Chapter 664: Chapter 396: Can Do Anything_2
The more the Shadow Wolf moved, the fewer times the ground beneath it seeped and bubbled. Clearly, the malice within its soul would fuel the Shadow Wolf for a long time, leaving Yan Xiaobao with no choice but to retract the black blood once again. Staring at the towering Saint in front of him, Yan Xiaobao felt a chill run through his entire body. To kill him, Yan Xiaobao had to attempt something extremely dangerous, unsure whether he could preserve his own life, even with the green pearl healing him as much as it could.
"Alright, I won’t lose. Otherwise..." he muttered as his muscles tensed. His eyes sharpened, and his entire being prepared to pounce alongside the Shadow Wolf. As Yan Xiaobao forced the towering Saint to evade the Shadow Wolf, he darted in the direction where the Saint moved.
The towering Saint realized his mistake too late. Though he managed to swing his warhammer, its impact was far weaker than it had been previously. Unfortunately, this time, it struck something far more vulnerable. It hit his face, exposing the white bone of his skull, the muscle and flesh attached to it, and even his shattered teeth. Half his face was utterly destroyed, and the Saint couldn’t help but feel smug, pleased to have finally killed Yan Xiaobao—or so he thought, until he suddenly felt a searing pain in his chest. The "barely alive" Yan Xiaobao gazed at him with one good eye. A faint smile appeared on his face as the wounds on him slowly but surely healed. The towering Saint looked down, only to see his chest bleeding profusely. Blood gushed into his mouth, forcing him to choke and clamp his lips shut.
The Saint clearly refused to accept his fate. Though he was far stronger than Yan Xiaobao, he still succumbed to the young man’s strange powers. Turning around, Yan Xiaobao noticed that neither army was fighting anymore. Everyone was watching the duel between him and the towering Saint. The enemy soldiers’ faces were filled with disbelief, while his own comrades looked utterly astonished. No one had expected the young man to emerge victorious, yet there he was, triumphant. Witnessing this, the enemy troops began to retreat slowly, and Yan Xiaobao signaled his own forces to pull back. The battle ended in crushing victory today, but Yan Xiaobao took little joy in it.
Thanks to the green pearl’s power, he had won the battle today. Gazing at the green pearl, now reduced to one-tenth of its original size, it was evident it could no longer assist him if he encountered another Saint. Yan Xiaobao remembered the battle with Saint Wan Qiao all too well. Sighing deeply, he decided to return to camp, heading straight to check on the Unihorn Jasmine Eagle. During the inspection, he planned to take some time to recover for tomorrow’s intense battle. They needed to keep pressing the enemy forces. They had to strive for the freedom of the Beast Army at all costs.
As Yan Xiaobao retreated from the battlefield, he heard the pained cries of the beasts from the walls. They longed to leap down, to surpass the city, to end this war once and for all. Yan Xiaobao, however, was not as eager to rush the city as the other beasts. He had already witnessed how easily the opponent retreated. The Crusaders had only appeared once, without doing anything remarkable. Considering the Crusaders, Yan Xiaobao remained cautious. He had encountered them before and knew they were far from simple. Seeing how little they had done so far, Yan Xiaobao was certain they—and likely additional Saints—were waiting for them to become overconfident. Instead, Yan Xiaobao issued a simple yet powerful command, "No one defy this order,"—"Retreat!"
At first, the eager beasts hesitated to follow the order, but with a single glance at their Great Marshall, they began moving back. Seeing an expert who had just slain a Saint, and knowing he was merely a King-level figure, was awe-inspiring to the point that they dared not oppose him. If he could manage to defeat a Saint, that meant they wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
"That bastard!" cursed the Great Marshall of the Royal Army of Spain as he saw the beasts slowly retreating from the walls. "Since when did the beasts grow this cautious? If not for that half-breed, they’d keep losing again and again," he muttered angrily while observing the events unfolding on the walls below. No matter what he did, everything ended in devastating losses for them again and again, as the beasts avoided falling into his traps. Instead, they fought like seasoned warriors against his army. They hadn’t managed to reduce their numbers enough to inflict substantial losses worth the effort. The Saints Team fought valiantly, but now his strongest Saint was injured, and his second-in-command had fallen to the enemy Great Marshall. Even after his second-in-command had been defeated,
"Fine, retreat cautiously as you wish," the Great Marshall glared at the retreating Beast Army. "One day, you’ll enter this city, and only then will you see just how hard we can fight." He swore as his furious gaze lingered on the departing beasts.
Back at camp, the first thing Yan Xiaobao did was go check on Wan Qiao to see how she was doing. The Unihorn Jasmine Eagle was now awake, growing stronger by the day. Yan Xiaobao hoped her rapid recovery would continue. Without her, he was unwilling to enter the city, knowing he lacked the necessary skills. After the clash with the towering Saint, Yan Xiaobao realized that even with everything he could muster, he was still not strong enough to defeat the Saints Team—not without the support of the green pearl.
Stepping back to regain his composure, Yan Xiaobao’s consciousness slipped into his Lower Dantian, where he observed the green pearl. The pearl was now much smaller than before. All of its healing energy had been fully depleted. Though the green pearl seemed to say it wouldn’t be of any help for at least the next month, Yan Xiaobao quickly understood this wasn’t out of unwillingness, but sheer inability. Its energy had been completely exhausted.
Looking at the tiny green pearl, Yan Xiaobao felt warmth bloom in his soul. He knew the green pearl had genuinely saved his life during the fight against the Saint. Despite her hesitance and evident frustration, she had still allowed her energy to be used to ensure he wouldn’t perish. "This pearl is the greatest mystery," Yan Xiaobao murmured to himself, wondering what truly powered the life behind the green pearl inside him.
Sighing deeply, Yan Xiaobao came to terms with the fact that he couldn’t battle another Saint as he had with the towering Saint. He had recklessly ignored his own desperation, throwing himself into frantic attacks. Facing that immense warhammer was terrifying, with each strike causing unbearable pain. Yet, Yan Xiaobao fought on, trusting completely in the pearl’s healing capabilities. She had brought him to the brink of death but refused to let him slip past the threshold. At first, his wounds healed almost instantly, but as the battle wore on, he noticed the healing became slower. Her effectiveness diminished, and the pain grew sharper. He knew his final attack was a huge gamble. Taking the warhammer to his face could have been fatal in an instant. But the green pearl pushed her final drops of healing energy through his body, slowly reshaping his face. His flesh returned to its original form; the damaged skin became flawless once again.
Determined not to dwell on what could have gone wrong, Yan Xiaobao left the medical room, only to find the Lords outside his tent. Their faces were full of questions, but none of them seemed to know where to begin.
"Yan Xiaobao," Mr. Pan stepped forward, clearing his throat. His movement caused the other Saints to appear pleased, nodding approvingly, and some even stepped back slightly. "We’re curious... your rank, what is it?" he asked cautiously. He did not want to offend someone of unknown strength. The towering Saint Yan Xiaobao had fought was far from a simple foe. Even these Saints found him difficult to contend with. Witnessing what they thought was a King-level Expert Great Marshall killing a Holy Name Expert left the Saints deeply shocked—especially with the surprising healing abilities Yan Xiaobao had displayed. His attacks were unlike anything they’d ever encountered, and none of them fully understood what they had witnessed.
They knew his elemental affinities were fire, earth, and metal. Yan Xiaobao himself had revealed this to them upon returning to Chenyuan, yet the healing he exhibited was unmistakably of Wood—a property he was not supposed to possess. Even if he did possess an affinity for Wood, allowing him to heal himself instantly, it was something unheard of, even amongst Saints.
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