CHAPTER 1874: CHAPTER 1867: THE ENEMY RETURNS

The Advance Team had Liseya as their trump card, so they weren’t worried about being surrounded at all. However, the High-peak people were unaware of this. Their orders were to bring everyone in the Advance Team back unharmed, so they did not dare to slack off. As soon as they received the support message, they immediately ordered half of the warplanes to take off and provide air support to the destination.

The ground trembled as the fierce cavalry charged once again from all directions, encircling the Advance Team.

This time, the scale was many times larger than before. Although Fulajie’er estimated there to be five thousand people, Luo’er inspected the situation and concluded that the number definitely exceeded five thousand.

Leading them was still Anxiang Yu. Luo’er had generously let him go last time, yet he showed no gratitude and instead sent out more troops to pursue the Advance Team.

At this moment, he was hiding behind the shield wall set up by the shield bearers, occasionally peering through the gaps to observe the Advance Team and the others.

Cheng Ziang noticed Anxiang Yu hiding behind the shield wall and angrily pointed at him, shouting, "Anxiang Yu, we kindly let you return home, yet you repay kindness with ingratitude!"

"Kindness? You harmed my ancestors, causing our family’s successive defeats. If we don’t avenge this, how can we establish ourselves in the Qi State in the future!" Anxiang Yu retorted loudly, with his neck shrunken.

"That’s because you were courting death. Isn’t the number of dead enough for you, and do you still want to continue filling it with more lives?" Cheng Ziang said coldly.

"Hmph, just a Nascent Soul, don’t think we have no means to deal with you."

Unexpectedly, Anxiang Yu spoke with a certain assurance, clearly hiding some sort of trump card.

"Today, you are doomed. I, Anxiang Yu, am not here to capture you but to offer your heads to the Qi Duke, to absolve myself of any responsibility," he continued.

The Qi Duke referred to the Duke of Qi, the Patriarch of the Anxiang family.

"If you knew you would fail, why try at all? Did you really take our kindness for granted?" Cheng Ziang mocked sympathetically.

"Enough with the nonsense. Today you are doomed—whether you choose to end your lives yourself or let us do it, I’ll give you the choice."

Anxiang Yu seemed confidently assured.

After finishing his exchange, Cheng Ziang turned slightly and whispered to Luo’er, "Something feels off—it’s like he’s not afraid of the Nascent Soul."

"I noticed that," Luo’er nodded and replied plainly.

"It could be..."

Cheng Ziang hesitated to finish his sentence.

"It could be what?"

"Nothing," Cheng Ziang shook his head, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I once talked with Hun Jiansi about the ways people of the Jianghu would deal with a Nascent Soul. Among them, there’s a method called the God-binding Lock that’s said to be most effective."

"God-binding Lock?"

"Yes," Cheng Ziang nodded, "Put simply, it’s a Magic Array from the East Continent. By coordinating specific placements and magic power output, it creates a space capable of trapping demigods. Though it can’t kill a demigod, it can restrain them, providing an opportunity to find their true form and destroy it, thereby achieving the effect of slaying a god."

"This method is simple and effective but requires perfect synergy between cultivators. Any minor mistakes can allow a demigod to escape. Therefore, such teams are highly valued in Jianghu, attracting many noble clans who invest heavily to cultivate them, forming a strategy akin to anti-missile systems for deterrence."

"I see..." Luo’er nodded in understanding.

"From what I observed of the Anxiang Mansion’s soldiers, most are ordinary troops, and there are not many cultivators to be seen. Considering that the Anxiang family faced successive defeats in the Qi State’s internal wars, it’s unlikely they could free many cultivators for the pursuit of us..."

"Thus, I boldly speculate that they may have brought in a God-binding Lock team to try achieving a victory with fewer forces," Cheng Ziang guessed.

"Then, does the God-binding Lock pose any harm to demigods?" Luo’er asked.

"It shouldn’t, as aside from destroying the physical vessel, there seems to be no other way to kill a demigod," Cheng Ziang pondered.

"How about letting Liseya probe first?" Luo’er suggested.

"Eh?"

Hearing this, Cheng Ziang was visibly stunned and turned to look at Luo’er.

"Since the demigod won’t be in danger, why not let Liseya give it a try? If there’s indeed a truth to it, the opposition would surely initiate an attack, and then we could defend while they attack," Luo’er explained.

However, Cheng Ziang didn’t speak, instead, he stared at Luo’er, seemingly contemplating something.

"What’s wrong?" Luo’er asked, puzzled.

"Luo’er, you need to think this through," Cheng Ziang said, staring at him seriously. "Liseya is our trump card against this army of thousands. Without her, even if we exhaust all our weapons, we wouldn’t be able to stop such a large-scale attack."

"We still have another demigod, don’t we," Luo’er reassured him.

"But Fulajie’er can only defend. Are we going to keep defending like this?" Cheng Ziang asked.

"We also have air support, don’t we," Luo’er reminded.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Ziang was taken aback, then lowered his head, frowned, and after pondering for a moment, he looked up and said, "Sacrificing offensive capabilities to maintain defensive abilities, is this really the best course?"

"Of course it is," Luo’er answered matter-of-factly. "Consider if Fulajie’er gets trapped by the God-binding Lock; with cavalry charging from all directions, how would we resist? Liseya has her limits. While protecting us, she can’t unleash her full destructive power. If we lose on both fronts, the enemy might be repelled, but we’d also face casualties, wouldn’t we?"

"Alright," Cheng Ziang agreed, nodding at Luo’er’s words, "I’ll give it a try, but if there’s more than one God-binding Lock team on their side, we must remain cautious. If even Fulajie’er is trapped, then it would be a serious problem."

"I understand. I’ll ensure Fulajie’er doesn’t stray too far from us," Luo’er confirmed.

"Fine," Cheng Ziang took a deep breath, positioned himself in front of the carriage, and sternly said towards Anxiang Yu’s direction, "Since you won’t reason, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

With that, he waved his hand broadly and pointed towards the distant cavalry, shouting, "Demon Slayers, attack!"

As soon as he gave the order, a light mass trailing a pathway spiraled around his arm and shot out, heading directly for Anxiang Yu behind the shield.

Just as expected, Anxiang Yu sneered and said smugly, "Don’t think the same trick will work a second time. God-binding Lock, commence!"

The shield wall gave way, and a team of twelve in cyan uniforms ran out. Grouped in pairs, they began running around in circles in a set pattern, ultimately forming an unusual formation.

Next, the team members behind placed their palms on the backs of the ones in front, starting to channel energy. Receiving the infusion, the six members at the front shouted in unison, causing faint circular white lights to emanate from the ground.

Then, they thrust their palms outward, aiming directly at the rapidly approaching Liseya. As magic power surged, visible streaks of light appeared mid-air.

Then, something unexpected happened. A semi-transparent elongated container appeared in the sky, and shockingly, Liseya found herself trapped inside, unable to break free from any direction.

Her spirit body couldn’t penetrate the semi-transparent material of the container, only able to helplessly rage inside, letting out grating wails.

"How could this be," Baiyue muttered to herself, stunned by the spectacle.

"It’s a magic component,"

Tangmo, an expert in magic, immediately recognized the nature of the container with certainty in her voice.

"A component?"

Baiyue turned, surprised to look at her.

"That’s correct," Tangmo said confidently, "Components make up every spirit form; hence, they can directly interact with and restrain spirits."

When it comes to magical components, the first thought that crossed the Advance Team’s minds was the incident where Nightingale used a Magic Array to shape a body for her sister Fulajie’er. Who would have thought that components made of magic could also effectively restrain demigods?

This realization suggests that demigods aren’t completely invincible and undefeatable, doesn’t it?