Chapter 67: Preparing to Flee

"It's coming!" Yorick narrowed his eyes.

No sooner had he spoken than a buzzing sound rang out!

The archers at the far left had loosed a volley! Dense rain of arrows tore through the air, whistling as they descended, blanketing the area where the Shadow Isle stood.

Yorick did not move.

The Long-Tongued Man brandished his soul-summoning banner, and a black mist shrouded the three of them. The dense arrowheads, caught by the mist, seemed to freeze in midair, then dropped harmlessly to the ground.

The Hydra raised his sword again, and this time, the soldiers in the front left rank began to march forward.

Seeing this, the Long-Tongued Man waved his banner, sending streaks of black smoke hurtling toward the advancing formation of minor monsters.

Many of the shrimp and crab soldiers, their defenses broken by the fog, shattered into stone, scattering across the ground. Others raised their shields, but even these were effortlessly pierced by the black mist.

In just one wave, nearly half of the formation had already fallen—black shards of stone littered the ground, and a few maimed shrimp and crab soldiers dragged their half-broken bodies, expressionless, crawling relentlessly toward their target.

Then the Hydra’s sword swept again, signaling the spearmen to scatter and charge.

Yet still Yorick did not move.

The Woman of Weapons smiled faintly, flicked her hand, and the scattered stones gathered to form a stone behemoth.

Calm and unruffled, she stood within the black mist, her two fingers dancing as the stone beast lunged at the swarm of monsters.

Wherever the stone beast crashed through, the shrimp and crab soldiers were smashed to pieces!

Xiao Zhang watched the battle from afar, his eyes wide with astonishment.

No wonder those people were so arrogant—their strength spoke for itself!

Lia, seeing Xiao Zhang dumbfounded, gave him a pat. "Come on, look over here!"

With a single swing of her sword, nearly all the charging minions were finished.

Xiao Zhang glanced sidelong at Lia, thinking that this woman seemed even more formidable.

The Woman of Weapons stood behind the banner, her expression scornful, and sneered, "Boss, these monsters are far too weak, and their points are next to nothing. You have to kill three or five just to get a little."

But just as she finished speaking, her face suddenly changed!

Several catfish-like monsters began ramming the stone behemoth together.

Clearly, these catfish were far stronger than the ordinary shrimp and crab soldiers. After a series of collisions, chunks of stone began to break off from the beast.

Finally, after shattering all the catfish, a blade-wielding soldier struck its already weakened thigh. With a crack, the beast’s leg broke into rubble and crashed to the ground.

Stunned, the behemoth toppled, and in an instant, was swarmed by a crowd of monsters.

"Damn it!" the Woman of Weapons cursed, clasped her hands, and nearby fragments of stone gathered into an even larger giant.

This new beast reversed the battle again, scattering the monster ranks in disarray.

Then Hydra raised a hand, and a humanoid guard with a shrimp’s head charged toward the new giant.

"Here comes a tougher one!" Yorick pointed as the shrimp-headed guard rushed forward.

With the beast blocking the lesser monsters, the Long-Tongued Man had a moment of freedom. He stabbed the soul-summoning banner into the ground and sent a paper sword flying at the shrimp-headed guard.

In the next instant, he appeared before the guard and slashed at its neck.

But the shrimp-headed guard’s defenses far exceeded those of the lesser monsters—the sword strike had no effect.

Several more strikes followed, all equally futile.

Visibly angered, the Long-Tongued Man put away his paper sword, his tongue coiling as his form suddenly swelled!

In a flash, he transformed into a zombie-like creature, exuding a menacing aura, and threw a punch directly at the shrimp-headed guard.

The guard spun around, sword raised, and a thunderous boom echoed as the impact sent several monsters flying—some unlucky ones were shattered outright.

Now a Zombie Man, the Long-Tongued Man roared and fought the shrimp-headed guard hand to hand, bare-knuckled against blade.

Even without a weapon, his fists forced the shrimp-headed guard onto the defensive, unable to fight back.

"Are all of them this strong?" Xiao Zhang muttered, shaken by the spectacle.

The situation had grown strange. On the far side of the plaza, with the shrimp-headed guard joining the fray, the left-side monster formation launched an all-out assault on the Shadow Isle’s four.

But on their side of the plaza, though the lines of monster soldier constructs watched hungrily, they stood motionless, making no move to attack.

One side surged with motion, the other remained eerily still, creating two starkly different scenes across the plaza.

In fact, some monsters had tried to make a move earlier—only to be wiped out by a single stroke from Lia.

Yet, surrounded by so many monsters, nerves were taut among the group.

Zhao Bai observed the distant battle, “Looks pretty badass, doesn’t it?”

Zhao Tai, standing by, was feeling low—he had thought Ghost Lantern sincerely wanted him... only to realize he was just being used...

“They’re not that strong,” Lia interjected.

She narrowed her smiling eyes, watching the distant battle on the Shadow Isle with interest. Hearing their comments, she chuckled, “That Hydra’s probably only A-rank. As for the shrimp-head, at best B+.

“And do they look relaxed to you? That woman can summon maybe two more stone beasts before she’s done. As for that other guy, how long do you think he can keep up that form?”

Xiao Zhang glanced at Lia, wondering just what her background was. Qi Guanbei and the others didn’t know her, but even if she was unknown, someone so powerful would surely be famous. Was she some lone player? A solitary powerhouse with no organization?

“What do we do? Just stand here and watch?” Xiao Zhang grew more uneasy as the white dragon was now little more than a tail.

And the Hydra hadn’t even made a move yet—if Qi Guan, possessed by the white dragon, joined in...

Not to mention the hidden white dragon lurking somewhere...

Weighing the pros and cons, Xiao Zhang made a decision: “We’re leaving! We break out—head for the palace gates!”

“What?” Lia stared at him. “You’re giving up on the mission?”

“It’s too dangerous,” Xiao Zhang replied calmly. “Forget the Hydra—even the guards behind him would be more than enough for us, let alone the boss, who hasn’t awakened yet!”

He checked the time remaining on the system, then looked at Lia, “Besides, as long as we make it through this hour and forty minutes, we’ll still complete the task!”