A battered warship staggered across the battlefield and flew into Da Yan Pass. From that warship, a figure dropped down onto the city wall, landing right beside Yang Kai before unceremoniously collapsing onto the ground, gasping for breath.
His wretched appearance made Yang Kai look downright presentable by comparison.
Yet he was grinning ear to ear at Yang Kai, teasing, "Brother Yang, you're looking worse for wear yourself. Nothing too serious, I hope?"
The concern seemed genuine enough, but Yang Kai could clearly see the smug gleam in his eyes.
After a brief pause, he caught on and replied with a smile, "Nothing to worry about, just a scratch. Brother Chai, you're in rough shape yourself — you should get to healing right away."
The newcomer was none other than Chai Fang of the Old Turtle Squad.
The warship that had retreated from the battlefield was the Old Turtle Squad's vessel as well.
The Old Turtle Squad's warship was built tough as old leather, and all of its members had cultivated defensive secret arts. Under normal circumstances, sustaining it through a single battle was no problem at all.
But earlier, in order to pin down a Mo Clan Domain Lord, the squad had been forced to activate a tremendously powerful seal formation on the warship — sealing heaven and locking down the void. Within that sealed space, the entire squad had fought the Mo Clan Domain Lord to the death.
After that brutal engagement, the Old Turtle Squad had taken considerable losses. The warship had nearly been blown apart, forcing them to withdraw from the battlefield.
By now, a fair number of human warriors had been pulling back from the front lines — all of them too exhausted to continue fighting. Staying on the battlefield would accomplish little and might well cost them their lives.
Though Chai Fang's injuries were severe, his spirits were remarkably high. He waved a hand dismissively at Yang Kai's words. "It's nothing. Just a few minor wounds, hardly worth mentioning."
Perhaps he'd gestured too emphatically, because blood suddenly sprayed from wounds all over his body, draining his face of color and leaving his aura flickering weakly.
Yang Kai and Cha Pu stared at him in shared speechlessness.
Chai Fang coughed lightly and quickly channeled his power to seal the wounds on his body. Casually, as though the thought had just occurred to him, he sighed, "Mo Clan Domain Lords really are something else. These injuries are actually a bit troublesome — I'll probably need to rest up for a while before I recover."
Yang Kai said nothing. Cha Pu couldn't be bothered to respond.
Chai Fang pressed on. "There were originally seventy or eighty Domain Lords on Da Yan's side. After this battle, I doubt many will survive. All we can hope for is that the Old Ancestor and the others can wipe them all out — otherwise, any stragglers who slip through will be a headache down the road."
Yang Kai murmured, "Mm."
Chai Fang continued, "But the Eighth-Order commanders will need to be careful when hunting them down. I have to say, even though these Mo Clan Domain Lords aren't as strong as our human Eighth-Order fighters, they're far from easy opponents when they fight with their lives on the line. My squad took serious losses this time too, sigh!"
He kept going on about Mo Clan Domain Lords, left and right, until Cha Pu's patience finally snapped. He glared at Chai Fang irritably. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Chai Fang fell silent for a moment. He'd rushed over here in this state — what for, if not to hear a word of praise? But Yang Kai and Cha Pu showed absolutely no intention of offering any. These two really didn't know how to play along.
Too tired to beat around the bush any longer, Chai Fang shot Yang Kai a series of meaningful looks. "Brother Yang, I just took down a Domain Lord a moment ago — did you see that?"
He practically had "praise me" written all over his face, and it left Cha Pu feeling exhausted just watching.
So that was why the guy had stumbled over here instead of healing — to show off.
Well, not exactly showing off. A Seventh-Order killing a Domain Lord really was a remarkable feat. Never mind that the Domain Lord had been injured by the Old Ancestor first — a kill was a kill.
Under different circumstances, Cha Pu might have offered a few words of encouragement or admiration. But his own mood was foul, and he had no patience for someone else gloating right in front of him. He cut straight to the point: "Yang Kai killed one too. That Domain Lord named Che Kong."
Chai Fang blinked, unmoved. "He kills Domain Lords all the time. It's not like that's anything new."
Everyone in Da Yan knew Yang Kai was an anomaly. His strength simply couldn't be measured by his rank.
Chai Fang had never intended to compete with him anyway. Yang Kai's kill didn't diminish the joy of his own accomplishment one bit.
Cha Pu sighed, reluctant to keep puncturing the guy's bubble, but watching him preen like this was truly grating. He grumbled, "He also punched a Ninth-Order Mo Disciple to death just a moment ago."
Chai Fang's eyes went wide as saucers. He stared blankly at Cha Pu, his expression unmistakably saying: You've got to be kidding me.
He genuinely had no idea about that. When the Mo Clan Royal Lord had been killed and the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple subsequently slain, he'd been in the sealed void space with his squad, locked in a bloodbath against a Domain Lord, completely cut off from outside events.
It wasn't until the Old Ancestor had struck and wounded the Domain Lord that Chai Fang saw his chance to finish it off — and only then did the sealed space finally dissolve.
Cha Pu couldn't be bothered to explain further. Believe it or not, plenty of people had witnessed the whole thing.
Chai Fang turned to look at Yang Kai, his voice suddenly hoarse. "Brother Yang… the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple… you really killed him?"
There was indeed no trace of the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple's aura left on the battlefield. Chai Fang had assumed the Old Ancestor had taken care of it, but if Cha Pu wasn't lying, then that was truly terrifying.
Yang Kai smiled modestly. "Just got lucky. The Old Ancestor wounded him first — I simply finished the job."
Even Yang Kai himself admitted it, so it had to be true. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been brazen enough to claim credit for it.
Chai Fang stared into the distance for a moment, dazed. A single punch to kill a Ninth-Order Mo Disciple!
Was that even possible?
Even if Yang Kai really was an anomaly, and even if the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple had been weakened by the Old Ancestor's blow — that was still a Ninth-Order!
Chai Fang raised a hand to his forehead. He suddenly felt rather dizzy…
Cha Pu let out a cold snort beside him. There were plenty of people he could have gone to gloat in front of, but he'd chosen Yang Kai of all people. If that wasn't looking for pain, he didn't know what was.