Chapter 80: Yi Shen Takes Action! (Second Update)

"Alert! Over a hundred monsters have broken through the eastern defense line and are surging toward our position!"

"How did so many get through all of a sudden? Did the defense line collapse over there?"

"We've lost contact with Anqing, and we don't have nearly enough reinforcements! At most, we have ten minutes before the monsters reach us!"

"Lost contact with Anqing at this critical moment? Weren’t they still holding out in battle? Did all their monsters come pouring this way?"

Zhao Nanxing and his group were already under tremendous pressure. The sudden shift on the battlefield made the expressions of Zhao Nanxing and the other commanders turn grim.

Ever since the acting president of Anqing was removed, he had kept a low profile, almost as if he had given up, even starting to transfer assets. As the vice president of logistics, Anqing had contributed much over the years, and Zhao Nanxing was reluctant to force a final confrontation, so he let things be.

But he never imagined Anqing would betray them at such a crucial moment!

This was no longer a simple guild rivalry. If these monsters really broke through, it would be a devastating blow to the entire Jingmen Safe Zone. And if Zhao Nanxing and his people all fell here, Taohuawu would suffer another crippling setback. Anqing alone could never hold the front afterward. The flood of monsters from Anqing’s position was clearly meant to push them to destruction.

"Retreat! We can't stand against this many monsters."

The commander from Dongting Safe Zone also received the message at once. It was clear now—the plains stronghold couldn't be held. It would be better to fall back, find a more defensible position, even if it meant more pressure for the other lines. There was simply no better choice.

Zhao Nanxing hesitated.

This outpost was symbolic for Taohuawu. If Zhao Weimin and the others were here, they would have charged forward to counterattack, showing the indomitable spirit of Taohuawu. If they retreated, it meant losing their most important stronghold in the very first battle—a blow whose consequences and public reaction would be impossible to predict.

"Fall back!"

But after weighing his options, Zhao Nanxing chose to order a retreat. After all, reputation was just an empty name. He couldn’t bring himself to send those who trusted him to their deaths for the sake of pride.

Time was of the essence.

Upon receiving the news, teams under Zhao Nanxing’s command quickly began pulling back their lines, planning to fall back to the levee five kilometers behind. Lower-level members would withdraw first, while higher-level ones covered the retreat.

The front was already taking the brunt of the monsters’ assault; people were going missing one after another. High-ranking explorers were barely holding out, supplies were running low, and top explorers like Zhan Yu were still tied up handling elite monsters elsewhere, unable to come to their aid in time.

Fan Xidiao still had not returned.

But spies placed by Anqing had already relayed news of Zhao Nanxing’s retreat. A faint smile curled on Anqing’s lips.

This time, fate itself seemed to be on his side.

No matter whether Zhao Nanxing retreated or not, their losses were inevitable—at the very least, all their logistics supplies would be lost. Meanwhile, with the monsters drawn away, Anqing’s own team felt much less pressure.

Anqing even personally joined the battle, helping kill one of the elite monsters. It had been a long time since he’d fought, and over the years he had amassed many powerful skills; his stats alone were enough to impress everyone present.

But for some reason, Fan Xidiao never replied to any of Anqing’s messages. Logically, with Fan Xidiao’s profession and attributes, even if the monsters were over level sixty, they shouldn’t have been able to pin him down. Yet, after the monsters were redirected, there was no more news from Fan Xidiao when he should have returned.

Anqing didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just poor signal. But what he didn’t know was that, among the monsters, besides Fan Xidiao, there was another person hunting him.

"I knew there was a rat behind this!"

Yi Shen had originally been helping with the battle at Taohuawu, occasionally stepping in to clear out large groups of monsters for loot, but his main concern was his mother’s safety. When the monster pressure suddenly spiked, Yi Shen sensed something was wrong. He had already cleared the area of monsters, so there shouldn’t have been so many attacking so soon.

Sure enough, upon investigating, he discovered the monster horde was being manipulated by a strange energy, guiding their direction. Where the energy appeared, a flickering figure would surface—a class similar to a rogue or stealth specialist.

But this was not just a simple rogue. This person either had unique skills or was a special class altogether.

Yi Shen couldn’t tell who it was, but he could guess it was someone from Anqing’s side. Once he locked onto his target, he launched an attack without hesitation.

His expression darkened. Anqing was courting death. He hadn’t even had the chance to deal with him, and now Anqing was plotting behind their backs.

Yi Shen unleashed his skills at the stealth specialist. Unexpectedly, this person had a unique invulnerability skill, able to enter a void state, instantly breaking free from control and ice chains, and redirecting monster attacks onto himself.

If not for Yi Shen’s unlimited teleportation ability, he would have lost track immediately.

"Think I can’t deal with you?"

Yi Shen pursued the target, his temper flaring. He blinked after him, casting multiple Blizzards to attack a wide area. No matter what, he would not let him escape today.

Because of Yi Shen’s actions, some monsters were incidentally caught in his attacks, especially a few elite monsters that also started chasing after him.

The battlefield instantly became bizarre. Yi Shen chased the special stealth specialist, while the monsters chased Yi Shen. The horde that should have been assaulting the defense line suddenly began to mill around in confusion.

Yi Shen stopped holding back, launching Fireblasts, Flame Rain, and Starfall at both the horde and the stealth specialist. His attributes were extremely high—even with level suppression, his damage remained formidable. Each skill he cast was a major attack, and monsters began to fall all around.

But the stealth specialist proved even more tenacious than the average monster, persisting within the horde until Yi Shen unleashed over thirty Fireblasts in a single breath, gouging a deep crater in the earth, and finally, the system announced the kill.

(End of this chapter)