HCB 23. Encountering an ambush
23. Encountering an ambush
In a certain place in Nanning, several people sat around a square mirror, their expressions solemn.
The elderly man at the head of the group said in a deep voice, "Three more people now, huh? This combination is quite rare. Is one of them the daughter of that child from back then?"
"That child from back then?" A middle-aged man's expression suddenly changed drastically. "Gao Zhilin! Could that boy be Gao Zhilin's daughter?"
The old man shook his head and said, "You are still so impatient. Back then, we were almost exposed by their investigation. It was a bit dangerous, but there was no need to react so strongly."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man lowered his head and replied, "I was making a fuss over nothing. But judging from this young woman's appearance... why would she take out a tea set to brew tea at a time like this?"
After hearing this, the old man stared intently at a corner of the mirror. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the mirror contained the entire secret realm. However, the mirror had its limitations. For example, they could see Gao Zhun and the other two at this moment, but they had never seen Gao Zhun and the other two before. Naturally, they were unaware of the series of strange things Gao Zhun had done earlier. Otherwise, the old man would not have been so calm.
"So, what is the situation now?" They don't have much influence over the entire illusion; they can only influence the decisions of the three top decision-makers.
The old man glanced at the other corner of the mirror, let out a heavy sigh, as if he had made up his mind: "Let them go."
"Yes." Without asking any further questions, the man directly transmitted his resolve to the minds of the two decision-makers, Blood Shadow and Light Shadow, forcibly changing their previous judgment on the matter.
"Now we can only wait and see if there will be any surprises." The old man pulled out the corner of the square mirror that he had been paying attention to earlier and projected it onto a wider mirror surface so that he could see it more clearly.
On the other hand, having received the decision from their respective supreme leaders, the Blood Shadow and Light Shadow forces had no choice but to withdraw their troops and return to their defenses, allowing Akomo and Gao Zhun to leave.
Seeing this, Gao Zhun quickly put all the tea utensils back into his storage ring, wiped the sweat that had probably dripped down from drinking hot tea, and said, "Akemo, is that right? Why don't you lead the way? Hurry up, or we'll have to camp out in the wilderness again today."
Upon seeing this, the leader, Commander Akomo, personally received Gao Zhun and his two companions. He was especially attentive to Xuan Yuan Huan Yu and Mo Ni Chang, which made Gao Zhun's teeth ache. However, there was nothing he could do, as those two women were indeed more capable than him.
Fortunately, Akomo's stronghold was not far from the point of conflict, and the group returned in just two hours.
The commander of this campaign is named Nernst, a general who is somewhat well-known in the entire Akomo army. He is a blond, blue-eyed, muscular man who looks exactly like the European white people that Gao Zhun often encountered on Earth. The majority of people in Akomo are of this race. Well, just from his appearance, he looks like an aggressor.
Upon arriving at the base, Nernst led Gao Zhun and the other two into the camp of the commander. There stood the true commander of Akomo. Nernst had introduced him to them; the commander's name was Brand, a man with great charisma. Gao Zhun and the others didn't take this seriously, since each of their fathers held a certain position in their families and possessed a certain level of authority and cultivation. This commander, whose cultivation was at most half a step into the Nascent Soul stage, was really not worth mentioning.
As soon as she entered the tent, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu sensed a gaze fixed on her. She frowned and looked in the direction of the gaze. After a brief moment of surprise, she calmly said, "Yun Mu Ning, how could this be..." She paused, then said coldly, "Heh, I should have known it was you, Yun Mu Ning. The Illusionary Heavenly Splendor is rumored to be indispensable for the opening of the Heavenly Splendor Illusionary Mirror. As the holder of this generation's Heavenly Splendor Illusionary Mirror, I should be glad that I have chosen the same side as you."
Yun Mu Ning? The Heavenly Splendor Illusion Mirror? With just a few words, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu revealed the identity of the purple-clad woman standing with Commander Brand. Mo Ni Chang and Gao Zhun both glared at her with unfriendly expressions. Everyone knew that Yong City, in a sense, was a grand scheme orchestrated by the Yun family. Now, they had been lured into the trap, becoming pawns in the game, with the Yun family playing a significant role in this. As for the holder of the Heavenly Splendor Illusion Mirror, needless to say, he was one of the instigators.
But what they saw made them gasp. The man was pale and bloodless, and had purple eyes, giving him an indescribable eerie feeling. It was said that the Yun family’s prodigies all had unusual appearances, and now they saw that the rumors were indeed true.
“Xuanyuan Huanyu, Mo Nishang, and a descendant of an old friend…” Yun Muning’s gaze swept over the three of them one by one, finally settling on Xuanyuan Huanyu. “I’m glad you chose to be on the same side as me, but I don’t seem to know you very well.”
Wait, what's with that arrogant tone? Is Yun Mu Ning's attribute wrong? And... Xuan Yuan Huan Yu wasn't just pretending to be familiar, he was being sarcastic, okay? So where is this woman overinterpreting things?
"Yun Muning is indeed as strange as the rumors say."
Hearing Mo Nishang's slightly amused voice, Gao Zhun instantly perked up. Dealing with monsters requires a demoness's intervention! Go, Sister Mo!
However, Mo Nishang had barely finished speaking when Yun Muning's face darkened completely, and she coldly said, "Rumors? You investigated me?"
"..." Mo Nishang was speechless. This generation gap was simply insurmountable. Did such an obvious fact really need an investigation? This was just an opening remark; why was she so fixated on this point?
Gao Zhunzhun, who had been observing from the sidelines, swallowed hard. This woman was quite skilled, but it seemed like she had clearly misallocated her skill points.
Just as everyone was about to say something, a sudden, earth-shattering bang outside the battalion commander's room drew everyone's attention.
"What happened?" Yun Mu Ning looked at Brand and asked in a deep voice.
Brand looked at the battalion commander with a gloomy expression: "It seems that the Light and Shadow Alliance and the Blood Shadow Alliance have invited some extraordinary envoys from beyond the heavens. They were able to lay an ambush without my knowledge. Heh, I wonder how long they have been lurking in the shadows."
So, they've been ambushed? Gao Zhun was still a bit confused. Excuse me? Weren't they in Akomo's stronghold? Why were they ambushed? This isn't what we were told. What happened to the villains being stronger? It's obvious they're cheating.
"To have kept it a secret for so long while I was there," Yun Mu Ning walked to the tent entrance with a solemn expression, her purple eyes seeming to shoot out light: "There must be someone among them whose illusion skills are no less than mine, even with the Heavenly Illusion Mirror's blessing."
This is... full of energy?
Forgive her for not understanding the excitement of meeting a worthy opponent. Gao Zhun, who had started her吐槽 (tu cao, a form of online criticism) mode the moment she met Yun Mu Ning, felt a deep sense of powerlessness. This person's thought process was simply not on the same wavelength as hers.
Geniuses often have eccentricities. Xuan Yuan Huan Yu, Mo Ni Chang, and now Yun Mu Ning. Who knows how many more eccentrics she will encounter in Yongcheng, a city teeming with geniuses? Her best wish is to avoid them altogether, but reality is always full of surprises. Sure enough, she met another one as soon as she stepped out of the tent.
"Yun Mu Ning, get out here right now!"
Is this a challenge?
Gao Zhun looked at the tent behind him. He was clearly the first person to arrive at the tent entrance, but while everyone else came out, the person being clamored about was still inside and unwilling to show himself. Are all experts really that arrogant?
Before Gao Zhun could complain again, the tent curtain was lifted by a pale, boneless hand. The first thing that caught everyone's eye was a pair of purple eyes. Gao Zhun felt a sharp pain in her eyes, as if something had pushed her back hard from behind. A feeling of lingering fear lingered in her heart, as if she had just escaped a disaster.
She turned around to tell Xuan Yuan Huan Yu about her strange feeling, but when she turned her head, she found that both of them, the other woman and Mo Ni Chang, had their eyes closed. After thinking about what had just happened, she roared and transmitted her voice to the two of them: "You knew that Yun Mu Ning would use her strongest illusion technique to appear, why didn't you remind me?"
The demonic enchantress Mo Nishang sneered and replied, "Isn't Lord Gao Zhun completely unharmed? I really don't know what's so special about you that even Yun Mu Ning's illusions can't harm you. You should know that we are currently inside Yun Mu Ning's Heavenly Illusion Mirror."
"How come it's you?" When Yun Mu Ning saw the person who was challenging her, her face became slightly unnatural, clearly not expecting the other party's identity.
The other party… Gao Zhun looked at the person who was challenging her. Hmm~ she looked so petite, only about 1.5 meters tall, with a small, childlike face that seemed to have not yet fully developed. However, unlike her, this person's life force was much stronger than hers, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu, Mo Ni Chang, and Yun Mu Ning's. She was obviously much older than them. So, this was the legendary legal loli?
However… Gao Zhun slyly sized up the woman who was challenging him and Yun Mu Ning on his side. This scene seemed strangely familiar; it seemed like this was how she had discovered the previous incident. Now these two women…
Probably not. If she were right, wouldn't that mean the world would be at peace? But from what she knows, such things seem to be strongly resisted in the Immortal Spirit Continent. These young people nowadays, they're into lesbian relationships at the drop of a hat, really.
The above is entirely the grievance of someone who has never had a romantic partner.
“That’s right, it’s me, Wu Ya Qiubai. You didn’t expect this, did you, Yun Mu Ning? From the moment I entered Yongcheng, I sensed something was wrong. Just as I suspected, both Yongcheng and this secret realm are your doing, Yun Mu Ning.” Wu Ya Qiubai paused, raising her chin. “However, if you can proactively open the exit of the Heavenly Illusion Mirror, I might let you off the hook. Otherwise…”