The divine sword that was to protect the nation was guarded by eight well built generals dressed in golden armor and carrying two swords on their backs. Regardless of whether it was their demeanor, appearance, or awe-inspiring mannerisms, it was clear that they were above the normal soldiers Happy had seen along the way. They were also much stronger than them.
Eight pairs of eyes were fixed on Happy, and they sized him up repeatedly.
Clang!
They drew their swords in a uniform manner!
Thud!
The eight general puppets took a step forward and vanished at the same time. Once they were close to Happy, swords glares that could cut his face came slashing at him.
Happy said nothing, but scowled at the air. Finally, he could not help the surges of emotion in his calm heart.
While holding his Silver Wolf Emperor Breaker Sword behind him, he released a golden light around him. Its brilliance instantly reached the peak!
However, just when the general puppets were about to pounce on him and Happy narrowed his eyes before his attack, an extremely cold killing intent rose from behind him!
It appeared out of the blue!
Happy did not need to turn his head around to know it. He had already formed a general outline of the person behind him based on the qi in that person's body, and he knew that there was an incredibly powerful presence standing behind him.
It belonged to… Ninja King!
All of that might have seemed to have happened over a long period of time, but only an instant had passed. The swift appearance of the presence behind Happy, the eight general puppets rushing past his sides, and Happy discovering Ninja King behind him had happened within a second.
Boom!
A golden arm struck the Golden Bell Cocoon around Happy's body at the speed of lightning. The Golden Bell Cocoon let out a sad noise as if a thousand-year-old temple was about to be destroyed—it had been shattered with just one hit from Ninja King.
Happy coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Bang!
He was sent crashing into a wall like a cannonball.
Boom!
He crashed against the wall before he falling heavily on the ground. He landed right in front of the weapon box storing Nation Protecting Divine Sword.
Happy said nothing. All that mattered to him was that he did not die!
Happy reacted quickly. After coughing up two mouthfuls of black blood, he gritted his teeth, ignored the intense pain in all of his body, and quickly brought out three Dew Pills from his Universe Bag. While stuffing them into his mouth, he sat down cross-legged and activated Constellation Breathing Technique before sweeping a glance over the situation in the tomb.
The eight general puppets were filled with murderous intent, and they used their bodies to block the entrance to the tomb. Four of them formed a row to work together to attack Ninja King, who was dressed in Golden Armor and was trying to rush into the tomb. The other four formed another row to stand behind the first row. Their eyes were cold and firm as they held their swords and stood in front of Nation Protecting Divine Sword to ensure its safety.
The general puppets' combat strength was about the same as that of Ninja King's clones. They were also at the later stage of Life and Death Realm. Their sturdy bodies were on par with that of Ninja King who had Golden Armor to protect him. Once the puppets worked together, they managed to block Ninja King from entering! It was also because of them that Happy could have a chance to catch his breath after he received the almost fatal strike from Ninja King.
Naturally, the good situation did not last.
While the general puppets were not weak, they had to face Ninja King, who was an elite in Moksha Realm. His attacks could always send pieces of rock falling from the general puppets' bodies. In less than ten seconds, Ninja King seized the chance to cut down and crush an arm of a general puppet.
Whoosh!
Ninja King's target was Happy, who had entered the tomb and, for some unknown reason, was not attacked by the puppets. Once a gap appeared, Ninja King immediately rushed in, but the general puppets behind the first row worked together to form an encirclement. Eight longswords that contained terrifying strength came from all directions, and with a cold snort, Ninja King had to retreat with great reluctance.
When Happy saw that, he knew that he had at least one more minute.
He shut his eyes, and the area around him swiftly turned dark. A single spark that seemed to have come from a star appeared around his body. He activated Constellation Breathing Technique and circulated his qi madly to force the second star to light up.
As he applied Constellation Breathing Technique with all his strength, the pain in his body was quickly suppressed. A hot wave swiftly became strong in his Dantian region and filled his limbs. With the astonishing medicinal effects released by the three Dew Pills, he quickly got rid of the internal injuries from Ninja King's palm strike. He also restored his damaged qi.
Just like that, Happy's heavy injuries were mostly healed within half a minute due to the medicinal effects of the Dew Pills and his qi cultivation technique in Mystical Realm. Even though he did not return to the peak of his condition, if anyone saw that scene right then, they would definitely be so shocked that their jaws would fall.
There might be only a handful of people in World of Martial Arts who could remain so calm and recover so quickly when Ninja King eyed them with hostility. Most people would have their first instincts telling them to run and quickly leave while Ninja King was held back.
But Happy knew that the ninjas minded their own business in the second level of the royal mausoleum. They would definitely not have the courage to take the initiative and provoke them, so Ninja King's target was very clear!
Happy made the best use of his time and healed his wounds so that he could return to the peak of his condition as soon as possible. It was his only choice, since only when his abilities were restored could he have a sliver of a chance to escape from Ninja King's hands.
Only a few moments went by since he was heavily injured to when he made his decision.
It was all thanks to the experience he had gained in his previous life. If he had taken a second longer to make his decision, Happy would have personally crushed even that last chance of surviving!
Boom!
Boom!
During that period of time, two more puppets fell one after another.
Happy opened his eyes and quickly cast a glance at Ninja King as well as the five remaining general puppets and scowled.
He did not have much time left. He had to get out of there as soon as possible!
When Happy got up, his eyes fell on the weapon box on the jade stage…
Slap!
With one strike, he shattered the cover of the box. A sword shining with a brilliant light lay quietly in the wreckage. The golden sheath had three gems that were yellow, blue, and purple embedded in it, which betrayed the lavish and noble air of a royal family.
Happy put the sword back into its sheath without hesitation. While he put it into his Universe Bag, the system told him that he obtained the semi-completed Nation Protecting Divine Sword.
Happy had not just been tasked to get rid of all the ninjas in the second level of the royal mausoleum, but to get Nation Protecting Divine Sword as well as the heirloom seal. At that moment, he had completed one of the three tasks!
However, Happy knew that if he died, the quest item would definitely drop and be taken away by Ninja King. The real trial of strength had just started.
Happy focused, then shot past the jade stage and approached the five general puppets from behind.
The entrance of the tomb was very narrow, so when the five general puppets moved up to block the entrance, only the area above them was available for anyone to pass through. But to Happy, that was not the path to survival. It was the path of death that Ninja King had intentionally left for him.
It was not time for him to break out of the encirclement just then…
Happy stood behind while watching Ninja King fight against the general puppets. He sized up the conditions of the puppets who were withstanding the brunt of Ninja King's attacks.
Boom!
Finally, the fourth general puppet perished.
The last general puppet from the back row went up to fill in the gap!
But even when the gap appeared, Happy still did not move. He stared at Ninja King calmly while the man was forced out of the tomb once more. Then, he quickly brought out a piece of paper to write: Get to the entrance! Be quick!
Once he was done writing those six words, he let his messenger pigeon fly.
After he finished, the fifth general puppet finally died in Ninja King's hands, and a gap finally formed at the entrance of the tomb.
A cold glare shone under the golden helmet. Ninja King could finally give up on dealing with the last three general puppets and charge in through the gap.
But there was no way the general puppets would let him go so easily.
They moved, and the original gap was shut, but another gap instantly formed in different direction from Ninja King.