Sword Shatters Stars

Chapter 45 Doing the Best

The Heavenly Martial Souls of the Misty Forest Mountain Range are all rushing towards the Misty Spirit King at full speed.

Considering Wang Guan's insidious and malicious plan, and the current situation, Zhao Youyue suggested:

"Wang Guan has many people and great power. If we let his conspiracy succeed, we will have no chance to absorb the Mist Spirit King, and it will be difficult for us to leave the Mist Forest Mountains alive. Shouldn't we expose his conspiracy and unite with the survivors to deal with them?"

Fang Yuan then suggested:

"Wang Guan is malicious and would never share the Mist Spirit King with those five groups. He will definitely wait for the right moment to discard it after it has served its purpose. His real plan is probably to keep it all for himself! It's hard to say whether the members of the King's Group will even get a share!"

"If we join forces with others, we will be exposed and become the first thorn in the side that the Crown will want to get rid of."

"The vast majority of the survivors now are the kind who climb cliffs, are used to going alone or in pairs, and don't trust others. We simply have no way to truly unite them."

"As long as Wang Guan executes the original plan, these people will still suspect each other and fight amongst themselves."

"It would be better to remain silent and wait until the Crown Project reaches its final stage before launching a surprise attack on the Kings."

Zhao Youyue and Fang Yuan's suggestion was exactly what Lin Xiufeng was considering.

But he had more concerns.

Therefore, I felt that neither of these two plans was safe enough.

After much thought, no better solution could be found, so we decided to take a two-pronged approach.

“Wang Guan recognizes my and Zhao Youyue’s voices. The four of you will act as a group of four who have been attracted and mingle in the crowd in front of Wu Ling Wang. When the opportunity arises, expose Wang Guan’s conspiracy. Try to unite as much as possible.”

"If the unity fails, you will withdraw and return here to regroup. We will then launch a surprise attack when the Crown Plan is fully implemented."

Fang Yuan reluctantly offered his advice:
"It's not that I'm heartless, it's just that these people are truly impossible to unite. Uniting a few individuals is possible, but getting the majority to unite is simply unrealistic. Why must the commander do this?"

"Fang Yuan, have you ever considered the existence of Shanwang Village?"

"Have you considered what would happen if Wang Guan were actually from Shanwang Village, or even if he were a Heavenly Warrior and the village chief of Shanwang Village? In the end, how would we deal with him according to your plan?"

Lin Xiufeng's series of questions left Fang Yuan silent for a while.

Everyone, including Zhao Youyue, was shocked!

If so, all information, including that about the Wulin Mountain range, may have been deliberately disseminated under Wang Guan's direction.

"Didn't Wang Guan just say that last year's Misty Forest Mountain Range..." Liu Qingqing felt that this was too much of a conspiracy theory.

"Why should he tell the truth to others? His story is far-fetched. In my opinion, all the participants from last year's Misty Forest Mountain group who didn't die, didn't leave midway, and saw the Mist Spirit King are probably all in Mountain King Village!"

"You mean, when we were asking around in the village, the so-called eyewitness accounts were all pre-recorded lines?"

Zhao Youyue gasped, finding it hard to believe such an outrageous conspiracy.

"Not only that, the people of Shanwang Village deliberately spread news of the mist forest in advance in the surrounding areas where the Heavenly Martial Souls were active, and intentionally avoided the areas where the Heavenly Martial Souls were active."

"The goal is to kill as many Heavenly Martial Souls as possible in the Mist Forest, so that the Mist Spirit King can absorb as much Heavenly Martial Power as possible."

Lin Xiufeng's bold speculation contains some elements of conjecture, but it can explain many questions.

The most crucial point is why none of the Heavenly Warriors who participated before came here this year.
At the very least, if the Heavenly Martial Clan knew about a place like the Misty Forest, there was no reason why they wouldn't put it under their control.

Unless, the Heavenly Martial Clan is unaware of the existence of the Mist Forest.

So why were the survivors from last year able to keep it a secret?
Alignment of interests is not enough, unless—both are placed in a controllable environment where secrets will not be leaked.

That is, they are all in Shanwang Village.

Fang Yuan considered it carefully before saying:

“A two-pronged approach is more appropriate. But the ultimate question is, Wang Guan led the people of Shanwang Village to plan all this, which is very likely to break through to the Heavenly Martial Realm; but it is also possible that he is already a Heavenly Martial Realm.”

"If it's the latter, we only have a chance if everyone works together. But what if we can't unite?"

Lin Xiufeng had already thought it through and directly stated his thoughts.

"Zhao Youyue and I have reached the ninth level of Heavenly Martial Soul. If we have the opportunity to cultivate the Heavenly Martial Heart, we can fight!"

"If not, absorb as much of the Mist Spirit King as you can when the opportunity arises. If you have no other choice, give up absorbing and hide to save your life."

"I believe that with Wang Guan's ruthlessness, he would definitely kill even the people of Shanwang Village. Not only would he enjoy the spoils all to himself, but he would also keep everything he did a secret. Those five regiments were probably composed of people from Shanwang Village."

Fang Yuan agreed with Lin Xiufeng's speculation.

He called out to Ren Xing, Ma Jin, and Liu Qingqing, pretending to be a group of four who had just arrived at the Mist Spirit King's place.

Lin Xiufeng took the prepared silk scarf and handed it to Zhao Youyue.

"Cover your face and walk with your back bent."

"Shall we go to the Mist Spirit King's place too?"

"Of course, once there are more people, we can mix in and, before things get chaotic, we can take as much damage as we can from the Mist Spirit King."

Lin Xiufeng led the way, taking a detour before quickly mingling with the Mist Spirit King.

There were people there, but not many yet. The Mist Spirit King was also a luminous body like a mist spirit, with a body ten meters in diameter, hovering slightly off the ground.

More and more people surrounded it and attacked it.

Lin Xiufeng and Zhao Youyue adopted a bent-leg, sideways fighting stance, which effectively concealed their height. The people around them didn't recognize them and didn't have time to pay attention to them, as they were all focused on fighting the Mist Spirit King.

Each attack unleashed Heavenly Martial Power roughly equivalent to that of an ordinary Mist Spirit.

But the total amount contained in that enormous body is many times greater!

The Mist Spirit King was under continuous attack, but he showed no signs of retaliating.

As more and more people gathered, the area around the Mist Spirit King was completely surrounded.

The later ones jumped and struck the Mist Spirit King's body.

Some people even bent bamboo and pressed it onto the Mist Spirit King, allowing them to withstand continuous attacks. Although the force was weaker, it was much more efficient than repeatedly leaping and landing.

Gradually, all the usable bamboo near the Mist Spirit King was put to use.

The surface of the Mist Spirit King's body was covered with people clinging to bamboo, some even using broken bamboo to support themselves against the ground.

Fang Yuan, estimating that everyone had arrived, shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Wang Guan, the village chief of Shanwang Village, instructed the survivors of the Misty Forest last year to deliberately spread rumors to lure us here, maliciously using our lives to allow the Misty Spirit King to absorb more Heavenly Martial Power!"

"Wang Guan plans to use the people of Shanwang Village to attack us, inciting us to fight amongst ourselves, and then expose the people of Shanwang Village!"

"Use us to eliminate those people, and then let the crown destroy the last survivors, so that the Mist Spirit King can have all of them!"

"Everyone, please unite! If someone attacks us, shout for help, and those nearby should attack the attackers together! Don't give the people of Shanwang Village any chance to take advantage!"

"As for the people of Shanwang Village, I don't want to be as stupid as you, being used by Wang Guan and then discarded. If you were sober, you shouldn't continue to be used by him!"

Fang Yuan used the method of Wang Guan to cooperate. Logically speaking, with everyone united, it would be entirely possible to avoid being taken advantage of and having internal strife stirred up by others.

Even though Fang Yuan had done his best, he still didn't believe that uniting the people present would have a high success rate.

Sure enough, no sooner had he finished speaking than someone next to him mocked and questioned him:
"Absurd! I heard about the Mist Forest incident on the way here, and it was all a conspiracy? You're in a position to fight the Mist Spirit King, and you're afraid someone will sneak up on you and steal your spot, so you made up this nonsense!"

Without saying a word, Ren Xing suddenly attacked, grabbing the man by the hair and slamming him to the ground.

Fang Yuan's powerful punch slammed into the man's temple!

Ren Xing pressed his knee against the man's back and punched him hard on the back of the head with both fists!
In no time at all, the man was dead.

Ren Xing stood up and gestured for the person behind him to take that person's place.

Fang Yuan then explained to those around him:

"If what this person says is true, he is also a beneficiary, so why would he be so eager to jump out and oppose it? There is only one answer: he is a member of the Crown Group."

The people around remained noncommittal, and the attack on the Mist Spirit King continued.

Having just secured her position, she smiled and expressed her gratitude before launching an attack on the Mist Spirit King.

The people behind them kept a distance, clearly showing more caution towards them.

Fang Yuan shouted again:

"I recognize that person; he's from Shanwang Village, under Wang Guan's command!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several sarcastic voices rang out from behind him.

"Whether it's a conspiracy or not, we don't know, but the fact is we don't have time to fight the Mist King! If you're going to make it sound so nice, then stop fighting the Mist King, let's take care of the Crown and Mountain King Village people together, and then everyone can take turns fighting the Mist King."

"That's ridiculous! We've already taken our spots, why should we take turns with you?"

"Oh—what kind of conspiracy is this? So you're telling us who aren't in a good position not to launch a sneak attack, so you can focus on fighting the Mist Spirit King? What a clever conspiracy!"

"What are you all waiting for! Why should the Mist Spirit King be enjoyed by them all? Let's all attack together, and whoever grabs the spot gets to keep it! That's the only truth!"

"beat!"

"Go together!"

Those who had no seats rushed forward, deliberately encouraged by the people of Shanwang Village.

The situation suddenly became chaotic.

The four of them immediately moved away from the Mist Spirit King. Those who rushed forward had a target in mind, so they were not stopped for the time being.

The four were then able to extricate themselves and head straight for the rendezvous point.

Below the Mist Spirit King, a circle of enemies quickly formed.

Those who used bamboo were forced into a chaotic battle when the bamboo was cut down and pulled away.

(End of this chapter)