Chapter 34: Main battle
Elijah Chen’s face was grim, but he didn’t say much, continuing his fierce attacks.
However, the two were evenly matched, and their mindsets were vastly different. Joshua Li was also at ease.
He didn’t need to defeat Elijah to prove himself; as long as his clan members won on the other side, Elijah would be trapped with no escape.
As the two fought, Joshua noticed a fleeing figure in the distance. His face lit up with joy, thinking the downfall of the Chen Clan was inevitable.
But as the figure drew closer, Joshua’s joy gradually faded.
The retreating person wasn’t from the Chen Clan as he had imagined, but his own fifth uncle, Li Cailiang, who had just reached the late-stage Blood Condensation Realm.
Moreover, his fifth uncle’s face was pale, and he had many wounds on his body. Behind him were several injured and worried family members.
This scene of his clan’s defeat threw Joshua’s cautious and meticulous mind into chaos.
But he was entangled by Elijah and had no idea what had happened. He could only ask:
“Fifth Uncle, what’s going on? What happened?”“No time to explain, Joshua, run! Otherwise, the clan is doomed!”
Joshua frowned, wanting to ask more, but at that moment, he heard the sounds of battle and shouting behind his clan members.
At this time, Elijah silently took out a piece of Sophora Leaf from his pocket.
“Joshua, run! Or it’ll be too late!”
Seeing the Sophora Leaf, his fifth uncle’s face turned fearful, and he shouted.
Joshua’s face darkened, not understanding what his late-stage Blood Condensation Realm uncle was afraid of—a piece of Sophora Leaf?
But when he saw Elijah crush the leaf and unleash a power far beyond what he had just shown, killing a Blood Condensation Realm warrior of his clan with one punch, Joshua’s doubts were instantly answered.
Although the warrior was already injured, Elijah’s strength now was worlds apart from before.
Joshua finally understood the reason for his clan’s defeat. Hearing the approaching sounds of pursuit, he flew away without hesitation!
“Hmph, where do you think you’re going!”
Seeing the Li Clan Chief trying to escape, Elijah couldn’t let him go and chased after him at an even faster speed.
Originally at the mid-stage Blood Condensation Realm, Elijah now had the power of the late-stage Blood Condensation Realm with the Sophora Leaf’s boost. His state was fully restored, allowing him to take on two opponents at once!
In just a moment, Elijah caught up with them.
Seeing no way to escape, Li Cailiang’s face turned grim, but he still stepped forward and said:
“Joshua, you’re the Clan Chief. The clan can’t be without you. You go, I’ll hold him off!”
Joshua didn’t say much, just glanced at Li Cailiang before turning and leaving without hesitation.
He was the Clan Chief. Even in this crushing defeat, the clan still had him and others. As long as the clan survived, there was still hope.
But he couldn’t understand what had happened to the Chen Clan in the past few days!
Where did that Sophora Leaf come from?
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that. The clan was in a disastrous defeat, nearly wiped out. He needed to return quickly and devise a response.
As time passed, the sounds of battle within the Chen Clan gradually diminished until they disappeared.
A few miles away from the Chen Clan, Oliver Chen was leading a group of clan members in pursuit. He wanted to continue chasing and eliminate the few fleeing Li Clan members.
But behind him came Ethan Chen’s voice:
“Don’t chase them. The main battle is over. Let’s return to the clan and discuss our next steps!”
Feeling his own power waning and his Qi and Blood becoming unstable, Oliver and the others nodded.
When they returned to the clan, they were greeted by numerous corpses and blood-stained ground.
Most of the bodies were from the Li Clan, but there were also some from the Chen Clan. However, more were severely injured but still alive, and could be saved.
Seeing the tragic scene before him, Ethan remained silent for a moment before quickly issuing various orders.
An hour later, all the members of the Chen Clan gathered once again in the Ancestral Hall.
Those who had been hiding in the secret passage were now outside, dealing with the aftermath of the battle.
“Clan Chief, in this battle, we lost three clan members, ten were seriously injured, and most of the others are lightly injured…”
“Some of the injured are in critical condition. If not treated in time, I’m afraid…”
Hearing Mason Chen’s report, many clan members below showed sorrowful expressions. After all, those who were lost were family members, some of whom they had been talking to not long ago.
Ethan’s face remained calm, showing little emotion.
Clan battles were no child’s play; casualties were inevitable.
But from his eyes, it was clear that his heart was not as calm as his face suggested.
“Those who died in this battle will be given a proper burial, and their spiritual positions will be placed in the Ancestral Hall for future generations to honor!”
According to clan rules, only those who made significant contributions to the clan could have their spiritual positions placed in the Ancestral Hall.
But the clan was no longer what it used to be. This battle was about the clan’s survival, so placing the spiritual positions of those who contributed in the Ancestral Hall was appropriate.
This was the best comfort the clan could offer to those who had died.
Hearing that the spiritual positions would be placed in the Ancestral Hall, many grieving clan members felt somewhat consoled.
Over the years, many clan members had died, but few had their spiritual positions placed in the Ancestral Hall.
“Quick, bring all the seriously injured clan members here!”
After dealing with the fallen clan members, Ethan quickly spoke.
Soon, several seriously injured people were brought in one by one.
These were the ones who had been gravely injured in the recent battle. Two of them were already showing signs of life fading, while the others were bleeding profusely, their conditions dire.
Although the clan had healers, they couldn’t work without supplies. The clan had been besieged for days, and their medicinal supplies were exhausted. Even basic hemostatic drugs were depleted.
Even if they went to the Disordered Burial Mountain now, it might be too late.
Seeing the dire conditions of the injured, the other clan members showed sorrowful expressions. With such injuries, even if the clan had medicinal supplies, it might be difficult to save them.
Looking at the injured being brought in, Ethan turned his gaze to the Sacred Tree, his eyes full of hope.
At this point, he had no other options and could only place his hopes on the Sacred Tree, praying for it to save these clan members.
Seeing this, the other clan members also understood where their hope lay and knelt down one by one, beginning to pray to Noah Ji.
Seeing the scene below, Noah Ji sighed in his heart.
Fortunately, he had some Vitality left, so it wasn’t impossible to handle. However, to fully heal these clan members would require a significant amount of Vitality, especially since some of them were gravely injured.
Although he couldn’t completely heal them, stopping the bleeding and saving their lives temporarily shouldn’t be too difficult.