Chapter 37: 36 Phantom Smoke Clouds

36 Phantom Smoke Clouds

Tang Zhao had once wondered, after entering the "Disappearance" state, would attacks be effective?

Now he had the answer: yes!

The Thunderbolt Beads rolled on the ground, exploding with a series of booms. Smoke, dust, sparks, and the countless fragments wrapped within them shot out in all directions; everyone instinctively scrambled to dodge, and those who couldn't were grazed by the fragments, instantly dripping with blood.

Tang Zhao was quite alert; he was still short in stature, and the moment he saw the Thunderbolt Beads, he hunched over and ducked under a table.

The reason he reacted faster than the others was that he was very familiar with Thunderbolt Beads. The birth of this gadget seemed to have some connection to Chen Zong. Chen Zong had served as an Elder at Pili Hall for a time and had told Tang Zhao quite a bit about this stuff. If not for the internal strife at Pili Hall later on, which led to Chen Zong fleeing, Tang Zhao could have at least been a "martial second-generation."

The blast wave shook the table violently, causing the cups, bowls, ladles, and basins on top to crash to the floor with a clatter. Countless fragments flew in through the gaps underneath; hiding under the table was like putting a bamboo basket over one's head on a rainy day—it blocked some, but not all.

Tang Zhao leaned against a table leg, curling his body to protect his head and face, and kept waving his Sword to parry, yet he was still grazed by several thin cuts, his hands and back suffering the most.

Fortunately, these were just Thunderbolt Beads, not the big bombs from Chen Zong's old home, otherwise, there wouldn't be many survivors left in this room.

In that instant, Tang Zhao suddenly thought: If I die while holding a Dharma Artifact, will I disappear forever? Will there not be a single person in the world who remembers me, or even knows I died? Will I lie in a place where many people walk, yet be ignored, silently decaying, turning into Bone?

This feeling was terrifying to think about.

Even such interesting Art Tools and interesting swords could become horrifying at a certain moment.

After the fragments and the blast wave, there was a large amount of smoke and dust; the smoke was pale yellow, a highly suspicious color.

Tang Zhao hurriedly held his breath; Chen Zong had said that Thunderbolt Bombs could be packed with poisonous smoke.

The poisonous smoke was too thick, making the sealed room suffocating. Someone thought of this, and with a "pop," the window was opened.

Following that, the sound of wind whistling was heard, and someone let out a miserable "Ah!"

The room became even more chaotic, with cries rising one after another.

"Hidden weapons! There are hidden weapons outside, we've been surrounded!"

"Get away from the window, hidden weapons don't turn corners!"

"Is it Black Spider Villa? Did they call us here to catch us like turtles in a jar?"

"You're the turtle! Those dog-day bastards at Black Spider Villa have ill intentions!"

"Gentlemen, my villa has absolutely no malice; there are external enemies invading. Please wait a moment, our reinforcements will arrive immediately..."

"Screw your grandmother, we don't believe you..."

The candles had long since gone out, and the room was dark and chaotic, with all sorts of noisy sounds blending together. Suddenly, someone said, "Everyone, be quiet! Regardless of whether there are reinforcements outside, the poisonous smoke is thick, and huddling in this room is a dead end. Everyone, flip the tables to use as shields, find the right opportunity, and charge out together!"

This voice was not only clear and loud, but the tone itself was calm and steady, like a stabilizing needle in the sea. The crowd seemed to have found their backbone and gradually quieted down.

Tang Zhao recognized it as the voice of that ugly middle-aged martial officer from the Land Inspection Division. Among the people present, he held the highest rank and his strength should also be the greatest. The Land Inspection Division was, of course, more reliable than Black Spider Villa, to say nothing of those other thugs. Tang Zhao couldn't help but move toward that side, intending to act together when they broke out. Even though the other party didn't remember him.

He didn't intend to give up the Disappearance state; although it was easy to be accidentally injured during group combat, this state still had many benefits.

By now, some people had already propped up tables as the officer had said, waiting at various windows to charge out.

Tang Zhao moved quickly toward them, when suddenly his eyes brightened; someone stood up from the darkness.

It was a very beautiful woman, her hair styled in a Flying Immortal Bun, wearing a long dress with a shawl, her body seemingly shrouded in a layer of smoke and clouds, appearing like a star in the darkness.

She reminded Tang Zhao of the fairy in the well, but compared to the fairy's grotesque attire, this woman was more like a fairy in the traditional sense—floating in the void, walking on waves, like light clouds veiling the moon, like flowing wind swirling through snow.

She was not anyone Tang Zhao had seen inside or outside the room, and he realized instantly that she might not be a living person.

If not a living person, what was she?

Some kind of illusion? Some kind of Sword Art?

The woman drifted up, walking gracefully through the air toward the outside, fluttering out the window.

Tang Zhao watched her leave, then shifted his gaze, only to discover that apart from himself, almost no one noticed the woman who had suddenly appeared; those martial experts crouching by the windows didn't even notice a fairy stepping over their heads to go out.

This was again something within Tang Zhao's talent domain—a minority could see it, while the majority could not.

At this time, a few scattered hidden weapons still flew into the window, intended to suppress those inside from daring to climb out; the woman moved forward against the hidden weapons, and several of them passed through her body, landing on the ground.

Sure enough, it was an illusion, something like a ghost, with no physical form.

The illusion plunged into the darkness, and a moment later, a great clattering sound was heard; it seemed a fight had broken out outside, and the hidden weapons shooting into the window stopped.

"Now is the time!"

With a boom, the doors and windows were thrown wide open, and the people in the room charged out with tables held overhead. After all, they were martial arts experts and faction leaders; their combat instincts had become second nature, and their coordination was perfectly timed.

Tang Zhao had intended to charge out with the people from the Land Inspection Division, but they charged too early, and he hadn't been able to get close. The opportunity was fleeting and allowed for no hesitation, so he could only charge out with the group nearest to him.

Once out the door, he saw at a glance that the people outside were waving their weapons at the sky; their own weapons clashed against each other, making sounds like a battle. It was as if some flying enemy was attacking from the air, yet there was nothing in the sky, at most a few dim starlight points.

Even that woman was gone.

The charge that started from the room did not stop; the crowd rushed into the opposing formation, and the battle broke out instantly. Those who had been waving their blades at thin air were attacked, immediately reacted, circled their weapons back, and were instantly locked in combat.

The person clearing the path in front of Tang Zhao threw the table into the enemy crowd and charged up with a loud shout. The clattering sounds in his ears instantly grew ten times louder.

He hesitated for a moment, trying to slow his pace and shift his angle, not charging into the fray.

If it were someone else, this move would be very dangerous. In the dark, it was hard to distinguish friend from foe, and no one trusted anyone; seeing a shadow pass by, one would surely strike first, but he was still in the Disappearance state, needing only to guard against accidental injury, with no need to worry about anyone actively attacking him.

The first few steps were very perilous, with fighting breaking out on all sides and various attacks coming unexpectedly. But after dodging a few rounds, he slowly retreated to the edge and it became safe; further back, he was completely out of the battle.

"I think I'm still missing a set of footwork."

He had some strength now and could trade a few blows with a sword, not to mention using an Art Tool, but once caught in a group fight, he didn't know how to move his feet; the so-called maneuvering within a square inch was something Grasshopper Jump couldn't solve.

Moving further and further away, he finally had time to observe both sides.

One side went without saying; they were the people who had been drinking in the courtyard just now. Most of them had extraordinary status, and besides people like Pu, being able to occupy a territory meant their strength wasn't bad. However, they were clearly at a disadvantage because their numbers were too few, their hearts were not united, and they were responding in a rush, clearly having lost the initiative.

Tang Zhao did not see anyone from the Land Inspection Division among these people; it seemed they had all quietly withdrawn after charging out, otherwise, Tang Zhao believed the situation would never have been so passive.

If the Land Inspection Division wasn't willing to join forces with this lot, Tang Zhao had even less reason to.

As for the other side, they certainly weren't good people either. Every one of these people wore a Mask. These Masks were ghosts, facial makeup, various animals, or simply colors, a motley collection that gave them a sinister appearance.

"Hiding your heads and showing your tails, guilty as a thief."

"Everyone hold on a little longer, our reinforcements are coming!" someone shouted loudly.

"Bang!" A firework scattered, exploding into eight thin trails of light in the firmament.

That is...

"A call for help?"

Wait, that wasn't set off by people on this side, but rose up from another place!

Other places are calling for help too!

Could it be that the battlefield is not just in this one location?

As this thought arose, the distant horizon turned orange-red, and one could faintly see tongues of fire leaping.

That is... a fire?

Immediately following, another place, and then another...

The entire Black Spider Villa seemed as if a basin of hot coals had been dumped from the sky; everywhere was firelight, everywhere was a battlefield.

A massive enemy attack!

Even though Tang Zhao did not like most of the people at Black Spider Villa or their guests, seeing this scene, his heart could not help but sink; this was not some scattered thieves breaking in, but an attempt to wipe out the sect!

Suddenly, he stepped on something under his foot, which made a soft "pop" sound.

That was the sound of a large bug being crushed.

Is it a spider?

Tang Zhao wiped the sole of his foot quite habitually, but then sensed a subtle difference from usual.

Looking down to examine it closely, the object under his foot was flat and long in shape, with two pincers and one tail.

Is it a scorpion?

Raising his head slightly, there was another one not far away, and further off there were more...

"Tie Xiezi!" someone shouted loudly, "Iron Scorpion Castle has come to attack!"