Chapter Four: Escape

Whoosh!

A flash of the blade, a figure falls to the ground.

Splat!

Li Ju thrust his sword down hard, blood splattering all over him.

"Mission objective: Personally slay five Demon Sect pursuers (4/5)."

After confirming his victim was dead, Li Ju nodded to Wang Lu and continued running toward the edge of the forest.

Recently, Li Ju had used the excuse of his sect’s destruction and his own grief to come to an understanding with Wang Lu: whenever they encountered Demon Sect pursuers, Wang Lu would first beat them half to death, then leave them for Li Ju to finish off.

After a couple more finishing blows, Li Ju was now only one pursuer away from completing the second mission.

Swish!

He had only taken a few steps when a flash of silver lit up the air—Wang Lu struck again.

Thud.

Another figure collapsed.

Li Ju hurried over to claim another kill.

"Clearance objectives: 1. Successfully escape the Great Forest; 2. Personally slay five Demon Sect pursuers (completed)."

One mission complete!

Li Ju was overjoyed.

Now, he only needed to escape the Great Forest to clear this stage entirely!

“Senior Brother Wang, there’s no need to hold back now. Just kill any Demon Sect pursuers on the spot. I fear that any further delay will only bring more pursuers upon us.”

Li Ju called out to Wang Lu.

Since the second mission was done, the main focus had to shift to the first.

“All right,” Wang Lu nodded.

Truth be told, he had wanted to focus on running and not bother with the pursuers, but Li Ju’s act had been so convincing, and as Li Ju was his only surviving junior brother, Wang Lu had indulged him, letting him deal the finishing blows out of concern for his state of mind.

This had actually cost them quite a bit of time.

On the next leg of their journey, Wang Lu displayed his prowess, cutting down pursuer after pursuer, but the thrill of mission completion faded quickly from Li Ju’s heart, replaced by a growing heaviness.

The Demon Sect pursuers were multiplying.

This meant the Demon Sect had fully discovered their trail and was sending more and more men to encircle them. Because of this relentless chase, Li Ju and Wang Lu’s progress slowed considerably.

“Perhaps the hardest mission in this stage isn’t the seemingly difficult second one, but the first, which appears so simple.”

The realization struck Li Ju.

The second mission looked tough, but as long as he stuck with Wang Lu, the main protagonist, it was not so hard to complete.

But the first mission—perhaps that was the true challenge here.

“Junior Brother Li, we’re almost out of the woods!” Wang Lu shouted.

His clothes were soaked in blood, both his own and that of his enemies. He’d lost count of how many Demon Sect pursuers he’d killed. If not for his own formidable martial arts, he would have perished long ago.

At Wang Lu’s cry, Li Ju looked ahead and saw glimmers of light filtering through the dense trees. Once he reached that point, he would have succeeded in clearing this stage!

Swish, swish, swish!

Just as they spotted the forest’s end, black-clad Demon Sect pursuers suddenly burst out from all directions.

“Junior Brother Li, run! Don’t worry about me!” Wang Lu raised his sword and blocked the way behind Li Ju.

“Take care, Senior Brother!” Li Ju nodded to Wang Lu and, without hesitation, lowered his head and sprinted forward with all his might.

In moments like these, any hesitation or insistence on staying together would only bring disaster to both of them. As a weakling, Li Ju understood well that remaining would only be a burden. So long as he reached the edge of the forest, he would clear the stage and end Wang Lu’s predicament as well.

Ignoring everything else, Li Ju dashed forward relentlessly. If any Demon Sect pursuer tried to stop him, Wang Lu would handle it.

“Hahaha!”

“Who would’ve thought the Flying Sword Sect had a disciple of such skill still alive?”

Suddenly, a wild laugh echoed through the woods.

Whoosh!

A dark figure leapt several times from afar and landed before Wang Lu, who was fiercely battling his enemies.

Bang!!!

A heavy, muffled impact resounded. Wang Lu raised his long sword to block his chest, staggering back several steps.

“Ugh…” Blood trickled from Wang Lu’s lips, and a long claw mark appeared on his left arm, blood spurting from the wound.

“You’re quite impressive.”

A pale-faced young man in green stood where Wang Lu had just been, eyeing the sword mark on his left palm. He licked it, then smiled at Wang Lu.

“My name is Wu E, one of the four chief disciples of the Demon Sect—the martial world calls me ‘Prince Crocodile.’”

Wu E waved his hand, signaling the surrounding Demon Sect pursuers to withdraw.

“My name is Wang Lu, inner disciple of the Flying Sword Sect.”

Wang Lu’s gaze locked onto Wu E. This man’s skills were nothing like those of the cannon-fodder pursuers; the pressure he exuded was on par with the elders of the Flying Sword Sect.

“An inner disciple?”

“With skills like yours, you’re only an inner disciple?” Wu E said, somewhat surprised.

“Those core disciples of your sect I killed before weren’t as strong as you. Apparently, your sect’s leaders had no eye for talent—neglecting true jade to polish mere stones. No wonder your Flying Sword Sect declined until my Holy Sect wiped you out.”

“So, what do you say? Why not join us? The Holy Sect spares no effort in nurturing talent. If you agree, I can guarantee you entry as a core disciple immediately.”

“Our core disciples’ benefits far surpass those of your sect.”

Wu E smiled slyly.

Buzz.

Wang Lu made no reply; the long sword in his hand gave a clear, ringing note.

“So you refuse.”

“In that case, as an enemy, our Holy Sect will stop at nothing to destroy you!” Wu E’s voice suddenly turned cold.

“From your earlier actions, you seem very protective of that boy.” Wu E’s gaze shifted to Li Ju, who was still sprinting desperately toward the edge of the woods.

Wang Lu’s heart sank.

“Bring me his head!” Wu E’s lips curled into a sinister smile.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The Demon Sect followers beside Wu E charged toward Li Ju.

Wang Lu cursed inwardly and tried to intercept them, but Wu E lunged forward, clawing at Wang Lu.

“Your opponent is me! Hahaha!”

“Huff… huff…” Li Ju felt as if his lungs would burst, his chest burning as if seared by fire.

“I’m almost at the finish…”

Flash!

A burst of silver light!