In the night sky, a figure like an iron tower descended, three heads and eight arms, wielding knives, spears, swords, and halberds. The dark golden skin shimmered with metallic luster, and each knotted muscle was like the work of a master sculptor, full of mechanical beauty.
The three heads had eyes like copper bells, wide mouths, and large noses, with fierce expressions. The overall image was like a ferocious deity statue in a temple.
Simultaneously, the generals and soldiers fighting on the battlefield all stopped, watching the god-like and demonic figure in fear.
Top Northern expert, Tuoba Guanghe.
His appearance silenced the boiling battlefield.
Tuoba Guanghe looked down, his eyes sweeping across the chaotic battlefield, and looked at Fu Qingyang on the city wall, his voice loud:
"Yang Ce, it's surprising that the Southern Dynasty can produce a swordsman like you. You are a junior, and this commander never bullies the small. How about this, I'll take three of your sword strikes.
"If you can injure me, I will retreat my troops and cease fire for three days."
Demon Eye Heavenly King sneered: "If you want to fight, then fight, why waste words? Tuoba old man, why don't I, your grandpa, play with you."
He saw through Tuoba Guanghe's sinister intentions at a glance. First, make a high-profile entrance to shock the Southern Dynasty's soldiers, then propose a bet. If Fu Qingyang doesn't agree, it's the same as showing cowardice.
The defending soldiers, already intimidated by him, would suffer a great loss of morale if they saw their marshal being timid. In the following siege, the Northern Dynasty would have a complete advantage.
If Fu Qingyang agrees, then he would fall right into Tuoba Guanghe's trap. The ancient war god had bronze skin and iron bones, impervious to swords and spears, and had a level advantage, making it easy to defend against the three sword strikes of an Level 8 Artificer.
You should know that the advantage of an Artificer does not lie in one-on-one combat, but in manipulating puppets and soldiers.
Demon Eye Heavenly King was hinting at Fu Qingyang to refuse. Give him ten more minutes, and he could severely injure or even kill Wanyan Batian. At that time, the three Sovereigns could join forces to deal with Tuoba Guanghe without difficulty.
Fu Qingyang's eyes swept over the soldiers on the city wall, and over the enemy soldiers below the city. Those pairs of eyes, either expectant or provocative, were all focused on him at this moment.
Fu Qingyang stood proudly on the city wall, pressing his hand on the hilt of his sword amidst the attention of the crowd, "Alright!"
The expressions of Demon Eye Heavenly King, Zhao Chenghuang, and Tianxia Guihuo all changed.
Lingjun sighed.
Tuoba Guanghe smirked: "I won't dodge!"
"You can't dodge either!" Fu Qingyang said coldly.
With a rustling sound, a black cloak embroidered with gold thread hung behind the young marshal, fluttering in the wind.
This Level 8 initial-stage Artificer's aura suddenly soared, like a sharp sword that had been unsheathed. The soldiers on both sides watching Fu Qingyang felt a stinging pain in their eyeballs, and tears rolled down their cheeks, as if they had been pricked by invisible fine needles. They couldn't help but look away.
After receiving the cloak's blessing, Fu Qingyang opened his inventory and summoned his true sword—Cold Iron Jade Dragon.
A Sovereign-level famous sword.
In the eyes of the Southern Dynasty's soldiers, the marshal's ability to conjure objects from thin air was like a miracle, and their confidence soared for a time.
Tuoba Guanghe smiled and said, "There is actually such a magical weapon in the world. After today, it will be this commander's trophy."
Fu Qingyang stepped on the city wall and soared into the sky like a startled swan, his cloak fluttering. In the eyes of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, he rose to Tuoba Guanghe's presence and raised his long sword high.
As the cold and gleaming long sword was raised, the soldiers of the two countries watching this scene unexpectedly felt a sense of despair. This sword seemed to be aimed at them, and they believed from the bottom of their hearts that they could not dodge it.
It can actually affect the spectators, his skill is close to the Way and has improved again. Fu Qingyang this kid is a pervert like Yuanshi, a pervert in a different sense... Lingjun muttered to himself, trembling.
The Jade Dragon was slashed down, and the sword energy was like a rainbow.
However, facing such a sharp sword, Tuoba Guanghe simply closed his eight arms, and the weapons such as knives, spears, swords, and halberds formed a shield wall.
"Boom!"
Fu Qingyang's Jade Dragon sword slashed on the steel shield wall, and the sound it made was not the sharp sound of metal colliding, but a muffled thunder-like explosion, which showed the abundant strength contained in this sword strike.
Tuoba Guanghe was like a ball being hit by a giant, and crashed towards the ground like a comet, smashing into the Northern Dynasty's army formation, causing a scene of death, and dust rose in the air.
Both sides of soldiers stared nervously at the hazy dust.
"Good swordsmanship, two dynasties, two Jianghu, your Yang Ce's swordsmanship is the best, unparalleled in the world." Tuoba Guanghe's wild laughter came, and with a bang, he rushed out of the dust, unscathed.
The Northern Dynasty soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and cheered. Someone shouted, "The Juque Divine Army is brave and invincible, the Eight-Armed Tuoba is the best in the world."
In an instant, the shouts were deafening and the momentum was grand.
The Southern Dynasty's defenders looked disappointed.
Fu Qingyang turned a blind eye to the roaring shouts in the sky, opened his inventory, and took out the puppet storage box he bought from the Sword Pavilion elder.
The half-person-high, heavy bronze box landed with a "clang," and the lid opened. Fu Qingyang inserted the Jade Dragon sword in front of him, moved his fingers rapidly, and black shadows jumped out of the box one after another.
In the sound of bronze colliding, more than a hundred bronze puppets appeared on the city wall, drooping their heads and limbs, their bodies swaying, like string puppets.
Fu Qingyang flicked his fingers slightly, and the puppets raised their heads in unison, their stiff and dead faces looking at Tuoba Guanghe.
He raised his hand again, and in the neat clanging sound, more than a hundred bronze puppets soared into the sky, like locusts, like rain of arrows, surrounding Tuoba Guanghe in the air.
Fu Qingyang pressed down with both hands, and the puppets covering the sky, holding up bronze swords, surged forward, unleashing a hundred swords at the same time.
Every sword contained abundant strength, and every sword was close to the Way.
A hundred swords were unleashed at the same time.
Tuoba Guanghe finally revealed a trace of solemnity. He dispersed the knives, spears, swords, and halberds held by his eight arms, and his eight arms formed four mudras in front of him.
A dignified and solemn Myō-ō (Vidyārāja) statue, pitch black, condensed behind him, and the air around the statue was faintly distorted, forming a closed sphere.
The bronze puppets' slashes fell.
"Clang clang clang..." The bronze swords shattered one after another, and the sword energy contained within was either reflected by the air shield or dissipated due to the sword shattering, shooting in all directions.
Some of the sword energy landed on the city wall, smashing out finger-deep pits, and gravel rained down, and the defenders on the city wall covered their heads and dodged.
Some of the sword energy landed below the city, and many Northern Dynasty soldiers didn't even have a chance to react before they were pierced by the sword energy and collapsed in a bloody mist.
When the torrential storm ended, the soldiers of the two armies finally dared to raise their heads and stop running, and they all eagerly looked at Tuoba Guanghe.
At this glance, the attitudes of the two sides reversed.
The faces of the Southern Dynasty's defenders instantly dimmed, while the Northern Dynasty's soldiers cheered like boiling water.
Tuoba Guanghe was unscathed.
"Invincible!"
"Invincible!"
The excited roars were like thunder, like a tsunami, and the Northern Dynasty's soldiers' morale was twisted into one strand in these two sword strikes, and their momentum was like a long rainbow.
Seeing this scene, the high-ranking generals of the Southern Dynasty looked solemn.
Military tactics say: Attacking the city is inferior, attacking the heart is superior.
Tuoba Guanghe proposed a bet not to show off his force, but for this purpose. He only withstood two sword strikes, but it caused the defenders' morale to collapse, and the Northern Dynasty's soldiers' morale was high.
When he defends against the third sword strike and gives an order, the army will attack the city, and victory is guaranteed.
This top expert in the Northern Territory is not only a strong man with great strength, but also an excellent general.
Below the city, Demon Eye jumped onto the city wall and strode towards Fu Qingyang. He had to dissuade this bet. Fu Qingyang's behavior was equivalent to personally shattering his own army's morale.
He couldn't understand why Fu Qingyang, with his wisdom and calmness, would agree to Tuoba Guanghe's bet?
Lingjun blocked Demon Eye Heavenly King: "Don't disturb the marshal."
Demon Eye Heavenly King said coldly: "A mere Saint, you don't know the horror of a Level 9 Ancient War God at all."
Even he, who could bewitch Demon Eyes to reach the peak, would be ravaged by a Level 9 Ancient War God. It was useless to weaken the opponent by messing up spiritual power, because he couldn't break his defense at all.
Lingjun sighed: "I know he has no chance of winning, but you better not stop him."
"Why?" Demon Eye Heavenly King frowned.
"When you encounter corrupt officials, when you encounter villains who bully men and women, we stop you, can we stop you?" Lingjun asked.
"Then you are courting death."
"So," Lingjun shrugged: "Everyone has personality flaws. When faced with a companion's personality flaws, you can only accept it."
Lingjun looked at Fu Qingyang, who was standing on the city wall with a blank expression, and thought of his friend's past.
As the direct descendant of the Lingjing family, the only son of the family head, Fu Qingyang's youth could be described as miserable. In his childhood, he was muddle-headed and his talent was not obvious, which was okay.
When he reached his youth, his swordsmanship talent was average, his fighting talent was average, and his physique was average. He could be described as a "three no-product" of the Fu family. If his swordsmanship and fighting talent were too poor, he might not even get a character card.
Apart from a handsome appearance, he was useless.
How could a family head with extraordinary talent give birth to a waste? The elders of the clan couldn't figure it out, and they sighed.
The adults' attitudes and discussions often affect children, so the peers in the clan began to laugh at him. Seeing that laughing at the family head's son would not be punished, and seeing the elders turning a blind eye, they gradually became more and more severe.
From ridicule to scolding, from scolding to bullying.
Until one day, the stubborn teenager picked up a wooden sword and broke the bones of all the peers who had bullied him.
Fighting alone, vowing not to retreat!
This is Fu Qingyang's personality flaw, and it is also the concept he insisted on during the dark period.
Fu Qingyang did not take back the priceless puppets, watching them fall like rain, scattered under the city. The cheers of the Northern Dynasty's army were sharp and ear-piercing, just like the slander and ridicule of his youth.
The first sword strike was the pinnacle of his single attack.
The second sword strike was the combined sword technique he had just comprehended.
He gathered all his strength, but he didn't hurt the enemy at all.
He pulled out the Jade Dragon sword and thought of the bruised and swollen teenager who stood in front of the mirror and made a silent vow:
Do not retreat!
I won't retreat even if I die!
The frustration of failing in two sword strikes surged in his chest, dissolved, and the concept he had adhered to for many years was boiling and roaring, turning into an indomitable surging sword intent. The spiritual power around him poured into the divine weapon, overdrafting his physical strength, and still continuing...
Fu Qingyang's temples showed gray, and his black hair was mixed with silver threads. He didn't care at all and continued to overdraft his strength.
"Do not retreat!"
He murmured to himself and threw out the Jade Dragon sword.
A flash of cold light in the world, sword energy filled the universe.
That cold light instantly pierced Tuoba Guanghe, passing through his chest, so fast that the top expert in the Northern Territory didn't even have time to react.
He lowered his head in astonishment, looking at his chest, which was bleeding profusely.
All the noise stopped, and it was silent above and below the city.
"Your Majesty, your concubine is late to rescue you, please forgive me." Wan Meiren knelt down on the ground.
Zhang Yuanqing sat down staggeringly at the table, waving his hand: "It's okay."
He examined Wan Meiren and sighed:
"I didn't expect that there were hidden dragons and crouching tigers in my harem. Although Zheng Longtu is a half-assed guy who relies on his family background, his cultivation is not bad. I didn't expect that even Wan Meiren couldn't block a single move. It's really wronged Wan Meiren to be my concubine. Why don't you be a commander?"
Water Deprivation is a skill that only a Level 6 Plague God can control.
In other words, this Wan Meiren, who can run a horse on her arm, corresponds to a Level 6 Plague God.
Wan Meiren said in a muffled voice:
"Your Majesty, your concubine is just a weak woman and cannot bear the position of commander. Your concubine only wants to serve Your Majesty in the palace and protect Your Majesty."
This body, this aura, is more than enough to kill enemies on the battlefield, let alone be a commander... Zhang Yuanqing complained in his heart.
Wan Meiren hesitated slightly and said in a low voice: "I dare not hide it from Your Majesty. In fact, your concubine is a death soldier cultivated by the Empress Dowager. My duty is to protect Your Majesty in the harem."
A death soldier cultivated by the Empress Dowager? No wonder the instance gave me a hint! Zhang Yuanqing raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised.
It seems that the Empress Dowager also knew that her son was unruly and difficult to become a wise ruler, so she arranged two bodyguards, Li Changshi and Wan Meiren.
One is in the open and the other is in the dark, protecting Zhao Shun at all times.
These two characters are my reliance before my identity is revealed and before I recognize my teammates! Well, yes, if I don't have confidant bodyguards, my strength is sealed, my teammates turn against me, and the Royal City Secretary Commander harbors evil intentions, I will hardly have a way to survive.
Zhang Yuanqing said happily: "Loyalty cannot be overstated, loyalty cannot be overstated. I actually forgot your name for such a loyal person."
Wan Meiren was flattered: "Your concubine's name is Wan Dou."
"I want to make you a noble consort." Zhang Yuanqing boasted.
Anyway, Zhao Shun will take the blame in the end. It has nothing to do with me, Yuanshi Tianzun.
Amidst Wan Meiren's, the future Noble Consort Wan's, profuse gratitude, Zhang Yuanqing said: "You immediately sneak into the bedroom, arrest the three beauties for me, take them to a secluded place to imprison them, and then wait for my orders."
Wan Meiren nodded, her body turned into a stream of water and flowed away from the gaps between the scale-like black tiles.
Zhang Yuanqing waited for a few seconds, then ran "in a panic" towards the door, shouting:
"There is an assassin, there is an assassin, come and save me..."
The Imperial Guards who were fighting Gu worms were shocked and quickly held up torches and approached.
Under the cover of the Fire Master, an Imperial Guard commander rushed forward and said, "Your Majesty, your subject is here to rescue you, where is the assassin?"
Zhang Yuanqing pointed behind him, with lingering fear on his face, "Quick, go and save Commander Zheng, Commander Zheng is entangled with the assassin in the hall."
The Imperial Guard commander quickly looked inside the hall, and his expression instantly froze.
Zhang Yuanqing continued to shout: "What are you doing standing there? Go and save Commander Zheng!"
The Imperial Guard commander looked ugly: "Your Majesty, look back, Commander Zheng... has died in the line of duty."
At this moment, the gate of the burning bedroom was suddenly knocked open, and a "river" rolled up the three beauties, soaring into the air, fleeing towards the Royal Garden.
The Gu worms flying all over the sky vibrated their wings and chased after them quickly.
Some of the Imperial Guards followed behind the Gu worms and the "river" and continued to chase, while the other part stayed to protect the Emperor, or directed the eunuchs and palace maids to put out the fire.
Li Changshi walked out of the sea of fire covered in blood, his eyes slightly anxious as he scanned around. Seeing that His Majesty's dog life was still there, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
(End of this chapter)