Chapter 165: Chapter 164: Dark Enemies
As expected, it didnât work.
The Peace Token needs to be used before the enemy gets in.
Itâs like making your front door invincible before a robber breaks in.
No matter how skilled the robber is, theyâd still be kept outside.
But now the robbers were already inside the house. Strengthening the door at this point was meaningless.
Normally, there should have been enough time to use the Peace Token.
But this time, the enemy invaded too quickly.
It completely took Zhao Chi by surprise.
As Gu Qing left, Zhao Chi shot out of the hot spring as well.
He wasnât wearing any clothes either.
He was going to enter one of their bodies in a moment anyway; the only question now was whose.
After a momentâs consideration, Zhao Chi rushed toward the training grounds.
Gu Qing had already issued all the commands.
The Female Soldiers and female artisans all rushed out, weapons in hand and clad in Leather Armor.
All of them now had Silk Stockings and Shirts, which provided a significant Defense Power Bonus.
Zhao Chi had already done the best he could.
His strategic choices might have needed improvement, and his objectives might not have been perfect.
But he had worked hard enough.
You could see it from the fact that he... with Tang Ruanâs help, had managed to create outfits for all the women in the territory.
The Female Soldiers were already in formation, ready for battle.
Zhao Chi didnât waste time with words.
The moment he saw Qi Yue, he dived right in.
The path was completely unobstructed; Qi Yue was truly 100% open to him.
Zhao Chi shouted, "Gu Qing, Tang Ruan, organize the Defense! Light more torches to expand our field of vision, and get on the defense towers to hold the line."
"Yes, sir!" Tang Ruan replied.
"Understood!" said Gu Qing.
"Qi Yue and I will scout ahead. The rest of you, hold your positions within the territory."
Gu Qing quickly ran over and grabbed him.
"My Lord, scouting recklessly is too dangerous. Itâs definitely not safe for just the two of you. Let me go with you so we can watch each otherâs backs. Let Tang Ruan organize the territoryâs defense."
Zhao Chi thought for a moment and agreed.
"Tang Ruan, the territory is in your hands!"
"Donât worry, my Lord. I will give it my all."
Zhao Chi nodded. "Gu Qing, letâs go. Keep some distance from us so the enemy canât Attack us all at once."
"Alright!"
According to the system notification, the wall to the Southwest had been breached.
Zhao Chiâs territory had been forcibly connected to another.
In other words, the invader was a Lord.
Furthermore, they had connected based on coordinates, which meant they were likely another Lord from Snowfield City.
Zhao Chi didnât have many enemies.
If Cao Feng counted, then he had one enemy named Cao Feng.
But if it really was Cao Feng who had connected to his territory, Zhao Chi could beat the shit out of him.
âIt canât be him.â
âThen the most likely culprits were the nobles who had been chasing him that day.â
âDid slipping away from them constitute such a great humiliation?â
âBut how did they find out my coordinates?â
âAnd how did they discover that Gu Qing was mine?â
Many questions surfaced in Zhao Chiâs mind.
But he wouldnât find the answers just by thinking about it.
Right now, he needed to identify the enemy and then determine their troop strength.
If he couldnât win, Zhao Chi would just retreat to the Great World.
Taking Gu Qing and the others with him, of course.
The best-case scenario would be for Zhao Chi to use his body-control ability to get them out one by one, perfectly.
But there definitely wouldnât be enough time for that.
That would leave him no choice but to forcibly summon them in the Great World.
But summoning 221 people at once would be seen as an act of rebellion, which would also be extremely troublesome.
âDammit.â
âIf I can fight, Iâll fight.â
Besides, these Peach Blossom Women could be revived. They would crawl back out of the earth in less than a month, at the mere cost of ten years of their Lifespan.
A price not even worth mentioning.
With his resolve hardened, Zhao Chiâs mind calmed slightly.
Piloting Qi Yueâs body and followed by Gu Qing, he ran swiftly toward the Southwest.
ăSouthwest.ă
The massive white wall of fog had been forcibly connected.
A huge passage, at least a hundred meters wide, had now appeared.
On the other side of the passage was a vast, pitch-black territory, impossible to see into.
Soon, figures emerged from the passage.
More and more figures appeared, gathering until there were about 400 of them.
It was nearly 10 p.m., and darkness enveloped the surroundings. Especially after entering the forest where the moonlight was blocked by branches, you couldnât see your hand in front of your face.
But those people werenât carrying any lighting equipment.
It seemed they could see clearly in the dark.
They scanned their surroundings with pairs of glowing red eyes.
One pair of eyes glowed with a particular crimson brilliance.
They belonged to a middle-aged man in Black Armor.
He had a calm and steady appearance.
"Lord Zhao Ji, there are no traps nearby. We can advance."
The middle-aged man said softly.
"Of course. This territory is weak. How could they possibly set traps along the entire border? Relax, letâs go."
A young man in Golden Armor said with a hint of disdain.
His face was fair, his Appearance handsome.
He was very young.
Judging by his Appearance and attire, he was a young nobleman.
"Lord Zhao Ji, you mustnât be careless. That woman escaped from right under our noses. She was extremely fast; an Ordinary person couldnât possess that kind of power. That woman is, in all likelihood, part of the resistance."
"Nonsense. If she wasnât with the resistance, what would I be doing here? Lead the way, Li Yan. Stop nagging."
Li Yan hesitated for a moment, but still said:
"Lord Zhao Ji, shouldnât we call for more men? After all, you only recently became a Lord. This is no time to try and show off..."
Zhao Ji froze and slowly turned around.
Anger was clear on his face.
"What the fuck did you just say? How audacious!"
Li Yan quickly explained:
"Thatâs not what I meant. Iâm saying the resistance has a lot of sinister Skills. Iâm afraid itâs risky for us to go alone. It would be safer to call for more men, and you would still get the primary credit. If anything were to happen to you, it would all be over."
Zhao Ji sneered:
"Didnât you fucking see when you connected us here? This territory is just a Medium-sized Village. Its Military rating isnât even 20 points. You tell me, how could anything happen to me?"
Li Yan said, "Lord Zhao Ji, please donât misunderstand. I just want to ensure your absolute safety..."
Zhao Ji sneered, "Li Yan, whatâs with you today? Iâve never seen you act like this when I Attack other territories. Donât tell me you have ties to the resistance?"
Hearing this, Li Yan nearly broke out in a cold sweat.
"Lord Zhao Ji, you canât just say things like that. I have absolutely no connection to the resistance. The ones you attacked before were all Ordinary civilians; looking only at the territory rating was fine then. But this territory might belong to the resistance, so we must be more cautious."
"Alright, I know youâre not connected to the resistance. Just tell me, are our chances of winning over 80%?"
"Well, of course they are..."
"Then what the fuck is the problem? Why are you wasting my time? Iâve already used a âBoundary Lock.â Even if we wanted to call for reinforcements, they canât get in now. So just focus on the fight and stop overthinking things."
Li Yan was at a loss for words.
A Boundary Lock could temporarily seal off a territoryâs entry and exit points.
People outside couldnât get in, and people inside couldnât get out.
It was a common tool used for pursuits.
Li Yan sighed. "Lord Zhao Ji, youâre still a bit impulsive."
Zhao Ji said, "Could I have fucking not used the Boundary Lock? Youâve stood here wasting my time with nonsense for two minutes. If the enemy really is the resistance, they would have already used that time to escape, understand?"
Li Yan nodded. "Alright. Then we have no choice but to give it our all. Lord Zhao Ji, please be careful."
"I know, I know. I know you have Loyalty to me, but youâre just too long-winded. Letâs get going. My Night Vision is about to run out of Time. Supplement me with another one."
Li Yan raised his hand.
A dark ray of light shot into Zhao Jiâs Body.
Zhao Jiâs eyes turned deep red once again.
Zhao Ji looked at his other two subordinate Heroes and ordered, "Zhou Qian, Zuo Yuan, each of you take 100 Blood Race Warriors and circle around from the sides to surround them. You may Attack any enemies you encounter along the way. Remember, I want the enemy Lord captured alive."
"Yes, sir."
Zhou Qian cupped his fists.
He also wore Black Armor. His figure was thin and slender, and his skin was extremely pale, almost bloodless.
He was a Blood Race Hero.
"Understood!"
Zuo Yuan lowered her head slightly.
She was a beautiful female Elf Hero.
Just as the two were about to leave, Li Yan quickly held out a hand.
"You two just take 50 men each. Leave 300 to stay with Lord Zhao Ji."
Zhou Qian and Zuo Yuan glanced at Zhao Ji, but he showed no reaction.
The two of them accepted the new order. "Understood, Lord Li Yan."