Chapter Ninety-Four: Encirclement and Interception

Lin Nan was nearly unconscious, her body limp, as though several bones had been broken.

Hu Mo suppressed the rage blazing in his heart and desperately forced water battle power into her body. But her meridians had suffered a severe shock and had to be straightened first before healing could continue; otherwise, the battle power would be useless.

But did he have time for that now? He could clearly feel several forces locking onto him. At this moment of peril, his emotions became harder and harder to steady.

Then Lin Nan suddenly opened her eyes. She looked at Hu Mo, his face tight with anxiety, and whispered, "Run... run now... those people are far too strong..."

With those words, she fainted again. The severity of her injuries and her overwhelming weakness made it difficult for her to hold on any longer.

"You can't escape, you little brats."

A hoarse old voice came from behind Hu Mo, carrying a trace of mockery.

Hu Mo let out a cold snort. Drifting Wave Cloudsteps came naturally to him, and his figure vanished strangely into the air, narrowly avoiding the man's fatal strike.

The man gave a surprised sound and shouted, "Seal off all four directions. Don't let that boy get away!"

A few voices answered at once. Three figures shot toward the other three directions, blocking Hu Mo's forward path.

He flung out several palms in succession, trying to carve a way through, but they were all easily neutralized. Little by little, Hu Mo was completely driven into their encirclement, and the situation turned grim.

He could feel the immense pressure surging from all four directions, as if he were being crushed by several huge boulders. The sensation was agony.

Under that pressure, Drifting Wave Cloudsteps also slowed considerably. If not for the support of the Three Treasures, he would likely have found even the slightest movement difficult.

"What exquisite footwork. This boy is definitely no ordinary man!" the man who had spoken first exclaimed. Even though Hu Mo had slowed greatly, they still could not strike him accurately. One must know that the weakest among the four was still a first-level Battle Emperor. Four Battle Emperors could not even handle a sixth-level Battle King; that was simply too absurd.

"Whether he's ordinary or not doesn't matter. Brother Han, you must not show any more mercy over talent. This fellow cannot be left alive!" roared a black-faced elder. Several of his attacks had been evaded by Hu Mo, and this made him extremely irate.

"Yes, Brother Han is right. This little fellow cannot be spared!" shouted another chubby old man, his expression stern.

"Sigh, very well. I understand. Brothers Leng, Bing, and Bai, hold him steady. Lock him down first, then finish him with a thunderous blow!" The elder shook his head helplessly, his hands rapidly forming seals. Soon, the entire area they had surrounded seemed to freeze solid, and Hu Mo's figure became increasingly distinct.

"Water battle power? So strong—four Battle Emperors!" In just that brief moment, Hu Mo had already sensed the level of these people's battle power. Four Battle Emperors besieging him, a Battle King, and he could not help but mock himself inwardly. His face really was quite valuable.

With a cold snort, he roared, "You want to kill me? The four of you aren't qualified! Battle soul, emerge! Fire God descend!"

As Hu Mo shouted, he abruptly stopped his frantic flight and stood atop a huge rock at the very center of the area.

He slowly lowered Lin Nan. A surging force of fire battle power exploded from his body, spreading outward until it completely enveloped the rock beneath him.

His expression grave, he stood upon the stone and felt the air around him seem to solidify. With another roar, the fire battle power he had released condensed at astonishing speed behind him into a battle soul five meters tall. Black chaos flame coiled around the battle soul, melting the water battle power that had frozen the air at a terrifying pace.

"What terrifying battle soul power? Fire God? Could it be Fire God himself?" the black-faced elder muttered to himself, eyes so wide they seemed ready to fall out.

"Move! Do you expect him to finish gathering his power?" the chubby old man roared, the first to launch an attack on Hu Mo.

His hand suddenly rose. Under the control of that hand, powerful water battle power continuously gathered. With a violent slap, a gigantic ice palm fell from the sky and struck directly at Hu Mo's head.

"Ice Slaying Palm!" the chubby old man shouted, pouring vast amounts of his frost battle power into the giant ice palm. Such a desperate attack was truly terrifying.

Hu Mo's expression changed slightly. With a cold snort, he met the giant palm head-on with a single punch. With the support of the Three Treasures, his condition had been raised to its peak, and only then did he have the confidence to take a strike from a Battle Emperor.

Yet the instant his fist met the immense frost palm, Hu Mo's expression turned ugly at once. A Battle Emperor was still a Battle Emperor; that all-out blow was indeed astonishing. With that single collision, Hu Mo felt the power of the Azure Wood King Cauldron being drained by half, and he only barely managed to withstand the palm.

The chaos flame upon the battle soul scorched the frost giant palm. After several breaths, everything was reduced to nothingness. Then Hu Mo suddenly noticed something strange: although the frost giant palm had completely vanished, the power it contained had passed through the chaos flame into the battle soul, then into Hu Mo's body, replenishing his expenditure.

He stared in astonishment at the changes within him, and his confidence swelled all at once. This battle might not end in defeat after all.

The chubby old man was completely dumbfounded. By all rights, water should overcome fire; that was an undeniable fact. Yet Hu Mo had actually used fire battle power to evaporate his water battle power completely. That was simply too shocking.

"Keep attacking! Use all killing moves!" roared the black-faced elder. In an instant, massive phantoms condensed behind all four of them, and battle souls at the Battle Emperor level appeared in full.

Once their battle souls emerged, the strength of the four surged to its peak. Hu Mo cursed them inwardly for their shamelessness. Four Battle Emperors against one Battle King, and they still had to use battle souls. That was truly pathetic beyond words.

The four of them, including the elder who had initially shown some reluctance to waste talent, did not see it that way. They had already recognized the black flames. Chaos flame, the sovereign among flames. Before Hu Mo, who possessed chaos flame, if they did not exert all their strength, they would be idiots among idiots.

Hu Mo bore down against this pressure, guarding Lin Nan's body tightly. What he feared most now was not himself, but Lin Nan, who remained unconscious. This pitiful girl had finally found a turning point in life; was it to end here? No, Hu Mo would never allow that to happen.

Her injuries also worried him greatly. Though not yet fatal, if this dragged on any longer, the problem would become serious. One matter after another made him restless, and faint signs of that demonic descent began to surface again.

"No. I must control myself. I can do this!" Hu Mo suddenly shook his head and forcefully suppressed those mad thoughts. He swept his furious gaze around and saw that the four battle souls had already fully taken shape.

Four lifelike giants surrounded Hu Mo. Compared with their height, his own battle soul seemed much shorter. Such a beating looked utterly hopeless, no different from four grown men bullying a child.

But the four of them did not think so. Though fully armed, once they sensed the aura of chaos flame from Hu Mo, their hearts actually grew uncertain. After all, chaos flame, the sovereign of fire, was an utterly terrifying name.

"Attack together! We don't have much time!" the leading elder shouted. Endless water battle power spread outward, and his battle soul seemed like a blue sun, echoing with the other three battle souls from afar. The sheer impact was self-evident.

Hu Mo's heart tightened. With resolve hardening in him, all his awareness sank into the Three Treasures. Just as he had done when dealing with Dongfang Jun and the others last time, Hu Mo was truly about to fight with everything he had.

"Ice Dragon Descend!"

"Ice Dragon Slash!"

"Ice Dragon Multi-Kill!"

"Ice Dragon Tail Sweep!"

The four old men showed no politeness. In one breath, they unleashed four ice dragons, and the temperature in the area quickly plunged to thirty or forty degrees below zero.

Four solid ice dragons flew through the region, spewing terrifying breaths that enveloped Hu Mo. Though he possessed chaos flame, the power available to him now was still limited. Under this pressure, his consumption rose to a truly dreadful level.

The Three Treasures continued to supply Hu Mo with vast amounts of battle power, keeping him in a state close to his limit. That limit could not be broken; otherwise Hu Mo would explode and die on the spot. It was as though a blade constantly hung above his head, leaving him chilled to the bone.

He decisively unleashed Fire Dragon Slash, but a single dragon against four made the outcome painfully obvious. Hu Mo could only curse viciously and desperately control the fire dragon as it struggled against the four ice dragons.

What delighted Hu Mo was that, just as before, when those ice dragons were swallowed by his chaos flame, the water battle power would be absorbed by him and transformed into fire battle power for his own use. As one side waned and the other waxed, Hu Mo still showed no sign of defeat.

The four men were frantic to the point of madness. This was simply too monstrous. A Battle King had actually fought four Battle Emperors to a draw. If word of this got out, even ghosts would not believe it.

The leading elder's face had grown so ugly it could pass for a ghost's. Though he knew Hu Mo would likely not be able to hold on if this continued, did he really have so much time to waste? After all, this was Fire God Valley's territory. Moreover, their trail had already been exposed. Who knew how many experts would soon be rushing over?

"Brothers, we can't drag this out any longer. Finish him in one blow!" the leading elder said in a low voice. The other three immediately understood. The four ice dragons merged together, and in an instant Hu Mo's pressure increased three or fourfold, nearly forcing him to the ground.

This pressure had clearly surpassed his limit. Aside from releasing the strongest power of the Three Treasures, he had no other method.

But he would not do that, nor dared he do that, because Lin Nan was by his side. He could not harm her.

Yet on second thought, if he died, could Lin Nan truly survive unscathed? That was almost a joke.

Hu Mo looked at Lin Nan. Her hair had already come loose, and with her long tresses draped over her shoulders, she was truly beautiful. He could not help but smile inwardly. The most worthwhile thing about his transmigration might have been meeting beauty after beauty.

Thinking of that, he suddenly grew indignant again. He was already in such danger—why had his so-called cheap master still not arrived? He could not sense Cang Ling's aura. Even the last time, it had only been a guess; that telepathic connection was probably one-sided.

Even at death's door, Hu Mo was still thinking about such things, and even he found it somewhat amusing. He lifted his head and stared at the enormous ice dragon. With icy flames surging from its mouth, it was gathering momentum for a killing blow.

"Ha ha, good. Let me fight with everything I have one last time. Even if I die, none of you will live!" Hu Mo roared. The fire dragon in front of him twisted madly. At that moment, he seemed like a black sun, radiating flames that devoured all things. His battle soul went berserk, roaring as it clawed toward the ice dragons.

The Three Treasures trembled together, as though their restraints were about to be broken. Hu Mo's mind was crystal clear, and he knew exactly what he had to do. His only hope now was to protect Lin Nan as much as possible and spare her some of the impact.

"Battle Dragon in the Wild!"

A thunderous voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Hu Mo's thoughts. That familiar voice made him freeze, and he nearly cried out.

Three figures appeared several hundred meters away, and three powerful auras shot straight into the sky.

"Good grandson, Grandpa is here to save you!"