Chapter 374: Seizing the Flag

What a damned place.

Squatting at the bow of the war galley, Wu Tie held the Green Dragon Crescent Blade with both hands, squinting at the busy crowd on the lakeshore ahead.

The Three Kingdoms Battlefield, this area that looks magnificent and fairy‑like…… is a damned place.

Besides the vicinity of cities like Baihe City and Heishan City, besides the fixed routes between cities, the Three Kingdoms Battlefield is actually filled with a mysterious heavenly power.

Here, no matter how strong the war galley, it can only fly at a height of ten zhang above the ground, as if a giant hand were pulling them down, preventing them from soaring higher.

Cultivators are affected a little less: no matter how strong, they can rise at most twenty zhang!

What a damned setting……

In this wilderness where even the lowest mountains are at least a thousand zhang tall and a single tree can reach tens or hundreds of zhang, such a low flight height means that, unless you have special scouting divine abilities or special scouting spirit treasures, you are very likely to crash head‑on into an enemy around a corner and trigger a mysterious encounter battle.

Besides that, there are even more messy troubles, just like now!

On the high mast of the war galley, the experienced herdsman Niu Mang, standing atop and looking around, suddenly shouted loudly, then urgently blew the small horn in his hand.

On the shore, tens of thousands of laborers hurriedly shouted, shouldering huge bamboo baskets, stumbling, one step deep one step shallow in the mud up to their thighs, struggling hard toward the thatched huts on the shore.

On the shore, a squad of Wu Tie's subordinates whipped the air with leather whips, making 'crack crack' sounds, urging these people to hurry.

In less than the time to finish a cup of tea, the last laborer had just been kicked into a thatched hut by a soldier, when strands of black mist gathered in the sky and quickly formed a huge dark cloud.

'Rumble', a downpour fell.

Fist‑sized crystal raindrops, carrying a piercing whistling sound, fell from high altitude, striking the shore; each drop sent up mud waves about a zhang high. The 'thud thud thud' impact was deep and muffled, making the ground tremble faintly.

Wu Tie's cheeks trembled as he watched.

In Huo Xiong's memory, although there were related memories of the Three Kingdoms Battlefield, the images obtained from others' memories were absolutely nowhere near as shocking as seeing it himself.

The force of each raindrop's fall is almost not weaker than a full‑powered punch from a body cultivator who has just entered the Perceiving Mystery Realm.

This force…… the vast majority of those tens of thousands of laborers are at Foundation Establishment cultivation, a minority have Perceiving Mystery Realm divine power, and only a few labor leaders have reached the Chonglou Realm.

If Niu Mang had not detected the imminent downpour early and sounded the alarm, this heavy rain would have killed at least half of those laborers.

'Thud thud thud', 'thud thud thud', 'thud thud thud'……

Countless mud waves over a zhang high splashed up; the vast shore was smashed to a mess by the raindrops, everywhere deep fist‑sized holes, then the mud rolled, filling those freshly made holes, and again raindrops fell, digging more pits in the shore.

On over a thousand thatched huts, seal runes flickered with a faint light.

When raindrops hit the thatched huts, they shattered like eggs hitting stone; countless drops turned into a fine mist that wrapped the huts.

The downpour came and went quickly; after a quarter hour the clouds cleared and the sun shone, and on the shore where water had accumulated half a chi deep, steam instantly rose, forming a white mist that lingered several zhang above the ground.

Niu Mang blew the horn, and the soldiers on the shore whipped their leather whips, driving the laborers out of the thatched huts.

Tens of thousands of laborers struggled in the shore, one step deep one step shallow, feeling in the mud; from time to time someone, face lit with joy, pulled out a fist‑sized, wholly blue‑green, lustrous shell from the mud.

This is the specialty of this shore, an extremely rare shellfish called the Beauty's Tongue.

This blue‑green shell has a mass of flesh whose color is rich red, its shape delicate and lively, like a maiden's tongue, hence the name.

Like the Dragon's Tooth Sorghum, Beauty's Tongue is a special tribute only the royal family and nobility of the Great Jin Divine State can enjoy. Moreover, because Beauty's Tongue enhances women's yin essence, replenishes their qi and blood, making their complexion radiant and their appearance ageless, it is fervently sought after by the most noble women of the Great Jin Divine State.

A thousand Beauty's Tongues can be exchanged for one Three Refined Spirit Weapon!

Just think, the previous Eighth Grade Colonel Huo Xiong's personal weapon was nothing more than an ordinary spirit weapon.

Coming to this lakeshore to dig Beauty's Tongue is one of the few, most lucrative jobs available in Baihe City.

Before, this job was monopolized by the trusted aides of the Camp Head Leader garrisoned in Baihe City; if it weren't for Wu Tie's killing of Xiahou Da this time, earning Jiang Ping great face and turning in a set of expensive city‑defense array maintenance materials, this work would not have fallen to him.

Suddenly, an old laborer with white hair and a weathered face shouted joyfully, holding up a huge shell the size of a grindstone.

The shell, pitch‑black all over with a faint glimmer, trembled slightly, as if trying to break free from the old man's hand.

Wu Tie's pupils contracted; 'Good stuff.'

In this vast shore, besides Beauty's Tongue, there is an even rarer 'Black Gale Shell'.

The flesh of the Black Gale Shell is dry and stiff, its taste terrible, but if luck is good, in a Black Gale Shell of sufficient age one can harvest a 'Black Gale Pearl'. This pearl is wholly dark, with a faint wreath of smoke and clouds, and is the main material for forging the Three Refined Immortal Weapon 'Soul‑Piercing Black Spirit Tower'.

The Soul‑Piercing Black Spirit Tower is also one of the Great Jin Divine State's standardized, systematic immortal weapons; it can emit Soul‑Piercing Black Spirit light, dealing massive damage to enemies' eyes on the battlefield, attacking the soul directly through the eyes, its power immense, making it a group‑attack immortal weapon like the Ten Thousand Blades Chariot.

Black Gale Shells are extremely scarce; if black gale pearls are mined, one pearl can be exchanged for a Three Refined Spirit Weapon, or ten pearls can be traded with the rear‑quartermaster for a Nine Refined Spirit Weapon.

For this old man, if he could gather a single Black Gale Pearl, he could live comfortably in Baihe City for life, never again needing to leave the city to risk his life gathering.

If he could gather three Black Gale Pearls, his family, as long as it does not exceed ten members, would be exempt from the hard labor of leaving the city to gather, and could stay in the city doing light miscellaneous tasks.

A First Grade Soldier quickly led a few men over, took the Black Gale Shell from the old man's hand, and with his dagger carefully pried open the shell, delicately extracting the flesh without damaging it.

Soon the First Grade Soldier laughed, holding up five egg‑sized black pearls and shouting loudly: 'Colonel Sir, good luck, good luck! Five Black Gale Pearls, exactly five!'

Wu Tie's face twitched violently.

Five, what a haul, exactly five!

This is half a Nine Refined Spirit Weapon, just think: in Huachong City he earned such great merit that Sima You personally sent a commendation to the Divine Martial Army on his behalf, and Jiang Hu, who gained that much face, was only rewarded with two Nine Refined Spirit Weapons.

The price of two Nine Refined Spirit Weapons was that the Heaven‑Patrolling Secret Guard's hidden posts in Zhongheng State were almost completely wiped out, and the families and people linked to those posts lost at least tens of thousands of lives!

All right, this time, five Black Gale Pearls, half a Nine Refined Spirit Weapon!

No wonder the trusted aides of the Camp Head Leaders garrisoned in each city are overwhelmingly strong, and their troops are extraordinarily powerful.

They monopolized these lucrative harvesting tasks, and the good things they could exchange were simply too many.

If these five Black Gale Pearls were exchanged for five Three Refined Spirit Weapons, the combat power of Wu Tie's subordinate colonels could more than double. These fellows, like the former Huo Xiong, have been kicking around the army for years; aside from Niu Mang, who has a Three Refined Spirit Spear, everyone else still uses ordinary spirit weapons.

"Good, very good. Bring that old man and his family aboard the war galley." Wu Tie, squatting at the bow, clapped loudly and said: "Good luck, good luck, hey, take good care of their food and drink."

The old man beamed, his whiskers wagging; soon he brought an old woman, two young men, a young woman, and two eleven‑ or twelve‑year‑old children aboard the war galley. From today on, they have risen in a single step, escaped the sea of suffering, and thereafter the whole family can remain in Baihe City, never again needing to venture out on dangerous expeditions.

After playing with the five round, icy‑cold Black Gale Pearls in his hand for a while, Wu Tie handed them to Niu Mang and the others, laughing loudly.

"What do you say, should we directly exchange them for Three Refined Spirit Weapons to equip the brothers, or……"

Before he finished speaking, a black light swooped in skimming the ground and struck the side‑rear of the war galley's hull hard.

The war galley's self‑defense barrier activated, a faint shield enveloping the hull.

The black light slammed into the shield, accompanied by a thunder‑like explosion, hurling the war galley sideways over a hundred zhang, nearly capsizing it.

The part of the ship's hull that was hit became visibly warped, sparks exploded outward, and the defensive ward inside the hull was shattered by the strike.

we had: "We need to translate. The term "ship's side/hull" is a generic object, not a name. The term "defensive ward/formation" is generic. There are no proper names." No Chinese.

: "Wu Tie and his companions turned around in dismay and saw two war galleys, roughly the same size as his own ship, emerge from beside a forest and come flying toward them like wolves and tigers." No Chinese.

we had: "Terms: Wu Tie; "his ship" is generic; "war galley" is generic." No Chinese.

: "The forward main cannon of one war galley was spewing hot vapor, clearly showing that the recent strike had been fired from that galley." No Chinese.

we had: "Terms: "war galley" is generic; "bow main cannon" is generic." No Chinese.

: "Another war galley's forward main cannon had finished charging; black light beams shot out from its conical main cannon, which was locked onto the tail of Wu Tie's ship, about to fire." No Chinese.

we had: "Terms: Wu Tie; "his ship" is generic; "war galley" is generic; "conical main cannon" is generic." No Chinese.

: "Wu Tie leapt up, the Tiger‑head Shield — a Thrice‑refined Immortal Weapon — spun rapidly around him; he drew the Myriad Blades Chariot and activated it to its full power without a word." No Chinese.

we had: "Terms: Wu Tie; "Thrice-refined Immortal Weapon" is a classification; the "Tiger-head Shield" and "Myriad Blades Chariot" are items." No Chinese.

: "With a whoosh, a million flying knives appeared out of thin air, forming a silvery mist that enveloped the two war galeys dozens of miles away." Note: "war galeys" maybe typo; should be "war galleys". We'll correct: "war galleys". Also "whoosh" is fine.

we had: "Terms: "million flying knives" is generic; "war galley" is generic." No Chinese.

: "On both war galleys, the angry shouts of their commanding colonels could be heard simultaneously." No Chinese.

we will output: "Terms: Colonel commanding troops." No Chinese.

"Is that Huo Xiong, you bastard? How is he here?"

Huo Xiong, you dog-bastard

"Withdraw, withdraw, withdraw… Damn it, hurry up and turn around to retreat!"

No names.

The two war galleys fell into chaos; their charged main cannons boomed, but the shot went wildly off course — missing by a hundred and eighty thousand li — scraping across the mudflats before disappearing into the distance.

Terms: "beach/mudflat" is generic; there are no names.

Outside White River City, Wu Tie publicly beheaded Xiahou Da, earning great infamy among the Jaguar Cavalry. Moreover, wielding two Thrice‑refined Immortal Weapons and two Nine‑refined Spiritual Weapons, the mid‑ and low‑rank officers of the Jaguar Cavalry have reached a consensus: unless two or more Womb Storage Realm generals attack together, any Life Pool Realm colonel or commandant who faces them will die.

Terms: White River City; Wu Tie; Xiahou Da; Jaguar Cavalry; Thrice-refined Immortal Weapon; Nine-refined Spiritual Weapon; Womb Storage Realm; generals; Life Pool Realm; Colonel; Commandant.

The Jaguar Cavalry colonels on those two war galleys never imagined they would encounter Huo Xiong here.

【98】

"Our luck is really terrible, isn't it?"

No names.

The two war galleys fled quickly, but the Myriad Blades Chariot was faster — after all, it is a Thrice‑refined Immortal Weapon — and a million flying knives sliced across dozens of miles in an instant, surrounding the galleys and throwing them into chaos.

Terms: Myriad Blades Chariot; Thrice-refined Immortal Weapon; million flying knives (generic); war galley (generic).

Amidst a hissing sound, the defensive wards of the two war galleys erupted in countless sparks; within just a few breaths, the galleys were sliced to pieces.

Terms: war galley (generic); defensive ward (generic).

Wu Tie flew swiftly toward the two war galleys, shouting loudly: "Drop your weapons, take off your armor, seal your magical power, and you may spare your lives."

Terms: Wu Tie; weapons (generic); armor (generic); magical power (generic).

Several colonel‑level officers tried to shoot straight up to break through the Myriad Blades Chariot's encirclement.

Terms: Colonel-level; Myriad Blades Chariot.

Blade light flashed and a few people exploded in mid‑air.

No names.

On the other two war galleys, over three thousand Jaguar Cavalry troops stared at each other, trembling as countless flying knives loomed nearby; they all followed Wu Tie's order to drop their weapons and surrender.

Terms: Jaguar Cavalry troops; Wu Tie.

Niu Mang and the others rushed forward, hurriedly pulling out ropes inscribed with rune seals to bind the captives securely.

Terms: Niu Mang (person's name); rune seal (generic); rope (generic).

In one battle they captured over three thousand prisoners — a truly glorious achievement.

No names.

According to the military law of the Great Jin Divine State, over three thousand prisoners can be exchanged for a batch of top‑grade cultivation resources, enough for Wu Tie's troops to significantly raise their cultivation levels.

Terms: Great Jin Divine State; Wu Tie; soldiers (generic); cultivation resources (generic); cultivation level (generic).

The spatial braces left behind by the slain colonels still contained a large amount of logistical supplies and cultivation resources.

Terms: Colonel (rank); spatial bracer (item); logistics supplies (generic); cultivation resources (generic).

With these resources, Wu Tie's officers and soldiers will be able to rapidly increase their strength in the near future.

Terms: Wu Tie; officers and soldiers (generic); strength (generic).

As Niu Mang and his companions were happily binding the prisoners, a deep roar suddenly came from a distant mountain; a bloody light pillar shot up into the sky, reaching tens of thousands of feet high before one side tore open, spewing out vast clouds of blood‑red light like a huge blood‑colored flag waving in the wind.

Terms: Niu Mang; big mountain (generic); no other names.

A hurried horn blast came from Wu Tie's sleeve; he pulled out a small jade‑made horn, through which Jiang Ping's order could be heard.

Terms: Wu Tie; Jiang Ping (person's name); bugle/horn (generic); jade-made (generic).

The Three Kingdoms Blood Flag appeared; all who saw it in the Divine Martial Army immediately dropped their tasks and rushed to the flag to compete for the banner.

Terms: Three Kingdoms Blood Flag; Divine Martial Army; officers and soldiers (generic); banner.

Wu Tie's mind quickly filled with information about the flag‑capture battle of the Three Kingdoms Blood Flag.

Wu Tie, Three Kingdoms Blood Flag, flag-capture battle

It appears sporadically, reportedly triggered at random by the Heavenly God as a bloody battle.

Heavenly God bloody battle

As long as one can survive to the end, controlling that small blood flag fortress beneath the Three Kingdoms Blood Flag will earn the reward of the "Heavenly God," and even the divine realm behind the victor will gain great benefit.