Chapter 236: The Appetizer
Translator: Panda_Penn Editor: Chrissy
There weren't too many warriors on the army of the Blood Evil Island, with the number standing only at 6000. At first, many of the 6000 hadn't even reached the Xuan Wu Realm. After a period of development thanks to countless resources, people qualified as warriors at the Blood Evil Island had witnessed incremental increase.
Now, there were more than 3000 warriors at the peak of the Xuan Wu Realm, nearly 100 at the Spirit Sea Realm, and there were even 12 at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm.
The Liu Family only had a couple of warriors at the Spirit Sea Realm surviving the big fight at the Blood Evil Island. That they could have so many warriors in such a short span of time was attributable to Lu Li.
Without his animal tooth pendant, there would be no high-quality Blood Caterpillar Fruits, Netherworld Roots or Fire Fairy Lucid Ganoderma. Subsequently, the Liu Family would not be able to secure so many Xuan Crystals.
After the Liu Family took control of the Blood Evil Island, they had profited at least tens of millions of Xuan Crystals. They had spent all to train those warriors. Yet, nobody could reach the Soul Pond Realm. It was evident thusly how difficult it was to reach the Soul Pond Realm.
Of course, some of the 100 warriors at the Spirit Sea Realm had come because of Lu Li's fame. He was so reputable now that many homeless warriors had come to seek shelter.
Granted, though the Liu Family was in lack of warriors at the Soul Pond Realm, they still had 20 Green Dwarfs.
Eight Green Dwarfs lost their lives when Lu Li went to the small world the first time. Later, Patriarch Seven purchased some more and finally managed to maintain the number of Green Dwarfs at 20. The Green Dwarfs could be as good as warriors of the Soul Pond Realm in fights, dauntless and in no fear of death. The combined force of the Green Dwarfs could be horrifying.
"Report, the Dark Demon Army is about 19 miles away!"
"Report, the Dark Demon Army is about 10 miles away!"
"Report, the Dark Demon Army is going to be at the dock in the time for two incense sticks to burn..."
One message after another was sent back. The entire Blood Evil Island now was in a status ready for war. Every civilian was gathered around the Blood Evil Fortress. Apart from Patriarch Seven and Patriarch Lu, the other 10 warriors at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm led their own teams, waiting for the Dark Demon Army to land.
The Dark Demon Army was indeed a group of lake bandits. They were the largest army of its kind at the northwest side of the lake, enjoying some minor fame.
Nobody knew where the Dark Demon Army's base was, and they would just emerge like a ghost every now and then. Usually, they just robbed people instead of killing them so their reputation wasn't too notorious.
The Dark Demon Army never made a target out of the Xu Family or anyone from the Sun-down Island. They only looted small forces, and not even Third-rank ones were robbed by them. Therefore, even though sometimes the Xu Family would send out troops to clear out bandits, but the pursuit would only last for a short while. The Xu Family would leave the bandits alone after they fled.
As a matter of fact!
Many had the speculation that the Dark Demon Army was a hidden force of the Xu Family. Otherwise, it would be insanely easy for the Xu Family to destroy it. Any one of the Fate Wheel Realm warriors of the Xu Family would be able to find the Dark Demon Army's lair and destroy them at once.
The assault launched by the Dark Demon Army had indirectly proved that they were controlled by the Xu Family. Even if they didn't belong to the Xu Family, they must be relevant to each other in some off the record ways...
Liu Yi set off to the Earth Dragon Island secretly and Hunchback Tian had arrived at the Blood Evil Fortress which calmed Patriarch Seven. He became even more confident in his commands.
After the time for two incense sticks to burn, seven gigantic battleships arrived at the dock of the Blood Evil Island. On the ships were many warriors, at least several thousand in numbers. Every ship had a golden flag with the words "Dark Demon" on them.
Instead of attacking immediately, the Dark Demon Army sent over a messenger to deliver a letter. There were only a few words scrambled on it: The leader of the Dark Demon Army wishes to speak to Lu Li and borrow one million Xuan Crystals.
Patriarch Seven sent someone to reply. He said kind words that Lu Li was in cultivation so he could not see visitors and that they could not lend the one million Xuan Crystals on account of the fact the Blood Evil Island was spending a lot.
Mo Xi again sent a letter, saying that the Dark Demon Army was tired and wanted to have a rest at the Blood Evil Island before they set off again. Before the letter was delivered to Patriarch Seven, the Dark Demon Army had already started landing. They marched towards the Blood Evil Fortress, with more than 1000 in the first group, swaggering their way toward the Blood Evil Island.
"Activate the Inhibition Formations!"
Patriarch Nine gave out the order to activate the Inhibition Formation before Patriarch Seven did. The Inhibition Formations were put here by Xue Chou. Instantly, the roads were filled with smokes and toxic fog. Many people would be poisoned to death if they tried to force their way in.
"Enter from the sides, cut off the trees!"
A team leader at the Soul Pond Realm said. The 1000 warriors split into two teams and entered the forest from the sides. They unsheathed their weapons to cut off trees, trying to clear out a path.
"Hiss, hiss~"
By the time they cleared a way out and all of them had entered the forest, there suddenly came out white fog covering up the space. After Hunchback Tian joined the Blood Evil Island, he helped to arrange many Inhibition Formations which were effective now.
"Charge~"
The team leader at the Soul Pond Realm made up his mind and ordered. Groups after groups of warriors entered the fogged area and moved forward with caution.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
One mechanical crossbow arrow after another came, piercing through men after men. More were coming. Even though warriors of the Dark Demon Army had drawn their shields, more were dying.
"Boom!"
With a streak of lightning, a warrior of the Spirit Sea Realm was burned heavily.
"Ah~"
On the right, a Dark Demon Army warrior was pierced through by a spike that came from underground. After a miserable cry, he fell to his death.
There were simply too many Inhibition Formations in the forests. Maybe only more than a few dozen warriors would be left on each side by the time they reached the Blood Evil Fortress...
"Report, Mo Xi is leading 1000 warriors and they are embarking from the south. Another warrior at the Soul Pond Realm is coming from the north with 1000 warriors."
Patriarch Seven assumed command at the Blood Evil Fortress while Patriarch Nine was in charge of intelligence gathering. Many scouts were sending the information back at all times.
Patriarch Seven didn't seem to be surprised after he got the news. The first 1000 warriors clearly were sent to attract their attention. Patriarch Seven didn't concern himself with them.
Upon receiving the news, instead of sending Hunchback Tian out, Patriarch Seven just waved his hand and said, "Stick to the original plan."
The couple of thousand warriors of the Dark Demon Army was just an appetizer. They were nothing for the Blood Evil Island. The first batch of lake bandits were probably just here to see the true power of the Blood Evil Island.
Soon, fight broke out on different sides. The Inhibition Formation of the Blood Evil Island was so horrifying that before they made their moves, more than half of the 3000 of the Dark Demon Army had already died or been injured.
Before Patriarch Seven gave his instructions, the several patriarchs had already launched their attacks with several Green Dwarfs on their individual teams. Hunchback Tian finally made a move and his target was Mo Xi.
The fight had been going on for a while. Patriarch Lu had been probing outside of the Blood Evil Island in person. After making sure that no warrior of the Fate Wheel Realm was lurking around, Patriarch Seven sent out Hunchback Tian.
As soon as Hunchback Tian came out, Mo Xi was killed instantly. The Dark Demon Army escaped in disorder, and by the time Hunchback Tian reached the battlefields on the other sides, the Dark Demon Army had been utterly routed. They were on their way to run away.
Four hours into the fight, 2000 out of the 3000 warriors landed on the island died. The Dark Demon Army went back with great loss.
The Blood Evil Island did not suffer from great loss. Only several hundred warriors were dead, and most of them were at the Xuan Wu Realm. Many of the Inhibition Formations were destroyed though. Without any supplies, it would be difficult to restore them.
Every one of the Blood Evil Island were excited and they held a celebratory feast that very night. Many warriors were drunk. It was cheerful for the warriors of the Blood Evil Island to think that they had beaten the biggest group of lake bandits of the northwest of the Thousand-island Lake into fits.
Patriarch Seven, however, didn't share too many of the joyful sentiment. He didn't even drink much. He knew clearly that the real fight would come before long.
As he expected!
At the break of dawn, Patriarch Lu had someone to send back a message—there were three groups of enemies coming at the Blood Evil Island from three directions. Patriarch Lu didn't dare to get too close, but he suspected that there was at least one warrior of the Fate Wheel Realm leading the team.
"We are in big trouble..."
The second group of enemies had come sooner than Patriarch Seven imagined. Lu Li should be at a critical moment in his attempt at the Soul Pond Realm. If he was interrupted, all his efforts would be wasted.
However… if they don’t ask Lu Li to come out, could they survive the second wave of attacks by themselves?
…