The gang's target is this ice dragon?
It doesn't seem like it.
The ice dragon is powerful.
The gang only has one Divine Martial Realm expert, the Gang Lord. Trying to kill the ice dragon one-on-one seems too reckless.
Even if the Gang Lord has some special items to increase his chances.
Can he really guarantee no accidents?
If the ice dragon can't win, won't it just flee?
The key question is, if they're going to act, why bring a group of Mutated Beasts?
And what about the slaves tied up by the shore? Are they trying to overwhelm the ice dragon?
The sky in the distance seemed to change.
Tang Wen quickly switched to the perspective of the brown-tailed crow.
It was noon.
The sky above the cold pond darkened.
It wasn't clouds blocking the sun.
But a deep, ink-like blackness.
Like the thickest black paint, slowly and relentlessly devouring the sky.
The brown-tailed crow began to panic.
Before it retreated, Tang Wen glanced at the cold pond.
The white mist grew denser.
It gathered above the pond.
Forming a massive misty serpent.
Boom!
The brown-tailed crow's vision couldn't capture what happened.
It was as if two mountains had collided.
Miles away, the brown-tailed crow stumbled on its short legs, barely keeping its balance.
It quickly spread its wings to steady itself.
The Gang Lord of the Blackwater Gang had clashed with the ice dragon serpent.
The brown-tailed crow flew back.
Tang Wen quietly slipped down from the treetop, circling far around.
He held a fist-sized pebble in his hand.
His mind raced.
At this moment, the Blackwater Gang's strongest fighter was occupied with the ice dragon.
If those five black-clad men were planning something, now was the best time.
The sixth-grade Celestial Warrior was probably also guarding the Gang Lord.
If they planned well and were fully prepared, they might actually succeed!
But, they're unlucky to have run into me.
Tang Wen smirked coldly. Since he couldn't gain anything from this, he might as well stir the pot.
A night-like darkness enveloped the stone in his hand.
Visualization, throw.
The stone broke the sound barrier instantly.
But no sonic boom was heard.
The dark ability had masked the sound of the Flying Stone.
With one stone launched, Tang Wen didn't even look.
He activated his Shadow Step and vanished in an instant.
Boom!
The dark ability's masking effect wore off.
The stone turned into a fireball mid-air, hurtling toward the five black-clad men!
"Damn it!"
The leader of the black-clad men didn't hesitate.
His Transcendent aura surged.
He drew his sword and slashed in an instant.
The blade light was like a ribbon.
It struck the incoming fireball directly.
A deafening explosion echoed.
The flaming stone shattered into countless pieces.
The flames scattered like beautiful butterflies, setting the forest ablaze.
"We're exposed! You all retreat. The Blackwater Gang's experts will be here soon! I'll draw them away. Follow the backup plan."
After quickly giving orders, the leader of the black-clad men chased in the direction the fireball had come from.
The other four men left in an orderly manner.
The brown-tailed crow, hidden in the trees, watched their every move.
Tang Wen ran like the wind, covering twenty miles before stopping.
Caw!
The brown-tailed crow sent a message.
Something unexpected had happened.
The Transcendent who had shattered Tang Wen's Flying Stone had encountered a Blackwater Gang expert.
The two fought as they moved, heading into the distance.
Meanwhile, the other four black-clad men had split into two groups, fleeing in completely different directions.
A group of three was making a detour towards the direction of the cold pond.
The remaining one fled towards the Four Seas Camp.
Had they not given up on the mission?
The three continued to carry out the task.
One returned to the base to report.
Chase those three!
The brown-tailed crow glided away.
Tang Wen ran a few steps but then frowned and stopped.
Something was wrong.
In the scene the brown-tailed crow had just seen.
The four black-clad men were methodically erasing their traces.
Then, they split up and ran.
What was wrong?
Their actions, though startled, were not chaotic.
Clearly, they had a plan prepared in advance.
There were five black-clad men in total, one Transcendent and four Martial Masters.
They clearly knew who they were dealing with, or rather, who they were trying to take advantage of in the chaos.
It was the Blackwater Gang.
So when they made their plan.
There were two possibilities.
One, they approached the task with a trial-and-error mindset, seeing if they could get lucky.
Second, they had to complete it.
If it was the first scenario, they were just here to see if they could pick up some benefits.
Then most of the team should be expendable.
Ready to be abandoned at any moment.
If that was the case.
The Transcendent, the moment his position was exposed by Tang Wen, should have decisively abandoned the four Martial Masters to save himself.
He could even have drawn his sword and killed them to cut losses.
After all, whether in terms of combat power or status.
One Transcendent far surpasses four Martial Masters.
Yet the choice of the black-clad Transcendent was to face the danger himself.
You must know, this was akin to throwing himself into the fire.
The Blackwater Gang had at least ten Transcendents present today.
The black-clad Transcendent, if caught by even one Transcendent who arrived in time.
Would almost certainly die today.
He was a dignified Transcendent, not an idiot.
He couldn't have failed to consider this.
That is to say, he was fully aware of what he was facing.
And actively left the hope of survival to the four Martial Masters.
Therefore.
They were serious.
Their mission was the second scenario—
Regardless of life or death, it had to be completed?
It seemed that was the only explanation.
The black-clad Transcendent used his own life to buy time for his companions.
So that the trio near the cold pond could continue their mission.
Hmm, still not right.
Since they were willing to sacrifice a Transcendent to complete the mission.
Why was one Martial Master running away?
In this situation, there was no need to report back.
Their survival would signify the mission's completion.
If none returned, naturally, the mission failed.
So, we should chase that lone Martial Master!
He probably had a big problem!
Tang Wen turned around and sped off like the wind.
The footprints left by the Martial Master on the ground were clearly visible.
Suddenly, his heart tightened.
A warning of danger from his intuition.
The next second.
A half-person-high tree trunk exploded.
Iron nails and steel balls flew out.
Was that a stone mine?
Stone mines were produced in Tri-Alliance City.
According to Bai Youruo, it was also a type of gunpowder weapon, with only a small amount leaking out of Tri-Alliance City.
It was quite lethal, and ordinary Martial Masters could easily be injured by it.
But at the moment of the explosion, a black hue instantly appeared on Tang Wen's body.
Ding ding ding!
The steel balls and iron nails hit in succession.
But they didn't even pierce the skin.
Was that all they had?
Tang Wen no longer held back and suddenly accelerated his pace.
A few minutes later, he caught up with the Martial Master ahead.
The gap between a Transcendent and a Martial Master was even greater than that between a child and a special forces soldier.
The Martial Master in front turned his head, his face filled with determination, and shouted, "Friend, I am from the Four Seas Commerce Guild, let me go, and there will be a generous reward in the future!"
Huh? Can't even make up a decent story.
Tang Wen's lips curled with mockery.
A few breaths later, the distance between the two was less than a hundred meters.
At this moment, the Martial Master seemed to have completely given up, stopping in his tracks.
However, as he raised his head, his face twisted into a ferocious expression. "You forced me into this!" he snarled.
A phantom-like shadow rose.
Every hair on Tang Wen's body stood on end.
Danger!
This strike was no less than a killing move from a seasoned Transcendent!
"Die!"
Running at high speed and locked onto by spiritual energy, Tang Wen had no way to evade.
...