Chapter 202: Bad Timing, But a Heartless Sword Knows No Worry

The voices grew stronger with each repetition, piercing everyone’s hearts and shaking them to their core. At that moment, their blood boiled—they knew it was all for their homes, their happiness, and the peace of their lands. For this, they were willing to shed blood on the battlefield, to trade their lives for those they fought for.

As Liu Yi slowly walked back through the gap, he asked again, “Soldiers, answer me! If the enemy invades our homeland, what should we do? Kill them, or not?”
The voices below seemed to boil over. Everyone had only one thought and replied at the same time. The voices of two thousand people rose into the sky, breaking through the clouds: “Kill them!”

When Liu Yi returned to Ye Luo Baihua and the others, he said, “Princess, we can set off now.”
Ye Luo Baihua looked at Liu Yi, hesitating for a moment as if lost in thought, but quickly regained her composure. She turned and said, “Uncles, let’s go. Follow my signals.”
Ye Luo Jianmu and Ye Luo Ming nodded and headed back to their respective troops…

The darkness before dawn enveloped this world devoid of light. Everything was eerily quiet. The stars still hung high in the sky. Under the vast blue sky, the group set off in great numbers. Before departing, Liu Yi gave careful instructions—since this was a surprise attack, they must act stealthily and swiftly.

Liu Yi and Ye Luo Baihua led the way. Thirty miles was merely a short time for these “Blood-Hoofed” warriors. Soon, the troops led by Ye Luo Baihua and Ye Luo Jianmu approached the target area.

Liu Yi dismounted quietly and said, “Elder Jian, since you’ve observed the terrain, take the princess and divide the troops to surround them. Act quickly—make sure not to alert the enemy. I’ll go deal with the guards.”
Ye Luo Jianmu nodded and replied, “Be careful, Young Master Liu.”
Liu Yi nodded and swiftly moved into the darkness. At that moment, “Lan Er Fei Na Qing” could only reach level twelve, but for dealing with these people, that level was more than sufficient. His dark figure seemed to blend into the darkness. Liu Yi suddenly realized how useful this dark treasure was—he had already spotted two yellow lights from a distance, and he was certain they were the guards.

Liu Yi’s figure gradually disappeared into the darkness. He raised his vital energy to its peak and moved as quietly as possible, slowly closing in. As the distance shortened, he could clearly hear the two men’s breathing. From their regular breaths, he quickly identified their weak points—their throats.

With a swift motion, his black sword took two lives without raising a speck of dust. The two yellow lights vanished without a sound. Liu Yi sheathed his sword and continued to move stealthily through the surrounding woods, searching for other guards.

In his mind, the enemy couldn’t be that careless as to leave only two guards. Sure enough, after moving for a while, Liu Yi spotted two more light points in another direction. With his ruthless magic sword, he killed them instantly. Within fifteen minutes, Liu Yi had silently eliminated all eight guards in the four directions.

In the darkness, Liu Yi quickly noticed a group of additional light points outside the circular platform, gradually surrounding it. He was pleased—Ye Luo Baihua and Ye Luo Jianmu were indeed meticulous; they had already separated their men to encircle the area in such a short time.

Liu Yi continued searching. In his world, Ye Luo Baihua was easy to find—among those thousands of light points, there was only one red one, which was undoubtedly Ye Luo Baihua. About fifty poles away diagonally across, Liu Yi leaped lightly and arrived beside them. As soon as he landed, he used telepathy to say to Ye Luo Baihua and Ye Luo Jianmu, “You two are fast.”

Ye Luo Baihua glanced at Liu Yi and replied via telepathy, “Young Master Liu, what should we do now? Shall we start?”

Liu Yi tilted his head slightly but didn’t answer. The wind blew past his ears, and soon, a faint thudding sound came from above. Liu Yi telepathed again, “It’s time. Senior Ming has arrived above. Now, Senior Jian should start by using rolling logs to start a fire, then firing rockets, followed by coordinating with Senior Ming.”

Ye Luo Jianmu nodded and took out a bamboo tube as thick as an arm from his sleeve. He placed it on the ground and used flint to ignite something on its surface. Soon, a flame shot into the sky, instantly illuminating the platform.

At the same time as the flame appeared, the enemy began to stir. Everyone panicked and shouted loudly, “Enemies!” But it was just a brief sound. Then, huge rolling logs carrying flames came down from above. The loud roaring sound quickly drowned out the cries below. In an instant, the tents below caught fire, and the massive logs crushed people’s bodies and burst their skulls, turning the scene into chaos.

In Liu Yi’s world, the yellow light points scattered in all directions. Liu Yi said to Ye Luo Baihua beside him, “Princess, it’s your turn.”

Ye Luo Baihua nodded and took out a similar bamboo tube as Ye Luo Jianmu, lighting it. The moment the second flame erupted, all the archers drew back their rockets. As the flame slowly faded, rockets were fired simultaneously from all sides, instantly causing ear-splitting screams. At that moment, Liu Yi said, “Senior Ming should be starting now.”

Ye Luo Baihua looked up and replied, “Yes, he’s descending.”

Soon, another spectacular scene unfolded—burning stones fell from the sky, striking the ground and waging war against all the rebels. As arrows were shot rapidly and flint fell like rain, the number of yellow light points in Liu Yi’s eyes decreased quickly—from thousands to hundreds, then fewer and fewer. Liu Yi couldn’t help but exclaim, “The effect of this surprise attack is better than expected.”

Ye Luobaihua saw more clearly than Liu Yi. The circular basin below had now turned into a fire pit, with burning logs, falling flint, and arrows flying everywhere, taking the lives of those still in panic. The surroundings were no longer dark; fire had ignited everything—charred corpses, rivers of blood, severed limbs flying in all directions. Some who hadn’t died trampled on their comrades’ bodies as they rushed upward.

Ye Luobaihua couldn’t help but exclaim, “How cruel! What are we doing?”

Hearing her words, Liu Yi replied coldly, “Cruel? If you weren’t cruel, you’d see a world filled with bloodshed and destruction. That’s how the world is—you must accept it.”

With that, Liu Yi drew his long sword. Under the influence of the “Lanerfina Qing” cultivation technique, the black blade emitted a red glow. The blood-red light illuminated the surroundings, making Liu Yi the focus of attention. Then, he shouted loudly, “Warriors, draw your swords! For your loved ones, for your homeland, kill everyone here!” His voice was as loud as thunder, reaching everyone’s ears.

At Liu Yi’s cry, everyone around him frantically drew their swords and charged at those still alive below. Although some had thrown away their weapons and raised their hands, the mad crowd showed no mercy. With swift swings of their swords, they beheaded one after another.

Ye Luobaihua watched everything happening below and then looked at Liu Yi, seemingly wanting to say something but staying silent. Liu Yi, sensing something, asked her, “Does the princess think I’m cruel?”

Ye Luobaihua shook her head. “I don’t understand you. If you’re like this in reality, then… I can’t imagine what you’d be like if you fell to the path of darkness.”

Liu Yi shook his head. “In this world, only power and status can speak. And what measures them are the weapons in our hands. Being kind to others is being cruel to oneself. If you’ve gone through what I’ve gone through, then… you’ll change too.”

Ye Luobaihua’s beautiful voice reached Liu Yi’s ears. She shook her head and said, “Perhaps.”

Liu Yi replied, “It’s not perhaps—it’s certain. Just as the things around us can change us, just as you can’t face your true self and keep pressing yourself with the family’s mission, your happiness no longer exists.”

Ye Luobaihua seemed to understand something. Her bright eyes scanned Liu Yi once more in the darkness, but she said nothing. Meanwhile, below, chaos reigned as everyone fought each other…

“Life is already short. For these people, a few decades is already a blessing. But in the face of swords and desires, their lives become worthless, for they have become tools on the battlefield.” Liu Yi emphasized something again, as if explaining it.

Gradually, the battlefield expanded. Although there weren’t many remaining soldiers, the chaotic crowd scattered, slowly expanding the battlefield to where Liu Yi and Ye Luobaihua were. The sounds of fighting grew louder, and corpses piled up around them, with blood forming rivers at their feet.

As blades flashed, several rebels trying to break through the encirclement rushed towards Liu Yi like drunkards. Apart from the rapid approach of the yellow dots before him, Liu Yi could clearly hear the sound of those people approaching. As Liu Yi moved, his black long sword made a clanging sound as he struck. Humans have emotions, but swords are heartless. At the moment Liu Yi swung his sword, the fate of those rebels was already decided. Cries of pain filled the air, limbs flew through the air, and blood splattered everywhere. Yet Liu Yi did not stop. After ending each life, he moved step by step toward the center. Though invisible, he moved calmly. Whenever someone attacked him, they were killed by that merciless sword.

Just then, the sounds of fighting suddenly intensified. Countless yellow dots attacked from all directions. Liu Yi was shocked and thought to himself, “This is bad.” He was certain that enemies had arrived. Those yellow dots were clearly far more numerous than those they had brought with them. Moreover, as those people appeared, the fighting grew louder.

At that moment, a red dot flashed by, carrying a fragrance like lilies, and arrived beside Liu Yi. It was Ye Luo Baihua. A pleasant voice said anxiously, “There are people coming, and many of them.”

Another person approached and added, “Young Master Liu, it seems we’re surrounded.”

Liu Yi was surprised. “So fast? Could it be your enemy Ye Luo Xiong? But I heard from the locals here that Ye Luo Xiong would take at least ten hours to get here. How could he arrive so quickly?”

Ye Luo Baihua nodded gently and said, “It seems to be him. Otherwise, no one else would come here. But if it’s as you say, how could he arrive so fast? Could it be… that everything here is a trap? He wants to force us out of the city and then eliminate us? But the cost for him would be too high.”

Liu Yi nodded and said, “That makes sense. Since ancient times, it’s been said that one general’s success comes at the cost of countless lives. What’s the harm in sacrificing a few people?”

While the three of them were speculating, a loud voice came through, accompanied by an arrogant laugh. “Haha, Princess Baihua! Didn’t expect me to arrive so quickly, did you? If you want to blame someone, blame fate. If fate wants you to die, you must die.”

Hearing this voice, Liu Yi sighed and said, “It doesn’t seem like his plan. He must have arrived early. It seems… fate really wants me to perish.”

Liu Yi continued, “Elder Jian, it’s useless to say anything now. Neither heaven nor earth will help us. We must take care of ourselves. Judging from the situation, continuing to fight means certain defeat. As long as the mountains remain, we’ll have wood to burn. Elder Jian, find a way to inform everyone to retreat to Wulei City. Princess Baihua and I will fight our way in. It’s best to enter the city in advance so we can prepare and at least put up a resistance.”

Elder Jian nodded and then used his spiritual energy to send out a warning to all the warriors in Wulei City…

Just as Ye Luojianmu left, a black human shadow appeared in front of Liu Yi and Ye Luobaihua. Soon after, hundreds of people quickly gathered behind that black shadow. Ye Luobaihua observed the man before her—a dressed-in-black elder with black hair and white beard, sturdy build, sharp eyes, rosy complexion, holding a brown long sword in his left hand, standing proudly before Liu Yi and Ye Luobaihua.

Ye Luobaihua blurted out, “Ye Luochou.”

The elder known as Ye Luochou narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Niece Baihua, how have you been? I heard… you’re choosing a husband in Ye Luocheng. Well, as your uncle, I haven’t even had time to come and take a look. Sorry, really sorry…”

Listening to the elder’s words, Liu Yi felt that he had a close relationship with Ye Luobaihua. But his intuition told him that this Ye Luochou was highly skilled and radiated murderous intent—clearly hostile. Subconsciously, he tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.

A slight movement immediately caught Ye Luochou’s attention. Suddenly, he burst into loud laughter and said, “Niece Baihua, as the saying goes, water flows downhill while people strive to rise. Don’t tell me… this blind man is the suitor you’ve chosen? Why humiliate yourself like this?”

Ye Luobaihua was all too familiar with Ye Luochou—he was one of the six senior members of the Ye Luo royal family, the youngest among them. He was narrow-minded and obsessed with martial arts. Decades ago, he had been punished by her father for stealing the Lan family’s magic martial techniques, and he had harbored resentment ever since. Although Ye Luoxiong had led this rebellion, Ye Luochou must have been stoking the flames. Ye Luobaihua had long wanted to kill such a person, but Ye Luochou’s magic martial skills were extremely powerful, and none of the assassins she had sent back.

No one could see Ye Luobaihua’s expression, but her voice remained as calm as the surface of a spring lake as she said softly, “This young man is Baihua’s guest.”

Ye Luochou uttered an “Oh” and slowly sized up Liu Yi, then casually said, “It seems niece Baihua won’t be lonely on her way to the netherworld. Though this blind man isn’t much, just make do with him.”

Hearing Ye Luochou’s words, Liu Yi showed no reaction, his expression calm as if no one was there. But inside, his mind was racing. He wasn’t concerned about the man before him—killing him wouldn’t mean anything. To turn the situation around, there was only one way: capture the mastermind. What he cared about was the planner of this war—Ye Luoxiong. At this moment, he raised his true energy to its highest level to search for the whereabouts of the mastermind behind the scenes. But so far… it seemed Ye Luoxiong hadn’t appeared.

Ye Luobaihua glanced at Liu Yi, who remained motionless beside her, feeling puzzled. With such a great enemy at hand, what was he thinking? She knew how formidable Ye Luochou was, not to mention the hundred skilled fighters behind him. If things went wrong, they might really die here. The thought of death made Ye Luobaihua even quieter.

At that moment, Ye Luochou’s eyes gradually narrowed, filled with murderous intent. Instantly, the murderous aura around his body pulled Liu Yi back to the real world, preventing him from thinking further. Then, with a loud shout from Ye Luochou, “Get rid of this blind man!”

Soon after, Ye Luoqiu’s figure raised a cloud of dust as he moved to the side, while hundreds of warriors surged forward, their long swords aimed at him. In an instant, hundreds of swords attacked Liu Yi from all directions and angles, with varying forces. Yet Ye Luoqiu was not idle. In his eyes, Ye Luo Baihua was the real opponent. As for this blind man of unknown origin, he believed those warriors were more than enough to kill him several times. Thus, his target was Ye Luo Baihua. As he moved, his brown sword emitted a dragon-like roar as it shot forth with a cold gleam. With a single step, the sword was already close enough to strike at Ye Luo Baihua’s heart. There was a clashing sound—the sound of weapons meeting. Ye Luo Baihua’s weapon was not a long sword but a 2.4-foot-long flute, its body greenish-blue with a white glow flowing within. It was unclear what material it was made of, but its color was purer than jade, and its hardness exceeded that of iron. In an instant, the two weapons collided before separating again. Meanwhile, Liu Yi, sensing the murderous intent radiating from Ye Luoqiu, realized a massacre was about to begin. He disliked killing, but if he didn’t kill others, he would be killed himself. Faced with the rules of this world, he had no choice but to act. As hundreds of people rushed forward, there was a clang as his sword was drawn, shooting out with a black glow. Its perfect arc immediately brought about a storm of bloodshed. The sword was merciless and carefree; its bloodthirsty nature, like Liu Yi’s demonic powers, was merely controlled by his will…