When a countless number of black-robed experts suddenly assaulted the Ling Family Courtyard, Ling Chen, Shui QianRou, and Yu BingYan were sitting together. When they rushed out, they realized that the entire Ling Family Courtyard had turned into an absolute mess!
They had only received the news of the Lei Family using this divide and conquer method of attacking Sky Bearing four hours ago, and while Ling Chen had been hastily gathering all the forces available around them, it was obvious that Sky Bearing now had no more strength left for them to draw upon... and furthermore, compared the the grandeur that the Lei Family possessed, their strength could be said to amount to nothing...
At this point, the various traps and ambushes that Ling Tian had insisted on installing now came to great use.....
The head of the Lei family, Lei ZhenTian, was an extremely traditional man, and someone who paid close attention to the prestige of the aristocratic family. He did not put anyone in his eyes, and in his heart, there were only a few people who were considered to be worthy of cooperating with. Yu ManLou happened to be one, and furthermore the most optimal one, thus he was very satisfied with the agreement signed by both sides.
At the same time, he was prudent and extremely cautious when he did things. He knew clearly that for someone like Yu ManLou to take this family as his enemy, they had to possess some kind of strength, and in order to deal with it, the kind of strength he himself needed to mobilize. Thus, for this attack on the Ling Family, he did not dare to underestimate them and commanded the Lei Family to move out in full force, a total of 3,500 men!
1 Sect Head, 7 Elders, 3 Deacons, and goodness knows how many core, inner and outer disciples including the various pavilion heads. Just the headcount of the experts neared 200!
Lei ZhenTian was never willing to fight a war that he didn't have a guarantee of winning. When he had to fight, then he would use his full strength, like how a lion would use its full strength even when hunting a rabbit. Lei ZhenTian believed that with this amount of strength he would be able to defeat the Ling Family in one fell swoop. Even if the Ling Family Courtyard hid their strength, they would face annihilation as the only possible ending.
During this time period, Lei ZhenTian also scrutinized the overall situation in the Heavenly Star Continent. He knew that inside this game of chess, the linchpin was actually the Ling Family. It was not just the place the Ling Family resided in, but also the strength of their family! As for the differences between the two, Lei ZhenTian had also separated them clearly.
For a nouveau riche family like the Ling Family, whether it was finances or the military or even martial skills, they would all be in the stage of a great expansion. As such, when so many expansions took place together, it would form into a frightening strength.
While Lei ZhenTian looked down in disdain at the Ling Family's nouveau riche expansion, in regards to them as an opponent he needed to face, he never dared to let his guard down. He had made sure that he scrutinized every single report he obtained about the Ling Family without missing a single point!
As such, he was able to accurately predict that this was the time when the Ling Family Courtyard was at its weakness, and naturally, he also used this timing to state his conditions towards Yu ManLou.
His calculations went as predicted. Under such an opportunity, Yu ManLou would not reject them despite how harsh the conditions were because he required Lei ZhenTian's help. As such, Lei ZhenTian's blackmail proceeded smoothly this time, surprisingly smoothly.
Conversely, Lei ZhenTian did not fear that Yu ManLou would not breach the contract after he carried out his plans!
This was, in fact, the Lei Family's first time carrying out an assault on the Heavenly Star Continent! As such, they planned to use this to intimidate and awe the Yu Family, so they would certainly reveal a portion of their strength. Lei ZhenTian was unwilling to be classified as a mere chess piece by Yu ManLou, so he wanted to obliterate the Ling Family and take control of Sky Bearing! Even if Yu ManLou were to rip off all pretenses with him in the future, with the combination of the Lei and the remnant Ling family's strength, the Yu Family would still have to pay a huge price to succeed. This was the escape route that Lei ZhenTian had planned!
Lei ZhenTian's objective was not really to become a world hegemon, but rather he wanted power! Matchless influence! Even if he could not be on the same level as Yu ManLou, he had to ensure that he and only himself was seated directly below the former, such that his influence would still be unmatched in the world!
If he possessed such power, would Yu ManLou still not allow him to sit on the same level as him? His every command could force him to not eat and sleep well, and to throw the entire continent into chaos!
Furthermore, Lei ZhenTian was someone extremely crafty, as he had already decided that whether or not Yu ManLou agreed to his conditions, he would still attack the Ling Family!
While the Ling Family might be the greatest enemies of the Yu Family now, who was to say that they wouldn't become the enemies of the Lei Family in the future? Since the Lei Family had tied themselves to the same raft as the Yu Family, Ling Tian was bound to also target the Lei Family. Once Ling Tian was given time to grow and stretch his claws out, then it would be a head-on fierce battle. With Ling Tian's battle achievements as well as Lei ZhenTian's own feeling, he did not have any guarantees of winning!
Right now, this was when Ling Tian's forces were at their weakest. It was an opportunity of a thousand years! If they did not move now, then when?!
Furthermore, Lei ZhenTian was absolutely unwilling to allow a grassroots family clan, a nouveau riche, to press down upon his head! Even if it was just to be equally famous, Lei ZhenTian was unwilling to accept this. For the high and mighty Lei Family, how could it be possible for them to be on the same level as a grassroots family?
Thus, Lei ZhenTian decided to arrogantly proceed with his plans.
In his imagination, this operation specifically targeted the time when the opponent was at their weakest, and would definitely be a one-sided massacre! The opponent's key figures were all not present, especially their backbone Ling Tian, only leaving behind a few weak, wounded, and ill people. Wasn't that easy to clear up? The troop lineup of the Lei Family this time could be said to be luxurious, employing their strongest force to strike at the Ling Family Courtyard. This was akin to using a chainsaw to kill a chicken, annihilating them like Mount Tai crushing down on them.
As such, Lei ZhenTian split his troops into two parts, one of them consisting of a small group of riders, including his second brother Lei ZhenPeng to storm the Ling Residence, while the other elites would be lead by him and crush the Ling Family Courtyard in a show of utmost glory!
However, while the Ling Family Courtyard did not even have a third of its military strength currently, it would still be a pipe dream for the Lei Family to take it down in one fell swoop!
What Lei ZhenTian did not foresee was that even before they could invade the Ling Family Courtyard, they had already met with trouble. They had used quite a bit of effort before in clearing out all the security guards, but before they could exclaim in joy and rush in, they had already alerted the other party. Following some fool blindly walking around, a gentle chime sounded. This immediately expanded into a wave of bell chimes, as though all the bells had gone crazy.
Lei ZhenTian suddenly felt as though he had stepped into a swampy pool!
And this swamp was as good as a blood-sucking devil!
He never in his dreams thought that they would be so many traps hidden inside the Ling Family Courtyard, and furthermore designed so elaborately.
Arrows shot out from everywhere like rain, as well as various flying knives and needles, all sorts of hidden weapons. The seemingly innocuous ground would be revealed to be a pitfall once stepped on. Just when they thought that the ground was booby-trapped and that they should proceed through the air, the trees suddenly started spraying out noxious toxic fumes...
Looking at the increasing losses in his own elites, Lei ZhenTian felt heartache as well as anger! This was the foundation of his power that he was relying on to seize control of the country! To think that in just the first wave of assault, a good 200 elites were already lost, and what they exchanged with was merely around ten random guards, as well as a whole patch of traps. The 200 did not even include the injured and the poisoned!
Lei ZhenTian let out a loud howl and gave out a command. The remaining troops split up into ten separate sword formations, with three top experts at the vanguard resembling sharp knives, and they quickly brought their troops to leave this blood-sucking territory.
This was the most effective measure, as under the command of a few top experts, the traps prepared by the Ling Family Courtyard were rendered harmless. The only damage they could still deal resided in the arrows shooting from all directions, but with the continued advancement of the experts, even that lost its effectiveness.
Because the Lei Family was doing a dusk assault with only martial artists in their formations, as well as the fact that more than half of the sentinels inside the Ling Family Courtyard had been wiped out due to their inability to react, this made the Lei Family rush in as a single group. This caused the crossbows on top of the Ling Family Courtyard walls, which possessed the highest firepower in the base, to be rendered useless at this moment. If not for the above factors, just the crossbows would be enough to result in the deaths of a good portion of the Lei Family members, at least 30% if not more!
Just as the Lei Family successfully broke through the first defensive perimeter, the personnel inside the Ling Family Courtyard were also fully activated. This was not because their reaction times were too slow, but rather because the assault of the Lei Family was too sudden and their capabilities too extreme, which resulted in this scenario. People were hysterically screaming around the Ling Family Courtyard, causing a huge ruckus, and dozens of torches were lit and thrown out. However, Ling Tian had predicted that such a situation would happen when he was building the courtyard, and hence only used limestone and mud bricks in the construction. Therefore, there was no fear that enemies would use fire to attack them, as it would merely cause some mild chaos.
Just as they were attacking the third courtyard, there came a piercing howl that caused the sentinels of the Ling Family who were clashing with the Lei Family to suddenly withdraw like a receding tide. At the same time, over a hundred torches flared into existence, illuminating the entirety of the courtyard as though it were daytime.
A clear and piercingly cold voice sounded, "May I know what guests have come from afar to create trouble in the Ling Family Courtyard? Dare you report your names?!" The voice was calm and level, not indignant and or angered, but though the voice seemed warm and friendly, it carried with it a thread of coldness.
Following the voice, a peerless beauty appeared on top of the roof in front of the assailants. It was as though an immortal fairy amid the purest snow, or Chang'e from the moon, had descended upon the Earth. She carried a sense of holiness untainted by mortal dust, indifferently gazing at the experts from the Lei Family. The night wind lightly waved her snow-white robes, as though she could ride off into the wind at any moment.
As the various members of the Lei Family took in her peerless magnificence, they were actually at a loss for words, including the Lei Family head himself. Everyone felt at that moment, that let alone killing her, but to even raise their voice at her would be some kind of blasphemy.
Beside Lei ZhenTian, a youth in black had his eyes fully focused forward, and had an expression as though his soul had left his body as he stumbled forward and said, "Lady, this elder brother here is Lei XiaoSong, and I'm the young master of the Lei Family. May I have the honor of knowing your name?"
Beside him, Lei ZhenTian was almost angered to death by his single sentence. He came this time to the Ling Family Courtyard because he had full confidence that he would succeed in crushing the enemy, but he was still unwilling to be tied in death feud with Ling Tian. His original intention was to slaughter the enemy without a single word, such that no hint of his family's involvement would be revealed. At that time, even if Ling Tian were to suspect anything, he had no proof to back it up! Lei ZhenTian was even willing to push all the blame to the Yu Family to absolve himself! But to think that his son would be such a useless trash to immediately reveal their family name. Looking at his expression, he would most likely even reveal all his ancestors' names if she asked! Now that things have gotten to such a state, he could not subvert the blame even if he wanted to, this matter was just too shameful to reveal to the public! However, with so many people present, even if they managed to defeat them, it was impossible to completely silence them!
This extremely dangerous character, Ling Tian, could now be considered to be his eternal enemy!
It was surprising then, that even with Lei ZhenTian bringing over a thousand of the Lei Family's elite disciples, together with Ling Chen and the people in the Ling Family Courtyard, no one spotted someone hiding within a towering tree only a mere hundred feet away. Upon hearing the sentence uttered by young master Lei, he sneered, "The world is full of miracles. To think that such a person who could be so quick-witted in lecherous thoughts would exist. This little b*st*rd from the Lei Family ought to be considered an alien!"
After that, he let out a long sigh before frowning as he lightly whispered to himself, "This old man here came to settle scores with Ling Tian, but dammit, not only did I not find him, but I coincidentally bumped into this kind of matter! Should I care or not care? To not care would not make common sense, but to interfere would be to let the little brat off too easily!"
Shaking his head, the hesitating man in black lightly sighed and narrowed his eyes.
Under the tree, the white-robed woman's cold eyes looked over, and seeing Lei XiaoSong's lecherous face she immediately felt a revolting hatred towards him, icily calling out, "To think that it's a group of Lei Family experts that arrived? The Lei Family and my Ling Family have no hatred nor grudges all along, and neither are we connected, so why did you come here to offend us? Please give us a reason!"
The white-robed lady was, of course, Ling Chen! After hearing someone sound the alarm, she did not choose to rush out to meet the enemy but rather chose to prepare and arrange everything first. Ling Chen's first decision was to send people to escort Xiao YanXue and Meng LiGe into the secret chamber in the belly of the mountain. Although both resisted, under the orders of Ling Chen, they were still towed in by the guards.
In Ling Chen's heart, while the Ling Family Courtyard could be lost, they could definitely not afford to lose both Meng LiGe and Xiao YanXue! One of them was the commander for the military, while the other the overseer for administration and finances. So long as both of them remained safe, then Ling Tian could quickly rebuild his family's strength in the shortest time, rising back to glory once again!
As such, the two of them had to be absolutely safe!
When Ling Chen wanted to drag the injured Ling Chi into the secret chamber as well, she realized that the experienced assassin had actually vanished from his treatment room. While no one knew where he went, everyone could guess what he wanted to do.....
As for Yu BingYan, that normally soft and weak lady suddenly displayed a fierce resoluteness. She embraced death wholly, refusing to retreat and instead choosing to stick with Ling Chen all the way. Helplessly, Ling Chen could only agree, and in the dark inform Shui QianRou that if the situation went south, she was to risk offending Yu BingYan and knock her out to ensure her safety.
Ling Chen never thought that this scenario would ever appear. Upon hearing the enemy alarm being activated, she knew that this was the most crucial battle when the Ling Family Courtyard was at its weakest, and this was also an unavoidable life and death battle! The strength of the enemy had far outstripped all the people that they had ever faced, and even if they had their full strength currently, success was also not guaranteed! Not to mention the present when they had no ability to defend themselves.
But even a starving camel is still bigger than a horse, and the Ling Family Courtyard was not willing to allow just anyone to trample on their pride! The killing intent in Ling Chen's eyes intensified. Since you want to annihilate my Ling Family Courtyard, then I'll make you pay the respective price!
As the lady owner of Ling Family Courtyard, Ling Chen had already made the decision that even if she had to sacrifice her life, she would protect the foundation and career of the man she loved!
Under her instructions, the remaining few experts left inside the Ling Family Courtyard, Ling Feng, Yun, Lei, Dian, and Twenty Two, had all hidden in the shadows, awaiting the chance to assassinate their targets! Toward these five silent yet famous assassins, Ling Chen only gave one instruction: That whatever target they chose, they had to finish them off in one blow, and be able to protect themselves from the aftermath and not sacrifice themselves like a martyr!
Ling Six, Seven, Eight and Nine were hidden behind Ling Chen, and her instructions to them were to protect their lives at all costs! They could not afford to die since in their hands was the key to the intelligence network that Ling Tian would use to encompass the entire world... They were Ling Tian's eyes and ears, and also the foundation of his strength and plans!
Ling Chen's eyes now coldly gazed on Lei ZhenTian, as she slowly replied, "The Lei Family's head, Lei ZhenTian himself?!" While she phrased it like a question, her tone sounded like she was already certain.
That's right, Ling Chen only had one motive in her mind, that was to stall for as much time as possible! This was Sky Bearing after all, the headquarters of the Ling Family, and the longer they dragged out this battle the better their chances of survival.
Lei ZhenTian could only let out a bitter smile. He did not expect this white-robed lass to have such penetrating eyesight to be able to tell him apart at first glance. A feeling suddenly surfaced in his heart, as though he was talking to someone high up, so high that she was looking down on him as she spoke. This was the first time in his life that he had such a feeling. Not even the Yu family head Yu ManLou had given him such a feeling!
But this white-robed lass seemed to hold control of the entire world within her hands, making Lei ZhenTian and the others feel ashamed of their own inferiority in front of her!
Coughing twice to recover his senses, Lei ZhenTian indifferently replied, "I am precisely Lei ZhenTian of the Lei Family, may I know who you are? And what position do you hold within the Ling Family Courtyard?"
Ling Chen only shot him an indifferent gaze, with no hatred nor surprise in her eyes as she replied, "I am Ling Chen, and I'm the owner of this Ling Family Courtyard."
"You're the owner of the Ling Family Courtyard? This.... this means that you're the profligate Ling Tian's woman?" Before Lei ZhenTian could speak, his son Lei XiaoSong by the side had already interjected, screaming out. His voice was laced with sadness and fury, as well as a strong sense of envy.
Ling Chen only shot him a disdainful look in response as she arrogantly replied, "The owner of the Ling Family Courtyard is naturally young noble Ling Tian's woman. What's wrong with that?"
Lei XiaoSong let out a furious yell, almost vomiting blood as he shouted out, "Kill! Kill them all! Don't even leave one alive!..." The moment this jerk saw Ling Chen, he thought that she was saintly and pure with such peerless beauty, and he had long claimed her for himself in his mind. To think that Ling Chen did not even hesitate at all and immediately admitted that she was Ling Tian's woman, this made Lei XiaoSong so envious that he almost went insane!
"Surprisingly, the Lei Family actually has two family heads." Ling Chen's eyes flashed with contempt and she despicably added, "When the family head is talking, there actually exists someone who dares to send down a command without permission. Family Head Lei, you have a really good parenting method. I'm not sure, is it the son who listens to the father or the father who listens to the son?"
Ling Chen's ridicule made the faces of everyone from the Lei Family side extremely ugly, whereas the Ling Family side started to laugh out loud, and hooting and jeering noises came out after.
Lei ZhenTian's face sank as he deeply spoke, "Whoever is the Lei Family Head, or how we do our teachings, that isn't in Miss's capacity to care. You should be more worried about the lack of reinforcements even though you're trying your best to stall for time. Before tomorrow afternoon, there will not even be half a soldier coming over as reinforcements. It's enough for me to raze the entire Ling Family Courtyard to the ground!
At this point, the last few straggling riders from the Lei Family had also arrived. Everyone held on gleaming blades and swords, their expressions ferocious.
Ling Chen merely gazed at the multitude of Lei Family experts on the ground, coldly replying, "Since that's the case, then I'll invite the Lei Family to introduce your distinguished experts to us, allowing us juniors to die an honorable death. To know which expert in whose hands we will die is also good. At least it will prevent us from going to the Netherworld as a muddled and confused spirit."
A trace of anger suffused in Lei ZhenTian's eyes, and he shouted out, "Lowly servant girl! How dare you even think of trying to stall for more time!"
He waved his hands, shouting out loudly, "Kill!"
If Lei ZhenTian took the time to introduce the various troops and riders, even if it was limited to just his core disciples and above, that would take at least half an hour! Furthermore, Ling Chen could still take that time to come out with more questions to drag for time...
Thus, Lei ZhenTian made up his mind immediately.
Ling Chen however coldly snapped, "Stop! I still have something to say."
Lei ZhenTian raised a hand as he sneered, "Don't tell me you wish to surrender?" The moment he spoke, Lei XiaoSong who was beside him revealed an expression of ecstasy. If this beauty were to surrender, then he himself could...
A clear smile surfaced on her face, as though a pure lotus flower had just bloomed. This sight caused everyone's vision to be solely focused on her.
Right at this moment, Ling Chen spat out a ruthless sentence, "This place is the Ling Family Courtyard. All visitors are guests, and all guests should follow the will of the host. If you want to start the killing, then it should also be said by myself! All of you, slaughter them!"
Since we have to act, then I might as well as first! Ling Chen excitedly thought. This way, she would create an ideal scenario, allowing Ling Feng and the others to act to their own benefit.
Just as her voice faded, within the shadows, five silhouettes shot out like lightning, and simultaneously, there were five screams of misery marking the start of the battle!