Chapter 612: The Surprise Attack

"Yo, it's started."

Outside the shadow, Tang Zhao squatted at the entrance of Anxing Manor, looking like a first-time father waiting at a maternity ward, waiting for news.

But not news of a birth, rather news of a death.

This time, the crusade against Anxing Manor was still being led by Manying; among these Abyss Envoys, only Manying had the ability to command a battle.

Tang Zhao actually possessed this ability too, but he could not overstep his bounds. This was their job, and it was a hope to vindicate the Abyss Envoys. Even though he also hoped to contribute to heavily damaging Anxing Manor, it wasn't his turn to charge into the fray in this first wave.

Therefore, his duty was to act as a reserve force after the four Abyss Envoys charged in, keep a lookout, pay attention to the movements of the Ghost Disaster, and incidentally... protect Manying.

Yes, compared to the Abyss Envoys charging into the fray, Manying was still outside, responsible for controlling the field with the sound of its pipa. And Xin Ying, who was inseparable from it, was not here now, having other very important things to do.

The pipa needed to control the field on one hand, and on the other, it was difficult for it to move on its own while bearing the responsibility of command, so it had to stay behind and could not fight personally; it needed someone to protect it, and this task was handed to Tang Zhao.

After all, Tang Zhao was not an Abyss Envoy and lacked the ability to infiltrate shadows, making him unsuitable for launching a surprise attack.

Being responsible for protecting Manying, and being alone with Manying in the Waijie, was actually already a sign that Manying trusted him deeply.

As for why Manying trusted him so much, perhaps it was because...

"Intuition"?

In any case, Manying explained it to the other Abyss Envoys like this: "My intuition is that Tang Zhao is worth trusting."

The other Abyss Envoys either didn't care about Manying's safety or were dim-witted, so they just believed it.

Actually, Tang Zhao also had an intuitive judgment about Manying.

Manying was different now.

Although it had met the white fox before and heard about its own identity, it didn't seem to be greatly affected; despite having a natural affinity for the white fox, its own cognition and personality remained primarily those of an Abyss Envoy, without any major deviation.

But ever since it suddenly shed tears during that conversation with Tang Zhao, it had changed.

Although there was no change in its speech or behavior, Tang Zhao keenly sensed that it was actually deliberately imitating its previous temperament, pretending that it hadn't changed, but its core had already shifted.

Although Tang Zhao roughly guessed that the reason for Manying's change was related to the white fox's progress in Yinglang, he didn't know to what extent Manying had changed. So he didn't reveal his relationship with the white fox at all, much less probe it proactively.

Up to now, there hadn't been any traces of his connection to the white fox in front of Manying, and even though Manying's intellect was not low, it couldn't guess it out of thin air... could it?

As for whether it would be necessary to reveal it appropriately in the future, he would have to observe Manying's state further before deciding.

Up to this point, Tang Zhao was still just squatting at the entrance, listening to Manying explain the battle situation inside, and constantly paying attention to the flooding of the You Water. Anxing Manor was relatively far from the You Water, and the terrain was high, so there was no major impact for the time being.

To be cautious, he did not cast out his Sword Image to collect intelligence inside Anxing Manor, so as not to expose his presence, while Manying could directly perceive the situation inside the manor through the shadows of the sand dunes and would alert Tang Zhao to changes in the situation.

"Two killed right off the bat, both Sword Guests. And one heavily injured." Manying reported the count calmly.

Tang Zhao nodded.

To be honest, for dignified Abyss Envoys to launch a sneak attack could hardly be called honorable. Even setting aside their status as Abyss Envoys, they were all existences at the level of Sword Hero; sneaking up on the high-ranking Pillar of State or the presiding King might be one thing, but what was the meaning of specifically splitting off two Abyss Envoys to sneak attack the Sword Guests below?

This was a case of not needing to talk about martial morality with evil heretics; everyone just piled on together.

If Tang Zhao hadn't emphasized beforehand that Anxing Manor was deep, they couldn't have been this cautious. According to the style of the Abyss Envoys, they should have come knocking with great fanfare, calling for Anxing Manor to come out and welcome them, publicly questioning their crimes, and suppressing them with momentum.

Then, if the two sides disagreed, they would start fighting with a bang; according to the standard script, the Abyss Envoy side should have won a complete victory, twisted off the head of the person in charge of the manor to kick around like a ball, and finally, the Abyss Envoys would point at their corpses to declare them rebels, then send their heads to all the manor lords to let them see what the consequences of offending the Abyss Envoys were.

Of course, there could also be an abnormal script, where a group of Abyss Envoys pushed over grandly, only to be bulldozed back at a faster speed, swept up into a dustpan, and thrown into the trash can.

If not for Tang Zhao's reminder, the Abyss Envoys would never have imagined that a second script might exist. But Tang Zhao had reminded them, and Manying, who was in charge, believed him, so they prepared according to the contingency plan for the second scenario.

Which was: like a lion fighting a rabbit, not only must one use full strength, but one must also be underhanded and not care about face. Use the Abyss Envoys' characteristics to blend into the shadows, go up, and sneak attack them in the face.

The effect could only be described as okay.

That the person in charge and the Sword Hero above were sneak-attacked but survived was within expectations, but that two Abyss Envoys only took away two Sword Guests in a sneak attack—this result was not good.

It showed that these Sword Guests had many methods and were prepared to deal with sneak attacks at all times. If it weren't for the Abyss Envoys, if other Sword Heroes had gone to sneak attack, they might not have even gotten these two heads.

They were turtle bandits, after all, hiding their heads and showing their tails all day long, terrified of being caught; was it not normal for them to have means to defend against sneak attacks?

"Their reinforcements are coming up."

The strings were plucked, and the pipa played a melody that disrupted the coordination of body and soul. Under the music, a person's body and soul would clearly feel discomfort. It was as if the soul was extremely uncomfortable within the body and wanted to escape.

Moreover, an ordinary person would notice the restlessness of their soul but would not be able to detect exactly where the problem lay, thinking it was their Spirit being harassed, leading to a disturbed mind, and would not guess that the problem was the adaptation between the body and the soul.

This was clearly a piece of music suitable for this battle, because Manying's side consisted of Abyss Envoys; regardless of whether they counted as having souls, they certainly had no bodies, so there would be no issue of body-soul coordination—this was a one-sided suppression.

While playing the battle song with full strength, it did not forget to use its intent to explain the battle situation inside to Tang Zhao.

"Their reinforcements are so fast. Many people came out of the barracks. Those barracks were not empty at all; there are actually thousands of people. And they poured out all at once, yet they could form their own order without the slightest chaos, surrounding the big mansion inside—this quality could be called elite troops outside, right?"

Tang Zhao replied: "I suppose, maybe they were elite troops to begin with."

Turtle bandits were not mere grass bandits; they had family assets and had regular armies specifically for rebellion.

Manying said: "Even if they are elite troops, what use are they? These people are not Sword Guests; they are just a bit stronger than ordinary people. Perhaps they are all Loose Practitioners who have cultivated Qi, and gathering together they could threaten a Sword Guest, but what use are they against a Sword Hero? Besides, I don't see that many Loose Practitioners among these people?"

Tang Zhao didn't need to answer this question; Manying saw the answer itself.

They were not Loose Practitioners; they were Spirit Officials!

Charging at the very front were the Beast Spirit Officials, who drove various Fierce Beasts to rush out from the tents, advancing with a roar like war chariots.

Interspersed among the Fierce Beasts and advancing were the most agile and powerful Combat Spirit Officials, who could act as the tip of the spear to attack. Behind them were the auxiliary Heart Spirit Officials, Puppet Spirit Officials, Artifact Spirit Officials...

These Spirit Officials surrounded them step by step according to the formation of the Law Array; although they hadn't engaged in close-quarters combat yet, the momentum was astonishing, putting great pressure on the Abyss Envoys fighting inside.

They could hardly intervene in the battles between Sword Heroes, but they could assist the Sword Guests. The few Sword Guests inside seemed to have received support, and the power of their Sword Art surged. Clearly, besides the support in momentum, they must have received some tangible assistance.

In this way, all four Abyss Envoys fell into a stalemate; before the reinforcements arrived, they had only managed to kill one more Sword Guest and found it difficult to achieve further results.

With the situation as it was, Manying observed it in great detail and described it faithfully to Tang Zhao, then asked: "The first wave didn't work, what do you think we should do?"

Tang Zhao asked curiously: "Don't you have any ideas?"

Although Manying had a moment of panic when the ambush on Gui Rong failed before, that was when its strength was at an absolute disadvantage. Now it was just temporarily leveled, far from being in danger; Manying must still have the capacity to think, and with its brain, it shouldn't be at its wit's end.

Manying said: "Just as you said, the water in Anxing Manor is very deep. That Law Array still has more power that hasn't been released; the longer it drags on, the greater the pressure on the Abyss Envoys will be. By then, we will have no choice but to flee in a sorry state."

Tang Zhao said: "Didn't you also arrange a backup plan? Xin Ying and the others..."

Xin Ying was not here because it had gone to a more important place with another Abyss Envoy who looked like kelp, Yinglang—that was the Altar.

Although Manying had been persuaded by Tang Zhao before, it had also hesitated about whether to activate the Altar and use the most powerful force of Wangliang Mountain to wipe out a mere manor; was it using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?

But on their way here, they discovered a Ghost Disaster.

Now there was no more dispute.

Quelling the Ghost Disaster would certainly require using the power of the Altar, so using that same power to incidentally wipe out Anxing Manor was nothing, and thus it had already become a settled trump card.

In the past, activating the Altar was a very important authority even among the Abyss Envoys, and it was not the turn of juniors like Xin Ying and Manying to intervene, but now this combination of two Abyss Envoys—one with wisdom and one with strength, a perfect match—was practically the "top dog" among the Abyss Envoys, so they had logically seized this authority. Moreover, between the two Abyss Envoys, Manying was the one in charge; it could decide to activate the Sacrificial Array and have the final say.

Manying said: "Settling things so hastily, while it can destroy this manor, what benefit does it have for the reputation of the Abyss Envoys? Wouldn't it just show that the Abyss Envoys only know how to rely on the power of the Wangliang, and in reality, cannot accomplish anything? Wouldn't we have come here for nothing?"

It paused here, then added: "Besides... once the power from over there arrives, all the Abyss Envoys will withdraw. All the Abyss Envoys will retreat unscathed without any consumption at all; is that really good?"

Tang Zhao secretly raised an eyebrow; for an Abyss Envoy to say this was simply bizarre, and he thought: Is this being said for me to hear?

Testing me?

This Manying... what exactly is its stance now, what is its identity, and what does it know?

Tang Zhao turned the subject and said: "Since we must still fight, then... to catch the bandits, first catch the ringleader."

Manying said: "Great minds think alike."

Immediately following this, Manying transmitted this command over.

In an instant, two of the four Abyss Envoys suddenly turned their bodies and charged toward the young prince who was in charge!

The surprise attack from the three Abyss Envoys took that prince completely by surprise, and he immediately retreated again and again; only a 'chi' sound was heard as a Shadow from behind coiled up and pierced his back, running him through!

Fresh blood sprayed!

A mournful cry from the princess rang out in the room, and Manying, seeing this scene, said joyfully: "Success?"

Tang Zhao said: "No... if it is a Spirit Official, it is not over yet!"