The charming widow of the Marquis's mansion: The stable boy carries the flag and raises the dra

The stream murmurs, and the morning mist gradually dissipates.

Wang Long and Ye Niannu sat side by side on a rock smoothed by the water flow by the stream. Neither of them spoke, and they each quietly regulated their breathing for a moment.

Ye Niannu broke the silence first, turning her head to look at Wang Long, her peach blossom eyes showing a thoughtful seriousness.

"My lord, I've thought it over."

"Um?"

"We can't keep playing defensively like this."

Wang Long's gaze shifted slightly.

Ye Niannu continued.

"Now there are only two of us left in the Eastern Region. The other four regions have hundreds of participants, but there are only twenty-four flags in total, and more than a dozen of them have already fallen into the hands of others."

"Although they have a large number of people, the total number of flags is fixed."

"As time goes on, the competition between them will only intensify. After all, whoever has more flags will get a higher score."

"you mean……"

Wang Long had the same idea; hiding and running away was not his style.

Now that Ye Niannu is by my side, I can go all out and do my best!

"We don't need to keep hiding or ambushing small groups of enemies; we can take the initiative!"

Wang Long looked at the distant, continuous mountain ridges and whispered.

"Let's begin now!"

"good!"

Ye Niannu was also full of energy.

The two moved upstream along the stream for about half an hour. After crossing a low ridge, Wang Long's spiritual energy threads detected an unusual fluctuation of spiritual energy. It wasn't a fluctuation of battle, but rather some kind of... quarrel.

He moved quietly, approaching Ye Niannu together.

On the other side of the ridge was a depression surrounded by bushes, in the center of which two groups of people were facing off with swords drawn.

The group on the left, numbering about five, wore the distinctive dark green outfits of the Southern Region, with vine-like patterns embroidered on their cuffs. The leader held a longsword that gleamed with a ghostly green light, his face grim.

The group on the right consisted of four people, dressed in the gray-white leather armor commonly seen in the Northern Region, with several flags carried on their shoulders—the flags of the Eastern Region.

The leader of the Southern Region stared intently at the Northern Region cultivators carrying the flag opposite him, his voice filled with suppressed anger.

"We got that flag first! You intercepted it halfway through, what kind of nonsense is that?"

A burly man from the northern region chuckled, patted the flag on his shoulder, and spoke with undisguised smugness.

"What do you mean you got it first? Just because you saw it first means it's yours? On this battlefield, whoever gets it first gets it! You were slow, so who can you blame?"

"you!"

The leader of the Southern Region's group looked even more grim, and his companions behind him also gripped their weapons tightly.

Upon seeing this, the man from the Northern Region not only did not restrain himself, but laughed even more blatantly.

"What? You want to fight? I advise you to think carefully. Although we have fewer people, you won't have the upper hand if a fight breaks out. Besides..."

He glanced around, his tone carrying a hint of meaning.

"If this commotion gets out of hand and attracts other people, then nobody will have an easy time."

That makes a lot of sense.

On this battlefield, revealing your location means you might attract more covetous eyes.

But the leader of the Southern Region was clearly blinded by rage.

"Put the flag down, and I can pretend nothing happened."

What if I don't let go?

"Then don't blame me for being impolite!"

Before the words were even finished, the leader of the Southern Region had already made a move.

The eerie green sword light, like a venomous snake's tongue, pierced straight for the man's throat.

The man from the Northern Region was clearly no pushover either. He suddenly sidestepped the sword and simultaneously threw a punch at the opponent's ribs.

The two exchanged blows for only a few breaths before their two groups were locked in a fierce battle, the sounds of clashing spiritual energy and short shouts echoing through the depression.

Wang Long and Ye Niannu crouched behind the bushes at the edge of the ridge, taking in the entire scene.

The flag carried on the shoulder of the northern man was now swaying constantly in the chaos of battle. Both sides were focused on each other, and no one noticed the commotion above the ridge.

"We'll go down and close in after they've fought enough."

Ye Niannu smiled and responded, casually picked up a blade of grass and put it in her mouth, leaning against the bushes, leisurely watching the chaotic battle below.

The battle below did not last long.

Although the Southern Region had one more person, the Northern Region's teamwork was more seamless. After several rounds of clashes, two people from the Southern Region were knocked to the ground, and the remaining three were forced to retreat step by step.

The man from the Northern Region knocked the leader of the Southern Region back several steps with a single blow. A smug smile played on his lips as he was about to utter a few harsh words when suddenly a golden light silently descended from above the mountain ridge, precisely grazing his wrist that was holding the flag.

He felt a numbness in his wrist, and the flag slipped from his fingers, swept away by another, faster golden streak.

"Who goes there?!"

The man from the northern region froze instantly, and suddenly looked up towards the mountain ridge.

A gray figure was seen walking slowly down the ridge, his pace unhurried and leisurely, as if taking a stroll.

He held the flag that had just been swept away in his hand and casually weighed it in his hand.

Thanks.

The man from the northern region's face instantly turned extremely ugly.

"People from the Eastern Region?!"

The leader of the Southern Region was also stunned.

He had just been locked in a fierce battle with the people from the Northern Region, but now he subconsciously took a half step back, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Wang Long and Ye Niannu.

Wang Long tucked the flag into his robes and smiled at Ye Niannu.

"My lord, the harvest is quite good."

Ye Niannu leaped lightly down the ridge and landed beside him, her gaze sweeping over the various cultivators from the Southern and Northern Regions below, her tone casual.

The man from the northern region's expression shifted several times, and his companions beside him also gripped their weapons tightly, but none of them dared to make the first move.

Wang Long's move was too fast; they didn't even see which direction the golden light came from.

"You only have two people left from the Eastern Region, and you still dare to show up so openly?"

The man from the northern region gritted his teeth, his voice carrying a hint of forced ruthlessness.

"that is!"

The leader of the Southern Region echoed this sentiment. Although he had just been gritting his teeth at the people of the Northern Region, he now naturally stood on the same side.

"Even if you two are really good fighters, can you beat everyone?"

Wang Long didn't reply, but simply took a step closer to them.

The moment he took that step, the man from the Northern Region instinctively took a half step back.

His companion beside him also took a half step back.

The leader of the Southern Region also tensed up, his fingers gripping the sword turning slightly white.

I've really messed up today!

In the blink of an eye, both groups from the Northern and Southern Regions were eliminated by Wang Long and Ye Niannu!

Meanwhile, similar chaos was unfolding in other areas of the battlefield.

On an open area at the edge of a dense forest, a five-man squad from the Southern Region had just ambushed two lone cultivators from the Western Region and was about to take their flags when another squad from the Northern Region flanked them.

"Leave the flag behind, and you may leave."

The leader of the Northern Region spoke coldly, his gaze fixed on the flags.

The captain of the Southern Region team's face darkened.

"What do you mean by this from the Northern Region? We finally succeeded after so much trouble..."

"Either leave the flag, or leave everyone and the flag behind. The choice is yours!"

The entire battlefield descended into complete chaos!