He Didn't Want to Be the Center of Attention, Hence, after Defeating the Demon Lord, He Became Guild Master

GOR Chapter 503 Starchart of Generals

An [S] cla.s.s equipment!

It was not as though Chen Xiaolian had never seen something like that before.

His Sword in the Stone was [S] cla.s.s. Roddy"s Mech was also [S] cla.s.s [1].

For an [S] cla.s.s item to fall into the hands of Qiu Yun, now that was peculiar.

Who was Qiu Yun? While he may possess some fame within the Awakened circle, he was far beneath what one would call a first-rate expert.

For someone like Qiu Yun to possess an [S] cla.s.s equipment was the equivalent of South Korea unveiling a Star Destroyer.

This was unbelievably shocking.

Holding the Starchart of Generals, Chen Xiaolian carefully examined it. The more he read about it, the more shocked he became.

It was presently at [A-] cla.s.s.

This was high enough. Its [S] cla.s.s Growth Capacity made this equipment qualified to be called an [S] cla.s.s equipment.

"Summon-type equipment?" Chen Xiaolian looked at the image of the generals that were shrouded by the clouds.

He could not stop himself from sucking in a breath of cold air.

"Holy cow!"

Let"s put it this way. Calling the Starchart of Generals a summon-type equipment was not quite accurate.

Simply put, it was a storage and summoning equipment. According to the description given by the system, there were seven slots inside the Starchart of Generals. It just so happened that those seven slots form the shape of the Big Dipper.

Each of those slots could accommodate the War Soul of an ancient general.

By attaining this Starchart of Generals, he could, during battle, summon out the War Souls of the ancient generals kept inside the Starchart of Generals to do battle.

As for how he should go about obtaining the War Souls of ancient generals, the system did not give any further explanation. After pondering about it, Chen Xiaolian speculated that he would need to partic.i.p.ate in some special instance dungeons to recruit those War Souls.

The seven star slots placed no specific restrictions on what generals must be stored in them. In other words, he could store any ancient general inside it. Of course, the more powerful the general, the more combat power it would possess.

Naturally, there would be a huge difference between a "Great General Pan Feng" and a Lu Bu [2].

Additionally, the Starchart of Generals had another effect. It was regarding the combat powers of the War Souls…

Once seven War Souls were stored inside it, they would form the Big Dipper constellation, activating a spell array that would greatly increase the combat powers of every one of the War Souls.

Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid.[3] Each of these star slots could store a War Soul.

By collecting all seven, the Big Dipper spell array would be activated and the power of the War Souls would be enhanced.

The most important slot was the Dubhe star slot.

This was the core of the chart"s Big Dipper spell array. It was also the core position of the chart.

According to the description, it would be best to use a powerful general"s War Soul for this core position. The more powerful the War Soul was, the power of the activated spell array would become that much stronger.

Where did Qiu Yun acquire such an amazing equipment?

However, when Chen Xiaolian read the requirement for the core position, he came to a realization.

No wonder!

No wonder Qiu Yun would long so fervently for Bai Qi"s War Soul. He absolutely needed it.

It turned out Qiu Yun had wanted to obtain Bai Qi"s War Soul and place it in the core position.

At present, it would appear that all the seven star slots in this Starchart of Generals had been filled.

However, the names of the generals appeared rather undistinguished. Clearly, Qiu Yun did not possess the ability to defeat first-rate generals.

Judging by his present collection, he had simply collected some minor characters for the sake of numbers - good or bad was not a concern to him. First, collect them War Souls and activate the Big Dipper array. Having an activated array that empowered the War Souls was better than leaving it empty.

The names of the existing seven generals were:

Zhang Dayan, Chen Hu, w.a.n.g Tieqiang, Zhao Shenghu, Feng Wan, Xu Zhen…

Looking at the names of the first six generals, Chen Xiaolian felt that they all sounded unfamiliar. Qiu Yun must have simply collected some nameless generals to fill in the slots.

However, when Chen Xiaolian saw the last name, his face displayed a reaction.

Finally, here was a general whose name resounded throughout history.

Additionally, if he was to judge this general by his role in the Three Kingdoms Era, he was certainly a major character.

Donglai - Taishi Ci.

That was the full name there. There was a Donglai before his name.

One glance was sufficient to tell Chen Xiaolian that there was a difference of Heaven and Earth between this name and the other six.

Chen Xiaolian"s interest was immediately drawn toward it. He carefully read his description from the Starchart of Generals.

Chen Xiaolian was first puzzled by the prefix Donglai, but now he finally understood.

As someone who had read up on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it was only natural for Chen Xiaolian to know Taishi Ci as a first-rate general of Eastern Wu. However, he had first made his debut in Shandong (Donglai). According to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Taishi Ci hailed from Donglai. Thus, the prefix Donglai referred to when he was taken as a War Soul. Thus, this Taishi Ci was likely the Taishi Ci who had just made his debut.

This was understandable. The combat power of every general was not a constant.

Saying that a person"s combat power would remain at the value 99 forever - well, that simply was not true. A general"s combat powers could be separated into his boyhood days, his youthful days, his prime and his elderly days. The difference in age, the level of martial arts mastery, the state of their body, the amount of experience, all of those were aspects that would affect their combat powers.

Let"s use a simple example for this case. Even though both of them existed within the Three Kingdoms Era, there was certainly a difference in strength between the Guan Yu who cut down Yan Liang and Wen Chou, and the old Guan Yu who became isolated in Maicheng City.

Another example was Lu Bu. Compare the Lu Bu from Hulao Gate and the older Lu Bu who ended up becoming besieged in Xiapi. The latter spent his days drowning in alcohol to ease his worries and was extremely haggard. It was only natural for the latter to have a different level of strength. The former was Lu Bu at his peak while the latter was Lu Bu in his declining days.

This Donglai - Taishi Ci was the War Soul of a first-rate general of the Three Kingdoms Era, Taishi Ci.

However, the combat power of this Taishi Ci was limited to the Taishi Ci who first made his debut. He was far from becoming the Taishi Ci who battled the Little Conqueror (Sun Ce) in Shen Village. That Taishi Ci was someone who had spent years doing battle and leading soldiers. That Taishi Ci"s martial arts accomplishments and experience had made him mature.

"So what if he had just made his debut? He is still a first-rate general." Chen Xiaolian released a satisfied sigh.

According to the Starchart of Generals, the first six generals consisted of four [C] cla.s.s and two [B-] cla.s.s. As expected, nothing much could be expected from them.

Donglai - Taishi Ci, however, was given an [A-] cla.s.s.

Taishi Ci was at the Dubhe position. According to the Starchart of Generals, placing an [A-] cla.s.s War Soul there would increase every generals" combat power by 8 per cent. The summon duration for the generals was 30 minutes.

This summon duration represented the sum total. In other words, this 30 minutes would be equally divided between the seven generals or used on only one general. Summoning out seven generals at once to do battle was certainly impressive. However, the amount of time they could remain would be reduced. Using one at a time, on the other hand, meant he could use that one general for 30 minutes.

Once summoned however, the cool down period was very high… … 48 hours.

A full two days!

This Starchart of Generals was infinitely close to being a War Pets" cheat program.

Having it in his hand meant he could keep seven more War Pets.

However, the biggest difference was that this Starchart of Generals was comparable to a one-time consumable goods. Once he summoned out a general just once, it would not matter how long that general was summoned out for; it could be for one minute or ten minutes, but the moment he summoned the general back, the chart would enter a cool down period.

In terms of functionality, it did not give as much freedom compared to the War Pet"s system, which generally allowed him to summon and keep his War Pets any time he desired. There was no limit to the number of times he could do so.

Of course, any generals who died in battle would disappear forever.

This was indeed a good item.

Additionally, this Donglai - Taishi Ci would most certainly be of great help to him.

As for the other six generals, after some consideration, Chen Xiaolian decided that any sane person would try to quickly figure a way to replace them with better War Souls.

Let"s just maintain and use them first. In the future, when the opportunity comes, I will replace them with better ones!

Chen Xiaolian happily kept the Starchart of Generals for himself. Next, he looked at the unconscious Qiu Yun, who was beside him.

He hesitated.

How should he deal with Qiu Yun?

Kill?

Truth be told, Chen Xiaolian found it hard to do so.

There was no grudge between him and Qiu Yun. Additionally, he had treated him fairly well. Although he had tried to set everyone up back in this Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang instance dungeon, he did not actually brought harm to him.

Chen Xiaolian sighed. Next, he retrieved some Black Widow spider silk from his storage equipment and used it to tie up Qiu Yun"s hands and legs.

He then carried Qiu Yun with him as he moved through Epang Palace"s corridors. It did not take long for him to find his objective.

A "safe room".

From what he could recall, the safest place in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang instance dungeon was this safe room. The patrolling terracotta soldiers could not step inside. Not even the big BOSS Bai Qi could take a step inside.

Chen Xiaolian placed the unconscious Qiu Yun at a corner and gagged his mouth. After that, he found some blanket and used them to cover his body up.

Qiu Yun was not of the Body Technique Division. Thus, it was highly unlikely that he could extricate himself from the Black Widow spider silk. Additionally, this safe room had quite the corner location. Most Awakened ones would not be able to find this place easily. Thus, Chen Xiaolian decided to simply leave him there.

As Chen Xiaolian was about to leave the safe room, he suddenly thought of something. He then returned to Qiu Yun"s side and crouched down.

After doing something for a while, he then got up and left.

This time, he returned to the central hall where the large ding was located.

"Five Elements spell array, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, the other elements are already present in the square with the tree. The most crucial factor needed to activate the spell array is here. Back then, Xia Xiaolei had informed me about the events that occurred when he met Qiu Yun…"

Chen Xiaolian thought about it and pulled out the Tiger Tally with his hand. At the same time, he also pulled out a bottle. Uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the bottle, he poured the liquid inside the bottle into the ding.

That crimson blood was none other than genuine human blood.

Only, this blood did not come from Chen Xiaolian.

Just now, he had taken this blood from Qiu Yun. At any rate, they had already fought each other. Borrowing some of his blood should not count as anything in that regard. If there was a choice, Chen Xiaolian would not be as stupid as to put his own blood inside.

The moment the blood flowed into the bronze ding… perhaps it was an illusion or something, but…

Chen Xiaolian felt an astral wing blowing across the central hall. It was bone chillingly cold.

He subconsciously shrunk back and watched as a black coloured smoke rapidly appeared from within the bronze ding.

The smoke twisted about and grew more condensed. After that, it seemingly became attracted to the bottle that Chen Xiaolian was holding.

Chen Xiaolian did not give the black smoke a chance to make contact with him. He quickly poured down all the blood within the bottle before tossing the bottle far away.

The black smoke was attracted by the blood. The instant the bottle was sent flying, it ignored Chen Xiaolian and moved toward the bottle instead. Soon however, it moved about, seemingly having lost its target. It then swirled about.

Chen Xiaolian was secretly shocked.

Thank goodness I did not put my own blood just now!

The black smoke that was activated by the blood was clearly looking for the owner of that blood.

If he had poured his own blood, he may end up like the former Qiu Yun, caught by Bai Qi"s soul and dragged into a fight for his own body.

Mm…

Body seizure!

Chen Xiaolian"s heart gave a pound as he thought of a certain detail.

In the former Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang instance dungeon, the big BOSS Bai Qi appeared because Qiu Yun had attempted to control Bai Qi. However, Xia Xiaolei"s interference caused Bai Qi to seize his body instead. That resulted in Bai Qi"s vengeful spirit obtaining a fleshly body and becoming the big BOSS Bai Qi.

But now… … if there was no body for Bai Qi to seize, how would the big BOSS Bai Qi look like?

As Chen Xiaolian was ruminating, his mind was struck with shock.

Before his very eyes, the swirling black smoke was beginning to condense.

The floor of Epang Palace beneath his feet and the entire palace complex itself appeared to be trembling.

Chen Xiaolian could sense a faint power of suppression coming from the surrounding walls. This seemingly pervasive power of the vengeful spirit caused Chen Xiaolian"s heart to sink.

He quickly rushed toward the great hall located deep inside the palace.

After around 20 steps, he suddenly heard a howl filled with resentment.

Chen Xiaolian turned his head back for a glance and was instantly flabbergasted.

"Bai, Bai Qi?"

The Bai Qi of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang instance dungeon in his memories wore long white coloured clothes. His clothes were as white as snow and he wielded a translucent sword. While giving out an icy countenance, he also exuded an exceptional aura of elegance.

The present Bai Qi…

Appearance wise, he was the same, however…

Black coloured clothing. It was as black as ink. It almost appeared as though black smoke were moving across the surface of his black coloured clothes. As for the short sword in his hand, the edge of the sword was as black as ink as well. The atmosphere of blackness radiating off him was so dense even flowers would be unable to bloom.

Only his face and the exposed parts of his hands remained pale to the point of being transparent. However, the pair of eyes on his face was like a pair of black pearls. There was only blackness in his eyes, with not a hint of white.

A… black version of Bai Qi?

Chen Xiaolian could sense the strong killing intent aimed at him. The skin on his face felt a faint sensation of pain from the killing intent.

After releasing the howl, the black Bai Qi stared intently at Chen Xiaolian.

More accurately, he was staring at what was in his hand… … the Tiger Tally.

"Return it to me!"

Hearing those familiar words, Chen Xiaolian did not hesitate to turn around and run. He rushed toward the gate leading to the main square of Epang Palace.

A black coloured cloud was hot on his heels. Bai Qi"s legs had seemingly transformed into smoke and he pursued Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian rushed toward the gate leading to the great hall. After pushing open the gate doors with all his might, he rushed inside and closed up the gate doors. Next, he ran down the stairs.

Chen Xiaolian looked at the large bronze statues in the square, the crooked tree and the flight of stairs leading to the main gate located far away…

Boom!

The gate doors that Chen Xiaolian had just run past were shattered.

The countless wood chips turned into rotten wood. Then, it grew more withered before crumbling and dissipating everywhere.

The black Bai Qi was like a squall and he charged forward, creating a whistling sound in his wake.

His figure landed in the centre of the main square and he cast a cold stare at Chen Xiaolian. Next, he abruptly raised the black coloured short sword in his hand.

"Come out!"

A loud shout.

Weng!

A circular and invisible shockwave rippled outward. Instantly, the sounds of orderly footsteps came.

All the gates around the main square were opened up and black coloured terracotta soldiers swarmed into the square in an orderly formation.

The countless pikes rose like trees in a forest and the swords glistened like the surface of the sea.

The gate doors of the main hall was pushed open… … just like what happened previously, four tall and mighty Qin generals in fully black armour and indistinct facial features appeared. Black smoke swirled around them as they stepped out from the gate leading to the main hall. They then stood on the platform before the gate.

The black Bai Qi continued to cast an icy glare at Chen Xiaolian, who felt as though there was a mountain like pressure weighing down on him. The thick killing intent was making him breathless.

However, he maintained a sense of clarity. According to the rules of this instance dungeon, Bai Qi cannot harm the holder of the Tiger Tally.

Unless that holder attempted to move toward the main hall where the coffin of Qin Shihuang was located.

Otherwise, Bai Qi would be unable to attack him.

If so…

Chen Xiaolian clenched his teeth and swallowed down half of the spicy bar in his mouth.

1: Presently, the Sword in the Stone is only [A+] cla.s.s as it is only 90 per cent activated. It could only become [S] cla.s.s when fully activated. As for Roddy"s Mech, the earlier chapters states that it is only [A+] cla.s.s. It could be that the author has revised his position on the Mech. Further detail is required…↩

2: A joke made about a general with certain fame in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Era. In the early years of the Three Kingdoms Era, a coalition rose to fight against a despot warlord known as Dong Zhuo. However, the coalition armies" generals kept losing in duels to Dong Zhuo"s general, Hua Xiong.

Then Imperial Protector Han Fu said, “I have a brave warrior among my army. Pan Feng is his name, and he could slay this Hua Xiong.” So Pan Feng was ordered out to meet the foe. With his great battle-ax in his hand, Pan Feng mounted and rode forth.

Hua Xiong butchered him. End of story.

As for Lu Bu, the romanticising of the Three Kingdoms made him the most powerful general of the Three Kingdoms Era. If you played Dynasty Warriors, you"ll understand. One does not simply face Lu Bu on the hardest difficulty. Orz…  ↩

3: Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid are the seven star positions in the Big Dipper constellation.↩

GOR Chapter 504 You… … Me?

Fight his way through the formation of soldiers.

That was the decision that Chen Xiaolian made.

The only way to complete his quest was to break through the formation of soldiers.

In order to rush into Epang Palace"s main hall and stop the resurrection of Qin Shihuang, he must first deal with the BOSS, Bai Qi.

In order to deal with the BOSS Bai Qi, he must first break the Five Elements spell array in this area.

The way to break the spell array was… … to cut down the great tree located in the middle of the square.

Previously, Miao Yan had distracted Bai Qi while Chen Xiaolian was in charge of cutting down the tree. The way to break the tree was… … use Metal to break Wood.

The element Metal here was the bronze statues in the square. Additionally, he also needed the element Fire…

However, what was needed was not a literal fire, but… blood.

Chen Xiaolian"s mind quickly recalled the method to break the spell array.

At that very moment, the formation of Qin soldiers had begun moving.

With orderly footsteps, the formation of soldiers marched forward like ants. They slowly marched forward, putting pressure on Chen Xiaolian. Their pikes and swords were aimed at Chen Xiaolian and the crossbowmen were ready.

Facing such a sight would cause anyone to suffer from goose b.u.mps.

However, Chen Xiaolian knew that they were bluffing.

He now held the Tiger Tally. Unless he attacked them first, these Qin soldiers would never attack him.

Chen Xiaolian sneered and slowly retreated until he was beside the bronze statues.

The Qin soldiers marched closer in order to put more pressure on him. The black Bai Qi was standing atop one of the railings on the platform above the stairs. His foot rested atop the railing pillar and the black coloured short sword was aimed at Chen Xiaolian.

"Return it to me!"

Chen Xiaolian harrumphed in reply.

Although the black Bai Qi"s voice contained a thick amount of killing intent, so much so that he found it hard to bear, Chen Xiaolian forced himself to endure the detrimental effects of the killing intent on him.

There was only one thought in his mind: As long as I do not make a move, he would definitely not make the first move!

Chen Xiaolian stood beneath one of the bronze statues and turned to look at the black Bai Qi. The corners of his lips curled and he pulled a face while facing the black Bai Qi.

Next, Chen Xiaolian quickly raised the stone spear in his hand and roared out loudly.

"Open!"

Golden light radiated outward.

The instantaneous burst of golden light caused a sword beam with a power that was infinitely close to Skyblade"s power to descend upon the base position of the bronze statue.

The moment the sword beam was unleashed, the black coloured Bai Qi, who was standing far away, immediately howled out.

His howl rose up to the sky and it seemed as though the entire square was trembling under the power of his howl.

As for the bronze statue, after its base position was cut off by the golden beam of light, Chen Xiaolian sent his palm forward viciously, slamming the bronze statue…

The bronze statue came crashing down on the distant, large tree.

At the same time, the formation of Qin soldiers made their move.

The moment Chen Xiaolian made an offensive move, the Qin soldiers responded with their own offensive.

Hundreds of pikes rose up and flew toward Chen Xiaolian. There were also countless arrows among them. As they arced into the air, they blotted out the sun.

It appeared as though a wave of heavy rain was showering down on Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian released a roar of his own, swept his hand and used the stone spear to make two swings in succession. As a result, two golden coloured swing trails appeared, acting like a shield to protect Chen Xiaolian.

The pikes and arrows that fell upon the golden coloured shield were instantly destroyed.

Chen Xiaolian diverted his attention to the bronze statue falling down on the tree. He sent his hand out, delivering a backhanded slap on the bronze statue.

The bronze statue fell faster.

Chen Xiaolian"s actions were done with all his might. The present him possessed an enhanced body with a power near that of [A] cla.s.s. With such a power behind his actions, the bronze statue smashed down like a thunderbolt.

At the same time, Chen Xiaolian also quickly pulled out something else.

That something was a leather bag, which contained none other than… … blood.

Blood!

The blood he obtained from Qiu Yun.

Chen Xiaolian had no desire to cut himself and use his own blood like an idiot again.

He threw the leather bag, which flew over and landed on the large tree. Next, Chen Xiaolian stamped down heavily upon the ground, causing pieces of gravel to fly up. He then swept up the pieces of gravel and tossed them forward as well.

After falling upon the large tree, the leather bag was continuously struck by the pieces of gravel and blood flowed out from it. The blood flowed down the surface of the large tree.

At that moment, the falling bronze statue was about to smash into the tree.

The breaking of the spell array was right before him.

The black Bai Qi charged forward furiously.

A smile nearly broke out upon Chen Xiaolian"s face, but…

A black coloured smoke shot through the protective shield that Chen Xiaolian put up.

The golden coloured protective shield was simply incapable of stopping the black smoke.

The black smoke penetrated the shield and instantaneously arrived before the falling bronze statue.

With a "bang", the black smoke struck the bronze statue, causing the top half of the statue to crumble. Before it could make contact with the large tree, the top part of the bronze statue crumbled into pieces.

Chen Xiaolian watched as the bronze statue crashed down the ground. The remains of the statue fell before the tree, inflicting no damage to the large tree at all. The smile on Chen Xiaolian"s face froze.

d.a.m.n it! I knew it would not be this easy…

The black Bai Qi, who had transformed into the black smoke, reappeared before the large tree. He gave the fallen bronze statue an indifferent glance before turning his sharp like gaze at Chen Xiaolian.

"Return it to me!"

Behind Chen Xiaolian, the Qin soldiers swarmed forward to kill him.

Chen Xiaolian shouted back, "Return your sister!"

Wielding the stone spear, he fiercely slashed the base position of another bronze statue. The muscles on his arms bulged explosively and he shouted out as the bronze statue fell down as well.

Hundreds of the Qin soldiers in the lead were immediately smashed to bits by the falling statue. Additionally, after falling down in the middle of the square, the large bronze statue acted as a wall, disrupting the wave like advance of the Qin soldiers.

At the same time, Chen Xiaolian picked up the leg part of the bronze statue that fell toward the large tree earlier. Roaring loudly, he raised the entire bronze statue and sent it slamming toward the large tree.

Weng!

Chen Xiaolian felt a tremor run through him. Looking forward, he saw that the black Bai Qi was standing before the bronze statue. His left palm was placed before the top part of the bronze statue while his eyes were coldly fixed upon Chen Xiaolian.

No matter how much Chen Xiaolian tried, he was unable to push the bronze statue a single inch forward.

On the black Bai Qi"s end, black coloured smoke swirled around his palm and the bronze statue slowly disintegrated.

The black Bai Qi himself was moving toward Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian watched how the bronze statue fell apart like bubble foam before black Bai Qi"s might. Wherever Bai Qi touched would crumble to dust. In but two breaths" of time, black Bai Qi had made it to a distance of only two metres from Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian finally released his hold on the bronze statue. He bellowed loudly and brandished the stone spear, hacking down on black Bai Qi.

Skyblade"s power erupted forth instantly.

Black Bai Qi snorted in response and the black short sword in his hand flew out to meet the incoming attack. Black coloured smoke and golden coloured light collided silently and Chen Xiaolian felt his internal organs being squeezed by a powerful force. The power behind the force caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Bai Qi"s body also suffered as a shock ran through his body, which flew backward like a large bird. He then spread open both hands and made an aerial somersault, landing at a distance. The surface of the ground where he landed crumbled to dust.

After their confrontation, it would appear that the both of them were equally matched.

The black coloured smoke on the surface of Bai Qi"s body became visibly dimmer.

However, Chen Xiaolian himself realized that this was his limit.

Skyblade"s power was something he could only unleash for an instant. Additionally, there was a limit to the number of times he could do so. It was not something he could use all the time.

Even Skyblade"s power was unable to suppress Bai Qi. If that was the case… … should this battle be prolonged, he would end up losing for sure.

"What the h.e.l.l is with [S] cla.s.s… … d.a.m.n it." Chen Xiaolian wiped away the blood on his lips.

Although the Qin soldiers behind him were stopped by the fallen bronze statue, it did not take long for them to climb up the statue like ants. Some of the Qin soldiers who were of officer ranks leapt and vaulted over the bronze statue.

Noticing that, Chen Xiaolian responded.

"Garfield! Come out!"

Three beams of light appeared behind him and coalesced into Garfield doppelgangers. Chen Xiaolian also retrieved the Starchart of Generals that he had just obtained.

In one breath, he summoned out the first six generals within the Big Dipper array.

He could not remember their names. Although they were just some junior generals, they could still be of worth in this battlefield.

Six beams of light appeared and transformed into generals. All of them had tangible bodies condensed from the light. They also wore armour and wielded an a.s.sortment of weapons: spears, hammers etc. Instantly, Chen Xiaolian could feel a sense of communication much like the one he felt with his pets.

With a thought, the six generals charged the Qin army.

The existence of the bronze statue was like a dam, which interfered with the swarm strategy of the Qin army. Only one tenth of the Qin army was able to climb over the bronze statue. Although that number would increase over time, at least the Qin army was unable to gain an advantage in numbers. Chen Xiaolian"s six generals charged forward to meet them.

Although they were merely low-ranking generals, they were still War Souls of the [C] and [B] cla.s.s. Additionally, with the blessing of the Big Dipper array, their powers were enhanced.

The six generals descended upon the Qin army and were able to kill those mobs as one would chop vegetables.

The advancing Qin soldiers were all cut down by the six generals who continued advancing until they reached the top of the bronze statue. Looking down on the incoming Qin soldiers, they appeared to be putting up a defensive action while standing atop a wall, successfully stopping the advance of the Qin army.

Occasionally, some would slip past them. However, there were three Garfield doppelgangers to take care of them.

Chen Xiaolian then glanced at the far away black Bai Qi, who had stood up and straightened his body. His eyes continued staring intently at Chen Xiaolian. Next, he stepped forward once more. This time, the killing intent radiating off black Bai Qi was even more ferocious.

Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and considered it for a moment. At present, he could only use Skyblade"s power two more times. This was his limit.

Unless he could summon out the Sword in the Stone… … the Sword in the Stone could replenish his stats once. However… … he was inside Epang Palace which prohibited metal. The Sword in the Stone was considered a metal object and thus could not be brought out.

Chen Xiaolian hacked down with a stone spear once again and golden light burst out once more. The distant black Bai Qi leapt up and a black dragon roared out from the tip of his black coloured short sword. The black dragon spiralled forward and met the golden light head-on.

On Chen Xiaolian"s side, he felt as though he was struck by a lightning bolt.  His body staggered once and the stone spear in his hand was finally incapable of handling the load from the power and burst into pieces.

The force from the collision however, did not let up and Chen Xiaolian"s body was forced to retreat until his back made contact with another bronze statue.

Among the 12 bronze statues standing inside this main square, two had been cut down. Chen Xiaolian then turned his head to look at the third bronze statue before turning to look at the black Bai Qi, who was forced back again by the collision…

"This BOSS is too strong." Chen Xiaolian sighed in frustration.

Using Skyblade"s power, Chen Xiaolian had become nigh invincible back during Blood Verdict.

Today, however, he had encountered an opponent who could confront Skyblade"s power head on.

This BOSS Bai Qi is really [S] cla.s.s?

At the same time, at the dam created from the fallen bronze statue, one of Chen Xiaolian"s generals abruptly howled out. A powerful force sent the general flying and his body broke apart even as his body was flying through the air. He then transformed into a beam of light and disappeared.

The powerful force belonged to none other than the black coloured Qin general. This black general had fiercely jumped up the bronze statue.

Indeed, it was one of those four black coloured generals.

From his memories, Chen Xiaolian recalled that these four black generals were considered minor bosses of this instance dungeon. Their strength should not be underestimated.

After reaching the top of the bronze statue with a leapt, the black general disposed of one of the generals summoned from the Starchart of Generals with one strike. Seeing that, the remaining five generals on Chen Xiaolian"s side rushed over to attack the black general. However, Chen Xiaolian quickly exerted control over them to have them disperse.

Stop joking around! With such a difference in strength, you fellows still want to rush to your deaths? Stick to beating up mobs, will you?

Chen Xiaolian grunted.

"Bai Qi, come out!"

A white beam of light shone out and War Soul Bai Qi arrived atop the bronze statue. He stood directly in front of the black general.

Like always, Bai Qi was in all white attire. However, a faint colour of blood seemingly flowed around the aura of whiteness radiating off him. When Bai Qi saw the black general standing before him, he uttered a harrumph and spoke up.

"Step down!"

His voice contained a resounding tone, which gave off the faint imagery of swords and pikes.

Facing Bai Qi, the black general became stunned for a moment. It was only half a second"s worth of hesitation and he continued raising the black sword in his hand.

However, that half a second"s worth of hesitation…

Bai Qi"s sword had already transformed into a beam of light, which stabbed through the black general"s heart.

Bai Qi sneered and raised his sword, the black general along with it, before flicking the black general down the bronze statue. The body of the black general landed somewhere not far from Chen Xiaolian.

By the time he fell to the ground, the black general"s body had been cut open. His figure had been seemingly cut into two. After falling to the ground, the ghastly fires on his face rapidly turned dim before disappearing entirely…

Then, Chen Xiaolian felt a thought coming to him.

Chen Xiaolian, who was taken aback, quickly reacted.

Holy s.h.i.t! What is there to hesitate about? Absorb it!

To be able to kill off one of his six generals in one hit, this black general must certainly be of a higher level.

One second later, the black general lying on the ground disappeared amid the black smoke. Inside the Starchart of Generals, a general in Qin military gear and black smoke swirling around him appeared in the empty star slot.

"War Soul - Meng Ge: Qin Shihuang"s Guardian General. Current combat power: [B+] cla.s.s. Growth Capacity: [A-] cla.s.s."

His surname is Meng? Looks like he is from one of the Qin Dynasty"s clan of generals.

However, seeing that the general was only at [B+] cla.s.s somewhat disappointed Chen Xiaolian. However, after considering it, the general was likely the same as Bai Qi. After becoming a War Pet, his stats had automatically decreased.

The black Bai Qi had charged toward him once again. Chen Xiaolian gritted his teeth and picked up a broken limb belonging to one of the Qin terracotta soldiers. He held the arm, which continued to grip onto a sword. Chen Xiaolian then roared and threw it at the incoming black Bai Qi.

Naturally, he unleashed Skyblade"s power as well.

His final charge.

The golden light shone, but Chen Xiaolian ignored the black Bai Qi and instead ran to the back of the bronze statue. There, he retrieved the Starchart of Generals again.

The general Meng Ge, that Chen Xiaolian had just taken in quickly appeared. His stature appeared slightly smaller, but black smoke continued swirling around his body.

Additionally, there was also…

Donglai - Taishi Ci.

Taishi Ci appeared amid a clump of silver coloured light. He wore black coloured iron armour, held a spear and stood straight.

At the same time, a black coloured light shone out from the middle part of the bronze statue that was acting as a dam against the Qin army. Following the burst of black light, the centre part of the bronze statue blew up and a three-metre wide opening was created as a result.

The three remaining black Qin generals rushed in through the opening.

Seeing the opening, countless Qin terracotta soldiers rushed madly through it. Chen Xiaolian quickly pointed at the opening and shouted, "Hold them!"

War Soul Meng Ge had already charged forward and faced one of the black generals. He was once of the same level as them, but after becoming a War Pet, his power had decreased somewhat. Now that he was facing one of the black generals by himself, Meng Ge was forced to retreat again and again. At the same time however, Chen Xiaolian became flabbergasted.

Taishi Ci!

Taishi Ci stood there, unmoving. When one of the black generals arrived before him however, he abruptly took action.

His spear swept out like a venomous dragon.

The black general released a m.u.f.fled grunt as his huge body was sent flying by the attack. His body then fell upon the opening on the bronze statue, knocking down a good number of the Qin terracotta soldiers.

Taishi Ci gave a cold harrumph and strode forward.

He stepped forward, radiating a mighty and extraordinary atmosphere. With but one stride, he arrived before the other black general.

His long spear shot out like a meteor, slipping through the gaps among the terracotta soldiers. Before the black general who fell down earlier could get up, the spear slammed into him, pinning him to the ground.

The spear had pierced through his shoulder.

As for Taishi Ci, facing the other black general right before him, he quickly turned to pull something out with his hands…

Mm?

Those are …

Twin whips?

A peculiar line of thought suddenly appeared in Chen Xiaolian"s mind: This… could this be…

The twin whips struck the ground once, causing a "weng" sound and… … a ripple of shockwave?

Guard… guard break?

Next, Taishi Ci"s figure spun like a cyclone.

The twin whips became thousands and all of them battered the black general"s body. The black general became trapped inside the cyclone of whips and was instantly struck countless times in but the blink of an eye. Holes appeared all around his black coloured armour and the black smoke swirling around him became suppressed and flickered faintly, seemingly on the verge of dissipating…

Chen Xiaolian"s mouth nearly hit the floor as his face twisted in utter shock.

Holy s.h.i.t… … this, this, this is Taishi Ci"s Cyclone attack!

He looked down at the Starchart of Generals in his hand.

This… this is Starchart of Generals?

Don"t you b.l.o.o.d.y mean Dynasty Warriors app?

Taishi Ci… … unleashed a Musou attack?

A Musou attack?!

MUSOU??? [1]

Boom!

The black general was sent flying by the attack and finally broke apart before disappearing before the opening in the bronze statue.

As expected, the silver glow on Taishi Ci"s body completely disappeared. However… … Taishi Ci had already charged his way to the opening in the bronze statue. He sent one feet stamping down on the black general who was pinned down to the ground with the spear. Next, he pulled the spear and swung it around, knocking the surrounding Qin terracotta soldiers down.

He was like a tower of strength amid the incoming swarm, standing fervently in the middle of the opening. No matter how the Qin terracotta soldiers attempted to break through him, they were unable to take one-step beyond him.

Chen Xiaolian"s mouth was still wide open.

Taishi Ci… … so… … fearsome.

His heart was instantly moved. The Starchart of Generals. The Starchart of Generals!

One Taishi Ci was so incredible, if he could get his hands on Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun… … or maybe Lu Bu…

Chen Xiaolian shook his head. Now is not the time to daydream!

He turned and saw that the black Bai Qi had gotten up and was coming after him once more. Chen Xiaolian"s heart sank again.

"Bai Qi, stop him!"

At this point in time, he could only put his faith in Bai Qi.

A white beam of light shot out and War Soul Bai Qi stood before the black BOSS Bai Qi.

One white, one black. The contrast between the two of them was strikingly conspicuous.

The black Bai Qi radiated killing intent as he stared savagely at War Soul Bai Qi.

War Soul Bai Qi observed this opponent standing before him. His eyebrows suddenly knitted up.

"You… … me?"

1 Musou attacks are powerful moves in the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Utilizing a Musou gauge that rises as the character mows down his or her enemies, the character could unleash a series of powerful attacks.↩