The clearing was filled with murmurs of shock and suspicion, but all that tension erupted into chaos as Mo San, his face twisted in fury, turned toward Zhen Fen. "You pathetic worm!" he roared. "You dared to betray us?"
Before anyone could intervene, Mo San's hand shot out, delivering a crushing blow infused with Primeval Essence. The air cracked as Zhen Fen's body was flung backward with a resounding impact, smashing against a nearby tree. The young man's life ended in an instant, his broken form slumping to the ground.
The gathered clans erupted in outrage. "Mo San of the Mengzhu Clan has killed a member of the Yanxiao Clan!" Hu Yan shouted, his voice booming with righteous fury. "Everyone, attack! This is proof of their guilt!"
The battlefield ignited as the five clans charged toward the Mengzhu forces. Members of the Lingyun Clan activated their Wind Path Gu worms, causing violent gusts to whip through the clearing, uprooting debris and disorienting the Mengzhu fighters.
Huoxian Clan's members unleashed blazing fireballs that streaked through the air, consuming everything in their path.
Shuihan Clan's Water Path specialists summoned torrents of water that coiled like serpents, striking with precise force.
The Tianying Clan sent their Strength Path Gu Masters forward, their bodies brimming with raw power. Massive, hardened muscles pulsed as they wielded physical enhancement Gu worms to crush Mengzhu fighters with brute force.
The illusionists of the Canghe Clan conjured spectral forms, sowing confusion among their enemies.
Mo San, standing amidst the chaos, gritted his teeth as he barked orders. "Hold your ground! Use your Gu worms to counter them!" His voice cut through the cacophony, rallying his men.
Meng Lihua, wielding a Rank 2 Healing Gu, moved swiftly among the injured, her hands glowing faintly as she tended to the wounds of her comrades. Another Mengzhu fighter, a Rank 3 Strength Path Gu Master, activated his Stone Fist Gu, causing his arms to harden and swell as he clashed against a Tianying Clan Strength Path warrior. A Rank 2 Mengzhu illusionist summoned phantom warriors to divert the Shuihan Clan's water strikes.
But it was Mo San himself who stood as the bulwark of the Mengzhu Clan. The leader activated his Time-Limited Enhancement Gu, a rare Strength Path worm. His muscles swelled with unnatural power, veins bulging as his strength increased manifold. With a roar, he charged into the fray, his fists colliding with the Lingyun Clan's wind constructs, shattering them with ease. Fireballs from the Huoxian Clan streaked toward him, but he dodged with precision, using a Speed Burst Gu to increase his agility temporarily.
Despite their leader's efforts, the Mengzhu Clan was pushed to the brink. The Shuihan Clan's Water Path Gu Masters formed a devastating wave that crashed into their ranks, sweeping several Mengzhu fighters off their feet. Hu Yan, wielding a Flame Strike Gu, advanced toward Mo San, flames spiraling around his fists. "Your treachery ends here, Mo San!" he shouted, hurling a fiery punch.
Mo San countered with a Strength-Enhanced Punch, his blow meeting Hu Yan's with an explosive shockwave that sent both men skidding backward. Before Mo San could regain his footing, a Tianying Clan warrior, muscles amplified by a Rank 3 Strength Augmentation Gu, lunged at him with a crushing blow aimed for his chest. He barely managed to sidestep, delivering a crushing blow to the warrior's side, sending him crashing into the ground.
The Canghe illusionists intensified their assault, creating duplicates of Hu Yan that surrounded Mo San, each hurling flaming attacks. Mo San's eyes narrowed as he activated a Perception Boost Gu, allowing him to identify the real Hu Yan amidst the illusions. He charged forward, delivering a bone-shattering punch that sent the Huoxian leader sprawling.
All around him, the Mengzhu Clan fighters struggled against the overwhelming assault. Cries of pain and shouts of defiance echoed through the battlefield. Meng Lihua, her Healing Gu depleted, resorted to using a Rank 1 Dagger Gu to fend off an attacking Tianying Clan warrior. A Mengzhu Rank 2 Water Path Gu Master managed to summon a shield of water, protecting several comrades from a Huoxian firestorm, but the strain was evident on his face.
As the tide of battle seemed to turn against the Mengzhu Clan, one of Mo San's men rushed to his side, his face pale with fear. "Leader! Our reinforcements from the Mengzhu base have been mobilized. They're on their way, but it'll take time!"
Mo San's expression hardened as he surveyed the battlefield. Blood stained the ground, and the air was thick with smoke and the acrid tang of burned flesh. "We'll hold them off," he growled. "No matter what it takes, we will not fall here."
The fight intensified, with the Mengzhu Clan's fighters relying on every ounce of skill and strategy to fend off the combined assault.
Mo San moved like a hurricane, smashing through ranks of opponents, his Time-Limited Enhancement Gu granting him strength that shook the ground with every blow, he was also slowly weakening as as the Gu name is in the lilimted time it cantemporarily grants its user immense physical strength, nearly comparable to a Rank 5 expert. However, the effect is constrained by time, as the name implies. As the Gu's active period nears its end, Mo San begins to weaken, reflecting the toll such intense amplification takes on his body.
But even he couldn't protect everyone.
Meng Lihua, now covered in blood and dirt, let out a cry as she narrowly avoided a Shuihan Clan's water spear. "Leader, we can't hold on much longer!"
It was then, amidst the chaos, that a distant horn sounded. Reinforcements from the Mengzhu base stormed into the battlefield, their numbers bolstering the faltering defenses. Rank 3 and Rank 4 Gu Masters, clad in battle-worn armor, charged into the fray, their combined might shifting the tide of the battle. The arrival injected a surge of hope into the Mengzhu fighters, who redoubled their efforts.
"Mo San sneered, his voice dripping with defiance as he turned to face the onslaught of the allied clans. "Do you think only you can bring reinforcements? We also have our own," he declared, his voice booming across the battlefield as the Mengzhu reinforcements surged forward.