“Heh, so the Ten Families are drawing up battle lines, ready to go head-to-head with us?”

“What audacity! Don’t they know how the Meng family met their end?”

“Enough talk. We've been lying low for so many years, always afraid of being targeted by the Ten Families. Now that we've finally crossed the bridge and gained some power, it's time for us to hold our heads high.”

“But brothers, don't be careless. I see that the Shangjing garrison not only has a large number of troops but also possesses an eerie aura, making them stronger than ordinary soldiers. Our troops haven't arrived yet, which is like lacking a suppressing charm. Ordinary methods may not be a match for them.”

“……”

“I'll go!”

Seeing the battle lines being drawn before Shangjing City, everyone in the deep of night was indignant but dared not be careless. As they discussed, they heard a loud shout.

Everyone turned to look and saw a slender figure with long sleeves fluttering, speaking in a cold voice, "Hasn't it been widely spread already? That transmigrators want to learn the art of 'one man can stand against a nation.' You were only concerned with crossing the bridge, didn't you ever think you'd encounter such a scene sooner or later?"

"Heh, if your skills are high enough, you don't need any suppressing charms. Just break through with brute force!"

Seeing his extraordinary demeanor, everyone immediately felt admiration: "Brother, where are you from? What's your name?"

"I'll tell you after I win!"

This slender figure strode out of the darkness. The lights of the army in the distance cast his shadow enormously. As he advanced, magical power surged around him. Suddenly, he flapped his arms, and his robe was whipped up by a gale, making him look like an immortal.

He shouted, "A million soldiers and horses in my hands, entertaining guests means beheading and taking heads as dogs!"

In the midst of his shout, the sound of rumbling horses and neighing suddenly echoed behind him. The naked eye could see dark clouds rolling overhead.

Within this endless dark cloud, dazzling golden light and flashing silver blades could be seen. Countless divine soldiers and generals, a dark mass whose numbers couldn't be discerned, rode thunderous steeds, descending from the sky like a flood.

The grandeur of their momentum and the fierceness of their military strength even suppressed the Shangjing City garrison before them.

Seeing the rolling fierce soldiers charging straight at them, even some of the Ten Families' disciples and experts in the army slightly changed their expressions.

These legendary evil beings were infamous and had great supernatural powers. Each one possessed earth-shattering methods.

Seeing that the heavenly troops were already upon them, even the silent and grim city garrison was on high alert. Suddenly, their spears pointed straight forward in a row, clearly ready for a battle to the death.

But at this moment, Zhao Sanyi in the city garrison frowned slightly.

Looking at the black shadows in the night, he was indeed wary. He was only testing the waters, putting three parts of his energy forward and seven parts preparing to escape, his eyes looking uncertainly at the sky.

After making up his mind, he suddenly raised his sleeve to cover his face. When he swung his sleeve away, he suddenly opened his mouth and spewed a sea of ​​flames, which seemed to burn into a sea of ​​fire in an instant, rushing towards the rolling dark clouds.

Crackling!

Only the sound of burning dry objects could be heard in the air. As the flames disappeared, the dark clouds and divine soldiers vanished.

Only gold and silver paper foil, and half-burned paper figures fell from the sky.

The slender figure who had strode forward looked up, still moving with a dragon's gait and a tiger's pace, waved his sleeve, and turned back.

For a moment, both sides were unsure of what to make of it, staring blankly at him. Seeing him walking back, someone cautiously asked, "Brother, is that your art of 'one man can stand against a nation'?"

"That's the best I can do."

The slender figure said, "I've been researching for over a year and confirmed one thing: the art of 'one man can stand against a nation' doesn't exist. It's just to scare them."

"Bullshit!"

Someone nearby scolded angrily: "Someone showed a hand of it in Guazhou before."

The slender figure said, "I don't believe it. I bet that person must be from the trickster's guild, the best at fabricating illusions."

Seeing him shameless, the people nearby were all angry and shouted, "What's your name?"

The slender figure said faintly, "I won't tell you."

"Seriously?"

At the same time, in the Shangjing garrison, the disciples of the Ten Families and their capable subordinates were also stunned.

"Seriously? Those evil beings are said to be very powerful, but... is that all?"

Someone immediately became alert and whispered a reminder: "Don't be careless."

"These evil beings are joking and showing weakness to the enemy, maybe they're hiding something powerful. Don't forget that the Meng family was destroyed by them."

"We only need to defend this city and not let them in. Don't pay attention to anything else. Maybe they've already laid ambushes in the dark, just waiting for us to be careless and send troops to chase them. Then they'll jump out and take the opportunity to break into Shangjing City."

"..."

"I'll go!"

Just then, someone in the shadows snorted coldly, holding a steel saber as he walked out. He took a sip of wine from a gourd and suddenly sprayed it on the saber.

Then, holding the saber with both hands, he muttered a spell at the blade for a long time, before suddenly raising the saber and shouting:

"Baby, please turn around."

The next moment, the saber turned around and slashed across his own neck.

"Ouch!"

Everyone was shocked, but suddenly realized that in the deep darkness, a shadow flew out.

In an instant, the front row of the Shangjing garrison, with dozens of soldiers, were standing there coldly, but suddenly, their bodies stiffened, and the heads on their necks silently rolled down one by one, blood spurting out.

In particular, one of those beheaded was the commander of the city garrison.

He also possessed considerable skill, capable of commanding three thousand soldiers, but he died silently.

Both sides were shocked, realizing that this was someone truly capable, able to cut off a dozen heads in the army with one saber, which was far more skillful than finding some timid country bumpkins and cutting off their heads in a row.

But before the thought had passed, a woman wrapped in black robes quickly darted out from the Shangjing garrison.

Her black robe and hair were singed to ash on the nearby torch. Then she picked up the commander's head and placed it back on his neck properly.

She smeared the burned hair in her hand on the wound on his neck, and the head sat back in place.

The next moment, she turned around, narrowed her eyes, and whispered something to the small skull in her hand.

The steel saber in the hand of the man who held it trembled slightly, as if filled with fierce and violent intent.

He gripped the steel saber tightly, paused slightly, then sheathed the steel saber, turned around and went back into the shadows, shaking his head and whispering: "The ancestors of the Jiangtou School are here. They also have tens of thousands of troops as suppressing charms, the blood is too heavy. We'll be at a disadvantage fighting magic here."

For a moment, everyone's faces were ugly. They looked at each other.

Someone followed up and said, "I can't get through. While you were fighting magic, I tried several methods. Shangjing City is right there, but I just can't get through, as if I can't find it in the underworld."

Someone else said: "Not to mention us, even my paper dolls can't float in. Shangjing City seems to not exist."

"I just went around the back, thinking of setting a fire or secretly digging a hole, but I didn't expect that there were experts guarding both in front of and behind the city, and I couldn't find a chance."

"..."

When all the news was compared, everyone's faces were ugly: "Knowing that the Da Luo Dharma Sect is still inside thinking of dealing with us, we can only watch from the outside now?"

"Why don't we turn around and meet the Changsheng Army?"

"They have transmigrators from Mengzhou specially protecting them. They would have arrived earlier if they could. We can't help even if we go."

"..."

Seeing shadows flickering in the night from time to time, people were rushing over, but facing the impenetrable Shangjing City and its 30,000 troops, as well as the experts of the Ten Families hidden among the troops, everyone was firmly blocked outside the city.

From time to time, someone stepped forward to provoke, either to kill or to anger the other side, drawing the troops to fight in order to find a flaw, but all failed.

Even those who still had powerful secret skills didn't dare to use them easily, knowing that there were still Shangqiao experts from the Ten Families in the army.

In this stalemate, it was almost dawn, and they were at a loss for what to do, when suddenly they heard someone say:

"Let me do it!"

"..."

Everyone turned their heads at the same time and saw another person arriving in the night. He was carrying a red lantern, and the light of the lantern illuminated his stubble beard and square face. With a frown, he passed through the crowd and stepped to the front of the battle.

"Who is this? Still carrying a lantern, afraid of falling?"

Everyone had been disappointed too many times, and seeing that this person was unfamiliar, presumably someone who didn't show up often, they didn't take it seriously.

But as this person carried the lantern and slowly walked towards the Shangjing city garrison on the opposite side, Zhao Sanyi in the army suddenly frowned, looked over intently, and his face changed slightly.

Chen Abao knew he had sharp eyes and quickly gave him an inquiring look. Zhao Sanyi lowered his voice and said, "That fake Master Hu is here..."

Chen Abao was immediately shocked: "There are actually evil beings in the Hu family..."

Zhao Sanyi quickly covered her mouth: "Don't say what you shouldn't say!"

The newcomer was Erguotou. He ignored the gazes in front of and behind him, just slowly raised the lantern and walked forward, because he had not made a move, the Shangjing city garrison did not move either. Countless eyes were focused on him.

Then, when he came to about twenty zhang in front of the army formation, he slowly stuck the handle of the red lantern in his hand into the ground.

The light of the red lantern spread outward like flowing water in an instant.

The rolling red light intertwined with the night, presenting a strange blood red color.

And in this strange blood red color, he flapped his sleeve, and suddenly hundreds of formation flags flew out of his sleeves, instantly forming an altar above the battlefield, and then he held three incense sticks and bowed gently.

The next moment, the sound of horses' hooves and the shaking of weapons gradually sounded behind him.

But the sound of these horses' hooves was different from the earlier summoning of divine soldiers and generals. It clearly carried a heavy and loud meaning. The next moment, everyone turned their heads at the same time and saw a team of fierce soldiers, all blindfolded, running out of the night.

Someone recognized them, and was immediately surprised and delighted, shouting out: "The Changsheng Army is here..."

"They actually arrived two days early!"
Chapter 1 The Beginning