Turmoil 2

However, Zhang Tao knew that if there were only two Rank 9 Grandmasters, the Forbidden City Catacombs would likely be unable to hold.

Regardless of how powerful Rank 7 or Rank 8 martial artists were, they were like weaklings against a Rank 9 who had walked the Origin Dao, unless they were those weak Rank 9s who had just entered the rank. Even then, it would take several Rank 8s to deal with just one weak Rank 9.

This time, if the Twelve Cities of the Forbidden City Catacombs joined forces, they could mobilize at least a dozen city lords. With only the current two Rank 9s, the defensive line would likely collapse in an instant.

Facing such a situation, Zhang Tao's eyes flickered with uncertainty. He was just a rookie who had just entered Rank 8. Even though he knew humanity would be fine, he still didn't know how many people would die in this battle.

"Director Li is here!" Someone shouted at this moment. Sure enough, Zhang Tao saw Li Xianling arrive in person, followed by two other Rank 9 Grandmasters.

He recognized one of them: Li Wujie from Zhenxing City, the Rank 9 who had taken him to the Land of King Battles.

However, counting them up, there were only five Rank 9s.

Afterward, these Rank 9s discussed something, and then Li Xianling sent a voice transmission to Zhang Tao: "Come here!"

Zhang Tao was stunned. He was actually being called? But he hurriedly flew over nonetheless.

The others were stunned to see Zhang Tao actually approaching the Rank 9s.

"Director, did you call for me?" Zhang Tao asked after arriving, while simultaneously greeting Li Wujie and Guo Weicheng; he didn't know the others.

"Yes, Zhang Tao. This battle is extremely dangerous. If, if I die in the Catacombs, you will take over as the director of the Culture Academy. Do you understand?" Li Xianling said very directly. It seemed he had already prepared for the worst.

"Ah, oh, I understand!" After his initial surprise, Zhang Tao quickly calmed down and nodded.

Li Xianling patted Zhang Tao's shoulder with satisfaction and said, "I have always felt that only you are suitable for this position, and only you can hold up the sky for our New Martial era."

After a pause, Li Xianling continued, "Don't have any psychological burden. I have already spoken to those old fellows, so you can rest assured."

Zhang Tao could only nod; he could also see the danger of this battle.

"Director, are there only you few Rank 9s?" Zhang Tao asked with a bitter tone. Were there really so few Rank 9s in humanity?

"The others have to guard the Catacombs. Currently, we are the only ones who can be mobilized!" Li Xianling did not hide the truth. Facing so many Rank 9s, he also felt that they would likely lose this battle. But even if they lost, they had to make the Catacombs pay a heavy price. Only in this way could they solidify the passage and minimize the losses.

Although he had already guessed it, Zhang Tao still sighed. Suddenly, a thought stirred in his heart: could the God-Slaying Blade in his hand contribute? He knew that this item could be used even by an Apex, and it had a 20% boost. If a Rank 9 held it, wouldn't it be able to unleash even more of the God-Slaying Blade's power?

Thinking of this, Zhang Tao immediately handed the God-Slaying Blade in his hand to Li Xianling and said, "Director, take this. Perhaps there will be a glimmer of hope!"

Li Xianling frowned. Of course, he knew about this divine artifact in Zhang Tao's hand, but if he took it, what would Zhang Tao do? Moreover, could just one blade really resolve the crisis?

"Director, this blade can boost power by at least 20%, and it is exceptionally sharp. Who knows, it might really work!" Zhang Tao said. In the future, Fang Ping would become a madman with this blade.

"In that case, you take this sword!" Li Xianling said, releasing his own Rank 9 Divine Weapon longsword. Zhang Tao shook his head and smiled, "Director, this is a Rank 9 Divine Weapon. It is hard for me to unleash its potential, and I don't really know how to use a sword!"

After saying this, Zhang Tao flew away. He still had a Rank 7 Divine Weapon longblade nurtured within his Three Burner Gates.

Now that he was Rank 8, using a Rank 7 divine weapon was naturally a bit awkward, but as long as the Rank 9s didn't collapse in this battle, they still had hope.

Returning to the Rank 8 team, Wang Zanghai saw that Zhang Tao's blade was gone and raised an eyebrow, then said, "Kid Zhang, stay by my side later, you hear me?"

Xie Zhaoyang opened his mouth. Well, he had originally intended to say the same thing, but thinking that his cultivation was about the same as Zhang Tao's—and that the kid might even be stronger than him—he shut his mouth.

Zhang Tao followed the suggestion readily, saying, "Alright!"

He had no intention of declining at all. If he could land some finishing blows, that would be even better.

Seeing Zhang Tao agree so quickly, Wang Zanghai was taken aback. He had expected Zhang Tao to decline a couple of times, but he was so straightforward?

However, this was also good. After all, Zhang Tao was their future hope, and Wang Zanghai certainly didn't want Zhang Tao to fall on the battlefield so early.

Soon, over a dozen powerful auras approached the Forbidden City.

Standing on the city wall, Li Xianling suddenly shouted, "Rank 9s, follow me and kill!"

Since the enemy's Rank 9s had moved, there was nothing left to say; they just had to fight. At the same time, the battle between Rank 9s was too destructive, so they had to draw the battlefield further away. This was also the reason why it was rare for high-rankers to leave behind corpses; when faced with certain death, most human Grandmasters would choose to self-detonate, taking the enemy down with them.

Zhang Tao and the others were still on the city wall. Although they were far away, Zhang Tao could feel that there were fifteen Rank 9s on the enemy side—exactly ten more than their side!

It wasn't just Zhang Tao who felt it; the Grandmasters present basically all sensed it. After all, the Rank 9 city lords of the Catacombs hadn't hidden their auras at all.

"Fifteen, sigh!" An old Grandmaster sighed. Fifteen against five, three against one. In a normal situation, who could withstand that?

Just after the old Grandmaster finished sighing, they also felt the aura of Rank 8s. Wang Zanghai roared, "Follow me and kill!"

Including Zhang Tao and Li Zhen, the Rank 8s followed behind Wang Zanghai one after another, charging toward the enemy.

Zhang Tao accelerated and arrived behind Wang Zanghai. Wang Zanghai didn't say anything, only stating, "If you see an opportunity later, go for the finishing blow. I don't need to teach you that, right?"

Zhang Tao immediately replied, "I know!"

Wang Zanghai stopped paying attention to Zhang Tao because, in the distance ahead, he had already sensed the number of the enemy's Rank 8s. On their side, counting everyone, there were only about twenty. But on the opposite side, there were five times their number—over a hundred had come! It was simply unbelievable. Even if all the Rank 8s from the Twelve Cities of the Forbidden City Catacombs came out, a city would be lucky to have four or five Rank 8s. How could so many people have come?

"They are from the Forbidden Zone!" Wang Zanghai clearly realized the problem and said in a deep voice.