Chapter 2611: Single Action

With more enemies joining the fray, there were now twelve Harmonization Realm cultivators besieging Yuanxi City, along with over three hundred Integration Realm cultivators.

A ferocious assault swept in from all directions, causing the city's defenses to waver precariously. Although You Die tried her best to maneuver the city to evade, the grid square offered only limited space for movement; how could they possibly escape?

Originally, with her return and the addition of Ye Lin and others, the defensive array's light barrier had brightened considerably. Now, however, it was rapidly dimming again, likely unable to hold for more than a few dozen breaths.

Fortunately, after twenty breaths, it was Yuanxi's turn.

You Die immediately maneuvered Yuanxi City, rushing out of that grid square. The numerous powerful enemies, however, were confined to their positions and could not pursue.

"That's possible too?" Black Blood watched, dumbfounded.

He had initially thought Yuanxi City was doomed this time, and that Yuanxi had no further means of resistance. Who knew there would be such an unexpected turn of events?

Yuanxi, however, breathed a slight sigh of relief, murmuring to herself, "That was close."

Before witnessing her city leave its original grid square, she couldn't be certain if such a move was even possible. Now, it appeared her maneuvering was effective even for a Harmonization Realm city, provided someone was controlling it.

This way, the city's crisis was temporarily averted.

"Your city... it won't last! I guarantee it!" Black Blood declared with a ruthless expression. Since he had already perceived Yuanxi's attachment to her Harmonization Realm city, how could he possibly give up easily?

Across the entire board, this was the only place he could target. Moreover, Lu Ye was still inside the city, and he was the person Black Blood most wanted to kill right now.

Twenty breaths later, when it was Black Blood's turn, the previous wave of powerful enemies surged en masse into Yuanxi City's new location.

A new round of siege warfare erupted!

Fortunately, after a few dozen breaths of respite, the city's defensive array had recovered some of its strength. As long as they endured this round, they could escape to the next grid square.

For the next several rounds, Yuanxi City and that group of powerful enemies were locked in a pursuit-and-evade scenario. Moreover, because the two players had been constantly moving troops near Yuanxi City earlier, this entire area had become deserted. For several rounds in a row, neither side, enemy or ally, received any reinforcements.

If this situation were to continue, it was clear that whoever received reinforcements first would gain a greater advantage. Since Yuanxi City was moving first, it was inevitable that their side would receive reinforcements at some point.

The prerequisite was that the city's defensive array not be breached before then.

Although the city had opportunities for temporary respite every now and then, allowing its defensive array to regain some strength, the recovery rate was no match for the speed of the attacks. In such a situation, if the city did not receive reinforcements for a few more rounds, the grand array would inevitably fail.

Looking around, the vicinity was empty; there was no chance of that happening anytime soon.

The city was in peril!

In the Central Grand Hall, Lu Ye's mind churned. He suddenly sent a voice transmission to Yuanxi: "My Lady, has Black Blood noticed something? He seems to be constantly watching me."

Yuanxi sighed, "He controls the chessboard; any anomaly on it cannot escape his notice. He has indeed noticed you and must have realized that you are the source of the surprise."

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. "That's quite an honor." To think he, a mere Integration Realm cultivator, had been targeted by a Universe-grade city lord like Black Blood – it would be absolutely impossible under any other circumstances.

For a figure like Black Blood, even Harmonization Realm cultivators would barely register, let alone a mere Integration Realm cultivator.

"My Lady, I intend to draw away the pursuers."

Yuanxi frowned. "You want to act alone?"

"Since Black Blood cares so much about me, I can draw them away. Besides... constantly being chased like this isn't sustainable."

After so many rounds, he had gained nothing. If this continued, when would he ever be able to leverage his advantages? Therefore, he had to find a way to break this stalemate. Acting alone to draw away the pursuers was one aspect of protecting Yuanxi City, but Lu Ye also intended to kill more enemies. As long as he could kill enemies, he would grow stronger and stronger, perhaps even becoming invincible within the chessboard at some point, capable of overturning the entire board then.

"Also, My Lady," he added, "how far are we from Black Blood City?"

Yuanxi's expression shifted. "What do you intend to do?"

Lu Ye scoffed. "Courtesy demands reciprocity! Black Blood is targeting us, so we can't let him off easy."

"You want to attack Black Blood City!" Yuanxi exclaimed, startled. She had initially thought Lu Ye was being overly imaginative, but then her eyes brightened, and she nodded, saying, "That might actually work..."

Although she controlled the chessboard and oversaw the overall situation, the entire game was currently in disarray. With Yuanxi City having just been targeted, she certainly had overlooked some things.

Only after Lu Ye's suggestion did she realize that passively taking hits was indeed inferior to taking the initiative.

Furthermore... Black Blood City was a Universe-grade city. If they could capture it, even if Yuanxi City were eventually breached, it would still be an immense profit.

Once this thought took root, Yuanxi could no longer hold back. Elevating her city's rank and transforming Yuanxi City into the pinnacle of the Inner Realm, surpassing the Ten Greats, had always been her greatest aspiration.

Of course, Lu Ye alone couldn't capture a Universe-grade city, but she could mobilize forces from nearby to rendezvous with him and assist.

However, if they truly proceeded with this plan, there was one major concern for her.

Currently, twelve Harmonization Realm cultivators were pursuing Yuanxi City. If Black Blood truly intended to target Lu Ye, he could completely disregard Yuanxi City and instead mobilize these twelve Harmonization Realm cultivators to hunt down Lu Ye.

If that happened, facing so many powerful enemies within a single grid square, Lu Ye would be hard-pressed to escape death, no matter how formidable his abilities.

This was something they absolutely had to guard against, and it was highly probable. Yuanxi mused that if she were in Black Blood's position, she would undoubtedly stop at nothing to eliminate Lu Ye first, as his existence had too great an impact on the entire chessboard.

As if sensing her concern, Lu Ye reassured her, "My Lady, you need not worry. I can create another clone!"

A Talent Tree clone could only exist one at a time, but since the previous one had been destroyed, Lu Ye could now manifest another. The clone's foundation was a root segment, so reforming it was not a significant cost for Lu Ye.

"So, in the worst-case scenario, those twelve Harmonization Realm cultivators would split into two groups."

"If it's six... I might just be able to fight them!" Lu Ye licked his lips.

Previously, when the city was besieged by seven Harmonization Realm cultivators, he had the audacity to break out and fight. If he were merely pursued by six, he naturally wouldn't be afraid.

As long as he could kill one first, he would have a chance to establish an advantage.

"Are you sure you want to take such a risk, Commander?" Yuanxi asked.

Deep down, she didn't want Lu Ye to do this; the risk was too great. No matter how strong Lu Ye was, at the end of the day, he was still just an Integration Realm cultivator. Even if he had repeatedly slain Harmonization Realm cultivators, it didn't change the fact that his cultivation realm was insufficient.

"My Lady, I currently possess the strength of 1,600 Daos!" Lu Ye slowly stated, effectively reassuring Yuanxi.

Yuanxi was startled. "How can it be so much...?" As the words left her mouth, she suddenly realized, "The surprise from killing enemies beyond your realm?"

"Precisely!" Lu Ye affirmed.

Yuanxi fell silent. After several breaths, she said, "Then do it, but Commander, you must be careful." She knew that Lu Ye couldn't be kept confined within Yuanxi City. Such a chess piece had to be unleashed to create opportunities for him to kill enemies; otherwise, being constantly led by the nose by the enemy would eventually lead to losing the game.

As her words fell, Lu Ye had already begun to condense his Talent Tree clone.

A moment later, two figures rushed out of the Central Grand Hall and swept towards the Dao Pool. One of them reached out and scooped up the lotus seed that had been recuperating for a long time.

Since he was going to attack a city, the lotus seed was naturally indispensable. Black Blood City was a Universe-grade city; even without anyone managing it, its defensive array wouldn't be easily breached. Moreover, as soon as Black Blood sensed something amiss, he would definitely mobilize forces to defend it.

In fact, it was highly probable that he had already preemptively dispatched a deputy city lord to reinforce it. A figure like him would never allow his Harmonization Realm city to be threatened in the slightest.

Outside the city, numerous cultivators continued their fierce assault on the defensive array.

You Die maneuvered Yuanxi City, enduring the myriad attacks, as she rushed towards an adjacent grid square.

At that very instant, two figures suddenly streaked out of Yuanxi City, darting in different directions. The numerous enemies besieging Yuanxi City had no inkling such a thing would happen and, caught off guard, were unable to intercept them.

In the blink of an eye, Yuanxi City, along with those two figures, landed in three different grid squares.

As a player, one could mobilize everything callable within an entire grid square at once, or mobilize them separately. However, mobilizing separately consumed more mobilization attempts.

Just now, Yuanxi used three mobilization attempts for this single grid square, as Lu Ye's main body and his clone each accounted for one.

"Hmm?" Black Blood immediately frowned, focusing his gaze on the chessboard. He looked at Lu Ye's main body, then at the Talent Tree clone, unable to distinguish who was real and who was fake. He then scoffed, "Such petty tricks, how dare you make a fool of yourselves?"

He raised two fingers and swiped them across his eyelids. Instantly, his eyes flickered with dazzling light, as if an inexplicable profoundness flowed within them.

This was undoubtedly the activation of an eye technique, one capable of discerning truth from illusion.

He focused his gaze again, and Black Blood's brow furrowed further, for he found that even with his eye technique activated, he still couldn't discern the authenticity of the two figures.

Both seemed to be real; there was no difference in their aura.

The only difference was their attire.

One was clad in snow-white robes, looking dashing, but otherwise empty-handed. The other wore black, with a long saber at his waist, standing with a cold expression, his hand resting on the blade.

Black Blood immediately fixed his gaze on the latter!

He instinctively felt that this one should be Lu Ye's main body because his Dao Weapon was present.

But then he reconsidered, remembering Lu Ye's ability to teleport. Therefore, the presence or absence of a Dao Weapon might not be a reliable indicator; perhaps it was a deliberate ploy to disrupt his judgment.

Of course, there was also another possibility: that both were fakes, and the real Lu Ye remained in Yuanxi City!