Chapter 3602, Following
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Yang Kai burst into laughter, “Mountain Lord Han, you’ve misunderstood me. I don’t mean to ask you to do anything for me. It’s just that two thousand kilometres in that direction, there are about ten thousand Demons lying in wait. If you go over that way now, it’s akin to walking right into the trap.”
“Two thousand kilometres from here?” Upon hearing that, Han Zheng Qing put on an awkward expression as he put his guard up again as he stared at Yang Kai.
He wasn’t sure how powerful Yang Kai truly was, but he had heard that when this Palace Master of High Heaven Palace betrayed the Star Boundary, he was already a Second-Order Emperor. A few years had passed, so he had possibly broken through to the Third-Order Emperor Realm.
No matter how powerful a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master was though, there was no way his Divine Sense was strong enough to detect what was going on in a place that was two thousand kilometres away. Even if he was able to do so, how did he even know that there were ten thousand Demons? How powerful must his Divine Sense be to achieve that? Perhaps only Pseudo-Great Emperors were able to achieve such a feat.
Hence, when Yang Kai told him that there were ten thousand Demons in a place that was two thousand kilometres away, Han Zheng Qing subconsciously thought that this Palace Master was just trying to scare them. In normal times, he would have mocked him; however, they had just been saved by Yang Kai, so despite the fact that he didn’t believe him, he was still unwilling to deride him.
After cupping his fists, he uttered impassively, “Many thanks for your warning, Palace Master Yang. Farewell!”
Upon finishing his words, he turned around and left with the hundreds of people.
Whether Yang Kai was trying to frighten them or there really were ten thousand Demons over there, Han Zheng Qing had to move in that direction because their destination was over there.
While he was leaving, he used his Divine Sense to disseminate orders. Hundreds of cultivators soon formed up into an arrangement that allowed them to mutually cover for one another. Even if they came across any enemies now, they would be able to quickly get into formation and fend them off.
However, after marching forward for a while, Han Zheng Qing frowned and turned around. That was because a thousand metres behind their army, Yang Kai was following them leisurely with his hands folded behind his back. Seeing him turn to look, Yang Kai even flashed a smile at him and nodded slightly. His message was clear. They could walk forward together without disturbing each other.
Han Zheng Qing appeared displeased as he thought he had made his stance clear, but he hadn’t expected that Yang Kai would not act with the dignity of a Palace Master and instead tail them like some kind of leech.
Hence, he ordered the others to hasten their pace. Annoyingly, whether they quickened or slowed down their pace, Yang Kai would still follow them from exactly a thousand metres behind.
Since they were unable to get rid of him, they had no other choice but to let him be. The power Yang Kai had showcased was terrifying, so even if there were several hundred of them, they were certainly no match for him. If they went over to question his motives and infuriated him, they would be the ones to suffer.
However, Han Zheng Qing wasn’t aware that Yang Kai also felt helpless as he followed them.
Since he had come across these Human cultivators on his way home, he couldn’t just ignore them. Even if they were all strangers, he would still make sure that they were safe, not to mention that Fan Xin and several other Ice Heart Valley disciples were part of this unit.
Both parties were heading south anyway. These people were apparently heading back to some Human army rallying point. Yang Kai would still reach his destination in the end if he followed them, it would just waste a bit of his time.
Although they couldn’t detect it, Yang Kai was able to sense that these Human soldiers were not the only people within a ten thousand kilometres radius. There were still many Demon troops around. A weak team like the one under Han Zheng Qing would end up in a miserable state should they come across any of these Demons.
After walking for a hundred kilometres, Han Zheng Qing suddenly frowned and turned his head as his gaze appeared solemn. That was because he could feel that Yang Kai had activated his Divine Sense in an attempt to do something. The fluctuation of the Divine Sense was neither conspicuous nor hidden, which was perceptible to him.
Seeing the awkward expression of her commander, Fan Xin, who was just beside him, asked, “Senior Han, what happened?”
Without explaining it to her, Han Zheng Qing shook his head slowly and said in a serious voice, “Have everyone raise their guards.”
He wasn’t sure whether Yang Kai had sent a message to anyone using his Divine Sense just now, so he could only stay vigilant.
Fan Xin nodded and gave the necessary orders.
After travelling for thirty kilometres, Han Zheng Qing abruptly stopped in his tracks and lifted his hand, after which the hundreds of people behind him also stopped moving.
“Prepare for battle!” Han Zheng Qing shouted, causing everyone’s expression to turn solemn as they started summoning their artifacts. The small team began operating in an orderly manner, and soon, a formation was arranged where the auras of all of them were connected. Han Zheng Qing was standing as the Formation Core. Furthermore, this was a living Formation rather than a dead one, which meant that it was flexible and could adapt at any time. With the help of the Formation, Han Zheng Qing no longer appeared frail as he became high-spirited.
A thousand metres away from them, Yang Kai remained on the same spot and stroked his chin as his interest was piqued.
He had been away from the Star Boundary for a few years, and he had only heard about the Two Worlds’ Great War from rumours and hearsay, which was why he wasn’t familiar with the state of affairs in his homeland. Seeing this Formation, he realised that after so many years, the cultivators of the Star Boundary had adapted to the ways of war. Judging from the fact that a team of a few hundred people were able to assume a Formation so quickly, they must be very familiar with it. The same tactic must have been practised countless times, which was why they were so adept at it.
As a breeze whisked across them, murderous intent could be felt filling the atmosphere. The hundreds of people, whose auras had been connected, waited for their enemies to show up before dealing a fatal blow to them.
All of a sudden, Han Zheng Qing murmured in surprise as he yelled in a particular direction, “This is Han Zheng Qing, Third Left Defender of the Fifty-Third Army, Ninth Division. Identify yourself!”
After he finished speaking, a figure, who had hidden himself using a Secret Technique in a place ten kilometres away, slowly appeared as an excited voice could be heard saying, “Left Defender Han?”
Apparently, the person knew Han Zheng Qing.
Upon hearing that voice, Han Zheng Qing immediately realised who that person was and called out, “Right Defender Liu?”
“It is this Liu!” A guffaw that was tinged with joy could be heard. Then, that person strode towards Han Zheng Qing, and soon, a burly man came into everyone’s sight. The man was drenched in blood, which belonged to himself as well as his enemies. There were deep cuts on his body where bones could even be seen, but he still appeared calm and collected, giving him an intrepid air.
Since the man was a friend, Han Zheng Qing waved his hand to tell the others to be at ease, but he remained cautious. After extending his hand, he said, “Right Defender Liu, please don’t take offence. We have to follow the rules on the battlefield.”
“Understood.” Right Defender Liu knew what the rules were, so he also reached out and gripped Han Zheng Qing’s hand. The next moment, they circulated their Qi at the same time to examine one another’s bodies.
The examination only lasted for a moment, and upon making sure that there was no Demon Qi in the other party’s body, Han Zheng Qing was finally able to heave a sigh of relief. Withdrawing his hand, he asked, “Where are your men?”
Right Defender Liu stuck out his thumb and pointed behind him, “They’re standing by a hundred kilometres in that direction. I came here to have a look first. I’ll tell them to come over now.”
Upon finishing his words, he fished out a communication artifact and activated his Divine Sense to infuse a message into it.
An elated Han Zheng Qing asked, “How many people are left on your side?”
Upon hearing that, Right Defender Liu became dejected. After looking at the people behind Han Zheng Qing, he replied, “About the same as your team. How many people did you originally have?”
Han Zheng Qing turned his head to take a look and forced a smile, “There were more than five hundred of us when we tried to break the siege. Only these people are left now.”
Admiration was written all over Right Defender Liu’s face when he heard that, “It’s really incredible that you were able to save half of five hundred people. We were not able to achieve that on our side. More than a thousand of us… Haa, let’s not talk about it.”
Han Zheng Qing put on a bitter smile. When they were besieged by the Demons, if Yang Kai hadn’t come to their rescue, all of them would have lost their lives. Despite knowing that the achievement had nothing to do with him, it wasn’t appropriate for him to explain anything at this point.
However, if they were able to converge with the people from Right Defender Liu’s side, they would have more power to defend themselves; after all, they were still a few thousand kilometres away from their destination. The road ahead was paved with thorns, and no one could tell how many of them could stay safe.
Right Defender Liu’s men were still a hundred kilometres away, so it would take them some time to arrive. After a discussion, Han Zheng Qing and Right Defender Liu decided to move to a place where they could easily defend themselves while it was difficult for their enemies to attack them. While they were waiting for their fellow soldiers to come over, they could also restore their strength somewhat.
While they were resting, Right Defender Liu suddenly approached Han Zheng Qing and curiously pointed in a particular direction, “Senior Han, who is that?”
On their way to this place, Right Defender Liu had noticed that a thousand metres behind them there was a person who had been following them. He appeared to be handsome and upright, and despite looking quite young, he gave off an inscrutable feeling.
If he was a friend, why was he keeping a distance from them while tailing them? Nevertheless, he didn’t show any sign of hostility either, so he couldn’t be considered an enemy.
When Right Defender Liu pointed at him, the young man flashed a smile at him in response.
Han Zheng Qing shook his head as it was apparent that he wasn’t willing to talk about that man. Right Defender Liu shrugged and stopped pursuing the matter. He wasn’t as powerful as Han Zheng Qing. Before the war, he had to salute him whenever he met him, and he also wasn’t a match for Han Zheng Qing when it came to their positions within the military. Since Han Zheng Qing wasn’t willing to talk about it, he couldn’t possibly keep asking.
However, the young man appeared to be a friend. When he turned around, he saw Right Defender Fan walking up to the young man and passing him some water. Then, she flashed an apologetic smile at him and said something. On the other hand, the young man just waved his hand.
Upon seeing that, Han Zheng Qing frowned but didn’t say anything.
Just then, he arched his brow and muttered, “A group is approaching.”
Right Defender Liu was startled for a moment and said, “They shouldn’t have arrived so soon. I was told that it would take them one hour to reach here.”
“They’re not your men!” Han Zheng Qing got to his feet and whistled.
The hundreds of people, who were adjusting their breathing on the ground, immediately stood up and formed rank behind Han Zheng Qing. In just twenty breaths’ time, the previous Formation reappeared as murderous intent rose.
Half an hour later, several dozen severely injured people appeared.
They were Humans instead of Demons. Just like the people from Han Zheng Qing and Right Defender Liu’s sides, they were the Human soldiers that had been separated from the main force earlier.
