Chapter 535 - Chaotic Battle
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
Xiao YanXue's head squirmed out from Ling Tian's embrace and she looked at the chilly beauty in front of her with curiosity. This was another lady who was comparable to her in terms of beauty! Xiao YanXue really did not know where Ling Tian's fortune came from and why all the beauties beside him were all so outstanding! She could not help but smile shyly and say, "Nice to meet you."
Just when Li Xue was about to give Ling Tian a piece of her mind, she heard the gentle 'nice to meet you' from Xiao YanXue. Her stomach full of anger could not be vented and she could only suppress it with frustration before replying with resentment, "Nice to meet you too."
Ling Tian carefully put Xiao YanXue down and allowed her to lean on a thick triangular branch, "There's no rush for you two to exchange pleasantries. Let's watch the show first! This all-out battle without any hypocrisy at all is definitely a rare sight."
The two ladies rolled their eyes together in complete harmony.
In the forest, the fight between the Shui and Yu Families was already at its peak. Originally, the numbers of both families were similar with the Yu Family having a slight advantage. But with the Shui Family being hidden and having the advantage at the start of the battle, the Yu Family took a huge loss from the ambush and the Shui Family had about fifty percent more men than the Yu Family! Thus, the Shui Family had the absolute advantage!
However, the situation of the battle right now had also displayed how frightening the White Jade experts of the Yu Family were! The three hundred White Jade experts of the Yu Family had become the main force of the Yu Family. Ling Tian could sharply notice that if they were to consider the strength of the individual experts, apart from Shui QianRou and the six Shui Elders, all the other warriors of the Shui Family were not a match for the White Jade experts of the Yu Family! As such, apart from the absolute suppression during the initial stages of the battle, the Yu Family was gradually able to regain their footing. Conversely, the casualties of the Shui Family also began increasing over time. If there wasn't a third party interfering in this matter, victory would still be up in the air!
When comparing the leaders of both parties…
Shui QianRou single-handedly blocked Yu ZhanKong with an endless wave of sword qi. Apart from the initial moments where Yu ZhanKong was caught off guard by Shui QianRou resulting in him being on the losing end, he gradually stabilized his footing and used his many years of experience to calmly block Shui QianRou's blows. As for the other six Shui Elders, two of them joined hands to fight Yu Zhanhui while the other four fought the ten of White Jade experts of the Yu Family. Although they had the upper hand, they were just unable to kill the White Jade experts engaging them in battle!
As Ling Tian observed the situation from above, he could not help but frown, "Why is this the case?" Ling Tian looked at the battlefield, "Isn't this situation too baffling? Can this even be considered an ambush?" He looked at Li Xue with a slight interrogative gaze, "Who was the one who designed this ambush? Is this what the two of you call an ambush? This is no different from a chaotic battle between two equally matched parties! If not for the Shui Family having the slight advantage of catching the Yu Family by surprise, the Shui Family members would be the ones being slaughtered now!"
Li Xue twitched her lips and said with disdain, "Our plan was naturally flawless and the information that we gave them was definitely accurate. However, the problem lies with the Shui Family. No one else can be blamed but them alone!"
"The problem lies with the Shui Family? How can this be?" Ling Tian asked with a frown.
"When I saw the attitude the Yu Family members had when they entered the forest, I was certain that their deaths were certain! In fact, I was sure that the Shui Family members wouldn't need to exhaust too many men in order to wipe out the Yu Family. The Yu Family members were far too carefree and were no different from an undisciplined mob! On top of that, they had actually walked into the forest openly as though they were attending a dinner banquet and carelessly without sending anyone to scout the road in front of them!" Li Xue sighed with regret, "After the Shui Family activated their ambush, I realized that the idiotic ones are not only the Yu Family members but also the Shui Family members! Are the so-called thousand-year-old families all so incompetent?!"
"With such an advantageous situation in front of them and careless enemies, if I was the one laying the ambush, I would be able to wipe out half of their experts at the very least! Even if a few of them were lucky enough to escape the ambush, they would definitely have to pay a huge price! At that time, I would wipe them out completely in a single attack! However, the so-called ambush of the Shui Family was far too disappointing!" Li Xue said with a mocking smile, "Apart from bows and arrows, these Shui Family fellows do not even know how to use any other weapons! They are like a bunch of fools who threw away their absolute advantage! If this situation persists, it would be difficult for the victor to be determined! What a joke!"
"Only bow and arrows?" Ling Tian was taken aback, "Are you serious?"
Li Xue sneered, "If I was the one laying an ambush, I would definitely swarm them with hidden weapons from all direction and dig traps to ambush them. On top of that, I would also scatter sleeping powder all around and add on some special designs to the traps. I believe that even if a first-rate expert fell into the trap, it would be impossible for him to escape alive! However, who knows what the Shui Family fellows are thinking of. While they did dig holes, they only used them to hide people. Furthermore, they were hiding their own men! They are truly going against all principles of an ambush! On top of that, after the first wave of arrows, their members only launched an attack after half a breath of time, allowing the Yu Family experts some time to react!"
Li Xue sneered with an undisguised disgust and mockery in her eyes, "While half a breath of time isn't much to an ordinary person, it would make a world of a difference to a top-notch expert in a desperate situation! This half a breath of time is enough to bring them from death to life! Isn't the Shui Family a little too 'merciful'?!"
Ling Tian's mouth widened in complete shock. He never imagined that an individual as smart as Shui QianRou would design such a trap so filled with loopholes. In the face of the Yu Family's experts, wasn't she playing with her life like a joke?
Being merciful to your enemy is cruelty to yourself! Regardless of whether or not the mercy was intentional!
However, Ling Tian truly maligned Shui QianRou this time. With regards to the ambush this time around, Shui QianRou had enacted the scene countless of times in her mind. After all, this was a critical mission that would determine if her brother's title of being the successor could be reinstated! How would Shui QianRou dare to let her guard down?
But after the incident with Shui QianHu, Shui QianRou was thoroughly disappointed with her family. On top of that, whenever she went to have a conference with the elders, the few old fellows were afraid that she and her brother would end up snatching the merit from them and thus only allowed her to participate in the mission but not the planning. After half a night of planning, the six Shui Elders finally finalized the 'flawless' ambush plan and disdained to take any of Shui QianRou's advice. Regardless of how much Shui QianRou insisted on her views, they were unwilling to accept them at all.
These six old fellows still stubbornly felt that with the thousand years of enmity with the Yu Family, they had to wipe out the Yu Family experts openly in order to fully display their majesty and prestige. Only then would the Yu Family admit their defeat completely. As such, arranging archers to lay an ambush beforehand was the furthest they would go! If not for there being too many White Jade experts present in the Yu Family's troops, they would have probably waited for the Yu Family experts out in the open for a fair duel!
When they had set up this ambush, the few old fellows of the Shui Family lamented about how these measly traps and tricks were a disgrace to the prestige of a thousand-year-old family… the Second Elder had even let out a sigh to the heavens saying that even if they were able to obtain a complete victory, it was an unfair victory and they would only be disgraced by it.
How could there be such an ignorant person in the world?!
If Ling Tian knew that the reason behind this horrible situation was such a pathetic one, he would definitely curse the few old idiots of the Shui Family for their foolishness! They were akin to prostitutes trying to erect a chastity tablet and old fogies who cared too much about their face!
"Furthermore, these Shui Family members are obviously quite a bit weaker than the White Jade experts of the Yu Family! The difference in their strength is not one that can be made up with by numbers. Thus… I suspect that this was an intentional arrangement." Li Xue analyzed the matter calmly, "Such an arrangement could only be made by the Shui Family Head!"
Ling Tian was startled, "Could it be that Shui ManKong intentionally sacrificed these men in Sky Bearing to weaken the forces of his younger brothers? However, Shui QianHuan and Shui QianRou are his own children after all and furthermore his only two children. Isn't he also putting his children in huge danger?"
Li Xue nodded her head in agreement before replying slowly, "This is indeed a problem. However, just as the saying goes 'If a jade isn't carved, it would be worthless'. Shui ManKong may be making use of this opportunity to train both of his children. Besides that, he can just send out another one or two top-notch experts to protect them in secret and all of his worries would be taken care of." Li Xue then looked at Ling Tian and blinked. "Tian'ge, don't tell me that you believe that these are the only troops that the Shui Family sent to Heavenly Star?"
"Your words do make sense. It seems like Shui ManKong is also a wily old fox. I have truly underestimated him before this." Ling Tian stroked his chin and said with a profound gaze.
"Cheh! Stop acting! Could the Family Head of a thousand-year-old family possibly be a retard?" Li Xue mercilessly tore apart Ling Tian's act. "It would be a wonder if you weren't able to guess that!"
Ling Tian chuckled and shook his head without saying anything to deny those words.
"While the Shui Family has the upper hand at the start, it would be difficult for them to wipe out all of the Yu Family's forces for sure. What should we do! Should we use our strength to leave all of them behind?" Li Xue looked at Ling Tian and said slowly, "Ling Chen, Ling Jian and the rest have concealed themselves in the surrounding to observe the situation. But since you are back, it is best for you to make the decision."
Ling Tian watched the battlefield before him and said calmly, "You can send my orders. Wait for a moment before asking Ling Jian and the rest to take action. There isn't a need to kill all the Yu Family members. You have to leave some alive to complain to Yu ManLou after all."