Chapter 138: Assassins

After a few minutes passed, there was no response from the shadows in the direction where the hidden weapon had come from. There was only silence and the sound of night insects in the background.

“Protect the guest!” one of the sword division shouted, and the others simultaneously rearranged their formation, surrounding Ah Hu at the center of the circle to protect him.

The silence continued, and the sword division did not move from their positions. The hands holding their swords never wavered, and the expressions beneath their masks were calm and silent.

Suddenly!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Hundreds of hidden weapons were launched from the shadows of the trees. The sword division moved to intercept them, blocking the attack like a well-oiled machine.

The long needle-shaped hidden weapons were deflected to the ground, where they began to transform the earth and rocks into blackened soil and corroded stone. All of them were coated with powerful poison.

“The hidden weapons are poisoned! Be careful!” one of the sword division shouted, warning his comrades.

The rain of hidden weapons continued to pour down on the sword formation for several minutes, until—

Whoosh!

From a blind spot in the formation, in just a split second, a dark sword cut through the darkness like a fish swimming through deep water, unconcerned and unnoticed by those on the shore.

The target of this vicious strike was Ah Hu, who stood at the center of the protective formation.

“Ambush!” One of the sword divisions noticed the attack, but it was too late.

The blade was only a few inches away from Ah Hu’s neck.

Clank!

Instead of the sound of a blade piercing flesh and muscle, the clash of metal rang out, accompanied by flashes of steel.

Yin Lan was there. The large sword strapped to her back blocked the blade as she used her body to shield Ah Hu from the assassin’s attack.

She deliberately positioned herself that way because there was no time to ensure Ah Hu’s safety otherwise. If she had drawn her sword to block, the attacker’s blade might have scraped Ah Hu’s neck, and the poison coating it would have done the rest.

If the sword division were to let their guest die under their watch, it would be a great shame. Their division might even be stripped of the opportunity to protect their young miss, a position that many divisions in the Sky-Severing Demon Valley vied for.

Especially the Hidden Cloud Division, their old rival.

“Hmph!” Yin Lan used her spiritual qi to force the blade back, driving the attacker away. She vanished in the next moment, then reappeared with her large sword in hand, swinging it down at the attacker.

Clang!

Blade struck blade, sparks flashing as the weapon in the attacker’s hand bent but did not break. The blade appeared to be forged with soft metal, designed specifically for assassinations and to strike at the tiniest openings.

Bam!

The attacker was forced back, but before Yin Lan could rush forward, the attacker counterattacked. She quickly raised her large blade to block, but like a snake, the thin blade slithered along the surface, avoiding the block and shooting straight toward Yin Lan’s face.

She tilted her head back at once, narrowly avoiding it by a hair’s breadth. The blade cracked her mask, revealing her flawless face beneath.

Boom!

Yin Lan kicked the attacker away, forcing him back. The attacker lost his balance, but before Yin Lan could follow up, he vanished into thin air.

“What!?” She looked around, using her senses to try to detect the attacker.

But there was no response. This assassin clearly cultivated a high-level concealment art, or perhaps his cultivation was designed specifically for assassination.

She quickly changed her approach and used her spatial sense, something only those at the Nascent Soul realm could perceive.

But aside from faint traces of spatial movement that quickly vanished, leaving her with nothing, there was nothing to detect. It was like the trace of wind, something that could not be seen or touched, only felt when it moved.

“He has a spatial movement technique! Beware of your surroundings! Change to spatial protection formation!” Yin Lan shouted and quickly retreated back into the formation.

The blade division formation changed again like a well-oiled machine. Everyone in the blade division moved in perfect tandem, as if their formation positions were ingrained into their very being.

Yin Lan stood at the top of the formation like the peak of a stupa. The formation itself took on a stupa-like shape, protecting Ah Hu inside.

Suddenly…

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several dozen black silhouettes appeared and attacked the formation simultaneously. Their spatial movement was detected beforehand, allowing the sword protection formation to block all of the attacks.

Yin Lan gritted her teeth and glanced back toward the courtyard inside. As the personal bodyguard of her young miss, she should be back there, not protecting this nameless cultivator.

But as the leader of this group, she could not simply let this idiot who happened to be a guest die. She could only trust Wei Chen to protect her young miss.

As for Mo Jue, her sect patriarch, relying on him to do her job would be a disgrace.

As if noticing Yin Lan’s panicked gaze, one of the assassins in black, who seemed to be the leader, used a hand signal to point toward the courtyard. This created a major distraction for Yin Lan and the sword division protecting Ah Hu.

“Max! You bad dog! You already ate your share of pizza! Why are you stealing the one I’m making? Hey! Stop!” A familiar voice carried through the wind.

A red figure of a Heavenly Fire Wolf raced through the estate from the direction of the kitchen, a large metallic pizza tray clenched in its mouth, with the pizza still on it.

The dog looked panicked but did not release the tray. Another silhouette chased after it at equal speed. It was Wei Chen.

“Hey! Max! If you keep this up, I won’t make new dishes for you anymore!” Wei Chen shouted.

It was effective. Max hesitated, and its steps slowed. But at that moment…

Pierce!

A sword slashed toward Max. Max avoided the blade by a hair’s breadth, but the same could not be said for the pizza tray in its mouth.

Squlech…

The tray dropped to the ground, cut cleanly in half. Max’s heart leaped with excitement, because anything that fell to the ground could be eaten without reservation. Surely its personal cook could not use this to antagonize the Wolf King.

The one who ruined the food was not this Wolf King, but someone else. That meant this Wolf King could enjoy his grand meal.

But before Max could eat even a tiny piece of pizza, the poison did its job. Max’s nose, far more sensitive than a human’s, detected the danger. It quickly released what remained in its mouth.

The tray fell along with the pizza. The poison began to blacken it, corroding the surface. The corroded area emitted a foul smell, and Max knew the pizza was completely ruined.

At that moment, Wei Chen caught up with Max.

“What the hell, Max!? You wanted to eat it so badly that you dropped it and ruined it on the ground!? You bad dog! I won’t make bratwurst for you anymore! I’ll eat bratwurst in front of you and not give you even a piece!” Wei Chen vented his frustration.

“Wooo awoooo wooo awoooo awooooo~” Max barked and howled as it turned toward the group of assassins in black. {Those damn humans ruined this king’s food! This king didn’t do it! Don’t blame me!}

“What!? Are you trying to blame others? If you didn’t steal it from the oven, would this have happened!?” Wei Chen retorted.

“Awooo wooo wooo awooo!” {But this king didn’t ruin it!}

“What are you trying to argue!? No bratwurst for you, and that’s final!” Wei Chen said irritably.

Hearing this, Max was shocked. It then turned toward the assassin group, its anger flaring in its eyes. These damn humans! They dared to make this king suffer!?

Max rushed toward the assassin group, its fur changing from red and fluffy into white heavenly flame. The heat was intense, so intense that the stone beneath began to turn red hot and melt into lava.

But before Max could punish these insolent humans, its personal cook shouted.

“Hey! You can cripple them but don’t kill them, ok!? If you do that, I’ll make three bratwursts for you!” Wei Chen quickly shouted, afraid that Max might ruin his plan again. Since Max was considered his pet, his points would be deducted by half for every life Max killed.

With the new reward offer, Max’s heart leaped with excitement. Crippling these insolent humans was easy. Max changed its attack pattern to avoid the blades, and the flames on its body moved as if they were another independent life form.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep