by <unknown>
Boom!
The entire earth shook violently, as if an unexpected great earthquake had taken place!
Deafening cheers came over from East Peace County. The mist above the head of the army of ghouls, on the other hand, looked rather disrupted.
The noise that was mixed with intense spiritual waves was spreading out in all directions like a tsunami, attracting the attention of the five super Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and Mother White Lotus.
Narrowing his eyes, Li Yao looked to the northwestern horizon, only to discover an overwhelming troop, surrounding a certain dark object, pushing forward to the battlefield slowly but determinedly!
Banners were flying everywhere in the troop, with enormous 'Thunder', decorated with the spiritual stripes of the thunder class, written on them. They seemed to be carrying bright electric arcs by themselves and looked particularly eye-catching under the dim, yellow sky.
As for the dark object that they were protecting in the center, despite all the messy, useless adornments on the surface, and despite its fancy appearance, in Li Yao's eyes, was it not—
A main gun on a crystal warship?
Li Yao's eyeballs were bulging out when he watched hundreds of muscular men pulling the gun of a crystal warship forward slowly with iron chains by attaching one end of the chains to their body and the other end to an enormous tank!
Also, the chains had more functions than just acting as a tow rope. Li Yao sensed that the spiritual energy and the souls of the hundreds of muscular men had been connected to the gun via the chains, thereby constituting a primitive and shabby launch system!
"Hoooo!"
The hundreds of muscular men roared at the same time, and their spiritual energy surged out to the maximum like the tides of the ocean. The chains immediately pulled taut, as if immense electric currents had flowed into the gun through the chains. After another ear-splitting roar, a cluster of fire-like plasma rushed out not toward the ground but aiming at the sky that was occupied by dark clouds!
The plasma exploded, unleashing thousands of electric arcs that ripped apart all the dark clouds like sharp swords. From the enormous holes, the blue sky and the glorious sun were revealed again!
The sunlight fell upon the white mist covering the army of ghouls like thousands of golden arrows. Intense noises were immediately bursting out, as if a piece of ice had been thrown into boiling oil.
The white mist was dispersing at a visible rate.
The army of ghouls under the mist were ill at ease. The radiation of the sunlight could disrupt the magnetic fields of their souls without any stop, which was equivalent to them bleeding all the time. Therefore, the army of ghouls had a natural fear of sunlight. Only on a cloudy day or at night and under the protection of the white mist did they dare to act out!
"It's the Thunder Striking Legion! The Thunder Striking Legion's Thunder Lord Cannon!"
Cheers were echoing on the city towers.
As Dan Fengzi had said to Li Yao earlier, the true largest sect in the world was not the Grand Mystery Sect but the Thunder Qian Hall, which had established the Great Qian Dynasty.
The Thunder Striking Legion, an elite troop responsible for the security of the capital city, was a strong army made of the core disciples of the Thunder Qian Hall. Common troops of the court were certainly incomparable to them.
To cope with the riots and rebellions caused by the natural disasters in the southeast, the Thunder Striking Legion had been mobilized to East Peace County. It happened to run into the great battle where the ghouls were attacking the city!
The arrival of the Thunder Striking Camp immediately broke the impasse between the two parties.
Wan Mingzhu, attacked by the five super Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators collectively, could only defend herself without any way to fight back in the first place. She had been separated from her subordinates and could not issue any effective commands to the army of ghouls.
In the meantime, the cannons of the Thunder Striking Camp were firing nonstop, shredding the dark clouds in the sky.
Illuminated by the fierce sunlight, the hundreds of white mists dispersed one after another.
The ghosts that were bathed in sunlight seemed to be burning in fire. Amid screeching noises, blue smoke was soaring, and they were evaporated into nothingness in a moment!
The defense line of the army of ghouls was collapsing.
The soldiers and Cultivators who had lost their mind because of the possession of the souls gradually came back to themselves under the boost of the valor of their companions. Encouraged by the bombardments of the cannons, they lunged at the skeletons and zombies again!
The only thing that one had to fear was fear itself. That was the competition between humans and ghosts. The party that was more determined and resolute would eventually win!
"White Lotus, your army is doomed!" Qi Zhongdao burst into laughter. He shook his sleeves and jumped at Wan Mingzhu!
Wan Mingzhu glanced at the Thunder Striking Legion, which was still on the horizon, hesitating.
A lot of time was needed for an army to march forward. The Thunder Striking Legion had not arrived at the battlefield yet and was simply firing the cannons. There was still time for her to retreat and regroup her army.
However, if the few super Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators stalled her for a while longer and her retreat was blocked by the Thunder Striking Legion, she would be doomed!
It was true that, since ghosts were fearless of the tides, she could escape from the ocean.
However, ghosts needed to refill their spiritual energy, too. On the boundless ocean, it was barely possible to find sufficient resources or any shelter. If she were shot by intense sunlight for an entire tide, it was very likely that she would be vaporized!
If she escaped into the sea, she would be susceptible to the undercurrents, too, which would also wear out the souls of the ghosts and make them slowly disperse from the sunlight at the bottom of the ocean.
"Let's go!"
Wan Mingzhu made the call quickly and commanded the army to retreat!
"Where are you going?" Yan Liren, Qi Zhongdao, Ba Xiaoyu, and Master Bitter Cicada all went forward to surround Wan Mingzhu!
But outside their expectations, dozens of golden zombies that seemed to be made of pure gold lunged at their feet from below them in gloomy wind. They opened their mouths and bit at the Cultivators' legs.
Without blinking, Yan Liren launched his sword auras again, which slashed the golden zombies brutally!
"Watch out!" Ba Xiaoyu, however, widened his eyes and shrieked before he covered his head and leapt backward.
After dozens of weird explosions, the golden zombies expanded into round, huge balls, which exploded immediately after Yan Liren's sword auras reached them. Fragrant, bright golden mist was spurting out their bodies!
Nobody needed Ba Xiaoyu's reminder to know that the golden mist was certainly not healthy. With no other choice, they could only dodge.
In the blink of an eye, Wan Mingzhu's shadow had already split apart into dozens of streams of vague smoke, which splashed over different scorpions, skeleton soldiers, and zombies nearby.
The scorpions, skeleton soldiers, and zombies, as if having an electric shock, became dozens of times faster than before as they escaped in different directions.
"After her!
"We have gone through all this trouble to catch White Lotus. She must be eliminated at all costs. Otherwise, even if the million ghost soldiers here are blown to smithereens, they will come back again as long as Wan Mingzhu still exists!"
Qi Zhongdao gnashed his teeth.
It was also exactly what all the Cultivators had in mind.
Although the army of ghouls had been crushed, they would still escape to the smaller counties and towns, loot the middle and small sects that were relatively weak, and even corrupt and destroy all the farmlands!
As the saying went, a defeated army was an avalanching mountain. The army of ghouls had been turned i
nto disorganized soldiers and true wandering ghosts!
The morale of the Cultivators and the army of the court, on the other hand, was higher than ever. They chased after the enemy without slowing down at all, trying to annihilate as many ghosts as possible so that there would be less chance that they could be reorganized.
Li Yao and the other super Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, in the meantime, released all their telepathic thoughts, attempting to lock onto Mother White Lotus' soul.
One party running and the other pursuing, they moved further and further. A lot of ghost soldiers and entered the continuous hills to the south of East Peace County.
The battle had lasted an entire day, and the night was falling.
In the boundless forest, countless birds were cackling and flying toward the night sky because of shock!
Yan Liren, Qi Zhongdao, Ba Xiaoyu, and Master Bitter Cicada rushed into the forest in four streaks of brightness. Two ear-splitting explosions immediately erupted in the forest. A lot of trees were set ablaze. Wan Mingzhu's hateful screams were echoing with the fire, too.
Li Yao, however, stopped above the forest and stared at the darkness, deep in thought. Something confusing in his heart was now rolling up and down because of Wan Mingzhu's shrieks.
The battle was really too uncanny!
Chapter 1447: Who's the Idiot? |
"Hey. Even if you are planning to go easy on Mother White Lotus, you don't need to just stop here for no good reason. This is too obvious!"
Having swallowed tremendous negative emotions, the mental devil's belly was round. It was simmering impatiently again as it remarked while picking the teeth.
"No. Do you not feel that the war between the living and the dead is too weird?"
Looking at the seemingly infinite dark mountains under the night sky, Li Yao was deep in thought. "Mother White Lotus has finally gathered a huge army of ghouls by taking advantage of the natural disasters. Despite the ostensible formidability, the army collapsed after the first engagement and failed to even last one day before it was completely crushed. This is rather anticlimactic!"
The mental devil picked the nose and said, "That's only reasonable. We have five super Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators on our side and dozens of regular Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. There's also the court's Thunder Striking Legion, who are carrying the main guns of crystal warships. The damn main guns of crystal warships!
"Most of the ghosts that Mother White Lotus commanded are wild ghosts that she drafted recently. If they were alive, they would just be a bunch of mobs carrying their dung forks. It is perfectly normal that she lost the battle!"
"Then, it is all the more baffling."
Listening to the roars of Mother White Lotus, each louder than the last, Li Yao's frown grew deeper and deeper. "The intelligence is not highly confidential. The Thunder Striking Legion was not teleported to the place, either, but marched here in the most eye-catching way. All she needed to do was release a few ghosts as scouts in the sky if she wanted to know the route of their approach. Also, she could've deduced the time of their arrival at East Peace County according to their speed and the terrain on their way.
"In the meantime, the reinforcements from the central plateaus dawdled for almost ten days in Roaring Tiger City. Almost all the southeastern sects knew that Qi Zhongdao, Ba Xiaoyu, Yan Liren, Master Bitter Cicada, and I had arrived. How could she have not foreseen that we would show up in battle?
"Five super Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, dozens of regular Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, and the Cultivators in the thirty-three local sects of the southeast, together with the court's elite troop Thunder Striking Legion. We are an almost invincible army. As long as Mother White Lotus has the most fundamental computational ability, she should've calculated that she stood absolutely no chance of winning with the bunch of mobs that she had just recruited, shouldn't she?
"Then, here comes the question which we have neglected the whole time. Why does Mother White Lotus have to attack East Peace County?"
After falling into a long daze, the mental devil replied, "East Peace County is the largest town in the southeast. It is also the place where thirty-three Cultivation sects are headquartered. A lot of crystals, magical equipment, and Jade Crystal Pellets are stored here, which are of great use to the training of the army of ghouls. As long as they absorb the spiritual energy contained in the crystals and the Jade Crystal Pellets, it will be possible for the wild ghosts to evolve into seasoned ghosts and for the seasoned ghosts to evolve into even more ferocious ghost kings! Isn't this the best reason?
"She can only achieve what she wants if she can conquer East Peace County!"
"But by common sense, as long as Mother White Lotus is not an idiot," Li Yao said calmly. "There is absolutely no way that she doesn't know it is utterly impossible for her to conquer East Peace County, which is reinforced by the Cultivators from the central plateaus and the Thunder Striking Legion! However many secret treasures, crystals, and Jade Crystal Pellets there are in East Peace County, they are tantalizing and yet unreachable!"
"Perhaps—perhaps she is an idiot?"
The mental devil was not convinced. "I can tell that Mother White Lotus' Cultivation is obviously founded on 'remorse', 'fury', and 'hatred'. Perhaps, she hates all Cultivators in the world and wants brutal retaliations because her family was killed by certain evil Cultivators. That's why she is attacking an important city governed by the Cultivators without considering the consequences!"
"It's impossible. It's impossible!" Li Yao shook his head quickly. "Since she is one of the top ten experts of the Ancient Sages Sector, her Cultivation is equivalent to the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage. Even if her Cultivation is truly founded on 'fury', there is no way that she would lose her mind because of her wrath and launch such a reckless attack! I have a feeling that the words that Mother White Lotus said at the beginning and her miserable screams all carried signs of acting. They are slightly unnatural and a bit exaggerated!"
The mental devil was dazed for a moment. "If you think that her acting is too unconvincing, it is probably true. After all, you are the master of acting!"
"Also, the large-scale siege is obviously different from Mother White Lotus' style in the past!" His eyes shining, Li Yao continued his analysis. "Before, although the White Lotus Cult savaged the southeast, it never attacked the big cities that were heavily guarded. Instead, it always attacked the isolated middle and small sects that were located in the remote mountains or weakly defended towns.
"Therefore, it was always able to accomplish the goals. Before the rebels were annihilated, they were always able to resist for a long time, sabotage dozens of towns and cities, and butcher quite a few middle and small sects!
"It is obvious that Mother White Lotus' head is very clear. She knows exactly what her advantages are. That's why she plays to her strengths and attacks those weaker than her!
"The natural disasters this time are so severe that almost a hundred counties and prefectures in the southeast have been involved. Dying disaster victims are everywhere. It is the reason that Mother White Lotus could draft such a large army in such a short period of time!
"If I were Mother White Lotus, why would I be in such a hurry to attack East Peace County, the most heavily guarded city in the southeast, when I had such a great army? I could go by the traditional approach and march southward with the army to attack the weakly defended towns and local sects, plunder the farmlands, and demolish the settlements of the Cultivators there, while keeping as much distance from East Peace County as possible. Wouldn't it be a much better option?
"By doing so, I would be able to receive provisions from the farmlands and the local sects, and I would simultaneously be able to build the previous mobs into a well-trained army by training them in small-scale battles. Most importantly of all, the thirty-three sects in the southeast are all lying low in East Peace County. As long as their core interests are not affected, I don't think that they can resolve themselves to fig
ht a bloody battle with the White Lotus ghoul army without considering the cost. Instead, it is more likely that they will sit by and watch the White Lotus ghoul army diminish the strength of the local sects!
"You have seen it too with the experiences in the past months that the Cultivation sects in the world of ancient Cultivators are just loose sand. Unless they are cornered, their war efficiency is astonishingly low!
"Even I can think of such a simple methodology. It is also exactly what Mother White Lotus did in the previous rebellions. So, why on earth did she do the exact opposite by gathering the army and attacking the heavily guarded city in such a hurry when she knew that she would fail? It is almost like…"
"It's almost like that she is intentionally losing the battle!" the mental devil said, deep in thought.
"Exactly!" Li Yao's eyes shone as he snapped. "That's the feeling. She has lost the battle on purpose!"
"But what for?" The mental devil paced around inside Li Yao's brain. "What benefits can an intentional failure bring to her? Did she fake the failure because there are ambushes ahead?"
Li Yao stared at the trees in the front that were not particularly high and soon vetoed the speculation.
Baiting the enemy to pursue with a fake failure, surrounding the enemy, and annihilating the enemy once and for all was an extremely sophisticated art of war. Such a battle could only be fought with a well-trained, high-obedient super army and an experienced general as the commander.
Mother White Lotus' leadership was already incredible to keep the army of ghouls, which was just in a jumbled battle formation, and make them charge forward without running away. It would be a fantasy to regroup the army for an annihilation battle after the army collapsed, even if the collapse was faked!
Even the army of ghouls had their 'morale', too. When the morale was destroyed, and after many recently deceased ghosts perished during the first clash, it was impossible to fight back at all!
Also, on the Cultivators' side, there were also veteran generals who were adept at commanding. They had long sent out scouts to investigate the thousand square kilometers nearby. It was impossible for an elite troop of the army of ghouls to be hiding in a corner somewhere!