Longzang

Chapter 342 The Meat at My Mouth
Xu Zhongxing slowly raised his hand and waved it forward, which boosted the morale of the army and increased their speed of advance. At the same time, more than ten messengers on horseback rushed to the rear to urge the infantry behind them to speed up and follow.

Soon, Xuanwei San came into view. Looking at the low, seemingly useless city wall, Xu Zhongxing frowned slightly, momentarily unsure of how to proceed.

The city was completely undefended, yet there was a clear military aura emanating from within, indicating that a large force was hidden there.

Fan Donghe shook his head upon seeing this, saying, "These soldiers are poorly trained; they can't even conceal their military spirit. Judging by their aura, there must be ten thousand men lying in ambush in the city."

Xu Zhongxing said, "If meat is offered to you, of course you have to eat it."

He immediately ordered the rear guard to deploy 30,000 infantry to attack the city. After making the arrangements, Xu Zhongxing led his army to bypass Xuan Weisan and continue deeper into the city, preparing to engage Wei Yuan's main force in a decisive battle.

After passing Xuanwei San, they hadn't gone far when Xu Zhongxing and Fan Donghe saw something they had never seen before.

Fan Donghe rubbed his eyes and looked closely. He saw wooden stakes nailed to a flat area of ​​ground, with iron wires wrapped around them in the middle. The wires were covered with countless tiny barbs, and there were three or four layers of such obstacles.

Behind these unprecedented obstacles, a vast amount of military energy was gathering, clearly indicating that the main force of the domain was here. However, they were all hidden in the trenches, with only their heads showing.

Xu Zhongxing and Fan Donghe looked at each other in bewilderment; they had never seen a defense strategy that involved digging trenches instead of building walls.

After observing for a moment, Fan Donghe said, "It's a good way to defend against cavalry. However, such a dispersed deployment is quite slow to mobilize. We only need to concentrate our attack on one point to cut them in two!"

"Let's wait for the infantry to come up from the rear."

Xu Zhongxing immediately dispatched two cavalry squads to flank the position from the left and right sides to scout for any other ambushes. Judging from their morale, Xu Zhongxing knew that there were at least 50,000 men ahead, and the entire force of the region should be concentrated here.

However, while Xu Zhongxing did not attack, Wei Yuan made a move. A sharp whistling sound rang out in the sky as several railgun shells hurtled towards them!

"What is this?" Xu Zhongxing drew his sword, but before he could make a move, Fan Donghe had already unleashed three slashes of light.

The three cannonballs suddenly changed direction, dodging the blade's gleam, and then exploded in mid-air, scattering dozens of bullets. Some of the bullets then exploded in the air, some emitting blinding flashes, others producing terrifying thunderous roars. Countless warhorses below were immediately startled, and the cavalry fell into chaos.

Seven or eight bullets landed unexpectedly on the ground before exploding, instantly blasting dozens of cavalrymen into the air.

In the center of the realm, Yu Zhizhuo, based on the information sent back from the front, personally loaded empty bullets with white lines onto the cannonballs and then placed them into the magic array. The vast majority of the cannonballs fired in this round were empty tubes without any explosives.

At the front line, Fan Donghe unleashed hundreds of sword beams, the surging light cleaving through all the bullets in mid-air, only to find that they were almost all empty.

Feeling mocked enraged Fan Donghe instantly; if Xu Zhongxing hadn't been the commander, he would have charged into the enemy lines.

The air was filled with howling winds as rounds of shells rained down, forcing even Xu Zhongxing to take action personally. At the same time, all officers above the mid-stage of the Dao Foundation realm also had to intervene.

Xu Zhongxing launched fireworks and urgently summoned an elder from the rear army. The three of them worked together and barely managed to block the bombardment. However, there were still some that slipped through the net from time to time. Every time a shell landed, it would take away more than a dozen cavalrymen.

The cannonballs from Qingming seemed endless, and it was clear that morale was about to collapse. Xu Zhongxing made a decisive decision, ordering his men to inform the rear army to advance at full speed and reach the battlefield as quickly as possible. Then he said to Fan Donghe and Elder Faxiang, "Let's attack together and clear a path!"

The three masters attacked simultaneously, their power earth-shattering. Three torrents, each a hundred feet long, crashed onto the battlefield, instantly clearing away all obstacles and opening up three passages!

Xu Zhongxing merely frowned slightly.

The three Dharma Aspects' attack appeared imposing, but its actual power was less than expected. It was clearly weakened by the power of the realm, and then further diminished by the enemy's military aura, ultimately leaving only 70% of its original power. Moreover, the enemy was cunning, hiding entirely in the trenches. As a result, even with the three Dharma Aspects' full-force attack, the aftershocks only killed less than a hundred enemy soldiers.

But Xu Zhongxing couldn't care less about that now. He brandished his longsword and led the heavy cavalry in a charge!
In the blink of an eye, the cavalry charged to the front of the position. The captains at the Foundation Establishment stage unleashed sword energy and saber light to break through the barbed wire in front of them, or they used their Daoist magic to enhance their mounts, leaping more than ten feet high and jumping directly over the barbed wire.

However, just as they broke through the first layer of barbed wire, a series of explosions suddenly rang out on the battlefield. Many heavy cavalrymen stepped on something and were blown into the air along with their horses!

Many warhorses were startled and reared up. At this moment, the defenders in the position emerged, and the roar of the horses filled the air. In an instant, the area above the position was shrouded in thick smoke!

Countless cavalrymen were sent flying backwards, while stray horses crashed into the barbed wire, choked and thrown to the ground. Explosions echoed across the front lines, and pre-planted mines were constantly being triggered, turning this attack into a complete disaster.

Countless cavalrymen suddenly fell to the ground, with no idea where the attack came from. All they could see was the increasing and thickening smoke on the battlefield, with flashes of fire constantly appearing within the smoke. Almost every time a flash of fire appeared, a knight would inexplicably fall from his horse!
Fan Donghe's eyes turned bloodshot as he roared and charged forward, drawing his sword.

At that moment, eight immortal swords pierced through the air, drawing him to the side. An ethereal old Taoist appeared, saying from afar, "You barbarian, how dare you attack mortals? Don't you have any shame? This old Taoist couldn't stand by and watch, and had to teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!"

Fan Donghe deflected eight immortal swords with a single strike, realizing they were all weak and ineffective. He decided to ignore the old Taoist and rush into the formation to rescue his elite cavalry, whom he had led for many years. Unexpectedly, the old Taoist's voice suddenly grew louder: "So you really dare not fight this true immortal! Looking at your thick eyebrows and big eyes, you're just a coward! How about this: if you can withstand three of my sword strikes without dying, I'll turn around and leave!"

Fan Donghe flew into a rage and roared, "You bastard, you're asking for death!"

He soared into the sky, wielding his sword with the force of splitting mountains and parting seas, aiming at this old bastard whose mouth was sharper than a sword!
Seeing the sword strike down, the old Taoist priest sneered and said loudly, "Nothing special!"

He spoke with great bravado, but in reality, he turned and fled on the spot, not daring to take the attack.

The old Taoist's decisiveness surprised Fan Donghe, who then realized that the old Taoist was really just good with words.

But the other party was still a Dharma Aspect, and killing him was much more useful than tens of thousands of miscellaneous soldiers. Fan Donghe immediately gave chase, determined to kill the talkative old Taoist!

The two Dharma Avatars flew at full speed, crossing the boundary in the blink of an eye and rushing to the west. Fan Donghe suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes as a hundred-zhang-long giant python suddenly descended from the sky, spewing down a mouthful of poisonous mist!
Fan Donghe felt a chill run down his spine and dared not be careless, focusing all his attention on fighting the giant python.

After only a few exchanges, he sensed that the python possessed three parts dragon bloodline, and its poisonous gas was extremely potent. Although it was no match for him, if he were to be poisoned, he might truly perish in this shattered realm. At this moment, he disregarded the old Taoist priest and focused on fighting the python, gradually gaining the upper hand.

At this moment, the old Taoist returned to the battlefield. Eight immortal swords carefully bypassed Xu Zhongxing and slashed at the Dharma Elder, saying, "You white-haired fool! You ignorant old man! Do you dare to fight this old Taoist for three days and three nights…"

Xu Zhongxing had no time to pay attention to the rogue old Taoist. At this moment, the cavalry had suffered heavy casualties, and only a few managed to charge into the position, but they were either shot down immediately or their horses slipped and fell in the trenches. The army's morale was wavering, and it was showing signs of collapse.

Without saying a word, Xu Zhongxing instantly appeared in front of the formation and swung his sword down. No sword energy was visible, but hundreds of Qingming warriors in the trench suddenly died silently, including more than a dozen Dao Foundation cultivators!

This sword strike, 'Killing Life,' is one of Xu Zhongxing's killing moves, belonging to the category of battle formation weapons. Back then, he used this sword to kill thousands of witch tribesmen in one battle, leading the remaining troops to fight their way out of the encirclement.

Suddenly, someone deep within the position let out a heavy groan, followed by a flash of bright red light, and a hundred-foot-long, mournful sword light pierced across the position, slashing back at Xu Zhongxing!

Xu Zhongxing swung his sword to meet the attack, but as soon as he raised the sword, he realized that the blade and even his own hand holding the sword were faintly wrapped in wisps of black energy, which weakened the power of his sword and made his magic power flow slightly slower!

Even the usually composed Xu Zhongxing was now both shocked and furious, thinking to himself, "How vicious! They tricked me into killing so many people with great fortune so that I would be burdened by karma!"

The longsword clashed with the red sword light, both annihilating each other in a draw. The spilled sword energy struck several cavalrymen, instantly taking their lives.

Xu Zhongxing's face turned ashen, and his hands trembled slightly with anger. In their brief exchange, he had realized that although his opponent possessed unparalleled talent, his true cultivation level was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, his own army's morale was wavering, offering no help to Xu Zhongxing and even becoming a burden; further suppressed by the power of the realm, Xu Zhongxing's final sword strike only had eight-tenths of its power remaining.

With the aid of military aura, the opponent's power increased by at least 50%, and the boost from the power of the realm was also considerable. In addition, he was wielding a true immortal sword, and he actually fought Xu Zhongxing to a standstill!
Xu Zhongxing has been a genius among geniuses since childhood. He has been invincible among his peers and even surpassed Fen Hai, who is also a Dharma Aspect. However, he was challenged by a junior who was of a higher level and they fought to a draw!
In the past, it was always Xu Zhongxing who challenged others beyond his level; he had never been challenged by a junior before.
Wei Yuan was both shocked and furious. His opponent had actually killed a hundred of his subordinates with a single sword strike. The first line of troops were all elites at least at the Bone Forging Realm, not to mention more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators! Wei Yuan temporarily enhanced their luck, but it had no effect whatsoever!

Seeing Xu Zhongxing raise his longsword again, Wei Yuan steeled his heart and blessed the thousands of people in front of Xu Zhongxing with his own luck, hoping to save them at least a little.

A dim yellow light appeared on the tip of Wei Yuan's spear, but it quickly went out. Xu Zhongxing was no ordinary Dharma Aspect cultivator; Wei Yuan's spear had almost no chance of hitting him. He had to wait for the right opportunity.

At this moment, in the center of the army formation, Zhang Sheng wielded the Crimson Night Immortal-Slaying Sword, unleashing a barrage of hundred-foot-long sword energies that swept towards Xu Zhongxing! The sword energies were incredibly powerful, forcing Xu Zhongxing to dismantle and defend against them. However, Zhang Sheng was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, with limited magical power; such a frenzied attack would likely leave him unable to withstand even half a cup of tea's worth of blows.

However, Wei Yuan understood Zhang Sheng's intention and immediately ordered a halt to firing.

The gunfire suddenly ceased, an unbelievable silence descending. The Xu family's iron cavalry finally broke through the barriers, surging into the billowing smoke like a torrent!

However, they soon discovered that the spiderweb-like trenches were a nightmare for the cavalry. Enemy soldiers were everywhere in the trenches, wielding weapons that looked like steel rods. With a flash of fire, they would have a large hole in their bodies.

An indescribable feeling quietly descended upon Xu Zhongxing, who suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He then saw the soldiers of the realm transform into gods and demons, while his own cavalry were slaughtered in droves like meat pigs!

This was Xu Zhongxing's first direct encounter with the masses.

He disregarded everything else and charged into the enemy lines, unleashing thirteen sword strikes in quick succession, instantly reaping thousands of lives and causing a break in Qingming's firepower, thus saving the remaining cavalry.

At this moment, the cavalry retreated, and Xu Zhongxing personally covered their retreat with his sword.

The black aura had already quietly climbed up to his neck, but it was hidden by his armor and remained unnoticed.

(End of this chapter)