Chapter Twenty-One: Surprises and Chaos (Part Two)

“Oh, it looks like the largest wild fae group has caught up as well,” said the plain-looking man to Feliguo.

Feliguo, with the Sword of Immortality strapped to his back, was also watching the Xuantian Seven Luminaries Disc. “It seems so. The free-for-all has begun. Look, the lights that represent each faction are all mixed together now—signifying they’ve engaged in battle.”

The images reflected on the disc showed the lights, which had previously advanced from different directions, now merging and splitting. With each convergence and separation, some lights disappeared from the disc entirely.

“This group is quite formidable,” the unremarkable man pointed to one faction. This group had five lights, two of which flickered so faintly that one would miss them without focusing intensely.

“They seem to have come from Valencia—probably a secret unit under Warrenheit. Now, every country wants to get their hands on that defected chief engineer. Unfortunately, though they all have spies in Valencia, the others received the news a bit too late. They couldn't dispatch their own elites in time, so instead had to use secret channels to strike deals with these wild fae in the wilderness, hiring these bandits to capture the target for them,” the man answered after some thought.

“The oddest ones, however, are the Hegels,” Feliguo remarked, visibly surprised and a bit frustrated, tinged with reluctant admiration.

“Have you noticed that no matter how close we get to our target, there’s always some distance left between us?” the plain-faced man seemed to have found the crux of the problem.

Feliguo grunted but still replied, “Yes, it’s as if someone among them has detected me. Yet, on the Xuantian Disc, I can’t discern who it is. It’s as if there’s an invisible person among them—far too peculiar. I was using Starlight Tracking, yet they still managed to detect me, and hid in such a clever way that I’m starting to wonder if there’s a fellow Daoist among them. Very well, I’ll see how long he can keep playing hide and seek with us.”

——

When Wei Wuji returned, he arrived just as a mid-sized wild fae bandit group of more than twenty was launching an assault on Gamio’s party. The bearfolk had already been slaughtered to the point of near collapse, desperate to flee. Yet the fae, ruthless and powerful, never left survivors aside from their targets, forcing nearly a hundred bearfolk to fight desperately for their lives. Even so, the side with superior numbers was on the verge of disaster.

Gamio and Leyard, together with the Hegels, used the terrain to resist. The twenty-odd wild fae split into two teams: one to massacre the bearfolk, another to attack them. Fortunately, the pair were formidable fighters. Though gravely wounded, they fought tooth and nail and guarded Cecily and the others behind them, never faltering.

Wei Wuji, rushing all the way back, had already used the power of his Golden Core to conceal his presence. But seeing that Komineson and his companion were about to be overwhelmed, he could no longer care about being spotted by Starlight Tracking. Rising into the air, the Seven Lethal Swords of Geng Metal radiated from around him, his body bristling like a hedgehog as he spun and shot straight into the wild fae besieging the pair.

Two wild fae bandits, driven mad with bloodlust, tried to block Wei Wuji, but their swords were severed in an instant by the Geng Metal sword lights. The following sword gleams, like spinning blades, carved through them—despite their fae agility and reflexes, they could not evade, and were sliced in half.

This overwhelming strike was the Geng Metal Sword Wheel, a technique requiring immense, continuous True Essence to transform into metallic energy and then into rotating sword lights, devastating all in its path. Though it consumed True Essence rapidly, it perfectly suited Wei Wuji’s temperament. With his Golden Core to sustain him and the situation dire, he charged in without hesitation.

Sword wheel blazing, the ten-odd fae attacking the duo now counterattacked fiercely. They were stronger than the previous two, their swordsmanship formidable, and with fae runes, they had cast spells of bravery, sharpness, bloodlust, and even higher-order magics like the Strength of the Wild Bull and the Valor of the Lion. But their swords were still knocked aside by the Geng Metal sword lights.

That was enough. Retracting the wheel, Wei Wuji landed beside the embattled pair in a flash of light, unleashing two more thick, golden sword beams, this time infused with the power of his Golden Core.

The two fae reacted swiftly, raising their swords to block, but Wei Wuji was resolved to kill. The Geng Metal sword lights, powered by the Golden Core, severed both blades; not even the fifth-tier Strength of the Wild Bull could save them. Pierced through the brow, the fae were quartered, blood spraying as their bodies fell.

The carnage was so intense that even the jaded, murderous fae were shaken. The ten remaining fae slowly retreated, not daring to provoke this god of slaughter.

At that moment, the starlight above grew brighter. Wei Wuji’s expression shifted; a golden glow shimmered from his lower abdomen. He spun, unleashing a beam of golden light at the retreating fae.

Sensing his killing intent, the fae refused to wait for death. Chanting in fae tongue, they instantly cast various enhancements, then counterattacked with vicious spells and swordplay. From afar, four fae who had been assaulting the bearfolk drew bows and sniped at Wei Wuji from the flank.

Gamio and Leyard watched, chills running down their spines. The fae were indeed born warriors—long-lived, skilled in both magic and arms, and expert archers. Now, at least seven or eight different spells flashed: some attacking directly, others weakening indirectly, and all the while the fae strengthened themselves with the power of the Wild Bull. If it were just the two of them, either could manage three fae at best, and together they might hold off eight. But facing this onslaught, their defense would collapse instantly.

The Seven Lethal Swords of Geng Metal blazed forth again, dazzling and more intense than ever under the Golden Core’s power. Confronted by the fae’s deadly retaliation, Wei Wuji employed the simplest, most direct strategy: overwhelming force.

Sword lights condensed into spheres, slicing through and returning, relentless and ceaseless. Amid the metallic clangs and the fae’s screams, eight more fae perished.

Even these hardened bandits, long inured to death, were demoralized by Wei Wuji’s overwhelming might. The four survivors turned and fled; those attacking the bearfolk were so awed that they too withdrew.

Yet Wei Wuji did not pursue. Instead, with a grave expression, he said, “Someone is watching me from above. We can’t let them find us—follow me, quickly.”

“What about Cecily?” Hegel suddenly asked.

“No, don’t leave us behind! I know where the girl is!” a voice cried out from among the bearfolk.

Wei Wuji looked over. From the survivors, a particularly robust bearfolk stepped forward. “Who are you? I don’t recall seeing you before. Speak—if you truly know Cecily’s whereabouts, I’ll let your people continue with us,” Wei Wuji said.

“He… he’s our leader, Rukovsky. He got separated from us earlier and just now found us. If he hadn’t arrived in time to take command, we couldn’t have held out against those wild fae,” one of the bearfolk explained.

“You know where she is?” Hegel asked anxiously.

“Yes! She was rescued by a knight—seems they’re headed toward a human city. I saw from the bushes as she boarded a carriage bound for the road to Gaul,” Rukovsky replied eagerly. When he had found his kin in peril, he realized that the wild fae, who had long kept to their own territories, had all gone mad and converged here. If the bearfolk were lucky, they might just be driven out of the area; but if not, the ruthless fae would surely turn on each other in a bloody free-for-all.

Seeing Wei Wuji’s display of power, Rukovsky shrewdly concluded that if there was any hope of escaping this blood-soaked region and securing a future, it lay in following this Far Eastern man.

“Could he have taken her to Gaul?” Gamio exclaimed in shock.

Leyard frowned. “That’s the territory controlled by Randia in the Gaul region.”

Wei Wuji made his decision: “We leave this area immediately. The wild fae won’t spare us—their target is likely Mr. Hegel. But these fae groups don’t all serve the same master. To seize him and reduce competition, they’re killing each other as well. We must avoid them as much as possible, then head to Gaul City and see if we can find Miss Cecily.”