Chapter 401: Chapter 365: Bloody Battle

Boom!

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, and all the sounds on the stage came to an abrupt halt. The musicians and performers all looked to one side of the stage.

Three zhang away, flames shot up into the sky, and the soldiers guarding the stage were engulfed in flames, screaming and rolling on the ground. Beneath their feet were smoking chunks of flesh, surging forward towards the stage one after another.

Among the musicians, a woman in a purple dress holding a pipa stood up, her fingers swiftly gliding across the strings, and the chunks of flesh on the ground were torn apart one by one by an invisible force.

Others also began to use their own means, and for a moment, ghosts danced wildly, all pouncing towards those chunks of flesh.

Firecrackers buried deep within the flesh exploded in due time, and fragments of the Ten Victory Stone flew in all directions. Amidst the popping sounds, countless ghost shadows and monsters were shattered, then covered with exploding vermillion powder, and they turned to ash in the blink of an eye.

The explosions continued, with firecrackers and gasoline bottles combining to continually detonate. Although they couldn’t harm the people on the stage, the flames grew larger and gradually enclosed the entire stage, making it impossible for them to perform normally and resist the army outside the city.

At the same time, a fierce fire rapidly ignited under the city walls, and black smoke soared into the sky. The flames, like a roaring dragon, quickly circled the city walls, unstoppable.

The once sturdy Weng City suddenly became a terrifying fiery cage, trapping three thousand soldiers within with no escape.

Panic-stricken shouts echoed, the soldiers’ faces filled with fear, and the previously orderly military formation fell into chaos. Some tried to extinguish the fire with water, only to find that the fire was peculiar and difficult to extinguish with water. Some fled in all directions, only to be horrified to find that the city gate originally behind Weng City had vanished, replaced by a solid city wall.

The leaders on horseback also panicked, with the fire growing larger and the scorching smoke roasting everyone. If they didn’t escape the Weng City soon, they would all perish there.

“Open the city gates, run out!”

Someone shouted in the crowd, and immediately everyone turned their heads towards the city gate leading outside.

It wasn’t yet time to head out and engage in battle, but someone, driven by the instinct to survive, ran to open the city gate.

…

In the Da Xuan Army, the sudden change on the city wall left Qiu Wanjun and the others puzzled, but everyone simultaneously thought of the person who had previously shot a cold arrow.

In hindsight, that person must have been assisting Da Xuan in fighting against the Ghost Opera Troupe.

The Ghost Opera Troupe’s formation was completely disrupted, and half of the ghostly shadows on the plains dissipated. The Yellow Robe Taoist, fighting four alone, was now panting and retreated behind Qiu Wanjun.

“General, the city gate is open!”

Deputy General Pang En, holding a long spear, pointed to the city gate of Jianshui City. Everyone looked carefully, and indeed the city gate was slowly opening. Just as a crack opened, soldiers of the Qianshou Army with black bandanas rushed out in panic, some with flames on them, rolling on the ground upon exiting.

Within Weng City, black smoke billowed, and the fire grew larger and larger. The soldiers in the city all fled in panic, and the people of the Ghost Opera Troupe on the city walls were also in a frenzy.

Qiu Wanjun’s eyes flashed with determination, and he immediately gave the order.

“Attack the city!”

The wind howled, as Deputy General Pang En led seven Colonels and the vanguard force of fifty thousand troops, surging towards Jianshui City like a tide of black.

During the gallop of the warhorse, a Ghost General, riding a rotting warhorse with bones exposed and far larger than a normal person, suddenly appeared beside Pang En, advancing side by side with him.

The seven Yin Walker Colonels each displayed their skills, surrounded by various ferocious ghosts, closely following behind Pang En.

The army’s footsteps thundered like a storm, each step shaking the entire city.

In the rear, catapults were pushed out, stones drenched in kerosene were set ablaze and hurled towards the city walls, instantly stirring up a cloud of dust and debris.

Archers formed alternating formations, releasing a thousand arrows, creating a rain of arrows that covered the skies. The Qianshou Army, who just escaped the city, had no time to defend and fell one after another in the rain of arrows.

Amidst the raging war and the haze of smoke, the Da Xuan Army charged aggressively, their formations alone enough to intimidate the Qianshou Army.

The Qianshou Army, attacked from within and outside, were demoralized even before the battle. Those who escaped the inferno couldn’t be controlled, scattering in all directions seeking a path to survival.

Sang Que stood in a dark, solitary corner of the city wall, holding a pocket watch, his gaze growing heavier.

The more deaths there were, the faster the Class Leader would reach the conditions for ascension. He didn’t care whether the Qianshou Army could hold the fort; all he wanted was these people to die in despair and fear.

So Sang Que had to stop this battle and reduce the casualties on both sides.

As the watch’s hands reached the last three grids, Sang Que closed the watch, lifted his eyes to the battlefield. The Da Xuan Army had already crossed more than half the plain, nearing the city gates.

Suddenly, from the woods surrounding the plain, a flock of Blood Crows was startled into flight, a dark mass hovering and screeching in the sky.

The ground began to tremble violently, a dull rumbling emerging from the depths of the earth, as if an ancient beast long asleep was roaring in anger.

Immediately afterward, the entire plain began to shake and bulge, with dust flying in the air, making it difficult for anyone to stand firm.

A massive fissure spread rapidly from the forefront of the army, turning into an unfathomable abyss in the blink of an eye.

Pang En and the Colonels stared wide-eyed, suddenly transferred by an invisible force to the rear, watching as the Ghost General and accompanying ghosts leaped, yet failed to cross the fissure, plummeting directly downwards.

The fissure grew deeper and wider, with those advancing at the front pushed by the inertia from behind, many toppled into the abyss, leaving only their horrific screams echoing in the air.

The soldiers in the rear, frightened by the sudden change, retreated one after another, the once tight formation collapsing into chaos.

The startled horses neighed and scattered, throwing their riders.

Chariots lost control, colliding and overturning on the ground, and the once overwhelming assault on the city was abruptly interrupted.

The ghosts that Pang En and the seven Colonels commanded wouldn’t die easily, but this newly appeared fissure, seventy to eighty zhang wide, was simply impassable under normal circumstances.

The Da Xuan soldiers stood on one edge of the fissure, watching helplessly as the Qianshou Army opened the city gates and scattered.

Pang En glared angrily, quickly striding to the edge of the fissure, his Ghost General appearing on the opposite side with a lone ghost, charging with a long spear.

The members of the Ghost Opera Troupe on the city wall had also escaped the inferno, gathering on the other side. Among them, the musician named Zi Ling played an urgent and eerie melody from her pipa, filled with murderous intent, as hideous evil ghosts appeared one after another below the city wall.

“Any deserter will be executed on the spot!”

A sharp shout, and the evil ghosts controlled by the pipa wielded their blades, mercilessly slaughtering the fleeing Qianshou Army soldiers, while the others stood in shock and hesitated.

Just then, a gust of cold wind of unknown origin swept through, breaking the flags on the city wall one by one, carrying a terrifying power that Zi Ling and Pang En couldn’t resist.

In just one moment, Zi Ling’s pipa strings snapped completely, the evil ghosts dissipated, and Pang En’s Ghost General, also shocked, dissolved into smoke.

The earthquake was the work of Sang Wan, while this cold wind was Sang Que, activating the Dui Trigram, opening the Shock Gate, releasing an unmatched ghostly aura that intimidated all nearby demons and monsters.

Under the interference of this ghostly aura, neither the Ghost Opera Troupe nor the Yin Walkers of Da Xuan could contend with one another. The soldiers of the Qianshou Army continued fleeing, while the Da Xuan soldiers were blocked on one side of the fissure.

To this point, this battle should finally come to a temporary halt!

“Little Sister, you are still too naive.”

Mo Yan Shu’s voice suddenly appeared in Sang Que’s ear, causing him to tremble all over. He turned his head but saw nothing, and when he returned his gaze to the battlefield, he found Qiu Wanjun appearing at the edge of the fissure.

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