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Tang Chen and Xiao Ruier moved with incredible speed. In what felt like a single second, they reached the location of the escort carriage. The scene was a mess of broken wood and fallen Spirit Hall Temple Knights. The two of them landed firmly, but they did not have a moment to look around before something happened.
With a loud thud, a body fell from the sky like a heavy sack of grain. It crashed into the dirt just a few meters away from Tang Chen, sending a large cloud of dust into the air. The person on the ground groaned and struggled to lift his head.
It was Salas, the Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall. He looked terrible. His expensive bishop robes were torn to shreds, and his face was as white as a sheet. Blood leaked from his mouth, showing that he had suffered terrible internal injuries during his fall.
A short distance away, next to the ruins of the carriage, stood a middle-aged man. He wore a simple hood that partially hid his face, and he had a messy, scraggly beard.
Despite his rough appearance, he stood with a posture that felt as heavy and majestic as a mountain. This man was holding onto Tang San, who had just been freed from his restraints. Tang San looked weak and pale, but his eyes were bright with excitement and relief.
Tang Hao and Tang San were clearly shocked to see Tang Chen arrive so suddenly. None of them had expected this meeting. For a long moment, the three of them simply stared at each other, frozen by the surprise of the situation.
The silence did not last long. Two figures filled with killing intent dropped from the sky like falling stars. They hit the ground with enough force to make the earth shake. These two men moved quickly to surround everyone.
Tang Hao, Tang San, Tang Chen, Xiao Ruier, and the injured Salas were now trapped between them. The newcomers were Devil Bear Douluo and Ghost Leopard Douluo. They had pushed down the pain from their own injuries just to chase after their targets.
When Salas saw the two Titled Douluo arrive, he felt a spark of hope. He used every bit of strength he had left to crawl to his feet. He pointed a trembling finger at Tang Hao and Tang San and began to shout.
"Elders, you arrived just in time! Please, you must act now! Do not let Tang Hao take Tang San away! Tang San is the one the Supreme Pontiff specifically ordered us to capture! We cannot afford to lose him!"
Devil Bear Douluo and Ghost Leopard Douluo looked at each other. They did not need to speak to know how serious this was. They understood the importance of Tang San and Tang Hao. If they weren't important, the Supreme Pontiff and the High Priest would never have planned such a massive operation to trap them.
The two Titled Douluo first focused their eyes on Tang Hao. He stood there with an aura that felt as solid as a rock, keeping Tang San safe behind his back. Then, their eyes shifted toward Tang Chen. They realized that this blue-haired young man was also on the list of people the Supreme Pontiff and the High Priest wanted.
The two Elders frowned deeply. They were stuck in a very difficult spot. The situation had become a complicated puzzle. If they put all their power into fighting Tang Hao to get Tang San, then Tang Chen and Xiao Ruier might escape.
Both of them were strong and could fly, making them hard to catch if they decided to run. If that happened, the mission from the Supreme Pontiff would fail.
However, if they split up or focused only on Tang Chen, they would have another problem. One Titled Douluo alone would have a nearly impossible time taking Tang San away from a man as strong as Tang Hao. Trying to beat Tang Hao with only half their strength would be like trying to climb to the stars.
The two Elders stood still, unable to decide which path to take. The air grew heavy and thick with tension. It felt like a room full of gunpowder that was waiting for a single spark to explode.
While this was happening, the situation was also changing near the Shrek Academy carriage. The sound of a huge explosion traveled through the canyon. When the noise reached the area where the students were waiting, it hit Xiao Wu like a bolt of lightning. She jumped up from where she was sitting, her face turning pale with fear.
"Oh no! Something bad has happened where Third Brother is!" she cried out.
Xiao Wu had a special connection to Tang San and could sense when he was in danger. She knew the explosion came from the exact spot where Tang San's carriage was supposed to be. Her worry for him was so strong that she stopped thinking clearly. She felt a desperate need to reach him.
"I have to go! I need to see if he is okay!"
Before Flender or the others could stop her, she pushed her spirit power to its limit. Her small body shot forward like an arrow from a bow. She ran as fast as she could toward the direction of the smoke and noise.
"Xiao Wu! Stop! Come back here! It is too dangerous!" Liu Erlong shouted. Her face was full of worry and anger. She knew that the area ahead was full of danger. A battle between Titled Douluo was not a place for a young girl. The shockwaves alone could kill someone.
Liu Erlong turned to Flender, her expression very serious. "Flender, you stay here and protect the rest of the children! I am going after Xiao Wu. I can't let her go into that mess by herself!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Erlong's fiery spirit power flared up around her. For a split second, the image of a Red Dragon appeared behind her before she took off. She looked like a flaming meteor as she chased after Xiao Wu. She had promised to be Xiao Wu's godmother, and she treated the girl like her own daughter. She was willing to walk through fire to keep her safe.
Flender watched them disappear into the dust and rubble of the canyon. He sighed heavily, feeling the weight of the situation. He turned to the remaining students, who were all looking very scared.
"Listen to me! Everyone stay close to the carriage. Do not wander off!"
Even though this spot was not the center of the fight, it was still a grizzly scene. The earlier attack by the men in black had left bodies scattered everywhere. Wounded Royal Knights were lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Blood pooled in the cracks of the stone, and the air smelled like metal and rust.
Most of the students were too busy watching the distant fight or trying to help the wounded to notice anything else. Nobody was looking at Yu Xiaogang. He was curled up inside the carriage, and something was very wrong with him.
Usually, Yu Xiaogang looked tired or sad. But right now, his eyes had turned a bright, scary red. He was leaning forward, staring intensely at the pools of blood on the ground outside. His face didn't look like the face of a wise teacher anymore. It was twisted into a look of hunger and greed. He even had a small, creepy smile on his face.
The smell of blood was doing something to him. His spirit had been changed by the dark power of Rakshasa. Inside his soul, the mutated Luo San Pao was roaring. It was hungry for the life energy found in the blood.
Back at the main battle, Devil Bear Douluo and Ghost Leopard Douluo were still trying to decide what to do. Suddenly, a sharp, buzzing sound filled the air. It sounded like thousands of birds or intense electricity.
High up on the cliffs of the canyon, more figures appeared. These were more men in black, and there were even more of them than before. They moved like ghosts, similar to the way Ghost Douluo moved. Blue and purple lightning flickered all around them.
A heavy, violent energy that felt like a dragon and a thunderstorm began to pour down into the canyon. Everyone below stopped what they were doing and looked up, feeling the massive pressure of these new arrivals.