In the darkness, Wu Ying led Chen Guangming, Yin Jiyue and the others, using the shadows as cover, silently climbing up Yang Baoshan.
The mountaintop was ablaze with light, loud shouts and laughter ringing out, mixed with the wails and cries of women.
Wu Ying looked down toward the camp at the foot of the mountain and saw several brawny men wantonly molesting two young girls.
Beside the bonfire, a few other men had been tied up.
One of them had even been beheaded, blood splattering over the white snow and already congealing into dark clots.
The men beside him were roaring in fury, but their mouths had been stuffed, so only resentful, hateful whimpers could squeeze out from their throats.
One of them struggled, trying to rush over and stop those bastards from playing with the girls, but a burly man behind him kicked him hard to the ground.
The brute planted his foot on the middle-aged manâs head and cursed, "Hahaha, you bunch of Yang Baoshan remnants still thinking about a night raid? Your boss Pu Shanlie, no one even knows if heâs dead or alive, and you still wonât give up?"
"Hey, Brother Gao, if theyâd given up, how would they have sent us these two pretty little chicks? Hahahaha."
The few brutes burst into lewd laughter.
One of them shouted, "Fuck it, stop dawdling, Laozi canât hold back anymore. I havenât had a good time for four, five days already."
As he spoke, he tore open one girlâs coat with a single yank, exposing the fair skin beneath.
Someone cursed with a laugh, "Fuck, Qi the Third, youâre really gonna do it right here in the snow?"
The one called Qi the Third roared with laughter, "Snowâs fine too. Laoziâs never done it on snow before, hahaha."
"Youâre not afraid your dickâll freeze off?" the burly man surnamed Gao laughed and cursed.
Hidden in the shadows, Yin Jiyue saw this scene, gritted her teeth, her eyes blazing, and hissed, "These animals!"
Wu Yingâs eyes also showed a trace of pity as he said, "This is what happens when you canât protect your own home."
"If one day an unbeatable enemy comes knocking, even if it costs me my life, I wonât take a single step back!"
"Because once we retreat, the family and loved ones behind us will taste this kind of despair and pain."
Beside him, Chen Guangmingâs expression turned solemn as well. He said, "Captainâs right. Better to die. I will never let my family end up like this!"
"Captain, should we move?" Yin Jiyue couldnât help asking.
Wu Ying thought for a moment, then said, "We move!"
Rescuing people was one reason, but he also needed a few people familiar with Yang Baoshanâs terrain to lead the way.
Yin Jiyue and Chen Guangmingâs faces instantly turned vicious. With a wave of her hand, she led the others in, silently closing in on the bonfire!
"Kill!"
With a sharp shout, everyone struck at once.
From the shadows, the ambush and slaughter erupted in an instant.
Pffft!
Qi the Third had just pulled down his pants when his lower half was chopped off with one stroke.
For a split second, a shriek tore out of his throat.
But before he could fully let it out, Yin Jiyue slipped out of the shadows and slashed his throat. The scream cut off abruptly.
Chen Guangming and the others also struck quickly; these men werenât strong.
After all, anyone assigned to night watch here at this hour, guarding a passage, was definitely no expert.
Wu Ying and the others took them out cleanly in no time.
Then they swiftly freed the two girls and the Yang Baoshan survivors tied up on the ground.
"Thank you, thank you! May I ask who you are?"
A middle-aged manâs eyes were rimmed red, tears streaming as he thanked them over and over.
Wu Ying said in a deep voice, "Weâre from Yangshan. We received Yang Baoshanâs call for help and rushed over to support you. Whatâs the situation on the mountain now?"
Hearing that Wu Ying and the others were actually support from Yangshan, the few Yang Baoshan survivors present all had their eyes redden with excitement.
"Yangshan! Youâre really from Yangshan?"
"Wuu, why are you only here now? Why did you only come now? Itâs too late, way too late, wuuâ"
A younger man broke down crying on the spot, wronged to the extreme.
Wu Ying sighed and asked, "Can you tell me whatâs going on up there? Who can still make decisions for Yang Baoshan now?"
The middle-aged man wiped his tears and said, "Weâve been completely defeated. The Leader is missing, and Captain Xu Haoyang and the others have been taken to Mist City."
"Right now there are only some captives left on the mountain. The Beichen Island bandits have already taken the place over."
Wu Ying immediately asked, "Where are your families being held?"
"In the dungeon."
"Take us there. Weâll save them, and then weâll slaughter these Beichen Island bandits together!"
"Really? Youâre willing to help us save our families?" the middle-aged man asked, trembling with excitement.
Wu Ying said gravely, "Uncle, the reason we came this time is to save you. Donât worry, our main force is right at the foot of the mountain. Once we make our move, theyâll charge straight up. This little bunch of bandits wonât be able to stop us."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man was overjoyed and immediately called the others over.
He then took the initiative to lead Wu Ying and the rest up a small path toward the mountaintop.
This saved Wu Ying and the others a lot of time searching.
Not long after, Liang Yuan at the foot of the mountain suddenly looked up when he heard a loud bang from above.
A streak of firework blossomed in the air!
It was a Bursting Rune arrow!
Without another word, Liang Yuan waved his hand and shouted, "Kill!"
Han Xiangman, Zhang Peng and the others roared in unison.
"Kill!"
A crowd of people leapt forward, charging straight for Yang Baoshan!
Liang Yuanâs body shot up, riding the air as he flew ahead of them to the peak, overlooking the entire Yang Baoshan.
From the gathering ground in the mountains below, several figures shot out like arrows.
"Hahaha, the remnants of Yang Baoshan actually dare come back!"
"Youâre courting death!"
One of the newcomers let out a vicious laugh as a torrential aura swept out.
It was actually an expert whose main attribute was close to a hundred.
Only, as Liang Yuan listened to this voice, He felt it strangely familiar.
Liang Yuan looked up, and saw the newcomer with four wings on His back, Speed extremely fast.
Those wings were as thin as cicada wings, buzzing and vibrating, driving the surrounding air into a rapid tremor.
Wherever He passed, a buzzing, tearing sound followed.
Looking at His appearance again, a man in His twenties, not very old, expression vicious and sharp, gaze gloomy.
Liang Yuan stared carefully at Him, feeling that the other party looked very familiar, but the impression was not deep.
The aura on this person was not weak; His Main Attribute should not yet have fully reached 100 points.
Judging from the murderous aura rolling off Him, He had probably killed quite a lot of people.
Seeing that this person was about to join the battle and intercept and kill the Yangshan crowdâ
Liang Yuan stopped watching from the sidelines; His figure flickered, and a blast of Spirit Shock slammed fiercely toward this man.
Buzz!
"Ahâ"
The manâs head shook violently, and His consciousness instantly grew hazy.
With Liang Yuanâs current Spiritual Attribute, opponents under 100 points could be said to have no power to fight back at all.
The newcomer clutched His head, letting out a terrified roar, then looked up at Liang Yuan.
At this look, the viciousness on His face instantly vanished without a trace, replaced by an extremely frightened expression!
"Liang, Liang Yuan!"
He blurted out Liang Yuanâs identity in one breath.
Liang Yuan couldnât help showing a surprised look; His figure flickered, and He grabbed the man by the neck, lifting Him up.
"You know me?"
The cicada-winged manâs face went pale: "Y-yes, I know you! Iâm from the Sharp Sword Mercenary Corps; I once followed Captain Li Kun and saw you. My name is Fang Liang."
When Liang Yuan heard this, He immediately reacted.
He indeed remembered that under Li Kun, the leader of the Sharp Sword Mercenary Corps back then, there had been a Transformation Ability User specifically responsible for passing messages.
A Superpower User who could transform into a spring cicada.
So it turned out to be this guy named Fang Liang in front of Him.
"Interesting. I didnât expect that after not seeing you for a while, your strength has actually reached this level."
Fang Liangâs progress was undoubtedly huge. You had to know, when Liang Yuan beheaded Li Kun back then, Fang Liang was still just a gofer, hadnât even condensed a Genetic Species.
Yet at this moment, not only had Fang Liang condensed a Genetic Species, His Main Attribute had actually already approached a hundred points!
Judging by His appearance, eight or nine times out of ten He was the person in charge on Yang Baoshanâs side.
Fang Liang said in a trembling voice, "What do you want to do?"
Liang Yuan asked, "Where is Chang Yuntao?"
Fang Liangâs expression shifted slightly as He said, "You dare call Your Majesty by name directly. Liang Yuan, I advise you to let me go and come with me to see Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty already knows about you stealing Blood Crystals from Mist City. He will not let you off."
Liang Yuan couldnât help but laugh. "Oh? When did He find out?"
"Heâs known for a long time. After Leng Yuehua and the others defected to Your Majesty, Your Majesty already knew. You canât run."
"You have no idea how terrifying Your Majestyâs strength is now. Donât say you aloneâeven if all of you put together, itâs impossible for you to be a match for Your Majesty!"
Liang Yuan frowned, surprised: "Leng Yuehua? Leng Yuehua didnât die?"
Fang Liang immediately said, "Haha, did you think that hidden move you left behind already killed Leng Yuehua?"
"Itâs useless. As long as Your Majesty makes a move, She wonât die."
"Liang Yuan, youâre strong, but compared to Your Majesty, youâre still far behind."
"The boss of this Yang Baoshan was called Pu Shanlie, you should have heard of Him, right? A master at the Genetic Reorganization Level who could transform into a terrifying Mutant Beast."
"Do you know what gene recombination is? Itâs an existence on a higher level than Genetic Species!"
"You simply donât understand how powerful that kind of Power is."
"But even someone this powerful still died at Your Majestyâs hands all the same!"
"Liang Yuan, what lucky illusions do you still have? Surrender!"
"I can plead for you with Your Majesty and spare your life."
"Itâs the Great Flood apocalypse now. Your strength isnât weak; if you join Your Majestyâs forces, you should still get a place."
"You and I together, assisting Your Majestyâeveryone can live freely and happily in this apocalypse. How about it?"
Fang Liang was still trying to stir Liang Yuan up, trying to persuade Liang Yuan to surrender.
Liang Yuan looked at Him with a strange expression.
Clearly, this Fang Liang didnât know His true strength.
At the same time, Liang Yuan thought: if Fang Liang didnât know His true strength, did Chang Yuntao know?
The next moment, He shook His head. Chang Yuntao definitely knew.
Otherwise, with Chang Yuntaoâs current strength, why hadnât He just marched straight on Yangshan to find Him?
Then why was it that Chang Yuntao knew His strength, yet His subordinates didnât?
Since this Fang Liang had been placed here by Chang Yuntao to guard Yang Baoshan, He should definitely have earned Chang Yuntaoâs trust.
For such an important intelligence matter, why hadnât He been told?
Soon, Liang Yuan thought of a possibility.
"Could it be Heâs afraid of hurting His subordinatesâ morale? The stronger I am, the more His people will fear me and thus wonât dare to confront my Yangshan men head-on."
"Could it be that He deliberately concealed the information so that when His subordinates saw me, they would launch a not-afraid-of-death assault, instead of fleeing without a fight?"
Liang Yuan speculated in His heart, then asked Fang Liang with great interest, "Then tell me, if I want to go and defect to Him, where should I go to find Him?"
Fang Liang froze for a moment, not expecting Liang Yuan to admit defeat so quickly.
His heart instantly surged with joy. If He could directly persuade this Yangshan Leader in front of Him to surrender, that would absolutely be a huge merit for Him!
He immediately said, "Mist City! Your Majesty is stationed in Mist City, right next to Beichen Island now. If youâre sincere, let me go first and Iâll take you there."
Liang Yuan smiled. "Hehe, fine, then youâll take me there!"