Chapter 301 - 241: Frightened Retreat

BLARE! BLARE! BLARE!

Amid the stalemate between the two sides, the blare of alarms suddenly erupted from within the Neon Concession, echoing through the night sky. Even from ten kilometers away, the sound was still clearly audible.

The battlefield fell still for a moment as everyone looked toward the source of the alarms.

The soldiers and masters of the Divine Land looked on in confusion, their hearts growing wary. They had no idea what new scheme the Neon Influence was plotting.

As for the people from the Neon Nation, their faces were filled with utter astonishment when they heard the alarms.

According to the original plan, the alarm was the signal for an emergency retreat to defend their core territory. The outer areas of the concession were to be abandoned as they fell back.

This meant that something unexpected had happened during tonight’s operation. They were at an absolute disadvantage, and only by shrinking their defensive perimeter could they guarantee the concession’s safety.

’But how is that possible?’

’They were clearly the ones dominating the situation in Jinmen.’

’What on earth could have happened?’

Yet even now, it never crossed their minds that the operation to besiege and kill Zhao Xuanqi had gone disastrously wrong.

Subconsciously, they believed that front was the most secure. Even if something went wrong, the worst that could happen was Zhao Xuanqi escaping the siege. That alone wouldn’t be enough to alter the current situation.

’Could the major Warlords have made a move? Were there reinforcements we didn’t know about?’

’The Divine Land forces attacking from a position of weakness today was strange in itself.’

In a split second, a dozen thoughts flashed through the Neon masters’ minds.

FWOOSH!!

However, before they could think any further, another sound pierced the air. A streak of fire shot toward the heavens from the direction of the Neon Concession, then suddenly exploded, bathing the night sky in a crimson glow.

It was a signal flare.

The alarm combined with a signal flare was a sign that the situation had deteriorated to an extreme degree.

"Retreat!!"

Upon seeing the signal flare explode, the various Neon masters and soldiers no longer hesitated. They wasted no more time engaging their opponents, swiftly disengaged, and converged on the core of the Neon Concession.

"What is...?"

Seeing this maneuver from the Neon Influence, the Divine Land masters were all stunned, with no idea what had just happened.

’The Neon Influence actually retreated?’

’This was their own concession. By retreating, they were essentially ceding this territory to the Divine Land.’

’Who would do something like that unless they were at an absolute disadvantage, or even facing the threat of complete annihilation?’

’Just a short while ago, Neon had the upper hand.’

「East side of the Neon Concession.」

Li Ping, Qi Hongxuan, and Meng Dongtai, fighting as a team, stood frozen in place, feeling utterly caught off guard as they watched the Neon masters’ hasty retreat.

"What’s going on? Why did the Neon People retreat? Is this some kind of trap? What do we do now? Give chase or not?"

Qi Hongxuan asked the two men beside him, his brow furrowed.

"I don’t know. But regardless, the Neon People retreating is a good thing for us. As for giving chase, I think it’s best not to until we understand the situation. After all, our original plan wasn’t to occupy the Neon Concession, but simply to delay their offensive until reinforcements arrive."

Meng Dongtai’s complexion was not good. His injuries hadn’t fully healed, and he had struggled to keep up during the last fight, so he was not in favor of an attack.

"I agree. Pursuing them before we know what’s happening is not a good choice. We’ll leave some people to guard this position and head to the rendezvous point to meet up with the other teams."

Li Ping nodded. With the situation so uncertain, he also disagreed with giving chase.

And so, the group immediately set off for the rendezvous point.

The other team, led by Yang Xun, made a similar decision.

...

...

「At this very moment.」

In the heart of the Neon Concession, a figure stood bathed in moonlight atop a tall building, looking down upon the Neon Consulate.

The figure’s clothes were in tatters, and his powerful, muscular frame was visibly covered in a dense network of crisscrossing wounds.

Yet even this severely wounded figure, standing high above and looking down, exerted a terrifying pressure over the Neon Concession, like the weight of Mount Tai itself bearing down on them.

CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!

The sound of urgent footsteps echoed throughout the Neon Concession. All manner of Firearms were aimed in Zhao Xuanqi’s direction, and inside the consulate, Neon death-sworn warriors stood in grim readiness.

And yet, under the weight of so many hostile gazes, Zhao Xuanqi’s expression remained exceptionally calm, as if these terrifying threats were of no consequence to him.

He alone looked down upon the entire Neon Consulate!

Though Furukawa Naoto’s interference had cost him the chance to finish off An Yuan Wuyan, he hadn’t simply left. Instead, he had chased the fleeing An Yuan Wuyan all the way here, treating the Neon Soldiers in the concession as if they were nothing, and finally taken his stand on the high ground outside the consulate.

It was his appearance alone that forced the Neon Consulate onto its highest state of alert. To protect the building’s safety, they had no choice but to sound the emergency alarm and summon their scattered soldiers and masters to return.

And this was precisely Zhao Xuanqi’s objective.

After a series of life-or-death battles, Zhao Xuanqi’s Physical Ability was severely depleted. He wasn’t sure if he could last long enough to rush around and support the other teams. Therefore, he chose to reveal himself directly at the consulate, using his presence to intimidate the Neon forces into retreating and bringing an end to the chaotic battle.

Clearly, backed by the fearsome reputation he’d just earned by killing two of the Twenty-Eight Demon Stars and repelling the Northern Lord, his plan was proceeding smoothly.

「Inside the Neon Consulate.」

Neon Consul Sano Hideyuki and Military Department Head Yamada Ichirō were in the command room. Off to one side, An Yuan Wuyan had reverted to his previous appearance—that of a frail old man in his twilight years. He was sitting cross-legged, doing his best to recover from his injuries.

Meanwhile, Sano Hideyuki and Yamada Ichirō were looking through binoculars, their expressions grim as they observed the figure perched high above, looking down on their entire Neon Consulate.

If not for the news An Yuan Wuyan had personally brought back, they would have found it nearly impossible to believe.

Three masters had besieged him, yet not only had they failed to eliminate Zhao Xuanqi, he had instead achieved a breakthrough mid-battle and killed two of them. If Furukawa Naoto hadn’t sacrificed his life to hold the rear, it’s likely even An Yuan Wuyan wouldn’t have escaped.

This battle for Jinmen... they had lost.

Watching the man outside, bathed in moonlight as he looked down upon everything from on high, the eyes of the two leaders flashed with intense, unwilling resentment.

They wanted to risk it all, to gamble that Zhao Xuanqi was a spent force and that they might still have a chance to kill him. But when the moment came, they found they no longer had the courage for such a gamble.

If they lost that gamble, multiple Demon Stars—or even the Northern Lord—would fall in Jinmen. Forget the situation in Jinmen; the entire Empire’s grand plan for the Divine Land would likely be affected.

And in their eyes, their opponent was now an unfathomable entity.

Zhao Xuanqi stood on high ground. By now, he could sense the movements of the Neon Army and its masters closing in. A faint smile touched his otherwise calm face.

’He knew it was time to leave. If multiple masters were to besiege him, it would be a real problem in his current condition.’

Before he left, his eyes glanced toward a certain spot in the concession. Then he spun around, and with a flicker of his form, he vanished into the night, his whereabouts unknown.

Sano Hideyuki and Yamada Ichirō, who had been observing Zhao Xuanqi all this time, couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief as his figure disappeared. Only then did they notice their backs were drenched in cold sweat.

The two men looked at each other, speechless.

He had single-handedly shattered the death trap set by three top masters, killing two of them in the process. He had stood alone before the Neon Consulate and terrified the entire army into retreat.

By tomorrow, this earth-shattering news would undoubtedly spread throughout the Divine Land, and there was no telling what kind of storm it would stir up.

It seemed that among the great masters of the Divine Land, a Ninth Monarch was about to emerge.