<h4>Chapter 585: Take Guardian</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Ye Chong opened his arms to both sides and flicked his daggers up, tracing two shiny golden arcs in the air.


    "Aooh!" The two snowshade leopards growled lowly, showing their teeth as they headed for Ye Chong. Their snow white teeth gleamed coldly against the dark. Their twisted their bodies and narrowly avoided the two daggers, losing only a few clumps of ck fur from the attack. The ck fur that was cut off from them scattered into the winds.


    Ye Chong knew that the upper hand he had at the beginning was only temporary. The fact was, his situation was dire. The snowshade leopards were strong creatures. They were quick and agile, with immense strength. He killed the first snowshade leopard easily because it was caught off guard, and because Rui Bing had exhausted much of its stamina. He would not have been able to kill it so quickly otherwise.


    The other three snowshade leopards he was dealing with now were still full of energy. They were furious of the death of theirpanion. Ye Chong must now fight against three angry snowshade leopards. This put him in a tough spot.


    He must stay calm. Everything slowed down around him. His thinking became clearer. The impact earlier had thrown back one of the snowshade leopards, but it was also left his shoulder numb. That was why the other two snowshade leopards avoided his daggers so easily.


    These two snowshade leopardsnded and growled lowly. They arched their bodies and stood one before the other, and charged towards Ye Chong like two bullets.


    In that instant, Ye Chong saw every minute detail. He put his arms down and bent them, and then drew his elbows backwards against the heads of the snowshade leopards.


    Bam! The snowshade leopards hit right onto Ye Chong''s elbows and cried out in pain.


    Elbow moves were powerful in all schools ofbat. Besides, the snowshade leopards had run right into them.


    Ye Chong sensed the impact of his attack on the snowshade leopards. They were momentarily frozen. It was the perfect opening. Given an extra tenth of a second, Ye Chong would have been able to kill both creatures with his daggers.


    However, Ye Chong did not make use of the opening. Instead, he dashed forward and pulled his daggers in front of him into a cross. A golden cross appeard in the darkness.


    ng! It sounded like the sh between two metal weapons, but it was actually from the ws of the first snowshade leopard shing against Ye Chong''s daggers. The snowshade leopards had very strong ws.


    The powerful impactbined with Ye Chong''s backwards momentum sent a heavy blow to Ye Chong''s arms. He felt a surge of energy into him and nearly stumbled backwards.


    Ye Chong knew that if he lost control of his body right now, the consequences would be very serious.


    When his feetnded on the ground, Ye Chong stomped heavily into the rocks and shed the dagger in his right hand upwards. The snowshade leopard in front of him retreated quickly in response.


    Next, the three snowshade leopards began tounch themselves against Ye Chong''s defenses like three ck bolts of lightning.


    Ye Chong did not move from his position. He blocked all the attacksing form the snowshade leopards.


    The daggers swiped and shed wherever Ye Chong needed them to. They shed against the enemies with a metallic ring every time. The sounds of impact never stopped. In the darkness, fiery sparks appeared all around Ye Chong that quickly disappeared.


    The ws of the snowshade leopards were as tough as Guardian''s daggers. The force behind the attacks from both sides caused sparks in the air.


    The three snowshade leopards were smart. Even in the narrow space within the crack, they were able to move around easily. Besides, they could coordinate their movements with each other. That made things particrly difficult for Ye Chong. The three snowshade leopards took turns attacking him. They were fast, and attacked at an astonishingly high frequency. Every attack was powerful. Even someone as strong as Ye Chong found it challenging to fight them.


    Ye Chong waspletely absorbed in the fight. His mind was focused entirely on the swift attacks that kepting at him. He was almost at his limit. Any distraction or hesitation on his part would most certainly lead to his death.


    There was no joy or sadness in him. His body moved almost thinking. His hands, elbows, shoulders, knees and legs all moved flexibly as though there were no bones inside him. He executed all these impossible moves with ease.


    They were fast!


    Ye Chong''s focused mind allowed him to see everything around him in slow motion. He must find the perfect timing and ce to attack by studying theplicated array of white lines in his vision. This required a mind capable of fast calctions and a long history ofbat, both of which he possessed.


    The truth was, he was now at a disadvantage. On t, open space, he could still hold himself against the three snowshade leopards and wait for his opportunity; but here in the narrow crack, there was no room to avoid attacks from the animals. In fact, he could not allow any attacks to get past him at all. There were people behind him that he needed to protect.


    Ye Chong gritted his teeth and held on. His only option was to fight to the end. This was a battle of tenacity and patience. The first one to give up would lose.


    Ye Chong moved his hands as fast as he could. Any opening on his side would only lead to more openings, and from then onwards he would be finished.


    10 minutes!


    Ye Chong maintained his incredible speed for that long. He performed perfectly. If his battle against the first snowshade leopard demonstrated his explosive offensive moves, then his battle now against the three snowshade leopards demonstrated his unyielding defenses.


    His moves were all fast and strong, blocking all the attacks that came his way!


    20 minutes had passed! Ye Chong''s defense was still wless. The three snowshade leopards never once breached his defenses.


    Inside Guardian, Ye Chong''s face was tinged in an unhealthy red. His eyes were opened wide, and his facial muscles were convulsing. Sweat rolled down his distorted face.


    He was at his limit. He knew that if the snowshade leopards stopped attacking now, his legs would give way.


    Nevertheless, he was not ready to give up just yet. Surrender was not in his nature. Even with his stamina nearly depleted, his mind did not lose its calm.


    The snowshade leopards were also slowing down! As someone who was also sensitive to changes in the battlefield, Ye Chong did not fail to notice that as well. Snowshade leopards were strong, but not invincible. As the ones on the offensive, they were using their energy much faster than Ye Chong.


    They were slowing down and growing weaker. They panted heavily and kept their eyes on Ye Chong, unwilling to give up. To them, the teardrop mineralite was …


    The gold colored Guardian was like a machine, never resting for a second. The snowshade leopards had never fought against anything so strong and resilient. That was only natural, since they were at the top of the food chain in Darkniss.


    The three snowshade leopards red at Ye Chong from a distance. They were breathing heavily. They arched their bodies and stood side by side.


    This d*mned gold figure was still right in their way in the middle of the crack.


    Ye Chong waspletely exhausted. His muscles felt like they were no longer his. He could no longer make his muscles ripple like before. Underneath his unwavering body, his legs were shaking very slightly, but this was not visible from outside the mech.


    "D*mn! Muscle cramps!" Ye Chong thought to himself as his expression hardened. His legs had suffered the most during the battle. After all, he used his legs to absorb all the impact from the animals.


    He had finally reached his limit.


    Rui Bing had recovered some of her energy. Her eyes glistened with concern. She knew how difficult those 20 minutes must be or Ye Chong. A single snowshade leopard had exhausted herpletely, but Ye Chong had to deal with three snowshade leopards at the same time. These three snowshade leopards had entered the battle in top condition.


    Ye Chong was inside Guardian, so Rui Bing could not see his face. However, she could tell from his slowing movements that something was wrong. This made her worried.


    She did not know that Ye Chong was alreadypletely exhausted. To her, Ye Chong was unbeatable. Whether it was before or at this very moment, be it in the Five Gxies or in this strange new world, she hadplete confidence in Ye Chong.


    Even so, she was ready to assist him.


    Fighting side by side with Ye was her favourite thing to do.


    "Fire!"


    Suddenly, the sky lit up in a dazzlingser disy. In the blink of an eye, the entire crack was illuminated withser beams. The three snowshade leopards vanished in the light without even the time to howl.


    In front of Ye Chong was a neat rectangr impression in the ground. The hole was three meters deep. Smoke curled up from the charred rocks in the hole. The rectangr hole extended from in front of Ye Chong all the way to the crack''s entrance. The cliffs on both sides inside the crack were also charred.


    Ye Chong looked up and saw row and rows of mechs, each pointing theirser gun inside the crack. They were the ones who fired.


    Ye Chong exhaled slowly and came out of Guardian.


    Rui Bing saw his pale face and quickly stepped forward.


    Ye Chong said, "We''re going back. Take Guardian." He slipped Guardian''s ring to Rui Bing.


    Rui Bing epted the inconspicuous looking ring with barely an expression, but her hands held onto the ring tightly.


    "Good sir, this is teardrop mineralite," Sang Kan spoke up.


    Only the Sang Tribe called him that. Ye Chong turned to Sang Kan, and saw him holding Mei Wu''s backpack.


    "You''re from the Sang Tribe?" Ye Chong could not help but asked.


    Sang Kan had just only turned conscious. There were still traces of blood by the edge of his mouth. He bowed down and answered with respect, "Yes."


    "Then you''lle with me."


    "Yes sir."


    Ye Chong trusted the Sang Tribe. Sang Kan was excited to hear Ye Chong''s words. He did not think much of his injuries. The Sang Tribe were strong people. They had always been in a tough war against nature. The injuries he had now were nothing. Serving their good sir was an unimaginable honour.


    Appilok and his soldiers did not descend from the sky. Ye Chong had always taught them to put their safety at the highest priority when in battle. They were never big on formalities.


    Their reinforcement was timely. Any longer, and Ye Chong would have been in danger.


    It was a marvellous simultaneous firing. Appilok hadmanded all 4000 mechs to do so. The mechs all hovered right above the crack and arranged themselves inyers to ensure that the attack was powerful enough. Each mech shot at a slightly different angle, so that all 4000 mechs could fire into the crack that was only a few dozen meters long.


    The effect was devastating, as was evident.


    To ensure Ye Chong''s safety, all the mech pilots that were firing closest to Ye Chong scored 95 and above in shooting.


    It was a one-hit kill. Appilok was slowly bing a mature and effective leader.


    "Depart." Ye Chong did not linger. This was not the ce to reminisce; besides, he was never one for reminiscing.


    There was finally time to catch his breath. Ye Chong slowly recovered his energy. The battle just now was so intense that he barely had time to breathe.


    When Mei Wu saw the mechs, she was astonished once again. She had seen many things today that felt surreal. Rui Bing and Sang Kan had already surprised her greatly. Then Ye Chong arrived, and she was even more shocked. It was hard to imagine how a Master Weaponsmith could kill a snowshade leopard, andter defended himself against three snowshade leopards for 20 minutes and survived without a scratch.


    A flying giant … Massiveser guns that could fireser beams thicker than the ones a Spider could fire … They seemed to be made of gravstones …


    Mei Wu felt like her entire worldview was overhauled.


    Ye Chong did not ask Mei Wu about her involvement. He had too many questions that needed answering, but this was not the ce to discuss them.


    Celest''s ck figure was as solid as a mountain. Its half lidded eyes seemed to stare down condescendingly at the world. Rui Bing put on Guardian and rested her rtively small and slender figure quietly on Celest''s shoulder.


    Ye Chong carried Rui Bing and led his army back to their main stronghold. When they arrived, Ye Chong''s first order was, "Have the two squads draw the animals to the stronghold."


    Their stronghold was now heavily armed, unlike when it was first built. They could use their armaments in the stronghold on the red-tailed beast and the 12 Gold Dragons. It was the most efficient way to deal with the creatures, and Ye Chong was all for efficiency.


    When Mei Wu saw the massive stronghold, she looked about to choke.


    When was this ce built? Why did she know nothing about it? It was just a stone''s throw away from her cave.


    She felt slightlyforted when she saw Sha Ya, a familiar face. Mei Wu was once very confident of her own strength, but she now felt very tiny. "No, that''s only because they are too strong," Mei Wu consoled herself so.


    The 12 Gold Dragons kept a tight pursuit on the mech squad as the hundreds of mechs made their way back to the stronghold. The Gold Dragons were too frustrated by the chase that they followed the mechs towards the stronghold.


    Once the Gold Dragons were within firing range, the stronghold''s weapons fired without warning.


    A dense web ofser beams engulfed the Gold Dragons.


    "Are these really the ruler of the sky, the Gold Dragons?" Mei Wu watched silently as the 12 Gold Dragons were shot full of holes. She felt a chill creeping up her spine.


    That was terrifying!


    10 minutester, the six-fingered red-tailed beast was also drawn to the stronghold. However, it was smarter than the Gold Dragons. It stopped itself right beyond their firing range.


    "Erge the image." Ye Chong ordered.


    The holographic screen zoomed in on the clearly figure of the red-tailed beast.


    The dark red arrowhead tail was evidence of its strength. Six fingers - that was the strongest red-tailed beast that Ye Chong had never killed.


    He remembered clearly that that six-fingered red-tailed beast was the leader of its "pack". He remembered that odd event clearly.


    If a red-tailed beast could be the leader of a "pack", than what about this red-tailed beast?


    Where did ite from? Was it a leader?