Chapter 422: The Power of a Master Rank
Translator: Pika
Even though there were countless Red Cloak Army soldiers streaming out, only the sound of orderly footsteps could be heard. There was no unnecessary noise. All of the soldiers stared at King Liang and his men with cold and unwavering eyes.
King Liang’s expression flickered slightly. With his sharp eyes, he could tell that this was a powerful army that had experienced many battles. The Zhou Dynasty had enjoyed many years of peace, so he had no idea how Brightmoon Duke still managed to maintain such a well-trained force.
He did not let his admiration cloud his mind. He reacted quickly as well, and said with a cold voice, “What’s this? Do you all want to rebel as well? Are you going to murder the members of the Embroidered Envoy?”
“Don’t try to scare us with these threats!” Qin Wanru said angrily. “When our Chu clan was established a thousand years ago, we embraced the principle of never giving up. Ah Zu is the son-in-law of our Chu clan. How can we let you take him away for such a laughable reason?”
King Liang looked at Chu Zhongtian, who had remained silent. “Brightmoon Duke, do you share these intentions?”
Chu Zhongtian replied with a smile. “Indeed. Our Chu clan does not like to provoke trouble, but we will not tolerate others bullying us.”
Qin Wanru glanced at her husband. He was usually kind and gentle, and she had been a little worried that he would back down. To her pleasant surprise, he had chosen to stand resolutely by her side as well!
Chu Zhongtian’s face had become completely overcast. Clearly, this reason seemed utterly absurd to him as well. This, together with the mistreatment and humiliation he’d experienced while being locked up, was enough to make anyone furious, let alone a proud duke like himself.
If he didn’t take this chance to properly demonstrate the Chu clan’s power, wouldn’t these moths continue to fly at them one after another?
“Excellent! You all are really quite something!” King Liang laughed out loud, but his expression instantly grew frosty. “If this had been a decade or so ago, I might still have felt some apprehension. But now, you are seriously injured, and your cultivation has suffered drastically. You are only at the eighth rank now! You don’t have any right to speak like that in front of me!”
Chu Zhongtian said with a cold laugh, “The Chu clan has never stressed individual strength, but rather the unity of will. Whether or not I have the right to speak is something that you can put to the test yourself.”
“You don’t even believe in your own lies! What an absolute joke!” King Liang sneered.
The Imperial Guard General Liu Yao made his way quickly to King Liang’s side. “Respected king, please be careful. This Red Cloak Army is quite difficult to deal with.”
His own experience earlier had clearly left him with a lingering sense of fear.
“It seems I really do have to test you all out personally!” Despite King Liang’s brash words, he still charged straight at Chu Zhongtian. It was clear that he wasn’t willing to pit his own Imperial Guard against the Red Cloak Army.
There were two reasons for this. Firstly, he hadn’t brought many men with him, so they would still be far outnumbered by the Red Cloak Army, even if he added Liu Yao’s contingent of imperial guards.
Secondly, things could easily get out of hand if the two armies clashed. If that happened, it would become impossible for him to deny that a large-scale battle had occurred, no matter what story he ran with.
Even though the Chu clan was already doomed, the major powers in other regions would surely have much to complain about. He would be completely helpless when faced with the punishment meted out by the imperial censors.
That was why he had no choice but to act on his own. That way, he could choose when to fight and when to stop whenever he wanted to. It would be up to him to decide what he wanted to do.
Of course, the best result would be for him to take down their leader immediately. Taking down Chu Zhongtian would solve all of his problems.
He sneered when he saw Chu Zhongtian strike out with a palm. This man’s cultivation was roughly the same as Sang Hong’s, and Sang Hong had been severely injured so easily. Now, it was Chu Zhongtian’s turn to suffer the same fate.
Their palms met, and he was instantly surprised. His opponent had used much less force than he’d expected, as if he wasn’t trying to meet him head on.
Meanwhile, Chu Zhongtian used the recoil from this palm strike to help him withdraw quickly. In an instant, he had retreated into the protective umbrella of the Red Cloak Army.
His many years of battle experience had made him vigilant against sudden attacks. He had clearly made preparations beforehand.
King Liang was annoyed by the ease at which his plan had been thwarted. He chased after Chu Zhongtian, hoping to seize him before he established a safe footing within the Red Cloak Army’s formation.
But the soldiers of the Red Cloak Army were all well trained. They were ready for his charge. Countless arrows were fired in his direction, each trailing a faint blue light.
Sensing the terrifying force behind those roaring arrows, he quickly lost confidence in his headlong attack. His hands moved slowly in a circular manner in front of him, and a translucent sphere surrounded him.
Waves rippled along the surface of this translucent sphere wherever an arrow struck, but none of the arrows could pierce through that thin sphere.
More and more arrows stuck to the surface of that sphere. King Liang roared, sending the arrows flying back towards the Red Cloak Army.
Chu Zhongtian was standing within the Red Cloak Army’s formation. His expression flickered, and he immediately called out an order. “Raise your shields!”
The soldiers of the Red Cloak Army raised their shields one after another. Blue-colored projections of shields began to appear above them one after another, combining to form a single large barrier.
The arrows that had been fired back at them were all blocked.
Liu Yao sneered. This was exactly how he had been defeated before! No matter how strong you are, they’ll disperse your strength and soak it right up.
The human mind really was a curious thing. If he hadn’t lost earlier, he would have undoubtedly wished for King Liang to obtain an overwhelming victory. However, since he’d suffered defeat not that long ago, he found himself hoping that King Liang would lose as well. The worse his defeat, the better.
There was no love lost between King Liang and the Liu clan, and Liu Yao did not mind seeing King Liang suffer a little.
Despite this, King Liang appeared unfazed. He floated into midair, his arms extended out. His palms rose slowly, as if they were each supporting something heavy.
A translucent, rotating sphere appeared in each of his palms. They spun extremely slowly when they first appeared, but quickly accelerated, growing to about the same size as a shot put ball.
Then, he flung these two balls at the Red Cloak Army’s formation.
The translucent spheres smashed into the light blue barrier. There was a tremendous explosion, and a blast wave rippled outwards. The barrier trembled, the blue radiance flickering. Many of the soldiers coughed out blood, having suffered internal injuries from this attack.
Liu Yao felt the sneer wiped from his face. The Red Cloak Army had absorbed his full-powered attack like it was nothing earlier. Was the difference between King Liang and himself that great?
Fresh soldiers quickly took the places of the injured shield-bearers, giving them time to recuperate. The blue barrier in the sky stabilized again.
Surprise flashed across King Liang’s eyes. Two more translucent spheres were flung downwards.
A huge noise echoed across the surroundings. The blue barrier trembled again, but remained intact.
“Let’s see how much more you can take!” King Liang was also starting to get annoyed. He condensed the translucent spheres again.
He was truly worthy of being a master rank expert. He no longer flung out his attacks recklessly, but flew around as he launched them, probing for any openings that he could exploit.
Even though armies were strong, they had their weaknesses as well. After all, a formation wasn’t as flexible as an individual. In addition, the greater the number of soldiers, the harder it was for them to maintain a tight cooperation, and the easier it was to find exploitable openings.
A disciplined army like the Red Cloak Army was already considered a first rate army, by the standards of this world. However, even they would begin to falter when continuously hit from different angles.
He didn’t need to fashion many chances. A single opening was enough for a true expert.
He flitted about in the air, bombarding the Red Cloak Army from different angles, trying to work an opening for himself.
His movements were so swift that he left afterimages everywhere. It looked as though he was everywhere at the same time, simultaneously attacking the Red Cloak Army from all different angles.
The Red Cloak Army defended frantically. Right now, they were like a skiff cast adrift in a roaring sea. Even though they had somehow managed to survive the continuous bombardments so far, every single one of them knew that this sea would devour them sooner or later.
“So this is the power of a master rank cultivator?” The disturbance at the Chu Estate had drawn a substantial crowd. Their faces all paled as they witnessed this scene.
At that precise moment, Chu Zhongtian’s voice drifted upwards. “Bring out the war banner! Start the war drums!”