abnabooks Chapter 152 A Chance Encounter
Chapter 152 A Chance Encounter
When he reached the middle of the passage, Lin Chen paused for a moment.
He didn't hear any sound, but felt a gust of wind. It wasn't a wind blowing from the front, but a wind blowing down from above. The wind was cool and strong, carrying the dry, earthy smell unique to rocks that had been turned over. He looked up and saw several dark figures moving quickly on the cliff top, heading towards the edge of the cliff face.
"Raise your shields!"
Chen Feng's voice had barely rang out when countless boulders and logs tumbled down the cliff top. These rocks weren't naturally fallen; they were deliberately pushed down—large and small, with sharp edges, some bouncing off the cliff face while others fell straight down, accompanied by a whistling sound. The logs were thick tree trunks, one end sharpened like giant arrows, plunging diagonally down the cliff. The shield bearers at the front of the column suddenly raised their shields, face up, rims touching, forming an ironclad roof above their heads. Boulders slammed into the shields with dull thuds, the shield bearers' arms suddenly sank, some letting out a muffled groan, but the shields didn't collapse.
A deafening roar of a beast echoed from the end of the passage.
More than three thousand ferocious beasts corrupted by the Soul-Controlling Gu surged forth like a black tide. Leading the charge were five colossal creatures—fourth-tier ferocious beasts, a full size larger than ordinary beasts, with grayish-black fur, crimson eyes, and drool dripping from their mouths, corroding the ground and creating small pits. Black evil mist clung to their bodies, binding their limbs, torsos, and heads like chains, guiding their direction and controlling their movements. Five black-robed evil figures stood behind the beast horde, perched on a protruding rock, looking down at the human group trapped in the passage. The leader's mouth was wide open, revealing two rows of yellowed teeth.
"There was an ambush after all!" Chen Feng's voice echoed through the passage, filled with anger, but not fear. He raised his sword high, its blade glowing with azure true energy. "Form ranks! Defend!"
The shield bearers crouched down abruptly, slamming the bases of their shields into the ground and bracing the inside with their shoulders. The spearmen extended their spears from the gaps in the shields, tips pointing forward and angled towards the horde of beasts. The archers drew their bows taut, aiming their arrows at the leading fourth-tier beasts.
Su Muyue formed hand seals, and twelve array flags unfurled simultaneously. The runes on the flags suddenly lit up, and golden light surged forth, condensing into a massive golden light curtain in front of the formation. The light curtain stretched from the ground to halfway up the cliff face, cleaving the entire passage in two. Boulders and logs crashed against the light curtain, bounced off, shattered, and rolled to either side.
The horde of ferocious beasts crashed into the light barrier. The first to collide were the five fourth-tier beasts. Their bodies struck the barrier with a dull thud, causing it to tremble violently, like a drumhead struck by a heavy hammer. Golden ripples spread outwards from the point of impact, concentric circles following one after another. The beasts' claws and fangs tore at the light barrier, producing a piercing scraping sound, like metal scraping against glass. Fine cracks began to appear on the barrier, and Su Muyue's face paled visibly, but her hands did not tremble, and the array flags did not fall.
Su Ling'er weaved through the ranks. She squeezed past shield bearers, ducked between spearmen, and ran swiftly among archers. She stuffed healing pills into the mouths of wounded soldiers and hurled Explosive Flame Pills into the densest part of the beast horde. The pills exploded amidst the beasts, the blazing flames blooming like flowers. Wherever the petals passed, the evil mist on the beasts was burned and dissipated. The beasts roared in pain, but only retreated a few steps before charging forward again.
Suddenly, shouts of battle erupted from above the cliff.
Leng Feng's figure emerged from the bushes at the cliff top. He was the first to leap down the cliff, not by climbing, but by jumping directly down—his feet landing on a protruding rock to absorb most of the impact, then using the momentum to leap up and land on another rock. Fifty elite soldiers followed behind him, their movements perfectly synchronized, like a flock of falcons swooping down from their nest.
Leng Feng's blade flashed. He rammed head-on into a villain commanding ferocious beasts, his blade sweeping across the man's throat. The man didn't even have time to scream before collapsing, clutching his neck, black blood seeping from between his fingers. The other four villains panicked; some turned to run, some channeled their evil power to retaliate, and some frantically reached for their tokens to summon more beasts. But it was too late. Leng Feng's elite soldiers swooped down from the cliff top, blades flashing, arrows raining down, and the villains on sentry duty and in the logistics fell like wheat being harvested.
Caught between two attacks, the horde of ferocious beasts was thrown into chaos. Ahead lay a golden light barrier and a dense array of spears; behind them, cold-blooded swords and arrows from elite soldiers. The five fourth-tier beasts were caught in the middle, torn between two forces, blindly charging and biting, their attacks directionless and disorganized, like headless flies darting aimlessly through the passage. The lower-tier beasts behind were in even worse shape; some pushed forward, some retreated, some circled in place, and some began attacking their own kind.