An Attack? I'll Play with You

On one side of the plaza, a stern-faced middle-aged man in a Platinum Bishop's robe stood with his hands behind his back. Two Red Robe Cardinals stood beside him, their auras heavy and restrained. Both were Soul Saints.

They were the Spirit Hall officials responsible for this escort mission: Bishop Molson, a trusted subordinate of Platinum Bishop Salas, along with his two deputies.

When the five members of Lan Aotian's group arrived, Bishop Molson's gaze swept over them, lingering briefly on Lan Aotian (Lin Yue) and Tie Shan. Two Soul Emperors—the core combat strength of this temporarily recruited team.

"Everyone's here."

"The mission is simple: escort these five carriages of supplies safely to Spirit City."

"The route has already been planned. Some of Spirit Hall's strongholds along the way will provide supplies."

"Your duty is to deal with any attacks that may exceed the capabilities of ordinary guards. Understood?"

Bishop Molson's voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority.

"Understood!" the five replied.

"Follow the commands of the two Red Robe Cardinals, Claude and Jason, on the road."

"If anything unusual happens or you come under attack, you must fight the enemy with all your strength. Spirit Hall will hold accountable anyone who abandons their post or flees in the face of danger."

"Of course, if the mission is completed smoothly, you will be paid double."

Molson pointed to the two men beside him.

He was offering both rewards and threats—a standard Spirit Hall approach.

"Mount up. We're leaving!"

At Bishop Molson's command, the convoy slowly set off.

The five temporarily recruited Soul Masters were assigned to different positions in the convoy. Lan Aotian and Tie Shan were the strongest, taking the front and rear respectively. Lan Aotian was near the front of the middle section, while Tie Shan was at the very back.

Ying Shu was responsible for scouting along the flanks, while Fire Leopard and Rock Turtle Soul King guarded the two sides of the convoy's middle section.

The convoy left Sylvester City and headed north along the broad main road.

There were quite a few carriages and horses on the road, most of them traveling in haste.

The Spirit Hall convoy bore obvious insignia, so ordinary travelers and Merchant Caravans took the initiative to give way.

Lan Aotian sat on the Carriage Shaft of the second carriage, seemingly resting with his eyes closed. His Mental Power, however, spread outward like invisible ripples, extending several thousand meters from him as he carefully sensed every movement around him.

The first two days passed peacefully.

Apart from occasionally encountering a few foolish low-level Soul Beasts, which the guards dealt with easily, nothing unusual happened.

The two Red Robe Cardinals, Claude and Jason, took turns flying low over the convoy to keep watch, and their expressions gradually relaxed.

On the third day, the convoy entered an area known as the "Blackstone Hills."

The terrain here was rugged, with the main road winding between the hills. Strange black rocks and sparse shrubs flanked both sides, somewhat restricting their Field of Vision.

Within Lan Aotian's Mental Power perception, an extremely subtle killing intent arose in the shadows of the hills several miles ahead, like a stone dropped into still water.

He remained impassive, merely adjusting his posture slightly.

Sure enough, when the convoy reached a stretch where the rocks on both sides rose higher and the road narrowed, something suddenly happened!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent fluctuations of Soul Power erupted from the road ahead and the rocks on both sides!

Dozens of figures sprang out from concealed positions. Soul Ring lights of various colors flared to life, and long-range attacks—arrows, flying stones, flames, wind blades, and more—poured down like a torrential rain, targeting several Cargo Carriages in the middle of the convoy!

"Enemy attack! Defend!"

Red Robe Cardinal Claude, who had been keeping watch from the air, shouted sharply. Seven Soul Rings lit up around him, revealing his martial soul to be a massive Iron Feather Eagle. As its wings spread, a gale swept outward in an attempt to intercept some of the attacks.

The Spirit Hall guards below reacted swiftly as well. They summoned their martial souls and raised defensive Soul Skills to shield the carriages.

The five temporarily recruited members moved at the same time.

Tie Shan let out a furious roar. His body swelled, his skin taking on a metallic sheen, and he charged toward the enemies on one side while withstanding the attacks.

Fire Leopard and Rock Turtle Soul King each moved to intercept the attackers on their respective sides.

Ying Shu's figure blurred, and he vanished from the spot like a ghost, leaving no indication of where he had gone.

Lan Aotian (Lin Yue) remained seated on the Carriage Shaft. Faced with several armor-piercing arrows imbued with Soul Power, he merely raised a hand.

Sss, sss, sss—

Several Jade Green vines burst from the ground beneath his feet out of thin air. Moving as swiftly as lightning, they wrapped precisely around the arrows. With a light twist, they snapped them apart.

At the same time, more vines danced around him like living tentacles, blocking or scattering every wind blade, fireball, and other attack aimed at the carriage.

His movements looked effortless and relaxed. He did not even leave his seat.

There were roughly thirty attackers, most of them Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors. But the three leaders had auras that had clearly reached the level of Soul Emperors!

Two Soul Emperors led more than a dozen people in entangling Tie Shan and Bishop Claude in the air. The other Soul Emperor led seven or eight Soul Kings straight toward the carriage where Lan Aotian was.

Clearly, they had identified Lan Aotian as another tough opponent who needed to be dealt with first.

This Soul Emperor was a burly, One-Eyed Soul Emperor. His martial soul was a heavy Ghost Head Broadsword, and six Soul Rings—two yellow, three purple, and one black—shone around him. With a ferocious grin, he brought his blade down through the air. Black blade light tore through the air, accompanied by a shrill ghostly howl!

"Brat, what are you pretending to be calm for? Die for me!"

Faced with this strike, which was powerful enough to severely injure an ordinary Soul Emperor, Lan Aotian finally moved.

He still did not stand. He merely raised his right hand, brought his index and middle fingers together, and lightly pointed at the descending blade light.

"Green Wood Cage."

Hum!

With his fingertip at the center, the ground within a radius of several dozen meters suddenly shook!

Countless dark green vines as thick as bowls, gleaming with a metallic sheen, burst from the earth. There were not merely a few of them, but hundreds, even thousands!

They grew and intertwined frantically, instantly forming a massive, airtight cage of vines. It enclosed not only the One-Eyed Soul Emperor and his blade light, but also every one of the seven or eight Soul Kings he had brought with him!

The blade light struck the vines with a grating clang like metal colliding with metal. Yet it only cut in less than half a foot before its strength was exhausted and it dissipated. Light flowed across the vines, and the damage rapidly healed.

The One-Eyed Soul Emperor's expression changed drastically. He roared, "Attack together! Break it open!"

The seven or eight Soul Kings each displayed their abilities. They hacked with blades and axes, burned with fire, struck with lightning, and bombarded the vine walls with various Soul Skills. Yet they merely made the vines shake and dimmed their light slightly. They could not break through at all!

The strength of this Green Wood Cage far surpassed that of an ordinary Plant-type Soul Emperor's Sixth Soul Skill!

The One-Eyed Soul Emperor was horrified.

Lan Aotian sat outside the cage and calmly said, "Who sent you? Tell me, and you can die more quickly."

"That's bullshit! I—"

The One-Eyed Soul Emperor cursed, but before he could finish, the situation inside the cage suddenly changed.

Countless tiny Jade Green clouds suddenly seeped from the surfaces of the thick vines. The clouds rapidly filled the entire space within the cage.

"Not good! It's poisonous..."

One of the Soul Kings had barely shouted half the sentence when he felt dizzy. The circulation of his Soul Power instantly became sluggish, and his hands and feet weakened.

The mist was not a deadly poison. It was a powerful numbing and Soul Power-suppressing spore that Lan Aotian had released by imitating the properties of Blue Silver Grass. Strengthened by the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline, its effects were astonishing.

In the short span of two or three Breaths, every attacker inside the cage, including the One-Eyed Soul Emperor, felt their bodies go numb. Their Soul Power became difficult to mobilize, and their strength plummeted by several tens of percent! ...