Chapter 256: Monstrous killing aura
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Fang Zhengzhi, since you have showed yourself, you will die today!" THe black faced general’s voice turned icy.
He knew that he had pa.s.sed the point of no return.
Activating his troops was his last resort.
However, it was either his life or Fang Zhengzhi’s. What choice did he have?
Right now, he had a few deputies and a thousand soldiers behind him. No matter how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was, he could not go up against an army.
The result was final!
When the villagers heard the ‘boom’, their expression changed. They knew that this was from the soldiers surrounding the village.
How could one man face off against an army?
"Zhengzhi, bring Houde and Xuelian with you. Leave the rest to us!" Zhang Yangping stood up and straightened his back.
There was no retreat for them.
"Leave them to us!"
"And me!"
"Me too!"
All of the villagers were riled up after hearing Zhang Yangping’s words. They gripped their homemade weapons tightly.
This time, they were all prepared to shed blood.
The black faced general squinted as he felt increasingly unsettled.
The deputy next to him was all the more nervous. Even though the army was strong, that did not mean that they could do whatever they wanted. The Great Xia Dynasty was a lawful society.
Ma.s.sacre an entire village?!
That was something that was completely unheard of.
Even the robbers who roamed the woods would not dare to commit such a heinous act. Ma.s.sacring a village would alert the highest in the land. By then, even their backer will not be able to save them.
"General, this..." The deputy retreated subconsciously when he saw the riled up villagers.
"With things as they are, only the death of Fang Zhengzhi can quell this rebellion!" The general knew that this all started with Fang Zhengzhi, and it had to end with him.
"Yes sir!" The deputy nodded. He had been trained to follow orders, and the general had just given him one. Furthermore, he had no better option.
The black faced general wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi as quickly as possible. Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do the same. He would never let the villagers get hurt.
Fang Zhengzhi leapt into action.
There was some distance between the square and the entrance. This distance was his best chance.
He lifted the traceless sword, its purple light glowing radiantly. A tsunami appeared above Fang Zhengzhi’s head, converging on the Traceless Blade.
Hum!
The sword began to hum constantly.
"Watch the Yellow River descend from heaven. It converges with the vast sea and never returns!" Fang Zhengzhi murmured as he swung the Traceless Sword.
This was the second move he had learnt on the ice wall.
"Unending Flow!"
The first technique concentrated all his power into a single point, and was ideal for a sneak attack. On the other hand, his second technique was continuous.
It was perfect for this scenario.
"Together!" The black faced general was still reeling from his previous engagement with Fang Zhengzhi. He threw chivalry aside as he commanded his deputy to join forces with him.
The deputy was stunned to hear that. Even though the general had gotten the shorter end of the stick previously, he had attributed it to Fang Zhengzhi’s sudden burst of power.
Even if the advanced Heavenly Reflection State general could not wreck Fang Zhengzhi, he should not need to combine forces to subdue him.
He may have been taken aback, but he did not hesitate. Neither did he underestimate his opponent.
Every battle hardened soldier knew the dangers of a battle.
He raised his sword and a humongous mountain appeared in mid air. He was the only deputy to be in the Heavenly Reflection State.
Since Fang Zhengzhi had used the water element, he decided to use the mountains. As wood, he could ensure stability and aid fire.
The black faced general had partnered with this deputy for many years. He knew exactly what his deputy was trying to do. He planned to combine their attacks.
He had been using the fire lion on the battlefield for many years.
For the deputy, choosing wood was the natural choice.
"Woos.h.!.+"
His blade swept through the air and a column of flames shot skyward. As it interacted with the mountains, its intensity and power was augmented. It grew to a size many times larger than when it had faced Fang Zhengzhi before.
"Go to h.e.l.l!" The black faced general chopped down. The lion roared maniacally and lunged towards the tsunami.
All the villagers were captivated as they watched the battle unfold. Where else could they watch such an intense battle? It looked like two ferocious beasts engaging in a duel to the death. In fact, it was probably even more intense and terrifying.
All of the villagers were anxious to see the result.
No one knew who would emerge victorious.
Their eyes were fixated on that tsunami and the ferocious fire lion. Then, the two attacks clashed.
"Boom!"
Within moments, the lion was absorbed by the tsunami. It struggled in the water, its flames on the brink of being extinguished.
The black faced general flushed. He felt as if he had been hit in the chest by a tsunami. He spat out a mouthful of blood uncontrollably.
The deputy suffered a worse fate. He looked like a broken kite as he was sent flying by the impact. He paled as blood spewed from his mouth. He simply could not control his body anymore.
"Plonk!" The deputy fell to the ground, making a huge crater as he did so.
A ray of purple light shot out from Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes. The Traceless Sword’s purple aura rose, morphing into a dragon like creature. It danced on the tip of the sword.
A powerful force gushed out from the blade and entered Fang Zhengzhi’s body. The hatred within him grew as his killing intent was augmented. The world was now purple through his eyes.
"Kill!"
He chopped down and the purple glow morphed into a white cras.h.i.+ng wave as it approached the general.
The general was paralyzed by fear. He had expected Fang Zhengzhi to be powerful, but he never thought that Fang Zhengzhi would be this ridiculously powerful.
How can this man be a nascent stage Heavenly Reflection cultivator?
He is clearly a death G.o.d sent to reap our souls...
The black faced general felt that Fang Zhengzhi was just like the devil. Fang Zhengzhi’s attacks were too powerful, almost ridiculously powerful.
"Run!" Without any hesitation, the black faced general ran towards the exit of the village. A sea of flames enveloped him. In this crucial moment, he no longer held back.
All he had to do was survive till his army came. There was no way Fang Zhengzhi could defeat an army.
The purple glow still managed to catch up with him.
It split the sea of fire in two and the radiant purple light sliced through the general’s body.
"Ah!" The general screamed in pain as one of his limbs was sent flying. Blood spewed from the open wound as the color drained from his face.
All of the villagers were stunned.
"How powerful!"
"Oh my G.o.d... he’s too good!"
"I had no idea Zhengzhi was so powerful! He is much more powerful than the general! He beat them both using a couple of attacks!"
All of the villagers got excited as they unconsciously tightened the grips on their weapons. They had a sliver of hope to cling onto now.
Even though it was just a sliver of hope, it made a huge difference to their morale and att.i.tude.
Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian looked at each other. They were comforted and impressed by their son’s abilities.
Zhang Pingyang was also overjoyed. Fang Zhengzhi’s power had instilled hope in his heart.
"They may just survive after all!"
w.a.n.g Anhua’s jaw dropped so much that one could possibly stuff two ducks into it at this point. He knew that this was a battle between two Heavenly Reflection State cultivators. He also knew that Fang Zhengzhi had just broken through a few months ago.
How did he become so powerful in such a short time?
He had taken on the two men so effortlessly, defeating one of them within the first round and chopping of the limb of the general in the next!
This was no duel, this was suppression!
w.a.n.g Anhua could not believe his eyes.
In fact, Fang Zhengzhi himself could not believe it. He gripped the Traceless Sword tightly. He could still feel waves of power rus.h.i.+ng into his body.
He could even feel the Traceless Sword’s excitement. It was excited to draw blood, excited to kill.
He had no idea what was happening.
However, when he thought of what these men had done to his family and the helplessness he saw in his parents’ eyes, the hate inside his heart became unsuppressable. It exploded outwards in an instant.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The voices rang inside his ears. The world around him turned from faint purple to deep purple. There were also flickerings of red.
Everyone who bullied a Northern Mountain villager must die!
Dad, mom, I will take revenge for you! I will kill them all, every last one of them!
"Ah!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed in rage, his voice echoing throughout the village and beyond.
"Die, you must all die! None of you will be spared!" Fang Zhengzhi repeated to himself, the purple glow from his sword radiating outwards.
The circling purple gas doubled, almost like two intertwined dragons, circling and dancing at the tip of the blade....
"General!"
A fearful shout rang out. There were traces of disbelief mashed into the fear.
Then, the approach of the thousand strong army could be heard. Plumes of dust were kicked up as they charged, spears lowered.
This was the general’s elite squad.
Even though they were no match for the Red Pinion Squad, they were still the elites of the army. About 20% of them were cultivators, and they knew how to fight as a unit.
There were more than 20,000 troops stationed in various camps around Cang Ling Mountain. In order to ensure the quickest response times, the general had handpicked this squad to be by his side.
This ensured that he could respond to every eventuality.
And now...
This elite squad was about to taste their first battle in a month. However, they were going up against poorly equipped villagers.
Of course, there was a youth taking point on the opposing side.
The strange purple glow continued to s.h.i.+ne from the youth’s sword as his killing aura spread outwards. His eyes glowed a strange shade of purple.
"Fang Zhengzhi is intent on rebelling and the villagers have rioted! Kill them all!" The general looked at Fang Zhengzhi in aghast.
This was the first time he had felt such fear after decades on the battlefield. He felt a chill down his spine, but, he could not stop now.
If Fang Zhengzhi did not die, he would die.
"General, we came to capture Fang Zhengzhi, these villagers..." One of the deputies said in aghast when he heard the order.
He was not shocked by Fang Zhengzhi. He was taken aback by the general’s orders.
"Kill them! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!" The general flashed his black military token. It represented his authority.
"All of you listen up. Get in formation and charge!" The deputy grit his teeth when he saw the token. He hollered the command to his men.
"Yes sir!" The army responded in unison.
They got into formation within moments.
They set up a phalanx, with five riders on point. Cavalry guarded the flanks whilst spearmen held the center.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
Their voices echoed throughout the mountain.
All of the villagers subconsciously retreated when they saw this. Fear consumed them all.
These were truly the elites of the army. They could feel the killing aura keenly.
"Anyone who dares invade the Northern Mountain Village shall die!" An icy voice that sounded like it came right out of h.e.l.l rang out. Then, a figure charged the phalanx.
All of the soldiers were stunned by what they saw.
They never expected Fang Zhengzhi to strike first in the face of an army!