Chapter 620

"Old Xiang, you Xiang family folks, are you missing a screw in your head?"

Wu Tie led a great army like dark, pressing black clouds, slowly pressing forward; nine four-spirit warships, arranged in groups of three, emitted dazzling spiritual light and hovered above the military formation to suppress it.

The army pressed the border; its terrifying aura far surpassed the pressure emitted by three or five thousand Fetal Storage Realm experts.

Ripples appeared on the skin of Xiang Tuo, Xiang Xie, and others; their inner essence-blood qi surged, but they were struck by the terrifying pressure emanating from Wu Tie's army, like wind ruffling the water's surface, causing their flesh to tremble.

"What... are you saying? Prince An Huo Xiong, how dare you insult the Xiang family?" Xiang Xie shouted hoarsely.

Wu Tie spread his hands, calmly saying: "That's the fact. You came rushing to Zhenmo City to cause trouble for me, didn't you?"

Shaking his head, Wu Tie sighed: "With your Xiang family's intelligence capabilities, you couldn't possibly not know that I've brought a great army here, could you?"

"You clearly know I bring the elite of the Invincible Army here, yet you, just a few thousand, dare to come cause trouble for me?"

"Coming to cause trouble for me would be bad enough, but you actually came in earnest to cause trouble for me… On the way, seeing women aroused lust, seeing wealth stirred evil thoughts; you turned back midway, blocked the road, and looted the good people of my Qingqiu Divine Kingdom!"

Robbery is one thing, but as far as I know, the bandits of our Qingqiu Divine Nation, the evil outlaws who guard and split the loot, even those who observe a bit of jianghu etiquette, only take money and goods, they do not harm lives, only take wealth, they do not touch women.

You bunch of Xiang family bastards, still wanting both person and wealth? You're not even as good as bandits and evil outlaws!

Wu Tie glared, eyes wide, and shouted angrily: "I've served in the army for many years, I've seen countless monsters and demons, but someone as shameless as you Xiang family is rare in a lifetime! Tell me, are you lacking a screw, and even more lacking some shame?"

Xiang Tuo, Xiang Xie and the others glared at Wu Tie with vicious hatred, their faces turning purple-red, breathing hot air from their mouths in anger.

Wu Tie's mighty army surged forward in great numbers, the five-element spirits each numbering a million, and the invincible army's regular troops equaled that amount. One hundred twenty thousand Wu tribe youths mixed among the ranks, becoming the sturdy pivot of each small formation, linked together into a vast, complete, murderous aura soaring great formation.

Moreover, over a hundred thousand giant god soldiers, their bodies entirely frosted with a dark lustre, pitch-black in hue, bearing small javelins on their backs and gripping long spears in hand, their eyes flickering with eerie red light, mixed in the army in groups of three or five, from time to time emitting sharp, beast-like howls.

These, after being refined by Da Tie, forged from countless rare materials, the new type of giant god soldiers surpass the original giant god soldiers produced by the Ancient Weapons Bureau of the Great Jin Divine Nation in spirituality, combat awareness, combat instinct, intrinsic strength, and even the various bizarre built-in superweapons—by severalfold.

Their deep red eyes stared at Xiang Tuo and the others from afar, causing them to instinctively feel their scalps go numb and the hairs on their backs stand up involuntarily.

This is the most primal instinctive reaction of humans when encountering danger.

Inside the transport ships at the rear that Wu Tie used to load prisoners, large numbers of giant god soldiers tasked with maintaining order and safety surged out like a torrent, quickly forming battle lines on the ground; then red light sprayed from beneath their feet, they too flew into the sky, forming a skirmish line that slowly advanced toward this side.

The strongest attack of each giant god soldier is comparable to that of a Fetal Storage Realm expert.

However, each giant god soldier's survivability and combat power on the battlefield far surpass that of a Fetal Storage Realm mighty one, after all they are a bunch of metal lumps that know neither fear nor pain, and in the end can self-destruct their bodies and perish together with the enemy.

The deterrent power of a single giant god soldier on the battlefield far exceeds that of a Fetal Storage Realm expert.

In Wu Tie's current formation, there are mixed in several hundred thousand giant god soldiers.

Moreover, the giant god soldiers that rushed out from the transport ships at the rear, within several thousand large transport vessels, at least nearly a million giant god soldiers surged forth.

Xiang Tuo's temples twitched with veins, he roared with jealousy and resentment: "Prince An, how dare you use state weapons like this? These metal war puppets, they, they are all, all the treasures hidden at the bottom of the divine nation's coffers…… you, you……"

Only then did Xiang Tuo and the others realize that the Ancient Weapons Bureau had actually long fallen into Wu Tie's hands.

They felt hatred: the giant god soldiers produced by the Ancient Weapons Bureau are limited in yearly output, and they are either sent to the Demon‑Suppressing City front lines, or dispatched to the Divine Might Army for expanding territory, or stockpiled in the secret treasuries of vital organs such as the imperial capital and the Forbidden Demon Hall.

The Xiang family's commanders mainly operate on the Three Kingdoms battlefield, and that battlefield seems to have some taboo—none of the three great divine nations have stationed giant god soldiers here.

The Xiang family has long eyed these giant god soldiers, formidable weapons of the battlefield, but they have never had the opportunity or the channel to lay hands on even a bit.

Just imagine, with the Xiang family's Overlord Cauldron‑Lifting Technique, which grows stronger the more severely injured and after healing, combined with a band of fearless, exceedingly powerful giant god soldiers as allies—what a wonderful thing that would be!

Especially now that the Xiang family's troops under command and their own private armies have been wiped out, if they could obtain the over a million giant god soldiers before them…… hey!

Each giant god soldier is essentially a Fetal Storage Realm expert!

Xiang Tuo, Xiang Xie and the other elders of the Xiang family suddenly felt a jolt in their hearts, their cheek muscles twitching uncontrollably.

Not wanting to know, but thinking about it fills one with dread—Prince An 'Huo Xiong' has mastered the Ancient Weapons Bureau; as long as he has sufficient resources, he can endlessly produce giant god soldiers whose combat power rivals that of a Fetal Storage Realm expert—what a terrifying prospect!

Isn't that saying he alone is equivalent to a super‑colossal‑class line of commanders?

Previously, the Ancient Weapons Bureau was under the control of Gongyang Sanlü; Gongyang Sanlü was a civil official, not involved in military affairs, and the distribution and allocation of giant god soldiers were carried out according to the demands of the divine nation's military and the edicts of the divine emperor.

No one regarded the Ancient Weapons Bureau as particularly important, after all its annual output was still limited, not unlimited.

But look now, the Ancient Weapons Bureau is how formidable, how terrifying an office.

For the military's line of commanders, this is the most important agency under heaven.

Countless thoughts flashed through their minds; Xiang Tuo, Xiang Xie and their party looked at Wu Tie with uneasy gazes… originally they had come to cause trouble for Wu Tie because Xiang Zhao had been killed and over a hundred Xiang family youths had been captured.

But today, it's not just about causing trouble.

If they could slay Wu Tie…… if they could inherit his richly oil‑flowing Kyushu domain…… if they could seize the Ancient Weapons Bureau……

Hmm, and incidentally swallow whole the three young ladies behind him, along with their merchant association and private army.

How delightful, how delightful.

Xiang Tuo slowly flew toward Wu Tie, his breathing low and heavy; on the wound torn open by the Vermilion Bird's sword, countless granules of flesh writhed rapidly, the wound was quickly healing, and the ear and shoulder that had been chopped off grew back in just a few breaths.

The Overlord Cauldron‑Lifting Technique is a miraculous art that grows stronger the more severe the injury and after healing; thus those who cultivate it possess exuberant essence‑blood, and have an extremely potent effect on repairing injuries—on the battlefield, unless struck in a vital spot by a single blow, or beheaded, or have their heart crushed, the Xiang family's commanders are extremely difficult to fell.

Xiang Tuo took up Wu Tie's earlier rebuke of them.

"Prince An, this talk of shame is merely a trick to fool the lowly common folk…… For us high officials of the divine nation, authority, power, strength, and the family's foundation are everything's root."

"Old man, I wonder what I'm here for this time—surely Prince An already has it figured out in his mind. Hehe, I'm here to seek justice for my grandson Xiang Zhao…… and incidentally grab some money, rape a woman—what's the big deal?"

Raising his head arrogantly, Xiang Tuo sneered: "Prince An is also a veteran of leading troops in war—could it be that he has never allowed his soldiers to pillage? If not, then in the Kyushu lands of Jade Prefecture and Zhou Prefecture, thousands of households of great clans would either have been beheaded and their homes ransacked, or exiled to the frontiers, or driven from their own fiefdoms—could it all really be the work of ghosts?"

Wu Tie looked at Xiang Tuo and said in a cold voice: "Oh, you still have a bit of debating skill—not bad, not bad…… but I'm not here to argue with you."

Xiang Tuo narrowed his eyes, carefully sizing up Wu Tie: "Old man, I'm not… I'm old man, I've come to seek justice."

Wu Tie smiled, then slowly raised his right hand.

The void violently shook for a moment, above Wu Tie's military formation behind him clouds and winds shifted, a towering ten-thousand-zhang hazy phantom silently appeared; this giant figure stepped on two dragons, each arm coiled with a flood dragon, each earlobe biting a green and a yellow great serpent, behind it faintly visible the five elements' power rolling, the rich essence-blood aura like mellow old wine, surged outward in all directions.

This military formation is one of the several large formations commonly used by General Wu Tie, combined with the Wu family's secret battle formations, and after a few modifications by himself, it was forged.

No one expected that the killing-qi military spirit condensed from this formation would turn into such an image resembling the ancient barbaric deities of legend, and its empowering effect on the formation, the commander, and the troops within the formation far surpasses those of the standard military formations.

A low growl issued from the giant's phantom, the giant opened its maw, and a Blood Light burst forth, falling upon Wu Tie.

Wu Tie's aura suddenly grew strong; originally his aura was like a campfire, already bright and scorching, this Blood Light was like pouring a bucket of fuel onto the fire, and in an instant the campfire swelled to several times, then dozens of times its size.

Wu Tie's body emitted a thunderous roar, his frame rose segment by segment with a crack crack crack, quickly swelling to around a thousand zhang; then Wu Tie took a breath, forcibly compressing the power within, his body gradually shrank, slowly returning to a height of around three zhang.

But his aura remained fixed at about fifty times stronger than before.

He had behind him a military formation formed by five million invincible troops; now it was only a formation formed by five or six hundred thousand invincible troops, and pouring the mana of the officers and soldiers who formed the formation, as well as the heaven-and-earth primordial energy drawn by the formation, into Wu Tie's body produced such a terrifying amplification.

Wu Tie's whole body emanated a terrifying aura like that of a primeval demon beast, and he hooked his fingers at Xiang Tuo: 'I also feel that whoever has the bigger fist is the boss… You Xiang family, haven't you always acted this way? Come, come, come, let's exchange a few moves with me!'

Xiang Tuo was intimidated.

Xiang Xie was intimidated.

Xiang Bao and the other young men of the Xiang family were all intimidated.

Although the Xiang family's commanders were domineering and tyrannical, they were truly not stupid; if they were stupid, they would not have repeatedly seen their own troops wiped out while they themselves always managed to break out of the enemy's heavy encirclement.

Wu Tie actually had the shamelessness to use a great army formation against them… Unless their heads were truly addled, who would dare to fight Wu Tie at this moment?

Xiang Xie stepped forward two paces in a fury, his voice ringing with righteous indignation as he shouted: 'Prince An, do you still have a shred of the honor of a military family? If you are a true man, then let me and my brothers duel one-on-one, decide who is superior… Reason lies in the fist—let's see whose fist is harder and heavier!'

At this moment, Wu Tie, towering over three zhang high, looked down on Xiang Xie with a sneering grin: 'Single combat? Do you think I'm stupid? A military family? I come from a military household; a military household concerns itself with how to survive better on the battlefield, and the honor of a military family has nothing to do with me—not even the slightest bit!'

'Single combat? With you? Pah… Don't even look at what status you have and what status I have!'

'I am the Prince An appointed by His Majesty, the Prince An who holds dominion over the Nine Provinces… Under my command are hundreds of millions of common folk and countless brave troops… I have so many people behind me, and such a great military formation… Would I engage in single combat with you bunch of idiots?'

Wu Tie waved his hand forward: 'Beat them, don't kill them, capture them alive and hang them up!'

Wu Jin, Wu Yin, Wu Tong and the others shouted in unison; in the high sky, the towering giant figure tens of thousands of zhang high suddenly let out a loud roar, and blood light spilled across the heavens as the killing qi and blood qi from the formation surged into the bodies of Wu Jin and the other Wu clan youths.

Wu Tie's own strength was already near-divine, so the massive formation of hundreds of thousands of soldiers only gave him a fiftyfold amplification.

Wu Jin and his companions were different; though they were top-tier combatants in the Womb Storage realm, their strength still paled greatly compared to Wu Tie's, and with the formation's separate bolstering, their aura surged upward in leaps, instantly raising the aura of thousands of Wu clan youths more than tenfold.

A low shout rang out; Wu Tie charged ahead first, and Wu Jin and the other Wu clan youths, each several zhang tall, followed close behind, instantly crashing into the stunned ranks of the Xiang family.

'Unscrupulous!' Xiang Bao shouted hoarsely: 'Shameless… fighting with a formation… if you've got guts, fight me one-on-one!'

Wu Tie charged at Xiang Tuo, who raised a heavy tortoise-shell shield before him.

This was a spiritual weapon emanating a faint primordial aura, its defensive power at least ten times that of an ordinary heaven-path divine weapon shield.

Wu Tie let out a low roar and slammed a fist into this shield, which was one chi thick and eight chi square. With his own immense strength plus the fiftyfold amplification, the blow was terrifying like a meteor striking the earth, shattering the tortoise-shell shield to pieces.

Xiang Tuo, who had likewise employed a secret method to forcibly boost his strength, had utterly no power to resist Wu Tie's punch.

Xiang Tuo's cultivation was extremely strong; in the army he was considered a top-tier warrior, his cultivation approaching the Divine Clarity realm, to the point that one could say he had already stepped half a foot into the Divine Clarity realm.

But Wu Tie himself possessed strength comparable to a divine being, and with the formation's massive amplification, his current power was at least a hundred times greater than Xiang Tuo's.

A hundredfold power difference is like a frenzied rhinoceros charging at a tiny rabbit…

Xiang Tuo only had time to cross his arms in front of his chest when Wu Tie's punch came down, shattering his arms completely and blowing them apart.

Wu Tie's fist lightly, gently tapped Xiang Tuo's chest, and he spat blood, his body flying backward at high speed, directly slamming into the dozens of juniors behind him, breaking their bones and tendons, each spitting blood as they fell from the air.

Using a formation composed of several million troops to besiege a few thousand people.

In the history of the former Divine State of Great Jin and now the Divine State of Qing Qiu, this is the sole instance among countless brawls of military families.

Wu Tie could be said to have done something never before done since the creation of heaven and earth.

Thus, in just a dozen breaths, all the Xiang clan members vomited blood and collapsed, being captured alive by Wu Tie's great army.

Half an hour later, thousands of poles several hundred zhang long were erected on the city walls of the Demon-Suppressing Army; the thousands of Xiang family members stripped naked hung there like fish caught on a line, swaying gently in the breeze...