Chapter 679: You Can Strike Now!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
There was an old saying that commanding was about attacking the opponent by surprise.
Jiang Yi had his dantian sealed up since he was young. He was pathetically weak and often bullied by Jiang Ruhu and his group, but he never gave in. Thus, he had studied many military books, in an attempt to outwit Jiang Ruhu and his gang and beat them up.
Jiang Yunhai had a lot of books in the house as the Grand Elder of the Jiang Clan. Apart from cultivation, Jiang Yi spent most of his time reading so he knew a great deal about the art of war.
The art of warfare didn’t have to be the art of war between two troops. Actually, it could be applied in any fight. In addition, the most crucial point of the art of warfare was—craftiness. In other words, attack the opponent by surprise.
Take the fight between Jiang Yi and Ba Dao as an instance. If he said that Chief Long was here from the beginning, Ba Dao would never believe him and instantly released the deadly move—Mother Earth Roar. Moreover, if he burst out shouting to let Chief Li strike when Chief Long just began pursuing him; Chief Long would not fall for the trick and immediately release the dao pattern attack.
The art of deception was a profound study. It was important to carry it out gradually; it must sound both true and fake, both clear and vague—so that people would be suspicious, think along with one’s words, and be misled by one’s logic.
Jiang Yi didn’t need Chief Long to completely believe his words; he just needed to provoke him to think. Obviously, Jiang Yi’s words were lies, but the Dest.i.tute Dragon Gra.s.s box was real. All his previous actions were to create a false image: to let Chief Long believe that Ba Dao was killed by his scheme but not by his true strength.
Chief Long wanted to defeat him at Jiang Yi’s own game, but Jiang Yi was also plotting to ambush him.
The story about the battle between two strong martial experts that went on for days and nights were just folktales. In fact—unless the two parties were similar in strength and neither was able to kill the other, the fight would never go on for days and nights—with tens of thousands of round. The result was destined in an instance.
For example, Jiang Yi threw out the box of the Dest.i.tute Dragon Gra.s.s at this moment and successfully diverted Chief Long’s attention. Though it was only a blink of an eye, they were so close to each other right now. Jiang Yi easily s.h.i.+fted towards Chief Long.
His Fire Spirit Pearl shone immediately. b.a.l.l.s of blue flames with electricity appeared around his body. He suddenly released a few palm strikes in the sky, and the blue flames gushed toward Chief Long.
Chief Long was obviously doomed. His essence force was powerful, and he was wearing transcending saint artifact Wind Divine Armor, but Jiang Yi was less than 300 meters away from him. The blue flames were not just any ordinary Thunder Fire but the refined Thunder Fire, which turned into a tongue of fire and swept over.
“Ah—!”
Another horrible shriek echoed in the thunder ridges again. Chief Long’s voice was not as masculine and imperious as Ba Dao’s. He sounded like a shrill duck howl, which crept people out.
Chief Long’s divine s.h.i.+eld broke; his Wind Divine Armor radiated brilliant light to protect his body. Unfortunately, the Wind Divine Armor only covered part of his body. His head and legs were completely exposed and were immediately set ablaze. He died in an instant.
“It’s Chief Long!”
“It’s Chief Long’s voice!”
When over 30 Heaven Monarchs—that were much slower than Chief Long and behind him—heard Chief Long’s scream, all stopped in mid-air. Chief Long sounded more miserable than Ba Dao; could he still be alive? Now, both Ba Dao and Chief Long were dead. Were they going to rush to their deaths, too?
“Uh…”
The other four chiefs on the other side of the thunder ridges, who were about to go in, stopped as well. They couldn’t be more familiar with this voice. They looked at one another, and the Heaven Monarchs worked for them kept blinking their eyes. Jiang Yi killed Ba Dao and Chief Long, and he was even in the thunder ridges; would they be able to kill Jiang Yi? Did they have the faith not to be killed by him instead?
“Let’s wait and see first!”
An older chief said in a deep voice, and the other three chiefs agreed with him. They were not in direct conflict with Jiang Yi and weren’t his enemy yet. They didn’t need to take the risk.
“Kekeke!”
On the thunder ridges farther away, Big Sister Bell started giggling. She laughed so hard that her b.o.o.bs started to tremble. Her string of bells rang non-stop. Her eyes were full of appreciation. She nodded slightly and said, “Uncanny prodigy, he is indeed an uncanny prodigy and is even able to control the Thunder Fire. His tactics were employed seamlessly. This kid is indeed no ordinary man…”
“Ah?”
Xiao Hong’s mouth was open slightly, and she cried out, “Miss, your divine senses can even detect from such a great distance?! Isn’t the Thunder Fire in the thunder ridge capable of destroying one’s divine senses? How can you…?”
“Hmph!”
Big Sister Bell peeked at Xiao Hong and whispered, “There are so many things that you don’t know. The world is so big that anything can happen. Take this Lone Wolf as an example: he is a strange person. Xiao Hong, you’ve become arrogant over the years that you serve me. Humph, with your little strength, if I leave for the East Imperial Continent one day, I a.s.sure you that you won’t be able to survive for a month.”
“Eh?!”
A trace of fear flickered across Xiao Hong’s eyes. She immediately knelt down and said shamefully, “Miss, the maidservant knows that she is wrong. She will definitely change. Miss, please don’t abandon Xiao Hong.”
“Sigh!”
Big Sister Bell shook her head gently and turned to Xiao Hong. She said seriously, “Rise, Xiao Hong. You were the first one that showed kindness to me in Sky Thunder City. If you make any mistake, I naturally won’t leave you behind; but you have to remember one thing—never try to rely on others. Your own power was your biggest support.”
Xiao Hong nodded repeatedly and dared not speak another word. She stood up and looked into the distance along the direction that Big Sister Bell was looking at.
…
“Eh? This black armor is still intact under such heat?!”
In the thunder ridges—after Jiang Yi set Chief Long on fire, he stared at the armor on Chief Long’s body before immediately withdrawing the Thunder Fire to his Fire Spirit Pearl. He didn’t want to ruin such a precious treasure.
Swis.h.!.+
His body pierced through the sky; he grabbed the headless and legless body of Chief Long and gave it a hard pull, taking off the armor. At the same time, he put away an Ancient Divine Essence Ring floating in the sky.
An Ancient Divine Essence Ring was not a cardinal treasure, but the restrictions inside it were very magical. As long as it was not under violent attack, normally, it couldn’t be broken. The treasures stored in the ring would not fall into the chaos of the s.p.a.ce.
Jiang Yi didn’t find out what treasures were inside Chief Long’s Ancient Divine Essence Ring. He lifted Chief Long’s remain single-handedly and turned into a stream of light, flying out of the Thunder Mountains.
Clang!
He crossed several kilometers in a blink of an eye. Over 20 Heaven Monarchs that worked for Chief Long and Ba Dao burst into an uproar upon seeing a black figure flying past the mountains in the distance, with a headless body in his hand.
Their eyes kept glistening. Some were enraged, some surged with murderous auras. Some were frightened, some panicked. More people instinctively retreated.
Jiang Yi didn’t have any aura around him. His head was bald, without even eyebrows or beard. He looked very strange. As he flew over slowly, his face was expressionless; and his eyes which showed a distinct contrast between black and white glanced over the crowd. Thunder light flickered across his eyes from time to time. He was very frightening.
The crowd looked at one another, and no one dared to step forward. They were all at a loss of what to do; they were caught up in a fix. They could just stare at Jiang Yi, with all kinds of weapons in their hands glowing with a blinding light, ready to attack anytime.
Bang!
Jiang Yi stopped in the sky one kilometer away, and he casually tossed away Chief Long’s body, which crashed down like a torn sack. It hit onto a stone, causing to stone to burst. The body cracked into a million pieces, too, with all his guts and intestines splas.h.i.+ng everywhere.
“Two choices!”
He glanced at the crowd coldly and said with indifference, “Your bosses are dead. You can either pledge loyalty to me, or… you can keep on following your bosses. Those who choose me, go to the mountains five kilometers to the left. To those who refuse, you can strike now!”