The sun gradually dimmed.
Behind a pine above the slope, Shen Lin stood with his hands behind his back and his brow tightly furrowed, watching the mechanisms triggered below, a shadow hanging over his face.
As one of Northern Liang's most respected Mechanists, Shen Lin had roamed unhindered all his life without ever failing. Though he lacked a Martial Chief's mastery, with sufficient preparation, there was no one he could not ensnare.
Since the previous evening, he had worked for a full day and night without rest, thinking about how to prepare a great surprise for Ye Jingtang.
And look how that turned out. Before the most crucial trump card had even arrived, Ye Jingtang had found his way here first, leaving no chance to display the formation's true power.
Fortunately, most of the mechanisms in the pine forest were already in place. The only gap was this stretch above the slope. With the smoke pressing down from above, Ye Jingtang was bound not to force his way in this direction. It would just about do.
Leaving with a sweep of the sleeves before things began, leaving only mechanisms and no people behind, was a rule of the trade. After all, a failed trap could be laid countless more times, whereas if the trapped person broke out, a Mechanist was worth less than a fart before a pure martial artist.
Seeing that the mechanisms had activated, Shen Lin had no interest in standing nearby to watch the results. He exchanged a look with the spear-wielding Wang Chong and prepared to leave with his apprentice.
But just as the three moved, several sounds came from the Pine Forest:
Crack, crack, crack...
Whoosh~
Light was dim in the deathly silent pine forest. Mountains and seas of mist pressed down from