Chapter 504: Captured Alive (Happy New Year)

The Water God is coming!

Inside the sea of ​​fire, when "Zhao Du'an" held up the Black Turtle Seal with his hand, the powerful aura, with the help of the possessed Pei Niannu's hand, turned into magic power, which moved this talisman which also had an extraordinary origin.

On the "seal button" part of the Black Turtle Seal, the turtle and snake eyes carved from black jade suddenly became lively.

The talismans derived from the belief in the "water god" connect heaven and earth.

Zhao Duan clearly felt that a coolness quickly spread in all directions with the Black Turtle Seal as the core, and the heat filling his mouth and nose was effectively suppressed.

at the same time.

Not far away, King Heng, who was floating above the sea of ​​fire, his whole body covered in illusory flames, his eyebrows and hair all red like the "God of Fire", had a stiff smile on his face, his pupils suddenly narrowed, and he instinctively sensed a great sense of uneasiness.

"What is that?"

In a flash, without giving him any time to think, King Heng's body subconsciously took action first.

He stopped grasping the flaming spear and throwing it forward, and instead pushed Zhao Duan with both palms!

The sea of ​​fire in front of him was shaken, like layers of waves, blown up by the strong wind.

As the waves of flames swept across, "fire crows" flew out from them, flapping their wings at an even faster speed, making sharp, hoarse and strange bird calls, and crashed towards Zhao Duan!

Danger!

Zhao Duan's hair stood on end, and he had no time to think. He felt the other half of his body being controlled by Pei Niannu, manipulating the Black Turtle Seal to cast a spell.

His heart sank, and his clear and bright eyes suddenly became firm. He suddenly raised his right arm, which still belonged to the "warrior", and suddenly slashed at the air in front of him!

As he chopped it off, gemstones of different colors on the scabbard stuck in the ground in the distance lit up one by one.

A thin line of dark gold flashed by.

The magical effect of [Suppressing Sword] was activated, and the densely packed fire crows, numbering over a hundred, were annihilated at the same time, breaking into sparks all over the sky, floating in all directions.

This is the unique method hidden within the sword.

On the day when Li Yanfu launched a coup, the girl raised by the Li family used a knife to repel several female palace attendants at the same time.

In the brief gap of time gained by this knife strike, Pei Niannu's cold and arrogant voice came from Zhao Duan's sea of ​​consciousness:

"alright."

Okay? What's okay?

When Zhao Duan was stunned, the Black Turtle Seal floated up by itself, as if tearing a hole in the air, and from the hole, endless clear water rushed out like a dam bursting!

The clear water quickly extinguished the sea of ​​fire in the area under Zhao Duan's feet, forming a swamp.

In just a few breaths, the area of ​​the swamp expanded rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it almost covered half of the "sea of ​​fire".

If you look down from the sky, the circular fire and water on the ground are in the shape of a Tai Chi fish, each occupying half, clearly separated.

Zhao Duan and King Heng stood at the "fish eyes" of the two halves of the Tai Chi fish respectively.

"How is this possible?" King Heng was so shocked that he lost his voice. As the holder of the Scarlet Flame Holy Armor, he clearly felt the fading of the force field he controlled.

The power from the God of Fire was suppressed, but even with the help of the magic power stored in this ancient armor, the situation could still be maintained.

However, the area under his control was reduced by half in just an instant!

No, it's not over yet!

“Boom!”

A low thunder suddenly sounded, and Zhao Duan and King Heng raised their heads at the same time.

The latter was shocked to see that a small dark cloud had condensed out of thin air above their heads, with electric snakes appearing in the cloud. If one looked closely, the shape of the dark cloud resembled a "giant turtle" lying in mid-air.

The soldiers of the Shenji Camp who were isolated on the periphery were surprised to find that the air began to become dry, and the water bags hanging around their waists became lighter at the same time!

At this moment, the mysterious "water god" drained all the water vapor within a radius of several miles and gathered it into clouds.

"It's raining!" a soldier exclaimed.

In full view of everyone, above the sea of ​​fire and water, there was a crackling sound from the dark clouds, and raindrops as big as beans fell.

A small-scale rainstorm suddenly came, and water droplets hit the water at Zhao Duan's feet, creating ripples.

When the water droplets hit the sea of ​​fire, they turned into wisps of white steam.

The pattern is being broken!

The area belonging to the "Water God" is expanding rapidly, while the area controlled by the "Fire God" is shrinking rapidly!

This does not mean that Zhao Duan is more powerful, but that the rules of the five elements of heaven and earth and their mutual generation and mutual restraint are at work.

When both parties are in the "worldly" realm, the difference in magic power is eliminated by attributes.

"No——" King Heng no longer had any confidence and composure, panic was evident on his face, and his body standing in the sea of ​​fire was wet by the rain, fading and disappearing little by little.

And in a corner of the sea of ​​fire, a figure that did not exist originally and was in an "invisible" state gradually became clear.

“I found you!”

Zhao Duan's eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he gathered the strength of the sword in his hand and threw it out suddenly. The sword was wrapped in turbulent energy and pierced into the blurry figure with a roar.

"ah!"

With a scream, the figure fell down, and the "King Heng" in the air completely disappeared. The flames covering the ground shrank rapidly and disappeared in a few breaths.

Zhao Duan also put away the Black Turtle Seal with his backhand, and his figure flashed as he arrived nearby.

As the flames receded, King Heng's true body appeared on the ground, lying on his back.

His eyes were closed and his face was pale, as if he had fainted from the defeat. He was wearing a crimson half-body armor with a black human face mark on the front.

At this moment, the sword on the half-body armor pierced straight into it, nailing King Heng to the ground.

Strands of flames, as if they had life, quickly penetrated into the Red Flame Holy Armor.

Without the support of the Black Turtle Seal, the water on the ground quickly seeped into the soil, leaving only large patches of white water vapor that enveloped the entire area and blocked the view.

"This thing can't block the Suppressing Sword?" Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, with an expression of surprise. He pulled out the Suppressing Sword cautiously, and the wound on the Red Flame Holy Armor that was pierced by the sword slowly healed.

Ah, this... So, the power of this red armor isn't in defense, but in its ability to utilize Fire God spells? Yes, if it had strong defense, there wouldn't be any need to resort to Fire Escape to hide, and it wouldn't be unable to block my strike...

A hint of understanding flashed in Zhao Duan's eyes, and he took the Red Flame Holy Armor off the unconscious King Heng with numb hands and feet.

Held in the hand, the armor was incredibly light, like a feather, and smooth to the touch. The dark red armor was covered with fine lines, and the black human face imprint was outlined like thick ink, revealing majesty and holiness in its weirdness.

"Senior Pei, do you recognize this thing?" Zhao Duan asked the old man in the ring in his heart, no, the old woman.

Pei Niannu's voice echoed: "Zoroastrianism, holy object, the Red Flame Holy Armor."

After saying this, Zhao Duan's silver eyes returned to normal, and his scarlet clothes returned to their original appearance. The old lady was very dissatisfied with him, so she left after beating him and didn't want to stay for even half a second.

Woman, your name is Ruthless...

Scarlet Flame Sacred Armor? It sounds familiar. I seem to have seen it before while looking through documents at the government office, but I don't remember it clearly. I should go back and look it up...

Zhao Duan was thoughtful, his eyes burning:

It was obvious that this armor was in no way inferior to the Black Turtle Seal, and was even more powerful in terms of killing. Once activated, it could spread a field of fire, allowing the true body to hide and burn the enemy to death...

If I didn't have the "Water God" amulet on me that could counteract it, I would have been able to escape at best, but I would have been unable to capture King Heng alive. It's even possible that I would have accidentally capsized and died at the hands of Xu Heng...

The background of veteran dignitaries like Li Yanfu and King Heng cannot be underestimated...

Zhao Duan put the Red Flame Holy Armor into the Taixu Scroll. Suddenly, his ears moved slightly. He looked up and looked into the distance through the white "mist" around him.

…

…

On the official road, cavalry came roaring.

Yuan Feng, the square-faced commander of the Fifth Army Camp, dismounted, holding a sword in one hand and the scabbard in the other, and rushed to the white fog that stretched across the entire official road in front of him. His sharp eyes were fixed on the corner of the carriage that was visible in the fog.

Without hesitation, Yuan Feng strode forward and used his sword to open the curtain of the carriage, only to see that the carriage was empty.

On the ground, the slow horse pulling the cart was lying on its side. There were marks of burns on its hair, blood was coming out of its nose, and it had no breath. It was dead.

Behind them, Young Master Tang Ping and other military officers also glanced grimly at the burnt mud ground in the gradually dispersing fog.

Suddenly, everyone noticed that a human-shaped black shadow was slowly walking out of the fog.

In an instant, everyone took up a fighting stance.

"It's me."

A somewhat tired voice was heard, and Zhao Duan pinched his eyebrows with one hand to relieve the fatigue and pain caused by excessive consumption of Qi.

Every time I fight with all my strength, I feel like my kidneys have been drained afterwards... It's terrible...

"Lord Zhao?"

"Zhao Shaobao? I'm glad you're okay!"

Yuan Feng, Tang Ping and others were shocked at first, but after they made sure that Zhao Du was safe and sound, the heavy stone in their hearts suddenly fell to the ground.

Especially the former, after Yuan Feng learned from Xu Zudi's confession that King Heng had a trump card that was enough to kill the world realm, he chased him out worriedly.

Seeing this, Tang Ping stopped fighting and followed with a group of people.

Then they followed the traces all the way back, and now that they had confirmed that the emperor was safe, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"General, have you chased King Heng here? Have you already fought with him?" The young master in silver helmet and armor asked anxiously.

"Yes, we had a fight." Zhao Duan nodded. "Xu Heng is much more treacherous than the rumors say. He escaped this time, probably to deliberately lure me after him so he could capture me."

What? Everyone was shocked. Yuan Feng frowned and asked, "Did he escape?"

Zhao Duan shook his head and pointed to the mist behind him: "It's right behind."

Seeing a group of people subconsciously holding their breath and being on high alert, Zhao Duan said with a somewhat amused tone, "

"Relax, the rebel King Heng has been captured alive by me and is about to be brought back to the camp."

Capture alive... capture alive? Yuan Feng could hardly maintain his attitude of facing a great enemy and looked at Zhao Duan in astonishment.

The young master was also stunned, with a hint of uncertainty on his young and handsome face.

“Da da da…”

At this time, the mist condensed from water vapor dissipated rapidly, and more people walked out of the fog.

The team of musket cavalry under Zhao Duan came out, everyone's clothes were intact and there were no signs of fighting.

The two war horses in the front were freed and their reins were led by walking soldiers.

Lying on a warhorse, tied up with cowhide ropes, the disguised King of Qingzhou, Xu Heng, was in a coma.

On another horse, there was also a woman lying with the charm of time. She was Xiao Dong'er, who was also unconscious. The ropes on her body had been cut, but for stability, another rope was wrapped around her waist and fixed to the saddle.

Before the battle began, King Heng threw the carriage that Xiao Dong'er was in into the sea of ​​fire.

Even though the fire spread and accidentally affected people later, due to Xu Heng's deliberate control, Mrs. Xiao in the carriage was not burned to death, but was suffocated by the heat wave.

"I stabbed Xu Heng, but the wound is not fatal. He will not die. Take him back and ask the military physician to bandage him. I need to escort this father and son back to the capital and report to His Majesty."

Zhao Duan said casually:

"The female head of the Xiao family in Donghu was kidnapped by Prince Heng. The Xiao family is an imperial merchant under the imperial court and should be treated with respect. She needs to be taken back for recuperation. Now that Prince Heng has been captured, the Qingzhou rebels have lost their master and will no longer be able to make a difference."

Was Prince Heng really captured alive? And was the legendary widow of the Yu Kingdom rescued?

Yuan Feng, Tang Ping, and the other military officers were all shocked. They looked at each other and suddenly doubted the information Xu Zudi had given them.

If it was really that dangerous, why did Zhao Duan handle it so easily? Without even a scratch?

But then, everyone thought about how Zhao Duan had arrived at the front line with his troops in just a few hours, yet he had already captured the rebel king alive and defeated the Qingzhou army...

This speed of suppressing the rebellion is simply inhumane...

Is this the legendary King Zhao? Even leading troops in battle is better than us? Doesn't he have any areas where he's not good at anything? How on earth could Your Majesty have unearthed such a monstrous being?

Yuan Feng and other generals from the five camps were in a trance, looking towards Zhao Duan with a mixture of respect and fear. A bold idea came to their minds:

This kind of combat method of leading troops is probably far inferior to that of the "God of War" Xue Shence, right?

But immediately, everyone put this ridiculous idea behind their minds:

If you think about it carefully, the reason why Zhao Duan was able to win a great victory was that he relied on the advantage of firearms. The enemy lacked understanding and preparation, which led to his complete defeat.

Secondly, as everyone knows, the Qingzhou rebels are not good at fighting. Without the evil chariots and the command of Wei Xianzong, they would pose no threat.

"What are you still standing there for? Why don't you go back? I'm still waiting to see the results of this battle." Zhao Duan said calmly.

Everyone just came back to their senses and realized that the fight was not over yet.

…

However, when Zhao Duan and his group hurried back to the front line, they found, as expected, that the confrontation between the two armies had ended.

The Qingzhou army was defeated, and the military flag in the camp was cut down and replaced with the flag of the Shenji Camp.

Old acquaintances such as Chen Gui, the head of the Firearms Bureau, were leading soldiers to capture prisoners of war and take over the results of the battle in the Qingzhou military camp.

Upon learning that Zhao Duan had captured King Heng alive and returned, the soldiers of the two camps were overjoyed:

In just one battle, not only was the rebel army defeated, but the leader was also captured. This was the greatest victory the State of Yu had achieved in decades.

"Where is Shi Meng? I can't see him?" Zhao Duan looked around and asked.

Chen Gui bowed and smiled:

"Although the Qingzhou army was defeated, Wei Xianzong still led a group of elite troops, fighting and retreating, and retreated to the rear. Commander Shi led his troops in pursuit, but they have not yet returned."

Is that so... Zhao Duan nodded, but had no intention of going to help. With Shi Meng's combat power and manpower, plus the high morale, no accidents would happen at all.

The only uncertainty is the final outcome of the battle, such as whether the rebel commander Wei Xianzong can be captured alive.

"The entire Qingzhou rebel army is a bunch of mediocre people, but this Wei Xianzong seems to be an exception." Zhao Duan asked curiously, "Why didn't he have a good reputation before?"

Although he didn't know much about leading troops in battle, he had basic vision and judgment.

Whether it was the three defeats of the Five Army Camps or the battle that just ended, Wei Xianzong's meticulous and cautious arrangements, as well as his decisive and swift on-the-spot reactions, were all remarkable.

If the Qingzhou rebels had not been fighting for power and their morale was not divided, it would have been almost impossible to defeat the rebels in one battle.

"It's like this..." Yuan Feng explained.

Zhao Duan raised his hand to interrupt him: "Let's talk in the tent."

…

Soon, he brought a group of people and sat in the Qingzhou Army's tent, in the position that originally belonged to King Heng.

"Go ahead." Zhao Duan leaned back in his chair, relaxed physically and mentally, and ordered to continue.

Yuan Feng then said:

"The reason why Wei Xianzong is not well-known is that he served in Qingzhou, which ranked second to last among all the military governments, only stronger than Lingnan.

Another reason is that he was promoted to the position not long ago. In fact, the reason he was able to serve as the commander-in-chief was because he was recommended by the Qingliu faction in the court."

"Is this Wei Xianzong a member of the Qingliu Party?" Zhao Duan was stunned.

The latter nodded carefully, hesitated and said:

"It was Imperial Censor Yuan Li who recommended this man to the position."

Yuan Li's people? Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows.

——

Happy New Year's Eve. Well, considering it's almost midnight, it should be Happy New Year. I wish everyone and myself all our wishes come true.

(End of this chapter)