Chapter 73: He Is No Longer the State Preceptor

There was no response from his side. Ceng Feixiong turned his head to look—where were the people?

He Lingchuan was gone.

Ceng Feixiong's scalp went numb. His side was opposing the Heavenly God under the Young Master's leadership. Now that the Black Flood Dragon was about to fail, did he think the Heavenly God would turn around and vent his anger on them?

Definitely, absolutely.

He had never heard of any god with a good temper.

Could the Young Master have deserted in the face of battle? Fortunately, Mao Tao said in time: "The Young Master jumped down to the city wall. He wants me to tell Commander Ceng that if the Black Flood Dragon is about to be frozen, fire the cannons to blast it!"

Fire the cannons? Ceng Feixiong felt a jolt, and his whole body felt clear.

That's right! The Heavenly God possessing Nian Songyu wanted to freeze the Black Flood Dragon to avoid repeated fighting, so couldn't they just fire the cannons to blast the Black Flood Dragon and help it be reborn?

There was no time to lose. He turned around and shouted: "Brothers, set up the cannons and crossbows, load the biggest shells, and finish them!"

Heishuicheng Army: "Which 'them'?"

"The dragon and the people together." Ceng Feixiong slapped his subordinate on the head, "If you don't want to die, hurry up!"

Everyone hurriedly did as told.

A pile of shells appeared out of thin air on the city gate, along with several explosive crossbow bolts. Just looking at the amount of gunpowder on the arrowheads, one knew this was definitely not for show.

Clearly, the Great Fang Hu also approved of their approach.

Now that the Black Flood Dragon was barely moving and Nian Songyu had to continuously chant incantations, they were the easiest targets.

Two nail-shells and a crossbow cart had just been loaded when two soldiers suddenly screamed, clutching their chests and falling off the city wall. Ceng Feixiong was startled and leaned over to look down, only to see Sun Fuping slowly lowering his staff.

Despite being in a wretched state, his gaze remained sinister.

That's right, how could they have forgotten the State Preceptor? How dared they forget the State Preceptor? Ceng Feixiong didn't intend to waste time with him either, ducked his head and said: "Fire quickly, hurry!"

After a few thunderous sounds, the Black Flood Dragon, which had been half-frozen, shattered into pieces. The explosive crossbow bolts performed a great feat; they pierced into the ice before exploding, blasting even more fiercely than the artillery shells.

Nian Songyu was also hit. But the nail-shells couldn't pierce his barrier, only pushing him out several zhang.

The look in his eyes as he looked up made the Heishuicheng Army even more terrified; it clearly meant: Just you wait.

The reason he didn't act immediately was that the sound of hooves suddenly came from outside the city gate, rushing toward here like a violent storm.

Everyone ran to the other side of the battlement to peek, and were greatly shocked: a vast army, murderous and chilling, with strict military discipline, banners fluttering in the wind, and a huge "Zhong" character—it was exactly the Great Wind Army returning to the city.

This was their home turf. The speed of the Great Wind Army was more than twice as fast as in the outside world. Almost as soon as the sound of hooves began, the army flowed into the city like water.

There was no challenge, no response. The leading generals waved their spear tips, and hundreds of cavalrymen spurred their horses to increase speed, launching a charge toward Nian Songyu.

Perhaps the laws within the illusion were far freer than in the outside world, and these hundreds of cavalrymen split into groups on their own, actually starting to overlap with each other.

The people on the city wall thought they were seeing double, rubbed their eyes, and looked again—the hundreds of cavalrymen had merged into five riders.

Each of these riders wore heavy armor, their eyes glowing red, and they didn't look like humans anymore. In particular, the riders and warhorses had more than doubled in size; riding the horses was like riding giant elephants, and the tips of their spears and halberds flashed with dark light.

Their attack method was also simple and unadorned. Relying on their strong bodies and sturdy horses, they raised their weapons and struck hard at Nian Songyu.

Every stab was fierce and powerful, making everyone on the wall feel a chill down their backs.

Could they dodge this kind of attack? Nian Songyu didn't dodge, raising his blade to meet them head-on.

Just at this moment, an exceptionally familiar voice suddenly rang out from outside the city: "Chuan'er!"

"Chuan'er" was not on the city wall, but Ceng Feixiong heard it, turned around in surprise, and said: "It's Prefect He!"

Everyone leaned against the battlement to look down. Prefect He was actually standing under the second heavy gate in the south!

The Panlong City now had three layers of city gates. Nian Songyu and the Black Flood Dragon were fighting inside the city, while Prefect He appeared inside the outer second gate, separated from the battlefield by a barbican, relatively safe.

He had over a dozen personal guards beside him, all waving to their colleagues on the city wall.

Everyone was overjoyed, grabbing rope ladders and throwing them down for them to climb up.

Just as He Chunhua climbed up, Ceng Feixiong rushed over to salute: "My lord, are you unharmed? We heard about State Preceptor Sun's schemes!"

"Not dead." He Chunhua looked around, his expression anxious, "Where is Chuan'er?"

"The Young Master jumped off the city wall, saying he had something to do." Ceng Feixiong pointed toward the south of the city.

He Chunhua let out a long sigh of relief: "That's good." His son wasn't dead, and it sounded like he was alright, so that was good.

"How did you escape? Why are there only these few people left?" Ceng Feixiong still didn't understand, "And these Great Wind Army?"

"It's a long story. After entering the well, dozens of people went missing and haven't come to rendezvous yet." He Chunhua observed the battle situation and frowned for a moment, "Nian Songyu is actually this powerful?"

Facing the reinforced Great Wind Army, the strength Nian Songyu displayed was too fierce, far exceeding his expectations. With such talent, why didn't the Royal Court send him to Woling Pass to fight the rebels? "That's not Nian Songyu anymore!" Ceng Feixiong hurriedly explained to him, "State Preceptor Sun invited a Heavenly God to descend, possessing Commandant Nian, which is why his divine power has surged. So now it's the Heavenly God fighting the Black Flood Dragon, and we can't intervene."

Mao Tao squeezed over to add: "The Heavenly God first wanted to possess the Young Master, but didn't succeed, and only then chose Commandant Nian!"

He Chunhua's face changed drastically: "What, such a thing actually happened! Where is Sun Fuping?"

"Right there—" Ceng Feixiong pointed to the ruins below, then let out an "eh," "He was just there a moment ago."

The ruins were empty, and the State Preceptor was gone.

Now, blade energy was crisscrossing below the city, and they were evenly matched, with Nian Songyu even seeming to have the upper hand. If the humans on the city wall jumped down directly, they would likely be ground into meat paste.

He Chunhua's expression shifted, first hesitating, then gritting his teeth, and finally making up his mind: "Go, we'll go down from the side!"

￥￥￥￥￥

Half an incense stick of time ago.

The empowered Nian Songyu soon discovered that these silent cavalrymen were not easy to deal with.

No matter how capable the Heavenly God was, the container for the avatar was not very good, directly limiting the exertion of power. After taking three attacks head-on, Nian Songyu felt exhausted, the web between his right thumb and index finger burst, and he couldn't lift his hand from the shaking.

This was not good. Before the long battle had even begun, he already felt a long-lost fatigue.