"Why is there such a strong wind all of a sudden!"
Ling Zhen climbed onto the ground and shouted at the grass, while Bai and the others also hid behind the nearest large trees.
"It's a Wind Core, get down! I'll deal with it!"
Ying took a deep breath. Without elemental power to help her, it wasn't easy to deal with something that could fly into the sky and drag her up.
In fact, it was true. The Wind Core immediately unleashed its wind domain, trapping Ying in a specific area. Then, it relentlessly attacked Ying with charged dashes within the domain, forcing Ying to dodge by using surrounding trees for cover.
Ying looked at the large ball that was relentlessly pursuing her, perplexed.
"Strange, why isn't this thing using its 'Mountain Press' attack? Does a ball have intelligence?"
Shaking her head, Ying knew she couldn't engage in a prolonged battle with this spherical object that lacked stamina. Seizing an opportunity, as the ball charged at her, she leaped onto its shell. Ignoring its rotation, she fiercely stabbed it with her Sky Blade, piercing its core.
Ying herself was flung outwards by the subsequent rotation, crashing into the wind wall it had created. The test tube in her hand exploded the moment it touched the wind wall.
"Oh no?!"
Ying quickly tried to escape the area to prevent herself from inhaling that energy again. However, the expected energy didn't appear. Instead, a strange white mist materialized, lingered in the air briefly, and then dissipated.
Just as Ying was confused, she suddenly felt dizzy, a wave of powerlessness washing over her, causing her to collapse on the ground, unable to move.
"What… what's happening… why… am I so weak…"
The moment the test tube shattered, Scaramouche, who was far away, looked up in surprise.
"Hmm? It exploded so soon? Probably broke by accident… What a shame. I wonder how long its combat power will be weakened by the converted energy. If I wasn't injured, I'd really want to capture her…"
Scaramouche looked at the Hillichurls he had lured over with a cold smirk.
"Hmph… So be it. Since you trust those so-called emotions so much, let's see if those five insects will protect you as you protected them when you lose your combat ability…"
The scene shifts back to Ying…
After the wind wall disappeared, everyone except Zhu Zichen, who had climbed a tree to observe the surroundings, rushed to Ying's side.
"Ying, are you alright?!"
Bai shook Ying's body and asked, but Ying didn't answer.
Hu Tao nervously shook Lan Ziqi beside her.
"What's wrong? Was Ying injured by that Wind Core?!"
"Hey, don't shake me like that, I can't even examine her properly."
Ziqi stopped Hu Tao's actions and then approached Ying to examine her.
"Hmm… No wounds or bruises. So she wasn't knocked out. Wait…"
As Ziqi was analyzing, she suddenly saw fragments beside Ying and quickly picked them up to examine.
"If I remember correctly, this looks like… that test tube?! Could it be that Ying fell unconscious because she inhaled something from the test tube?"
Ling Zhen scratched his head in distress.
"Uh… Ying Bao has fainted. How are we supposed to proceed…"
Just as everyone was at a loss, they suddenly heard Zhu Zichen's voice.
"Run! Lots of Hillichurls have suddenly appeared around us."
"Hillichurls?! Were they attracted by the fight just now?!" Hu Tao exclaimed in panic.
"This is bad… Without Ying, the five of us combined might not even be able to beat one Hillichurl… Let's just get Ying out of here. Hu Tao, you carry Ying. Zichen and that 'what's-his-name Zhen will cover the rear, and I'll protect Bai."
"My name is Ling Zhen! Not 'that what's-his-name Zhen'!"
Everyone quickly acted according to Ziqi's instructions, as it seemed to be the best course of action.
Ling Zhen and Zhu Zichen didn't intend to confront the Hillichurls head-on. Instead, they picked up many small stones nearby, planning to use them to distract the Hillichurls.
Seeing Zhu Zichen easily climb a tree and casually throw stones without worry, Ling Zhen couldn't help but feel envious.
"Sigh… Looks like I need to train more. It's too easy to be discovered on the ground…"
As he sulked in the grass, throwing stones, he accidentally made "eye contact" with a Hillichurl not far from him.
"Hi… Hi~"
Ling Zhen greeted it stiffly, and the Hillichurl enthusiastically ran towards him.
Just as the Hillichurl's heavy club was about to land on Ling Zhen's head, Zhu Zichen leaped down from the tree, gripping her saber with both hands, and swung with all her might at the club.
"Crack!"
The samurai sword only managed to cut halfway through before becoming stuck. The subsequent immense force sent a numbing shock up Zhu Zichen's arm, forcing her to release her grip on the hilt.
"Go!"
Ling Zhen, having recovered, threw a handful of dirt into the Hillichurl's face and then grabbed Zhu Zichen, pulling her away from the spot.
After a long while…
Ling Zhen and the others ran non-stop, finally catching up to Ziqi and the others who had evacuated ahead, in front of a fallen large tree.
"Why did you stop here?! The Hillichurls behind will catch up soon, hurry up and run!"
Hearing Ling Zhen's panicked voice, Ziqi shook her head helplessly.
"We don't want to, but the path ahead is blocked by a large tree that fell at some point. The surrounding slopes are too high. Only Bai among the three of us can climb this tree, but there are no vines or anything similar. With her strength, she can't pull the two of us up, let alone the unconscious Ying."
"This… Then I… No, it's too high, I can't climb either… Right, Zichen, you should be able to climb up, right?!"
"Yes."
Zhu Zichen nodded and walked to the tree, preparing to climb.
"Whoosh!"
Just as she placed her hand on the tree, an arrow suddenly shot from behind and landed near her hand.
Everyone immediately looked behind them in panic. A large number of Hillichurls had completely blocked their escape route. A Hillichurl Brute behind them was looking restless. In the midst of these monsters, several Shamans were dancing with their staves, seemingly preparing their sorcery.
This is really bad…
Ling Zhen sensed trouble and quickly instructed everyone.
"Zichen, you and the little loli hurry up and climb up to pull Ying Bao and the other two up. I'll buy you time!"
"What about you?" Zhu Zichen didn't heed Ling Zhen's words. She didn't want to be the one protected.
"Yeah, yeah, Ling Zhen Ge, you run with us too."