Chapter 8: Double Strike (9)
Finally, Lin Nan waited long enough for a chance to play the hero and save the beauty—but she wasn’t about to let it slip away easily.
Just when the seemingly dead Fallen Species was about to launch its deadly mouthpiece at Leng Yi, who was less than a meter away and facing certain doom, Lin Nan, having burned 30 points of Luck Value to know that this guy would ambush Leng Yi, kicked him hard from behind, sending him flying.
Leng Yi rolled on the ground three times, his dignity as the leader of the Giant Wave Gang utterly shattered.
Ding! Evil Shiyuan’s favorability towards you has decreased to -10%! You are in mortal danger!
“d*mn it! How dare you sneak attack me!”
Lin Nan, for reasons unknown, suddenly went on the offensive, while Leng Yi, known for his short temper, immediately leaped up from the ground. Unprecedented power gathered in his hands as he prepared to retaliate against Lin Nan with deadly force.
Lin Nan coldly regarded him, her red dress billowing in the wind like a blooming flower.
“Care to take a look at that demon’s corpse before you make any rash decisions?”
Leng Yi paused, momentarily taken aback.
Everyone had been completely startled by Lin Nan’s unexpected attack just moments ago.
Members of the Giant Wave Gang raised their bows and arrows in unison, waiting for their leader’s order to rain arrows down on everyone present.
Meanwhile, the mountain stronghold folks thought Lin Nan was signaling a break with the Giant Wave Gang and readied their weapons, standing fiercely beside her, ready for a full-blown battle.
The Demon-Subduing Alliance, on the other hand, was relishing the chaos, wishing for these two factions to plunge into a free-for-all, looking to take advantage of the mess.
But with his anger barely restrained, Leng Yi couldn’t help but cling to a shred of rationality.
He moved closer to the corpse and, with just a glance, sensed something was off.
Where was the demon’s mouthpiece? It looked as if someone had twisted it off with great force—meat and bl**d mangled at the broken end, the cut uneven.
Lin Nan snorted, “I saved your life, and instead of gratitude, you repay me with hostility. At this rate, there’s no need for an alliance between our two factions.”
Leng Yi burst out laughing but didn’t respond right away.
Suddenly, several soldiers from the Giant Wave Gang surged forward to the corpse, forming a line a good twenty to thirty steps away. They bowed their heads, brandishing torches as if searching for something.
Not just Lin Nan, but everyone knew—they were hunting for evidence.
Though everyone present, aside from the Giant Wave Gang, could testify that Lin Nan kicked the fallen creature away and didn’t approach the corpse—it was impossible for her to damage the demon’s mouthpiece under everyone’s watchful eyes—Leng Yi didn’t choose to believe that. He trusted only his judgment.
Even as temporary allies, their relationship was precarious and held no weight compared to real-world interests.
“Found it!”
One soldier uncovered a half-embedded mouthpiece in the thigh of the corpse.
They brought the body closer to the Fallen Species.
With a frosty face, Leng Yi yanked the mouthpiece out and inspected the jagged tissues, confirming with his own eyes that this indeed belonged to the demon.
No one expected that even after he had dealt the killing blow, the creature was still able to mount a sneak attack upon its d*ath. Truly, demons could defy logic.
A shiver ran down Leng Yi’s spine. Had Lin Nan not saved him, with his guard down at that moment, he would have undoubtedly faced a grim fate.
Ding! Evil Shiyuan’s favorability towards you has risen to 20%!
You have gained 1000 points of Luck Value. You currently have 2390 points of Luck Value.
Just from that 20% favorability, Lin Nan gained an additional 1000 Luck Points. Those two, Evil Shiyuan and Diamond Shiyuan, were indeed sources of Luck Value that should not be underestimated.
However, witnessing Leng Yi force out a reluctant “thank you,” Lin Nan couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Getting gratitude from the mighty Leng Yi is no easy feat, almost cost me my head!”
Leng Yi huffed, “A life-saving grace merits a reward; no need to elaborate.”
The cold, metallic mask hid 99% of his expression, yet Lin Nan chose to believe that when he said those words, there was a hint of discomfort—or even shyness—on his face.
Though this little detour had taken place, the fact that a demon had been discovered deep underground still left everyone there feeling anxious.
In just a moment, their worldviews had been turned upside down.
If what that demoness from the Demon Sect said was true, with the demon energy growing stronger, wouldn’t that mean more demons would be emerging?
Would they, as martial artists, be able to withstand another wave of these demon attacks?
“Martial Arts Alliance! Yes, let’s report to the Martial Arts Alliance Leader immediately! Only Shi Jinghai has the ability to unite all the sects from the Central Plains to face this threat.”
Someone in the crowd shouted.
His suggestion was met with instant enthusiasm.
“Yes, yes! Shi Jinghai left the Demon Sect Saintess behind all those years ago probably because he foresaw this very scenario unfolding today. The Martial Arts Alliance must have been preparing for this.”
“They gathered this group of martial artists under the auspices of a bounty just to keep us alert.”
Lin Nan thought to herself, “…”
It seemed the Martial Arts Alliance held a firm grip over the Central Plains martial world.
Even after her earlier remarks subtly alluding to Shi Jinghai, people’s attitudes towards him had not changed easily. In fact, they believed he would lead them all against the resurrected demons.
At this point, Leng Yi was not pleased.
“What the hell are you lot saying! Don’t forget, your lives are still in this leader’s hands!
What’s the Martial Arts Alliance to us? We of the Giant Wave Gang can handle all those demons ourselves. Just wait, and you’ll see who the true ruler of the martial world is!”
Given the overwhelming situation, no one dared to argue with him, though the hope of Shi Jinghai arriving soon grew stronger, as he had long been preparing this stronghold—there was no way he would ignore this place.
In just a couple of days, righteous retribution would arrive right on time.
Clearly, Leng Yi’s interest in the demons far outweighed that of the battered remnants of the Demon-Subduing Alliance.
Fresh challenges ignited one’s passions and made it hard to remain composed.
And the emergence of demons just happened to meet that need.
“Leng Yi, the mountain stronghold is entrusted to you. If you like, you can explore and dig around the outskirts.”
Leng Yi immediately replied, “Alright, I want to see if these demons have three heads and six arms!”
He glanced at the unfortunate lot from the Demon-Subduing Alliance with a hint of disgust in his eyes. “You lot immediately join the Giant Wave Gang. Tomorrow morning, you’ll come to dig the ground with us. If you don’t want to work or want to slack off, speak up now so I can give you a quick end.”
One person raised his hand, seemingly clueless about what “quick end” meant.
“I have urgent matters down the mountain, can I…”
Before he finished, Leng Yi across several meters slapped him hard.
“Smack!”
The guy spun in midair and crash-landed on the ground, immediately knocked out cold.
Leng Yi narrowed his eyes at the rest, “Anyone else?”
