Chapter 315: Prestige above the Heavens
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
At this juncture, the two Blood Iron warriors beside Ling Xiao suddenly pounced forward without regard for their lives, using their bodies to knock Ling Xiao to the side and using their sturdy bodies to block the four incoming swords! 'Zu zu' sounds were heard as the swords pierced directly through their bodies! The two Blood Iron warriors immediately let out sardonic smiles as they forced their bodies to spin on the spot, using their dying breaths. Three of the swords were drawn out of them, but the last person couldn't withdraw in time, and under the spin, the sword snapped!
That only amounted to a small delay, but in that time Ling Nineteen and the others, each bleeding from the corners of their mouths, had already leaped forward like crazed tigers! Sword rays flashed like raindrops slowly drifting down from the heavens, and they began their battle once again with the four experts of the Shui Family! This time, the four Ling members didn't go head-on against the Shui family experts but rather only targeted their vital points. This was the exquisite swordplay personally taught by Ling Tian, the Dauntless Swordplay where one exchanged a life for a life. At this point, its capabilities were being shown!
The four Shui family experts raved and snarled in anger, but they couldn't do anything to the four youths who were already on their last legs!
"It's too late! Ling Tian is here! Ling Xiao's life has been preserved!" Yu ManLou huffed in anger. He raked his eyes unwillingly across the battlefield, and couldn't help but let out a curse, "The Shui Family really seems to have grown up by eating dung! Using 500,000 troops to encircle 70,000, a force of more than seven times, and furthermore using a day and night, they still fail to kill one Ling Xiao! This is indeed bullsh*t!"
Hearing his normally stern and stately elder brother suddenly curse out like that, Yu ManTang couldn't help but stare at him in shock. He secretly grinned to himself after that, feeling like a burden had been lifted off his back. This was because he already subconsciously considered Ling Tian as son-in-law just for Yu BingYan's happiness, and thus, he would of course sigh in relief knowing that Ling Tian's father was unscathed!
Following Yu ManLou's first outburst in his life, on the other side...
"KILL!!!"
Ling Tian's fierce shout resounded like a thunderstorm on a sunny day. It was as though a dormant volcano had suddenly erupted once again without the slightest warning whatsoever! That boundless imposing manner, with a killing intent that stretched to the skies! In that instant, it was as though in the boundless skies there only existed this killing intent, rumbling forth just like a dragon swimming through the waters! The stifling fear it produced immediately imprinted itself on all the 400,000 troops of the Northern Wei Empire!
This could be classified as a natural disaster, the type where heaven falls and the earth rends! Ling Tian's forceful cry seemed to have awed all the earth, transforming into a supremacy of sorts at that moment! Such a shout was even enough to freeze the courage of all the 400,000 odd troops present!
Following Ling Tian's shout, the horses on the Northern Wei's side all began to be riled up, especially those closer to the origin of the sound. The primal fear ingrained in their bones seemed to have been brought back to life as the horses began to thrash around, attempting to run away from the source of noise! This caused a chaotic scene as many a Northern Wei soldier was thrown off their horses. The whole scene looked like someone set off a bomb inside an army camp, plunging everybody into a huge mess!
The prancing horses then mercilessly trampled on their owners who were thrown off just now, and a series of goosebump-inducing 'ka ka ka' sounds could be heard! God knows who many soldiers had already been trampled to death from the start till now!
The bodyguards standing beside Wei ChengPing had fast reactions, and the moment Ling Tian's scream of fury was heard, they immediately pulled him out of the saddle but unfortunately followed the horses in rolling down the hill.
At the moment the violent shout was heard...
Ling Tian was seated on his horse, taking point and speeding across the land like a meteor. The five of them on horseback seemed to have transformed into a divine sword, bringing along with them boundless killing intent as they rushed towards the troops of Northern Wei!
Horses have some measure of intelligence, and with the previous violent shout from Ling Tian, it naturally served as a form of threat, pressuring their morale and spirits to give in to their fears! However, to their team of five, it actually served as an inspiration to them! Feeling their owner's ferocity, the horses practically jumped up in excitement! They seemed to fly across the land, galloping faster and faster. If one were to look at them from the horizon, it would be like seeing a group of pegasi descending upon Earth!
Under the frightened gazes of the Northern Wei soldiers, Ling Tian rushed into the encirclement as though there was no one present at all. His long guandao was recklessly waved, carrying a humongous force, and when it landed on a human or horse's body, it made a crisp sound as it sliced through, much like a knife landing on a juicy watermelon! That crisp exploding sound immediately gave the impression of a watermelon being sliced apart, revealing its juicy red innards! The whole sky was instantly dyed red by Ling Tian's massacre!
Ling Tian laughed out loud as he rushed into the crowd. The Seven Star Azure Dragon was brandished again and again, as though it was tribulation lightning shooting down from the Ninth Heavens! From left to right, more than twenty heads rolled! Their streams of blood splashed on the blade at once!
Not even pausing for a single breath, Ling Tian urged the horse forward, trampling over the corpses as he rushed forth. From afar, he resembled a tiny speedboat rushing across an expanse of calm water, with broken limbs and severed heads splitting off on both sides of him. This scarily resembled the white froth created by a boat as it breaks the water's surface! In a few moments, Ling Tian's surroundings were filled with the splendor of geysers of blood, making him subconsciously think of the fireworks set off on the Lantern Festival back in his hometown!
Behind him, there were four more youth-like killing gods, filled with excitement all over their faces and a thirst to kill in their eyes! All of them lifted up their sabers in unison and brought them down simultaneously, causing blood to splatter in all directions! Five horsemen, forming a triangle formation as they rushed forth. Once a front had been broken into, they would decimate the rest! It seemed like they were using their treasured sabers to slice apart tofu, so effortlessly did they make their way through the enemy forces!
When enemies of opposite factions fight, the most important thing would be to see their imposing manner. As the saying goes, vigor leads to prosperity, and there wouldn't be anything they couldn't overcome. If the soldiers' vigor was in the gutters, then even with a godly general, there wouldn't be any fighting power to speak of.
The current Sky Bearing troops had already seemed to lose most of their resistance, looking like a herd of sheep waiting to be slaughtered! The Northern Wei troops had long ago engaged in victorious slaughtering, with the high-ranked officers even already considering about how to reward their men after! It was while the Northern Wei troops were fully content with their achievements that suddenly the few 'King Yamas of the Underworld' came on the scene! That sudden violent shout had already caused widespread chaos amongst their ranks, and the screams of their comrades that followed close behind only added to their hysteria! Everyone was in a state of panic but trapped within the army; they were barricaded in all directions by their own allies. There was no way to escape! Many of them had thought up to this point, but before they could come up with any plans, the cold steel blade of their enemy had already reached them, and their own heads rolled on the ground soon after, permanently separated from their bodies!
While the troops numbered more than 400,000 strong, due to them surrounding the Sky Bearing Troops, the actual number of troops that could engage with Ling Tian and company was at most a few hundred men at a time! In addition, within the tightly packed area, those at the front were not aware of the happenings at the back, and the moment they found out, it would be too late as Ling Tian would have caught up and massacred them!
Just like how Ling Tian once described it, this place was like a meat bun, a huge meat bun. If one were to cut straight into it, right into the center, then not only would it be effortless, but it would also render the surrounding forces unable to reinforce their allies! They could only chase from the back, and this effect was of no consequence to them.
This military tactic was named by Ling Tian as 'Chisel Boring'! Relying on an indomitable spirit to continue rushing forward, without any thoughts of retreat! Kill god if he blocks, slaughter Buddha if he obstructs! Ling Tian was actually taking a leaf from Emperor Taizong, 1 as he was exceedingly good at this military tactic! Even the famed rebel leaders had suffered quite a bit under this tactic of his, causing them to be defeated and captured!
The only weakness of this 'Chisel Boring' skill was if the opponent's side had someone with similar strength as you. They merely needed to block your path, and you would be surrounded and routed in no time! However, surveying his premises, Ling Tian came to the conclusion that the person that could obstruct this force made up of the five greatest killers had probably not been born yet!
In just the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Ling Tian had already carved out a bloody path leading to the core of the encirclement.
From the far slope, both Wei ChengPing and Qian ShuiHuan had the same expression. Both were staring agape with eyeballs bulging at the scene unfolding in front of them! Five men had actually sliced their encirclement perfectly in half! While this might seem easy, to actually have men falling under their blades as though they were mud, what kind of person would be able to do that? Both of them couldn't help but feel the sweat on their brows, as they secretly thought, Can these still be considered men? They're more like demons possessing human bodies!
The disbelief was even more apparent for Qian ShuiHuan. This was the silkpants Ling Tian as stated in his intelligence? This… this… this must be the biggest joke in history!
At this point, Ling Nineteen and his comrades were like exhausted oil lamps! Their bodies were already swaying with fatigue, and upon seeing Ling Tian arriving, Ling Nineteen's tense mental state finally was released, and he let go of his blade, falling to the ground. Opposite him, a sword shot towards his heart like a venomous snake, but Ling Nineteen had no more strength left to block, and only closed his eyes as an apathetic smile hung on his lips, proud of dying such an honorable death!
"Nineteen!" Ling Tian hollered, jumping off from the back of his horse. He seemed to have pierced through time and space at that moment, teleporting in an instant!
Ling Nineteen had felt his opponent's sword pierce through his clothes, as well as a short burst of pain as it drew blood from his skin, but suddenly he felt the long sword being quickly withdrawn, with his body landing in a warm embrace! He wearily opened his eyes for a look, only to see Ling Tian swinging his guandao at the Shui Family expert, propelling him into the air. The expert flew up before exploding into pieces, dying without a complete corpse! This was the result of Ling Tian infusing his internal energy into the person and then exploding it!