Chapter 408: Demonic Beast Assault

Over ten Black Phoenix Army officers, their bodies covered in scale-like wounds and blood, wore armor riddled with holes, held tattered and torn polearms, and stepped on the Flowing Cloud Escape Light devoid of light, stumbling out of the mountain valley.

"Huo Xiong! As a third-rank general, you dare to disguise as an ordinary soldier for a sneak attack—what kind of hero are you?" This person was morally pressing Wu Tie.

"Huo Xiong! If you dare to touch a single hair of the army lord, we will kill your whole family!" This person directly threatened Wu Tie with violence.

"General Huo Xiong, let's talk, let's talk, please don't harm the army lord... If you want money, we'll give you money; if you want power, we'll give you power... Our army lord is the sole daughter of a first-rank duke of Mang Mountain!" This person was trying to bribe Wu Tie with great profit.

A golden light shot straight up into the sky; within the golden light, one could see Huo Xiong wearing an ordinary prefecture soldier's uniform, draped with a nearly shattered soft armor, coughing up blood while activating the Vertical Earth Golden Light in a frantic escape.

In his hand, he held a woman taller than an ordinary man by a head, almost half a fist taller than Huo Xiong, with a tall and slender figure, absolutely beautiful features, and extremely three-dimensional facial contours.

From her facial features, this woman was none other than Pei Feng.

At this moment, blood kept dripping from her mouth, and blood continuously flowed from all seven orifices; her breath became extremely weak, almost giving the impression that she was on the verge of death.

Over ten Black Phoenix Army commanders, panting, chased for several hundred li, only seeing the golden light grow farther and farther, unable to catch up... Qian Lao San stomped his foot heavily and screamed hysterically: "Mobilize the army, break through Great Marsh Prefecture, rescue the army lord... Hurry, gather all our brothers!"

Over ten Black Phoenix Army commanders, like wounded beasts, howled up to the sky, then they all turned and fled back into the mountain valley.

From afar, one could hear Qian Lao San's angry roar: "These filthy scum, dare to provoke our Black Phoenix Army—cut them all down!"

Instantly, the valley echoed with countless cries of shock and rage; numerous prefecture soldiers who had laid down their weapons rose in rebellion, and the Black Phoenix Army troops cut them down in rows; soon a strong smell of blood filled the valley, with prefecture soldiers lying dead everywhere in disarray.

In the high sky, a strand of golden light sped forward.

The Vertical Earth Golden Light was originally a top-tier evasion technique, leaving no trace in flight, with speed beyond description.

However, Huo Xiong was obviously injured; although using the Vertical Earth Golden Light remained swift, it was now only slightly faster than ordinary evasion techniques. Moreover, after flying several hundred li, he would descend several hundred zhang from the high sky, clearly his body could no longer withstand high-speed, high-altitude evasion.

Still several hundred li from Great Marsh City, Huo Xiong had just flown over a great mountain peak; on the summit, a intertwined black-and-red radiance rose into the sky, carrying a monstrous stench.

"Huo Xiong, your head is mine," said a creature nearly a thousand zhang long, with an enormous abnormal body, having a half-human torso growing from its head, and the waist down connected to its massive body—a giant centipede.

The half-human figure atop the centipede's head was actually quite handsome, dressed in black, with pale red skin over the whole body, and an evil, handsome face wearing a greedy, ferocious smile. The giant centipede shot up into the sky; that figure waved his right hand, and hundreds of oddly shaped flying swords rose into the air, chaotically slashing down at Huo Xiong.

This is the Heavenly Centipede King.

Among the great indigenous powers of Great Marsh Prefecture, his true form is a giant centipede; no one knows how many years he has lived. Over time, the centipede gained weather sensitivity and spiritual awareness, and by chance comprehended the wondrous principle of cultivating a human form and pursuing the Dao.

Originally, Great Marsh Prefecture's vast territory had more than half of its land belonging to the Heavenly Centipede King.

The Divine Might Army and the Black Phoenix Army joined forces to develop Great Marsh Prefecture; countless big and small martial descendants under the Heavenly Centipede King were slain, and he truly bears a deep bloody feud with the Great Jin Divine Kingdom.

These flying swords were forged from the centipede's shed legs; because they are divine weapons refined from his true form, they are easy to control and endlessly variable. Moreover, since his true form is so enormous and he has trained for an immeasurably long time, the centipede's legs are extraordinarily tough, far stronger than ordinary metal, so these swords are hard and sharp, their quality comparable to six-fold refined immortal weapons.

Hundreds of six-fold refined immortal weapon–grade flying swords chaotically slashed at Huo Xiong's vital spots, their blades faintly exuding a fishy odor; all these swords had been coated with the terrifying poison stored in the Heavenly Centipede King's own inner elixir.

A thunderous "Boom—" rang out.

Dozens of wild thunderbolts fell from the sky, each as thick as a water jar, purple-red lightning striking the Heavenly Centipede King's flying swords filling the sky, causing them to clang chaotically, like a startled swarm of hornets buzzing everywhere.

The Heavenly Centipede King had not yet shed his original husk; his true form is extremely yin and evil, and he fears most all kinds of heavenly thunder and earthly fire.

The thunderbolts fell, and their aftershocks sprayed onto the Heavenly Centipede King's body, blasting his thick heavy carapace open with countless tiny cracks; in pain, the Heavenly Centipede King roared hoarsely: "Silver Dragon King, are you seeking death?"

A creature twelve hundred zhang long, its form hardly different from that of a legendary divine dragon, except its two horns are unforked, clearly still a jiao dragon kin—the Silver Dragon—slowly descending from the sky.

Seeing the Heavenly Centipede King covered in black smoke, looking utterly disheveled, the Silver Dragon bared his teeth and grinned: "Hehe, old centipede, this fellow's life is mine. Either scram, or let's fight first."

If the Heavenly Centipede King occupies more than half of Great Marsh Prefecture's land territory, then the Silver Dragon King is undoubtedly the supreme overlord of the entire Great Marsh Prefecture's water system.

In the water, no one can rival the Silver Dragon King.

The weak waters of Great Marsh have become a natural barrier for the Silver Dragon King and his followers; the Divine Might Army has launched multiple encirclement campaigns against him and his partisans, all to no avail.

Countless descendants of the Heavenly Centipede King have been slain, while the Silver Dragon King's subordinates have suffered extremely few casualties.

In present-day Great Marsh Prefecture, the Silver Dragon King is undoubtedly the top-ranked hegemonic power.

The Heavenly Centipede King, his anger blazing to the heavens, stared at the Silver Dragon King; from his half-human body, his eyes revealed an extreme ferocity and greed.

He is a centipede, while the Silver Dragon King is a dragon; if he could drain the Silver Dragon King's entire essence blood, he would not need the Golden Ginseng Fruit to naturally shed his centipede true form and transform into a heavenly dragon.

Of course, he may not be able to defeat the Silver Dragon King, so the golden ginseng fruit promised by that person is something he must obtain at all costs.

Therefore, the Heavenly Centipede King ignored the Silver Dragon King; instead, his massive body shrank in an instant—within a few breaths, from a thousand zhang down to ten zhang, while the half-human torso on his head remained unchanged.

With his body reduced, he became more agile and faster.

The Heavenly Centipede King turned into a black-and-red streak of light, as fast as lightning, and surged toward Huo Xiong to attack.

The Silver Dragon King's expression shifted slightly—did the Heavenly Centipede King really not give him face?

The Silver Dragon King abruptly raised his head, about to unleash a dragon's roar.

Suddenly, this heaven and earth turned into a five-colored neon world; five-colored radiance came from all directions, space was sealed, time subtly slowed, all sounds in the world vanished, and everything became hazy like mist.

The next instant, in this absolutely tranquil world, a sharp, piercing birdcall suddenly shot up into the sky.

The five-colored void fragments around the Heavenly Centipede King and the Silver Dragon King shattered; visible to the naked eye, the five-colored sound waves turned into sharp, turbulent torrents, howling as they tore through their bodies. The Heavenly Centipede King's body, already wounded by the Silver Dragon King's thunderbolts, instantly gained new injuries, with countless gashes spewing out large amounts of blood.

The Silver Dragon King's scales were obviously far tougher than the Heavenly Centipede King's carapace, yet under this combined assault of five-colored sound waves and spatial shattering, hundreds of his dragon scales broke off, his dragon skin was ripped open, and large amounts of dragon blood sprayed out.

The Heavenly Centipede King and the Silver Dragon King roared in unison: "Silver-tongued King!"

A giant five-colored parrot with a wingspan over a hundred zhang transformed into a five-colored divine light, rushing forward at high speed, crying shrilly: "Huo Xiong's head is mine, mine…… the Golden Ginseng Fruit is also mine!"

The Heavenly Centipede King and the Silver Dragon King's eyes twitched uncontrollably.

"Golden Ginseng Fruit!"

Damn it, those three were all invited by that fellow to deal with Huo Xiong?

But does that fellow actually have so many Golden Ginseng Fruits on hand?

That is, in fact, the finest divine medicine for condensing a Dao embodiment by turning foreign races into humans; it can completely wash away all residual negative energy from their bodies, allowing them to condense the purest, most pristine Dao form, greatly benefiting their future cultivation.

Precious, therefore rare.

If all three came for the Golden Ginseng Fruit…… what if that person deceived them?

The Heavenly Centipede King roared, he lunged forward with a fierce jerk, and his centipede carapace suddenly fell away, revealing the crystal-like black-and-red translucent flesh within. The delicate, unprotected centipede body bellowed, driving hundreds of flying swords to spin and slash toward Huo Xiong.

Shedding the centipede's shell is the Heavenly Centipede King's ultimate life-preserving, enemy-killing technique.

Shedding a layer of shell to preserve a life—this is his final reliance against heavenly thunder tribulation.

At this moment, for the Golden Ginseng Fruit and to slay Huo Xiong, he could no longer worry about anything else. Having shed his outer shell, all attacks of the five-colored giant parrot followed that centipede shell away, and the Heavenly Centipede King instantly gained freedom, shooting straight off like a bolt of lightning.

The seriously injured Huo Xiong watched as the Heavenly Centipede King came charging

A miserable howl rang out; the hundreds of flying swords shooting toward Huo Xiong, as if possessed, pierced Pei Feng's body with a series of 'puchi-puchi' sounds, opening hundreds of holes.

Blood sprayed, and Pei Feng's tall stature trembled violently.

The Heavenly Centipede King's flying swords are laced with deadly poison, indeed the innate lethal poison from his inner core; even the body-tempering cultivator commanders of the Great Jin Divine State army who have trained in the highest-grade specialized body-tempering arts cannot withstand the poison on his swords.

In the war that opened up the Great Marsh Prefecture, the Heavenly Centipede King's flying swords slew at least a hundred officers of the Great Jin Divine State of all ranks, with countless Commandants and Colonels falling.

Such a mighty demonic titan, yet ten years after the opening of the Great Marsh Prefecture he still roams free—showing just how strong the Heavenly Centipede King's power is.

"Commander Pei Feng!" Huo Xiong let out a startled cry, then he roared in shame and rage: "This has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me, this... this damn... it's you lot who did it, you lot who did it!"

The Five-Colored Great Parrot Silver-Tongued King, the gigantic Silver Dragon King, and the wholly transparent Heavenly Centipede King.

On the territory of the Great Marsh Prefecture, the three most domineering foreign kings were all dumbfounded.

They clearly remembered that the promise made by the person they were colluding with was to kill Huo Xiong, but not to harm a single hair of Pei Feng.

But now...

Not far away, in the forest beneath their feet, a ragged, desperate scream shot up to the heavens: "You…… you all deserve to die! You killed Commander Pei Feng, how am I to face the Supreme Commander! How am I to face the Supreme Commander!"

Zhang Xibo spewed snow-white chill from his whole body, countless ice crystals twining around him, his face twisted like a vengeful ghost as he charged out from the mountain ridge.

Behind him, hundreds of commanders in heavy armor and tens of thousands of elite soldiers formed neat ranks, closely following.

Farther out, from the forest rushed dozens of large and small barges, each deck packed with fully armed elite warriors and fierce commanders; judging by their scale, there were at least two or three hundred thousand battle-hardened elite troops here.

Zhang Xibo and his group arrived too fast; the Heavenly Centipede King, Silver Dragon King, and Silver-Tongued King had not yet reacted when armies from all directions encircled them, completely sealing off the surrounding void for hundreds of li.

"You, you deserve to die, you deserve to die!" Zhang Xibo jumped, voice hoarse: "If I cannot live, then don't even think you can live!"

The Silver Dragon King suddenly sneered: "Again, it's the plot of you Great Jin people… you lured us here, then…"

Shaking his head, the Silver Dragon King suddenly let out a long whistle: "Lads, commence battle!"

From far and near, from the mountain ridges dozens of large and small rivers and streams surged forth with boiling torrents, teeming with countless squeaking fish, shrimp, river crabs, flood dragons, giant pythons, and other aquatic creatures.

Moreover, some of the fish were astonishingly huge, measuring hundreds of zhang in length, their aura barely weaker than that of the three by a hair.

Zhang Xibo simply ignored the army summoned by the Silver Dragon King, pointing at Huo Xiong and shouting sternly: "Seize him, capture him alive—I will employ every torture in the world upon him, letting him neither live nor die."

Huo Xiong hovered in midair, holding the motionless Pei Feng, his face grim as he stared at Zhang Xibo: "Surname Zhang, did you scheme against me?"

Zhang Xibo stared at Huo Xiong with bloodshot eyes, his teeth grinding 'ge-ge' continuously, utterly unwilling to speak to Huo Xiong.

Anyway, if Pei Feng truly encountered any problem, not only Zhang Xibo but the entire Great Marsh Prefecture would be slaughtered by the wrathful Sima Lang—quite possible, very possible; Zhang Xibo knows Sima Lang's temperament.

"Seize him, seize him, alive!" Zhang Xibo snarled ferociously.

On the outskirts of the encirclement, the army Zhang Xibo brought had already clashed with the Silver Dragon King's subordinates.

The cries of slaughter rang all day, and the killing intent instantly filled the void.

Farther out in the forest, countless large and small vicious birds suddenly took to the sky, countless vicious birds screeching as they charged this way.

The Silver-Tongued King's subordinates also appeared.