Chapter 181: Bilateral Battle

The horse was galloping at full speed when he abruptly yanked its head to one side. It wasn't a prized steed, merely a common cart horse unaccustomed even to carrying a rider. Losing balance instantly, it whinnied loudly as it slipped and fell.

In other words, it was forced into a sudden, skidding fall.

The rider's position dropped low, scraping the ground before being flung off. The dark figure's target suddenly vanished. Though it was still airborne with undiminished momentum, it extended a long, slender, snake-like appendage directly at He Chunhua.

If struck, the victim would surely face a dire end.

It turned out the mastermind intended to kill both targets, having prepared deadly moves for Ke Jihai and He Chunhua separately.

However, the He couple used the force of the fall to roll into the nearby thicket. The snake-like appendage came within a foot of He Chunhua's face at its closest, but then the distance between them rapidly grew.

Lady Ying screamed.

Although He Chunhua held her close during the violent fall, it was difficult to fully protect her while rolling. A tree branch pierced through her calf, entering from the front and exiting from the back.

The dark figure bounced off the ground, as light as if it had no weight. It spun around and pursued He Chunhua again, completely disregarding everyone else.

Its brief pause allowed everyone to see its true form.

"Is that... a werewolf? Or a leopard-man?" He Lingchuan was profoundly startled, never expecting a classic werewolf image from another world's films and TV shows to be replicated here.

Well, at least it was mostly similar.

Its head resembled a wolf's, but with a short snout and a large face, featuring four prominent fangs. Its body was human-like, slender and elongated, but its knee joints bent backward, similar to a leopard's hind legs.

Most peculiar, its tail grew directly from the back of its head, equal in length to its body, yet completely unlike the bushy tail of a typical wolf. It was thin and long like a whip, its tip glinting sharply.

The snake-like object that attacked He Chunhua earlier was this very tail.

When standing, this creature could strike with its palms and fists like a human, but when it crouched, it could run as swiftly as a tiger or leopard.

Now, with its two front paws gripping the ground, its body arced through the air, correcting its direction as it charged forward again!

Its speed was like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, its trajectory almost impossible for the naked eye to follow.

However, as soon as He Lingchuan saw it leap from behind the solid rock, he grabbed his broken saber and hurled it like a throwing knife.

In this moment of life and death, it was time to test the fruits of his labor.

For the past half-month, he had diligently practiced throwing knives without a single day of laziness. Even when aboard a boat on the Hongchuan River, the mast served as the perfect target.

Consistently throwing it thousands of times a day, even a fool would improve, let alone He Lingchuan.

He also calculated the angle, aiming his throw toward the direction where the monster would land.

In that instant, he focused intently, clearing all other thoughts from his mind, and threw the saber with his entire being.

True to his efforts, the broken saber flew exactly along its intended trajectory, without the slightest deviation.

This was perhaps his most perfect throw in over half a month of practice; there was no error in its power, trajectory, or angle.

He Lingchuan held his breath, watching the broken saber flash with cold light as it sped toward the monster, and then—

It missed.

It... missed!

The monster changed direction at the last moment, rendering all his predictions and plans futile.

He Lingchuan couldn't hold his breath properly and was so frustrated he felt like spitting blood.

Half a month of effort, wasted!

Fortunately, in the nick of time, the broken saber's miraculous auto-navigation ability came to the rescue. It made a sharp turn mid-air; though the distance was short and the angle small, it precisely embedded itself in the monster's shoulder joint!

The monster was just pivoting on that arm when unexpected, intense pain suddenly exploded in its joint socket. It roared, lost its balance, and went skidding across the ground on its face, narrowly missing He Yue's horse.

He Yue reined in his horse and, flustered, began to form hand seals and chant.

Though his cultivation was mediocre and he knew only a few spells, he usually refrained from showing off in front of his elder brother. But with the He family facing a life-or-death situation, he was determined to exert every ounce of his strength, refusing to shrink from battle or difficulty.

"Father, Yuan Power!" He Lingchuan desperately spurred his horse, galloping past the civilian youth ahead and rushing toward the edge of the forest. Before his horse had even stabilized, he leaped, saber energy like a rainbow, slashing directly at the monster's face!

The tables had turned; now it was his turn to attack from above.

After being thrown from his horse, He Chunhua quickly scrambled to his feet. Disregarding his wife's condition, he held up a Kite Coin and shook it at He Lingchuan, shouting urgently, "By my Yuan Power, strengthen He Lingchuan!"

In the dim light, the azure kite on the copper coin seemed to stir.

He was a commissioned official of the Royal Court, a high-ranking local authority overseeing Xia Prefecture's military and civil affairs, and commanded immense prestige within the auxiliary forces. Though the army was not present, the cohesion of the people and the blessing of the nation's destiny generated Yuan Power!

He Lingchuan, in turn, glowed brightly.

He already held a rank in the auxiliary forces, and with He Chunhua's temporary boost, his Yuan Power surged abundantly.

Just then, an earth-shattering roar echoed from not far away!

It was the rampaging ape.

Then, the surprised voice of the civilian youth came over: "It's General Ke! General Ke is alive!"

It turned out that Ke Jihai had heard He Lingchuan's loud cry of "Enemy attack!" from the rear carriage moments ago, which gave him a jolt. Then he personally witnessed the massive boulder crashing down.

Knowing that the enemy's attack wouldn't stop halfway, Ke Jihai leaped out of the carriage window without a moment's hesitation, specifically towards the cliff side.

One attendant, without thinking, followed him out.

This side, overhanging the void, was unlikely to be attacked by enemies. Using the carriage as cover, he could then shrink back to the cliff edge, hiding in a blind spot from enemy attacks. Whether they launched arrows, stones, or fire, he would remain unfazed.

He had served in the military for many years, enduring at least seven attacks, and had long developed an instinct for self-preservation. His body reacted faster than his mind.

Unexpectedly, he had still underestimated his opponent.

The assailant was a rampaging giant beast that immediately tore the carriage apart. Had he been even a moment slower jumping out, he would have been crushed into pulp like the official who didn't manage to escape in time.

Fortunately, the carriage lantern had already gone out, and the light was dim. He and the other attendant were clinging to the cliff edge, and the giant ape surprisingly didn't notice them.

As soon as the giant ape threw the carriage aside, leaving its chest wide open, Ke Jihai leaped up, summoning a long spear into his hand. With a swift "whoosh," he thrust it directly at the giant ape's chest!

As he leaped, he no longer concealed himself; a brilliant orange light flared around him, signaling that he had mobilized all his Yuan Power for this furious strike!

He was the Grand General of Chariots and Cavalry, currently the monarch's most trusted commander, the rebellion-suppressing general in whom the people placed great hope, and the commander of over one hundred thousand elite imperial soldiers. The purity and strength of his Yuan Power far surpassed He Chunhua's.

Coupled with his formidable combat prowess and the additional boost from Yuan Power, this spear thrust pierced the giant ape's chest even before it made a sound, ripping through the air!

A single man and a single spear actually knocked the enormous ape demon back over six meters, almost causing it to stumble and fall.

His attendant wasted no time, pulling out a whistling arrow and flinging it into the air. The specially made arrowhead flew skyward with a sharp whistling sound, exploding into a shower of sparks.

Ke Jihai could not lead a large army into the capital, bringing only a dozen elites as attendants. Tonight, for the Zhu family's extended evening event, Ke Jihai went up the mountain while his men waited at the relay station at the foot of the mountain.

This whistling arrow, loud as a ghost's wail as it ascended, was meant to inform Ke Jihai's subordinates:

The General is under attack! Come quickly to his aid!

The giant ape clutched its chest, furiously yanked the spear out, and then lunged at Ke Jihai with its other palm, as large as a millstone.

If that grab connected, it would surely crush a person to a pulp.

Ke Jihai did not evade. With a twist, the red-glowing spear tip plunged towards the giant ape's palm.

This spear, designed for mounted combat and ten feet long, was perfectly suited for fighting such a tall, long-limbed monster. However, it severely tested the wielder's skill, requiring mastery even off horseback.

Having already suffered, the giant ape didn't want its palm to be skewered. It leaped back, snapped a tree trunk as thick as a man's embrace, and swung it at Ke Jihai.

Each move, surprisingly, was executed with a certain method, not just brute force.

The civilian youth and the two stablehands nearby watched, utterly dumbfounded.

Ke Jihai wasn't considered tall, and standing before the giant ape, he seemed even shorter. Yet, as he fought the ape, he grew stronger with each move, forcing it to retreat step by step over a dozen rounds.

This included several direct clashes between his long spear and the tree trunk, where he surprisingly gained the upper hand!

The giant ape's several furious roars had the effect of a lion's roar, shaking the three onlookers so far away that they felt dizzy, nauseous, and lightheaded. Yet, Ke Jihai, facing the ape directly, didn't even blink, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

But the observers understood clearly that this was likely due to Yuan Power. A high-ranking commander like Ke Jihai possessed abundant Yuan Power, which not only enhanced his martial skills and movements but also had a powerful suppressive effect on enemies' divine abilities and demonic arts.

The specific strengths, increases, decreases, and thresholds of growth or decline were determined by the Heavenly Dao's rules. But in short, if an enemy lacked Yuan Power protection or their Yuan Power was weaker than Ke Jihai's, they were sure to suffer a great disadvantage.

This was also the fundamental reason why human nations overpowered the demon race, flourishing and multiplying.

The giant ape's roars could typically intimidate its foes, but since they were ultimately driven by demonic power—its innate divine ability—they were likewise suppressed by Ke Jihai's Yuan Power.

Of its full power, perhaps less than two-tenths reached his ears.

How could such a reduced effect intimidate a formidable general who had dominated battlefields for over a decade?

While others didn't know, Ke Jihai himself was muttering to himself.

The previous spear thrust to the giant ape's chest was delivered with full power; it would have pierced even an elephant. Yet, this giant ape had pulled out the spearhead and was still able to fight?

The creature's bone armor was indeed astonishingly hard, not just in its imposing appearance. Could it be the latest military equipment from the Northern Demon Kingdom?

No, that wasn't right. It seemed to have grown naturally from its body.

Furthermore, Ke Jihai was certain that after piercing the bone armor, the spearhead had only penetrated about an inch deep into the creature's chest. For an ape demon of such immense size, this was far from a heart-piercing blow.

This demon's physique was unexpectedly tough; even a spear strike imbued with Yuan Power couldn't kill it?

Ke Jihai's eyes flashed. Seizing an opening, he threw three iron caltrops, embedding them in the giant ape's body: one in a front leg and two in its back.

The iron caltrops themselves were ordinary, but imbued with Yuan Power, they further suppressed the giant ape's demonic power once embedded in its body.

With this, even the giant ape's size visibly shrank before their eyes.