Chapter 133: All-Out War (Part One)

The sudden strike caught Ye Ran off guard. Though he had never underestimated Bei Yuming, he never imagined he would attack in such a manner. From Bei Yuming’s mouth shot out a tongue covered with barbs, each barb dripping with a nauseating slime. Ye Ran instinctively dodged the lick, then countered with a heavy thrust. To his surprise, Bei Yuming’s tongue instantly elongated again.

Ye Ran’s pupils contracted sharply as a fleeting shadow crossed the range of the tongue’s strike. Yet, in that brief moment of hesitation, Bei Yuming sneered coldly, withdrew his tongue, pressed off the ground with his toes, and vanished above the roof.

“Peng,”

Elsewhere, Dilis was no better off. Ronin’s folding fan snapped shut, a mischievous smile spreading across his face as he charged toward her. Dilis chuckled, tossing three pieces of black cloth floating before her. She was about to draw her weapon from the cloth when Ronin’s face before her began shifting rapidly — first a young girl’s visage, then another, and finally an entirely unfamiliar one. Startled, she barely had time to react before an intense pain struck her abdomen. She was flung backward with a thud against the wall.

Meanwhile, "Ronin" had already burst through the door and fled.

“Chase!”

Without hesitation, Ye Ran bent his knees and leapt high into the air.

“Damn it, that hurts!”

As one of the twelve demons, Dilis could not swallow this insult and followed suit, body tilting as she gave chase.

Ronin and Bei Yuming showed no fear toward the sudden arrival of Ye Ran and Dilis. On the contrary, they intended to turn the tables and kill these two reckless youths on the spot. With their combined strength and the aid of the Blue Ghost and White Mask outside, eliminating them would be effortless.

But as they reached the clearing outside the hut, their brows furrowed.

A group of Blue Ghosts and White Masks lay sprawled on the ground, most bearing wounds on their backs. The forest pulsed with turbulent energy as two young blond men fought fiercely against the remaining nine Blue Ghosts and White Masks.

“Qianlong and Little Lion Dog?” Bei Yuming’s frown deepened upon recognizing the pair, immediately piecing together the situation.

As he had suspected, Qianlong and Little Lion Dog were reinforcements Ye Ran had summoned. During the initial confrontation, one had donned the White Mask, the other the Blue Ghost mask, infiltrating the enemy ranks. When Ye Ran and Dilis restrained the two inside the hut, Qianlong and Little Lion Dog launched their counterattack.

Given their strength, they could not eliminate all the Blue Ghosts and White Masks, resulting in the current stalemate.

Energy clashed and intertwined fiercely, leaving all the towering trees riddled with scars. The Blue Ghosts of Grusburg and the White Masks of the Island of Slaughter were formidable opponents. Even Qianlong and Little Lion Dog together struggled to gain the upper hand.

Their objective was simply to hold their ground, which explained the prolonged, inconclusive battle.

“Let’s go,”

Seeing the situation, Ronin and Bei Yuming abandoned further confrontation and swiftly fled toward the forest’s edge.

Qianlong, who was keeping the White Masks occupied, heard the voice and turned sharply to see Ronin’s face had changed once again, his anger flaring.

“Damn it, it’s you!”

That day, he had barely escaped with his life clutching the Thousand-Mile Flaming Dragon Spear as he rushed back to Red Leaf Academy, only to have it stolen by a seductive woman amidst the chaos. He had been mocked countless times by the Cat Woman and others for it. The memory still made his blood boil. Now, seeing this woman again, he instantly recognized her as the thief. Clenching his hands in a spell to repel the White Masks, he prepared to give chase, but the White Masks only receded slightly before pressing the attack once more.

“Senior Qianlong, leave those two to Dilis and me,”

Ye Ran called out as he emerged from the hut, then sprinted after the fleeing duo.

“Damn kid, if you catch that damned woman, I owe you one,” Qianlong growled.

“Don’t worry, they won’t get away,” Ye Ran said, their figures weaving as they chased forward.

“The two aren’t real. The one posing as Bei Yuming is a strange species from the Forbidden Zone. The other’s origins are unknown…”

“The one pretending to be Ronin is Ivy. Unlike the strange species, her power is shape-shifting,”

Dilis giggled. “Ye Ran, you’re no match for me when it comes to intelligence.”

Ye Ran frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me such vital information earlier?”

Dilis made a face. “You’re just a poor guy; borrowing knowledge without paying is cheeky.”

Ye Ran shot her a scowl and quickened his pace.

The wind howled sharply as Ivy and the strange Bei Yuming soon heard the approaching footsteps. Knowing Ye Ran and Dilis were in pursuit, they exchanged a glance before splitting, each fleeing in opposite directions.

But just then—

“Whoosh, whoosh,”

Two feathered arrows suddenly flew from the forest. Startled, Ivy and the strange Bei Yuming dodged deftly.

The arrows clanged twice as they struck the ground. Then a roar echoed as a sturdy dwarf leapt from the trees, wielding two battle axes.

“You two aren’t going anywhere. Ye Ran already arranged an ambush here,” Pado grinned.

Ivy and the strange Bei Yuming’s faces paled repeatedly.

Though they couldn’t see the forest’s occupants, both sensed an overwhelming pressure locking onto them.

Naturally, the archers in the forest were the elven Robin and Ophelia.

Within moments of hesitation, Ivy and the strange Bei Yuming lost their chance to escape. Ye Ran and Dilis had already appeared behind them.

With dwarves and elves blocking the front and Ye Ran and Dilis closing in from behind, the two were trapped.

Dilis produced two ropes from her handkerchief and tossed them to Pado.

“Tie them up,” she said with a mischievous smile directed at Ivy.

“Be good now. If you surrender peacefully, we won’t use violence. But if you resist—”

She pinched her fingers together. “If you dare struggle, I’ll shatter your bones so you won’t be able to move. I haven’t forgotten how you slammed into me earlier.”

The dwarf slid his axes into his belt and approached with the ropes.

Just then, the forest stirred violently. Branches trembled fiercely, and before Pado could reach them, two muffled groans sounded. Robin and Ophelia burst forth from their ambush, bodies flying straight into the fray.

“Robin, Ophelia!” Ye Ran exclaimed in surprise. But before he could move forward, the white figure flashed behind Pado. Without any visible motion, a sharp crack sounded—one of the dwarf’s arms had been dislocated.

The black figure charged directly at Dilis, driving her back with a painful blow to the chest.

“Heh, Black Snake, White Snake, this is your fight now,”

Ivy and the strange Bei Yuming leapt out of the forest, one to the left and one to the right.