Chapter 72: Crimson Blazing Sun

To the death?

Jiang Ding behind the boulder smiled.

When in power, they led troops a hundred li to capture people, using them as materials to refine the Fierce Tiger Stronghold Blood Pills; when out of power, they turn around and ask whether one truly intends to fight the Zhen East Hou Fu to the death.

What kind of logic is that? "I do not wish to create more killing karma. Those at Inner Qi Great Completion and above must die; the rest may leave on their own."

Jiang Ding circulated his inner force, his voice reaching the ears of every person within several hundred meters.

A thread of gold-red light flickered in and out among the earth, stones, and vegetation on the ground; in the blink of an eye it had already reached the military formation, and the dense volley of arrows that tried to block it barely even slowed it down.

'Mixed Gold Blade' Zheng Ye, 'Evil-Dotting Brush' Yao Xiu, and others' expressions changed drastically, revealing looks of terror.

On the contrary, not only did it have that ability, but its efficiency was even more terrifying.

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Mixed Gold Single-Origin Slash!

Whoosh! A sword descended from beyond the heavens, instantly slaying the five Inner Qi realm guards who were still surrounding and attacking.

Silence fell all around.

Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!

A gust of wind blew past; the long spears forged of refined iron in their hands snapped in two and fell, their bodies collapsing limply, a smear of fresh blood on their throats.

A sword descended, shattering the inner force within his blade along the sword's surface, then slicing across his throat; inner force surged in, pulverizing everything solid within his skull.

The talisman sword, which had been killing wantonly through the crowd, lost its initiative and could no longer dodge. It adjusted its tip to face straight on, and a golden line tore through the air! Clang! A metallic shriek that set one's teeth on edge—the talisman sword was sent staggering back a dozen steps, its spiritual light dimming by several degrees.

!.

Jiang Ding stood in the corpse-strewn jungle, eyes closed, regulating his breath.

He roared, inner force surging, and a slender, long blade with a golden edge and silver back suddenly cleaved down; a flash of gold-and-silver blade light swept past.

"Kill!"

In the end, even several of the guards surrounding Jiang Ding fled, melting into the rout and vanishing.

The talisman sword trembled; beams of sunlight were drawn in, converging here. At the same time, through the essence blood within the talisman sword, he could sense faint wisps of spiritual energy converging along with it, the efficiency somewhat higher than in the small courtyard in East Spirit City or at home.

Previously, this gold-red flying sword had been targeting squad leaders and platoon leaders, not harming a single ordinary soldier, which allowed them to maintain morale and follow their officers in battle—until the squad leaders and platoon leaders were all dead, and only then did they collapse.

Chen Chen asked.

'The concentration of spiritual energy here is a bit higher.'

The talisman sword cut in from a corner of the military formation where no Inner Qi Great Completion martial artist stood guard, piercing a squad leader's throat with one sword, then a platoon leader's with another; the surrounding soldiers immediately collapsed.

Utterly powerless to resist, they could only watch helplessly as those around them died in droves.

"Run!"

"Run!"

Chen Chen and the other felt the same horror as Hei Chengwu. If not for the dozen or so well-coordinated Inner Qi realm guards around them sharing the burden, that single sword strike alone would have gravely wounded the two of them! "Kill! Surround him!"

Jiang Ding did not retreat either, continuing forward. A sword swept horizontally, sword qi extending about a meter along the blade, tracing half an arc, blocked by one blade, one sword, and over a dozen iron spears around him.

"Good thing, it can be repaired."

Jiang Ding stepped into a platoon of soldiers whose formation jutted out slightly; a gleaming, perfect arc flashed and vanished. Ten men, squad leader and platoon leader included, stiffened, the sword's afterimage lingering.

It seemed minor, but in truth the formation patterns within had already developed slight disarray—even the Righteousness Gang's 'Evil-Dotting Brush' Yao Xiu at Inner Qi Great Completion had not given chase.

"Can I live? Useful."

However, the facts told them that this Hundred-Step Flying Sword was by no means incapable of slaughtering ordinary soldiers.

Clang! The sound of a long sword leaving its sheath. It seemed only now that they recalled this was the existence who had slain the Dragon Phoenix List's twelfth-ranked 'Black Flame Blade' Hei Chengwu in a few exchanges—not a ripe fruit they could simply harvest by closing in.

For a moment, only Chen Chen and Zheng Ye remained on the battlefield, faces ashen, hands gripping their blades and swords frozen in midair..

"Demagogic nonsense!"

A wisp of golden line swept past; Zheng Ye, who had been dashing back and forth in rescue, finally seized a sliver of opportunity.

It had to be said, this man's training and leading of troops truly had some skill—under such circumstances, despite their terror, the officers and soldiers still roared and charged forward.

"Such inner force!"

Jiang Ding behind the boulder went slightly pale; waves of stabbing pain came clearly from the talisman sword, the formation patterns within having notably suffered some damage.

Now unleashed at full power, its might was a notch greater still.

Chen Chen roared, and the on-the-verge-of-collapse military formation was heartened somewhat; in the span of a short time they had already fought their way to the jagged boulder, about to complete the encirclement.

Another sword swept back, piercing the back of Zheng Ye's heart, who had tried to seize the chance to flee; the sword was sheathed.

With a thunderous boom, the dense military formation instantly exploded apart, large numbers of soldiers and officers fleeing in all directions. The talisman sword did not pursue to kill, merely sniping at officers attempting to reform their ranks, accelerating their collapse.

"Very good."

Whoosh! The sound of tearing air pierced through the clouds, falling into the dense crowd of the military formation; a golden line snaked through, piercing straight through, and over ten officers and soldiers clutched their throats and fell.

This scene deeply shocked many ordinary soldiers.

"Cannot."

Clang! Countless sparks flew, the layers dispersing the massive inner force, causing no casualties.

Jiang Ding's face showed a pained expression. He seized the talisman sword, channeling inner force into it, activating at maximum power the first-tier Great Sun Spirit-Gathering Array and the first-tier Special Sharp Gold Array within.

"Stay and wait to die?"

Chen Chen and Zheng Ye exchanged a glance, then roared and charged forward.

Whoosh! The talisman sword that could wipe out a whole platoon in one stroke wheeled around again. With no Inner Qi Completion martial artist to block it, it was invincible—within the blink of an eye, another dozen or so heavily armored soldiers had their throats pierced and collapsed helplessly.

Its tempering and nurturing were insufficient; taking an Inner Qi Completion martial artist's blade head-on was still somewhat forced.

This was the ultimate technique he had obtained from the Hou Fu; since mastering it, he had been undefeated among peers, once cleaving an Inner Qi Completion martial artist clean in two!

After a long while, he opened his eyes and glanced at the talisman sword on his left shoulder; the blade was still resplendent, only a barely perceptible warp had appeared at the tip.

Several veterans fled decisively, and as they went they loudly stirred up panic, letting themselves mingle with the greater mass of rout.

Buzz, buzz!

"Brother Zheng is mighty!"

Amid the scattered gold-red sword-light, several more squad officers collapsed helplessly, blood splashing, soldiers breaking apart; even a few nearby units that still had intact formations, seeing this, many squad officers and soldiers voluntarily melted into the rout and fled.

"Fall—for me—!"

"Live and die together!"

Chen Chen barked harshly, leading his men in a charge toward the jagged boulder: "Have you all forgotten the several hundred heads of our Fierce Tiger comrades? How can you trust a bandit's word? Only live and die together!"

He steeled himself and roared.

Jiang Ding understood in his heart.

As the sunlight and spiritual energy gathered more and more, the talisman sword grew scalding hot, its color shifting from gold-red to a blazing orange-red, and at last even wisps of scorching white appeared, making the inner force-wrapped hands sizzle and crackle.

"It's time."

Jiang Ding steadied his mind, sank his awareness deep within, and began using inner force bit by bit to smooth out the formation's patterns at the sword-tip.

(End of chapter)