Chapter 553 (1/2)

Chapter 553: 553

The stone statues moved, and everybody was trapped inside .

“These statues look exactly the same . If intruders are trapped in here for too long, they’ll be disorientated . On top of that, these statues change their positions when the intruders take the wrong path, which makes it very difficult for people to get out,” said Yuwen Tong after observing the surroundings .

Ji Yanlai nodded . “That’s right, so stay close to me . Do not wander off or else you’ll be trapped in here forever . But if any of you do straggle behind the others and get trapped, do not panic . Just protect yourself and make sure you’re not bitten by some monster that shows up out of nowhere . The rest of us will get you out of here after we kill the one controlling this Formation in the city . ”

Everybody else was astonished by the cadences employed by Ji Yanlai .

“Ahem … All of you have heard the Clan Leader’s words, I suppose? Do not straggle . Try your best to keep up,” said Ling Zhang .

“Yes, Your Highness,” chorused the soldiers .

Ji Yanlai, leading the way, said, “It’s been many years since this Formation of stone statues was deployed, and now trapping intruders is the only thing it could do . The combination of these statues and well-trained a.s.sa.s.sins would turn this Formation into a killing machine, which is the very purpose it’s meant to serve . ”

He sounded rather regretful, but all his listeners were astounded .

“Clan Leader, if what you say is true, it’ll be very difficult for us to extricate ourselves from this Formation,” Yuwen Jin blurted .

Ji Yanlai said, “Don’t be afraid . I promise I’ll get you guys out of this place, no matter how difficult it is to do that . ”

Yuwen Jin, “…”

He quietly turned his head to look at Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, an Are-you-sure-this-guy’s-reliable? expression in his eyes .

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong both remained silent . Ji Xiaocong, walking side by side with Ling Maomao, snickered .

Ling Maomao looked apprehensively at him, fearing that Ji Yanlai might hear Ji Xiaocong if the latter snickered too loud .

Ji Xiaocong, smirking, mouthed, “It’s okay . ”

Ji Yanlai, who was indeed quite capable, safely led all the others through the Formation consisting of stone statues . For fear of being trapped in the Formation, everybody stayed close together . None of them dared risk wandering off .

“This is weird . I thought we’d met more of those creepy snakes in there, but not a single one showed up,” said Ji Yanlai confusedly after walking out .

Yuwen Jin looked speechlessly at him for a moment before he asked, “Are you saying that you’ve actually been looking forward to seeing more of them?”

Ji Yanlai inexplicably s.h.i.+fted his gaze to him . “I just find this surprising, but I’m not inclined to be bitten . ”

“The exit is right ahead . Judging from what we saw on the escarpment, we should be arriving at the entrance to the stone city after getting out of this Formation,” said Ji Yin, pointing forward .

They quickened their pace, heading for the exit .

“Wait a moment,” Yuwen Feng said .

Ling Zhang’s, Ji Yin’s and the others’ countenance also changed slightly at this moment .

“Everybody stay sharp . There’s an ambush out there,” cautioned Yuwen Tong .

Some people were lying in ambush at the exit, and there were a lot of them .

They gingerly progressed to the exit where they were greeted by a hail of arrows . This kind of greeting was so familiar to them that all of them were rendered speechless .

“Yet more cannibals?” huffed Yuwen Jin disgustedly, feeling nauseous as he recalled those corpses they had seen in the grove of phoenix trees . “These f.u.c.king cannibals are so good with their noses . Are they trying to hunt us like their prey, by any chance?”

All the others, ” … ”

The very thought that Yuwen Jin might be right made their flesh creep .

Even Yuwen Tong had a complicated expression on his face, his eyes turning cold .

Those cannibals were hiding right behind the statues at the exit, clearly having been planning a sneak attack . They seemed to have very little knowledge of strategy, given that all they did was keep shooting arrows, but they were not utterly unorganized, for they did know how to mount a surprise attack .

Ling Zhang and all the others found these cannibals loathsome and showed them no mercy, killing them on sight ruthlessly .

“f.u.c.k . This is my first time being regarded as food . You people really should have a.s.sessed your chances before deciding to mess with me . ” Yuwen Jin was the angriest of them all . Leading some men, he detoured around some statues, outflanked those cannibals lying in ambush and eventually encircled them ring upon ring . The soldiers, who felt their skin crawl at the thought of what they were in these cannibals’ eyes, were particularly ferocious when slaughtering the enemies, looking even more horrifying than those cannibals .

Before long, this batch of cannibals who tried to blindside them were wiped out .

It was after these people-eating freaks were all dead that they felt slightly relieved .

“Dispose of the bodies,” instructed Yuwen Tong .

The very sight of those cannibals’ corpses made him feel disgusted .

When they had been on the coast, the guards of the Millennium Pavilion had dug a hole to bury those cannibals’ bodies, but on this occasion none of them were in the mood for burying these enemies properly . They directly dumped the bodies in a corner, intending to let those peculiar snakes feeding on rotten meat take care of them .

After dealing with this disturbance, they walked out of the Formation consisting of statues .

In front of them were the lofty outer walls of the stone city .

“What are those things inlaid in the city gates? Are they what I think they are, by any chance?” murmured Yuwen Jin, looking up at the towering city gates .

“They’re gemstones,” replied Ling Zhang .