CHAPTER 533: CHAPTER 533. SAVING THE PRINCESS

Amon, Wu Di, and Xin Wuming came out of the portal. Wu Di was about to charge in Da Niu’s direction, but Amon stopped him.

"What’s the hold-up? We must hurry or the princess will be in danger," Wu Di uttered unhappily.

"You have seen it on the screen in the vault room. Aside from Da Niu, Huang Zhan has his four remaining underlings watching the perimeter to keep Princess Huang Er from leaving," Amon said. "We must get rid of those four first."

"Who cares about those small fries?" Wu Di said. "If we defeat Da Niu, those four will be helpless."

"If," Amon said. "It isn’t a guarantee those four will remain passive once they see us engaging Da Niu. Da Niu alone is a force to reckon with. I don’t want to fight him with additional variables. Those four are the variables. We need them out of the picture so we can focus on Da Niu."

"By the time we finish those four, Princess Huang Er may be gone already," Wu Di argued.

"That’s why you two will deal with those four. Try your best to take the first two by surprise, so you only need to hunt the remaining two. I will face Da Niu and keep him from killing Princess Huang Er."

"In that case, let me be the one to face him! I want revenge for Tutor An Guan!" Wu Di exclaimed.

"You will be squashed in a short time," Amon said bluntly. "I am the only one who has the chance to stay alive until you two arrive, but hurry! Even for me, I can’t defeat Da Niu aided by only Princess Huang Er."

"The only one? Even for you...? I can’t say that is confidence or arrogance," Wu Di remarked.

"Arrogance is when one doesn’t know their limits. I know mine. That’s why I said I can’t win against that man," Amon responded. "An example of arrogance is when you said you want to face him."

"Ugh... Bloody hell. Whatever. You want me to take out those four? Fine! I will finish them fast and deal with Da Niu afterward."

After Wu Di finished speaking, he dashed away in the direction of one of the four. Amon turned to Xin Wuming, who nodded and said, "I will not disappoint you, brother. I will come to aid you as soon as possible."

"Make sure of that," Amon replied.

Xin Wuming flew toward a different target than the one Wu Di headed to. After the two left, Amon flew in the direction of Da Niu and Princess Huang Er.

*

Before Da Niu arrived, Huang Er managed to catch up to Gan Mei. She had higher cultivation, after all. Her base flying speed was faster. With both using similarly powerful movement arts, it was only a matter of time before she caught up.

Gan Mei could only accept her fate. Unfortunately for Huang Er, she failed to kill Gan Mei in time. By the time Gan Mei fell, the other four of Huang Zhan’s underlings had arrived. They stayed away from Huang Er and were positioned in different directions. Huang Er could only chase one at a time. Hence, she was unable to escape Huang Zhan’s team surveillance.

Even after Da Niu arrived, the four continued to retain their positions. They kept watchful eyes from a safe distance and prepared to act if Princess Huang Er attempted to flee.

Da Niu was in his bull form when he arrived. He used his movement art once he was in range.

Huang Er possessed the data of all the kingdom’s soldiers, so she knew how dangerous Da Niu was in this state. She also knew Da Niu had an explosive movement art called the Instantaneous Burst. This art magnified his speed greatly. It was even more so when he used it in his bull form. That’s why Huang Er used her defensive art once she noticed Da Niu’s approach.

A golden wall appeared before Huang Er. The instant it was conjured, Da Niu also appeared before the wall. His fist slammed into the golden wall. The wall managed to stop Da Niu’s fist, but a large crack appeared from the point of impact.

Huang Er gritted her teeth. Rarely could someone cause her golden wall to crack with a single punch. Even Xin Dhaije, a top combatant from the Temple of Divinity failed to cause any damage to the wall with his initial assault. He needed to exert power and modify his assault before he could cause a change to the wall. As for Da Niu’s punch, it seemed to be a simple punch without using any martial arts.

Da Niu’s next punch was different. It was executed using martial arts. The image of an ox appeared when he retracted his fist before sending it forward.

Huang Er responded with great timing. She utilized her golden wall’s repulsive force right before the punch arrived. Her wall shone with bright golden light before it exploded. The explosion generated a powerful shockwave, which forced Da Niu back.

While Da Niu was pushed away, he still delivered his punch. The powerful punch punctured a small area of the repulsive force, creating a contained blast that struck Huang Er. She was sent back further away than Da Niu. Blood trickled from her mouth.

"Get back!" She told Sima Fang.

The girl didn’t need to be told twice. She hurriedly flew away. She had read a report about Da Niu’s fearsomeness, but reading a report and seeing it directly were two different things. The general’s prowess was way out of her estimation.

"No one leaves," Da Niu uttered. He used the Instantaneous Burst again and vanished from sight.

"Sima Fang, be careful!" Huang Er exclaimed. Even as a Peak Spirit Stage, she could only roughly sense Da Niu’s movements when he used the Instantaneous Burst.

Da Niu was already above Sima Fang by the time Huang Er finished her warning. Sima Fang only had the time to glance at Da Niu before his giant arm slammed into her back. Even her unique movement arts, Riding the Leaf, couldn’t cope with Da Niu’s explosive swing.

*CRACK!*

The sound of bones cracking was heard as Sima Fang was sent plunging. She hit a metal platform and broke it. She continued to fall without slowing down.

Huang Er watched as Sima Fang disappeared into the bottomless abyss below. Her face displayed a mixed expression of horror, sadness, and regret.

"You are the only one left, princess," Da Niu said. "Are you going to accept your fate and make this easy for everyone involved? Or are you going to resist?"

The question added another emotion to Huang Er’s face. It was anger. "You bastard of a man! I will make you pay for each of my subordinates you slew!"

She thrust her weapon, a longsword. Uncountable flashes of sword lights were generated from that thrust.

Da Niu put his two arms in front of him to protect his head. The sword lights stabbed into almost every part of his body, but failed to penetrate it.

"Those tickle," Da Niu said mockingly. "Was that the best you could do?"

Huang Er gritted her teeth. As a royalty, rarely did a soldier of the kingdom dare to speak like that to her. Her hand swept across her longsword, executing an arcane art, the Rock Enhancement. A layer of dirt coated its blade. Small chunks of sharp rock materialized around her blade. These rocks stayed near her sword and followed her sword’s movements.

She used the same movement art as Hua Ling, the Phantom Stride, which left afterimages as her speed increased. She approached Da Niu with confusing move patterns. Her afterimages were everywhere.

Da Niu didn’t seem bothered by this confusing display. He just watched Huang Er’s approach with a nonchalant attitude. He again put his two arms before his head in a defensive posture when Huang Er arrived. He did not attempt to evade. Her swords slashed rapidly. The small rocks that followed her sword battered his body with each slash.

Even though these slashes appeared fierce, they didn’t seem to inflict any serious damage on Da Niu, but Huang Er didn’t rely only on those slashes. Her left hand performed complex moves. Four long, rotating earth cones materialized. These cones acted like drilling spears that bored into Da Niu’s thick hide.

Unlike before, these spears showed some effect. The drilling drew droplets of blood.

"Grhh...!" The pain caused Da Niu to act. Her giant arm swept across the drilling earth spears, shattering them. His other arm attempted to grab Huang Er, but she moved away, leaving afterimages.

While leaving, the blade of her sword broke into multiple parts linked by a thin steel wire. This turned the sword into a whip. The sword-whip whirled around Da Niu’s neck and tightened. The fragments of the blade failed to pierce his neck, but the tightening strangled him.

Da Niu grabbed the sword-whip with his two hands and grunted. With a heave, he shattered the weapon.

Huang Er was flabbergasted. Her sword was empowered by Rock Enhancement. She didn’t expect it to be so easily broken. Her surprise caused her reaction to slow. Da Niu came before her using Instantaneous Burst and punched. She blocked using her arm, and her bones cracked.

"Ahh...!" She screamed from the pain.

Da Niu was about to land a second punch when five water rings suddenly came at him.