Chapter 185: 172 Entering the Forest, Part 2

The shadowy figure was indistinguishable between male and female, standing nearly two meters tall, holding a broad-bladed heavy sword. The blade was full of nicks and rust, evidently showing many years of history.

“Finally, I’ve found you… the Shadow in the Forest!” Wen Shaodong’s eyes were sharp as he reached behind and took out the black cloth-wrapped object.

The rest of the Zhengming Association people also took down the packages from their backs, maintaining a steady demeanor as they stared at the Iron Daoist, ready to make a move.

Crack.

Suddenly, the steps of the Iron Daoist halted, and he quietly looked toward the group.

The hidden gaze beneath the helmet fell straight on Zhang Rongfang among the crowd.

Whoosh.

In an instant, the Iron Daoist’s body, completely defying human anatomy, sprinted backward, swiftly retreating.

Before the others could react, he disappeared into the dark forest in the blink of an eye.

“Still trying to escape!?” Wen Shaodong shouted angrily, dashing after him.

But after chasing for a while, he discovered that the Iron Daoist was nowhere to be found.

He then returned to the original spot, sullenly.

“Such a pity that person managed to escape. It seems our preparations this time were indeed on point.”

“Second in Command, since what we prepared can restrain that Iron Daoist, why don’t we take this chance to completely eliminate this scourge?” suggested a brawny man with a full beard.

“No rush. The Iron Daoist’s body technique is extremely fast, we can’t catch up unless he is forced to fight us head-on.

But there’s no need for that. Our goal this time is to first find our Senior Brother Yun and the others from the last group of Zhengming Association who entered.

And the daughter of Master Youheng Saber, Chen Ya. As for exterminating this scourge, we’ll plan after rescuing them!” Wen Shaodong said methodically.

“Thank you, Chairman Wen and all brothers and sisters of the Zhengming Association for saving our lives!!”

Zhao Dihu and several other freelancers, still terrified, quickly bowed to Wen Shaodong and the others in gratitude.

Having witnessed the formidable danger of the Iron Daoist, these people dared not stray too far from the Zhengming Association.

Zhang Rongfang in the rear, furrowed his brows slightly.

He too had sensed the gaze of the Iron Daoist just now.

The moment the Iron Daoist saw him, he hurriedly retreated, showing a strong sense of vigilance.

Just a moment ago, if the Iron Daoist had moved a little closer, he was planning to take action and cripple him.

Unexpectedly, the man stopped just at a safe distance and then abruptly retreated.

’Was it just a coincidence?’ Zhang Rongfang squinted his eyes, relaxing his tense body.

As for how Wen Shaodong and the others would react, he didn’t care.

This time, he intended to conceal his identity, avoid attracting attention, and clarify the connection between the Shadow in the Forest and what he needed.

The Zhengming Association being around could save him manpower for scouting.

If not, it would just be a bit more troublesome.

At this moment, as Wen Shaodong was about to proceed forward to continue the search, suddenly, a scream echoed from the forest on the right side.

“It’s the team of Lin Huan from earlier!” Wen Shaodong’s expression changed.

Soon, he saw seven or eight people stumbling out of the forest, escaping towards him.

“Attack!” Wen Shaodong shouted, taking down the item on his back and charging towards those few people.

The rest of the Zhengming Association also rallied, following him in that direction.

Zhang Rongfang thought for a moment and also quickly followed.

Along with him were Zhao Dihu and a few other freelancers gathering together.

Among them was a slender woman dressed in black, wielding dual daggers.

The woman was merely moderately attractive, but her gaze was calm and sharp. Every now and then, she would cautiously and meticulously observe the surroundings.

She appeared extremely cautious and prudent.

The group followed behind the Zhengming Association, quickly arriving at another open area.

This time, the corpses strewn across the open ground, with blood splattering everywhere, left everyone speechless.

The Iron Daoist stood at a distance on a thick tree branch, with an iron sword still dripping with blood in his hand.

He leapt down, decapitating a fleeing martial artist ahead, then lunged toward another further away.

But after just a few steps, he suddenly raised his head to look in their direction.

Ka.

All his movements instantly came to a halt.

’Did he really notice me??’ Zhang Rongfang felt it more clearly this time.

The gaze of the Iron Daoist, even through the helmet, made his skin crawl with goosebumps.

The opponent was watching him!

He was sure of it.

’Interesting….’ he licked his lips.

Ever since having a bout with the Merfolk, he had lost interest in weaker trash opponents.

An opponent too weak not only provided no help but also risked diminishing his own strength.

After all, constantly pecking at weak opponents might one day make him think he was the king of the weak.

But the king of the weak is still weak.

Only by competing with experts can he learn something from them.

Fighting the weak is meaningless aside from letting them learn from him.

Thinking of this, a hint of interest flashed in Zhang Rongfang’s eyes as he took a step forward.

But at the same time, the Iron Daoist, as if in sync, took a step backward.

Swish.

He suddenly turned around, sprinting once more, disappearing into the depths of the dense forest.

“Can you really escape!?” At this point, Wen Shaodong, leading the Zhengming Association members, had already dashed to the Iron Daoist’s position.

However, they found themselves completely incapable of catching up with him and were all left with expressions of unwillingness and anger.

“Such killing intent, murdering so many colleagues!” Wen Shaodong’s face was furious. “Don’t let me catch you!! Otherwise, I’ll have you sliced into pieces!!”

“Chairman Wen!”

That bounty hunter leader, Lin Huan, was covered in blood at the moment, one arm weakly hanging beside her, tears in her eyes as she bowed towards Wen Shaodong.

“If it weren’t for Chairman Wen’s timely arrival, we few, might have… might have…”

She said with tears and gritted teeth.

“I, Lin Huan, owe Chairman Wen a life! Should there be any task in the future, I will surely serve!”

“We are the same!”

Beside her, Zhao Dihu and the others also sincerely clasped their fists in gratitude.

Wen Shaodong squinted his eyes, surveying this group of people, his gaze shifting among some of the more well-built women.

The two women Zhao Dihu pulled along just before escaping were also quite pretty.

Clearly it was intentional.

Moreover, among the freelancers, there were also two women who received an extra glance from Wen Shaodong.

One was a voluptuous woman in blue, wielding a saber.

The other was a delicate woman in black, holding two daggers.

That delicate woman was Chen Miaotong, who secretly came alone to investigate the disappearance of her sister.

Her sister Chen Miaoxiang, along with her childhood sweetheart and over ten others, had recently disappeared in Yinhuai Forest.

Determined to find the truth, she sneaked out against her parents’ wishes, disguising herself as a bounty freelancer, and entered here.

She initially thought it was safe and there would be no trouble, but now…

“But Chairman Wen, since that Iron Daoist fears us so much, maybe this time we’ll have the opportunity to uncover his true identity or the truth completely!” suggested Zhao Dihu.

His two nephews had been killed and now he was injured, all by the Iron Daoist’s doing.

So he hated the Iron Daoist to the bone.

“That makes sense.” Wen Shaodong nodded slightly.

Even he hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly this time.

The Iron Daoist seemed to truly fear something on him. It might likely be because he suffered at the hands of Senior Brother Yun and others earlier.

His injuries hadn’t healed yet.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so apprehensive about their secret weapon.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt he was right. After analyzing with those around him, he was certain the Iron Daoist was indeed avoiding them.

Confidence surged in the group, and they immediately decided to follow Wen Shaodong to besiege the Iron Daoist.

After all, Master Youheng Saber had offered a significant bounty.

When the Iron Daoist first appeared, everyone panicked.

But now with a restraint in hand, someone strong leading up front, aren’t they good to at least hang around behind and enjoy the fruits?

Zhang Rongfang observed, shaking his head inwardly.

He vaguely guessed that the Iron Daoist possibly saw him and so he left quickly.

It was clear he had found something out.

And this was evidently hardly related to this group of people.

Looking at Wen Shaodong and the others, brimming with excitement, preparing a massive search to hunt the Iron Daoist.

Zhang Rongfang felt speechless. Many people from Zhengming Association disappeared earlier. And before that, two Ninth Grades entered, only one returned, they should be aware of that, right?

Are they really that bold now? Just a handful of reasonably skilled hands daring to confront the Iron Daoist head-on?

Wen Shaodong spoke again at this moment.

“Everyone, I think you’ve all witnessed the brutality of the Iron Daoist just now. Now that we’ve finally discovered his fear tactics, we must unite, to completely avoid being ambushed and slaughtered by the opponent.”

“Thus, I propose here, hoping everyone listens to our unified arrangements.

To prevent the Iron Daoist from attacking again, we must allocate everyone’s tasks well.”

He paused.

“Of course, if you’re unwilling to cooperate, you may leave now to prevent disturbing our formation later and giving the Iron Daoist an opportunity.”

The freelancers gathered here exchanged glances, knowing that to get a share, they had to contribute, otherwise they’d surely be driven away.

They immediately agreed, most of them accepting Wen Shaodong’s proposal.

Zhang Rongfang, however, couldn’t be bothered to waste words, although he wasn’t sure what Wen Shaodong’s trump card was. But the Iron Daoist did indeed flee immediately earlier.

So, even if the opponent’s gaze was on him, it might indeed partly be due to Wen Shaodong’s secret weapon causing fear?

Since this person is so confident, let him be.

Nevertheless, recalling the Iron Daoist’s body technique speed.

He couldn’t help but speak up.

“Chairman Wen, I suggest you have those below Second Grade retreat. Staying here at that level, they are useless against the Iron Daoist’s speed, and they’ll just be shields, dying in vain.”

This Zhengming Association may be a bit foolish, but they’re at least a bunch who fear neither death nor risk.

For them to risk coming into the forest for their comrades before, clearly showed genuine feelings.

So he kindly reminded them.

“Thank you for the reminder, but we have our arrangements. The Iron Daoist’s body technique is strong, but if he dares advance, it’ll be death or injury once close!”

Wen Shaodong confidently smiled.

He scrutinized Zhang Rongfang.

“Additionally, by the looks of it, you’re someone of exceptional martial prowess. You may join our formation to fight the enemy together.”

“I’ll pass, you all decide among yourselves.” Zhang Rongfang declined politely. He glanced at the Zhengming Association members, whose foolishness overwhelmed him.

Suddenly, he understood why this group couldn’t ever handle Mengzhou…

A Ninth Grade serving as chairman, yet couldn’t suppress two Fifth Grades from Golden Wing Pavilion.

“Let’s be clear upfront. If you’re not following orders, then you must leave the forest immediately.

Otherwise, don’t blame us for not giving notice when misunderstandings arise later.”

After being refused, Wen Shaodong’s expression turned cold.

Clearly worried that Zhang Rongfang and others would take advantage later.

Zhang Rongfang chuckled lightly, turned around, and left.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep