Chapter 1089: The Final Strike

Wu Lu. It was unknown what method he used for stealth and concealment, but he had already advanced tens of meters before He Lingchuan exposed him.

The Armored Golem and the Berserk Ape lacked mystic energy and could not see through his stealth technique. Wu Lu skillfully exploited this advantage.

But he didn't know that He Lingchuan could! Even without actively releasing it, He Lingchuan still possessed the mystic energy of Coiling Dragon City. Most stealth techniques do not support rapid movement and are dispelled upon attack, as was the case with Wu Lu now.

Knowing his cover was blown, he simply ran off without looking back, waving his hand as he did so. The giant puppet bear immediately abandoned the Armored Golem and turned to pounce on He Lingchuan, buying time for its master. The Ya Kingdom Guards also rushed down the slope at high speed.

Just as Wu Lu was about to rejoin the protection of his guards, a massive figure suddenly emerged from behind a large boulder by the road. A faint "whoosh" cut through the air as a red streak shot out from behind it, coiling towards Wu Lu. It took a mere tenth of a blink of an eye. Its hiding spot was particularly cunning, tucked away in the shadows behind the rock face. What fleeing person would notice it?

Yet, Wu Lu did. The moment he caught a glimpse of the shadow in his peripheral vision, he slammed to a halt, his entire body shifting forward diagonally. Using his waist, hips, legs, and ankles in unison, he forcefully converted his forward momentum into a turn, his left boot sinking more than an inch into the ground. The red streak zipped past in front of him, missing its target.

Observing Wu Lu's reaction from below, He Lingchuan couldn't help but want to applaud in admiration. Even if it were himself dodging the Snail Toad's sudden tongue attack, he probably couldn't do any better than Wu Lu. Moreover, Wu Lu's understanding of the Snail Toad couldn't compare to his own. This quick reaction speed in such a rushed moment was truly impressive, befitting one of the Ya Kingdom's most notable generals. He Lingchuan immediately thought of Hong Chenglüe. None of these military commanders who climbed to high positions through genuine military achievements were easy opponents.

In an instant, the red streak retracted. It was an eerie dark red, somewhat wet and sticky, like... a tongue? Wu Lu instinctively followed it with his gaze to the shadow behind the rock face. It was tall and round, covered in mud, with half of a long, robust, spotted leg extending from the shadow of the rock. What kind of creature could look like that?

That split-second distraction was the big mistake he made. Before he could get a clear look, a handful of spiderwebs suddenly shot out from the other side of the mountain path. They were sparse, only a few threads, and light gray, blending with the ground, making them even less noticeable in the night. The spiderweb shot out at a speed similar to the Snail Toad's tongue and retracted the moment it touched its prey.

Wu Lu felt a slight chill on his neck and instantly knew something was wrong. He plunged his forked weapon into the ground, determined not to let his opponent pull him. It was then clear that his strength was immense; the opponent's pull this time failed to budge him. A cold gleam flashed in Wu Lu's hand as he drew a dagger and slashed it towards the back of his head, intending to sever the bindings.

However, with a rustle by the roadside, another shadow shot forward. Though its body was massive, its movements were surprisingly agile. Wu Lu intended to raise his other forked weapon to counterattack, but the assailant deftly tugged at the silk threads a few times, somehow tripping him to the ground. The new enemy had eight long legs and pinned him to the ground, binding him tightly and swiftly.

He Lingchuan, who had rushed closer, let out a long sigh of relief upon seeing this. "Truly worthy of Granny Zhu, her first move is always extraordinary."

The Snail Toad and Granny Zhu had been lying in wait on either side of the mountain path. Seeing Wu Lu approach, Dong Rui, controlling the Snail Toad, couldn't resist making the first move, but it missed. Fortunately, Granny Zhu provided a net in time. She deliberately struck the moment Wu Lu turned his head to look at the Snail Toad, a perfectly timed move. An ancient demon who had fought for thousands of years was indeed formidable.

"Hm-hm." Granny Zhu's movements did not stop. The Ya Kingdom guards rushed down the slope, just in time to see her calmly bind Wu Lu into a wriggling, struggling white cocoon. Wrapped layer after layer in spiderweb, what good was Wu Lu's mystic energy? Unless he possessed some other divine ability to escape, he was essentially unable to break free.

"General!" The Ya Kingdom guards cried out in alarm, rushing forward. With a single sentence, Granny Zhu brought them to a halt: "One step further, and he loses his life." The sharp barb on her claw was pressed against Wu Lu's temple.

He Lingchuan took a few steps forward, clapped his hands to attract their attention. "Send someone to tell your army to cease fire."

The Ya Kingdom guards exchanged glances, then looked at Wu Lu. "Don't you understand?" Granny Zhu's sharp barb jabbed downwards, not piercing the captive's temple, but instead carving a long wound across his forehead. Blood immediately streamed down Wu Lu's cheek.

He Lingchuan then said to him, "General Wu, since the tide has turned, it is wise to recognize the situation."

Blood flowed into his eyes, and Wu Lu shook his head forcefully. "Are you from the Yangshan Archipelago?"

"Oh?" He Lingchuan was slightly surprised. "You knew?" This General Wu's intelligence updates quickly.

"Bring your Island Master He here!" Wu Lu said coldly. "I will only speak with him."

He Lingchuan uttered a long "Oh," straightened up, and gently pointed to himself with both hands. "Here I am, the genuine article."

This was the Lord of Yangshan? A flicker of surprise crossed Wu Lu's eyes, as if he were barely twenty.

He Lingchuan smiled. "General Wu, let's take care of the main business first, and then we can have a good talk later. Don't worry, we have no precedent of wrongfully killing prisoners." Since becoming the Lord of Yangshan, he had never raised a blade against opponents who surrendered in the mutinies and battles he had experienced. The more He Lingchuan smiled, the more Wu Lu remembered the young man's earlier backstab. The sensation of the blade piercing his heart was exceptionally cold and painful. Even as a general who had fought a hundred battles, such an experience was rare. The person before him only *looked* young, but was in fact ruthless. He could kill Wu Lu once, and certainly wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

He Lingchuan continued, "If you don't cease fire and recall your troops, those thousand-plus soldiers who fell into the water will also lose their lives. For every moment you hesitate here, one more will drown there."

Wu Lu's brow twitched. Those thousand-plus soldiers had earlier been sent by him to pursue the escaping boats, but midway they fell into an ambush and were swept into the water by the Shadow Hydra. Although he later sent people to rescue them, with water demons obstructing, how many could be saved? If he didn't stop the fighting, not only would he lose his own life, but those thousand-plus people would also drown. Understanding this, the decision became less difficult.

Wu Lu let out a breath and turned to his personal guard. "Give the order to retreat." Another fierce general from the Ya Kingdom might have immediately relinquished command on the spot, ordering a successor to continue the fight. But in his view, a defeat was a defeat; there was no need to fight to the bitter end. This Lord of Yangshan also had no reason to insist on killing him or his army.

He then said to He Lingchuan, "Release my men at once!"

He Lingchuan readily agreed, immediately notifying the Shadow Hydra to bring the Ya Kingdom soldiers from Storm Bay ashore, and Granny Zhu also released the guards she had captured from Wu Lu. Indeed, by bringing up those thousand-plus lives, Wu Lu truly wavered. He could convince himself that his surrender wasn't due to fear of death, but to save his soldiers.

Dong Rui also emerged from the shadow of the rock face. Why was it a person who came out? Wu Lu specifically took another look; the monster in the shadows was gone. Of course, the Snail Toad had been retrieved by Dong Rui and put back into his backpack.

Granny Zhu looked at him triumphantly. "You lost! I'm going to drink twenty jars of peach blossom wine when we get back!"

"Alright, alright," Dong Rui said sullenly. "You're really lucky." They had a bet: whoever captured Wu Lu would get peach blossom wine paid for by the other.

Granny Zhu added a last-minute condition: "It has to be twenty-year-old!" She was deliberately picking the expensive one to extort him!

Dong Rui looked at her disdainfully. "You're an ancient great demon! Why didn't you jump out and finish off Wu Lu earlier? Why did you hold back until the last moment?"

"To ensure a sure hit," Granny Zhu said, raising a claw to rub her eyes, acting very self-important. "Could you have done it alone at the very end?" In reality, it was because mystic energy attacks were simply too painful! Fighting an army was the least cost-effective option. Just look at the Berserk Ape's injuries; tsk, still too young.

The Berserk Ape also came over, limping. Although wearing bronze armor, Wu Lu's army was not to be trifled with, specifically targeting weak points in the armor, such as joints, ankles, and around the mouth and eyes. The Berserk Ape had a deep spear wound on its brow bone, just barely missing its eye. Its knee, meanwhile, had been hit by an arrow, the arrowhead of which was imbued with some unknown divine ability, turning the blood flowing from the wound black. It looked like living earthworms trying to burrow back into the wound.

Dong Rui examined it and said, "It's not poison."

The Berserk Ape shrank into a small monkey, its movements climbing onto the large rock unusually slow. Dong Rui pulled out a small tube of red potion from his robe. It contained at most three or four drops. The Berserk Ape took it and drank it all in two gulps, still feeling unsatisfied, and even tilted the tube a few more times into its mouth.

Just over ten breaths later, the Berserk Ape's wounds healed at a visible rate, and even the black fluid on its knee was squeezed out. Dong Rui sprinkled some powder on it, and the substance turned into fleeting smoke, vanishing in an instant. He exclaimed, "Oh, it's a curse!"

He Lingchuan found the red potion bottle familiar. After thinking for a moment, he realized why. Previously, when Dong Rui ambushed He Chunhua and his son, the Berserk Ape was severely wounded, and Dong Rui fed it this red potion concocted from a divine bone. Later, He Lingchuan acquired some of this potion, and Ling Guang caused a mishap while experimenting with it, leading to a disturbance in Zhao Pan's army camp.

"Hmm, so when Dong Rui said last time, 'It's all gone, not a single drop left,' he actually still had some divine bone."

He Lingchuan patted the little monkey's head. "Well done." Dong Rui's demon puppets were unlike ordinary demons, or even Granny Zhu, in their fear of mystic energy, which was why he sent the Berserk Ape to lead the charge. Even so, in the brief skirmish that lasted about fifteen minutes, the Berserk Ape was still heavily wounded, showing that Wu Lu's elite personal guards were indeed formidable.

Generals with mystic energy are indeed difficult to defeat. He Lingchuan's trio was a luxurious setup, more than enough to deal with even True Monarch Mu Xu, yet they almost let Wu Lu escape the ambush—fortunately, Granny Zhu used a clever trick at the end.