Headless Immortal

Chapter 141 Attacking the city
Lu Xun looked up at the moon, its hazy white veil illuminating the rivers and lakes. He bent down, rubbed a handful of soil, sniffed it, and said in surprise, "Why is there suddenly a misty fog and rising water vapor? It's clearly going to rain."

The turtles in the water are always sensitive to rainfall, but they have been traveling under the scorching sun all the way, and even some clouds have been baked into smoke.

However, it's always good that it's raining.

Withdrawing his concern from the weather, Lu Xun walked to the shallows, where the shimmering moonlight faintly reflected his solemn, god-like face.

"strengthen."

[Spell: Mystic Armor (Mastery)] → [Spell: Mystic Armor (Transcendental Mastery)]

[Gained supernatural power: Gang Qi through the magic technique: Xuanjia (Mastery)]

【罡炁】

Type: Supernatural Power

Effect: Slightly increases the power of spells (+4%)

Commentary: The celestial constellations each return to their original positions, forming the Gang (罡). Those who pursue the Dao originally seek the primordial spirit and vital energy. —Huayang Zhenren

Black armor.

Buzz.

The magical power gathered into a powerful aura that condensed into a hexagonal shield, its turquoise color hanging in front of him.

Lu Xun felt that this was not the limit yet, so he gathered his strength and activated his magic power.

With a buzzing sound, the hexagonal shield plates rapidly increased, reaching a maximum of thirty-six before becoming difficult to increase. Dissipating the magic, the turquoise shield wall gradually dissolved into starlight.

'strengthen.'

[Spell: Hardened (Mastery)] → [Spell: Hardened (Mastery)]

[Gained supernatural power: Standing still due to the spell: Hardness (Masterful)]

[Location]

Type: Supernatural Power

Effect: Slightly increases affinity with Earth element (+4%)

Commentary: By observing the latitude and longitude of the stars and the celestial calendar, one can discern their positions; only by understanding this can one proceed. Otherwise, divine divination will be ineffective, and the divine tortoise shell will be useless. The Yellow Emperor's governance was perfected by the presence of the stars. —Guanzi: Yi Wu
"The earth can hold gold." Lu Xun murmured softly, casting a spell to harden the earth.

Its pale green skin suddenly turned dark olive green or even dark green, its skin completely transformed into jade, and its sharp nails seemed to transform from keratin to metal, with sparks flying when the claws rubbed together.

The Living Buddha nodded in satisfaction. The superb hardness of the material was enough to enhance his defensive capabilities to a higher level. Even if it wasn't a divine weapon, it was certainly superior to ordinary iron.

'strengthen.'

[Spell: Turtle Treasure (Advanced)] → [Spell: Turtle Treasure (Masterful)]

[Gained supernatural power through magic: Turtle Treasure (exquisite skill): Qi Observation]

[Observing Qi]

Type: Supernatural Power

Effect: Slightly enhances the practitioner's Dharma eye (+4%)

Commentary: By observing the aura, one can discern good and bad fortune; by gazing upon the dark colors, all things become clear; by understanding change, one can recognize the seasons, know the advantages of the land, and even shift stars and change constellations. —The Spiritual Stone Monkey

The turtle-shaped gemstone on its forehead changed from light gold to red, and its irregular shape gradually became more regular. If it was originally a gemstone, it now looks like a water droplet, crystal clear and completely reflecting its surroundings.

With his black and gold demonic eyes shining brightly, Lu Xun felt a comfortable sense of being one with heaven and earth, as if he were not on the riverbank, but submerged in the river.

With a gentle lift of his palm, Lu Xun caught a flying insect. He opened his clenched hand and discovered that it was not an insect, but a point of light, like fireflies illuminating the forest.

Lu Xun didn't recognize these specks of light. He originally thought they were spiritual energy, but he found that the spiritual energy was even fainter and mixed in with his breath, like oxygen and carbon dioxide, which were part of the air. It was just that the ancient world was too abundant, so he thought they were specific shapes.

The points of light converged on the earth, forming a river that stretched across the sky and the ground. The once bright world gradually darkened, and Lu Xun was about to take a step.

suddenly.

"cough."

A majestic voice resounded behind him, and then Lu Xun was pulled out of his mysterious state. The river formed by the convergence of light also disappeared, leaving only countless twinkling starlight.

In a short while, the light gradually dimmed, and no more wonders were seen.

Lu Xun looked back, but there was no one there, only the temple.

This time he saw the temple shrouded in a gray fog, a kind of eerie black fog.

After all, gods and ghosts truly exist in this world. Lu Xun bowed deeply and said, "I beg your mercy."

After having his head replaced, he became a pale-faced scholar. All the magic was gone, and Lu Xun was so tired that he kept yawning.

He had been traveling day and night, hoping to rest at the Shen residence, but then he had to attend a banquet. After a fierce battle, he broke through the encirclement with a tense mind. He finally found a relatively safe place, but it was full of noise. He finally managed to see off a few people and get a good night's sleep.

Upon entering, I saw Black Armor lying on the ground, White Skin lying on Black Armor's back, and Thunder standing asleep.

Shu'er was still mending his robe, which had too many holes. The owl's skills were remarkable. The mermaid girl slept on a pile of hay, her eyelashes trembling slightly, suggesting that her dream was not good.

Shu Er lowered his voice and was about to call out "Your Majesty" when he saw Lu Xun make a shushing gesture.

Lu Xun polished his brush on the desk and wrote a letter.

The toothless man brought the jade box closer and opened it. Inside was a cocoon with a small opening at the top, revealing a ring of sharp teeth.

Lu Xun rolled up the letter, straightened it, and put it inside. The insect's teeth made a slight sound as it gradually ate the letter, and the entire cocoon became plumper.

He covered the cocoon and closed the jade box, carefully tucking the toothless insect under its wing.

"Rest."

Lu Xun wrapped his robe around himself and lay down on the ground covered with dry grass.

……

That night.

The hooves of horses thundered like a torrential downpour as countless black-clad riders crossed the ridge and entered the official road. Leading them was a valiant cavalry general clad in black armor. He slowed down, whistled loudly to halt the black-armored troops, and said in a deep voice, "Commander, where is this place? When will we reach Meng County?"

The commander clasped his hands in a military salute and said loudly, "Reporting to the general, this place is called Shuangcha Ridge. At our marching speed, we will arrive at Meng County the next day."

The cavalry general glanced coldly at the dark mass of troops. General Di had brought him three thousand soldiers and six hundred light cavalry to capture Meng County.

He originally intended to march normally, but upon hearing from his scouts that Wan Chaohai, the chieftain of Meng County, had been killed by a monster, he immediately realized that this was an opportunity and that he must take Meng County before anyone took charge.

He immediately ordered, "Shake off the main army and head to Meng County before dawn."

A bearded lieutenant frowned and said, "The general told us to proceed cautiously and steadily. What if we rush in and cause trouble...?"

Xiao Qi said calmly, "Wan Chaohai is dead."

"Light cavalry, follow me."

He turned to look at the scholar on horseback and the fully armored local officer not far away, and said with a smile, "I would like to trouble you all to come with me."

The crowd remained silent, only bowing with their hands clasped in greeting.

After leaving the infantry behind, the black-armored cavalry quickly came to the high walls of the county town. The valiant cavalry general did not rush to challenge them, but instead set up camp twenty miles away from the county town: "Lower the trees and ask the mechanical sorcerers of the academy to build siege weapons. All we need to do is use ladders to climb the city walls and battering rams to open the city gates."

"Here."

The two scholars, who came from academies but did not wear Confucian robes, bowed to each other.

"Bury the pot and start a fire."

The clerk asked in a low voice, "General, won't this let the people in the city know we're here?" The cavalry general laughed and said, "Let them know."

……

Western suburbs of Yu County.

The courtyard, with its winding paths, embodies the true essence of southern Anhui. Officials and nobles naturally dislike the crowds in the city, while landlords and gentry built their residences outside to guard their land. They could easily enter the city by taking a donkey cart or oxcart. However, this place is somewhat different.

The house is small, hidden in a large courtyard.

In the middle of the night, the lights flickered, and a middle-aged man dressed in a tight-fitting outfit was writing something at his desk. Behind him was a tall wall made of wooden boxes, which, upon closer inspection, did not look like the medicine cabinets in a pharmacy, but rather like pigeon coops.

The middle-aged man opened the window. The moon and stars were bright. He hid the letter in a bamboo tube and tied it to the leg of a falcon that was perched on the windowsill.

dong dong.

"who."

"little six."

The middle-aged man opened the door, and a young man dressed in black clasped his hands in a salute and said, "Commander, the Demon-Suppressing Captain from the Earth Division has arrived."

"The Earthly Division Demon Suppression Captain?" Zhou Lianshan frowned.

The Three Judicial Offices were one government office in the capital, but they had different responsibilities. They were the Heavenly Office, the Earthly Office, and the Water Office, collectively known as the Six Doors. The Heavenly Office was the emperor's personal guard, known as the "Forbidden Office," and only came out for major events. The Earthly Office was responsible for suppressing demons and monsters throughout the land. The Water Office consisted of martial arts masters who were the guardians of high-ranking officials in the court and rarely interfered in matters of demons and monsters.

In the Six Doors, a captain is basically a local leader. A flag officer like Zhou Lianshan has to obey the captain's orders no matter which department he is in. So, he didn't care about the rules of communication between the officers and soldiers and said, "Please come in quickly."

In my childhood.

A tall, robust man with a leopard-like head and bulging eyes stepped into the eagle enclosure.

The first thing Zhou Lianshan noticed was the sword case on the big man's back and the strange long sword at his waist. He crossed his hands and bowed, saying, "Zhou Lianshan, the commander of the Eagle House of Meng County, Zhangzhou, from the Three Judicial Offices, greets the Demon Suppression Captain."

"Commander Zhou." The burly man raised his hand and took out his waist token.

Sure enough, it was Gao Qingzhi, the renowned swordsman and saber master of Jiangzhou.

Gao Qingzhi looked around and realized that the Eagle House of the Three Judicial Offices was indeed well-deserved of its reputation. If someone hadn't pointed it out, he wouldn't have known that the Eagle House was here at all. So he went straight to the point and said, "My gyrfalcon is sick. I wonder if Commander Zhou has any medicine to treat it?"

As he spoke, he tore open the bag, and Little Gray lay listlessly inside.

Zhou Lianshan was displeased. Even though Gao Qingzhi was the Demon Suppression Captain of Jiangzhou and his title of Hundred-Household Commander was a sure thing, Meng County was dangerous now. If he came straight here and didn't clean things up properly, it would expose the Eagle House. It would be a small matter if he and his group died, but it would be a big deal if the intelligence system of the Three Judicial Offices was damaged.

And it's for something so simple.

Could it be that the captain has really become tyrannical in Jiangzhou?

He suppressed his displeasure, took it, examined it closely, and exclaimed in surprise, "You're tired."

The gyrfalcon is an elf, not an ordinary bird. Basically, those in the hands of the captain are no different from minor monsters. He really couldn't imagine how the gyrfalcon trained by the Three Judicial Offices could be so exhausted.

Zhou Lianshan said, "I have some pills, but I still need to rest. Birds are not like people; they can't just run around blindly."

Gao Qingzhi smiled. He knew he shouldn't have come to Yingfang like this, but he had to. He said, "Chief Zhou, don't worry. I cleaned up the traces before I came and the Mengxian Jingshi Association won't find out."

"This humble official naturally trusts the captain's methods."

Gao Qingzhi shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't believe me. The General of the Cavalry of Jiangbei Camp has already set up camp twenty miles away from Meng County and will attack the city at dawn. Right now, the Jingshi Society is too busy to take care of itself."

This was no longer a secret, so he revealed it to Zhou Lianshan. If there were spies from the Jing Shi Hui in the Eagle House, it would just be in line with General Xiaoji's wishes.

It was only because the main army hadn't moved that the Jingshi Society was allowed to run rampant for a while. Now that the main camp has set out, and the commander of the Jiujiang Prefecture's Guards is leading the local officials to Juying Mountain, it is believed that the rebellion can be quelled in less than half a month.

The only thing I'm worried about now is the Black-Veiled Saintess of the White Lotus Sect; I don't know where she is now.

Zhou Lianshan asked in surprise, "Didn't you say you wouldn't arrive until the day after tomorrow?"

Gao Qingzhi smiled but remained silent.

He's been busy lately, otherwise Hai Dongqing Xiao Hui wouldn't be so exhausted.

Normally it wouldn't matter, but today he had a compelling reason to come. If Little Gray couldn't fly, he wouldn't be able to find Lu Xun. If he got caught in the crossfire during the siege, even a great demon would be in trouble. That's why he risked coming here to treat Little Gray. At the very least, he would need to borrow a gyrfalcon.

"I can borrow one of the eagles from the eagle house."

……

Hey.

Flutter.

A white-feathered, gray-spotted gyrfalcon hovered over the mountain pass, hesitant to land. In that instant of hesitation, a dark figure darted out of the pass like an arrow.

The gyrfalcon was terrified and turned to fly away, its iron claws already outstretched above it, reaching out to grab it.

With a flick of its wings, Toothless descended from the sky, lowered its head to sniff, and said, "Little Gray's scent."

With a quick glance, the eagle spotted the letter tube on the gyrfalcon's leg. It rolled over and transformed into an eagle-headed human, carrying the gyrfalcon into the palace.

Lu Xun sat up from the ground and took out the letter from the tube: "A letter from the Senior Captain."

"It's alright, let's be careful in battle."

Lu Xun polished the brush and wrote down the meeting place, then put it back into the bamboo tube, signaling Wuya to release the gyrfalcon.

……

The night was just past midnight.

General Zhao, who was stationed in Meng County, made a decision to completely defeat the six hundred light cavalry before the imperial army arrived. Therefore, he planned to lead five hundred Iron Corpse Warriors and several thousand elite soldiers to raid the camp and annihilate the imperial army while they were exhausted.

"Out of town."

"kill……"

As soon as the battle cries rang out, torches burst into flame and a black banner was raised high by the deputy general carrying the banner. A light mist instantly spread among the black-armored cavalry. The valiant cavalry general, who was riding a horse, laughed loudly: "I was just afraid you wouldn't come!"

He held his spear horizontally, drew an iron-rimmed bow from his waist, and aimed it at General Zhao of the Jingshi Army.

"kill!"

The bowstring twanged like thunder, and the valiant general spurred his horse forward. The lightly armored, top-quality horse carried the general, who then hurled the iron corpse at the very front of the troops into the air.

The iron corpse snapped diagonally in front of him, like a rolled-up flag, then flew out in mid-air, torn in two by the weapon, scattering blood everywhere.

……

As dawn broke, a thin mist hung in the air.

Lu Xun sat cross-legged on Ben Lei's back, looking down over Meng County from a high vantage point.

Where the sky stretches to the horizon, a chaotic expanse of crimson unfolds.

The war drums resounded, and the fighting became a chaotic melee.

The siege ladders firmly gripped the high walls, and the bridge planks carried the siege engines built by the mechanical sorcerers across. With a series of thuds, they smashed the thick city gates apart in about ten strikes.

The soldiers who had marched so fast showed no signs of fatigue. They were enveloped in a faint black light, which seemed to tear through the blood mist of Meng County like the sharp edge of a weapon.

clack.

Lu Xun sensed something and stretched out his palm.

Open your palm, and a drop of water shatters.

He looked up at the sky, where dark clouds gathered and then, with a whoosh, a rain finally came.

(End of this chapter)