CapĂtulo 1951: Chapter 1444: Ambush (Part 2)
And as several Elders publicly announced that a Demon Cultivator and Devil Beast army numbering as many as thirty thousand was approaching, an uproar instantly erupted throughout the stronghold.
âDamn it! Why didnât you say earlier that the enemy was this powerful? If Iâd known, I wouldnât have come here and wasted my time!â
âExactly, exactly!â
âQuick, letâs go, donât let this war drag us down with it!â
Almost instantly, quite a few cultivators turned pale with fright, trembling in terror. Without another word, they spun around and bolted, as if some wild beast was chasing them from behind, and stumbled toward the spatial rift in panic.
The Li family cultivators, who had long since received news, merely watched coldly. As long as those people didnât insult or slander the Li family, the Li cultivators would not intervene.
âTch!â
âA bunch of cowardly fools! Didnât you know thereâd be danger? All you want now is an excuse to leave with your dignity intact.â
Where there are those afraid, there are also those itching to try their luckâexcited and eager, already fantasizing about how much they could gain from the coming war!
And seeing those timid parasites, so pathetic and ridiculous, some couldnât help but laugh and mock a few lines.
âWho are you! If youâve got guts, step up and letâs settle this! Letâs see if you even have the right to say such things!â
The fleeing cultivators were already ashamed enough; now, being called out, their faces grew uglier as they readied themselves to teach their taunters a lesson and recover their dignity.
âCome on! Whoâs afraid of who!â
Immediately, several cultivators stepped forward, full of scorn, sneering, âNo wonder you donât have the guts to take action against those Outer Realm Creaturesâall your courage is spent on us.â
âYou! Go to hell!â
With repeated ridicule, one of the cultivators finally snapped, and actually attacked in publicâa blazing fire shot from his hand, whizzing toward his target.
âEnough!â
The Li family, who had been watching coldly, shouted and broke up the fire with a swift move.
They glared at the cultivators planning to leave, and said, âYou all had better leave quickly, otherwise when the war starts, the spatial rift will close. Then you wonât be able to leave, even if you want to!â
Hearing this, those cultivators looked even grimmer, but didnât dare utter another word, walking toward the spatial rift with sullen faces.
After this farce, the once-crowded stronghold immediately became more spacious.
This time, over a thousand people left out of fear.
Actually, those who stayed arenât fearlessâthey just seek more than the rest, and thus didnât leave.
Time ticked by slowly. Normally it passed in a blink, but now it felt unbearably slow!
Waiting for the Demon Cultivator and Devil Beast joint army to arrive and for the battle to erupt, more than ten thousand clansmen and loose cultivators grew ever more restless and uneasy.
Though many cultivators who might have shaken morale and lowered the fighting spirit had been sent away, idle hands breed anxiety most easily.
Dong dong dongââ
Suddenly, a clear and pleasant bell sounded throughout the stronghold, like a spring breeze, instantly easing all sorts of negative emotions in their hearts; quite a few cultivators relaxed because of it.
Time slipped by quietly, and after two hours, a dark shadow could be seen in the distance, slowly flying toward them.
âTheyâre here!â
Li Zhirui suddenly appeared from nowhere, voice infused with mana, clearly transmitting to each clansmanâs ears: âEveryone, get ready!â
But as arranged by the Li family, only three to four thousand cultivators were exposed on the surface; the surplus hid in bed or somewhere else, all to give Demon Cultivators and Devil Beasts a surprise.
Meanwhileâ
The huge cloud, made up of tens of thousands of Demon Cultivators and Devil Beasts, was slowly flying toward the Li family stronghold.
âAlmost here!â
That single sentence instantly awoke all the dormant Demon Cultivators and Devil Beasts.
âGa ga ga! Finally here, I canât wait to taste the flesh and blood of these Outer Realm cultivators!â A certain Devil Beastâs face twisted in a grotesque grin; when it opened its mouth, a reek poured out, dizzying anyone who smelled it.
âWonder if these cultivators are strong enough to withstand our second assault.â
âHow boring, this scale doesnât deserve such fanfare. Total waste of my precious time.â
But whether sneering, expectant, or any other emotion, they had already arrivedâand were here!
Rumble rumbleââ
Before they could even steady themselves, beams of spirit light shot upward from the stronghold below, aiming to blast them apart.
The sudden sneak attack did indeed do some damageâbut only a little.
About a few dozen died, all weaklings.
âHahahahaha⊠Looks like thatâs all theyâve got!â
The result made the Demon Cultivators and Devil Beasts laugh uproariously; they couldnât believe their opponents were so weak.
âHeard the Immortal Tao once attacked this stronghold, but failed to take it and suffered heavy losses. Now it seems those cultivators were weak too, no wonder they got wiped out by Outer Realm Creatures.â
âSeeing how weak they are, I almost hesitate to strike.â
Demon Cultivators are erratic, twisted personalities; facing armies, theyâd still spout such idiotic thingsâtruly a rare spectacle.
Of course, deep down they knewâthe invaders appeared weak now, not because they lacked strength.
If they had no power, how would they have annihilated the Immortal Tao?
The reason for this was simple: seizing the chance while the powerful Outer Realm creatures, especially that Female Sword Cultivator, werenât presentâto bully the weak.
Seeing them gather thirty thousand just to attack the stronghold, one could tell they were still anxious and fearful inside.
If they truly looked down on the stronghold, thereâd be no need to mobilize an army on this scale.
After probing and finding only a bit over three thousand cultivators here, and their strength not worth mentioning, most Demon Cultivators and Devil Beasts grew slack, even feeling somewhat bored.
But they had no ideaâthe real danger was almost upon them!
Inside the stronghold, Li Zhirui hadnât made a move at first, for his existence was little known to outsiders. After all, any natives who knew of him before had all died at his hands.
Instead, he hid in a corner, observing the situation of the demon army.
He, along with those several thousand hidden cultivators, would each unleash a single devastating Killing Move upon the invadersâand theyâd only get one chance, so there could be no slipups.
When Li Zhirui saw many Demon Cultivators and Devil Beasts turning slack after finding the stronghold weak, he knew the opportunity had come!
âXiu Ting, Xiu Jiang, Chonglou⊠notify everyone: prepare to unleash your strongest Killing Move in thirty breathsâattack the demon army!â
He couldnât possibly inform every hidden person personallyâthere were several thousand after all, and while his Spiritual Soul was strong, that wasnât feasible.
If he tried, heâd have no strength left for anything elseâlet alone to launch the Killing Move.
Thankfully, all had been arranged beforehand; Li Zhirui just needed to notify a few clan members, and theyâd relay the message to the others.
âReceived!â
Li Xiuting and the others immediately passed the instructions to their respective groups of hundreds.
Then they began preparing their Killing Moves, waiting for the moment to strike in unison!
Li Zhirui fixed his gaze on those Demon Cultivators in the Realm of Human Immortality. As for those Human Immortal Devil Beasts, he wasnât confident of killing them in one shotâbut for Demon Cultivators, he was more than sure of himself!