Chapter 533: The Crown Prince of Mengshe Zhao! The Geng Metal Halo!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Although Fengjiayi had still not appeared, there was one thing that the Black Dragon Bandit elite was right about. Fengjiayi had still not appeared precisely because he was planning to attack with Jiaosiluo. Wang Chong could even guarantee that Fengjiayi was hiding in the Tibetan cavalry behind Jiaosiluo.
“Young Master, your meaning is?”
Old Eagle showed a hint of surprise in his eyes. This Fengjiayi was known as an incredible individual, even in a place like the capital. If he didn’t want to come out, no one could force him out. Old Eagle really couldn’t imagine how Wang Chong could possibly compel him to come out.
Wang Chong said nothing, using his actions to give his answer.
Crack!
Wood splintered as Wang Chong suddenly drew his sword and cut down the massive banner in front of everyone’s flabbergasted gazes. No one had expected this, and even Old Eagle’s body was trembling with astonishment. No matter how ignorant he was, how little he understood of the art of war, he still knew that this banner symbolized the morale of the army, supporting the army so long as it existed.
If the banner was cut down, it meant that the enemies had reached the center of the army. This was a destructive blow to the morale of an army!
Not in their wildest dreams would anyone have believed Wang Chong to do such a thing.
“Young Master?!!!”
Old Eagle stared at him, his heart an icy rock.
Too surprising!
Too sudden!
For a few moments, Old Eagle’s mind was a complete blank.
Yet Wang Chong’s actions were never so easy to fathom. Bang!A young arm tightly grasped the massive banner, not letting it fall.
“Everyone, hear my order! The summit can no longer hold. The banner is critical, so we will currently take this banner and retreat to another location!” Wang Chong loudly declared.
Before he had even finished speaking, Wang Chong was already beginning to move to the rear, splashing up mud as he brought the massive banner in retreat.
“Hmph! You’ve quite rosy dreams. If you want to take the banner away, first leave your life here!”
At that moment, just when Wang Chong was preparing to make a strategic retreat, an icy and clear voice, seeming to exude the aura of a crane standing haughtily over the other birds, emerged from the crowd. Before anyone could react, boom! A mist suddenly swept toward the summit, completely shrouding the vision of Wang Chong, Old Eagle, and the others.
Clang!
The almost inaudible hum of a sword could be heard in the mist, like a flood dragon crawling out of the abyss. In that moment, Wang Chong, Old Eagle, the Black Dragon Bandit elites, and all the other people on the summit felt like they were in terrible danger. It was like some sharp sword meant for reaping souls had locked onto them from a distance.
“Fengjiayi!”
With no evidence, not even having seen their assailant, everyone clearly felt that the person who had appeared to stop them was the Crown Prince of Mengshe Zhao, Fengjiayi.
Clang!
A fierce Sword Qi cut at Wang Chong’s position, even cleaving the air in two. Yet this determined strike struck nothing but the air.
“Fengjiayi!!”
Around six zhang away, Wang Chong stared at that ‘Great Tang soldier’ who had suddenly appeared where he had been originally standing, a chilly light flashing in his eyes. The person before him was clearly dressed in the uniform of the Annan Protectorate, and his appearance and demeanor were also those of a person from the Central Plains. But Wang Chong was sure that this person was the Crown Prince of Mengshe Zhao, the Fengjiayi that he had waited a long time for.
I underestimated him!
This thought streaked through Wang Chong’s mind.
Wang Chong had originally believed that Fengjiayi’s late appearance meant that he was probably hiding in the Tibetans behind Jiaosiluo and that he would come together with Jiaosiluo. But Fengjiayi had been even more cunning than he had imagined. He had actually changed into the armor of the Annan Protectorate army and approached the summit unhindered.
Fengjiayi had spent a long period of time studying in the Great Tang, in its very capital. As such, his accent when speaking the language of the Central Plains was no different from the people of the Great Tang, as were his demeanor and aura. There was not the slightest trace of a person of Mengshe Zhao on his body.
If Wang Chong hadn’t known that he might appear and pretended to take the banner and retreat, Fengjiayi might have never appeared.
This person is bound to be a big problem for the Great Tang. Even without the Zhang Qiantuo incident, Mengshe Zhao and the Great Tang would have inevitably gone to war!
A murderous intent suddenly bloomed in Wang Chong’s heart.
Geluofeng and Fengjiayi were both ambitious sovereigns, neither of them willing to docilely accept a life of vassalage. Alas, a narrow bed did not permit more than one person to sleep on it, so this father and son would always have been at odds with the Great Tang.
Though these thoughts took a long time to express, they lasted for only a split second in Wang Chong’s mind. Wang Chong soon heard a few familiar and furious roars.
“Protect Milord!”
“He’s the Crown Prince of Mengshe Zhao, Fengjiayi! Everyone, be careful!”
“Young Master, quickly, get back!”
……
The situation was always unstable on the battlefield, and Old Eagle had been on guard this entire time. The moment Fengjiayi appeared, Old Eagle drew his sword and joined with the Black Dragon Bandit elites in encircling Fengjiayi and attacking him from all sides. But a bout of panicked shouts soon filled the air.
“Ah!”
A strange and terrifying sight was taking place before Wang Chong.
The moment the Black Dragon Bandit elites and Old Eagle within several zhang of Fengjiayi, their armor and boots suddenly began to twist as if coming alive. This metal quickly warped and fused together, transforming into man-shaped figures. And while these man-shaped figures were still forming, they were using their metallic arms to stab at Old Eagle and the Black Dragon Bandit elites.
This was the cause of those panicked shouts.
“Careful, there’s something strange about this fellow!” one of the elites shouted. This situation had surpassed all their expectations.
Thumpthumpthump!
The twisted metal dropped to the ground, where it quickly transformed into black iron men that began to attack Old Eagle and the Black Dragon Bandit elites. The danger was so close at hand that even Old Eagle was caught off guard, Fengjiayi’s sword leaving a wound on his waist.
“The Great Geng Metal Halo!”
At this time, the only person who had maintained their calm was Wang Chong. Fengjiayi had clearly reached the Profound Martial realm and had achieved a very high level. The large Halo of Thorns under his feet just so happened to be the most difficult of the Five Element Halos to cultivate, the Geng Metal1 Halo. By cultivating this halo, one could swiftly summon the surrounding metal and transform them into metal men.
With further progress, one could even transform one’s entire body into a massive metal armor covered in sabers and swords!
It was extremely troublesome to fight people who had cultivated this kind of Halo of Thorns, because one couldn’t fight them with metal weapons. When fighting barehanded, any warrior would find their strength greatly reduced.
Boom!
There was no time to think. Almost on instinct, Wang Chong used the Single Character Consecutive Slash to flip backward. At the same, Wang Chong cast away the banner, thrusting it into the ground ten-some zhang away. Barely after Wang Chong finished all this, there was a crash and a flash of light. Fengjiayi suddenly appeared where Wang Chong had been standing just moments ago, smashing a giant hole into the ground.
Seeing that he had missed yet again, Fengjiayi couldn’t suppress the surprise in his eyes. Wang Chong was clearly inferior to him in cultivation, so his escape could only be explained by his martial intuition and perception. But how could a True Martial realm expert have better intuition and sense than one of the Profound Martial realm like him?
For the first time, Fengjiayi felt like he had miscalculated.
Boom!
But there was no slowness in his movements. His eyes going cold, Fengjiayi stomped down a foot and immediately vanished. No matter what, Wang Chong had to die. A Great Tang commander-in-chief who could allow the Tang army to display abnormal strength, who could use strategies and tactics to completely suppress the Tibetans, was someone who had to die!
This was why Fengjiayi had forsaken the battlefield and incited Jiaosiluo to engage in an all-out offensive.
“Ho! You think you can leave?”
There was a furious roar as a golden light flashed. Just as Fengjiayi began to move, he was intercepted by a black figure. The two quickly entered a fierce melee.
“The Six-Armed Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian?! This is Batunlu’s supreme technique! You actually managed to kill him!”
Fengjiayi’s enraged voice resonated through the skies.
The Six-Armed Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian was typical of the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple’s supreme techniques, capable of stimulating a person’s inner potential to astounding levels. Old Eagle had only just broken into the Profound Martial realm and had originally not even been worth mentioning. But the supreme technique of the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple had suddenly pushed him to a level that could contend against an expert of Fengjiayi’s level.
“Good! I’ll see how long you can delay me!”
Boomboomboom!
Sword Qi filled the air as they began to fight.
The situation isn’t good!
Wang Chong watched as the pair battled over sky and earth, his mind in turmoil. Even though Old Eagle was using the Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian technique, he was still the one being beaten down in his fight with Fengjiayi. Perhaps he could have managed with the Meteoric Metal armor, but in order to enter the Tibetan ranks, Wang Chong, Old Eagle, and all the others had buried their equipment in the hills outside the mountain range, leading to the situation before him.
“Protect Milord!”
A chorus of shouts suddenly erupted out of the rain. The ruckus on the summit had alarmed the surrounding Tang soldiers, and several dozen elites of the Annan Protectorate army were quickly making their way up to the summit to attack Fengjiayi.
“Not good!”
Wang Chong’s heart tightened, but he only had the time to say ‘Careful’ before the thing he had worried about the most occurred. Buzz! Before the Annan Protectorate army elites could get close, their armor broke free of them, transformed into metal men, and attacked their former wearers. In but an instant, thirty-some metal men had appeared on the summit.
And even the sabers, swords, and halberds of the soldiers had transformed into metal men. All of the soldiers were unarmed and unarmored, and could only be beaten down.
“Haha, since you want to try out human-wave tactics, I’ll let all of you experience what real human-wave tactics are!”
Fengjiayi’s icy and proud voice came out of the void. Even in battle, he still had the mind to observe his surroundings. Boom!A palm pushed away Old Eagle as Fengjiayi dropped down to the ground. Crash! The five fingers of his right hand descended like an eagle’s claws to smash against the earth.
As if cut through by an invisible knife, the earth ruptured, shooting out dirt and gravel which began to congeal in the air and take shape. Boomboomboom! In the blink of an eye, several dozen more metal men had appeared on the summit.
The boundless rain plinged as it crashed against the bodies of the metal men. These figures had no eyes or ears, no mouth or nose, no signs of life whatsoever, nor any ripples of emotion. They gave an ice-cold feeling.
And at this moment, the atmosphere on the summit suddenly became bleak and frigid.
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1. Geng is the seventh of the Ten Heavenly Stems and belongs to the element of Metal, representing Yang. The Five Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, and each element has two of the Ten Heavenly Stems associated with it.↩