Chapter 251

"A-Zhong, I'm injured, you run first, don't worry about me!"

In the outer valley, about a hundred meters from the iron gate, Li Hu turned his head to glance at Wu Xiong, who was still steadily approaching from behind, gritted his teeth, let go of Yang Zhong's hand, and pushed him directly toward the iron gate, signaling him to escape quickly.

Just as Wu Xiong was slaughtering wantonly, his legs had been accidentally struck by the blue-flame great blade; although they weren't severed, they were already covered in a layer of dewdrops, and as the temperature of the dewdrops rose higher and higher, his mobility was almost completely lost.

If Yang Zhong hadn't been supporting him the whole time, he wouldn't have been able to run here at all.

The three young masters and the group of Frost-Resistance level experts had all already run away; if they didn't speed up their escape, Wu Xiong would be upon them in no time.

Li Hu didn't want to drag his brother down; seeing Yang Zhong ignore his advice and try to come back to support him, he roared angrily: "Yang Zhong, you run first, otherwise none of us will survive, get lost!"

Yang Zhong only looked up at Li Hu, walked forward silently, hoisted him directly onto his shoulders, and continued running toward the iron gate.

"Li Hu, when we swore our brotherhood, we agreed to live and die together; either we run together or we die together, stop talking nonsense!"

Hearing his brother Yang Zhong's roar, Li Hu's eyes instantly turned red.

As the son of Li Xuantian and a third-generation direct descendant of Longshan, Li Hu had never enjoyed any proper treatment as a direct descendant growing up.

The reason was simple: he was an illegitimate child.

His birth stemmed from an impulsive act of his father, Li Xuantian, when he was young.

More than twenty years ago, Li Xuantian led a team to wipe out a medium-sized camp; his mother, Li Yuning, was the daughter of the leader of that small camp.

Captured by Li Xuantian, Li Yuning naturally became Li Xuantian's war trophy, and what happened afterward followed logically.

Li Xuantian had three wives and eleven legitimate children, and there were countless maids similar to Li Yuning; as a result, there were even more illegitimate children like Li Hu—at least no fewer than thirty.

Even the legitimate children rarely received Li Xuantian's attention, let alone inconspicuous illegitimate children like Li Hu.

Special treatment was out of the question; in fact, because Li Xuantian's status was so high and his wealth so vast, the three legitimate wives worried that the illegitimate children below might harbor improper thoughts and would often make things difficult for them and suppress them.

Any illegitimate child who showed too much promise would even invite a fatal disaster.

Growing up smoothly in such an environment and becoming an Earth-Digging level expert capable of going on campaigns with the camp, the hardships Li Hu endured can be imagined.

From the age of nine, when he witnessed his mother, Li Yuning, being forced to her death by the woman known as the Third Lady, Zhu Rou, he had nothing but hatred for Li Xuantian and Longshan.

If he hadn't met his good brother Yang Zhong that year, he would have either left Longshan or gone to fight that Third Lady, Zhu Rou, to the death; other than those two dead ends, there was no other possibility.

Yang Zhong's father was also one of Longshan's core Frost-Resistance level experts, the master archer Yang Fengping; coincidentally, or unfortunately, Yang Zhong was also an illegitimate child.

Even more coincidentally, Yang Zhong's mother was also forced to death by the legitimate wife, and because that legitimate wife was so overbearing, Yang Fengping didn't even dare to acknowledge Yang Zhong, only able to foster him in a place in Longshan specifically for raising orphans.

Because they had similar experiences, the two quickly built a friendship upon meeting, and as they lurked and grew together in Longshan—from breaking through to the Woodcutting Realm together, to breaking through to the Earth-Digging Realm, to joining the hunting team, and later forming a hunting team together—their friendship gradually sublimated into an incredibly deep bond.

Both of them harbored an obsession with avenging their mothers, and at the same time, they knew that staying in Longshan made it difficult to have a chance to break through to the Frost-Resistance level due to their status, so they had long agreed that once they reached the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, they would immediately leave Longshan, either to defect to Zhaoyang or to find another giant camp that could help them break through to the Frost-Resistance level.

"On this campaign, as long as the number of enemies killed is high enough, there will be beast blood rewards!"

Recalling what he heard before the campaign, Li Hu's heart was full of regret; if he hadn't been unable to resist the temptation, he wouldn't have fallen into this dead end now, and not only was he going to die, but he was also going to implicate his good brother Yang Zhong to die with him.

"A-Zhong, what is your base strength in jin now?"

"Twenty-seven thousand, about the same as yours, don't you know?"

Hearing Yang Zhong's answer, Li Hu looked back, saw Wu Xiong only five or six meters away, revealed a look of determination, pushed Yang Zhong away first, and then turned back to pounce toward Wu Xiong.

"A-Zhong, if you can survive and break through to the Frost-Resistance level, remember to avenge my mother, and also, help me go see that place I mentioned before."

"Tiger, don't!"

Seeing his good brother's actions, how could Yang Zhong not understand his intent? He shouted, his eyes splitting with rage, and in the first moment, he actually turned back as well, trying to save him and bring him back.

Their bond seemed to sublimate once more in this moment.

Unfortunately, Yang Zhong's speed was still too slow.

At a distance of five or six meters, Li Hu turned and pounced, arriving directly in front of Wu Xiong; he was almost rushing head-on into Wu Xiong's blue-flame great blade.

His intent was also very clear: he wanted to drag Wu Xiong down for a moment to create an opportunity for Yang Zhong to escape.

But the moment he turned back, Li Hu immediately realized his own naivety.

Wu Xiong's blue-flame great blade had become even stronger than before.

Those who were sliced by the great blade now not only grew dewdrops on their wounds.

The dewdrops on those people's wounds heated up and turned red rapidly, were instantly detonated by the blue flames surrounding Wu Xiong's body, and then the whole person was swallowed by the blue flames, emitting desperate and painful screams.

The scene in Li Hu's eyes at this moment was that every time Wu Xiong slashed someone, a cluster or even multiple clusters of blue flames would immediately rise, and those blue flames would ignite the dewdrops on the others nearby.

Boom... Boom... Boom... Boom...

And so, the thousands of Earth-Digging level experts outside the valley were like matchsticks waiting to be ignited, and Wu Xiong was that open flame, emitting manic, sadistic laughter while frantically detonating everyone.

How could Li Hu not feel despair at such a scene?

What he had just thought was to sacrifice his life to hug Wu Xiong, even if it only dragged him down for a breath or half a breath, so that Yang Zhong's hope of escaping would be a little greater.

Only now did he realize that in front of Wu Xiong, he couldn't even get close.

As long as he got close, the dewdrops on his legs would be ignited immediately.

And in fact, blue flames were indeed sprouting from his legs at this moment.

Sss...

As the pain in his thighs flooded into his mind, Li Hu thought of his deceased mother, his face full of unwillingness; he hadn't avenged his mother yet, hadn't fulfilled his mother's dying wish to see her hometown, and hadn't even fulfilled his promise to his brother Yang Zhong to help him get revenge.

"Tiger!"

As Yang Zhong's roar reached his ears, Li Hu no longer had the heart to worry about the safety of this good brother; whispering to himself that he would go first, he closed his eyes directly.

Hum...

An ethereal, heavy sound entered his mind, the pain in his thighs disappeared completely; Li Hu, who thought he was already dead, first revealed an expression of relief, then opened his eyes to see the scene before him, filled with astonishment.

He wasn't dead; he was still standing in the same spot.

And the blue flames on his legs had disappeared.

Not only him, but many people around him, including the blue flames on many corpses throughout the valley, had all instantly vanished.

Bang...

A pale golden four-legged giant cauldron suddenly descended from the sky, slamming fiercely into the ground with a loud noise; the giant cauldron became seven meters tall, its four sides engraved with dozens of patterns of Frost Beasts, and inside the giant cauldron, flames several meters high were burning fiercely, the firelight completely illuminating the entire valley.

The eyes of all the survivors were attracted.

"Where did this cauldron come from?"

Whoosh... This question also subconsciously popped into Li Hu's mind.

But he immediately realized that this wasn't the time to worry about that question.

Because Wu Xiong was right in front of him.

Seeing the moment the giant cauldron appeared, Wu Xiong's expression also carried a hint of panic, but it reacted quickly; seemingly realizing that it needed to kill more people, it immediately rushed into the crowd ahead.

And the crowd in front of it, bearing the brunt, was Li Hu.

Whoosh...

The only blue flames still burning in the entire area were likely those on Wu Xiong and the great blade in his hand; as the terrifying blade edge slashed toward him, Li Hu subconsciously turned to run, but with his leg injuries and Wu Xiong's terrifying speed, he had absolutely no possibility of escaping.

Still going to die!

Clang...

A thin, narrow long blade blocked in front of Li Hu.

!

The shockwave formed the moment the long blade made contact with the blue flames caused the snow on the ground to spread out for a full dozen meters; even without contact, the terrifying impact force sent Li Hu flying more than ten meters, directly colliding with Yang Zhong and being pushed to the side of the iron gate with him.

Li Hu turned his head in a panic to look at the previous position, his gaze suddenly freezing.

The owner of that long blade was tall, dressed in silk black clothing that looked like no ordinary item; the thin, narrow straight blade in his hand was a full one point seven meters long, looking somewhat absurdly long; he held the blade with both hands, colliding violently with Wu Xiong's blue-flame great blade, and his strength actually reached a stalemate with Wu Xiong.

No, not just a stalemate!

The blue flames attached to Wu Xiong's great blade actually rose with a normal yellow flame under the opposition of the ceremonial blade in the black-clad man's hand.

Moreover, the yellow flames seemed to be canceling out the blue flames.

It felt like normal fire burning blue fire.

"It's that lord who was just besieged by Li Ying Xuan Ling and the others!"

If the giant cauldron that saved him the first time hadn't made Li Hu feel much, then the black-clad man who saved him a second time truly filled his face with gratitude.

He recognized Xia Hong at a glance; although it was the Longyou Army that relied on the siege earlier, Li Hu had also seen it from the side.

"It's that lord, seems to be called Xia Hong, the leader of Great Xia!"

Li Ying Xuan Ling brought so many Frost-Resistance level experts and over a thousand Longyou Army soldiers, yet they couldn't successfully besiege him; not to mention Li Hu, Yang Zhong also remembered it clearly.

"It's that lord, I remember too."

"Is that giant cauldron his too?"

"Did he come to save us?"

"How is that possible? The young master just brought people to besiege him, how could he come to save us?"

"Then why did he make a move against Wu Xiong?"

Not only Li Hu and Yang Zhong, but the thousands of people in the valley also recognized Xia Hong for the most part; watching the stalemate between Xia Hong and Wu Xiong, they were filled with confusion while their eyes couldn't help but hold some anticipation.

Most of those present were Earth-Digging level experts from the Longshan and Zhaoyang families.

Li Ying Xuan Ling and Hou Tong had already taken all the Frost-Resistance level experts and run away; they were already filled with despair, and seeing Xia Hong now, they naturally became expectant.

"What are you still standing there for? Run quickly, go to the southwest, someone is there to meet you!"

Their anticipation came true.

Hearing Xia Hong's words, the vast majority of people had eyes full of surprise and, without thinking, turned directly to flee outside the iron gate; a small number of people looked at Xia Hong, remembering what had just happened, their expressions somewhat complex, but considering that saving their lives was paramount, they still ran toward the outside of the iron gate quickly.

"Thirty manes, almost catching up to me, if I let you keep killing..."

Xia Hong saw that people had already started running toward the outside of the iron gate, turned his head to look at Wu Xiong in front of him, a faint light flashed in his left eye, he sneered, and before he finished speaking, he drew his blade swiftly and slashed directly at its skull.

Swish...

The thin, long ceremonial blade, combined with Xia Hong's terrifying strength, made a sound like a needle speeding through the air, slashing onto the top of Wu Xiong's head in an instant.

Clang...

Wu Xiong raised its blade in a panic to parry; although it successfully protected its skull, it didn't reveal a smile on its face, but instead, its expression became even more solemn.

Sss!

The blue flames on the great blade, upon making contact with Xia Hong's ceremonial blade, rose with that same normal flame from before, and the fire burned brighter and brighter, actually gradually replacing the original blue flames on its great blade.

Not only the great blade, but the blue flames on its body were also being suppressed and becoming smaller and smaller.

Wu Xiong looked up to meet Xia Hong's gaze, saw the playfulness in Xia Hong's eyes, and a surge of anger rose on its face, its gaze suddenly freezing.

Sss...

It actually withdrew its great blade, letting Xia Hong's blade slash toward it.

With such a heaven-sent opportunity, how could Xia Hong miss it? He gripped the Long Que Dao, which was coated with fire-condensing oil, with both hands and slashed down suddenly, slashing almost all the way from the top of the skull to Wu Xiong's lower body.

Boom...

Just as when Wu Xiong killed those ordinary Earth-Digging level experts earlier, one slash would raise a cluster of blue flames; with this slash from Xia Hong, flames also rose from the parts of Wu Xiong's body that were cut open, only they weren't blue, but normal.

Sss!

Wu Xiong's body suddenly spewed out a large amount of white smoke, and at the same time, incredibly bloodthirsty and sinister laughter rang out from not far away.

However, this laughter didn't even last for three breaths.

It was interrupted by the sound of an iron arrow piercing the air.

Whoosh...

Xia Hong held the Divine Arm Bow, turned his head to look at the side more than a hundred meters away, where Wu Xiong had already re-condensed its body using the corpses on the ground, his eyes full of coldness.

The iron arrow he had just shot had already steadily pierced through Wu Xiong's brow; the fire-condensing oil on the iron arrow clearly reacted violently with Wu Xiong's body, causing black smoke to constantly rise from the top of its head, and later, flames also gradually emerged from within.

"Ah... Ah..."

Wu Xiong, transformed by the White Dew Strange, finally stopped laughing.

This time, accompanied by billowing black smoke from its head, what it emitted were incredibly painful roars, and the eyes looking at Xia Hong were full of monstrous hatred.

"Being able to freely change bodies among these corpses infected with dewdrops, your ability seems much stronger than those Stranges from before; you almost grew too big, but unfortunately, you ran into my Truth-Shattering Eye!"

Pfft... Pfft... Pfft...

Xia Hong wore a sneer, speaking while constantly shooting iron arrows dipped in fire-condensing oil with the Divine Arm Bow.

Every time an iron arrow pierced into Wu Xiong's body, the flames on it would increase; after dozens of iron arrows, Wu Xiong's body had long been covered in flames, and apart from the intensely painful roars, it couldn't say anything at all.

(End of chapter)