The God of Heavens

Chapter 235 Black Cloud Ridge

Black Cloud Mountain, Sky-Piercing Peak.

Inside the Hall of Gathering Righteousness, a deafening roar shook the dome—

"boom!"

On the massive iron table, three zhang long, was a palm print two inches deep! The lines along the edge of the palm were clearly visible, demonstrating the purity of the palm's power.

On the chairs to the left and right, the leaders glared angrily, their faces filled with murderous intent.

"You two!" The nine-foot-tall giant on the central throne spoke coldly, "Our Yunshan Eighteen Villages, under the orders of your Yuan Tu Kingdom, have disrupted Yunzhou, causing countless deaths and injuries to our brothers! Now that the Lianshan Army is pressing in, is this all the manpower you have sent?"

This man is none other than Zhao Jiuxiao, the chief leader of the eighteen strongholds of Yunshan, known as "Pillar of Heaven"!

He was tall and imposing, standing nine feet tall with a straight back like a sword or spear, resembling a towering mountain. One glance was enough to tell that he was a heroic figure from the outlaw world.

"Hehe, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Since your Black Cloud Stronghold took our money, you should risk your lives. As for the deaths and injuries, well, that's because you're not strong enough."

Below, a woman dressed in a moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) chuckled softly, a large red jade chain belt around her waist gleaming coldly.

Her slender, pale fingers, like jade carvings, and her face always displayed an air of superiority.

"What a courage!"

"How dare you be so arrogant in my Black Cloud Stronghold!"

"Boss, why don't we just kill those two and join the Lianshan Army?"

The hall erupted in commotion as dozens of heavily armored soldiers, armed with swords, approached. Each of them carried a sword and a shield, with fierce faces, strong bodies, dark skin, and white teeth, giving them the aura of wild beastmen.

"Junior sister, watch your words." The tall young man beside the woman raised his hand to stop her, then turned to Zhao Jiuxiao: "Boss, please calm down. We have received intelligence that the one who came to wipe you out this time is Yang Qian, the fourth son of Emperor Qian from Yujing City. He came here to gain experience and prestige so that he can receive Emperor Qian's reward in the future."

Such a person would never allow any stain on his record. Even if the leader were willing to surrender, he would only be able to do shady things for him in the future.

The young man had a face as if carved by a knife and axe, with hard lines, and he looked like a martial arts master with an extremely strong spirit.

"What?! He's actually the son of Emperor Qian?!" Zhao Jiuxiao's heart skipped a beat, and a vein throbbed on his forehead. The other leaders also erupted in discussion, their voices rising and falling.

"This is it, we're doomed!" someone cried out in despair.

"Emperor Qian's own son is leading the army, how can we possibly resist?" Another person asked, his face pale and his voice trembling.

"Boss, how about we break up and run for our lives?" came a suggestion choked with sobs from the corner.

"Shut up, all of you!" Zhao Jiuxiao roared. "So what if he's the son of the Qian Emperor? He's willing to risk his life to pull the emperor off his horse!"

He suddenly pointed at the couple: "Your Zhen Gang Sect is the number one sect in Yuan Tu, and your 'Giant Spirit Gang Dao Book' is famous throughout the Northern Frontier. Why don't you just send a Grandmaster of Marrow Cleansing to capture that prince?"

Upon hearing this, the young man shook his head and chuckled: "How prestigious are Grandmasters? They are figures who command hundreds of thousands of troops and wield power over a region. How could we easily persuade them? Emperor Qian has many princes under his wing. Losing one would not be a major issue for the foundation of the royal family."

On the battlefield, unity of purpose and the willingness of soldiers to fight to the death are paramount. Even a martial saint in person cannot withstand a hail of arrows and an encirclement by a large army. What great trouble could a mere prince possibly cause?

His expression was calm, and his words were firm and resonant, revealing his extraordinary vision and insight.

"The four sons of Emperor Qian have come here for training, but they have very few experts by their side, at most one or two innate martial arts masters. On our side, our chief and the three leaders are all innate realm, plus my junior sister and I, whose Taoist arts are superb and can control souls and spirits."

With five innate masters as their vanguard, supplemented by secret techniques to suppress him, even if they cannot capture him, it will be enough to make him suffer a crushing defeat and slink back to Jade Capital City in disgrace.

"Well said! Six against three, the advantage is in our hands, we will surely win this battle!" Zhao Jiuxiao slammed his hand on the table, causing dust to fall from the roof.

……

At the foot of Black Cloud Ridge, Lin Yu was studying a map in his tent. Suddenly, the ground trembled slightly—

"Report! Rock Guard has arrived!"

The tent flap was lifted, and nineteen towering warriors strode in. The leader knelt on one knee: "This humble general, leading the Rock Guard, is here by order of the Commander-in-Chief to await Your Highness's command!"

Lin Yu's gaze swept over this elite force, a slight smile playing on his lips. Shi Xiao had truly spared no expense this time—every member of the Rock Guard was a peak Martial Master, and the burly leader was even a Xiantian expert; they were enough to command a region in the army!
"What's your name? Who is Shi Shuai to you?" Lin Yu noticed that this person looked somewhat similar to Shi Xiao.

"Your subordinate is Shi Yuan, and the Commander-in-Chief is my uncle," the towering man replied, his voice like muffled thunder, clasping his hands in greeting.

"Alright, from now on we're all brothers-in-arms!"

Three days later, at Black Cloud Ridge.

The majestic peaks pierce the clouds, with ancient trees reaching for the sky on the lower half, their gnarled branches forming a vast primeval forest; while the upper half is shrouded in mist, a white expanse that stretches to the horizon.

Lin Yu looked up and saw that Black Cloud Ridge was over a thousand feet high, with steep slopes and its peaks hidden in thick fog, as if they were touching the sky.

"Go up the mountain!"

Surprisingly, the path up the mountain was not treacherous, but rather quite flat. The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees, making one feel refreshed. The occasional bandits and scouts that appeared were no match for Lin Yu's elite troops and were wiped out in the blink of an eye.

When the army reached the summit, the sight before them astonished everyone.

The summit was a vast flat area, as if it had been flattened by a god's sword!
In the distance, a majestic mountain stronghold stood amidst the clouds and mist, its walls several meters high, constructed entirely of black stone, resembling a lurking behemoth. Figures moved about on the walls, swords flashing, clearly indicating a heavily fortified defense.

"Form ranks!" Lin Yu commanded, and all the soldiers quickly deployed. After days of fighting, Lin Yu had incorporated some of the reformed bandits into the army, expanding the force to two thousand men, which was the limit of his current ability to command them.

These soldiers were dressed in uniform white ox armor, carried powerful bows on their backs, had quivers at their waists, and held swords in their hands, exuding a murderous aura.

Although they were not as formidable as the veteran soldiers under Shi Yuan's command, they had been transformed after days of fighting, and their eyes shone with fierce courage.

At the front lines, catapults and ballistae were neatly arranged, ready to be unleashed. These siege weapons were prepared specifically for the formidable walls of Black Cloud Stronghold.

Lin Yu was accompanied by Blood Blade, who had already subdued the Innate Martial Master. Blood Blade also had several men under his command, all of whom were members of the Blood Drop Battalion, a mix of Round Moon Sect disciples and Lin Yu's soldiers, serving as the vanguard and responsible for searching.

On the walls of Black Cloud Stronghold, several leaders, surrounded by a group of elite mountain bandits, gazed at the menacing Lianshan Army formation from afar, a hint of fear in their eyes.

"It seems we all underestimated this Fourth Prince." The chief, Zhao Jiuxiao, stroked the crenellations on the city wall and said in a deep voice, "He is indeed quite capable to train new recruits to this level in such a short time."

The man from the True Gang Sect beside him nodded in agreement: "Indeed extraordinary. With his talent, he will at least be granted the title of Prince in the future."

"Hmph! His hero is my enemy!" a leader sneered. "The more capable he is, the sooner we must eliminate him!"

As they spoke, their eyes never left the murderous army below the mountain. Scouts had already reported back that this Lianshan army was no rabble, but an elite force that had fought countless battles.

"Boss, should we go out of the city to meet the enemy?" the one-eyed leader asked.

Zhao Jiuxiao shook his head: "No rush. We'll hold our ground and wear down their morale first!"

"All troops attack!"

Lin Yu roared, his voice booming like thunder, clearly audible for miles around.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Two thousand elite soldiers roared in unison, their killing intent soaring to the sky. The war drums thundered, like muffled rumbles, causing rubble to fall from the city walls.

The infantry surged towards the city walls like a tidal wave, ladders were erected, and battering rams advanced. Archer phalanxes followed behind, unleashing a hail of arrows to suppress the defenders on the city walls.

"Whoosh whoosh—"

Arrows rained down from Black Cloud Stronghold as well, the dense barrage of arrows carrying a piercing sound as they rained down on the attacking soldiers.

Lin Yu rode on his fiery steed, taking the lead. He brandished his spear, deflecting all the incoming arrows.

"Little tricks!"

He sneered, turned his head and shouted, "Zhao Hu, Shi Yuan, Xue Dao! Shoot down those archers!"

Upon hearing this, the three innate masters immediately drew their bows and nocked their arrows.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The arrows flew like dragons, each one piercing the eyes of the archers on the city wall with pinpoint accuracy! The elite of the Rock Guard also returned fire, their iron arrows clanging as they struck the iron armor on the city wall.

"Boom! Boom!"

The catapult's massive stones ripped through the air with a sharp whistling sound. On the city walls, the bandits watched the sky in terror—

"boom!"

A huge boulder struck the battlements, instantly crushing three bandits into a bloody pulp, blood and bone fragments flying everywhere. Another boulder hit the watchtower directly, sending splinters flying as the archers inside screamed and fell to the ground.

This devastating blow caused the bandits' morale to collapse at a visible rate.

"Climb the ladder!"

Taking advantage of the defenders' confusion, the Lianshan soldiers swarmed forward. Their specially made ladders, topped with iron hooks, were firmly secured to the city wall. The bandits desperately swung their swords at the hooks, but only managed to break their swords while the hooks remained intact.

Lin Yu seized the opportunity, leaped up, and jumped directly onto the three-zhang-high cloud ladder, rushing upwards as if walking on flat ground!
On the city wall, Zhao Jiuxiao's face was ashen. He suddenly drew his giant axe and roared, "You two from the True Gang Sect, why aren't you making a move?!"

"Chong-"

Amidst the ear-piercing clang of metal, Blood Blade's longsword clashed fiercely with the bandit leader's treasured sword!

The moment that six-foot-long, deadly blade was drawn, an aura of annihilation swept across the city walls. The curve of the blade was breathtaking, and dark red marks remained in the blood groove, a testament to the countless lives it had consumed.

"A fine blade!" Blood Blade's eyes blazed with fighting spirit as he unleashed the Crescent Moon School's sword technique, the blade's light swirling like the moon. "What a pity he followed the wrong master!"

On the other side, Shi Yuan's towering body suddenly charged forward and collided with the heavily armored bandit leader!
"boom!"

A shockwave erupted as the bandit leader brandished his twin swords, the cloud patterns on the blades shimmering in the sunlight. Each strike was as heavy as a thousand pounds, but Shi Yuan neither dodged nor evaded, meeting the blows head-on with his Xuan Tie Heavy Sword!
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

Sparks flew everywhere, and the bricks and stones on the ground where the two fought were completely shattered!
Atop the city walls, the sounds of battle shook the heavens!
Zhao Jiuxiao's eyes were bloodshot as he swung his massive axe, the blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight. With a roar, the bricks beneath his feet shattered, and he leaped more than twenty steps like a tiger, the axe tearing through the air with a deafening roar!

"Take your life!"

With that stride and roar, Zhao Jiuxiao's muscles bulged and his blood boiled, forming visible ripples of energy around his body, making him look like a god descending to earth!
On the left, the tall man was even more extraordinary. As he wielded the Giant Spirit Sky-Piercing Hammer, his will, spirit, and blood energy were perfectly integrated, condensing into a mountain-like, heavy pressure in the void.

Before the hammer even arrived, Lin Yu felt the air around him become stagnant, like a quagmire – a sign of mental interference with reality!
On the right, the bandit leader of Iron Rod Mountain brought his club down, the wind from it howling like thunder. The violent airflow swept up all the broken stones on the city wall; the power of this blow was enough to blast a thousand-pound stone lion into dust!
Three innate masters and three peerless martial arts techniques attacked simultaneously from three different directions, blocking all of Lin Yu's escape routes!
(End of this chapter)