Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  But even if some of them went past him, they were all sent flying away by B.u.t.t Shaker, the Three Lonely Wolves, and the others. The threat they faced was incredibly low…

  Under One Circle's protection, Beautiful Robes Faction retreated behind a stone pillar.

  The other sects were in a more miserable state. All of them either died or went behind a pillar to recover from their grave injuries!

  The total death count was not any lesser than when the wall was not down.

  But that was to be expected.

  Previously, the number of throwing knives that shot out from the holes in Ghost Face Wall was limited because there were only that many holes. The wall had been broken, however, and all the ninjas with their throwing knives acted like tigers who had broken out of their shackles. Their damage and level of threat had doubled. It was then only to be expected that the players could not withstand the sudden ambush.

  "Emei Sect, do you people intend to have all of us die before you attack?!"

  Even though Soaring Tiger Sect was slightly indignant over the fact that Beautiful Robes Faction had suffered no damages, they had shown abilities that proved that they were no ordinary student sect. It was then not wise to offend them.

  A few of the ladies from Emei Sect immediately retorted in a show that they were not willing to be mocked when they heard Soaring Tiger Sect ridiculing them.

  "The tunnel is only so big, where are we supposed to go?"

  "You're the ones who didn't notice them and got into this situation, and you're blaming us? When we entered the royal mausoleum, you lot didn't make way for us so that we could enter before you. What now? Are you regretting your decision?"

  "That's right!"

  "Hmph!"

  "Despicable!"

  When the group of beautiful girls retorted like chirping birds, the men from Soaring Tiger Sect instantly grew angry.

  When the royal mausoleum was activated, they were indeed a little hasty and ignored the dangers that might possibly lurk inside. When they thought about it, they could indeed not blame Emei Sect.

  Around ten people were killed by the throwing knives again while the two sides argued, and they lay dead on the ground.

  The atmosphere in the royal mausoleum instantly became even more dangerous and horrifying.

  "Everyone!" Ouyang Qing's voice rose again. "It's not the time to argue about such things. I hope that all of you will set aside your prejudices against each other and work together to destroy the ninjas in the tunnel, or else, if we just rely on our own sect's abilities, none of us will be able to pass!"

  "The brother from Wudang Sect is right."

  A few people from Shaolin Temple's thirteen staff-using monks agreed while protecting their injured brothers who were quickling healing themselves.

  At that moment, the disadvantage in numbers of Shaolin Temple became even clearer.

  However, the people from the other sects also had that problem right then.

  "Our comrades from Mount Hua Sect!" At that moment, someone from Beggar's Sect suddenly spoke up loudly. "One companion of yours has the most outstanding defensive moves among our seven sects. Why don't you have him take the lead, and we'll follow after to rush into the tunnel?"

  Right after he finished speaking, someone from Beautiful Robes Faction immediately shouted back in disdain. "Are you crazy?! It's useless no matter how great his body fortification is! There are dozens of ninjas inside! If you're so good, why don't you go in and take a walk around? Don't go thinking that we're easy to bully just because we're students and don't have as much experience as you do!"

  NotaRascal paused for a moment, then snorted coldly. "If you want us to become cannon fodder, you can dream on."

  His words made the person from Beggar's Sect flush red with embarrassment.

  "That's not what I meant…"

  "Hmph, you can forget about explaining yourself."

  When the people from the other sects saw it, they grew anxious. The throwing knives continued flying all over the hall, and the situation was becoming worse. People were dying with every passing moment.

  When a person behind the entire group saw that the sects all harbored the thought of waiting for Beautiful Robes Faction to take action and take the lead, that person—who no one could identify—spoke loudly. "Just because they can fire long-range projectiles doesn't mean you can't too!"

  The arguments in the hall instantly vanished, and the sudden suggestion freed the players from being stuck in their thoughts!

  'That's right!'

  They were previously blocked by Ghost Face Wall, but it had collapsed, and the enemies were in the tunnel. If they just shot back, the ninjas inside would no longer have any sort of advantage against them.

  Only a few Wudang Sect disciples who were near the person who spoke cast a glance at him. He was dressed in blue robes, and there was a bit of blood on his face while he grinned foolishly. They gave him a thumbs up.

  Chapter 262 - Yellow Dragon Bow

  The words of the man in the back freed the players from being stuck in their rigid thought process!

  They swiftly mobilized their forces and moved. A group of people were in charge of blocking the throwing knives that were flying wantonly in the hall of the royal mausoleum. The other group of people hid behind a stone pillar with an engraving of a dragon entwined around it. They drew their bows madly or threw hidden weapons at the ninjas in the tunnel. Even though most of them only had low-tier hidden weapon or bow techniques, their numerical and geographical advantage gradually came to show.

  The hall was wide, and once the throwing knives split up, the damage the people had to suffer was largely reduced.

  On the contrary, the arrows, throwing knives, and hidden weapons that shot through the tunnel from different directions gathered together to form a dense shower of projectiles. Their momentum was incredibly astonishing.

  The defense of the ninjas was clearly not very good. After one round of attacks, more than half of the first row was injured, and their fierce offense swiftly lowered in intensity.

  Once the pressure lessened, the seven great sects instantly became even more excited.

  The players would either fire two arrows in one draw or constantly send throwing knives over. They did not need to aim when throwing their hidden weapons or firing their arrows into the tunnel. They attacked with the might of a storm and caught the ninjas off guard.

  There was a continuous stream of them being hit and staggering back. They were stabbed with an assortment of hidden weapons, and they looked incredibly miserable and wretched. Hence, the throwing knives that flew out of the tunnel reduced in number.

  "Haha! We made it! They're going to run!"

  "After them!"

  "They might have high-tier throwing knife manuals with them…"

  When they saw that their strategy worked and that the threat in the hall was completely resolved, the people from the seven sects instantly became excited. They walked out from behind the stone pillar with the entwining dragon engraving while continuing to throw hidden weapons and firing arrows into the tunnel.

  Unfortunately for them, the ninjas were very fast. They instantly went out of the range of the hidden weapons. They ran into the tunnel to avoid being shot while luring people after them.

  "Careful! Don't go in!"

  Some of the people from the seven sects soon noticed that something off. Once they entered the tunnel, their firepower was clearly reduced, so they reminded those in the front to be careful.

  Unfortunately for them, the corpses of the ninjas who threw the throwing knives at them in the tunnel served as an impossible to resist temptation to many people. They did not even hear the warning. All they saw were the corpses of the ninjas, and they charged forward in impatience.

  Soaring Tiger Sect showed the greatest impatience. A few of the disciples from Beggar's Sect and Hidden Soul Sect were also like that.

  Right after the shouted out warnings, the retreating ninjas sud
denly stopped at the same time, and dozens of throwing knives split up in the tunnel, filling it. They intertwined with each other and shot at the disciples from the seven sects who were charging at the front.

  The sounds of bodies being shot full of holes and the screams of pain rose and fell in the tunnel.

  "Damn it!"

  "Retreat!"

  A few seconds later, a group of people moved out of the tunnel in a flurry and looking very pathetic.

  More than twenty had fallen in the tunnel in a horrifying manner.

  The ninjas closed in on them again.

  "Damn it! I can't push in…"

  Since Wudang Sect and Shaolin Temple had fewer people who were skilled in hidden weapons, they were at the back of the group, which was why they were not injured. Emei Sect and Beautiful Robes Faction had always lingered further back, which was a relatively safe region, and hence, they were not injured as well. Soaring Tiger Sect, Hidden Soul Guild, and Beggar's Sect were the ones who were injured.

  Their numbers were continuously reduced, and the three sects at that moment had less than half the numbers with which they had come. Soaring Tiger Sect was the one who suffered the most. They had more than one hundred people dead. When they turned their heads around to look at the number of corpses in the hall—they numbered to more than two hundred—an invisible, cold chill enveloped their hearts.

  And they were still just in the royal mausoleum's hall. If so many of them died in the first level, they could already imagine just how much danger they would have to face further inside!

  Some of the people thought of the possibility that they might die without gaining any benefits, and their hearts began to beat faster. They considered retreating.

  Wudang Sect's Ouyang Qing felt incredibly indignant. He gritted his teeth and spoke loudly in order to stir up the group's energy and make them feel positive.

  "They're coming up again! Everyone, shoot them together!"

  At that moment, there were only a few who could fight back. Even the thirteen staff-using monks were forced to protect themselves. Beggar's Sect and Hidden Soul Guild suffered great losses, and they had many injured members who circulated their qi and healed their wounds while under the protection of their sect members. Aside from Soaring Tiger Sect, who had the largest group of people, only Emei Sect and Beautiful Robes Faction had the power to fight back.

  When Emei Sect saw the other sects struggling on their last breath, they finally cast aside the discord between them and Soaring Tiger Sect. They charged past the corpses that filled the ground and moved to the front with bows and arrows, throwing knives, and other hidden weapons in their hands, just like Beautiful Robes Faction and Wudang Sect.

  There was another person from Beautiful Robes Sect who attracted quite a lot of attention at that moment!

  Little Jade held a golden bow whose top and bottom resembled wings. She looked like Immortal Yao Chi[1]. Three exquisite and small arrows were nocked on the bowstring tied to the six wings on the golden bow. She easily drew the bow until it formed the shape of a full moon.

  When a faint explosion erupted in the air, the three arrows shot forth like shooting stars chasing after the moon. A dazzling white trail followed behind the arrows, and a few grunts resounded in the tunnel.

  Even though Little Jade only used a low-tier bow technique, because of the additional stats granted by Yellow Dragon Bow, her damage did not lose to a normal high-tier martial art. It killed a Knife-throwing Ninja inside the tunnel.

  With sparkling eyes, the people from Soaring Tiger Sect stared at Little Jade's pretty and ethereal face. They also stared at the Yellow Dragon Bow in her hands, and no one could say what they were thinking.

  "Yellow Dragon Bow is a middle-grade masterpiece. It can be sold for more than two million taels of silver in the market…"

  "That fatty as well! The weapon in his hands is very extraordinary. He also managed to tank so many throwing knives and still come out alive. If we can get him to drop that weapon, we'll be rich!"

  A few people discussed what was on their minds in low whispers.

  "But Beautiful Robes Faction doesn't seem easy to deal with."

  "Yeah, it's clear that they're just a group of students, so how did they get so much good stuff? Even large guilds might not have such remarkable resources and power."

  "Tsk. They might be rich and have decided to spend all their family's money."

  "Don't think too much into it. Just keep an eye on them. Once we clear the tunnel and go further, we'll definitely have a chance. At that time, hmph…"

  Clear killing intent shone in those people's eyes.

  The shooting in the hall continued.

  Even though the momentum of the three sects's offense was rather small, they had geographical advantage, and they managed to oppress the firepower of the ninjas in the tunnel. Some of the ninjas died, and they had to retreat further into the tunnel.

  This time, the people from the three sects did not chase after them. Instead, they stayed where they were. Some sat down cross-legged and circulated their qi to restore it as well as to cure their injuries.

  "They're here again!"

  "Everyone, be careful!"

  When they saw that the people from the seven sects did not chase after them, the ninjas, whose numbers had been reduced slightly, stopped in the tunnel before they came back again. The throwing knives entered the hall with the sound of air being sliced.

  However, there were much fewer of them right then, and the players appeared very relaxed and at ease in the face of them.

  The people from the seven sects attacked at the same time, throwing their hidden weapons or firing arrows with the force of a storm. Another seven or eight ninja corpses were added to the tunnel, and the remaining two survivors could not withstand the pressure and fled.

  The tunnel was finally open!

  Chapter 263 - Emei Sect, Moon Reflection Temple

  "Charge!"

  The dangers in the tunnel had been cleared. Even though there were two ninjas left, they did not pose a threat to the players.

  As if they had forgotten about the tragedy just then, Soaring Tiger Sect, Hidden Soul Guild, and Beggar's Sect suddenly changed their attitude and charged into the tunnel. They pushed forward at an incredible speed.

  When they reached the ninjas' corpses, they finally revealed their true colors!

  They swept through the area.

  The thirty or so corpses of the ninjas were searched through thoroughly. In fact, they even nearly crossed swords with each other over a Universe Bag. When they saw this, Emei Sect and Beautiful Robes Sect stopped outside the tunnel.

  In truth, all those with some semblance of intelligence could figure it out.

  Knife-throwing Ninjas were the lowest grade Blessed Realm Ninjas in the royal mausoleum. It was impossible for them to have anything of value with them. Soaring Tiger Sect, Beggar's Sect, and Hidden Soul Guild could search all they want, but not only would they not be able to obtain anything, they would even leave behind bad impressions on other sects.

  Shaolin Temple, Wudang Sect, Emei Sect, and Mount Hua Sect lingered behind for various reasons. They did not have the chance to search through the Knife-throwing Ninjas' corpses nor even squeeze their way to the front.

  However, not only did the three sects that rushed in first not obtain any rewards, they were even suspected by the other four sects, who wondered what they had obtained but had put away in secret.

  The four sects looked down on the other sects after that, but it was only in their hearts. They simply regarded them warily for the time being.

  "Hmph!"

  "They're already fighting against each other for such small benefits? So much for these three sects."

  They had only worked together because the situation had forced them to do so.

  Once they had gone through the difficulty together, they had to distribute the benefits, and most people would still look through things carefully before they made decisions.
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  The four sects behind did not have the energy to waste their breath to remind the three sects who did not know the logic behind distributing loot evenly to be cordial to each other. However, they believed that if they ran into similar situations later and had to fight at full strength again, they would definitely no longer fight without holding back like just then.

  It looked as if a violent gust had swept through the tunnel!

  The thirteen staff-using monks and Wudang Sect saw that the three sects acted like sharks who had smelled blood. They walked in front without hesitation and swiftly disappeared out of their sight. Even though the thirteen staff-using monks and Wudang Sect regarded their actions in disdain, they did not wish for the resources in the royal mausoleum to be completely taken by the three great sects.

  Once the thirteen staff-using monks recovered, they wrapped their fists in their palms and saluted them before they swiftly went to chase after the three sects.

  Wudang Sect went after that.

  They could be considered as one of those who had managed to preserve most of their members. They had forty or so people with them, and they moved with haste to follow after Shaolin Temple's thirteen staff-using monks. They saluted Emei Sect and Beautiful Robes Faction before swiftly leaving the place.

  Just then, it was finally noticed that once the tunnel was opened, the royal mausoleum appeared on their maps!

  They had passed the first mark just then, and there were the remains of a box that had recently been broken open. There were four Knife-throwing Ninjas' corpses and a few Soaring Tiger Sect members' corpses. The situation seemed to have been very chaotic and disorderly. Clearly, an unexpected encounter had transpired there.

  Even though no one knew what was contained inside the box, the fight had clearly not been able to intimidate the Soaring Tiger Sect members or made them stop in their tracks. Instead, they just moved forward faster.

  Based on this, it was not difficult for them to guess that there was a possibility that the item inside the box might be one of the relics of the royal mausoleum.