Chapter 964: Tiger Crouches, Dragon Coils

Ten thousand rebels besieged a small city held by five hundred men—it should have been an easy victory. But if the city had also deployed four gates of artillery and six rotary flying-sword guns, it was an entirely different matter.

The rebels were exceptionally fierce, charging forward a hundred zhang despite unprecedented firepower suppression, only to leave over two thousand corpses behind before being utterly shattered, then dropping another two thousand corpses on their retreat.

In a single charge, a ten-thousand-man formation lost half its numbers.

Liu Heihu, startled and uncertain, asked: “What kind of magic treasure is this? Does it have a name?”

Xiang Weiyuan naturally gave no answer; he merely stood there, not leaving the city, his posture clear: come if you dare, leave if you wish. Liu Heihu’s expression shifted, then he drew a bow and arrow, fixing his gaze on Xiang Weiyuan, while waving his hand violently—fifty thousand troops from the right flank surged forward like a tidal wave toward Guantun County!

Liu Heihu’s eyes were sharp; he saw that the city’s population was too small, its firepower density still insufficient, so he sent a hundredfold force to surround it. As for himself, he stood a thousand zhang away, refusing to approach the county under any circumstances.

The two commanders faced each other from afar—one would not come closer, the other would not leave the city.

Seeing Liu Heihu wouldn’t take the bait, Xiang Weiyuan didn’t care; he ordered his troops to unleash full firepower against the advancing force. Among the fifty thousand rebels, dozens were Dao Foundation officers and two Fa Xiang generals, who now refrained from charging, instead mingling among the foot soldiers, advancing with their units to deny Xiang Weiyuan any chance to strike them down.

As the focus of the city’s firepower began to shift, Liu Heihu suddenly waved his hand—into the air emerged a ferocious tiger, roaring to the heavens!

In an instant, every rebel’s body shimmered with a faint crimson aura, their eyes turned red, and they howled as they charged the county—total frontal assault! Liu Heihu had brought a total of one hundred fifty thousand men; clearly, he hadn’t come merely for Guantun County, but to sweep clean all eleven nearby counties in one stroke.

The rebels’ speed surged; some grew visibly larger. Countless rebels surged toward the tiny county, whose total living defenders were less than one-tenth their number—the outcome was sealed.

At that moment, over a dozen crimson lights erupted from within the county; where the lights rose, patches of wasteland rocks were revealed. Then, towering Wu Xing Dao Soldiers rose from the ground, their cores formed from those wasteland rocks.

These dozen or so Dao Soldiers each possessed Fa Xiang-level power, their bodies faintly wreathed in flames. Among them, several suddenly changed their aura—one became agile, another profound, another ordinary, each distinct.

Two Dao Soldiers exchanged glances, looking at each other’s appearances, both smirking slightly, then surveyed the surrounding heavens and earth, curious about everything.

Soon, more Dao Soldiers developed their own expressions; the last few to appear saw their auras climb steadily higher—one even began to radiate layers of crimson sword qi.

Another Dao Soldier twisted his body, letting out a carefree low roar—his aura exploded upward, the flames around him shifting from red to blue, his power surging to Fa Xiang’s peak!

Xiang Weiyuan inwardly praised: truly, no wonder these were immortals from the Wasteland—Yan Shen Hua’s compatibility with Dao Soldiers was absurdly high, instantly elevating their cultivation to the pinnacle.

Immediately after, vast swathes of green light rose—Dao Soldiers infused with strong Wood-element power emerged in clusters; Xiang Weiyuan’s spiritual power declined only slowly, feeling almost useless.

Each of these Dao Soldiers was formed from specially crafted spirit-wood rods, each a palm-length, serving as the core of their spellcasting—all possessed Dao Foundation cultivation. Some were piloted by Dao Foundation cultivators from the Dou Zhan Sheng Guan, others by Shenyao , and over a thousand remained unoccupied.

All the unoccupied Dao Soldiers suddenly trembled, their eyes snapping open at once!

In the county’s central government office, Feng Tingyu slept, using the smoke and fire of the mortal world to simultaneously control all the unoccupied Dao Soldiers.