#47 - Death Crisis
The sudden ambush caught everyone off guard and caused them to pale in shock.
However, Xu Qingwan couldn't be entirely blamed for this.
Because no one would have expected that such a monster would be hidden inside this Earth God statue.
White-faced, black-haired, with a hunched back, covered in sticky blood, its pupils, not much different from those of humans, were filled with fierce and violent colors.
It was actually an ape demon!
Zhou Cheng and the two constables successively drew their sabers, while Wei Changtian moved a step and reached out to catch Xu Qingwan, who was flying backward.
Judging from her complexion, she was still okay, not dead.
Without asking pointless questions like “Are you alright?”, Wei Changtian quickly took out a bottle of healing medicine that he ate like candy every day and stuffed it into her arms, then quickly drew his willow-leaf saber, stepping in front of Xu Qingwan, forming a pincer formation with Zhou Cheng.
The two constables were ninth-rank, and their combat power could almost be ignored.
Zhou Cheng was sixth-rank, and he himself was seventh-rank, while the ape demon opposite, since it could injure Xu Qingwan with one blow, its strength was at least equivalent to sixth-rank.
Damn it, what happened to the wild pheasant that was said to have less than five years of cultivation???
Wei Changtian's face grew more and more unsightly. After exchanging a glance with Zhou Cheng, both of them tacitly did not act rashly.
Without a clear understanding of their opponent's strength, they would rather let the demon escape first.
But unfortunately, the ape demon might not necessarily be willing to escape.
Perhaps sensing that the people in front of it were not its opponents, after pausing for a few breaths, it finally launched another attack, targeting the tall constable.
It even knew to pick on the weak first?
Wei Changtian's pupils shrank, and he and Zhou Cheng rushed straight towards the ape demon, while shouting loudly: “You guys hide in the distance and shoot with crossbows!”
“Clang!!”
Zhou Cheng swung his saber and narrowly managed to block the ape demon at the last moment, while the tall constable, who had narrowly escaped death, did not hesitate and immediately ran away, stopping only after retreating more than ten zhang away, quickly taking down his powerful crossbow and starting to load arrows and aim.
The short constable did the same.
Both of them knew very well that with their strength, they would not only not be able to help, but would also hold them back.
And without them, Zhou Cheng and Wei Changtian would indeed have a much easier time fighting.
“Bang! Thump!”
“Swish swish swish!”
The two men and the demon fought as one.
Zhou Cheng should have practiced some kind of saber technique, his strikes were extremely fast and heavy, and coupled with the fact that he was at the sixth-rank, he naturally took the lead in attacking.
And because Wei Changtian had learned the Soaring Step from Xu Qingwan, he was slightly better in terms of footwork, so he played the role of containment.
You advance, I retreat, you retreat, I advance, the two of them always maintained a very high frequency of attack against the ape demon, and their cooperation became more and more tacit.
In addition, with the occasional assistance of arrows shot from afar, they eventually faintly suppressed this ape demon, which had the strength of a fifth-rank realm.
What a pity.
If Xu Qingwan hadn't been injured, it wouldn't have been impossible to kill this demon on the spot.
“Roar!!”
“Swish!”
碎 Stone fragments splashed, dust flew, and the sound of the willow-leaf saber cutting through the air was mixed with the eerie roar, disturbing the air of the entire mountain forest.
Wei Changtian was getting easier and easier as he fought, but the ape demon was getting more and more strenuous.
It seemed that it also realized that its situation was not good, and after taking another blow to the back, it suddenly changed its fighting style, almost completely giving up its defense and attack against Wei Changtian, and instead went all out to deal with the more threatening Zhou Cheng.
That a beast would actually change tactics during a fight was really caught the two off guard.
Zhou Cheng's footwork was originally weak, and at this time, he could only block and retreat, and was instantly in a dangerous situation.
And although Wei Changtian had used all his strength to attack frantically, and indeed left bloodstains on the ape demon's body, his lethality was really limited.
He really wanted to attack the ape demon's vital points, but this beast was not stupid, it only allowed Wei Changtian to chop at its back and chest, which were thick-skinned and fleshy, but protected its throat and head very tightly.
The advantages and disadvantages of both sides changed in the blink of an eye, but it could not be regarded as a reversal.
The ape demon's fighting style of mainly attacking one person had advantages and disadvantages. As long as Zhou Cheng could hold on for a while longer, Wei Changtian could eventually grind it to death, even if it was one knife at a time.
The situation fell into another stalemate again.
And Wei Changtian and Zhou Cheng were both busy attacking and defending, and neither of them noticed the sinister look that flashed in the ape demon's eyes, and the previously seriously injured Xu Qingwan.
……
The battle had reached this stage, and both the demon and the human were already red-eyed, with a bit of a never-ending meaning.
The two constables looked at the three dark shadows entangled in the distance, and there was no chance to help by shooting arrows again, they could only be anxious on the sidelines.
They knew very well that there was definitely not enough time to move reinforcements now, they could only pin all their hopes on the two Silver Leaf adults at Willow Leaf.
If they win, they will all be credited.
If they lose, they will all die.
As for secretly running away… then their end would probably be more miserable than dying in the mouth of a demon.
The palms of the two men holding the crossbows were full of sweat, and Wei Changtian and Zhou Cheng were not in the mood to be nervous at this time, and they did not dare to be distracted in the slightest.
In this level of battle, even if you are distracted for half a moment, the price may be your life.
“Clang!!!!”
The fist covered with black hair slammed heavily on the blade in front of him, Zhou Cheng held the hilt tightly, and finally controlled the frantically vibrating willow-leaf saber, at least preventing the weapon from being shaken away.
Damn it, the strength is too great!
He cursed inwardly, but his pupils shrank sharply immediately.
I saw that the ape demon suddenly went crazy, and actually ignored Wei Changtian's knife stabbing towards its ribs from the side, but rushed towards Xu Qingwan, who happened to be behind him, at an even faster speed.
“Grass!!”
Zhou Cheng roared angrily, knowing that he would definitely not be able to block it this time, he dragged his saber and rolled to the side, trying to avoid this blow.
He did manage to dodge.
However, when he rolled out a zhang away and looked back in embarrassment, his face instantly turned pale.
It turned out that the ape demon didn't come to chase him at all, but shot directly at Xu Qingwan, who had just happened to be behind him!
“Puchi!”
One-third of the slender willow-leaf saber had entered the demon's ribs, which was the most serious damage Wei Changtian had caused to the ape demon since the start of the fight.
However, the ape demon still turned a blind eye to this, and didn't even look at Wei Changtian. With the long saber hanging on its body, it continued to rush forward, as if its eyes were only on Xu Qingwan, who could barely support herself.
“Pa ta!”
The crossbow fell to the ground, and the two constables stared wide-eyed and motionless as if petrified, and an incomparable chill arose from the bottom of their hearts.
This was not an accident, but the ape demon had planned it long ago!
It knew that it probably had no way to solve these two men, but it was not willing to retreat like this, so it aimed its target at Xu Qingwan, who was seriously injured!
Transfer the battlefield, find the right opportunity, and strike with all your strength.
That a demon would have such a mind!
The two were as if they had fallen into an ice cave, and on the other side, a look of despair also appeared on Xu Qingwan's face.
Even when she was at her peak, she couldn't stop the fist that was getting closer and closer. A pair of beautiful eyes slowly closed, and countless thoughts flooded her mind.
I have already saved one thousand two hundred and thirty-six taels and four qian of silver, and I haven't spent it yet, what a pity…
My parents will be very sad when they hear the news of my death…
Many colleagues will come to the funeral that day, right…
Did Wei Changtian really just drink with the courtesan that day…
“Bang!”
A muffled sound came from her ear, and a huge impact came from her chest.
Is it over?
It's not very painful either…
That's not right!
Xu Qingwan was stunned for a moment, and suddenly opened her eyes, looking incredulously at Wei Changtian, who was gritting his teeth and hugging her, trying to roll to the side.
“You…”
“Bang!!!”
Before she could utter a word, a sense of impact several times stronger than before came again.
Xu Qingwan opened her mouth blankly, watching helplessly as the ape demon's fist slammed heavily on Wei Changtian's back.
“Chi la!”
The two hugged each other and slid on the ground for a full seven or eight zhang, leaving a long trail of blood.
Wei Changtian was still spitting blood frantically, his face as white as a sheet of paper.
Xu Qingwan endured the severe pain and raised her head to look at him, her eyes filled with tenderness that no one had ever seen before.
The ape demon pounced on the two again.
It leaped high into the air and slammed down with another punch.
