214: Chapter 214 Successful Opposition

Vicious Beasts blotted out the sky, every pair of eyes staring fixedly at him, their killing intent pressing down like a physical force.

It put immense pressure on Wang Zhuo.

Not long ago, Wang Zhuo was still wondering—Qin Ce had clearly exhausted all means to escape, so why did he fly straight back toward them after circling a few times in the distance?

Now he understood.

It turned out he had found helpers.

No wonder Qin Ce was like a fish in water in this place, which was known as a "Forbidden Ground" for anyone below a Gold-rank Beast Master; he hadn't been attacked by any Vicious Beasts and had even managed to kill a Gold Rank Vicious Beast.

It turned out he didn't just know a way to blend in here, but could also drive the Gold Rank Vicious Beasts of this place.

There were dozens of Gold Rank Vicious Beasts before him. Adding the Silver Rank ones, there were well over a hundred.

However, Wang Zhuo wasn't worried at all.

The coordination of the Beast Tamers on his side was far beyond what Vicious Beasts could compare to. It was just dozens of Gold Rank Vicious Beasts; the eleven of them were enough to handle it.

But when his gaze fell upon Qin Ce, greed surged from the depths of his pupils.

A method to blend into the world of Vicious Beasts, a means to drive these beasts—this thing was worth a fortune.

If he could obtain it, never mind the position of City Lord of Fengling City; the entire Southwest Territory would be under his control.

No rush.

First, let this commoner experience what despair felt like.

Only by demonstrating sufficient strength could he smoothly obtain the method through interrogation after capturing Qin Ce.

Moreover, the God-level Ruins happened to need an energy supplement from Gold Rank Vicious Beasts.

After this wave, his energy would definitely be enough; it was a massive profit.

These Vicious Beasts, he must kill them.

The distance between the two sides continued to close.

Qin Ce drew his combat saber, stood on the back of the Azure Phoenix, and pointed the saber toward the sky.

He stood sideways, making it impossible to tell whether he was facing the Vicious Beasts or Wang Zhuo.

Then, after raising his combat saber high, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze landing on the Vicious Beasts.

"Everyone, charge with me!" Qin Ce's voice exploded through the mist. "Help me kill them! Bring me their heads to exchange for rewards! The top prize is a Bright Moon Level healing treasure!"

The combat saber pointed toward the sky, not specifying a target.

But his murderous gaze was directed at the Vicious Beasts, while his murderous words were directed at Wang Zhuo.

This ambiguous move was seen as a provocation by both sides.

Vicious Beasts couldn't understand words, but they could understand a gaze. Wang Zhuo didn't see the gaze, but he understood the meaning in Qin Ce's words.

Especially that Bright Moon Level healing treasure; it poked right at the wound in his heart.

Then, one by one, Gold Rank Vicious Beasts—Minotaurs, Jade Elephants, Two-headed Monsters, Thunder Leopards, Snow-Winged Wolves, Red-Eyed Foxes... dense and blotting out the sky, their eyes bloodshot, all stared in Wang Zhuo's direction.

Wang Zhuo gave a disdainful sneer and waved his hand.

The Gold Rank squad behind him immediately dispersed, assuming an attack formation.

Under this provocation, both sides viewed the other as the enemy.

But this wasn't over yet.

It was only the beginning.

Qin Ce didn't waste any more words.

He leaned over, patted the Azure Phoenix's neck, and gave a low command:

"Release Chaotic Wind Sea."

Chaotic Wind Sea was an area-of-effect skill the Azure Phoenix had comprehended upon reaching Silver Rank; it had once wiped out five Silver Rank Vicious Beast groups at Huhe Bay.

But this time, the power of the Chaotic Wind Sea was far beyond its previous Silver Rank level.

Twenty-one Phoenix Flows surged into the Azure Phoenix's body simultaneously.

The Azure Phoenix's wings suddenly lit up. A silver-white glow spread from the base of the feathers to the tips, condensing, compressing, and exploding into a golden color at the wingtips.

With the enhancement of the Phoenix Flow, this was a Gold Rank Chaotic Wind Sea.

Countless golden wind feathers were released from the Azure Phoenix into the sky, like a golden rainstorm flowing upward into the high altitude.

After reaching their limit, the wind feathers began to fall in all directions, exploding in mid-air and turning into countless tiny Wind Blades.

The Wind Blades hit the ground and exploded again, turning into even more and finer Wind Blades.

Layer upon layer, wave after wave, they churned the area between Wang Zhuo and the Vicious Beasts like a violent storm.

The golden Wind Blades spun frantically in the mist, so dense that sight could not penetrate them.

Wang Zhuo could no longer see Qin Ce, nor could he see those Vicious Beasts.

He could only see a high golden wall built of Wind Blades, standing between him and the Vicious Beast horde.

Under the cover of the violent Chaotic Wind Sea, another nearly invisible Shadow Sight Wind Blade shot out from the Azure Phoenix's wingtip, flying silently toward a spot not far in front of Wang Zhuo's team—there, a Wind Core was hidden.

As Wang Zhuo and his team continued to approach, that Wind Core, which had been in the distance, was now less than five hundred meters away from them.

The Shadow Sight Wind Blade fused with the Wind Core.

A mirror image coalesced at the Wind Core's location—another shadow of Qin Ce and the Azure Phoenix, suspended in mid-air, yet almost invisible, hidden within the golden light of the Chaotic Wind Sea.

Having done this, Qin Ce turned around.

He faced the Vicious Beasts charging behind him, raised his combat saber, and swung it down sharply.

"Attack!"

The Azure Phoenix and Tianlu attacked simultaneously.

The Azure Phoenix's Wind Blades and Tianlu's Streaming Light Arrows poured toward the Vicious Beasts that were chasing most closely.

Wind Blades slashed against the scales of the ox-like creatures, sending sparks flying. Streaming Light Arrows hit the Jade Elephants, exploding into small bursts of golden flame.

Qin Ce put on a show of having successfully lured the enemies and then starting to counterattack.

Those Vicious Beasts, who had long since loathed Qin Ce, were collectively enraged to see that he actually dared to stop and attack them.

Dozens of Gold Rank Vicious Beasts stopped in their tracks at the same time, raising their heads and opening their mouths.

Fireballs, lightning, Wind Blades, ice spears, shadow arrows, poison mists—all sorts of attacks roared toward Qin Ce simultaneously from different directions and angles.

Every single one was lethal, and with dozens roaring in at once, they covered every inch of space around him—front, back, left, right, up, and down—leaving no blind spots.

Qin Ce didn't panic; instead, a smile appeared on his face.

He withdrew Tianlu back into his tattoo and gave the Azure Phoenix a gentle pat.

Shadow Sight.

The figures of the Azure Phoenix and Qin Ce vanished from the spot.

A second later, they appeared less than a hundred meters in front of Wang Zhuo's team—near that pre-positioned Wind Core.

In that short time, Wang Zhuo's team had advanced another four hundred meters.

At Qin Ce's original position, dozens of Gold Rank Vicious Beast attacks slammed into the mirror image.

The image exploded, turning into countless tiny fragments of energy that dissipated into the mist.

But these attacks did not diminish; they passed right through the image and continued flying forward, heading straight for Wang Zhuo and his squad.

Just then, Qin Ce appeared before Wang Zhuo.

The distance was less than a hundred meters.

Wang Zhuo could even see the expression on Qin Ce's face; why was he smiling?

At this time, Qin Ce raised his hand, pointing his combat saber at Wang Zhuo.

"Kill!"

Wang Zhuo's pupils constricted sharply.

Qin Ce used Shadow Sight again? And he ran over all by himself to attack him?

What on earth was he up to? Did Qin Ce have some trump card he didn't know about?

"Counterattack!" Wang Zhuo shouted loudly.

Eleven people attacked simultaneously.

The Silver-Patterned Peacock's iron feathers, the Iron-Feathered Vulture's feather arrows, the Thunder Eagle's electric arcs, the Wind Falcon's Wind Blades, the Frost Giant Python's ice spears, and the Rock-Armored Turtle's energy waves...

Eleven Gold Rank attacks roared toward Qin Ce at the same time.

Qin Ce didn't dodge.

He simply stopped his attack, waved at Wang Zhuo, and mouthed the words "Goodbye."

Then, before the attacks arrived, he vanished.

Shadow Sight once more.

Don't forget, back at the very beginning when Wang Zhuo hadn't even seen Qin Ce yet, Qin Ce had already pre-released a Shadow Sight Wind Blade.

Furthermore, after discovering that the Wind Core provided various enhancements to the Shadow Sight Wind Blade, he had added a Wind Core as well.

This Shadow Sight directly pulled Qin Ce several kilometers away, completely removing him from the battlefield.

However, the eleven Gold Rank attacks fired at Qin Ce did not stop.

After shredding Qin Ce's wind-attribute phantom, they passed through the position where Qin Ce had just been and continued flying forward.

Straight toward the charging Vicious Beasts.

A fireball slammed into an ox-like creature, exploding into a mass of dark red flames.

The ox-like creature was blasted back two steps, a patch of scorched black appearing on its scales.

Lightning struck the back of a Jade Elephant; the Jade Elephant let out a cry of pain, and a blinding white light lit up its tusks.

An ice spear pierced the shoulder of a Two-headed Monster; both of its heads roared simultaneously as its mace slammed into the ground, creating a large pit.

At the same time, a large number of Vicious Beast attacks landed near Wang Zhuo and his team.

Wang Zhuo commanded the Pet Beasts to form a formation, establishing a defensive system and weathering the attacks one by one.

Dozens of Vicious Beast attacks and eleven human Beast Tamer attacks crossed, collided, and exploded in the mist.

With this, the two sides had officially engaged in combat.

Furthermore, the moment Qin Ce had appeared close to Wang Zhuo earlier had also been captured by the Vicious Beasts.

They saw Qin Ce "vanish" from the attacks, then saw him appear in front of Wang Zhuo, and saw him waving at Wang Zhuo as if greeting him.

Then he vanished again.

Meanwhile, those attacks had hit them.

The Vicious Beasts' eyes grew even redder.

They were certain that Qin Ce and Wang Zhuo were on the same side—it was no longer just "suspicion," but "confirmation."

That human and that group of humans were coordinating: one was luring them over, while the others were attacking from a distance. They had been played.

At this moment, both sides' attacks had landed on each other.

Now, there was no way to explain anything.

The Vicious Beasts identified Wang Zhuo as the enemy. Wang Zhuo also identified the Vicious Beasts and Qin Ce as being on the same side.

But no one noticed that Qin Ce was no longer on the battlefield.

Both sides looked at each other with bloodshot eyes; besides a grand battle, there was no other path to take.

Thus, the war began.

An ox-like creature was the first to strike. Lowering its head, it aimed its horns at Wang Zhuo's team, its four hooves kicking off as its entire body charged out like a battering ram.

"Rock-Armored Turtle, hold the front!" Wang Zhuo shouted sternly.

The Rock-Armored Turtle's Beast Tamer rushed forward without hesitation.

The Rock-Armored Turtle retracted into its shell, and an earthy yellow light flared brilliantly.

The horns slammed into the shell with a dull, massive thud. The Rock-Armored Turtle was knocked back several meters but stood its ground firmly.

"Frost Giant Python, freeze its legs! Iron-Feathered Vulture, shoot its eyes!"

The Frost Giant Python spat out white breath from the flank, and frost rapidly spread up the ox's legs.

The ox-like creature's movements slowed down, and it let out an angry low growl.

The Iron-Feathered Vulture's iron feathers were shot accurately at its eyes. The ox-like creature instinctively closed its eyes, falling into a brief state of blindness.

"Thunder Eagle, blast its joints with lightning!"

Thick lightning accurately blasted the frozen front leg joints. The ice layer shattered, and the ox's legs became brittle under the extreme cold and lightning strike. The ox-like creature stumbled, its front legs buckling as its massive body tilted forward.

"Focus fire!"

The Silver-Patterned Peacock's iron feathers, the Wind Falcon's Wind Blades, and the Frost Giant Python's ice spears all slammed into the same spot on its neck.

Blood splattered from the ox-like creature's neck, and it crashed to the ground.

From engagement to kill, it took less than half a minute.

But the Vicious Beasts didn't care at all about how many companions had died.

A Jade Elephant charged from the left, its long trunk sweeping through the air.

A Two-headed Monster rushed out from the right, its mace swinging toward the Thunder Eagle.

Snow-Winged Wolves and Red-Eyed Foxes prowled in the distance, their frost breath and mental interference alternating in their attacks.

There were just too many of them.

Wang Zhuo's team quickly contracted, forming a circular formation—the Rock-Armored Turtle held the front, the Frost Giant Python controlled the left, the Iron-Feathered Vulture suppressed the right, the Thunder Eagle occupied the high ground, the Wind Falcon prowled for support, and the Silver-Patterned Peacock coordinated from the center.

A Jade Elephant charged. The Rock-Armored Turtle withstood its trunk strike, the Frost Giant Python took the opportunity to entwine its back legs, and the Thunder Eagle and Iron-Feathered Vulture focused fire on its head—it went down.

A Two-headed Monster charged. The Wind Falcon's Wind Blades repelled its first charge, the Thunder Eagle's chain lightning numbed it with electricity, and the Silver-Patterned Peacock's iron feathers pierced its throat—it went down.

A Snow-Winged Wolf tried to ambush them. The Frost Giant Python's ice spears forced it back, the Iron-Feathered Vulture's iron feathers blocked its retreat, and the Thunder Eagle dove from on high to deliver a finishing blow—the Snow-Winged Wolf fled back to the pack with its tail between its legs.

Their coordination was as smooth as flowing water.

The Rock-Armored Turtle tanked damage, the Frost Giant Python provided control, the Iron-Feathered Vulture and Thunder Eagle dealt damage, the Wind Falcon provided cover, and the Silver-Patterned Peacock commanded and coordinated—everyone knew what they should do, and everyone trusted what their teammates would do.

This was a well-honed chemistry, far beyond what the Vicious Beasts, who fought individually, could compare to.

In a short time, several Gold Rank Vicious Beasts had fallen.

But there were still dozens of Vicious Beasts behind them.

One Mammoth Jade Elephant fell, and another Tyrannosaurus Lizard took its place. One Two-headed Monster lost an arm, and two Liger-Beasts charged up. Thunder Leopards prowled the flanks, constantly looking for an opening, while Snow-Winged Wolves and Red-Eyed Foxes continued to wear them down from a distance.

Relying on their exquisite coordination, Wang Zhuo's team took down one Vicious Beast with each focused fire, and every Pet Beast firmly held its position.

But the Vicious Beasts were relentless; for every one killed, two came; for every two killed, four came.

Wang Zhuo was panting heavily.

The density of the Silver-Patterned Peacock's iron feathers had begun to decrease.

The situation had actually reached a stalemate.

In terms of individual strength and coordination, Wang Zhuo's side held a slight advantage.

But the number of Vicious Beasts was several times theirs, and they were unafraid of death and indifferent to pain, fighting only on instinct and rage.

This was a war of attrition. Wang Zhuo's team was making kills, but the Vicious Beasts were wearing them down. For the time being, neither side could overpower the other.

At this time, Qin Ce was hovering in the mist high in the sky, looking down at the grand scene of the chaotic battle below.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

No matter whether Wang Zhuo or the Vicious Beasts emerged victorious, he stood to gain.

If Wang Zhuo and his team were stronger, Qin Ce could deliver the finishing blows to the Gold Rank Vicious Beasts, which would be perfect for accumulating energy for the God-level Ruins key.

If the Vicious Beasts were stronger? Then he could trip up Wang Zhuo and the others, at least ensuring they no longer had the ability to hunt him. At the same time, it wasn't as if he couldn't deliver finishing blows to the Vicious Beasts—there would always be some heavily injured after the battle.

By taking advantage of their injuries, he could completely wipe out more Gold Rank Vicious Beasts without taking any damage, similarly accumulating energy for the God-level Ruins key.

From the current situation, Wang Zhuo's side indeed held a slight advantage in coordination and individual strength, but the Vicious Beasts' numerical advantage was too obvious.

This battle was far from over, and no matter who won, it would only be a pyrrhic victory.

Although Qin Ce couldn't see the real-time status of all the keys like Wang Zhuo could, as the first person to activate a key, he could see the locations and accumulation status of all the key energy phantoms.

At this moment, some people had already accumulated over eighty percent of their energy.

After this battle, perhaps his own energy could quickly overtake the others, or even reach Perfection directly.

Either way, Qin Ce was coming out ahead.

He patted the Azure Phoenix's neck.

"Xiao Qing, lay down Wind Cores at several key nodes, including where we are now. When the time comes, we can use Shadow Sight to swap positions, quickly entering the fray to harvest and then quickly retreating."

The Azure Phoenix nodded and let out a soft cry.

Several Wind Cores were then quietly released below.

In the mist, the battle below continued. The exquisitely coordinated Beast Tamer squad and the overwhelming torrent of Vicious Beasts were locked in a stalemate.

Meanwhile, Qin Ce hovered high above, like a hawk waiting for its prey to show a weakness.

...