Three thousand ironclad soldiers moved at the command, advancing as one like a surging tide to surround and slaughter the ten!
Blade light spread like a sea.
The ten braced themselves against a formidable enemy.
Just then, an aged voice rang out among them:
"Everyone, the odds are against us this time. We'd best each save our own skins. I'll be going ahead. If fate permits, we shall meet again."
With that, his figure suddenly shot into the sky. Wisps of blue smoke rose around him, spreading and transforming into more than a dozen identical phantoms, indistinguishable from the real man, which hurtled toward the edge of the encirclement.
"Smoke Net Illusion Step! The Empty-Handed Thieves' Sect's secret movement technique!"
Someone among the ten cried out softly.
Phantoms filled the air, moving incredibly fast. They avoided tangling with the garrison entirely and seemed about to break through the encirclement.
Bai Ji sneered and said disdainfully:
"The Empty-Handed Thieves' Sect's Smoke Net Illusion Step-you think I'd have no precautions against it? Laughable!"
The moment he finished speaking, an enormous net burst open in midair, dropping straight over the fleeing phantoms.
Caught off guard, the man had no time to alter his movement and was trapped firmly inside the net.
He struggled desperately within it, hacking wildly with the short blade in his hand, only to find that he could not cut the net apart at all.
"Don't waste your strength. This net is made from heavenly silkworm silk. Ordinary common iron cannot sever it."
Bai Ji spoke indifferently. "Seize him!"
Several soldiers immediately stepped forward and bound the trapped old man tight.
Xie Jinghan and the remaining eight exchanged glances, silently agreeing not to attempt a rescue.
Instead, while the garrison's attention was drawn to that figure, the remaining nine immediately