Chapter 225: Indecision, the Blood Guard, the Situation Shifts Suddenly

Bang... bang...

Facts proved that Longshan had indeed put in a great deal of effort for this operation to wipe out the disobedient camps within the alliance.

Xia Hong, who was trailing behind the Longshan group, had only traveled less than five kilometers to the east when he heard the massive sounds of battle coming from ahead.

Crack...

A large tree split down the middle and then collapsed with a boom.

Three middle-aged men, each wielding different weapons and dressed in black, flew backward from the broken part of the tree in an extremely disheveled posture.

It would be more accurate to say they were smashed out rather than flying out.

The first man to be smashed out held a long sword, his abdomen caved in by more than half; clearly, the terrifying force that had snapped the tree at the waist had been primarily absorbed by his stomach.

Of the two behind him, one held a saber and the other a staff. Both men were pale, the webs between their thumbs and forefingers were split, and one had a bloody, mangled left shoulder while the other had two iron arrows embedded in his right leg. It was obvious they had all suffered significant injuries.

"Second Young Master, the alliance meeting hasn't even begun yet, why kill the three of us?"

"The Bai Yuan camp has been loyal to Longshan; I beg the Second Young Master to spare our lives!"

"Zhaoyang has repeatedly coerced us, and even our Dongkang camp did not yield. Dong Zhong has never thought of rebelling against Longyou; I hope the Second Young Master will see the truth..."

The three men in black, who had been knocked into the snow, quickly scrambled up. They spoke with voices full of pleading, their expressions panicked to the extreme.

"If you are all so loyal to Longshan, why haven't I seen your tributes?"

A domineering voice rang out from behind the large tree. A burly middle-aged man dressed in white, holding a snake-headed spear in both hands, walked slowly toward the three.

Behind the middle-aged man followed four others. They looked older than him, and while their weapons were different, they were all stained with blood—clearly that of Dong Zhong and the other two on the ground.

Hearing the word "tribute," the expressions of Dong Zhong and the other two on the ground shifted slightly. They quickly tried to open their mouths to explain, but the moment they did, the voice coming from behind made their expressions turn instantly to despair.

"These three families are all very close to Hou Hu. Don't waste words with them; just kill them and be done with it. Hou Hu is almost here; we need to make preparations in advance."

Li Ying Xuan Yan and his group, leading three hundred Longyou soldiers, had arrived.

Seeing the three heads of Wang Hu, Liu Xian, and Yan Chuan held by the Eight Vajras of Longshan, as well as Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan standing obediently and respectfully behind Li Ying Xuan Ling, Dong Zhong and the other two realized what was happening instantly and fell into utter despair.

Longshan had never intended to hold an alliance meeting at all. That alliance leader's order was a death warrant; anyone who didn't obey had to die. The fact that they had planned to join Hou Hu in forcing the issue during the meeting seemed utterly ridiculous in hindsight.

"First Young Master, our Xiling camp truly has no intention of rebelling. Previously, because Hou Hu was so aggressive, Yu Bin had no choice but to play along with him. I beg the First Young Master to give me a chance; Yu Bin is willing to be Longshan's vanguard to crusade against Zhaoyang!"

Yu Bin, the leader of the Xiling camp who held the sword, finally understood the situation clearly. He knelt directly before Li Ying Xuan Yan, who was behind him, and surrendered.

Following his kneeling, Bai Qiu-cheng, leader of Bai Yuan, and Dong Zhong, leader of Dongkang, also knelt before Li Ying Xuan Yan one after another, expressing their loyalty with voices of utmost sincerity.

"You know to kneel now? It's too late!"

Li Xuantian's tone was incomparably domineering. His figure darted forward suddenly, and the snake-headed spear in his hand struck toward the three. As he moved, the other four beside him also moved.

Yu Bin and the other two had just been beaten into this state by these five people. Seeing Li Xuantian strike again, they were instantly terrified. While raising their swords in a panic to resist, they did not forget to plead urgently with Li Ying Xuan Yan's side.

"First Young Master, wouldn't it be better to keep us to deal with Hou Hu?"

"First Young Master, spare our lives..."

"Our Dongkang is willing to be Longshan's vanguard against Zhaoyang; I beg the First Young Master to spare my life!"

In the gaps between their pleas, the three suffered several more wounds. But seeing Li Ying Xuan Yan as their only straw to clutch at, they could only continue to plead, hoping Li Ying Xuan Yan would spare them.

"Second brother, wait a moment..."

Finally, Li Ying Xuan Yan could not help but speak up.

The moment he spoke, Li Xuantian, who was frantically besieging Yu Bin and the others, furrowed his brows. It wasn't just Li Xuantian; Li Xuandu and Li Ying Xuan Ling, the brother and sister standing behind, also had their brows sink.

Clearly, all three disagreed with Li Ying Xuan Yan.

"This Li Ying Xuan Yan..."

Not only those three, but Xia Hong, hiding in the shadows, saw Li Xuantian and the other four actually stop. Looking at Li Ying Xuan Yan's hesitant expression, he first showed a trace of oddity on his face, then shook his head lightly.

The key to Longshan's operation this time lay in using the force of a thunderbolt to wipe out these camp leaders who harbored different intentions. As long as they weren't allowed to collude with the Zhaoyang camp, killing a few more stubborn ones later and taking over these camps would be a matter of course.

But once they failed to kill them, the problem would be huge.

Therefore, the thing to avoid most was indecision.

Yet this Li Ying Xuan Yan was someone with soft ears.

It wasn't to say that his soft ears would ruin everything just because of this one moment.

The key was that one could see from this that Li Ying Xuan Yan clearly lacked the qualities of a master of Longyou, and his relationship with his two younger brothers and one younger sister didn't seem very harmonious either.

And if nothing went wrong, this plan of first using the alliance leader's order to test them and then intercepting and killing these camp leaders halfway was likely not an idea he could have come up with.

"Many thanks to the First Young Master for sparing our lives, this lowly one is eternally grateful!"

"The Bai Yuan camp will follow Longshan's lead from now on. Whatever the First Young Master commands, even if it means climbing a mountain of blades or descending into a sea of fire, Bai Qiu-cheng will not refuse!"

"Dong Zhong bows and thanks the First Young Master for the grace of sparing our lives."

Yu Bin and the other two, who were only a step away from death, saw Li Xuantian and the five stop. Knowing they had a hope of saving their lives, they kowtowed to Li Ying Xuan Yan one after another, expressing their loyalty.

Although their voices were full of gratitude and sincerity, with not a hint of falsehood, the footsteps of Li Xuantian and the five behind them as they approached did not stop.

Clearly, Li Xuantian and the five did not believe in the three's surrender.

"Big brother, don't be fooled by a few nice words. These three are kneeling to you today because they fear death; tomorrow, they will naturally kneel to Hou Hu for the same reason. To spare such two-faced people will lead to endless trouble!"

As soon as Li Xuantian spoke, Li Xuandu also followed suit.

"Second brother is right. It is an indisputable fact that Yu Bin and the other two have colluded with Hou Hu. If we don't kill them, how can we deter the other petty people?"

The rebuttal from his two younger brothers caused Li Ying Xuan Yan's expression to sink instantly.

But it wasn't over yet. Li Ying Xuan Ling's next move made a look of anger appear on his face, and his expression turned gloomy instantly.

"Second brother, do it. Don't waste time!"

Li Ying Xuan Ling had actually spoken directly, issuing the order.

And Li Xuantian, upon hearing his sister's words, really did move.

"Do it!"

Li Xuantian straightened the snake-headed spear in his hand and lunged suddenly toward Yu Bin on the ground. The four Cold-Resisting Realm experts behind him also raised their weapons, splitting into two teams and charging toward Bai Qiu-cheng and Dong Zhong respectively.

The three kneeling on the ground clearly hadn't expected that even though Li Ying Xuan Yan had spoken, they still couldn't escape death. In their panic, they even forgot to dodge.

That First Young Master, Li Ying Xuan Yan, seeing Li Xuantian and the five acting on their own despite his orders, turned livid instantly, and his fists clenched tightly.

"These three siblings are quite decisive!"

Xia Hong, in the shadows, had already drawn the ceremonial saber from his back. Seeing that Yu Bin and the other two were about to be executed, he hesitated for only a moment before tearing off the mask on his face, intending to rush out to save them.

Swoosh... swoosh... swoosh...

A sound of arrows suddenly came to his ears. Xia Hong, who had almost rushed out half a body length, stopped his body abruptly, looking toward the location of Yu Bin and the other two with a shocked expression.

Hundreds of blood-colored arrows came whistling through the air, their target clearly being Li Xuantian and the four Cold-Resisting Realm experts behind him.

The snake-headed spear in Li Xuantian's hand had already pierced Yu Bin's shoulder; the other four Cold-Resisting Realm experts had also forced Dong Zhong and Bai Qiu-cheng into a dead end. Feeling the overwhelming arrows behind them, none of the five stopped their actions.

Cold-Resisting Realm experts were not afraid of arrows shot by those in the Earth-Digging Realm.

But those hundreds of arrows behind them were clearly very special.

Pfft...

"There's something wrong with these arrows, we can't take them head-on!"

One of the four Cold-Resisting Realm experts, after being hit by an arrow in the back, quickly raised his head and shouted to the other three and Li Xuantian. At the same time, he gave up on killing Bai Qiu-cheng, turned around, and used the long saber in his hand to block the arrows continuing to shoot toward them.

"Damn it!"

Li Xuantian, looking at Yu Bin whose shoulder had been pierced through by him, cursed under his breath. After gritting his teeth, he finally pulled out the snake-headed spear and turned to swing at the blood-colored arrows shooting from behind. Clang... clang...

While knocking down countless arrows, the bodies of Li Xuantian and the five were actually knocked back several meters by the few extra-thick iron arrows mixed in.

The power of these few blood arrows was clearly not something that could be emitted by the Earth-Digging Realm.

Since that was the case!

Li Xuantian turned to look behind him, his gaze narrowing slightly.

"As the dignified master of Longyou, you've actually started playing these little tricks of striking first. Li Tianhua is truly old, and you Longshan people have no successors!"

A mocking, sarcastic voice came from behind, followed immediately by the sound of heavy, uniform footsteps entering everyone's ears.

Step... step... step... step...

Walking slowly from behind was actually a red-armored army.

The army totaled over a thousand men, all clad in red armor, each holding a powerful bow, with a saber at their waist and a quiver on their back filled with blood-colored arrows.

!

Although the army was marching forward steadily, the hundreds in the front row maintained the posture of drawing their bows and nocking arrows. Clearly, those hundreds of arrows just now had been shot by them.

Step... step... step...

"Halt!"

At the very front of the army formation, a middle-aged man clad in blood-colored flowing-light armor raised the saber in his hand and shouted deeply. The army stopped instantly, one after another lowering the powerful bows in their hands.

The army stopped, and the big man walked out slowly. With him walked seven others, standing on both sides behind him. The eight of them looked at Li Ying Xuan Yan and his group, the provocation in their gazes undisguised.

"Hou Tong is also here. It's the Zhaoyang camp's army. This Hou Hu is not simple!"

Xia Hong, in the shadows, saw the thousand-man army, and his gaze turned solemn instantly. Then, discovering that one of the people on the left behind the big man was Hou Tong, whom he had seen before at the Hive, he immediately realized the identity of this army.

This Hou Hu had actually brought his army directly over.

Moreover, judging from that sarcastic remark just now, Hou Hu clearly also saw through the true intent of Longshan's alliance meeting this time.

In this way, this person was even less simple...

"I've long heard that Zhaoyang had created a thousand-man Blood Guard. I didn't take it seriously before, but now it seems you've really made something of it!"

Li Xuan's tone was very relaxed, but when he mentioned the Blood Guard, the solemn expression on his face was enough to show his wariness.

Not only him, but Li Ying Xuan Yan, Li Xuandu, Li Ying Xuan Ling, and the Eight Vajras of Longshan beside them all looked very ugly the moment they saw the Blood Guard.

Clearly, they might have only heard of it before and had never truly seen this Zhaoyang army. Only now, seeing it with their own eyes, did they realize how serious the problem was.

Xia Hong, hiding in the shadows, kept his attention on the expressions of everyone in the field, taking in their reactions, and naturally could draw the corresponding conclusions.

"Brother Yu, Brother Dong, Brother Bai, I told you long ago to come along with my leader, but you wouldn't believe me. You almost lost your lives this time. Now you should be clear in your hearts which side you should be standing on, right?"

My leader?

This person wasn't Hou Hu!

The big man's words made Xia Hong's gaze narrow slightly.

This big man's base strength was twelve *zong*, the strongest among the eight Cold-Resisting Realm experts on Zhaoyang's side. He had just thought the big man was Hou Hu himself.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't!

At this moment, the happiest people in the field were probably Yu Bin and the other two.

Having escaped death twice, the expressions of the three in the distance were already panicked to the extreme. Hearing the big man's words, they only glanced at Li Ying Xuan Yan before running toward the Zhaoyang Blood Guard without looking back.

This scene made the brothers Li Xuantian and Li Xuandu look ugly to the extreme, and even Li Ying Xuan Ling's face sank a lot.

Xia Hong, in the shadows, saw that the First Young Master, Li Ying Xuan Yan, had a face as gloomy as blood. While somewhat stunned, his expression also became much odder.

Just now, he had said that Li Ying Xuan Yan's moment of hesitation wouldn't affect the overall situation. After all, Yu Bin and the other two were only a step away from death; as long as Li Xuantian and the five put in a little more effort, Yu Bin and the other two would surely die.

He never expected that the Zhaoyang people would appear at this critical juncture!

One thousand Blood Guards, plus eight Cold-Resisting Realm experts who were not weak—now there was absolutely no possibility of killing Yu Bin and the other two.

And it wasn't over yet; the subsequent chain reaction was even more terrifying.

The last look Yu Bin and the other two gave Li Ying Xuan Yan just now had a very clear meaning: Li Ying Xuan Yan couldn't make the decisions in Longshan. Even if he intended to accept their three families, the three siblings Li Xuantian wouldn't agree, so they had no choice.

They could only lean toward the Zhaoyang side that had saved them.

Having been almost killed twice was enough to make Yu Bin and the other two stand firmly with Zhaoyang.

And all of this was a chain reaction caused by Li Ying Xuan Yan's hesitation just now.

"The Hive and Yanglu have leaned toward Longshan; the leaders of the three families Yucheng, Changning, and Songyuan are dead. The remaining matters are not hard to handle. If Yu Bin's three families were also wiped out, no matter how strong Zhaoyang was, at most they could only pull in Wu Shuang and Han Qiong's two families; they wouldn't be able to form any major trend. This crisis in Longyou, if not completely resolved, would at least be more than half resolved, and the subsequent matters would be much easier to handle.

But now..."

Yu Bin and the other two didn't die, and they were forced to lean completely toward Zhaoyang.

Longshan now not only had to find a way to clean up the mess for the three families like Yucheng, but also had to face the Zhaoyang camp, which had the support of five camps.

A single thought's difference, and the consequences had changed earth-shatteringly.

This Li Ying Xuan Yan was indeed not suitable to be a leader.

"However, it's also thanks to him!"

If Longshan had really solved so many camps at once, the remaining Zhaoyang families would be unable to stand alone, and in the end, it would still be a situation where Longshan was the sole hegemon. That was not what Xia Hong wanted to see.

As things stood now, Zhaoyang was gaining power, the old hegemon Longshan was having a headache, and the struggle between the two families would continue to be maintained, which would make it easier for Great Xia to reach in.

Thinking of the subsequent development of the Longyou situation, Xia Hong's face was full of smiles, and even his gaze toward Li Ying Xuan Yan became much kinder.

The key was that things had developed to this point, and he had been a bystander from beginning to end, not even lifting a finger. This was equivalent to getting benefits without putting in any effort; naturally, he was in a good mood.

However, Xia Hong was clearly happy a bit too early.

A slightly panicked voice came from the west side of Longshan, making everyone present, including Xia Hong, look shocked, and they turned their heads to look west at the same time.

"Uncle Tiancheng, Hou Hu is just paying a visit, why be so angry? Since Longshan doesn't welcome me, then I'll just leave."

Hou Hu had actually snuck into Longshan!

Uncle Tiancheng, judging by the name, should be of the same generation as Li Tianhua.

Longshan, as expected, still had hidden major means.

Listening to Hou Hu's slightly panicked tone, it was clear he had been frightened by Li Tiancheng.

No, he was being hunted!

A disheveled, panicked black figure came galloping from the west. Xia Hong's gaze narrowed slightly, looking behind that figure.

"When big brother took you as his foster son earlier, I said you were a vicious tiger that couldn't be tamed and should be killed early; it would be a good thing for Longyou. Unfortunately, big brother didn't listen at the time. Now that you've fallen into my hands, even if you, Hou Hu, grew three heads and six arms, you'd still be hard-pressed to escape death today!"

An aged voice came from behind, and looks of surprise appeared on the faces of Li Ying Xuan Yan and the other Longshan people.

Conversely, the Zhaoyang Blood Guard, and the eight Cold-Resisting Realm experts in front of them, turned solemn instantly.

"Blood Guard, follow me to save the leader!"

The big man reacted extremely quickly. With a shout, he led the seven Cold-Resisting Realm experts behind him and charged directly toward Hou Hu's location; as the eight moved, the thousand-man Blood Guard also roared and charged toward the west side.

"What are you still standing there for? Block them and let Second Uncle kill Hou Hu!"

Li Ying Xuan Ling directly replaced her big brother Li Ying Xuan Yan with a sharp shout, drew her sword, and charged toward the big man's direction; Li Xuantian, Li Xuandu, and the Eight Vajras beside her also moved instantly; Li Ying Xuan Yan, despite his ugly expression, realized the situation was serious and held his breath, charging up as well.

The three hundred Longyou soldiers also all rushed forward to block the front of the Blood Guard.

The originally deadlocked situation changed drastically in an instant.

Xia Hong, hiding in the shadows, only glanced at this side briefly before immediately turning his gaze toward Hou Hu on the west side and the old man hunting him down.

Where the key lay, Xia Hong always had a count in his heart!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 226 =====