Chapter 171: Setting the Trap

"Luo-ge, an hour ago, the Governor Squad and the Heavenly Blade Squad converged together. Judging by their route, they're heading deep into the competition grounds—they should be searching for your trail."

In the mountain forest, a group hurried along as Zhao Kuo briefed Li Luo on the intelligence.

"Among the four members of the Governor Squad, their captain Shen Ya is at the Upper Heavy Flower Seed level, while the other three members are all Lower Heavy Flower Seed."

"The four members of the Heavenly Blade Squad are all at the Lower Heavy Flower Seed level. Among all the Golden Radiance squads, these two squads rank among the very best—their strength cannot be underestimated."

Li Luo nodded slightly. These two Golden Radiance squads were stronger than any squad he had encountered before. If this time they truly had no preparation and were besieged two-against-one by the opponents, it would indeed pose some threat.

"Our two squads will deal with the Heavenly Blade Squad later. The opponents are stronger than us—even with the numerical advantage, we may not necessarily win, so we still need strong support from your side, Luo-ge."

"Just proceed according to what we discussed before." Li Luo smiled.

"But there's still one problem now. If Student Xin Fu comes to help us, then you and Bai Bai Mengmeng might have to face a full squad of the Governor Squad by yourselves." Zhao Kuo looked at Li Luo.

Li Luo smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Hearing this, Zhao Kuo said no more. After all, he had known Li Luo for so many years and understood his character to some degree. Since Li Luo said so, he truly had made some preparations.

Somewhere in this stretch of mountain forest.

Shen Ya sat beneath a tree, lightly tossing wild fruits he had picked into his mouth one by one. The other three team members, including Shi Kong, also sat on the ground resting.

At this moment, a squad of people walked out from the trees—four of them, all wearing fiery-red long blades at their waists.

"Shen Ya, once you've rested enough, let's set out. Find Li Luo and the others sooner and wipe them out." The leader was a tall, sturdy youth who spoke with some impatience.

"You make it sound like slaughtering a pig we raised at home." Shen Ya grinned.

"Hmph, others may fear the Purple Radiance Squad, but my Heavenly Blade Squad does not." The tall, sturdy youth sneered.

"Fine."

Shen Ya rose first, then waved his hand, and the two squads began moving forward at full speed.

Trees rapidly receded on both sides of the two squads, the wind whistling. They remained silent, maintaining vigilance, displaying combat qualities that surpassed those of other Golden Radiance squads.

After advancing like this for roughly ten-odd minutes, Shen Ya's gaze suddenly shifted. He vaguely sensed something was off. He turned to glance at the Heavenly Blade Squad behind him and called out, "Liu Que, are you all right?"

Yet that squad did not respond, still silently pressing forward.

Shen Ya's face darkened. With a sweep of his sleeve, several phase-force light arrows shot out violently, aimed directly at the Heavenly Blade Squad behind. Then he saw the phase-force light arrows pass right through their bodies.

"Illusions?" Shen Ya raised his hand, and the rapidly advancing squad abruptly halted, quickly drawing together.

"It's most likely Bai Bai Mengmeng's ability from Li Luo's squad." Shi Kong said quickly, while phase-force surged around him, lightning seeming to crackle across his body.

"This Li Luo really is something—knowing we're coming after him, he struck first instead?"

Shen Ya smiled. His gaze swept the surroundings as he said, "Li Luo, you're a Purple Radiance student after all. Surely you wouldn't be afraid to even show your face?"

"Although the provocation tactic is pretty low-class, it really does work quite well."

A burst of laughter came from ahead. Shen Ya looked over and saw Li Luo's figure appear on the trunk of a large tree, watching them with a smile in his eyes.

Shen Ya stared at Li Luo and said, "The Heavenly Blade Squad was split off by you? Heh, as a Purple Radiance Squad, are you really afraid of our two Golden Radiance squads joining forces?"

Li Luo smiled and said, "If I can take down the opponents at the smallest cost, why wouldn't I?"

A hint of amusement surfaced at the corner of Shen Ya's mouth as he said, "Being valued this highly by Squad Captain Li Luo is quite the accomplishment for us... But right now, there should only be you and Bai Bai Mengmeng here, right? Student Xin Fu was sent to support Zhao Kuo and the others. You're planning to take down the Heavenly Blade Squad as fast as possible, aren't you?"

Li Luo's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Strange how I know your plan, isn't it?" The smile at the corner of Shen Ya's mouth gradually spread.

The expression on Li Luo's face gradually grew solemn as he slowly spoke: "The squad that wanted to join forces with Zhao Kuo and the others... was arranged by you, wasn't it?"

A look of surprise surfaced in Shen Ya's eyes. He smiled and said, "Squad Captain Li Luo, your intuition really is sharp."

"That's right, that squad was indeed arranged by us. Actually, this plan was proposed by Shi Kong. He knew about the relationship between that Zhao Kuo and you, so we set up this trap targeting you..."

"So, do you still think now that Zhao Kuo's squad and Student Xin Fu can make it back?"

Li Luo's brow slowly furrowed.

Boom!

Wave after wave of powerful phase-force erupted within the forest.

Ten-odd figures clashed, all attacking each other with full force. Looking closely, they were precisely Zhao Kuo's and Xu Ge's two squads, while the squad they were besieging was the Heavenly Blade Squad.

Yet the strength displayed by the Heavenly Blade Squad was clearly formidable. Even while facing the siege of two Golden Radiance squads, they still appeared to advance and retreat with measured composure.

"Captain Xu Ge, don't hold back—go all out! The two on Luo-ge's side are under enormous pressure!" After the battle had continued for a moment, Zhao Kuo saw that they had been unable to take the opponents down for a long time and couldn't help but shout.

Xu Ge's figure appeared beside Zhao Kuo. He nodded with a solemn expression and said in a low voice, "Alright, then we won't hold back any longer!"

As his words fell, he directly struck out with a palm. Phase-force rolled forth with terrifying momentum.

However, this palm was not aimed at the Heavenly Blade Squad, but instead landed toward Zhao Kuo's back.

But just as his palm wind was about to fall, a surge of shadow phase-force suddenly struck, colliding with his palm wind and directly blasting him flying backward.

At the same time, Xu Ge's three team members also suddenly shifted direction, attacking Zong Fu, Chi Su, and the third person.

The sudden turn of events instantly made Zong Fu and the others' faces change.

"Xu Ge, what are you doing?!" Zhao Kuo's face turned ashen as he roared angrily.

"Can't you tell? This is a trap—you're nothing but bait in it!" The captain of the Heavenly Blade Squad, Liu Que, laughed loudly. Gripping his crimson long blade, he suddenly slashed down toward a patch of shadow, fiery-red phase-force sweeping out like flames across a prairie.

"Student Xin Fu, you saved him, but you've also revealed your shadow!"

Shadow phase-force whistled out. The black short blade collided with the fiery-red blade light. Although the fiery-red blade light was shattered, Student Xin Fu's figure was also directly forced out from the shadows.

The other three members of the Heavenly Blade Squad also suddenly closed in, looking at Student Xin Fu with mocking expressions.

"Hahaha, so what if you're a Purple Radiance student? This time, won't you still be taken down by us in turns!"

Student Xin Fu gripped his short blade. His somewhat pale face beneath the hood also gradually turned solemn at this moment. Clearly, they had all been set up by the Governor Squad.

"Li Luo, having lost a team member, do you still intend to fight our full Golden Radiance squad with just the two of you?" Shen Ya stared at Li Luo with a smile.

Li Luo met his smile, his face thoughtful: "Actually, isn't it not entirely impossible?"

Shen Ya actually nodded as well and said, "This possibility, I've considered it too..."

"So, to show you enough respect, I can only tell you that, in fact, within this stretch of mountain forest, I've also prepared three more Golden Radiance squads."

As he spoke, the flare in his hand suddenly shot into the sky and burst, exploding into a plume of smoke in the air.

Shen Ya watched that plume of smoke, the smile at the corner of his mouth growing ever richer.

His gaze shifted to Li Luo, and he gave a lazy shrug.

"Li Luo, tell me... how would you break this situation?"