Battle Through the Heavens: Flame Emperor, Please Restrain Yourself—Your Brother Is Really Quite Honest Chapter 21

Ten people surrounding more than twenty?

It sounded laughable, but judging by the disparity in strength, there was no problem at all.

Four Da Dou Shi and six Dou Shi—such a lineup of experts would be comparable to the senior officers serving under a Dou Ling commander in the Black Armored Guard.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan's side had only one Da Dou Shi: himself. The captain of his personal guard, Ye Ya, and the vice-captain, Xiao Boyuan, were Dou Shi, while the rest were merely peak Dou Zhe. The gap was enormous.

"Overgrown trees break easily? Never heard of it. I've only heard of people being stupid enough to die." Zhang Yuan smiled. "People like you, for instance. You've fallen into my trap and still don't even know it."

Sen Ma Rong frowned at those words and instinctively glanced at the black-robed man beside him.

Normally, he would never have believed Zhang Yuan's nonsense and would have simply started killing.

But Zhang Yuan had first exposed the secret that all nine of them would be acting together, and now he was behaving so calmly that Sen Ma Rong could not help but overthink it.

"Captain Sen, stop wasting words on this brat. Delays breed complications." Sensing Sen Ma Rong's gaze, the black-robed man immediately urged him on. His voice was somewhat hoarse, clearly disguised.

"Jia Lie Bi!"

Before Sen Ma Rong could speak, Zhang Yuan suddenly shouted, "You colluded with the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits to ambush me, yet you're still hiding your face. Are you afraid I'll escape?"

The black-robed man's body trembled. After a moment of silence, he reached up and removed his hood, revealing an incomparably gloomy face. It was Jia Lie Bi. He asked, "Zhang Yuan, how did you discover it was me?"

"How did I discover it?" Zhang Yuan sneered. "I didn't discover it was you. I knew from the very beginning that you would seek out the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits to ambush me, because I already knew that both your Jia Lie family and the Ao Ba family had dealings with the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits."

Jia Lie Bi's expression turned even more livid, and he nearly cursed aloud.

He did not know about the Ao Ba family, but neither he nor the Jia Lie family had ever colluded with the Illusionary Mist Bandits.

It had only been through a chance encounter that he had reached an agreement with them, transporting daily supplies in the guise of being robbed as toll money so that the family's merchant caravans could pass safely.

After a long time, he had indeed obtained a way to contact the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits, but he had never used it.

This time, in hiring the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits to ambush Zhang Yuan, he and the Ao Ba family had both shown considerable sincerity. Those bandits, fearing it might be a trap, had even demanded that he participate personally.

And because he did not trust the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits and wanted to confirm Zhang Yuan's location, he had arranged for the family to send over a "special" Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.

Yet Zhang Yuan claimed that he had long known of his dealings with the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits. Could he see the future?

But with the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits right beside him, Jia Lie Bi could not explain himself, nor was there any need to explain anything to a dead man.

"Wait."

As the head of a family, Jia Lie Bi was not stupid. He suddenly realized, "You deliberately displayed your talent and strength in front of me, luring me and Ao Ba Pa into contacting the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits to ambush you!"

"You may be stupid, but at least you're not stupid beyond saving." Zhang Yuan nodded.

"No!" A chill suddenly ran down Jia Lie Bi's back.

It was true that he had now hired the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits to kill someone, but he had never colluded with them before. At most, he had paid them toll money in another form, and he had certainly left behind no evidence.

So Zhang Yuan could not possibly have discovered his dealings with the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits. How could he have used that as the basis to provoke him into colluding with them?

The only possibility was that Zhang Yuan had been gambling, or deliberately forcing him into doing this.

But what was Zhang Yuan's purpose in going to such great lengths?

"Could it be... you..."

Jia Lie Bi's eyes widened as he suddenly thought of a possibility.

But before he could say anything, the only woman among the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits suddenly changed expression and shouted to Sen Ma Rong, "Boss, a Da Dou Shi and a Dou Ling have appeared. They're heading our way."

Zhang Yuan's gaze immediately locked onto her, one hand reaching for the first-tier Dou Weapon longbow on his back.

"What!?" Sen Ma Rong's expression changed. He immediately shouted, "We really fell into a trap, and this brat has been deliberately stalling for time. Retreat at once!"

As he spoke, he clamped his legs around the belly of the magical beast horse beneath him, preparing to flee immediately.

Zhang Yuan was greatly surprised by such a decisive reaction.

He had a Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill in his possession. A nine-star Da Dou Shi could use it to attempt a breakthrough to Dou Ling; even if the attempt failed, it would preserve their cultivation from declining and increase the chances of success during their next attempt. Yet Sen Ma Rong had no intention whatsoever of taking a chance and fighting him for it.

Zhang Yuan silently noted this anomaly, but his movements did not stop.

"Jia Lie Bi, be a better person in your next life."

Zhang Yuan snapped his fingers at Jia Lie Bi while drawing an arrow from the quiver at his feet.

He drew the bow and nocked the arrow in one fluid motion, then began infusing it with lightning-attributed Dou Qi.

At that moment, Jia Lie Bi felt a sense of impending doom rise within him.

He had been feeling this way often lately, but never had it been as intense as it was now.

His sixth sense told him to flee immediately, yet an abnormal disturbance came from within his Dantian, causing him to lose control of his body.

A Dou Zhe could already look inward, and as a Da Dou Shi, Jia Lie Bi naturally could do so with ease. With a thought, he inspected his Dantian and discovered that a cluster of silver-violet flames had somehow appeared beside his Dou Crystal.

The flames could devour his Dou Qi to grow stronger, releasing lightning-like power that numbed his body. They wrapped around his Dou Crystal, constantly burning and stimulating it.

"Crack."

Cracks appeared across the surface of the Dou Crystal, and Dou Qi began pouring out uncontrollably, becoming part of the silver-violet flames.

"Silver-violet flames... could it have been then!?"

"He really had been plotting against me all along."

"It's over."

Jia Lie Bi realized what was about to happen, and his face turned ashen.

He looked at Zhang Yuan, wanting to beg for mercy, his eyes filled with regret, but he could not open his mouth at all.

"Goodbye, then."

Zhang Yuan moved his lips.

Boom!

The Dou Crystal in Jia Lie Bi's Dantian shattered completely. Empowered by the Three Dragon Thunder Gang Fire, the energy within instantly spread outward, no different from the self-destruction of a three-star Da Dou Shi.

Everything happened too quickly and too suddenly. A Da Dou Shi standing close to Jia Lie Bi was directly caught in the blast. His Dou Qi Armor shattered, and he was sent flying backward. After coughing up blood, he barely managed to steady himself.

The other two Dou Shi who were closer were not so lucky. Their Dou Qi Gauze shattered instantly, and their mangled bodies were hurled far away.

The few Dou Shi farther away fared better, merely being blown back.

Sen Ma Rong relied entirely on his own strength to withstand the blast, but the magical beast beneath him was not so fortunate.

The luckiest was the female Da Dou Shi. She was far away and escaped quickly, suffering no injury whatsoever.

But before she could celebrate, a powerful sense of unease rose within her.

Crackle!

A streak of silver-purple lightning blossomed at that moment, illuminating the mist.