Chapter Thirteen: The Sudden Appearance of a Six-Winged Being

After Gu Linglong had slain more than a dozen two-winged angels in succession, someone finally noticed the small party. Hundreds of angels, wings fluttering, burst from the camp with their sights set on Gu Linglong and her companions.

"Quick, go!" Gu Linglong remotely controlled her celestial sword to block the angels' advance and shouted crisply.

"My lady!" The group stepped forward as one, saying nothing more, but clearly showing their resolve.

A bunch of fools! Li Chengzhu thought. With Gu Linglong's power as an immortal, these two-winged angels shouldn't even warrant her attention—just a few sweeps of her flying sword and they'd all be sent packing. Yet these idiots weren't taking the chance to escape, instead lingering to fuss and chatter.

Sure enough, seeing the determination in their eyes, Gu Linglong said no more. Her fingers flew rapidly through spell gestures, and her celestial sword became like a butcher's blade in a slaughterhouse, throwing the angels into chaos.

The group, witnessing their lord's ferocity, refused to be outdone. Their own treasures and flying swords were summoned in succession, charging into the already disordered ranks of angels.

Li Chengzhu sighed. In such circumstances, he couldn't afford to stand alone, so he released the premium flying sword he'd bought from the arms shop owner. Since acquiring it, he'd never cultivated with it, and their compatibility was low. Now he could only let it loose to do its part.

As expected, his flying sword merely harassed the confused angels, unable to leave so much as a scratch.

Qiufeng shot Li Chengzhu a cold, sidelong glance. With a swift spell, his flying sword sliced off a two-winged angel's wing and then, from a tricky angle, skewered the wounded angel through.

Faced with his sword's impotence and Qiufeng's provocation, Li Chengzhu was furious enough to curse. He spat disdainfully onto the ground, secretly longing to unleash the Godslayer Bow for a display of might.

In the blink of an eye, half the angels—hundreds in all—had fallen, most slain by Gu Linglong's blade. The reputation of an immortal was no mere boast.

But ever-increasing waves of spiritual pressure reminded them this was no place to linger.

After dispatching several reckless angels, Gu Linglong called out angrily, "Go!" and led the way in flight.

The slaughter hadn't made Gu Linglong fierce; rather, she appeared even more delicate and charming.

Li Chengzhu looked at the ground strewn with angel corpses, swallowed hard, and followed the group with determination.

All this was money! The merchant in him bled at the sight.

The battle seemed lengthy but had lasted only half an incense stick. Only half remained before their retreat deadline.

Seeing the situation, Gu Linglong abandoned any notion of returning for a sneak attack and focused on leading the group swiftly back to the cultivators' gathering place.

After all, they'd already slain plenty of angels in that skirmish.

As for the cultivators trapped deep in enemy lines, even if they returned now, they'd be powerless to help.

Explosions in the distance reminded Gu Linglong just how fierce the fighting was elsewhere.

Suddenly, Li Chengzhu, following behind, heard an alarm from the small gadget in his backpack. Startled, he shouted, "Everyone, be careful!"

Before he finished speaking, a massive wave of spiritual pressure crashed down on him.

"Damn!" Li Chengzhu was deeply frustrated. "Why the hell did it target me? Sure enough, lagging behind means getting beaten!"

He bitterly regretted hesitating just a moment earlier, delaying his advance.

Greed is a curse!

Li Chengzhu's eyes brimmed with tears.

A tremendous bang sounded behind him, followed by a spiritual force so fierce it scoured his skin painfully and sent him tumbling through the air before crashing down.

"Are you alright?" Xiaoying rushed over, helped him up, and inspected him top to bottom, relieved to find all his parts intact.

Li Chengzhu gritted his teeth in pain, muttering, "Try getting tossed around a few times—damn, it hurts like hell."

"As long as you're not dead." Xiaoying's blunt reply stifled Li Chengzhu's complaints, then she anxiously looked up at the sky.

High above, Gu Linglong had summoned her celestial armor, gripping her sword as she faced off against a six-winged angel.

"My God," Li Chengzhu's jaw dropped.

One pair, two pairs, three pairs—indeed, a six-winged angel. The distance made the wing color unclear, but those six wings were unmistakable.

Wasn't that scout saying there were only two- and four-winged angels in this region? Where did this six-winged angel spring from?

"If I survive this, I'm going to beat that scout's mouth into a rear end!" Li Chengzhu clenched his fists and cursed.

Had Gu Linglong not blocked that last strike so quickly, he'd surely be off to meet the Lord of the Underworld.

"Count me in!" Xiaoying, for once, didn't object to Li Chengzhu's crude words, agreeing with his plan.

That bastard dared to report false military intelligence—unforgivable!

Yet Li Chengzhu couldn't find any joy in the current predicament.

Even a six-winged gray angel possessed late-stage immortal cultivation. How could Gu Linglong, a half-trained immortal, possibly match that?

Cultivators excelled at harnessing spiritual energy from nature, not at close combat with flying swords in hand.

Angels weren't much for ranged attacks, but in close quarters they were unmatched.

Otherwise, their earlier skirmish wouldn't have gone so smoothly. All thanks to Gu Linglong's initial intervention as a demigod and the group's subsequent ranged attacks—had the angels gotten up close, they would have suffered dearly.

Gu Linglong was an immortal; she knew this well. But to save Li Chengzhu, she had risked herself, using her immortal body to block that attack. Now, with the six-winged angel pressing her closely, there was no way to widen the distance.

Understanding all this, Li Chengzhu felt remorse.

He glanced at Xiaoying and asked, "What if Gu Linglong falls?"

Xiaoying glared at him, enunciating each word, "Then prepare to be torn apart."

Damn! Li Chengzhu was dismayed. Realistically, if Gu Linglong died, not only would he struggle to escape the angels, but her loyal followers would surely tear him limb from limb.

Xiaoying turned to Li Chengzhu with a cold smile. "Are you thinking of running?"

"How could I?" Li Chengzhu declared righteously. "Such cowardly acts are beneath me!"

"That's best," Xiaoying muttered. "Otherwise, sister really misjudged you." She looked him over again and continued, "Stay put, don't move. I'll see if I can help her."

Once Xiaoying vanished, Li Chengzhu wiped the sweat from his brow.

Damn, he'd actually considered running—and Xiaoying caught him. How embarrassing!