Zhao Qianqiu was the instructor in charge of imparting ‘Art of Commanding’. Even though he had been hiding his true strength, Wang Chong knew that as long as the latter was given a chance, he would be more than capable of breaking them out of this crisis.
The loud ruckus outside formed a stark contrast against the silence within the hall.
Just as Wang Chong was contemplating over the current circumstance, a bizarre feeling suddenly crept into his heart. Somehow, the surroundings suddenly felt even more hushed than before.
For an instant, Wang Chong even felt that the sounds of fighting, screams of agony, and cracklings of flame had vanished. Time seemed to have come to a halt at this moment, bringing complete silence to the world.
“This is?”
Taken aback, a frown appeared on Wang Chong’s forehead. Instinctively, he felt that there was something wrong. However, the true eeriness had yet to come.
The hall should have been completely dark, but instead, a faint ghostly green light had suddenly come into appearance.
Light of this hue shouldn’t appear here. There was the silver gleam from the clash of swords, crimson glow from the blood of the wolves, and orange incandescence from the flames in the forest. However, there should be nothing here that would produce a green light.
As that light flashed across his eyes, Wang Chong instinctively lowered his head. He had finally identified the origin of the green light.
The light appeared from one end of the hall and, after passing by Wang Chong, disappeared at the other end. Taking a closer look, Wang Chong could see the shadows of countless interweaving thorns within the light.
A profusion of sabers and swords were evenly interspersed amongst the thorns.
“Halo of Thorns!”
Wang Chong suddenly realized what the green light was.
This was the halo of a True Martial realm cultivator!
To his left, beyond the wall, a True Martial realm cultivator was currently walking toward him. The two of them were only separated by a single wall.
Wang Chong immediately sensed grave danger, and his hair stood on end from the dense aura of death lingering in the air,
Peng!
He immediately pushed his left palm against the floor and charged in the direction opposite of the Halo of Thorns.
Words couldn’t begin to describe how swiftly everything occurred. Just as Wang Chong leaped away, boom! The wall on the left suddenly burst apart, and the Halo of Thorns seemed to turn tangible all of a sudden. It blew through the separating space and pierced past where Wang Chong was standing a moment before.
Chi! The air was ripped apart as though thousands of blades were slashing through it. The immense burst of force passed by Wang Chong’s feet by a close shave.
If his reaction was slower by even a millisecond, he would definitely have been torn apart by that fierce sharp halo.
“Lad, your reflexes are not bad!”
A deep and wild voice echoed from beyond the hall. This wasn’t in the language of the Central Plains that Wang Chong was used to but in the tongue of the Goguryeons.
Boom!
Three long sabers stabbed out from beyond the wall as though treacherous serpents. With might threatening to tear even the skies apart, they charged furiously at Wang Chong.
Left with minimal time to react, Wang Chong only managed to tilt his Wootz steel sword to face the three sabers of the Goguryeon.
“Strong!”
A mist of blood burst from Wang Chong’s arm. The strength exerted by the Goguryeon was reminiscent of powerful primal beasts, causing the capillaries on his arm to rupture.
Hong long! Wang Chong, along with his sword, was sent flying backward. He crashed through the wall and landed heavily on the ground in the alley behind the building.
“Gongzi!”
An anxious voice sounded. Behind the fallen wall, Zhao Jingdian’s silhouette appeared. Beside him were more than a dozen Imperial Army guards and instructors.
——This happened to be the second fortress that Wang Chong decided upon.
Right as Wang Chong was sent flying, the Goguryeon expert also appeared in the hall. He had a toned body and unkempt hair. The three weapons he grasped in his hands bore testimony to his identity as a Goguryeon.
However, the trait about him that left the deepest impression was his deep and savage eyes. They were reminiscent of a wolf, filled with stark ambitions and fighting will.
“What is that weapon? To think that it would be so formidable!”
The Goguryeon expert didn’t rush into battle. Both his hands were wielding a saber each, and the third one was clamped beneath his right armpit.
There weren’t many who fought in such a manner in the Central Plains.
However, at the current moment, the tip of his three weapons had fragmented. They were sliced off by Wang Chong’s Wootz steel sword in the previous face off.
“Hmph!”
The Goguryeon expert threw the three weapons to the side and drew another three weapons from the sheaths hanging by his waist.
For a person to actually bring six sabers to a fight, only the Goguryeons would go to such an extent.
Often, this trait of theirs caught the experts of the Central Plains off guard.
“Ignore that lad for now. Break the walls in the region, slaughter the Great Tang Imperial Army guards, and eradicate that master archer! Clear away all of the barriers standing in our path, and more importantly, make sure not to leave a single breathing recruit behind!”
That Goguryeon expert ordered.
Hong long!
That green Halo of Thorns shone once more, and the air within dozens of zhang of the Goguryeon expert suddenly whistled sharply. At the same time, he lifted his three sabers and created a huge storm of deadly sword qi, aimed straight at the crowd beyond the wall.
Behind him, more than a dozen Goguryeon warriors charged forward. They shared the same look of ambition and savagery as their leader, and they were wielding two to three swords or sabers as well.
“Kill them!”
A loud bellow sounded, tremoring the heavens. The dozen or so Goguryeon warriors advanced behind the Goguryeon expert as they headed for the crowd beyond the wall.
At the same time, the faces of the Imperial Army guards and instructors went cold as they readied their weapons, preparing themselves for a brutal battle.
The tense atmosphere at the second fortress suddenly reached its peak!
Chapter 213: Danger!
Chapter 213: Danger!
Hong long!
It was as if a volcano stifled to its very brim suddenly broke loose and erupted all at once. A huge fight broke out between the Goguryeon elites and the Imperial Army guards and instructors.
Sabers and swords crossed one another as the sparks from their confrontations lit up the darkness.
Hong long, the green Halo of Thorns ravaged through the area, tearing down the walls of a building like it was paper.
Wielding multiple weapons each, the dozen or so Goguryeon warriors stirred-up an impressive storm of sword qi, displaying a force equaling to more than twice of their number. In an instant, the Imperial Army guards and instructors were forced back.
Aooo!
The wolves howled as they charged through the path that the Goguryeon warriors had forcefully opened up. Together, they charged toward the group behind the building.
“AH!”
Shocked exclamations sounded beyond the walls as the entire situation descended into chaos.
“Get into your formations! Ignore the Goguryeon warriors and get rid of those wolves first. Don’t let them get near the Imperial Army guards and the instructors!”
A voice boomed across the night sky, forcefully summoning back everyone’s composure. Seated on the ground, Wang Chong clutched onto his chest while fresh blood dripped from the edge of his mouth.
That Goguryeon warrior was simply too strong. If not for his swift reaction, he would have already died
. Even so, he still sustained significant injuries from the clash previously, and he felt as though his body had been jolted apart.
However, before he could recuperate from his injuries, tremendous danger once again suddenly embraced him. The aura of death which seemed to press down on him made his goosebumps rise up.
The Goguryeons had no lack of wise strategists. In just a short period of time, they had already analyzed the situation and came up with a countermeasure.
On White Tiger Peak, Wang Chong had created three fortresses, and of the three, the most important one was the one guarding Chen Burang and Zhou Huang, which was precisely where Wang Chong was currently at.
If this fortress were to be torn apart, Zhou Huang and Chen Burang would be left without cover. The two of them would be doomed if they were to face a group of Goguryeon warriors in close combat.
Without the cover of Zhou Huang, there would be nothing on White Tiger Peak that could threaten the master archers.
By then, no matter how many people were on White Tiger Peak, only one fate awaited them—Death.
——If the other party were to succeed in this operation, Wang Chong’s previous efforts would be entirely wasted!
Klang!
A cold gleam of light flashed across the darkness, heading straight for a wolf pack. Shua! Six wolves were split into two, and they fell lifelessly to the ground.
Utilizing the Single Character Consecutive Slash, Wang Chong didn’t allow himself to stop at all. He charged from one wolf pack to another, and wherever he went, a pack of wolves would fall.
“Kill them!”
At the same time, the other recruits finally recovered as well. Following the formation imparted to them previously, they returned to their positions and began slaughtering the wolves in the surroundings.
With the backing of the recruits, the group managed to withstand the onslaught of the Goguryeon warriors for the time being.
“Lad, you’re courting death!”
Noticing the clear change in the situation, a Goguryeon warrior lifted his saber and slashed through the deep darkness, aimed straight at Wang Chong.
That slash wielded immense might, and if struck, even if Wang Chong were to escape with his life, he would surely be severely wounded.
“Single Character Consecutive Slash!”
But before the other party’s saber could fall, Wang Chong did a back roll and retreated.
“Hmph, you sure escaped fast!”
The Goguryeon warrior retrieved his blade and returned to clash with the Imperial Army guards and instructors once more.
“These fellows are too strong!”
Frenzied wind blew behind the alley. Kneeling on the floor, panting heavily, Wang Chong surveyed the sight before him intently.
“What is the condition on Instructor Xu’s side?”
Without turning around, Wang Chong asked.
“They aren’t able to send reinforcements. The Goguryeons are also attacking them. Even though there are fewer Goguryeons there, they seem to be facing a larger group of wolves.”
A recruit of the training camp replied. This recruit was a person named Xu Qi. He wasn’t the scion of a prestigious family, but he was an extremely courageous and decisive person. After White Tiger Peak descended into chaos, he was one of the few who stepped forward to help others.
When Wang Chong led the group to clear the second strategic location at the White Tiger statue, he left the recruits in this area under Xu Qi’s command.
(TLN: It might be confusing, but Xu Qi =/= Instructor Xu. There’s no mistake here)
Back then, they had agreed that if anything were to happen, the other fortresses would send reinforcements over to support one another.
Wang Chong’s first thought upon seeing the Goguryeons was to ask for reinforcements from the other bases, but from the looks of it, their hands were full as well. Since the second fortress was under attack, without a doubt, the third fortress would surely have their hands full as well.
Their enemies had made sure to strangle all possibility of making a comeback!
Peng!
Just as Wang Chong was deep in thought, a change abruptly occurred. A bloodied Imperial Army guard was suddenly hoisted high in the air. Following which, a saber from the Goguryeon warriors flew out and stabbed into his left chest, impaling his heart while pinning him to the wall behind.
In that instant, everyone’s face warped in shock!
The Goguryeon warriors were far stronger than they had expected. The fight had barely begun but an Imperial Army guard had already died.
There weren’t too many Imperial Army guards and instructors in the training camp in the first place. The death of any single one of them would cause a significant dip in their fighting prowess.
Everyone suddenly felt as though a guillotine was hanging right above their heads.
“Xu Qi, listen to me…”
Wang Chong beckoned to Xu Qi and whispered into the latter’s ear.
“Wang Chong, are you certain?”
Hearing Wang Chong’s words, Xu Qi uttered in shock. His face had turned significantly paler.
“There’s no way around it. We won’t be able to hold our ground for long here. Once the other Goguryeons come to reinforce them, we’ll stand no chance at all.”
Wang Chong affirmed.
Xu Qi was still hesitant, but eventually, he chose to say nothing at all. After gathering a group, he left.
The mountain wind raged on. Illuminating the darkness were the dancing sparks of crackling flames and the eerie green glows of multiple Halos of Thorns.
Some of them came from the instructors and Imperial Army guards, but theirs were clearly overshadowed by their opponents’. At this point, there wasn’t a single one of them who wasn’t injured.
“We won’t hold on for too long. In at most fifteen minutes, the entire fortress will crumble! I have to find a way to reverse the situation!”
Even though Wang Chong’s cultivation was low, he still retained his eye of discernment and the experiences of his previous life. He knew that if he didn’t do anything, everyone here would die.
His gaze swiftly swept across the battlefield, and soon, his eye fell on the leader of the Goguryeon warriors, the man who attacked him in the building previously.
The Halo of Thorns surrounding him was exceptionally clear. The three sabers in his hands were elusive and difficult to track, and under the augmentation of the halo, he looked like a walking catastrophe.
Just by himself, he managed to suppress a total of three Imperial Army guards and instructors.
Of the entire battle, he possessed the greatest destructive might.
“Gao Feng, lead a group of people to attack his left shoulder and left armpit using the formation!”
Wang Chong suddenly pointed to the leader of the Goguryeon warriors and said.
“I understand!”
A bright reply echoed from behind.
“Nie Yan, lead another group to attack his right. Aim at his crotch and his lower body!”
Wang Chong continued.
“Understood!”
A seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth with determined eyes replied along with the group under his command.
“Everyone, move on my call!”
Wang Chong lifted a hand as he stared fixedly at the front.
‘Three Saber School’ and ‘Two Saber School’, these were the two national saber arts of the Goguryeons. They were widely used and practiced within Goguryeo.
Usually, one’s dominant hand would have far greater strength and flexibility than one’s off hand. However, this concept didn’t apply to those who practiced the ‘Two Saber School’ and ‘Three Saber School’. Both of their hands were equally flexible and strong, and thus, it made their enemies feel as though they were facing two or even three people at once.
Even though the concept behind the skill was simple, it was exceedingly powerful.
But while they were powerful, they had th
eir fair share of flaws as well.
Without moving in the least, Wang Chong stared intently at the leader of the Goguryeon warriors.
One second, two second, three second… Time passed but he still didn’t make the call. Finally, just when the three Imperial Army guards and instructors facing him had reached their limits and the leader of the Goguryeon warriors, delighted by his impending victory, slashed widely to force the other party into a deadend, Wang Chong finally issued the call.
“Now!”
Wang Chong’s right hand cut down sharply.
Boom!
Without any hesitation, the recruits led by Gao Feng and Nie Yan charged forward. Like eagles swooping down for a rabbit, they rushed furiously at the leader of the Goguryeon warriors.
Boom, the face of the leader of the Goguryeon warriors warped. At that very moment, a light flashed and the green Halo of Thorns turned into a green storm, warding away the crowd’s offense.
The weapons of Gao Feng, Nie Yan, and the other recruits struck against the halo but all they heard was the reverberation of metal. It was as if the Halo of Thorns was made of the most resilient metal.
‘Halo of Blade Edge’, one of the halos of a True Martial realm cultivator!
This was one of the most mysterious strengths in the world. Those who possessed the Halo of Blade Edge had an Origin Energy with an incomparably sharp nature.
Klang klang klang!
Everyone’s weapons only managed to endure for an instant before being broken into two by the Halo of Thorns of the leader of the Goguryeon warriors.
Everyone’s face was immediately drained of blood.
“You can die now!”
The furious voice of the Goguryeon boomed in the air.
“Now is the moment!”
Just when the Goguryeon warrior lifted his three sabers to launch a counterattack, Wang Chong, who had been kneeling on the floor all this while, suddenly charged forward.
Single Character Consecutive Slash!
Instantly, Wang Chong appeared right before the leader of the Goguryeon warriors. Making use of the gap where the crowd had attracted the latter’s attraction, as swift as lightning, Wang Chong’s Wootz steel sword stabbed into the opening among the other party’s three sabers.
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