Chapter 428 - Where’s the Promised Chemistry?
Ai Hui had not expected the coordination between Iron Lady and himself to actually cause such a colossal amount of damage.
When the aftermath of the explosion dispersed, fear and confusion could still be seen on the faces of the sparse scarletfire flying foxes in the sky. Approximately only half of the scarletfire flying foxes survived.
The scarlet fireball was simply too powerful, as its explosion reached across an extremely wide range.
Who would’ve thought that heaven had blessed the scarletfire flying foxes with such strong scarlet fireballs, but such frail bodies and even an exceedingly revengeful character.
The fear and confusion in their eyes vanished and was replaced by hatred. Deep-rooted hatred!
That disastrous impact taught the scarletfire flying foxes a big lesson. They did not return to their originally concentrated formation but dispersed instead. They also did not continue their chase but flew toward the valley instead.
Ai Hui and Shi Xueman’s faces turned grave simultaneously. Only half the scarletfire flying foxes were left but there were still over three hundred of them. Especially since they were moving separately now, the pressure brought by the whole crowd of them was tremendous.
They looked at each other before dispersing swiftly.
They harassed and disrupted the big team of scarletfire flying foxes from different directions, but only those closest to them were affected. The whole team was still flying toward the valley slowly but steadily.
Ai Hui felt a sense of urgency. If these scarletfire flying foxes were to appear overhead and release a few waves of scarlet fireballs, the valley would be razed to the ground.
What should they do?
Ai Hui racked his brains searching for a solution but to no avail.
He took a deep breath. The more tense a situation was, the more he had to remain calm. Only then would he be able to find a way to solve the issue. Nervousness would only consume time and energy.
Ai Hui had considered the fact that while there was the vapor illusion disguising the valley, the scarletfire flying foxes would simply blow up the ground with their scarlet fireballs.
The scarlet fireballs would instantly expose the disguise.
Face the scarletfire flying foxes head on? Ai Hui denied this plan since the scarlet fireballs were extremely fast and not many from the gang could withstand or dodge them. Facing their rainscreen-like attack would only cause more casualties and damages.
The scarletfire flying foxes were determined to attack the valley, so no matter how Ai Hui and Shi Xueman tried to intervene, they continued toward the direction in which the elementalist’s odor was the richest.
The atmosphere in the valley became tense as everyone could sense the scarletfire flying foxes’ resoluteness. Ai Hui and Shi Xueman’s perfect guidance was due to the fact that they had managed to attract the scarletfire flying foxes’ attention. Now that the scarletfire flying foxes were clear-headed they were no longer lured by them.
The scarletfire flying foxes’ intelligence shocked everyone.
Having seen the scarletfire flying foxes’ power, no one believed that the valley’s defense would be able to withstand so many fireballs. The only thing in the valley that they could count on was the defensive ancient tree. Other plants needed more time to grow.
If the scarletfire flying foxes did not charge into the valley, Ai Hui’s previous plan would be fruitless. Judging from the situation, it wasn’t very likely that the scarletfire flying foxes would enter the valley. These clever dire beasts were very alert and would not go down until the disguise of the ground was removed.
Everybody had a solemn expression on their faces. The battle that was about to come was going to be exceptionally challenging.
Having three hundred scarletfire flying foxes was like having black, gloomy balls of cloud floating toward the valley, doubling the pressure the gang felt. But while the atmosphere was extremely grave and tense, no one panicked in fear since they were all experienced by now.
A battle between elementalists and dire beasts was crueler than a battle between elementalists only, since it always ended with the death of the defeated.
A lightbulb lit up in Ai Hui’s head. He shouted at Shi Xueman, who wasn’t very far off, "Return to the valley!"
Shi Xueman’s eyes, which had practically not left Ai Hui from the start, lit up. She relaxed her tensed heart and mind as well. From the time she’d realized that the situation was worsening, she’d been waiting for Ai Hui to come up with a solution. Ever since the blood catastrophe, Ai Hui had always been the one providing answers whenever they faced problems.
In certain aspects, Shi Xueman was no different from the rest of the gang. They had a kind of blind trust in Ai Hui.
Hearing his voice abruptly lightened her tensed heart. She knew that Ai Hui must have found a viable solution.
Her figure disappeared and at the same time, Ai Hui felt his whole body tighten, realizing shortly after that he’d been grabbed by Shi Xueman.
Ai Hui’s face flushed, his heart about to crumble.
What a joke! He could fly by himself! No matter how tough Iron Lady was, how could she grab him? How was he going to face people? Where’s the promised chemistry? Did she not understand what respect was? Did she not understand what a real man was?
"Hey, hey, hey, let me go. Release me, I can fly by myself!"
In spite of Ai Hui’s struggling limbs, Shi Xueman responded, deadpan, "You’re slow."
Nevertheless, the corner of her eyes curved as she couldn’t help but smile.
Ai Hui, as if struck by lightning, stiffened up.
You’re slow… He was actually unable… unable to refute this!
He’d been mocked by Iron Lady!
When Ai Hui realized this cruel fact he wanted to cry. Didn’t everyone agree to have a mutual understanding? Didn’t they promise to fight the battle together, shoulder to shoulder? What about the ‘you’re made of iron and I’m made of steel’?
Feeling dejected, Ai Hui turned limp like a dead fish, allowing the gale to penetrate his heart. But the situation was tense now and his idea required Shi Xueman’s implementation.
He needed to use this time to tell her what to do but with their strange postures, he would have to roar for her to be able to listen clearly.
He had to get slightly closer… more importantly, this position was seriously too embarrassing!
Ai Hui grabbed onto Shi Xueman’s wrist to borrow some strength. His body was like a nimble snake and he crawled upward with his limbs as if climbing a tree. He turned around and grabbed hold of her body.
Hah! Ai Hui was rather pleased. This position was much better than the previous one.
Caught off guard, Shi Xueman turned rigid and her mind went blank.
Ai Hui suddenly felt them plunging downward and was frightened. "Hey! We’re dropping!"
Shi Xueman quivered and regained her senses, her azure wings spreading open once again, bringing them back up.
Using all his limbs, Ai Hui was hanging onto her body like a sloth onto a tree. She felt feverish. No one had ever held her so tightly before and she’d never been this intimate with a man.
Wait a minute. A memory surfaced in her mind.
Amid the darkness a figure locked onto her from behind, his arms steel-like. Then…
Then… another image invaded her brain.
Those despicable arms!
All of a sudden Shi Xueman’s nervousness and anxiety vanished. He was merely grabbing her.
Wait. Why was she at this stage whereby grabbing was acceptable?
She bit her lips hard, her heart in a tremendous muddle.
Ai Hui did not know that his actions would cause such a huge impact on Shi Xueman. He was still slightly traumatized from their earlier plunge. They were hugging onto each other at this moment, their postures abnormally ambiguous. The good thing was that they were now close enough!
Ai Hui’s mouth was just by Shi Xueman’s ear.
He quickly relayed the details of his plan to her, speaking rapidly.
Ai Hui’s tone was very calm as usual, which helped Shi Xueman clear whatever distracting thoughts she had from her head. She was now clear-headed and her expression returned to normal.
Ai Hui felt her change as her body, initially rigid as tree trunk, loosened up.
Without time to overthink, the both of them arrived at the valley mouth.
They were slightly ahead.
Still hanging off of Iron Lady’s body, Ai Hui was determined to get a new set of top-notch azure wings the moment he had enough money!
He was still glad that he’d been smart enough to alter their positions. Entering the valley while being grabbed by his collar would simply have been too embarrassing.
They were like a sharp sword, diving through the mist and into the valley.
The audience in the valley was stunned.
"Ai Hui is amazing!"
"Aren’t they progressing too quickly?"
Seeing how everyone was looking at them, Shi Xueman kept biting on her lips, forcing herself to remain calm. Battle first, battle first, she thought to herself.
Ai Hui’s face was covered by Shi Xueman’s hair so he couldn’t see clearly. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Change of plans! Archers, get ready!"
As if awakened from a dream, everyone regained their focus, albeit with a strange expression on their faces. Could it be that their posture was part of the plan?
Luckily they had confidence in Ai Hui’s judgments and so they prepared themselves attentively.
Carrying Ai Hui, Shi Xueman descended from the sky like a sharp arrow, landing steadily by the lake that was covered with fog.
"Bamboo cart has reached its station, passengers get ready to alight."
Shi Xueman imitated the brief station announcement in a clear, confident voice without any shyness.
Ai Hui burst into laughter. Iron Lady was really interesting. He jumped off while asking, "What about the fare?"
A leg appeared behind Ai Hui’s head without warning.
Bang! Ai Hui, who was unprepared, got kicked into the lake.
Shi Xueman left him with a snort before turning around to leave.
Crash! Ai Hui flew into a rage out of humiliation as his furious voice sounded from the lake, "Hey!"
Shi Xueman was satisfied. She flew toward the mist-controlling Color Clam Pearls. Thirty-six of them had been fixed onto the waterfall cliff. They were the key to controlling the mist.
The haze and misty rain, as if blown by the wind, moved toward and gathered around Shi Xueman. The water elemental energy within the whole water element region was under her control.
Ai Hui was rather nervous as he kept his eyes on Iron Lady.
Only she could utilize such a huge amount of water elemental energy.
Above, the gloomy crowd of scarletfire flying foxes had reached them after seeing the two figures flying down amid the rocks. They did not prepare to land, but instead got ready to drop their scarlet fireballs.
Just then, a highly abundant amount of water vapor rose from the valley like a monster opening its bloody mouth wide, effectively swallowing them up.
They suddenly realized that they were surrounded by many of the elementalist they’d seen earlier!
Ambush!
Having accumulated their power, the scarletfire flying foxes released their scarlet fireballs toward those elementalists.
They only realized that they had fallen into a trap when the scarlet fireballs passed through the elementalists’ bodies!
This was Ai Hui’s idea. Since the scarletfire flying foxes did not enter the valley, he would expand the illusion to disrupt them.
Bang, bang, bang!
They’d sprayed the scarlet fireballs in a moment of desperation, forgetting that around them were their own companions, instantly causing explosions everywhere.
The flames blossomed upward like a devilish red flower as the scarletfire flying foxes’ shrieks drowned amid the incessant explosions.
Just then, Jiang Wei and Sang Zijun’s rain-like arrows whistled through the air.