Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 449 Thousand Mirrors Sun Formation

"The White-Robed Army is here! It's the White-Robed Army!" Yuan Xu's personal guards shouted excitedly.

The shouts reached the top of the east city wall, and the defenders, who were on the verge of collapse, were instantly filled with hope. Their cloudy eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and they roared as they kicked the ladders off the city wall!
The previously crumbling defense line was miraculously stabilized.

Upon hearing this shout, the Imperial Guards attacking the city were struck dumb, their offensive halted, and many of them unconsciously showed expressions of fear on their faces.

A person's name is like a tree's shadow! The White Robe Army's reputation had already spread throughout Erzhu Rong's army, becoming synonymous with 'invincibility'.

Although many claimed indifference, the mere mention of the arrival of the White-Robed Army sent shivers down their spines. Morale collapsed, the offensive crumbled, and the troops retreated from the city walls in disarray…

~~
After helping the defending troops stabilize their position, Chen Qingzhi ordered the city gates to be opened, and the white-robed army surged out like a raging torrent breaking through the dam!

Their armor gleamed silver in the sunlight, making them look like celestial warriors descending to earth, as they hurried after the Imperial Guards who were retreating back to their camp!

Upon seeing this, Fei Mu quickly ordered his cavalry to engage the enemy, buying time for the main force to retreat.

However, the Imperial Guards were not even as good as the Qihu cavalry, so how could they be a match for the White Robe Cavalry?
The vanguard almost collapsed at the first contact, as if they were throwing eggs against rocks. Seeing this, the cavalry behind them were completely convinced that the White-Robed Army lived up to its reputation, and they would never dare to risk their lives.

They all turned their horses and fled, disregarding the fate of the main force.

Unable to find resistance, the white-robed soldiers charged into the ranks of the Imperial Guard infantry, their killing intent palpable. The Imperial Guard infantry were utterly powerless to resist, slaughtered in droves, heads rolling, blood flowing like rivers, as they routed and fled in disarray…

Fei Mu had just captured Cao Yizong, hailed as the strongest general in the Southern Dynasty, last year. He harbored a certain arrogance, thinking, "How strong can the White Robe Army really be? It's purely because my teammates are too incompetent; if it were me, I certainly wouldn't have been in such a sorry state."

I never imagined that it would shatter instantly if it were me...

Seeing his army collapse like a house of cards, Fei Mu was terrified and hurriedly turned his horse and fled.

Unexpectedly, a purple light shot out from behind him and pierced his shoulder with a 'poof' sound.

Fei Mu swayed and fell from his horse, injured.

He endured the excruciating pain and tried desperately to use his earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic or technique) to escape, but he failed to burrow underground several times. Only then did he realize with horror that his supernatural power had vanished.

The Purple Star Sword, a single strike that can shatter all laws!

When he struggled to get up again, Yang Zhong, who had rushed over, slammed him to the ground with a single blow, making him yet another trophy of the White Robe Army.

~~
After defeating the Imperial Guards and capturing Fei Mu, Chen Qingzhi immediately led his troops to Xingyang, following the fleeing soldiers.

When Li Shuren, the garrison commander of Xingyang, saw the Imperial Guards retreating in disarray, he hurriedly opened the city gates to let them in, intending to find out what had happened.

But then shouts of battle erupted from the city gates. It turned out that the White-Robed Army had changed into the black uniforms of the Imperial Guards and were following the routed troops to the city gates.

This military uniform wasn't something he changed into halfway through the journey; rather, Chen Qingzhi had asked Yuan Hao for it when he left Luoyang. In other words, he had already anticipated this at the time…

He truly deserves to be called a Go master who thinks three steps ahead.

Caught off guard, the defenders of Xingyang City shouted that the White-Robed Army was coming after them!
Who says only those wearing white robes are White Robe Army soldiers? They'd be the same if they wore black robes.

The defending troops were no match for the enemy and were completely overrun. Li Shuren had no choice but to surrender and return Xingyang City to Chen Qingzhi intact.

Chen Qingzhi stopped attacking and instead waited for Yuan Tianmu's main force in Xingyang.

He wouldn't make the same mistake as Erzhu Zhao, exhausting his cavalry. But he wasn't idle either, actively preparing for battle.

When Yuan Tianmu received the news that Fei Mu's entire army had been wiped out and Xingyang had been captured by the White Robe Army again, he was immediately in a terrible predicament.

This time, we can no longer explain it away by underestimating our opponent.

All I can say is that the White-Robed Army is invincible...

He didn't want to encounter this army that seemed to have cheat codes, but if he led a large army to deal with the White Robe Army, and all his troops were wiped out, and he just ran away, wouldn't he be cursed to death like Erzhu Shilong?

As the number two figure in Erzhu's faction, he had to consider public opinion. Even if he wanted to retreat, he had to fight a battle first, not retreat without a fight.

So he gritted his teeth and led his 70,000 troops to the walls of Xingyang a few days later.

~~
Outside Xingyang City.

Yuan Tianmu's 70,000-strong army was like a dark cloud pressing down on the city, dark and oppressive, but it could not give him any sense of security.

He stood at the front of the battle line and looked down at the six thousand white-robed soldiers standing in solemn ranks, their spears and halberds gleaming in the sun, yet not a single one of them was defending the city walls.

"He's gone mad... he's really gone mad!" Yuan Tianmu's hands, gripping the reins, were sweating profusely.

If it were an ordinary enemy general, with a mere few thousand soldiers, daring to deploy his troops with their backs to the city walls like this, he would have long since scoffed at their self-destructive move. But facing him was a white-robed divine soldier who had conquered thirty-two cities and defeated his army of over two hundred thousand!

The first defeat at Suiyang, the fall of Kaocheng, the two falls of Xingyang, the loss of Hulao Pass... those mere few thousand white-robed soldiers were like death knells, each appearance causing the Northern Wei army to collapse like a house of cards...

But facing the White-Robed Army, even with a force more than ten times larger, Yuan Tianmu didn't have the confidence to utter a few harsh words.

As defeat after defeat piled up, any words that looked down on the White Robe Army became self-humiliating... the kind that would make them a laughingstock for life.

Chen Qingzhi precisely grasped the Northern Wei army's fear of the White Robe Army, which is why he deployed his troops with their backs to the city walls, using offense as a form of defense, and completely overwhelmed the Wei army in terms of morale!
He rode forward, his voice booming through the clouds, "In the past, Zhang Wenyuan defeated 100,000 with only 800 cavalry. Today, my white-robed warriors far exceed 800, and Yuan Tianmu's forces are no match for Sun Quan's. Do you gentlemen dare to give it a try?!"

"We dare!" the soldiers roared in response, their spirit as fierce as a tiger swallowing the vast land.

"Attack!" Chen Qingzhi waved his hand.

Amidst the thunderous sound of war drums, Ma Fonian led two thousand heavy cavalry in a thunderous charge. Beneath their white robes lay the finest armor, adorned with yellow talismans handwritten by Taoist priests—as the heavy cavalry charged, these talismans transformed into streaks of fire and stars, enveloping the white-robed soldiers in a golden glow!
~~
Ma Fonian led two thousand heavy cavalry straight to Yuan Tianmu's central army. The place surrounded by colorful banners was Yuan Tianmu's command center and also the 'Achilles' heel' of the Northern Wei army.

Zhang Liao was able to defeat Sun Quan's 100,000 troops back then thanks to this one move...

Seeing the white-robed soldiers charging straight at his command flag, Yuan Tianmu was terrified: "Quickly, protect the formation!"

Upon receiving the order, his Xianbei cavalry immediately set off from the front lines to meet the white-robed cavalry.

Unexpectedly, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from the city wall, and the entire city of Xingyang emitted a dazzling light—it turned out that Chen Qingzhi had ordered the Taoists to set up the 'Thousand Mirrors Sun Array' on the city wall.

Suddenly, the formation was activated, raising thousands of polished bronze mirrors that reflected light.

The moment the Taoist priests activated the hand seals, the mirror array condensed the sunlight into a blazing white sphere!
The ball of light shot out countless sharp rays, like a thousand swords being fired simultaneously, causing the Hu horses to neigh and bolt in panic. The Xianbei cavalry were also made dizzy and unable to see, and many cavalrymen crashed into each other and fell off their horses in a sorry state.

The white-robed cavalrymen, with their backs to the city walls, were completely unaffected. They raised their crossbows and unleashed a barrage of colorful magic arrows, sending the Xianbei cavalry flying and into complete chaos.

(End of this chapter)