Chapter 408 - 405: Rout

Chapter 408: Chapter 405: Rout

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Feng Hao couldn’t help but let out a curse, "Fuck!"

Seeing the artillery fire grow more intense, Feng Hao didn’t have time to think and rushed over to Xi Yueyao. At that moment, Yao Girl was still bickering with Xie Xiaoyu, her face flushed red with anger, completely ignoring the commotion around them.

"The Root Cutting Sect is attacking, and you two still have the nerve to argue?" Feng Hao scooped Xi Yueyao up and moved her to a safe location.

Only then did Xi Yueyao snap out of it. Gazing at the continuous barrage in the sky, the will to fight surged in her eyes.

"Hmph! Perfect timing. Watch how I’ll deal with them!" Xi Yueyao scoffed. Her Jade Lotus Water Pattern Whip had appeared in her hand at some point, and the golden halo of her Divine Soul illuminated her pretty face, making her look exceptionally captivating.

Feng Hao shook his head helplessly and said seriously, "This is no time for showing off. We’ll act according to the situation. The moment things look bad, retreat to the rear immediately."

"No!" Xi Yueyao said stubbornly. "These bastards dared to crash my party. I’m not letting them get away with this!"

"Stop messing around. Listen to me," Feng Hao said, exasperated.

"Fine," Xi Yueyao pouted, her eyes shimmering as she looked at Feng Hao. "But you have to promise me you won’t make me worry again."

"Mm." A warmth spread through Feng Hao’s heart, and he couldn’t help but ruffle Yao Girl’s hair.

At the same time, the Root Cutting Sect’s attack began in full force. As the sound of artillery fire ceased, large groups of Root-cutting Mages swarmed in from all around the academy. Among them were members of the Celestial Eagle Team and the True God Sect, but without exception, they were all targeting the academy.

"Combat Department students, listen up! Head to all entrances immediately and repel the Root Cutting Sect’s invasion! You are the pride of the academy, and its cutting edge! Do not let those heretics take a single step inside!"

At Xuchang’s command, the Combat Department students were fired up. Led by the various instructors, they quickly mounted a resistance.

Meanwhile, the female dean of the Medical Department also stepped forward. "As members of this academy, we can’t just stand by and watch the Combat Department fight to the death! All Healing Mages, assemble! Split into four groups and support the Combat Department students in battle."

"Apothecary Department, don’t stand idle! Ensure everyone has a steady supply of pills!"

"Damn it, where’s the Array Department? What are you all spacing out for? The enemy has entered the trap zone! Activate your array traps, now!"

The words had barely been spoken when brilliant lights flared up at every major entrance. Countless glowing array circles manifested on the ground. In an instant—frost, flames, vines, poisonous gas—countless Demon Pattern Arrays activated simultaneously, causing the Root-cutting Mages to suffer heavy losses.

"Dammit! Are you all useless? You can’t even beat a bunch of kids!"

After the ambush from the traps, numerous high-level Root-cutting Mages arrived on the battlefield, roaring in anger as they charged toward the entrances.

Meanwhile, Feng Hao and Xi Yueyao had also reached the front lines, cutting down Root-cutting Mages amidst the flash of blades and swords.

BANG!

With a loud crash, the rear of the Root Cutting Sect’s forces was thrown into chaos. Then, to Feng Hao’s astonishment, Palace Master Lei Yun charged in, leading a group of experts from the Thief God Hall.

"Perfect timing! Quick, help us fight off these heretics!" Feng Hao shouted, pleasantly surprised.

But Lei Yun’s expression was grim. He flashed in front of Feng Hao, grabbed him, and made to leave. "What’s the point of resisting? Our scouts outside the city just sent word—a large force of Root Cutting Sect experts has arrived. If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late."

"A large force of experts? How many?" Feng Hao’s expression changed.

"There are five Hundred-level Experts alone, and countless more Tier Eight and Nine experts. Anyway, there’s no time to explain! Old Wang and the others have teamed up with our contacts outside the city to open an escape route. We need to get you out first," Lei Yun said anxiously.

"Forget about leaving. If I wanted to get out, I would have already," Feng Hao said with a calm smile. Ignoring the members of the Thief God Hall, he dashed like a shadow toward the Root Cutting Sect’s army.

Seeing that Feng Hao wouldn’t listen, Lei Yun looked helpless. "You little thief, why won’t you ever listen to reason?"

"Palace Master, just let him be," an old thief beside him sighed. "Since he doesn’t want to leave, we should respect his decision. Besides, given the current situation, we can’t be one hundred percent sure we could get him out safely anyway."

"Sigh... We finally found such a promising new talent, and now this happens," Lei Yun said bitterly. "Well, if that’s how it is, we might as well stay and fight, too."

"I wasn’t planning on leaving in the first place." Several high-level old thieves smiled calmly and charged into the battlefield like phantoms.

...

Meanwhile, the Elders and various other experts from the city had engaged the leaders of the Root Cutting Sect. The intense clash between the Hundred-level Experts on both sides stained the sky with a myriad of colors.

Just when the people of the academy thought they could hold out until reinforcements arrived, a new group of powerful experts suddenly joined the fray.

In just a few short minutes, the balance of power was instantly shattered. The academy’s defensive line was pushed back again and again until it completely collapsed.

The same was true for the high-level battle raging above. After the five new Hundred-level Experts joined the fight, they quickly suppressed the academy’s Elders.

"Damn it, this is bad!" City Lord Zhong Yuntao’s expression changed drastically. He hurriedly shouted to those below, "Quick, have everyone retreat to the Elder Hall! Hurry! We can hold them off for a little while longer."

Hearing this, Xuchang and Sun Yaowen didn’t dare to delay. They hastily led the students in a retreat toward the Elder Hall.

Fortunately, thanks to the combined resistance of the Elders, the students successfully retreated into the Elder Hall’s Defensive Array.

Meanwhile, the defensive line outside the array had completely collapsed. The Elders, pale and battered, hastily retreated toward the Elder Hall.

"Oh no, Elder Ming—!" Sun Yaowen roared, his eyes turning bloodshot.

Outside the array, a Hundred-level Elder was ganged up on by three Root-cutting Mages as he retreated toward the Elder Hall. He fell powerlessly from the sky.

The fall of Elder Ming brought tears to everyone’s eyes and caused morale to plummet to rock bottom.

Feng Hao watched this happen, unconsciously clenching his fists as a tide of hatred for the Root Cutting Sect surged within him.

"Those bastards... As long as I’m alive, I swear I’ll tear them limb from limb one day!" Xie Kuangfeng roared through gritted teeth, his eyes red-rimmed.

"That’s right! Those people are rotten to the core. When I get stronger, I’ll make sure they pay for this," Xie Xiaoyu added viciously.

Xiyue Frost stood to the side, leaning on her heavy sword. She looked somewhat battered, but her gaze was calmer and more resolute than ever before.

Yun Jiansong and his three followers sat cross-legged on the ground, recovering from their injuries, their expressions equally grim.

Elsewhere, Elder Yun and the others had retreated into the array and were out of immediate danger. However, judging from their pale faces, they were all clearly and severely injured.

"Master, are you all right?" Bai Yin rushed forward, asking nervously.

Elder Yun waved a hand. With Bai Yin’s support, he sat down cross-legged, tilted his head back, and swallowed a Tier Nine Healing Medicine. "I’m fine. With a Tier Nine Healing Medicine, I’ll recover quickly."

"The problem now is how long the Elder Hall’s array can hold out. If we can last until reinforcements arrive, we’ll be fine. Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable... It wouldn’t matter if old folks like us died, but it would be a terrible shame for these children," Elder Yun lamented with a bitter smile.