Chapter 127: Jackals, Tigers, Leopards, Wasps, and Rats Run Rampant!

Nowhere to go up into the skies, and no door to enter the earth.

If someone were to come and touch Tang Fei inappropriately or act impudently, his voice would shatter from screaming without a single person responding.

Tang Fei cursed inwardly, wondering why the Second Prince hadn't given him a flying car a bit earlier. If he had been given one, he could have quickly acquired a flying license, and perhaps he would be able to pilot the car to escape these mountains right now.

That was assuming this sky was a real sky, and a flying car could actually fly out of it.

Tang Fei knew he had blundered into some kind of intricate mechanism array.

This entire mountain was a massive array; unless he found the array's core, escaping would be exceedingly difficult.

This filled Tang Fei with despair. If he were trapped here for ten days or half a month, how could he possibly survive?

"Lu Siyu!"

"Lu Siyu, get out here! I know you're watching!"

"You did that kind of thing to me, you must take responsibility for it! Do you think silencing me can solve the problem?"

"Let me tell you, I have a private video of the two of us, and I've stored it in a hidden location. If you don't let me out safely today, the system will automatically release the video to the public!"

——

Tang Fei knew that an intricate array like this definitely had a monitoring system.

He had been brought in here by Lu Siyu, and this mountain was called Mount Luban. If this had nothing to do with Lu Siyu, he would never believe it under any circumstances.

Therefore, he wanted to use extreme measures to force Lu Siyu to show herself.

At the very least, he needed to force a living person out.

He needed to converse with someone. As long as he saw a person, he would have an opportunity to seize a chance for survival or drop to his knees and beg for mercy.

This feeling of utter vastness and complete desolation without a trace of human life was the most agonizing part.

Just then, Tang Fei heard the sound of snapping trees and the earth trembling.

"A big guy is coming..."

"No, not just one, a whole group..."

Before Tang Fei's voice had even faded, he saw a group of massive animals appear within his field of vision.

Jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards—the whole collection had arrived.

These animals were all mechanical beasts, their mechanical skeletons flashing with a dark luster.

Cold, gloomy, ferocious, and terrifying, they exerted an immense sense of oppression.

"Such a grand lineup?"

Tang Fei thought to himself.

"They really want to silence me for good."

He knew how formidable these mechanical beasts were; blades couldn't cleave them, and swords couldn't cut them.

They felt no pain, shed no blood, didn't fear death, and knew no terror of fleeing.

Ordinary attacks were completely useless against them unless one could find their "intelligent core" or inflict destructive damage upon their bodies...

Otherwise, before their energy was completely exhausted, they would not stop their attacks.

When Tang Fei had faced that mechanical snake alone by the shores of Falling Glow Lake at the Imperial First Military Academy, he had already felt it to be quite strenuous.

Now, he had to face a whole group of such massive mechanical beasts with even greater combat power alone. It was utterly despairing, leaving not a single shred of a winning chance...

Tang Fei turned and sprinted toward the unmanned vehicle, hoping to use its body as cover to endure for a while.

Crack!

The sound of twisting machinery rang out.

A black leopard pulled its body backward, then surged forward abruptly, leaping high into the air and clearing the top of Tang Fei's head before landing with a heavy *clank* right on the hood of the car.

The body of the unmanned vehicle was smashed open into a large hole, the entire front end collapsing inward under its heavy weight.

The car was ruined, offering no possibility of utilizing it for leverage.

Tang Fei didn't hesitate for a moment; his body lunged forward and he dashed straight into the dense forest, for that was his true home turf.

Yet, the moment his figure moved, those ferocious beasts that had locked onto him rushed forward toward him with a rumbling roar...

Roar!

A black tiger descended from above, opening its bloody maw wide to snap down at his head.

After Tang Fei rolled continuously on the ground a few times, just as he tried to get back up, a black wolf came clacking and clattering toward him, slapping its paw directly at his face.

Tang Fei broke out in a cold sweat. If that paw landed solidly, getting his face disfigured would be a minor issue; he feared his skull would be smashed to pieces.

Tang Fei pushed off the ground with both legs, and his body shot forward like a cannonball.

A wolf and a tiger pursued him closely behind, while the giant leopard flanked him, cutting off his escape routes in an attempt to devour him whole into its belly...

Tang Fei drew his machete from his waist and slashed at the mechanical beasts one stroke after another. It produced a series of clanging rings, but aside from carving scratch after scratch into their bodies, it caused them no harm whatsoever.

Tang Fei knew he had to finish the battle swiftly and destroy these mechanical beasts within the shortest possible time.

Otherwise, once he was exhausted and his Qi of Yin and Yang was completely depleted, he would likely be reduced to nothing more than meat on the chopping block for these beasts.

Tang Fei was unwilling to enter into a direct confrontation with these mechanical beasts. While dodging, he searched for their flaws.

After all, he had experienced intimate contact with Lu Siyu's white tiger, and he was currently learning how to be a "tiger" under her guidance...

"Lu Siyu is a member of the Lu family; her mechanical craftsmanship naturally comes from the Lu family."

"These mechanical beasts originated from Mount Luban. Does that mean their mechanical craftsmanship is entirely consistent?"

"These mechanical beasts and that white tiger came from the same set of mechanical techniques, and possibly even from the hand of the same mechanist..."

Having figured out these key points, Tang Fei began to launch counterattacks.

Clenching his left fist, he struck a blow directly against the head of the black wolf that lunged forward trying to bite his arm.

The machete in his right hand stabbed fiercely into the gap beneath its jaw. With a crisp, tearing sound, sparks flew in all directions, and the mechanical wolf let out a miserable howl before its body collapsed heavily onto the ground with a *clank*.

Tang Fei was overjoyed. This move proved effective, confirming his suspicions.

With a light tap of his toe on the ground, his body soared into the air and landed squarely astride the massive spine of the black tiger.

Gripping his fist with one hand, the force of a dragon and an elephant surged forth, slamming heavily down onto the gigantic tiger's head.

Just as the mechanical tiger tried to raise its head, Tang Fei threw another punch, and once again, the force of a dragon and an elephant rushed out.

Third punch, fourth punch, fifth punch...

Subjected to such heavy blows, the mechanical tiger's head hung low, struggling to rise as its neck was nearly wrenched apart.

Spotting an opportunity, Tang Fei cleanly and decisively drove his machete straight into the crown of its head.

Although that spot was unusually hard, under the pounding of Tang Fei's Dragon-Elephant Subjugation Skill, even steel was nearly melting...

An essential chip was installed right beneath the crown of the head, serving as the master brain controlling the entire body.

Slash!

The gold-inlaid blade that Tang Fei had bought at a heavy price cut through iron like mud. Boosted by the Qi of Yin and Yang, it forcefully carved an opening into the mechanical tiger's head.

Tang Fei twisted and pried with his right hand, only to hear a muffled explosion sound from within.

With its master brain destroyed, the mechanical tiger's body plunged heavily from the heights, rolling across the ground a few times before finally coming to a stop and ceasing all movement.

Tang Fei had already leapt off the mechanical tiger's body and charged toward the mechanical leopard...

By the time Tang Fei finished off the very last mechanical beast, he was panting heavily and collapsed limply onto the ground.

He knew that the reason he was still alive was because of the mechanical knowledge he possessed, as well as Lu Siyu's selfless "dedication."

Everything had its rules and patterns. Had he failed to find the connections among these mechanical beasts, or failed to locate the "intelligent core" of each one, he would have long since been torn to shreds by them.

Therefore, one must study hard and strive to improve every day under all circumstances.

If Tang Fei hadn't greedily desired to cultivate both literature and martial arts, he would never have met Lu Siyu, nor would he have been exposed to such high-level mechanical knowledge...

Nor would he have been able to cross-reference and integrate these mechanical techniques with the teachings the old man had given him in the past, absorbing them as nourishment for himself.

"Now that I've wiped out these mechanical beasts, they should send someone out to see me, right?"

Tang Fei thought to himself secretly.

"Since Lu Siyu led me here, she must be hiding in the dark, observing me..."

"Although we have some minor grievances, it hasn't reached the point of fighting to the death; otherwise, she wouldn't have taught me such advanced mechanical techniques. Could it be she holds some other grudge against me?"

"What on earth is the relationship between the old man and her? I've already been pushed to such an extent... why hasn't the old man shown up yet?"

Just at that moment, Tang Fei suddenly felt a terrifying sensation of chills running down his spine and the hairs all over his body standing on end.

He gathered his focus, strained his ears to listen, and then leaped up from the ground with a start.

Following that, his eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at the absurd and horrifying scene before him.

Rats—black rats covering the entire mountainside came rushing toward him like a tidal wave.

Red bees—countless red bees humming as they flew toward him, blotting out the skies and earth.

These were all mechanical beasts as well—mechanical bees and mechanical rats...

"..."

If I did something wrong, please use the law to punish me.

Instead of having these mechanical beasts eat me alive...

Because the sheer quantity was simply too overwhelming, it only made one's scalp tingle and left no room for any thought of resistance.

There was no way to resist.

And no way to fight back.

Even if every single strike could kill one, he feared he would have to hack away for decades.

Tang Fei stood frozen in place without moving, watching with wide eyes as those mechanical bees and mechanical beasts rapidly approached, instantly crawling all over his body and wrapping him up so tightly not a chink of light showed.

"Lu—Yu—!"

He roared with every ounce of strength left in his body.

The wind stopped.

The clouds halted.

The buzzing sound vanished, and the rats covering the ground stopped climbing onto him as well...

The surroundings fell silent.

At that moment, the world seemed as though someone had pressed the pause button, bringing everything to a standstill.

Click!

A rat fell off Tang Fei's body, followed by a second, and a third...

And the red bees that had blanketed his head and body also fell off with a clatter.

Before long, Tang Fei regained his freedom.

He sucked in mouthful after mouthful of fresh air.

In that fleeting span of time, he had broken out in a heavy sweat, and the clothes on his back were completely soaked.

His breathing was rapid, and his heart pounded fiercely.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, and the moment he lowered his large hand from his face, a man dressed in a black robe had already appeared right before him.