Chapter 1428: Seizing the Bridge, Blowing Up the Waterway (19) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
The monk was surprised.
After a moment's thought, he realized that this group must have taken advantage of the shift in frontline firepower to sneak up and launch a surprise attack. The handsome young man before him exuded an aura of righteousness, the kind of person who was hard to dislike at first glance. The mage estimated Yun Ce's appearance and age, and then, recalling the intelligence he had read about Kang State, quickly thought of someone: "Amitabha, are you General Yun?"
Yun Ce pursed his lips slightly, offering no reply.
He unleashed countless icy blue spear shadows, each wrapped in a chilling frost, rushing towards the mage like a rolling sea of clouds. The mage flicked a string of jade prayer beads from his sleeve, his hands swiftly clasped together. As his martial energy surged, golden light burst forth from the beads, dazzlingly bright.
Suddenly, everything went white before Yun Ce's eyes.
The sky and earth were a ghastly white expanse, with no other colors visible.
He suddenly closed his eyes.
The lingering light and shadow clung to the bone like maggots, an unyielding spirit.
The sudden loss of sight caused Yun Ce to slightly shift the position of his spear, and with a "clang," the spear tip struck a hard object.
Without hesitation, Yun Ce unleashed a devastating attack, his swift spear winds cleaving through the surrounding obstacles with unstoppable force, yet no dull thud of flesh being sliced was heard. A moment later, a faint sound like a tree branch bending slightly under a heavy weight was heard, followed by another spear thrust, like a dragon entering the sea. The mage raised his hand to retrieve his prayer beads, and the next second, streaks of ice flowers flew through the air, nearly freezing several of his toes to death.
"Ah, General Yun—"
Taking advantage of Yun Ce's temporary blindness and his own skill in physical combat, the mage was not skewered into meat skewers by Yun Ce for the time being.
However, this is not a long-term solution.
Firstly, the mage's cultivation level is inferior to Yun Ce's. Secondly, this place is flat ground rather than an iron chain bridge, so the mage cannot gain an advantage. Thirdly, Yun Ce's martial arts style combines strength and flexibility, so he is not greatly affected by the mineral vein below. With a little adaptation, he can kill the mage who is jumping up and down.
Once Yun Ce gets used to it, he can hit a mage with a dozen or so shots.
The monk's bald head began to sweat.
"General Yun—"
"You scoundrel, do you have any last words?"
Yun Ce's voice was clear and authoritative.
With such an appearance, he truly looks like a god descended to earth.
The monk, slightly out of breath, said, "This old monk may not be your enemy!"
The words had barely left his lips when countless silver-white spear shadows rained down, overwhelming everything in their path. The mage cursed inwardly, "Such a hot-tempered young man!" and once again channeled his martial energy to create a protective aura around himself. A pale golden humanoid phantom blossomed from within him, transforming into a ten-foot-tall, cross-legged Buddha illusion. This act served as an impenetrable shield, forcefully withstanding Yun Ce's spear thrust, but it couldn't withstand the ice flowers spreading from the spear tip, which would then explode. A series of ice shards flew everywhere, the golden illusion shattered, and the immense impact sent the mage flying backward, rolling several times.
Yun Ce slowly opened his tightly closed eyes.
The scenery in front of you gradually changes from blurry to real.
The spear tip was pressed against the mage's neck, a point of vulnerability, ready to stab him at any moment. Yun Ce's face was cold: "Not an enemy?"
He also noticed that something was off about the bald monk.
The opponent's aura was unstable, and his martial energy was not at its peak. Clearly, this demonic monk had been fighting someone before encountering him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been forced to this point after only a few exchanges. Another point is that this monk had no will to fight.
In that case, he wouldn't mind taking a little time to listen to the other party's explanation.
"What makes you say that?"
The discomfort in his eyes had not completely subsided, and Yun Ce's eyes still gleamed with a cold killing intent as he looked down at the mage's every move.
The mage lowered his eyes to look at the silver spear that Yun Ce had condensed from the ice and snow of heaven and earth, and sighed inwardly at its beauty, feeling that it looked somewhat familiar.
"I only came here to repay a debt of gratitude from my early years. Now that the debt is settled, I will naturally no longer interfere in worldly struggles." The monk looked up at Yun Ce's eyes again. There was no pity in them, they were as deep as ink, which made him feel uneasy. In a flash, the monk remembered an old incident, "General Yun's spear technique looks familiar."
Yun Ce remained silent, coldly watching what other nonsense the demonic monk might utter.
The monk continued, “Before I became a monk, I served the royal court in the secular world, fighting in the east and west. My superior at that time was a former deputy general of General Yun Da of the Wu Kingdom. My superior once said that the man’s spear technique was the most beautiful in the world, and it is said that he has gone into seclusion.”
Yun Ce and Yun Da share the same surname.
Both have the same attributes and shooting skills.
Even if they aren't grandfather and grandson, they should at least be of the same lineage.
Upon hearing the monk introduce himself, Yun Ce finally showed some emotion and slightly moved the spear tip away. This action was undoubtedly like removing the deadly shackles from the monk's neck. He got up from the ground and was about to ask again when he heard Yun Ce say, "My master passed away several years ago."
The monk: "..."
They really are descendants of Yunda.
After calculating my age, I couldn't help but sigh twice.
Even a rank 20 Marquis doesn't live as long as one might imagine.
The monk chanted a Buddhist prayer to test Yun Ce's attitude.
"Where is General Yun buried?"
Out of respect for the fellow disciples Yun Ce and Xianyu Jian, and to avoid affecting their prestige, Shen Tang intentionally concealed the details of Yun Da's participation in the Northern Desert battle. Yun Da assisted the Northern Desert without revealing his identity; the outside world only knew him as a reclusive 20th-rank Marquis, and at most, his surname. Other details were known only to a few, which facilitated Shen Tang's subsequent actions.
The intelligence from the Allied forces in the central region was also incomplete.
When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Yun Ce tries his best not to think about the mistake his mentor made in his later years due to a momentary lapse of judgment, and instead remembers more of his good deeds.
Upon suddenly hearing about an old monk who had some roundabout connection to his mentor, Yun Ce's first reaction was to be on guard: "What for?"
The monk said, "I would like to offer incense at the old general's grave."
If Yun Ce agrees, it means he has no intention of killing him; if he does not agree, the mage will have no choice but to fight desperately for a way to survive.
Yun Ce did not put away his spear: "Within the territory of Mozhou."
"Within the territory of Mozhou? The old general was originally..." The mage thought carefully, recalling that there seemed to be news that Yunda was a foreigner. A figure from a hundred years ago, gone and forgotten, who could remember so clearly?
Just as he was muttering to himself, a beam of light pierced through his peripheral vision and exploded not far behind him. The shockwave from the close-range explosion nearly knocked the mage off his feet. He raised his hand to wipe the blood from his face and turned to see a spear piercing through the hearts of three burly men.
Yun Ce raised his hand and pulled the spear back into his palm.
With a flick of his gun, he let the blood bloom and gleam on the ground.
His voice was clear and unyielding: "Keep him under guard."
Several soldiers stepped forward, shackled the mage tightly, and took him prisoner. The mage didn't struggle, his smile remaining benevolent. (Just kidding, he wasn't harmless now; Yun Ce was about to personally eliminate him!) Yun Ce turned and gave an order to another man.
"I'm sorry to trouble you, Master Peking University."
After Yun Ce finished speaking, the mage saw a tall, slender woman approach in a few leaps, carrying a strange toolbox on her back that was larger than her own body. The woman asked, "Is it a big fish?"
The monk: "..."
Isn't it impolite to call him a big fish to his face?
Yun Ce's several deputy generals are all capable, and with his master's disciple Gu commanding the battle, his main task is to eliminate those relatively strong obstacles. If they can clear a path, it will facilitate the advance of their own troops. However, he did not expect to capture a mage right away, which is indeed a big fish: "This person's identity is somewhat complicated, but it is better for him to voluntarily suspend the fighting than to fight us to the death. Let's send someone to keep an eye on him first, and report to the lord after the battle is over."
Bei Qiu nodded: "Okay."
The monk's hands were bound behind his back.
He knew the next step was to temporarily seal his alchemy chamber to prevent him from betraying him, and he was willing to cooperate. Unexpectedly, Yun Ce picked up his spear and left. The mage's expression froze for a moment, then his gaze met the "Master Craftsman of the North" Yun Ce had mentioned: "He's gone?"
Did you forget some important steps?
Apart from Yun Ce, no one else present could seal themselves off.
Just as the monk was beginning to feel a sense of triumph, his lower abdomen suddenly began to tighten violently. Without needing to look inside, he could see countless invisible shackles falling from all directions toward his Danfu and Wudan, instantly forming an absolute seal. He finally managed to catch his breath, and when he looked down, he saw Bei Qiu's right hand, which was about to retract.
"you--"
The monk then understood why Yun Ce had called Bei Qiu over.
Bei Qiu whispered, "Behave yourself!"
The monk felt the martial energy within his meridians being strangely sealed and absorbed by his dantian, leaving it completely empty before he finally stopped thinking about anything else: "I am a monk, how can you be so rude, young man?"
"Kangguo doesn't worship Buddhism, so what's wrong with monks?"
In the past, some monks in certain areas did indeed try to rebel against the Heavenly Gang, refusing to hand over the land under their temples' names and frequently invoking Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Some large temples even maintained warrior monks whose numbers rivaled those of their private retinues, but they were all eventually dealt with.
The Buddha statues were all smashed and melted down to make copper coins.
Can't clay sculptures demonstrate your devotion to Buddhism? Can't clay sculptures demonstrate the compassion of all the gods and Buddhas for humanity? Why must you insist on bronze statues and gilded bodies, robbing the national treasury of metal? How many camps of Buddhas are there in the Western Paradise?
[A monk should act like a monk. It's fine to farm one's own land, but why imitate wealthy landowners who fence off land and support tenants?]
She's a tenant farmer, but they don't even pay her taxes.
They not only refused to pay her taxes but also threatened and cursed her, saying that her country would be unstable.
How could Shen Tang tolerate such a temper?
He directly ordered that all temples within the territory must use clay statues for their offerings, and that disobedience was permissible, but the outcome would be to see who ultimately couldn't protect their own temple.
Bei Qiu, who comes from the Mohist school, is even less likely to be swayed by the sorcerer's ideas.
The monk noticed the "Non-Aggression" sword-ruler in Bei Qiu's hand. This ruler was as thick as a finger joint; a single blow from it, even if it didn't kill, would certainly cook the flesh. The monk swallowed back the words he was about to say: "This old monk is an elderly monk!"
Even if you don't worship Buddhism, shouldn't you at least respect the elderly?
How old are you?
"I don't remember exactly, but I'm over a hundred years old."
Bei Qiu choked: "..."
After a while, she waved to the soldiers escorting the sorcerer, signaling them to remove the wooden shackles from the sorcerer's shoulders: "I sealed the dantian with a special method of the Mo family. Old sorcerer, don't run around, lest you get your hands on a knife and lose your life for no reason."
This is a warning.
Don't cause any trouble.
The monk sighed, "This old monk knows better."
He immediately discovered that the seal was very strange when he looked inside.
At first glance, it seems easy; knowing one plus one equals a simple equation can solve it. The problem is that this is only the tip of the iceberg of the seal. The rest requires arithmetic, with each step interconnected. The mage is not good at calculations, and if he makes a mistake, who knows what uncontrollable consequences might follow.
Have I really been living in seclusion for too long?
He had heard of the Mohist school, but—
The monk discreetly glanced at the group of men and women who looked somewhat alike. He noticed that the soldiers were basically in units of five, but not in the normal squads or platoons. Instead, they consisted of four warriors and one Mohist carrying a toolbox for "universal love".
Overall, it is a well-rounded unit with both offensive and defensive capabilities.
The Mohist leader kept taking things out of the back.
At first glance, those things looked like dark, round spheres. When thrown, they produced a loud explosion, and some could even start small fires. These special flames seemed harder to extinguish than ordinary fires, burning wherever they touched. The mage sniffed carefully.
"It doesn't seem like flammable oil..."
He was curious and wanted to crane his neck to see.
As soon as he poked his head out, Bei Qiu pressed his head down and forced him back into the makeshift shelter. A flint fell nearby and exploded at close range, the fragments hitting the heavy shield with a dull crackling sound.
Bei Qiu whispered, "What are you doing? Are you rushing to find Nirvana?"
More than a hundred black spheres were thrown out from behind the shield wall.
The strength and accuracy of the soldiers are unparalleled.
The barrage of explosions devastated the enemy's rear supply lines, causing widespread chaos and heavy losses. Yun Ce further diverted the high-level martial artists rushing to their aid. His aim wasn't to kill, but to create maximum destruction and as much noise as possible…
The monk asked, "What is that?"
Kita-kyu said, "This is the masterpiece of the Shosoin."
It was also one of Bei Qiu's proudest creations, and it was actually the first time it was used in an important battle after the improvements.
If they can gain fame in one battle, the status of the Mohist school will surely be elevated to a new level.
Master: "...The Directorate of Works?"
If I remember correctly, Yun Ce just called this woman "Master Craftsman"?
Could it be the so-called Grand Master of the Imperial Workshops?
Upon closer observation, the monk also noticed a detail.
There is a special mineral vein beneath this place. The magnetic field of the vein can affect the surrounding天地气 (heaven and earth energy), greatly restricting martial artists. Strangely, this sphere produced by the Imperial Workshop is different; its explosive power is considerable.
Or is this power already reduced?
The mage crouched down and moved closer to Bei Qiu.
His size was equivalent to two strong soldiers, further compressing the already limited space in the bunker. His movement nearly knocked Bei Qiu off her feet. She glanced sideways at the talkative old monk with some displeasure: "Unaffected."
"Screech—"
The monk gasped.
Bei Qiu said, "This item is not easy to make, and its power is only so-so. It can only deal with ordinary stragglers, and it can't even touch elite troops. Let alone someone of your strength..."
Was the old monk's behavior too exaggerated?
The monk said, "That's elsewhere."
In a battlefield where martial energy is restricted, this item is a divine weapon. With enough of them, how could the Allied forces in the central Stone Fortress line possibly hold?
How many did you bring?
Bei Qiu's threatening gaze swept across the old monk's neck.
The monk scoffed, "Young man, you're so stingy."
Although this force's attack on Stone Castle from the rear did catch the central Allied forces off guard, it was not their main force. The main force was trapped on the other side of the long iron chain bridge, and their efforts were in vain as they couldn't break through.
Yun Ce can at most provide some restraint and interference.
The monk squinted: "I bet you can't take it down."
Bei Qiu snorted: "Is that so?"
(=`=；)ゞ
Sigh, the weight I lost in three months has been more than half of it back in a year.
Waaaaah
P.S.: In previous years, if I made an appointment for tax refund on the 1st, the money would arrive in my account on the 6th. This year, it's the 10th and there's still no sign of it. It's really heartbreaking.
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