Dugu Yan spoke calmly, "Xiao Xuan, we'll meet them head-on; soldiers against generals, water against earth."
In this situation, they had no option to retreat. Aside from a desperate counterattack, there was no second path to take.
The blood-red bats flew incredibly fast, closing the distance in a matter of moments. Their eyes were blood-red as well. Detecting their targets, they let out raspy screeches and revealed sharp fangs. Over a thousand blood bats flapping their wings brought a gale of stench that caused the two to stagger slightly.
However, Gu Xuan suddenly pulled Dugu Yan toward him and swept her up into a princess carry.
Previously tense, Dugu Yan was momentarily bewildered by this move. Feeling Gu Xuan's warm, large hands circling her waist and thighs, she subconsciously pressed her legs together. It wasn't just because Gu Xuan was holding her, but because the situation was too perilous; a single misstep could send them falling off the narrow path to a nameless death.
Yet Dugu Yan trusted Gu Xuan one hundred percent. She said nothing more but remained alert, her jade finger flicking to send a cold flash of light flying toward the nearest blood bat.
Unexpectedly, the blood bat's body merely swayed slightly in mid-air, actually dodging her toxic needle.
Dugu Yan's heart chilled as she whispered, "Xiao Xuan, bats aren't like other birds. They have a special sensitivity that allows them to easily grasp an enemy's attack. It's a unique ability that even mental power can't easily influence. Unless your speed exceeds the limit of their reaction, it's very hard to wound them."
As Dugu Yan finished speaking, Gu Xuan gave a faint smile and said, "Yanzi, give me my other three dragon swords."
As his voice fell, five dragon swords already extended from his back, their blade-wings sharp as razors.
Hearing Gu Xuan's words, Dugu Yan's confidence instantly surged. Although soul skills were still forbidden here, Martial Souls and soul bones were not restricted. She reached into her soul tool and retrieved the remaining three dragon swords. As they clicked into place, eight dragon swords fanned out behind Gu Xuan, his body wreathed in sharp sword qi, exuding an extraordinary, domineering aura.
The blood bats in the air seemed to possess intelligence; they didn't rush to attack immediately. Instead, they circled rapidly in a wide loop, surrounding the pair. Blood bats were poised to strike from every direction relative to Gu Xuan's body.
Gu Xuan said softly, "Yanzi, activate your Martial Soul and hold onto me."
Dugu Yan understood this was to minimize their combined surface area, so she immediately possessed her Martial Soul. Her straight, long, and rounded legs transformed into a green snake tail that coiled around Gu Xuan's waist. Her arms circled his neck, and her face pressed against his chest. It looked as if Gu Xuan were simply carrying a small satchel.
Their conversation and movements took only a few seconds. For an ordinary person, facing such a massive swarm of blood bats would already be a death sentence. Judging by how they dodged Dugu Yan's attack, these bats were likely a rare variant—top-tier in terms of speed and aggression, and possibly highly venomous.
But Gu Xuan and Dugu Yan could handle this calmly. Gu Xuan relied on his absolute strength, while Dugu Yan relied on her absolute trust in him.
Perhaps provoked by that single toxic needle, the innermost dozens of bats suddenly lunged at them just as Dugu Yan finished coiling. Gu Xuan, already in his Martial Soul possession state, suddenly charged forward. With the enhancement of his Martial Soul, his speed reached its peak in an instant.
Just as the dozens of bats were within five meters of him, the eight dragon swords on his back detached, turning into eight streaks of flowing light that weaved and danced before him.
The charging blood bats had no time to dodge. Within the endless sword qi, they were shredded into fragments in a heartbeat. Gu Xuan's speed didn't slacken at all; he tore a gap through the surrounding swarm and moved rapidly forward.
The swarm seemed to have a collective intelligence. Another few dozen bats lunged at him, but every time they attacked, they were sliced into pieces by the eight dragon swords. They couldn't even cause Gu Xuan's footsteps to falter.
Just like that, the terrifying army of blood bats was easily dealt with. Leaning against Gu Xuan's chest, Dugu Yan looked up at his resolute face, her heart filled with joy. She felt no despair despite the crisis and the environment; there was only happiness.
Faced with a man who looked like a Death God, the blood bats' intelligence seemed quite high. After several failed probes, they no longer dared to approach the range of his terrifying dragon swords. But they refused to leave, circling nearby and flapping their wings to blow unstable air currents toward the pair.
"These bats are so annoying," Dugu Yan muttered hatefully, watching the swarm surround them.
Seeing the blood bats stop their direct attacks and switch to harassment, Gu Xuan's pace quickened even more. The eight dragon swords that were previously charging ahead returned to rotate around him, forming a slaughter array five meters in diameter. Any bat attempting to break through would be sliced to bits by the horrific sword qi.
Even though Gu Xuan was fast, the bats continued to flap their wings and pursue them. He ran for nearly five minutes like this.
"Screech! Screech!"
A larger blood bat suddenly let out a cry. Immediately, all the remaining bats began to emit sharp, piercing shrieks. The sound was so grating that Dugu Yan frowned.
At that moment, Gu Xuan's advance halted abruptly. He stood locked in place, his red and blue heterochromatic pupils staring straight ahead, glowing with light. Dugu Yan felt the sudden deceleration and shifted her gaze from his face to what lay ahead, then she couldn't help but gasp.
Directly in front of them on the narrow path, hanging upside down from the path's underside, was a super-large bat. Bathed in the faint red glow of the environment, this massive bat exuded a darkgold radiance.
The giant bat was over four meters long. Its two massive claws were hooked into the narrow path, each over a meter in length, with sharp talons dug deep into the stone.
Amidst the shrieks of the countless smaller bats, a pair of massive wings slowly unfurled from the bat's darkgold body. The terrifying wingspan reached ten meters. The claws released their grip, and with a heavy flap of its wings, the massive body took flight.
Now, its full appearance was revealed. The bat was entirely darkgold, but most terrifyingly, it actually had three heads. All the smaller blood bats quickly streaked across the sky, gathering behind the massive Dark Golden Three-Headed Bat King.
Dugu Yan murmured blankly, "So, we beat up the underlings, and the big boss came out?"
(End of Chapter)
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