Chapter 148: Fleeing

In the forest, the sounds of shouting and killing in the distance had gradually faded.

The torch in her hand bounced up and down continuously, making the surrounding trees appear to flicker with light and shadow, as though countless evil spirits were lurking around.

Liu Manwen’s face was pale, her eyes dull. She just kept running forward instinctively. The soldiers tasked with protecting her now numbered just over ten. Each of them was wounded, their eyes panicked and confused.

“Those monsters…”

“Can we survive?”

“What should we do?”

Seeing their low morale, Liu Manwen’s expression perked up a little. She still needed these people to protect her—or at least cover her escape. So she encouraged them, saying, “It’s okay. Senior Apprentice Brother Li Xunyi should be up ahead. His Flying Sword skill is the best among his peers in the Qingwei Sect. Those Ghouls, with their flesh and blood bodies, are no match for him.

Once we find him, we’ll be safe.”

“That’s right, no matter how strong those monsters are, they can’t stand against the sharpness of the Flying Sword.”

“Maybe he’s already killed those Ghoul leaders and is coming to rescue us!”

Hearing Liu Manwen’s words, the remaining soldiers regained their spirit. It seemed hope rekindled in their eyes, and their steps became a little quicker.

Ah!

Just then, a scream erupted from behind them. Turning around, they saw a soldier grabbed by the neck. A golden-haired Ghoul used tiger-like claws to grip his head and, with a light squeeze, ripped off his skull.

The soldier wasn’t dead yet and struggled desperately, crying, “Save me! Somebody save me!”

Watching the Ghoul grab and devour the brain, Liu Manwen and the others felt a chilling cold wash over them. They were all terrified.

No one dared to turn back to save him. Instead, they all turned around and ran even faster. A few soldiers even discarded their weapons and armor just to run faster.

“Hehe, can… you… escape?”

Intermittent words in the Great Qi Language came from behind them. It seemed the Western Ghoul had just learned the Great Qi Language and still sounded unfamiliar. But hearing it from behind now was enough to make their hearts race with fear.

“Don’t eat me… don’t eat me… don’t eat me.”

Liu Manwen’s mind went blank with fear. She muttered to herself, trembling, running with one foot high, one foot low, constantly moving forward.

Behind her, one scream after another rang out. Nightmarish scenes kept flashing before her eyes. The air in her abdomen felt scorching hot, as if about to burn. Liu Manwen could only cling to her nerves, running, running, running.

But just then, the soldier at the front suddenly let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground. A rock had been thrown, deforming his head.

From the shadows, a Ghoul emerged unhurriedly, followed by more dark figures coming out from all around.

‘Surrounded?’

Liu Manwen fell to her knees. Beside her, the last five or six soldiers, covered in blood, stood guard. But when they saw more and more Ghouls appearing around them, their eyes filled with despair.

Trembling all over, Liu Manwen and her group stared dumbly as the Ghouls around them looked at them maliciously, not daring to make any move to resist.

The strongest Ghouls around slowly approached the soldiers. Like cats toying with mice, they lightly grabbed a few, took away some soldiers’ weapons, and ripped off one soldier’s arm.

The arm was thrown into the Ghoul crowd, immediately causing a scramble.

At this moment of despair, a streak of light flashed across the night sky. It was like a bolt of lightning chaining the Ghouls together. In the blink of an eye, seven of the strongest Ghouls, with Physique Strength at the purple grade, fell to the ground with exploded heads.

Seeing this, Liu Manwen’s spirits lifted. She shouted, “It’s Senior Apprentice Brother Li!”

The next moment, a figure charged forward from ahead. Wherever he passed, he stirred up a storm of blood and gore among the Ghouls. He was like a meat grinder—no matter what kind of Ghoul pounced on him, it was instantly shredded into a dozen pieces. In a flash, the figure rushed to Liu Manwen’s front.

It was Li Xunyi, carrying another Flying Sword user. The man Liu Manwen called Senior Apprentice Brother Jin had already fallen unconscious.

Li Xunyi didn’t look too good either. His gray robe was gone; he wore a Taoist robe instead, but it was already dyed red with blood. It was impossible to tell whose blood was his and which was the Ghouls’.

Only that his face was pale, his eyes dim, and his left arm bent unnaturally. Clearly, he was in very bad shape. But he still wore a faint smile, as if no desperate situation could break his fighting spirit.

“Looks like you didn’t have it easy either.”

Seeing Li Xunyi like this, Liu Manwen hurriedly asked, “Senior Apprentice Brother Li, how are things on your end?”

“Killed two, but couldn’t beat the other two. Now I have to carry this guy, and it’s hard to run away.” Without waiting for Liu Manwen’s reply, he turned his head and muttered, “Like dogs, chasing so closely.”

The next moment, it was as if two elephants had entered the scene. Alice and Quinlin, one after the other, threw aside and crashed through over a dozen Ghouls, arriving before Li Xunyi and Liu Manwen. They surrounded the group from front and back.

Alice’s gaze at Li Xunyi was full of caution and wariness. Clearly, the previous battle had made her extremely wary of his danger level.

Besides wariness, Quinlin’s eyes held a crazy killing intent. His strongest subordinates had lost three in one day, especially since Li Xunyi killed two right in front of him. How could he not be furious?

“All of you, get back!” Quinlin waved his hand and roared.

Instantly, the surrounding Ghouls retreated. After facing Li Xunyi, he had come to understand the Flying Sword a bit.

The method of attacking with the Flying Sword was highly oppressive. If you had no effective means to defend against it, you would be instantly killed.

The Physique Strength of the surrounding Ghouls was too low compared to Quinlin and Alice, who could block the Flying Sword. They were like weeds before Li Xunyi’s Flying Sword, coming only to die in vain.

With a furious roar, Quinlin and Alice charged forward again, one in front and one behind.