Chapter 445: The True Rebels

Outside the military camp, utter chaos reigned.

Pei Feng gripped his spear, squinted, wore a clear, cold smile, and watched the enemies who had become a chaotic mess.

Among the huge fleet brought by Sima Lang, about a hundred officers in bright armor and stern bearing—clearly men who usually held great power—charged forward with large retinues, like a blazing fire.

They carefully avoided the area covered by the Greedy Wolf Net, then madly rushed toward the gravely wounded Sima Lang who had fallen to the ground.

Several high-ranking generals clad in gold armor, draped in scarlet-red capes, waist-bound with jade belts, and bearing large seals, gathered beside Sima Lang to carefully examine his wounds.

On the helmets of these gold-armored great generals, the left side bore blood‑colored pheasant feathers; one man had nine such feathers, while the others had two or three, four or five, varying.

This was a distinctive insignia unique to the Divine Might Army.

The blood‑colored feathers signified that, among officers of the same rank, they were absolute elite.

The more blood‑colored feathers, the greater the seniority, the heavier the merit, and the stronger the strength.

Being able to affix nine blood‑colored feathers to one's helmet shows that this person is a top‑ranking officer among all generals; should Sima Lang meet with mishap, he could naturally take over Sima Lang's military authority.

"Heavens!" the nine‑feather commander with white hair and beard trembled, lifted his head, and shouted hoarsely, "Give the order, prepare for battle… the lord, he…"

From afar came the anguished cries of Sima You's trusted officers: "Come quickly, come save us, lives are at stake… Uncle, Uncle, hold on, hold on!"

Wu Tie led, Lao Tie followed; the two stepped upon faint clouds, moving leisurely, the breeze light and clouds thin, as if out on a spring outing, flying from afar. They skimmed just above the treetops, and the panicked subordinates of Sima Lang, Sima You, and the others failed to notice them in time.

Wu Tie lightly landed beside Sima Lang, curiously peering at the general whose skin was shattered and whose body was drenched in blood.

"My lord, how did you end up like this? Hey hey, were you flayed? It's awful—who did this? How vicious!"

Wu Tie whistled, gave a frivolous laugh, and said, "Hey, generals, what are you doing here? I recall the nearby woods once being lovely scenery—how did they become riddled with huge holes?"

Only then did the mass of generals under Sima Lang, together with their guards, suddenly realize that someone had approached them silently.

A clamor rang out; the Divine Might Army troops drew their weapons and glared fiercely at Wu Tie and Lao Tie. The nine‑feather commander gripped his longsword, pointed it at Wu Tie, and was about to shout a rebuke…

But the rebuke reached his throat and would not come out.

Wu Tie wore a light‑purple robe, his waist bound with a radiant jade belt from which hung two seals, one on each side.

One seal was gold, made of gold; the other was green, made of jade.

In the Great Jin, only nobles who had been granted a fief and owned their own territory wore two seals at the waist.

The metallic seal commanded the army; every military mobilization and order in the territory required its imprint.

The jade seal governed civil affairs; all matters of livelihood—sericulture, fishing, herding, waterworks, and every regulation and prohibition in the territory—required its stamp on official documents.

Therefore, anyone dressed in this attire must be a land‑holding noble.

Moreover, the imperial clan and royal dukes of the Great Jin Divine State wear black.

Dukes wear deep purple.

Marquises wear light purple.

Counts wear crimson.

A light‑purple robe, a waist‑hung pair of seals, and a jade belt—this is the garb of a true marquess with an actual fief, a high‑ranking noble; though not among the very top aristocracy, he is still someone ordinary folk dare not provoke.

"Marquis!" the Divine Might Army soldiers exclaimed, lowering their weapons in unison and bowing slightly to Wu Tie.

But the next instant, upon seeing Wu Tie's face, those Divine Might Army soldiers jerked their weapons back up, their eyes bloodshot as they stared at him.

That face, though somewhat altered, was unmistakably that of Huo Xiong.

"Great Marsh Prefecture Army Chief Commander… Huo Xiong?" the nine‑feather commander bellowed.

"Marquis of Longjiang, also serving as Great Marsh Prefecture Army Chief Commander, Huo Xiong—greetings, generals!" Wu Tie said with a smiling salute, then asked, "What are you doing here? What happened? Why is the ground pitted with holes?"

He pointed to the thousands of large and small war galleys hovering in the distant sky and laughed, "These warships look unfamiliar; they don't seem to belong to my Great Marsh Prefecture. Ah, the few hundred warships of my Great Marsh Prefecture army—surely those wrecks on the ground are them?"

First, some officers of the Black Phoenix Army rebelled, seizing dozens of war galleys and unleashing a furious barrage.

Then Sima Lang's huge fleet suddenly swooped in, concentrating firepower into a violent assault; Wu Tie's fleet had already been completely shot down.

These massive war galleys, once destroyed, dumped huge piles of wreckage onto the ground; much of the metallic debris still bore active formation seals, continuously belching thick smoke and flames, so that within a radius of over a hundred li, hundreds of black smoke columns shot straight up—a strikingly abnormal sight.

The Divine Might Army's officers remained silent.

They fixed their gaze on Wu Tie's face, occasionally sweeping over his marquis's robe.

They simply could not comprehend what was going on.

They had come here solely to deal with Huo Xiong—there was no doubt about that.

But how could the mere chief commander of the Great Marsh Prefecture army suddenly appear in a marquis's robe?

What had happened here?

Moreover, how should they explain this? How should they handle the present contradiction?

Following Sima Lang, they could easily kill the commander of a remote prefecture without scruple—something even Pei Feng and his Black Phoenix Army could do, let alone Sima Lang and his Divine Might Army.

But while it's easy to slay a remote prefecture's commander, a marquess with an actual fief must not be touched!

A marquess with an actual fief is a bona fide noble of the Great Jin Divine State; to draw a blade against him is to challenge the entire aristocracy of the Great Jin Divine State—even Sima Lang, Sima You, and the others belong to that class.

Who would dare to strike at Wu Tie now?

Sima Lang might dare, but those Divine Might Army officers… they do not.

"Here… Huo Xiong… Marquis?" the nine‑feather commander's voice was sluggish and hoarse: "Here, some… misunderstanding has occurred."

Wu Tie slapped him.

The nine‑feather commander stood rooted, unmoving, as he took Wu Tie's slap.

Then Wu Tie kept slapping him repeatedly, until the nine‑feather commander's face was a bloody pulp and his teeth flew out.

"This, too, is a misunderstanding!" Wu Tie laughed, looking at the nine‑feather commander standing still, and said coldly, "Just now there were a few poisonous mosquitoes on your face—I took care of them for you, no thanks needed!"

The nine‑feather commander managed a grimace: "Thank you, Marquis."

A harsh grating sound continued; as the nine‑feather commander took the first slap, he clenched his sword hilt so hard his veins bulged, emitting a piercing noise.

He suppressed the murderous rage surging in his heart and endured Wu Tie's barrage of slaps.

Sima Lang lay unconscious; his every word and deed now determined the fate of all the Divine Might Army soldiers present.

If Huo Xiong, who suddenly became an actually enfeoffed marquis, found an excuse and casually pinned a crime on the Shenwei army soldiers present, all the Shenwei army soldiers here would suffer terrible misfortune.

Perhaps before Sima Lang awoke, they had already been stripped of all military ranks and merits, demoted to criminals, and directly assigned to garrison the border of Da Zezhou.

Even if Sima Lang woke up… according to the Nine Feathers General's earlier examination, his internal condition was dire, and he might already be powerless to oppose Huo Xiong.

A cripple—the Ying Prince's mansion will not lift a finger to help a cripple.

As trusted subordinates of Sima Lang, their future prospects are extremely worrisome.

So, endure.

Enduring the searing pain on his face and the blood continually spraying from his mouth, the Nine Feathers General respectfully loosened his grip on the sword hilt, then solemnly clasped his fists and bowed to Wu Tie: 'Thank you, Marquis, may I ask if we can take Lord Sima Lang back for treatment?'

Wu Tie smiled and shook his head: 'He won't die—why are you rushing? Well, brother, guard this place; Sima Lang's arrival is inexplicable—I suspect there's something strange, something mysterious here.'

The Nine Feathers General and all the Divine Might troops' faces changed; the Nine Feathers General suddenly lifted his head and shouted angrily: 'Huo Xiong…'

Wu Tie's sleeve suddenly shot out a golden light; the Nine Refined Immortal Soldiers' Binding Immortal Rope turned into a vast golden light, wrapping around the Divine Might officers present.

The Nine Feathers General let out a long cry, then raised his longsword and slashed at the Binding Immortal Rope; simultaneously, his armor burst forth with radiant light, layer upon layer protecting his whole body.

The other Divine Might officers present also came to their senses; their eyes suddenly burst forth with boundless killing intent.

It's obvious Wu Tie won't let them off.

So… as the Divine Might troops who have long been expanding territory for the Great Jin Divine State in the frontier wilderness, constantly wandering between life and death, they will certainly not sit and wait for death—if not doing this, then not resting—what if we kill Huo Xiong?

Kill Huo Xiong, then slaughter all outsiders here.

Including Pei Feng, including the Black Phoenix Army, including Sima You, Sima Xin, Sima Hu, etc., including the 100,000 elite of the Pivot Hall who remain inactive in Sima You's camp—all non‑Divine Might personnel—kill them all!

As long as all outsiders are killed, then this battle report can be fabricated however they like.

The blame can be let Pei Feng bear…

'Bullying people too much—kill!' the Nine Feathers General let out a low shout.

The Divine Might officers present simultaneously swung their swords to slash at the incoming Binding Immortal Rope; meanwhile, their armor lit up, with vast patterns of wind, cloud, thunder, and various beasts' light and shadow flickering on the armor—magnificent and unmatched, their defensive power astonishing.

Wu Tie burst into laughter; behind him, five streams of divine light like peacock tail feathers suddenly shot out, then the five‑colored divine light swept down heavily.

All the Divine Might officers' swords, armor, and personal treasures—including the storage bracelets on their wrists, storage rings on their fingers, and even their battle robes—under a sweep of the five‑element divine light, all treasures vanished simultaneously.

Except for their undergarments, the nearly thousand Divine Might officers present stood stark naked, each foolishly rooted to the spot.

The divided Binding Immortal Rope writhed and coiled around their bodies, instantly binding them in five‑fold knots, trussed like zongzi.

At the same time it bound over a thousand people, among them over a hundred were high‑level or peak Embryonic Treasury cultivators; this Nine Refined Immortal Soldiers' Binding Immortal Rope obviously lacked sufficient suppressive power—especially when the Nine Feathers General shuddered, the light on the rope binding him flickered, and he almost broke free.

'Brother!' Wu Tie snapped his fingers at Old Iron.

Old Iron flew over, swung his heavy fist, and slammed it hard onto the Nine Feathers General's head.

One punch, and the Nine Feathers General lost consciousness.

Then Old Iron flickered, and in an instant circled the over‑thousand Divine Might officers present, delivering a punch to each that knocked them all unconscious.

In the high sky, the leader of nearly 100,000 twin‑winged dragon knights let out an angry roar, loudly calling out and leading his subordinates in a swift, all‑enveloping encirclement toward Wu Tie.

Behind Wu Tie, the five‑element divine light surged forth, instantly transforming into a radius of over a hundred li.

The five‑colored divine light merely turned and swept, and nearly 100,000 twin‑winged dragons cried out in unison, all being rolled up by the five‑element space.

With a light tremor of the innate five‑element force, nearly 100,000 ferocious, overbearing twin‑winged dragons instantly turned into wisps of azure smoke.

The dragon knights' armor, weapons, and hidden treasures were all swept clean by the five‑element divine light, not even leaving them a battle robe with the slightest defensive power.

Wu Tie rubbed his hands together, then released.

Vast black‑and‑white thunder beads, the size of soybeans, spewed from his palm, whistling as they enveloped these 100,000 dragon knights.

Boom—boom—boom!

The collision of innate yin and yang produced lightning whose power exceeded that of water‑fire clash thunder by more than a hundredfold; the tiny lightning burst exploded, and among these dragon knights, including dozens of Embryonic Treasury commanders, they were blasted to a charred mess, spitting blood.

What's worse is, it's the same as what happened earlier to Sima Lang and the others.

A strand of innate yin‑yang qi followed the lightning into their bodies; the dragon knights' bodies instantly fell into yin‑yang imbalance and five‑element disorder, twitching as they fell from the sky, and everyone's cultivation dropped by one to two levels.

Wu Tie transformed into a streak of flowing light and flew over; the several thousand tower‑ship war vessels brought by Sima Lang lost command, each hovering foolishly in midair.

The five‑element divine light danced swiftly; a sweep made a large batch of tower‑ships vanish, leaving only a large crowd of stark‑naked Divine Might officers appearing in panic in midair.

The five‑element divine light was extremely sharp; wherever it passed, vast expanses of stark‑naked officers continually appeared in the sky, while large fleets of tower‑ship war vessels disappeared without trace.

After all the tower‑ship war vessels were forcibly seized by Wu Tie, his voice echoed through the mountains and forests.

'Sima Lang colluded with rebels, plotted treason, intended to murder the Prince Cheng's heir Sima You and other clansmen, sabotaging the military's grand plan… a wolf's ambition, his heart deserves death.'

'Commander Pei Feng, quickly cooperate with the Da Zezhou army, take charge of these soldiers who were deceived and exploited, and scrutinize them strictly.'

'Don't panic, the rebel leaders have already been captured; as long as you obediently surrender, this Marquis will guarantee your safety.'

Wu Tie hovered in the air, laughing especially brightly.

Crowds of Divine Might officers looked at each other, hesitating; some soldiers clasped their hands over their heads, obediently fell from the air, and squatted on the ground per Wu Tie's order.

No armor, no weapons, no tower‑ships for transport.

All around are towering mountains and ridges, who knows how many dangerous natives lurk within… these Divine Might officers aren't stupid; if they fled into the mountains like that, they'd basically be dead.

Vast numbers of Divine Might soldiers obediently laid down their arms and surrendered; Wu Tie immediately began organizing personnel to take statements from these Divine Might officers.