Chapter 337: One sword once blocked a million troops (Seeking monthly tickets)

Lingxiao City.

Three thousand Black Armor Army soldiers guarding the city were now standing by on the sea.

In peacetime, they were the Black Armor Guards who maintained order in Lingxiao City.

In wartime, they were the Black Armor Army guarding Lingxiao City.

Besides the three thousand Black Armor Army soldiers, there were also many Daliang martial artists who spontaneously went to the pier to accept the City Lord's command.

Several miles away from the Black Armor Army, many martial artists from other countries were also gathered.

"Do you think Lingxiao City can hold out this time?"

"It's a bit difficult. The Zheng Kingdom came prepared. It is said that fifty thousand martial artists were dispatched, and there are several First-Rank martial artists. In contrast, Lingxiao City only has ten thousand martial artists. The gap in numbers is too large."

"Not necessarily. After all, this is Daliang's territory, and the Daliang court will definitely send martial artists to support."

"I'm afraid that distant water cannot quench near thirst. The attack launched by the Zheng Kingdom was too sudden, and it took advantage of the strong winds at sea these past few days to come before the sea ban period of Lingxiao City. Daliang had no prior awareness."

"Even if it wasn't a surprise attack, it would be difficult for Daliang to support Lingxiao City."

In the crowd, an old man stroked his beard, his eyes filled with profound meaning.

"Senior, what does this mean?"

Someone on the side asked for advice. The old man said in a deep voice: "Haven't you noticed that among us, there are no martial artists from the Han Kingdom, or rather, there are no martial artists from the Han Kingdom in the entire Lingxiao City."

As soon as the old man said this, several people on the scene reacted. It was true that there were no Han Kingdom martial artists in Lingxiao City.

"The Han Kingdom was at odds with Daliang because of the Northern Border demon race some time ago. Although they didn't tear their faces off, they were at the point of swords drawn and bows bent. It's normal for Han Kingdom martial artists to leave Lingxiao City, right?"

"If it were just swords drawn and bows bent, would Han Kingdom martial artists need to leave Lingxiao City entirely?"

The old man's eyes held a look of contempt, sweeping over the people who questioned his words: "Han Kingdom martial artists all left, and Zheng Kingdom martial artists are the same. This is by no means a coincidence."

"What if it is a coincidence?"

"There is no 'what if.' I will only say one thing: the Zheng Kingdom alone would not dare to go to war with Daliang."

All the martial artists from other countries on the scene showed recognition when they heard this. It was they who had ignored it earlier.

Regardless of whether the Han Kingdom had martial artists in Lingxiao City or why they left, there could be various reasons to explain it. But the Zheng Kingdom daring to declare war on Daliang would be absolutely impossible without the Han Kingdom behind it.

"So this is a war between three countries?"

Han Kingdom, Daliang, Zheng Kingdom... With these three countries at war, it would be difficult for the other countries to stay out of it.

And at this moment, among these crowds, there were also some figures exchanging glances. They were spies from various countries. The Zheng Kingdom launched an attack on Lingxiao City, so they had to watch this battle carefully and pass the situation back to their own countries, letting the lords above judge the trend of this battle and what choices their own countries should make.

Dong, dong, dong!

On the walls of Lingxiao City, drums resounded, and in the distance, on the sea, one could vaguely see the ferocious monster totems hanging on the flags of the Zheng State warships.

"They're here!"

The martial artists from other countries who were watching also had a commotion, and the Black Armor Army on the water had already lined up, emitting a murderous intent.

On the city wall, one could clearly see the warships emerging on the horizon. The black demon Qi condensed into dark clouds that covered the sky and sun, like black clouds rolling toward Lingxiao City.

The black clouds pressed down on the city, and the city was about to be destroyed!

"Nock arrows!"

A voice came from the city wall. Giant crossbows were set up on the city wall. Crossbow arrows as thick as an adult man's waist were pulled onto the bowstrings by several martial artists and aimed at the distance of the sea surface.

A hundred breaths, two hundred breaths...

The black clouds began to permeate near the sea, also shrouding the Zheng Kingdom's warships.

Looking from afar, one could only see the demon Qi condensed by the black clouds between the sea and sky rolling toward Lingxiao City.

"Release arrows!"

On the city wall, an order was given.

Dozens of crossbows made a whistling sound, and all the crossbow arrows turned into black light and shot toward the black clouds hundreds of zhang away.

The crossbow arrows broke through the black clouds, causing the black clouds to roll, and also slowing down the speed of the black clouds' spread, not as fast as before.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

One wave, two waves, three waves...

Three waves of crossbow arrows were shot, and this time the black clouds only spread less than ten zhang.

On the city wall of Lingxiao City, three old men stood together. All three were First-Rank martial artists.

Lingxiao City had First-Rank martial artists, and there was far more than just the City Lord of Lingxiao City.

"The Zheng Kingdom is using demon Qi to block the crossbow arrows. I'm afraid the crossbow arrows won't cause much damage to them."

Looking at the rolling black clouds on the sea, an old man frowned. Demon Qi could corrode many items, including crossbow arrows.

"Don't be in a hurry, look at Junior Brother Hou."

Lingxiao Wu Yuan, the Lingxiao Hall on the steps. At this moment, the palace gate opened. Hou Zhan Tian and several vice-principals stood in the center of the hall, and outside were the academy instructors and disciples.

Everyone's expression was extremely solemn. The ten thousand stars of the star formation above their heads began to flow slowly, and strands of golden light began to gather.

The disciples of the Lingxiao Wu Yuan didn't go to the battlefield because they had a more important task: to draw the power of Lingxiao and break the demon Qi black clouds.

Boom!

A quarter of an hour later, the stars flowing on the dome suddenly froze. The next moment, a golden light shot from above the hall toward the sky.

On the sea, the black clouds condensed by demon Qi were like ink poured over the sky, rolling and vaguely revealing the outline of distorted beast faces.

The next moment, golden light appeared, like a sharp sword, tearing open the black clouds. The edges of the torn black clouds glowed with crimson halos, and the cracks spread rapidly like spider webs. Wherever the golden light passed, the black clouds melted instantly.

"It's the power of Lingxiao!"

The martial artists from other countries watching recognized the golden light. The most attention-grabbing thing in the entire Lingxiao City was the Lingxiao Wu Yuan, and the Lingxiao power of the Lingxiao Wu Yuan was the treasure of the academy, familiar to martial artists of various countries.

The black clouds collapsed and dissipated, revealing the true appearance of the Zheng Kingdom's warships on the sea. When they saw the true appearance of the Zheng Kingdom's warships, many martial artists gasped.

At the very front of the Zheng Kingdom's warships, dozens of warships had already been dismantled and scattered. Many corpses were floating on the sea, but although these corpses were human-shaped, they had various scales and hair different from humans on their bodies.

"These are the demonized martial artists of the Zheng Kingdom."

The Zheng Kingdom, a country that colluded with the demon race, had martial artists who would absorb the demon race's bloodline. But not every martial artist could successfully absorb the demon race's bloodline. Some martial artists would be polluted by demon Qi when absorbing the demon race's bloodline, and finally turn into killing martial artists without reason.

For this type of martial artist, other countries called them demonized martial artists.

Although dozens of warships were destroyed and hundreds of demonized martial artists lost their lives under the crossbow arrows, compared to the huge demonized martial artist army of the Zheng Kingdom at this moment, the casualties were not even one-tenth.

Woo~

In the middle of the warships, a strange sound of demon beasts sounded. These demonized martial artists at the front seemed to hear the horn of charge, their eyes red, and they rushed toward Lingxiao City crazily.

Clearly, the Zheng Kingdom discovered that they couldn't use demon Qi to approach Lingxiao City, so they chose this crazy way of attacking the city.

Swish, swish, swish!

More crossbow arrows poured down from the city wall. These charging warships were shot down and exploded, but the demonized martial artists on the ships, except for those who turned into powder in the explosion, jumped off the ships one after another, actually charging forward regardless of their lives under the crossbow arrows.

"Too crazy!"

"The Zheng Kingdom's demonized martial artists are completely disregarding their lives."

The martial artists from other countries watching, looking at these half-human, half-demon Zheng Kingdom demonized martial artists, also had a look of palpitations in their hearts. These demonized martial artists had completely nothing to do with humans anymore. Their skin peeled off piece by piece like snake skin, and their bodies were half scales and half flesh.

Their nails grew long, several inches long, and their spines protruded section by section. From the appearance, they were no different from demon beasts.

After paying the price of nearly a thousand corpses, these demonized martial artists finally broke through the long spear formation of the Black Armor Army. However, the Black Armor Army didn't have any panic. This situation was within their expectations, and they held their spears to meet the attack one after another.

Next, it was the real battle.

The Black Armor Army, including other martial artists of Daliang, were now below this city wall, starting to fight with the Zheng Kingdom martial artists.

Blood began to cover the ground and kept flowing toward the sea below.

At the same time, the main force of the Zheng Kingdom's warships was now only a hundred zhang away from Lingxiao City. On a certain warship, a flood dragon roared and rose, and all the surrounding sea surfaces surged crazily at this moment.

"Is this to flood the city with water? Does the Zheng Kingdom not care about the lives of these demonized martial artists?"

"Demonized martial artists are cannon fodder in the eyes of the Zheng Kingdom. If they die, they die. If they can flood Lingxiao City, then the Zheng Kingdom wins."

Just as this flood dragon was stirring up the wind and waves on the sea surface, condensing sea waves, on the city wall of Lingxiao City, a black light shot out. An old man with white hair stepped into the air, holding a long saber, and slashed toward the flood dragon from the air.

Boom!

The sea waves were slashed by the saber light and fell back to the sea surface. The flood dragon let out a heaven-shaking roar, and giant waves appeared again below, colliding with the saber light.

The terrifying energy vented, and the water waves turned into water vapor, covering this area. Everyone watching could only hear the roars that came out from time to time.

The battle between the old man and the flood dragon opened the real prelude to this battle. Above the city wall, nearly a thousand Mid-Rank martial artists, including dozens of Upper-Rank martial artists, also stepped into the air at this moment. They didn't bother with the demonized martial artists below but met the normal martial artists of the Zheng Kingdom.

Kill!

In the Zheng Kingdom's warships, a cold voice came out. Figures also flew out from the warships, and both sides fought directly in mid-air.

The entire sea surface, countless energy vented, and figures fell from time to time.

At the same time, the City Lord of Lingxiao City and another old man also fought with two First-Rank martial artists of the Zheng Kingdom. The aftermath of the battle between the two sides made the sea surface roar with giant waves from time to time.

"It's reached a white-hot stage. Daliang's side still has fewer martial artists."

The martial artists watching saw the tragedy on the battlefield and also had a look of palpitations. Although the Zheng Kingdom hadn't been able to advance yet, the number of fallen people among Daliang's Black Armor Army and other martial artists was constantly increasing. Of course, the same was true for the Zheng Kingdom. But the key was that the Zheng Kingdom had gathered fifty thousand troops this time, while Lingxiao City only had ten thousand martial artists. The Zheng Kingdom could constantly supplement, but Daliang had no martial artists to supplement. As time went on, the final outcome would be the same.

In the center of the Zheng Kingdom's warships, a man in a black robe sneered: "Taking Lingxiao City will be a huge blow to Daliang's morale."

"Do it, don't waste time. Take Lingxiao City early."

Another old man on the side said. If this continued, although they could exhaust the defensive power of Lingxiao City, they would also have to pay a huge loss. Those demonized martial artists could die if they died, but other martial artists were the foundation of their Zheng Kingdom and also the children of various families in the country. If there were too many casualties, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the various families after returning to the country.

"Hmm."

The man in the black robe agreed. He held a red chain in his hand. The next moment, he pulled the chain upward. The sea surface beneath the chain suddenly surged, and in an instant, it was a hundred zhang high. When the sea surface rose, a terrifying monster that made countless martial artists tremble appeared.

This was a meat-tumor creature condensed from countless eyeballs. Every eyeball was filled with strange blue light, and its body flowed like liquid.

"Thousand-Eye Ghost Mother, this kind of sea demon that only exists in the deep sea has also appeared."

"Lingxiao City is completely gone."

Seeing this huge eight-clawed sea demon, the martial artists from other countries had a look of horror. The Zheng Kingdom didn't collude with the sea demons, and now even the sea demons had appeared, which meant that the sea demons had also reached an agreement with the Zheng Kingdom.

Lingxiao City, which was already at a disadvantage in numbers, was bound to fail.

The City Lord of Lingxiao City, who was fighting with the Zheng Kingdom's First-Rank martial artist, saw the appearance of the eight-clawed sea demon king and immediately roared: "Everyone retreat into the city and activate the city protection formation."

The Daliang martial artists and Black Armor Army who received the order retreated immediately, but they were still orderly. 【337-1

"The Sea Monsters have also joined the war?"

"Lingxiao City is finished."

Seeing this giant eight-clawed sea monster, the martial artists from other countries had looks of horror on their faces. The Zheng State had not colluded with the sea monsters, but now that even the sea monsters had appeared, it meant the sea monsters had also reached an agreement with the Zheng State.

Lingxiao City, already at a disadvantage in numbers, was now doomed to defeat.

The City Lord of Lingxiao City, who was fighting a First-Rank martial artist from the Zheng State, saw the Eight-Clawed Sea Monster King appear and immediately roared: "Everyone retreat into the city and activate the city-protecting formation."

The Great Liang martial artists and the Black Armor Army who received the order immediately retreated, but they still did so in an orderly fashion.

At the same time, in several areas within Lingxiao City, several stone tablets simultaneously erupted with dazzling golden light, gathering above Lingxiao City and then descending. Those Zheng State martial artists who were pursuing the Great Liang martial artists were instantly turned into dust the moment the golden light fell.

Lingxiao Wu Yuan.

Hou Zhan Tian felt the golden light above his head and looked at all the instructors and disciples present.

"The formation is activated; Lingxiao City has reached the moment of life and death. You are all part of Lingxiao Wu Yuan, and also part of Lingxiao City. Follow me to the city walls."

"Yes!"

Meng Xing and the other disciples shouted in unison, and the next moment they flew together from Lingxiao Wu Yuan toward the city gates.

Lingxiao City prohibits martial artists from flying, but at this moment, they could not care about that. The Lingxiao City formation requires Lingxiao energy to maintain, and looking at the entire Lingxiao City, no one understands Lingxiao energy better than them.

Outside Lingxiao City, only the battles of the First-Rank powerhouses remained.

The black-robed man looked at the golden light above Lingxiao City and let out a sinister laugh: "Relying on this turtle shell to protect Lingxiao City is a fool's dream."

Boom!

The Eight-Clawed Sea Monster King's massive body, now carrying towering waves, crashed toward the walls of Lingxiao City.

The terrifying waves and those massive tentacles slapped against the golden light, causing it to instantly cave in by several yards. Many martial artists on the city walls were constantly injecting energy into a stone tablet, and with this crash from the Eight-Clawed Sea Monster King, their faces all turned pale.

Slap, slap, slap!

The Monster King's impacts were like a sudden rain, one after another. Many martial artists in front of the stone tablets trembled, and blood spilled from the corners of their mouths.

"Fellow Senior Brothers, let us do it!"

Seeing that these martial artists were about to be unable to hold on, the instructors of Lingxiao Wu Yuan finally arrived a step ahead and immediately replaced these martial artists. These martial artists who were maintaining the formation had also come out of Lingxiao Wu Yuan and knew that this was not the time to be stubborn, so they all gave up their positions.

"Just a deathbed struggle."

The black-robed man looked at the scene on the Lingxiao City walls from afar. The red iron chain in his hand pulled again, the sea level rose once more, and water waves rolled up like mountains. When the water waves fell, they revealed a terrifying monster that made countless martial artists tremble with fear.

This was a tumor-like creature formed from countless eyeballs, each eyeball filled with an eerie blue light, and its body flowed like liquid.

"The Thousand-Eyed Ghost Mother—this kind of Sea Monster King that only exists in the deep sea has actually appeared."

"Lingxiao City is completely finished."

With two Sea Monster Kings, Lingxiao City had no First-Rank martial artists to contend with them. Even with the city-protecting formation, they could not hold out for long.

Seeing these two Sea Monster Kings, Meng Xing, who was on the city wall, also had a look of despair in his eyes. Could it be that Lingxiao City really could not be saved?

"Meng Xing, you ten or so people leave from another city gate."

The voice of a Vice Dean of Lingxiao Wu Yuan came. Meng Xing was stunned; he thought of the instructions the Dean had given him and the other nine disciples half an hour ago.

If Lingxiao City could not be held, the ten of them were to leave.

It was not that the Dean gave them special treatment, but because they represented the hope of Lingxiao Wu Yuan. As long as they were still there, there would still be a chance to rebuild Lingxiao Wu Yuan in the future.

Now that the Vice Dean said this, it meant he had already tacitly accepted that Lingxiao City could not be held.

"Dean, disciple..."

Meng Xing really did not want to say the word "retreat." Just as he found it difficult to speak, a burst of cheers suddenly erupted from the city wall. Meng Xing was stunned, and then his gaze immediately looked toward the sea.

The tentacles of the Eight-Clawed Sea Monster were breaking inch by inch, and it was wailing and roaring on the sea surface.

This caused the battlefield to fall into an eerie silence.

Everyone's eyes turned to a figure quietly walking from the northern sea area.

"This sword is named Lingxiao."

These four plain words caused the battlefield to fall into an eerie silence.

"Lin Lin Shixiong Pei!"

"It's Lin Lin Shixiong Pei!"

The next moment, earth-shaking cheers erupted again.

For martial artists who had been in Lingxiao City for a long time, especially those who had come out of Lingxiao Wu Yuan, there was one name they would always remember in their minds. Even though Lin Chen's rise had recently overshadowed that person's figure, in their hearts, that person was still the strongest.

Pei Qingming, Lin Lin Shixiong Pei.

"Pei Qingming!"

The black-robed man at the center of the warship saw Pei Qingming appear, and his expression also turned ugly.

"Isn't it said that this person is only at the Second-Rank stage, with strength comparable to the First-Rank? Why does this sword have such power?" The old man beside him also had a look of horror in his eyes.

Just now, they only saw thousands of sword qi whistling over, like falling stars, severing the tentacles of the Eight-Clawed Monster King.

"The rumors are false. This Pei Qingming hid his strength; he has long been a First-Rank martial artist, and not an ordinary First-Rank martial artist at that," the black-robed man said in a low voice.

In front of Lingxiao City, Pei Qingming's figure had not yet arrived, but he pointed his two fingers together like a sword peak. Countless sword qi were released simultaneously, and the many Zheng State martial artist warships that had approached Lingxiao City were turned into dust in this rain of swords, and one Zheng State martial artist after another fell onto the sea surface.

"Retreat!"

Seeing this scene, the black-robed man's expression changed instantly. He pulled the chain in his hand, and the two Sea Monster Kings also retreated at the first opportunity, wanting to escape back under the water.

"Lingxiao City is not a place where you can come and go as you please."

Pei Qingming's mouth curled up slightly, and the long sword on his back was unsheathed. Everyone saw a golden sword light fill their vision, slashing toward the Eight-Clawed Monster King.

The Eight-Clawed Monster King had already escaped under the water, but three breaths later, when they saw the sea surface surging with patches of foul-smelling blood, all the martial artists from other countries watching knew that even if this Eight-Clawed Monster King was not dead, it must be seriously injured.

However, ten breaths later, when they saw the massive body of the Eight-Clawed Monster King floating on the sea surface, everyone's eyes toward Pei Qingming changed.

The Lingxiao City martial artists were encouraged, the martial artists from other countries watching the battle were shocked, and in the eyes of the Zheng State martial artists, it was horror.

At this moment, what formation, what military orders... these Zheng State martial artists ignored them all. They frantically turned their warships, wanting to escape. The Zheng State monarch was just a figurehead; these martial artists were loyal to their respective families.

If there was profit to be made, they could naturally cooperate with the monarch's orders, but facing Pei Qingming, they were completely terrified.

This person could not be defeated by human power.

"In the past, there was a saying in the martial arts world that one First-Rank martial artist is equivalent to three thousand ranked martial artists, but now it seems this saying needs to change. An ordinary First-Rank martial artist can withstand three thousand ranked martial artists, but a First-Rank martial artist like Pei Qingming can withstand an army of tens of thousands."

Under Pei Qingming's sword qi, they saw the Zheng State martial artists' battlefield being turned into dust ship by ship like tofu. These Zheng State martial artists were probably hating themselves for not having grown a few more legs to run faster.

This was truly one man and one sword, withstanding tens of thousands of Zheng State martial artists.

"The Zheng State is truly trash. Tens of thousands of martial artists were actually scared away by one person. I don't believe Pei Qingming can really kill tens of thousands of martial artists alone; perhaps he will be exhausted soon."

"If it were martial artists from the Liang State army, perhaps they wouldn't retreat, but Zheng State martial artists... once they are scared out of their wits, there is no such thing as military orders being like mountains."

Some martial artists spoke with disdain. Looking at the Nine States, perhaps only the Liang State could achieve unity from top to bottom.

It was not because the Liang State martial artists were not afraid of death, but because the humiliation of the country being weak in the past was deeply engraved in the heart of every Liang State martial artist.

"I will retreat first."

The black-robed man ignored the old man beside him, and his figure jumped directly into the water and disappeared.

The Zheng State's morale was gone, and defeat was certain. The Sea Clan had already lost one Sea Monster King and could not possibly accompany the Zheng State to their deaths.

One hour later.

The sea was filled with blood and floating corpses, and the Lingxiao City martial artists also stopped their pursuit of the Zheng State martial artists.

"Of the fifty thousand martial artists, at least half died. I'm afraid the Zheng State has suffered a major blow to its vitality in this battle."

The spies from various countries hiding among the martial artists of other countries looked at the figure with the sword on his back standing on the city wall, with horror in their eyes. They had to send this news back to their own countries as soon as possible, lest their monarchs make the wrong choice.

PS: Seeking monthly votes.

(End of chapter)