Longzang

Chapter 559 Red Lotus Fire
Ten days later, the Land of Rain attacked again.

In the previous battle, the Witch Clan was repelled by Wei Yuan's heavily armored warriors. In this battle, Hongye clearly had a specific strategy in mind, deploying a full 30,000 elite heavy cavalrymen on the battlefield, all mounted on giant swamp crocodiles. This cavalry force was clearly looking for a decisive battle with Wei Yuan's elite troops.

Furthermore, the proportion of elite soldiers in the Wu tribe's army has significantly increased, and most of the mid-level officers are Wu tribe nobles, whose fighting spirit is far superior to that of commoners and slaves. Three more altars have also been added; more altars mean more sacrificial power, which can suppress the army's morale and stabilize its fighting spirit.

This time, if Wei Yuan wants to crush the Wu Clan in open field battles again, he will need to put in much more effort.

The witch race has changed, and so has the human race.

Not only has the number of small fortresses along the front line increased significantly, but all the fortresses in the first row have also been fitted with steel armor. The ruins of Ding'an City and the fortress area in the east of the city have now been connected, with a total of nearly two hundred small fortresses built.

Wei Yuan deployed his army behind the fortress area, this time consisting of five heavily armored legions. The gleaming armor and the steel roof of the fortress shone brightly against the sky, presenting the Wu tribe with a vast expanse of steel, where heaven and earth met, an imposing sight.

In this battle, the fighting spirit of the Wu tribe was significantly enhanced. Every half hour, the Wild Witch would beat the Sky-Piercing War Drum to replenish the Wu tribe troops with bloodlust and protective spells.

Thus, a massive army of the Wu tribe swept across the fortress area and clashed with the Qingming army arrayed behind them. Both sides suffered heavy casualties as soon as they engaged in battle, and Wei Yuan had no choice but to immediately deploy five more heavy armored legions to make up for the shortage of troops.

At this moment, the swamp crocodile cavalry charged in with murderous intent, bypassing the fortress area and heading straight for Wei Yuan's heavily armored legion. However, they did not expect that as soon as they began to move, missiles began to fall one after another, blasting them all the way to the front of the Qingming army formation. Finally, they were hit by a Jade Mountain, which crushed hundreds of riders to death.

Wei Yuan then used the Dragon Soaring Army to hold off the Swamp Crocodile Legion. Five heavy-armored legions, including the previously hidden Dragon Wing Heavy Cavalry, finally made their appearance, charging the Swamp Crocodile Knights from the flank and rear.

This battle was like two determined gladiators exchanging blows and kicks. Both sides were of steely resolve; many units were wiped out, but the remaining troops continued to fight without showing any sign of retreat.

The only difference is that Wei Yuan's troops not only have an iron will, but their bodies are also covered in steel.

The Swamp Crocodile Legion is the most elite force in the Rain Country, and it is also the sharp blade that Momiji relies on to rampage through the lowlands and intimidate other countries.

In order to eliminate this force, Wei Yuan built a defensive line with the newly formed Dragon Wall as the core, blocking their way. He then mobilized several heavy-armored legions to flank them from the left and right, and used the Dragon Wings to attack from the rear. Air missiles and jade mountains rained down almost continuously. There were also a thousand Dao Foundation cultivators among the surrounding troops. It was truly a rain of Dao magic!
In this battle, Wei Yuan committed almost all of Qingming's elite troops.

The commander of the Swamp Crocodile Knights was initially unafraid of being surrounded, stubbornly clinging to his dragon mount, refusing to believe anyone could withstand his attack. He was no stranger to human heavy armor warriors; his own Dharma Aspect short-snouted crocodile could bite them in two with a single blow.

However, the human army in front of him was as solid as a direct copper wall and iron barrier. After fighting for a full half hour, they still hadn't managed to break through the Longxiang Army's defenses!

He then panicked and began to organize a breakout.

However, in the previous battle, Wei Yuan only had two heavy armored legions at his disposal. Ten days later, he now had four heavy armored legions. Forty thousand heavily armored warriors formed like steel walls, firmly blocking the swamp crocodile's escape route.

At the same time, Wei Yuan had already deployed tens of thousands of pseudo-heavy armored soldiers to block the Wu Clan's reinforcements from the fortified area.

They primarily used barrage attacks to repel the witch army, successfully repelling several witch attacks and putting the swamp crocodile in dire straits.

Faced with Qingming's long, seemingly fragile defensive line that could be easily breached, the Wu Clan army launched several fierce attacks, but failed to succeed!
If a true military strategist were present, they would understand why Qingming's defenses were impenetrable. The so-called "barrage" refers not only to bullets but also to artillery shells.

Since the Swamp Crocodile Knights were surrounded, the previously hidden city defense cannons began firing relentlessly, sparing no more shells. The organized attacking forces of the Witch Clan had already been decimated by the bombardment before they reached the position, and were naturally routed by the subsequent barrage of bullets.

Occasionally, small groups of troops would successfully break through and enter the enemy lines, only to find the Azure Nether army radiating light, with layers of protective, powerful, and blessing spells bestowing upon them, greatly increasing their combat strength. The Witch Clan then realized that there were an unusually large number of Foundation Establishment cultivators among these humans—far more than they could have imagined, far beyond normal limits!
The powerful shamans, unwilling to give up, launched a fierce attack, reaping hundreds of lives with a few powerful curses. However, they were suddenly all gripped by fear. Before they could understand the reason for this mental upheaval, a divine lightning bolt, tinged with yellow and blue, appeared above their heads, crashing down with overwhelming force!

The divine lightning struck them, and in that instant they experienced all sorts of the most intense flavors of life. The stench, sludge, and stickiness of decay, old age, and staleness piled up on top of each other, causing these great shamans to immediately collapse to the ground and vomit violently!
Even the red leaves couldn't withstand the filthy divine lightning that day, so how could they possibly withstand it?
Immediately afterwards, lightning struck from the clear sky above the heads of the great shamans. Streams of real lightning poured down as if the sky had leaked open, instantly turning several great shamans into ashes!

If these great shamans were to attack ordinary soldiers and the slaughter exceeded a certain level, Wei Yuan could retaliate with his Peerless Dao Domain. After marking the cause and effect, he could unleash a barrage of Dao spells. With Wei Yuan's current Dao power, he could unleash hundreds of the most ordinary lightning strikes in a single breath! Looking across the world, how many great shamans could withstand a hundred lightning strikes from Wei Yuan?

With reinforcements failing to arrive, the Swamp Crocodile Knights had completely lost their last chance. Even in dire straits, they displayed formidable combat prowess, braving missile barrages and heavy artillery fire, forming a circular formation and fighting desperately.

It took Wei Yuan nearly two hours to finally slay the last of the five-zhang-long Dharma Aspect Giant Crocodiles. As the banner of the Swamp Crocodile Army fell, the morale of the Witch Clan was greatly shaken.

A murderous glint flashed in Hongye's eyes as he shattered the wine cup in his hand! Crimson blood wine splattered all over him.

Several high-ranking shamans flew over, and before they could speak, Hongye said, "Deploy the reserve forces and launch a full-scale attack! The human elites have suffered heavy losses and are at their last gasp!"

"But we discovered..."

Suddenly, Hongye roared, "Attack!!"

Several high priests were terrified, and two of them plummeted to the ground from the sky. They dared not utter another word and immediately flew back to carry out their orders. By this time, the fighting had continued from midnight until dawn, and the sky was already beginning to lighten.

The Qingming had almost exhausted all its shells and missiles. Of the 100,000 heavy armored troops, 30,000 had died in battle. In addition, 60,000 of the fortress defenders died, and 30,000 more were sent to reinforce the defense line, bringing the total to 120,000. The casualties suddenly surged.

The Wu army suffered over 200,000 casualties, with its most elite Swamp Crocodile Cavalry completely wiped out, and even among the ten commanding shamans, only three managed to escape.

At this point, Wei Yuan originally thought the Witch Clan should have withdrawn their troops, as their morale had clearly wavered and their losses were incredibly heavy. Although the number of casualties was not as high as in previous battles, almost all of those who died this time were elite troops, including top-tier elites like the Swamp Crocodile Knights. Raising a qualified Swamp Crocodile costs at least ten times more than raising a human heavy cavalry.

According to statistics from the human world, if the warriors of the Wu tribe are converted into combat power according to a unified standard, then the 200,000 elite troops lost by the Wu tribe in this battle are actually equivalent to 900,000 in previous battles!

However, Wei Yuan did not receive the retreat of the Wu tribe; instead, he heard the horns of advance. A pillar of blood-red light rose from the altar at the rear of the Wu army, and various powerful spells were cast upon their own soldiers. Hundreds of thousands of troops from the central and rear armies began to move out, heading towards Qingming.

Although the remaining soldiers were mostly commoners and slaves, there was also a group of noble soldiers whose fighting strength was a mystery, the total number was still as high as 800,000!
The opportunity that Wei Yuan had been waiting for finally arrived unexpectedly.

At this moment, Feng Chutang appeared beside Wei Yuan. He was weak and coughed violently after being hit by the killing intent, military spirit, and bloodlust on the battlefield. It took him a long time to calm down.

He looked at Wei Yuan and said, "Everything is ready, but my uncle can't carry this burden. You'll have to go."

Wei Yuan said, "It's simply my duty."

The Peacock Mother also appeared, bowed and said, "Your journey is to establish a great karmic connection. Your attainment of the supreme fruition will begin from this very day."

The young monk Honglian appeared behind the Peacock Buddha Mother, snorted, and said reluctantly, "You have better affinity with Buddhism than I do!"

Wei Yuan ignored the two monks and was about to continue when he suddenly saw Zhang Sheng standing not far away. He immediately flashed over and asked, "What are your orders, Master?"

Zhang Sheng gazed deeply at Wei Yuan and said in a deep voice, "This is something you were determined to do. Since we can't stop you, I might as well let you do it. What is the cause and effect if it is already set in stone? We withstood the Great Curse of Cause and Effect back then, so what is there to fear about cause and effect? ​​If we can cultivate the Supreme Sword, we can keep whatever cause and effect we like and cut it off if we don't like it. This is what it means for us to defy the heavens."

Wei Yuan bowed to Zhang Sheng and walked forward. After taking two steps, Wei Yuan suddenly turned around and saw Bao Yun and Feng Tingyu standing in the distance, but they had no idea what Wei Yuan was going to do.

Wei Yuan smiled at them and then stepped forward.

He took one step to the front of the formation, two steps to Qingming, and three steps to the center of the witch formation. Even the Netherworld Witches watching from the sky could not stop him. Hongye was already far away, and when he saw Wei Yuan charging into the formation, he retreated another hundred miles to prevent Wei Yuan from locking onto him with his divine sense.

Standing in the center of the shamanic formation, with the central banner of the Rain Kingdom beneath his feet, Wei Yuan's mind was clear. He softly recited, "All dharmas in the world should be viewed as such..."

In an instant, though Wei Yuan's voice was soft, the Red Lotus Salvation Mantra resounded in the ears of every member of the Witch Clan. A Red Lotus Bodhi appeared above Wei Yuan's head, its branches and leaves swaying as it shook off endless karmic burdens.

A wisp of red and black flame suddenly ignited in the void around Wei Yuan, and then more and more flames appeared, gradually spreading to distant places with the help of the large array that Feng Chutang had set up earlier.

In the blink of an eye, translucent red-black karmic flames had filled the entire battlefield, burning silently like a boundless sea of ​​fire. Countless members of the witch clan fell in the inferno, their faces frozen in final horror. Their bodies shrank under the scorching flames, as if they were still unborn.

Even the Great Shamans were engulfed in karmic fire, and none of the Daoji Shaman Clan were spared. Only a few Great Shamans escaped with the karmic fire, their fate unknown.

Above the sky, the group of ghostly witches all changed color, and half of them dared not look any longer and quietly left.

On a distant, towering peak, the Holy Heart gazed at this scene, remaining silent for a long time.

Huixin asked, "What are you looking at?"

Shengxin simply shook his head and said, "Just look at the scenery." His expression remained unchanged, but there was a hint of desolation in his voice that was hard to detect.

In the forbidden area of ​​the Sword Palace, a sword cultivator opened his eyes, his pupils filled with a vast expanse of sword energy. He reached for his sword, flicked the blade, and the sword roared like a dragon, its sound echoing for miles.

He listened to the sound of the sword, then said slowly, "You are young and your skills are not great, but your spirit is somewhat similar to mine back then."

In the third year of the Tianqi era of the Great Tang Dynasty, Wei Yuan chanted the "Red Lotus Universal Salvation Mantra," using boundless red lotus karmic fire to refine the 800,000-strong army of the Wu tribe, shaking the world.

(End of this chapter)