Book 5 Chapter 30 - Protection

　　"The people here are innocent. How can do you such a thing?" Liu Meng spat out as the guardians encircled her and came closer.

　　"Innocent? Are you new here?" A toned man, covered by a full-body armor, scoffed at Liu Meng's question.

　　"We should hurry up." An old man rather short in stature walked out from behind, looking up at the thunderous sky while waving his dragon staff.

　　"You brought this upon yourself." A woman wielding dual blades suddenly charged toward Liu Meng. She spun around in the air, preparing to deliver a deadly slash to Liu Meng's chest, .

　　"Don't come here!" Liu Meng yelled and before she knew it, her hands pushed forward, erecting a wall of fire between her and her a.s.sailant.

　　The woman was no longer in a position to halt her attack, so she gritted her teeth and made ready to burst through the wall of flames and cut Liu Meng down. However, her body disintegrated as soon as she made contact with the fire, leaving nothing behind but cinder.

　　"Phoenix fire?" Someone from the crowd recognized Liu Meng's power.

　　"It's pretty high level too…" Someone else added.

　　"NO! I'll kill you for that!" The man in full armor roared in anger and picked up his broadsword. He jumped over the ditch Li Huaibei carved into the earth and charged at Liu Meng.

　　"Welcoming Phoenix!" Liu Meng waved her hand at the man, and a small bird made of flames flew toward the a.s.saulting man.

　　Although he was expecting some kind of counter-attack from Liu Meng, the bird flew at such an extraordinary speed that he could barely raise his sword to try to parry it before it touched him. Instead of a deafening explosion, there was only a sizzling noise as the broadsword melted into a liquid puddle while the bird continued its journey after burning through the man's torso.

　　The guardians who stood behind him, upon seeing the latter collapse with a gaping hole in his chest, scattered immediately, each fearing for their own life. The firebird continued its flight onto the city walls, traversing with no signs of slowing down and soon disappeared into the distance.

　　A dead silence reigned for a moment in the crowd. Some were even starting to wonder whether Liu Meng's was yet another sage.

　　"Hundreds of us, and you're scared of a little girl? Pathetic!" A voice was suddenly heard, and Liu Meng could already see her next challenger.

　　Liu Meng raised her hand again, sending three firebirds toward her enemy. However, this time, the attacker proved to have a much faster reaction, and after a few leaps, he appeared behind Liu Meng and thrusted his dagger toward Liu Meng's heart.

　　Clink!

　　Another dagger appeared out of nowhere and blocked the one which was about to pierce Liu Meng's heart. A man with a pale countenance appeared behind Liu Meng.

　　The attacker jumped back and threw a cold stare at the new arriver. 'So fast…'

　　"Eyegla.s.ses…" Liu Meng turned back and saw her friend, who did not answer her call. Eyegla.s.sses held his dagger with both hands and looked around, somewhat hesitantly.

　　"Another one? Today is a bargain sale for those who don't fear death, I see…" The old man who led the group of guardians said as he raised his dragon staff and smashed it down toward the ground. A shadow that had the shape of a dragon appeared from where he stood and slithered toward Liu Meng.