Chapter 1781: Standing Side by Side in Battle

At that moment, the scarred leader and the effeminate deputy leader, along with their subordinates, surrounded her once more, all sneering. "Little girl," the scarred leader chuckled, "that pretty boy abandoned you because he's a coward. You clearly have terrible taste in men."

Chu Chuyan spat. "Bah! How could such a coward ever be my man? If my man were here, why would I need to flee?"

Her voice was filled with regret. If only she hadn't been discovered, she might have already found Zu An.

"The little lady sure talks a big game, but we men here are guaranteed to be much more formidable. Why don't you give us a try?" The scarred leader whistled suggestively, and the other mercenaries immediately burst into laughter.

After the recent bloody battle, it was now time for their reward. This woman was simply too beautiful; even though she had just killed many of their brothers, it was hard for them to bring themselves to kill her.

Seeing the men's gazes, Chu Chuyan's face became frosty. She knew there would be no peaceful resolution today; if she fell into their hands, her fate would be utterly miserable.

A look of determination quickly flashed across her face. Holding her sword with both hands, an aura subtly emanated from her, hinting at an approaching blizzard.

The scarred leader and the effeminate second-in-command's expressions changed. "Everyone, retreat quickly!"

Having experienced countless battles, they could naturally sense the destructive power within her.

They understood that such power could not come from nowhere; it was certainly some kind of forbidden art, often paid for with one's life.

This woman clearly intended to perish with them all.

The group stared at her beautiful face, lamenting silently, "What a waste!"

Chu Chuyan's eyes were serene. Back when her cultivation was lower, she had been able to activate a forbidden art to defeat the remnant soul of a giant Kun. Now, with her cultivation vastly higher than before, the power she could unleash far surpassed what she could do then.

"Farewell, Zu An..."

A hint of reluctance lingered in her heart, but now there was no other way out.

Just as she was about to fully unleash her ability, an anxious, clear cry echoed in her ears: "Don't be rash!"

Chu Chuyan's heart stirred. She recognized the voice; it was her.

At that moment, a graceful figure suddenly rushed from afar, a surging black flame sweeping through the surroundings. Many members of the Grey Wolf mercenary group shrieked repeatedly.

The black flame was incredibly bizarre; once it touched something, it couldn't be extinguished. It seemed to burn until even their souls were incinerated.

The scarred leader and the effeminate second-in-command's faces turned grim. They successively struck down several subordinates who had been touched by the black flames, ending their suffering.

At this point, everyone looked towards the culprit in the clearing, never expecting it to be a woman, and a very beautiful one at that.

Dressed in a red top and black skirt, she was incomparably enchanting. Her peach blossom eyes seemed to smile without smiling, and her every glance held a captivating, soul-snatching allure.

But what drew everyone's attention even more was her chest. As she moved and leaped, it surged like turbulent waves.

The entire mercenary group's eyes were fixed. What incredible luck had they stumbled upon today, to encounter another stunning beauty comparable to the woman in the blue dress they had just seen?

However, the scarred leader and the effeminate second-in-command couldn't be happy. After the recent intense battle, combined with this black-skirted woman's sneak attack, they had already lost nearly half their forces, and those remaining were all wounded.

At this moment, Chu Chuyan was also somewhat dazed, her eyes filled with both surprise and joy. "Manman!"

The newcomer was naturally Pei Mianman. She had been searching for Chu Chuyan recently and never expected to encounter her under such circumstances.

Pei Mianman saw that Chu Chuyan's dress was stained with a good deal of blood from the recent battle, indicating how dire the situation had been. She couldn't help but sigh softly. "Silly girl, if anything happened to you, he would be heartbroken."

Chu Chuyan stared at her blankly, then let out a soft sigh. "Actually, you could have waited a minute longer before making your move. No one would have blamed you."

They had known each other for years and knew that Pei Mianman's true nature was not as sweet and harmless as her appearance suggested.

Pei Mianman naturally understood what she meant, and her eyebrow couldn't help but arch. "If it were any other woman, I might have done exactly as you said. But you're different."

"How am I different?" Chu Chuyan asked quietly, gazing at her.

Pei Mianman's expression was complex. "I knew you long before I knew him. Before all this, we were the best of friends."

A smile suddenly appeared on Chu Chuyan's face. Their personalities were clearly poles apart, and when they first met, they each harbored their own intentions. But it had to be said, for more than a decade, Pei Mianman had indeed been one of her few true friends, someone widely acknowledged by others as her best girlfriend.

Until that person appeared...

"Yes, the best of friends." The two women exchanged glances. For some reason, the previous resentment regarding a certain matter vanished.

"What touching sisterly affection, but neither of you will leave here today." The scarred leader's face was ashen. From their words, it seemed they even knew each other.

And they seemed to be vying for the same man?

Are they kidding? Two beauties capable of toppling kingdoms, fighting over the same man, and then putting on a show of deep sisterly bond?

What kind of man could be so fortunate?

The thought of such a man existing ignited an uncontrollable surge of resentment within him. Why him?

The other mercenaries clearly shared similar thoughts. Previously, they had been somewhat concerned about casualties and loss of strength, but at this point, it was a fight to the death.

"These scoundrels bullied you. Let's kill them all together." Pei Mianman looked coldly at the surrounding men, her previously gentle, watery peach blossom eyes now filled with ice.

"Uh, their strength is considerable." Chu Chuyan wasn't sure how to phrase it. She had seen Pei Mianman fight during the Purple Mountain Grand Tournament; her cultivation had indeed advanced rapidly, but she didn't have a clear advantage over the seeded disciples of various sects. Her subsequent victory in the tournament was largely due to exceptional luck, coupled with Zu An's behind-the-scenes manipulations.

Even at her peak, the two of them combined would likely not be a match for this mercenary group, let alone now, when she was close to exhaustion.

Pei Mianman smiled, pressing her lips together. "Chuyan, perhaps I can't compare to you in a one-on-one fight, but a chaotic brawl like this is what I excel at."

Back in the secret realm, she was the War Goddess Fu Hao, having experienced countless battles and long grown accustomed to chaotic melees.

No sooner had she spoken than she conjured the Fu Hao Owl Zun, plunging everything within several miles into absolute darkness.

"What's going on?"

"Why did the sky suddenly turn black?"

"Light a fire, quickly, light a fire!"

The members of the Grey Wolf mercenary group were clearly thrown into disarray by this sudden turn of events.

Soon, some tried to light torches or other illuminating objects, but strangely, the light seemed to be swallowed by the surrounding darkness, completely unable to illuminate anything.

Even divine sense and similar abilities were restricted to an extremely small radius, as if everyone had become blind.

Just then, those who had lit torches began to let out a series of horrifying screams, clearly attacked by something within the darkness.

The effeminate second-in-command shrieked, "Everyone, calm down! Don't light fires and become living targets!"

The remaining mercenaries quickly extinguished their lights and cautiously gripped their weapons, guarding their surroundings.

Their combat experience was extensive. If it was dark, then their opponent surely couldn't see either. As long as they remained silent, their foe wouldn't be able to detect them. By protecting their immediate vicinity and attacking anything that approached, they could remain invincible.

Unfortunately, they couldn't possibly imagine that in this night, Pei Mianman was the true monarch. She could clearly see every detail within the area.

Like a night owl, she silently reaped the lives of one mercenary after another.

Her cultivation was already high, and being able to see while her opponents could not made it almost a one-sided slaughter.

Hearing the continuous screams around him, the scarred leader unleashed various powerful attacks into his surroundings.

However, such blind, needle-in-a-haystack attacks had no hope of hitting an enemy.

He fumed with anger. The opponent's cultivation was clearly not as high as his, yet he was now forced into a passive, defensive position, which was incredibly frustrating.

It was a pity that the Talisman Master in their mercenary group had been killed by Chu Chuyan; otherwise, they wouldn't be completely helpless now.

As familiar voices one by one fell silent, his heart sank to rock bottom. This time, they were utterly doomed; the Grey Wolf mercenary group was likely facing complete annihilation.

He roared, "Second-in-command! Are you dead? If not, come here! We'll fight back-to-back!"

"Alright!" The effeminate voice responded. Clearly, he knew that infighting was no longer an option in this situation. He decisively cast aside their usual disagreements, and they quickly converged, each wielding their weapons to guard their respective halves.

This presented a headache for Pei Mianman as well. The two formed a formidable pair, protecting each other's blind spots meticulously. Any attack on one would immediately draw a fierce counterattack from the other.

Their cultivation levels were still above hers. If such a situation truly arose, she would likely suffer serious injuries.

She moved to Chu Chuyan's side and quickly relayed the current situation. Chu Chuyan promptly transmitted a message: "They have two people, don't we have two people as well?"

Pei Mianman's eyes immediately lit up. The two women, hand in hand, quietly leaped towards their target.

Pei Mianman attacked first, and the black flames suddenly surged.

It was precisely blocked by the effeminate second-in-command's swinging weapon. At that moment, the scarred leader sneered, "Got you!"

Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he unleashed a massive wolf head, sending it biting towards her. At this point, he no longer cared about women or anything else; he just wanted to kill his opponent as quickly as possible and escape this perilous situation.

Who would have thought that at that very moment, a sword emanating a frosty aura would silently appear and pierce his neck?

His head flew directly into the air, his eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and terror. He never imagined that he, who had rampaged across the land, would die so easily.