Chapter 32: The Warden (Part II)

Shuisheng followed the members of the Yan family as they retreated northeast along the riverbank. Perhaps drawn by the large group of thirty or forty people, two prison guards accompanied by a giant hound pursued them.

"Everyone, draw them further away! Separate them from that warden-like fellow," You Fengtian shouted.

This was the strategy formulated by the Yan family. With so many undead beings gathered together, led by a powerful warden, the group was too difficult to handle while morale was already wavering. The founding emperor of the Donghua Kingdom, His Majesty Quanmin, once said that when dealing with enemies, it is better to sever one finger than to injure all ten. Their plan was to lure away and eliminate the guards in small batches, repeating the process until they could concentrate their full strength to kill the warden.

"Take this," Ni Ximei said, tossing an exotic iron blade to Shuisheng. She had scavenged it from the corpse of an ability user who had fallen nearby. "As an ability user, and a Level 2 one at that, you should know some basic swordsmanship, right?"

"I've read about a few forms in books and practiced with wooden swords... I suppose I know the basics," Shuisheng replied.

"Keep yourself safe!" Ni Ximei seemed to genuinely care for the youth as if he were her own student.

You Fengtian went to engage the giant hound, as it was the most ferocious and possessed high speed, making it the greatest threat. Yan Tong led his subordinates to besiege the two prison guards, while Wen Fengxian focused on protecting Yan Ruobing.

Shuisheng was left without a specific assignment.

The battle remained deadlocked. The undead creatures felt no pain, regardless of how many wounds they sustained or how many blows they received. Meanwhile, the ability reserves of the Yan family members were depleting rapidly. If their energy ran out without a chance to replenish it, their situation would become increasingly perilous.

"Fengxian, go help them!" After a while, seeing that the Yan family members had yet to overcome their opponents, Yan Ruobing ordered Wen Fengxian to intervene.

"I cannot, Miss. My primary duty is to protect you," Wen Fengxian replied.

"I am a Level 5 ability user, not a mortal! I don't need you to protect me from everything!" Frustrated, Yan Ruobing leaped into the fray. Flames erupted from her hands as she slammed them against the back of one of the prison guards.

Having observed the battle, she instinctively felt that fire-based abilities might be more effective. Fire was the most offensive and explosive of the nine ability elements and dealt naturally increased damage to carbon-based materials. No matter how immune to pain these guards were, they were still carbon-based lifeforms, weren't they?

Seeing the young mistress put herself in danger, Ni Ximei moved to protect her. Remembering her instructions, Shuisheng watched her movements closely, etching every action into his memory.

However, Wen Fengxian was faster, pulling Yan Ruobing away before Ni Ximei could reach her.

"The speed and reaction time of a Level 7 ability user are truly incomparable to a Level 5," Ni Ximei thought, sighing as she halted her advance.

Under the impact of the attack, the guard caught fire. Yet, as if unaware, he continued his assault without pause. The flames on his back began to shrink, seemingly suppressed by the environment and the icy energy radiating from his own body.

"Use the exotic iron net!" Yan Tong suddenly shouted.

Before setting out, the Yan family guards had brought two exotic iron chain nets, anticipating the need to capture otherworldly beasts. Previously, they hadn't used them for fear of accidentally ensnaring their own allies in the chaos. Now that only their own people were nearby—well-trained and disciplined—it was safe to use them.

Part of the guard unit continued to harass the prison guards while two other groups pulled out the nets. Following Yan Tong’s command, the attackers quickly retreated, and the two large nets were cast over the prison guards.

Their halberds were caught in the mesh of the nets, rendering them unable to swing, and their limbs were soon restricted. The more they struggled, the tighter the bindings became. Eventually, they lost their balance and crashed to the ground.

"It worked!" Yan Ning cheered.

At that moment, after several rounds of defensive maneuvering, You Fengtian struck the giant hound on the top of its head with a powerful fist. The beast let out a mournful howl, collapsed to the ground, and had its neck snapped.

The Yan family members took out exotic iron chains, bound the two trapped guards securely, and dragged them out of the nets. However, within minutes, the guards stopped moving entirely, showing no signs of life. Soon after, their bodies began to disintegrate, melting into pools of black blood.

You Fengtian examined the remains with a grave expression. "They were controlled by a mysterious technique. When they lost the ability to act, that force judged them dead. The technique destroyed their vitality along with their bodies to prevent any secrets from leaking out."

"The methods of the Water Spirit Realm are truly profound and formidable," he remarked.

"This method of melting into blood after death is very similar to the blood slaves of the Blood Spirit Cult," Yan Ruobing noted.

"Indeed. It is said that the Water Spirit Realm is a prestigious sect in the Wangxian Continent; it is unclear why they would resort to such sinister practices," You Fengtian mused, unable to comprehend.

The battle concluded. After collecting the two halberds and two sets of armor, the Yan family members, now confident in their method of defeating the enemy, moved to support the other factions.

Every faction had its own way of surviving. Other guards and giant hounds were successively taken down by major groups like the Wind and Fire Gate and the "Heavenly Court" organization. Just like the others, once they were incapacitated, their life force was destroyed, leaving only pools of blood.

Fortunately, their weapons and armor remained, which would surely fetch a high price back home.

The various factions carefully gathered near the cave again, closing in on the Ice Warden.

Killing this behemoth and looting the interior for riches was the thought on everyone’s mind. However, having learned their lesson, they dared not get too close, maintaining a distance of at least thirty meters.

All eyes turned toward the major powers: the Wind and Fire Gate, the "Heavenly Court" organization, the Yan family, the Lu family, and the Nangong family. Indeed, of the three major powers of Fuling City, not only was the Yan family present, but the Lu and Nangong families had also arrived.

The function of the "Heavenly Court" organization was to maintain order and security, but at this stage, if they could incidentally acquire some wealth for the organization, they would not refuse. After all, gaining merit and pursuing advancement was the dream of many within the organization.

"Section Chief Lu, what do you make of this guy?" Zhu Qingtong asked Lu Xingzhou, the Deputy Chief of the Law Enforcement Section of the Fuling City Brigade of the "Heavenly Court."

"His sword is sharp, and his own strength is formidable. Converting his power to our ability standards, he is likely around Level 9," Lu Xingzhou said, drawing on his experience from multiple forays into other worlds. "A Level 9 earth-element practitioner... a true immortal warrior. He hasn't fully utilized his immortal techniques yet, but if he is earth-based, they are likely wide-range, crowd-control effects."

"Level 9. In a one-on-one fight, no one here is his match. If we all attack at once, he still has those earth-element area-of-effect skills. And the sharpness of his weapon is even more troublesome," Zhu Qingtong analyzed with a grimace.

"Are there any living ability hounds left? Release one to test him," Lu Xingzhou ordered his subordinates.

A law enforcement officer brought over a bloodied hound, pointed toward the warden, and released the leash. The hound ferociously charged toward the warden, barking wildly.

When it was about three or four meters away from the Ice Warden, the warden suddenly stamped his right foot on the ground.

With a thunderous roar, a sharp stone spike erupted from the earth, piercing directly into the hound’s abdomen and protruding from its back. The spike continued to rise to a height of about two meters. The hound, suspended on the tip of the spike, bled profusely as the blood trickled down the stone. It let out one final whimper and fell silent.

Suspended there, the creature served as the Ice Warden's declaration of war against them all.