Drawing lots was indeed a rather primitive method. Fortunately, there were still quite a few of them trapped in this place.
Xiahou Jing counted the heads and nodded. "A few are missing, including Dharma King Xunfeng. Has anyone seen him?"
Everyone shook their heads. In the chaos earlier, everyone had been focused on their own survival. Who had the presence of mind to keep tabs on anyone else?
"Never mind. If no one's seen him, he must have perished." Xiahou Jing had no time to dwell on it. "We have a total of twenty-four people here. Excluding myself and Fellow Daoist Shu, that leaves twenty-two of you. You twenty-two will be assigned numbers from one through twenty-two. When the time comes, we go in order. Numbers one and two take the front, numbers three and four cover behind them. Two at a time, rotating continuously. If nothing goes wrong, numbers one and two provide cover all the way through. Of course, those further back can step in if they spot danger! This arrangement is fair enough, I trust?"
This impromptu solution Xiahou Jing had come up with was, in fact, reasonably fair.
The high-ranking members of the Wind Cloud Sect conferred among themselves and concluded that the plan was broadly acceptable to all.
Before long, everyone gathered together and began drawing lots.
Soon, the twenty-two numbers were shuffled, and the drawing commenced.
Before long, the lots had been drawn. The ones who drew numbers one and two were a Dharma King and a Heavenly Pillar Elder.
Their faces turned pale. They had clearly not expected their luck to be so terrible—out of all those lots, they had drawn the very first positions.
The expressions of numbers three and four were equally grave. As the first alternates, they too faced immense pressure. If something happened to the two ahead of them, they could be thrust into the fray at any moment.
The fifth and sixth positions were somewhat more composed, though a faint tinge of worry still flickered between their brows.
Even the pair ranked seventh and eighth could not entirely suppress the occasional shadow of anxiety crossing their faces.
Outside the formation, Jiang Chen spotted the group huddled together in furtive consultation and roughly guessed they were devising some countermeasure.
He was in no hurry to attack. Instead, he sat cross-legged in place, restoring his energy.
Having continuously activated the Sacred Dragon Bow earlier, and also deployed the Bewildering Spirit Puppet, Jiang Chen's expenditure had been considerable. After a brief recovery, his vital energy slowly began to trickle back.
At this moment, the best news was that the four brothers of the Stone Goliath race had received his summons and were already heading in this direction.
Meanwhile, the army of Glazed Royal City was also advancing, preparing to launch a full-scale assault.
All of this, for Jiang Chen, was excellent news.
If these people wanted to stall for time, Jiang Chen had no objection whatsoever. Inside the Nine Palaces Bewildering Formation, their energy drain would be no less punishing.
In particular, Shu Wanqing had taken a hit from the Sacred Dragon Bow's arrow. Even if he wasn't dead, he would be crippled. If he couldn't recover from his injuries in time and the delay dragged on, Jiang Chen would have an even better chance of hunting him down.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the outer perimeter. The rank-and-file members of the Wind Cloud Sect were also streaming toward this area. Amid their panicked footsteps came the earth-shaking advance of the Stone Goliath brothers.
The moment Jiang Chen heard that momentum, he knew the four Stone Goliath brothers had arrived.
In this instant, Jiang Chen was overjoyed. The arrival of the four brothers was like a tiger sprouting wings—exactly the fresh fighting force he needed to cut down their opponents.
Big Stone strode over on his massive legs, covering the distance with startling speed.
Wherever he went, the Wind Cloud Sect disciples fell like wheat before a scythe, mowed down in swathes. Clusters of them were swept to the ground, flesh and blood splattering everywhere.
"Benefactor, we're here!"
Big Stone's roar split the air like a thunderclap from a clear sky, loud enough to rip the roof off.
Upon seeing Jiang Chen, Big Stone was thrilled. They had been sent to destroy the Wind Cloud Sect's foundations, and after parting ways with Jiang Chen, they had been deeply worried about his safety the entire time.
Now, seeing Jiang Chen unharmed, Big Stone beamed. "Benefactor, where are those bastards from the Wind Cloud Sect? Where are they all cowering?"
Jiang Chen smiled lazily and pointed toward the interior of the formation. "All trapped inside."
Big Stone stared blankly, watching the scroll after scroll of the Nine Palaces diagram unfurl through the void. He couldn't make heads or tails of it. From the outside, these were nothing more than painted scrolls. Without knowledge of the formation's mysteries, one couldn't perceive what lay within, let alone see through its workings.
Jiang Chen did not bother to explain. Instead, he issued his orders: "Big Stone, you and your brothers stay on full alert. Inside the formation, there are two Heavenly-realm experts. One of them took an arrow to the thigh from me and is injured. However, he remains the greater threat. The other is the Wind Cloud Sect Master—relatively younger, slightly weaker than the old man, but not to be underestimated."
Big Stone let out a strange chuckle. "As long as we know where they are, that's all we need. We brothers have been looking for someone to fight. The Wind Cloud Sect Master—a Heavenly-realm powerhouse, you say? Perfect. Time to have a go at him."
With the four Stone Goliath brothers joining forces with Jiang Chen, the Wind Cloud Sect disciples outside, upon learning that their sect master was trapped in this area, rushed to provide reinforcement.
Outside, the ground was blanketed with a dark mass of Wind Cloud Sect followers.
However, under the blockade of the Stone Goliath brothers, they could not get anywhere close. The moment any of them ventured near, the Stone Goliaths' heavy weapons swept across the field, instantly carving through massive swathes. The ground was awash with blood and carnage, a nightmarish tableau of mutilated bodies.
The Wind Cloud Sect had never been composed of hardened warriors in the first place. Moreover, the sect had been established for only a brief period. Its followers had little cohesion, to say nothing of any deep loyalty or sense of belonging.
After several charges that resulted in countless casualties, the ones in the rear were consumed by fear. They turned and fled outward, no longer caring a whit about the sect master or the Dharma Kings.
They could barely save themselves, let alone anyone else.
Jiang Chen drew a deep breath and once again nocked the Sacred Dragon Bow. This time, his target was to claim the lives of Shu Wanqing and Xiahou Jing.
No matter what, he could not let these people run free any longer.
He had had his fill of being stabbed in the back.