Chapter 512: Chapter 229: The Dust Settles, Beehive in Hand (Part 3)
Wu Tianxing lay on the ground, his face full of horror.
The power Xia Chuan had just used against him was only at the level of six manes. How could it suddenly increase to eight manes? How is this possible?
It couldn’t be that he was deliberately hiding his strength. During the close combat, Xia Chuan’s Qi Muscle movements were very clear to him, and it was absolutely an all-out attack.
How did that power suddenly surge?
Crack...
A sound of bones cracking was heard as Xia Chuan stepped on Wu Tianxing’s shoulder, placing the Black Blade on his neck.
Wu Tianxing endured the severe pain, looked up, and was instantly stunned.
Three vertical blood-red Cloud Patterns appeared on Xia Chuan’s forehead;
"Bang..."
At the same time, Lin Ye on the other side was also knocked to the ground by Zhao Long and Hong Tian, with a horizontal blade and a longsword placed on his neck respectively.
Crack... crack...
Hou Bing was in even worse shape; his shoulder was first pierced by Luo Yuan’s Barrier Blade, then he was smashed over a hundred meters away by Yuan Cheng’s giant axe, shattering countless bones, unable even to crawl.
The last to arrive, Yuwen Dao, picked up Hou Bing from the ground and walked directly over to stand with Xia Chuan and his group.
Not only Wu Tianxing, but several others also realized it.
Xia Chuan, Yuwen Dao, Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, Zhao Long, Hong Tian, Hong Guang, and Meng Yi by the iron gate all had three blood-red Cloud Patterns on their foreheads.
"Wha... what is... that..."
Upon hearing Wu Tianxing’s inquiry from below, Xia Chuan revealed a trace of pride on his face and said with a faint smile: "The Great Xia Sacred Pattern!"
Upon hearing these four words, Yuwen Dao and the others nearby had a slight twinge in their expressions, with some pride showing in their brows.
The captured Wu Tianxing, Lin Ye, and Hou Bing had expressions full of defeat on their faces. If they still didn’t understand now, they would have lived in vain.
The five who had just fought against them clearly hadn’t used their full strength.
"Hou Ming, stop struggling and surrender."
"You dream!"
Hou Ming, who was fighting against Chen Yingba in the distance, responded angrily upon hearing Xia Chuan’s voice, then directly sprinted towards the iron gate.
He witnessed Wu Tianxing and the other four being captured, and with only two or three hundred of Zhaoyang’s Earth-digging Realm left alive, they had no power to resist. Staying here was futile; he could only run first.
However, over by the iron gate, Meng Yi led over a thousand people, already blocking the passage. Seeing Hou Ming sprinting towards them, Meng Yi and the rest of the Great Xia people all raised their longbows, aiming at him.
"From the moment you brought people in two days ago, your fate was sealed!"
Xia Chuan leaped to catch up with Hou Ming, the Black Blade slicing a cold edge through the air, the power of eight manes sweeping out a gust of wind, pressing towards Hou Ming’s body.
Hou Ming still refused to surrender. As he saw Xia Chuan charging at him, as if he had a new idea, he directly turned and fiercely clashed his big blade against him.
Crack......
The sound of a blade nicking emerged, and a look of joy appeared on Hou Ming’s face.
The big blade in his hand, like Hou Ying’s long staff, was made primarily of iron, but coated with a layer of silver, making it much tougher and sharper than iron. That’s why he was able to break Chen Yingba’s big blade earlier.
Given the previous sound, he naturally assumed it was Xia Chuan’s Black Blade that had nicked, despite feeling Xia Chuan’s strength being equal to his. The advantage in weapons made him decide on an aggressive pursuit.
Exerting his arms once again, he pressed his long blade against Xia Chuan, attempting to force him back, and then he could...
However, upon glancing at his long blade, he was momentarily stunned.
It was not Xia Chuan’s Black Blade that was nicked, but his own blade.
How... how is this possible?
In disbelief, Hou Ming’s expression froze on his face.
Bang......
Xia Chuan blocked his big blade. With a slight flick of his left hand, a white thread pierced through Hou Ming’s clavicle, swiftly binding him entirely.
"Hou Ming, Wu Tianxing, Lin Ye, Hou Bing, Hou Ying have all been captured. Zhaoyang’s people, if you don’t want to die, lay down your weapons and surrender!"
By the time Hou Ming had tried to escape, the remaining two hundred or so of Zhaoyang’s forces had already lost the will to resist, and Xia Chuan’s words naturally became the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
As his words fell, Zhaoyang’s people who had already stopped fighting surrendered their weapons and knelt towards Great Xia.
"Now you want to surrender, but no, I must kill you."
"My father was killed by them, I want revenge!"
"Continue the fight, brothers, we can’t let them live."
.........
Zhaoyang’s people ceased, but those from Beehive would not have it!
Forgetting the previous two days, just in the recent battle, over a thousand Beehive members had been killed. The remaining fighters were already mad with bloodlust, refusing to stop.
Seeing more and more Zhaoyang members surrendering, they relentlessly drew their blades to attack, and in just a few seconds, five or six caught-off-guard Zhaoyang members were killed.
A Beehive Earth-digging Realm practitioner rushed behind a Zhaoyang member who had already surrendered, raising his butcher knife to behead him.
Thunk......
However, just as the butcher knife was about to fall, an iron arrow shot from the perimeter, piercing the attacker’s forehead, pinning his body to the ground.
Meng Yi, beside the iron gate, held his Iron Core Bow, loading another iron arrow while aiming at the remaining Beehive members, coldly declaring:
"Anyone who dares make another move will be killed without mercy!"
Those of Beehive who were lost in their bloodlust shivered at the sight of the corpse pinned to the ground, quickly sobering up, maintaining their previous poses without moving an inch.
The Zhaoyang people, kneeling on the ground, soon felt a sense of peace; those of Zhaoyang who had not yet surrendered stayed put but one after another dropped their weapons, clearly intending to surrender as well.
"Alright, Beehive gather up your things, the rest, follow me to the main building. Chen Yingba, lead the way ahead!"
Xia Chuan, leading, gave Meng Yi an approving look, then ordered directly to Chen Yingba.
Chen Yingba’s face flushed with red, instinctively wanting to retort, but seeing the Great Xia troops gathered at the iron gate position, all starting to enter the central building complex, he immediately shut his mouth, leading Xia Chuan and the others to the main building.
"Tch! This Great Xia is nothing good either..."
"Shh...... Don’t talk recklessly."
.........
Even the most thickheaded Beehive members could understand now.
Some with more fiery temperaments couldn’t help but curse, but before they finished, they were stopped by the people around them.
Meng Yi led over a thousand Great Xia soldiers, escorting Zhaoyang’s five Cold Resistance Levels, along with over two hundred Earth-digging Realm captives, walking through the central district’s buildings, pretending not to hear the Beehive members’ whispered comments, following Xia Chuan and the rest to Beehive’s main building.
Upon arrival, Meng Yi quickly deployed troops to surround the main building completely, then directly addressed Beehive’s people:
"Who is Cheng Ping? Step forward."
Cheng Ping, whose name had been called, showed a trace of excitement, quickly stepping forward and bowing to Meng Yi: "Greetings, sir!"
"For now, you manage these Beehive people, have them tidy up the battlefield and count the casualties. Report back to me with any issues."
"At your command, sir!"
Cheng Ping, realizing he may be about to ascend to new heights, couldn’t help but feel overly excited. After bowing and nodding, he began bossing around the Beehive members, commanding them to work.
Leaving aside Cheng Ping’s sudden rise in power beneath the main building.
On the top floor of the main building, within the Beehive’s meeting hall.
The Great Xia people were sitting on either side, appearing extremely exhilarated.
At this point, the Beehive was effectively conquered!
The next steps involved addressing the captives and planning the future actions.
Xia Chuan pulled a map from his bosom, the map detailing the distribution of Beehive’s surrounding camps which Xia Hong had sent back via Luo Ming. Looking at the map noting Yang Lu and Yucheng to the west of Beehive, and Wushuang, Zhaoyang, and Hanqiong to the north, he began to draft the next steps of their plan.
Watching Xia Chuan sitting in his elder brother Chen Yingyuan’s seat beside the seven Great Xia Cold Resistance Levels who regarded themselves as owners, Chen Yingba’s face flushed crimson, obviously furious.
However, looking back at the five Cold Resistance Levels kneeling on the ground, he opened his mouth but ultimately refrained from speaking.
As of now, the only difference between him and those five is likely the absence of injuries.
In essence, he too was one of Great Xia’s captives.
"Beehive is ruined!"
A trace of sorrow flashed in Chen Yingba’s heart, and he simply closed his eyes.