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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 174: Two Seats
If the Crossbow Cultists in the trees were not eliminated, there would be no way to pass through here. Ji Zichen shouted loudly and unexpectedly leaped out from behind cover. Dozens of crossbow bolts shot towards Ji Zichen, who conjured a Wind Barrier to protect himself. Using the Wind Barrier, Ji Zichen deflected most of the bolts back, causing several Crossbow Cultists to be struck and fall from the trees.
At first, the soldiers thought Ji Zichen must have gone mad, but as they witnessed him bouncing the crossbow bolts back, their eyes widened in astonishment. They were also excited by Ji Zichen's incredible counterattack ability. Ji Zichen had anticipated that his body would inevitably be targeted by the crossbows, and as he rebounded the bolts, he landed forcefully on the ground. The Fire Buddha Bead dimmed slightly, and a fire dragon burst forth, wildly attacking the trees on either side.
Immediately, the trees caught fire, and cries of despair erupted from the Cultists. Some of the burning Cultists leaped down from the trees. At this point, Ji Zichen no longer needed to call them out; upon seeing the Cultists' screams, the soldiers rushed out from their cover. Most of the Cultists were ablaze, and as the soldiers extended their weapons, they ended their suffering. The fire in the forest startled many Tusked Boars into fleeing.
Ji Zichen was taken aback and exclaimed, "Wow, there are Tusked Boars hidden in the forest!" These Cultists were truly ruthless; if they had charged through with good luck, they might have avoided death by crossbow but would inevitably encounter these Tusked Boars. With Tusked Boars in pursuit, it would be challenging to defend against crossbow fire. This was a double-edged sword for protection, but fortunately, Ji Zichen's fire had thwarted their ambush.
Suddenly, seven Tusked Boars charged out. Many soldiers missed their shots and only grazed their hides, but that was enough to attract the attention of the Tusked Boars. Startled by the flames and under attack from the soldiers' weapons, the Tusked Boars began to rampage wildly.
Ji Zichen narrowly dodged a Tusked Boar's tusks as it turned its body low and charged at him with its tusks aimed forward. Ji Zichen raised his Demon-Slaying Sword and thrust it into the Tusked Boar's body. The sharp blade sliced through its black hide, blood splattering everywhere.
Suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his left arm, Ji Zichen glanced to his left and saw a bloody gash opened up. His gaze shifted forward to see a crossbow bolt embedded in the ground near his left side. He had been ambushed but was fortunate that this bolt had missed him by a margin. Looking in the direction opposite to where the bolt had come from, he spotted a Cultist holding a crossbow standing outside the burning forest, preparing to shoot again.
Just as the Cultist was about to release another bolt, one soldier noticed his movement and lunged forward with his sword drawn. The Cultist appeared somewhat skilled; when the soldier thrust his sword, the Cultist sidestepped and avoided it before delivering a kick to the soldier's shoulder that brought him down to one knee.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, the soldier managed to stab again, but this time the Cultist evaded with another side kick that sent him sprawling on the ground.
At that moment, two more soldiers closed in on this Cultist. One thrust a spear toward his face; however, the Cultist rolled on the ground to evade but collided with another soldier who was dealing with a Tusked Boar. The two crashed into each other, causing one soldier to fall backward. Ji Zichen noted with surprise that despite colliding with another person, this Cultist maintained solid footing and quickly regained balance.
The fallen soldier became an easy target for a Tusked Boar that charged at him. "Die!" he shouted as he swung his sword fiercely. The Tusked Boar recognized the sword's sharpness and managed to dodge just enough to avoid a fatal blow but still lost an ear to the Sharp Sword.
The Tusked Boar let out a pained cry and fled into deeper parts of the forest where there were no flames.
The remaining Tusked Boars were swiftly dispatched by combined efforts of the soldiers. "Advance!" Ji Zichen commanded.
Ji Zichen and his soldiers reached a central position at Hill Base where Fang Xingsi used thunderous blasts to assist them in eliminating troublesome Cultists. Ji Zichen and Yu Ren smoothly navigated through the center and gradually approached an opening.
Suddenly charging in were Ji Zichen and Yu Ren, catching Hall of Malevolence's Cult off guard as if they were leaderless. Just as Ji Zichen was about to order an ascent onto the hill at the opening, a figure obscured by black veils covering half of their face appeared unexpectedly. This person was quite stout; Ji Zichen felt he recognized him but couldn't recall where he had seen him before.
The moment he saw Ji Zichen, he tilted his head and teased, "You seem to have forgotten me. Have I changed that much?"
Ji Zichen, hearing this, was certain of her thoughts, but she still couldn't recall, "Where have we met before?"
The man chuckled, a laugh that sounded like a broken gong. "Holy City, Moon Viewing Pavilion!"
As soon as Ji Zichen was reminded, she exclaimed, "You're Two Seats! But I thought you fell to your death!"
Two Seats smiled darkly. "You still remember that it was you who made me fall from the suspended corridor."
Ji Zichen gasped in disbelief. "How is that possible? Falling from such a height... how could you still..."
Two Seats glared at her with malice. "At that moment, I was nearly dead, with only a few breaths left. But the Arbitrator brought me back to life. You have no idea what price I had to pay to survive. Yet I am willing to bear that cost because I want to kill you with my own hands!"
His eyes began to gleam with a terrifying light. "When I fell, I could still feel everything but couldn't scream; my body was there but unresponsive. I experienced unparalleled agony, but even in pain, I kept reminding myself who made me endure such torment."
"I will make you feel the same kind of suffering!" With that declaration, Two Seats waved his hand, and suddenly a row of crossbowmen appeared above the cut.
Ji Zichen immediately shouted, "Fall back!"
Crossbow bolts rained down, hitting several soldiers in the shoulders and causing blood to gush from their wounds. Ji Zichen shielded the soldiers as they retreated. One soldier was struck by a bolt and tried to pull it out but failed; in desperation, he had no choice but to break it in half.
On the hill, the Cult shot a volley of crossbow bolts before charging toward Hill Base. Ji Zichen lost count of how many people rushed down; she felt the ground trembling beneath her feet. Fang Xingsi on the opposite hill continuously commanded Thunder Mage Soldiers to unleash lightning storms.
Ji Zichen had no choice but to retreat alongside the surviving soldiers. With every few steps she took back, another soldier fell wounded. She swung her sword at a nearby Cult member's neck, and he collapsed. With Fang Xingsi's help, they managed to retreat faster and faster until they reached their own hill.
Ji Zichen ordered the soldiers to fall back while she moved forward instead. Several crossbow bolts shot toward her, but she easily dodged them. Glancing ahead, she saw Two Seats still on the hilltop. Ji Zichen thought to herself, "Compared to our first meeting, this Two Seats doesn't seem like someone who can sit still anymore. If he doesn't come down now, it must be because his body can't recover like before."
With this realization, Ji Zichen concluded that Two Seats was the guardian here; as long as she could defeat him, they could take control of the cut.
Determined, she disregarded her own safety as three furious arrows landed just feet away from her. Ji Zichen bent down and grabbed all three arrows in her hand. Three Cult members charged at her; she threw the arrows and pierced through their chests in an instant. Using the surrounding trees for cover, she sprinted toward the opposing hill.
Seeing Ji Zichen daringly approach alone, Two Seats realized she was targeting him and couldn't help but smile smugly. Just as Ji Zichen leaped onto Hill Base, the ground several yards away suddenly exploded. She immediately leaped back several yards and thought to herself, "It seems they've buried a High-Explosive Magic Circle at the entrance of the hill."
The high-explosive Magic Circle and Prince Huixin's explosion in the palace were somewhat different in power; the Two Seats were meant to hinder the enemy, not to obliterate the entire hill.
The High-Explosive Magic Circle was buried underground, and in the rush of the moment, nothing could be seen with the naked eye. A Cult member shot a crossbow bolt at Ji Zichen, who dodged to the side just in time. The bolt struck a tree behind him, serving as a reminder that he had little time to devise a strategy for the camp. With explosives buried ahead, they became an obstacle to his movements.
After a quick mental calculation, Ji Zichen thought, "I'll give this method a try."
Suddenly, Ji Zichen dashed toward the explosion site. As he ran, Soil Pearl dimmed slightly, and a layer of sand condensed and fell, completely covering the ground leading up the hill. At that moment, Two Seats exclaimed, "Oh! Very clever!"
Ji Zichen used earth to cover the path, forming a thickness of about half a foot. The underground Magic Circle was now covered with new soil, significantly reducing the force of the impending explosion. Seeing that this plan might work, Ji Zichen felt a surge of confidence. He glanced at Two Seats on the hill and unleashed lightning, killing the guards near Two Seats.
Fang Xingsi, despite his lack of commanding experience and tendency to be overly aggressive and scold his soldiers when angry, valued their lives more than anyone else. Seeing Ji Zichen escorting soldiers to safety at Hill Base, he instead headed toward the enemy's breach on the hill. Fang Xingsi had already dispatched a team of soldiers who surged toward the central area of Hill Base.
The two sides began to clash here; soldiers shouted as one cut off the head of an unfortunate Cult member with a single stroke.
The numbers on both sides surged like tides as they attacked, creating chaos in the central position.
Ji Zichen rushed up the breach hill, where the remaining Cult members moved forward to block him from getting closer to Two Seats. Ji Zichen feigned an attack on one side while striking down these Cult members in just a few moves.
At this point, only Two Seats and Ji Zichen remained on the hill. Two Seats looked at Ji Zichen with a slow smile and reached into his pocket to take out a white pill, swallowing it down.
Ji Zichen frowned, unsure what Two Seats had just consumed, but he felt an intense heat radiating from him.
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