Chapter 394: [Ambush] (Part 1)

Ji Feihua's body trembled slightly; a surge of inner force shook his red robe into flight, and the transparent canopy above his head instantly turned into a rain of curtains that scattered everywhere. His gaze locked coldly on the oncoming black meteor hammer. He flung open his left hand— in the blink of an eye the hammer was already before him, sinking like a stone into the sea, the thunderous wind vanishing instantly, and the hammer landed firmly in Ji Feihua's palm. Then he lowered his arm, slamming the hammer heavily onto the bridge ahead. With a crack, the bridge broke again; the immense force pulled the iron chain taut, yanking the black‑clad rider off his horse. The rider grabbed the chain with one hand and reached for the sword on his back, but before he could draw it, Ji Feihua kicked his chest, whipping it like a lash. Ribs shattered, bone fragments pierced his lungs, blood foam gushed from his mouth and nose, and he flew backward, slamming into his mount's head. Both rider and horse slid off the collapsing bridge into the water.

Black lake water welled up with traces of blood like black smoke.

Ji Feihua disposed of three assassins in an instant, coldly saying, "Since you've come, why not show yourselves? Why let your underlings die pointlessly?"

Crack! Crack! The long bridge still visible above the water collapsed bit by bit. Ji Feihua looked toward the water surface; two orange beams shot up from the depths at astonishing speed toward his feet, forming a huge angle on the dark lake.

The point where the two beams met was actually a thatched hut in the lake.

Ji Feihua snorted coldly, planting his toes. The shattered bridge behind him exploded in successive breaks. Separating from the thatched hut, the wooden pillars beneath it all snapped.

Inside the thatched hut, Hu Xiaotian still thought the world was ending; before he could flee, he felt the whole hut lift and spin toward the shore, furniture flying everywhere, and he screamed in terror.

As the hut left the water and flew toward the snowy shore, the two orange beams met underwater, accompaniedied by a earth‑shaking explosion. A blinding white light shot up with a water column that surged from the hut's former spot, reaching a height of ten zhang.

Ji Feihua stood on a plank one chi wide and three chi long, the bridge beneath him completely broken, unmoving despite the waves, gazing calmly at the soaring water column, his face showing no trace of fear.

The water column glittered with refracted light, making Ji Feihua appear especially petite before it; the plank beneath his feet swiftly moved toward the lake's center.

The thatched hut flew across the lake and settled steadily on the snowy shore. Hu Xiaotian felt dizzy and bloated; he shoved the door open with his shoulder and collapsed in the snow. Suddenly a buzzing sound came from the sky. A black mass of clouds rushed from the west to cover his head; up close, they were giant bats.

Hu Xiaotian's heart pounded with fright as he prepared to dive into the hut to escape the bat swarm.

Eighteen white‑clad figures suddenly rose from the snow, raising their crossbows in unison and aiming at Hu Xiaotian in the center. Hu Xiaotian's soul fled, he groaned inwardly, 'My life is over!' He never imagined he, Hu Xiaotian, would die here today.

With a shout, the eighteen crossbowmen aimed their bolts skyward. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The bolts tore through the air, striking the black cloud of bats; on impact they exploded, green flames spreading about a zhang, leaving no bat alive wherever the fire reached, and a scorched stench filled the world.

Under the hail of bolts, the bats' formation collapsed instantly, and two black‑armored flying‑wing warriors emerged from the swarm, fully armored and hovering on alloy wings. The eighteen crossbowmen aimed at them and fired upward; the bolts clanged against their outer armor, unable to pierce even a fraction.

The two black‑armored warriors raised their arms, releasing hidden sleeve‑arrows that shot down; within moments three people on the ground were struck dead.

From the southwest jungle came a sudden clang— a thick bolt from a ballista launched, striking the chest of one airborne warrior. Though his iron armor was tough, it could not withstand the ballista's power; the bolt shattered his breastplate, pierced his chest, and shattered his backplate from behind. The black‑armored warrior cried out and fell headfirst from the sky.

Seeing the black‑armored warrior hurtling toward him, Hu Xiaotian hastily shifted sideways, dodging the body; the warrior's icy, sharp metal wing brushed his cheek, digging deep into the snow like a blade.

Hu Xiaotian broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that if the wing had struck him, his head might have been sliced in half.

Clang! A second bolt shot from the ballista, aimed at the remaining winged warrior. Seeing his comrade slain, the warrior let out a wail; as the bolt approached, he pulled the chest latch, folded his wings, spun in the air to dodge, then unfolded them, arms outstretched, firing sleeve‑arrows like lightning toward Lin Zong. The two ballista operators couldn't evade and were hit repeatedly by the arrows. The warrior twisted in mid‑air, gaining a long spear in his hands, saw his companion lying in the snow still bleeding, and Hu Xiaotian, still shaken, stared at the corpse.

The black‑armored warrior roared, retracted his wings, and dove at several times the speed, thrusting his spear straight at Hu Xiaotian's throat, heedless of the bolts below like reeds.

The spearhead's red tassel flared like flame in the void, seeking to take his life, continually swatting away the incoming bolts, tearing a narrow gap in the rain of arrows, and thrusting the spear through it toward Hu Xiaotian.

In the scramble, Hu Xiaotian grabbed a fallen alloy wing; it had already snapped on impact, leaving only a thread, so he easily broke it off and used the wing as a shield to block the warrior's full strike.

With a resounding clang, sparks flew; the spear's earth‑shaking blow failed to pierce the wing, the force striking it sent Hu Xiaotian's feet sliding backward across the snow, leaving two long tracks.

The black‑armored warrior blamed his companion's death entirely on Hu Xiaotian; after his failed strike, he landed on the ground, retracted his spear like a snake flicking its tongue, and thrust again at Hu Xiaotian, while his dark wings swiftly folded back into his back armor.

Hu Xiaotian's arms ached and numbed from the previous blow; before he could recover, the warrior's second attack arrived. He could only summon his remaining strength, raising the wing to block the spear— but the warrior suddenly changed tactics, lifting the spear tip to strike it down like a staff. The shaft smashed hard into the wing, the force overwhelming Hu Xiaotian's grip; the wing slipped from his hand. The warrior flicked his wrist, and the spear split into dozens of spearheads that descended upon Hu Xiaotian.

The soaring water column resembled a roaring silver dragon; after reaching its peak it burst again in the void, the lake surface scattering like shattered silver, as if a torrential downpour had fallen.

Ji Feihua propelled the plank beneath his feet, skimming the lake at high speed and leaving a straight white line behind. The formerly still lake‑center current suddenly began to spin counter‑clockwise, growing faster and quickly forming a vortex one zhang in diameter.

Ji Feihua's eyes locked coldly on the vortex; he clapped his palms above the water, an invisible yet substantial inner force striking the surface with a booming wave, his body rising slowly like a red cloud drifting upward on the lake.

But the vortex's spin suddenly slowed, and a five‑colored giant python shot out, its blood‑filled maw lunging straight at Ji Feihua's body to devour him.

Ji Feihua's brows rose, he shouted, "Wicked creature!" He lifted his right hand, drawing up the lake water with an invisible suction to form an arc‑shaped water column as long as the python, which struck the beast's head. The python rammed its head into the column, then swept its tail sideways, kicking up a foul, strong gust on the lake surface; Ji Feihua's body shot up several zhang in an instant, evading the sweep. The once‑calm little lake instantly turned turbulent; Ji Feihua crossed his palms, striking the surface repeatedly, sending up one soaring water column after another. The cunning python, failing the attack, dove straight to the lake bottom.

From the northwest, a gray‑robed man strode over the waves, breaking through them. He held a jet‑black longbow drawn as full as fifteen moons, with a feathered arrow nocked; both bow and arrowhead were far longer than ordinary. The man stood about twelve chi tall, with a high nose, deep‑set eyes, and a pair of green‑glimmering jade eyes flashing eerily in the dark. Barefoot, he stood on the back of another giant python, and as he opened and closed his eyes, he released the bowstring, sending the arrow straight at Ji Feihua. The arrow flew true, its speed far surpassing that of a common archer.

Ji Feihua swept his right hand in an arc, striking the lake surface; the raised water formed a transparent barrier before him. The feathered arrow pierced the wall without hindrance and continued toward his heart.

Even Ji Feihua's peerless martial arts dared not meet it head‑on; he dodged the arrow and kept rising into the void, turning repeatedly, climbing higher and higher.

The gray‑robed man remained calm, drew his bow again— this time in an odd stance, pulling the bow with his back while nocking three feathered arrows. With three sharp whistles, the arrows shot toward Ji Feihua in a triangular formation.

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