“Recharge!”
At the master commandant’s roar, Fang Ping and the others on the city walls began gathering their Vitality in succession so that they could infuse the crossbow bolt.
After a short wait, the master commandant shouted an order and the blood-red bolt shot through the air, impaling an enemy officer in full body armor.
Several people beside Fang Ping panted heavily. The master commandant shook his head. “It wasn’t a middle-rank martial artist.”
By this time the enemy forces were nearing the foot of the city.
The martial artists on the city walls infused crossbow bolts with Vitality dozens of times, but they only managed to kill one powerhouse who suddenly appeared in the air.
The East Sunflower City army had made preparations much earlier. The powerhouses in the air all carried massive shields. Despite many rounds of continuous firing, the defenders manning the bed crossbow had not managed to kill very many foes.
Fang Ping scrunched up his brows. Just a few meters in front of him, a middle-rank martial artist was fighting with an enemy powerhouse who had vaulted into the city.
Fang Ping looked towards the master commandant, shifting restlessly.
The master commandant shook his head. “Our responsibility is to handle the bed crossbow...”
“But...”
“Do you still have Vitality?”
The master commandant gave a wry smile. It was not that he did not want to go and help, but right now, it was mostly middle-rank enemy martial artists who had scaled the wall.
The defenders had depleted their Vitality to almost nothing. If they were to go into battle now, they would just be adding to the chaos and going to their own deaths.
Fang Ping nodded seriously. “I do still have Vitality. I’ve also killed quite a few middle-rank martial artists before, so I can take them down.”
Everyone turned to look at him.
Fang Ping took a deep breath and said, “If I go and fight the enemy now, it probably wouldn’t interfere with all of you, right?”
“Little Brother...”
The middle-aged martial artist who had previously lit the cigarette furrowed his brow slightly. “Don’t go courting death. Even if you’re going to die, you have to make it worthwhile...”
“It’s true. I’m Fang Ping. Do you all know Fang Ping? The prodigy who killed a Rank-5...” Fang Ping grinned wryly, thinking to himself, ‘I’m scared of dying, but when I see those martial artists in front of me putting aside concerns about life and death while the city walls are splashed with their blood, I don’t have the right to be afraid!’
“Fang Ping...”
Only then did everyone realize who he was. The master commandant’s eyes gleamed slightly as he asked, “MCMAU’s Fang Ping?”
“That’s me,” Fang Ping smiled, “Then I’ll be off?”
He had said all this because during the battle he had to obey military orders. If the master commandant did not say anything, it would be going against orders for him to leave.
The master commandant did not hesitate and said immediately, “Go! When our Vitality has replenished a little, we’ll go help you right away!”
“Alright!”
Fang Ping made his move. The next instant he confronted one of the Upper-stage Rank-3 enemy martial artists who had just scaled the city wall. He roared, and his blade flashed blood-red as it came down, slicing his opponent in half!
Behind him, the middle-aged martial artist panted even as he laughed, “Motherf*cker, prodigy martial artists are just different from the rest of us. We might be old but once my Vitality replenishes a little, I’ll net an enemy with a saber myself...”
“Oh hush! You’d probably only manage to kill a Rank-1!”
The handful of people whose Vitalities had been almost entirely depleted wise-cracked and talked, paying no heed to the others who were fighting to the death in front of them.
Gazing out into the distance, the master commandant sighed, “The East Sunflower City army’s morale is high. This round, things will be difficult.”
“What are you scared of? Just kill the enemy and it’ll be fine...”
“Me, scared? I’m not scared. I’m just worried about Hope City...”
The master commandant shook his head. What did he have to be afraid about?
In his heart though, he still felt a modicum of uncertainty. Had the general not deployed his plans yet?
...
North gate.
Xu Mofu did not say a word as he continued staring towards the northwest.
Waves of extremely strong energy were being released there.
‘It’ll definitely be fine...definitely...’ he repeated mentally over and over like a mantra.
Another powerhouse who was observing the northwest beside him murmured, “When will our seniors come back?”
“Come back...” Xu Mofu muttered as he stared towards the northwest for a long moment, before answering slowly, “They’ll come back...”
...
In the northwest.
The Grandmasters were each taking on Sky Gate City’s powerhouses.
The old Vice-chancellor was panting violently, his entire body covered in blood. About ten meters in front of him, a cold-faced Sky Gate City powerhouse hovered in mid-air, looking down on the old man before him—the same whom he had nearly killed many years ago.
“%#*...”
Whether the old Vice-chancellor understood that or not remained open to question, but he laughed as he panted, “You’re saying this old man’s inferior to you because you nearly killed him that year?”
“Little whelp, if it weren’t for all of you surrounding me back then, would you even have been a match for me?”
The old Vice-chancellor swore, still panting, “Be patient. Don’t worry, this time I won’t run away.”
The Sky Gate City powerhouse did not bother replying. In a flash, he appeared above the old man’s head!
A second later, a ferocious tiger beast appeared from the void, opening its maw to devour the old Vice-chancellor!
“I’ve been waiting for you!”
The old Vice-chancellor’s eyes gleamed brightly as his entire body was suddenly suffused with a fierce blood-red glow!
A blood-red blade appeared instantly above his head; it seemed to be absorbing energy. The old Vice-chancellor’s wounded golden body suddenly crumbled and waves of intense energy particles were absorbed by the unearthly blade.
All this happened in the blink of an eye. The Sky Gate City powerhouse’s expression changed as he let out an angry bellow!
“I don’t need a golden body—killing you will be a good thing!” The old Vice-chancellor laughed loudly. Instantly, the blood-colored blade flashed through the void and sliced the ferocious tiger beast in two. The next moment, the blood-red blade dropped directly from above onto the Sky Gate City powerhouse’s head!
The old Vice-chancellor’s Mentality had left his body, so his golden body could be annihilated!
He had completely condensed his essence, spirit, and soul, as well as his immortal substances into the blood-red blade. This happened so fast it could not be seen by the naked eye!
“Argh!”
The Sky Gate City powerhouse roared like a wild beast and sent his fist towards the blood-red blade.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion shook both sky and land.
“Go to hell!”
The old Vice-chancellor, golden body now illusory, also gave an explosive bellow and the blood-colored blade shattered instantly!
The sound of an explosion ten times stronger than the previous one traveled through thousands of meters of land before dying into nothingness in a trice. A huge black crater appeared on the ground.
“I really want to go and take a look...”
A soft mutter echoed in the silence.
There were no longer any figures to be seen in the air.
...
On the other side of the battlefield, the gaunt old powerhouse from Hope City chuckled, “He departed before I did. The little bastard sure was anxious.”
The Sky Gate City powerhouse opposite him sensed that the Mentality of the Tiger Battalion’s marshal had been obliterated. His expression changed immediately, and he turned and fled!
“What are you running for!”
The gaunt old man laughed loudly. The next moment, his physical body started to crumble like the old Vice-chancellor’s had, as all of his energy was absorbed by the blood blade which appeared above his head.
In a flash, the blade cleaved through the great gold monster which had appeared in the void, before dropping onto the other party’s head with no hesitation. Instantly, there was a blinding blood-red light!
“If this doesn’t kill you, this old man will consider your life charmed!”
The gaunt old man’s body continued crumbling. A tremendously loud explosion shook the air and all of the land and sky fell silent.
A few seconds later.
A fine thread of Mentality undulated in the void.
“This old man will go ahead of you now!”
...
“Ha ha ha, Old Ghost Bai died just like that? He didn’t live as long as this old man!”
At the same time, on another side of the battlefield, another old man burst into laughter as if there were no one present, cackling with extreme joy!
‘I thought a Rank-8 would be able to outlive me, but it seems that’s not possible now!’
‘As for that young punk from MCMAU–he lived for only eighty years, how weak!’
“I’m coming too!”
The old man laughed maniacally. He gathered his Mentality into a blood-red blade as well but could not destroy the opponent’s physical body, quickly dispatching a giant beast in the void instead.
“Motherf*cker, Rank-7 is weak. I don’t have a golden body to erupt into!”
The old man roared angrily. Suddenly, he violently pounded himself, and his internal organs instantly vaporized, forming beams of pure energy which shot into the blade.
The blood-red blade turned even redder. The old man laughed loudly yet again, but after that, there was silence.
Suddenly the blood-redblade exploded, shattering the huge void-beast into nothingness...
Boom!
At the loud explosions coming from the southwest, both Fang Ping and the East Sunflower City martial artist he had been fighting went still for a moment. The strong fluctuation of energy that they had felt earlier was now completely ebbing away.
The East Sunflower City martial artist’s expression changed drastically as if he had just experienced a sudden epiphany.
Fang Ping’s expression changed too. The energy fluctuations had completely vanished!
What did this mean?
Even though he was not a Grandmaster, he still was able to realize that either the other party had suddenly retracted all their energy, or else...they had been killed in action!
But in the midst of a great battle, who would retract their energy unless they wanted to die?
“Vice-chancellor...”
Fang Ping gritted his teeth. He did not have time to think about such things now. With an enraged roar, he swiftly slashed five times in a row!
The Rank-4 martial artist in front of him died on the spot.
Fang Ping’s Manic Explosion had finally broken through to five consecutive slashes!
However, Fang Ping had no time to celebrate—the next moment Xu Mofu’s voice bellowed from the north gate.
“Go out of the city and destroy them!”
Prior to this, there had still been a good concentration of defenses within the city. The city gates suddenly opened, and a heavy cavalry soldier in full armor galloped to the front. Behind him, countless ordinary soldiers and military martial artists swarmed out from the gates, and began to slaughter the troops that were surrounding the city!
In the Catacombs, Hope City’s marshal would not be a Grandmaster, but in the Catacombs’ forts, the army marshals were all high-ranking martial artists!
When some of the powerhouses sensed the vanishing fluctuations of energy, the expressions of some of the generals from Sky Gate City and East Sunflower City changed. Howling madly, they gave the signal to retreat!
...
East gate.
At Xu Mofu’s order, Fang Ping leaped over the city walls and began to pursue and destroy the evacuating East Sunflower City martial artists!
With an outburst of five consecutive slashes, he could fell a Rank-4 martial artist in one move!
Fang Ping vaguely spotted Qin Fengqing among those in pursuit of the enemy. Qin Fengqing’s entire body was bathed in blood, and he was roaring in grief and anger.
Fang Ping was not actually familiar with MCMAU’s old Vice-chancellor; he had only met him a few times.
Qin Fengqing, however, had met him many times; not only that, he knew the old man well.
The minute he sensed that powerful wave of energy vanishing, Qin Fengqing instantly knew what had happened–some of the Grandmasters had been killed in action!
“Kill them!”
At the east gate, the fighting was not quite as desperate.
At the north gate, the heavy cavalry stormed ahead, disrupting the Sky Gate City army’s formations. Right now there were no high-ranked powerhouses to come to their rescue. Their middle and low-rank powerhouses were also detained elsewhere, and a large number of their ordinary soldiers and low-rank martial artists had been killed by the pursuing troops from Hope City.
...
Most of the enemy’s high-rank powerhouses had been killed in battle, exceeding everyone’s expectations.
East Sunflower City and Sky Gate City continued retreating, while a large number of middle-rank enemy martial artists had also quickly returned to their camps to protect their armies.
Further away, an even stronger fluctuation of energy was felt, so powerful that everybody felt the overwhelming force of it!
A Rank-9 powerhouse was in the midst of a crazed killing spree!
At Sky Gate City, even Fang Ping could clearly sense a wave of extreme manic fury. This was emanating from the city-lord of Sky Gate City!
Tremendously loud sounds were constantly heard from the void.
The human powerhouses were on a killing spree too, preventing their enemies from going to the rescue.
...
The pursuit of the enemy continued for slightly more than an hour.
Fang Ping could no longer remember how many people he had killed—regular people, martial artists in the three lower ranks, and Rank-4 martial artists. He had even encountered Rank-5 martial artists, but they had been intercepted by the Rank-5 martial artists on his side.
They had gone 20 miles outside the city when a powerhouse levitated into the air and shouted, “Clean up the battlefield and return to the city with all haste!”
The soldiers began clearing the battlefield and moving the bodies of their comrades, while the martial artists defended the perimeter. No one looted anything.
“Qin Fengqing...”
Fang Ping panted. He had found Qin Fengqing, whose chest wounds were still bleeding copiously.
Qin Fengqing did not utter a single word.
“Just now...”
Only then did Qin Fengqing turn to look at Fang Ping, saying hoarsely, “You didn’t leave?”
“I didn’t.”
Fang Ping’s expression changed slightly, and he asked again, “Just now...was it...”
“I don’t know,” Qin Fengqing answered impatiently before ignoring Fang Ping after that.
Fang Ping did not continue his questioning. After some time, the entire team turned back and retreated. The ground was littered with the bodies of their foes.
...
Pursuing the enemy had taken just over an hour, but going back to the city took more than two hours of walking.
By now, the sky was already pitch black.
The city gates were brightly lit by a giant energy lamp that illuminated all of Hope City.
...
Fang Ping and the other non-Military Department martial artists were ordered to go back and rest, while the Military Department’s martial artists remained on duty.
Fang Ping did not return to the dormitories. There was no one there at the moment. He walked with Qin Fengqing, saying, “You should see to your injuries, you know.”
“Stop being so annoying!” Qin Fengqing snarled impatiently, his face deathly pale. Fang Ping fell silent once more.
By the time they arrived back at Qin Fengqing’s quarters, several other students had also returned.
As for the people who had not returned yet, it meant that they would not be coming back.
Everybody exchanged glances. No one said a word. One by one, they all found places to sit and catch their breath, and were unusually silent.
...
At the head of the city at the north gate.
Square-jawed Guardian Wu dropped from the sky, staggering a little.
Xu Mofu, who had hitherto been standing motionless, suddenly came to life and asked frantically, “Guardian Wu, where are Old Bai and the others?”
Square Jaw shook his head slightly, saying ponderously, “Go see to your affairs. Even if East Sunflower City has retreated, Sky Gate City definitely won’t rest. This battle killed 7 of their people and they’ve lost half of their high-ranks. They won’t take this lying down!”
Xu Mofu gritted his teeth, “Then let’s annihilate them!”
“We can’t. I sensed that there are powerhouses showing their might in the other eleven cities!”
“Son of a b*tch!”
Xu Mofu cursed angrily. Square Jaw did not pay any more attention to him and turned to look at the others on the city wall. Only after a moment did he say, “We got what we wanted. The most regrettable thing in our teachers’ lives was not being able to calm the situation in the Catacombs...everyone, let’s be encouraged!”
Lu Fengrou suddenly gave a mocking laugh. As she turned to leave however, there was a suspicion of tears in her voice as she commented, “It’s a good thing the old fellow died. If he had lived, he would just advise me to have a more open mind on things. In the end, he himself couldn’t have a more open mind either, so what right did he have to advise me? Dying in the Catacombs without a single bone of his body remaining, what kind of bullsh*t golden body powerhouse was he!”
“What does it matter if you’re Rank-8 or Rank-9...when your time is up, you die anyway!”
The voices gradually faded, but everyone else remained silent.
...
“Pack your things now. We’re going back.”
Late at night, Tang Feng came into the accommodation quarters, his face very pale. He saw Fang Ping but did not say anything.
Qin Fengqing suddenly jumped up, saying through gritted teeth, “The Vice-chancellor is dead?”
“Yes.”
“Son of a b*tch!” Qin Fengqing smashed his fist into the wall, snarling, “Why did the Vice-chancellor and the others put their lives on the line? Are all the Rank-9 martial artists dead?”
“Hold your tongue!”
“I can’t accept this! 30 over Rank-9 martial artists are all dead!” Qin Fengqing shouted angrily, “The Vice-chancellor already had severe bodily injuries. Why did he have to go to war?”
Tang Feng’s expression was ice-cold. “If you keep on spouting nonsense, I’ll kill you!”
Qin Fengqing glared at him furiously. Suddenly tears began to run down his face and he lowered his head, not saying anything.
Everybody else remained silent. After a while, Tang Feng said gently, “Pack your things and go back.
“I’ll say it one more time. Pack your things and leave!”
Seeing that they were not moving, Tang Feng bellowed angrily, shattering the bed in front of him into dust with a single kick.
Some of the students got up to start packing. Fang Ping had come to the Catacombs with just a few items of clothing; right now he just tossed them aside. He was in no mood to pack.
After everybody had finished getting their things together, Tang Feng brought them out of the Catacombs. Qin Fengqing followed along quietly as well.
When they reached the passageway entrance, Tang Feng suddenly said, “Cultivate properly when you get back. You’re not allowed to enter the Catacombs again for the next few months.”
Fang Ping turned his head to look at Tang Feng, asking, “What about all of you?”
“It’s not your place to worry about these things!” Tang Feng snapped, knitting his brows. “Go in!”
One after the other, the students entered the alloy house. Fang Ping turned back to look at Tang Feng once more, but did not say anything and stepped into the passageway, vanishing into the vortex.