N-A-A Chapter 12 The plan turned into a surprise attack halfway through the journey.
Chapter 12 The plan turned into a surprise attack halfway through the journey.
Looking into his mother's earnest and worried eyes, Dai Youheng felt a rare pang of guilt. He nodded and replied sincerely, "Mother, rest assured, I understand. Once I arrive at the academy, I will cultivate diligently and will never let you and Luo Li down."
However, only he knows how much of what he said came from the heart and how much was just habitual perfunctory.
In his heart, the idea of diligently cultivating was far less important and practical than "clinging to Huo Yuhao's coattails".
In his view, as long as he maintained a good relationship with Huo Yuhao, it would be much easier and more effective for Huo Yuhao, who would become a god in the future, to lend him a hand than for him to cultivate himself for decades.
Standing to the side, Dai Luoli, though still young, obediently said, "Brother, you must do your best at the academy! I will take good care of Mother."
Dai Youheng patted her younger brother's shoulder, forcing a smile, "Okay, I'm leaving the family to you."
It was getting late when a middle-aged man dressed in a close-fitting outfit and with a calm demeanor quietly appeared outside the courtyard gate. He bowed respectfully and said, "Young Master Youheng, the carriage and horses are ready. We can set off now."
This man was the guard assigned to Dai Youheng by the Duke's mansion, a Soul King of level 58.
Compared to the Soul Emperor-level guards who accompanied Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin when they traveled, this Soul King guard's configuration was clearly a level below.
However, in the Duke's eyes, for a son born out of wedlock, having a high-level Soul King as an escort was already quite a good treatment, enough to deal with most of the dangers along the way.
Dai Youheng didn't have much dissatisfaction with this, after all, he had long been used to the different treatment between legitimate and illegitimate children.
He bid farewell to his mother and brother one last time, then turned and boarded the carriage with a relaxed, or perhaps blind, mindset of returning to Shrek to continue his "clinging to the coattails" business.
"Let's go," he instructed the coachman and the Soul King's guard.
The carriage slowly started moving, exiting the side gate of the Duke's mansion and merging into the streets of Star Luo City in the early morning, heading out of the city with its destination: the distant Shrek Academy.
Inside the car, the sycophantic You Heng was probably still planning how to further his relationship with Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and others after returning to the academy, and how to find a way to join the Tang Sect. Little did he know that a deadly net had already been quietly cast against him.
In the distance, at the window of a private room in a teahouse, another Dai Youheng coldly watched the carriage gradually disappear into the distance, a chilling smile curving his lips.
The prey has been released.
He gently put down his teacup, and his figure disappeared from the window like a ghost, silently blending into the bustling crowd below, and followed him from a distance.
The hunt begins! Today is the day that simp dies.
Fifty miles outside Xingluo City, in the desolate wilderness, the wind howls.
Dai Youheng's carriage was traveling at a leisurely pace on the official road. Inside the carriage, he was still somewhat absent-minded, gazing at the scenery rushing past the window, but his thoughts had already flown back to the magnificent palace in Xingluo City, and to the radiant princess.
"Wait a little longer... just wait a little longer..." he murmured to himself, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of infatuation and anticipation. "In this competition, Yuhao will definitely shine! Once he starts to rise, I'll beg him to use his power to help the Star Luo Empire and help you. At that time, you'll definitely look at me with new respect!"
He was so engrossed in his own beautiful fantasy that he was completely unaware of the approaching danger.
Sudden.
boom--!
An overwhelming and terrifying force suddenly attacked from the side without warning, like an invisible giant hammer, slamming heavily onto the carriage!
The sturdy carriage twisted and deformed instantly, like paper, and then suddenly lifted off the ground and tumbled!
"Enemy attack! Young master, be careful!" At the critical moment, the Soul King guard reacted extremely quickly, shouting sharply. His Martial Soul instantly possessed him, and his five Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—suddenly lit up.
He grabbed the terrified Dai Youheng, his movements as swift as lightning, crashing through the rolling carriage wall and landing precariously on the ground not far away.
Amidst the swirling dust, Dai Youheng looked up, still shaken, and finally saw the attacker clearly.
The leader was a muscular man with a face twisted with rage, exuding a dark aura—it was Huang Heyun!
Beside him stood a middle-aged man wielding a gleaming, menacing decapitation sword. Six spirit rings—two yellow, three purple, and one black—slowly rotated around his body. The thunderous strike from just now was clearly the work of this Soul Emperor!
"Huang Heyun! What are you doing?" Dai Youheng was both shocked and furious, completely bewildered. "Are you insane? How dare you attack the carriage of the White Tiger Duke's mansion!"
His question only fueled Huang Heyun's anger.
"Am I crazy?" Huang Heyun's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth grinding together. He pointed at his face; although the stains had been cleaned, the humiliation was still etched into his bones. "Dai Youheng! What the hell did you do last night? Weren't you so arrogant when you stomped my face into the mud? What? Now you're scared? You dare to do it but not admit it!"
"Last night? I stepped on your face?" Dai Youheng looked bewildered and wronged. "What nonsense are you talking about! I went to bed early yesterday to prepare for today's journey and didn't leave the manor at all, not even to see Jiu Jiu! Huang Heyun, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"
"Mistaken identity?" Huang Heyun was so angry he almost laughed, his voice filled with violence. "I might mistake anyone else, but I would never mistake your disgusting sycophantic face! I'd recognize you even if you were ashes! Don't fucking play dumb with me!"
He could no longer contain his killing intent and roared at the Greatsword Soul Emperor beside him, "Uncle Huang Yan, take down that guard! Leave this sycophant to me; I'll teach him a lesson today!"
Upon hearing this, the Great Sword Soul Emperor named Huang Yan's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He raised his decapitation sword, carrying an incomparably fierce aura, and directly locked onto the Wind Wolf Soul King!
The Wind Wolf Soul King's expression was extremely solemn. Although his opponent was a Soul Emperor, his Soul Rings were not optimally configured; he only had a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, and his Soul Power fluctuations were not much stronger than his, around level sixty-two.
A high-level Soul King is not entirely invincible against a low-level Soul Emperor. He shouted, "Young Master, run! I'll lure him away and hold him off!"
He knew that the aftershocks of a battle at the Soul Emperor level were far beyond what Dai Youheng could withstand, and that the battlefield had to be opened up.
At the same time, he was well aware that Huang Heyun might teach Dai Youheng a lesson, but he would never dare to actually kill him. Killing the duke's son and merely beating him up are completely different things. After all, even a son born out of wedlock is still a son, and rashly killing the young master of the White Tiger Duke's mansion could very well trigger a large-scale conflict between the two families.