254: Chapter 254: An eye for an eye

Moon Secret Realm.

The battle was on the verge of breaking out.

In the main hall, shouts of slaughter, screams of agony, and the clashing of Magic Treasures intertwined.

The Yellow Spring Army had just charged for a while before being called back by Xiao Ran.

The army formed a dense formation on both sides of the entrance. Over a thousand corpses held rusted Long Halberds, silvery-white ghost fires flickering in their hollow eye sockets, yet they did not attack.

They were waiting, waiting for Xiao Ran's command.

Li Changsheng's Jade Rabbit Army also crouched at the edge of the battlefield. The red eyes of over a hundred silvery-white Jade Rabbit Statues were like blood gems, staring at the Yao Race in the center of the battlefield.

But similarly, none of them pounced.

In the center of the battlefield, Cultivators of the Human Race and the Yao Race were locked in a life-and-death struggle.

Every time Zhao Wudi swung his demon slayer, it carried a blinding golden sword radiance, splitting a Yao Race Prodigy in half.

His black battle armor was already splattered with blood—some his own, some from the Yao Beasts.

Zhao Wudi truly lived up to his name as a top Prodigy of the Zhao family, growing more courageous as he fought. The broken sword in his hand seemed to possess immense weight, each strike carrying an Aura capable of splitting mountains and cracking stones.

But there were still over forty Yao, and each was fighting for their life, while the Human Race had fewer than sixty people left.

Although their cultivation was not weak, they couldn't withstand the Yao Race's fearless charges.

“Xiao Ran! Why aren't your people moving?”

Zhao Wudi slashed back the lunging Shi Haokong with one sword strike, turning to roar at Xiao Ran, his voice already hoarse.

His left arm had been slashed by Shi Haokong's claws, and three deep, bone-revealing gashes were still seeping blood.

Xiao Ran said indifferently, “My people are tired; they're taking a break.”

“A break? We're in the middle of a war!”

Zhao Wudi was so furious that veins bulged on his forehead, the golden light on his broken sword flickering unsteadily.

Behind him, a Zhao family Prodigy was hit by She Yuan's venom, falling to the ground with a scream.

His skin festered and turned black at a visible rate, turning into a pool of pus within a few breaths.

Zhao Wudi's eyes nearly split from rage. He turned and slashed at one of She Yuan's heads, and She Yuan couldn't dodge in time.

A head fell to the ground, and black blood sprayed everywhere.

Sword Dust also sensed something was wrong.

He had originally counted on Xiao Ran's Yellow Spring Army and Li Changsheng's Jade Rabbit Army to act as the main force, wearing down the Yao Race's strength before they stepped in to finish them off.

But now, both armies remained stationary, and the full pressure of the Yao Race fell upon them.

A thin layer of bloody ice had already condensed on his frost frost sword, formed when the blood of Yao Beasts splattered onto it and was frozen by the cold energy.

Most of his spiritual power was depleted, and his breathing began to quicken.

“Xiao Ran, what is the meaning of this?”

Sword Dust pierced the head of a Demon Wolf with his sword and retreated to Xiao Ran's side, asking in a low voice.

Blood was still dripping from the tip of the frost frost sword.

Xiao Ran looked at him with a rather cold expression.

“What do I mean? You didn't put in any effort before, wanting my people to be cannon fodder.”

“Now that my people are tired, it's your turn to put in the effort.”

“Fair and reasonable, isn't it?”

Sword Dust's face darkened, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the frost frost sword.

He wanted to retort, but what Xiao Ran said was the truth.

He had indeed held back earlier, wanting to wait until Xiao Ran's army had mostly killed off the Yao Race before acting.

Now that Xiao Ran refused to cooperate, they had to bear it themselves.

He gritted his teeth and turned back to the battlefield.

Li Qingyun also understood Xiao Ran's intentions.

He sighed and spoke to the City Lord Manor Prodigies behind him.

“Don't count on them. Rely on yourselves. Form a circular formation, defend and counterattack!”

The remaining fifteen Prodigies quickly formed a circle, back-to-back, swords pointed outward, protecting their injured companions in the center.

Their coordination was seamless, every sword strike accurately piercing the vital points of the Yao Race Prodigies.

On the Yao Race's side, Shi Haokong also noticed the change.

Most of the Yellow Spring corpses surrounding him had retreated, with only a few wandering in the distance.

The Jade Rabbit Statues had also pulled back, no longer actively attacking.

He was overjoyed. Although he didn't know why, this was a golden opportunity.

“They're having internal strife! Charge! Break out!”

Shi Haokong let out a long roar toward the sky, his golden mane bristling as his Demonic Qi surged.

His voice was like a clap of thunder, causing the Night-Luminescent Pearls in the hall to shake.

She Yuan's remaining seven heads rose simultaneously, frantically spitting venom.

The venom rained down like black storm clouds onto the Human Race's position. Several Zhao family Prodigies couldn't dodge in time and were splashed, their skin instantly festering to reveal white bone.

Lei Qianjun's whole body electrical light exploded, transforming him into a bolt of cyan-blue lightning lunging straight at Sword Dust.

He was as fast as a lightning bolt, leaving a scorched trail in the air.

Sword Dust raised his sword to block but was knocked back several steps. The webbing between his thumb and index finger split, and blood flowed down the hilt.

A notch was blasted into his frost frost sword by the lightning, and his Sword Intent weakened slightly.

Chi Hanyuan exhaled a mouthful of bone-chilling cold air. The Profound Ice Cold Qi froze the three Human Race Cultivators in front of him into ice sculptures.

Ice crystals spread from their feet to their heads, turning them into three translucent statues within breaths.

Chi Hanyuan shattered one of the ice sculptures with a claw, sending shards of ice and flesh flying.

The Yao Race's counterattack was swift and fierce.

They knew that if they didn't take this opportunity to break out...

Once Xiao Ran and Li Changsheng changed their minds, they would truly be doomed.

Every Yao fought desperately, burning their essence blood, activating their innate Divine Abilities, and attacking at any cost.

The pressure on the Human Race suddenly intensified.

A Luoxia Sect Disciple was swatted away by a Yao Bear, struggling a few times before falling still.

A Cultivator from the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce summoned a defensive Magic Treasure, but it was corroded through by She Yuan's venom, which then splashed onto his face.

He clutched his face and screamed, rolling on the ground until he went silent a few breaths later.

Zhao Wudi was swatted away by Shi Haokong's claw, crashing into a pillar and spitting out blood.

He struggled to get up, only to find that he could no longer lift his left arm.

Gritting his teeth, he gripped the broken sword with his right hand, tore a strip of cloth from his robe to haphazardly wrap his left arm to stop the bleeding, and charged back in.

Sword Dust was pinned down by Lei Qianjun, unable to break free.

Although Lei Qianjun's lightning power was suppressed by the cold energy, his desperate attacks were still terrifyingly powerful.

Each bolt of lightning had the power to split rocks, and layers of frost condensed on Sword Dust's frost frost sword.

His spiritual power was depleting rapidly, veins bulging on his forehead, his face covered in a mixture of sweat and blood.

Li Qingyun was besieged by Chi Hanyuan and several Yao Race Prodigies; he fought while retreating, protecting the City Lord Manor Prodigies behind him.

“Xiao Ran! What exactly do you want? We're about to break!”

Zhao Wudi roared again, the golden light on his broken sword growing dimmer as his spiritual power neared its limit.

Meanwhile.

Li Changsheng asked through the Soul Link.

“Is it about time? If we don't act soon, the Human Race really will be wiped out. That guy Zhao Wudi is about to collapse, and Sword Dust's Sword Intent has weakened significantly.”

Xiao Ran looked at the battlefield, estimating the losses.

Eight remained from the Zhao family, nine from the Sword Sect, twelve from the City Lord Manor, and five or six other scattered Cultivators.

That was enough. If he didn't act now, the next part of the plan couldn't be carried out.

“Move out.”

With a thought from Xiao Ran...

...the Yellow Spring Army moved.

Over a thousand corpses simultaneously raised their Long Halberds, pressing toward the Yao Race from both sides of the entrance in synchronized steps.

The sound of their footsteps beat like war drums in the hall, making the ground tremble.

The Long Halberds were like a forest, silvery-white ghost fires flickering in their eye sockets, their killing intent as heavy as a mountain.

Li Changsheng's Jade Rabbit Army also moved.

Over a hundred Jade Rabbit Statues turned into streaks of silvery-white light, thrusting directly into the Yao Race's flanks from the edge of the battlefield.

They leaped, pounced, and bit, their speed so fast that the naked eye could barely keep up. Every strike accurately snapped the throat of a Yao Race Prodigy or pierced a Yao Core.

The Yao Race's counterattack was instantly suppressed.