My enemies became my companions

Chapter 647 is here (Bonus Chapter 3 Combined)

Living in this world, mingling in the underworld, most people have greed. They earn a little here, take a little there, and then put it on the gambling table to gamble away more.

In the world of martial arts, countless storms and waves pass by in the blink of an eye. In the past, I survived by winning at gambling, and this time I want to gamble again, whether it's a small bet or a big one. If I've lost before, then I should bet even more. Wanting to recoup my losses is not greed.

People are always greedy.

The poor want to get rich, the rich want to live forever, the hungry want to be full, and the full want to indulge in lust. So people in the martial arts world pay all sorts of prices for these things, and use them as chips to gamble on the table.

But you never know when everything will be lost in an instant.

The night was as dark as ink, so thick it seemed impossible to see through, tightly enveloping Dragon Tail City.

The grim atmosphere of martial law during the day fermented in the darkness, permeating a suffocating tension.

The high walls and deep courtyards of the Prince's Mansion resembled a lurking beast. Three dark figures, like a persistent leech, followed closely behind Chen Yi, silently passing through the corridor and disappearing into the shadows of the outer courtyard of the Prince's Mansion.

They were the three masked men who had confronted Chen Yi at the gambling den. Chen Yi led the way, his pace unhurried, knowing the palace's pavilions, patrol routes, and even the positions of the hidden sentries like the back of his hand.

The three of them emitted a faint aura that rippled outwards like waves, subtly interfering with the security formations set up throughout the Prince's mansion, causing them to be temporarily blinded.

"Who goes there? What are you doing here?" A patrol of guards appeared from around the corner of the corridor, looking warily at the group of people in the shadows.

Chen Yi calmly stepped forward and revealed a token from his robes. "Zhige Division, acting on orders."

The guard leader carefully examined the token, then looked at Chen Yi by the light of the lantern. He hesitated for a moment, but finally stepped aside to make way for him, saying, "Please proceed, sir."

Despite some close calls, thanks to Chen Yi's identity, the group arrived at the entrance to the Prince's Mansion dungeon without any obstacles.

The jailers dared not obstruct Chen Yi in the slightest. Looking down, they could see the dark and damp passageway extending downwards, filled with a musty smell. The torchlight flickered, casting distorted and swaying shadows on the cold stone walls on both sides.

Elder Wumeng was huddled on a pile of grass in the corner, his hair disheveled and his body hunched and weak. Hearing a slight noise, he struggled to raise his head, and his cloudy eyes suddenly burst forth with a faint but fervent light after he saw who it was.

Wu Meng's speech acupoints had long been sealed, and he could only make whimpering sounds, as if he was excited to recognize his heretical comrade.

Chen Yi opened the cell door without making a sound. A masked man quickly stepped forward and skillfully checked Wu Meng's physical condition, while two other people stood guard outside the door.

Soon, they dressed Wumeng in a set of ordinary servant's clothes that had been prepared in advance, and smeared some mud and ash on his face to try to cover up his obvious features.

"Elder, can we still walk?" the masked man at the head asked in a low voice.

Wu Meng made a hoarse sound in his throat as he struggled to stand up, but stumbled. Another masked man immediately stepped forward to support him.

Chen Yi stepped out of the dungeon, surveyed the area, and, confirming there was no further movement, turned back and said, "This place is not safe to stay any longer. The person has been rescued; you should leave the palace immediately."

His voice was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent dungeon.

The three of them nodded. "We'll be going now."

Chen Yi took off his Zhigesi waist token from his waist and handed it over: "The whole city is under curfew recently, and there are many guards patrolling the city. If you are questioned by the guards, show this token."

The masked man at the head of the group took the waist token, which felt cold and heavy in his hand. He gave Chen Yi a deep look, his eyes behind the mask filled with complex and unfathomable emotions. In the end, he simply whispered, "Take care, Commander."

Immediately, the three of them helped the weakened Wumeng and quickly and silently retreated along the way they had come.

Chen Yi stood there until their footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the passageway before slowly exhaling a breath of stale air, turning around and disappearing into another side path, his figure instantly swallowed by the darkness of the dungeon.

...............

With Wu Meng by their side, the three of them, relying on their memory of the way they came, once again narrowly avoided several patrols, and finally scaled the back wall of the Prince's Mansion, silently disappearing into the crisscrossing, dark alleys of Dragon Tail City.

Leaving the Prince's residence, the three did not slow down; on the contrary, they became even more anxious, as they needed to get out of the city as soon as possible.

"Finally out..."

“If it weren’t for Commander Chen…” another person interjected, “it would have been as difficult as climbing to heaven for us to infiltrate and rescue people so easily.”

“Yes,” the masked man at the head of the group stroked the cold Zhigesi waist token in his hand, his voice lowering, “but… the Emperor’s secret orders before his departure still need to be carried out…”

The atmosphere became slightly hesitant when the Emperor's secret decree was mentioned.

"Is the Supreme Sage truly willing to abandon him here as a pawn?"

“This is tantamount to crossing the river and burning the bridge…” another person chimed in, then added, “However, it was also his people who killed us first.”

The masked man at the head of the group said, “Indeed, the Supreme Sage has his own profound intentions. Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts. Chen Yi is a man of deep thoughts and ruthless methods... How can we trust such a person?”

The Emperor's meaning was clear: since he was at odds with the Prince's Mansion and was wanted by the court, we only needed to add fuel to the fire, completely confirming his identity and making it public... Let them fight like dogs, to the death. Regardless of who wins or loses, it's a case of two clams fighting, from which we can reap the benefits."

The three of them, along with Wumeng, passed the alleyway in front of them, turned several corners, and walked forward for a while when they suddenly heard some strange noises.

"Listen! Someone's here!" the masked leader suddenly hissed, instantly alerting everyone.

A series of neat and heavy footsteps, accompanied by the clanging sound of armor plates rubbing together, came from the alleyway ahead. They grew closer and closer, and judging from the sound, there were no fewer than ten people.

The three fell silent instantly, exchanged a glance, and immediately restrained their breathing. They slowed their pace as if nothing had happened, pretending to be on a normal journey, and, supporting their companion, naturally turned right onto a narrower side road to try and avoid it.

However, as soon as they turned the corner, they ran into another group of fully armed soldiers.

"Who?!"

The torchlight instantly illuminated the narrow alleyway and the faces of the Imperial Guards soldiers.

The masked man's heart sank. The leader reacted swiftly, stepping forward and pulling out the Zhigesi waist token, which he held high, declaring, "Zhigesi is on duty! Who are you? Get out of the way at once!"

The torchlight flickered, reflecting off the cold waist badge.

Yang Chongwei's gaze fell on the waist tag, then slowly swept over the four suspicious-looking men in front of him. A slow grin spread across his face as he said, "Boys, you've caught the right person. Kill him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the elite Imperial Guards behind him drew their swords in unison, their cold glint flashing.

All three were taken aback, then shouted, "We are the Zhige Division, what do you intend to do?!"

"I'm going to kill you, Zhigesi!"

Yang Chongwei, who had been waiting for his chance, let out a loud shout, and the light of his blade burst forth in the torchlight, mercilessly slashing down at the person in the alley.

.....................

A streak of sparks rose from the somber darkness of Dragontail City, climbing rapidly into the night sky before exploding into a blinding ball of light.

Chen Yi stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.

In fact, you don't need to look to know; you can tell from the direction of the wind that clusters of energy are gathering from the depths of the night towards the streets and alleys under the light.

Since the leader of the heretical cult was personally present in Dragon Tail City, there couldn't possibly be only a few people there. Therefore, he and Qin Qinglu guessed that the heretics had already infiltrated the city along with the influx of refugees.

He suddenly recalled his previous dream: dice were spinning wildly in the gambling den, everyone was obsessed with gambling, and the chips were piled higher and higher, all for the sake of the final winner taking all.

But this is the southern border, the city of Longwei, where there has always been only one landlord—the Prince of Annam's Mansion.

"In this way, the heretics who originally wanted to hide behind the scenes and reap the benefits have instead been pushed onto the gambling table."

Qin Qinglu glanced at him twice, and Chen Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, his calm tone revealing a hint of smugness.

He has always been adept at calculating such petty gains.

The female prince intended to give him a warning, but the situation was not yet settled. Seeing that he was in high spirits again, she said, "You have done a good job, and I have never been worried about you."

Seeing that he still seemed unsatisfied, Qin Qingluo added, "...I'll rely on you more often in the future."

Chen Yi nodded slightly, deliberately putting on a smug smile so that it would catch Qin Qingluo's eye.

"So tell me, when should we make our move?" Qin Qingluo asked.

"Wait, wait for that Supreme Saint to make the first move."

Qin Qingluo looked into the distance and then said, "It's not far."

...............

The moment the word "Kill!" was uttered, the narrow alleyway instantly transformed into a bloody battlefield.

"Protect the elder!" the masked man at the head roared, his voice distorted with extreme tension.

He reacted the fastest, advancing instead of retreating in the face of several slashing blades. The nearly five-foot-long dark metal bone flute was no mere decoration; as he wielded it, it emitted a low, strange whistling sound, carrying a power that disturbed the mind.

The flute was incredibly hard, deflecting two long swords slashing down from the front with a piercing metallic clang and sparks flying. However, the bone flute was too short in this close-quarters, narrow alleyway combat, and he was instantly at a disadvantage. He parried two swords, but the third one was already cunningly aimed at his ribs.

"Boss!" The thin, masked man on the left shrieked, flicking his fingers in quick succession. With a hissing sound, ten darts, gleaming with a dark green light, shot straight at the faces and throats of the Imperial Guards soldiers who were besieging the burly masked man.

This flying shuttle was exceptionally vicious, incredibly fast, and posed a tricky angle, forcing the soldiers to parry and defend themselves, instantly relieving the burly masked man's immediate crisis.

However, the masked man on the right, wielding a heavy curved sword on his back, was not so lucky.

He had just drawn his twin swords, attempting to carve a bloody path, when he was entangled by three well-coordinated elite Imperial Guards. His curved swords were powerful and heavy, but they were difficult to fully utilize in this confined space. One Imperial Guard soldier fearlessly lunged forward, forcefully slamming his shoulder into his chest, restricting his sword-wielding space. Meanwhile, two other long swords pierced his waist and abdomen from the left and right.

"Third brother!" The burly masked man's eyes were bloodshot. He swept his bone flute in an attempt to save him, but Yang Chongwei personally cleaved him with a powerful and heavy blow, carrying the force to split mountains and shatter rocks. The burly masked man hastily blocked with his flute.

The immense force emanating from the bone flute caused the burly masked man's hand to crack, almost causing him to drop the flute. He was jolted back several steps, his blood churning, and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth beneath the mask.

At the same time, the gaunt masked man raised his hand again, and several more green beams shot out, forcing back the enemies on the other side.

But the Imperial Guards were numerous and well-trained. In an instant, two of them split up to raise shields to protect their vitals, charging forward despite the flying shuttles. The thin, masked man was skilled with concealed weapons, but close combat was his weakness. When the two shield-wielding soldiers got close, the shields slammed into him, and he groaned, losing his balance. A flash of light, and an arm, along with several shuttles that hadn't yet been launched, shot into the air.

He was immediately stabbed several times and died on the spot.

"Second Brother!" The burly masked man, disregarding his own injuries, hurled his bone flute with a strange, wailing sound, but even more blades had already enveloped him.

Yang Chongwei grinned maliciously, raising his long sword once more, the blade flashing like a bolt of lightning. "You demonic cultists, aiding and abetting evil, die!"

At that very moment,
A figure, like a ghost, floated down from the low rooftops nearby without warning, moving so fast that it seemed to blend into the shadows of the alley itself.

Silent and still, yet a suffocating aura of death seemed to wash over us.

Ding!
Yang Chongwei's seemingly inevitable strike was firmly caught by two thin, well-defined fingers. The blade was only three inches from the top of the burly masked man's head, yet it could not fall even an inch further. The violent blade energy was easily crushed and dissipated by those two fingers.

"Take Wumeng and go first!"

The heretic leader shook off Yang Chongwei and shouted an order.

The sinister smile on Yang Chongwei's face disappeared, replaced by a hint of apprehension. Both of them were at the fourth rank in martial arts, and their strengths were roughly equal.

Elder Wumeng, standing to the side, was not startled by the sudden bloodshed. His cloudy eyes were calm as he made a soft hoarse sound.

The burly masked man reacted swiftly, suppressing his grief, he grabbed Wumeng and fled for his life.

Two imperial guards tried to give chase, but the commander waved his other empty sleeve, and several needle-like shadows spread out. The two soldiers had just taken a step when they felt a numbness in the back of their necks, and then their vision went black, and they collapsed limply.

"Don't run!" Yang Chongwei was both shocked and furious, and charged forward again with his sword.

This time, he held nothing back, his sword strikes were wide and sweeping, carrying the fierce killing intent honed on the battlefield. The sword light surged like a tide, layer upon layer, completely enveloping the chief envoy.

The chief envoy moved like a withered leaf in the wind, weaving through the flashing blades. He did not use any weapons, but only his bare hands. His palm techniques seemed slow, but he always managed to strike first, accurately hitting the spine of the blade or the point where Yang Chongwei exerted his force.

Each time their palms and fingers struck, a dull thud was heard. Yang Chongwei felt a chilling sensation, as if internal energy was trying to penetrate his meridians and disrupt his blood circulation, like a withered tree trying to draw life from a dead tree.

As Yang Chongwei fought, he became increasingly alarmed. His opponent's internal energy was extremely difficult to deal with, and his moves were even more unpredictable. Although he seemed to be more defensive than offensive, he felt a sense of frustration, as if he were stuck in a quagmire.

He tried to overcome skill with brute force, and his sword strikes became increasingly ferocious, but the chief envoy was like a weightless ghost, always able to slip away and deflect his power during the gaps in his bursts of strength.

The Imperial Guards attempted to surround and attack, but the chief envoy was too fast, and the hidden weapons he occasionally launched with a flick of his sleeve were even more cunning and deadly, making them dare not approach easily.

The street fight instantly turned into a duel between two masters, with flashing blades and palm strikes, and strong winds shaking the walls on both sides, causing dust to fall.

Just as the two were locked in fierce combat, with neither able to gain the upper hand,

Boom!

A deep, thunderous roar resounded, as if the heart of the earth had been violently struck, and half of Dragontail City seemed to tremble in response.

Yang Chongwei and the chief envoy, who were engaged in fierce fighting, both paused and looked in surprise at the source of the sound.

Not far away, a large section of the roof of a two-story building collapsed with a loud crash, sending rubble and debris flying everywhere.

Immediately afterwards, a massive, suffocating shadow, after sinking slightly, crashed down from the collapsing dust.

Boom,
The earth trembled violently once more, and amidst the billowing dust, a colossal ironclad object, nearly ten feet tall and forged entirely from dark, heavy metal, appeared.

Officials and puppets.

Wherever his feet landed, the bluestone slab crumbled into dust like fragile tofu.

A huge crater was created in the ground, with gravel and soil shooting out in all directions.

The two combatants were forced back by the impact.

Yang Chongwei was so shocked by this earth-shattering stomp that his scalp tingled. Although he had heard about it before, seeing it in person now was a hundred times more awe-inspiring than before.

There was no time to think further. Yang Chongwei stopped and pushed his true energy to its limit, unleashing a flash of sword light as he fiercely slashed at the puppet general.

"Cut it off right now!"

A loud bang erupted, and the shockwave shattered the windows of the houses on both sides of the alley.

Yang Chongwei felt a tremendous force rebound from the blade, his tiger's mouth instantly split open, blood gushing out, and the long sword almost slipped from his hand.

The spot where it had been slashed was now only marked with a shallow white mark, and its massive body barely swayed.

The puppet seemed to be enraged. It slowly turned its head, raised its arm, spread its five fingers, and grabbed down at Yang Chongwei's head. If this grab landed, not only flesh and blood, but even fine steel would be crushed into a disc.

"Commander!" The surviving Imperial Guard soldiers were filled with rage and wanted to help, but they were so intimidated by the terrifying pressure that they could not move.

"The Lotus Throne burns the world, purifying impurities and breaking through obstacles."

A low shout with a strange rhythm rang out.

Between the envoy's withered hands, a ball of dark golden flame suddenly rose, quickly condensed, and transformed into a flame lotus flower with a diameter of over a foot.

The moment the fiery lotus appeared, the fierce and bloody aura emanating from the puppet general paused.

A fierce glint flashed in the envoy's eyes, and he pushed his hands forward sharply.

"go with!"

The dark golden flame lotus moved swiftly like a streak of light, striking the puppet general in the back.

The official abruptly pulled back the giant claw that had been grabbing Yang Chongwei, and with an agility disproportionate to its size, it suddenly spun around. It abandoned Yang Chongwei and slammed its giant hand down on the flying dark golden fire lotus. Wherever the fist struck, the air was compressed and exploded.

The two collided violently, but there was no earth-shattering explosion. Instead, a sizzling sound, like grease being burned, rang out. Dark gold flames clung to the puppet's giant fist and burned wildly. The light runes tried to penetrate the gaps in the metal, and the puppet's entire arm was instantly enveloped in dark gold flames.

The puppet general let out a deep, muffled growl.

The chief envoy's pupils constricted; he knew better than Yang Chongwei the origin and terror of this armored monster.

The most lethal move was actually withstood by this iron lump; although it had some effect, it was not enough to cause serious damage.

"Not good!" A warning screamed in his mind. He retreated rapidly, trying to create distance. At the same time, he quickly formed hand seals in front of his chest and uttered an obscure and incomprehensible whisper. The desolate death aura around him surged instantly, like a tangible black mist, attempting to build a defense.

However, the official's puppet's killing intent was pure and direct.

It suddenly shook its arm, and most of the dark gold flames attached to it were forcefully dispersed. At the same time, its other giant claw swept out fiercely.

The chief envoy's pupils contracted sharply, and his figure transformed into a blur as he retreated rapidly.

The giant hand swept past his body, and the resulting wind pressure tore several huge holes in his wide black robe. The claw-like wind swept across the wall next to him, causing it to collapse with a roar.

The chief envoy narrowly avoided the fatal blow, but his breathing was already disordered, and more blood spilled from the corner of his mouth beneath the mask.

Suddenly, he realized that there was another presence beside him, without him even noticing.

It was as if he had stepped out of his shadow.

...................
Chen Yi stood with his hands behind his back, the night breeze ruffling his clothes.

He slowly drew his sword from its sheath and nodded to Qin Qingluo.

"coming."

(End of this chapter)