Chapter 176: The Fallen Prey

Amidst the gale layer at an altitude of 1,200 meters, the Netherflame warship flew toward the 109th city, fifty miles away.

In the warship's cabin, three members of the "Shapa" tribe were gathered. Wrapped in black battle robes and wearing custom-made face masks, they sat on three chairs, staring at a map.

"We're almost there. As long as we can destroy one more city, our battle merits will increase significantly. After we return this time, we can buy a set of Tier 5 Silver Feather Armor," one of the Shapa tribesmen said with a grin.

"Brother Pati, with your strength, once you put on the Silver Feather Armor, you'll be able to unleash combat power at the peak of the 7th Rank. By then, we'll earn battle merits even faster."

As they spoke, both Shapa tribesmen looked at their eldest brother.

"Silver Feather Armor is merely a transition," Pati said, his burly frame completely obscuring the chair he sat on. "Golden Feather Armor is the true treasure of the Royal Court!"

"If I could wear the Golden Feather Armor, I could easily kill 6th Rankers. Even if I couldn't defeat a stronger 6th Ranker, I could still run."

Upon hearing "Golden Feather" armor, desire flickered in the eyes of all three.

Golden Feather Armor was the pinnacle of the Golden Feather Royal Court's craftsmanship. People from the Royal Court claimed that the craftsmanship of this armor had already surpassed the level of the Great Zhou.

However, Golden Feather Armor was exclusively for the royal family. Major tribes usually found it hard to purchase, so they could only wear "Flying Feather" and "Silver Feather" armor.

It was only because the Sacred Mountain had issued a war decree this time, ordering the four great Royal Courts to mobilize, that the qualification to purchase Golden Feather Armor had been opened to boost the strength of the various tribes.

The three Pati brothers had almost accumulated enough battle merits to exchange for a set of Silver Feather Armor, but Golden Feather Armor was still a distant dream.

"The battle merits required for Golden Feather Armor are a hundred times those of Silver Feather Armor, and the monthly exchange quota is limited," one Shapa tribesman sighed. "I'm afraid we won't have a chance until next year."

"Zesheng, my good brother, don't sigh," Pati laughed. "If we break this city and loot it, we might just accumulate enough in one go."

"Great Zhou's goods are very valuable on our side; we might even have some left over!"

"By then, the three of us brothers will each have a set of Golden Feather Armor! Hahaha!"

"Hahaha, Brother is right. Great Zhou's cities are treasure troves!"

Hearing Pati say this, the three brothers all burst into laughter.

The current general direction of the Southern Wilderness was to fight while retreating, but why did the three brothers risk returning? It was to plunder!

The Great Zhou was a celestial empire; even the most ordinary Tier 3 armor could be sold for a high price among the various Southern Barbarian tribes.

They had already raided two grain cities, and the interior of the Netherflame warship was already half-filled. Just those divine weapons and sharp blades alone were enough to exchange for a set of Silver Feather Armor.

The many other treasures they didn't recognize might be worth even more. However, for the sake of caution, they still decided to take out this supply city of the Sea-Suppressing Army.

"Only thirty miles left. Go tell the tribesmen to prepare the heavy water catapults," Pati ordered. "Remember, once the city is breached, use the 'Blood Kui' to destroy their temple first."

"That way, we'll have more time to loot."

"At the last city, it was because we were slow to destroy the temple that reinforcements arrived quickly, leaving us too little time to scavenge."

"We cannot make that mistake again."

"Yes."

The two Shapa tribesmen immediately went to the lower cabin, where many more Shapa tribesmen were operating the mechanisms and magic arrays of the Netherflame warship.

"Click, click, click, click~"

As Pati's order was issued, the Netherflame warship stood ready and accelerated its forward speed.

What Pati did not know was that a small Arrowfish flying boat had already appeared in the sky behind them.

On the Arrowfish flying boat, Zhao Xing watched the Netherflame warship: "The warship has slowed down; they're preparing to attack the city. This Sea-Suppressing Army city doesn't seem to have discovered the enemy's approach yet."

After pursuing for a while, Zhao Xing's Arrowfish flying boat finally caught sight of the physical form of the Netherflame warship.

It hovered above the Sea-Suppressing Army's 109th city, still maintaining its stealth state.

Long Xiao: "I don't know who the garrison commander of this Sea-Suppressing Army city is. We have no way to notify them, so let's observe the situation first."

Zhao Xing nodded.

Although he and Long Xiao were confident in fighting those of the same rank, if the enemy hid inside the Netherflame warship, it would be difficult for them to break through the defenses in a short time.

The Netherflame warship was a medium-sized warship, at the Tier 5 level.

However, it was not in the same league as a single Tier 5 divine weapon.

It was composed of thousands of Tier 5 materials; such a treasure, once sold, automatically increased in value by one tier.

A Tier 5 warship had to be sold at the price of a Tier 6 single weapon.

The Arrowfish flying boat had no sharp tools for breaking defenses, so they could only wait for the enemy to leave the warship.

Or strike when they opened the defensive barrier to attack.

Why did Long Xiao say they had encountered a fat sheep? Because if they got their hands on this warship, it could be sold as a Tier 6 item, and whoever could pilot such a warship must have a very valuable head.

"Do you know any invisibility spells?" Long Xiao asked. "Can you cast one on me in a moment?"

"You think too highly of me. Just because I can create an invisibility straw man doesn't mean I know invisibility spells; those are high-level spells."

Long Xiao shrugged: "Then we can only force our way in. Try to get the flying boat a bit closer later."

The Sea-Suppressing Army could not be counted on.

The weapon bays on the enemy's hull were already extended, yet there was still no reaction from below.

"Understood," Zhao Xing nodded.

The garrison commander of the Sea-Suppressing Army's 109th city was named "Chen Lu."

He was a priest of the lower 7th Rank, but his official title was "Equalization Order."

Why?

Because the deities Chen Lu worshipped were all "Agriculture Gods."

Chen Lu had loved farming since he was a child and disliked killing.

But lacking talent in that area, he had failed the exams for seven years without becoming a regular official, so he had to "save the country through a detour" and took the path of priesthood.

He was quite talented in the path of priesthood and soon stood out from the crowd, becoming an Agriculture Priest.

In this way, when he invited a god to possess him, he could be treated as an agriculture official.

But in normal times, he was just a priest.

His sensitivity to the weather was not that strong.

That was why Chen Lu had not yet discovered the enemy's arrival.

He was in the city drying Sweet Spirit Grass, a Tier 4 medicinal herb used for treating external wounds, which military doctors often used.

"Sift, sift, sift~"

Chen Lu held a sieve, sifting the seeds of the Sweet Spirit Grass, then nimbly tied up the processed grass with a rope and placed it on the wheelbarrow beside him.

"Finished another few thousand pounds this afternoon. Completed two military tasks today; 1,000 battle merits in the bag." Chen Lu smiled with satisfaction.

Certain materials often appeared on the daily military task list.

Because one could never have too much, like this Sweet Spirit Grass.

Chen Lu had been grinding for half a month, and most of his tens of thousands of battle merits came from such medicinal herbs.

"Brothers, keep up the effort."

"It'll be dark soon."

Chen Lu shouted, pushing the cart toward the herb warehouse.

Before he had taken two steps, the sky darkened.

A shadow shrouded the entire city.

"Lord Chen, why has it turned dark?"

"What's going on? Lord Chen, did you do this?"

Chen Lu saw the shadow on the ground, and his scalp went numb.

He immediately dropped the wheelbarrow and roared: "Enemy attack!!!"

"Guard battalion, meet the enemy! Meet the enemy!"

Chen Lu ran fiercely toward the temple.

Because the sky had turned dark over a large area, like ink, corroding the city's magic array.

In just those three breaths, it turned from black to dark red.

With such a large-scale attack, the enemy's strength was definitely not simple. If Chen Lu wanted to unleash his maximum strength, he had to quickly enter the temple to invite a god and then notify the surrounding reinforcements.

As a priest, Chen Lu was qualified.

But as a garrison commander, his quality was only average.

He hadn't even walked into the temple yet.

The black sky above cracked open, revealing a red fissure.

"Splash~"

A large amount of red, viscous substance splashed onto the roof of the temple in the 109th city.

Subsequently, a rain of blood began to fall all around.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss~"

The roof began to smoke, and a large amount of red liquid seeped into the temple, drenching the statues.

The ground also began to smoke.

All the statues began to crack, and in an instant, the golden light was swallowed by the red light.

Arms, faces, tops of heads... were melted by more than half by this blood-red liquid.

"Ah—"

"Puff, puff!"

There were originally several 8th Rank priests inside the temple, but after being drenched by the red liquid, their skin began to fester.

Chen Lu watched as several priests screamed and ran out.

He was immediately shocked:

"It's Blood Kui! Don't invite the gods! Don't invite the gods!"

But he had warned them too late.

Several priests, after being eroded, subconsciously wanted to invite a god to possess them, but not only did they fail, they turned into puddles of blood.

Seven 9th Rankers walked out of the temple with sinister smiles, four arms extending from their backs, their muscles also bulging.

Ignoring Chen Lu, the 7th Ranker, they charged toward the others.

"Power of an evil god."

Chen Lu's heart turned cold.

When the Blood Kui drenched the temple, if a Great Zhou priest went to invite a god, they would immediately invite the evil god worshipped by the Southern Wilderness!

The evil god of the Southern Wilderness would erode a person's mind and turn them into its puppet.

"Ah! Help!"

"Don't run, use the Spirit-Breaking Crossbows to shoot them!"

"Heavens, how can they still run even with their heads cut off?!"

"Monsters!"

The temple was destroyed first, and the "evil god puppets" produced had too great an impact.

Because these puppets were fearless, and even if they lost their heads or were pierced through the chest, they were completely fine and could still move.

And those killed by these puppets soon stood up again.

Inside the city, chaos soon erupted.

First, Chen Lu, the garrison commander, did not quickly organize a counterattack or provide effective command; the commanders of the various offices did not coordinate well.

Second, the enemy destroyed the temple, an important institution, in an instant, and gave birth to monsters like flesh puppets.

Third, the Sea-Suppressing Army had been fighting too smoothly for the first half of the month, basically encountering no decent resistance, and Chen Lu's side had never even seen an enemy before.

Thus, the Sea-Suppressing Army here, despite having the strength to fight, quickly fell into a rout.

At this moment, Chen Lu finally stood before a small statue in the marching hall.

"I beg True Lord Tian De to save us!"

Chen Lu knelt on one knee with a thud, quickly inserting incense and burning paper.

"Hiss~"

The flames burned.

The statue quickly opened its eyes, and a golden phantom appeared, swallowing the incense smoke before flying onto Chen Lu's body.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter~"

Chen Lu's demeanor changed; he stood up solemnly and walked quickly out of the marching hall.

Swish~

With a wave of his hand, a sound-transmission order appeared in his hand.

"Where is the First Commander of the Martial Office?!"

No one responded.

"Second and Third Commanders of the Martial Office, quickly go to encircle and suppress the evil god puppets in the east of the city. You can smear your own masculine blood energy on your weapons to kill them!"

Still no response.

"Chief of the Engineering Office, quickly reinforce the defense of the Ink-Defense Boundary! Take..."

"Jie, jie, jie~"

This time someone responded, but it was a strange cry.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

A large number of boulders fell from the sky, but when they hit the ground, they didn't splash dust; instead, many water droplets splashed out.

Chen Lu sighed.

"Blood Kui polluting the gods, heavy water catapults."

"Kid, run. This city can no longer be held. Those attacking you are at least an elite 7th Rank team, and they have a Tier 5 warship."

"You worship the Agriculture God; even if you can't hold the city, they won't necessarily take your head."

"No!"

A trace of struggle appeared on Chen Lu's face.

"Your subordinate is willing to sacrifice his heart blood to beg the True Lord to save this city!"

Having said that, Chen Lu's fingertip quickly cut through his chest, and a drop of heart blood appeared on his fingertip.

"You bastard!"

Another voice rang out, and a left hand pressed Chen Lu's right hand down.

"What does it matter if my soul fragment is lost here? Why do you need to sacrifice your heart blood?"

"If the situation is impossible, if you die, the Great Zhou will have lost a 7th Ranker for nothing!"

"Quickly carry my statue on your back, go burn the inner treasury, and then escape underground using the Profound Earth Method."

The solemn voice forcefully moved his right hand away.

A trace of pain appeared on Chen Lu's face, but he ultimately agreed with the True Lord's view.

He then rode the gale and quickly arrived at the city's inner treasury.

A wisp of flame emerged from his fingertip, and he was about to set the fire.

"Hmm? Wait!"

At this moment, the True Lord's voice rang out again, and Chen Lu's left hand held his right hand once more.

"Look up at the sky."

Chen Lu looked up in confusion.

He saw the red in the sky gradually receding.

"Shoo!"

Chen Lu pointed his hand, immediately casting a cloud spell to support the sky above the city.

"Splash~"

A torrential rain fell on the blood-colored puppets in the city.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"

The raindrops, mixed with the power of the nether soul, immediately made the blood-colored puppets smoke, their mobility greatly reduced.

"They've weakened."

"And the enemy hasn't come down for a long time."

"Did we encounter reinforcements?"

Chen Lu immediately rose on the clouds.

When he reached the sky outside the city.

He immediately saw a red and black Netherflame warship in the gale layer above.

But at this moment, the weapon mechanisms of the Netherflame warship were all adjusted, firing toward the higher sky.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom!"

Arrows of vital energy, locking nets, and various sharp weapons, wrapped in the vital energy of heaven and earth, some carrying gales, others carrying flames, attacked in a certain direction.

"What are they fighting?"

Chen Lu looked bewildered.

The Netherflame warship fired while closing its barrier.

It seemed to be afraid of an unknown enemy.

However, just as the barrier was about to close.

"Shoo~"

A flying dragon rushed over quickly; looking closely, one could see that the center of this dragon-shaped phantom was a large golden sword.

"Clang!"

Just as the Netherflame barrier was about to close, the golden sword accurately nailed itself onto a statue on the warship.

The barrier, carrying black flames, stopped closing.

"Cool!"

Standing in the sky, Zhao Xing watched this scene and couldn't help but sigh; sword cultivators were just cool. Long Xiao's move, "Royal Dragon Chant," was even cooler.

…………

Time rewinds half a quarter of an hour.

When the heavy water catapults on the Netherflame warship were activated, the Blood Kui drenched down, and the barrier broke.

At this time, Pati also ordered his two brothers, "Zesheng" and "Pachao," to take the tribesmen and prepare to go down to loot.

But just at this moment.

Zesheng and Pachao discovered that a mist had appeared in the gale.

And it was drifting over quickly, the distance rapidly shrinking from a thousand meters to five hundred meters.

"How can there be mist in the gale layer?" Zesheng and Pachao hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem and just watched in confusion.

The Five Elements Mist Concealment Method cast by Zhao Xing was too deceptive; when it was a thousand meters away, it blended into the gale layer, appearing to be in the same form as the gale.

Within a thousand meters, concealment was already difficult, but Zhao Xing controlled the form of the mist, constantly shrinking it as it approached.

It looked as if the mist was moving away from the two of them.

By the time they were within five hundred meters, the two 7th Rankers, Pachao and Zesheng, finally realized something was wrong.

However, it was already too late—

"Shoo!"

A golden sword, like a swimming fish, quickly approached Pachao and appeared before his eyes.

"No!!"

Pachao tried desperately to block it, but his hands couldn't keep up with his brain because the golden sword was too fast!

A 7th Rank sword cultivator was far from what he could block, not to mention that it was a calculated strike against an unprepared target; Long Xiao's move, "Royal Dragon Chant," was his fastest move.

By the time he reacted, the tip of the sword was already pointing at his nose.

"Puff!"

Pachao, who had just opened his face mask to breathe fresh air and prepare for a big fight, was pierced through by the golden sword! He fell toward the ground.

The other Shapa tribesman, "Zesheng," seeing this scene, felt his nerves tighten, frantically driving the vital energy in his body and covering his face mask.

But just at this moment, he found his vision suddenly becoming blurry and flattening into a line.

"Thump! Thump!"

His heartbeat slowed rapidly, and his blood turned cold.

Zesheng looked at his palms; he didn't know when scales had grown on them.

His feet also subconsciously stuck together, and he flicked his tongue, actually spitting out a "snake tongue"!

"Save me!"

This bizarre scene made him subconsciously want to rush to his eldest brother, "Pati," for help.

But the sound that came out was a "hissing" sound.

His feet were also stuck together, and his skin, muscles, and bones were all undergoing drastic changes!

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"

Zesheng felt his eyes heavy, and scales grew on his eyelids; the vital energy in his body was fading rapidly.

Degeneration!

Crazy degeneration, accompanied by cross-species alienation!

The five elements energy in his body, in a bizarre combination, was backfiring on every inch of his flesh and skin.

Struggling in mid-air for three seconds, Zesheng, half-man and half-snake, saw his whole body explode, his internal organs shattered, and he fell from the sky.

"Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!"

Long Xiao's golden sword was faster than Zhao Xing's, piercing through all the hundreds of small soldiers around.

A rain of "corpses" suddenly fell from the sky.

"What?!"

Pati, who was waiting to collect the spoils of war, was stunned.

Fast, too fast!

One second, he was rejoicing at the smooth breach of the Sea-Suppressing Army's city; the next second, two brothers were dead.

Especially his brother "Zesheng," who died in an incredibly bizarre way, as if by the means of those Earth Shamans.

He hadn't even had time to react!

By the time he reacted, Long Xiao had already killed half of the small soldiers who had just jumped out.

"Attack! Kill them!!"

Pati was angry and afraid; he felt a strong sense of insecurity, even though he was wearing Flying Feather Armor and was inside a Tier 5 warship.

But he still felt a chill in his heart.

"No! Close the barrier, run!!"

Three seconds after giving the order, Pati's reason prevailed, and he immediately decided to close the Netherflame barrier and run.

His strength was about the same as his two brothers; even if it was higher, it was limited.

If they could kill his two brothers instantly, couldn't they also kill him?

If not now, when?

However, at this moment.

A golden sword broke through the air and accurately nailed itself onto the barrier array base, causing the closing barrier to stutter, leaving a large gap.

"Want to run?!"

"Did you ask your Grandpa Long?"

Long Xiao leaped from the clouds and jumped onto the deck inside the Netherflame warship.

Zhao Xing watched Long Xiao rush in from the clouds.

He was an agriculture official; the rest of the work didn't require him to do it. Rushing into the warship to kill in all directions was something Long Xiao was more adept at.

"I killed a 7th Rank Shapa tribesman, used the Teng Snake Transformation, and spent 30% of my vital energy. This move is quite a burden for me."

"But Long Xiao, this sword cultivator, killed another Shapa tribesman, and his vital energy didn't drop much at all."

Compared to a sword cultivator like Long Xiao, he, a 7th Ranker, was still a bit lacking.

His killing move was roughly equivalent to a few of Long Xiao's "consecutive normal attacks."

"If I used the Teng Snake Transformation on Long Xiao, I doubt it would work; his internal organs are protected by sword energy, making it hard to shake this Hou Transformation Method. At most, I could only make scales grow on Long Xiao's body, but I couldn't make his form undergo a drastic change, let alone degenerate and explode to death."

In terms of lethality, sword cultivators were stronger. Of course, Zhao Xing also knew that military agriculture officials had their own roles; Long Xiao couldn't approach silently, nor was he as comprehensive as him.

"If I take Long Xiao as a hypothetical enemy, in an encounter, I have a 30% chance of killing him; if it's an ambush, the possibility rises to 60%."

"And as long as I'm on the ground, his chance of killing me is zero," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

With the Spirit Movement Protection, he could just escape underground, and Long Xiao would have to stare blankly; sword cultivators couldn't escape underground.

And even underground, Zhao Xing could still attack with spells.

Chen Lu below was completely dumbfounded.

He watched with his own eyes as two 7th Rank aliens fell from before his eyes.

One of them had his head blown off, which was normal.

But the way the other one died was very abnormal.

It actually showed snake characteristics?

"True Lord, what spell is this?" Chen Lu asked in his heart.

"Hou Transformation Method, high-level spell Teng Snake Transformation!" The True Lord's voice rang out. "The person standing in the clouds is a military agriculture official."

"True Lord, can I use the Hou Transformation Method?" Chen Lu asked.

"You can't use it," True Lord Tian De said. "This involves the changes of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang; your understanding of the Dao is too weak. Even if you invite me to possess you, you'd have to reach the 6th Rank to possibly cast it."

"Kid, your life is not meant to end here. These two are Great Zhou military generals, one a sword cultivator, one a military agriculture official."

"Quickly go and help them, see if you can get some credit for the counterattack. If you can, you can make up for your losses."

"Remember, be polite."

Chen Lu nodded, then carefully rose on the clouds, stopping at a height ten meters below Zhao Xing's cloud head.

"Sea-Suppressing Army Equalization Order Chen Lu, thank you, my lord, for the rescue. May I ask your name?" Chen Lu's attitude was very respectful, speaking entirely in the posture of a subordinate.

There is another chapter today! Expected at one o'clock! Also, recommending a friend's book. The portal is below.