NOVEL NEXT Chapter 55: Illusion of massacre
"Ahahah, the aura of someone born to kill is so terrifying..." Lou Co quickly places his hand on Chen Wei's chest before the latter could react against it.
At the moment they made contact, the previously nonexistent waves of the lake reappear while the water, which was crystal clear like a wonder of nature, begins to take on a dark red color of blood as the water level starts to rise rapidly until the island in the middle no longer exists, and the lake, which previously had an irregular shape, now takes on the shape resembling that of a blood skull.
Not only that, but in an instant, all the Gu Masters from the three clans, who were fighting desperately yet in an orderly manner, suddenly, without any prior warning or attack, appeared dismembered and sliced into various pieces, forming piles of cut flesh as if by a butcher.
And Chen Wei finds himself in the place of this butcher, his body completely unscathed, staring deeply yet coldly at these countless piles of bodies, unable to control his actions as he swings his sword against the corpses.
"This..." Chen Wei maintains his composure, trying to regain control of his body while forcing his vision, making the image before him grow increasingly blurred.
His perception of time is nearly nonexistent, but even so, in what he would describe as mere moments, he finds himself back in the middle of the great crystal-clear blue lake, with Lou Co right in front of him, a hand on his chest.
'An illusion Gu?' Chen Wei wonders in his mind.
And without hesitation, instead of retreating wildly as most would in his position, he shifts his stance, stepping back and swinging his sword, using the motion of his body to propel a precise slash with his blood sword across Lou Co's chest.
In less than an instant, Chen Wei feels the impact coursing through his right arm as his eyes see Lou Co being cleanly cut across the chest. However, the wound, though long, is not deep.
Even so, this does not diminish the smile on Lou Co's face, and just like Chen Wei, he does not seem concerned about retreating, merely gazing at him with an intoxicated expression.
Seeing this, Chen Wei, without pausing his movements, swings his blood sword again to strike Lou Co multiple times. But before he can do so, he feels himself being pulled backward by the waist with incredible force, moving at an astonishing speed.
Boom! Exactly where he had been just moments before, as if a meteor had narrowly missed him by a second, a gust of wind forming a massive hurricane crashes from the sky. It creates a deep crater, sending the lake water flying far away and forming a veil of water adorned with multiple rainbows refracting through it.
Chen Wei, being carried by the water whip without resisting, has a relieved expression that trembles slightly. However, his heart feels surprisingly light, even after narrowly escaping death by a hair's breadth.
"Don't even think about escaping, you!" he hears the shrill voice of the Feng Zhi Clan leader coming from the center of the enormous hurricane, now barreling toward him with an astonishing speed for something of its size.
Mortal Killer Move - Coral Reef Tsunami
Chen Wei watches intently as massive coral structures, covered by a giant wave of water, rise from the depths of the lake and intercept the path of the hurricane, which approaches him with a murderous aura.
"Quickly heal Chen Wei until he's no longer in critical condition," Chen Wang says firmly but calmly to the old woman who had pulled Chen Wei toward her using the water whip.
Chen Wei, now seated beside the elderly woman, begins to calm his nerves as the terrifying burns covering his body are visibly healing. At the same time, his left arm—severed in half yet not bleeding—has its wound sealed and begins to heal impressively. However, no new arm grows in its place.
Chen Wang, glancing at his grandson out of the corner of his eye, lets out a small sigh of relief while still keeping most of his attention focused on the enormous hurricane heading toward them. "We must form an encirclement formation and contain the advance of the Feng Zhi Clan leader through our rear lines. Failure to do so will lead to a massacre of our forces!"
"We must maintain this combat formation until our clan leader can pressure Feng Zhi's leader at the front lines, forcing him into a stalemate that significantly restricts his movements."
These words are met with nods from the elders of the He An Clan, as well as from the elite Gu Masters around them. They had been holding the rear to manage potential emergencies like this or to launch a concentrated attack that could devastate the enemy forces should the opportunity arise.
Of course, another critical task was ensuring the safety of the elders and Gu Masters who were being treated for severe injuries sustained during the battle.
Chen Wei, for his part, does not remain idle. He retrieves several primeval stones from his storage Gu and skillfully holds them, focusing much of his attention on absorbing the primal essence within them while still keeping a watchful eye on the battlefield.
On the battlefield, a middle-aged elder with a large belly places his hands on the water's surface, sweating profusely as he creates one coral tsunami barrier after another. After the first barrier was destroyed under the relentless attacks of the Feng Zhi Clan leader.
Meanwhile, the elders and Gu Masters surrounding the hurricane coordinate almost perfectly, forming a perimeter and firing jets and blasts of water at concentrated points within the hurricane. It seems as though they are attempting to disrupt the rapid rotational movement of the air.
Not only that, but they also focus a significant portion of their attacks on the enemy Gu Masters rushing to support the Feng Zhi Clan leader. Naturally, seeing this many of the He An Clan Gu Masters fighting nearby adjust their positions to form a new frontline, making it harder for Xiong Mao and Feng Zhi Clan members to reinforce their leader's attack and giving the defenders an easier task.
This is but a demonstration of the He An Clan's martial prowess, their expertise, and their knowledge of the enemy's strategies and combat tactics, honed over a decade of war. In which, the clan has managed to bring both of its enemy clans to their knees.
Of course, the Feng Zhi and Xiong Mao Clans did not remain passive, quickly adapting their tactics to counter the He An Clan's maneuvers, drawing from their own wealth of experience gained during the decade-long conflict.
However, Chen Wei's attention was no longer on this impressive battle—a spectacle that would leave a mortal or someone from his original world breathless with excitement. Instead, his focus shifted to an even more awe-inspiring fight between two Rank 4 Gu Masters: Wang Xi, leader of the He An Clan, and Ye Nui, leader of the Xiong Mao Clan.
Wang Xi moves across the battlefield's periphery, darting back and forth while surrounded by a swirling green water jet. The jet spins like a drill, piercing everything in its path as he tries to reach the rear lines to deal with the Feng Zhi Clan leader, causing an uproar.
But like a thorn in his path, Ye Nui intercepts him without fail, showing no hesitation. She engages him in a fierce and overwhelming battle, displaying a suppressive strength that one would never imagine could come from a slender, athletic woman with a graceful appearance.
'This stalemate is difficult to overcome. Strength Path Gu Masters like the Xiong Mao Clan leader don't need to expend primeval essence, and they have a significant advantage in close-combat in interception situations…' Chen Wei analyzes the unfolding situation, now able to divert more of his attention from absorbing primeval essence from the stones.
'Even so, given enough time, the clan leader could overcome her. The problem is that with a Rank 4 Gu Master in our rear lines, he doesn't have that time.' Thinking this, Chen Wei's gaze shifts to the Feng Zhi Clan leader, who is being barely contained at great cost. Numerous He An Clan Gu Masters have already lost their lives, and even some elders are gravely injured.
Observing this, it becomes clear that this was the strategy of the two enemy clans from the very beginning. Instead of leveraging their numerical advantage at Rank 4 to attempt to severely injure and even kill Wang Xi—a task unlikely to succeed due to his numerous life-saving trump cards—they chose to restrain him while focusing on killing or crippling the He An Clan's elites. If executed to a significant enough scale, this could undermine the He An Clan's ability to maintain their frontlines in the war, leading to a strategic victory for the two enemy clans, even if they suffered a tactical defeat in this battle.
To Chen Wei, this strategy felt genuinely threatening, especially as he was likely the primary target of the Feng Zhi Clan leader. This was due to both personal emotional motives—avenging his son, whom Chen Wei had killed—and strategic reasons. Chen Wei, as the most talented elder of the He An Clan, had demonstrated terrifying combat power in this battle, far exceeding the level of even other Rank 3 elders by killing three enemy elders.
This could cause someone faint of heart to freeze in fear or a paranoid person to think that Wang Xi deliberately allowed the Feng Zhi Clan leader to escape to kill Chen Wei, thereby freeing his daughter from her marriage to him. But Chen Wei is neither of these, so he doesn't even entertain such possibilities.
This is because Wang Xi couldn't have predicted who the Feng Zhi Clan leader would target if he escaped into the middle of the battle. Even if Wang Xi calculated that the leader would go after Chen Wei and wished for Chen Wei's death, it still wouldn't "free" Wang Mei from the Chen family after marrying into it, especially while carrying Chen Wei's child. As for fear paralyzing him, Chen Wei had long conquered that part of himself.
In any case, the greatest risk to Chen Wei's life was in the initial surprise attack made with full force by the Feng Zhi Clan leader. Now that this attack has failed, his body is almost completely healed, his primeval essence is nearly fully recovered, and he will fight alongside the other clan elders. This threat no longer warrants excessive concern.
So calm yet cautious, he still keeps his guard up for any hidden trump card the Feng Zhi Clan leader might have, especially one aimed at exacting vengeance by killing him.
"It seems I'll be able to return to the battle in no time…" Chen Wei murmurs under his breath, observing his now fully healed body, though his left arm remains missing.
This drew a look of slight surprise mixed with admiration from a healing Gu Master nearby, who watched as Chen Wei stood and began walking toward the battlefield with a serious expression.
"This… again?" Chen Wei stops in his tracks, turning his gaze toward the temple on the island at the center of the lake. There, the guardian—a Rank 5 water dragon—had remained silent, observing the battle after its two earlier roars. But now it roared again, its voice reverberating through the battlefield, forcing everyone to halt and look around with heightened apprehension. Those near the lake's edge even hesitated, as if unsure whether to escape or stay.
Before they could act on their decisions, a towering, majestic, and imposing wall of crystal-clear blue water rose from the lake's edges, climbing high into the sky to form a dome that trapped everyone inside as if they were nothing more than mere insects.
Simultaneously, the Gu worms, which had been swimming away from the relentless fighting and hiding in fear, now swam toward the Gu Masters as if they were starving animals chasing food. They exuded their auras openly, no longer bothering to conceal them—Rank 1, Rank 2, and to everyone's shock, even a few Rank 3 auras, though these were fewer than a dozen.
"Is he trying to drag everyone into the lake, trap them there, and turn it into a slaughterhouse? Is that his plan?" Chen Wei thought seriously, as a blood sword materialized in his right hand. He tightened his grip on it, clenching his fist with determination, and advanced toward the battlefield without hesitation.