Evil Soul Masters Attack

Huo Yuhao's voice carried Spiritual Power, and the valley's echoing structure allowed everyone to hear his warning.

On the outskirts, Lang Shan looked toward the eastern side of the valley. His Blood Wolf was not a Martial Soul known for perception, so he could not confirm whether Huo Yuhao's warning was real.

However, as a Soul Elder who had spent decades in the world of Soul Masters, he was still willing to trust his companion.

After all, mutual suspicion was the greatest taboo among mercenaries.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lang Shan roared at the people in the valley almost the instant he heard Huo Yuhao's warning.

"Apart from Lang Yan and Danzo, all Soul Grand Masters are to immediately defend the eastern side of the valley!!"

"Lang Yan and Danzo, take the Dingyi Merchant Association members to the southern exit of the valley and make sure the rear is safe!!!"

Although the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group's average Soul Power was not high, their execution was exceptionally strong.

The two Soul Elders apart from Lang Yan, along with seven Soul Grand Masters, quickly took up positions and formed defensive battle formations.

The Dingyi Merchant Association's twenty one-ring Soul Masters prepared themselves on the inside, ensuring that every mercenary could receive support from three one-ring Soul Masters at any time.

Huo Yuhao led Xiao Xiao and the other core members of the Dingyi Merchant Association to retreat to the valley's southern exit.

"Rustle, rustle."

From the distant Forest came the sound of leaves being disturbed, whether by wind or Soul Beasts, no one knew. The sound was rapidly drawing closer, like the footsteps of the Death God coming to claim lives.

The sound was especially clear in the silent valley. Huo Yuhao could clearly see fine beads of sweat forming on Lang Shan's forehead, while the other mercenaries' expressions grew increasingly grave.

They had formed their Mercenary Group and traveled the land together for over twenty years. Though they were not powerful and could only accept low-risk missions, they had seen the speeds of Soul Masters of different ranks.

In their experience, anyone capable of such speed was either an Agility Attack System Soul Elder or a Soul Ancestor—perhaps even a Soul King.

Lang Shan stared fixedly at the eastern Forest, veins bulging across his forehead as he prayed inwardly.

Please don't let them be enemies!

He knew that whether they were Soul Ancestors or Soul Kings, neither was something Soul Elders and Soul Grand Masters like them could fight.

If it truly came to a fight to the death, they would likely suffer devastating losses.

At some point, the rustling abruptly stopped, and four Soul Masters in tattered black robes suddenly shot out of the Forest.

A cold, sinister aura radiated from around them. Within that black aura, so dense it seemed almost tangible, the cries and howls of vengeful souls could faintly be heard.

An inexplicable chill made everyone in the valley's scalps tingle.

The last hope in Lang Shan's heart died. If they had been bandits, there might still have been room to negotiate and avoid battle.

But when it came to Evil Soul Masters, the only path left to them was a fight to the death.

Because in the eyes of these Evil Soul Masters, their lives and souls might be more valuable than their possessions.

The muscles on Lang Shan's face twitched uncontrollably, leaving him with an ugly expression.

He shouted, "Evil Soul Masters!!! Prepare for battle!"

The moment his words fell, three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—rose from his body.

Blood-red fur instantly covered his entire body. His pupils turned a dark green, his fangs jutted outward, and cold, sharp claws extended from the tips of his fingers. His body became even more burly, his muscles nearly bursting through his clothes.

Immediately afterward, large numbers of yellow Soul Rings appeared throughout the valley, mixed with several purple ones.

One of the Evil Soul Masters let out a piercing laugh from beneath his hood.

"Hehehe, Third Brother, your senses really weren't wrong. There are actually so many blood meals here."

The black-robed Evil Soul Master called Third Brother also chuckled.

"My Martial Soul is the Heart-Eating Rat. I'm extremely sensitive to scents. I smelled these delicacies from far away."

The leading black-robed Evil Soul Master snorted and interrupted them.

"Save it for later. Hurry up and eat them to recover your injuries and Soul Power. That damned Golden Crow woman will probably catch up soon!"

"If you don't want to die by her hand, move your asses!"

The people in the valley felt their hearts sink upon hearing this. They realized that they would have to risk their lives next.

Lang Shan clenched his fists, opened his fang-filled mouth wide, and lit up the purple Soul Ring behind him.

"You want my life? Let's see if you have what it takes!"

"Third Soul Skill, Blood Wolf Break!"

A blood-red wave of energy gathered in Lang Shan's mouth. Then, accompanied by the shriek of tearing air, the violent energy shot toward the leading Black-robed Man.

The black-robed men did not even attempt to dodge the attack. They simply watched Lang Shan coldly as he charged and fired it.

Just as the blood-red energy wave was about to strike the Black-robed Man, the leading Evil Soul Master slightly raised an arm and opened his palm. It was like a dried skeleton, devoid of any color, its gray skin exposing grotesque joints.

At the instant the two collided, the scene Lang Shan had expected—his opponent's hand being blown to pieces—never appeared. The attack simply vanished.

It did not even stir a wisp of wind, as though Lang Shan had never unleashed a Soul Skill at all.

The leading Evil Soul Master lowered his arm and said coldly, "Is your performance over?"

"Then obediently become food!"

The four black-robed men immediately dove down along the valley walls and revealed their Soul Rings.

Every one of these Evil Soul Masters had four rings. Only one had a white first ring; the rest had the best ring configurations ordinary people could attain.

Seeing this, Lang Shan lit up all his Soul Rings and roared as he charged at one of the Evil Soul Masters.

The others also activated their Soul Skills and attacked their respective enemies.

Each Evil Soul Master was essentially facing the combined firepower of three to five Soul Masters.

Even though these Evil Soul Masters were clearly in poor condition, the gap in rank was not so easily overcome.

Every sweep of the Evil Soul Masters' arms was accompanied by spraying blood. They did not even need to use Soul Skills.

Only when Lang Shan and the other Soul Elders used their Third Soul Skills did the Evil Soul Masters bother to dodge.

This was a completely one-sided crushing.

Huo Yuhao and Lang Yan protected the Dingyi Merchant Association's core members behind them as they watched the battle at the southern exit, a scene no different from a massacre.

Lang Yan's face had turned red with anxiety as he wanted to rush over and help. Clearly, his talent was greater than his brother's, but his experience was far too shallow.

His brother had arranged for him to go to the southern exit because he hoped Lang Yan could escape.

Xiao Dingyuan covered Xiao Xiao's eyes, his face ashen.

He knew that if Lang Shan and the others were all killed, none of them would escape either.

Huo Yuhao looked at Xiao Dingyuan and shouted sternly, "President Xiao, now is the time to withdraw."

Xiao Dingyuan shook his head helplessly. "It's useless. We can't get away. The Heaven Dou Empire is different from the Star Luo Empire. The nearest city is seven hundred li from here."

"Along the way, it's either plains or mountains. There isn't a single place to hide. You heard them too—one of their Martial Souls is the Heart-Eating Rat, which excels at tracking."

Huo Yuhao sighed and turned his gaze back toward the valley. Li Fei, the friend he had just met, was already lying on the ground, clutching his arm.

At this rate, everyone inside would be dead within ten minutes at most.

Huo Yuhao turned to Lang Yan and said, "Let's go help. Since we can't escape, we can only fight for our lives!"

Before his words had even faded, Lang Yan had already activated his Martial Soul and rushed over to help his brother.

The corner of Huo Yuhao's eye twitched. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only shake his head and mutter, "This blockhead."

Huo Yuhao no longer held back his Spiritual Power. He locked onto the Evil Soul Master whose Martial Soul was the Heart-Eating Rat, then quietly began to approach him.

I have to kill him! Otherwise, there won't even be anywhere to run.

The Heart-Eating Rat Evil Soul Master seemed immersed in the near-slaughter and failed to notice Huo Yuhao, this weak-auraed "little mouse."

Huo Yuhao easily circled around to the Heart-Eating Rat Evil Soul Master's side.

Only then did the man notice someone beside him.

"Hehehe, there's another one."

He gave an evil grin as he prepared to turn and slash Huo Yuhao with his claws.

Now!

Huo Yuhao waited for the right moment. The instant their eyes met, he used his illusion technique without hesitation.

The special Spiritual Power transformed by the Spiritual Eye Kaleidoscope drove into the Heart-Eating Rat Evil Soul Master's Sea of Consciousness like an iron nail.

Then, through that "nail," it disrupted the other party's Spiritual Power and Soul Power, stripping away his body's defenses and gradually taking control of his five senses and thoughts.

After consuming roughly two-thirds of his Spiritual Power and nearly all of his Soul Power, Huo Yuhao completely shattered the man's consciousness, turning him into a puppet that would obey Huo Yuhao's will without question.

Hidden behind the Faceless Mask, no one could see how pale Huo Yuhao's face had become.

Instantly consuming two-thirds of one's Spiritual Power was no small burden for anyone.

In truth, most of that two-thirds had been wasted.

The main reason was that the illusion techniques inherently possessed by the Mangekyo Sharingan were more instinctive than systematic. If he truly had a complete illusion technique system from Naruto, Huo Yuhao would not have had to waste so much Spiritual Power slowly testing things through trial and error.

"Fortunately, nothing went wrong." Huo Yuhao looked at the Heart-Eating Rat Soul Master, whose eyes had gone vacant, and let out a sigh of relief.

Next, Huo Yuhao sent an order through the nail in the man's Sea of Consciousness. "Go give your big brother a surprise."

Light appeared in the Heart-Eating Rat Evil Soul Master's eyes, and he charged straight toward the Evil Soul Master leader, who was locked in battle with Lang Shan and Lang Yan.

"Hmph, if that damned Golden Crow woman hadn't severely injured my Martial Soul, you wouldn't have lasted even a minute!"

The Evil Soul Master leader was irritated to find himself delayed by two Soul Elders and several one-ring Soul Masters.

Soon, he found an opening. His mummy-like hand curled into claws and viciously raked across Lang Shan's chest.

A huge chunk of flesh and skin was torn away, and blood immediately gushed from Lang Shan's chest like a fountain.

"Brother!!!" Seeing his brother severely wounded, Lang Yan was instantly frantic, and his attack rhythm became chaotic.

The Evil Soul Master leader sneered and licked the blood and flesh from his hand. Visible to the naked eye, a faint flush of color began to return to his withered body.

"Such high-quality flesh and blood!" Satisfaction filled his gaze as he looked at Lang Shan, who was half-kneeling on the ground and clutching his chest.