Chapter 162: The Battle is Not Over Yet

Thump! Thump!
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
The ground trembled violently.

Jiang Ye furrowed his brows slightly. The sound did not resemble vehicles; rather, it echoed like galloping horse hooves. Yet, how could there be horses in a place like this?

Through the collapsed fortress gates, a solitary figure slowly rode in on a horse, appearing strikingly abrupt.

Jiang Ye shouted in a resonant voice, "Halt! This is a military zone, no unauthorized personnel allowed to approach!"

The rider remained silent, dismounting from the horse and walking straight toward the mouth of the abyss as if deaf to the warning.

Jiang Ye scrutinized the man carefully. He appeared to be around thirty years old, with a square jaw, thick eyebrows, and large eyes that radiated immense dignity. He wore a golden imperial dragon robe, exuding an invisible, oppressive aura.

Jiang Ye found the person before him vaguely familiar, yet couldn't immediately place who he was.

"Halt! Take another step forward and you will be executed on the spot!" Jiang Ye barked.

Three hundred shadow warriors moved in perfect unison, raising their respective weapons and taking aim at the mysterious man in the golden dragon robe.

Hah!

A sneer flickered across the intruder's lips. He slowly drew a stone sword from his back and raised it high with both hands.

Jiang Ye's eyes suddenly widened in realization: "It's him! He is the president of Haotian Guild—Long Tian! Quick! Stop him!!"

Among the three hundred shadow warriors, some unleashed magic, some charged with shadow triple-swords, and others hoisted rocket launchers, locking on for a barrage! Without a moment's hesitation, they unleashed their ultimate killing blows directly!

"Sole Monarch Under Heaven! Dragon Defies the Nine Heavens!!"

Long Tian slashed the void with a single stroke of his sword!

Roar—

A massive stone dragon surged forth from the stone sword, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. All the incoming special attacks crashed against the stone dragon and were instantly obliterated into nothingness!

Boom!!

The ground collapsed, forming a colossal crater a hundred meters wide and a thousand meters long!

The three hundred shadow warriors seemed to evaporate, vanishing entirely within the giant pit.

Jiang Ye’s armor was shattered, and all his internal organs were pulverized. Using his sword to prop himself up, he dropped to one half-knee, fighting to keep himself from collapsing completely.

Clack, clack, clack, clack!

Over a thousand warhorses clad in silver armor charged forward in neat formation.

"Boss! You're being too unreasonable! The brothers have only just arrived, and you've already slaughtered everyone, leaving us not even a drop of broth to drink!" The speaker was Long Jiu, the second-in-command of Haotian Guild, draped in a silver cloak embroidered with dragon patterns.

"Tee-hee, Second Brother, aren't there still some tender young students over there? I'll leave them for you to slaughter!" teased Long Mei, the third-in-command of Haotian Guild, with a charming giggle.

Long Jiu sneered dismissively, "A bunch of kids, they're not even worth my time!"

Long Tian said in a deep voice, "Enough, stop messing around. Kill them all, and hurry into the cavern. We don't much time; we must find the S-grade Evolution Orb as quickly as possible!"

Jiang Ye looked at the sudden appearance of over a thousand troops with a sense of bewilderment. They had only just learned of the S-grade Evolution Orb themselves, yet how did Haotian Guild know about it? And how could they have arrived so swiftly?!

The only possible explanation was that there was a traitor! Every detail of this operation's plan had been leaked to Haotian Guild, allowing them to prepare in advance.

The instructors of the four major academies saw the three hundred shadow warriors instantly wiped out and knew that this position could no longer be held.

Exchanging glances, the instructors shouted to the students behind them, "Run! Use every means at your disposal to escape this place immediately!"

Quite a few students retained their pride and grit. "We won't run! Even if we die, we will guard this entrance! This is the order Officer Jiang Ye gave us!"

"Fools! If you go up there, you're just walking to your deaths! I am your instructor, and I am ordering you to run, right now!"

Witnessing the murderous and ferocious men of Haotian Guild, a faction of the students grew terrified. Obeying their instructors implicitly, they turned and fled. Another faction, however, drew their own weapons and braced themselves for combat.

Shangguan Chaoyue spoke decisively, "Ding Yan! Ye Zhitian! Let's run, it's no longer safe here!"

Ding Yan gripped his fiery sword tightly. "You go if you want. Chen Mo hasn't come out yet, and I'm going to stay right here and wait for Chen Mo!"

Though terrified, Ye Zhitian still nodded. "I—I'm not leaving either."

Shangguan Chaoyue grew so anxious tears welled in her eyes. "Why are you both being so foolish? Staying here won't help at all, it's just throwing your lives away!"

Heh-heh!

Ding Yan grinned broadly. "So what if I die? Maybe I'll even qualify as a martyr! My old man is always saying I'm good for nothing, but if our family has a martyr now, my dad will be thrilled!"

"You..." Shangguan Chaoyue was left speechless. What kind of friends did Chen Mo make, anyway? Why were they so hopelessly stubborn?!

Sighing, Shangguan Chaoyue shook her head in resignation and unsheathed her assassin's dual blades.

Ding Yan asked curiously, "Shangguan Chaoyue? What are you doing? Weren't you supposed to leave?"

Shangguan Chaoyue said coldly, "Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of dying with you. The moment things get dangerous, I will vanish and escape without a second thought!"

Long Jiu leaped down from his horse and pointed at the fleeing students. "Boss, look, those students are running away!"

Long Tian glanced briefly at the fleeing students and said in a deep voice, "Those students are top-tier evolutionary talents from Star City, the backbone of our future resistance against the Sophon Legion. Second Brother, they're yours. Kill them all, leave none alive! The rest of you, follow me into the cave!"

Long Jiu grumbled irritably, "Boss! Why do you always hand me such boring chores?!"

"Tee-hee, Second Brother, stop complaining. Look over there, there are still a hundred or so students itching for a fight. You'd better watch yourself!"

Long Jiu scoffed, "Third Sister, are you underestimating me? A bunch of brats, just watch how my Haotian Hammer smashes their skulls to pulp! Second Regiment, hear my order! Follow me and grab some soup!"

Two hundred fierce warriors clad in silver dragon-patterned robes mounted their horses and followed Long Jiu as he charged toward the students' defensive line.

Only ten instructors remained from the four major academies. As members of White Clouds and Wandering Dogs, retreat was naturally not an option for them. The entire Shadow Legion had been wiped out without a single soldier retreating; if they were to fall back now, they would become the laughingstock of White Clouds and Wandering Dogs!

Liang Jingyu, the instructor from the Teachers' College Affiliated High School, had bloodshot eyes as he roared at the students standing behind them, "Get lost! All of you, get out of here right now! We don't need you!"

Ding Yan was a stubborn mule. The more Liang Jingyu yelled, the more moved he was by the instructors' self-sacrificing spirit. "Why should we get lost? You guys knew you were going to die, yet you didn't back down either!"

Liang Jingyu was torn between fury and exasperation. "You are still students with a much better future ahead of you. If you run, nobody will blame you. But we are different—we represent the state. If we retreat, public opinion could crush us. More importantly, if we run, these traitors of the Sophon Legion will only grow more arrogant."

When two armies wage war, if one side is outmatched and retreats, it is a normal occurrence.

However, the state had never recognized the legitimacy of the Sophon Legion; they were merely a mob of petty outlaws. If the regular state military were frightened away by a band of common thugs, the negative fallout would be incalculable.

Ding Yan retorted stubbornly, "I am a successor of the nation, too! We aren't leaving!"

Liang Jingyu had no time left to argue with Ding Yan, for the enemy was already upon them.