CHAPTER 654: CHAPTER 392: ESCAPING IS IMPORTANT

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"Don’t worry. It’s just a Saint. The four of us can easily handle him," the tall man said with a smile, patting the woman on the head as if she were a dog. The woman quickly clapped her hands and pouted, ceasing her words.

Ahead, four men stood, among them a short young man. He seemed around fifteen, a few years younger than Yan Xiaobao, but the air around him was icy. He was the only one among the four who didn’t smile. His gaze was fixed on a figure in the sky, and suddenly a sharp greatsword appeared. With a firm footstep, the young man shot towards the giant bird in flight, sword at the ready.

"He left," the tall man said with a smile playing on his lips. Gripping his hand, the tall man rolled his shoulder, then relaxed his muscles as the young man took a determined step towards the Flying Eagle’s retreat. It was only a brief moment before the last two mimicked the previous actions, soaring into the sky above.

....

Wan Qiao flew through the air, quickly reaching the city walls; yet, unlike what the soldiers on the wall expected, Wan Qiao passed over them, swiftly heading towards the gates. Flying low, she looked at the gates from the inside, her eyes widening in surprise upon seeing a massive stone blocking the entrance.

"That damn kid, how could he know they would use a stone to block it..." Wan Qiao’s voice trailed off in disbelief. Yan Xiaobao speculated that this might be how they reinforced the gates, and if so, they’d face problems when finally entering the city because the gates were much more difficult. Truthfully, stones like this could easily be destroyed by a Saint or the Emperor, but destroying it might not be worthwhile. If destroyed, the debris would remain in place and continue blocking the entrance. They needed a method to clear the stone and debris to ensure it was no longer in the way. Alternatively, everyone could enter the city by crossing the walls, but doing so might significantly weaken their forces.

"Oh, company?" Wan Qiao said, noticing a figure flying towards her. Her eyes narrowed, muscles tensing, blood beginning to boil within her veins. This was war! Finally, time to shine, but just as a vicious grin appeared on her face, it twisted into worry. "Escaping is important because he needs this information," she complained while turning her wings to change her flight direction. With a few flaps of her wings, she had already left the Capital.

The One-Horned Jasmine Eagle was in a foul mood, as she felt forced to retreat, something she had never done before. But upon reflection, she understood Yan Xiaobao was right. This wasn’t her usual life, this was war, and in war, the Great Marshall needed all the information he could get.

The woman sighed, flying over the city wall. Upon reaching the other side, she saw thirty-nine experts patiently waiting for her return. Glancing back, she forced a smile on her face, quickly realizing the experts who followed her were now nowhere to be seen. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed at this realization.

Seeing things not going her way, Wan Qiao could do nothing but fly towards Yan Xiaobao, delivering the information she acquired from her swift visit to the Imperial Capital.

As she flew towards Yan Xiaobao, the bird transformed into her human form. Landing on the ground, she pulled a robe from a storage stone around her neck, her feathers disappearing one by one as she wrapped it around herself.

Yan Xiaobao patiently waited for the woman to finish shedding her feathers, just as she turned towards him. "You were right," she began, admiration in her voice. "They blocked the gate with a massive stone."

"How big is this stone?" Yan Xiaobao asked curiously, simultaneously imagining its appearance in his mind. "It’s about 10 meters high and 10 meters wide," Wan Qiao said after a brief pause, recalling what she previously saw. Satisfaction marked Yan Xiaobao’s nod. Yan Xiaobao gazed into the distance, but his pleased expression darkened as his eyes settled on the city walls.

"Lord!" he shouted immediately upon seeing unexpected events on the wall, drawing the attention of all the Lords. "Kick those bastards off our soldier’s backs!" he hollered as he saw something unexpected on the wall’s top: a lone figure moving among the beasts.

Catching the anger in Yan Xiaobao’s voice, Saints no longer hesitated to charge at the city walls. Taking a moment to compose himself, Yan Xiaobao slowly rubbed his nose. The enemy had shown only one Saint. Whether they were baiting with other Saints was a question, but Yan Xiaobao couldn’t endure it, for his beasts were slaughtered before him.

"Kill that son of a ab*tch!" Yan Xiaobao said, observing the proceedings. Though it was just one Saint, he fought against thousands of beasts alone, taking care of them one at a time, sustaining several wounds. The absolute power of beast control was unexpectedly formidable to him.

Nevertheless, the presence of all the Saints descending upon him was less anticipated. Forty Saints landed on the wall, with all humans in the way being killed instantly, just as he slew the beasts; unfortunately for him, he was alone against forty. It was only a matter of time before the human Saint realized he was up against an entire group of Saints alone. Even as strong as Wan Qiao, he couldn’t possibly prevail against forty by himself.