Chapter 186: Chaos in Xiaocheng (Twenty-Six) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"Brother Shen—"
Zhai Le called out to Shen Tang again in a loud voice.
Shen Tang's reaction made his heart sink. Could it be that his brother was right, and that his brother Shen had already joined this group of rebels?
He dared not think about the consequences.
One young man alone has already put him in a difficult situation.
If another powerful figure like Brother Shen, whose strength has yet to be fully explored, were to appear...
Hearing Zhai Le address Shen Tang, the young man's expression remained unchanged, only his smile deepened, and his beautiful eyes became slightly more profound. He looked at Shen Tang: "So what if you know each other? Shen Mama is on my side, right, Mama?"
Shen Tang also did not respond to the young man.
The young man smiled arrogantly and wickedly, twirling his longsword twice in place, showing no urgency in his face towards Zhai Le. He shook his head as if regretfully: "You're not a bad guy. If you were my age, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep you around. But it's a pity—"
His voice suddenly turned cold.
"Who told you to be born a few years too late!"
With a stomp of his foot, the blade shot straight toward Zhai Le.
In terms of individual talent, he and Zhai Le should be roughly equal, except that he is several years older than Zhai Le and his strength is in a period of rapid growth. The gap between the two cannot be bridged by external forces. Even with the assistance of the literary master, Zhai Le is still at a disadvantage!
Zheng—
The young man's speed more than doubled, and seeing the blade rapidly enlarging before him, Zhai Le gritted his teeth and charged forward. Unexpectedly, the young man was forced to stop a little over ten feet in front of him. A figure, not particularly tall, blocked the young man's path.
Accompanied by a sizzling sound that made your eardrums hurt and your teeth ache, the orange sparks from the clashing weapons lit up for a moment.
In the blink of an eye, darkness returned.
Zhai Le asked in surprise, "Brother Shen?"
The young man said, "Mama, will you help him?"
After asking the question, he paused for a moment, then said, "You started the fire."
Although it was a question, it was stated with certainty.
The fire that turned the rear camp upside down and burned most of the supplies and provisions was orchestrated by the short, thin boy standing before him. Crucially—the young man lowered his eyes, watching the two evenly matched fighters clash, and pursed his lips.
He was just about to kill Zhai Le with a single blow.
Although he didn't use his full strength, he didn't hold back either.
This blow might not kill Zhai Le, but it would cripple him.
result--
Surprisingly, this kindred spirit caught him.
This was truly unexpected!
"So what if it is? Isn't this what you wanted to see?"
Shen Tang smiled suddenly, lowered her voice, and appeared calm on the surface, but a closer look would reveal that her situation was not very good. Her tiger's mouth was slightly cracked and a few drops of blood were spilling out. Her wrist was trembling incessantly, and even her forehead was covered with a few beads of sweat due to excessive force.
Even so, she still had the leisure to make a sarcastic remark about the young man.
"Also, I don't mind if you call me 'Darling'."
The young man increased the force in his hand and with one stroke, sent Shen Tang flying.
Seeing that things were not going well, Zhai Le stepped forward to protect him.
Before she could even reach the person, Shen Tang slashed her sword into the ground, carving a six- or seven-foot-long gash before regaining her balance. Glancing out of the corner of her eye at Zhai Le's armor, she chuckled and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her thumb.
He said, "Together!"
Zhai Le was taken aback, then shouted, "Good!"
Upon hearing this, the young man ceased his negligence, and his smile suddenly turned cold.
He stepped forward with his right foot. With just one small step, the dense martial energy surging around him enveloped him, instantly transforming into a complete suit of martial armor.
The young man was rather slender. Although he was not as burly and robust as Gong Shuwu, he was still quite tall.
After transforming into martial armor, it gained an even more inexplicable air of mystery.
It brings immense psychological pressure without you even realizing it!
Unlike Gongshu Wu's armor with its "mountain"-shaped plates, the young man's armor was made of almost impermeable snake scale plates.
She wore snake-patterned wrist guards, shoulder shawls, and a waist guard that resembled a snake with its mouth and tail joined together. She had a pair of terrifying snake eyes, and her skirt armor reached her calves. She wore a pair of black boots.
He flexed his wrists: "Okay, let's have some fun then."
The weapon hanging from her hand was a strangely shaped whip, as thick as a woman's arm, covered in sharp barbs. The tip of the whip resembled a snake's head, with sharp teeth inside. If you were hit by this thing, even if you didn't die, a layer of flesh would be scraped off!
Shen Tang tightened his grip on the sword hilt, weighed the options in his mind, and said to Zhai Le, "Xiao Fang, I'll block him, you shoot the arrow."
Zhai Le was slightly startled: "Brother Chen, could it be—"
Should Brother Shen, a scholar with a refined mind, confront the youth head-on?
Zhai Le thought it wouldn't work.
Shen Tang: "It's four against one, there's no 'but'!"
She thought that Zhai Le should fight fairly and justly.
I couldn't help but internally complain—
Brother, you're about to die!
Forget about gentlemanly conduct! Just do it!
Zhai Le: "...Okay."
He genuinely didn't think that ganging up on someone was shameless. All's fair in war, and anyone with a sense of shame in a fight would be dead long ago. If anything is shameful, then four against one and not being able to escape unscathed is truly shameful. But now isn't the time to explain that…
Seeing Zhai Le step back slightly, the young man finally showed surprise.
Looking at Shen Tang with a heavy gaze, she said, "Mama, your eyesight isn't very good. You chose someone like this. You should have chosen me."
At the very least, he would never let anyone stand in his way.
Shen Tang's lips twitched: "Is this the time to chat?"
But she knew in her heart that the young man was stalling for time.
If the enemy doesn't move, I will move first.
The initiative is in your own hands!
A gleaming longsword slashed through the night sky, and Shen Tang charged at the young man without a word. The young man flicked his wrist, and his long whip, hanging on the ground, moved like a nimble, treacherous snake, its forked tongue spitting out the sword's energy. His momentum undiminished, he attacked Shen Tang, just as three arrows shot in.
Ding ding ding—
The arrow hit its mark precisely.
Ignoring the trajectory of the arrow, Shen Tang almost brushed past it, quickly closing the distance and closing in on the youth, wielding her longsword as if it were an extension of her arm.
As a throat-slitting enthusiast who enjoys slitting people's necks, Shen Tang's first target is also the neck of a young man.
This guy's snake-scale armor is comparable to a tortoise shell.
The sword slashed down, sparks flying, leaving not even a mark. The only weak point was the neck—this guy wasn't wearing a helmet, his head and neck were unprotected. Her sword attacks pressed relentlessly, and with Zhai Le's arrows providing support, the pressure wasn't too great for the time being.
Oh, and we also have to count the assistance of Zhai Huan and Qi Shan's literary spirit. The intertwined black and white literary energy, like ubiquitous, wildly growing vines, transformed into a prison, firmly binding the young man's feet—this was Qi Shan. Zhai Huan, on the other hand, used his literary spirit to suppress and influence the young man's emotions.
The foundation of a warrior is courage.
The braver you are, the stronger your momentum becomes!
The young man was harassed by multiple parties, yet he remained adept at handling it.
The long whip weapon in his hand can be used to block, whip, or entangle.
With a loud clang, Shen Tang used his longsword to knock the whip away, its barbs slamming into the ground. With a tearing sound, it easily ripped up several inches of ground, sending dust flying, making Shen Tang's eyelids twitch.
"Brother Shen, be careful!"
A reminder came from behind Zhai Le.
Shen Tang didn't turn her head, a cold wind swept over her back.
She rolled to the side to dodge, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a long whip, its snake-like head at the end, sniping at her back from a blind spot behind her. If that thing had pierced her—Shen Tang's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. She couldn't help but recall the rubble it had shattered not long ago…
Shen Tang did not believe that her body was harder than a rock.
In just a few breaths, the young man had already exchanged dozens of blows with Shen Tang, his martial energy still solid and abundant, showing no sign of exhaustion. He looked at Shen Tang and suddenly asked, "I'm a little curious, how did Mama set the fire?"
Shen Tang was thrown back several steps by the enormous force.
He gritted his teeth and swallowed the blood that was trying to rise in his throat.
He asked in a cold voice, "Why are you curious about this?"
Young man: "Curiosity is curiosity, do I need a reason?"
Shen Tang's eyes darkened slightly as she silently calculated how much literary energy she still had left to unleash. Relying solely on physical strength and simple literary enhancement, she had virtually no chance of defeating a martial artist clad in martial armor. Strangely, the young man's attitude was quite ambiguous.
She was certain that this guy had not yet harbored any murderous intent.
Yes, there was no intent to kill.
Is he just too carefree, or does he have ulterior motives?
Is it just to buy time?
Watching him wield his whip with such impenetrable skill that even Zhai Le's dozens of cunning arrows couldn't harm him, Shen Tang felt a growing sense of unease.
He then said, "I'll pay you for telling you?"
The young man lowered his long whip in his right hand and caught Zhai Le's three arrows fired at once with his bare left hand. With a slight force, the arrows were crushed and shattered into dust.
Feeling wronged: "Given our close friendship, why do you need compensation?"
Shen Tang secretly gave Qi Shan a hand gesture.
He said, "Of course, everything requires compensation."
The young man then asked her, "What kind of reward does Mama want?"
Shen Tang made an outrageous demand: "How about letting us leave?"
The young man shook his head, glancing at Zhai Le, whose martial energy was mostly depleted and whose face was slightly pale; Zhai Huan, who was concerned about his cousin; and Qi Shan, who was expressionless with his eyes downcast, rarely making a move, but whose every move made him uncomfortable. He thought for a moment: "This won't do."
He explained, "Releasing a tiger back into the mountains will lead to endless troubles."
Pointing at Zhai Le, she continued, "This man can't beat me now, but when he's about my age, I might not be able to defeat the two brothers by myself. Mama's request is really unreasonable. Besides—you even burned my provisions..."
That was food supplies he had been procuring for a long time.
With the fire so large, it's hard to say how many can be saved.
With so many soldiers in the camp, the daily rations are enormous. Without a supply of provisions, morale will naturally collapse. Let alone attacking Xiaocheng, it would be a miracle if they didn't lose their own formation.
Shen Tang coldly interrupted him.
"Isn't this exactly what you wanted to see?"
The young man categorically denied it: "Impossible, this is impossible. Why would I want to see my own army routed?"
His icy gaze swept over Shen Tang's neck: "Oh, Mama has reminded me. Quite a few people have seen Mama with these two, and you're the one I brought in. If I don't behead you, it'll be hard to explain to my sworn brother, and I'll be court-martialed..."
Shen Tang felt a faint but extremely cold killing intent, which rushed towards her with the night wind, raising countless goosebumps.
She said regretfully, "It seems the talks have fallen through."
After saying that, his demeanor suddenly changed.
He shouted, "Zhai Huan, help me!"
As for Qi Yuanliang, there's absolutely no need to remind him.
Zhai Huan was initially puzzled, but seeing Qi Shan's lips move slightly from afar, he knew from the lip movements what kind of incantation it was, and followed without hesitation. As for the doubts in his heart? He didn't need to worry about them for now—because the two of them and Shen Tang were already in the same boat, their fates intertwined!
Pray for goodness: "Wildfire cannot burn it all; the spring breeze brings it back to life!"
Immediately following, Zhai Huan's Word of Power also descended.
Shen Tang's nearly depleted spiritual energy instantly overflowed, and she said, "Three cups of wine and I've made my promise; the Five Sacred Mountains are as light as a feather!"
Ding ding ding—
He lunged forward and unleashed dozens of sword strikes in the blink of an eye.
Feeling an immense force as heavy as a mountain, even the young man had to temporarily avoid the attack. He used the tip of his whip to sneak up on Shen Tang's vitals, employing a strategy of attacking Wei to rescue Zhao, forcing Shen Tang to switch from offense to defense. He then took the opportunity to pull his feet out of the mud and quickly retreated.
Before they could even stand still, the dense sword strikes came again.
Amidst the flashing blades, he saw Shen Tang's astonishingly bright eyes staring straight at him, her red lips uttering a single sentence. She said, "Weren't you eager to know how I set the fire?"
The supplies and provisions were vulnerable to fire attacks.
However, fire attacks are not something that can be used at will.
The fire must be raging and intense, giving the enemy no chance to come to their aid.
The Zhai brothers were useless because they lacked the tools; oil and firewood for starting a fire were hard to come by, not to mention getting close to the rear camp's supplies and provisions—the enemy's eyes weren't just for show. Or perhaps they miscalculated the wind direction, and instead of burning the enemy to death, they themselves perished.
The young man had no choice but to use his true skills to defend against Shen Tang's increasingly powerful attacks, resulting in a constant barrage of clangs and sparks flying everywhere.
Shen Tang suddenly gathered his strength, and the powerful sword energy sent the young man flying several feet away.
At this moment, she felt that the spiritual energy in her Danfu was almost complete.
Suddenly, he pointed his sword at the sky.
Softly reciting: "The east wind releases a thousand trees of flowers at night..."
With a loud bang, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble slightly.
The surging black and white energy was like a giant dragon awakening, restless and agitated, its energy waves sweeping in all directions, sending sand and gravel flying.
call out--
The black and white ink flowed straight up the sword's edge to the sky.
Feeling the rapidly descending and disappearing literary energy, Shen Tang endured wave after wave of intense dizziness and struggled to utter the second half of the incantation.
"And more blown down..."
"Stars fall like rain."
The black and white ink, rising to its peak, exploded above the rebel camp with a bang, its dazzling colors momentarily eclipsing the darkness.
Five-colored rays of light flowed and illuminated the sky.
For a moment, everyone who saw this scene couldn't help but look up.
Dazzling and vibrant!
The soldiers who were holding up basins of water to extinguish the fire were stunned, and the chaotic rear camp seemed to be silenced by a mysterious force.
The world was silent!
The next instant, countless fist-sized sparks rained down from the sky.
The area that had just been extinguished has started burning again.
Some soldiers were unlucky enough to be burned by the sparks.
The fire spread instantly to his entire body.
The excruciating pain caused him to scream and run around, spreading the fire to more places.
puff--
The bearded man chopped off his head with a single blow.
A powerful jet of blood gushed from the bowl-sized wound.
The soldier's body fell, raising dust that landed on the feet of other nearby soldiers, while warm blood splattered across half his face, as if he were waking from a dream.
The main business has returned to its bustling state.
Firefighters, rescuers, sheep slaughterers, cattle slaughterers...
Unnoticed, most of the sparks rushed toward the same target.
Without even glancing in the direction of the young man, Shen Tang knelt down on one knee, using her sword to prop herself up and keep from falling.
Sweat dripped down his face, and the scenery before his eyes flickered between light and shadow.
Using it twice consumes far too much spiritual energy.
With Qi Shan's support for the first time, Shen Tang deliberately controlled the power of Wenxin Yanling, thus preserving most of his combat strength.
The second time, two literary figures provided full assistance.
"Xiaofang, retreat!"
Zhai Le had anticipated this, so he stepped forward, grabbed her arm, pulled her up, and hoisted her onto his shoulder. Zhai Huan glanced at Qi Shan, whose face looked terrible, and also lent a hand to help him share the burden.
Taking advantage of the darkness and the chaos, the four men slipped away!
(ω) Hey
It is also a two-in-one chapter.
The initial draft I wrote had many problems, and it has already been revised.
The answer to last week's no-prize quiz was Xin Qiji's poem "Green Jade Table - Lantern Festival": "The east wind releases a thousand trees of flowers at night, and blows down stars like rain." Some of you guessed it correctly!
(End of this chapter)
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