Careless, Didn't Dodge (Please Follow)

Zhuang Hong sensed his Other Self shifting in another direction. Without giving it much thought, he immediately turned and headed toward where he felt it.

Finding his Other Self was both easy and difficult.

It was easy because as long as Zhuang Hong remained in this world, he could faintly sense the direction of his Other Self. If he followed that sensation, he would find it eventually.

It was difficult because his Other Self might be an inanimate object, or it might be a living, moving creature. If it kept relocating quickly, Zhuang Hong could only chase after it. And if it was fast enough, he might never catch it...

His Other Self in this world was clearly capable of moving quickly.

Zhuang Hong strongly suspected that what he needed was on the trolls—or perhaps it was the trolls themselves.

"From the looks of it, the trolls have already entered human territory and begun wreaking havoc. A major war is likely about to break out. If my Other Self is an inanimate object, that would be fine. I just need to find it and take it.

"But if my Other Self is a living troll, it could very well die in the war. Once that troll dies, the nutrients in its body will rapidly dissipate. Even if I find it and absorb it in the end, I'll suffer a huge loss..."

With that thought, Zhuang Hong picked up his pace once more.

The sooner he found his Other Self, the better.

Two days later.

As Zhuang Hong crossed a small hill, earthshaking battle cries and the long wail of war horns rang out nearby.

The Other Self he sensed was on the battlefield ahead.

To his surprise, the battle had begun so quickly. If he had arrived a few days later, his Other Self might have already kicked the bucket.

Without hesitation, he raced toward the battlefield.

"Zhuang Hong? Zhuang Hong! I'm over here! Come quickly!"

As soon as he neared the battlefield, Zhuang Hong heard someone calling from nearby. He instinctively turned and saw a familiar figure standing atop a higher dirt slope, waving at him. A scattering of others stood on the slope as well.

Zhuang Hong froze. "Liu Yueling? What is she doing here?"

He immediately changed direction and ran toward Liu Yueling, quickly reaching the slope where she stood.

Once he arrived, he finally understood why Liu Yueling and the other martial artists had gathered there.

It was an excellent vantage point overlooking the entire battlefield.

From here, they could take in the vast battlefield at a glance, and the state of the battle was perfectly clear.

With the martial artists' exceptional eyesight, they could even distinguish generals from ordinary soldiers.

Liu Yueling was unusually excited to see Zhuang Hong. "We meet again, Zhuang Hong. I knew you'd come once you heard that the troll Ge Mu was a Heaven Treasury Warrior."

Zhuang Hong swept his gaze across the nearby battlefield. Corpses littered the ground, and the place was a complete mess. Armored human soldiers were still engaged in a brutal fight against the trolls, and screams rose and fell without end.

Zhuang Hong frowned. "What are you doing at a battlefield?"

Liu Yueling answered as if it were only natural. "I'm a martial artist. When trolls attack humans, of course I have to step forward and fight them. It isn't just me—many martial artists have come. It's just that there hasn't been a good chance to enter the battlefield yet..."

Her eyes gleamed eagerly. "You don't need to worry too much. I know my limits. I would never joke around with my own life. I still have many things left to do. I'll wait until the troll army is thrown into disarray by the soldiers before going in to kill the enemy. With my strength, dealing with those lowest-level Secret Sea trolls will be easy."

Zhuang Hong said, "I don't think you understand how brutal a battlefield is. Once you enter, things are no longer up to you..."

Liu Yueling nodded. "I know. But if everyone fears the battlefield, if everyone chooses to retreat when faced with battle, then humanity has no hope at all.

"I may be insignificant, but if thousands upon thousands of people like me are willing to step forward and risk their lives, then the trolls are nothing to fear.

"And humanity cannot lose this battle. If we do, the consequences will be unimaginable."

There were fewer than twenty thousand trolls on this continent, while humans numbered in the millions. On the surface, humanity held an absolute advantage; they could bury the trolls beneath sheer numbers.

But that was not actually the case. Humans might be numerous, but there would not be many who had the courage to stand before the trolls and fight them. Once all those capable and courageous people were slaughtered by the trolls, humanity's will to fight would collapse completely. The remaining humans would most likely instinctively retreat to preserve themselves.

At that point, the trolls would be able to seize a fertile stretch of land from humanity and multiply. Given merely a century or so, the situation would reverse.

Zhuang Hong nodded and said no more. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and scanned the battlefield, trying to find his Other Self.

Liu Yueling explained from beside him, "Do you see Cross Gorge ahead? That is where our army chose to fight the trolls decisively. It's like a pocket. As long as we lure the troll army inside, then deploy troops at the only exit of Cross Gorge, we can trap the trolls within and kill them one by one."

Zhuang Hong casually said, "Such an obvious trap. If the trolls aren't stupid, they won't go in."

Liu Yueling said, "Wrong. The troll army really did stupidly chase a squad of soldiers right inside."

Zhuang Hong asked in surprise, "Then why is the battlefield at the exit of Cross Gorge now?"

Liu Yueling said, "Because the troll army charged back out of Cross Gorge."

"They charged out?"

Seeing Zhuang Hong's shocked expression, Liu Yueling said helplessly, "Surprised, right? But they really did charge out. They fought their way uphill through a military formation of nearly a hundred thousand soldiers. The formation our soldiers assembled crumbled like rotten wood under the troll army's charge. They could not even slow the trolls down in the slightest."

"It isn't that our human soldiers are too weak, nor that the troll army is too strong. It's because the troll Chief, Ge Mu, is too powerful.

"Even Earth Treasury Warriors cannot withstand a casual blow from his hammer. Every soldier and martial artist facing the great hammer of Ge Mu is like a newly hatched chick facing a tiger's claws—utterly incapable of resistance. One casual swing can sweep away a whole mass of people."

"Ge Mu stands at the very front of the troll army. By his strength alone, he tore our army apart. The troll army follows behind him, slaughtering our soldiers as they please, and there is nothing we can do against them."

Zhuang Hong nodded along as he searched for his Other Self. "I see."

The troll army had gathered together under Ge Mu's leadership, forming a sharp arrow that was rapidly charging through the human army. No one could stop them.

Unless Ge Mu, that incomparably sharp arrowhead, could be eliminated, the troll legion he led would be invincible.

The human army's eventual defeat would be unavoidable.

Liu Yueling pointed toward an exceptionally chaotic area of the battlefield. "Look there. That troll wielding the great hammer is Ge Mu."

Zhuang Hong narrowed his eyes and looked. He indeed saw a towering troll swinging a huge hammer amid the human soldiers, wreaking havoc like a meat grinder. No one could resist wherever it went. Every human soldier who dared approach was sent flying backward as a mixture of armor and flesh.

Even so, large numbers of soldiers continued to throw themselves at Ge Mu without regard for their lives.

Zhuang Hong stared intently at Ge Mu, but soon confirmed that Ge Mu was not the Other Self he sought. He shifted his gaze away from Ge Mu and continued observing the surrounding trolls.

He could sense that the Other Self he sought was near Ge Mu.

But that section of the battlefield was too chaotic. For the moment, he could not tell which one was his Other Self.

Liu Yueling continued, "Just now, a group of soldiers began charging at Ge Mu without regard for their lives, trying to separate him from the troll army with the lives of their soldiers. That was the only reason the troll army was delayed even a little.

"I guess the commander did this to separate Ge Mu from his guards and create an opportunity to surround and kill him..."

Before Liu Yueling could finish speaking, many martial artists without armor rushed toward Ge Mu.

She immediately cried out, "Zhuang Hong, look! Many Earth Treasury Warriors are preparing to surround and kill Ge Mu! Phantom Hand You Baojiang, whom we met once, is among them!"

"Not just You Baojiang—Spring Light Sword Zhu Tianming, Dancer of the Eternal Prosperity Gate... Oh my heavens, they're all among the Anlan Ten Great Experts. Six of the Ten Great Experts have come!"

Liu Yueling said excitedly, "The Ten Great Experts are no ordinary Earth Treasury Warriors. They are only a step away from breaking through to the Heaven Treasury Warrior realm. Ge Mu is dead for sure this time!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ge Mu swung his great hammer, slaughtering the surrounding human soldiers with absolute force.

One swing could clear a large area. One swing could kill several human soldiers. The blades and spears the human soldiers drove into his body could only leave faint marks behind.

He was like a tiger charging into a flock of chicks, killing at will without the slightest concern that he might face any threat.

The power surging from within him flowed endlessly like a river, so immense that it seemed there was no longer an enemy in this world capable of standing beneath his great hammer.

After sweeping away the human soldiers around him with another blow, he laughed and roared, venting the dominance in his heart as he bellowed toward the sky, "For the rise of the trolls!"

However, he soon noticed that his tribesmen seemed to have been intercepted by the human army. He was now somewhat separated from them.

"Ha! Trying to isolate me? What a futile tactic!"

As far as he was concerned, all he had to do was turn back and swing his hammer a few times to easily return to his tribesmen. These humans still did not understand his strength!

The instant he turned and swept his hammer sideways, a sword thrust out from the side, heading straight for his throat.

The sword light was hazy and brimming with life, like gently brushing the tender green willow branches by a lake on a spring day...

"Spring?"

Ge Mu had grown up in the polar regions and had long forgotten what spring was. He only felt that this sword strike was somewhat special.

Of course, merely special.

He casually swung his hammer backhandedly, as though swatting away a fly...

Boom!

Spring Light Sword Zhu Tianming flew backward faster than he had attacked.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed through the air as he crashed into several soldiers in succession.

Zhu Tianming said, "So strong..."

At that moment, his heart was filled with shock and despair.

After decades of arduous cultivation, he could not even withstand one attack from his opponent!

The difference between an Earth Treasury Warrior and a Heaven Treasury Warrior was truly as vast as heaven and earth.

Everyone who witnessed the scene nearly had their eyes pop out.

One of humanity's strongest martial artists was this helpless before Ge Mu?

The excited expression on Liu Yueling's little face froze as well. Then she explained to Zhuang Hong, "That was Spring Light Sword Zhu Tianming. He was probably careless just now and didn't dodge."