Chapter 2448 - 2448: The Escape Route Sealed

Upon hearing Nalan Jingwei's words, Helian Tiehua immediately nodded, but his people secretly laughed in their hearts.

Nalan Jingwei was eager to make a contribution, and earlier he divided the crowd into three groups. Among them, the Nalan Family was the most crucial group, charging head-on and attacking from behind. Meanwhile, Helian Tiehua's Twelve Green Halls and Sha Men were divided into two groups to flank from the sides.

The intention behind this was to beautifully name the strategy "dividing into three routes" to catch the enemy off guard. In reality, Nalan Jingwei aimed to highlight the merits of his Nalan Family to the greatest extent. With the Nalan Family charging from the front, the first thing the Sword Saint Sect people would see is the Nalan Family. In such a case, the Sword Saint Sect would feel that the Nalan Family played a significant role, and would surely be very grateful to them in the future. Nalan Jingwei was laying the groundwork for the future relationship between the Nalan Family and the Sword Saint Sect.

However, Nalan Jingwei didn't know that Helian Tiehua and others weren't actually preparing to deal with the Wanyan Family. By splitting everyone into three groups, it rather suited Helian Tiehua's plans. When Helian Tiehua's team decided to retreat, Nalan Jingwei probably wouldn't even notice, let alone intercept them. Therefore, Helian Tiehua's side was secretly amused.

Under Nalan Jingwei's arrangement, the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, Twelve Green Halls, and Sha Men split into two groups and moved to both sides, preparing to flank the enemy. Nalan Jingwei wasn't aware that those nearby had other intentions, and observing the ongoing chaos between both sides, he was extremely excited. Taking a deep breath, he turned to look at the two groups on either side and slowly raised his right hand. With a sudden swing of his hand, he shouted, "Kill!"

As Nalan Jingwei shouted, the Nalan Family members charged out from their hiding places, heading straight for the Wanyan Family. At the same time, the two groups on either side also rose, ready to rush out.

Nalan Jingwei was very satisfied with the situation, and he jumped out directly, holding a red-tasseled spear, leading the charge while shouting, "Sword Saint Sect brothers, do not worry, my Nalan Family is here to assist you!"

While speaking, Nalan Jingwei only mentioned the Nalan Family, completely ignoring the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, Twelve Green Halls, and Sha Men, wanting to take all the credit.

However, he didn't notice that as he charged, those who had already stood up on both sides weren't rushing over but were retreating instead, taking this opportunity to turn and leave.

The Nalan Family members didn't notice this, and calling out, they charged ahead, causing quite a stir on the scene.

Participating in the mixed battle, Wanyan Second Master turned his head immediately upon seeing Nalan Jingwei, frowning and shouting, "Why is Nalan Jingwei here?"

No one knew what was happening, and everyone was very puzzled. However, the Sword Saint Sect people were extremely excited, with the leading Third Sect Master shouting, "Great, reinforcements have come. Let's work together to annihilate the Wanyan Family!"

The Wanyan Family was indeed surrounded from all sides, making the scene quite chaotic. Although the Nalan Family wasn't very powerful and had few numbers, this impact certainly troubled them. Fortunately, the Nalan Family wasn't large in number, so they were quickly blocked, temporarily stabilizing the situation.

Wanyan Second Master dodged two Sword Saint Sect masters, rushing to a nearby high platform. Sitting on the platform was Wanyan Family's Wanyan Hongfeng. Standing beside Wanyan Hongfeng was a person with lifeless eyes, controlled by the Wanyan Family using the Heart Demon Technique—the Sword Saint Sect's Fifth Sect Leader.

The Unity of Heaven and Man masters hadn't yet engaged, so the two were still sitting there. Upon Wanyan Second Master's arrival, he nervously said, "Brother, I don't know how, but Nalan Jingwei has brought people in?"

Wanyan Hongfeng, sitting cross-legged on the platform with eyes closed, heard this and didn't even open his eyes, just calmly nodded and said, "I know."

Wanyan Hongfeng's reaction left Wanyan Second Master stunned. Such a big event occurred, yet how could he remain so calm? Was he not worried about the situation, or had he anticipated this all along?

Nalan Jingwei faced two Peak Masters, wielding the red-tasseled spear with great vigor, yet unable to deal with the two masters immediately. On the other hand, the Nalan Family was struggling more and more, making him somewhat frustrated. He originally thought this assault could scatter the Wanyan Family, but unexpectedly, they were stopped so quickly, which was quite unforeseen.

At this moment, a member of the Nalan Family suddenly shouted, "Why haven't the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance and Twelve Green Halls come over?"

"That's right, Sha Men hasn't come over either. What's going on?" Another person shouted loudly at this time, only then did they notice that the other two groups hadn't come to help.

Nalan Jingwei was also shocked upon hearing this and quickly turned to look, but by now there was no sight of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, Twelve Green Halls, and Sha Men. It seemed as though they had all disappeared, with not even a shadow visible.

"Damn it!" Nalan Jingwei couldn't help but curse, saying, "These bastards, they actually retreated halfway, truly hateful. These beasts, I shouldn't have collaborated with them!"

At this time, no one paid attention to Nalan Jingwei's curses. He cursed non-stop, yet didn't consider the position he placed the others when his Nalan Family wanted to take credit. With such a treacherous heart, wouldn't others see right through?

Without assistance from the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, Twelve Green Halls, and Sha Men, the Nalan Family couldn't quite match their adversaries. Fortunately, the Sword Saint Sect blocked most experts from the Wanyan Family, so the sides remained evenly matched for a while. In actuality, the situation wouldn't last long as the combat hadn't begun between the beyond peerless masters or Unity of Heaven and Man masters. Once they engaged, the battle would shift again, especially since the Wanyan Family possessed a Minghong Knife scabbard. Moreover, the Wanyan Family hadn't yet unleashed their Long-toothed Rat Swarm, which was also a major weapon!

Elsewhere, Helian Tiehua and others immediately fled upon the battle's commencement. However, they hadn't run far when the leader, Ding Lianshun, suddenly stopped, bewildered as he looked around, murmuring, "Did you hear something?"

Helian Tiehua had already halted, deeply inhaling with a grim expression, murmuring, "Everyone be cautious; it's the Long-toothed Rat Swarm!"

"Long-toothed Rat Swarm?" Yin Xianzi, Wolf Monk, and other Peak Masters were stunned. Though they had heard of Long-toothed Rats, they hadn't seen one, nor did they know the true power of these creatures. Thus, upon hearing the sound, they couldn't recognize it as the Long-toothed Rat noise.

Among those aware of the Long-toothed Rat Swarm's power, nobody dared underestimate these creatures, retreating cautiously and watching the direction the sound emanated from.

Helian Tiehua's brows furrowed. Experiencing the next great battle personally, he was familiar with the Long-toothed Rat Swarm's ferocity. Although a single rat's combat skills were ordinary, the key lay in their numbers. When hundreds of thousands or millions of Long-toothed Rats stormed, except a beyond peerless master, ordinary people couldn't escape their encirclement. For experts below the acme, the Long-toothed Rat Swarm was indeed a deadly weapon, deliberately trained by the Wanyan Family to control the realm.

During their entry, Helian Tiehua and his team saw numerous corpses, raising questions among them. According to logic, the Long-toothed Rat Swarm was one of the Wanyan Family's trump cards, and in dealing with the Sword Saint Sect, they must have brought them along, right? But if they brought the swarm, why were there leftovers? Helian Tiehua understood that where there were corpses, the swarm would consume them entirely, leaving only scraps.

Upon hearing the Long-toothed Rat Swarm's sound, Helian Tiehua suddenly realized that the Wanyan Family hadn't refrained from deploying the swarm; they simply hadn't unleashed it yet.

"We're trapped!" Helian Tiehua abruptly murmured, bewildering those nearby.

"Trapped by what?" Ding Lianshun asked in surprise, and Yin Xianzi skeptically added, "Didn't we design a pit for the Nalan Family? How are we trapped?"

"No time to explain! Follow me; we still have a chance to escape!" Helian Tiehua muttered, genuinely fearing delays and charging toward the exit.

Uncertain about the situation but witnessing Helian Tiehua's grave expression, the group dared not delay, following him toward the exit.

Leading the front, Helian Tiehua felt relieved as they neared the exit, while the sparse troubling sounds grew louder. Clearly perceiving the closeness of the Long-toothed Rat Swarm, the tension mounted.

Tightening his furrowed brow, Helian Tiehua knew their best chance lay in escaping before the swarm surrounded them. Failing would trap them there, especially given the Sword Saint Sect's location between two mountain ridges. With their Qinggong, scaling the cliffs was impossible; only the exit remained.

Soon, they spotted the exit from afar, momentarily easing Helian Tiehua's mind. Yet, as they neared the exit, a tide-like surge of dark Long-toothed Rats appeared!