Chapter 679 The Battle Reaches the Boiling Point
It was at noon, but Mount New Moon was covered with darkness. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled at this moment.
The group of cruise s.h.i.+ps on the sea not far away looked a little bit odd.
It seemed that even G.o.d had already perceived that today was not a normal day and vented his feelings through the dark clouds.
It started to shower, and the heavy rain stopped the majority of people from walking on the street.
As for the pedestrians, some ran madly in the rain with umbrellas since they had something urgent to do. Others basically took shelter from the rain in various places.
On the beach not far away from the area of Mount New Moon, which was blocked by the government, many people were observing enemies with binoculars.
“Hiss!”
“Here they are! Here they are!”
“Be quick to report the news to superiors!”
These people made phone calls in succession to make reports to their superiors, “The Man in Bamboo Hat, leading the army of Western martial artists, is about to attack us!”
The news shocked plenty of people.
Many people hiding in the Southern District of Shenzhen, such as more than a dozen disciples of the Wind Snow School, people harboring evil intentions of the Mystical Fog Sect, of the Heavenly Elixir Sect and so on, were all astonished.
“Let’s go!”
As soon as Xiang Qitian gave the order, everyone got on Hummers one after another. These cars quickly headed for Hong Kong on this rainy day.
Looking at the dragon-like motorcade on the road, Xiang Qitian sneered and said, “We seemingly have a lot of compet.i.tors.”
There might be more forces coveting the divine objects.
Actually, every force of the entire martial arts world was eager for divine objects. Even if they had already possessed divine objects, they would never be satisfied.
Yet, only ten or so forces took action.
The number was much smaller than he had imagined.
How did it happen?
They felt afraid!
Emperor Qing! The Warlord of Chan Clan! Gai Xingkong!
Each of the three people at the Divine Realm Stage who were absolutely close to Zhang Hanyang were famous.
They were content with things as they were and were not in crisis currently. If they fought for the treasures, they would have to suffer the wrath from Emperor Qing and other experts if they took them.
It was not worth doing that.
As for the forces that chose to take action, they were basically a.s.sociated with the sects in the worldlet. Martial artists at the Divine Realm Stage were not dreadful in the worldlet, so Emperor Qing and the others did not clamp down on them.
Certainly, some of them, like Xiang Qitian, insisted on sharing a piece of the pie.
Anyway, the first priority was to take the divine objects. Furthermore, Emperor Qing and other masters would probably die today.
Xiang Qitian had heard of all the formidable experts united by the Man in Bamboo Hat.
Thus, Xiang Qitian was convinced that it would be a productive trip. Even if some unexpected things happened, he could escape unscathed.
Shenzhen was very close to Hong Kong. At the time when it was raining heavily, only a few cars were on the road.
Therefore, they drove at a high speed, arriving at New Moon Bay in less than an hour.
Seeing the cars driving behind Mount New Moon, Xiang Qitian could not help but sneer, “It seems that Mount New Moon is between the hammer and the anvil. We don’t need to follow them but head for the beach.”
So this group of people came to the beach, which was regarded as a tourist attraction, in driving rain.
The huge waves were whipped up, rolling up and down, as if the sea was venting its anger.
Bang, bang, bang!
They got out of the car and walked on the beach.
The Grand Masters present all cast their spiritual force s.h.i.+elds to ward off the rain.
“It’s been an hour. Why haven’t they fought yet?” Xiang Qitian looked at the cruise s.h.i.+ps in the distance.
He was somewhat amazed, for he had thought that he would have witnessed a world-shaking battle here.
He could imagine that Mount New Moon would be secure against a.s.sault, so he was prepared to take action according to the development of the battle. Once Emperor Qing and his men were defeated, he would enter the frontline battlefield. On the contrary, if they won the battle, he would choose to retreat.
He, however, believed that the Man in Bamboo Hat who made full preparations would have an 80% winning percentage.
“Let’s go forward.”
Xiang Qitian and his men slowly approached the beach beside Mount New Moon and hid in the jungle nearby.
He also caught sight of lots of people around. In addition to disciples of sects, there were some people from other forces, who might take responsibility for investigating.
The cruise s.h.i.+ps sailed relatively slowly.
Yet they still brought overwhelming momentum.
Chen Changqing and his companions looked serious.
They, however, did not move but stood still for an hour, preparing to meet the Man in Bamboo Hat and his men as they entered a certain range.
Only at the optimal distance could they march forward and retreat freely.
In the meantime, the tea hall on the fifth floor of the castle on Mount New Moon, where Zhang Han’s family seldom visited, was full of people at this point. In general, Zhang Han and his family went to the restaurant opposite.
Liu Qingfeng, Liu Jiaran, Zi Qiang, w.a.n.g Ya, and others were all there. The heavy rain outside the window obscured their eyes.
Fortunately, the rainstorm did not last long but became lighter after more than half an hour. Another half an hour later, the sky cleared up.
They could not help but feel nervous when they saw what was going on.
“Here they are.” Liu Qingfeng frowned hard.
“A group of bad guys. I believe Brother Changqing will beat them away,” w.a.n.g Ya said in a trembling tone.
It was the first time that she had witnessed a great battle of the martial arts world.
“There are a total of eight cruise s.h.i.+ps, and they’re well-prepared. I hope Elder Master Gai and his helpers defeat the enemy.” A martial artist with obvious strength sighed and said, “Unfortunately, I was just promoted to be a martial artist and can’t do much to help.”
“Don’t worry. We are bound together for good or ill,” Liu Qingfeng said as he shook his head.
On learning the news, he hurriedly took Liu Jiaran here. In his opinion, Mount New Moon was the safest place since everyone knew that he got on well with Zhang Hanyang. Besides, his beloved daughter Liu Jiaran fell in love with one of Five-Tiger Generals in Mengmeng Security. Obviously, he would be nosed out wherever he hid.
Furthermore, judging by Liu Qingfeng’s courage, he did not dare to be discovered but stood there.
“We’re bound to win!”
The rain stopped.
Chen Changqing and the others also moved.
After pondering for a while, Gai Xingkong said, “Brother Chen and I will lead the troop to meet the enemy. Changqing, you’d better stay here with Master Ji to prevent those scoundrels from making trouble.”
“Uncle Gai, I want to go to the front as well.” Chen Changqing looked forward, with his eyes overwhelmed by killing desires and his pupils bestrewed by abnormal darkness. He could no longer suppress his rage and refused to stay in the rear.
So he said, “Master Ji and Captain Jiang may as will stay here. If there appears any sign of disturbance, we can take effective measures as soon as possible.”
“It’s up to you. Leave the rear base for me. I brought an old friend so as to address emergency needs. The two of us are qualified to defend this place.” Ji Wushuang shook her head slightly.
Upon hearing this, Chen Changqing and the others felt more at ease.
It was apparent that Ji Wushuang’s old friend must be a martial artist at the Divine Realm Stage.
“Let’s go!” Gai Xingkong stared at the Man In Bamboo Hat and said, “It’s time to settle all grievances.”
“It’ll be a fierce battle,” Lei Tiannan said slowly.
“Anyway,” w.a.n.g Zhanpeng took a deep breath, “I’ll show how powerful I am this time.”
“Let’s go!”
In the blink of an eye, the Warlord of Chan Clan, Chen Changqing, and Gai Xingkong, who were at the Divine Realm Stage; a dozen or so experts at the Grand Master Late-stage or Peak-stage who were invited by Gai Xingkong from the northeast; w.a.n.g Zhanpeng, w.a.n.g Zhanhong, w.a.n.g Zhanzong, Lei Tiannan, as well as the other three martial artists at the Grand Master Late-stage from the National Security Agency of Hong Kong; Zi Long, Zi Hu, and five other martial artists from Singapore; the old master from the Rong family; the two men at the Grand Master Late-stage from Lin Hai City; the head of the Heavenly Talisman Sect and eight of his helpers at the Grand Master Late-stage; as well as the other martial artists who came over because of Zhang Han’s fame; all showed up.
A total of fifty or sixty people, with great momentum, flew forward and walked on the rolling waves.
At this moment, the picture was like that of “Pirates of the Caribbean” which Zi Yan had shot not long ago. The atmosphere created by the group of skeletons walking on the bottom of the sea was very similar to that created by these martial artists.
Unlike the real situation, the scene of the film only existed on the screen and the actors just pretended to fight against each other. Yet now, a world-shaking battle was going to begin here!
The sky was covered with dense dark clouds at this point, reflecting the emotion of all the martial artists on Mount New Moon. They were really depressed.
They guessed that it was a sunny day with a bright sun in the sky in the distance since there existed a touch of blue on the horizon. Did this mean that the forces representing Mount New Moon were still promising in the face of the formidable enemies?
“My G.o.d, each of the 60 experts on Mount New Moon is a famous big shot. Now that they went straight to their enemies, they obviously are going to launch attacks!”
“The leader, namely the Warlord of Chan Clan, is a well-known superior of the older generation. He hasn’t competed with others for many years, and will definitely stun the enemies this time.”
“Since Emperor Qing was promoted to the Divine Realm Stage, he has never fought against others. I guess that he will create another record in his first battle. Unfortunately, his senior brother Zhang Hanyang can’t see his achievements anymore. It’s really lucky for him to be protected by such an elder brother. Alas, the brotherhood between them is too touching.”
“Wait! Look at the other party! There must be more than 200 people. How can 60 people beat 200 enemies?”
After he finished his words, the onlookers, who had gathered from various buildings on the sh.o.r.e nearby, turned their heads to look at the other side.
They saw people, three times more than the men led by Emperor Qing in number, walking over the waves. Such a dense ma.s.s of people indeed shocked them.
Even Zhao Feng and his men behind looked grave.
“Take action following the original plan!” Zhao Feng commanded.
Hundreds of members of the security group were divided into five groups.
The first group was the biggest one, which was consisted of more than 50 men headed by Instructor Liu, guarding the coastal area on the west of Mount New Moon. The people he led were all well-equipped and were armed with real weapons except Instructor Liu, the Wu Dao Grand Master.
The other teams were respectively led by Zhao Feng, Ah Hu, Elder Meng, and Xu Yong. Leng Yue followed Zhao Feng to guard the other stronghold on the east of Mount New Moon.
Catching sight of more than two hundred people ahead, they calculated that each person of Emperor Qing’s party had to fight against three enemies at a time, which exerted great pressure on Zhao Feng and his companions.
Crack!
A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the land.
The troops from both sides were getting closer and closer!
When they were only a hundred meters away from each other, the two parties stopped and looked at each other.
Time seemed to stand still.
The crowd of spectators also could not help holding their breath.
They could perceive that the two parties were talking to each other, but they could not hear anything.
“It seems that you have made full preparations, but it’s far from enough!” the Man in Bamboo Hat said insidiously.
“That’s enough,” Gai Xingkong’s face darkened and he said coldly, “I’ll kill you at the very least.”
“Really? I’ve heard of these words several times, and you’re unable to kill me. No one in this world can kill me, for I’m an immortal!”
“Haha!” A mocking laugh interrupted the Man in Bamboo Hat. Then Chen Changqing said, “You just haven’t met someone who can kill you. Today, I will stop all of you unless I die!”
Hiss!
His words astonished quite a few opponents. Certainly, they had also heard of Emperor Qing.
They cared about how crazy Emperor Qing would be rather than his attacks!
At this point, the long-faced black man next to the Man in Bamboo Hat stared at the Warlord of Chan Clan and said slowly with lame Chinese, “I, Luo Disi, came here for the divine objects. You can be spared from death if you hand them over, otherwise, you will die.”
“There’s another condition,” the Man in Bamboo Hat added, “We’ll retreat once you hand over the hostess and her daughter on the mountain, as well as the natural precious materials.”
The Man in Bamboo Hat might have made some promises so that he summoned so many helpers. As for those like Luo Disi, they came over for the sake of the divine objects rather than the relations.h.i.+p with the Man in Bamboo Hat.
As soon as they finished speaking, people of Chen Changqing’s party were all aware that they failed to negotiate.
Buzz!
A buzzing noise was heard all of a sudden. Then, under many nervous gazes, a stream of golden light flashed, accompanied by dragons’ and tigers’ roars.
It was the Dragon-tiger spear.
Gai Xingkong suddenly appeared on the left. As for the 50-meter-long golden spear shadow, it seemed to transform into substance and attack the weakest part of the opponent’s body.
“What?”
Luo Disi frowned and waved his right hand, ten palm-sized black skulls drifted over, transforming into layers of energy defense.
Even so, Gai Xingkong still grasped the opportunity to attack since he defended in haste.
With flesh and blood flying everywhere, seven or eight people died on the spot before they could dodge.
What had happened infuriated Luo Disi and some of his companions.
They neither expected the opponent at the Divine Realm Stage to be so shameless nor expected the few people he brought to be so unvigilant.
Actually, it was not their fault. They were still negotiating and had thought that the opponents would have given in. No one foresaw that they would suddenly make a move.
Furthermore, they aimed at the weakest amongst them.
Those who died were the most vulnerable.
In addition to the seven or eight martial artists at the Grand Master Middle-stage, there were four or five injured. They, like frightened wild boars, retreated many meters.
“You’re courting death!”
Luo Disi took on a cold look and rushed towards Gai Xingkong while saying, “I’ll kill you within three moves!”
The instant he finished his words, another aged voice sounded, “Your opponent is me.”
Swis.h.!.+
As the Warlord of Chan Clan appeared in front of Luo Disi and slammed, a hundreds-of-feet-wide palm suddenly rose from the seawater beneath Luo Disi.
The palm was very intelligent and moved straight towards Luo Disi as if it were trying to grab a fly.
He had heard of Luo Disi, a famous expert in Europe. He broke through to the Divine Realm Stage twenty years ago, was promoted to the Middle-Stage ten years ago, and reached the Last-Stage seven years ago. By right of his powerful strength, he defeated other masters so easily and was acknowledged as the most powerful man of the Man in Bamboo Hat’s party.
“It’s just a trifling skill!” Luo Disi sneered.
After he waved his right hand, the skull grew a hundredfold larger, easily resisting the Warlord of Chan Clan.
“Bear my move once again.”
The Warlord of Chan Clan’s eyes flickered, and a vortex was suddenly formed beneath Luo Disi’s feet in the shape of a Tai Chi. The two small fish that represented Yin and Yang suddenly spat two threads, which knitted a huge net beside Luo Disi.
When Luo Disi faced this move, his face slightly darkened.
When he was about to resist, the Warlord of Chan Clan suddenly slapped three times to the side.
Enormous palm prints flew toward the group of more than 20 people.
“You think too much!”
Another golden-haired old man moved and came to the palm prints made by the Warlord of Chan Clan. As he drew a circle with his hands, cl.u.s.ters of flames appeared out of nowhere all of a sudden, burning up the palm prints of the Warlord of Chan Clan.
At this time, he intended to launch an attack on the Warlord of Chan Clan, but a light black sword shadow suddenly appeared in front of him.
Swis.h.!.+
The golden-haired elder dodged to the side and looked at Chen Changqing in an instant, “You’re courting death!”
He changed his route and headed for Chen Changqing.
As for the others, they dispersed in all directions while attacking.
The Man in Bamboo Hat stared at Gai Xingkong with coldness, while Gai Xingkong was also staring at the Man in Bamboo Hat.
The enemies were jealous of each other when they met. Yet, only Gai Xingkong cherished a grudge. As for the Man in Bamboo Hat, he did not care whether he was an enemy or not since he had killed countless people.
“You must die this time,” the Man in Bamboo Hat said in a hoa.r.s.e voice.
“Haha, one always forgets pain when the scars are cicatrized. I’ve already killed you once, and this is the second time!” Gai Xingkong laughed wildly. He grabbed the Dragon-tiger spear with his right hand and rushed over, gritting his teeth.
He shouted inwardly, “Father, Second Uncle, Youngest Uncle… I’m going to avenge you!”
Although he knew that the Man in Bamboo Hat would appear again even if he killed his doppelganger, he could no longer control the hatred in his mind.
He rushed to the Man in Bamboo Hat and waved his spear four times. The huge spear shadows frightened many people, but each of them was resisted.
The area they occupied was getting larger and larger, on which the generals were fighting against generals, and the soldiers were competing with soldiers.
They fought with no rule. Once they saw their companions were in danger, they would a.s.sist them with permission.
Even so, Chen Changqing, Gai Xingkong, and the Warlord of Chan Clan unconsciously killed more than 20 opponents at the very beginning.
During this period, Luo Disi, the Man in Bamboo Hat, and five other masters at the Divine Realm Stage also launched attacks several times, but unfortunately, they were not effective.
That was just because the people of the Heavenly Talisman Sect appeared there.
For the sake of returning the favor and the Warlord of Chan Clan, the head of the sect and the dozen or so people he brought took out their most valuable talismans.
Seeing that the battle had begun, they immediately threw out thousands of defensive talismans.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Layers of defensive energy stopped the opponents. The seven men at the Divine Realm Stage, including the Man in Bamboo Hat and Luo Disi, attacked with irresistible force. In the end, the energy dissipated into the protective cover.
After the martial artist consumed some of their energy, the enemies began to move quickly. They began to fight with their weapons in their hands.
Various lights shone in all directions, and the scope of the battlefield became wider and wider, with horrible energy fluctuating everywhere.
On seeing that, many people turned pale in shock, especially those martial artists gathered on the sh.o.r.e.
Their faces were a little pale.
“They indeed started fighting! It’s too scary! Our martial artists may be shattered by the aftermath of such fluctuations! How dreadful they are!”