Chapter 542: No Need to Talk Any More, Close the Gate and Beat the Dog |
Five years ago, during the upheaval started by Dajue Temple, the five senior masters each deployed a curse ritual paired with a Five Elements spirit item to perform deceptive arts. The five spirit items were temple gold powder, Primordial Soul Pills, Clear Cold Pearls, Flame Fusion Pills, and the Shock Void Pill.
Of those, Dajue Temple had already used the first four on the battlefield.
Temple gold powder raised soldiers’ skin-membrane defenses; Clear Cold Pearls allowed soldiers to ignore bodily pain; Flame Fusion Pills granted those of the Digging Realm the ability to operate during daylight; the strangest of all was the Primordial Soul Pill—after taking it and reciting the mantra, the soul would be drawn out and the user would drop dead instantly.
Aside from those four, the only one Dajue Temple never used in battle was the earth-type Shock Void Pill associated with Great Abyss Master.
Ordinary deceptive arts, Xia Hong naturally would not take seriously, but these five Dajue techniques could affect masses on a large scale. Armies numbered in the tens of thousands; if they were used together by so many people, the destructive power would be terrifying.
So, after the Dajue Temple incident ended, and after he personally executed Masters Wusheng, Dragon Flame, and Vajra, Xia Hong not only distributed those three masters’ organs to Xu Ning, Lu Yang, and Yuan Cheng, he also had Cheng Feng take a large team of apothecaries to research the five spirit items day and night, attempting to replicate them.
Cheng Feng’s research required masters’ organs. Since Great Xia only possessed three masters’ organs, only three items were successfully replicated in the end: the Soul-Separating Pill, the Sunlight Pill, and the Golden Body Pill.
The Clear Cold Pearl corresponded to Black Ming Master, who had been slain by Yang Jian, so Beishuo also managed to replicate the Pure Cold Pills; during the previous attack on Beishuo City, Beishuo’s forces had already used them.
Great Abyss Master had been killed by Qin Feng of Wuchuan, and his organs were naturally taken by Qin Feng. One would assume Wuchuan should have been the one to reproduce the Shock Void Pill, but Wuchuan’s transmission wasn’t as long-standing as Jinshan’s; their apothecaries lacked the foundation and skill, so in the end they had to ask Jinshan for help.
In short, Jinshan essentially stumbled into a huge windfall.
During the big battle at the Pass, Jinshan had somehow held back and never used this ultimate weapon the whole time?
On the road to Jinyang, Xia Hong couldn’t figure this out, but after seeing Cai Qiu’s group of Sun Manifestation fighters attacking the city with his own eyes, he immediately understood.
At that time, Shangguan Yang withheld the Forbidden Sky Pills for probably two reasons:
First, in the Pass battle, Great Xia didn’t primarily rely on Sun Manifestation fighters. At most there had been just over twenty Sun Manifestation fighters between both sides. The true main force then was Great Xia’s—Xia Hong’s fourteen Beast Emperor-level puppets. Forbidden Sky Pills only affect people, not the Frost Beasts, and they were completely useless against the Beast Emperor-level puppets he deployed.
Second, Shangguan Yang had his own considerations. When Great Xia’s forces first reached the Pass City, he already distrusted Cai Qiu and planned to hedge his bets. Rather than use a Forbidden Sky Pill that wouldn’t be very effective against Great Xia, he could hand it to his son Shangguan Yan, who could then present it as a bargaining chip to defect to Great Xia.
For that alone, Xia Hong’s estimate of Shangguan Yang rose a few notches.
Qin Feng was the same.
To sever ties and let two sons risk leading men to blow up the camp under Cai Qianshan’s nose, then have half the soldiers defect to Great Xia—such boldness, compared to that cunning old fox Shangguan Yang, was no less impressive.
Looking back now, among the three northern towns, Beishuo had been the loudest but died the fastest, while the quiet Jinshan and Wuchuan endured with Cai Qiu’s support. Up to this final moment, the two lords had even schemed a path that would allow their houses to survive no matter the outcome.
Qin He, Qin Shan, and Shangguan Long led fifty thousand allied troops and defected to Great Xia; Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang led over forty thousand to remain with Cai Qiu. By the end of this war, whether Great Xia or Cai Qiu won, both the Qin and Shangguan clans could continue.
“They played me for a while, hmph!”
Such scheming made Xia Hong slightly annoyed but not truly resentful. Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang’s double-sided tactics were ultimately born of uncertainty. If either had been sure Great Xia or Cai Qiu would certainly win, they wouldn’t have hedged their bets.
Moreover, having the nerve to hedge signaled that both had already recognized Great Xia’s strength as comparable to Cai Qiu’s.
So what was there left to be upset about?
Hum...
As the Great Xia soldiers besieging Jinyang released thick surges of aura, air around the city was pushed away on all sides, and the sky and earth seemed to pause for a moment.
A heavy, fluctuating rumble—sometimes near, sometimes distant—sounded like it was right beside everyone’s ears and yet coming from high above. Faces changed.
“Fang Bo Cai, your Cai Qiu isn’t almighty. I killed Yang Zun and his brothers, exterminated Beishuo Town; Chencang still dares not move south. You bring over a hundred Sun Manifestation fighters and eight Tribulation Bodies, relying on Jinshan and Wuchuan’s leftover troops to snatch power with your claws—do you really think that’s possible?”
As the air around Jinyang solidified, Cai Qianshan and the six Tribulation Body cultivators behind him felt their bodies growing heavy. Though they could still hover, it was noticeably harder than before.
Hearing Xia Hong’s words, Cai Qianshan’s expression sank. He turned his gaze to the sounds of fighting coming from inside Jinyang City, and for the first time a grave look appeared in his pupils.
The sounds of fighting were one thing; more importantly, he saw clearly that many of Cai Qiu’s Sun Manifestation fighters who had hovered over the gate earlier were now falling to the ground after the air stiffened.
“Forbidden Sky—Great Xia has a Forbidden Sky capability, even Tribulation Body cultivators are affected!”
Cai Qianshan’s regret crept in.
He truly hadn’t intended to fight Great Xia to the death; he only wanted to show Xia Hong the gap between them, help Jinshan or Wuchuan secure a foothold, and plant a pawn in the Southern Foothills.
Now, none of those plans had come to fruition.
Were Jinshan and Wuchuan too weak, or was Great Xia just too strong?
At this moment, Cai Qianshan couldn’t answer.
He instinctively leaned toward the former, but recalling the Pass battle and seeing Great Xia’s Forbidden Sky measure now, he was starting to think the latter might be true.
“Lord Xia— I…”
“Don’t waste words. Fang Bo Cai, just watch closely. Didn’t you say Jinshan and Wuchuan are merely expendable fodder to let you see my army’s strength? Then watch! Say whatever you want after the fighting!”
Xia Hong cut Cai Qianshan off with a wave. Though he still addressed him as Fang Bo Cai, his tone no longer held any respect. He then turned toward Jinyang City and ordered loudly, “Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, Yuwen Tao, Li Yangtian, strike with full force. Execute Cai Qiu the ringleader. Soldiers from the two towns who lay down arms and surrender will be pardoned; those who stubbornly resist will be killed without mercy!”
On the last three words, Xia Hong’s voice dropped unusually low, abandoning the gentleness he’d shown at the Pass. Not only Great Xia’s men, even Cai Qiu’s people could hear the murderous intent flowing from him.
And it wasn’t just an order.
As the command rang out, temperatures rose dramatically within a twenty-kilometer radius; Jinyang City instantly warmed. Immediately after, the deceptive arts used by Cai Qiu’s Sun Manifestation fighters in the Barbican all failed.
“My Thousand-Shadow Deception won’t work?”
“Not only the Forbidden Sky, Great Xia can block large-scale deceptive arts?”
“We’re done for!”
…
In stark contrast to Cai Qiu’s fighters’ panic, Great Xia’s morale soared to a ferocious pitch.
“Kill!”
“Exterminate Cai Qiu’s ringleader! Soldiers from the two towns who disarm will not be killed!”
“The Lord commanded it—kill!”
…
Fighting inside the Barbican had never stopped.
The allied troops who had painfully breached the outer gate realized it was only an outer gate. Their minds were already clouded with doubt, their fighting spirit greatly diminished.
Great Xia, however, gave them no time to reconsider. Tens of thousands of prepared Digging Realm soldiers released arrows quickly from the high walls surrounding the Barbican; the arrow storm crashed over the allied soldiers like tidal waves.
There weren’t even Great Xia troops inside the Barbican anymore!
The moment the allied soldiers broke the outer gate, the Great Xia forces behind the gate had already withdrawn through a smaller gate, then stubbornly held that small gate to prevent them from leaving.
Half of the allied soldiers trapped outside the gate couldn’t push in, not because the defenders were not fighting, but because the defenders had nowhere to retreat to.
They were all trapped in the narrow Barbican.
Yuan Cheng’s fifty thousand Rear Route Army had already scattered the allied soldiers outside the gate. The ground was littered with corpses; Yuan Cheng personally led his elite Slaying Dragon Army to block under the gate and forbade anyone inside from escaping.
Fifty thousand troops encircled the gate in three layers on the inside and outside. Even if a few escaped, they couldn’t break through Great Xia’s layered blockade. They either surrendered with weapons discarded and knelt, or faced certain death.
Clang clang...
“I surrender, I surrender! Spare me, spare me!”
“I surrender, my lord, I surrender—please spare me…”
“I give up, I give up, spare my life!”
…
At last, under the piling corpses outside, the allied soldiers’ psychological defenses predictably collapsed.
Those who had barely made it out of the gate saw the sea of Great Xia long blades ahead; their bloodshot eyes suddenly cleared. They dropped their weapons and knelt, surrendering.
Once morale collapses, the impact is enormous.
From a few to dozens to hundreds, soldiers without will began surrendering in waves, dropping their weapons far away.
The soldiers at the gate and along the Barbican’s edge were the lucky ones; as long as they could live and endure to surrender, most survived. Those who had pushed into the city were far less fortunate.
They couldn’t see the situation at the gate; they were still shielding themselves from the unceasing arrow storm overhead. They couldn’t even glimpse the enemy, only hearing the muffled groans of comrades struck by arrows and the thuds of unlucky soldiers felled by hits.
Yet there was another sound.
Clang—
A silver two-meter double-bladed giant axe suddenly plunged from the east wall, smashing into the ground beneath the right side of the wall. Dozens of soldiers were sent flying; the first to be struck were a dozen of Cai Qiu’s Sun Manifestation fighters.
“What kind of worthless feudal town dares act so violently before Great Xia? Ask Yuan whether I consent!”
Yuan Cheng’s temper felt a bit pent up.
Since he mobilized on the night of the twenty-sixth, he had never once fought full force. The reason was simple: Li Xuanling had already distributed roles. Yuan Cheng’s Rear Route Army’s main target was Yangju Town, but Yangju had pulled all its forces into the town and was turtle-like, ignoring its other territories.
Yuan Cheng’s rear troops marched north from Chuishan and hadn’t fought a real battle; they occupied Yangju’s four large camps and then besieged Yangju Town. After that, Yuan Cheng longed to attack the town but was ordered by Xia Chuan, who had messengers from Cai Qiu, not to act rashly.
When the lord appeared in Beishuo City, Yuan Cheng thought he could finally storm Yangju Town—but before he could rejoice, word came of Cao Qianyang’s surrender, and he was told to keep besieging Yangju until Cao Qianyang left, then he could take the town.
Yuan Cheng’s temper was explosive; this string of delays had bottled his rage. Now he could finally act, and he unleashed himself fully.
Boom—
The giant axe slammed downward, brutally colliding with a Sun Manifestation fighter’s head.
That man was strong and sensed the axe’s arrival. He raised his long sword to block across his forehead.
Hearing the tempest of displaced air from the axe, his pupils tightened. He switched his single-handed grip to both hands, held his breath, condensed his qi, and gripped the sword hilt firmly, bracing to block.
Clang—
The axe met the sword with an earth-shattering bang. Both weapons were made of Hundred-Thousand-Forged white silver of equal quality; the contest came down to strength.
“Seven jun, with such strength you dare—”
Crack!
The Sun Manifestation fighter who had just taunted Yuan Cheng stopped mid-sentence, frightened into silence.
“Roar!”
Yuan Cheng sneered. Three Sacred Marks glowed on his brow as he tugged the axe slightly, hooked it onto the opponent’s sword hilt, then violently twisted the axe, lifting the man into the air and then slamming the axe down to the ground.
Weapons are crucial. Because the man’s sword was trapped, his first instinct wasn’t to drop it; that normal reaction ensured Yuan Cheng could hoist him overhead.
The axe’s impact on the ground sent a rebound shock through the man’s skeleton. He wasn’t crushed by the axe directly since he was airborne, but the ground-shock alone left him reeling and broken.
Hum...
The axe hit the ground, and the reverberation shattered his bones. The smirk that had been on his face vanished, replaced by horror and deep fear.
“Thirteen jun, how did your strength suddenly surge so much…”
Yuan Cheng had no time to answer. With the strike landed, he pressed the advantage, gripping the axe with both hands, leaping, and bringing the blade down hard on the man’s forehead again.
Clang—
This time it wasn’t so easy.
Although both sides had lost the ability to hover, inside the Barbican Cai Qiu still had over a hundred Sun Manifestation fighters. They would never stand by while Yuan Cheng cut down one of their own.
In an instant over a dozen Sun Manifestation fighters charged out from among the allied soldiers, converging on Yuan Cheng from all directions. Spears, swords, staves—every kind of weapon slammed toward his body.
These were not Warmth Realm soldiers but a dozen true Sun Manifestation fighters. Without their deceptive arts, their inherent power was still terrifying. How could Yuan Cheng, at a mere thirteen jun, withstand them?
“This man is called Yuan Cheng, commander of Great Xia’s Rear Route Army. Kill him and you can deal Great Xia a grave blow!”
Inside the Barbican, Cai Qiu’s men, though momentarily panicked when their hovering vanished, calmed quickly when they remembered Fang Bo Cai standing outside. Some recognized Yuan Cheng by name.
At the shout, their murderous intent spiked and their attacks became far fiercer.
Clang… clang… clang…
But the next second, when all their weapons struck Yuan Cheng’s body, they were stunned.