142: Chapter 142 North Bank of the Ferry

At the side of the barracks, Liu Ruyan led the five members of the Light and Shadow Legion, appearing silently from the shadows.

Their dark purple Savage Beast silk combat uniforms blended almost perfectly into the night, with only the occasional faint purple glimmer of flowing spiritual power revealing their positions.

Liu Ruyan stood at the front. In her misty, smoke-like eyes, the usual quiet and gentleness were gone, replaced only by the cold, crescent-moon-like determination of a Phantom Assassin.

Her Phantom Dagger flipped silently between her fingers, the silver light at its tip flashing and vanishing.

Her slender waist was taut beneath the dark purple combat uniform, and her long legs were planted slightly apart. At this moment, her entire presence had completely converged, turning her into a quiet yet sharp blade within the shadows.

Xiao Yuqing stood beside a Barbarian Horned Horse at the edge of the training grounds, her Rainstorm Archer spiritual bow slung diagonally across her back, her neat short hair fluttering slightly in the cold pre-dawn wind.

Her figure, wrapped in Savage Beast silk light armor, displayed the long, powerful build characteristic of an athlete. The graceful lines of her arm muscles when drawing a bow and her dashing posture when walking were famous throughout the tribe, but at this moment, she stood quietly, her face beneath her neat short hair serious and focused, a spiritual arrow already nocked on the string.

Zhao Linger sat cross-legged on a Barbarian Horned Horse. During the quiet pre-dawn hour, her Spirit Sound Affinity extended a precise sonic detection grid in all directions.

Her large, round eyes were closed, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly as spiritual power flowed. Beneath her Savage Beast silk short shirt, her petite, devilish figure formed an alluring, curvaceous silhouette as she sat cross-legged on the Barbarian Horned Horse.

Yet, the range covered by her Spirit Sound Affinity was unimaginably vast, capturing every low-frequency communication signal of the Shadow Clan in the air of the northern Central Wasteland Region.

Warm Sun Warlock Wen Qingxue rode a Barbarian Horned Horse at the rear, the golden spiritual power of a Warm Sun Warlock flowing slowly in her palms. The warm light pulsed weakly but steadily in the pre-dawn darkness, serving as the healing guarantee for the entire elite assault team.

Hua Jieyu walked over from the direction of the Medical Tent. Her pace was half a beat slower than usual; Wang Sheng's surging nourishment had made her steps less light, but her back remained straight.

Her pale green Savage Beast silk medical robe lost its soft daytime luster in the pre-dawn darkness, appearing somewhat dim. Yet, when she approached Wang Sheng, her almond-shaped eyes still held a gentle smile, and the two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth appeared faintly in the darkness.

"I've rechecked the three pills." She walked up to him, her slender fingers gently touching the pocket on the inside of his Savage Beast leather vest, the sensation of her fingertips transmitting a trace of warmth through the clothing.

"Each one can maintain the explosive power of a Barbarian General Rank 3 for about thirty breaths. The first pill has the strongest effect; starting from the second, your meridians will feel slight discomfort, and with the third, spiritual power consumption will be extremely rapid. If taken consecutively, your spiritual power will drop below twenty percent, and combined with the consumption of Light Wing Flight, it might lead to spiritual power exhaustion while you are in the air."

"So, you must be cautious and careful; never take risks." Her voice was gentle, but every word carried the professional judgment of the Hundred Herb Medical Immortal.

The light of the spirit lamps was not here; in the twilight before dawn, only the faint glimmer of golden spiritual power reflected in the gentle smile of her almond-shaped eyes.

"That's why the first burst is important." Wang Sheng looked at her flushed fingertips and slightly trembling wrists. "Try to eliminate as many Shadow Clan vanguards as possible in the first round."

"Mm." Hua Jieyu nodded gently, loose hair slipping from the side of her ear, her fair cheeks glowing with a faint pink in the darkness. "And also..."

She stood on tiptoe, her slender fingers gently touching the side of his face, as gentle as the quiet spirit herbs in the Spirit Garden swaying slightly in the morning breeze. "Come back safely." Her voice lowered by three degrees. "Bring everyone back safely."

"Mm." He looked down at the gentle smile in her almond-shaped eyes and the expectation of love deep within them, his thick golden spiritual power flowing slightly in his palms, covering her flushed fingers warmly.

The Holy Light Healing Grass, awakened after the Hundred Herb Affinity, added a layer of gentle Hundred Herb power to his Light Healing Technique when it touched her skin, and waves of spiritual resonance flowed slowly between his palms and her fingers.

Hua Jieyu's almond-shaped eyes closed for a brief moment, her eyelashes fluttering gently amidst the flow of spiritual power, and the corners of her mouth curved into a gentle arc. Then, she stepped back, her pale green Savage Beast silk medical robe fluttering lightly in the darkness.

"Set off." Wang Sheng's voice was steady and firm, the golden spiritual power of a Tier 2 Barbarian General surging within his body.

Thirty Barbarian Horned Horses simultaneously stepped forward on the training grounds, the silver spears of the Holy Light Cavalry moving forward in unison through the darkness, and Murong Xue's silver armor glimmered with cold light in rhythm with the Barbarian Horned Horses.

The moment the Barbarian Horned Horses stepped out of the training grounds, Liu Ruyan and the five members of the Light and Shadow Legion dissolved silently into the deep darkness before dawn, like snakes hidden in the shadows, winding into the night of the Savage Beast Forest.

Xiao Yuqing rode her Barbarian Horned Horse closely behind Murong Xue, her spiritual bow already taken from her back and held in her hand. Zhao Linger sat on her Barbarian Horned Horse with her eyes closed, her Spirit Sound Affinity continuously covering a sonic detection radius of five miles while they advanced. Warm Sun Warlock Wen Qingxue brought up the rear, the golden spiritual power of a Warm Sun Warlock flowing warmly at the end of the formation.

Shen Xun'er stood by the window on the second floor of the Chiefs Tent, watching them disappear into the darkness before dawn.

There was no worry in the Moonlight Priestess's moist, almond-shaped eyes, only calmness and trust. Her silver-white hair fluttered slightly in the morning breeze at the window, and her Savage Beast silk inner robe glimmered with a moon-white light in the darkness.

Her hand pressed gently against the window frame, the golden-white light of the Moonlight Blessing flowing slightly at her fingertips, extending a gentle protection from the second floor of the Chiefs Tent to every inch of the Bright Tribe's walls and every Savage Beast leather roof.

Frost Mage Lin Shiyun stood on the North Gate of the city wall, watching the direction in which the elite assault team had disappeared. The Frost Mage's silver-white hair fluttered in the morning breeze, her ice-blue pupils as cold as ever, but the frost defense line at the Lingxi River ferry crossing beside her had condensed frost three times thicker than usual.

Her hand pressed against the city wall, the Frost Mage's spiritual power flowing slightly at her fingertips. The ice-blue light spread from her fingertips to the savage stones of the city wall, reinforcing the North Gate's defense with a solid layer of ice.

Su Mengyao stood in the Spirit Garden, the emerald-green Power of Nature spreading in the twilight from the Spirit Garden to the spirit fields by the Lingxi River. The Spirit Garden defense line extended dense Nature Traps outside the South Gate, and the moonlight rose continued to bloom quietly, morning dew condensing on its petals, shimmering with a gentle silver in the golden-white light of the Moonlight Blessing.

The night of the Savage Beast Forest was slowly torn open by the advance of the elite assault team, accompanied by the hoofbeats of the Barbarian Horned Horses and the faint glimmer of the Holy Light Cavalry's spiritual power.

Murong Xue led the Holy Light Cavalry in a combat formation, advancing at the front. Thirty Barbarian Horned Horses moved in two columns along the main path of the Savage Beast Forest, their silver spears swaying slightly beside the saddles with the horses' steps, and the faint glimmer of spiritual power from their silver armor looked like two slowly moving bands of silver light.

After advancing about twenty miles, Zhao Linger opened her large, round eyes, a trace of gravity flashing within them.

"I've detected the position of the Shadow Clan vanguard; it's on the north bank of the ferry crossing upstream on the Lingxi River, about ten miles away from us." Her voice was kept very low, and the Spirit Sound Technique transmitted her voice precisely into everyone's ears.

"There are ten spiritual fluctuations, at the level of a Savage General Rank 1. They are carving Shadow Spirit Runes on the savage stones of the ferry's north bank. Two-thirds of the Shadow Clan stronghold's array base has already been carved. If they are allowed to finish, the enemy could teleport directly to the battlefield through the Shadow Clan stronghold."

"It's already three-tenths finished?" The golden light in Wang Sheng's brown eyes tightened slightly. "How much time do we have left?"

"At their current speed, they will complete the array base within two hours." Zhao Linger closed her eyes and probed again for half a breath. "But... the core part of the array base hasn't been started yet. The core array base requires at least one Shadow Clan warrior of Tier 2 Barbarian General or above to drive it. What has appeared now are ten Savage General Rank 1s; there isn't a single Tier 2 Barbarian General among them."

"Ying Wuyue didn't send any Tier 2 Barbarian Generals." Liu Ruyan's voice came from the shadows, soft but clear, a trace of coldness flashing in her misty, smoke-like eyes. "She is too confident, too dismissive of us. In her view, ten Savage General Rank 1s are enough to crush the Bright Tribe; she didn't even imagine that we would launch an attack first."

"Everyone, prepare!!" Wang Sheng's voice was steady. "Let's take advantage of the fact that the enemy hasn't reacted yet and wipe out her vanguard in one strike."