Vol 9 Chapter 181 (2/2)

*Dong* *Dong* *Dong*!

Un? All of a sudden, a thunderous sound came out of nowhere. I sat up and looked about and saw that the drummers at the edge of the battlefield had begun playing again. This is…

“No good! The enemy has begun to reform their surround!” Zi Long yelled from the front. Zi Long and Yuan Zhi, who were 20-30 paces ahead of us were now much closer. It was not because we were faster but because their charge had begun to slow.

“What’s going on?!” I yelled as we finally caught up to them, “What’s the status of the enemy?”

I looked about and saw that the enemy troops were beginning to move again. But they did not surround us like Zi Long had said. Instead, they seemed to be putting some distance between us and them.

“The enemy’s formation has begun to… Change again.” Yuan Zhi said as she looked about with her bandana off.

“It’s changing?” I asked as I could not quite see the enemy formation clearly from where I was.

At this time, we have slowed down our pace. Zi Long too was surveying our surroundings while Chen Dao seemed to be just as puzzled as I was. I looked behind and saw that the troops at the back were under intense attack from the enemy. If we do not get out soon, the troops at the back will not be able to hold on.

“If our army… Continues like this, we will fall for their trap.” Yuan Zhi said with confidence after a long while. When I heard this, my mood took a nosedive again.

“That does indeed seem to be– Uwaa!” Zi Long nodded and was forced to deal with several ambus.h.i.+ng enemy troops mid-sentence. I too have been ambushed 4 times now. Looks like the enemy is really detailed. If we are careless, this battle can end very quickly for us.

“Why?”

“We are currently heading into the center of the enemy’s formation.” Yuan Zhi explained.

“The enemy formation has become like a spiral and the more we try to charge out, the closer we get to the center of the entire enemy formation. Changing directions will not work as the enemy will just keep reinforcing the formation in a way that forces us to go in the direction they want us to. When we reach the center, we will be eradicated.” Zi Long continued the explanation.

“That’s how?!” I exclaimed in surprise. But even so, we did not stop and continued charging albeit at a slower pace than before.

“So that means we are charging in a curved path?”

“Yes!”

“Then why are still continuing to charge in this direction!” Chen Dao exclaimed.

“I know what you’re saying! But we don’t understand the enemy’s formation so we can’t do anything else for now.” Zi Long replied in a loud tone that seemed to behold anger but also had frustration, “Besides, it’s getting difficult to get our bearings.”

She looked up at the skies when she finished. I too looked up and saw that the sky was dyed a bright red by now and was much less bright. This means that we should be approaching evening soon. And because of that, it will become more difficult to get our bearings without the sun.

“I almost forgot that it’s still winter.” Yuan Zhi said as she spat out a long sigh, “It will be nightfall soon. When the time comes, we won’t even be able to figure out where we are, much less which of the 8 Doors is which.”

Yuan Zhi still looked like she was tipsy but there was worry on her face. It was also clear that her mind was functioning normally despite being inebriated.

“How long do we have until nightfall?” I asked as I looked up at the skies with worry.

“An hour at the most.” Chen Dao replied, “But to be more precise, we have just 15 minutes before the sky gets dark enough for things to get real bad for us.”

“Yes.” Zi Long nodded with a severe expression, “But it will be an arduous task for us to escape this spiral in 15 minutes. I never thought the enemy would have another trick up their sleeves.”

Zi Long gnashed her teeth as she said so but still did her best to suppress her rage and frustration due to her position. I looked at Yuan Zhi and saw that she was still looking up and breathing heavily. I do not know if she is still thinking or if she has given up but I do know that the rest of us have no ideas anymore.

There is no way we can rely on Yuan Zhi’s knowledge of history at this point as the situation we are in right now does not exist in history. How then are we to survive and break out of this predicament?

In gaming terms, this would be an event battle at the highest nightmare difficulty. And it has taken its toll on both our minds and bodies. The effect from adrenaline wore out and I was now feeling really terrible. Right now, I can really understand why some warrior generals feel and why they are always trying to maintain that adrenaline rush.

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