GOR
A Thunderstorm Tank was stationed within the rear part of the big tent. There were two people standing on the tank.
The one on the left was Jiang Long. As for the one on the right, he was a short man in resplendent attire. His chin sported a finely trimmed beard and his eyes glinted with light.
The two of them were looking at the besieged Zhao Yun with emotionless expressions.
“Prime Minister, this place is dangerous. I ask that you retreat for the time being.”
A muscular man with a rough countenance, wielding a huge hammer, knelt down before the Thunderstorm Tank and spoke with a respectful tone. Although he was talking normally, the volume of his voice was comparable to that of thunder.
“Not a problem.” The short man waved his hand with a frown. “There is only one enemy. It is not even worth mentioning. With their protection, my safety is assured. There is no need for you to worry, Zhongkang (Xu Chu). Head back.”
“Yes!” The muscular, hammer-wielding man hesitated for a moment before nodding his head. Taking a few steps backward, he then turned around and moved cautiously toward the battle zone ahead.
There was a circle of Tiger Guard soldiers around the two of them. The soldiers’ swords have all been unsheathed as they warily stood guard, their killing intent billowing upward even as they defended the central tent.
“After becoming Cao Cao, the aura you emanate is good. Even the way you talk is about the same as him, Tong You.” Jiang Long turned to look at the short man beside him. He revealed a satisfied smile. “Even Xu Chu, his personal bodyguard, could not realize anything.[1]”
“When controlling his soul, all his memories and personality will be taken as well. I simply made use of them. Naturally, I am able to look the same.” The man with Cao Cao’s external appearance, which Jiang Long had addressed as Tong You, chuckled. There was, however, a slight look of concern on his face. “However, Manager, are you sure we will not be in any danger here?”
The two of them spoke softly. Xu Chu and the surrounding Tiger Guard soldiers were stationed far enough that they did not have to worry about getting overheard.
“You have already left the main camp in advance. Even if Zhao Yun can really charge in here, he cannot find you. Besides, given the number of soldiers Cao Cao has and the many Awakened ones here, what is there to worry about?” Jiang Long sneered. “Right now, you just need to stabilize the situation. If the soldiers fall into a state of disarray, how will we fight this battle? Do not forget, it is because of you that everyone can freely utilize their skills and equipment.”
“I understand, I understand…” Tong You checked their surroundings as he secretly wiped away his sweat. “Can we really take him down so easily? Isn’t it a little too easy?”
“A silver spear, silver armour and a white horse. Who else can it be if not Zhao Yun?” Jiang Long laughed. “He is this instance dungeon’s only quest objective. By killing him, we can complete this instance dungeon. How unexpected. We had only just entered this instance dungeon and the BOSS came looking for us on its own. As it so happens, the NPCs on our side are very powerful and you also happen to have a soul subjugating skill. We are very lucky this time around. In 10 minutes, we will finish this instance dungeon!”
Up front, Zhao Yun was besieged by a group of generals and the Tiger Guard soldiers. Although there were countless corpses of the Tiger Guard soldiers lying down all around her, not a single one of the generals had been killed. Instead, Zhao Yun had suffered from a number of wounds.
The strength of the generals was quite outstanding. They complemented each other in their forward and backward actions. Whenever their attacks failed to hit home, they will quickly retreat while their companions helped made up for the shortcomings of their moves.
The Awakened ones staying at the edge of the besieging soldiers were also constantly harassing Zhao Yun with long-ranged attacks. Although the power of their attacks was not too strong, incapable of breaking through the silvery luminescence protecting Zhao Yun’s body, their attacks did disrupt her rhythm of attack, forcing her to pull back her spear to defend herself.
“Eh… Manager… …” There was an awkward smile on Tong You’s face. “I feel that this chaotic situation is a little dangerous…”
“Chaotic?” Jiang Long gave a harrumph. “You…”
As he was in the midst of speaking, light suddenly erupted out from before them. It was as though hundreds of suns had suddenly appeared there at that moment.
With Zhao Yun acting as the centre, the surrounding Tiger Guard soldiers were instantly transformed into human-shape charcoal. As for the soldiers that were slightly further away, they too fell to the ground, screaming. There were scorch wounds on their bodies, all of varying degrees, dependent on the distance between them and Zhao Yun.
While the generals were closer to Zhao Yun’s position, the combat energy they emanated were much stronger than the ordinary soldiers. Even so, all of them cried out in pain and they scrambled backward in retreat. The surface of their skin, scorched by the burst of light, blistered. Scorch marks could also be seen on the surface of their skin.
“Damn!”
Jiang Long, who was far away from the battle zone, lowered his head while gnashing his teeth. He laboured to raise his head and look forward. Tong You, who was beside him, had already covered up his face and was rolling on the tank.
Zhao Yun stood there with her head lowered. The light she unleashed gradually grew dim.
Next, a silvery sword beam abruptly shot out from the back of her left shoulder. The silvery sword beam cut open a hole through her armour, bringing blood with it as it shot out.
The silvery beam punched through the air without faltering. Only after piercing through over 10 of Cao Cao’s soldiers, who happened to be standing in its trajectory, did it dissipate away.
Immediately, another silver sword beam shot out from Zhao Yun’s body.
And another.
Every time a silver beam burst out, Zhao Yun would release a grunt, seemingly enduring a great deal of pain. The ground beneath her quickly became stained with her blood.
“Run!”
A silver beam shot toward the Thunderstorm Tank. Jiang Long’s hand shot out to pick up Tong You, who was kneeling down and trembling. He then dragged Tong You with him as they jumped off the Thunderstorm Tank, escaping the calamity by a hair’s breadth.
Despite possessing a strong electromagnetic-tier defence, the silver beam had still managed to cut through the tank like cutting a piece of tofu. The Thunderstorm Tank lurched for a bit before suddenly exploding.
Jiang Long held onto Tong You tightly, using his own body to block the force of the explosion. The two of them were sent flying. They flew through tens of metres before heavily landing on the ground.
“Ma… … manager?”
Due to the impact, Tong You was able to clear his head somewhat only to see Jiang Long falling down before him. Jiang Long’s back was ravaged by the explosion and his flesh had become exposed. His [A] class protective suit had also been partially destroyed by the earlier explosion.
“You… … you’re not dead, are you?” Jiang Long looked up with a groan. He then hastily grabbed ‘Cao Cao’ and inspected him from top to bottom. Only then did he release a sigh of relief. “As long as you are fine, all is good.”
“Manager…” Tong You’s eyes revealed how moved he was. However, Jiang Long’s next set of words choked him. “If you end up dying, these tens of thousands of Cao Cao’s soldiers will probably turn on us on the spot and kill us along with Zhao Yun.”
“It’s all because you assured me there won’t be any danger…” Tong You mumbled softly.
“Issue out the commands! What are you just standing there for?” Jiang Long straightened himself with another groan and glared at Tong You. He whispered, “Hurry! Get them to rush forward and continue the fight!”
The light erupting out from Zhao Yun’s body earlier was like the sudden detonation of a miniature bomb. Yet, the detonation time was fleeting. Those nearby were killed and wounded. However, the soldiers who were standing some distance away had already recovered from the explosion of light.
Zhao Yun’s current state was obviously not normal. The silver beams sporadically shooting out from her body did not appear to be an active-type of offensive skill. It appeared more like a side effect of abruptly unleashing her power earlier. Every time a blade shot out, it would leave a wound on her body. As for her, her whole body was shuddering ceaselessly, seemingly in a rickety state.
There was still a high number of Tiger Guard soldiers. As long as they could kill off this BOSS here…
“Soldiers! Heed my command!” Tong You had understood the situation unfolding before him. “Zhongkang! Lead your men to finish off that fellow!”
“Yes!” Xu Chu, who had been standing much closer to Zhao Yun earlier, had only just recovered. Still, he swiftly turned around and performed a kneel before turning back to face Zhao Yun. He raised the heavy hammer, pointing it toward Zhao Yun.
Like a tidal wave, the many Tiger Guard soldiers charged toward Zhao Yun once more. As for Jiang Long, he propped Tong You up and vigilantly dragged him farther away, putting him deep behind the protection of the soldiers.
Zhao Yun’s head was still lowered, seemingly in a comatose state. Her body was covered in blood. While the silvery beams continued to shoot out sporadically, the frequency at which it was firing out was gradually decreasing.
The low-ranking soldiers around her had begun to retreat out of fear. However, under Xu Chu’s lead, the Tiger Guard soldiers charged bravely without fear of death. As for the surrounding Awakened ones who had survived the earlier episode, a number of them had already gotten up. They swallowed Healing Type Beast Bloods as they renewed their long-ranged attacks, intent on killing off Zhao Yun before the NPCs could do it.
The system had made it clear when it issued out the quest. The final reward will be given according to the level of contribution. The one who could deal the final blow will undoubtedly gain a higher share when the system calculated their level of contribution.
Xu Chu, who was leading the Tiger Guard soldiers, was less than 20 metres away from Zhao Yun when a whistling arrow shot forth. The arrow brought with it a sharp wind as it shot toward Zhao Yun’s head.
However, it missed!
Just as the arrow was about to hit, an indistinct silhouette suddenly descended, swooping right past Zhao Yun’s head. As it did so, it picked Zhao Yun up and flew back up into the sky. In but an instant, they had disappeared into the night.
“What?!”
Everyone there was taken aback for a few seconds. Next, wave after wave of angry expletives rang out from the surrounding Awakened ones.
1 Zhongkang is Xu Chu’s courtesy name. While no longer common, courtesy name is a name traditionally given to Chinese males at the age of 20 to mark them as adults. After a man reaches adulthood, it is disrespectful for others of the same generation to address him by his given name, which is reserved for himself and his elders. [Source: Wiki]↩
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