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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 165 Yamaguchi Rift
Although Ji Zichen had achieved success, she did not dare to let her guard down. After a series of intense battles, she felt slightly fatigued and decided to take a moment to rest and recover her strength. Then, she planned to launch a new round of assaults against the Hall of Malevolence Cult, taking advantage of the current favorable situation.
As she watched the Hall of Malevolence Cult fall one by one, she couldn't help but notice that her own side had also suffered significant losses. Ji Zichen thought to herself that if they let even one enemy escape, it would increase the chances of injury for her soldiers.
She set aside her earlier feelings of compassion. If she could completely destroy the Hall of Malevolence Cult here, then all their efforts would be worth it.
Man Chengwen did not hesitate like Ji Zichen. As a soldier, his sole duty was to fight; worrying about the consequences was someone else's concern. He only knew that taking down one more enemy would reduce the danger for his comrades.
The soldiers formed a triangular formation and advanced toward the center of the Fierce Death Valley front line. The valiant cavalry on both flanks continuously attacked the Cult. Great Seat and his subordinates from the Cult occasionally attempted counterattacks, but they were easily repelled by the soldiers.
“They're about to retreat into Mountain Valley,” Man Chengwen said to Ji Zichen. “If they escape in there, it will be difficult for us to attack.”
“It’s impressive that we’ve pushed them this far,” Ji Zichen replied with a serious expression. “Chengwen, don’t you find it strange? If those Cult members regrouped, they would have the capability to counterattack. Why do they keep retreating?”
Man Chengwen also sensed something odd. “It is strange, but the more they retreat, the more advantageous it is for us.”
Ji Zichen nodded. She just hoped her concerns were unfounded. After all, Wei Ye was overseeing things from behind and had plenty of experience. Since there had been no warnings from the rear, continuing their assault should be fine.
Great Seat continued leading the Cult back toward Mountain Valley. The entire Hall of Malevolence's forces seemed leaderless, retreating in utter disorder. Great Seat appeared insignificant at this moment; Ji Zichen did not see him anywhere. If someone could command them effectively at this time, the Cult would not be so easily defeated.
“Unless... what are they planning? Could it be something sinister?” Ji Zichen felt a sense of unease in her heart. Although it was unlikely, she still felt a twinge of fear.
She spotted a Gaoqiu on her left; standing high would allow her to see far and wide. Regardless of whether there were any ambushes surrounding the Hall of Malevolence's Cult, Ji Zichen could ascertain the terrain from that Gaoqiu. Suddenly, she said, “Chengwen! I'm going up to that Gaoqiu to take a look.”
“Somewhat,” Man Chengwen reminded Ji Zichen, then roared as he pierced the armor of a Hall of Malevolence Cult member with his weapon. The Cult member let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.
At such a critical moment, leaving his comrades behind made Ji Zichen feel uneasy. She feared something might happen to Man Chengwen, but he was a soldier, and she was not his caretaker. Ji Zichen believed in Man Chengwen's ability to protect himself. The immediate priority was to head to Gaoqiu and see if the Hall of Malevolence had any sinister plans.
Ji Zichen used her lightness skill to leap among the charging soldiers. After a while, she reached Gaoqiu, where several mountain peaks surrounded her. However, she found no signs of danger; there was not a hint of threat in sight.
Ji Zichen couldn't help but wonder, “Am I overthinking this?”
The more she failed to notice anything unusual, the more anxious she became. Looking around, Ji Zichen noticed that not even a single bird was present. If there had been birds, she could have seen further, but with the chaos of battle, no animals dared to come near.
Just then, a Young General rode up to her. His armor was spotless, free from blood or dirt; after the heavy rain, it looked even cleaner and brighter.
Ji Zichen could tell at a glance that he had never been near the battlefield, let alone engaged in combat. She did not know this Young General personally, but she recognized him as the son of Zhang City Lord; his name seemed to be Zhang Wenle.
Zhang Wenle smiled and said, “Brother Ji! Wenle pays his respects.” He greeted Ji Zichen very amicably.
Ji Zichen thought to herself, “When did I become your older brother?” However, since he was the son of Zhang City Lord, she felt it inappropriate to express her thoughts. She glanced at Zhang Wenle’s sword still sheathed at his side and guessed it had never been drawn.
Ji Zichen politely smiled at Zhang Wenle and said, “You must be the City Lord's Eldest Son. What brings you here?”
Zhang Wenle replied with a smile, “My father asked me to come and broaden my horizons.”
Ji Zichen looked down at Gaoqiu. Although Zhang Wenle was alone on the hilltop, below him, Zhang City Soldiers had already surrounded the entrance. Ji Zichen understood Zhang City Lord's intentions; Zhang Wenle was merely there for show. The Cult members of Hall of Malevolence were retreating one after another. If Zhang Wenle did not take risks to pursue them, he would not face any danger. The City Lord was “going through great lengths” to help his son earn some merits.
Zhang Wenle admired Ji Zichen greatly; he had observed her strategies against enemies closely. At that moment, he said, “Brother Ji, since you can set up formations that summon winds and rain, I don’t understand why we are still pursuing them like this. Shouldn’t you set up some formation? That way we could take down Fierce Death Valley in one fell swoop?”
Ji Zichen smiled helplessly, but it wasn't that she looked down on Zhang Wenle. She often encountered these privileged young masters, some of whom liked to purchase magical artifacts. However, these young masters bought magical artifacts not to deal with any Demon Beasts, but merely to show off in front of certain Sister Qianjins; such was the life of the privileged.
Because of this, they were unskilled and lazy. Once tasked with commanding responsibilities, everything would fall apart, as they treated war as a mere game.
Ji Zichen didn't know much about military matters either, but she had never regarded war as a game. She understood that Zhang Wenle wasn't intentionally provoking her or mocking her; he believed that his approach could lead to a swift end to the conflict.
Ji Zichen said, "Setting up the magical artifact Formation takes a lot of time; it's already quite difficult for us to set one up."
Zhang Wenle nodded as if realizing something. "So that's how it is."
At that moment, Zhang Wenle spotted Great Seat leading a group of Cult members from Gaoqiu. His eyes sparkled as he pointed at Great Seat. "Brother Ji, look at that person! The Cult from the Hall of Malevolence is supporting his escape. If we can capture him, my father will definitely be pleased."
Ji Zichen did not recognize Great Seat. Although he had appeared before her at the Moon Viewing Pavilion, she had been unable to see his face at that time.
Before Ji Zichen could respond, Zhang Wenle had already spurred his horse forward. "Don't go...!" Ji Zichen exclaimed anxiously.
But Zhang Wenle was resolute and did not heed her words. No matter how skilled Ji Zichen was in lightness techniques, she could not outrun a horse. By the time she descended the hill, the Hill Base was empty, devoid of any presence.
Sighing, Ji Zichen recalled the route Great Seat had taken earlier. She maneuvered around the hill where there were no people to obstruct her path. Zhang Wenle led his cavalry up the mountain, driving Great Seat and Yu Ren into a narrow pass.
After chasing for a while, Ji Zichen leaped onto a high branch and spotted Zhang Wenle's cavalry flag in the distance. She breathed a sigh of relief. "I've caught up."
Just as Ji Zichen was about to descend from the tree, she noticed a commotion within Zhang Wenle's cavalry team. Sensing something was off, she looked closer. Before she could discern the cause of their agitation, a horn sounded from within the narrow pass, followed by booming drums. The cavalry around Zhang Wenle appeared panicked and disoriented.
"What’s going on?" Zhang Wenle shouted at one of the cavalrymen, who stood frozen in shock and did not respond because such sounds were out of place in this situation.
Suddenly, a Cavalry member shouted, "Not good! We need to get out of here!"
From the mountain pass, a large number of Cult members surged forward, charging towards Zhang Wenle and his team. If it were just this, Zhang Wenle wouldn't have been at a loss, but the area around the mountain pass was also filled with Cult members, who came crashing in like a violent tide.
What they couldn't have imagined was that arrows suddenly rained down from the sky. These arrows were engulfed in black flames, and upon contact with a person, they could instantly turn them to ashes.
Ji Zichen, watching from behind, was also taken aback. Where did all these Cult members come from? As Ji Zichen saw more and more Cult members appearing before him, he finally realized the source of his earlier unease.
With so many Cult members pouring out of the mountain pass, there was only one possibility: the Arbitrator must have used some method to summon Cult members from other places. Could it be that there was a rift here? If there wasn't a rift, how could such a massive number of people be hidden in this mountain pass?
Zhang Wenle's Cavalry team had entered the encirclement of the Great Seat, and the sounds of death echoed in Zhang Wenle's mind.
The Great Seat stood behind a throng of Cult members, laughing heartily. "This is what you call the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole waits in the back!"
With a massive axe raised high in his hand, he glanced at the other Cult members and bellowed like thunder, "Charge! Kill them all! Leave not a single one alive!"
The Cult members had long been fed up with fleeing. At the Great Seat's command, they surged forward towards Zhang Wenle's Cavalry team. Just as Zhang Wenle's Cavalry had dodged the black rain of arrows, another wave of Cult members charged in. Over twenty Cavalry members had already perished while avoiding the arrows. In shock, Zhang Wenle quickly ordered a retreat.
In less than a moment, out of a hundred Cavalry members, fewer than ten remained. Ji Zichen summoned a fire dragon to help Zhang Wenle clear out the nearby Cult members and shouted to him, "Hurry and retreat! You'll be safe once you're back with the group!"
Zhang Wenle dared not hesitate. He didn't care whether the remaining Cavalry could keep up with him. With a crack of his whip, his steed galloped away swiftly. Ji Zichen fought while retreating, gradually moving closer to the main group.
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