Chapter 372: 346 Fireworks

After fighting hard for half a day, the puppets were finally more than half surrounded and separated.

Originally, according to the principle of a jigsaw puzzle, once the first piece was placed, the rest would become easier and easier. Moreover, after the Puppet Charms left, the intelligence of the Talisman Puppets dropped significantly; even if their strength remained the same, they were much easier to deal with. Everyone had also found some methods to respond, capable of directly dismantling the mobility of the large puppets, so there should have been more and more to look forward to.

But in reality, that was not the case.

For one, the students had not found a way to truly subdue the puppets. Wang Chong had found a puppet's vital point and paralyzed a big guy, and he had thought he had found a master key, only to discover that these big guys were not truly "mass-produced versions"; paralyzing one did not mean he could paralyze them all. Especially without understanding the Rune Formula, one could not infer the rest from one instance.

Wasn't that all for nothing?

In the end, everyone discovered that paralyzing those big guys still depended on terrain and luck.

Having circled back to the old path, they naturally had to face the old problems:

There was not much suitable terrain, and the terrain that could just happen to trap a large Talisman Puppet was also limited; once used up, there was no more.

And luck—luck was just luck; it did not obey people's commands, and it was not something that could be as good as one wanted it to be.

Therefore, there was no process of the progress truly accelerating.

Secondly, the students would also get tired.

The sky was getting later and later. After more than half a day had passed, the weather on the Suiyu Great Plain grew darker and colder by the moment, intensifying the drain on the students.

These students were already nearing the finish line, their physical strength insufficient and their supplies limited; they were already on the verge of exhaustion. It was said that one could endure hunger and thirst and persist to the end on a single breath, but unless it was a desperate situation, who would want to make themselves suffer so much?

After all, this was not a matter of family feuds or national hatred; it was just an assessment.

Once this breath was let out, war-weariness would grow heavier and heavier.

In the end, seeing that it was nearly dusk and there had been no progress for a long time, morale dropped, and there were even casualties. The commander, Huo Chaoqun, finally uttered the word: "Retreat."

Qu Huan was right beside him and had nothing to say; they had fought until now, and everyone had already performed very well. Moreover, they had achieved their strategic objective—everyone had escaped danger; if they couldn't win, they would just retreat.

A strategic withdrawal was not considered a loss.

Just at this moment, a young man climbed up from the cliff face and said he wanted to speak with the leader here.

Qu Huan was startled, then immediately overjoyed, saying: "Feng Ling? Are you Feng Ling? How is that kid Qin Yongcheng?"

This youth was indeed Feng Ling of the Jing'an Division. He had clearly traveled a long way using light-body techniques and was drenched in sweat. He said: "Don't worry, Senior Brother Qu, we are all fine! We escaped to a mountain stronghold and met up with Senior Brother Ouyang Zhou. After maneuvering, we took care of those Talisman Puppets that were chasing us, and feeling we still had strength to spare, we immediately ran over here to provide support. I came to scout ahead for them; they will arrive in a moment. By the way, we captured a large puppet."

Huo Chaoqun heard that the first part was fine; anyway, the situation now didn't matter whether there was support or not, so if they came, they came—everyone could just have a victory escape together. After this incident, everyone had the camaraderie of fighting side-by-side and no longer needed to kill each other; most would be able to reach the finish line smoothly, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.

However, hearing the latter part, Huo Chaoqun was delighted and said: "How did you capture it?"

Feng Ling said: "Senior Brother Ouyang... they obtained an Art Tool on the way that can unconditionally capture one Talisman Puppet. We chose the largest one, luckily succeeded, and pushed it all the way here. They are traveling slower sitting on the puppet, so I came ahead to inform you so everyone can distinguish friend from foe."

Huo Chaoqun said: "This is a good thing. We are just lacking weapons for frontal combat. Excellent, let them come here quickly."

He calculated in his heart that with a puppet of the same level that obeyed commands in hand, he could surely trade pieces—no, with the current situation, if used well, he could take on multiple opponents.

In an instant, he thought of several tactics and felt that the situation had suddenly come alive; they were back in the game. He even retracted the order to retreat and instead had people notified that a winning weapon was arriving soon, so everyone should hold on a little longer.

After a long while, the sun dipped a bit lower, and a big guy drove toward them from the horizon against the setting sun.

A Talisman Puppet that looked like a giant stone statue came rumbling over, with the tiny figures of Ouyang Zhou and the others sitting on top of the statue's head—it was a spectacle.

Feng Ling ran out from the valley entrance again, blocked the front of the statue, and shouted: "Everyone come down! Huo Chaoqun of the New Sharp Battalion is in command here, and Qu Huan of the Land Inspection Division is also here. They invite you senior brothers to come up the mountain to discuss things."

Ouyang Zhou and Qin Yongcheng climbed down from the top, but Yun Zhongyu alone smiled and said: "You go ahead, I will just stay here and watch Ding Xu. This big guy..."

Feng Ling said: "The big guy has to be driven over too; Huo Chaoqun wants to see it—he is the commander, and if we are to fight, we must listen to him."

Ouyang Zhou thought nothing of it and said: "Fine. I will drive it over."

The item that subdued the Talisman Puppet was something he and Yun Zhongyu had obtained together on the road, and he had been the one driving it the whole way, so he immediately drove the giant puppet forward.

Yun Zhongyu grabbed Ding Xu and got down from the puppet, standing to one side.

Feng Ling was right beside them and smiled: "Miss Yun, this person is a hostage; actually, he is a soldier of the New Sharp Battalion and one of our own. Why do you keep holding onto him?"

Yun Zhongyu also smiled: "I'm used to it. Since you said so, it doesn't matter if I let him go." Saying this, she released Ding Xu.

Feng Ling moved a step without a sound, blocking her line of sight, and said: "This journey was really thanks to Senior Sister Yun. Come to think of it, we all trained at the headquarters, the Ansi Workshop, so why have I never heard of your great name, Senior Sister?"

Yun Zhongyu smiled: "I have always been outside executing missions, so how could you have heard my name at the Ansi Workshop?"

Feng Ling smiled slightly: "Is that so?"

Suddenly, several people flashed out from the surroundings, as if they had popped out from the ground, surrounding Yun Zhongyu tightly.

Feng Ling grabbed Ding Xu, pushed him behind himself, drew his Art Tool, pointed it at Yun Zhongyu, and said coldly: "Who are you? How did you sneak into our examination grounds? Why are you impersonating someone from our Jing'an Division?"

Yun Zhongyu's expression tightened, then she immediately smiled: "Ah, you recognized me. I am not from the Jing'an Division. But I am not an outsider either; aren't the four camps all our own people when you get down to it? I am..."

Feng Ling suddenly interrupted: "Don't you dare try to impersonate anyone from any camp! Open your eyes and look—do you recognize anyone among these people?"

Yun Zhongyu was startled. Looking at the four people around her, they were all unfamiliar faces. She really couldn't name any of them, but she wasn't panicked either. She still smiled slightly and said: "Young Brother Feng is very meticulous. In order to confirm I am not from any side, you specifically brought people from every camp. Fine, then I admit it, I have been seen through by you. The young people of the Human World are also quite good."

Hearing the words "Human World," Feng Ling became even more alert and shouted again: "Who are you?"

Yun Zhongyu leisurely tucked a strand of hair at her temple and said: "I am..."

As she said this, her expression suddenly changed, revealing a look of astonishment.

This was originally a small trick to divert attention. Feng Ling was well-trained in the Jing'an Division and would not have been deceived by her, yet in an instant, he saw the students in the same direction as the girl also look up in shock at the same time. He immediately understood that something major had truly happened and couldn't help but turn his head.

Once he turned his head, he saw a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Over there, the battle was still intense.

The examinees were summoning their last bit of courage, entangled in a fight with the puppets.

The giant puppets were charging and crashing, invincible wherever they went.

Huo Chaoqun's simple command post was nervously exchanging experiences on capturing puppets and discussing the next plan with Ouyang Zhou.

The wounded and the exhausted examinees were leaning against the cliff to rest.

Feng Ling was leading people to besiege the suspicious girl.

Tang Zhao brought Feng Nanming to the cliff and looked down at the entire battlefield.

He had thought the battle should have reached its end, but he did not expect it to still be in a stalemate.

"We must make them stop quickly," Tang Zhao said calmly, "We don't have much time left."

Feng Nanming clicked his tongue in wonder at this chaotic battle and said: "It's difficult. It's easy to make your students stop, but the Talisman Puppets don't listen to us."

A Talisman Sword Master can actually forcibly stop a Talisman Puppet, even if it is not their own Talisman Puppet. But one must follow the rules. One must reach the front of the Talisman Puppet, find the key Rune Formula, and then use a method to terminate the Rune Formula, similar to pressing a stop switch face-to-face.

Finding Rune Formulas and manipulating Rune Formulas are basic skills for an excellent Talisman Sword Master like Tang Zhao, but there are simply too many here. Stopping them one by one would also take a lot of time.

"There are a total of... three hundred and five puppets here. This number... is actually fine."

Feng Nanming said subconsciously, "Good eye." In any case, he had not counted them clearly, and immediately after, he suddenly reacted and said, "Wait, are you going to—"

"Rune Formulas, this sort of thing, are quite fragile if you say they are fragile. As long as you wipe them out..."

Tang Zhao stretched out his finger toward the sky.

The green robe on his body turned into flowing light and dissipated, revealing a set of Instructor's official robes and a three-foot sword at his waist.

The flowing light climbed from bottom to top, onto his wrist, and turned into a beam of light that shot straight into the sky.

In the twilight, a Light Beam shot into the sky, Shine upon all directions.

Everyone felt something and turned their heads in unison, the Light Beam reflected in their pupils.

In the air, the brilliance divided into hundreds of thin threads of light, rushing in every direction.

Each thread of light was like a precise arrow, stabbing toward a Talisman Puppet on the ground!

Small Talisman Puppets were pierced directly by a thread of light, while large Talisman Puppets were pierced from the bottom up by the light, which slashed through their key Rune Formulas, just as if a Termination Talisman had been drawn on them, causing them to suddenly stop all activity and turn into statues.

As for the students entangled at close range with those Talisman Puppets, their eyes were dazzled by the threads of light, yet it felt like a breeze brushing their faces, and they remained completely unharmed.

The speed of the light was too fast for the human eye to track; the examinees only felt a blur before their eyes, and the fierce Talisman Puppets in front of them either became rags or turned into sculptures, leaving them only wide-eyed and bewildered.

The few people outside the battlefield saw it most clearly.

Huo Chaoqun and Ouyang Zhou, who had already come up with Qu Huan, saw it most clearly; Qu Huan had even seen Tang Zhao climbing up the mountain long ago and intended to call out to him, but then he froze there, seeing this incredible scene clearly.

And the young girl outside the scene, amidst the crowd surrounding her, saw that scene of the beam of light shooting into the sky.

The light was reflected in her pupils, and one could see her pupils dilating uncontrollably.

She covered her mouth with her hand, her figure trembling slightly, not knowing if it was out of fear or excitement.

While those Inner and outer were all stunned into silence by this scene, it was Feng Nanming, who was closest, who recovered first, pointing at Tang Zhao with a tremble and saying, "Just now, was that your Sword Art?"