Chapter 254: 247 A Comeback

Black Qi permeated the air, and a massive skeleton rose from the ground with a rumbling sound, as if a mountain were being lifted.

The skull emerged first, followed by the neck, shoulder blades, spine, and ribs; by the time the upper body had risen from the earth, it had grown to an unreachable height.

The giant's skull alone was several zhang high, its two eye sockets empty and hollow, looking pitch-black and bottomless. A hole opened at the top of the massive, protruding frontal bone, as if a third eye had once grown there.

This was by no means an imagined phantom, nor was it a toy pieced together from the bone fragments beneath the city walls; it was the genuine skeleton of some creature, merely exceptionally large, beyond human imagination. It was covered in soil and rotting grass leaves, caked in the dust of ages, already a relic whose past could no longer be traced.

However, when the Shangqing's illusory Spirit Image passed through the skeleton and entered it, the skull and eye sockets began to glow dimly, as if infused with a soul.

Jiang Shenyi watched from the air, his breathing somewhat rapid: "This is..."

"It is a Heavenly Demon Bone." Feng Zhilie, being more experienced, judged it immediately: "The Tianmo Hundred Clans have diverse forms, and I cannot recognize them all, but this is likely the skeleton of some invading Heavenly Demon from the past, refined by him into a Spirit Servant. This intensity... it will do."

This skeleton was clearly a dead object, yet it still retained layers of the might it had possessed in life. Once its skull was lit, that aura climbed incessantly, almost condensing into a physical entity.

That was different from the suppression of a soul; it was an overflow of power. When powerful strength reaches a certain limit, it naturally forms an irresistible aura.

Jiang Shenyi also felt waves of oppression from high above, his posture involuntarily adjusting to a defensive stance. Feng Zhilie suddenly laughed: "I don't think it's a big problem."

Jiang Shenyi raised an eyebrow. Feng Zhilie gripped the bow backhanded, her figure continuing to fade as before, and said: "No matter how fierce this demon is, he is dead now, so what is there to fear? You and I, working together with one heart, use our greatest strength to shoot through it with one arrow!"

Jiang Shenyi stared at the bow and suddenly reached out to pull the girl in red, but she was already a phantom, and his hand could only pass through her figure to grip the bow. He pulled the bow up, hung it on his wing, and sneered: "Stop joking, are you looking down on me?"

The wing of wind was like a nimble hand, hanging the bow along with the girl's phantom as if it were an ornament. Jiang Shenyi casually pulled, drawing a slender bolt of lightning from his Thunder Wing; several strands of lightning twisted together to form a trident of boiling lightning.

"Since when have I, Jiang Shenyi, used a bow and arrow? To deal with an enemy, one should use thunder and a spear! I will pierce this despicable wretch with my own hands!"

Having said this, he smiled lightly again and whispered: "Recently, my Junior Brother has been busy, and the opportunities for battle have increased; it feels truly wonderful. It has been a long time since I had a hearty, unbridled fight—today should be my turn, right?"

As he spoke, Heavenly Gang swirled around Jiang Shenyi, and threads of Heavenly Thunder mixed into the Gang Qi, forming a brilliant blue Heavenly Gang. The Gang Qi then wrapped around the lightning trident; the trident suddenly elongated, its thunder light intensifying. His figure was enveloped by the thunder light, making it impossible to distinguish where the human form ended and the lightning began.

Feng Zhilie had no choice but to withdraw from the bow and return to the girl's Spirit Image, calling out: "Hey, what are you doing? Don't you go acting recklessly! That Heavenly Demon Bone has been refined by him for many years; it is no worse than a living Heavenly Demon, and its all-around defense is even superior. Why are young people so fond of playing the hero? There is clearly a simple way."

"Rest a while, old woman." Jiang Shenyi gritted his teeth and smiled, "This is no longer your era. Say less and conserve your Spirit; once I force the method of eternal Spirit Image preservation out of this thing's mouth, you might even live to be a hundred. Leave this to me."

He looked up, the trident stabbing toward the sky as if to summon the lightning from above:

"Ten Thousand Falling Thunders!"

On the other side, that injured Highness was quietly moving through the forest.

The arrow from just a moment ago had not only destroyed the bone carriage but had also grazed the Highness's body, causing some injuries, but the wounds were not serious, and the Spirit Image had been preserved intact. As a Spirit Official burdened with the inheritance of supreme arts, he actually still had the strength to fight, and even possessed considerable power; if he fought side-by-side with the Shangqing, it would be enough to change the local balance of power.

But the Highness did not join the battle; instead, he immediately withdrew from the battlefield. This was not because he was cowardly, but because it had been planned this way from the start.

Today's battlefield was not a spur-of-the-moment mobilization, but a calculated military plan. Everyone had their own duties, and part of the deployment was when and how his forces would be committed to the battlefield.

Yes, he not only had his own strength, but he also held a portion of fresh troops in his hands. That was the force he had brought from Kungang to Yunzhou, and also the force he had transferred from their headquarters after experiencing failure in Kungang—a Black Armor Army.

It was precisely because of this Black Armor Army that the Shangqing dared to recklessly mobilize the cannon fodder beneath the Ancient Battlefield to besiege the city and throw away the bones of this cannon fodder at will.

Because the Black Armor Army was the most vital reserve, a force capable of delivering the final blow in the later stages of the campaign, while those skeletons on the front lines were merely consumables. That Black Armor Army was waiting in a valley in Lingzhou, near Yunzhou, waiting for the Highness's remaining Profound Water Order to shift the heavens and earth and move them onto the battlefield.

When the time came, their two deepest hidden cards would be flipped over simultaneously. One was the Heavenly Demon Bone, ten times fiercer than a Fierce Beast, capable of crushing city walls with absolute power; the other was the Black Armor Army, which would follow up to fully occupy the city and take over city affairs. With the two working in tandem, this city could be taken.

However, when Jiang Shenyi descended from the sky and shot through the bone war chariot, and when the Hundred Spirit Cannon was extinguished by the Sword Light Cannon on the city wall, the battle situation became completely different from what had been planned.

At that time, unlike the Shangqing whose physical body had been killed, the Highness had had the opportunity to activate the Profound Water Order then and there to bring the Black Armor Army to the battlefield. If the Black Armor army had appeared out of thin air, they could have used their Black Armor battle aura to instantly counter-kill; even without deploying the Heavenly Demon Bone, it would have been a thousand against one. No matter how powerful Jiang Shenyi was, he would have at most fled in a sorry state.

But the person who had to make the decision at that moment was this Highness, and in that instant, he had already realized:

It was possible, but unnecessary.

The city wall had not fallen, the city defenses of Xun City had no flaws, and with the suppression of the Array above Xun City, no outside Spirit Official could enter the city. The Black Armor Army could force an attack on the city head-on, but they could not win quickly; they could only advance using traditional siege methods.

However, was there that much time?

Xun City was not an isolated city; it had only become one temporarily because of the descent of the Demon Cave. Now was the time when the city was at its most empty, but as soon as the news went out, reinforcements from other parts of Yunzhou would arrive immediately. Never mind a large army; if even one or two Inspector Sword Heroes came, the army wouldn't even be able to enter the city gates. By then, trapped in the hinterlands of Yunzhou, surrounded on all sides by the Gaoyuan Marquis's people, wouldn't they be fish on a chopping block?

Although they had only intended to steal the city at the beginning and had no intention of a forced assault, nor did they plan to occupy it for long—they intended to take advantage of the occupation of Xun City to do one far-reaching major event and then immediately withdraw—that premise required a stable occupation of Xun City for a period of time, to truly and firmly hold Xun City in their hands.

But now, the plan had been thwarted again and again, and there was no hope left; why throw good money after bad?

As a young man who had learned from his mistakes, that Highness had no interest in a desperate comeback.

He decided almost immediately not to commit the Black Armor Army, and he himself quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

As for the Shangqing—he was already dead, so why bother with him?

While fleeing through the forest, the Highness looked back from afar and saw that Heavenly Demon skeleton rising slowly, almost obscuring the morning Sunlight. He couldn't help but shake his head, feeling it was a waste, but immediately felt relieved—that was a Spirit Servant refined by the Shangqing himself, and no one else could drive it, so there was no need to save it; let it have a spectacular curtain call along with the Shangqing.

As for the Highness himself, there were more things to do. He still had a grand plan in Yunzhou, a grand plan concerning the life and death of their Great Wei; there was no need to waste too much time on a mere minor battlefield.

After all, he was just passing through, wasn't he?

He didn't know how long he had run in one breath; when he looked back, he could no longer see Xun City, only the top of that skeleton's head, with thunder light flashing all around it. A glance showed a vast expanse of azure; clearly, the battle was very intense.

It seemed the Demon Bone had pinned down the force that had launched the surprise attack. He was safe here.

Then...

"Profound Water Order!"

Space twisted, and the teleportation vortex reappeared.

However, this vortex was not large, only as tall as a person, just enough for him to squeeze through. This was not the limit of the Profound Water Order, but a pre-selected signal. If everything were in order and he needed to bring an army through, he would open a larger, wider exit; opening only a small exit meant that he did not want the army to come over, but that he was going over.

Now that he had suffered another setback, the route here at Xun City was cut off; it was impossible to continue north alone from here. He had to rendezvous with the Black Armor Army and then designate the next step of the plan.

"Hmm?"

Someone in the sky suddenly gave a light sound of surprise.

The Highness looked back and saw a strange carriage rushing over from the direction where the sun was rising. The morning Sunlight was already beginning to be blinding; he couldn't see clearly what kind of carriage it was for a moment, only feeling that the carriage body was like a monster, and vaguely seeing someone on the carriage, as if descending draped in light.

"This vortex... is a bit familiar."

The other party's voice sounded very young, and it was also a voice he had never heard before.

Logically speaking, this was a desolate wilderness with no one around; having his secret exposed by others seeing the Profound Water Order teleportation, he should have killed them to silence them. Especially since this was a young person; although they had arrived strangely, their strength shouldn't be too high. The Highness should have taken the initiative to strike first and settle the matter quickly.

However...

For some reason, his heart panicked, and he always felt a sense of foreboding.

So he followed his intuition and did not act; instead, he lowered his body and dove into the vortex. The next moment, he only needed to put away the Profound Water Order to sever the spatial connection a hundred miles away. Both he and the army would be safe.

However, it was a little too late.

"Ah, it's the Turtle Bandit!"

Following the shout of his name, a sword appeared in the young man's hand, and his Momentum shifted.

This Momentum, it feels so familiar?!

Just an illusion?

"Sword Technique—Juan Tu Chong Lai!"

Countless yellow earth like a torrential flood, following the direction of the sword tip, rolled and poured into that vortex!

His Highness turned his head and saw the earth-yellow color covering the sky and earth—

It's like this again!