"That damned bastard, of all times he had to arrive with his men at this critical moment. He's clearly just here to collect our corpses!"

Zhuge Yun, with his sharp ears and keen eyesight, was immediately enraged by the sound of horses' hooves, which sounded like a torrential downpour. He couldn't help but curse angrily, his tone filled with disdain and fury.

In fact, the champion Hou Li Hong was nearby, a fact they all knew perfectly well.

As for why the Marquis of Champion was so slow to send troops to help, they were well aware of the reason.

In their view, all the Marquis of Champions was thinking about was how to save the dying Tantai Qiuyue and then win the heart of this peerless beauty.

As for the lives and deaths of these people, or even the safety of the entire Tianyi City population, in the eyes of the Marquis of Champion, they are probably not worth mentioning at all.

Soon, Marquis Li Hong, the champion, led his men and charged swiftly to the mountainside.

At this moment, Captain You Sanqian, who had been charging ahead, suddenly noticed something amiss. He frowned and said with some surprise, "My lord, something's not right. Just a moment ago, the sounds of fighting were deafening, and it was incredibly lively. But now it's suddenly become so quiet, eerily quiet. Could it be that all those people from the Demon Suppression Division are dead?"

"This is indeed a bit strange, and it's puzzling."

Marquis Li Hong frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "However, given the combat strength of Tantai Qiuyue and the people from the Demon Suppression Division, they shouldn't all have perished before we arrived. Even if Zhuge Yun and the others were to die, someone like Tantai Qiuyue shouldn't have died so easily."

As he spoke, Champion Marquis Li Hong suddenly swung his whip and lashed it hard across the rump of his fat and strong black horse.

The black horse, in pain, let out a neigh and then galloped towards the top of the hill like an arrow.

When champion Hou Li Hong finally arrived at the mountaintop, the scene before him made him almost unable to believe his eyes.

On the flat ground atop the mountain, the corpses of the Demon Suppression Division lay scattered about, roughly estimated to be as many as twenty.

The hundreds of ferocious beasts that were originally extremely fierce were now either cut in half or blasted to pieces, their deaths tragic and miserable.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the open space, Tantai Qiuyue, whom he had been longing for, was now disheveled, her face as pale as paper, and she was leaning weakly against a young man, healing her injuries through internal energy cultivation.

The young man was Fang Han, but it was the first time that Champion Marquis Li Hong and Fang Han had met, and they did not know each other.

"Who exactly are you, brat? Tantai Qiuyue is the woman of me, the Marquis of Champion. How dare you, a nobody, touch her so casually? You'd better get out of my way right now, or I'll become your victim!"

Marquis Li Hong was instantly enraged. He jumped off his horse, brandished his long sword, pointed it at Fang Han, and coldly shouted.

Although he was covered in armor and his face was completely obscured, his sharp, murderous eyes sent chills down one's spine.

Fang Han didn't take the champion Hou Li Hong's clamor to heart at all. His gaze remained gentle yet firm on Tantai Qiuyue as he said softly, "Just focus on healing. Don't worry about any outside disturbances. Leave everything else to me."

His voice was soft, yet it seemed to carry a reassuring power.

After speaking, he focused his mind slightly, mobilized his internal energy, and slowly channeled a pure and refined stream of internal energy into Tantai Qiuyue's body.

As this true energy flowed in, Tantai Qiuyue's originally pale face gradually regained a rosy hue, and her tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

After doing all this, Fang Han gently stood up.

At this moment, nourished by the true energy she had just received, Tantai Qiuyue had recovered a great deal of her energy. She sat cross-legged on the ground and continued to heal herself by circulating her cultivation technique. Her posture was now stable, and she was no longer as weak as before, where she might collapse at any moment.