Chapter 1345: What is Martial Virtue? (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

Shen Tang suspected that Luo San hadn't come to rob the grain.

Who would make such a commotion during a night raid to seize grain?

Even a blind person would be alarmed, let alone someone who isn't blind.

"You scoundrel, come out and face your death!"

A loud shout echoed from the sky, followed by a torrential downpour of "meteors." In the blink of an eye, hundreds of beams of light shot out from the ring, landing precisely within the granary's perimeter. Each "meteor" contained explosive, violent energy; a direct hit from one of these would be devastating to any ordinary building. In a flash, golden light erupted from the ground.

Golden light burst forth, converging into phantom images of enormous golden lotuses.

Bang bang bang—

The moment the two collided, a series of explosions erupted.

The impact blast wave crashed into the ground, raising waves of dust and sand. The ordinary soldiers, well-trained, had already taken cover in an orderly fashion to minimize damage, while the elite soldiers quickly formed ranks and created heavy shields, simultaneously using their blades to cleave through the blast wave.

The smoke and dust from the explosion almost completely engulfed the grain silo.

Visibility was severely obstructed; it was almost pitch black.

Just then, the whistling sound of a sharp blade cutting through the air came from the shadows. Before the soldier who was ambushed could react, a force powerful enough to break all the bones in his body struck his shoulder blade. Half of his body under the iron armor lost all sensation, and only excruciating pain assaulted his brain.

The soldier caught in the ambush was sent flying backward by the immense force of the blow, taking other soldiers in his path with him as cushions. They tumbled several times before barely coming to a stop. The other soldiers in the same formation noticed the attack immediately, but they were a step too late; several spears, imbued with tremendous force, were already thrusting towards them.

Click—

Although the shields weren't pierced, the force of the enemy's attack forced the shield-bearers back several steps. Some spears, imbued with morale, didn't land on the shields but instead struck the men directly. Ordinary rattan and leather armor were no match for the sharpness; they were pierced through, leaving several men on a string, like candied hawthorns.

"Ahhhh—"

Driven by their will to survive, the wounded soldiers unleashed their potential, gripping the long poles in front of them with one or both hands, preventing the enemy from immediately retracting the spears until the poles were severed by sharp blades. They did not immediately pull the poles out of their bodies, but left them to stop the bleeding and prevent excessive blood loss, before wielding their broadswords and slashing back at the enemy.

These enemies didn't invade the granary from all sides; they dropped troops from the sky! This ring in the sky wasn't just for attack; its main purpose was to provide cover for the heavenly troops. By the time Shen Tang discovered the first wave of enemy soldiers and tried to adjust and stop them, it was too late. Little did they know that Shen Tang's side had experienced a similar situation on the southwestern battlefield.

"Archers, heed my command!"

As the first batch of "meteors" rained down from the sky, Lin Feng was already multitasking, simultaneously casting spells to aid in defense and ordering the mobilization of all nearby archers. Given the density of the attack from above, the archers didn't even need to aim precisely; a volley of arrows created a deluge, effectively threatening the second wave and weakening the third. However, the archers' firing rate couldn't keep up with the enemy's airborne advance, and the interception effect fell far short of expectations.

"Hmph, the thief is indeed here."

Luo San seemingly effortlessly parried Shen Tang's attack, but a sinister glint flashed in his eyes. Having mentally prepared himself for an ambush, he wasn't surprised by Shen Tang's appearance. If Shen Tang hadn't shown up, tonight's slaughter would have ended there, allowing him to return with a large quantity of provisions. But Shen Tang had appeared; therefore, this supply of provisions neither belonged to them nor to her!

He said calmly, "Have you decided how you want to die?"

With unparalleled momentum, it charged towards Shen Tang's face, causing the surrounding天地气 (heaven and earth energy) to nearly freeze. Not only did the sounds of fighting cease, but even the strands of hair that were being blown about stopped abruptly. Only the killing intent magnified tens of thousands of times before Shen Tang's eyes!

Thump!

The sonic boom caused by the short impact coincided strangely with the heart rate.

The boiling blood momentarily froze.

Shen Tang deflected Luo San's attack with a single sword strike, emerging from the frozen space between heaven and earth. Her temporarily deafened ears regained their sense of hearing, and her heart returned to its normal rhythm. If it weren't for the lingering unnatural flush on her cheeks, no one would have guessed what she had just experienced. Perhaps it was a return to simplicity, or perhaps it was the influence of her personal style, but Luo San's attacks were fiercer than a storm, yet they lacked dramatic, sweeping movements. His aura built up layer by layer, making one feel as if a drop in the ocean had glimpsed a clear blue sky.

"A single blade severes the throat!"

In an instant, a powerful aura of death exploded from Shen Tang's spine.

Without hesitation, she wielded her longsword with effortless grace, the blade slung diagonally across her back. The immense force from the blade numbed her hands, drawing small drops of blood. She plummeted straight down, stopping less than half a zhang from the ground, simultaneously spinning and sliding to the side. Luo San's killing move landed with his rear foot, the resulting shockwave causing the ground within a dozen zhang to cave in, reaching above his calves. In the dim light, a flash of red light appeared.

With a whoosh, another inescapable net of killing intent was cast.

Luo San didn't need to look; he could tell something was wrong just by feeling it.

The palm strike blew away the swirling yellow sand, his pupils contracted, followed by boiling rage. He laughed coldly in fury, "Fine, fine! So much for being a reclusive scion of a powerful family, you're nothing but a lackey of a traitor! I spared you that day, and now you've come looking for death!"

After deflecting Luo San's attack with a large arc, the trident obediently flew into its owner's hand. The owner of this trident was none other than Luo Sha, whom Luo San had fought not long ago? Thinking of this, Luo San almost coughed up blood. He had considered the worst-case scenario, but reality was three times worse than he had anticipated. Luo Sha's appearance meant that Gong Xichou and the skeleton from that day were also present?

Good heavens, so these people are all in cahoots!

Luo San wished he could slap himself for what he did that day.

Had I known this would happen, I should have fought back then and captured number forty-nine, along with the skeleton warrior. Even if I couldn't kill them all, I could have at least weakened them considerably. That would have been better than being toyed with and then released like a tiger returning to the mountain, only to have them join forces to cause me trouble today!

I have no idea how these people are laughing at me behind my back.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Unable to resist the constant nagging, Gong Xichou charged down from directly above.

His first concern was for Shen Tang: "Your Highness, are you alright?"

Shen Tang glanced at the longsword covered in cracks. Luo San had just used seven-tenths of his strength in that attack. If it had been any heavier, her sword would have been ruined. "It's alright, he won't last long."

Luo San's situation is too special.

Compared to the other twenty-ranked Marquises, Luo San was like a pool of water without a source, unable to draw upon the power of heaven and earth to replenish himself. He used as much as he could, and the more he used, the faster his condition declined. This was probably one of the reasons why he never dared to exert his full strength.

Luo San shook the weapon in his hand.

The weapon merged with martial energy, and in the blink of an eye, it stretched and fused into another strange form, transforming from a short weapon into a long weapon. The original double axes, resembling two intertwined yin-yang fish, became standard long axes. Judging from the color and thickness of the axe handle, this thing was probably quite heavy. Luo San held it with ease, as if holding a feather.

A circular blade spread out from his body.

Its sharpness can cut through iron like mud, and it is invincible wherever it goes.

If you were struck by the blade, it would be no different from being cut in half at the waist.

None dared to stand in their way; they were suddenly shattered and scattered.

Gong Xichou and Luo Sha had cooperated many times before, and their tacit understanding came online at this moment. Each of them took charge of half of the task, and the sharp blades in their hands transformed into two colors of light that instantly closed into a ring. The ring tightly bit the circular blade, blocking the latter's rampant expansion until it was completely eliminated.

Luo San, wielding his battle-axe, shouted, "Alright, bring it on!"

How dare those three juniors be so insolent in front of him!

Shen Tang channeled his martial energy into the sword, and the spiderweb-like cracks healed to a perfect state at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He shifted his feet and flashed behind Luo San.

"He fought across three thousand miles in a single battle!"

Gong Xichou and Luo Sha also seized the opportunity to attack.

Luo San drew a different colored full moon with his long axe.

This strange, full moon, like the gaping maw of a monstrous beast, frantically devoured everything around it, including but not limited to the attacks of the three and the surrounding天地气 (heaven and earth energy). Under Shen Tang's suddenly constricted gaze, he sneered, "You really think my weakness is so easy to exploit?"

Three buzzing sounds in a row.

The three beams of light, after being misaligned, struck back directly.

Gong Xichou was beaten by Shen Tang, while Shen Tang's wig was burned by Luo Sha's highly corrosive martial energy, the ends of her hair exploding and almost turning into an afro. She decisively threw the ruined wig on the ground, unable to contain her emotions: "Making wigs is so hard!"

In this era before advanced technology, whether it was a complete wig or a hairpiece for styling, wealthy families used real hair, and it couldn't be collected from corpses. They usually paid money to buy it from the lower classes.

Those with poor hair quality, the wrong color, or the wrong length were removed... what remained were only beautiful, glossy, and shiny black hairs. These hairs then had to be braided strand by strand onto the wig and carefully styled.

You can imagine how expensive wigs are!

Having learned her lesson, Shen Tang secured her wig before engaging in battle. However, instead of having it blown away, Luo San shaved off a section of it and then corroded and burned it... How many wigs did she lose because of Luo San? Her wig inventory was almost depleted. Was she supposed to go bald from now on? With her silver longbow in hand, a rain of arrows poured out, and sparks flew from her fingers as she plucked the string.

Luo San, however, remained completely unconcerned. No matter how Shen Tang changed his position, the eerie full moon would always appear precisely in its path, swallowing up the rain of arrows and then randomly returning them to Gong Xi Chou and Luo Sha. Gong Xi Chou and Luo San still had no way to dodge.

If they dodged, the nearby granary and battlefield would be the disaster. They could only take the hits head-on and occasionally coordinate with Shen Tang to probe for Luo San's weaknesses. Judging from his martial energy fluctuations, this strange technique of shifting the attack consumed very little martial energy.

If things continue like this, Luo San might be fine, but our side will be exhausted first.

"Weicheng—"

Old Deng, stop watching from the sidelines!

Holding onto certain principles that young people couldn't understand, Wei Cheng refused to engage in a war of attrition. Whenever any of Shen Tang's group attacked Luo San, Wei Cheng would watch from the shadows without intervening. He only accepted buffs from scholars, refusing help from any martial artist. Gong Xi Chou thought they could change their approach, letting Wei Cheng attack first, allowing the two old men to exchange blows.

Once the exchange of blows is nearly complete, our side can then strike to finish off the remaining enemies.

"Hmph, get out of the way!"

With a muffled groan that exploded in everyone's ears, countless white bones, glowing with a blood-red aura, emerged from the ground. In the blink of an eye, a pair of bizarre, deformed skeletons, each a meter tall, suddenly clasped together, encircling Luo San within them, and countless bone spikes exploded outwards from the inside. A surging shockwave swept in all directions, forcefully pushing Shen Tang and the other two away from the core circle.

"Let me have a serious talk with you."

Shen Tang had no choice but to cede the battlefield.

Just as he was about to use his somewhat clumsy scholarly incantation to amplify Old Deng's power—something better than nothing—a beam of light accurately struck Wei Cheng. His already translucent white bones became even more lustrous and translucent; an uninitiated person might mistake them for jade carvings.

Wei Cheng paused, his eyes blazing with anger.

"He's a young man with good judgment."

The opponent wasn't using the ordinary [Five Virtues of a General], but rather an amplification more suitable for a non-human being like him. This shows that Lin Feng, this young man, was far more diligent than Shen Tang. Of course, the real reason was that Lin Feng occasionally needed to cooperate with Gong Shuwu in battle, so he deliberately sought out these less common amplification spells.

The effect will be more targeted.

Shen Tang squinted at the bone hands that were surrounding Luo San.

According to what she learned from Gong Shuwu, these ghostly soldiers and generals are generally not created out of thin air. To conserve their own resources, it's more convenient to gather them from nearby locations. The heavier the killing intent and yin energy, the more advantageous it is for them to perform.

The more corpses buried underground, the less trouble Gong Shuwu and Wei Cheng will have, but they can only affect the size of the summoned creatures.

It cannot affect their specific appearance.

These bony hands have bizarrely proportioned fingers, resembling those of a strange beast. One hand has seven fingers, and the other has eight. In addition to the normal distribution of fingers, some of the extra fingers are located at the wrist, while others extend from the original fingers, making them look very strange.

The deeper you go into the earth, the more of these deformed skeletons you'll find.

The shallower the burial, the more normal the shape of the remains.

However, whether it was Gong Shuwu or Wei Cheng, both of them liked to conscript men from the deepest parts of the land when they summoned ghostly soldiers and generals to assist them. Don't be fooled by the large number of deformed individuals; their lethality and destructive power would be even greater. As Shen Tang pondered this, the bone prison exploded from the inside out, sending bone fragments flying everywhere.

Each bone fragment that hits the ground will generate a spark.

An eerie atmosphere spread, chilling one's skin.

At this moment, torches were everywhere in the granary camp, and the place was bustling with noise. It seemed like a chaotic battle was taking place everywhere, but there was also a hint of order.

Luo San slowly walked out of the firelight.

"Tonight, I will turn this place into a sea of ​​fire!"

He smashed the remaining bone fragments into dust with a single palm strike.

"So what?" Shen Tang sneered, not taking the loss of the granary seriously. "If we can use this batch of grain to leave Luo Hou's elite troops as wandering ghosts, it won't be a bad deal."

Luo San's breathing became erratic for a moment.

Shen Tang knew what he was going to ask: "It's not fake."

There wasn't enough time to move the food, let alone find enough substitutes to disguise it.

"The food is all genuine."

The real "granary" is not under our feet.

The granary camp was engulfed in flames, but the leaping flames could not melt the chilling aura in her eyes. She uttered a command, seemingly casual, that could ignite Luo San's murderous intent: "Kill them all!"

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I got so engrossed in writing the side stories for the public section that when I looked up, there wasn't enough time!

I'll make up for the missing parts tomorrow, and I should be able to finish the remaining half of the crossover side story in the next few days... I felt like I didn't drink much yesterday, but when I woke up this morning... no, at noon I had a terrible headache. I guess I really shouldn't drink alcohol.