Chapter 244 Terrifying Strike

Despite the rage building up within him, Wenqin did not act carelessly.

Even now, he could still feel the warm blood trickling down the surface of his right hand, courtesy of Mosha's dual sabres.

Earlier when he was just about to clash against Mosha, the world around him suddenly turned dark, with a ghastly apparition charging straight at him. Thankfully, he had managed to pull himself out of the illusion almost immediately, but losing his momentum for that instant had still costed him heavily.

And it was only after he had broken out of the illusion that he realised it had come in the direction of Nanlu Tianzi.

So Nanlu Tianzi is capable of illusion attacks as well?

That would make things slightly trickier, but that did not mean the outcome would change.

Having faced both of them in combat before, Longshao Wenqin had absolute confidence in the fact that he was more than capable of dealing with both of them at the same time!

Those around them could not help but watch on with anticipation.

Mosha and Nanlu Tianzi were largely recognised as the two most talented members of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom. And right now, they were about to work together in order to face someone of the same title, only that he belonged to the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom instead.

Just how would this battle turn out?

But no matter what the outcome was, it was already obvious that Longshao Wenqin was on another level altogether.

After all, both Mosha and Nanlu Tianzi were being forced to work together just to contend against him!

Lu Tianzi let out a deep breath as he braced himself for the fight that was to come.

Truth be told, this battle had been relatively simple for him since the beginning.

Firstly, he had begun with converting the protruding rocks on their side of Rockfall Plain, something that went completely uncontested.

After which, he went on to help Nanlan Qianxue at the frontlines, relieving the pressure that had been put on his allies by the Dragon Cauldron Army's line of Thornback Tortoises. This finally required him to actually fight, but it was still against Essence Condensation realm beasts. At his current level, opponents under the Origin Core realm would no longer present much of a challenge.

He did not stay there for long either.

Once their frontline managed to hold steady, Lu Tianzi quickly moved on to start converting the protruding rocks around the centre of the battlefield, relying on his squad members to guard him. After all, completing the grand formation was his job to begin with, and it was also the only way for them to win this battle convincingly.

When he saw Bogeng go for Beimu Fei, Lu Tianzi had initially reacted in the same way as Formation Master Beimu, wanting to rush over immediately.

But when he saw how easily Mosha handled Bogeng, Lu Tianzi decided to just leave things to him.

Who knew that Wenqin would suddenly descend from the sky, forcing Mosha into such a dire state?

In Lu Tianzi's eyes, the Scarlet Moon Army had two priorities right now – Marshal Xianming's group needed to break out of being surrounded, and the grand formation needed to be completed.

One was to prevent an immediate loss, while the other was to claim victory.

Coincidentally or not, the success of both matters largely depended on whether Wenqin could be dealt with.

Once Wenqin was allowed to roam freely, he could either go up to reinforce the Dragon Cauldron Army forces, sealing the fate of Marshal Xianming's group; or he could pursue Beimu Fei, eliminating her altogether.

Should Wenqin choose the latter, Beimu Fei would never stand a chance.

And seeing how Wenqin had decided to prioritise coming over instead of staying the skies, the likelihood of him choosing the second option was actually relatively high.

With Beimu Fei removed, it was a given that Wenqin would head for Lu Tianzi next. Even if Lu Tianzi was able to match Wenqin in a fight, it would mean that no one on their side would be preparing for the grand formation anymore, effectively taking away their win condition.

What saving Bogeng? What helping out his ally?

Lu Tianzi did not believe Wenqin cared about all that.

Instead, Wenqin must have seen through their plan. Judging that the battle in the sky was still to the advantage of the Dragon Cauldron Army, Wenqin was now moving to stop them.

By doing so, Wenqin was trying to leave the Scarlet Moon Army with no hopes of victory whatsoever!

Mosha probably understood the situation as well, which explained why Mosha had continued to persist despite knowing that there was no way for him to win. He knew that no matter what, he had to hold down Wenqin for as long as he could.

But the thing was, it might be impossible for Beimu Fei to delay Wenqin, but Lu Tianzi had a shot. Understanding that, Lu Tianzi decided to just leave the converting of rocks to Beimu Fei, coming over to help Mosha instead.

Even though Lu Tianzi was not entirely confident of being able to stop Wenqin, he had to at least try.

As long as he fought alongside Mosha, their chances of winning would surely be higher.

Surely… right?

While he was still thinking that, Wenqin shot forward, charging straight towards them.

The illusory net behind Wenqin glowed, shrouding the entire area in a formless pressure. Any other martial artist under the Origin Core realm would have found it difficult to even move, but not Lu Tianzi.

He drove the Slaughter Essence in his inner world, instantly dispelling the pressure from Wenqin.

At the same time, Essence energy poured into the Moon Culler, causing it to give off a dull grey light.

All Origin Core rank treasures had the ability to imbue their users with strength originating from the treasures themselves, and the Moon Culler was no different.

Moon energy – was what Formation Master Beimu called it.

It was energy of the Yin attribute, and was especially suited for night battles.

With the blazing sun shining over their heads, it was obviously not night time right now. Even so, it would still be able to provide a small boost to his attack power.

Mosha and Lu Tianzi moved at almost the exact same moment, stepping forward to confront the approaching Wenqin.

Both of them slashed out, Mosha with his dual sabres, and Lu Tianzi with the Moon Culler.

Yet at this moment, it was as though Wenqin could not be bothered with Lu Tianzi.

Wenqin's eyes had been trained on Mosha all along, punching out towards the latter.

At the same time, the Cauldron of Draconic Force moved, coming in between Wenqin and Lu Tianzi.

"In the end, you are but a mere Essence Condensation realm martial artist. Wanting to join our fight? Aren't you overestimating yourself a little?" Wenqin scoffed.

Just like the last time, Wenqin was intending to simply block off Lu Tianzi with the Cauldron of Draconic Force.

Lu Tianzi frowned.

The last time he struck against the Cauldron of Draconic Force, he had been sent flying by the resultant shockwave, and his weapon was even damaged in the process. This was the reason why he was hesitant to use the Torrential Sabre against Wenqin.

Now with the Moon Culler, would there be any changes to the outcome?

There was only one way to find out.

Returning Wraith Sword!

Blue wisps of energy enveloped the Moon Culler as it slashed forth, aimed straight at the huge body of the treasure cauldron.

Bang-!

The thunderous clash sent a strong wave of vibrations through the Moon Culler, and Lu Tianzi felt his arm go numb for a moment. At the same time, the cauldron sent out a powerful shockwave upon impact, just like it did the previous time.

This time, however, Lu Tianzi was prepared.

Lu Tianzi dug his heels into the ground right before he was struck by the shockwave.

Even so, the shockwave was too strong, pushing Lu Tianzi back by a good few metres.

Compared to before when he was smashed straight into the ground, it could be seen as somewhat of an improvement. But that was simply not enough.

After all, he was still being kept occupied by a mere treasure!

Lu Tianzi hurriedly took a look at Mosha, only to see that he had been sent flying once more.

"Damn it!" Lu Tianzi dashed forward, wanting to rush to Mosha's aid.

However, the Cauldron of Draconic Force had not been sent far from the previous impact, and quickly moved to block him once again.

This thing again!

Lu Tianzi cursed inwardly.

As long as there was this treasure cauldron in the way, he would never be able to get near enough to help Mosha!

Unlike Lu Tianzi, Mosha was forced to face the full brunt of Wenqin's attack.

Now that Wenqin's strength had been boosted by the Cauldron of Draconic Force, Mosha could no longer handle his attacks like he did before.

Previously, no matter how much he lost in these clashes, Mosha had still been able to maintain his balance, keeping up his defences in order to minimise the damage taken.

This time, however, Mosha was sent tumbling to the ground. And by the time he got back up, Wenqin was already almost right in front of him.

"This is it," Wenqin said coldly.

Countless invisible energy threads from the Cauldron of Draconic Force wrapped around Wenqin's right arm, forming something that resembled a cocoon of energy.

Lu Tianzi recognised this move immediately.

Back then during Wenqin's attack on their camp, he had used this same attack to take the life of a Third Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist in a single hit.

This time round, his target was Mosha.

Mosha could not see these invisible energy threads, but he could sense an extremely dense power gathering around Wenqin's raised arm.

His instincts immediately screamed at him, warning him that this next attack was going to be far stronger than the previous ones. Unfortunately, it was already too late to dodge.

Mosha roared, driving his Slaughter Essence to the limit as he slashed out with his dual sabres once more. Even if it was impossible to completely block this attack, he had to somehow mitigate as much of the damage as possible!

Wenqin sneered in response before his figure flashed, almost appearing to have vanished from the spot he was at.

He had taken a quick sidestep, at a speed that would have thrown off any ordinary opponent.

Of course, Mosha's battle instincts were not to be underestimated either. He had absolutely no problems following Wenqin's movements, slashing out towards Wenqin's new position.

Seeing this, Wenqin seemed to have given up on skirting around Mosha.

He stood his ground and punched out, his eyes filled with nothing but killing intent.

Bang-!

The energy cocoon around Wenqin's arm exploded into a burst of energy, erupting forth towards Mosha and blowing his guard wide open. It did not stop there either, advancing until it struck Mosha right in the chest.

It shredded his defensive armour, drawing blood that spurt out like a fountain.

Pu-!

Mosha spat out mouthful of blood as his legs were instantly lifted off the ground.

This time, the speed at which he was sent flying was incomparable to before. It was almost as though he was a projectile that had been fired off by Wenqin's punch!

Bang-!

Before anyone could react, Mosha had received yet another impact mid-flight.

It happened in a flash, but when everyone figured out just what caused this second impact, they were completely dumbfounded.

This time, the hit had actually come from Lu Tianzi!

Right as Mosha was sent flying by Wenqin, Lu Tianzi had actually moved behind to intercept him mid-flight, throwing out a kick that sent him straight into the ground!

Just what kind of situation was this?

Weren't Mosha and Lu Tianzi supposed to be teaming up against Wenqin?

Why did it seem more like a free for all instead?

"Delaying the inevitable," Wenqin glared at Lu Tianzi, his expression extremely dark.

He obviously did not share the sentiments of others.

Others might not understand the reason behind Lu Tianzi's actions, but how could he not?

Wenqin was not worried about losing this fight, but every moment spent fighting here was time wasted on his part. Not satisfied with the current situation, he wanted even more insurance about the outcome.

After all, he could see that while they were fighting, Beimu Fei was still busy converting the other protruding rocks into formation nodes.

Since the Scarlet Moon Army seemed to be banking on the completion of the formation, he just had to target these formation nodes instead. As long as he managed to destroy these rocks during the fight, he could make sure that no matter how long this battle dragged on for, the other faction would still be unable to complete their formation!

That was why he had repositioned himself just before throwing out the punch earlier. It was not as simple as trying to blindside Mosha. Through that, he had also been adjusting the angle, intending to use Mosha's body as a projectile and him Mosha flying straight into one of the protruding rocks.

Who knew that Lu Tianzi would be able to see through it beforehand, even moving in place just in time to stop that?

But as he said, this was just delaying the inevitable.

Mosha had not moved after being kicked into the ground by Lu Tianzi. It seemed like even though the earlier punch had failed to kill him, Mosha was had still been taken out of the fight.

Now, he just had to take care of one more insect before he could officially put an end to things here!

Lu Tianzi's expression was grim at this moment.

He had wanted to help Mosha with the last attack from Wenqin. But in the end, he was unable to get past the Cauldron of Draconic Force. Seeing that there was no longer any way for him to make it in time, he could only opt for the second best option.

But now, Mosha seemed to be completely out of commission, and it was definitely not because of his kick.

It was because Wenqin's attack was simply too terrifying.

Even though Mosha managed to survive, he had still been knocked unconscious with a single strike!

And now, it was his turn.