blood Saber Stronghold were filled with inexplicable terror.
Hearing this, an idea sparked in Ye Zhanyun’s mind, and he burst out laughing. "Haha, Leader Blood Saber, I’ve heard you’re as cunning as a fox and meticulous in your thoughts. But seeing you today, you’re not all that. What kind of people do you think the Wang family are? Why would they care about your Blood Saber Stronghold? Today, they sent you here to die."
As soon as these words were spoken, the panic in the hearts of the Blood Saber Stronghold bandits could no longer be suppressed.
"Leader, what do we do?"
"We’ve actually walked into an ambush! How is this possible?"
"How did the Ye family know we would raid this place? Could it be that the Wang and Li families really betrayed us?"
The bandits’ terrified voices reached Blood Saber’s ears.
Blood Saber’s heart grew heavy, a hint of panic creeping in. Under normal circumstances, he would never have been swayed by Ye Zhanyun’s words.
But when the Wang family gave him the poison, they had adamantly claimed it was incurable in Blue Moon City. He had even tested it himself; the poison was indeed vicious, and ordinary antidotes were useless, even worsening its effects.
Yet now, Ye Zhanyun and Ye Zhanzhen, who had been poisoned just this morning, were standing here perfectly safe and sound. If they didn’t have the antidote themselves, there was simply no other explanation.
And who else could have this antidote, besides the Wang family who had provided the poison in the first place?
Though quite panicked internally, Blood Saber’s expression remained unchanged. He barked, "Everyone, do not panic! This is just a diversionary tactic from the Ye family. Our scouts saw Ye Batian and Ye Zhanxiong with their own eyes, guarding other locations. There are only a few Martial Artists here. Even if it’s an ambush, how can they be our match?"
"In the face of absolute strength, all schemes are useless."
"Kill them! Charge forward and kill them all!"
Blood Saber truly was the leader of the Blood Saber Stronghold. As he spoke, the terrified bandits, though still flustered, managed to compose themselves somewhat.
Squad after squad of bandits, led by Blood Saber, charged toward Ye Zhanyun and the others in the upper passage ahead.
"Leader Blood Saber, to remain so calm in an ambush... I must say, I’m impressed. A pity, for today this manor will be your grave." Ye Zhanyun waved his hand and said coldly, "Fire!"
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Flaming arrows instantly shot toward Blood Saber and his men.
"Mere flaming arrows? You think they can stop me?" Blood Saber’s gaze was cold. As he executed his Bloodlight Saber Technique, the arrows flying toward him were instantly shattered, falling to the ground in pieces.
Ye Zhanyun smiled leisurely. "If I were you, caught in an ambush, I wouldn’t be so optimistic."
Blood Saber’s face twisted into a snarl. "Optimistic? I, Blood Saber, have dominated Blue Moon City. What haven’t I seen? This so-called ambush is nothing but a bunch of clay chickens and pottery dogs to me. Ye Zhanyun, you may have been the Ye family’s top prodigy once, but now your meridians are severed. You’re a cripple. Killing you would be effortless. You’re the one who should be afraid."
Amidst his cold shout, Blood Saber rapidly closed in on Ye Zhanyun and the others. Crimson Profound Qi surged around him, making him look like a pillar of fire shooting toward the sky.
Yet Ye Zhanyun seemed to turn a blind eye to it all, still smiling as if Blood Saber were nothing but a clown.
"Blood Saber, you’re quite impressive right now. But take a moment... don’t you feel the Profound Qi in your body becoming a bit... unruly?"
"What?" Blood Saber’s heart sank. Suddenly, he felt strange streams of energy appearing in his meridians, gradually suppressing his Profound Qi. At the same time, waves of numbness washed over his body.
"Oh no, Leader! I can’t seem to muster my Profound Qi!"
"Huh? My body... it’s so itchy."
"What’s happening? Why can’t I see anything all of a sudden?"
"Aaaargh!"
All at once, the bandits behind Blood Saber began to cry out in alarm. Some of the weaker ones fell to the ground in terror, writhing in pain.
NEIGH!
The most terrifying part was their horses. Within a few breaths, they collapsed one after another, foaming at the mouth and trapping many of the bandits beneath them.
"Damn it, the thick smoke is poisonous!"
Blood Saber’s face changed completely. The medicinal herbs that had been piled messily around the area were now ignited by the flaming arrows from the Ye family guards. The billowing smoke quickly caused blisters to form on the skin of the Blood Saber Stronghold bandits.
The bandits who hadn’t reached the Martial Artist realm had the weakest resistance. Within a few breaths, they fell to the ground, stiff as boards, and stopped breathing entirely.
Blood Saber halted, desperately channeling his Profound Qi to resist the poison gas. He roared ferociously, "Ye Zhanyun, you’re using poison!"
Ye Zhanyun sneered, "It is only polite to return a favor. Blood Saber, you used poison on my Ye family clansmen during the day. This is your retribution."
"Shoot them down."
Under Ye Zhanyun’s command, a volley of sharp arrows rained down. They had all taken the antidote prepared by Ye Xuan beforehand, so they were naturally unafraid of the poisonous smoke.
Meanwhile, the bandits of the Blood Saber Stronghold had to resist both the poisonous smoke and the arrows. In the chaotic scramble, many Martial Artist-level bandits were shot down, crying out in agony.
"Big Brother, we can’t go on like this!" Blood Fang frantically blocked the surrounding arrows, his face contorted.
"Retreat! Everyone, fall back."
Blood Saber also knew that charging forward to kill Ye Zhanyun and his men was no longer realistic. His remaining brothers had lost their nerve in the face of the poison gas, able to exert less than half of their full strength.
Even he was starting to feel dizzy as the smoke grew thicker.
Retreating from the manor was now the best option.
And so, led by Blood Saber and Blood Fang, the remaining bandits began to retreat, fleeing in disarray.
The guards coldly fired arrow after arrow, reaping one life after another.
By the time Blood Saber led the surviving bandits out of the manor, only twenty or thirty of the original one hundred-plus bandits who had charged in were left.
Yet, the bandits who made it out felt no joy. Instead, their hearts sank to the lowest depths in an instant.
In the open space outside the manor, a large group of guards stood with bows drawn, all aimed directly at them.
At the forefront of the guards, a middle-aged man in a green martial robe and a young man stood proudly, a faint smile playing on their lips.
"Damn it, Leader! There’s an ambush outside."
"We’re surrounded."
"Damn it all! What do we do? Are we all going to die here?"
All the bandits panicked. They had just managed to escape the poisonous smoke and charge out of the manor, only to be met by even more guards. Their hearts instantly plummeted, and looks of despair appeared on their faces.
Fear spread through their hearts.
"Blood Saber Stronghold, I have been waiting for you for a long time." Ye Xuan gave a cold smile and a light wave of his hand. "You killed my Ye family clansmen. Today, this place will be your grave."
"Fire!"
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
A sky full of arrows, like meteors streaking across the night, rained down in a dense barrage. The sharp whistle of them cutting through the air was like a death summons from the grim reaper, echoing in everyone’s mind.
"No!"
Some of the bandits, weakened from inhaling the poison smoke, let out shrill screams. Unable to defend themselves in time, they were instantly turned into porcupines by the arrows.
The group of twenty to thirty bandits was reduced to about ten in the blink of an eye. Those who remained were almost all experts at the Martial Master Third Layer, each desperately defending against the onslaught of arrows.
"Charge! Charge your way out." Blood Saber raised his battle saber high, letting out a bloodcurdling roar.
At this point, his mind was blank of all other thoughts. The only thing he could think of was to break through. If they didn’t, they would be shot into bloody pulps sooner or later.
"Kill!"
The ten or so remaining bandits, led by Blood Saber, charged forward in a frenzy.
"Haha, well met." The previously still Luo Zhan laughed upon seeing this. With a push of his legs, he launched himself forward like a great roc spreading its wings. Vast Profound Qi swirled around him, making him seem like a celestial god descending to the mortal realm.
"Big Brother, leave this one to me! You go capture that little bastard! If I’m not mistaken, that boy is the Ye family’s Ye Xuan. If we capture him, the Ye family will have to hesitate."
Having been ambushed repeatedly, Blood Fang, boiling with rage, roared. His palms suddenly glowed with a bloody light as he rushed past Blood Saber, striking viciously at Luo Zhan.
In his eyes, only the three Earth Martial Artist experts of the Ye family—Ye Batian, Ye Zhanxiong, and Ye Zhantang—were qualified to fight him. For this seemingly ordinary man in green to dare face them alone was simply courting death.
"You worthless piece of trash, die!"
With a savage laugh, Blood Fang slammed his palms down.
BOOM!
With a tremendous roar, the blood-red palms and cyan-clad legs collided violently. The powerful Profound Qi tore apart the ground, blasting a huge crater and sending terrifying shockwaves sweeping out in all directions.
At the center of the terrifying shockwave, Blood Fang’s expression froze. His eyes widened in astonishment, and then he was sent flying backward like a kite with a snapped string. He spat out clouds of blood before crashing wretchedly to the ground, his body racked with excruciating pain, several bones broken.
"Second Brother!"
"Second-in-command!"
In an instant, everyone was stunned. Blood Fang, an Earth Martial Artist of the First Layer, had been sent flying by a single kick. What level of cultivation was that? When had the Ye family gained such a powerful expert?
"Bloodlight Martial Soul!"
"Bloodlight Saber Technique—Bloody Asura!"
"Slash!"
Blood Saber was the first to react. His entire demeanor became that of one facing a formidable enemy. Crimson Profound Qi blazed around his body, dyeing him completely red, as if he were a fiery War God.
Above his head, halos of bloody light swirled—this was Blood Saber’s unique Bloodlight Martial Soul. For a moment, the world seemed to transform into a blood-soaked battlefield, with rivers of blood and fields of corpses everywhere.
Amidst this bloody aura, Blood Saber brought his battle saber down with all his might, his strike holding nothing back.
