This world has never been short of adventurers, especially those skilled individuals who defy the law with their martial arts.
Among the refugees, there are always those with hidden talents, and for everyone to have made it here through the turmoil and chaos, none are simple folk.
In fact, even without Zhang Chen secretly instigating, there had long been an undercurrent among the refugees.
Those building siege engines were building siege engines, those chopping wood were chopping wood. With tens of thousands of people bustling about, soon the prototypes of siege engines began to take shape.
Zhang Chen stood in the darkness, his eyes fixated on Tiger Soul Pass: "Even if all the tens of thousands of refugees joined forces, trying to break through Tiger Soul Pass is like climbing to the heavens. Not only is Tiger Soul Pass easy to defend and hard to attack, but the refugees also lack armor and weapons, and they lack training. If the siege fails, their morale will surely collapse. Or if the first wave is intimidated by the opposing garrison, the people’s hearts will scatter, and it will be difficult to regroup. So, if we want to siege, we must strike with one blow, giving the people hope."
Hoping for this crowd to break through the Heroic Pass is wishful thinking; the refugees cannot form a significant force, and any small loss would lead to a complete collapse.
Even a well-trained regular army, once suffering more than ten percent casualties, will only see its morale plunge, leading to defeat.
Therefore, Zhang Chen could only first break open the Heroic Pass to have a slim chance.
As Zhang Chen surveyed the gate of Tiger Soul Pass, he realized that he had two divine techniques to break it. The first was the Sun Embers. If he unleashed the Sun Embers, the soldiers on Tiger Soul Pass would surely be incinerated, and then the refugees would have a chance to rush the walls. But the defenders of Tiger Soul Pass could resist again once the Sun Embers cooled. Moreover, the city wall is suppressed by the Dragon Qi of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, and once the Sun Embers leave his body, losing the protection of True Dragon Qi, how effective it could be is uncertain.
The second is the Authority of Earth. He could control all the power of the earth within fifty meters. As long as he approaches the gate and tears open a gap in the ground, the refugees could charge in, and with the help of martial world experts, there is hope to break through the garrison in Tiger Soul Pass.
Zhang Chen wanted to secretly arrange some things and turned to Chen Ping, "Tomorrow, follow me closely, and we’ll take advantage of the chaos to rush past Tiger Soul Pass together."
Chen Ping went to rest, as he still needed to recover his Qi blood, while Zhang Chen turned to look towards Tiger Soul Pass.
"I wonder how many defenders are inside Tiger Soul Pass." A trickle of blood Qi flowed from Zhang Chen’s body, transforming into vampire bats in the night, heading towards Tiger Soul Pass.
A quarter of an hour later, the vampire bats returned, transforming back into blood Qi and re-entering his body. Zhang Chen’s face grew solemn: "There are actually two hundred thousand defenders. Although there are five hundred thousand refugees here, facing two hundred thousand well-equipped and terrain-advantaged defenders, they stand no chance. Unless all the generals on the opposite side are secretly assassinated, otherwise... they only need fifty thousand elite soldiers to crush these tens of thousands of refugees."
There is no comparison between regular troops and refugees.
As time passed, the refugees gradually grew restless. The experts among them began to fan the flames, continually urging the ordinary refugees to storm the gate, and a surge of dark currents began to swell among the refugees.
Zhang Chen’s figure flashed as he used the Earth Escape Technique to appear under the gate, watching the soldier guarding the gate, and with a thought, another drop of blood flew out, disappearing into the darkness.
Then Zhang Chen looked at the towering and majestic Tiger Soul Pass. In the next moment, using the Authority of Earth, a ground-shaking tremor was felt. Accompanied by the defenders’ cries of alarm, Tiger Soul Pass collapsed with a roar. The ground split open with a fifty-meter-wide crack, and then the earth surged, filling the crack.
The Dragon Qi within Tiger Soul Pass surged back at Zhang Chen, but the True Dragon Qi around him circulated, resisting the suppression of the Northern Land Dragon Qi. The tiny Dragon Pearl shook, yet even as the Dragon Qi of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion roared, it couldn’t touch Zhang Chen in the slightest.
"The Heroic Pass has been broken! Someone shattered the Dragon Qi and cracked open Tiger Soul Pass! Everyone, charge! Once we pass Tiger Soul Pass, we can leave this land of blood and fire." The refugees in the darkness became excited as they saw Tiger Soul Pass being torn apart by an invisible force.
"While those defenders haven’t reacted yet, everyone charge! Once we cross, we’ll have a wide-open world." The strong man possessed by the Blood God Child stood up at this moment, raised his arm, and led his ten or more brothers, rushing forward.
"Charge!" Some martial world people drove the sentiment, continually egging on ordinary citizens: "Everyone, charge together! If the defenders on the other side respond and reconstruct Tiger Soul Pass, we’ll all be trapped here, becoming food for the Demon Race, sacrifices for Prince Pingbian’s Mansion! Fight for a future for your wives and children! Carve out a path for survival for your parents!"
"Fight for a future for your wives and children! Carve out a path for survival!"
"Kill!"
"There’s food in Tiger Soul Pass. Once we plunder Tiger Soul Pass, we’ll never lack food again, never starve again!"
"Victory is within reach, charge!"
"Kill!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
...
Amidst the hoarse cries, those with empty stomachs were the first to rush out, and led by this atmosphere, countless refugees with red eyes, holding hoes and sticks, charged towards the breach of the Heroic Pass.
"Block them for me!" A Tiger Soul Pass soldier roared angrily, quickly mobilizing soldiers to intercept, and in an instant, the two sides clashed, staining the earth red with blood.
Though the defenders of Tiger Soul Pass were well-equipped, the refugees fought with desperate determination, and for a moment, they were not at a disadvantage.
The guards at Tiger Soul Pass blocked the refugees’ path, essentially cutting off their only hope of survival. Naturally, they had no choice but to fight desperately. Even for the sake of their parents, wives, and children, they had to carve out a way to live.
"There is no retreat, only advance! Attack! If we get intercepted, we’ll eventually die inside this Heroic Pass, but if we fight our way out now, there’s still a chance to survive!"
"Attack!"
The refugees let out hoarse cries, their Qi Blood infused with a strange power, unexpectedly resisting the Dragon Qi looming in the air.
Zhang Chen used the Earth Escape Technique to return to the camp, only to find chaos had erupted. Chen Ping and the others were guarding the carriage, looking around warily.
"Hm, how strange? What kind of power is this that can actually withstand the Northern Dragon Qi? It’s causing my suppressed soul to start loosening?" Chengyu stood beside Zhang Chen, looking towards the city gate with a face full of curiosity.
"That is the Cause and Effect Force! The collective karmic force of the people can counteract the pressure of Dragon Qi and shatter its blockade. If Dragon Qi is the nemesis of cultivators, then the nemesis of Dragon Qi is surprisingly the Cause and Effect Force of the masses." Zhang Chen observed the Qi Mechanism in the sky. Having mastered the Power of Blood Dao, he naturally recognized this karmic force.
"No wonder if there is a rebellion, even with talented individuals and abnormals in the court, the waves can still be stirred. It turns out the karmic obstructions on common people can counter Dragon Qi." Zhang Chen contemplated.
"Big brother, what should we do?" Zhang Tuowei glanced at the carnage in the darkness, a flash of Evil Qi appearing in his eyes.
"All of you get on the carriage, we’re going to break through together!" A hint of killing intent appeared in Zhang Chen’s eyes.
The carriage was prepared again, and Zhang Chen had Chengyu and the others hide inside. He also summoned three Blood God Child duplicates to guard the surroundings of the carriage. Chen Ping, seeing the three approaching, gripped his steel knife tightly, a hint of wariness in his eyes, until Zhang Chen patted him on the shoulder: "Relax, they are already under my control, now my puppets."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ping breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Zhang Chen, and spoke with grave seriousness: "With Tiger Soul Pass breached, crossing the pass saves us a lot of effort, but there are still troubles. If we’re lucky and don’t encounter Jin Dou, we can certainly break through. If we do encounter Jin Dou, I will risk my life to hold him off, and you must take everyone and leave. I’ll stay behind to cover the retreat."
He believed that though Zhang Chen was somewhat skilled, facing Jin Dou who could even contend with a Yang God True Man, success was still unlikely.
"Don’t worry, we’re not so unlucky. We will surely break through Tiger Soul Pass smoothly."
Zhang Chen comforted Chen Ping and then walked to the front of the carriage, holding a long knife, charging towards the direction of the city gate.
He didn’t use the Sand Merging Skill. If he did, it would bewilder not only the guards but also the refugees, blocking their vitality. Zhang Chen naturally wouldn’t do such a thing.
He charged personally, though a bit dangerous, but at least it wouldn’t bring harm.
"Attack!"
The shouts of slaughter were earth-shattering. With a long knife in hand, Zhang Chen rode a fifth-tier Demon Horse, exuding mighty power as he charged straight towards the guards.
The refugees surged like a tide towards the guards, but facing the iron-armored guards, they were like wheat being reaped, felled layer by layer.
A dozen martial artists who had refined Qi Blood were constantly fighting at the forefront, directly confronting the guards of Tiger Soul Pass, engaging with them. However, inside Tiger Soul Pass, there were also seven or eight Qi Blood martial artists, clad in iron armor, assisting the guards in defense.
Iron-armored guards and those without armor were two different species. Even with many martial artists among the refugees who had trained in Qi Blood, they were instantly suppressed when facing the well-coordinated armored warriors and soldiers, falling into a disadvantageous position.
There were those wielding long knives, surrounded by weaving electric light. Wherever they passed, a large batch of iron-armored guards fell to the ground, twitching, trampled to death by surging refugees.
There were also those who could control flames and those with all sorts of strange abilities, all charging forward.
"All these people are lucky ones who ingested Dragon Pearl Fragments. I can sense the breath of Dragon Pearl Fragments on them." Zhang Chen followed the refugees with his carriage, step by step advancing, capable of sensing Dragon Attribute’s aura with his True Dragon Qi condensed Dragon Pearl.
"It’s not looking good! Even though we have the advantage of these Abnormal People, the opposing armored warriors remain highly organized in offense and defense, relying on iron-armor crossbows. Both sides are now in a stalemate. In this charge, the refugees contribute little, providing only the Cause and Effect Force to resist the Dragon Qi of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion. Though I ripped a fifty-meter gap, in the face of battle involving hundreds of thousands, it’s still too small. To leverage our numbers, we must break open this gap. Otherwise, with tens of thousands of iron-armored soldiers blocking here, it’s like a Copper Wall and Iron Wall, akin to an intact fortress."
The steel knife in Zhang Chen’s hand was merely for blocking incoming long knives.
Where Zhang Chen passed, water vapor enveloped the area. Due to his continuous drawing of moisture deep from the earth, the water vapor extracted became more abundant, causing the soldiers in front of him to die increasingly faster.
No matter how heavily armored one was, no one could stop breathing. As long as they inhaled the vapor and came within ten meters of Zhang Chen, they fell into Zhang Chen’s domain of frost control.
"Demon, dare to harm my soldiers, die for me!" A martial artist from Tiger Soul Pass who had refined Qi Blood saw Zhang Chen striding through the chaotic army, leaving corpses in his wake. Angrily, he swung his long knife through the air towards Zhang Chen.
"A martial artist who refined Qi Blood?" Zhang Chen gazed at the attacking warrior, a thought crossed his mind, invoking Blood Control, and the opponent froze upon reaching him, immediately coughing up blood.