Chapter 559

Ten days later, the Rain Kingdom attacked again.

In the previous battle, the Shaman tribe had been repelled by Wei Yuan's heavy-armored warriors. In this engagement, Hongye clearly had a countermeasure; an elite heavy-armored cavalry force of thirty thousand appeared on the battlefield, all mounted on giant swamp crocodiles. This cavalry force was eyeing them covetously, clearly looking for a decisive battle against Wei Yuan's elite troops.

Furthermore, the proportion of elite soldiers in the Shaman army had clearly increased, and the mid-level officers were mostly Shaman nobles, whose fighting will was far beyond that of the commoners and slaves. There were also three more altars; more altars meant more sacrificial power to suppress the army's spirit and stabilize morale.

This time, if he wanted to crush the Shaman tribe in a field battle, Wei Yuan would need to put in much more effort.

The Shaman tribe had changed, and the human race had changed as well.

Not only had the number of small fortresses on the front line increased significantly, but the first row of fortresses had all been reinforced with steel plating. The ruins of Ding'an City and the fortress area east of the city had already merged into one, with a total of nearly two hundred small fortresses built.

Wei Yuan deployed his army in the rows behind the fortress area; this time, there were five heavy-armored legions. The gleaming armor and the steel roofs of the fortresses reflected each other, illuminating the sky and presenting the Shaman tribe with a land paved in steel, where heaven and earth met, creating an imposing aura.

In this battle, the Shaman tribe's fighting will was clearly strengthened. Every half hour, the Wild Shamans would beat the Heaven-Reaching War Drums to replenish the bloodthirsty Shaman curses protecting the Shaman troops.

Consequently, a massive Shaman army flooded over the fortress area to engage the Qingming army arrayed in the rear. Both sides suffered heavy casualties as soon as they clashed, and Wei Yuan had to immediately deploy the subsequent five heavy-armored legions to fill the gaps in manpower.

At this moment, the Swamp Crocodile cavalry arrived with murderous intent, bypassing the fortress area and charging straight at Wei Yuan's heavy-armored legions. However, what they didn't expect was that as soon as they began their charge, missiles fell one after another, bombing them all the way to the front of the Qingming army formation, and finally, they were hit by a Mount Yushan, which crushed hundreds of riders to death.

Subsequently, Wei Yuan used the Long Xiang Army to hold off the Swamp Crocodile Legion, and the five heavy-armored legions, including the long-hidden Dragon Wing Heavy Cavalry, finally made their appearance, charging the Swamp Crocodile knights from the flank and rear.

This battle was like two determined gladiators exchanging blows, punch for punch and kick for kick. Both sides had wills like steel; many units were wiped out entirely, yet the remaining troops continued to fight without the slightest sign of retreat.

The only difference was that Wei Yuan's troops not only had wills like steel, but their bodies were also wrapped in steel.

The Swamp Crocodile Legion was the Rain Kingdom's most elite force, and the sharp blade Hongye relied on to run rampant in the lowlands and intimidate other nations.

To wipe out this unit, Wei Yuan built a defensive line with the newly formed Long Xiang Wall as the core, blocking their path forward. He then mobilized several heavy-armored legions to surround them from left and right, followed by the Dragon Wings attacking from the rear. Aerial missiles and Mount Yushan fell almost without interruption, and among the surrounding armies were a thousand Dao Foundation cultivators—truly, Daoist arts fell like rain!

In this battle, Wei Yuan committed almost all of Qingming's elite forces.

The Swamp Crocodile knights' Grand Commander was initially not afraid of being surrounded at all; he was determined to grind down the Long Xiang Army, as he didn't believe anyone could withstand his attack. He had seen human heavy-armored warriors before, and the Dharma Form short-snouted giant crocodile he rode could bite through them in one snap.

But the human unit in front of him was as solid as a literal copper wall and iron fortress; they had been fighting for a full half hour and still hadn't cracked the Long Xiang Army's defensive line!

Only then did he begin to panic and started organizing a breakout.

However, in the previous battle, Wei Yuan only had two heavy-armored legions; ten days later, Wei Yuan already had four full heavy-armored legions. Forty thousand heavy-armored warriors acted like walls of steel, firmly blocking the Swamp Crocodile knights' path of breakout.

At the same time, Wei Yuan had mobilized tens of thousands of pseudo-heavy-armored warriors to rely on the fortress area to intercept the Shaman tribe's reinforcements.

They primarily used barrages to block the Shaman army, successfully repelling the Shaman tribe's attacks several times in succession, leaving the Swamp Crocodiles in a desperate situation.

Facing Qingming's long, thin defensive line that looked like it would break at a single touch, the Shaman army organized multiple fierce attacks, yet none of them succeeded!

If a truly knowledgeable military expert were present, they would understand why Qingming's defensive line could not be broken. The so-called barrage did not just refer to bullets, but also artillery shells.

Ever since the Swamp Crocodile knights were surrounded, the previously hidden city defense cannons began firing desperately, no longer sparing ammunition. When the Shaman tribe's organized attacking units reached the front of the positions, they had already been blasted to pieces, and then, being met with a head-on rain of bullets, they were naturally routed.

Occasionally, small groups of troops successfully broke through and killed their way into the positions, only to find the Qingming soldiers glowing with light, with all kinds of defensive, strength-enhancing, and blessing Daoist arts layered upon them, each one's combat power greatly increased. Only then did the Shaman tribe realize that there were an exceptionally large number of Dao Foundation cultivators among these humans—so many that it was beyond imagination, so many that it was completely abnormal!

Several Great Shamans were unwilling to accept this and struck out fiercely; a few great curses harvested hundreds of lives. However, they all suddenly felt a palpitation in their hearts, and before they understood why their minds were so agitated, they saw a divine thunder, green tinged with yellow, appear above each of their heads, descending with a destructive force!

The divine thunder struck their crowns, and in an instant, they experienced all the tastes of life—the heavy layering of rot, senility, old sourness, slipperiness, and stickiness instantly caused these Great Shamans to collapse on the ground and vomit wildly!

The Filthy Decay Divine Thunder that even Hongye couldn't withstand that day—how could they possibly endure it?

Immediately following this, lightning fell from the clear sky above the Great Shamans; bolts of true lightning poured down as if the heavens had leaked, and in the blink of an eye, they blasted the Great Shamans into fly ash!

As long as these Great Shamans attacked ordinary soldiers and the slaughter exceeded a certain degree, Wei Yuan could counterattack with his Peerless Dao Domain; after marking the karma, he could unleash a barrage of Daoist arts. With Wei Yuan's current Dao power, he could unleash hundreds of the most basic Lightning Strikes in a single breath! Looking across the world, how many Great Shamans could withstand a hundred of Wei Yuan's Lightning Strikes?

With reinforcements unable to get through, the Swamp Crocodile knights completely lost their last chance. Even in their desperate situation, they displayed extremely strong combat power, fighting desperately in a circular formation while enduring the carpet bombing of missiles and heavy artillery.

It took Wei Yuan nearly two hours to kill the last Dharma Form giant crocodile, which was five zhang long. As the Swamp Crocodile army's battle flag fell, the Shaman tribe's morale suddenly wavered significantly.

In the distance, murderous intent flashed in Hongye's eyes, and the wine cup in his hand shattered instantly! The crimson blood-wine spilled all over him.

Several Great Shamans flew over, but before they could speak, Hongye said: "Deploy the reserve troops, full-scale attack! The human elite have suffered heavy losses; they are at the end of their rope!"

"But, we discovered..."

Hongye suddenly roared: "Attack!!"

The few Great Shamans were intimidated, and two of them fell directly from the sky to the ground. Now, they dared not say another word and immediately flew back to carry out the order. By this time, the fighting had lasted from midnight until dawn, and the horizon was already glowing with the morning light.

Qingming had used up almost all its artillery shells and missiles; of the hundred thousand heavy-armored legions, thirty thousand had died in battle, and with sixty thousand fortress garrison soldiers and thirty thousand reinforcements killed, the total reached one hundred and twenty thousand, with casualties rising sharply.

The Shaman army's casualties exceeded two hundred thousand; the most elite Swamp Crocodile cavalry was completely wiped out, and even of the ten commanding Great Shamans, only three escaped.

At this time, Wei Yuan had originally thought the Shaman tribe should retreat; their army's spirit was clearly wavering, and their losses were incomparably heavy. Don't look at the number of deaths as being less than the previous few times; this time, almost all who died were elites, and there were top-tier elites like the Swamp Crocodile knights. Raising a qualified swamp giant crocodile cost at least ten times that of a human heavy cavalryman.

According to the statistics of "Humanity's Fireworks," if the Shaman tribe's soldiers were converted into combat power according to a unified standard, then the two hundred thousand elites lost by the Shaman tribe in this battle were actually equivalent to nine hundred thousand in the previous battles!

But Wei Yuan did not wait for the Shaman tribe's retreat, but rather the horn of advancement. Pillars of blood-colored light rose from the altars in the Shaman army's rear, and various great curses were added to their own soldiers. Hundreds of thousands of troops in the center and rear began to move, heading toward Qingming.

Although most of those remaining were commoners and slave soldiers, and there was also a group of noble troops with mysterious combat power, the total number still reached eighty thousand!

The opportunity Wei Yuan had been waiting for all along had arrived unexpectedly.

At this moment, Feng Chutang appeared by Wei Yuan's side. His aura was weak, and being struck by the murderous intent, army spirit, and blood energy on the battlefield, he immediately began to cough violently, only managing to calm down with great difficulty.

He looked at Wei Yuan and said: "Everything is ready. This burden is too heavy for your Master Uncle to carry; only you can do it."

Wei Yuan said: "It was my duty to begin with."

(A line of garbled text)

The Kong Que Buddha Mother also appeared and bowed, saying: "Benefactor, this journey is to forge a great karma. To attain the supreme fruit in the future begins with this step today."

Little Monk Red Lotus appeared from behind the Kong Que Buddha Mother, snorted, and said unwillingly: "I suppose your affinity with the Buddha is better than mine!"

Wei Yuan did not intend to pay attention to these two monks. Just as he was about to move forward, he suddenly saw Zhang Sheng standing not far away. He immediately flashed over and asked: "Master, do you have any instructions?"

Zhang Sheng gazed deeply at Wei Yuan and said in a low voice: "This is something you are determined to do. Since I cannot stop you, it is better to let you do it freely. The so-called karma is forged if it is forged; we resisted the Great Karma Curse that day, so what is there to fear from karma? If you can cultivate the supreme sword, then of the myriad karmas in the world, keep those you like, and cut those you don't. We who defy the heavens are nothing more than this."

Wei Yuan bowed to Zhang Sheng and walked forward. After taking two steps, Wei Yuan suddenly turned his head and saw Bao Yun and Feng Tingyu standing in the distance, but they did not know what Wei Yuan was going to do.

Wei Yuan smiled at them and then stepped forward.

In one step he reached the front of the formation, in two steps he was out of Qingming, and in three steps he was already in the center of the Shaman formation. Even the You Shamans watching from beyond the heavens could not stop him, and Hongye was already far away; seeing Wei Yuan charge the formation, he retreated another hundred miles to prevent Wei Yuan from locking onto him with his spiritual sense.

Standing in the center of the Shaman formation, with the Rain Kingdom's central army flag beneath his feet, Wei Yuan's heart was clear, and he softly chanted: "The world speaks of all dharmas; one should view them as such..."

In an instant, although Wei Yuan's voice was soft, the Red Lotus Salvation Mantra echoed in every Shaman's ear. A Red Lotus Bodhi appeared above Wei Yuan's head, and as its branches and leaves swayed, it shook off endless karma.

In the void around Wei Yuan, wisps of red-black flames ignited out of thin air, and then more and more flames appeared, and with the help of the great formation Feng Chutang had laid out early on, they were transmitted to the distance one after another.

In the space of a breath, the translucent red-black karmic fire had covered the entire battlefield, burning silently like a boundless sea of fire. Countless Shamans fell in the sea of fire, their faces frozen in their final terror. Under the scorching of the karmic fire, their bodies curled up continuously, as if they were back to the state before they were born.

Even the Great Shamans were ignited by the karmic fire, and the Dao Foundation Shamans were not spared; only a few Great Shamans fled instantly with the karmic fire, their fate unknown.

Above the firmament, the group of You Shamans changed color one after another, and half of them dared not look anymore and quietly left.

On a desolate peak far away, Shengxin looked toward this side from afar, remaining silent for a long time.

Lady Hui Xin asked: "What are you looking at?"

Shengxin just shook his head and said: "Just looking at the scenery." His expression did not change, but his voice held a trace of imperceptible desolation.

In the forbidden area of the Sword Palace, a sword cultivator opened his eyes, and his pupils were filled with a vast ocean of sword energy. He reached out to take his sword, flicked the blade, and the sword let out a dragon's roar that shook ten thousand miles.

He listened to the sword's chime and then slowly said: "At such a young age, although his ability is not great, this spirit is somewhat similar to Feng's back in the day."

In the third year of Tianqi of the Great Tang, Wei Yuan chanted the "Red Lotus Salvation Mantra" and refined the Shaman tribe's eight hundred thousand-strong army with boundless red lotus karmic fire, shaking the world.

(End of chapter)