"Form the battle array!" shouted the elder of the Punishment Hall, flanked by two elite guards in red uniforms.
These were the Law Executioners.
As soon as they saw the third young master, who was considered useless, completely turn against the family rules, they quickly ordered the elite guards to form a battle formation.
The enemy possessed a terrifyingly fast and deadly bronze-level twin-headed demonic wolf. Facing it alone would be suicidal.
Although there were many puppet beasts, they lacked intelligence.
A simple lure by the enemy would scatter them, rendering them ineffective in the main battle and only capable of distracting the enemy.
The elder, infuriated to the point of internal injury, nearly passed out and was temporarily unable to give orders.
The two red-robed executioners took over, commanding the elite guards to form an ironclad battle formation, deciding to capture the useless third young master first.
Grey Wolf, of course, wouldn't bother with a dozen puppet beasts. It had already served as bait for the enemy in the White Sheep Palace.
Luring these puppet beasts was second nature to it. Even in the treacherous terrain of the Bloodwater Demon Marsh, pursued by the nine-headed monster's family, Grey Wolf managed to escape unharmed.
It even tricked Eddie into the marsh to lure the monster on multiple occasions. For Grey Wolf, deceiving the enemy was easier than a cat catching a mouse.
It nimbly leaped around the clumsy puppet beasts, occasionally lifting its leg to sprinkle urine on the feet of the puppet beasts. If the puppet beasts were alive, they would have probably been driven mad with rage.
There's an old saying in the Dragon Rising Continent, "The nature of the beast reflects its master." This saying couldn't be more apt for Eddie and Grey Wolf.
All the puppet beasts were lured away by Grey Wolf. The large and small puppet beasts clumsily followed Grey Wolf into the distance.
The elite guards, realizing that the twin-headed demonic wolf was even more cunning than humans, were sweating profusely.
They hurriedly summoned enhanced battle beasts to boost their strength. They shouted loudly, like an army banging the butts of their rifles on the ground to boost each other's morale.
These elite guards were well-trained, much different from ordinary guards. Each of them had the strength of a small team leader.
In terms of combat skills, they had learned the Yew family's spear techniques. Although they only mastered four forms, it was far superior to the common mercenaries' iron-cutting sword or stone-breaking hammer techniques.
"Family law, family law!" the elite guards shouted loudly, their voices growing louder and louder, finally erupting with an overwhelming momentum that was deafening.
Seeing the right moment, one of the red-robed executioners pointed his blood-red spear towards Eddie's direction and commanded, "Capture them all, take them to the Punishment Hall for trial!"
Sophia, worried about her brother being outnumbered, poked her head out from behind the carriage curtains, "Brother, I'll help you!"
She was about to summon her grimoire, but Eddie stopped her, "Little sister, the real show is yet to begin! You're my secret weapon, there's no need for you to act now. Stay in the carriage and take care of Mother Grace and Little Frost."
He felt that revealing his full strength too early would prevent the fight from happening.
He didn't summon the barbarian shadow bull or the golden king beast, the Blood Queen, as they were not needed yet. He didn't even use Ash and Moon Blade.
He simply pulled a bundle of solid wooden roots, cut halfway from a tree, from the roof of the carriage.
"Everyone can play with combat skills, who doesn't know how?" Although Eddie's main focus was the Innate Invisible Sword Qi, his understanding of the Yew family's spear techniques, even those rudimentary ones, was better than those who had been immersed in them for decades.
Most importantly, Eddie was a master of disguise. Selfish by nature, he never revealed the most difficult and powerful parts of his spear techniques, fearing others would stealthily learn them. He only displayed a few skills resembling stick techniques, such as smashing, demeaning, sweeping, pointing, bursting, picking, stirring, entangling, and dancing.
Therefore, he prepared a bunch of wooden sticks, holding one in each hand, with a bundle more on his back, ready to be unleashed in a flurry of blows, like beating a dog with a random stick. This way, he could indulge in tormenting his enemies without revealing any combat skills that might be stolen.
"The loudest voice doesn't always make sense; it's the mightiest fist that prevails!" Eddie could have summoned his war beasts to torment his enemies, but he chose not to. He preferred to get his hands dirty; he had always favored violence over reason.
Why argue when you can beat your enemies down and lecture them with your foot on their backs?
"Charge!" The two red-robed executioners waved their hands, and the elite guards formed a sharp arrow formation. With spears thrust forward and cries of war, they charged towards Eddie.
"How laughable!" If this tactic were used on a battlefield against ordinary soldiers, it might have created a breach in the enemy lines. However, their mistake was choosing Eddie, an unscrupulously powerful man, as their target.
Eddie let out a great shout, gathering immense strength in his arms, and hurled his wooden stick like a spear.
The stick whistled through the air, striking the abdomen of the leading elite captain in the arrow formation. Had it not been for the captain's reinforced iron-armored beast protecting him, the stick would have pierced right through him.
The iron armor exploded, and the stick almost impaled the captain, causing him to spew blood and stagger backwards.
With that single throw, Eddie had broken the strongest point of the arrow formation.
The guards on either side were too slow to react, still blindly charging forward. The middle ranks, blocked by their fallen captain, were thrown into disarray. Had they not been well-trained, a lesser group would have collapsed immediately. Amidst the chaos, Eddie appeared like the grim reaper, his shadow loomed overhead. He swung his stick with the force of a thunderous blow.
At least five or six unprepared elite guards were knocked down by Eddie's stick, unable to get up.
Having breached the formation, Eddie wielded his sticks with wild abandon, striking in all directions without any particular technique – he was surrounded by targets. When one stick broke, he simply pulled out another from behind.
"Behold my dog-beating stick technique, specially for beating dogs!" Eddie felt this was the most exhilarating beating he had ever given. These guards were elite, robust, and protected by war beasts, not easily felled with a single blow, making the fight all the more satisfying.
"Gudatatat splat!" Eddie unleashed his brute strength, eventually breaking all his sticks. He raised his fists, abandoning the makeshift dog-beating technique for a version of the North Star God Fist, striking at anyone he saw. In an instant, he was unstoppable, each punch shattering teeth and splattering blood.
The two red-robed executioners watched, dumbstruck. Only then did they realize that this seemingly useless third young master, though not skilled in contracting war beasts, was an absolute freak in combat training.
"Oh my, this kid is just like his father, a fool who focuses on combat skills!" The two executioners nearly fainted. They could never have imagined that this seemingly easy target possessed such terrifying strength.
"Thank goodness he can't contract war beasts, otherwise—" "What are you standing around for? Capture Ah Xian and that little one, and this boy will naturally obey!"
The elder of the Punishment Hall finally regained his senses. Seeing the chaotic scene before him, his blood-stained beard trembled with rage as he furiously ordered his subordinates to capture the beautiful lady and the maid.
"But Grace and the ninth young lady don't know martial arts; what if we accidentally harm them?" The two executioners hesitated.
They were just collateral relatives and usually only bullied the useless third young master, Eddie, who wasn't considered promising. Moreover, his marriage alliance with Miss Xue had always been a source of jealousy. Many were secretly pleased to see Eddie humiliated. Normally, there wouldn't be much of a fuss about it.
However, Grace was a wife of the fourth branch, and harming her could lead to retaliation from the fourth elder, even if he didn't pursue it immediately.
The ninth young lady was just a child, and her future was unpredictable. If she successfully contracted a grimoire early and caught the attention of the four major sects or the royal family, it would spell disaster for themselves.
In the Yew family, harming women and children was a taboo. If the order was just to capture Eddie, despite the difficulty, they would grit their teeth and proceed. But laying hands on women and children?
If the old master found out, with his explosive temper, he would have their heads without a second thought.
Then who would protect them?
Seeing his subordinates hesitating, the elder of the Punishment Hall flew into a rage and glared fiercely at the two executioners, "I'll take responsibility for any consequences. Execute the order immediately, or I'll have you stripped of your duties!"
Frightened, the two executioners rushed towards the carriage. Of course, they still dared not attack the beautiful lady inside, so instead, they killed the two horses outside.
The bald elder, enraged, personally summoned a powerful war beast, the Iron Claw Bear, and enhanced himself with its power. Then, he charged towards the carriage.
He originally intended to capture Eddie himself, but seeing Eddie's terrifying combat skills and swift movements, he feared making a fool of himself.
A single hit from Eddie, even if it didn't injure him, would destroy his reputation. Losing face in front of his subordinates would leave him discredited and unable to command respect in the future.
Thus, the elder decided to capture the women and child first. As for Eddie, making him kneel before him and then binding him for a severe punishment would come later.
"Seeking death!" Eddie's heart raged with fury.
Although this was part of his plan, waiting for the elder to attack the lady so he could use it to his advantage and thoroughly suppress the Yew family's villains both in terms of force and reason, he still couldn't contain his anger when he saw the elder actually launching a stealth attack.
Like lightning, Eddie darted towards the elder.
The elder of the Punishment Hall had been watching Eddie's movements closely, staying on guard.
As soon as he saw Eddie abandon the elite guards and fly towards him, he sneered.
He hurled his long spear towards the carriage, then unleashed the full power of his war beast, turning to face Eddie in battle.
Regardless of whether the spear strike was successful or not, the bald elder of the Punishment Hall planned to pin the blame on his subordinates. As for Eddie, watching his mother and sister being attacked, how could he possibly endure such a blow? If Eddie's resolve crumbled, would he still be a match for him? With his own bear-like strength and enhanced claws, how could a useless third young master, who couldn't even contract a war beast or summon a life guardian beast, stand against him?
A cold glint flashed in the elder's eyes as his right bear claw, transformed and raised high, slammed down heavily on Eddie, who was rushing towards him.
"Die with your mother and sister!" he thought coldly. "A useless person has no right to live."
However, he didn't see that his spear, after piercing an inch into the curtain, had turned into an ice stick and then shattered into ice fragments a half-second later.
This was the work of Little Wenli. Eddie was no fool; he wouldn't just leave his inexperienced sister Sophia to protect the unarmed lady and the little maid.
He had already placed Wenli inside the carriage to guard it, making it a trap to lure the elder into attacking. Eddie trusted Wenli's protective abilities even more than his own.
Though he knew it wouldn't go wrong, the elder's despicable act still thoroughly enraged Eddie.
"A man fights with his life, winning or losing on his own strength. Dying in battle is honorable!" But attacking two defenseless, unarmed women – even going so far as to throw a spear to kill them – was this even human?
"AAAAAAHHHH!" Eddie completely lost control. Wanting to kill the women he was protecting? That was asking for death! Let them pay with their lives! Even if it meant opposing the entire Dragon Rising Continent, Eddie was determined to kill this man. Because he simply didn't deserve to be called human!