145: Chapter 145 A Successful Strike

The Upstream Ferry of Lingxi River fell silent; the ten Shadow Clan vanguards had been completely annihilated.

The Shadow Spirit Rune at the base of the formation remained carved into the Savage Beast stone with two-thirds of its dark purple lines still visible, but without the spiritual power of the Shadow Clan vanguards to drive it, the Shadow Spirit Rune slowly dimmed like a snake deprived of water.

The dark purple light dissipated inch by inch across the surface of the stone until it finally extinguished completely before Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng stood on the Savage Beast stone as his Barbarian General 3rd Rank spiritual power slowly receded in his meridians back to Tier 2 Barbarian General.

The efficacy of the first holy light amplification elixir began to fade after its thirty-breath burst, causing his spiritual power to drop nearly forty percent from its peak.

His breathing was slightly rapid, but his Tier 2 Barbarian General physique allowed him to recover within ten breaths.

Murong Xue rode her Barbarian Horned Horse to his side; her silver armor was stained with fragments of clothing left behind after the Shadow Clan vanguards were purified, and her brown eyes held the sharp light of one who had just experienced battle, yet her mouth curved into a look of relief.

Her silver spear tilted slightly in her hand, the platinum light on its tip slowly dissipating.

"Our preemptive strike…" She looked at his side profile, illuminated by the faint glimmer of his Tier 2 Barbarian General spiritual power. "Was a success."

Suddenly, Zhao Linger snapped her large, round eyes open while on her Barbarian Horned Horse; the gravity in her eyes was like two pieces of amber soaked in freezing ice.

"Something is wrong!" Her voice suddenly turned sharp.

Her Spirit Sound Affinity had captured a frequency above the Upstream Ferry of Lingxi River that she had never heard in the wilderness before; it was deep, cold, and sounded like breathing coming from a dark abyss within the shadows.

"Spirit Sound Affinity has detected… a new Shadow Resonance!"

"The moment the ten Shadow Clan vanguards were completely annihilated, their Shadow spiritual power generated a Shadow Resonance as it dissipated. The frequency of the resonance has been transmitted further away."

Her voice grew increasingly grave. "This new frequency is heading towards the Shadow Realm."

"Ying Wuyue…" Liu Ruyan's voice came from the shadows, a cold, grave look flashing in her misty eyes. "There exists some kind of Shadow link between the spiritual power of the Shadow Clan vanguards and Ying Wuyue. The moment the vanguards were eliminated, Ying Wuyue sensed it through that Shadow link."

"She knows." Wang Sheng's fist slowly clenched, golden spiritual power flowing slightly between his knuckles. "She will not underestimate us again."

Zhao Linger took a deep breath, her large, round eyes looking towards the upper reaches of the Lingxi River and the brightening skyline to the east of the ferry…

"Spirit Sound Affinity has detected the new movement trajectory of Zhao Mang's Blood Wolf Tribe… After the Shadow Resonance was emitted, Zhao Mang's main force changed their marching route, accelerating directly from the south towards the northern part of the Central Wasteland Region."

She looked at Wang Sheng, her voice dropping lower. "There is not much time left for us to prepare."

When the thin mist at the Upstream Ferry of Lingxi River completely dissipated in the golden morning sun, Wang Sheng led the elite assault team on the road back to the Bright Tribe.

Golden spiritual power flowed slowly through his meridians; the efficacy of the first holy light amplification elixir had completely faded after its thirty-breath burst.

His spiritual power had slowly recovered about sixty percent from the trough following the consumption, and the burning lingering heat left by the eruption of spiritual power in his meridians was still pulsing slightly.

The Power of Holy Light had condensed a very thin film of golden light on the walls of his meridians, and as his Tier 2 Barbarian General spiritual power flowed beneath the light film, it carried a trace of nourishing warmth.

The remaining two holy light amplification elixirs rested quietly in the pocket on the inside of his Savage Beast skin vest, transmitting a faint heat through the Savage Beast silk.

Every heartbeat caused the heat to pulse slightly; it was the lingering effect of Hua Jieyu's Power of Hundred Herbs blending with the Power of Holy Light, and also the full embodiment of Hua Jieyu's deep love, the crystallization of her sincere dedication.

Murong Xue rode her Barbarian Horned Horse, her silver armor gleaming with a cold and sharp light in the morning sun.

Her toned body leaned slightly forward on the Barbarian Horned Horse, and her silver armor was stained with fragments left behind after the Shadow Clan vanguards were blasted to death; the fragments dissipated inch by inch in the morning sun.

Her brown ponytail fluttered slightly in the morning breeze, and her brown eyes reflected Wang Sheng's golden radiance and the sharp light remaining from the battle, but the curve of her mouth was a few degrees softer than usual, a sign of the relief that followed victory.

The silver armor fitted her in a sharp, combat-ready silhouette, the waist armor cinching her lithe and powerful waist.

The gait of the Barbarian Horned Horse caused her waist to tense into powerful lines against the saddle, and the breastplate accentuated her full, upright contours, causing them to heave slightly beneath the silver armor in the morning sun.

Her long legs clamped tightly against the flanks of the Barbarian Horned Horse, displaying the most upright posture of a cavalry march in every detail.

The last bit of dark purple from the Shadow fragments on her silver armor dissipated in the morning sun, and the platinum Holy Light Resonance Rune flickered slightly on her silver armor, like a fluttering silver flag slowly returning to camp in the morning light.

Liu Ruyan walked in the shadows beside the Barbarian Horned Horse; her dark purple Savage Beast silk combat suit lost the cover of night in the glory of the morning sun, but her steps remained silent and precise; the form of the Phantom Assassin remained as composed as ever, even in the daylight.

The black silk combat suit clung to her waist, as slender as a willow branch, outlining every perfectly proportioned curve in a way that was intoxicating to the mind.

Her full curves were faintly visible in the morning light, the full and upright contours above her waist heaving slightly beneath her clothes, and her long legs moved with quiet but precise steps, wrapped in the combat suit.

The tear in her night-traveling suit on her right shoulder had been re-stitched with Savage Beast silk, as there hadn't been time to give her a new one yet.

The shallow scar left by the Shadow burn was faintly visible, and the faint mark of the Shadow brand on her fair skin looked like the most moving stroke on white porcelain in the morning light.

Zhao Linger sat cross-legged on her Barbarian Horned Horse, her Spirit Sound Affinity extending a precise sonic detection network in all directions within the morning sun.

Her large, round eyes were like the brightest pieces of amber in the morning sun, but deep within the amber lay a gravity that had never been there before.

The aftershocks of the Shadow Resonance were still faintly echoing in her Spirit Sound detection, and the low-frequency communication of the Shadow Clan, like a cold snake in the abyss of the wilderness, wound its way through her Spirit Sound detection network.

Beneath her Savage Beast silk short shirt, her petite, devilish figure sat cross-legged on the Barbarian Horned Horse, forming an alluring silhouette, but the range covered by her Spirit Sound Affinity had now reached its limit, capturing every low-frequency communication signal that the Shadow Clan might emit again in the air of the northern Central Wasteland Region.

Xiao Yuqing rode her Barbarian Horned Horse, keeping guard on the flank, with the Rainstorm Archer's spiritual bow slung across her back and her sharp, short hair lifting slightly in the morning breeze.

Her heroic and spirited bearing, wrapped in Savage Beast silk light armor, revealed the long, powerful build characteristic of an athlete; the graceful lines of the muscles in her arms when drawing the bow were identical to her sharp, decisive stride in the wilderness.

Warm Sun Warlock Wen Qingxue brought up the rear, the Warm Sun Warlock's golden spiritual power flowing slowly in her palms, the warm light pulsing faintly but steadily in the morning sun.

The walls of the Bright Tribe stood in the morning sun by the Lingxi River like the most solid shield in the wilderness.

The archers on the city walls were the first to see the elite assault team returning along the stone path in the morning sun.

The sound of thirty Barbarian Horned Horses' hooves came in unison along the stone path, and the silver light combined with the platinum light of the Holy Light Resonance Rune paved a warm, silver path in the morning sun.