Chapter 22 Sharing Life and Death (4)

“I might be afraid of death, but I will still protect my woman. When men die, their ‘bird’ has to be facing the sky, otherwise, they will live in shame for a long time [1. This was really quite a tough one to translate - basically a literal translation of 人死鳥朝天，不死萬萬年. Basically it has the meaning of if you die facing the ground (running away), it’s very shameful for a man/warrior. Also has a connotation of YOLO/ ‘If its yours, it's yours; if it isn't yours then it isn't yours, so just try anyway’]. I’ll fight to the end!” Zhou Weiqing’s foot tapped upon the tree branch and his whole body pounced downwards. He definitely would not allow the Forest Direwolves to destroy the large tree where Shangguan Bing’er was hiding.

As his body leapt forth from the large tree, the Alexandrite Cat’s Eye on his left write shone forth with a deep black as his attribute wheel spun to the black area.

The ‘Touch of Darkness’ instantly spread out, the tentacles reaching out towards the Forest Direwolves below, as he circulated his Heavenly Energy to the maximum, putting forth his aura to its full range...

The Forest Direwolves which had been gathering their power together were instantly scattered around in a mess. With the exception of the Direwolf King, all of them were frightened by the sudden increase in aura, the aura of the King of Beasts.

12 black lights flashed out, almost instantly finding 12 Forest Direwolves close by. With an almost plaintive howl, they were quickly bound by the strong control effect of the Touch of Darkness, and brought together.

At almost the same time, Zhou Weiqing came descending from above, his right leg lifted up high and slamming down with all his considerable might.

With a *Puff* sound, three of the twelve bound Forest Direwolves were struck by his sweeping leg. Instantly, their supposedly tough bodies split apart just like a watermelon, and blood spurted out everywhere, covering Zhou Weiqing all over.

Feeling the stench of fresh blood, the red in Zhou Weiqing’s eyes thickened as bloodlust overtook him. His confidence rose, and with a flash of his body, he had spun to the side. He needed to charge forth as far as he could with all his effort and lure all the Forest Direwolves away, to allow Shangguan Bing’er some breathing room. As she had mentioned earlier, as long as he injured or killed these Forest Direwolves, they would seek revenge upon him til either side was dead. Since that is so, come on!

With Zhou Weiqing’s current level of power, unless he used his Overlord Bow, it should be hard for him to actually kill these Forest Direwolves in a one versus one fight. However, the strength of his Demonic Right Leg was just too overpowering, and he actually managed to kill three in one single blow.

Just as Zhou Weiqing landed his blow, a cold light shot down from the tree. With a loud *swoosh*, it drilled right through the eye of one of the bound Forest Direwolves. A pained cry ensued, as it struggled in its death throes.

“You fool! What are you doing?!” Although Zhou Weiqing was in the midst of running, with his powerful senses, how could he possibly miss that arrow? How could she shoot an arrow at this time?! She should have waited for him to draw away these damn direwolves before making her escape!

Shangguan Bing’er did not reply him. At this time, she could only feel the warmth on her forehead that Zhou Weiqing had left behind.

You foolish Little Fatty, even you who are so afraid of death, have the courage to charge into the direwolves to save my life. How could I possibly abandon you and run off on my own? If we must die today, then let’s die together. Since you were willing to sacrifice yourself for me, I will not feel wronged to die together with you.

With such a feeling fortifying her heart, Shangguan Bing’er was no longer afraid. Every arrow she shot out was infused with Wind Attribute Heavenly Energy, and her Purple Dawn Bow fired repeatedly like lightning, and in a blink of an eye, she had slain five of the bound Forest Direwolves.

It was normally very difficult for an archer to hit these Forest Direwolves, as they were Wind Attribute Heavenly Beasts known for their speed. However, with the bindings from the Touch of Darkness, it was much easier, and within that short period of time, the duo had actually finished off eight.

At this moment, the Direwolf King suddenly moved, and over thirty of the Forest Direwolves also spat out the Wind Blades they had been charging, aimed towards the large tree where Shangguan Bing’er was.

In the direction where Zhou Weiqing had leapt towards, the ordinary Forest Direwolves subconsciously retreated due to the aura from him. However, right in that instant, Zhou Weiqing felt a blur in front of him, and the huge Direwolf King appeared all of a sudden just 10 yards ahead of him; that speed was even faster than Shangguan Bing’er when she was using her Wind Wielding Boots!

This Direwolf King’s intelligence was rather high, and it was very wary about Zhou Weiqing’s aura as well as his Demonic Right Leg. As such, it chose not to move into close combat with Zhou Weiqing, and instead shot forth twelve green Wind Blade from its body, spreading out like a beautiful and deadly green flower, slicing forth at Zhou Weiqing from many different angles.

Dammit, twelve Wind Blades! Is this the power of a Zun Stage Heavenly Beast? An immense pressure fell upon Zhou Weiqing as the unbelievably quick Wind Blades swiftly reached him at the different angles, and it seemed like it was a hopeless situation for him!

The Direwolf King’ Wind Blades were each about one metre long, and as they spread out in a fan shape, the sharp shrill sound of them slicing through the air was bone chilling. Zhou Weiqing had no doubts that these Wind Blades would be able to dismember him, and more.

The strength of having multiple-skills in his Alexandrite Cat’s Eye showed itself at this point, and in a quick, silver flash, Zhou Weiqing vanished from his original position just as the twelve Wind Blades swept across the air where he had been standing. In the next moment, he had not retreated but instead Blinked and appeared 3 yards closer to the Direwolf King. At the same time, he raised his left hand once again, and another green flash lit up as he activated his Fetters of Wind.

This could be said to be Zhou Weiqing going all out! Facing the threat of death, saving his Heavenly Energy was the last thing on his mind.

As expected, the Direwolf King’s body froze, bound instantly by the Fetters of Wind. With a huge lunge, Zhou Weiqing closed the gap, his right leg striking out towards the Direwolf King’s head.

Alas, just as his right leg was about to hit the Direwolf King, with a green flash it had dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding his leg.

The Fetters of Wind did not work? Zhou Weiqing was in shock. After all, amongst all his Skills, the Fetters of Wind was the strongest in terms of control ability.

In actual fact, the Fetters of Wind did not fail him, instead its duration had been shortened considerably. After all, the Direwolf King was a Wind Attribute Heavenly Beast itself, and had a very strong resistance against Wind Attribute Skills. Furthermore, Zhou Weiqing’s true strength was not even on the same level as the Direwolf King. Even if it was considered one of the weakest of all the Zun Stage Heavenly Beasts, but it was still Zun Stage! Zhou Weiqing was merely a low level Shi Jewel Master, and their basic levels were just too far apart.

As such, his Fetters of Wind was only able to bind the Direwolf King for just a short period of time. No matter how powerful the Alexandrite Cat’s Eye Elemental Jewel was, it was after all still Zhou Weiqing’s first and only Jewel.

At the same time, on the other side of the battlefield, alongside the shrill cutting sound, the huge tree which Shangguan Bing’er had been on totally disintegrated.

In a green blur, Shangguan Bing’er had leapt forth at the last second, the Wind Wielding Boots already Consolidated on her feet, pushing her speed to its very maximum. While in midair, she managed to shoot forth another two more arrows. Alas, against the moving Forest Direwolves, they were able to better protect their weak points. Although she still managed to hit two of them, but it struck harmlessly off their bodies, their thick and resilient fur full of stopping power. Even with the strength of the Purple Dawn Bow, she only managed to deal minor injuries.

These Forest Direwolves were afraid of the aura from Zhou Weiqing, but they were definitely not afraid of Shangguan Bing’er. Instantly, a large number of Forest Direwolves sprang up and pounced towards her. As a result, she no longer had any more time and leeway to fire off anymore arrows, and could only depend on her Wind Wielding Boots mounted with one of her Elemental Jewels in order to constantly dodge, as she attempted to make her way towards Zhou Weiqing.