Chapter 174 - Ambush
"Okay," Lu Feng grunted and asked, "what do you need me to do? I just want to clarify that I am not willing to die for this. I know I am not strong enough to help." He was sure he would just become a burden in combat with the Lu's powerful reinforcement.
"We are an alliance. I know I should be encouraging you right now, but I think your decision to fight them is questionable." He continued, "well, frankly, I would say recklessness even."
"I do not expect you to help fight them off; that part is fine. However, I will need you to keep a lookout for me. If you see any danger from a distance while I am attacking, I need you to send me a message on the badge," Ye Wei spoke each word clearly. "Of course, you can fight them if you feel confident; but it needs to be done as cleanly as possible. Whether it be an escape or an ambush, we cannot let them know who we are!"
"I will just kill as many as possible, make them panic, use the element of surprise, and deter them from communicating with one another."
Ye Wei paused for a while. He watched the ripples spread on the pond's surface as the breeze swept across."What about Lu Ren, have you heard anything from the returned prime level elders?" Lu Feng frowned, "actually, this could be a trap. Maybe they want to lure the people responsible for his disappearance with the reinforcement?"
"That’s not possible; they are suspecting something yes. However, as long as they cannot confirm Lu Ren's death, they have better things to worry about. You have to remember they are managing the Lu's all around the area," Lu Feng snorted and chuckled, "we have another week before the sandalwood box's effect wears off."
Lu Feng placed his hand onto his chest to check the box was still in his possession."After his spirit flame dies down, we will have a few days before the news reaches Green Moon City. Only then should we worry about the two elders."
“If they do find out about Lu Ren’s death, do you think they will interfere?” Ye Wei paused slightly and then asked.
“The two returned prime level elders only care about the Drakehead. They will probably see Lu Ren’s death as a necessary sacrifice to get to the Drakehead.” Lu Feng tried his best to summarize and retell what he saw and heard “When I last met them they were busy shouting at the other Lu’s, making sure they would keep the secret.”
‘As long as the returned prime Warriors are not there to help, I should be able to make an impact one way or another.’ thought Ye Wei. His eyes brightened up. “However, the returned prime elders will come when I kill more of their ten-star condensed prime Warriors.”
‘So he is serious about it!? Are we going to have to fight the elders?’ Lu Feng’s face turned ashen. He did not think that far.
Lu Feng’s concern was written all over his face, realizing his partner's intentions. They both became silent.
‘He didn’t want my help. He summoned me here to talk about how we should clean up after he ambushed the Lu’s forces on his own!’
The Lu’s condensed prime Warrior reinforcements were now close to the Drakehead. If left alive, they would be at the Drakehead in merely ten days; if killed, the the elders stationed at Green Moon City might intervene.
Ye Wei and Lu Feng’s operation was in a dilemma.
“I have one way to mess with the Lu’s. We would be announce the Drakehead’s location, and let the other martial families fight for it.” Lu Feng proposed. His lips became pale, and his frown grew deeper. We will crush the Lu’s at their weakest!”
“I will not allow that! I swear; it will do us no good! I am not going to risk losing control over the Drakehead. It’s my family’s land, my ancestor's treasure!” Ye Wei’s gaze intensified. “Green Moon City would become a mess. Would you like to see your home become a war zone?”
“Pfft! Do you think your plan is better than mine?” Lu Feng grunted. He was more interested in revenge than anything else, to sabotage than to be constructive.
“Any plan is better than your plan!” Ye Wei stared at Lu Feng. He was surprised by how someone could be so affected by rage and revenge even to this extent. “We are only alive because we are in control of this place. If they took over, we won’t stand a chance to fight them by force.”
“As I suggested: I will assassinate as much of them as I can, I will then buy us time and we shall improvise from there. Be patient Lu Feng!” Ye Wei replied. He believed the underwater palace held the key to him evolving his Supernova stance.
When Ye Wei managed to evolve the Supernova stance, he would have the power to fight a returned prime Warrior. Once he then acquired gadgets and tricks from the Runemaster Union and the Glacial Temple, he would even be able to stand his ground while fighting against the best cultivators in the Lu family regardless of age.
Ye Wei realized there were more important matters to focus on. Thus he decided not to tell Lu Feng about the underwater palace he discovered.
“I guess that is for the best.” Lu Feng reluctantly admitted. He realized Ye Wei’s decision was more sensible one. He decided to trust his calm and collected partner, to protect their secret.
The sun set in the west sea, and darkness descended. Thick clouds covered the silvery moon, and Ye Wei stood up, freshened by the cool evening breeze.
“Let’s move!” After covering his face with a black disguise. His ghostly figure departed;, he headed straight towards where the Lu’s men set camp.
“I hope it will all go according to plan!” Lu Feng ground his teeth and followed. He kept a distance, trying to remember all the little things he was told to do.
Silence pervaded the woods. The only noise that could be heard was the dried leaves dancing in the dusk’s breeze. The duo went past a few beast nests in the windy night. They eventually arrived at a flat site filled with tents.
The Lu’s base looked intimidating lit by the wiggling fire.
The fact that the Lu’s reinforcement set up campfires either meant they were amateurs, or they were not afraid of the beasts and other cultivators knowing their location. All of them who stayed up guarding the camps had incredible Qi presence. Both Ye Wei and Lu Feng could feel the guards were at least condensed prime Warriors.
Ye Wei was standing on a bushy tree branch, surveilled the men dressed in white robes from afar. He could tell they were his target from the golden family crest on embroidered in front of their chests.
He could tell from the Qi disturbance that all three of them were condensed prime Warriors, and their leaders were resting within the camps.
The infiltration was done slowly and cautiously. Ye Wei had to wait for the perfect moment to strike. He wanted to make sure these condensed prime guards took their last breath before they could send their superiors a distress signal.
The gusts of winds grew stronger as the night got darker; the clouds dispersed, and the moonlight showered onto the woods. The wild beasts were becoming more active, but they avoided tents as they could smell and feel danger where the campfires were.
Next to the swishing trees, the three guards jealously looked at a shaking tent.
“These Du women are extremely energetic! Lu Li is going to be drained after this!” One of them licked his lips, commentating vulgarly.
“You can’t blame him. He is still young, so he can’t really say no to this kind of temptation. It’s good for him that he gets a night off, hahaha!”
“Good for him? Maybe, but how are any of us going to sleep if they are going to be this noisy the whole evening?”
“Ah, it’s nice to be young!” All three of them took a sip of wine and laughed while they excitedly talked about women.
As they were all keeping quiet, distracted by what was happening inside the tent, Ye Wei rushed out of the side bush, three Qi Swords flew out as he approached the trio.
“Plop! Plop! Plop!”
The Peerless Swords instantly slit all three condensed Warriors’ throats; their white robes were dyed a deep, yet fresh red.
Their consciousness faded before they knew what took their lives, and their eyes became dull and dim. Ye Wei quickly channeled his QI to hold them before they hit the ground. Their bodies softened, and he gently placed the dead on ground. He made them look as if they were falling asleep.
The campfire continued to flicker in the night breeze.
Having been through numerous life-threatening battles, Ye Wei was less and less emotional than he once was. The compassion in him had turned to a compromised heartlessness.
‘These guys guarded him while he is doing that !? He has got to be someone important in the Lu family.’ Ye Wei speculated.
‘He must have trained nonstop at the Drakehead,’ Lu Feng stated. He was shocked to see Ye Wei’s decisive and lethal moves, ‘and what stance was that? It took him less than a second to put them to sleep.’
‘This monster, I can’t believe he got this much stronger just in a few days!’ Lu Feng tried to compare Ye Wei with the other young cultivators, but he couldn’t think of anyone comparable.
‘Even the strongest youngster of this generation of the Lu’s, Lu Fan, would be no match for Ye Wei.’ Lu Feng had always looked up to his young cousin and used him as a reference point to know what he could improve on in terms of cultivation. “I had been blind. I should have realized I only saw a small fraction of Ye Wei’s talent when I was in Ning City.”
Ye Wei silently sneaked closer to the tent i after he gently laid the dead bodies next to the campfire.
‘How can he not notice I am here?’ Ye Wei chuckled as he heard the man’s pant and the woman’s moan. ‘This man is a ten-star condensed prime Warrior but a sloppy cultivator. I guess that’s what it’s like to be born into a big family. You get all the pills you need and your senses become blunt.’
Ten minutes past. The man in the tent groaned and breathed deep and slow.
‘This is it. He is not alert at all!’ Ye Wei reached for a scroll from his sleeve and tore it to deploy a runic array. The sound of the man and the woman in the tent suddenly became silent.
At the same time as Ye Wei tore the scroll, his Qi sword struck towards Lu Li’s neck.
Lu Li was startled, his pleasure evaporated, and was replaced by a sharp sense of pain.