C12 It Was Hard to Get off the Pirate Ship

On the sixth day of their journey into the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, they were a mere hundred meters from Soul Breaking Cliff, situated three thousand miles from the outer edges of the range. A massive black rock jutted out from a broken cliff face, resembling the carcass of an ancient Giant Beast. The cliff's slope was barren, covered with black stones, and the valley echoed with a chilling wind that sent shivers down one's spine.

This was as deep as humans could venture into the Myriad Beast Mountain Range!

The sky was overcast, signaling that this land was no longer part of the thriving human world. It was the domain of the Great Wilderness, home to the Giant Beasts that had outlived ancient times, and the territory of a supreme Heavenly Demon.

Sunn Cheng stood still, his brow furrowed as he watched Su Mo and her companions approach Soul Breaking Cliff, paying them no heed.

"Hey! Didn't we agree that you'd hand over the items once we reached Soul Breaking Cliff? I never signed up for some adventure game!" Sunn Cheng yelled, his expression one of a child who felt cheated.

He had made his stance clear the previous night by the campfire: ideological differences were the most difficult to reconcile. He no longer saw himself as aligned with Su Mo. Having reached Soul Breaking Cliff and fulfilled his obligation, he now expected Su Mo to honor her promise and hand over the Spirit Pill.

Su Mo, leading the way, turned around with a mocking grin. "You're the one who said it—I'm a big shot, and you're just a young butcher peddling meat! So, whether or not you get the item isn't up to you. If you want the Spirit Pill, you'll have to keep following me!"

Sunn Cheng spat out in frustration and stamped his foot, shouting, "You're not true to your word! You're no hero!"

A smile spread across Su Mo's face, her dimples deepening. "But you've already said it—I'm not a hero, am I?"

Her laughter rang out oddly in the vast mountains, but to Sunn Cheng, it held no charm. He had always been the one to tease others; never before had he been on the receiving end.

Muttering a few unintelligible curses under his breath, Sunn Cheng hesitated as he gazed at the solitary Soul Breaking Cliff in the distance. With a determined clench of his jaw, he decided to follow along.

Beyond the Soul Breaking Cliff lay the Giant Tree Lake, a vast expanse of water surrounded by giant trees so wide that several people would be needed to encircle them.

The group proceeded in a single file along the gravel path beneath Soul Breaking Cliff, making their way toward Giant Tree Lake. Dense forests and underbrush began to flank the path on both sides.

Trailing at a distance, Sunn Cheng took uneven steps, pausing now and then to survey his surroundings. The brooding expression on his face grew increasingly pronounced.

Qianfeng glanced back at Sunn Cheng, who lagged at the end of the line, and chuckled to Su Mo, "That kid's got a mind full of schemes. He's keeping his distance, looking like he's ready to bolt at any moment!"

"Don't worry," Su Mo replied with quiet confidence, "He won't run away without the Spirit Pill..."

The woods flanking the gravel path fell into a deeper hush. Sunn Cheng grumbled to himself, "Usually, if there's an attack, it would come from the middle and the front of the group. The terrain ahead is open, and the VIPs are at the front. When the time comes, I'll just need to run the other way..."

While Sunn Cheng was busy refining his escape plan in his head, his ears suddenly twitched, and his eyes narrowed. A sharp whistling sound grazed by his ear as he instinctively dodged to the left!

An arrow, gleaming with a metallic sheen, buried itself deep into the back of an elite Armor Soldier. The gruesome sound of the arrow piercing flesh and grinding against bone rang clear in Sunn Cheng's ears.

"Ambush!"

The Armor Soldier's pained scream and Sunn Cheng's shout of alarm erupted simultaneously. In that instant, a terrifying symphony of arrows slicing through the air erupted from both sides of the forest and from behind Sunn Cheng.

Sunn Cheng's body lunged forward, rolling several times to evade a volley of deadly arrows. Glancing over his shoulder, he felt a shiver run down his spine. Had he been struck, he would have been turned into a pincushion on the spot.

"Damn it! Why aren't they sticking to the plan? Weren't we supposed to have a clear escape route?" Sunn Cheng swore furiously as he sprinted forward, racing toward Giant Tree Lake to join Su Mo and her retreating party.

Hot on Sunn Cheng's heels, a swarm of at least thirty to forty black-clad warriors burst forth. The leader brandished a curved blade, while those behind him wielded iron bows, nocking and loosing arrows in a relentless barrage.

As Sunn Cheng weaved at breakneck speed, he whipped the Yellow Poplar Bow from his back, spun around, and fired without a moment's hesitation to aim.

His arrow struck true, hitting the nearest black-clad warrior square in the chest. Yet, it failed to penetrate, as if it had met an impenetrable layer of armor, merely causing the warrior to stagger from the arrow's formidable impact.

"Watch out! They're the Thorny Light Death Soldiers of the Divine Guard Army! They're all clad in soft armor forged from snow mountain metal. Ordinary blades can't even scratch them!" Qianfeng, who was protecting Su Mo, called out from behind Sunn Cheng. The Thorny Light Death Soldiers were not just skilled in martial arts and assassination; the real challenge lay in the costly snow mountain metal soft armor they wore. Each piece was exceedingly valuable, impervious to common weapons.

Sunn Cheng's face twitched at Qianfeng's warning. With a Death Soldier closing in mere inches behind him, there was no time for second thoughts. He ditched his bow and arrow, drew his meat knife, and, in a surprising twist, pivoted back to engage the enemy.

Qianfeng let out a disdainful snort and shook his head, watching as Sunn Cheng leaped into the fray, hacking away at the Thorny Light Death Soldiers with fierce determination. "Are you looking for a death wish? Why aren't you retreating instead of seeking out battle? That knife of yours... Uh..."

His words trailed off in shock. Before his eyes, Sunn Cheng's meat knife effortlessly sliced through the chest of a black-clad Death Soldier, revealing a thin but blood-soaked layer of soft armor.

"Uh... Your knife... it's incredibly sharp!" Qianfeng coughed awkwardly, a rare hint of embarrassment crossing his usually stoic face as he abruptly altered what he was about to say.

Wielding his meat knife, the young butcher Sunn Cheng cut a swath through the black-clad Death Soldiers, the blade gleaming as it whirled through the air. The so-called snow mountain metal armor they wore was shredded like paper mache under the knife's keen edge.

To Sunn Cheng, slaying these men was no different from killing Barbarian Beasts, especially after learning they were the Divine Guard Army's captive sacrifices. His wrist flicked even faster with this knowledge.

Amidst the fray, twenty elite Armor Soldiers and Sunn Cheng fought fiercely against the Death Soldiers. Qianfeng, known as Guishou, stood protectively beside Su Mo, observing the skirmish with a detached gaze. These were mere underlings, unworthy of their intervention. Any crazed Death Soldier that dared approach was swiftly dispatched by Guishou's crushing grip.

Sunn Cheng, the most formidable of the underlings, single-handedly eliminated the majority of the Death Soldiers, inadvertently sparing many of the Su family guards' lives.

Within half an hour, all the black-clad soldiers had been vanquished. The Su family mourned the loss of eight Armor Soldiers, with the survivors all bearing injuries.

Sunn Cheng's chest, slightly heaving, bore splatters of blood. He casually ripped a rag from a fallen Death Soldier and wiped his meat knife clean. Unnoticed by all, a thin stream of black blood oozed from the blade's polished edge.

After each battle, the knife would bleed black, the intensity of the fight reflected in the volume of blood. To Sunn Cheng, this skirmish was hardly more challenging than besting a tough-skinned, ferocious Barbarian Beast.

Casting a sidelong, disapproving glance at Su Mo and her two companions, Sunn Cheng noted their spotless condition.

Clip-clop, clip-clop, whoosh!

The sound of galloping hooves grew louder, and at the end of the gravel path, a towering Barbarian Beast with a single horn and black-and-red mane came into view. It bore a young man clad in blood-red armor, a Golden Treasure Blade hanging at his waist, his face stern and strikingly handsome.

"Horn Horse Beast! A lieutenant?" Sunn Cheng murmured under his breath. The Horn Horse Beast served as the steed for lieutenants in the Divine Guard Army, and its striking blood-red armor was the army's hallmark.

Sunn Cheng tensed, watching the young officer rein in his mount. He soon realized his concerns were unfounded; the officer hadn't even glanced his way, his entire focus on Su Mo.

"So it's Military Officer Kuan Feipeng. I wouldn't have guessed you'd be the first to show up!"

Su Mo greeted the newcomer without a hint of surprise, her gesture casual as she spoke with a detached tone.

Kuan Feipeng dismounted the Horn Horse Beast, seemingly oblivious to the slain Armor Soldiers at his feet. He addressed Su Mo with a grave expression, "Mo, even someone as clever as you couldn't have guessed that the Azure Sun garrison commander, Lin Zheng, is my distant uncle. Due to my father's strict rules, we seldom meet. But fortunately, he was astute enough to send me a message overnight, or we could have faced a serious crisis!"

Su Mo nodded, her face a mix of realization and anger. "The audacity of Lin Zheng! To think he would betray me!"

Kuan Feipeng's face relaxed slightly as he furrowed his brows and spoke earnestly, "It's a good thing I found out first. If others in the army learned that you dared to intrude here, the wrath of the Divine Guard Army would surely befall the Celestial Punishment Court! Mo, enough with the recklessness. Leave with me at once. This is sacred ground for the Divine Guard Army, and even I am risking much by coming here."

Sunn Cheng, hidden behind Qianfeng and Guishou, inwardly scoffed at the scene. The rapport between the two was evident; the Divine Guard Army officer was willing to defy military orders for Su Mo's sake, his protective instincts clearly strong, fearing she might clash with the army.

Su Mo, however, seemed ungrateful for Kuan Feipeng's concern, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "There's no need for you to fret over this. I'm determined to breach the Divine Guard Army's forbidden zone and find out exactly what you're hiding!"

Kuan Feipeng was indifferent to Su Mo's attitude, yet he understood her personality all too well. Shaking his head in resignation, he finally said, "I knew I couldn't stop you! All I ask is that you leave this place as quickly as possible. Trust me, there are dangers ahead that even you won't be able to handle!"

With a grave look, Kuan Feipeng sighed as he gazed at Su Mo's unfazed expression. "I know you wouldn't recklessly put yourself in harm's way! Mo, you're striving for greater influence for the Su family in the imperial court, but you must realize that trying to snatch meat from the mouth of the Divine Guard Army is extremely perilous! I can't be away from the army for too long, so please, look after yourself!"

Mounting the Horn Horse Beast, Kuan Feipeng glanced back at Su Mo, then respectfully bowed to Guishou and Qianfeng, "Please, take good care of her." With that, he spurred the Horn Horse Beast, which kicked up its hooves and dashed off down an alternate route skirting Giant Tree Lake, quickly vanishing from sight.

"Alright, let's keep moving. We're almost at Giant Tree Lake!" Su Mo huffed, leading the way.

Sunn Cheng touched his nose and cleared his throat awkwardly, "Look, Su... Young Master Su! We've already crossed Soul Breaking Cliff, and I've taken out so many people for you, going well beyond what was asked of me. I'll forgo the labor fee, so how about you hand over the Spirit Pill now? I've got meat stewing back home..."

Sunn Cheng's earnest plea was met with a fierce glare from Su Mo, who scoffed, "Once you're aboard my ship, there's no getting off halfway! You'll get the Spirit Pill, but not just yet." With a wave of her hand, she strode toward Giant Tree Lake.

Watching her walk away, Sunn Cheng stood alone in the biting wind, shaking his head in dismay. "I was hoping for a slim chance of survival, but now... it seems like certain death... Ah, well..."