Chapter 1088: Short-Range Combat

Chapter 1077: Close Combat

In such a confined space, Ulu's agile movements actually gave him an advantage. Moreover, the elemental energy emanating from his body allowed him to inflict immense pain on the Ape King's wrist with every blow.

"Roar! Roar!" The Ape King roared in pain, baring its teeth. It would rather fight True Monarch Mu Su again than battle these martial generals imbued with elemental energy. It was truly excruciating! When would those two finally make their move?

Ulu stabbed the Ape King's thumb again. Just as he pulled back his hand fork, a sudden chill ran down his spine! It felt like something was coming, something dangerous! Without hesitation, he stepped diagonally to the side. The Puppet Giant Bear also spun around, promptly shielding its master. However, the chilling sensation Ulu felt did not dissipate.

The next instant, a shadow materialized out of thin air behind him, its long blade silently thrusting straight at Ulu's back. This heart-piercing strike was incredibly vicious and entirely unannounced, like a tiger revealing its fangs only when close enough to strike. The Light of Fleeting Life Blade flashed into existence and instantly vanished, piercing through Ulu's protective aura, penetrating his heart-guarding mirror, and then shattering two consecutive defensive barriers.

On Ulu's chest, a bloody blade tip inexplicably emerged! When he saw it himself, his eyes widened in shock.

The Puppet Giant Bear raised a claw to swipe away the shadow, but the Golden-Armored Bronze General anticipated its move, pushing it aside a moment sooner. Puppets fought puppets, and masters fought masters. The Puppet Giant Bear's master was Ulu, and He Lingchuan, the Golden-Armored Bronze General's master, had finally found his moment to strike! He had lurked in the shadows for so long, remaining still until he could make a decisive, astonishing move.

The Bailong Clan's famous technique was indeed effective; a single "Shadow Stalking" move allowed him to stick to Ulu's back, immediately initiating the "Black Tiger Steals Heart" strike. This time, he was secretly learning from Fu Shanlie. No wonder the Fu Shan family loved heart-piercing moves; killing this way was truly satisfying.

The Fleeting Life Blade truly felt like it had pierced a heart, and He Lingchuan could synchronously experience the fierce weapon's wild ecstasy of drinking human blood. Ulu roared in pain, lunging forward abruptly! This lunge was incredibly powerful, as if all his life potential had been ignited. He Lingchuan couldn't even keep a firm grip on his shoulder.

He immediately sensed something was wrong. The heart is the source of strength. Ulu's heart had been pierced; logically, his strength should have dissipated. How could he suddenly become so fierce instead? Indeed, before he could react, Ulu's figure vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was astonishingly riding on the giant bear's back neck.

"Crack!" Something in Ulu's embrace shattered. Only he knew that it was a proxy-death doll that had been destroyed! Without this doll, he would already be a goner, fallen to the attacker's blade. His Puppet Giant Bear had a special ability: within fifteen zhang, it could instantly pull its master onto its neck and back. This could only be used once every thirty minutes. The moment the proxy-death doll activated, he triggered this ability, instantly moving away from He Lingchuan's blade.

At this moment, the Golden-Armored Bronze General happened to be thrusting its spear. Although He Lingchuan hadn't upgraded it, he had acquired a fine bronze spear for it from Platinum Island. It was about two zhang long and designed to be disassembled: the long spear could be directly split into two short spears to adapt to different combat scenarios. He had the utmost disdain for fools who, despite being able to use weapons, insisted on fighting with bare fists.

The moment He Lingchuan spotted Ulu's figure on the Puppet Giant Bear, the Golden-Armored Bronze General's spear tip reoriented, aiming directly for the giant bear's back neck. Piercing Ulu's heart once wasn't enough for him; he wanted to skewer Ulu again.

At this point, retreating or dodging was useless. The Puppet Giant Bear was caught between the Golden-Armored Bronze General and the Ape King, assailed from both front and back. With an unknown but even fiercer opponent on the ground, Ulu's choice was to accelerate the giant bear, preemptively charging into the Golden-Armored Bronze General's embrace.

In any case, he still had nearly two hundred men under his command, each imbued with elemental energy, which naturally counteracted these monsters and giant puppets. As long as he could hold out until the main army arrived, his side would be invincible. But this mountain path was too narrow, and with several large creatures obstructing the way, it wasn't conducive to his side utilizing its numerical advantage. He needed to move to a more suitable terrain first.

The giant bear's charge burned out its core, all its joints glowing with a faint blue light, instantly unleashing more than three times its usual power, and even moving more nimbly than before. The Golden-Armored Bronze General was momentarily caught off guard and was knocked down head-on. The two heavy puppets tumbled down the slope, rolling and clattering all the way to the bottom! Witnessing the "golden mountain collapsing and jade pillar toppling" (a reference to the massive objects falling), the Ya Nation guards frantically dodged. As a result, two unlucky individuals couldn't get out of the way in time and were crushed into meat patties before they could even utter a sound.

There were also several dangling spider silks on the path, but the force of the two heavy puppets rolling and tumbling was truly astonishing. Several large trees that had secured the spider silks couldn't withstand it; they snapped and were severed at the waist!

The puppet rolled to the bottom of the slope, losing several parts in the process. Repairing it later would cost a fortune. But it had, after all, left the narrow path and reached the open ground at the bottom of the slope. This area was three to five hundred square meters, with sparse woods and scattered boulders, perfectly suited for military maneuvers. By the time both heavy puppets had climbed back to their feet, Ulu was gone.

When the Puppet Giant Bear rolled down the mountain path, he had already slipped into its embrace. He Lingchuan, looking through the Golden-Armored Bronze General's eyes, couldn't see where he was hiding. This giant bear had quite a few functions. It would be great if he could get his hands on its blueprints.

Once the Golden-Armored Bronze General rolled to the bottom of the slope, He Lingchuan immediately leaped onto the Ape King's shoulder, pointed down the slope, and commanded, "Chase!" If Ulu were to escape, it would truly be a failure at the last moment. He could tell that General Ulu's cultivation was also extraordinary, but after being attacked, he stubbornly refused to confront him directly, choosing instead to escape when the opportunity arose. It was clear that Ulu was sharp-minded: What was the point of tangling with the enemy? Once the main forces arrived, wouldn't the problem be solved?

To be honest, this was the type of opponent He Lingchuan disliked the most: someone who didn't care about individual victory or defeat, and lacked any trace of a fierce general's demeanor. If the Ya Nation had a few more generals like this, they would truly be formidable future adversaries for him.

Because of his harmonious relationship with its master and He Lingchuan's steadily growing strength, the Ape King no longer had its previous resistance toward him. Now, upon hearing the command, it leaped without hesitation. The Ya Nation guards were already closing in. It had taken many painful blows and wanted to break free from their encirclement.

This single leap covered ten zhang. Combined with the downhill slope, when the Ape King landed, there was a tremendous bang, and the ground violently trembled. "There!" He Lingchuan, sprawled on its shoulder with his divine sense fully activated, pointed at a large boulder four zhang away. The Ape King slammed into the ground like a massive rock. With it as the epicenter, sand, pebbles, and grass were instantly flung in all directions by the shockwave, raising clouds of dust. However, a clump of Impatiens by the boulder remained perfectly still. This momentary anomaly did not escape He Lingchuan's keen eye.

The Ape King scooped up a handful of sand and flung it forward. Something by the boulder suddenly vanished. Then, it and He Lingchuan saw a figure darting towards the Ya Nation guards, moving as swiftly as smoke.