Chapter 288: The Knight Who Rides Forward Alone

Outside the stronghold, the originally chaotic, brutal battlefield suddenly and eerily fell silent.

As if it had sunk into a strange kind of harmony.

The three-tailed giant beast that had just entered was likewise somewhat shaken by the scene before its eyes; its blood-red beast-pupils swept over Li Luo, then turned toward the Smiling Face Demon not far away.

The powerful force of malice surging around the other party clearly marked it as an extremely formidable existence—when had such a level of Other appeared in this region?

Could that cunning human boy have led it here precisely to use the other's power to shake it off?

While the three-tailed giant beast was momentarily dazed by the complicated situation, the Smiling Face Demon was likewise filled with wariness; from the human's earlier words, was this spirit beast their guardian beast?

This was reinforcements the other side had brought.

How detestable.

It had been just about to bathe this stronghold in blood and properly savor those fresh, living flesh and blood!

On the Smiling Face Demon's eerie smiling face, fury and savage cruelty surfaced, and the gaze it turned on the three-tailed giant beast began to grow dark and cold.

Today, no matter who it was, nothing could stop it from savoring that flesh and blood!

The three-tailed giant beast also sensed the Smiling Face Demon's hostile gaze at the first instant, and fury immediately welled up within it as well; as the overlord of the Forbidden Zone mountain range, the other's behavior was undoubtedly a provocation against it.

However, given the complicated situation, it did not actually erupt into action on the spot, but instead let out a low, scorching roar as a warning.

It had no intention of meddling in the battle here; as long as the other party did not interfere with its catching and devouring that human boy, it could simply take him and leave.

But this warning roar of its only made the Smiling Face Demon take it as a threat ordering it away, which made the demon even more furious.

Whether it was the three-tailed giant beast or the Smiling Face Demon, although both possessed a measure of spiritual intelligence, they mostly still acted according to their nature—one savage, one eerie, neither could be judged by common sense.

So, facing the three-tailed giant beast's threat, a majestic force of malice began to surge up from the Smiling Face Demon's body, like rolling wolf-smoke shooting straight into the heavens.

But even as it displayed its own power, it still strove to maintain some restraint.

And on the high walls of the stronghold behind them, Jiang Jiang Qinge, Duze Duze Honglian, and everyone else watched this standoff with some tension.

Li Luo had indeed, as he wished, drawn that spirit beast from the Forbidden Zone over here.

But now there was an even more serious problem—what if that spirit beast turned around and came after them as well?

After all, they knew better than anyone that this three-tailed giant beast was definitely not some guardian beast as Li Luo had claimed!

If this thing went on a rampage, it would absolutely slaughter their stronghold too.

Moreover, although the three-tailed giant beast was savage, it did possess a sliver of intelligence; this could be seen from the fact that after arriving at the battlefield, it did not immediately launch an attack on the Smiling Face Demon.

It did not want to fight a Great Calamity-class Other for no reason either.

If the two sides reached some kind of consensus through their mutual wariness, then when the time came, the unlucky ones would be them.

And the mere thought of facing a Great Calamity-class Other and a peak Sky General-stage spirit beast at the same time made their scalps tingle.

A sheen of fine cold sweat covered Duze Duze Honglian's fair forehead; this atmosphere was truly agonizing.

"Why do I feel like we've become even more dangerous?" she could not help murmuring.

The others shared the feeling; the scene before them made quite a few people's legs go weak.

"Li Luo isn't even afraid—what are you afraid of?" Jiang Jiang Qinge said coolly.

Once she said this, everyone fell somewhat silent, their gazes turning to Li Luo, who stood in the middle between the Smiling Face Demon and the three-tailed giant beast.

They were hiding in the back, yet already bearing such pressure—so how immense must the pressure be on Li Luo, locked onto by two ferocious creatures at this moment?

The fact that Li Luo could still stand there with an expression as calm as usual at this moment was already enough to earn admiration for his temperament.

"Still, be prepared—it's a dead end anyway, one more three-tailed giant beast won't make a difference," Jiang Jiang Qinge said again.

She did not want everyone to place too much hope in Li Luo; after all, the crisis before them had not yet been resolved.

Or rather, as long as the three-tailed giant beast and the Smiling Face Demon did not fight, this stronghold could still be bathed in blood at any moment.

The only difference was that instead of the Smiling Face Demon alone bathing it in blood at the start, it would now be the Smiling Face Demon and the three-tailed giant beast together.

"Captain, if they keep staring each other down like this, the situation will actually be worse for us," Tian Tian said in a low voice.

Jiang Jiang Qinge nodded slightly; how could she not know this—the three-tailed giant beast and the Smiling Face Demon were wary of each other, neither willing to start a fight rashly, but once this standoff dragged on, as they gradually calmed down, they might well find some balance point.

At that time, their only variable would be gone.

But at this moment, no one dared to break this deadlock lightly; if Jiang Jiang Qinge and the others made a move, it might enrage the three-tailed giant beast, and once it showed even the slightest displeasure and fury toward the stronghold, the Smiling Face Demon would realize that this giant beast was definitely not the guardian beast Li Luo had spoken of.

Therefore, the first to move absolutely could not be the stronghold's side.

Then who could move?

Some complicated gazes turned toward Li Luo, positioned between the three-tailed giant beast and the Smiling Face Demon.

At this moment, Li Luo was the best person to break this deadlock.

But once he did so, there was a very high chance he would face a life-or-death crisis the very first instant—because if he retreated, he would be killed by the three-tailed giant beast; if he advanced, he would be killed by the Smiling Face Demon.

In their eyes, this was almost a death trap.

And would Li Luo be willing to pay such a price?

Everyone fell silent, not voicing such thoughts, because they saw Jiang Jiang Qinge's gradually chilling expression—clearly, she understood this as well.

And given the relationship between Jiang Jiang Qinge and Li Luo, she would absolutely not allow such a situation to occur.

But their silence did not last long before a gradual stir of voices began to spread.

Then, all of their eyes suddenly went wide, because they saw Li Luo, standing in the middle of the standoff between the two great ferocious creatures, slowly raise his hand at this moment.

He turned his head, as if offering a smile toward the people on the high wall.

Then his hand swept down sharply, making the charge signal.

"Charge!"

He let out a roar, twin blades in hand, like a lone knight bearing the standard, charging into the fray against enemies that blanketed the hills.

Staring at his back, at this moment, the eyes of many students on the high wall turned red.

Some of the female students even began to cry.

"Captain." Bai Bai Mengmeng stared blankly at Li Luo's all-out, forward-charging back; in her bright, dewy big eyes, moisture welled up, blurring her vision.

Student Xin Fu stared at Li Luo's figure, as if to brand it deeply into his heart.

"This guy..."

Beside Yi Yi Lisha let out a deep breath and said softly, "This is the first time I've admired someone my own age this much."

Si Si Qiuying, standing to the side, was silent. She gazed at Li Luo's back. In the past, her heart had only ever worshipped her brother, but now she felt that the current Li Luo was more than worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"I'm sorry, Li Luo. Before... I looked down on you." She whispered softly in her heart.

Duze Duze Honglian was also watching Li Luo's figure. She showed no particular emotion, only a slightly complicated look in her eyes, before finally turning her gaze toward Jiang Jiang Qinge.

At this moment, the latter's gaze seemed to freeze on Li Luo. The hand gripping the hilt of Wo Zhu Zhong slowly tightened, her knuckles turning white.

And so, under the watchful gazes of the crowd behind him, Li Luo's figure charged into the attack range of the aberrant flood.