Chapter 378

Colonel Huo, hurry inside... there is a garrison token in the city altar, engrave the soul seal, it can help us defend...

A Divine Martial Army colonel who had participated in the previous Blood Banner seizing battle shouted at Wu Tie loudly, but before he could finish a sentence, a piercing cold light from afar came howling, easily piercing this colonel's nine-refined spirit weapon–level heavy armor.

"Enter the city... quickly..."

The colonel struck by an arrow spat out a mouthful of blood, he pointed at Wu Tie, then forcefully pointed at the fortress gate. A Blood Light spurted from his forehead, he self-detonated his celestial spirit, and a panicked divine soul rushed out of his body.

Beside him, a Divine Martial Army colonel on good terms with this colonel hastily produced a mist-wreathed jade bottle, carefully placing this colonel's divine soul inside the bottle for protection.

Over twenty li away, a Slaughter Spirit Army third-rank commander held a three-refined immortal weapon–level long bow, giving a cold smile toward this side.

More than ten li away, the Jaguar Cavalry commander wielding a Fire Phoenix apparition immortal weapon long sword abruptly raised his sword and came down heavily with a strike.

A sharp phoenix cry shot up into the sky, dozens of phoenixes the size of human heads spewed from that sword, drawing blazing rays of fire, they swooped down on the Divine Martial Army soldiers who hadn't made it into the fortress gate yet.

The city gate slowly opened, now only a width of over one zhang, outside the gate Wu Tie still commanded forty or fifty thousand troops.

With such a narrow gate, these troops simply couldn't get into the city in time.

Wu Tie stared blankly, looking at the dozens of fire phoenixes howling ahead, he stomped his foot, handing the Tiger Head Shield and Ten Thousand Blades Chariot simultaneously to the two highest-ranking fourth-grade colonels present, then he pushed through the crowd and rushed into the fortress at full speed.

The two fourth-grade colonels shouted in unison, one bit his tongue tip, spraying blood onto the Tiger Head Shield, pushing its power to the extreme.

Vast rosy light intertwined, amid low tiger roars, a hazy cloud of rosy light protected all the Divine Martial Army troops outside the city.

The colonel holding the Ten Thousand Blades Chariot bellowed sternly: "Form the formation... circular formation, defend!"

Tens of thousands of Divine Martial Army soldiers shouted in unison, they quickly drew together, shoulder to shoulder, person to person, forming an extremely tight circular defensive formation. The tens of thousands of Divine Martial Army officers and soldiers all cultivated the same lineage's Three Revolutions Primordial Skill, and their mana instantly merged as one.

Vast mana poured into the colonel holding the Tiger Head Shield, his body suddenly swelled to seven or eight zhang tall, he grunted, his skin split open with numerous wounds, and great clouds of blood mist continually sprayed from the injuries.

The Tiger Head Shield's radiance grew ever more blinding, a nearly solid giant tiger head hovered above the circular formation, shielding the tens of thousands of troops below.

Dozens of fire phoenixes screamed as they slammed into the formation, mushroom clouds of explosion bloomed, countless extremely sharp, scorching sword rays swept wildly around. The Divine Martial Army troops at the edge of the formation let out shrill wails, shaken by the blast's shockwave they spat blood, many were sliced by the sword rays, their bodies instantly torn apart and then quickly ignited.

One strike, the Divine Martial Army lost hundreds of men.

Under the attack of a Fetal Storage Realm commander wielding a three-refined immortal weapon, one strike merely wounded hundreds, the Divine Martial Army's defensive formation could be called steadfast.

Dozens of Jaguar Cavalry and Slaughter Spirit Army commanders surged out of the massive army formation, each holding an immortal weapon, faces grim, they lowly shouted, exerting all effort to activate their immortal weapons and launch an attack.

Strange lights and colors came howling down, the Divine Martial Army's fleet behind the formation was destroyed ship by ship by immortal weapons, many warships exploded, bursts of fire flared, shaking the earth violently, shaking the Divine Martial Army troops in the formation to vomit blood continuously.

As Wu Tie led the Divine Martial Army troops to be the first to approach the fortress, as Wu Tie charged through the gate, the situation on the battlefield instantly changed.

Originally the three nations' armies were slaughtering each other, engaging in battle, any nation's army was chaotically fighting against the other two nations' large armies.

But as soon as Wu Tie entered the gate, the Divine Wei State's Jaguar Cavalry and the Divine Wu State's Slaughter Spirit Army immediately joined forces, the troops they had been entangled with quickly separated, then they simultaneously formed ranks and charged toward the Divine Jin State's Divine Martial Army.

The Fetal Storage Realm commanders who had originally been entangled with each other immediately had a hundred or so free up their hands, they swarmed out of the army formation in succession, launching an attack on Wu Tie's commanded army formation.

Nearly a hundred Fetal Storage Realm commanders, almost each holding an immortal weapon, even a three-refined immortal weapon, this force was truly terrifying.

In terms of Fetal Storage Realm commander numbers, the allied forces of the two nations held an absolute advantage; the Divine Martial Army's commanders were immediately tied up unable to move, and under Jiang Hu's order, the six battalion leaders who had left their own formation to rush reinforcements were also blocked by enemy commanders roughly twice their number, ten-odd li away.

Vast strange lights and colors came howling in, the Tiger Head Shield emitted a low rumbling sound.

The Tiger Head Shield's main body hovered in the air, its surface constantly sputtering fire. Powerful shockwaves spread outward wave after wave, troops in the formation would occasionally go limp and collapse, their five viscera and six bowels shattered by the shock.

Wu Tie sprinted wildly through the city.

What annoyed Wu Tie was that the small fortress was filled with viscous Blood Light; in that heavy Blood Light, his running speed slowed to the point of exasperation, making him slower than an ordinary seven- or eight-year-old child.

From the gate to the clearly visible altar inside the city was only a little over two li, yet this short distance, which normally could be covered by a casual step, forced Wu Tie to run for about half a tea's time.

During that long time, the Divine Martial Army troops at the gate were besieged in dozens of waves by nearly a hundred Fetal Storage Realm commanders of the Slaughter Spirit Army and Jaguar Cavalry.

Barrages of strange light and color from immortal weapons bombarded the Tiger Head Shield; this three-refined immortal weapon that Wu Tie had captured from Xiahou Da became pitted and dented in just half a tea's time, its surface luster grew extremely dim, and the range of the rosy light it emitted shrank by over half.

In just half a tea's time, the forty or fifty thousand troops remaining under Wu Tie's command were rapidly reduced to around four thousand under the enemy commanders' frantic bombardment, the rest all killed on the spot by the violent shock of the immortal weapons' attacks.

This was still with Wu Tie leaving the Tiger Head Shield to stand guard.

If it were an ordinary formation, those tens of thousands of troops would be nothing more than a casual strike from a Fetal Storage Realm commander wielding an immortal weapon.

But those Slaughter Spirit Army and Jaguar Cavalry commanders were not unscathed either.

Wu Tie also left behind the Ten Thousand Blades Chariot, which is an area-of-effect three-refined immortal weapon.

The colonel holding the Ten Thousand Blades Chariot went hysterical; he even burned his divine soul, pouring all pure divine soul power into the chariot, causing the Ten Thousand Blades Chariot to erupt with destructive power over twice as strong as when Wu Tie wielded it.

A sky-full of glinting white throwing knives rained down in disorder, completely submerging those enemy commanders who kept frenziedly attacking.

Immortal weapons are precious, especially defensive immortal weapons, which are exceedingly rare and costly.

Among the roughly hundred Jaguar Cavalry and Slaughter Spirit Army Fetal Storage Realm commanders, only about half possessed defensive immortal weapons, and most of those were ordinary immortal weapons; a Tiger Head Shield–class three-refined immortal weapon was unique, and it was held by a second-rank commander of the Slaughter Spirit Army.

This Slaughter Spirit Army second-rank commander, full of camaraderie, used his own Bright Light Mirror to protect all the Slaughter Spirit Army commanders.

However, the protective immortal light emanating from that three-foot precious mirror did not touch a single Jaguar Cavalry commander.

The power of the Ten Thousand Blades Chariot was almost entirely absorbed by those Jaguar Cavalry commanders.

The myriad‑blade chariot whistled and spun, countless flying blades slashing wildly; the armor of the Jaguar Cavalry commanders, of Nine‑Refined Spirit‑Weapon grade, shattered one after another, and more than a dozen ordinary Immortal‑Weapon‑grade defensive treasures were also struck by the myriad‑blade chariot, their light dimmed and their bodies covered in wounds.

Dozens of Jaguar Cavalry commanders whose armor had been destroyed were surrounded by the myriad‑blade chariot, hacking and spinning wildly; the sound of blades cutting flesh and bone continued unabated. In the short time of half a cup of tea, seven or eight Jaguar Cavalry commanders were beaten to a pulp of flesh and bone, forced to flee, their souls escaping.

Moreover, several dozen Jaguar Cavalry commanders were badly wounded by the myriad‑blade chariot, each in a sorry state retreating backward; then even more Jaguar Cavalry officers, leading large groups of soldiers, came forward shouting loudly to reinforce.

Near the gate of the fortress, a combined force of several hundred thousand Jaguar Cavalry and Slaughter Spirit Army quickly formed, encircling several thousand Divine Martial Army.

Meanwhile, several hundred Divine Martial Army officers sent to reinforce were situated roughly ten‑plus li from the gate, surrounded by a vast formation of Jaguar Cavalry and Slaughter Spirit Army commanders whose numbers far exceeded theirs.

Suddenly, a tremendous boom rang out.

In the distance, the three supreme commanders of the Divine Martial Army, Jaguar Cavalry, and Slaughter Spirit Army—including Sima De—were locked in combat; Sima De suddenly turned, pointed a finger, and a speck of lightning the size of a mung bean shot forth, crashing heavily into the formation of Jaguar Cavalry and Slaughter Spirit Army outside the gate.

The earth‑shaking boom rattled countless people, making their ears bleed; who knows how many had their eardrums shattered.

A fire pillar several li in diameter shot up into the sky, black clouds wrapping the flame, slowly rising tens of li high, then gradually spreading into a red mushroom cloud.

Outside the gate, at least several ten‑thousand elite Jaguar Cavalry and Slaughter Spirit Army were pulverized by a single spell of Sima De; nearly a hundred Jaguar Cavalry and Slaughter Spirit Army officers who were frenziedly bombarding Wu Tie's subordinates were hit first, vanishing outright in the mushroom‑cloud fire pillar.

The gate had already opened a little, about seven or eight zhang wide.

The terrifying might unleashed by Sima De's spell stirred up a gale; the Divine Martial Army troops outside the gate were shaken by the blast, losing their footing and stumbling backward while shouting loudly, they were forced to squeeze through the opened gate into the fortress.

Sima De gave a composed smile.

The Jaguar Cavalry and Spirit-Slaying Army's two Supreme Commanders, locked in combat with him, suddenly had their eyes bloodshot; they both snorted coldly and likewise pointed a finger nonchalantly.

Two points of Spirit Light shot out with a howl, instantly piercing the densest formation of the Divine Martial Army.

Boom—boom, likewise fire light surged and killing qi splattered; as soon as the two Supreme Commanders whose cultivation in the Womb Storage Realm had peaked made a move, the Divine Martial Army's formation likewise showed two huge gaps, wiping out at least several hundred thousand elite soldiers in one blow.

Sima De cursed lowly, drew a radiant Nine-Forged Immortal Weapon, and charged forward.

Before, he and the two Supreme Commanders had merely exchanged blows using divine abilities and secret arts, but now Sima De openly brandished his weapon, clearly intending to fight for real.

The two Supreme Commanders' faces turned grim; they likewise drew dazzling Nine-Forged Immortal Weapons and attacked Sima De from left and right.

Sima De summoned a round shield of Nine-Forged Immortal Weapon grade with his left hand, lightly blocking the Jaguar Cavalry Supreme Commander, then he swung his long sword, delivering a fierce barrage of chopping and slashing at the Spirit-Slaying Army Supreme Commander.

The Spirit-Slaying Army Supreme Commander refused to be outdone, brandishing his weapon and launching a fierce assault on Sima De.

Their Nine-Forged Immortal Weapons clashed violently hundreds of times in an instant, then a clear 'ding' rang out—the Spirit-Slaying Army Supreme Commander's Nine-Forged long blade was actually severed cleanly by Sima De's long sword.

Sima De then pushed forward with his sword; the Spirit-Slaying Army Supreme Commander let out an anguished cry, his left shoulder cleaved cleanly off by Sima De's sword, blood spraying, his body staggered and transformed into a streak of Blood Light as he turned and fled.

"Great Martial God State... hehe, your weapon smiths can all be executed!" Sima De laughed wildly.

This is a crushing superiority of overall national strength.

The weapon-crafting of the Great Martial God State is simply inferior to that of the Great Jin Divine State; with the same Nine-Forged Immortal Weapons, those of the Great Jin Divine State are far sturdier, so when they clash, it's easy to break the Great Martial God State's Immortal Weapons...

Where do you expect the Spirit-Slaying Army Supreme Commander to go and reason?

Sima De burst into loud laughter, left hand holding the round shield, right hand wielding the long sword, smiling as he attacked the Jaguar Cavalry Supreme Commander.

Their cultivations were equal, and the quality of their Immortal Weapons was comparable; for a time they traded offense and defense, enjoying their battle in the skies.

The Great Martial God State's present supreme commander actually abandoned his troops and fled; countless Spirit-Slaying Army soldiers instantly fell into panic, their attack strength suddenly weakened by a notch, and their formation became extremely disordered.

Upon orders, hundreds of Divine Martial Army commanders sent to reinforce Wu Tie shouted a cry, taking advantage of the Spirit-Slaying Army leaders' disrupted formation, they split half to block the Jaguar Cavalry's intercepting commanders, while the other half carved a bloody path and swiftly charged to the fortress gate.

Only then did Wu Tie, panting heavily, barely withstand the pressure of the all-pervading Blood Light, and with difficulty arrived beneath the altar that stood several zhang high.

Forty-nine steps led straight to the altar's summit; Wu Tie trembled, swaying as he lifted his foot and heavily stepped onto the first step.

The pressure here is immense, the gravity terrifying; if Wu Tie were to unleash his full strength, his movement speed in this city could increase at least tenfold, and the pressure here would not burden him greatly.

But now Wu Tie, using the alias 'Huo Xiong', can only act with the strength befitting that identity.

Gasping for air, even a trickle of blood flowing from his nostrils due to the crushing pressure, Wu Tie trembled as he climbed seven steps, inch by inch toward the altar's summit.

Just as Wu Tie was about to reach the altar's summit, a harsh reprimand came from the direction of the city gate: 'Reckless... Huo Xiong, stop at once... what qualifications do you have to command this City Guard Token?'

A handsome youth clad in splendid silver-gold scale armor dotted with gold, wielding a dragon-encircled heavenly halberd, his whole body radiating light, bearing at least four or five Immortal Weapons, strode forward with great speed toward the altar.

"Huo Xiong, get out of the way—this City Guard Token is mine, Sima Xin, and I won't yield!"

Near the city gate, Jiang Ping jumped up in fury: 'Nonsense, Sima Xin... you, you, you, you, don't rely on your power to bully others!'

Sima Xin ignored Jiang Ping, instead flashing forward several times onto the altar and kicked Wu Tie in the back.

Sima Xin's boots were also Immortal Weapons; the pure-metal dragon-scale boots had a sharp, horn-like protrusion at the front, and if this kick landed squarely, the Immortal Weapon-grade armor on Wu Tie's body could not possibly withstand the boots' sharpness.

This kick, Sima Xin delivered with the genuine intent to kill.

Near the city gate, several Divine Martial Army commanders witnessed this scene.

Many commanders' faces twisted, each seething with rage, yet they dared not speak out.

Jiang Ping and some commanders from elite aristocratic military families likewise rushed over, meanwhile spewing all kinds of vulgar insults at Sima Xin.