Nine Astra Skies
chapter-59

Chapter 59: Niu Er the Ferocious

“Uncle, catch!” A clear, soft voice came from nearby. It was Ye Rou. Worried that Ye Zhantian could not hang on any longer, she tossed her jade to him with her right hand.

With much effort, Ye Zhantian caught hold of the jade. At that moment, he sensed a strange presence of Celestial Chi entering his body, keeping his heart going. His energy center had also regained an ounce of Celestial Chi.

“That chick’s stuff looks interesting! It must be something precious,” Noticing the change in Ye Zhantian, Niu Er shouted. “Yun Yixuan, grab that chick for me and remember, I want her alive. I’m going to have a good time with her!” Niu Er leered at Ye Rou for a little bit. Back in Niu Er’s days in the Tianyun Insurgent Army, he used to roam everywhere until he settled as the Second-Rank Prince of Donglin’s commander where he built himself a bandit stronghold in the mountains. As such, he was used to the sight of pretty girls and had no qualms about forcefully taking them away from home.

Yun Yixuan despised Niu Er for being a debauchee but he went for Ye Rou like he was told.

Boom! Ye Zhantian traded another blow with Niu Er. Ye Zhantian’s eyes were closing. He was going to be unconscious. Even with Little Rou’s pendant, he remained powerless. He could not even keep himself on both of his feet, what more with fighting.

“Go to hell!” Niu Er sneered as he raised his flail at Ye Zhantian. He was already picturing the scene of Ye Zhantian’s brain splattering from the impact.

“Brother!”

Ye Zhanlong cried helplessly. He wanted to break away from the fight to save Ye Zhantian but it was all too late.

Woosh! Just then, a black object with sharp pressure dove for Niu Er’s back.

A concealed weapon! Niu Er felt a strange presence from the back. He was a little terrified as he knew how lethal a certain concealed weapon was. He had known many rank nine combatants who had mysteriously died by the hands of a concealed weapon. Not willing to risk it, Niu Er turned to face it. From the right, a black object flew toward him. He raised his hands to stop it.

Niu Er had managed to intercept the black object from afar. Just when he thought he was safe, an explosion occurred followed by a large impact that swept past him and burned his body. Niu Er staggered backward a little, his Chi and blood flow were disrupted. A searing sensation hit his body and his clothes were charred. His expression darkened. What the hell was this weapon? It was as strong as a blow from a rank nine combatant. He was fortunate to have turned his head earlier. If he had come into contact with the black object any later, there would have been dire consequences. Looking up at the castle walls, Niu Er saw a figure with a streak of gray hair leaping over the shoulder, like an interesting looking beast.

“It’s Little Chen! Little Chen is alive!” Ye Zhantian looked up to see Ye Chen. Despite his hardiness, he could not hold back his tears.

“It’s the elder chief!”

The people’s spirits were lifted.

Niu Er calmed himself down. Realizing that it was only a teenage boy and no one else, he regained his confidence. Ye Changxuan must have had his hands busy with the three rank nine combatants. The boy’s concealed weapon was strong but as long as he kept his distance, he would be fine.

Ye Chen glanced at Ye Zhantian. The shockwave resulting from the Exploding Seeds affected him too. Given the circumstances, Ye Chen had no choice but to resort to desperate measures. Thankfully, while his father may have been affected, he did not suffer any major injuries as Niu Er was the one who took the brunt of the force.

“You’ve got a death wish, pretty boy!” Niu Er hated Ye Chen’s Exploding Seeds. He looked at Ye Zhantian who lied by the side. It would take him half a day at least to recuperate and he was in no shape to fight any further. Fearing that Ye Chen would throw more Exploding Seeds at him as he attempted to dispose of Ye Zhantian, he raised his flail and struck at Ye Chen.

While pursuing Ye Rou, Yun Yixuan was shocked to see the sight of Ye Chen. The boy had returned so soon. Thankfully, Ye Changxuan was not with him. They did the right thing by leaving behind three rank nine combatants to set up an ambush. He screamed, “Niu Er, that boy’s at least top rank eight. Watch yourself, don’t fall for his tricks!”

Niu Er was kept on his toes upon hearing Yun Yixuan’s words. The boy was only sixteen or seventeen. He was not even a child from a rich family, how could he be a top rank eight? Then again, Niu Er braced for a fight nonetheless as he knew Yun Yixuan had no reason to lie to him.

Niu Er was taller than Ye Chen by two heads. He was extremely tall and topless with an extremely Herculean body. Warriors’ marks decorated Niu Er’s body and he radiated with pure streams of Chi Construct.

Ye Chen knew it was going to be a challenging fight given his strength. The only way to come out on top was to give it his all!

Little Tanuki, who perched on Ye Chen’s shoulder, was anxious.

Despite lacking the ability to talk, Ye Chen developed a strong psychic bond with Little Tanuki due to the time they had spent together. He understood its language fully. He knew that Little Tanuki’s Illusions were ineffective against a rank nine combatant!

Ye Chen did not know how it worked but he knew the higher one’s rank and thus one’s intelligence, the more difficult it was for the Illusion to enslave their minds.

Ten feet away from Ye Chen, Niu Er let out a massive roar and exerted a large amount of pressure from his body. Thump thump thump! Niu Er strode forward vigorously and downed his flail with all his might. He wanted to take down Ye Chen in one fell swoop and so, he went all out.

“Who cares if you’re a top rank eight? Let’s see if you can handle this!” Niu Er howled at the top of his lungs. Most rank seven or eight combatants would have scrammed at the sound of his blood-curdling scream. Niu Er had fought on the battlefield for many years and was no stranger to taking lives. His body spoke of a certain bloodlust.

Ye Chen felt a massive force coming at him. If he chose to turn back now and expose his back to Niu Er, it would only get worse. Ye Chen immediately fired up the Flying Dagger from his subconscious. The Nine Astra in his body began to spin rapidly, imbuing his Celestial Chi with fire element.

“Little Tanuki, you’re up!” Ye Chen ordered. Little Tanuki spewed a cloud of fog and waves of smog branched outward.

Niu Er was surprised. A patch of fog had appeared right ahead of him. Still, he was an experienced war veteran. Relying on his intuition, he took a shot in the dark.

Little Tanuki’s fog worked wonders against a rank nine combatant but in Niu Er’s case, it was only effective for a mere few seconds. The fire elemental Celestial Chi in Ye Chen was gushing violently. He strafed to the side to dodge Niu Er’s attack and screamed, “Crimson Cloud Searing Skies!”

Waves of flare surged forward, engulfing Niu Er.

Thud. Niu Er’s body trembled. The Chi Construct in him nearly gave way. Niu Er was not expecting a teenager to hit so hard. Ye Chen’s strike drove Niu Er madder.

“D*mn you, kid!” Niu Er retorted and struck his flail sideways.

Ye Chen blocked the impact with both his arms. Bang! Ye Chen was knocked a few feet back. It was going to take more than that to defeat a rank nine combatant. Sensing Niu Er coming for him, Ye Chen threw another Exploding Seed with his right hand.

The sight of the Exploding Seed only served to provoke Niu Er further. He gathered his strength and used his flail to intercept the seed. Boom! The seed exploded two meters from him, shards of stones flew outward again. Niu Er was barely affected by the blow and he continued to march forward.

Niu Er was truly a ferocious man. Death did not faze him!

With Little Tanuki spewing more fogs to cover more grounds, Ye Chen took the opportunity to engage in a hit and run with Niu Er. Given his disadvantage, Ye Chen had a difficult time stalling Niu Er. Niu Er was an incredibly smart man too. With every strike he made, he edged closer to Ye Zhantian.

Seeing what Niu Er was up to, Ye Chen followed in close pursuit. He could not let Niu Er get close to his father. He had to get Niu Er’s attention.

Meanwhile, Yun Yixuan had just thrown Ye Meng off with a strike. Like an eagle swooping down to catch its prey, he grabbed hold of Ye Rou easily.