Chapter 442: Who Is the Real Commander?
Several Golden Core Cultivators attacked together. Even with interception, only a little over thirty soldiers died.
Such results were pitifully small.
This was because the Three Generals Camp was a formally integrated unit of the national army, part of the national defense, and enjoyed the protection of the kingdom’s might. Any external attack would inevitably be diminished by the national defense.
Moreover, the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp had maintained formation all along, marching in a Straight Serpent Formation. Their combined military strength was unified, granting them a degree of defensive capability.
But Liu Er, Zhang Hei, and the others were shocked and furious upon seeing the losses.
The Three Generals Camp wasn’t large to begin with, only a little over three hundred men.
The first wave of assault alone had taken out a tenth of them. Another two or three waves, and morale would collapse—then the army would scatter.
This army wasn’t the Golden Halberd Army. Recently formed and barely established, it had the weakest foundation of all the forces.
Once casualties reached around thirty percent, the cultivators would be overcome with dread and flee in all directions.
Describing them as a disorderly mob was entirely accurate.
“Change formation!”
“Change formation!”
Liu Er and Zhang Hei roared in unison.
On the other side, Guan Hong gritted his teeth, enduring the searing pain. He had just taken a pill and stabilized his injuries, hastily wrapping his right arm.
His right arm was badly injured, nearly crippled.
But with the army under attack and hearing the spiritual messages from Liu Er and Zhang Hei, he knew he had to hold the line!
Guan Hong circulated his mana, coordinating with Liu Er and Zhang Hei to reposition the nearby soldiers and begin changing formation.
The Straight Serpent Formation was ideal for marching, but it was ill-suited for facing a small number of elite enemies. The long, stretched-out formation left the front and rear far apart, unable to support each other.
Fortunately, the Three Generals had undergone special training beforehand, enduring great hardship to focus on two specific formations.
The Straight Serpent Formation had been learned later. The formation that had consumed most of their time and effort was the Triangular Arrowhead Formation.
The soldiers of the Three Generals Camp felt their scalps tingle but still obeyed the order, rapidly mobilizing according to their drills.
They still retained some rationality. These Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stage cultivators knew that fleeing would only make them easy prey for Golden Core Cultivators, dying miserably. In contrast, by forming up, they could borrow strength from the formation and the kingdom's might to protect themselves.
If they were lucky, they might even repel the invading Golden Core Cultivators and earn military merit!
In that moment, the serpent twisted through the mountainous terrain, turning its head and curling its tail, coiling into a tight mass.
“Quick! Attack them!” Chen Lingfeng immediately sent a spiritual command to issue orders.
There were intricacies to changing formation.
Changing formations recklessly would create openings.
Take for example how the White Jade Camp dealt with Tu Ming—General Shuangjing led the troops, and during the shift in formation, only the elite inner soldiers changed formation while the outer layer maintained the Jade Wall Heavenly Moat Formation.
That was to conceal the vulnerabilities during the transition.
But the Three Generals Camp couldn’t do the same.
For one, they had too few soldiers, only around three hundred, making it impossible to split into inner and outer layers for separate formations.
For another, they lacked sufficient training. This flaw was even greater than the Barbarian-Demon Army’s! At least General Xu Dali had his own elite and personal troops, while Liu, Guan, and Zhang were all starting from scratch, forming their forces with nothing.
Luckily, the enemy they faced now wasn’t as numerous or as strong as those that had attacked the Barbarian-Demon Army.
Wind Movement Spell—Wind in Gloom!
Chen Lingfeng flapped the wings behind his back, channeled his innate talent, and cast a spell.
In an instant, the sky and earth dimmed, and fierce gales swept across, forcing the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp to shut their eyes. Some couldn’t even stay on their feet, bodies swaying and nearly blown away!
Wu Hen had already retreated to a safe zone.
“I’ll join too!”
Bizarre Dao—Shadow Threads Entwine!
Black shadows surged from the edges of Wu Hen’s black robe.
The shadowy tide roiled like pitch-black water, hugging the ground and rushing toward the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp.
With the soldiers now bunched together, their bodies formed a continuous field—making Wu Hen’s attack incredibly convenient.
Liu Er shouted, and amidst the dark winds, he rode a Yellow Dun Horse and raised the Primal Yellow Sword high!
Military Art—Guard the Land and Fortify the Roots.
This technique came with the Primal Yellow Sword itself. Upon activation, it transformed into circles of earthy-yellow light, blessing every soldier.
The rings rapidly expanded, covering the entire army, forming a firm defense that resisted the battering wind—but it couldn’t stop the shadows surging along the ground.
That was the strength of the Bizarre Dao.
Wu Hen was unhindered, and reached the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp.
“Got you.” He grinned with a bone-chilling sneer.
The next moment, the soldiers he touched began to turn against their own—turning into strands of shadow that wrapped around their masters’ legs and arms, restricting movement.
In no time, the reformation slowed significantly.
Many soldiers fell, struggling wildly, yet unable to break free from the entangling shadow threads.
Some, in panic, tried casting spells or using artifacts to attack the shadows on themselves.
The result? As their shadows were destroyed, their physical bodies also suffered corresponding injuries!
This placed them in a difficult dilemma, utterly helpless.
“Very good, very good.”
Another Golden Core Cultivator named Luo Xiwěi specialized in earth-element techniques, practicing the Earth Access Art. He excelled at digging tunnels.
Following the prior plan, he took action, wielding the Earth Vein Five-Segment Staff to cast an earth-element spell.
In moments, the rocky terrain softened rapidly, turning into vast stretches of quicksand.
The soldiers, already bound by shadow threads and unable to move, could only watch as they were slowly swallowed by the sand.
This quicksand trick was vicious.
It wouldn’t kill them immediately but forced them to watch themselves slide into a pit of death, deeply shaking their morale and breaking the army’s spirit.
“Damn it!” Liu Er was furious.
Generals Guan and Zhang were also gritting their teeth.
They too possessed weapons with embedded military arts—but all were offensive in nature.
Right now, the Triangular Arrowhead Formation needed the Three Generals to maintain its core. If any of them charged out to fight, a corner of the formation would collapse, creating a fatal weakness that other Golden Core Cultivators could exploit to slaughter the troops.
The Three Generals absolutely didn’t want to see that. This was their one and only army!
But the Triangular Arrowhead Formation itself didn’t have great defense. At this rate, their forces would keep bleeding and eventually collapse.
Zhang Hei shivered suddenly, as if realizing something. He couldn’t help but send a spiritual message, exclaiming, “Big Brother, Second Brother, isn’t this the prophetic poem the strategist divined?!”
That prophecy—
Horse hooves trample falling blossoms;
Wind rises, shadows sink in sand.
Who can keep the moon shining?
Who will be buried in the clouds and sunset?
The current situation mirrored the line “Wind rises, shadows sink in sand” perfectly—an eerie match!
Liu Er and Guan Hong had long realized this and immediately messaged Zhang Hei to stop talking.
The troops’ morale was already on the brink. The Three Generals were barely holding the line—if they panicked, this battlefront would utterly collapse.
Zhang Hei shut his mouth, deeply regretting: “Had I known, I would’ve listened more to the strategist’s advice.”
Ning Zhuo had long been observing the battlefield with his spiritual sense from within the carriage. Seeing this scene, he felt a strange sensation rise in his heart.
“A prophetic poem I casually made up... actually came true?”
“What’s going on?”
“It must be coincidence, right?”
At this moment, he hadn’t yet realized—it was Cave Lord of the Ink Abyss who had purposefully suggested using the prophecy to turn the situation to their advantage.
This strategy was indeed exquisite. Even if Liu, Guan, and Zhang hadn’t spread the poem, their hearts had already been shaken!
They were the foundation of the army’s morale. Once their minds wavered, the entire formation’s power was immediately affected.
The attacking Golden Core Cultivators felt noticeably relieved, and the soldiers sank even faster into the sand.
“Are we really going to be wiped out today?!” Liu Er felt despair rising.
“If we’re doomed anyway, let’s charge out and die gloriously!” Zhang Hei clenched his jaw, eyes fierce.
Guan Hong’s face was cold. “If the outcome can’t be changed, we might as well make one last reckless charge.”
But such a move would lead to massive casualties. Still, the Three Generals seemed to have no other choice.
“Generals, fear not—watch me turn the tide.” At that critical moment, a young cultivator stepped out from the carriage.
It was none other than Ning Zhuo!
On his right stood the Heavy Armor Blood Ape—Dasheng. On his left, the Buddhist Doctor—Meng Yaoyin.
The Puppet Dragon was no longer at Ning Zhuo’s waist; Sun Lingtong had long since quietly left this army.
Ning Zhuo took out his Military Advisor’s Miniature Seal. Multitasking, he activated the seal while casting a spell.
Earth Element—Solidify the Sand!
As a registered Military Strategist and Sacrificial Wine of the Liangzhu Kingdom, he was empowered by the kingdom’s might and the Triangular Arrowhead Formation. The formation itself boosted his spell’s power, making it incredibly sharp.
Immediately, a yellow wind surged outward from Ning Zhuo’s position.
Wherever the wind blew, the flowing sand solidified, reverting to solid ground.
Golden Core Cultivator Luo Xiwěi had already been weakened—his spells were dulled by the kingdom’s defenses, and backlash had taken a toll. His combat power was rapidly declining.
In contrast, Ning Zhuo was thriving under the blessing of the formation.
In this clash, Ning Zhuo’s spell steadily gained the upper hand, pushing Luo Xiwěi’s magic back again and again.
In mere moments, the ground of the Three Generals Camp had been completely restored!
“It’s that Ning Zhuo!” Chen Lingfeng, watching from above, grew resentful.
“Wu Hen picked the wrong target.”
“He failed to kill even one of the Three Generals. It would’ve been better to focus all efforts on Ning Zhuo.”
Luo Xiwěi also felt regret. “I was just about to succeed! Who knew Ning Zhuo had a spell tailored to counter mine—such luck!”
He didn’t realize that Ning Zhuo had been observing him for a while and had learned the principles behind his quicksand technique. By reversing those principles, Ning Zhuo had devised a counter on the spot.
“It’s him!” Wu Hen saw Ning Zhuo and felt a jolt in his heart.
Back when he had infiltrated the carriage and saw Ning Zhuo for the first time, he had sensed the youth would be trouble.
Now, his premonition had come true!
Wu Hen clenched his five fingers, pulling countless shadow threads toward Ning Zhuo from all directions.
“Protect the strategist!” Liu Er shouted.
There was no doubt—Ning Zhuo was the key to their defense!
Guan Hong was too far, but Zhang Hei had already started running toward Ning Zhuo.
Facing the oncoming threads, Ning Zhuo remained unmoved.
The Buddhist Doctor—Meng Yaoyin—waved her arm lightly. The mechanical scythe cleaved a graceful arc through the air, then smoothly returned to its original position.
Crash!
Like waves smashing against rocks, the shadow threads disintegrated and collapsed completely.
Wu Hen trembled, face ashen, blood seeping from his nose and mouth. “Such a terrifying Demonic Weapon of Night Rain!”
The Three Generals—Liu, Guan, and Zhang—also felt a tremor in their hearts. Zhang Hei, being closest, even felt a chill at his neck.
The three were shaken. Their minds raced—Was their own strategist actually more powerful than a Golden Core Cultivator?!
“He might be even stronger than me.”
“Then... who is the real commander here?” Liu Er, thrilled, also felt a hint of absurdity.