Chapter 206: Han Sanhe, What Is This?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It wasn't that the guard’s cultivation base was poor but the attack had killed him before he could prepare his defenses – he could not cultivate his mystical Qi in time to save himself.

The white silhouette did not stop, opening its mouth wide in the air as a ball of light shot out with terrible force.

Swoos.h.!.+

"Marshal, be careful!"

Another two generals jumped up without hesitation to push Zi Yuanlong off his horse with fervor. With a loud bang, two large holes appeared in both the general's backs; Zi Yuanlong who was under them let out a low grunt of dismay.

The white shadow had moved so swiftly that it only left blurred shadows in the air. It struck the group continuously like rays of lightning; after pouncing with its paws, it shot out another three b.a.l.l.s of light. A dozen generals died, their heads exploding like ripe melons during this attack, their manner of death petrifying to the eyes.

"Block it!"

Green mystical Qi rose rapidly around one of Zi Yuanlong’s guards. Only now did he manage to react after the chaos that just ensued. He called out, "It’s a ninth level mystical beast, an Eclipse Panther! Everyone be careful!"

Several guards charged in, their swords and sabers dancing through the air to cordon the Eclipse Panther’s movements and limit its incredible speed.

Several of Ziyou’s generals managed to initiate their cultivation base to simultaneously attack the Eclipse Panther that was catapulting back and forth almost imperceptibly after watching it in agonizing fury.

The Empire of Ziyou’s experts had also finally rushed to the thick of the battle from behind the troops, springing into the air with loud howls to descend into melee.

With a sharp cry, the Eclipse Panther tumbled in the air and retreated swiftly to the top of a huge tree five hundred feet away. The attacks that were leveled at it seemed to originate from all around; no matter how swift the Eclipse Panther was, it was still struck by the furious onslaught!

When the group saw that their target wilt under the relentless attacks, they grew bolder and combined forces, determined to kill the vile ninth level mystical beast and avenge their brothers’ deaths.

The Ziyou expert sprung into the air once more, leaving behind a blurred shadow as he flew towards the tree.

The white shadow flashed again, moving a thousand feet away; another flash saw it disappear entirely.

"Meow…"

Despite being sorely wounded, the Eclipse Panther was as quick as a frightened bird, das.h.i.+ng towards the dense forest far away from the battle.

A ninth level mystical beast had just run off after attacking stealthily, without any warning, leaving behind a ground full of corpses.

"What’s going on? Why were we ambushed?" Zi Yuanlong pushed himself up with some effort; his back was gory, his flesh torn while a large portion of his hair was gone as well.

Even though his guard had given his life to push him from harm's way and two of his generals had sacrificed themselves to save him, the innate spiritual energy-driven attacks of the Eclipse Panther had still gotten through to him. Although the injuries were not serious, he had still sustained damage during the brief fight.

Fury blazed in Zi Yuanlong’s eyes. The rage was not for himself for the comrades who had died within the blink of an eye around him.

"It was an Ecplise Panther that ambushed us… a ninth level mystical beast…" The guards surrounded him while the other experts at the back of the troop were making their way to the front; they were all afraid that the Eclipse Panther would return for the second round of mindless slaughter.

What happened just now was abrupt, ending entirely in just a snap; the Eclipse Panther that had just attacked had also mysteriously vanished.

"How can there be an Eclipse Panther here? How can this be?" Rage flickered dangerously in Zi Yuanlong’s heart as he looked at the quiet forest. As he stared at the dozens of generals guards on the ground who had died morbidly, his heart clenched with uncontrollable pain.

"This place usually doesn’t even have third or fourth level beasts. How can there be a top leveled mystical beast that can just emerge to ambush us?"

Zi Yuanlong was infuriated. "Scout the area!"

The troop immediately separated into ten separate teams as they began searching towards the deeper part of the forest.

Just as the operation started, a strangled cry arose from the dense trees!

A bearded general who had been leading one of the teams suddenly froze up while his eyes bulged out in fear; his hands were outstretched but a coughed up a mouthful of blood that was green in color!

Staggering, the general toppled over with his face towards the sky.

"What’s wrong now?" Zi Yuanlong growled. "What happened?"

The generals around him gathered around the bearded general, thinking that he had been ambushed by the Eclipse Panther but upon further inspection, they were speechless when they realized that that was not the case.

"General Bu seems to have been poisoned…"

The general in question had turned entirely green, his breathing shallow as he laid on the ground; his entire being was frozen, only his lost eyes were blinking weakly.

"How on earth could he have been poisoned?"

"When was he poisoned? Since when does the Eclipse Panther poison its prey?"

Zi Yuanlong was looking anxiously at the bearded general. "What poison courses through him? Heal him quickly!"

The physician that accompanied the troops was already moving promptly to check on the general but before he could come up with any particular diagnosis, another three people cried out suddenly before collapsing like puppets with their strings cut.

Three of them turned green as well and spat the same green-colored blood.

Their symptoms were similar to the bearded General Bu; somehow, they had come into contact with some kind of poison and were all in dire straits.

With so many consecutive incidents that happened without prior warning, everyone was stripped of their ability to think clearly.

What had gone wrong?

When were they poisoned?

Were they the only ones or were there more of them who had been poisoned as well?

"What poison is this?" Zi Yuanlong shoved a general aside and approached the physician. "Can you identify it?"

The general he pushed away turned his head unintentionally and shouted in alarm, "Marshal! You…"

Zi Yuanlong who was simmering with rage yelled back, "What are you shouting about? Can't it wait..."

Before he could finish his words, Zi Yuanlong’s expression took on an extremely strange cast before he shuddered violently, feeling dizzy. Lowering his head, he saw his hands and wrists turning green.

"Marshal!"

A few generals exclaimed and dashed forward to hold Zi Yuanlong. The marshal’s face was already green as well, as he swayed, about to fall. Several moments later, he spat a mouthful of green blood and collapsed.

Seeing that their marshal had been struck by calamity as well, the situation grew even more chaotic.

"Quickly… return to the country!" Zi Yuanlong said hoa.r.s.ely, barely able to get the words out. What the rest saw, however, was the washed-out dimness in his eyes.

They were no longer searching for the Eclipse Panther, leaving behind a small squad to move slowly with the wine, while the rest of them – all the physicians and generals - detached themselves from the main troop to send the five poisoned men back with all haste.

As the physicians kept up with the hasty speed, they hurriedly began healing the men. They were not hoping to remedy the poison, they only attempted to slow down the speed of the poison from spreading towards the heart. Once it reached that vital organ, it would be too late for any of them.

All the men were in various stages of fright, everyone was worried that someone else had been poisoned. Who knew if someone might just fall off his horse as they made their way home.

Fortunately, no one else fell victim to the poison along their journey; the group of men breathed a sigh of relief. They could basically be sure that there were only these five people who had been poisoned.

It was supposed to be a fortunate event that only five of them were poisoned but the fact that Marshal Zi Yuanlong was one of them erased any joy that they might have felt.

The physicians did their best – Zi Yuanlong, who had consumed seven to eight different types of pills, could finally breathe a little easier despite still looking slightly greenish. His eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with rage as he waited quietly for the physicians’ diagnosis.

A while later, a physician stopped what he was doing and looked at his colleagues with a grim expression. The handful of them exchanged worried looks before they nodded in collective agreement.

"Marshal, we can confirm the poison that you all have ingested," the physician said in a low voice.

"What poison is it?" Zi Yuanlong asked, his tone suppressed, his rage that was boiling underneath threatening to lash out anytime.

"It’s… a Soul-Sealing Spike…"

The physician swallowed before continuing, "It’s the School of Spring and Autumn’s unique secret weapon… Although the poison's strength is slightly weaker, the poison is indeed from a Soul-Sealing Spike."

"Soul-Sealing Spike?" Zi Yuanlong was dumbfounded; his eyes seemed to have glazed over as well.

When the generals heard the news, they scurried towards the side of the carriage. "How is the marshal? Is he alright?"

"A Soul-Sealing Spike's poison would normally work so quickly, but the sudden appearance of the Eclipse Panther might have hastened the eruption since everyone cultivated everything they had in order to protect themselves against the beast."

The physician did not look pleased. "Although this Eclipse Panther has killed a few people, it seems that its real motive was to cause the poison to flare up quickly."

Zi Yuanlong wore an unusually ghastly expression as he spoke slowly, "Han Sanhe, what is this?"

He stared into the s.p.a.ce before him dumbly after finis.h.i.+ng his words, as if all the strength left in him was being sucked out. With a tilt of his head, he lost consciousness.

"Marshal! Marshal!"

"Han Sanhe? What had he said about Han Sanhe? Is this related to Han Sanhe?"

"What strange poison is this?"

A series of questions came tumbling out from the generals' mouths.

One of the physicians replied grimly, "The poison that the five of them have running in their veins is the poison of a Soul-Sealing Spike… the Marshal has fainted after hearing our verdict."

"Soul-Sealing Spike!"

The Empire of Ziyou’s a.s.sistant marshal, w.a.n.g Yutang, was alarmed. "School of Spring and Autumn’s secret hidden weapon? Can you confirm this? This is an extremely grave accusation, it’s best not to simply point fingers until you are absolutely certain!"

The physicians all replied at the same time, "This lowly one does not dare to say things without consideration. The Marshal and the other four men’s poison is indeed the poison contained in a Soul-Sealing Spike. There's no doubt about it – this lowly one dares to guarantee it with his life!"