Not far from them, ten or so black shadows flickered into existence. While their numbers were not overwhelming, all of them were akin to death reapers! They each infiltrated into a part of the Yu Family’s camp and were akin to cornerstones as they forcibly resisted the tsunami-like attacks of the Yu Family troops. In the next moment, intense sword glows could be seen! If the sun was present in the sky, it would most likely be overshadowed by the brilliance let out by these ten odd radiant glows!

At this moment, the intense and penetrating killing intent slammed down akin to the force of ten thousand troops bearing down!

A few hundred pillars of blood shot up towards the sky, as hundreds of heads flew up and rolled in midair! The color of fresh blood added a touch of festivity to the bleak white land (LOL).

A loud cheer exploded in the area of the Divine Prefecture Empire, whereas the Yu Family felt a sense of lingering fear!

With only a single strike from a few people, more than 700 men were decapitated and lost their lives! The impact of this strike caused the tens of thousands of soldiers and warhorses to stop in their tracks! A few of the people from the Yu Family could not even control their muscles any longer, taking a few more steps forward before feeling their legs soften and collapsing to the ground in their fear!

Silence! If the battlefield before was just like the roaring ocean, then right now it could be described as the dead sea! Two men in black robes rushed up to the top of the mountain, borrowing the force from their ability of Sword and Body as One to push back the Yu Family experts that were surrounding Ling Feng and Ling Yun, before rescuing the duo. The experts in question did not even dare to obstruct them, and instead watched them get rescued, as though their legs were rooted to the ground! Facing such a frightening sword aura, to move at this time was equivalent to suicide!

“You guys… are finally here! I just knew that you guys would definitely arrive!” Ling Feng squeezed out a smile on his bloodstained face before peacefully sinking into oblivion.

This devastating sight on the battlefield gave everyone on the hilltop a chill down their spine. However, they could not even secure their own safety and were powerless to stop the process. In front of them, that demon-like shadow, with his heaven shaking movement techniques, had already taken all of their attention. At this moment, everyone concluded that they might not leave with their lives!

Gazing at the silent shadow that was almost void of existence, everyone had the same word in their hearts: Frightening!

The shriveled elder suddenly felt as though his throat was dry, and he hoarsely sounded out, “Master of… the First Pavilion?”

The black-robed person coldly smiled, causing everyone’s hearts to palpitate. This smile was akin to a ten-thousand-year-old glacier suddenly shifting, giving out an unspeakable coldness. Everyone heard him say, “Your eyesight is pretty good! As a reward, I’ll give you the privilege of being the first to be sent to the yellow springs!”

A violent gale suddenly rose up, and the snowflakes in the heavens, earth, trees, and even on their bodies began to crazily spin around. It was as though the skies had changed, turning into an expanse of white around them, obstructing their eyesight. However, that black shadow seemed to have blended into the snowstorm, drifting about within the flurry of snow… The Yu Family experts could only resort to closing their eyes and pulling out their weapons. Protecting themselves was the most important!

The Master of the First Pavilion had somehow turned into a dream demon, their greatest nightmare!

A dull groan was heard, followed by a thud sound of something heavy hitting the ground. The winds suddenly stopped!

When everyone opened their eyes, the black-robed man still stood quietly at the same spot fifty feet away. Even his posture was unchanged, as though he had not moved, but at their feet, the shriveled elder who was still talking a few moments ago had already quietly slumped to the ground, without a single movement within him. A thin red line decorated his neck, with rivulets of blood seeping out from the wound akin to a water balloon being pierced a few times by a needle, slowly leaking out its contents.

The shriveled elder’s age was considered to be quite up there, along with being one of the most senior inside the Yu Family circle. While his achievements were limited, not managing to reach the position of the Gold Jade experts within the Yu Family, he could be considered one of the pinnacle experts at the White Jade level. To think that he, under the eyes of everyone and standing within the circle, would actually be killed in a single blow by the Master of the First Pavilion without any chance of retaliation!

The square-faced man had on a solemn and respectful expression, with a hint of a horrified look as he deeply took a breath. He spoke, “Master of the First Pavilion? Duke Ling?”

“It is I!” Ling Jian coldly looked at him. “Tens of thousands of troops, together with almost 100 first-rate experts, all to encircle two of my brothers. Heheh, Yu ManLou really has style!”

The square-faced man forcibly controlled his anger and fear. He knew that while he had ten thousand elite troops on hand, with the asura right in front of him, if he wasn’t able to give a satisfactory answer then everyone present on the hill today would not be able to return alive!

The main force of the army was only about 100 feet away from them, but the huge cloud of troops could bring them no sense of reassurance!

With only this small distance separating them and that death god, their lives were no longer in their own hands!

At the same time, Ling Jian was also suppressing his anger and killing intent to the best of his ability. He had infiltrated here without sound or sight, and had absolute confidence to kill this group of people! However, his objective today was not to be an assassin! His true objective was to negotiate for the other few thousand of his brothers that were still on the battlefield!

He was going to use the lives of these people in front of him to exchange for those of his brothers! If he killed everyone here right now, the moment the enemy troops lost all reasoning to charge in, he might be able to retreat, but Feng Mo and the rest of his side would be buried here! This could even include Ling Feng and Ling Yun!

This danger was a risk Ling Jian could not afford to take. In his eyes, the million-strong troops of the Yu Family could not even be compared to that of a single one of his brothers!

Thus, he wracked his mind, making Ling Lei and company use their cruelest methods to halt the enemy in their tracks, before appearing to control the upper echelon of the Yu Family troops. He had only one objective, which was to ensure the safety of all his brothers today!

This sort of intention, to Ling Jian, was too painstaking. At least, he never had to put in so much effort previously!

“Since Duke Ling has come here, I believe your intention is not to kill us.” The square-faced man, whose name was Yu XueGong, was not someone unaware of the situation. Seeing that Ling Jian did not make another move, he understood what he wanted. “Since that’s the case, then shall we talk?”

The saying rang true that there is always a limit to a person’s strength. In order to reach here at the fastest possible time to save his brothers, Ling Jian had displayed his movement techniques to the extreme, not resting for three consecutive days and nights before finally reaching this area!

Even though he might have used up a lot of this strength at this point, to properly showcase their ability, Ling Lei and company had ignored the price to unleash a great strike capable of reaping the lives of hundreds of people in one go. Right now, though the group were standing there mightily with their swords drawn, they were all half dead with fatigue! If the leading marshal of the Yu Family ever decided to destroy both jade and stone indiscriminately, then most likely even Ling Jian would have to retreat!

However, the act of mutual destruction would only incite this fearsome number one assassin Ling Jian to go all out to kill everyone on the hill! This sort of price would be detrimental to the Yu Family! The marshal present understood this point, and naturally decided to have a talk with him!

While he understood Ling Jian’s intentions, the moment he thought about having to negotiate with that frightening killing demon, furthermore with his life in the other party’s hands, he could not help but feel trepidation. His face might have looked calm, but in this chilly weather, his back was still full of sweat with mist slowly rising off the surface of his body.

“Consider yourself lucky. No one paid to have you killed.” Ling Jian indifferently glanced at him. “However, I might choose to assassinate people pro-bono, especially towards those who dare to use my brothers to threaten me. Or perhaps, when my mood isn’t too good, I’ll also kill people for fun.”

Yu XueGong’s face started to bead with sweat, while he awkwardly attempted to laugh it off, saying, “Duke Ling is already high above the masses at such a young age. What could possibly make Duke Ling unhappy?”

“Enough with the nonsense! I can spare your lives, but you have to send down the order to have the army retreat at least 300 miles back! After my brothers have safely returned, you guys will naturally leave with your lives intact. Or else… hmph hmph….” Ling Jian cut in impatiently, putting down his own terms.

This was also because the current matter concerned the life and death of his brothers. Otherwise, based on Ling Jian’s attitude, he would speak less and kill more!

“This…” Yu XueGong felt incredibly depressed. This was supposed to be a negotiation, and bartering was supposed to be involved! How could this Duke Ling just skip through all the formalities to reach an ultimatum? His meaning was simple: If it can be done, you had better do it, if it could not be done, you still had to do it! Was this not equivalent to asking them if they wanted to live or die?

“Since that’s the case, may I know how Duke Ling can then guarantee our lives?” Yu XueGong was no fool as well. Having led the troops here for revenge, but falling into a trap causing them to be unable to advance or retreat and being led around by the enemy, even if they did not die here would they be spared if they left?

Thus, he had to pull the rest of his accomplices down with him, ensuring that they took a portion of responsibility when they returned! If he had to shoulder all responsibility, then most likely he as well as his entire family would be dragged off to die by a thousand cuts!

“But I can only let one of you return! As for the rest, do you still wish to survive?” Ling Jian’s brow raised as he coldly continued. At this point, he definitely had to play along.

Hearing this sentence, all the others turned pale! Everyone present was an expert, but because they had gotten used to the rich treatment and prestige from around them, their heroic spirit had long waned. Facing this crisis of life and death, they instantly forgot about taking revenge for their descendants. All they wanted was to escape with their lives!