Chapter 61

Wang Bupa held his massive shield, protecting Hai Yuntian between his arms. A golden, layered light shield enveloped both of their bodies, bearing the continuous attacks from the surrounding Shadow Clan.

As the snow and ice danced, Hai Yuntian saw blood seeping from the corner of Wang Bupa's mouth and asked worriedly, "We need eight more breaths. Can you hold on?"

Wang Bupa grinned. "What are you talking about? Men from Northeast Elephant Mountain never fail! Just focus on your spell!"

Every time Wang Bupa's half-meter-wide sword struck the snake-like waists of the female Shadow Clan members, Hai Yuntian couldn't help but shudder. The poor female Shadow Clan members, with their deformed waists, were clearly hit hard.

The swirling snow and ice lasted for ten breaths, then suddenly turned into a massive ice block, freezing all the Shadow Clan members within the range of the light barrier!

As Hai Yuntian extended his arms, the massive ice shattered into a shower of ice fragments!

"Feels great!" Wang Bupa laughed heartily, feeling extremely satisfied. In a short while, he had cleared out all the densely packed Shadow Clan members within the light barrier, making him feel that his protection had created tremendous value! "How long does it take to recover from the Ice Flower Burst?"

"… One hundred and twenty breaths."

"Damn! Let's retreat!" The light barrier also disappeared at this moment, having reached its maximum duration.

Wang Bupa threw his large sword again. When the sword hovered in front of Hu Baixie and emitted a bright light, the beam of light pulled Wang Bupa and Hai Yuntian back like a gust of wind.

Wang Bupa held his shield and sword, floating in front of Hu Baixie. "Ladies, don't worry! With men from Northeast Elephant Mountain here, we'll take all the damage for you! Leave the victory to you!"

Wang Bupa's three junior brothers also flew back, positioning themselves around and above Chen Zizai and the others.

As the group retreated using wind-riding techniques, Chen Zizai shot fireballs created by the Fire Dance spell at the large swarm of Shadow Clan members chasing them.

"Is Hengyi out yet?"

"Ten breaths."

Hearing Hengyi's response from the training bead, everyone felt slightly relieved.

Wang Bupa looked back and saw that Xiao Xia and the others were retreating southward. The Shadow Clan members who had been chasing them were now being intercepted by two other teams. He quickly communicated through the team training bead, "Hold them off!"

"We can't hold them off! We're all injured."

Chen Zizai's face changed. Once those two teams arrived, although there would be more people, it would also mean they would be completely surrounded by the Shadow Clan!

"We can't escape," Wang Bupa said, seeing the speed at which the two teams were approaching. He knew that even if they turned and fled now, it would be too late to break through.

When the two teams arrived, they were followed by two large groups of Shadow Clan members.

They were now surrounded.

But the worst part was that these two teams were also from Northeast Elephant Mountain and did not have powerful range-killing spells like those from South Elephant Mountain.

Wang Bupa and the others, a total of thirteen people, raised their shields in all directions, protecting Chen Zizai and the other four in the center.

The attacking Shadow Clan members rushed in wildly, their punches and kicks raining down on the thirteen men from Northeast Elephant Mountain. The golden light shields, which had just been activated, were quickly shattered. They could only take turns using the Golden Shield spell to bear the attacks, but over time, each person who retreated had been hit by countless spells and punches from the Shadow Clan.

However, none of the men from Northeast Elephant Mountain cried out in pain or showed any signs of fear. Regardless of the severity of their injuries, they stepped forward without hesitation when it was their turn.

When Wang Bupa retreated, he wiped the blood from his face and smiled at Hu Baixie. "Don't be afraid! As long as the men from Northeast Elephant Mountain are standing, not a single hair on the ladies' heads will be harmed!"

Hai Shan saw that Wang Bupa's two junior brothers were already bruised and swollen, their eyes swollen from the Shadow Clan's attacks. She couldn't help but say, "They don't seem to be able to hold on much longer…"

The two men, hearing this, became furious. "This is just a minor injury! Lady, don't underestimate us! Men from Northeast Elephant Mountain don't consider such minor injuries as anything!"

Hai Shan had to keep quiet, but she was not at ease. She could see that the "Draw a Circle and Form a Prison" spell was the most powerful technique of Northeast Elephant Mountain and could not be used again in a short time. Even if it could be used again, these people were not invincible. They would eventually be overwhelmed by the numerous Shadow Clan members.

Neither Hai Shan nor Hu Baixie, who were not from Northeast Elephant Mountain, knew how excited and passionate the men led by Wang Bupa were. Over 90% of the disciples of Northeast Elephant Mountain were men, and every female disciple was considered a treasure.

In front of the ladies, the men of Northeast Elephant Mountain would display their spirit tenfold, a hundredfold, all hoping to attract the ladies' attention.

A saying had long been circulating in the Peak Sect: "Dying for a woman? That's nothing! Every man from Northeast Elephant Mountain can do it!"

Yes, every single one of them could!

Of course, this was an exaggeration, but the men of Northeast Elephant Mountain did not consider it a mockery. Instead, they took pride in it.

This exaggeration was not entirely unfounded.

The Shadow Clan's punches and kicks rained down on the heads and faces of the thirteen men from Northeast Elephant Mountain. One of them even had a few teeth knocked out, but he still roared and swung his sword with enthusiasm.

"Come on, come on! Is this all you've got? Can you only knock out a few of my teeth—"

His voice suddenly stopped as a male Shadow Clan member's punch hit his nose, causing it to collapse. Blood flowed into his mouth and down his chin, but he still shouted, "Come on! Is this all you've got? It's just an itch!"

The Shadow Clan members attacking Wang Bupa were the most powerful, including a particularly troublesome Earth Venerable. His punches and kicks rained down on Wang Bupa's head and face, deforming them and breaking multiple bones, leaving a bloody mess.

However, Wang Bupa never cried out in pain and kept boosting morale.

"Junior brothers, be strong! Strong, strong, strong! Show the ladies what the men of Northeast Elephant Mountain are made of!" Wang Bupa realized that his large sword and heavy shield were ineffective against the Earth Venerable, so he ignored his attacks and relied on the powerful protective spells to endure the damage. He focused on attacking the Mountain Venerable-level Shadow Clan members with his large sword and heavy shield.

In comparison, Hu Baixie found that the spells and techniques of her Heavenly King Sect were far inferior to those of the Northeast Elephant Mountain experts, which filled her with admiration.

This was the direction she had always pursued in her cultivation. She disliked being too weak and despised weakness, having hated it since childhood.

"The men of Northeast Elephant Mountain are amazing! Real men!" Hu Baixie's excited praise made the thirteen men from Northeast Elephant Mountain feel their blood boil, and they no longer felt the pain in their bodies!

Their strength and protection had finally earned the ladies' admiration!

"This is nothing! We can hold on much longer! Ladies, keep fighting! The men of Northeast Elephant Mountain are strong and can endure for a long time!" Wang Bupa shouted, and his junior brothers responded with enthusiasm.

Chen Zizai was speechless. The protective spells of Northeast Elephant Mountain were indeed powerful, and the unique techniques of the Peak Sect's eight great sects were most famous for those of Northeast and South Elephant Mountain.

But even the strongest couldn't hold on for long with so many enemies!

He activated the team training bead again to seek widespread assistance. "Help, help! We are surrounded by thousands of Shadow Clan members and can't hold on for long."

As the training bead glowed, a voice came through.

"I am Xu Wenfeng, leading a hundred teams to support you. Please protect yourselves and hold on!"

Although Chen Zizai disliked Xu Wenfeng, he had no time to dwell on it and replied decisively, "Twenty breaths, no longer."

"Understood, I will come to rescue you first."

The group was slightly taken aback, not expecting Xu Wenfeng to be so bold!

Even the brave and fearless men of Northeast Elephant Mountain, led by Wang Bupa, couldn't help but admire Xu Wenfeng's courage.

Hu Baixie, fearing he wouldn't be thorough enough, quickly shouted through the training bead, "Please hurry, Hengyi is here too!"

"Rest assured, I will arrive within thirteen breaths."

Hu Baixie breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a figure appeared before her.

When the dark aura made everyone think a Shadow Clan member had broken through, they realized it was Hengyi, whose skin was blackened.

Hengyi was panting heavily, his soul-integrated treasure sword hanging by his side, and his chest rising and falling with each breath, looking weak and strange.

"You've been affected by dark matter black gas!" Chen Zizai was shocked. The innate ability of the Shadow Clan, the most basic form of damage—dark matter black gas—could harm all races except the Shadow Clan. It was usually manageable with cultivation, but if one was hit too much, exceeding the body's tolerance, they would quickly be annihilated and disappear in a flash of light, with no soul remaining.

From Hengyi's condition, it was clear he had been hit by a large amount of dark matter black gas!

Under normal circumstances, he should have been unable to hold on. The men of Northeast Elephant Mountain had protective spells to block this damage, which was why they had been able to hold on until now. Although Hengyi looked weak, he was still conscious, but his eyes had turned black, indicating he had lost his vision.

"Quickly retreat, I'll cover you." Hengyi panted, having rushed out and found them through the training bead to persuade them to retreat.

"Your eyes can't see?" Chen Zizai's words made Hu Baixie's heart race. "What should we do?"

"Rest for a while, and it will recover."

"I'm fine, you all go quickly." Hengyi panted, feeling a lack of strength. Even though he was continuously running the dream incantation, it could only slow down the weakening effect, not completely heal him. He speculated that the continuous exposure to the black mist was the cause, but it was impossible to completely avoid it.

"We are already surrounded. The only option is to wait for support and hold on as much as possible," Chen Zizai said, his pink magical fan creating a continuous sea of flames that burned the large group of Shadow Clan members blocked by the experts from North Elephant Mountain. The sizzling smell of burning flesh made Hai Shan almost vomit.

Hengyi then realized the current situation. He had lost his vision and didn't know the state of the others. Realizing the danger, he tightened his grip on his sword. "Keep the training bead's light active to avoid accidentally hurting me."