Chapter 194 Where It All Ends

Everyone looked at Nanlan Qianxue in confusion, but the anxiousness on her face did not seem to be faked.

Was there something that they missed?

Many of them started to reflect upon themselves.

Nanlan Qianxue had fought hard for their sakes as they were retreating, and her efforts had inevitably gained her their respect and admiration.

Otherwise, they probably would not have concerned themselves with her senseless ramblings.

But after thinking for a bit, realisation quickly dawned upon them.

Shit, they really did miss something!

In order to buy time for them to escape, Nanlu Tianzi was still fighting alone behind enemy lines!

If Nanlu Tianzi managed to escape, or perhaps even defeat the Origin Core realm martial artist from before, he would encounter the retreating enemy forces on his way here.

No matter how impressive his past records were, surely it would still be devastating if he had to face such a huge enemy force after battling an Origin Core realm enemy?

And that was exactly what was going to happen if they allowed these enemy forces to leave just like that!

At this point, all those who had collapsed onto the ground earlier quickly sprang to their feet.

No matter how tired they were, how could they just sit around while Nanlu Tianzi was still fighting for his life?

After all, he was put in such a dangerous position only because he was protecting them!

Nanlan Qianxue had not been acting unlike herself.

It was the rest of them who had lost sight of the overall situation!

Now that they had met up with the extraction team, they finally had the capital to return and pave a path for Nanlu Tianzi's escape. Even if they failed to defeat the Origin Core realm opponent, they should still have enough treasures to keep him at bay.

Yet they actually chose to relish in the comfort of the moment, lounging around without a care in the world.

If word about this matter got out, all of them would never be able to lift their heads up in public again!

Unfortunately, this group of people included Nanqing Haowen.

Just like the rest of them, he had been overwhelmed by the opportunity to finally take a rest, and had forgotten about his Brother Nanlu for a moment there.

It might be just a single moment, but in a life or death situation, every moment wasted could lead to an irreversible situation!

Shit… what the hell am I doing?

Nanqing Haowen felt his face flush red, and was even secretly hoping that he could dig a hole somewhere and hide within, away from the eyes of everyone else.

It might be understandable for others to make such a mistake, but as a friend, especially as someone who had been referring to the other party as his brother, it was absolutely unforgiveable in his case!

"What are you guys zoning out for? Go already!" Nanlan Qianxue repeated anxiously.

This was already the second time that Nanlan Qianxue had shouted for them to go, and they certainly did not need to be told a third time.

But just as they were starting to move as instructed, a familiar voice sounded out from behind them.

"Where do you people think you are going?" Beiqian You bellowed in disbelief.

What was wrong with the assault party?

His extraction team had only made it just in time to bail them out of a sticky situation, and there they were, all prepared to run back and stir up some more shit?

Truly ridiculous!

Nanlan Qianxue quickly made her way towards Beiqian You. She knew that even though they were in a hurry, they still had to explain things to the extraction team. Otherwise, the extraction team might even think that they had gone rogue.

"Squad Leader Nanlu Tianzi has stayed back alone to buy time for the rest of us to escape. If we let this group return, they will likely run into him on the way back!" Nanlan Qianxue summarised the situation for him.

"Nanlu Tianzi stayed back alone to buy you time?" Beiqian You raised an eyebrow. At this moment, countless thoughts started running through his mind.

"That's right, so there is no time to waste. We have to move now and stop them!" Nanlan Qianxue turned back to the rest of the group. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" Beiqian You called out immediately, drawing looks of confusion from their allies.

"What's the matter?" Nanlan Qianxue frowned.

"All of you retreat for now, the extraction team will handle things from here on out," Beiqian You answered.

"What? Why?" Nanlan Qianxue questioned. "We can still fight!"

"You might still be able to push yourself a bit further, but how about taking a look at the state of your subordinates?" Beiqian You rolled his eyes.

With his reminder, the members of the assault party finally calmed down a little. Taking a good look around, they could see that most of them were obviously exhausted from the earlier chase.

Not just that, but their introspection was already enough to reveal that they were no longer able to fight at their peak.

Right now, they would not even be able to muster 70% of their full strength, and that was for those who were in relatively better conditions!

"This…" Nanlan Qianxue finally hesitated.

She understood the importance of relieving the pressure on Nanlu Tianzi. But if she had to lead this group of spent martial artists back into the fray, it was likely that many of them would suffer heavy injuries, or even death.

If she insisted on doing so, it would truly be too unfair to these guys!

"Looks like you have finally cleared your head," Beiqian You shook his head. "If you understand now, then head back to the camp. I will send a message to the commanders, telling them about your successful retreat. As for getting Nanlu Tianzi out of there, leave it to us!"

"But…" Nanlan Qianxue was still feeling conflicted.

"How about this?" Nanqing Haowen walked up to them. "I can lead the rest of them back to the camp. As for Squad Leader Nanlan Qianxue, she is still able to fight, so it won't be too much of an issue if she stayed alone, will it?"

Nanlan Qianxue and Nanqing Haowen exchanged glances, and the latter nodded assuringly to the young lady.

He could see how worried Nanlan Qianxue was, and knew that she would not want to leave while Nanlu Tianzi was still in danger.

This way, she could at least stay and help out should the need arise.

However, neither of them expected that even this suggestion would be flat out rejected.

"No, I can't let you do that," Beiqian You shook his head resolutely. "My duty here is to make sure that all of you get to safety. Missing Squad Leader Nanlan Qianxue, you will be the only Essence Condensation realm martial artist with the group. Do understand that should anything happen to the group on the way back, it is not you but me who will have to answer to the upper echelons! Besides, the extraction team has a practised battle formation that will allow us to fight at multiple times our individual strength. If Squad Leader Nanlan Qianxue tags along, you will be the odd one out, and will easily become the weakest link that drags us down. No thanks."

Beiqian You was straightforward with his words, not leaving any face for Nanlan Qianxue as he directly called her out for being a burden.

Even so, Nanlan Qianxue was left unable to rebut.

After all, what Beiqian You said made sense.

If she had sufficient strength, Nanlu Tianzi would not have had to stay behind alone in order to buy time for the rest of them to escape.

"If you understand the situation, then leave first so that we can do our job. Weren't you in a hurry just a bit earlier?" Beiqian You scoffed.

"All right then," Nanlan Qianxue sighed helplessly. "We will take our leave."

Beiqian You nodded.

It was fortunate that this lady was still clear headed enough to understand the situation. Otherwise, he might have to waste some more time and energy trying to convince her.

"Let's go!" Nanlan Qianxue called out to the rest. After shooting one last worried glance at Beiqian You, she left towards their camp, leading the rest of the assault party away.

"Please get Squad Leader Nanlu Tianzi out of there!" Nanqing Haowen put in one last word.

"Even without you asking, we will naturally try our best to do so," Beiqian You assured him.

"Thank you," Nanqing Haowen solemnly clasped his fist towards Beiqian You before leaving as well.

Beiqian You watched as the assault party disappeared over the small hill before turning his attention back towards the retreating enemy forces.

"Nanlu Tianzi…" Beiqian You smirked. "To think that things have progressed in such a manner, how interesting!"

***

Back in the camp of the Dragon Cauldron Army, explosion after explosion sounded out in quick succession, creating a trail of white smoke that seemed to draw a random path through the camp.

Instead of heading straight for the exit, Lu Tianzi had actually remained in the camp. He weaved through the tents as though he was a mouse that was scurrying around, trying to escape from the cat that hovered domineeringly in the sky.

The trail of white smoke was accompanied by pure destruction, as the resultant shockwaves wrecked the surrounding tents.

"I have to admit that you are really quite capable at running!" the old man exclaimed, hiding his exasperation behind a calm voice. "But how long can you keep this up for? Even if you are able to survive for now, you should have realised by now that under my tight control of your surroundings, you have been kept from escaping the camp! And as long as I keep you within the camp, when the others return, you will be surrounded on all sides!"

"…" Lu Tianzi was speechless when he heard that.

What tight control of his surroundings?

Did this old man actually think that he had remained in the camp because he had no other choice?

Well, he truly had no other choice, but it was certainly not because of the old man's control of his surroundings as the old man had claimed.

Rather, it was because Lu Tianzi wanted to keep the old man here for a little longer, preventing him from going after the rest of the assault party!

If he did not do this, with the speed of Lu Tianzi and the old man, they would catch up to the rest in no time. Even the slight headstart that the group had would be quickly reduced to nothing when faced with the speed of an Origin Core realm martial artist.

That said, the rest of them should have reached the rendezvous point by now.

Since that was the case, there was no longer a need for him to waste time here!

A silvery light flashed across Lu Tianzi's eyes.

At this moment, the flow of energy in the area was laid bare before him.

Since the white arrows were basically materialised Essence energy, the trajectories of the numerous white arrows that were heading towards him similarly failed to escape his eyes.

In Lu Tianzi's mind, a calculated path quickly revealed itself, leading straight towards the exit of the camp.

Well, technically it was not the actual exit, but one that he had made for himself earlier.

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Before the old man knew it, Lu Tianzi had abruptly switched directions, throwing off his barrage of white arrows and heading straight towards the edge of the camp.

Damn it, he got lucky this time!

The old man cursed inwardly while struggling to keep up.

Lu Tianzi's movement technique was simply too unorthodox. Every change in direction, every acceleration, none of it had any prelude to it that the old man could catch on to.

From the start, he had been desperately trying to rely on his foresight and prediction in order to cage Lu Tianzi in, and seemed to have been largely successful too! But now that Lu Tianzi got lucky and found a way out, his plans were suddenly thrown into disarray!

At this rate, Lu Tianzi might really make his way to the edge of the camp.

Oh well, that was fine as well.

He had already kept Lu Tianzi here for long enough. Ahead of them, the old man could see that a huge force of their own soldiers was heading back to the camp.

If things went on like this, Lu Tianzi would be trapped in a pincer between the returning force and himself.

And that, shall be where it all ends!