Chapter 188

Intersection of Soundwave Street and Brightflower Street .

“Lou Lan, how do I look?” Fatty asked Lou Lan while striking different poses .

Wearing the Steady Mountain heavy armor made him look like a moving fort . He held the door-like Ironwood Shield in his hand and carried the big fire tank, an even more eye-catching weapon, on his back, effectively becoming a focal point .

“Very powerful!” Lou Lan was generous with his praise . “Fatty is gifted with great strength . I can make you some turtle dragon miracle soup to unleash your potential . It is extremely effective . ”

At Lou Lan’s mention of soup, Fatty’s face turned ugly . He shook his head hurriedly . “Lou Lan, I’m not falling for your trick!”

They arrived half an hour before the scheduled time .

The wide intersection was already filled with groups of troops awaiting orders . They were going to be attacking in the same wave as Ai Hui and his team .

Holding onto Cirrus, Shi Xueman walked beside Ai Hui and said in a low voice, “The situation is looking bad . I asked around and the damage is disastrous . Many teams were dispatched but only a few came back safely . Our advancing speed is not ideal, only half the street is reclaimed . ”

“This is just throwing lives away . ” Jiang Wei commented helplessly .

“What do we have other than our lives?” Duanmu Huanghun responded .

Duanmu Huanghun’s words hit the nail right on the head, leaving everyone in silence .

Suddenly, a commotion sounded from up front .

“Help me! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! Save me…”

“I want to go home… I want to go home… Hu hu… Mother…”

……

The attack teams in the previous wave were retreating from Soundwave Street and only twelve fighters remained . They looked dazed, their gazes vacant with bodies covered in blood stains . Worse, the wounded were lying on rattan stretchers dragged by sand puppets . They were badly injured and some body parts were missing, exposing large amounts of flesh . Some curled up and quivered in pain, letting out blood-curdling screams and howls . Some lay motionless with a lifeless expression on their faces . It was as if their bodies had no soul, not even a tiny murmur or whisper was heard .

Those awaiting battle became restless . Their faces were all tensed up and their bodies trembled uncontrollably . Fear and dread spread like ripples .

“They’re throwing our lives away! They’re trying to kill us!”

Someone within the crowd shrieked agitatedly, dashed out from the formation, and ran far away .

He was extremely fast . As he was about to disappear around the corner of the street, an arrow suddenly appeared in his chest out of nowhere . He staggered a little, staring at his chest blankly, unable to make a sound . All the strength left his body and he lay paralyzed on the ground .

Everyone was shocked by what they had just seen . The spacious road was filled with a deathly stillness .

“Deserters will not be pardoned!”

The imposing, deep voice rang in the sky and echoed within the hearts of those present . They were struck dumb . Immediately, all the commotion was constrained .

“This person fled just before the battle and will be reported directly to the chief association . All rights and privileges enjoyed by his immediate family members will be taken away and the whole clan will be severely punished . I advise everybody here not to depend on luck . Those who died fighting are honorable and those who withdraw will live in perpetual shame . Think carefully!”

The elementalist spread open his azure wings and stood proudly, face expressionless .

Ai Hui looked up and made eye contact with the man, unable to restrain the astonishment he felt . That shot was so amazing . It had appeared on the runaway’s body even before he managed to see it .

He was totally unable to detect the trajectory of that arrow!

That meant that he would also be unable to dodge that arrow .

He quivered inwardly . The satisfaction he’d gotten from understanding [Misty Strike] and [Oblique Slash] flew out the window . He sent a deep look towards the elementalist before retracting his gaze .

Like Ai Hui, Duanmu Huanghun looked up towards the sky . The shock he felt was even more intense, his gaze filled with unconcealable heat and thirst .

“The move in [Heaven Bow] should be [Scarless Heaven Bow] . ” Shi Xueman glanced at the elementalist in midair . “A bow-related inheritance passed down within the Sky Edge Division . He must have served in the Sky Edge Division . ”

She knew the Thirteen Divisions better than anyone else .

“Ignore him,” said Ai Hui before adding, “Are we attacking from Soundwave Street or Brightflower Street?”

“Soundwave . ” Shi Xueman snapped out of it and answered hurriedly . She had long forgotten about finding trouble with Ai Hui .

She couldn’t be as heartless as him . Having a hundred students placed under her supervision was tremendously pressuring . She felt even more tense after seeing the plight of the last wave of fighters .

Idle theorizing gave her no sense of security at this point . She saw the fear in her teammates’ eyes and felt even more uneasy . She suspected that they might undergo a mental breakdown first .

The current situation was everything that the books warned against . The leader was a rookie and the team was made up of rookies who lacked training and morale . There was also a lack of understanding between the commander and soldiers . . .

Her only sense of security came from Ai Hui, who had been expressionless all this while, so she hurriedly snapped out of it upon seeing that he wanted to have a battle discussion . Earlier, he’d looked so unconcerned that she’d wanted so badly to prick him .

“Anyone familiar with Soundwave Street?” asked Ai Hui .

“Let me ask around . ” Jiang Wei turned and walked amongst the team, quickly bringing out a member . It was Huo Yuanlong, who had already suffered fifty whips . “He’s very familiar with this area . ”

“Let’s hear about the situation at Soundwave Street,” said Ai Hui directly .

“Why must I tell you?” Huo Yuanlong glared at Ai Hui as a cold smile formed on his lips, anger flickering in his eyes .

Oh no, Shi Xueman thought to herself .

“Because you don’t want to die . ” Ai Hui looked him straight in the eye, continuing frankly, “I don’t care what happened earlier . If you don’t co-operate, I will make you stand at the frontline . ”

“You’re threatening me?” Huo Yuanlong snarled . He was about to burst with rage .

Huo Yuanlong’s bellow caught everyone’s attention . Even the team beside them looked over, gloating .

“That’s right . ” Surprisingly, Ai Hui did not deny it but coolly admitted it instead .

The anger within Huo Yuanlong disappeared without a trace, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head . Ai Hui remained expressionless and his tone was as calm as ever, as if he had just been talking about ordinary matters .

Huo Yuanlong suddenly felt a little intimidated . This unusual calmness scared him .

No raising his voice, no anger, no clenching his teeth, and no unnecessary menace . He had a feeling that Ai Hui would do it .

Ai Hui’s answer had quieted the whole crowd .

“How… dare you?” Huo Yuanlong did not detect the slight tremble in his own voice .

“I’m the leader of this team . If you disobey my orders you will be dealt with by martial law . That arrow earlier? Martial law . ” Ai Hui replied steadily and emotionlessly .

The students felt a chill in their hearts when they saw the complete change in Ai Hui’s gaze .

Ai Hui’s words were calm, bare, and raw, without reasoning and without trying to convince them . He was merely narrating a simple fact .

An ice-cold, unsentimental fact .

Huo Yuanlong was now totally afraid . In fact, he felt relieved when Ai Hui finally spoke . He swore to himself that he would leave this scary fellow once the catastrophe was over .

Ai Hui questioned him thoroughly, asking which houses had how many rooms, how big the gardens were, and so on . Huo Yuanlong could not answer many of the questions .

Huo Yuanlong returned to the team after answering whatever questions he could . No one mocked him . They kept quiet out of fear as well . The students couldn’t help but avoid Ai Hui’s gaze as they did not dare to look him in the face .

Unlike what Ai Hui had thought would happen, no elementalist came over to allocate a specific attack position for them . Their only requirement was to advance forward as much as possible, destroying all the blood ants they saw .

Such a simple and crude command displeased Shi Xueman . “Swarming in like bees is no different from seeking death . Why is there no concrete plan?” After speaking, she felt that complaining was useless . Even if they had a plan, her teammates would absolutely fail to carry it out .

Truth be told, they were cannon fodder . Cannon fodder used to drain the blood ants’ energy .

Duanmu Huanghun was right . Other than cannon fodder, Central Pine City had nothing . Shi Xueman believed that with her position in the mayor’s eyes, there were no other employable methods .

“You guys are up! Start attacking!” Instructed the elementalist in midair .

Each team hesitated before moving towards Soundwave Street .

“Let’s head to the gate of that shop facing the street . ” Ai Hui pointed out .

Fatty held the heavy shield and walked at the forefront . His overall weight was astonishing . The earth quaked and the mountains shook as he walked . Even the elementalist in the sky was astounded .

There was no morale boosting cheer, no shouting, and no vehement emotions . Each team cautiously advanced forward along the wide street .

The elementalist in the sky wasn’t impatient, but when he noticed Ai Hui’s team, he couldn’t help but feel surprised .

Ai Hui’s team did not advance along the street and appeared by the fence surrounding a shop on the right side of the road instead .

The elementalist seemed rather interested . He recognized Shi Xueman and the rest . While they had little experience, this small team’s strength lay in its students . Not bad at all .

But he also knew that the students were all cannon fodder . The ones which weren’t expendable were the elementalists conscripted by their respective training halls and placed into small teams . They were honing their strength for the big push . Only after the ants had been sufficiently dealt with would it then be time for the main force to enter .

Nevertheless, this small team was actually quite interesting .

Shi Xueman and the rest were unable to make heads nor tails of Ai Hui’s order . The other teams were a distance away from them by now . They looked at Ai Hui, waiting for him to answer this riddle .

“Any way to raze this to the ground?” Ai Hui asked Wang Xiaoshan .

Wang Xiaoshan did not understand what Ai Hui was up to, but it wasn’t difficult for him to do so . He had great knowledge of all kinds of building structures . This shop was built normally and could easily be demolished if they could just find a few key nodes .

“I’ll try . ”

Wang Xiaoshan did not dare to over-deliver . He was a little afraid of Ai Hui .