I'll cover you

Chapter 32: I'll Cover You

Xia Fan did not answer. Instead, he studied the breach in the city wall for a moment. "I have a better idea."

"Oh? What is it?" Fei Nian asked.

"See those exposed beams and floorboards? If we set them alight, the entire breach will become one enormous torch."

"The Sorcery Art I prepared can't precisely ignite a specific area," Luo Qingqing rejected the idea. "Once it's cast, the whole city wall will catch fire. Never mind that everyone is still fighting up there—even if we use our final measure now, the blaze won't last until dawn tomorrow."

"I'm not asking you to light it. I'll do it."

"You?" Fei Nian questioned. "This isn't something ordinary Sorcery Arts can accomplish! Those beams aren't torches. They aren't wrapped in hemp rope or soaked in lamp oil. Even if you kept using Flying Flower Flame, you wouldn't burn them in the slightest."

Luo Qingqing did not immediately dismiss him. Instead, she asked, "How certain are you?"

"Luo Qingqing?" Fei Nian looked at her in surprise.

"If it's only lighting wood, I'm one hundred percent certain," Xia Fan replied calmly. "But considering I'll also need to deal with the Demon, I should reasonably deduct twenty percent. Then add another ten percent for humility—so, seventy percent."

"Higher than mine." Luo Qingqing nodded. "What do you need us to do?"

"Cover me while I get close to the Demon. This art... isn't particularly effective at range."

"I understand." She took the torch and tossed it to Fei Nian. "Guard our retreat. He and I will give it a try."

Xia Fan smiled and charged toward the breach first.

"Are you serious? He's only a Sanmen practitioner!" Fei Nian said in disbelief. This attempt was absolutely not like those previous trials that had looked dangerous but ended without real peril. Ordinary examinees were not even qualified to stand here. Only the foremost disciples of great families would dare attempt such a thing—and precisely because of that, the stronger one's comrades-in-arms were, the safer and more reliable things would be. He had never expected Luo Qingqing to choose an ordinary Sanmen practitioner for such a risk instead of a genius like himself, one worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with her.

"As far as I know, he isn't the sort who acts without measure and only knows how to show off his strength." Luo Qingqing chased after Xia Fan without looking back. "I'll leave this side to you."

"Truly... insane." Left with no other choice, Fei Nian raised the torch and lit the way ahead for them. "Fine, then let me escort you two a little farther!"

Several Flying Flower Flames shot skyward, streaking like flowing fire toward the Mei gathering around Xia Fan, destroying them one after another at the edge of the firelight.

Taking advantage of that, the two had already crossed the flat ground and climbed onto the collapsed city wall.

This stretch immediately became much harder to traverse. Xia Fan had no choice but to slow down, using the weak firelight to carefully choose every foothold. Luo Qingqing, however, started later and arrived first, easily passing him.

Was this really something a Sorcerer could do?

Xia Fan could not help clicking his tongue inwardly. The rubble at the collapse had formed a small mound, littered with irregular bricks and stones, crisscrossing wooden beams, and fragile porcelain shards that could easily cut one's feet. Even in broad daylight, one would have to climb carefully. Yet she seemed weightless. With the lightest tap of her feet, she crossed obstacle after obstacle. Her nimble figure was as graceful as an Elf.

It reminded him of the legendary art of qinggong.

And that was not all. Luo Qingqing also blocked several Mei that lunged at him. They were now close to the dim-light zone, where the Mei were almost impossible to lock onto with the naked eye. Yet she still managed to use slowness to overcome speed. Every swing of her sword found its mark, as though those Mei had deliberately thrown themselves onto her wooden sword.

Compared with his own hands-and-feet scramble, hunched over as he crawled across the rubble, Xia Fan once again felt the gap between them.

"Did your master never teach you any movement techniques?"

After cutting down a Mei, Luo Qingqing let out a deep breath.

Xia Fan noticed that she was not as composed as she appeared. At the very least, her breathing had become far more hurried than before, and fine beads of sweat glittered across her forehead. Clearly, the exertion had taken a considerable toll on her stamina.

"Movement techniques? What are those?"

"Just as I thought." Understanding dawned on her face. "You can think of them as martial arts. They did indeed originate from the martial world, but Sorcerers can bring out their effects more fully. Movement techniques allow you to control your body with greater precision. Before you have mastered Sorcery Arts to a certain level, they can compensate for a lack of agility."

So there was such a thing... Xia Fan finally understood why those with formal training always looked down on Sanmen practitioners.

"But once you enter the Bureau of Military Affairs, you'll have to master these sooner or later." Luo Qingqing stopped. "This is the crucial part. How close do you need to get?"

Xia Fan finally climbed to the top of the rubble as well. Standing here, the broad breach loomed above them like a heavenly chasm, while the beams protruding from either side resembled the mottled teeth of an old man. At the very center of the breach stood that enormous Demon.

Viewed from above, it had not seemed quite so terrifying. But looking up at it now, the Demon appeared several times larger. One hand alone was as wide as two or three people, and its flat belly truly blotted out the sky and covered the earth. If they were crushed beneath it, their fate would surely be too horrible to contemplate.

That oppressive feeling was absolutely incomparable to watching from afar.

Xia Fan swallowed. "The closer, the better. Ideally, close enough to touch the target with an outstretched hand."

"So we have to get beneath the Demon's belly?" Luo Qingqing stared intently at its abdomen. "Wait here a moment."

She stepped forward and had only taken two probing steps when the Demon reacted.

A pitch-black rope whistled toward Luo Qingqing. She lowered herself and rolled away, while the rope that missed her lashed the city wall like a whip, leaving a deep mark with its tremendous force.

Then came a second rope, stabbing straight down in front of Luo Qingqing and forcing her back to where she had started. Its force was no less great, nearly sinking several fingers deep into the blue bricks.

"It seems it doesn't want anyone approaching beneath it." Luo Qingqing panted softly. "Could those hanging Mei be its weak point?"

"But how do we get past?" Xia Fan frowned deeply. He could already see that he had no chance of getting close to the Demon on his own. The Luo Family genius seemed capable of handling it alone, but with him added to the equation, that was another matter entirely.

Yet she did not hesitate in the slightest. "Same as before. I'll go first. Just stay close behind me."

"You're sure?"

"There's no time to think it over! If it lunges again, the terrain here will change too, and we won't get a second chance to climb up." Luo Qingqing spoke with iron certainty.

Naturally, Xia Fan understood what she meant. Although it had taken him less than half a quarter-hour to decide to provide support and reach this place, to the examinees atop the wall, it had probably felt like an eternity. Three torches had already gone out, and none had been relit. The pressure brought by the Mei continued to mount. If it happened again, then even if the two of them emerged unscathed, the situation above would surely collapse. By then, whether they killed the Demon or not would no longer change anything.

"I understand," he said gravely.

"Good. I only have one request." Luo Qingqing took two deep breaths and lowered her body. "No matter what happens, do not stop moving. Trust me."

Xia Fan nodded silently.

"Here we go!"

The moment the words left her lips, Luo Qingqing shot out like Electric Light, charging straight at the Demon. It reacted at once, the ropes beneath its belly lashing toward her as though they had eyes.

The girl held her wooden sword at her waist.

Her qi filled the sword tip, making it shine like a star for a moment. When the rope drew close, Luo Qingqing suddenly drew her sword and slashed upward at an angle—the blade traced a crescent moon, cutting the black rope cleanly in two!

Xia Fan also rushed into the center of the broken wall. Though he was nowhere near as nimble as his companion, the city wall built atop the brick houses was only so wide. Every step closed the distance by half a meter, steadily bringing him closer bit by bit.

By the time Luo Qingqing deflected the third attack, he had reached the Demon's edge. The target seemed almost within reach!

The Demon likewise sent several ropes to deal with Xia Fan, but Luo Qingqing turned back and blocked them all with all her strength. Though danger lurked at every turn, she still caught each attack in the final instant.

But those few defensive moves slowed Luo Qingqing considerably. The qi circling her sword tip dimmed, and she could no longer cut through the dancing ropes.

As if sensing that something was wrong, the Demon let out a roar, and the Mei hanging beneath its belly began struggling violently.

Not good!

Xia Fan instantly realized that the fragile balance of attack and defense Luo Qingqing had barely maintained was about to break. Merely dealing with those tentacle-like ropes had already exhausted all her strength; there was no way she could spare any attention for the Mei as well.

As if to confirm his guess, two Mei broke free of their restraints first and dropped straight down in front of them.

The light here was even dimmer than during their climb. The instant the Mei stood upright, they vanished from where they stood.

Luo Qingqing could not block two Mei at once!

Having reached that conclusion, Xia Fan instinctively wanted to stop and dodge aside. But her words—"Trust me"—suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he forcibly pulled back the step he had been about to take backward.

At that moment, he caught a faint fragrance.

Luo Qingqing leaped directly in front of him!

After piercing one Mei, she used her body to shield Xia Fan from the other one lunging at him.

Black qi instantly coiled around Luo Qingqing. She drove her sword backward, then bent her knees and kicked off, carrying both herself and the Mei away from in front of Xia Fan!

Without the slightest pause, the Demon's next attack followed close on its heels. One rope flew toward Luo Qingqing, while another came straight for Xia Fan. Clearly, no one could cover him now, so Xia Fan simply gritted his teeth and charged headlong into the rope.

But the truth proved that Luo Qingqing had once again kept her promise. In the instant before she hit the ground, she pulled back her wooden sword and hurled it with all her strength, accurately knocking the incoming black rope off course.

But she herself lost every means of defense. Another black rope swept across her waist, and a bright-red tear immediately appeared in her robes.

Luo Qingqing groaned and was sent flying.

Before she could hit the ground, the rope was already chasing after her, looping around her neck. No matter how Luo Qingqing struggled, she could not stop the Demon from tightening the rope and hoisting her toward its belly.

And Xia Fan had finally reached directly beneath the monster.