Lord of Rot

Just as Yi Lin led her troops out of Longship Castle, a detachment of the monkey soldiers ahead suddenly broke off and charged toward her.

”Fire!” Yi Lin raised her hand.

They didn’t possess the miraculous iron-tube weapons of Baron Porcupine, but they did have some bows and crossbows.

A scattered volley of arrows flew out. The makeshift counterattack wasn’t particularly effective; the well-equipped monkey soldiers simply lifted their shields overhead.

The falling arrows wounded only two or three of the monkey soldiers; the rest all lodged in their shields.

’All their archers must have gone to deal with Baron Porcupine.’

Yi Lin had wanted to take some of the pressure off Leech. Her plan was to draw the attention of some of their archers. While her own side was short on bows, they had plenty of shields and could hopefully lighten Leech’s burden.

Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan.

La Bill didn’t spare a single archer for her. In his eyes, the Porcupine Soldiers were the greater threat.

As Yi Lin and her troops charged out, the drawbridge behind them was raised, severing their connection with the outside.

The two forces, roughly equal in number, closed the distance quickly.

”Kill!” Yi Lin roared, drawing her sword and leading the charge, her first strike aimed at an oncoming soldier.

Her sword struck the hide-covered shield, and the force of the impact sent a tremor up her arm.

Reacting quickly, she kicked the soldier’s shield and used the momentum to leap back, narrowly avoiding his slashing sword.

Elsewhere, a dozen or so soldiers from Longship Castle at the front of the line suddenly screamed as they were sent flying. They crashed into the crowd behind them, taking down even more of their comrades.

Yi Lin instinctively glanced toward the commotion. Two identical women were charging through her troops like tigers among sheep; anyone they touched was sent flying.

She knew they were Transcendents.

Unfortunately, Longship Castle had yet to see any Transcendents of its own.

’Or perhaps there are, but they’re just unwilling to serve my sister, Lady Jie Lin. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.’

A glint of cold steel in the corner of her eye sent a wave of mortal danger washing over her.

Yi Lin instinctively dodged back, but she couldn’t avoid the sharp sting across her cheek.

The monkey soldier had swung his sword the instant her attention was divided. If she hadn’t reacted in time, she would have been decapitated.

She wiped her cheek, and her hand came away covered in blood.

The monkey soldier opposite her grinned, then charged straight at her with his shield raised. Yi Lin could only rely on her agility to evade him.

The disparities in weight, equipment, and the inherent physical differences between men and women put Yi Lin at a complete disadvantage against a fully armored soldier.

Her opponent was like a steel chariot; she stood no chance of stopping him.

Fortunately, she was nimble enough.

Yi Lin scrambled and rolled on the ground, barely managing to dive between his legs.

As the monkey soldier’s momentum from his heavy armor carried him stumbling forward, Yi Lin scrambled to her feet and thrust her sword into the weak point behind his knee.

The monkey soldier cried out in pain and dropped to one knee.

Yi Lin seized the opportunity and lunged, pressing her sword against the soldier’s neck. The gap between his helmet and cuirass was the most vulnerable spot; attacking from behind, it was her only option to finish him quickly.

But the monkey soldier reacted with surprising speed. He grabbed the blade with his left hand and repeatedly slammed his right elbow back into Yi Lin’s stomach.

”Gah!”

Yi Lin twisted her body, using her momentum to wrench the longsword free.

With a spray of blood, the monkey soldier collapsed.

She panted heavily, her wrist still trembling.

’I risked my life just to kill one of them, and there are nearly two thousand more just like him. How are we supposed to win this fight?’

’But I can’t afford to think about that now. The longer I hesitate, the more of my men will die.’

Yi Lin charged toward the twins who were busy slaughtering the soldiers of Longship Castle.

Two figures shot past her, faster than she was.

It was Guy and Rabbit!

As Guy ran, his body suddenly split in two.

It was the effect of his wondrous item, the Phantom Badge, which could create an identical phantom of himself that had no physical substance.

With perfect synchronicity, the twins both charged the figure on the left.

Their two powerful punches passed right through the phantom.

So much for their telepathic connection—it seemed to work just as well when they were making the wrong choice.

The real Guy was already upon them.

He opened his mouth.

”AAAAAH!”

A piercing sonic wave blasted out. The twins instinctively covered their ears, reeling from dizziness and disorientation.

Yi Lin, who was still mid-charge, was also caught in Guy’s indiscriminate sonic attack. She and every soldier around her, friend and foe alike, dropped their weapons to clutch their ears.

’So this is the power of a Transcendent!’

’A soldier I just struggled to kill was rendered helpless by a single shout from Guy, dropping his weapons and armor, cowering and waiting for death.’

Meanwhile, Rabbit had also charged in. He stabbed at the woman on the left with blinding speed, successfully leaving a cut on her back.

The sisters’ minds were one; although Rabbit had only wounded one of them, the other cried out in pain as well.

As Rabbit prepared to strike again, the twins simultaneously kicked off the soles of each other’s feet, launching themselves in opposite directions.

One shot toward the rapidly attacking Rabbit, while the other lunged at Guy.

Rabbit was also in mid-air and couldn’t dodge in time. A foot slammed into his chest!

His ribs caved in. His body was sent flying backward, crashing into several people.

But to everyone’s surprise, Rabbit, his chest completely caved in, casually stood back up. A deep, sunken footprint was visible on his chest, yet he acted as if he were completely unharmed.