The Grand Elder acted as if he hadn’t heard, fleeing with his men, abandoning even the young lord.
“Trying to run? Not a chance!” Hu Mazi shouted, blocking the Grand Elder and his group.
“Master Hu, let the desperate flee. Let them go,” Chen Ping said, pulling Hu Mazi back.
Chen Ping only wanted to leave Flying Tiger City quickly and avoid provoking the Temple for now. His foundation in the Heavenly Realm was still unstable, and attracting the Temple’s full attention would be troublesome.
“Then shall we kill this brat?” Hu Mazi asked, eyeing Young Lord Huo.
“Don’t kill me, please don’t kill me…” Young Lord Huo begged frantically.
“No killing. I need his life to trade for resources,” Chen Ping said, planning to exchange Young Lord Huo’s life with the Eighth Temple Master for some resources.
“How boring. Came all this way and didn’t even get to stretch my legs,” Hu Mazi grumbled.
“Let’s go to the border. You’ll have plenty of chances to stretch there,” Chen Ping said with a slight smile.
Chen Ping knew the border was likely a storm of activity, with the armies of Rhino City and Flying Tiger City facing off.
At that moment, on the thousands-of-miles-long border between Rhino City and Flying Tiger City, tens of thousands of troops stood in confrontation.
Niu Mang’s eyes were icy, his body hovering in mid-air, with eight Protectors behind him.
“Flying Tiger City, those who surrender will be spared…” Niu Mang declared.
“Surrender and live! Surrender and live…” The eight Protectors behind him shouted with all their might, their voices resounding clearly to all.
At this, Xie Zhong of Flying Tiger City slowly rose into the air, flanked by thirty-six cultivators in black armour, wielding heavy swords. These were Xie Zhong’s guards, and they appeared formidable.
“Niu Mang, you dare bring troops to provoke me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill your son?” Xie Zhong called out.
“Hahaha, go ahead and try! You can’t even find my son now, can you? I’ll let you in on a secret, my son’s already been rescued,” Niu Mang laughed loudly.
“Impossible. They couldn’t have escaped my Flying Tiger City,” Xie Zhong said, unconvinced.
He had ordered strict defences at every checkpoint. There was no way Chen Ping and his group could have easily escaped with Niu Ben back to Rhino City.
“Believe what you want,” Niu Mang snorted. “You sent spies to capture my son. Today, I’m here to reclaim my honour.”
“Then stop wasting words. Let’s fight!” Xie Zhong retorted.
As Xie Zhong spoke, the thirty-six black-armoured cultivators behind him swooped down, each at the Second Rank of the Loose Immortal Realm. Their charge carried the momentum of a thousand cavalry, exuding immense pressure.
Seeing this, Niu Mang roared, “Eight Great Protectors!”
At his command, the eight Protectors surged forward, charging straight at the black-armoured cultivators.
Though Niu Mang had only eight Protectors against Flying Tiger City’s thirty-six, their momentum was undiminished.
Xie Zhong looked relaxed and smug, while Niu Mang’s face showed concern. He wasn’t confident his eight Protectors could defeat the thirty-six opponents.
Flying Tiger City’s strength had once been mediocre, but recently, it had grown rapidly, plundering resources everywhere and even seizing slaves and resources from the Cangxuan Continent.
As expected, once the fighting began, Rhino City’s eight Protectors quickly fell at a disadvantage. Though they were powerful, they were outmatched by Flying Tiger City’s thirty-six cultivators, especially given the numerical disparity.
Niu Mang’s expression grew grimmer.
“How about it? Shall we have a go?” Xie Zhong said smugly.
“Let’s do it!” Niu Mang replied. Though reluctant to fight, he had no choice but to engage Xie Zhong to buy time for Chen Ping and the others to escape.
