Chu Jie looked at Ji Moqiu, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
Although it was impolite to criticize other people's beliefs, he still felt that the "god" that Ji Moqiu mentioned was not very reliable.
This battle concerns the safety of our lord and must not be taken lightly.
If there are signs of defeat, either the national fortune of the strategic pass should be mobilized to repel Yun Da and buy time for Shen Tang and the other to escape, or Chu Jie should take action himself. Although Chu Jie's cultivation has improved significantly in the past five years, even more than in the previous ten years, Yun Da's realm is higher than his, and in addition, his martial intent is slow to accumulate. His advantage lies in surprise, but he lacks explosive power, which puts him at a disadvantage.
One wrong move and you could perish here.
He should prepare for both possibilities.
Chu Jie made a decision—saving Shen Youli was saving Chu Wuhui, and if he were to give up his life, it would be worth it.
At this moment, Qi Shan's calm voice drew Chu Jie's attention: "The five virtues of a general are wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, courage, and discipline!"
All five virtues emerge!
It's still two incantations of the Five Virtues of a General!
The blows landed almost simultaneously on Shen Tang and Gong Xichou.
Gong Cheng was mentally prepared. There was a gap in cultivation level between Shen Youli and Yun Da, making a pure two-on-one fight almost impossible. Shen Tang had many talented people under his command, including many capable literary scholars who could embody all five virtues. It was inevitable that literary scholars would step in to assist. Why act like a hero when you can gang up on someone? But the scene before him still shocked him quite a bit. The two incantations came from the same person.
He stood with his arms crossed in the air, his gaze fixed on the strategic pass.
"A wicked scheme, Qi Yuanliang—"
The thought of Qi Shan's other identity involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
The main society of the Northwest Branch of the Pantheon.
Qi Shan below seemed to sense something, raising her eyes to meet Gong Cheng's gaze. Their eyes met briefly in the air before abruptly parting. Gong Cheng twitched the corner of his mouth, no longer thinking about the contents of the Pantheon—the inner Pantheon was a group of self-proclaimed gods, but in reality, they were just old-fashioned worms who refused to be buried even when their necks were rotting; the outer Pantheon was a group of greedy and insatiable politicians who fooled the masses.
From this perspective, he actually sympathized with the King of Shen.
At this very moment, she is embarking on the path to realizing her ideals, full of hope, risking her life to fight against a powerful enemy. Such a person is both the most admirable and the most tragic—who knows when someone she thought was on the same path might stab her in the heart from behind!
Gong Cheng lowered his eyes to suppress the nausea surging within him.
The battlefield is ever-changing. Both Shen Tang and Gong Xi Chou are adept at seizing opportunities. With the Five Virtues of a General activated, their martial energy surges like boiling oil, and their fighting spirit soars. They changed their strategy from a primary attack to a secondary attack, choosing to strike simultaneously. Sword light and halberds attacked Yun Da's vitals from the left and right. Gong Xi Chou roared, "Damn it, knock this old bastard down from the sky!"
Although aerial combat is more flexible, Gong Xichou's advantage still lies on the ground. Whether it is him or his Martial Courage Totem, taking off requires additional martial energy. Yun Da's Martial Courage Totem is special; the sky is almost the latter's home ground, which is disadvantageous to his side.
Gong Xichou's shout was heard not only by Shen Tang, but also by Yun Da and Gong Cheng, who were furious: "Gong Xichou, if you don't have any tacit understanding, at least give me a look, why are you yelling?"
Even if the enemy knows his intentions, why would they fall for it?
Despite saying this, Shen Tang still cooperated with Gong Xi Chou in action, simultaneously pressing down with both his sword and halberd, forcing Yun Da to block with his spear. Don't let the old man's two hundred years of age fool you; his strength is truly immense, and Shen Tang's hand was numb from the impact.
The shockwave from the collision of the three martial energies slammed into Shen Tang's mask, nearly blinding her. The skin beneath the mask throbbed with a dull ache, as if it were about to crack. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gong Xi Chou's long leg, with an inhuman agility and angle, deliver a powerful, charged kick to Yun Da's abdomen. This kick, imbued with immense martial energy, was brimming with both force and ferocity!
Bang--
He kicked me right in!
Yunda's body accelerated and shot towards the ground.
Shen Tang remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was in turmoil.
Whose heels can point forward?
Considering that Gong Xichou's martial spirit totem is a snake, this guy can be considered half a snake spirit, so it's not hard to understand why he's a bit agile. But what Shen Tang couldn't understand at all was that Yun Da could actually brake in mid-air and change direction just before he was about to fall to the ground.
Wherever he passed, ice flowers bloomed beneath his feet, creating a hundred-foot-long road forged from ice and snow, with flying ice flowers, mist, and sparks mingling together. Shen Tang looked at Yun Da, who was rushing up from below in an instant. The old man's target was still her, so she sincerely asked, "Old Deng, I have a question—with this kind of friction, don't the soles of your feet get hot?"
Judging from the speed at which Yunda fell to the ground, it was almost equivalent to a motorcycle going full throttle and then using the heel of his shoe to brake. Leaving aside whether his legs will be ruined—after all, the physique of a martial artist is practically inhuman—the sole of his shoe was incredibly sturdy!
Or is it that the martial arts armor and boots of the valiant warrior are of top quality?
Qi Shan, who was watching the battle: "..."
Chu Jie remained silent: "..."
Gong Cheng, whose eyes had been opened: "..."
In a battle of wits, provoking the opponent with words is a basic tactic.
Yun Da was indeed a seasoned veteran. He had heard countless insults during his early years of fighting, but most of them were just insults and exposing weaknesses—those without parents were called orphans, those without children were said to have no descendants, those whose ancestral homes were captured by the enemy were said to have lost their ancestral graves, and those whose wives and concubines were captured were called turtles—he hated it most when the enemy used these things to talk about.
His father was beheaded, his mother was cleaved in two while protecting his wife, his wife was kidnapped and given away repeatedly, and his tribe was reduced to less than one in ten. Each of these incidents was an untouchable taboo!
In the past, it could still provoke his anger, but now it's different.
He lived for over two hundred years.
It will be a few years before we reach the fourth cycle of the sexagenary cycle.
He could ignore whatever Shen Tang said.
However, Shen Tang didn't resort to insults; instead, she took a different approach.
This actually put Yunda in a difficult position.
Shen Tang roared at Gong Xi Chou, "Gong Xi Chou, you take the lead, I'll support you! Watch how I use words to persuade him!"
Gong Xichou: "..."
Mama's voice is just as loud as his.
With the high priest of the Gongxi tribe and the scholar Wenxin at full strength, the two of them didn't find it too difficult to deal with Yun Da, and even had a slight advantage. However, neither of them forgot that Gong Cheng was also watching them from the side, and could launch a sneak attack at any time. They had to keep an eye on him, so they couldn't focus all their efforts on killing Yun Da. Their goal was still to force Yun Da to fight on the ground instead of in the sky.
Gong Xichou is the main attacker, while she provides support and trash talk.
"Old Deng, Yuan Mou is your successor, isn't he?"
"You heard what the High Priest said. You are just Gu worms raised by the Gongxi clan. Living for more than two hundred years is not considered premature. Why not just sacrifice yourselves? [Enlightenment] to your disciple, Yuanmou is very much like you in every way."
"Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders."
"It's better to benefit our own people than outsiders."
Judging from his physical features, Yun Ce did bear a striking resemblance to the old man before him, but he possessed a more innate, icy demeanor. Shen Tang reasonably suspected that Yun Ce was a descendant of Yun Da, though he didn't know the extent of their blood relation. Yun Da stood on the opposite side of Kang Guo, and Shen Tang wondered if Yun Ce knew something about it; previously, when requesting permission to fight, Yun Ce had deliberately avoided key passes.
Shen Tang was not worried about Yun Ce turning against them.
The current military system in Kangguo has greatly weakened the original tradition of private armies and retainers, and the soldiers' sense of identification with their generals is not as strong as the latter. The troops that Yun Ce is currently leading were not trained by him alone; there are other generals at the secondary passes. Without evidence to prove the problem, Shen Tang would not arbitrarily suspect anyone.
Yun Da seemed surprised that Shen Tang would mention Yun Ce.
His eyes grew even colder: "You're courting death!"
Without hesitation, Shen Tang plummeted downwards, dodging the hundreds of spear shadows that came her way. As if eyes had grown in the back of her head, she cleaved the attacking ice dragon with a backhand sword strike. Using her toes for leverage, the explosions and white mist from the collision of the spear shadows and the ice dragon sealed off the surrounding world, and countless ice crystals shot towards her from all directions.
"Oh, oh, oh, you're getting impatient?"
The relationship between Yun Ce and Yun Da is indeed not simple.
Gong Xi Chou wielded his serpentine halberd, the afterimages of which pressed down on Yun Da. Taking advantage of Yun Da's distraction in fighting Gong Xi Chou, Shen Tang broke through the encirclement with a single sword strike, still smiling brightly. However, specks of blood seeped from her silver-white armor, quite noticeable.
Shen Tang frowned, circulating her martial energy to dispel the chill in her palms. The warmth brought by the martial energy soothed the stinging pain of her small wounds.
It is unknown when these injuries occurred.
But there's one thing she's sure of.
It's definitely related to this endless snowstorm!
"Gongxi Chou!"
This time, she didn't bluntly state the battle plan, but Gong Xichou understood perfectly. Mama meant for him to create an opportunity to force out the old monster's weakness, and then launch a combined attack to knock him to the ground.
Well, to some extent, his understanding is correct.
Below, Chu Jie was on high alert, wary of Gong Cheng's movements. The latter seemed so engrossed in watching that he forgot he was there to attack, not to watch, while simultaneously keeping an eye on the battle on Yun Da's side. He noticed that Shen Tang's Motherly Sword had been swung halfway through when its narrow, long blade melted away like ice and snow, transforming into another object—something that, by all accounts, seemed to have little use on the battlefield: a bamboo hat!
Chu Jie was the strongest among the three fighting above, and even from this distance, his eyes could still capture the ever-changing events. The bamboo hat only flashed for a moment before Shen Tang threw it, the direction of which was precisely towards Yun Da.
The straw hat slipped from his hand and transformed into a whirling, sharp blade.
This seemingly insignificant blade sliced countless tiny gashes in the sky, trailing a long silver tail that wove a net across the heavens.
Chu Jie subconsciously tensed his back.
The blurry image he had just captured kept replaying in his mind.
As it was restored bit by bit, it felt somewhat familiar.
At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the high priest praying on one side—below the pass, patches of green clouds kept emerging, which in a few breaths turned into dense forests, the rugged rocks melted into swamps, and he could vaguely see large areas of red land bubbling up—falling into this place was like stepping into a trap, and even if you didn't die, you would be badly injured.
No wonder Yunda avoids the ground like the plague.
Chu Jie's gaze shifted from Ji Moqiu to the enormous female phantom behind him. The phantom wore a familiar-looking bamboo hat. Although the two were not identical, their styles were clearly related.
He didn't know what that meant.
Qi Shan was completely focused on Shen Tang until she saw the Skynet appear, at which point she breathed a slight sigh of relief. Only then did she notice Chu Jie's unusual reaction and the location of his gaze.
He asked, "You noticed it too?"
Chu Jie said, "It's quite difficult to ignore."
What exactly is the Lord's status within the Gongxi clan?
The veil hanging from the illusory hat was made of a light, airy material, but Chu Jie could never see the illusory figure's face, or rather, even if he could see it clearly, he wouldn't remember it. Fortunately, Chu Jie didn't care about such trivial details; whatever the master's identity was, it didn't matter that Chu Yao was his creditor.
"Gongxi Chou—"
The so-called "Sky Net" is a giant net composed of countless "Sky Cracks." These cracks are very small, like a cut on the skin caused by the serrations of grass blades, often healing before the blood can even seep out. Shen Tang's current strength can only be maintained for a very short time, but it is enough to trap a person in an area, forcing the opponent to be distracted, reducing their range of movement, and facilitating Gong Xi Chou's attack.
Gong Xichou did not miss this opportunity either.
He flashed forward, unleashing a palm strike that resembled a small mountain, crashing down on Yun Da: "Come on, old man!"
"break!"
Break through the surface with a single point!
Yun Da's expression remained completely calm.
Without dodging, yielding, or retreating, the tip of the spear flickers like a palm.
The two collided, and the drifting snowflakes were shattered by an invisible ripple, frozen in mid-air, not falling an inch for several breaths. This ripple also spread to the location of Shen Tang and Gong Xi Chou, and a violent and cold aura surged through their meridians.
A murderous glint flashed in Yun Da's eyes.
But soon, that murderous intent was replaced by astonishment.
Shen Tang appeared before him without his noticing, a bright, childlike smile on her face. She raised a hand that was a few sizes smaller than Gong Xi Chou's, but no less powerful.
It was at this moment that Yunda realized her senses had been stretched considerably. As her eyes moved, everything in sight seemed to move in slow motion, even her own limbs seemed to sink into the mire. Only the voice of the person in front of her was clear and normal. She chuckled, "Oh dear, I finally got out for some fresh air, and here I am, such an eyesore of an old man, his teeth are about to fall out!"
Yunda finally lost his composure.
Shen Tang's slap slowly magnified in his vision.
The speed seemed to have been deliberately slowed down.
Despite the sensory illusion, Yunda "struggled" to raise his arm and catch the attack. Their speeds were both perfectly balanced, canceling each other out.
Soon, the skin beneath the armor felt the pressure.
At first, it was indistinct, like a dragonfly or butterfly hovering above it; its weight was almost imperceptible unless one paid close attention. Then, the weight increased to that of a small pebble, gradually becoming a massive rock… Its weight, like a wild horse, surged upwards relentlessly.
In the blink of an eye, it surpassed the combined attack of Gong Xichou and Shen Tang.
Moreover, this trend shows no signs of slowing down.
When the force exceeded Yunda's tolerance limit, his body fell uncontrollably towards the ground where the plants were swaying wildly.
As they fell into the air, their affected senses returned to normal.
Snowflakes drifted in the wind, and banners fluttered at the strategic pass.
Yunda remained calm and tried to steady himself.
only--
The plants on the ground, poised to sprout, do not dry out.
The plants below wriggled, like countless snakes in a snake pit, greedily extending and crawling upwards, drawn by the scent of their prey. They intertwined, one after another, appearing at first glance as a bloated tumor rising from the ground, its gaping maw swallowing any prey that dared to enter its territory. Then, it was continuously engulfed and covered by the ever-growing vines and trees, a sight that made one's pupils constrict.
Chu Jie snapped out of his daze, his back drenched in sweat.
"Isn't this... a bit too much—"
He couldn't think of a suitable idiom for the time being.
Ji Moqiu did not relax: "It's not over yet."
Shen Tang and Gong Xi Chou in the sky knew this, and Gong Cheng knew it even better. He stopped Gong Xi Chou, who was about to beat a dog when he was down, and forced a stiff smile onto his indifferent face.
"We were interrupted last time, shall we continue this time?"
|ω`)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
