Chapter 226: War Begins, Relieving the Siege, Honored Guest

People are like their names; Hou Hu's image was not much different from what Xia Hong had imagined.

He was about 1.8 meters tall, with a very slender build. The material of the black clothes he wore was similar to that of Hou Tong and the others, and he wore his hair in a slicked-back style, revealing a forehead that was clearly a size wider than the average person's.

Not only his forehead, but his facial features were also a size larger than average, which inexplicably gave people a feeling of being both grand and domineering.

He held a silver staff with coiled dragon patterns, about a *zhang* long. Even though he was being hunted and his brows seemed panicked, every time the old man's saber struck from behind, he could always raise his staff to accurately protect himself, even using the force of the old man's saber to speed up his escape.

Clearly, he was always very clear about the distance between the old man behind him and himself.

Whoosh...

Another violent blade edge struck from behind. Sensing that this strike was far more powerful than before, Hou Hu's brows furrowed tightly. While raising his staff, his body turned suddenly, placing the staff horizontally above his head to block.

Bang...

The saber slashed down, emitting a stream of light, clashing fiercely with the staff. Although the vast majority of the force was caught by Hou Hu's staff, a small portion leaked out.

But even this small leaked portion, after hitting the ground, formed a shockwave that not only blew away the snow on the ground, forming an empty area with a radius of more than ten meters, but even caused the ground itself to sink suddenly, collapsing by a full dozen centimeters.

Looking again at Hou Hu, who had absorbed the vast majority of the force, although the staff hadn't been snapped, his hands holding the staff trembled uncontrollably, his legs had already been driven more than half a meter into the ground, and the panic in his eyes was clearly much heavier than just a moment ago.

This strike not only made Hou Hu more panicked, but also allowed Xia Hong, in the shadows, to see the old man's appearance clearly.

Longshan seemed to have a preference for white; the old man also wore a white robe, dotted with silver thread patterns. His full head of silver hair was tied behind his head, and although it was meticulously groomed, the wrinkled face and the slightly hunched figure revealed the indisputable fact that he had been eroded by time.

Only those eyes, which were wide with anger, matched with the posture of the silver ghost-headed saber in his hand striking down in anger, could still give people a sense of deterrence that "Lian Po is not yet old."

Of course, what Xia Hong saw clearly at this moment was not just the old man's appearance.

"Hou Hu has seventeen *zong* of strength, about the same as mine. Li Tiancheng has hunted him all the way from Longshan to here; even if he's stronger, I estimate he's not much stronger!"

While seeing through the strength of the two, Xia Hong's expression also became odd.

Last May, when he fought that high-level Snow Mane, his strength already had twelve *zong*. Now, nearly a year later, although he still hadn't figured out how to use the Jade Bone, just by absorbing the cold light, his strength had grown to seventeen *zong*.

Even so, Xia Hong could still feel that he hadn't reached the next stage of the Cold-Resisting Realm. At the very least, the feeling his flesh and blood gave him was just a steady strengthening, without any obvious stage changes.

According to what he overheard from Hou Tong on the north side of the Hive earlier, the Hou Hu before him was at the peak of the Cold-Resisting Realm.

Peak Cold-Resisting Realm, and only seventeen *zong* of strength?

For the three grades of battle bodies—upper, middle, and lower—the strength thresholds for breaking through to the Cold-Resisting Realm were 200,000, 160,000, and 120,000 respectively.

But this was the strength just after breaking through. People with the three types of battle body qualifications practiced the Cold-Resisting Realm on this basis, and the subsequent strength increase would naturally vary, which was normal.

What Xia Hong was most curious about now was what grade of battle body Hou Hu and Li Tiancheng had, so he could deduce how the subsequent strength increase of Cold-Resisting Realm cultivation was calculated.

Of course, this wasn't the time for him to be curious.

Hou Hu, who had just been slashed into the ground by Li Tiancheng, had already escaped in a panic. He was only a little over three hundred meters away from the Blood Guard, but this distance of three hundred meters, under Li Tiancheng's obstruction, was like a natural chasm that was difficult to cross.

The east side had already turned into a ball of battle. Both Longshan and Zhaoyang clearly realized how critical the current situation was. From the Cold-Resisting Realm experts down to the ordinary soldiers, they had all brought out a desperate spirit. One side wanted to break through the obstruction to rescue Hou Hu, while the other side was willing to risk their lives to block them.

Longshan had a full sixteen Cold-Resisting Realm experts, while Zhaoyang only had eight, and even with the injured Yu Bin and the other two, there were only eleven. In the clash of high-end combat power, Zhaoyang was clearly at a disadvantage.

But the problem was that the number of Blood Guards was more than three times that of the Longyou Army.

Cold-Resisting Realm experts were strong, but facing such a fully armed army, it was clearly not easy to display their power. Just as the Longyou Army could deter Zhaoyang's Cold-Resisting Realm experts, the blood-colored arrows shot by the Blood Guard could also hurt Longshan's Cold-Resisting Realm experts.

"Front army, charge the formation! Rear army, shoot arrows! Three hundred people can't even charge through, are you all trash? If the leader has any mishap, we'll all be folded here. Charge over for me!"

"Brothers, charge!"

"Save the leader, kill with me."

"Why should Longshan suppress us? Charge..."

The roar of the Zhaoyang big man instantly stirred up the roars of the Blood Guard. The front army once again brought out a desperate spirit, raising their sabers and charging madly toward the Longyou Army. The hundreds in the rear took out their bows and arrows, shooting frantically at the Cold-Resisting Realm experts of Longshan in the front row, restricting their movements.

Humans in the Frozen Abyss camp had to learn to hunt cold beasts; those who could become members of the army were almost all strong in archery. The Longyou Army was like this, and so was the Blood Guard.

Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...

Hundreds and thousands of blood-colored arrows came whistling from the rear, all targeting Longshan's Cold-Resisting Realm experts. Li Ying Xuan Yan and the sixteen Cold-Resisting Realm experts who were frantically slaughtering the front-row Blood Guards felt the blood arrows shooting toward them, and their movements immediately distorted.

At the same time, the big man led ten Cold-Resisting Realm experts and the Blood Guard to press forward step by step, constantly shortening the distance to the leader Hou Hu.

"Chen Yingyuan, Peng Bo, what are you still standing there for?"

Seeing that the Blood Guard was about to break through the obstruction, Li Xuandu couldn't help but roar at Chen and Peng, who had been standing by as bystanders, signaling them to move and help.

Chen and Peng heard this, and seeing the Blood Guard gradually gaining momentum in the field, a trace of hesitation flashed across their faces at the same time. But they quickly reacted and charged up directly.

They had already stood on Longshan's side. To defect at this time, offending Longshan was secondary; the key was, would Zhaoyang still accept them with peace of mind?

As the two charged onto the battlefield, the Blood Guard, which had been pressing forward step by step, immediately stagnated for a few breaths. Although they continued to advance afterward, the speed was much slower.

At this critical juncture, the addition of two Cold-Resisting Realm experts did indeed play a significant role. After all, Li Tiancheng over there had already forced Hou Hu to a dead end, and killing him was indeed not far off.

Everyone fighting on the battlefield, although their emotions had risen, glanced toward the west side from time to time. Longshan was waiting for Li Tiancheng to kill Hou Hu quickly, while Zhaoyang was full of worry, expecting Hou Hu to escape alive quickly.

"Can still fight for a while. How many people have died now? Wait a little longer..."

Xia Hong, in the shadows, glanced at the battlefield slightly. Seeing that the soldiers who had fallen on both sides were less than one-tenth of the battlefield, his expression flickered, and he continued to turn his head to look at Li Tiancheng and Hou Hu.

Whew...

Li Tiancheng's ghost-headed saber was blocked by Hou Hu's staff again, but he suddenly changed from a slash to a draw. The saber followed the front end of the staff, extending all the way to Hou Hu's neck, and slashed suddenly.

The snowflakes in mid-air shattered inch by inch. The blade edge swept up violent power, drawing a semicircular arc, freezing the surrounding air. The blade edge was almost pressed against Hou Hu's neck, and one could even see a fine bloodstain with the naked eye.

"Vicious tiger, take your life!"

Li Tiancheng looked down at Hou Hu, the killing intent in his eyes almost condensing into substance. The ghost-headed saber in his hand pressed down suddenly, expanding the bloodstain on Hou Hu's neck by more than a centimeter.

Gurgle...

Any further, and he would surely die!

Hou Hu felt the pain in his neck and the blood flowing onto his chest. The panic on his face added a few points, and then, thinking of something, his gaze became completely hysterical. He looked up at Li Tiancheng and roared angrily:

"Old thing, you think you're Li Tianhua? Want to kill me? Dream on!"

Before the words fell, Hou Hu had already retracted the staff he used to block, stopped his frantic retreat, and let the saber press down on his neck. While gritting his teeth to endure the pain, he raised his staff behind his back with both hands, swung it in a circle from left to right, and swept it horizontally toward Li Tiancheng's left shoulder in front of him.

Whoosh... roar...

The violent wind swept up by the staff whistled, sweeping up the snow on the ground and raising a snow mist tens of meters high. The terrifying power was evident.

The coiled dragon patterns attached to the staff seemed to come alive the moment he swept it out, and the whistling wind turned into the roar of an unknown cold beast.

Li Tiancheng's gaze was solemn. Looking at the staff sweeping from the left, he gritted his teeth and didn't dodge, but continued to press the saber to slash at Hou Hu's neck.

Hou Hu ignored the crisis at his neck and used his life to swing this staff, betting that Li Tiancheng wouldn't dare to take it head-on. But Li Tiancheng's ruthlessness also came up; he didn't care about this staff either, betting that he would kill Hou Hu even if he got injured.

The ferocity of the two was stimulated, and they chose to fight head-on.

Bang...

The staff hit Li Tiancheng's left shoulder. Although there was no sound of bone fracture, Li Tiancheng's body still inevitably flew five or six meters to the right, hitting the ground and raising a large group of snow mist with a boom.

Hou Hu was also knocked back seven or eight meters by the saber, the staff almost slipping from his hands. After standing firm, he quickly took out a handful of medicinal powder from his bosom to cover the wound on his neck. Judging from the blood seeping through his fingers, the wound Li Tiancheng's saber had drawn on his neck was definitely not shallow.

More importantly, Hou Hu should have had a premonition about Li Tiancheng's injury. He stared at the group of snow mist, not a hint of expectation in his eyes, and his expression was incomparably ugly.

"Cough, cough, cough... old, truly old. A little cub who followed big brother to practice martial arts back then can actually force me to this point!"

An aged coughing sound came from the snow mist. Li Tiancheng's sigh, although it was admitting he was old, clearly carried a sense of pride in his tone.

At the same time, the address of "little cub" to Hou Hu also seemed to indicate that the final clash had still been won by him, the old one.

The snow mist dissipated, and Li Tiancheng's figure appeared slowly. Although his left shoulder was already mangled and even the white bone of his shoulder could be seen clearly, his walking movement was not distorted at all. His right hand held the ghost-headed saber, walking step by step toward Hou Hu. That aged face was full of killing intent. "Thinking that big brother isn't here, you can turn the world upside down? Die!"

Compared to Li Ying Xuan Yan's indecision, Li Tiancheng was much more decisive. Before the words fell, he rushed straight toward Hou Hu, raising his saber to slash at his head.

Hou Hu's right hand was still covering his neck. In his panic, he first raised his staff with his left hand to block.

But his strength was not as good as Li Tiancheng's, let alone using one hand.

Crack...

The saber slashed the staff. This time, there was no blocking effect as before. Hou Hu's left hand dislocated with a crack. Although he supplemented it with his right hand afterward, it was already too late.

The staff was pressed directly onto his chest by the saber, and the front end of the blade had already cut open his forehead, leaving a vertical bloodstain on his face.

What was even more fatal was that the wound on his neck, without the right hand to fix it, and coupled with the fact that he was using all his strength to block the saber at this moment, collapsed instantly.

Pfft...

Blood spurted out, and everyone finally saw clearly that the wound on Hou Hu's neck was actually more than ten centimeters long. Judging from the situation of the blood spurting, the depth was clearly far beyond everyone's expectations.

!

The neck wound collapsed, and his face was crushed by the saber. Hou Hu's hysterical spirit was finally dispelled by fear. He looked up at Li Tiancheng in horror and pleaded:

"Uncle Tiancheng..."

Clang...

However, just after shouting once, Hou Hu's words were stopped.

It wasn't because Li Tiancheng succeeded, but because someone had stepped in to save him!

A thin, narrow long saber suddenly struck from the side below, suddenly flicking away Li Tiancheng's ghost-headed saber, and then, not forgiving, continued to rush toward the retreating Li Tiancheng.

That long saber's blade was extremely narrow, but the blade length was extremely astonishing. The speed was fast, and in less than a few breaths, it drew more than a dozen slashes in mid-air, forcing Li Tiancheng back more than ten meters in an instant.

Not only that, the person holding the saber specifically attacked Li Tiancheng's injured left shoulder.

The moment the saber was flicked away, Li Tiancheng's expression narrowed slightly. In the process of being forced back by the long saber, sensing the strength of the saber's owner, which was no weaker than Hou Hu's, his expression was even more solemn.

"Seeing that you're quite old, bullying the young is not okay!"

A frivolous voice came from behind the long saber. Li Tiancheng, who had been completely forced back, stood firm. Seeing the owner of the long saber, his pupils narrowed suddenly.

The owner of the long saber was actually just a young man in his early twenties.

The young man's appearance was dull and looked somewhat ordinary, but the material of the black clothes he wore was clearly not common. The thin, narrow long saber in his hand, although forged from ordinary iron ore, had thousands of forging patterns on it.

Longshan certainly had thousand-forged weapons, but there were no thousand-forged weapons that could still be intact after colliding with the silver ghost-faced saber.

This could only mean that the forging craftsmanship of the long saber in the young man's hand was much stronger than Longshan's, allowing a thousand-forged weapon to collide head-on with a silver weapon.

Not only was Li Tiancheng looking at Xia Hong, but at this moment, Hou Hu, and everyone fighting on the east side, had already noticed him with their peripheral vision.

"Many thanks to this brother for your help. Zhaoyang's Hou Hu is eternally grateful!"

Hou Hu covered his neck again with his right hand, looking at Xia Hong with a face full of surprise.

He didn't know Xia Hong, but it was a fact that the other party had stepped in to save him. And judging from Xia Hong's remark about bullying the young just now, this seemed to be just a passerby, simply drawing his sword to help when he saw injustice.

Unlike Hou Hu's surprise, Li Tiancheng, and Li Ying Xuan Yan and the other Cold-Resisting Realm experts of Longshan on the east side, had much uglier faces at this moment.

Especially hearing Hou Hu's subsequent words and realizing he didn't know this person, they couldn't help but curse in their hearts.

Just one step away, just one step away, and Second Uncle could have killed Hou Hu.

Suddenly, someone popped out to save him.

How could it be like this, how could it be like this!

Chen Yingyuan had seen him before, so Xia Hong naturally wouldn't show his true face. The identity of the Great Xia leader was temporarily inappropriate to be exposed here in Longyou, as it would be unfavorable for subsequent actions.

Thinking that Chen Yingyuan had seen him before and had even fought him, Xia Hong turned his head to look at the battlefield on the east side, his gaze accurately locating Chen Yingyuan in the crowd.

Chen Yingyuan seemed to have sensed something, and immediately met his eyes. The moment he saw the long saber in Xia Hong's hand, his pupils shook violently, clearly realizing something.

However, the next second, he saw a very obvious threat in Xia Hong's eyes.

Chen Yingyuan's body trembled slightly, and he immediately turned his head to look elsewhere.

Very good, a smart person!

Regardless of what everyone was thinking, after Xia Hong threatened Chen Yingyuan, he turned his head to continue looking at Li Tiancheng, his eyes full of fighting spirit, and his expression also carried a hint of eagerness.

He really wanted to fight Li Tiancheng.

While forcing the other party back just now, Xia Hong could also feel that Li Tiancheng's strength should be around twenty *zong*, only 10-20% higher than his own.

With such strength, even if a prime-aged person came, Xia Hong wouldn't be afraid at all.

Not to mention the Li Tiancheng before him, who was already old and frail.

However, Li Tiancheng clearly had no desire to fight him.

Looking at Hou Hu, who had already run back to the front of the Blood Guard, Li Tiancheng showed a look of regret for failing at the last moment. Finally, he sighed lightly and spoke to Xia Hong:

"Friend, are you from the Pingxi Plain?"

Being able to let Li Tiancheng use the address of "friend" was enough to prove that the strength Xia Hong had just displayed had already won his respect.

Li Ying Xuan Yan and the other Cold-Resisting Realm experts of Longshan, looking at Hou Hu who had escaped alive, had incomparably heavy expressions. Finally, they all turned to look at Xia Hong, their expressions full of hatred and hostility.

"No need to ask more, just drawing my sword to help when I see injustice. I've always disliked old men, especially old men like you who bully others because of your age and kill people indiscriminately. I dislike them even more. Meeting you, naturally, I have to step in and manage it!"

Xia Hong had no intention of talking to Li. After all, the more he said, the easier it would be to reveal his identity. After spouting some nonsense, he turned directly to look at Hou Hu and smiled:

"Brother, I saved your life, shouldn't you..."

Hou Hu was very sensible. Before Xia Hong finished speaking, he understood the meaning, directly interrupting him, and said loudly while cupping his hands: "Your grace in saving my life, Hou Hu will never forget. Zhaoyang will surely treat you as an honored guest from now on. Whatever my Zhaoyang camp has that you take a fancy to, Hou Hu will surely offer with both hands!"

"Good, quick and straightforward. I didn't waste my effort today."

Xia Hong feigned a brainless, heroic posture, clapping and laughing, as if he really hit it off with Hou Hu and felt like old friends at first sight. He laughed loudly and cupped his hands:

"I am Hong Xia, nice to meet Leader Hou!"

Seeing Xia Hong's simple appearance, Hou Hu's eyes lit up instantly. Especially recalling the powerful strength he had just shown in forcing back Li Tiancheng, he was even more enthusiastic and couldn't help but invite him: "If Brother Hong doesn't mind, please follow me to the Zhaoyang camp, so that Hou Hu can fulfill the duties of a host, how about it?"

"I couldn't ask for more!"

Hou Hu's face was already blooming with smiles, and he was even happier in his heart;

Conversely, Li Ying Xuan Yan, Li Xuantian, and the other Longshan people, seeing the two get familiar so quickly, and that Xia Hong had even agreed to Hou Hu's invitation to visit Zhaoyang, had faces that looked ugly to the extreme.

Only Li Tiancheng stood still, looking at Xia Hong without saying a word. After a full ten breaths, he turned to look at Li Ying Xuan Yan and the others and said in a deep voice:

"Pack up and go back. Today's matter ends here!"

After speaking, he didn't even look at Hou Hu again, turning directly to walk toward Longshan.

"Hahahaha..."

Hou Hu looked at Li Ying Xuan Yan and the others, the mockery on his face undisguised. He laughed loudly a few times and turned directly to wave domineeringly at the big man beside him:

"Hou Hua, lead the people to retreat. We're going back to Zhaoyang to entertain our honored guest."

"Yes, leader!"

The big man, Hou Hua, agreed with a face full of smiles.

Not only him, but all the Cold-Resisting Realm experts of the Zhaoyang camp, including the Blood Guard soldiers below, also showed triumphant smiles on their faces.

Corresponding to them was the dejection of the Longshan group.

Clearly, this first round of confrontation between the new nobles and the old hegemon ended in a complete victory for the new Longyou noble, the Zhaoyang camp.

And this was just the beginning!

Next, the situation Longshan would have to face would be even worse.

"Brother Hong, please!"

Seeing Hou Hu's invitation, Xia Hong showed a simple and honest smile, inserted the ceremonial saber back into its scabbard, nodded, and walked side by side with him toward the east side.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 227 =====