27: Another fake artifact

In the panicked crowd, there were also many experts maintaining order, preventing unnecessary casualties caused by stampedes due to fear.

"Even though the experts from the Beast Tamer Association, Beast Taming University, and Great Xia Spirit Guards have all been lured away by our initial arrangements, Beishan City still holds a considerable number of strong individuals. Great Xia... truly cannot be underestimated." In the shadows, a woman spoke in a low voice using the Fusang language.

"Vice Captain Shizuko, what should we do now?"

"Proceed according to the original plan. Captain Yano Takashi risked a great deal to complete the critical step of the plan; we cannot fail now."

Then she took out a long, cloth-wrapped object from behind her, handed it over, and said, "Take this."

The person next to her took it and said, "But Vice Captain Shizuko, what if you encounter an unexpected situation without it?"

The woman named Shizuko replied, "Don't worry. With those three Old fellows gone, nobody in Beishan City can stop me. And without it, you probably wouldn't be able to stall them for long."

"Alright, enough talk. It won't be long after the volcano fully erupts before it affects this place. We must hurry!"

"Understood!"

This group quickly split into two teams and departed, hidden in the shadows.

One team consisted only of the Vice Captain, while the other had dozens of people.

They swiftly left the shadows, sinking into another patch of darkness before being discovered... At the Beishan City Beast Tamer Association, a faint Formation slowly rose, stabilizing the area and stopping the shaking of the buildings and people within.

Because Yu Shenghuo had transferred almost all the experts from the Association, only a few Deacons remained, arranging the evacuation of personnel and the safekeeping of valuables.

They were doing their best to usher the panicked crowd into the Formation.

"This tremor doesn't feel like an earthquake. I feel... it's more like the movement of the Tianyun Volcano erupting!" said the Deacon named Zhao Jin, while directing citizens to take shelter in the Formation.

"Deacon Zhao, don't scare me! Isn't Tianyun Volcano still dormant? And our Formation can withstand earthquake tremors, but it can't handle magma!"

"I hope my feeling is wrong..."

Just then, a commotion spread through the crowd, quickly turning into a panicked human wave surging forward.

The Beast Tamer Association's protective Formation also fluctuated wildly, and after only a moment, it completely shattered under a flash of Sword Light.

Zhao Jin's eyes instantly widened. Anyone who could break the Formation with a single strike had terrifying strength. He subconsciously gripped a Token hidden in his sleeve and asked loudly, "What is going on?"

Someone nearby struggled to squeeze through and said, "Deacon Zhao, someone... is destroying our Formation!"

"Who is it?"

"Judging by what they said during their communication, they must be Fusang people!"

"Fusang people... are they Dark Guards? Could it be that destroying the Beast Taming College Entrance Examination was just a feint? Is their real target actually the Beast Tamer Association?"

The Beast Tamer Association stores essential cultivation items for many Beast Tamers in Great Xia, including quenching thought beads of various grades and beast taming eggs of varying bloodline quality.

Most of these belong to the Association and the Spirit Guards, while others are deposited by other Beast Tamers, awaiting sale or auction.

But these things are not important. The most crucial thing is that, as the largest Beast Tamer Association in the surrounding cities,

the Beishan City Beast Tamer Association stores the detailed information of hundreds of thousands of Beast Tamers from several cities.

This might be useless to ordinary people, but for hostile nations, this is confidential information that absolutely cannot fall into their hands.

"Quickly contact the President and the others, and Captain Guo! It would be best if we could transfer some Great Xia Spirit Guards back immediately!"

He couldn't guarantee which side—the Beast Tamer Association or the Beast Taming College Entrance Examination—was the true target of the Fusang Dark Guards.

It was also possible that this location was the feint (luring the tiger away from the mountain), so he could only request that a portion of the Great Xia Spirit Guards return.

Unfortunately, as soon as they contacted the other side, they learned that the Fusang Dark Guards had activated the Tianyun Volcano.

Whether it was the Great Xia Spirit Guards, the Beast Tamer Association, or even the Teachers from the Beast Taming University, none of them could return quickly.

Furthermore, if they failed to prevent the volcanic eruption, they might never return in this lifetime.

"Since the President and the others can't return for now, we'll have to hold the line first!"

Zhao Jin did not spread the news that the Tianyun Volcano was about to erupt. The ground tremors had gradually subsided, and people had just managed to calm down; he didn't want to cause more panic.

Fortunately, the number of Fusang Dark Guards in front of them wasn't large, only about a few dozen people.

On their side, there were still over a hundred combatants remaining who were above level twenty. Although none exceeded level thirty and their combat strength wasn't high, many of their tamed beasts leaned toward support and healing attributes.

But after the news spread, more experts in the city would rush over.

Even if these Fusang Dark Guards were elites, they weren't unbeatable.

The only problem was not knowing what method the enemy used to break the Beast Tamer Association's defensive Formation in one move, requiring constant vigilance.

"Everyone, charge with me! We just need to hold them off until reinforcements slowly arrive!"

Zhao Jin charged forward first, but having been in an Administrative Position for a long time, not only was his own physique lacking exercise, but even his tamed beast had gotten several sizes fatter.

Fortunately, Beast Spirit Armorization is not affected by the size of the Demonic Beast, otherwise, he might not even be able to wear the armor.

Upon engaging, they genuinely seemed to fight the Fusang Dark Guards to a standstill at first.

Even Zhao Jin himself found it hard to believe.

These Fusang Dark Guards seemed mediocre; he could even hold his own in a one-on-one fight.

It seemed as though they could be completely defeated if just two more people joined in.

This greatly encouraged the Deacons of the Beast Tamer Association, who mostly held Administrative Positions, as most of them had joined the Association only because they weren't selected by the Great Xia Spirit Guards initially.

If they could now defeat the Fusang Dark Guards, who were renowned equally with the Great Xia Spirit Guards, didn't that prove they were no worse than the Great Xia Spirit Guards?

However, what they didn't know was that these Fusang Dark Guards weren't using their full strength at all, because their goal was to attract as many strong individuals as possible.

If they got serious, the opponents might realize the danger and stop rushing over.

Sure enough, as more people joined the battle, everyone quickly realized something was wrong.

Why was the tenacity of these Fusang Dark Guards so high? It always seemed like they were just short of defeating them.

However, the Fusang Dark Guards were also truly feeling significant pressure under the heavy siege.

After a while longer, hundreds of people had surrounded them. Including those on the periphery who couldn't join the fight, these few dozen individuals were estimated to be tying down nearly a thousand Beast Tamers capable of fighting.

"It seems... it's almost time. We won't be able to hold on much longer either..."

A Fusang Dark Guard reached for the cloth-wrapped long object on his back: "It's time... to deal with you! You foolish Great Xia people!"

A savage grin appeared on his face. Accompanied by a flick of his wrist, a Longsword radiating divine light suddenly appeared in his hand.

With an easy sweep, he severed the materialized weapons in many people's hands, instantly causing their severely wounded tamed beasts to revert to their original forms, forcing everyone to retreat.

Everyone exclaimed in shock and uncertainty, "These Fusang Devils... did they bring their Divine Artifact, the kusanagi-no-tsurugi?"

"Everyone retreat quickly!"

But ultimately, they were too late. Another Sword Glow flashed, and instantly, blood streaks appeared simultaneously across the chests of countless people, spraying blood outwards.

Zhao Jin was among them, but fortunately, he had chosen the more conservative Beast Spirit Armorization, so his injuries were not severe.

The Fusang Dark Guard said with great dissatisfaction, "Tsk, nobody died. It seems breaking the Formation just now consumed a lot of the kusanagi-no-tsurugi's power. But it doesn't matter, I'll finish you with the next strike!"

In reality, he knew the item in his hand was just a Fake. The previous strike plus the one that broke the Formation had already consumed a lot of its power. He was only bluffing now to buy more time.

But when the Vice Captain completed her mission and withdrew, he would definitely deliver one final strike, leaving the Great Xia people with a beautiful memory!

A cruel smile appeared on his face. He eagerly anticipated how many Great Xia people he could cleave in half with a full-powered strike then!

At this moment, Zhao Jin, who had been charging at the front, saw the situation and decisively retreated, running quickly toward the rear.

This scene was captured by the Fusang Dark Guard, who mocked him, "Is this what Great Xia people are like? Charging ahead when they outnumber the enemy, but choosing to run immediately when things go wrong!"

Zhao Jin did not reply to him, instead running straight to Dragon Tamer Xiao Sheng's Statue before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

He spoke up, "Running away? I hope you don't piss yourself in fear and run away later!"

He then fastened the item in his hand onto the Statue.

"You Great Xia people are playing tricks! What kind of damn God of War?! Isn't that just a Statue? Haha..."

As soon as the Fusang Dark Guard finished speaking, they saw the Statue suddenly burst into dazzling light, and then it opened its eyes!