Chapter 139: Breakout (Part Three)

Now only two commanders of the Dark Night Elf who have broken out remain: the barely alive Bu Lanni, and the Wei Ke Na who had previously been captured by Li Bucai in the sleeping cave.

Wei Ke Na trembled as she held Bu Lanni, her face showing grief beyond words. The Dark Night Elf is a race without tears; originally this battle had been meticulously planned, hoping to finally overturn the oppression by the Tree Elf, but they still could not defeat them.

There had been several thousand compatriots, but in an instant only fewer than three hundred remained. Wei Ke Na pressed her trembling hands onto her wound; although reason told her there was no hope of saving her, she still hoped for a miracle to preserve her life.

Bu Lanni barely opened her already fading eyes.

"We've broken out, we've succeeded in breaking out, hold on, we'll take you home now."

Bu Lanni shook her head weakly; though on the brink of death she was not completely unconscious, and she turned her gaze toward Li Bucai: "Please… help…" She did not finish the sentence before lowering her head.

Wei Ke Na let out a mournful cry to the heavens; the Dark Night Elf is a very resilient race, long oppressed by other races, with scenes of life and death constantly occurring. Every departure is etched in their hearts, turning this sorrow into a drive for vengeance. She let out a long cry, laid her body flat on the ground, rose with a furious expression, raised her right arm toward the remaining 278 soldiers, and shouted angrily: "The Tree Elf killed our people, destroyed our lands; now they insult our Moon Goddess. Follow me and kill them, avenge the goddess, avenge the dead of our tribe!"

All the Dark Night Elf soldiers, filled with ambition, raised their right hands and shouted in unison: "Kill the Tree Elf, avenge the goddess, avenge our people! Kill the Tree Elf, avenge the goddess, avenge our people!"

Beside them, Young Marshal E Ruan said to Li Bucai: "It was hard enough to break out; aren't we just saving them for nothing this way?"

Li Bucai nodded, approached Wei Ke Na, and said: "You do not raise troops out of anger; the Tree Elf is powerful, and now perhaps only you remain. If you rashly get surrounded, you will be lost, and the Dark Night Elf race will vanish from this world. Now you are their leader; for the sake of your clan's lineage, think twice before acting."

"They destroyed our goddess statue; if we do not raise an army to punish them, it would be disrespect to the Moon Goddess, and she will no longer bless us. Without the goddess's blessing, extinction is only a matter of time. You are an outsider; thank you for your help. If any of our people survive in the future, they will remember this kindness. Warriors of the Dark Night Elf, follow me and kill them, avenge the goddess, avenge our tribe!"

Li Bucai stopped them, saying: "A gentleman may avenge after ten years; the Tree Elf now outnumbers you tenfold. Even if you seek revenge, it must be planned carefully."

Wei Ke Na, inflamed with sudden anger, lost her reason, ignored the counsel, and retorted: "This is our own matter; if you interfere again, don't blame the tribe for being rude."

She tried to push the arm Li Bucai had placed in front of her, but despite her force it would not move; instantly her gaze, cold as a sword, stared at Li Bucai.

Li Bucai did not step back, meeting her with a dignified, steadfast gaze.

Wei Ke Na drew the **** at her waist and thrust it toward his chest; Li Bucai caught her wrist with his other hand, gently twisted it, turning her around, and lightly tapped her wrist, causing the **** to fall. Wei Ke Na, unwilling to relent, let the weapon go and struck with both palms.

At that moment, Li Bucai could not waste time entangling with her; he raised his hand, flicked his palm, and with a "Slap!" a heavy palm struck her cheek, making her stagger a few steps, nearly falling, clutching her burning cheek and daring not to advance.

The soldiers, seeing his rudeness, prepared to swarm him, but when he produced the black Token, they all halted, hesitating. Though the Token belonged to their own clan, its holder was not one of them; should they strike for his disrespect toward their own?

Li Bucai shouted harshly at her: "You, a brain full of paste, which bastard made you a commander? If you were my subordinate, I'd execute you on the spot. I've gone to great lengths to help you break out of the encirclement, rescued these few people with difficulty, and now you want to doom them all."

Wei Ke Na, covering her face after his reprimand, dared not retort.

Li Bucai, suppressing his inner fury, spoke calmly to the crowd: "I, Li Bucai, am merely an outsider, but like you I bear a grudge against the Tree Elf. The valiant fallen general entrusted me to help you break out of the encirclement, hoping to save your lives for future revenge. The vengeance must be taken, but not now. The priority is to see if we can rescue as many of you as possible from the enemy's siege. If you trust me and wish to save lives, stand with me; if you seek revenge, go now. I will not hinder you further."

The crowd immediately began debating; those who had guarded the gate tower indeed saw Bu Lanni give him the Token, and with his help they managed to defeat the Goblin in one surge.

"I saw with my own eyes the centurion ask him for help; he was right— we should seize this moment to rescue those trapped. Princess Ai Na also wants us to survive, so she personally covered our rear, disregarding her own life. I trust him."

As one person stepped to Li Bucai's side, those who had fought alongside him also came over; suddenly nearly a hundred people chose to trust an outsider, and the others dropped their concerns. In the end, everyone stood with him.

Li Bucai gave Wei Ke Na a calm look and asked: "And you?"

Wei Ke Na lowered her head, after a long pause gave a muted nod, and moved to the rear of the formation, not getting to the front, evidently feeling some shame from Li Bucai's words.

Li Bucai said: "Since everyone has agreed, then let us set out."

He led the group toward the He Rui Peak road junction.

Long before the breakout turned into an offensive, Wu Zhuoyue and the others, without needing orders, had already dispersed the people to a safe area to scout enemy movements.

At this moment, Rui Tong ran from ahead.

Li Bucai hurriedly asked: "How many are left?"

Rui Tong, panting, said: "None… none left. All were swallowed by their circular formation; not a single person escaped alive. They are now dispatching troops, splitting into several routes to try to contain us. In total five routes: two squads loop around to the other side, likely to flank us from behind; the front route has about seven or eight hundred men advancing toward us; the other two routes consist of Goblins, with one moving toward our flank, probably trying to cut off the retreat into the valley before us. Wu Zhuoyue and the others are now closely monitoring those movements."