A Chaotic World

Chapter 41: Trap

Lu Tianzi's eyes narrowed immediately upon hearing Hu Shenwei's request.

Hu Shenwei actually wanted him to act as bait?

Was he for real? Or was it a test?

But at the same time, in front of all his team members, Lu Tianzi highly doubted that Hu Shenwei would dare to go overboard. Otherwise the prestige and recognition that he had worked so hard to obtain would immediately go down the drain.

"Do share your plan, Sir Hu," Lu Tianzi answered, careful not to agree without first understanding what he was in for.

Hu Shenwei wasted no time in telling the team about what he intended to do next, even going into elaborate details such as the division of roles and their individual duties, all of which had already considered every team member's specialties and strengths.

The ability to come up with such a detailed plan in a short span of time was further proof about Hu Shenwei's excellence.

Hu Shenwei's plan centred on Lu Tianzi being capable of drawing away the attention of the enemy's main force. Doing that would provide Hu Shenwei and the rest of the team members an opening to launch a surprise attack from the enemy's flanks.

Thus, Hu Shenwei had specifically singled out Lu Tianzi, since Lu Tianzi had already proven himself as the most capable martial artist aside from himself.

As for why Hu Shenwei was unable to act as bait, it was due to the fact that he was an Essence Condensation realm martial artist.

Once the enemy realised that it was an Essence Condensation realm martial artist, they would naturally be more guarded against him. That would greatly reduce his worth as bait.

On top of that, as the only Essence Condensation realm martial artist, the surprise attack would have a much higher probability of dealing a lethal blow if he was the one in charge of it.

The more Lu Tianzi listened, the more he thought that it was a feasible plan. If they followed his plan accordingly, it might truly be possible for them to strike down at least one of the Essence Condensation realm demon martial artists!

Since even Lu Tianzi who had been the most sceptical one thought so, then the rest of the team members naturally would not think any differently.

But there was one glaring issue with the plan that only Lu Tianzi could see.

If the surprise attack failed to arrive, then he as the bait would be doomed to be surrounded by the demons.

Should that happen, Lu Tianzi did not even need to guess to know what kind of fate awaited him!

Perhaps the others could see it as well, just that they were not too worried about it. After all, why would they not strike as planned?

Only Lu Tianzi who was having doubts about Hu Shenwei's intentions would think that way.

Was it worth taking this gamble?

Lu Tianzi looked up at Hu Shenwei, who was staring back at Lu Tianzi with the same resolute gaze that Hu Shenwei had always worn, and then turned to look at the rest of the team members.

In order to maintain his reputation as the successor to Hu Yuanbo, surely Hu Shenwei would not be willing to bear a stain on his records by betraying the Holy Guardian of the Ivory Rock City right in front of his team members?

Should he do that, then the martial artists of Ivory Rock City would never accept him as the successor in the future!

Since that was the case, then this could be a rare chance for Lu Tianzi!

If he was able to land the killing blow on any Essence Condensation realm martial artist, Lu Tianzi was sure that the trace of energy obtained would be many times that of any Essence Building real mmartial artists!

"I will do it!" Lu Tianzi finally decided.

"Good! As expected, you truly will not let me down! Now we have a much higher chance of success!" Hu Shenwei nodded in satisfaction.

"Let us do this then!" Instructor Nie clenched his fists in enthusiasm.

Instructor Nie was not the only one who felt their fighting spirit burning up at this moment either. The rest of the team members, as well as Lu Tianzi himself, all started to feel their heart beating faster.

This was a plan to slay demons at the Essence Condensation realm!

How could they not be excited?

"Let's move out in three minutes, we need to get ready early for the trap to work!" Hu Shenwei gave the order and everyone started their preparations.

At this time, nobody noticed the cold smirk that had appeared on Hu Shenwei's.

In the end, Lu Tianzi was still far too young and inexperienced. He was too easily blinded by his trust in others.

Exactly as Lu Tianzi thought, Hu Shenwei was indeed unwilling to be seen as betraying a respectable Holy Guardian of the Ivory Rock City. That would jeopardise the future that he cherished far too much.

Thus, even though it would be the easiest way to get rid of Lu Tianzi, Hu Shenwei would never be able to completely abandon Lu Tianzi, turning to leave the scene without lending a hand after the demons entered their trap.

However, there were definitely ways to pull one over the eyes of the other team members.

After all, not even Lu Tianzi was one hundred percent certain that Hu Shenwei knew about the secret of the Holy Guardians of Ivory Rock City, so why would the other team members ever suspect Hu Shenwei of deliberately plotting against Lu Tianzi?

As long as Hu Shenwei was able to act as though he had a lapse in concentration during the critical juncture, leading to a failure to strike on time, Lu Tianzi's position would end up overran by the Essence Condensation realm demon martial artists.

This way, he would not even have to act personally and the demons would silence Lu Tianzi for him!

At that stage, even if Hu Shenwei finally gave the order to act, it would be too late to rescue Lu Tianzi.

That would be the time for him to put on his best show, acting as though he was desperately trying to save Lu Tianzi so as to burn such an impression into the hearts of his team members, gaining their eternal respect and loyalty!

When all was said and done, it was the living who wielded the power to write history.

His mistake would be glossed over with a casual mention, or perhaps even completely forgotten with the passing of time. All that remained would be how he had valiantly charged forward against numerous demons as he tried to save his entrapped subordinate, only to be held back by his other team members!

What a beautiful backstory that perfectly suited the future Lord of Ivory Rock City!

The bards would sing of his deeds and the jesters would dance to his tale.

The masses of Ivory Rock City would have no choice but to accept him as the worthy successor to his father Hu Yuanbo, and today would be marked as the very cornerstone that would mould the legend of Hu Shenwei!

Just thinking about it put him in a good mood!

As for killing a demon at the Essence Condensation realm, contrary to his plan, Hu Shenwei had no intentions whatsoever of doing anything like that.

His father had specifically instructed this to be a simple raiding operation, simply taking out the weaker demons who strayed out of the fortress.

After all, this was only meant as a counter warning to the demons, and they still did not want to completely enrage General Nanbai Zhaoyu.

If they did, the catastrophic consequences might even bring about the fall of Ivory Rock City!

Hu Shenwei quickly suppressed his emotions, and the cold smirk on his face promptly vanished without a trace.

He was well aware that things might not pan out exactly as he planned.

After all, Hu Shenwei had no way of controlling what the demons did.

It was not as though he could go and inform them that he had no intentions of taking them down at all.

From what Lu Tianzi said, there seemed to be quite a few Essence Condensation realm martial artists among their ranks as well, making it of paramount importance for him to maintain complete focus at all times.

Only then could he steer the direction of Lu Tianzi's fate with pinpoint precision while keeping the rest of his team alive!

After just a matter of minutes, Lu Tianzi found himself seated alone in the forest, barbequing rabbit meat over a small fire.

Hu Shenwei and the rest of his team were no longer anywhere to be seen.

Suddenly, as though sensing danger, Lu Tianzi stood up and drew his sword, staring into the darkness of the forest.

They had finally come!

"Wow, you actually noticed me from this far away," a calm voice came from the direction that Lu Tianzi was looking at. "Not bad at all for an Essence Building realm brat. No wonder my men ended up in such a pathetic state!"

Lu Tianzi took a step back as he continued to stay on guard.

Not far away in some dense bushes, the martial artist hiding alongside Hu Shenwei was about to unsheathe his weapon, but Hu Shenwei instantly held him down, shaking his head in disapproval.

"It is not time yet. Let them come in a little further," Hu Shenwei conveyed his voice directly to his team member's ears.

Hearing that, the martial artist could only nod in acknowledgement as he settled down once again, continuing to stand by for instructions.

Finally, three demons walked out from the shadows, and the one leading the way regarded Lu Tianzi with great interest.

This demon was none other than Captain Nanhong Yechang, one of the six main guardians of Shadowfront Fortress, and was under the direct command of General Nanbai Zhaoyu.

"You really surprise me. You are actually still able to calmly eat your meal here as if this is your own backyard. Do you really think that you are invincible?"

As he spoke, Nanhong Yechang continued to advance towards Lu Tianzi, his steps light and casual as though he was just taking a stroll through the forest.

In contrast, the latter kept stepping backwards to maintain the distance between them, anxiety clearly showing on his face.

The three demons who just appeared were all beyond Lu Tianzi's perception range, meaning they were all martial artists who had broken into the Essence Condensation realm!

Even Hu Shenwei frowned from his hiding place as he saw the three demons.

After entering the Essence Condensation realm, a martial artist's strength of perception would increase. With that, even if the other party had reached a higher cultivation boundary, an Essence Condensation realm martial artist would always be able to accurately determine the cultivation realm of anyone under the Origin Core realm.

Thus, Hu Shenwei was able to clearly see the cultivation realm of the three demons before them.

The two demons behind were the same as him, at the Primary Essence Condensation realm.

However, Nanhong Yechang who stood confidently in front was at the Intermediate Essence Condensation realm!

Things could get extremely tricky if he played his cards wrongly

"Are you here to avenge those useless comrades of yours? They were not even enough for me to work up a sweat!" Lu Tianzi answered determinedly.

Hearing Lu Tianzi still trying to taunt them even as he was nervously retreating, Nanhong Yechang and the other two demons paused for a moment before bursting out in laughter!

"Hahaha! Look at the kid trying so hard!"

"Can you blame him? He doesn't even know what kind of situation he has already landed in!"

Nanhong Yechang was laughing along as well before he suddenly cut his laughter short, smiling confidently at Lu Tianzi, "Well then, do you think you will be enough for us to work up a sweat?"

"Why don't we try it out?" Lu Tianzi answered defiantly.

"Oh don't worry, brat. We will definitely have the chance to try that out. However" Nanhong Yechang's voice trailed off as the smile on his face grew wider.

At this time, the hiding Hu Shenwei suddenly sensed a powerful killing intent lock onto him from behind!

An enemy!

Hu Shenwei spun around without hesitation as he drove the Spiritual Energy in his inner world, only to see a demon slashing his sabre down towards him!

There was a dark aura shrouding the blade of the sabre, as though the sabre was one with the night, applying a heavy pressure on both Hu Shenwei and the martial artist beside him!

Hu Shenwei's face turned ashen as he hurriedly pulled out his sword to defend.

Clang-!

A powerful collision of blades sounded out as Hu Shenwei and his partner were directly blasted out of the bushes from the impact!

Hu Shenwei managed to stabilise himself as he landed on his feet near to Lu Tianzi, but the Essence Building realm martial artist beside him was not able to do so.

He was completely unable to withstand the pressure caused by the collision between two Essence Condensation realm martial artists, and clumsily stumbled to the ground before hurriedly standing up once more.

In other directions, other human martial artists were also being sent flying out of the bushes one by one as demon martial artists stepped out after them.

Every single member of the team had been discovered without fail!

Their plan had ended up as a huge failure!

"Setting up a trap for me? With just you bunch of human trash?" Nanhong Yechang did not show any hints of anger, merely shaking his head in disbelief. "You humans truly overestimate yourselves. The only one here who has the qualifications to set a trap is me, Captain Nanhong Yechang of the Shadowfront Fortress!"