by <unknown>
Li Yao smiled. "Believe me. There will be."
"Alright. Let's move out separately and fight the enemy together!" Yan Chihuo nodded as he said that.
He jumped off the tank, soon disappearing in the raging dust.
Coldly watching the sandstorm caused by Yan Chifeng's movement disappearing on the horizon, Li Yao accelerated and rushed toward the valley Yan Chifeng pointed out without looking back.
Chapter 610: Great Horn Again! |
Two hours later, Li Yao appeared in the valley Yan Chifeng talked about.
This area was full of stone pillars and ravines, and all the paths weaved and intertwined. It was indeed the perfect place to hide.
Li Yao examined the tank and noticed that half of the high-pressure spiritual gas had been drained after such a long rush. The remaining fuel was only enough to last one night.
If he were to provide impetus for the iron beast weighing dozens of tons with the spiritual gas inside his body, he would be exhausted in the next couple of hours.
He had to stop no matter what.
Booming sounds could already be heard from the carriage. The twenty hostages there were all Cultivators anyway. After more than half a day's rest, many of them had woken up. However, because of the barriers imposed on them and the veins of demon beasts which tied them up, they could do nothing except to bash the wall of the carriage.
Li Yao looked around and parked the tank in a relatively flat area within the valley. He then took out a lot of materials made of the corpses of apocalyptic beasts, most of which were solid shells with sharp edges.
Piling all the materials up nearby, he snatched the twenty writhing hostages out of the carriage and cut off the ropes on them, setting them free one by one.
The hostages had only just woken up, and their heads were quite dizzy because of the bumps of the tank. Breathing fresh air all of a sudden, they were all at a loss.
Several girls exclaimed in shock when they saw Li Yao.
Right now, Li Yao was wearing the fully-enclosed Sky Scorpion Armor, which was refined out of the shells of the apocalyptic beasts. He looked cruel and brutal, utterly not anything related to kindheartedness.
Shua!
The facial cover on the Sky Scorpion Armor moved up, revealing a pair of coldly blinking eyes. Li Yao shouted as loud as he could, "Don't be scared, everybody. You are no longer in danger. You are currently standing on Iron Plateau, and I am an Iron Plateau native!"
Everybody had managed to keep calm before he talked, but when they learned that they were on Iron Plateau, the legendary 'forbidden area for Cultivators', the faces of the young people all blanched.
They were all Cultivators, and they all knew a thing or two about the grudge between qi-trainers of Iron Plateau and Cultivators in the space.
There was no telling what would happen to them after falling into the hands of this weird-looking Iron Plateau native, but the man's armor alone seemed enough to suggest that its owner was not the most lenient person in the world!
Ignoring their fear, Li Yao went on. "I know how deep your misunderstanding about Iron Plateau is. But listen to me, all the rumors you've heard about Iron Plateau natives are false! In fact, we are kind, frank, and gentle. We are great dancers and peace-lovers, too!
"But there's no time for the useless crap now. Pick up a tool and dig your pits there!"
Li Yao suddenly changed his attitude. He sheathed his saber and raised Thunderous Roar, while he shouted angrily, "Chop-chop! Go to dig pits! This will be the ending for the lazy ones!"
He slashed his saber. The aura of his blade extended to more than ten meters and cut a giant stone in half!
The young men and women were all too scared to do anything. Coerced by the saber and the gun, they could only pick up several sharp-edged tools from among the apocalyptic beast shells and stagger over to the flat area Li Yao designated.
Some of them thought that Li Yao was asking them to dig their own graves and were quite anxious, while some other people were secretly hiding the shell inside their palm, ready to fight back desperately when must.
But Li Yao only asked them to dig pits no larger than heads. The pits were in a patterned distribution. Looking at them from above, they seemed to be constituting a weird rune array.
The hostages were all whispering to each other suspiciously, not having the faintest clue what the Iron Plateau weirdo was up to.
Li Yao had no time to bother them. He observed all the pits through Neltharion from above and was calculating the distribution of the pits crazily and modifying the crystal bombs he had taken out from his Cosmos Ring. Although he did not dig the pits himself, he was soaked in sweat, too.
Right then, Li Yao's movement came to a sudden halt. He stared at the northeast sky.
Dozens of black spots could vaguely be seen there.
The Great Horn Exo Society had arrived!
While Li Yao was thinking how he should reach out to the Great Horn Exo Society, his pupils suddenly constricted, and he sensed a sharp sting in his back. He slid toward the left with all his strength, and a series of bullets brushed past by his armor and pierced deep into the rock!
Deep inside the rock, a dull blast burst out, and stone powder spurted out from the pit.
Nice shot! The seven bullets were in different trajectories during their flight, but they were focused in a straight line when they reached the target. As a result, the seven bullets only caused one hole! Besides, the strength of the bullets was condensed and did not explode until it reached the center of the rock!
If they hit the body of a human, I fear that there would only be a tiny scar on the surface, but the internal organs of the victim would all be minced into pieces by the bullets!
The thoughts flashed in his brain briefly and did not last long because Li Yao's computational ability was focused on a certain object dashing at him from behind to his left.
By the observation of Neltharion, Li Yao found that it was an Exo in a tiger-like crystal suit!
When did two such experts join the Great Horn Exo Society?
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and searched his memories for a while, only to find no Exo of the Great Horn Exo Society similar to the two Exos in any way!
The gun expert was hiding among the rocks and stalled Li Yao with his remarkable shooting skills while the expert in the tiger-like crystal suit, who was apparently a melee fighter, took the chance to draw close and crashed at Li Yao brutally!
Li Yao sneered. Spiritual gas surged out of his body crazily. A lot of white steam popped out from the gaps of the Sky Scorpion Armor and completely concealed him. When the melee expert rushed into the range of his spiritual gas, he punched out casually!
The terrifying spiritual gas of the 80th level of the Refinement State was fully exerted!
BOOM!
After the punch, Li Yao remained where he was, but his opponent retreated almost ten footsteps back after a miserable grunt.
Li Yao immediately charged forward after the first attack. His saber drew a weird curve in the air and cut into the neck of the melee expert!
The melee expert was sweating in fear. He did not expect the weird-looking man to be so much stronger than the qi-trainers of Iron Plateau he had met previously. He raised his sword to block the slash, only to be knocked away by Li Yao's blade, which continued sweeping at his neck!
Just when the saber was about to kiss his neck, the gun expert shot another hundred bullets in graceful arcs, with some of them aimed at Li Yao's saber and some at Li Yao's critical spots.
However, all the bullets missed their target because Li Yao had vanished!
Li Yao's previous attack was a feint. Despite its shocking speed, it did not boast the corresponding strength. Li Yao had been merely trying to determine the location of the gunner.
By analyzing the trajectories of the bullets, and with the supervision of Neltharion in the sky, Li Yao soon discovered the gunner, who was crouching between two rocks, covered in a camouflage cloth that
could alter its color and pattern at its master's will.
BOOM!
Li Yao raised Thunderous Roar and shot the hill behind the gunner. One explosive bullet was enough to blow half the hill off. Broken stones fell from the sky like a storm!
Caught unprepared, the gunner hurried to dash out of the crevice in case he was buried alive by the collapsing hill, only to run into Li Yao in the next moment, who was charging at him.
As a gunner, his melee combat ability was quite common. Li Yao captured him after one round, and he was unable to move anymore.
Li Yao dragged the gunner like he was dragging a chicken and laid his saber on the gap between his helmet and breastplate. Then he stomped on the ground and landed on a protruding rock after several jumps. He crouched behind the gunner and looked down at the valley like an eagle.
That was the picture that the melee expert saw when he was back to himself. He couldn't help but shout, "Lu Dian!"
Although a saber was resting on his neck, Lu Dian was not in the least fearful. He shouted back.
"Zuo Xiaohu, leave now! The man is quite strong. The two of us combined are no match for him!"
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
Right then, the dozens of members of the Great Horn Exo Society all landed. Lei Dalu and Bai Kaixin were in the lead.
Seeing that Lei Dalu had taken off his helmet and showed his real face, Li Yao was somewhat relieved. However, he did not put down the saber, which was still on the gunner's neck.
The one who was held captive by Li Yao was Lu Dian, 'White-haired Gun King', who had just returned to the Great Horn Exo Society.
The melee expert who had punched against Li Yao only to be blown away, on the other hand, was Zuo Xiaohu.
In the new-born Great Horn Exo Society, other than the few experts of the previous generation such as Lei Dalu, Zuo Xiaohu and Lu Dian were among the best warriors in the group!
The two of them had ambushed the enemy but suffered such a brutal failure. The capability of the enemy was indeed terrifying.
Lei Dalu's face was quite gloomy.
Although the enemy seemed to be by himself, who knew whether or not more enemies were hiding inside the zigzagging valley?
However, the enemy captured an Exo of the Great Horn Exo Society instead of killing him. There was no telling what that was supposed to mean.
"The twenty hostages are safe and sound. They are right behind me!" Li Yao bellowed. "But qi-trainers of Iron Plateau are coming to this place from various directions!
"They are all the best warriors of the six tribes. Most of them are equivalent to Building Foundation Stage Cultivators!
"But there are only dozens of you, and I'm afraid most of you are in the Refinement Stage. Also, after the fierce battle just now, your crystal suits have been more or less damaged!
"Even if I hand over the hostages to you, you won't be able to run away!"
Finishing his speech, Li Yao threw Lu Dian off the rock precisely into Zuo Xiaohu. The two young experts rolled on the ground in a mess.
"Captain Lei, come here and let's talk!"
Lei Dalu and Bai Kaixin both reeled in shock. They had not realized that the weirdo knew Lei Dalu's name and the Great Horn Exo Society's situation so clearly!
Bai Kaixin said in a low voice, "He's right. There's smoke in all directions. According to the scouts, the new arrivals seem to boast very finely-made war machines with amazingly high speed. Their capability must be good, too, and in no way similar to the wildings that we encountered previously."
"I feel that something is wrong. My instinct tells me that we are in a trap."
Pondering for a moment, Lei Dalu jumped up and stood next to Li Yao on the rock.
"Who are you?" Lei Dalu demanded. "Do you know me?"
Li Yao opened half of his facial cover slowly. He looked at Lei Dalu with a smile, as he blinked and said softly, "It's me."
Chapter 611: Imminent Peril |
Over the three months he had spent on Iron Plateau, Li Yao had lived in the wilderness in the beginning and trained himself in the craziest ways after he reached the Furious Bears Tribe. Therefore, his looks had changed a lot.
To avoid being seen through, he had also been adjusting his facial muscles slightly day after day. After two months of hard work, he looked like a totally different person now.
At this moment, he relaxed all the muscles that he had been twisting by force and resumed his original appearance.
Lei Dalu was confused briefly. But seeing Li Yao's cunning countenance, Lei Dalu's eyes grew wider and wider, as if he had seen a ghost. "You—you—"
Li Yao lowered his voice and said, "Captain once offered me an Eight Arm Suit as a gift. You were the one who saw me off when I left the Great Horn Exo Society, too. We were chitchatting while we watched Gold Horn undergoing maintenance in the port. I remember clearly what the conversation was. Should I repeat it to convince you of my identity?"
Lei Dalu took a long breath and smiled. "That's unnecessary. It's not that I don't believe you. I was just a bit surprised. How did you end up here dressed like this?"
"You know what planet we are on as well. Do I want to get myself killed by dressing like a Cultivator? It's you who are dressing weirdly here. A bunch of fully-armed Cultivators landing on Iron Plateau and getting into conflict with Iron Plateau natives? You must feel that you've lived long enough! "Li Yao said.
Lei Dalu frowned. "Some important hostages are hidden on Iron Plateau; we're here to rescue them. But, it seems that you were faster than us!"
Li Yao waved his hand and said, "Our time is short. The main troops of Iron Plateau natives will surround us shortly. They are all elites above the 50th level of the Refinement Stage. Common low-level Building Foundation Stage Cultivators are but toys to them! I'll explain the details to you later. Right now, I only need to know two things.
"Firstly, why were you the first to come to the hostages' rescue?
"Secondly, are the Cultivators' main troops on their way to Iron Plateau?"
Lei Dalu nodded. "The hostages are all college students of Flying Star University and Heavenly Saints Institute. Their family members are mostly the pillars of the major sects and noble families. One of them is even the granddaughter of the leader of the Burning Sun Alliance! The news that they were kidnapped shook the world of Cultivators. The consequences would have been dire if the hostages were not rescued!
"Therefore, the six major sects and the various noble families have all sent their best warriors. Should the rescue mission fail, a brutal reprisal will immediately be launched!
"As for us, we were already in the Iron Plateau Space Zone. Therefore, they contacted us and asked us to try to rescue them first."
Li Yao was curious. "Why did you come to the Iron Plateau Space Zone? Besides, wasn't the Great Horn Exo Society crippled a couple of months ago? Has it been rebuilt successfully in such a short time? The new members look rather unfamiliar, but they are quite capable despite their lack of experience in combat."
Lei Dalu coughed and scratched his head. "They are all kids dismissed from the Tiger Killer Camp long ago and orphans that we fostered earlier. They've gathered and reestablished the Great Horn Exo Society since they heard that we were nearly wiped out.
"As for the reason we came to the Iron Plateau Space Zone in advance… We were here for you in the beginning."
Li Yao was dazed for a moment, but he thought everything through in the next moment. He felt his eyes were hot.
No wonder the Great Horn Exo Society was the first to appear on Iron Plateau.
Their original purpose was not to rescue the hostages but to rescue him!
Taking a long breath and calming himself down, Li Yao spoke fast. "Alright. Let's talk more later. I would rather not expose my identity at this moment. So, please give orders on behalf of me, captain. Right now, we are in a tricky situation. One step wrong, and the fire of war will be ignited and consume us all! There's only one way if we want to save our asses and reso
lve the conflict in front of us!"
Lei Dalu asked nervously, "What is it?"
Li Yao squinted and replied, "Digging pits!"
…
At the same time, in the periphery of the Iron Plateau Space Zone, amid the deep and boundless sea of stars, more than ten colorful exhaust flames were interweaved and extended toward the end of the cosmos.
At the front of the exhaust flames were more than ten magnificent, domineering warships!
Different battle emblems were painted on the head of the warships. Some of the battle emblems were like suns and moons, some were like rampant bears, some were giant serpents that had grown wings, and one of them was two crossed great axes.
Furious Bears Union! Burning Sun Alliance! Feathered Snakes Brotherhood! Heavenly Wolves Fortress! Silver Moon Clan! Giant Axe Hall!
The main warships of the six sects of Heavenly Saints City, the strongest sects of the Flying Star Sector, had rushed to the Iron Plateau Space Zone!
Since the granddaughter of the leader of the Burning Sun Alliance had been kidnapped, 'Proud Sun', a warship of the highest level in the Burning Sun Alliance, had been sent out for the mission and served as the flagship of the fleet.
Proud Sun was a sister starship to 'Burning Sun', the commanding starship of the Burning Sun Alliance. It was not hard to imagine its formidability!
Right now, inside a meeting room on Proud Sun, more than ten members from the six major sects and the noble families were having a discussion.
A middle-aged man in the captain uniform, whose eyes were hollowed and whose hair was spotted with redness, mumbled, "There's still no news from the Great Horn Exo Society."
He was Wan Liyun, captain of Proud Sun, son of the leader of the Burning Sun Alliance, and father of Wan Hongying, who was one of the hostages!
"Iron Plateau has a complicated natural environment. Strong sources of interference are both in the atmosphere and in the planetary ring. It's hard to transmit telepathic thoughts from inside. The Great Horn Exo Society might have already rescued the hostages successfully and be on their way out of Iron Plateau!"
