I will distract

"Okay, good luck. You know where to find us when you're done." Chen Linjian knew that Nie Li could take care of himself. Better than many who had higher cultivation than him. He couldn't believe some people thought that Nie Li was not even a Bronze rank yet. He wouldn't be surprised if Nie Li was a 2 star Bronze rank already. His speed and strength when he killed the demon ape were not something that low-level Bronze rank warriors could boast.

Nie Li nodded and headed towards the girls. They were preparing their crossbows. He could see that they weren't very experienced with it. He sat down to help them.

"After we enter the city, I am planning to separate from the group to investigate a couple of other locations," he said.

"What? You're going alone?" asked Xiao Ning'er worriedly. Ye Ziyun looked concerned as well.

"Yes they are out of the way and I don't want to attract attention to them," Nie Li said.

"It may be dangerous. We will go with you," said Ye Ziyun. Xiao Ning'er nodded her head agreeing with Ye Ziyun. They will not let him go alone. What girls didn't want to admit even to themselves were their budding feelings towards Nie Li. They haven't noticed how their initial curiosity because of his academic achievements turned into an attraction towards their classmate. Another reason they didn't want to admit it was the two girls' recently restored but still fragile friendship. Both girls unconsciously felt the other's interest in him and didn't want to destroy their friendship.

"I can take care of myself. And I will be safer if I'm alone." Nie Li said succinctly.

Girls' shoulders drooped upon hearing this and Nie Li immediately regretted his harsh tone.

"Look, I'm not saying that you are weak. You are very strong for your age. But you lack experience right now."

Girls understood. Despite the fact his cultivation was somewhere around their level, he had become part of the scouting group consisting of mostly Silver rank warriors. And they could see that they respected him. Even Chen Linjian listened to his opinion.

They looked each other in the eye, expecting the other to object. Then they sighed and turned towards Nie Li.

"Okay, be careful," said Xiao Ning'er. She was more obedient of the two so she relented faster.

"Sigh… And run away if you are in danger. No treasure is worth risking your life," Ye Ziyun said frowning at him. She thought he was doing it for treasures. He could try to explain to them the real reason. But how could he explain that he suspected a Dark Guild would attack them?

"Don't worry. I know my limits," Nie Li stated. Then he helped them to adjust their crossbows and showed them a couple of tricks of using them.

Then he returned to the front when the group resumed its walk. Nie Li and a couple of better shooters used crossbows and the others when they failed to hit the target, began using melee weapons to kill paralyzed beasts. Surprisingly both girls were decent marksmen. Unsurprisingly Shen Yue wasn't, so after embarrassing himself before them he threw his crossbow angrily and took out his sword. And even then he wasn't much useful. He was the only one in the group that hadn't reached the Bronze rank yet.

The group slowly moved further towards the city shooting down any Giant Blue Armed Apes they encountered. After some time apes learned to keep their distance from the group and their hit rates dropped seriously. Only Nie Li could shoot them down from that distance. But alone he couldn't kill all of them and the apes' numbers began rising and they surrounded the group. And their roars became louder as well.

They were close to the City when they heard a deafening roar from a distance. It shook everyone and the group looked at each other in fright. Only Nie Li was calm outside.

"Spiritual grade, at least a 5-star Silver rank." He said.

"Shit," cursed Chen Linjian. He understood that they couldn't run away. "Make a formation" he shouted to his guards.

"It won't help," Nie Li stated. "It would be better if you run and take refuge at the Fort. I will distract and make it chase after me."

"No!" shouted the girls. This time even Huyan Lanruo agreed with them.

"Don't worry I have a plan," He said calmly. He really had a plan and even a backup plan if that fails.

Further discussion was derailed because the beast arrived. It was much bigger than his fellows and it roared again ordering other giant Blue Armed Apes to attack them.

"Are you sure?" Chen Linjian asked.

"Yes, and then I am going to complete my other objectives as well," Nie Li said not stopping firing from his crossbow.

"Okay, separate into six groups and run. We will meet at the Fort" hastily ordered Chen Linjian. Because the most powerful amongst his guards was a 3-star Silver rank warrior. Against this demon beast, they won't stand a chance.

"No need to separate. Run together!" Nie Li shouted. But beasts' roars and panicking people made it impossible for everyone to hear him. Damn Chen Linjian. He told him that he will take care of the beast. Maybe Chen Linjian thought if a large group of people runs in one direction Nie Li's distraction will not work. And decided to help him out. Well, whatever. Ordinary Giant Blue Armed Apes aren't that dangerous. And if they are careful no one will die.

Nie Li turned towards the Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning'er and spoke unhurriedly, "Don't worry about me. I have a foolproof plan to kill it. And I will also deal with other matters I told you about before meeting you. Now go," he pushed them towards the group seeing that the Beast was preparing to attack.

Seeing it jump, Nie Li ran towards it. He took out his sword and shoot a fire wave towards the beast. It distracted the beast and its attack missed the guard that would have been killed if it hit him.

"What are you waiting for? Run!" he shouted at those who were still hesitating. Why can't they be smart like Shen Yue? He had already disappeared.

His shout attracted the attention of the beast and it decided to squash Nie Li. Nie Li jumped to the side avoiding the two-handed strike that cracked the ground. He again fired a fire wave towards its face angering it even more. Being a snow wind beast the fire was its weakness. But the fire wave was not strong enough to hurt it seriously so Nie Li turned around and ran.

Beast roared and chased after him as Nie Li intended. Nie Li ran through the forest looking for a bit of an open area where he could execute his plans. Even though the beast was too big to run in the forest easily he was closing the distance between them. After some time of running and avoiding the beast's attacks, Nie Li noticed a small clearing in front of him. Perfect.

Nie Li entered the clearing and stopped at its center. Beast smashed the trees and saw the small annoying enemy standing in front of it. It stopped and stood on his legs hammered its chest, roaring. Nie Li used the opportunity to attack its mind with his soul force stunning it. It won't last long but was enough for Nie Li's plans. He took out four fire-type Silver rank Inscription scrolls and targeting the Giant Blue Armed Ape activated all of them. Four huge fireballs hit the demon beast in the face and blown up. The Force of the explosion forced the demon beast to fall on his back. Beast roared in pain, its face was seriously burned.

Nie Li activated the Lightsaber mode of his sword and jumped. It was the best chance to finish the beast off. It was in serious pain and couldn't see. Nie Li targeted its neck as the most vulnerable position. He pierced it with all of his strength. Without the Lightsaber mode, his silver rank sword may not have been able to hurt the beast seriously. But with it, the sword went to the hilt into the demon's flesh. Nie Li jumped off the beast. Demon convulsed and rasped for a moment and died.