Chapter 816

"But…once the panic caused by Hu Lei spreads——"

"Do you still remember what I told you? Hunting requires considering the prey's thoughts, not blindly chasing its tracks." Feixiao said, "What Hu Lei wants is for everyone on Luofu to fall into panic; he wants to see us throw ourselves into chaos, using limited manpower to grasp at shadows on every inch of Luofu's land, searching for signs of attack, and finally exhaust ourselves."

"Just like the game the Yaoqing people love to play during banquets: covering an object with a few bowls, moving them around, and finally asking you to guess which bowl hides the object. But in my view, these are merely distractions—no matter what Hu Lei does, he cannot change one fact: he is trapped on the Luofu immortal vessel. To escape this place, the only way is to find the ship."

Star: "Right now… the only ship he sees is the Jingfeng warship in the sky."

Feixiao nodded: "To him, there are countless hostages up there. That place would be the ideal destination, and also our final battlefield."

Yan Qing was still worried: "What if we guessed wrong… he went elsewhere, or, as he said—his minions will carry wolf blood and infect the fox people everywhere, stirring up chaos… What should we do? Are we supposed to abandon the places with lower probability?"

"This is another lesson you must learn beyond swordsmanship: 【weighing】 and 【sacrifice】; we are forever asking ourselves this question that has no answer. Before making a decision, we must kill our inner hesitation; after making a decision, we must wrestle with regret."

"We might choose the wrong direction, causing innocent comrades to die in vain; we might guess the enemy's movements correctly but misjudge the opponent's strength and suffer defeat……but hesitating to act is more deadly than making a mistake. No matter what, we must make a decision."

——

Dragon clan.

"I agree with that."

As the student council president and future heir of the Gattuso family, Caesar wholeheartedly agreed with Feixiao's words; as a leader, overthinking and underacting is a fatal flaw. Many hidden dangers and problems often stem from a decision-maker's indecisiveness.

"However, if you think about it carefully, given the intelligence she can now obtain from the Bu Li people, Feixiao's approach is actually also a gamble."

"Hmm." Chu Zihang nodded, "Although the word 'gamble' doesn't sound nice, there really isn't a more fitting term—now she is betting on Hu Lei's psychology."

"If Hu Lei still harbors a sliver of hope to escape, he will head for the Jingfeng warship—that is his only chance to flee. But if he chooses to stay and carry out indiscriminate slaughter in the streets of the immortal vessel……" Caesar hesitated unusually, "... if the casualties are too great, she will also find it hard to absolve herself of blame."

"Wait……!" Caesar suddenly realized something, his face changing, "Yunli and March 7 are still up on the Jingfeng warship—if Hu Lei really goes up there, wouldn't they all become his prey?!"

"Hmm, unless Yan Qing can get there first." Chu Zihang said.

"Yan Qing? Impossible, even if you add Yan Qing, what could they do? Those three are just a dish for Hu Lei. He only learned a move or two from that sword chief, but he's no Mirror Flow from seven hundred years ago, whereas Hu Lei is still the Hu Lei from seven hundred years ago!"

"We must have the general rush to the Jingfeng warship immediately!"

——

"Everyone, listen to my orders. I will hold the line at Xingcha Sea, evacuate the crowds, and respond to any possible attacks. I will give my all to meet the enemy and ensure the ground's safety." Feixiao looked at the Nameless Guest beside him, "Star, please assist the immortal vessel as you did when Jianmu was reborn. I ask you and Maze to search for the whereabouts of Jiaoqiu here."

Upon hearing this, Yan Qing volunteered: "General, please entrust the safety of the Jingfeng warship to me! I was supposed to appear on the arena, but now I must return to the Jingfeng warship."

Feixiao did not object, but he solemnly instructed: "If Hu Lei attacks the Jingfeng warship… Yan Qing's elite guards, please do your utmost to hold him back until I arrive."

"The general should have confidence in me. If he dares to board the Jingfeng warship, Yan Qing swears by his sword that he will not let him escape!"

As the cloud cavalry deployed to various locations, blockades and inspections were swiftly launched. At this moment, in Changletian, the cloud cavalry stood in formation, awaiting orders……

Feixiao's gaze swept over the neat rows of cloud cavalry, then beyond them to the distant streets where lights glittered like stars: "Everyone! On the territory of the immortal vessel, the Bu Li people have arrogantly launched a challenge against us, declaring they will blood-wash the bustling streets of the immortal vessel!"

"Behind us are the unarmed citizens of the immortal vessel and travelers from afar. Tell me, as cloud cavalry soldiers, can we allow the Bu Li people's scheme to succeed?!"

"Absolutely not allowed!"

Accompanied by the uniform sound of blades striking the ground, countless cloud cavalry shouted in unison.

Feixiao spoke into his earpiece communicator: "Call Xingcha Sea, all cloud cavalry on full alert, guard against the Bu Li people's attack!"

From the communicator came Yukuang's voice: "Feixiao, wolf-shaped creatures are moving at high speed through the alleys of Xingcha Sea——"

"Hold on, I'm coming right away!"

——

My little sister can't possibly be that cute.

"Tongnai…… I always have a foreboding feeling."

"Huh? A foreboding feeling?" Tongnai still kept her head raised, her gaze fixed on Feixiao's dashing back, "Idiot older brother, hurry up and say it."

"I always feel that Yan Qing's recent remarks are like setting a flag." Jingjie recalled seriously, "Combining the games I've played and the anime and light novels I've read, when a character reaches a point where they swear an oath, that oath is eight or nine times out of ten going to be broken. For example, when Yan Qing said this time 'I will definitely not let Hu Lei escape,' I feel——"

"You think Hu Lei will escape? Yan Qing can't hold him?" Tongnai finally turned her head, looking at her older brother with the eyes one uses to look at an idiot, "Do you really underestimate Yan Qing's swordsmanship that much? There's still Yunli and March 7 on the Jingfeng warship, you know—did you forget something?"

"I certainly know, but not underestimating Yan Qing doesn't mean I can underestimate Hu Lei either. What might happen later is: Yan Qing and his two companions battle Hu Lei, ultimately Hu Lei escapes, Yan Qing, in order not to disappoint Feixiao's instructions, struggles with his wounded body to desperately hold him back, ultimately also keeping Hu Lei, but unfortunately the severe wounds prove fatal……"

Jingjie spoke as if he had read the script, with a dead-serious expression.

Tongnai: "?"

"You're a devil, you idiot older brother!" Tongnai grabbed the pillow in her hands and smashed it toward her older brother's face, "Shut up! You're not allowed to curse Yan Qing!"