236 The Wounded Teammate

Although he knew that the voice was an illusion, Lin Ran still tugged at the rope at his waist out of caution. “Deputy Commander Shen? Are you still there?”

“We’re tied together now. Where else can I go?”

Shen Rulin’s voice came from behind him. Lin Ran heaved a sigh of relief, but he felt a little strange.

At this moment, the distance between the two of them was only about 20 feet. Logically speaking, they could see each other, but when Lin Ran looked behind him, there was only a blurry black fog.

Recalling what he had just experienced, Lin Ran looked in the direction of the voice on the right. There was indeed a blurry white figure slowly moving.

Clang—

The Yin-Yang Sword slashed out a cold light. The sword energy stirred the black fog and split the white figure into two. Almost at the same time, Lin Ran saw Shen Rulin appear from the corner of his eye.

As if hearing Lin Ran draw his sword, Shen Rulin asked softly, “What happened?”

“It’s fine. The illusion is back.”

Lin Ran replied casually, “It’s quite interesting. I couldn’t see you the moment the illusion appeared, but after I destroyed the illusion, I could immediately see you.”

“Really?”

Shen Rulin asked in surprise, his tone clearly puzzled. “I think something else is more interesting. You’ve already encountered two illusions, but I haven’t encountered one yet!”

Hearing this, Lin Ran’s heart skipped a beat as something dawned on him.

Most likely, the illusion was there to corrupt one’s mind. However, Lin Ran’s cultivation was much higher than Shen Rulin’s. Logically speaking, Shen Rulin should be the one being targeted. Why were there endless illusions targeting him?

Lin Ran voiced his doubts, but Shen Rulin had no clue.

The two of them discussed for a long time but to no avail.

As they spoke, the two of them were about to reach the top of the mountain. During this time, Lin Ran encountered two more illusions. As soon as the illusion opened its mouth, he slashed out and killed it.

Soon, the slope under their feet became flatter. Lin Ran looked around and said, “We’re almost at the top of the mountain. Let’s rest for a while. Then, I’ll take you to the cave.”

Shen Rulin nodded and paused for a moment before asking in confusion, “We’re in a black cloud. Once we reach the top of the mountain, I’m afraid we won’t be able to tell north from south. Are you sure you can find that cave entrance?”

When Lin Ran heard this, he smiled proudly. “I’ve guarded Mount Sword for six years and know every nook and cranny here. Even by looking at the stones on the ground, I can tell exactly where we are!”

“Lord Lin, you’re indeed capable!” Shen Rulin’s voice sounded

Lin Ran instantly realized that something was wrong. He looked up and saw that the voice was coming from another direction.

“The illusion is here again!”

Lin Ran casually slashed out a sword energy at the illusion, but this time, the illusion did not dissipate immediately. Instead, blood splattered!

“What the hell?!”

Lin Ran exclaimed. His first thought was that he had accidentally hurt Shen Rulin, but when he looked down at the rope at his belt, he saw that Shen Rulin was clearly not in that direction!

In just a short while, the strong smell of blood had already wafted over.

Shen Rulin immediately became vigilant. He followed the rope to Lin Ran’s side and asked in a low voice, “What happened? Why do I smell blood?”

“Well… I think I killed the wrong person…”

Lin Ran explained the situation awkwardly and walked in that direction with Shen Rulin.

The illusion was only twenty steps away from the two of them. Soon, the two of them arrived. The embarrassment on Lin Ran’s face was even more obvious because the person lying on the ground was not an illusion at all, but a soldier from the Golden Guards in white armor!

This soldier had clearly fought a tough battle. The armor on his body was already tattered and there were countless deep and shallow wounds on his body. However, the most serious one was the wound on his back that ran from his left waist to his right shoulder. His bones could even be seen in the deepest part of the wound!

Fortunately, Lin Ran only intended to disperse the illusion, so he did not use his full strength. Although this soldier was seriously injured, his life was not in danger for the time being.

“It’s Zhao Ziming.”

After Shen Rulin took off the person’s bandana, he immediately recognized him. “He came in with the third team. Why is he here?”

As he spoke, Shen Rulin took out a bottle of medicinal powder and sprinkled it evenly on Zhao Ziming’s wound. The thin layer of medical powder stopped the bleeding almost instantly.

Lin Ran felt sorry for hurting Zhao Ziming, so while Shen Rulin was bandaging Zhao Ziming, he placed his hand on Zhao Ziming’s body and transferred some internal energy into him.

With his pure internal energy, Zhao Ziming’s pale face immediately improved a lot, but he probably wouldn’t wake up for the time being.

Lin Ran looked at the worried Shen Rulin. “What did you mean when you said that he shouldn’t be here? Do your people have different tasks?”

Shen Rulin nodded. “When the situation is unclear, we’ll try all kinds of routes. The third team’s mission is to enter from the north, circle around the mountain, and retreat from the south. Along the way, we’ll try our best to gather as much information as possible. The mountaintop is the search area of the sixth team. He shouldn’t be here.”

Lin Ran nodded in realization. “It seems that he was affected by the killing intent here.”

Shen Rulin sighed heavily and did not say anything. His expression had already turned solemn.

Zhao Ziming was covered in wounds, but there was no one on the top of Mount Sword. In other words, the ones attacking him could only be the Golden Guards from the same team or other teams.

Just like Lin Ran had said before, these people were affected by the evil aura here and started killing indiscriminately.

Seeing Shen Rulin’s worried expression, Lin Ran knew what he was thinking. He wanted to comfort him, but he didn’t know what to say. In the end, he could only sigh.

“Maybe the actual situation is not as bad as we think.”

Lin Ran said in a low voice. Actually, even he didn’t believe what he just said.

Shen Rulin forced a smile. Just as he was about to say something, Zhao Ziming suddenly coughed a few times and stood up!

“Ziming, you…”

Shen Rulin was about to step forward when Lin Ran stopped him.

“Step back. He looks a little strange.”

Only then did Shen Rulin realize that although Zhao Ziming had stood up, his eyes were still closed. He stood there shakily, as if he was sleepwalking.