Lin Yang snapped out of his daze and looked down at the restless small hand on his waist. He said helplessly,
"Stop messing around. I was just thinking about something."
"Thinking about what?"
Dugu Yan raised an eyebrow, but her grip didn't loosen.
"You're so absorbed that your eyes look vacant? You're joking, right?"
"It's true," Lin Yang sighed softly. "This journey might not be peaceful."
The air inside the carriage froze slightly.
Qin Ming, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them. His gaze carried a trace of doubt.
"You mean… someone might attack us on the road?"
"I'm not sure," Lin Yang shook his head. "But we should stay alert…"
Before he could finish, Lin Yang's eyebrows twitched.
Aura suddenly stood up from Ye Lingling's arms, lowered her body slightly, and exhaled toward the window, as if preparing to depart.
"Warning!"
Lin Yang shouted in a low voice.
Almost simultaneously, a sharp whistle sounded from outside the carriage — a warning signal from the Royal Knights.
Flowing lava mixed with thick black smoke rained down from the sky, suddenly shattering the previous peace and silence.
"Form up!"
The captain of the Royal Knights immediately roared.
At this moment, the overall quality of the Royal Knights stood out.
Five hundred elite steel cavalry instantly formed a defensive formation. Each held a shield in one hand and a spear in the other, with all spears pointing outward.
A massive protective wall enveloped the entire convoy.
Boom—!
Boom—!
Huge boulders of lava fell. The light shields were on the verge of collapse, but they barely held each time.
"What's going on?"
"What's happening?"
"Bandits?"
In contrast to the Royal Knights who were on high alert, the teams from various academies were pointing at each other and whispering among themselves.
They clearly didn't understand the severity of the situation.
Meanwhile, in the Shrek team, the hot-tempered Liu Erlong wanted to rush forward immediately to wipe out these shameless bandits.
However, Yu Xiaogang firmly stopped her.
"Xiao Gang, why are you stopping me?" Liu Erlong said in a low voice.
"Aaron, something's wrong. Don't go out alone. Protecting the children is the top priority."
Yu Xiaogang's face was dark. He had already made some guesses.
If what he thought was true… that woman had completely gone mad!
"Xiao Gang is right, Erlong. Don't act impulsively!" Flender also sensed something at that moment and unconsciously glanced at Tang San.
In the Heaven Dou team, Lin Yang stood on top of the carriage. The other team members all wore solemn expressions.
Dugu Yan fiddled with her hair and teased,
"You were right."
Lin Yang said in a low voice, "Don't let your guard down. This isn't over yet."
At the same time, as if realizing that the falling rocks had almost no effect, the dirt and rocks covering the sky began to condense and compress.
In just a few breaths, countless pebbles and gravel merged into a massive lava sphere over fifty meters in diameter.
Flames swirled across the surface of the molten sphere. Thick smoke rose, radiating a terrifying scorching aura.
In the next instant, the meteor fell from the sky!
The Royal Knights and numerous students directly beneath the impact point looked up at the scene and trembled with fear!
This… what the hell was this?!
"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"
"Damn it… run! Even a graze from something that big will cause serious injury!"
"Captain… Captain, save me, my legs are shaking!"
"Run! Run!"
Many people rushed to escape, causing chaos in the crowd.
Some even activated their martial souls, hoping to increase their speed.
However, upon closer inspection, most of those who panicked and fled were students from relatively weaker academies.
The Four Elements Academies, Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and Shrek Academy showed no signs of panic in the face of the falling lava sphere. They firmly held their positions.
Such methods might look terrifying, but in the eyes of true powerhouses, they were merely a means to an end.
Lin Yang, seated in the carriage, curled his lips and drew the crimson blade.
He leaped at lightning speed and charged toward the lava sphere.
Clang!
The long sword was unsheathed. A low hum resounded across the battlefield.
In the next instant, cold, sharp sword light intertwined, forming an impenetrable net of blades.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
When the sword light faded, the massive lava sphere had already been shattered into countless tiny fragments the size of fingernails.
Like a rain of stones, they fell to the ground with loud noises.
Everyone's gaze was fixed on Lin Yang, filled with shock, awe, and unconcealed fear and admiration.
Especially the students who were with him — they looked at Lin Yang with reverence and astonishment.
They were certainly capable, but they could never achieve Lin Yang's lightness and grace.
Perhaps only their teachers possessed such potential.
However, just when everyone thought the situation had been resolved, black figures surged in from all directions like a tide.
At first glance, there were definitely over a thousand of them.
They all wore matching black cloaks, concealed their figures, and charged toward the convoy at incredible speed.
The knight captain shouted sternly, "Form up! Protect our lord——"
The teachers and students from various academies realized what was happening and naturally couldn't just stand by and watch. In an instant, dazzling light rained down around the students.
Martial souls were released. Various spirit rings shone brightly.
Without exchanging a single word, the two sides clashed like two raging torrents.
Only after they truly got to know their opponents did they realize that the enemy was by no means simple.
The majority of them were ordinary people without soul power, yet it was precisely these people who inflicted heavy losses on the soul master disciples.
They didn't have flashy soul skills, but they were fearless and showed no hesitation.
Moreover, their teamwork was extremely perfect. Often, three or four of them would focus their attacks on one person, using ruthless methods.
Even so, the students were caught completely off guard.
After all, these students' combat experience was based on only a few battles, and most of them had only lightly exchanged blows with each other.
Some felt terror at the enemy's sharp and ruthless gaze. Their legs trembled, and they forgot how to activate their soul skills.
Furthermore, among these people were not only ordinary individuals but also soul masters.
There were at least thirty level-50 Soul Kings alone, along with over ten Soul Emperors, several Soul Sages, and three Titled Douluo.
Adding the "Titled Douluo" lurking in the shadows,
Bibi Dong had clearly gone all out this time.
After Lin Yang casually killed one of the black-clothed men, he looked up and surveyed the entire battlefield.
In just a short time, this once-quiet place had turned into a scene of carnage.
Battle sounds, screams, and the clashing of weapons mixed together. Corpses were scattered everywhere, and blood sprayed out, soaking the soil beneath their feet.
There was no need to elaborate on the situation of the Heaven Dou Academy.
Both Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan were accustomed to bloodshed. They weaved through the crowd, happily slaughtering as they went.
Especially Dugu Yan — with a wave of her hand, she could release poisonous mist.
These ordinary people without soul power collapsed one after another.
Ye Lingling was initially a bit flustered, but she quickly blended into the battlefield and used her long sword to take enemy lives.
Meanwhile, the Nine Heart Flowering Apple bloomed magnificently, constantly healing the injured Royal Knights.
She could kill with one hand and govern the country with the other. Truly remarkable!
The three Titled Douluo that Lin Yang was paying attention to had already split up.
One Titled Douluo, accompanied by two Soul Sages, charged toward Shrek Academy's location.
Another one's target was… Xue Beng!
Lin Yang furrowed his brows and instantly understood Spirit Hall's intention.
With Qian Renxue, their hidden piece, gone, Bibi Dong planned to use a more direct method — completely severing the Heaven Dou royal family's bloodline.
If Xue Beng died, Heaven Dou would inevitably fall into chaos for a period of time and might even collapse.
At that time, Spirit Hall would have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
What about the third one?
Lin Yang's eyes flashed like lightning as he quickly scanned the chaotic battlefield.
Suddenly, he stopped and slowly turned his head, looking at a figure charging toward him from not too far away.
The Titled Douluo's aura was ominous. He was surrounded by eight spirit rings, and his killing intent was unconcealable.
His target was — me?
...