The official road leading to the imperial capital, Esnia, is actually a major artery that runs through the entire continent. It is the most important trade route on the continent and is known as the "Golden Passage".
About twenty miles east of the capital, there is a large post station. This post station, which is run by the government, is for travelers to rest and have a meal. People who come to the capital will usually rest here to wash away the dust of the journey before entering the capital refreshed.
A magnificent carriage arrived from the east side of the official road, escorted by dozens of burly riders, and sped into the spacious parking lot in front of the post station.
This is a magnificent carriage drawn by four fine horses. The carriage is made of the finest spruce wood, engraved with various cloud and thunder patterns. Upon closer inspection, one can see that these patterns are actually a kind of ingenious design, crafted by a master craftsman. They are extremely valuable and would be impossible for ordinary wealthy families to possess. Moreover, there are two more equally magnificent horses following behind the carriage, indicating that it is for a long journey.
These burly guards were all dressed like family retainers, each exuding an extraordinary aura. Experts could tell at a glance that they were all formidable fighters, and those who were not up to the task should not bother trying to embarrass themselves.
"Huh!"
The lead guard paused for a moment, staring at the empty parking lot before him. He abruptly pulled on his mount and turned to give a warning signal to his companions behind him.
"Everyone be careful, something's strange! This place is usually so lively, why is there no one here today?"
A middle-aged knight behind shouted, spurring his horse to the side of the carriage and leaning out to speak quietly to the carriage's owner.
No wonder they were suspicious. This was a well-known post station on the official road; it was impossible for it to be so deserted, and no one had come to greet them yet. It looked like an abandoned post station. However, those with sharp eyes had already noticed that the marks on the parking lot were not old, indicating that there were many people here not long ago.
The middle-aged knight shrank back from the carriage and shouted in a deep voice, "Let's get out of here!"
Before the words were finished, a loud laugh rang out, and countless figures surrounded them from all directions. However, the prey trapped in the encirclement did not panic as they had expected. Instead, it calmly drew its long sword and slowly retreated to the side of the carriage, surrounding the magnificent carriage as if to protect it.
Their every move showed that they had received excellent training, and the positions of these guards and generals seemed to have been rehearsed, making one feel that rushing to the carriage would be extremely dangerous.
"As expected of someone from the Gongsun family, their ability to adapt is truly astonishing!"
A strong and imposing man stepped forward from the crowd, stood in front of the formation set up by the Gongsun family, and clapped his hands and laughed.
The middle-aged retainer from the Gongsun family appeared to be the leader of the group. Anger flashed in his eyes as he shouted, "Who exactly are you people, and why are you targeting us?"
"Why?" The man's cold, piercing eyes swept over the five retainers of the Gongsun family in front of him. "You are not qualified to ask this question. Call the master of the carriage down!"
Feeling the chilling aura emanating from the eagle's eyes, the five people standing in front of him were all startled, secretly horrified by the man's skill.
"Very good, very courageous!" The hawk-eyed man clapped his hands. "Then we'll have to go and ask them ourselves!"
His applause was the signal to launch the attack; the burly men on all sides brandished their weapons and charged toward the target in the center.
The Gongsun family members did not retaliate. Instead, they all took another step back with their horses, which brought them closer to the carriage and tightened their defensive perimeter.
Just as the burly men were about to charge forward, a sudden change occurred. Countless bright lights burst forth from the carriage, converging in the air to form beautiful orbs of light that floated around them. Their brilliance even surpassed that of the bright sunlight.
"Wow, what's this?"
All the attacking men involuntarily stopped in their tracks, and then several of them blurted out a shout.
"Could this be the magic of light?"
Sensing something was wrong, the men rushed towards the center, trying to get closer to the Gongsun family members to avoid the attack of the light spheres. But it was too late. All the light spheres in the air suddenly accelerated and shot in all directions, like a torrent of light that engulfed all the enemies in front of them.
When the ball of light hits an enemy's body, it bursts into extreme light, then the person and the ball disappear without a trace, the brightness of the field making it impossible for anyone to open their eyes.
When things returned to normal, the encirclement was gone, and only eighteen enemies remained.
"What an amazing float of light!" the hawk-eyed man exclaimed, his face showing astonishment.
Meanwhile, the retainers of the Gongsun family were even more surprised than he was, having never seen an enemy remain unscathed from the attack of "Dance of Light Spheres".
"The real battle is just beginning!" This feeling arose in everyone's mind.
As expected, the remaining eighteen enemies launched their attack. The arrival of these eighteen men immediately sent a chill down the spines of the Gongsun family, for their strength was worlds apart from that of the enemies who had attacked them earlier—like the difference between an adult and a child.
Especially the two retainers of the Gongsun family standing in front of the eagle-eyed man; even the two of them combined couldn't block his horizontal slash. The greatsword, imbued with supreme true power, mercilessly severed their longswords. Amidst the splattering blood, both men had large gashes in their chests, and screams mingled with the hot blood gushing from their mouths.
The thunderous strike created a small gap in the Gongsun family's formation, and the two spear-wielding men following behind immediately moved in, wedging themselves into the previously flawless defensive perimeter.
The two spears, wielded like serpents, forced the Gongsun family's retainers to take a step back, rendering the entire defensive perimeter ineffective. Now, everyone had to rely on their own abilities to fight.
Although they were said to be eighteen people, only twelve actually attacked them. Of the other six, three were white sorcerers and three were black sorcerers. Such a combination was extremely terrifying on the continent, because the twelve who attacked were also at the level of magic swordsmen, and three of them were even magic sword masters.
The leader was a terrifying demon swordsman. His initial attack was infused with a "blood curse," exhausting all his true energy to double the destructive power of his attack. He understood the strength of the Gongsun family's defensive formation; if he couldn't immediately create an opening and get the formation operational, all his efforts would be in vain.
After his attack was successful, he immediately pinned his sword to the ground and, with the help of the white sorcerer, quickly recovered his strength.
"stop!"
Upon discovering that their people's situation was deteriorating, three women jumped out of the carriage.
In front were two bright and strong young women dressed in tight-fitting clothes, long swords slenderly draped over their waists, now held in their small hands. Their hairstyles revealed them to be maids, while the beautiful woman in the middle was the mistress.
This beautiful woman was calm and composed, with a reserved demeanor that exuded a noble and unparalleled elegance. Her graceful and delicate face was incredibly alluring, and her smooth skin was fair with a rosy glow. What was most unforgettable were her captivating eyes, which seemed to be clear and bright yet were veiled with a layer of mist, making one's heart flutter at first sight.
She wore a dark yellow silk robe that shimmered, and a captivating fragrance emanated from her delicate body.
Beautiful women don't reveal their true age, but you can be sure she's no older than thirty, because there isn't a single wrinkle on her exposed neck.
Upon seeing the beautiful woman, the leader, the eagle-eyed magic swordsman, brightened up and laughed loudly, "Madam Sorenblade, we've finally met!"
"Morero!" Madam Sorenblade roared, "Our Gongsun family and your Wenjianzhai have always kept to ourselves. Why are you Twelve Star Swordsmen attacking us?"
Moreno laughed and said, "You should ask our Master about this. I'm just following orders!"
Madam Sorenblade glanced around. In just two exchanges, more than half of her guards and retainers had already been killed or wounded, which alarmed her. Clearly, the person in charge of this operation must be someone of great importance to have laid such an ambush, managed to get the "Sword Inquiry Hall" to dispatch their twelve star swordsmen, and then recruited three white sorcerers and three black sorcerers to form a powerful attack force.
What alarmed her most was that this person clearly knew a lot about the Gongsun family, knowing to first send a group of people to deplete the energy of her vehicle, the "Float of Light," and then quickly break through the Gongsun family's carefully designed defenses. Who was this person?
Madam Sorenblade quickly scanned the information she knew, and soon she judged that there were only a handful of people with such strength in the present day. But before she could carefully match the individuals together, the enemy in front of her wouldn't allow her to think any further.
At Morello's command, the Twelve Star Swordsmen brandished their longswords and launched a fierce attack on the guards and retainers of the Gongsun family. Sword shadows danced, and energy surged; although the Twelve Star Swordsmen were outnumbered, the difference in their strength was still quite obvious.
Furthermore, the black and white sorcerers behind them continuously unleashed magic, attacking the Gongsun family while simultaneously healing, accelerating, and blessing the Twelve Star Swordsmen, creating an even greater crisis for the Gongsun family. This is because injuries to the Gongsun family would reduce their combat strength, while the Twelve Star Swordsmen had no such concern; they could immediately receive healing from the white sorcerers after being injured, giving them a significant advantage.
After only a few exchanges, several guards and retainers of the Gongsun family fell to the ground screaming in agony, making their defensive perimeter even more precarious.
Madam Sorenblade, being a shrewd person, naturally knew that continuing in this manner was extremely disadvantageous to her side. The most important thing was to eliminate the Black and White Sorcerers behind the Twelve Swordsmen; they were the greatest threat.
Madam Sorenblade turned to the two maids beside her and whispered, "Get ready to cover me!"
The two maids responded, simultaneously raising their swords, concentrating their energy, and awaiting their master's command to launch their attack.
"Straight ahead! Draw your sword!" Madam Sorenblade saw the enemy general in front of her fall in a single blow by Morello and knew there was no time to delay, so she gave the order decisively.
With a sharp cry, the two maids unleashed their longswords, which slashed through the air like nimble dragons, heading straight for Morello, who had just sheathed his greatsword.
"They've finally made their move!"
Morello roared, his greatsword flashing left and right. Amidst the clash of swords, he sensed the attack wasn't as powerful as he'd expected, and he couldn't help but wonder. It was said that Madam Sorenblade's two maids were exceptionally skilled sword dancers; how could they be so weak?
But he immediately realized what the skill of a master swordsman truly meant. The two longswords did not fly away in the direction they were struck, but instead cleverly changed direction in mid-air, their murderous tips still pointing towards his exposed ribs.
"Wow, that's impressive!" Morello thought to himself. Knowing that he couldn't retract his greatsword anytime soon, he had no choice but to take a step back to the side. This was the first time since the start of their battle that the twelve star swordsmen hadn't moved forward.
What he saw next horrified him. Madam Sorenblade, who had been standing silently behind the maid, suddenly moved, and moved with incredible speed.
A dazzling sword light, like a shooting star or a soaring dragon, swept past him and rushed towards the sorcerers behind him.
"Oh no!" Morello, realizing what was happening, quickly got up and gave chase. The warlocks couldn't afford to suffer any losses, or things would get complicated.
The two dark sorcerers who were first to be attacked reacted immediately, quickly setting up a defensive barrier in an attempt to block the longswords that were coming towards them. However, they forgot to calculate the difference in strength between the two sides. How could the barrier they had hastily set up withstand the full force of Madam Sorenblade's "Sun-Shooting Sword"?
The defensive barrier burst forth with brilliant light, as beautiful as fireworks set off on a festival, but for the two dark sorcerers, it was the most terrifying sight, as their barrier had already been broken by the true energy infused into their longswords.
The light was dazzling, flashing by in an instant.
The two sorcerers only managed a half-scream before blood spurted out, turning into a cloud of blood mist. The two corpses, each severed at the waist by a single sword stroke, flew through the air, causing a commotion among the nearby sorcerers.
Morello finally arrived, raising his greatsword to slash fiercely at the longsword in mid-air. Madam Sorenblade reached out from behind and lightly beckoned, the longsword seemingly possessing a spirit of its own, its blade twisting deftly to evade Morello's fierce attack. Instead of engaging him, Sorenblade continued to attack the nearby sorcerers.
The sword's white blade gleamed, but to the sorcerers, it was like a call to death. Faced with this life-threatening situation, the four joined forces to create a rather magnificent defensive saga. Their combined magical shield finally deflected Madam Sorenblade's longsword, knocking it to Morello's side.
Seeing an opportunity, Morello unleashed a series of slashes with his greatsword, striking the blade of the longsword three times in one go.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Three sharp sounds rang out in quick succession, the sword's momentum faltered, and the sword energy on the longsword dissipated, revealing its cold, clean blade. Madam Sorenblade's sword began to veer off its controlled trajectory and fall towards the ground.
But the two maids' longswords were already attacking, graceful as rainbows in the air, beautiful yet deadly. This left Morello no time to deal with Madam Sorenblade's sword, unable to deliver another blow. He raised his greatsword, spun around, and deflected both swords.
Madam Sorenblade seized the opportunity to retrieve her longsword, which was about to fall to the ground, and focused her energy to prepare for her next attack.
Although Madam Sorenblade's attack was not entirely successful, it greatly alleviated the crisis for her guards. Without the sorcerers' restraint and with one of their strongest opponents gone, they were able to hold their own against the remaining twelve star swordsmen. Although they were still at a disadvantage, they were at least not as strained as they had been at the beginning.
While being entangled by Madam Sorenblade's two maids, Morello grew anxious as he saw Madam Sorenblade's longsword strike again, its target still the sorcerers. He raised his greatsword, glared, and roared, gathering all his strength to fiercely slash at the longsword flying to his left, completely ignoring the longsword on his right that was hurtling towards his back.
The two maids sneered in unison. This man was really desperate, resorting to such a move. Did he not know how powerful the Gongsun family's sword dance was?
The longsword on the left drew a beautiful arc and flew back to its master's hand just before it touched Morello's greatsword. At the same time, the longsword on the right whistled as it headed straight for the enemy's back, a perfect opportunity.
Morello laughed loudly. The two maids were not as experienced in actual combat as he was. It was as if they had eyes in the back of their heads. The greatsword appeared in front of the longsword under impossible circumstances, as if it had been waiting there all along.
The longsword, unable to be retracted in time, collided head-on with the greatsword. Caught off guard by Morello's move, the longsword had no backup plan. A burst of light erupted, sparks flew, and the longsword was deflected to the side.
At that moment, Morello turned around and delivered a powerful, uninterrupted slash to the top of the longsword.
With a "bang!", the longsword flew far away, breaking free from the maid's control.
"The sword dance of the renowned Gongsun family is nothing special!"
Morello, brimming with confidence, charged forward with his greatsword toward the longswords attacking the sorcerers. The sorcerers, struggling to defend themselves, were in dire straits, their magical shield about to dissipate under Madam Sorenblade's powerful attack.
Morello raised his greatsword and slashed at the tip of the longsword, attempting to repeat his previous trick and knock Madam Sorenblade's longsword away as well. If this succeeded, it would be the most boastful thing ever—the sword dance technique unleashed by the head of the Gongsun family could actually be broken! Wouldn't that be headline news on the continent?
The longsword nimbly spun around, dodging the greatsword's strike, and continued to thrust at the magic shield in front of the sorcerer. However, the brilliance on the longsword seemed to have weakened considerably, indicating that Madam Sorenblade's attack was nearing its end.
Morello knew that Madam Sorenblade's control over the longsword was at its weakest at this moment, so he did not hesitate to use his most proud slashing technique, "Raging Dragon Slash," again. The blade of the greatsword was immediately covered with a strange, cold light, and it slashed down towards the cloud of the longsword with great momentum.
As expected, although the longsword made a dodging motion, Morello's sudden change in speed and power caused the longsword's twist to be delayed by half a beat. The longsword, struck by the cloud, seemed to lose its balance and tumbled rapidly in the air.
Seizing the opportunity, Morello was about to deliver the final blow with his longsword when he suddenly heard the panicked cries of the sorcerers beside him: "My lord, be careful!"
Turning his head, Moreno was terrified. Without his noticing, Madam Sorenblade had drawn a gleaming short sword, and this sharp, cold blade was clearly no ordinary weapon; it was now silently attacking him.
Although he hadn't gotten close yet, the light emanating from the short sword already made Morello realize that something was wrong. It was too late to dodge, and it would be too late to parry. Morello made a quick decision, twisting his body to avoid a vital spot while raising his arm to block the path of the flying short sword.
The dagger mercilessly severed Morello's left arm, but it saved him from death, which made Madam Sorenblade secretly sigh at the man's quick reaction and ruthless heart.
Seeing this, the Gongsun family's morale soared. Their leader's move was indeed extraordinary, and they seemed to have suddenly gained a lot of power, turning their previous defeat around.
Just as Madam Sorenblade was about to press her advantage, a voice she recognized came from outside the arena.
"Congratulations, eldest sister, on finally mastering our family's double flying swords!"
With that captivatingly sweet voice, Gongsun San Niang appeared before her with a group of people.
"So it really was you!" A look of pain flashed in Madam Sorenblade's eyes. "Why did it have to come to this?"
"My dear elder sister!" Gongsun Sanniang's voice was still very gentle and charming, enough to make a man's heart race and his breath catch in his throat, but the hatred hidden in it made her elder sister feel cold. "You are really riding high, having not only obtained the position of the mistress, but also deceived Li Lang's love!"
Madam Sorenblade was taken aback. "Third sister, what are you saying? The position of Lord is decided by the elders of the family, and Li Lang truly loves me!"
"Shut up!" Gongsun Sanniang shouted. "Li Lang and I were originally in love, but you interfered and stole him away. I... I will hate you for the rest of my life!"
Madam Sorenblade knew she could no longer reason with her sister. Her situation was dire, as the people Gongsun San Niang had brought were all skilled fighters, completely shifting the balance of power in her favor.
Leaving was the best option, Madam Sorenblade immediately thought. Since there was no chance of victory, the only option was to fight their way out before the enemy could completely surround them. Otherwise, with her third sister, who knew her very well, encircling her, she would only have two choices: death or capture. Neither of these were outcomes she wanted.
Having made up her mind, Madam Sorenblade gave a wink to her two maids before Gongsun San Niang could give the order. The three of them retreated together, forcefully shaking off their opponents, and then leaped away.
Gongsun Sanniang stamped her foot and ordered her men to give chase, no longer caring about the Gongsun family's guards and protectors in the arena.