Chapter 151: Offense-Defense Shift

The hulking man opened his mouth, but only spat out blood foam.

Lian Ye drew his Tachi, and the hulking man's massive body crashed to the ground with a roar, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Lian Ye sheathed his sword, lowered his head to gaze at the dying foe, and said calmly, "What a pity, you met me."

If it were anyone else, it would be nearly impossible to breach the hulking man's Thunder Armor, let alone kill him.

Fortunately, the Poison Energy Lian Ye devised handles most situations; as soon as the opponent is inadvertently hit, the battle can be declared over.

The hulking man lay on the ground, his lips quivering as if to speak, but finally he only expelled a mouthful of black blood, his pupils widening.

Seeing the hulking man's life fade, Lian Ye suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

This was the internal injury the hulking man had inflicted earlier…

Luckily his body recovers quickly; otherwise he would have collapsed long ago.

In the distance, Yuanfei Rizhan and his companions struggled to rise and hurried toward here.

"Hahaha, Lian Ye, you're too strong!" Yuanfei Rizhan laughed loudly.

I almost thought today would end right here.

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang clutched his chest, staring at the hulking man's corpse, "That guy is truly terrifyingly strong."

"Indeed, we still rely on Lian Yejun," Uchiha Jing agreed.

The unconscious Xiaochun Zhuanqin happened to wake up, saw the scene, and hurried forward to try to treat Lian Ye.

But Lian Ye merely waved his hand, indicating he was fine.

"Xiaochun, go treat them."

Xiaochun Zhuanqin nodded, turned around, and began treating Ri Zhan and the others.

……

With the hulking man's death, the ninjas' battle abruptly halted.

The battling Cloud Ninja and Konoha Ninja simultaneously ceased fighting and turned their heads toward the center of the Battlefield.

That absurdly powerful hulking man now lay on his back in a pool of blood.

Beside the corpse, a cold‑faced youth stood proudly, a pair of crimson Sharingan scanning the surrounding Cloud Ninja.

Every enemy his gaze touched froze like a frog caught by a venomous snake, trembling uncontrollably all over.

"Lord Raikage's… Personal Guard Captain… dead?!" a Cloud Ninja Chunin whispered tremblingly.

"How could this be!"

One must know the hulking man was Lord Raikage's strongest Guard Lord, his power truly terrifying.

Since arriving on the Battlefield, with his overwhelming strength, he has slain an unknown number of Konoha ninja.

To Cloud Hidden Ninja, he is practically a god‑like figure.

Yet now a youth has killed him.

The youth before us killed Lord Raikage's strongest Guard!

The hulking man's power was well known to the Cloud Ninja present, nearly Shadow-level.

And a youth capable of killing him must also be Shadow-level, perhaps?

Thinking this, the Cloud Ninja wore horrified expressions as they looked at Lian Ye beside the corpse.

In an instant, the Battlefield atmosphere shifted dramatically.

"Kill—!"

The Konoha side erupted in thunderous cheers.

The hulking man's death gave Konoha ninja hope of victory.

The death of the strongest Cloud Ninja on the Battlefield boosted Konoha morale enormously.

The previously exhausted ninjas, as if injected with adrenaline, instantly multiplied their ferocity several times over.

At this moment, the offensive and defensive stances have switched!

In contrast, the Cloud Ninja's front‑line ninjas involuntarily stepped back half a pace.

They stared at the hulking man's corpse, disbelief‑tinged terror flashing in their eyes.

That was the strongest Guard, clad in Thunder Armor, whose strength surpassed the First Elder!

The hulking man's death threw the Cloud Ninja into disarray; faced with Konoha's ferocious assault, they were instantly driven back step by step.

"Retreat… retreat!" a Cloud Hidden Jonin roared suddenly, "Withdraw immediately!"

"Quickly convey the news that the Guard Lord was slain to Lord Raikage!"

The order toppled like a line of dominoes, and the Cloud Ninja's hard‑maintained formation collapsed in an instant.

Some even dropped their weapons and rushed toward the northern woods without looking back.

The Konoha ninja, seeing this, wondered how they could just let the Cloud Ninja flee.

They immediately gave chase.

Lian Ye did not pursue, standing silently where he was.

Not that he didn't want to, but he was wounded earlier and hasn't recovered yet.

Some of the Cloud Ninja at the front instinctively turned back to look at the youth standing in the distance.

"Don't look… run!"

"That's Uchiha's grim reaper…"

"His blade is imbued with poison that can kill Shadow-level!"

"This must be reported to Lord Raikage!"

The Cloud Ninja stared at Lian Ye with fixed gazes, as if trying to memorize his appearance.

……

Xiaochun Zhuanqin is bandaging Zhi Cun Tuan Zang's wound, and upon seeing it says softly, "Lian Yejun… seems to have become a nightmare for the Cloud Ninja."

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang gives no reply, just stares at the boy's back.

"Long time no see, Lian Yejun is really getting stronger!" Uchiha Jing remarks.

The scene of Lian Ye using Shisui Body‑Shift Technique to kill the hulking man is still vivid in his mind.

Yuanfei Rizhan's gaze is complicated, and he says softly, "That guy Lian Ye has already surpassed us."

Even back when we were in school, we knew a day like this would come.

Aside from the Cultural Class, Lian Ye has always been at the top in combat classes.

Especially the training missions assigned by the teacher, he is always the first to finish.

Being a ninja means carrying out missions every day, with almost no time to rest.

Lian Ye's strength comes from hard training, and Yuanfei Rizhan doesn't feel any envy at all.

The only thing that shocks him is Lian Ye's recovery ability…

He remembers that a few years ago, Lian Ye's healing wasn't this exaggerated.

They were hit by the hulking man and couldn't get up for half a day.

But Lian Ye seemed as if nothing were wrong, still able to keep fighting.

This makes Yuanfei Rizhan find it incomprehensible.

Just as he was pondering, Lian Ye appears before the few of them.

"The battle is over, we can go back."

He's feeling a bit unwell now, needs to return and rest for a while.

The hulking man's attack dealt him considerable damage; it would take more than a day or two to recover, so he must return to the camp to recuperate properly.

Hearing this, the few of them helped each other up.

Compared with Lian Ye, they are simply a pitiful sight.

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang and Uchiha Jing find even normal walking somewhat arduous.

Mizuto Menyan, not to mention, just lies on the ground, unable to even walk.

Only Yuanfei Rizhan and Xiaochun Zhuanqin are in a barely acceptable condition.

The two help Tuan Cang and Mirror as they leave the Battlefield.

As for the Mizuto Menyan on the ground, they can only have Lian Ye carry him back.

"Lian Ye, could you do me a favor?" Menyan lies on Lian Ye's back, his face ashen.

"It's a small matter; go back to the camp and rest well," Lian Ye replies.

Seeing Menyan's dying state, he is somewhat afraid that he might die on his back.

…………

Not far from the Cloud Hidden Camp.

"Big brother, if that brute asks, how should we explain?" Yin Jiao asks softly.

The brute he mentions is the First Raikage's strongest guard, only that he was sent to the front line by the Raikage.

"No need to explain; we'll just act as if we don't know. As for that brute…" Jin Jiao narrows his eyes, "Even if they suspect us, there's no evidence."

"Big brother is right; everyone who knows the truth is dead!"

At that moment, they suddenly hear a commotion coming from the camp.

The two brothers exchange a glance and rush toward the camp.