Chapter 258 - Dividing The Troops
The red-dressed girl found the place where the elemental energy waves originated. Surprisingly, it was the same place where she crossed paths with Ai Hui last time. Only then did she realize Ai Hui’s objective of traveling to the tunnel earlier. Walking a few circuits around the location of the gold needle, she was puzzled. However, she was not worried as she knew that she had just arrived in Central Pine City, and there were many things that she was still unaware of.
She walked out of the pit quietly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the movement of a stone from the ruins not far away.
Yan Hai woke up in a daze, aching all over. He was trapped in the middle of the rubble and surrounded by darkness. Slowly, he tried to recall what had happened. Instantly, he was filled with fury.
That damn Old Lei!
Wait until he returned. He would definitely report this incident!
He exhausted his strength to climb out of the rumble. He was covered in dust and looked disheveled. This was simply too embarrassing. The hatred in his heart intensified. Old Lei was now ranked as an enemy. Yan Hai silently swore to himself that he would get his revenge!
Upon climbing out of the debris, he was met with the glaring sun and had to squint his eyes.
"Blood elementalist?"
A sweet voice sounded from above him.
Yan Hai’s body stiffened. Something was wrong. Out of the 45 blood elementalists, there were five females. However, this was not a familiar voice so it had to belong to an elementalist…
Yan Hai’s heart jolted when he thought that he had fallen into the hands of an elementalist.
Looking foolish with his eyes closed, Yan Hai suddenly spun into action. Making use of both his hands and legs, he quickly shot out.
His actions were as fast as lightning. The average person would not have time to react to his speed.
Yan Hai did not meet with any obstructions for the first 10 meters. He involuntarily released his breath, but did not have the chance to rejoice when his body was suddenly pulled back without the ability to continue rushing forward.
Yan Hai was terror-stricken and turned his head. A bright red silk cloth was wrapped around him like he was a dumpling.
Following this, he felt a tug and flew backward. He fell heavily on the floor. It was a harsh fall and made his head spin.
After a moment, Yan Hai regained some of his wits. Without hesitating, he got on his knees and begged, "Have mercy on me! Have mercy on me!"
"I like people who know how to adapt to circumstances," a sweet and languid voice rang across the air.
Yan Hai gathered a few ounces of courage and lifted his head secretly to take a peek. He was dumbfounded by what he saw. The lady in front of him was like someone who came out of a painting. She wore a red dress while looking beautiful and alluring. Her languid and charming aura made his heart speed up involuntarily.
How could there be such a beautiful lady in this world?
Looking at Yan Hai’s dumbstruck expression, the red-dressed girl covered her mouth and laughed lightly.
"Who is your master?"
Her voice was enticing. However, upon hearing the word "Master," Yan Hai immediately regained his wits. While he felt dominated by the beauty of the red-dressed girl, his fear toward Tian Kuan was carved deep into his bones.
Yan Hai asked in a trembling voice, "Who, who are you?"
The red-dressed girl replied while smiling, "You have no right to ask questions as a captive. If you are unwilling to say, I will just hand you over to the elementalists of Central Pine City. Surely they would give you a hearty welcome."
Yan Hai’s face paled.
He would rather be killed than fall into the hands of Central Pine City’s elementalists. The elementalists there hated blood elementalists to the core. If they saw a blood elementalist, they would tear him to pieces without a second thought.
When he heard the two words "hearty welcome," Yan Hai’s face became even paler.
The hatred between both parties was beyond any point of redemption.
If it came to that day, it would also not be an easy task to simply die.
Hold on!
Yan Hai stammered, "Fairy, are you a blood elementalist too?"
He rejoiced. That’s right! If the red-dressed girl was an elementalist, she would have killed him long ago.
"I am." The red-dressed girl smiled and creased her eyebrows. Her expression was adorable as she continued, "You have yet to answer my question?"
Yan Hai blurted, "It is Sir Tian Kuan."
When the words left his mouth, Yan Hai was filled with regret. He did not know what had happened, but it was like he was possessed. He did not think before answering.
"Oh, Tian Kuan." The red-dressed girl suddenly seemed to see the light. She threw a dazzling smile at Yan Hai. "We have time to slowly discuss this. I am very interested."
Her sentence had not yet ended when the red-dressed lady folded up her red sleeves and disappeared along with Yan Hai.
Wang Zhen was very efficient. Along the way, he continuously gathered the younger elementalists. The battle raged in every corner of Central Pine City. At this point, none of the people held any hopes that they would remain unscathed. As a result, this made them more determined when fighting back.
While the blood fiends caused many casualties, this did not kill the people’s morale.
Pretty soon, Wang Zhen gathered a group of elementalists and arrived at the embroidery workshop.
After he explained the plan to the dean and Mingxiu, he was surprised by their answer.
"Mayor, you are very considerate, but my teacher is unable to move."
Mingxiu bitterly laughed.
"Unable to move?" Wang Zhen stood rooted to the ground. Next to him, the dean was also caught by surprise. It was also the first time he had heard of this news.
"Mistress Han has been meditating since the start of the plan." Mingxiu’s voice trembled. "The plan of ‘treating the city as a piece of cloth’ requires the ability of a Grandmaster. Mistress Han is merely a Master and there is still some disparity. Mistress Han has already started meditating and is unaware of the affairs of the world. She has instructed Mingxiu not to disturb her. When the nine specific nodes have been activated, she would naturally awaken.
"Could it be that Master Han is trying to break through the Grandmaster barrier?" The dean turned pale with fright.
"Apart from this, there were no other options." Mingxiu paused for a moment before she continued, "Mistress Han knows that there is not much hope. She instructed me to pass on the message to Mayor and Dean that if she fails to break through, she would still complete the task of ‘treating the city as a piece of cloth’"
By the last sentence, Mingxiu’s eyes were red and teary.
Wang Zhen and the dean stayed silent. They understood the true implication of the last sentence. If the breakthrough failed and Teacher Han still wanted to complete the plan, she would have to pay a huge price. It was possible that the price would be her life.
Compared to the chance of success for breaking through to be a Grandmaster, there was a higher possibility of her losing her life.
"If that is the case, we need to make some adjustments to our plan." Wang Zhen cut straight to the point and said gravely, "Now, we have two areas that we need to guard. The first is the embroidery workshop and the second is the mayor’s residence. We will do some simple division of the troops. The dean and I will take a group of people to guard the embroidery workshop. The mayor’s residence and the gold needles would be handed over to Ai Hui. Let him know he can act as he deems fit."
He had yet to finish his word when a few blood fiends were spotted at the end of the street.
An elementalist soared into the sky and flew toward the mayor’s residence.
Now that the sky was guarded by Yu Mingqiu, it had unexpectedly become the safest place in Central Pine City.
Ai Hui sat on the rooftop of the mayor’s residence and was greeted by a view full of ruins. Clouds of black smoke rushed skyward. Ai Hui was all too familiar with the landscape before him. This was Central Pine City. This was their battleground.
How could a soldier be unfamiliar with his battleground?
Yet, Ai Hui was also familiar with another side of Central Pine City.
The image of a peaceful, but lively, street flashed past his mind. The streets were lined with shops and also many training halls. Flags outside the training halls fluttered in the breeze.
The scene that flashed past in his mind seemed like it was just yesterday, but it also seemed like eons ago.
Ai Hui missed those days, but he knew that they could no longer return to the past.
Intermittently, sounds of explosion boomed out from many directions. The battle was still taking place.
The process of shifting from the warehouse to the mayor’s residence was smooth, and they did not meet with any mishaps.
Looking at Shi Xueman who was busying about, Ai Hui could not help but smile.
The iron lady was always meticulous, strictly impartial, and incorruptible. He was always assured when he delegated tasks to her. It was not that Ai Hui did not have a mind of his own. Rather, there were many miscellaneous things that he was unwilling to do.
For example, how should they organize the newly joined elementalists?
In such instances, completing the task might not bring about the desired effect. However, if they did not complete the task well, the effect would certainly cause endless trouble. Ai Hui always steered far away from such tasks. In this aspect, however, Shi Xueman was always patient.
Lou Lan sat next to Ai Hui.
Initially, Fatty wanted to go up as well, but he was kicked down by Ai Hui. If Fatty were to come up, the rooftop would definitely collapse.
"Ai Hui, can we win?" Lou Lan tilted his head and asked.
"Lou Lan has no confidence?" Ai Hui replied to Lou Lan with a question.
Lou Lan replied, "Because Lou Lan has calculated and the probability of success is very small."
Ai Hui’s interest was piqued. "Lou Lan you are so useful! You can even calculate this? Tell me, what are the odds of succeeding?"
Lou Lan replied, "Ai Hui, not even 10 percent."
Ai Hui was somewhat surprised. "Such a small percentage?"
He quickly responded while nodding his head, "Ok, seems like that is the case. However we can’t help it. No matter how small the hope, there is still a hope. We still need to do our best. If we manage to get it right, then we will have made it. Even if there are a few deaths, we won’t be on the losing end."
"Ai Hui will not die!" Lou Lan said loudly and seriously.
Ai Hui loudly chuckled. Lou Lan’s current expression was like an innocent and naive child.
"Lou Lan will help Ai Hui. Lou Lan will not let Ai Hui die!" Lou Lan replied earnestly.
Ai Hui nodded his head while smiling. "Yes, yes, yes. Lou Lan is brilliant! With Lou Lan’s help, Ai Hui will definitely defeat all the blood fiends and kill all the blood elementalists! And we will live until a ripe old age!"
Sang Zhijun, who was in the courtyard, shouted, "Lou Lan, come back home with me if we succeed!"
This sentence sent the courtyard into chaos.
"Zhijun, how could you snatch my Lou Lan?"
"Big sister, while you are our respected and beloved big sister, we will definitely not concede regarding Lou Lan’s case!"
"Lou Lan, I love you!"
"Lou Lan, I will find you a female sand puppet!"
"That is too treacherous! Brothers, let’s beat this chap into a female sand puppet!"
Looking at the chaotic courtyard, Ai Hui could not help but smile. After the commotion, the initially stern and restrained atmosphere became lively.
Ai Hui was the most relaxed when he was with Lou Lan. His guard would always disappear without a trace when Lou Lan was around.
The elementalist who had just descended brought with him the latest news.
Ai Hui heard the news that Mistress was unable to move, and that they had to guard both the embroidery workshop and the mayor’s residence. If the mayor and the dean took a group of elementalists to guard the embroidery workshop, the task of guarding and placing the golden needles would fall on Ai Hui and the others.
The situation was worse than he thought.
However, Ai Hui maintained his composure, looking the same as his usual self.
Suddenly, a craftsman rushed into the courtyard. With a happy expression he declared, "The first point has stabilized!"
Ai Hui gathered his thoughts and was preparing to jump down from the rooftop when the alarm suddenly rang.
Ai Hui stared ahead. The blood fiends had arrived.
The blood elementalists had definitely arrived too.