The Balance Of Power

The next morning, Hao Nhien and Quan Nha left Lac Van.

Duong Long remained in the settlement under Luu Ho’s watch, while Lanh Hoa and the newly arrived men continued familiarizing themselves with the terrain, the people, and the work already operating around the medicinal fields. Before leaving, Hao Nhien gave only one instruction: unless something truly necessary happened, no one was to change what had already been agreed upon.

The distance from Lac Van to Heavenly Eye City was not especially great.

After traveling for a little more than half a day, the enormous city walls gradually appeared at the edge of the horizon.

The moment they approached an area with heavier traffic, Quan Hao Nhien disappeared once again.

The man seated atop the Sand Beast was now only Alchemist Giai Nhien, while Quan Nha remained Tieu Nha, the wife who accompanied him on his trips to buy and sell medicinal materials and pills.

The two blended into the stream of people entering the city as they had before.

From the outside, Heavenly Eye City looked unchanged.

The gates were still crowded, merchant caravans passed through one after another, cultivators moved between wagons, and shouts from vendors and workers rang continuously along the major streets.

No one among that crowd knew that far away, a City Lord had just disappeared from contact, an army of more than a thousand men had been unable to enter Tien Thanh, while forces from Tam Thanh remained in the east, preventing the entire defensive system from being adjusted too casually.

Hao Nhien and Quan Nha did not stop anywhere else.

They went directly to the Heavenly Eye Medicine Pavilion.

The moment an attendant recognized them, he hurried inside to report.

Less than a short while later, Dai Ninh personally came out from within. The instant he saw Hao Nhien, he laughed loudly.

“Brother Giai, you finally decided to come.”

Hao Nhien cupped his hands.

“I made Shopkeeper Dai wait too long.”

“Not long.”

Dai Ninh waved a hand.

“I already told you last time, pill refinement isn’t something that becomes faster just because you want it to. Besides, Lac Lam brought part of the shipment over earlier. At least I know Alchemist Giai hasn’t abandoned the profession entirely.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

“I still need to earn spirit stones. How could I quit?”

Dai Ninh led the two upstairs.

The room looked slightly different this time.

Besides the usual tea and jade slips, several military supply records still lay on the table, apparently not yet put away.

Dai Ninh casually gathered them to one side before saying,

“Someone from above happened to come today to review the supply reports. Your latest batch of pills received very good evaluations from military logistics, so the Pavilion has been receiving far more inquiries lately.”

Hao Nhien only nodded, like a merchant hearing that his goods were selling well.

After they briefly discussed the pills Lac Lam had delivered the previous day, the state of the ingredients, and the next batch, Hao Nhien took a sip of tea before casually asking,

“I haven’t been in the city recently. I don’t know whether anything new has happened.”

Dai Ninh looked at him.

“There is no shortage of new matters. I just don’t know which one Brother Giai wants to hear about.”

Hao Nhien set down his cup.

“To be honest, I only care about one thing related to Lac Van.”

“Oh?”

“After Shopkeeper Dai’s last visit, the settlement became much more peaceful. So peaceful that I’ve started feeling uneasy again.”

Dai Ninh laughed.

“Brother Giai really knows how to make someone start thinking too much in the middle of drinking tea.”

Hao Nhien smiled as well.

“I only want to know whether Lac Van’s current support is stable enough. If it is, I plan to let them expand another section of the medicinal fields.”

The smile on Dai Ninh’s face became clearer.

“You can be more at ease about that than before. The pills the Medicine Pavilion has supplied to military logistics recently have left Deputy City Lord Huu quite satisfied, and the matter involving Lac Van before was also something he personally agreed to settle.”

He paused before explaining more clearly,

“As long as Lac Van remains within the Medicine Pavilion’s supply chain, fulfills the obligations it registered, and does not create trouble on its own, no one within the lines where Deputy City Lord Huu has influence will casually move against the place like last time.”

Hao Nhien immediately stood and cupped his hands.

“Then I really should offer my thanks.”

Before Dai Ninh could respond, Hao Nhien took out a jade box and placed it on the table.

“I’ll trouble Shopkeeper Dai to pass this along for me.”

Dai Ninh’s eyes immediately fell on the box.

“For Deputy City Lord Huu?”

“Mm.”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“I remember he wanted it quite badly during the auction.”

Dai Ninh’s expression changed at once.

He looked at the jade box, then at Hao Nhien.

“Brother Giai, this…”

“Yes.”

Hao Nhien did not let him finish.

“Consider it Lac Van’s thanks.”

Before Dai Ninh could even reach for it, a man’s voice suddenly came from behind the folding screen inside the room.

“There is no need for him to pass it on.”

Hao Nhien paused.

Quan Nha immediately turned as well.

In that instant, both of their expressions changed.

From the moment he entered the room, Hao Nhien had instinctively extended his awareness around him.

Yet behind the screen only a few zhang away, someone had been sitting there from the beginning, and he had detected nothing at all.

When the middle-aged man stepped out, a peak-Foundation aura slowly revealed itself.

Hao Nhien narrowed his eyes.

There was no sign that the other man had been using a concealment technique powerful enough to hide himself at such close range.

That left only one possibility.

The room itself.

A concealment formation had been arranged behind the screen, isolating all aura within from the outer room.

Hao Nhien glanced around once and laughed.

“The Medicine Pavilion’s formations are indeed impressive.”

The middle-aged man looked at him, a trace of evaluation flashing through his eyes.

Dai Ninh had already stood.

“Deputy City Lord Huu.”

Hao Nhien immediately recognized the man before him.

During the previous auction, this person had sat in the section belonging to Huu’s line but had never shown his face.

Huu Liet.

Hao Nhien cupped his hands.

“Giai Nhien greets Deputy City Lord Huu.”

Huu Liet did not immediately return the greeting.

He studied Hao Nhien for a moment longer.

“Alchemist Giai is not bad either. The moment you realized you had failed to notice someone, you immediately concluded the problem lay in the formation rather than the person.”

Hao Nhien smiled faintly.

“If I can’t even detect someone sitting a few zhang away, then either I’m far too incompetent, or the Medicine Pavilion has something very good. I prefer to believe the second explanation.”

Huu Liet laughed.

“I originally came today to review the military supply reports. Dai Ninh said you might enter the city, so I decided to wait for a while. I didn’t expect to wait long enough to receive a gift as well.”

His gaze fell on the jade box.

“May I look?”

“Of course.”

Dai Ninh handed the box over.

When the lid opened, the Body Stabilizing Pill inside immediately appeared.

Huu Liet stared at it for a long time.

His eyes visibly brightened before he finally closed the box again.

“You’re giving this to me?”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“Not entirely.”

Huu Liet raised an eyebrow.

Hao Nhien spoke directly.

“Lac Van needs stability. I need medicinal materials. The Medicine Pavilion needs pills. And Deputy City Lord Huu needs a reliable supply of good pills for your people.”

“If everyone has something the others need, cooperation lasts longer.”

Huu Liet studied him for several breaths before laughing.

“I like people who speak this way.”

Hao Nhien said nothing further.

Huu Liet rested a hand on the jade box.

“Lac Van can continue expanding. As long as the place continues fulfilling the duties it registered, no one within the territory my people can manage will casually move against it.”

Hao Nhien cupped his hands.

“Many thanks.”

“But there is something I also want to remind you of.”

Huu Liet looked at him.

“Heavenly Eye has not been peaceful lately. You’re a smart man. It would be best not to let Lac Van become involved in things it should stay away from.”

Hao Nhien smiled slightly.

“I’m only an alchemist.”

Huu Liet looked at him for a little longer before smiling as well.

“I hope so too.”

Only after they had gone a considerable distance from the Medicine Pavilion did Quan Nha mention those words again.

“Huu Liet doesn’t believe you’re only an alchemist.”

“I don’t need him to believe it completely.”

“Then the pill?”

This unapproved page copy came from where the author publishes; the official chapter supports their work when readers read it.

“Worth it.”

Hao Nhien answered.

“One pill in exchange for a Deputy City Lord voluntarily tying his own interests to Lac Van is far cheaper than making Luu Ho and Lanh Hoa keep watching the city every day.”

Quan Nha nodded.

The two did not immediately leave the city.

As before, Hao Nhien maintained the ordinary manner of an alchemist who had just completed a business transaction.

He did not walk faster.

He showed no signs of vigilance.

When they reached the busiest commercial street, he even deliberately slowed down.

Quan Nha stopped in front of a stall displaying several hairpins, hair ribbons, and small ornaments made from colored stone and ordinary metal.

She picked up a hairpin and examined it for a while.

Hao Nhien stood beside her.

“You like it?”

“I’m only looking.”

“Mm.”

He nodded and paid the spirit stones.

Quan Nha paused.

“I never said I wanted to buy it.”

“Now you have.”

She looked at the hairpin in her hand, the corner of her mouth curving upward slightly.

“If you do business like this, Brother, sooner or later you’ll lose money.”

“I just sold quite a few pills. I can afford it.”

Quan Nha laughed.

After that, she bought two more silk ribbons, while Hao Nhien selected several simple sets of clothing, some items that were difficult for the people of Lac Van to buy outside, and then stopped at a small shop to pick up a few toys.

Quan Nha looked at the things in his hands.

“For the children?”

“Mm.”

“Last time, you only brought one piece of candy.”

“I learned from the mistake.”

Her smile became more obvious.

Hao Nhien smiled as well.

But when he turned away from the stall, his gaze lightly swept across the opposite side of the street.

Three people were sitting inside a tea house.

None looked toward him for too long.

Hao Nhien withdrew his gaze and continued walking.

After another two streets, the two finally turned toward the city gate.

The carriage they had hired in advance was already waiting there.

The driver was an old man.

When he saw them arrive, he merely nodded and pulled the reins.

The wheels rolled through the gate.

Hao Nhien leaned against the side of the carriage as though he had completely relaxed.

Quan Nha sat opposite him and opened the small pouch to take out the hairpin she had just bought.

She was about to speak when Hao Nhien raised one finger to his lips.

Quan Nha’s gaze immediately changed.

Only after the carriage traveled farther did he lower his voice.

“Someone is following us.”

Quan Nha gently set the hairpin down.

“Since when?”

“At least since we left the Medicine Pavilion.”

“How many?”

“Not certain. I’ve only confirmed one person who changed position to follow us twice. If there are others, they are hiding themselves fairly well.”

Hao Nhien looked through the gap in the curtain.

There were still merchants, travelers, and several other carriages on the road behind them.

Nothing stood out enough to appear suspicious.

Quan Nha asked,

“Could they be from the Medicine Pavilion?”

“Doesn’t feel like it. If Dai Ninh wanted to watch me, he wouldn’t need to do it this way.”

Hao Nhien fell silent for a moment.

The events in the Medicine Pavilion quickly connected in his mind.

Huu Liet had openly placed Lac Van under his protection, while Giai Nhien’s pill supply was gradually becoming a valuable part of the military logistics chain.

If someone from another line wanted to know how much Huu Liet valued this source, or wanted to test how far Lac Van’s protection truly extended, today would indeed be a suitable time.

Quan Nha looked at him.

“You’re thinking about Lac Van?”

“Mm.”

Hao Nhien narrowed his eyes slightly.

“I hope I’m overthinking it.”

The carriage continued onward.

Neither of them changed their behavior.

Quan Nha even placed the hairpin into her hair and tilted her head.

“Does it suit me?”

Hao Nhien looked for a moment.

“Very much.”

“You mean it?”

“Mm.”

“This time it isn’t just luck?”

Hao Nhien fell silent for one beat.

Quan Nha immediately laughed.

Outside, the road gradually became emptier.

There was nothing on either side now except sand, stone, and low shrubs, while the sun had already fallen near the horizon.

Hao Nhien watched outside for a while before saying,

“This is far enough.”

Quan Nha understood immediately.

The carriage continued for almost another quarter hour before Hao Nhien pulled aside the curtain.

“Old sir, continue toward Lac Van. We’ll get off and walk for a while, then catch up.”

The driver looked slightly surprised but asked nothing.

The two stepped down.

Once the sound of the wheels had faded into the distance, Hao Nhien and Quan Nha moved into the shadows between two large rock formations, their auras rapidly sinking away.

Not long afterward, a figure appeared in the distance.

He flew on a sword at an unhurried pace, showing no sign of urgency.

His aura was only early Foundation Establishment.

The man reached the place where the carriage had just passed and slowed down, sweeping his gaze around as though searching for traces.

The moment his hand moved inside his robe, Hao Nhien acted.

There was no brilliant sword-light.

No violent eruption of True Qi.

The distance of more than ten zhang vanished in a single beat.

By the time the early-Foundation cultivator turned his head, Hao Nhien’s hand was already resting on his shoulder.

A stream of True Qi struck directly into several critical acupoints.

The flying sword beneath the man immediately lost control.

Before he could even shout, he was knocked unconscious and began falling.

Hao Nhien caught him, dragged him behind the rock, and quickly searched him.

A small identity token.

A bag of spirit stones.

A communication jade talisman.

Quan Nha looked at the last item.

“Any sign of which faction?”

Hao Nhien did not answer immediately.

There was no obvious symbol on the surface of the jade talisman, but within it remained a very faint fluctuation that was slowly intensifying, as though the transmission mechanism had already begun activating.

He tried sealing it with True Qi.

The fluctuation did not stop.

“It isn’t only for sending information.”

Quan Nha understood.

“Tracking?”

“Possibly.”

Hao Nhien did not hesitate further.

He crushed it.

Crack.

The jade talisman shattered in his hand.

Then he sealed several more acupoints on the unconscious man and dragged him deeper into a sheltered crevice between the rocks.

“Go.”

Two flying swords appeared.

This time, neither of them maintained the slow speed from before.

The carriage continued toward Lac Van in the distance.

If there were still others following, then for a short while they would have to guess where Hao Nhien and Quan Nha had left it.

Night gradually descended.

The distance had never been especially great, but they had lost time inside the city, traveled by carriage for part of the road, and stopped to deal with the pursuer.

If something had truly happened in Lac Van, every moment now mattered.

Just as the sun disappeared completely, Hao Nhien suddenly raised his head.

A very faint spiritual fluctuation came from far away.

After they traveled a little farther, a dull explosion echoed through the distance.

Boom.

This time, Quan Nha sensed it too.

“Lac Van.”

Hao Nhien did not answer.

The flying sword beneath his feet immediately accelerated.

The moment the green patches of the medicinal fields came into view, another heavy collision sounded ahead.

Two figures were fighting just outside the fields.

One was Lanh Hoa.

The other wore black and carried the aura of late Foundation Establishment.

Farther away, several dozen people stood in a fairly disciplined formation. Some remained on the ground, while others were already standing on flying swords.

Opposite them, the people of Lac Van had gathered around the medicinal fields.

Luu Ho stood at the very front, while the young men behind him were all holding weapons.

With one glance, Hao Nhien recognized the middle-aged man leading the opposing side.

During the previous auction, this man had occupied a position belonging to Tien’s line.

Tien Phong.

But before Hao Nhien could observe further, another piercing sword cry rang out.

Lanh Hoa was forced backward, blood already staining his shoulder.

The black-robed man opposite him was clearly one level stronger, though the gap was not absolute.

The moment Lanh Hoa stabilized himself, he prepared to charge again, his sword path still as direct as before.

Hao Nhien knew this fighting style far too well.

Once Lanh Hoa decided something was his responsibility, he almost never cared what price he himself had to pay, especially when it concerned the Hoa Ky or an order from the Clan Chief.

Hao Nhien gritted his teeth slightly.

“Again?”

Below, the black-robed man had already swung his sword.

A heavy horizontal slash came crashing forward.

Lanh Hoa did not evade.

He thrust his sword directly into it.

If both sides continued, at least one of them would certainly be seriously injured.

Hao Nhien kicked off his flying sword.

Spirit Wings erupted for an instant, pulling his body downward, while the flying sword beneath him immediately transformed into a streak of light that shot directly toward the black-robed man.

Almost at the same moment, another sword cry rang out.

Tien Phong moved.

The flying sword beneath his feet left its position, sweeping sideways like a streak of black light before crashing directly into Hao Nhien’s sword.

Clang!

Spiritual power exploded in midair.

Hao Nhien’s sword was knocked aside.

He was not surprised.

Tien Phong was a Deputy City Lord and a peak-Foundation cultivator.

If he could not even react to an intervention like this, he would never have been able to hold his current position.

But that brief interruption was already enough to change the exchange below.

The black-robed man sensed the approaching sword-light and instinctively withdrew part of his attack.

Lanh Hoa, on the other hand, paid no attention to whoever had interfered.

His sword continued straight forward, cold and decisive.

The opponent was forced to shift from attack to defense and twisted sideways.

Slash!

The tip of Lanh Hoa’s sword grazed his ribs, leaving a shallow line of blood that was still enough to make the black-robed man’s expression turn completely cold.

He retreated more than ten zhang before stopping.

Lanh Hoa had no chance to pursue.

Hao Nhien was already descending from above.

His flying sword had been knocked aside by Tien Phong, leaving him without support beneath his feet, but Spirit Wings erupted once more, changing his direction in midair before he landed in front of the medicinal fields.

Tien Phong recalled his flying sword as well.

He did not give Hao Nhien another chance to interfere.

With one step forward, he sent a palm strike downward.

The spiritual power was so dense that the air before his palm seemed compressed.

The moment Hao Nhien touched the ground, he turned and answered with a fist.

Boom!

Fist and palm collided.

The ground beneath Hao Nhien’s feet cracked.

He was forced back three steps, his arm numb all the way to the shoulder, while blood and Qi surged in his chest for a brief moment before he suppressed them.

Tien Phong’s True Qi was far denser than his.

The other man only slid back half a step.

Both raised their heads at the same time.

Hao Nhien lightly clenched the hand that had just collided with him.

Tien Phong was not merely peak Foundation Establishment.

His battle rhythm and the density of his True Qi were also far beyond most ordinary peak-Foundation cultivators.

Across from him, Tien Phong studied Hao Nhien for one extra beat.

“Alchemist Giai Nhien.”

His voice was fairly calm.

“I didn’t expect your physical strength to be this good. Quite different from the information I received.”

Hao Nhien did not answer that.

He looked toward Lanh Hoa instead.

Blood still stained his shoulder, and his eyes remained cold, clearly with no intention of stopping.

“Fall back.”

Lanh Hoa was about to speak.

Hao Nhien only looked at him once.

“I’m here.”

Lanh Hoa tightened his grip on the sword.

In the end, he still stepped back.

The black-robed man also returned to Tien Phong’s side.

Only then did Hao Nhien cup his hands.

“Deputy City Lord Tien.”

Tien Phong smiled faintly.

“So Alchemist Giai recognizes me.”

“It would be difficult not to.”

“Then talking will be easier.”

Hao Nhien looked at the people behind him.

“I wonder what official business brings Deputy City Lord Tien to Lac Van with so many people.”

Tien Phong did not answer immediately.

His gaze moved over the fields, Lanh Hoa, Luu Ho, then returned to Hao Nhien.

“Investigating several matters.”

“Investigating?”

“Several things have happened recently along the Tien Thanh line. Duong Quang died. Several people connected to him lost contact. And Duong Long, who was sent to take control of Tien Thanh, suddenly disappeared before entering the city.”

Hao Nhien’s expression did not change.

Tien Phong continued,

“If only one of those things were a coincidence, I would not have come personally.”

Hao Nhien’s thoughts grew heavier, though outwardly he remained calm.

Tien Phong clearly knew more.

“Before Duong Long lost contact, someone discovered a group of Hoa Ky people operating in the region he passed through. That group later disappeared as well.”

“Around the same time, Alchemist Giai was absent from Lac Van.”

Tien Phong looked directly at him.

“I’m not saying all these matters are connected to you. But there is enough here to ask a few questions.”

Hao Nhien replied,

“I still need to search for ingredients for the military supply contract. An alchemist leaving the settlement is hardly unusual.”

“I know.”

Tien Phong nodded.

“But enough coincidences are worth investigating.”

He paused before continuing,

“Duong Long belongs to the line under my responsibility. Meanwhile, Alchemist Giai and Lac Van are currently under Huu Liet’s protection.”

The atmosphere around the medicinal fields changed almost imperceptibly.

Hao Nhien understood immediately.

Duong Long had disappeared.

Tien Thanh was in turmoil.

A group of Hoa Ky people had appeared near the area.

At the same time, Huu Liet was directly benefiting from Giai Nhien’s pill supply.

From Tien Phong’s position, suspecting that Huu’s line had reached into his territory was not entirely unreasonable.

Or, at the very least, it was a very convenient reason.

Hao Nhien smiled faintly.

Tien Phong looked at him.

“What are you laughing at?”

“I met Deputy City Lord Huu today.”

Hao Nhien took out the protection token.

The expressions of several people behind Tien Phong immediately changed.

“Deputy City Lord Huu said Lac Van could continue expanding, and that within the territory under his influence, no one would casually move against this place.”

Hao Nhien looked directly at Tien Phong.

“I had barely left the city when Deputy City Lord Tien arrived here with men.”

“I’m only a businessman. This puts me in a rather difficult position.”

Tien Phong said nothing.

Hao Nhien continued,

“I want to know whether this is the common position of Heavenly Eye City, or merely a matter between two Deputy City Lords.”

The smile on Tien Phong’s face gradually disappeared.

“You’re using Huu Liet to pressure me?”

“No.”

Hao Nhien answered immediately.

“I only want to know whose words I’m supposed to follow.”

Tien Phong stared at him for several breaths.

“A protection order does not exempt you from investigation. I also never said you did anything to Duong Long. I said you are under suspicion and need to cooperate.”

“I’m not obstructing an investigation.”

Hao Nhien glanced toward Lanh Hoa.

“But bringing dozens of people to surround Lac Van, letting your man injure one of mine, and only afterward saying you came to ask questions makes it look a little like you reached the conclusion first and are now searching for the reason.”

Someone behind Tien Phong immediately shouted,

“Impudent!”

Tien Phong raised one hand.

The man fell silent at once.

He looked at Hao Nhien.

“I have no intention of debating this here. Come back to the city with me. Whatever needs to be confronted will be handled there.”

Hao Nhien narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Confronted with whom?”

“With whoever you need to confront.”

Behind him, Lanh Hoa had already taken half a step forward.

Hao Nhien did not turn around.

“Stay where you are.”

Lanh Hoa stopped.

Quan Nha had now reached Hao Nhien’s side.

She said nothing.

She simply stood there.

At the same time, Luu Ho stepped forward from behind and stopped half a step away from Hao Nhien before lowering his voice.

“Alchemist Giai, after the supply zone was officially registered, the Medicine Pavilion stationed a steward and an inspector here to record production.”

“When this group arrived, they knew they could not handle the situation themselves, so they sent word back to Dai Ninh.”

Hao Nhien tilted his head slightly.

Luu Ho continued,

“Highest-priority emergency report.”

Then he stepped back.

Hao Nhien showed no reaction outwardly.

But the possibilities turning through his mind immediately changed.

If the Medicine Pavilion’s resident personnel had used the highest emergency level, Dai Ninh absolutely could not decide this matter himself.

A Deputy City Lord had personally brought people to Lac Van.

The only person qualified to deal with that would be someone who stood at the same level as Tien Phong.

Tien Phong waited a little longer before asking,

“Well?”

Hao Nhien slowly released his hand from the hilt of the Fire Spirit Sword.

“I can go.”

Tien Phong raised an eyebrow slightly.

“But not now.”

Several expressions across from him immediately turned cold.

Tien Phong asked,

“You think you have the right to decide?”

“No.”

Hao Nhien answered.

“I simply don’t want to follow Deputy City Lord Tien back to the city only for someone to later say I should never have gone with you in the first place.”

He raised the protection token in his hand.

“Lac Van currently has someone formally standing behind it.”

“If you want to take me away, I’m not saying you can’t. But at the very least, the person whose name is attached to this protection should know.”

Tien Phong’s voice turned cold.

“I do not need Huu Liet’s permission.”

“I never said you did.”

Hao Nhien smiled faintly.

“I only said we should wait until he knows.”

The atmosphere immediately tightened.

Tien Phong said nothing.

Neither did Hao Nhien.

After a while, Tien Phong suddenly stepped forward.

With only one step, his peak-Foundation aura pressed directly downward.

Hao Nhien remained where he stood.

He did not retreat.

Tien Phong struck with one palm.

Hao Nhien raised his fist to meet it.

Boom!

This time, the force was clearly stronger than before.

Hao Nhien was driven back four steps, each one sinking deeply into the ground.

His arm went numb, while blood and Qi surged in his chest before he forced them down.

Tien Phong looked at him.

“You think delaying is enough?”

Hao Nhien rubbed his wrist lightly.

“I don’t know.”

The corner of his mouth lifted.

“But trying doesn’t cost anything.”

Tien Phong gave a cold laugh.

Behind him, dozens of people moved at once.

Half rose into the air on flying swords.

The rest spread to both sides.

Within only a few breaths, they had sealed off nearly the entire area in front of the fields.

Luu Ho immediately ordered the people of Lac Van to fall back toward the positions already prepared.

None of the young men holding weapons charged forward.

But none ran either.

Lanh Hoa stepped beside Hao Nhien again.

The blood on his shoulder had not yet dried, but his eyes were calmer than during the fight.

Hao Nhien looked at Tien Phong.

Tien Phong looked back at him.

Neither retreated.

The night wind crossed the open ground between them, carrying a thin layer of sand sideways through the rows of Sa Diep.

Hao Nhien’s hand slowly settled on the hilt of the Fire Spirit Sword.

He was not afraid of fighting.

It was only that this time, there were too many things behind him that he could not afford to lose.