Volume Two, The Devil's Game Chapter Thirty-Four: Deng Yuqi's Rescue

Yang Tonghua glanced left and right, then finally looked at Ge Wendong.

“Wang Ge, what’s the situation?” Ge Wendong asked through the team channel.

“Captain, the Guardian hasn’t hidden itself,” Wang Ge promptly replied.

“Ha ha.” Yang Tonghua burst into a hearty laugh, and the rest of the team smiled broadly as well.

“So that’s all the Guardian is?” Yang Tonghua exclaimed loudly.

“Exactly. The previous Guardian seemed so strong because we were attacking it the wrong way,” Deng Yuqi chimed in, laughing over the team channel.

However, in the live broadcast hall on the main stage, the audience had a different reaction.

“What’s going on? Are these guys out of their minds, thinking they’ve won?”

“Even they don’t seem to understand the real state of the Guardian.”

“They must have been misled by that announcement about the Seal, thinking the Guardian has already been absorbed by the earth after breaking into small pieces.”

Amid the murmurs from the audience, a strange change took place around the Zofeng squad.

“Heh heh heh. What are you laughing at? Feeling pretty pleased with yourselves, huh?” A cold, sinister laugh suddenly echoed in the ears of Ge Wendong and the other two.

Their bodies stiffened instantly. At the same time, Wang Ge shouted a warning through the team channel, “Captain, something’s wrong!”

The dry yellow soil beneath them had turned into damp earth, and Ge Wendong even noticed water seeping out near his feet.

“Weren’t you all laughing so arrogantly just a moment ago? Why have you stopped now?” The Guardian’s voice continued to circle around them.

“Run!” Ge Wendong shouted as the three dashed off in different directions.

The Guardian let out a light chuckle. “Oh? Not attacking? Then I’ll have to do it myself.”

More and more water seeped from the ground, swiftly forming three massive long blades made of water that slashed toward the trio.

Yang Tonghua instinctively tried to dodge but found his foot suddenly grasped by something. Looking down, he saw a hand made of water clutching his ankle.

He struggled to break free, but the delay was costly. Raising his double-edged axe defensively, he blocked the water blade. The blade struck his axe, sending him flying backward and colliding with the other two.

“Captain!” Yang Tonghua shouted.

Ge Wendong gritted his teeth. “Charge together!”

“Tsk tsk, do you have no other moves?” The Guardian mocked. “Then stay right where you are.”

The water on the ground surged upward as if a dumpling wrapper was enveloping its filling. At the edge, water blades appeared simultaneously, moving in unison to strike at Ge Wendong and his comrades.

“Ah!” Yang Tonghua roared, “Flaming Slash!” He swung his axe, unleashing a crescent-shaped fiery attack.

A majestic tiger apparition merged into Ge Wendong’s body. Narrowing his eyes, he thrust his right fist forward, releasing a blue-white fist shadow with a thunderous force.

“Heh.” The Guardian sneered disdainfully. The water blades and curtain parted, allowing two attacks to fly out before the blades and curtain closed again.

“What!” Yang Tonghua and Ge Wendong were stunned.

“Any more tricks? Your time’s running out,” the Guardian said kindly. “If I trap you in this water curtain, the moisture in your bodies will be rapidly drained. You won’t last a minute.”

“What?!” Yang Tonghua cried out in shock, and the three halted.

As if toying with them, the Guardian didn’t rush the water blades or curtain forward but steadily compressed toward them.

“Captain, what do we do?” Yang Tonghua panicked. “Our attacks are ignored; it’s only focused on us three.”

Ge Wendong gave a subtle nod to Hua Yanghui, who immediately understood. He swiftly pulled out a rocket launcher and aimed at the junction between the water curtain and the ground. A rocket flew out with a whistle.

“You’ve got that? Why didn’t you use it before?” Yang Tonghua grumbled irritably.

“Who knew we’d all be knocked down so fast,” Hua Yanghui replied, frowning.

“Heh, what’s this little toy?” As the Guardian spoke, a large water sphere suddenly appeared in the air. When the rocket entered, it trembled, shifted diagonally upward, and shot out of the sphere at speed.

“What!” Ge Wendong and the others were dumbfounded.

“Damn it, the senior trainees who guided me before said ancient martial arts were useless. Isn’t this a perfect example of using minimal force for maximum effect?” Yang Tonghua muttered.

“Captain, if it doesn’t work, we’ll have to clear a path with our skills,” Hua Yanghui suggested quietly.

Ge Wendong frowned. Alternating skills wasn’t a sound strategy. It was clear the Guardian could manipulate all the water around them.

If they blindly charged, the Guardian might let some attacks pass, then gather all the surrounding water to block them. With their energy drained and trapped, breaking free might become impossible.

Ultimately, the Guardian’s power far exceeded theirs.

Just as Ge Wendong felt cornered, a figure glided down from above.

“Elemental Summon: Northern Frost and Snow,” Deng Yuqi declared the moment she landed, planting her staff into the ground. Instantly, frost spread around her, and ice spikes began creeping toward the water curtain.

The spikes grew taller, quickly becoming ice pillars over a meter high. Upon touching the water curtain, the curtain and nearby water blades froze solid.

“Captain, hurry!” Deng Yuqi shouted.

“Charge!” Ge Wendong called out as the three ran toward the frozen barrier.

“Trying to escape? Better stay put,” the Guardian chuckled. The water in front of them rippled as a massive hand formed and reached out.

A sharp eagle’s cry pierced the air as a spectral eagle smashed through the frozen water curtain and blades, shattering the giant hand.

“Huh?” The Guardian sounded genuinely surprised for once.

Seizing the rare opportunity, Ge Wendong and the others broke free from the watery trap.

“Yuqi, thanks so much this time. I, Old Yang, finally get it. Why bother searching for dry ground? Just turn the Guardian into a block of ice and toss it into a freezer—that’s practically a seal,” Yang Tonghua said as they ran.

“You talk too much. The Guardian is made of so much water; do you really think it’s that easy to freeze it?” Deng Yuqi rolled her eyes.

Hearing Yang Tonghua’s words, Ge Wendong shivered. “No, maybe ice really is the answer. The Guardian manipulates water effortlessly, but it can’t control ice at all. Compared to extracting water from the earth or our bodies, its control over ice is zero. If we freeze it before it returns to human form, we might just seal it.”