Chapter 7: Ambush (Part 2)

Guo Shier said, “Rest quickly. Uncle Xiaofeng, go search the corpses and see if there’s anything useful!” He had become the leader of this team, constantly giving orders, and everyone obeyed him. Along the way, he had directed everyone to flee, and his clever and decisive abilities had earned him everyone’s respect.
Xiaofeng went to examine the corpses and said, “Shier, give him a talisman—burn it to deal with him!”
Guo Shier replied, “No… Talismans are precious now. We need to use them to fight enemies; we can’t waste them like this!”
Xiaofeng laughed and said, “Alright!” The martial artists listened to Guo Shier’s commands without any resistance, feeling relieved as if they weren’t trapped in a desperate situation but could retreat safely at any time.
Guo Shier took out a pack of steel balls, about the size of a finger, with a slightly rough surface—tools designed for grinding materials. He threw them to Luo Zhan and said, “Uncle Luo, scatter these in the passage.”
Luo Zhan asked in surprise, “What are these?”
Guo Shier replied, “They’re grinding balls. Be careful as you scatter them—concentrate them around the entrance!”
Luo Zhan was momentarily stunned before understanding. With steel balls all over the ground, anyone who entered wouldn’t be able to stand firm. He immediately started scattering the balls evenly near the entrance.
About ten minutes later, footsteps were heard again. Guo Shier warned, “Be careful! Watch out for their spears!”
As soon as he spoke, seven or eight spears were thrown in. Guo Shier shouted, “Lie down!”
Everyone immediately bent down. Boom! Boom! Boom… A series of explosions erupted. Unfortunately, the spears only exploded against the distant stone walls, posing no threat to those hiding at the entrance.
Before anyone could stand up, five dark figures took advantage of the explosions to rush in. There were cries of pain and chaos—none of the five could stand and all fell to the ground.
Guo Shier ordered, “Attack!”
The intruders suffered greatly. Unable to get up, they were slaughtered by Luo Zhan and the others like vegetables. Those men were quite skilled, but they were just too unlucky to encounter someone like Guo Shier, who acted outside the norm, leading to a humiliating death.
After two encounters, seven of the enemy were dead, while Guo Shier’s side remained unharmed. Luo Zhan realized that if it weren’t for the steel balls Guo Shier had scattered, the five who rushed in earlier could have tied them up, and with more enemies coming in, things would have gotten very troublesome.

More than a hundred people had gathered outside the cave. They were all confused—seven people with considerable strength had entered, yet not a single sign of life came from inside, as if they had disappeared into thin air. An old man said in a grave voice, “Send ten at a time!”
A middle-aged man beside him smiled bitterly. “The passage is too narrow. At most, six people can go in at a time. If too many go in, and if they’re hit by a powerful talisman, the consequences…”
The old man said, “Then… send in two skilled fighters!”
A moment later, someone reported that those two skilled fighters had also disappeared without a trace. The cave seemed like a bottomless pit—anything that went in would be swallowed up. The old man asked grimly, “Report the situation! How many people are inside?”
No one could answer. After a long pause, the old man snapped, “Don’t know? Are you sure it’s those people?”
A young man said, “We’re sure. Especially that child—he seems to be their top priority. His guards are very strong… But we’re not sure how many there are. It shouldn’t be more than four…”
“Four people? Including the kid… that’s five. You can’t even catch five people. Do you really expect me, an old man, to step in?”
A middle-aged man said, “We could try using smoke!”
The old man said, “I don’t care what method you use. You must catch them alive… I’m giving you time. By this time tomorrow, I want captives! I don’t believe the new generation of the Fuye family is such fools!” He turned and got onto a hunting vehicle.
The middle-aged man said, “Call in two more teams! The rest, go chop wood!”
…
Guo Shier said, “Those two guys just now were strong. Heh, too bad they couldn’t hold their ground… With fishing nets, it’s hard not to die. These guys underestimate us. Using a ‘fuel-adding tactic’—it’s no wonder they won’t lose!”
Huo Bao asked, “What’s a ‘fuel-adding tactic’?”
Guo Shier laughed. “Adding a little at a time, little by little—that’s the ‘fuel-adding tactic’. If they rush in all at once, it might cause more casualties, but they probably won’t be as at a disadvantage as now.”
“Uncle Luo, if this happens, let’s retreat to that passage inside.”
Luo Zhan laughed, “No problem!”
A thick cloud of smoke drifted in through the passage. Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. “Can they even use such a trick? Heh, watch this!” He raised his hand and cast a supportive whirlwind talisman, creating a strong wind in the passage that blew outward violently.

In his past life, Guo Shier might not have been able to stop the smoke from entering, but in this magical talisman world, he had many similar auxiliary talismans at his disposal. Not to mention smoke, even if a big fire started, he had corresponding talismans to put it out.

Coughing sounds arose outside immediately, followed by angry shouts. The curses were not directed at Guo Shier and the others but at their own people.

Guo Shier whispered, “Be careful—they might fight desperately. There are probably more than a few this time… Hmm, I’m going down!”

Luo Zhan said, “Don’t go down. It’s dangerous down there. Stay up there!”

Guo Shier climbed down along the rock edge and said with a smile, “I have powerful talismans. Hehe, I’ll give them a surprise. They won’t work up there!”

Luo Zhan smiled bitterly in resignation. He simply couldn’t control the kid; he was too independent. He said, “Alright, come behind me. I’ll protect you. Don’t run around!”

Guo Shier laughed and said, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to fight desperately, hehe.” He had two precious talismans he could use, while those disposable talismans weren’t very powerful. He didn’t expect to kill his enemies; as long as he could disrupt their vision and actions, that would achieve his goal.

Guo Shier’s main offensive weapons were those two precious talismans: an Ice Arrow Talisman, a ninth-tier talisman, and a Chaotic Fireball Talisman, a third-tier talisman. As for the bird talisman he obtained in the ruins, he hadn’t used it or tested it yet. Through his life talisman sphere, he learned that the talisman was already usable, with up to four attack opportunities. If given more time, it might regain even more attack chances.

The passage was completely silent, without any sound. From them barging in carelessly to throwing wood in to create smoke, Guo Shier wasn’t surprised if they sneaked in quietly. He calculated quickly and began preparing the Chaotic Fireball Talisman.

It was a group-attack talisman that Guo Shier had only tested once when he was at the North Talisman Sect.

This time, Guo Shier planned to use the Chaotic Fireball Talisman to activate other talismans hidden in the bends, thereby attacking those who came in.

Luo Zhan and the others kept a close watch on the entrance. Guo Shier muttered something under his breath. Suddenly, he dashed out and stood right in the middle of the entrance, no more than five meters away. With a flick of his hand, a string of red threads shot toward the passage. Before they could explode, he jumped back.

Chaotic Fireballs were less effective in open areas because people could dodge them, but in narrow spaces, their power was amplified.

The passage was indeed filled with people, all preparing to charge in. But they were outwitted by Guo Shier, whose attack with a chaotic fireball talisman proved most effective. Combined with a pre-placed one-time attack talisman, the twenty-odd people who entered the passage were devastated—making it impossible not only to attack but even to retreat.

The power of the chaotic fireball lay in its chaos; the fireballs it created collided with each other, splitting into countless smaller ones that scattered in all directions. Unlike the fireballs from the one-time attack talisman, these were notorious Yin fireballs—created by Luo Jie by gathering the eerie flames from extremely Yin-rich places and refining them with the essence of cold jade. Their characteristic was that they could burn a path through anything, be it humans or beasts. Without extremely strong defenses, once touched by the Yin fire, it would keep burning until everything was completely consumed.

Out of the twenty-odd people who entered, only seven managed to escape, three of them seriously injured. Only the four who entered last escaped unharmed, lucky enough to survive.

The members of the Fuye family couldn’t understand how the enemy could guess so accurately. What was most infuriating was that they still hadn’t figured out how many people were inside and what their strength was. The middle-aged man’s face had turned pale. Helplessly, he went to the hunting cart and said, “Elder… we… we…”

An angry shout came from inside the cart: “Idiot! Fool! Fuye Ada! I really don’t know who promoted you as team leader—stupid! Not only stupid… but also damn foolish! Get out of the way!”

Fuye Ada was scolded until his face was swollen and bruised, filled with shame and gritting his teeth. He didn’t hate enemies like Guo Shier; instead, he resented this old bastard before him. He stepped aside, too afraid to speak or continue directing the attack. For a moment, everything was silent.

A disciple stood idly at the entrance of the cave. The entrance beneath the rock wall was large, with many family members standing there. The disciple boredly picked at the cracks in the stone beside him when, with a slight sound—click! boom!—a burst of flames erupted suddenly. The disciple had neither talisman armor nor any protection, and as the flames covered his body, he let out a shrill scream.

Such a minor disturbance triggered the trap set by Guo Shier, causing successive explosions. A blast talisman on the rock wall blew it apart, sending huge rocks tumbling down, scaring everyone into chaos as they fled frantically. Even those who ran fast were hit by falling debris, sustaining severe injuries.

Fuye Ada stared in shock, his hands trembling with anger. His lips quivered as he struggled to speak.

The old man in the hunting car jumped out. With a dark expression, he said, “A bunch of losers, fools, idiots… all fucking trash! How could the Fuyue family have idiots like you! Damn it… I still have to take action myself!”
He strode toward the cave.
This guy was the grand martial artist revered by the family, responsible only for protecting the apprentices on their training missions. He hardly ever had to fight, but Guo Shier’s underhanded tactics kept driving him crazy, until he finally acted without hesitation.