Chapter 788: Assault the Mountain! The Might of the War Lord

In the wild, desolate jungle, a force of over ten thousand men ascended a mountain peak.

At the summit, by the edge of a cliff, Bo'erhu, clad in a full set of battle armor, gazed into the distance.

"Your Majesty, shall we have everyone climb down the cliff before nightfall?"

A subordinate approached behind Bo'erhu and asked.

This mountain peak was over a hundred meters high; although one side of the cliff was covered in vines that could be used to climb down, it remained extremely dangerous.

Even for those who had lived in the wilderness for years, a single slip could result in a fall from the cliff face.

Only this personal guard force under Bo'erhu, composed entirely of martial artists, could choose such a perilous route for their march.

"No need."

Bo'erhu turned around. "Pass down the order: the entire army is to establish defensive fortifications on this mountain and set up defensive arrays."

"Your Majesty?"

The subordinate looked astonished, unable to understand why Bo'erhu would issue such an order.

But meeting those eyes that resembled stars, he subconsciously chose to obey:

"Yes!"

Soon, Bo'erhu's order spread throughout the army, immediately causing a stir.

Over a dozen high-ranking generals from the personal guard arrived at the first opportunity.

This personal guard force belonging to the Northern Barbarian King was composed of elites from eleven tribes.

Every time Bo'erhu conquered a tribe, he would select a Hegemon-level powerhouse from it to lead a team of elites into his personal guard.

Across the eleven tribes, excluding Bo'erhu's original Wuri tribe, a total of ten Hegemon-level powerhouses had joined this personal guard!

As one of the four great powerful tribes, the Wuri tribe's support for Bo'erhu was naturally the greatest; they not only sent four Hegemon-level powerhouses to follow by his side but also dispatched a Heaven-level powerhouse to assist him!

The Wuri tribe previously had two Heaven-level powerhouses: one Grandmaster and one top-tier True Person.

The tribal chief was the Grandmaster, and the Great Elder was the top-tier True Person.

Once Bo'erhu decided to unify the Northern Barbarians, the Wuri tribe's Great Elder had remained by his side.

Thus, Bo'erhu's personal guard possessed, in terms of powerhouses, two Heaven-level powerhouses, fourteen Hegemon-level powerhouses, and over a hundred Map-level martial artists!

Such a force was sufficient to wipe out any of the seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes, excluding the four great powerful tribes!

At this moment, the Wuri tribe's Great Elder, Wuri Tianji, along with the other fourteen Hegemon-level powerhouses, had all arrived at Bo'erhu's side.

"Your Majesty, why not continue the march, but instead order us to hold our ground? Have you given up on going to the rescue?!"

A Hegemon-level powerhouse who looked very young was the first to question him, his expression highly agitated.

His name was Puciwa, and he was the youngest Martial Arts Master of the Dream Lion tribe.

After the Dream Lion tribe decided to pledge loyalty to Bo'erhu, he had voluntarily requested to join the personal guard to follow the Northern Barbarian King.

When the Dream Lion tribe's main base was attacked, Bo'erhu immediately decided to go to the rescue and ordered the other tribes to send troops as well; Puciwa had been so excited he trembled all over!

He felt he had followed the right person; Bo'erhu was worthy of being the King for whom he was willing to die!

Yet now that Bo'erhu had suddenly stopped to hold his ground, Puciwa felt betrayed, so he disregarded the hierarchy and questioned him right away.

"Puciwa!"

The Wuri tribe's Great Elder, Wuri Tianji, cast a stern gaze upon Puciwa. "Mind your attitude!"

Just as Puciwa was about to speak, Bo'erhu raised his hand, signaling everyone to hold their tongues first.

He looked at Puciwa: "Puciwa, I have not decided to abandon the rescue of your tribe."

"Then why are you..."

"Because we are about to encounter the enemy."

"The enemy?"

These words caused many present to reveal looks of astonishment.

The Great Lan Dynasty's scheme this time was an open plot, laid out clearly before Bo'erhu for him to choose:

If he did not go to rescue the Dream Lion tribe, the eleven-tribe alliance he had worked so hard to build would immediately fall apart, making it even more impossible to conquer the remaining six tribes later.

And if Bo'erhu decided to rescue them, he would have to mobilize the main forces from the major defensive zones.

In doing so, the defensive zones would inevitably develop gaps, allowing the Great Lan Dynasty to send a small number of elites through to execute decapitation tactics!

Bo'erhu also could not gather all his main forces by his side first and then go to the rescue.

There would simply not be enough time, and the Dream Lion tribe would be wiped out all the same.

He also could not abandon his personal guard and go to the rescue alone.

While his movements would indeed be hard to track and difficult to intercept, without the participation of the personal guard, the Northern Barbarians would have no way to contend with the Northern Border army.

The full deployment of the Green Frost Army this time was meant to force Bo'erhu to mobilize every force he could!

Therefore, from the very beginning, Bo'erhu knew that he would inevitably encounter the enemy on the way to the rescue with his personal guard.

The twists and turns of this were something the truly clever people among the Northern Barbarians could figure out immediately.

But the vast majority of Northern Barbarians were simple-minded and lacked such cunning, so more than half of the powerhouses present had not expected they would be ambushed.

Bo'erhu briefly explained the reason.

"Your Majesty!"

A Hegemon-level powerhouse of the Wuri tribe was shocked after hearing this. "Why not tell us sooner? How can you put yourself in danger?"

Bo'erhu shook his head: "Now is not the time to discuss this. The reason I ordered us to hold our ground here is to wait at our ease for the fatigued enemy, using the terrain advantage to wait for that unit coming for a decapitation strike to attack this mountain peak."

"Your Majesty, what if the opponent does not take the initiative to attack? We only need to wait two days, and it might be completely too late to rescue the Dream Lion tribe!"

Puciwa could not help but speak again.

On the battlefield, the situation changes in an instant; rescue is like fighting a fire.

Whether or not the Northern Barbarian King is personally present makes a world of difference to the morale of the Northern Barbarian side!

Furthermore, this personal guard is currently the most elite force in all of the Northern Barbarians.

For them, let alone arriving two days late, even arriving half a day late could have a huge impact on the war situation.

Therefore, Puciwa's concern was reasonable.

Bo'erhu shook his head, his gaze firm:

"At the latest by tomorrow night, the vanguard of the three-tribe coalition—the Fire Qilin, Flame Heart, and Green Ye tribes—will be able to rendezvous with us. So if the enemy wants to kill me, these two days are the best and final opportunity. They will definitely come!"

"Everyone, rest in place."

Having just crossed a hillside, Bai Yan issued the order to the Barbarian-Slaying Army.

Subsequently, he summoned over a dozen Dao Foundation-stage martial artists, including those from the Blue Patrol Pavilion and those from the Imperial Guard.

He sent all of them out to scout, in order to determine the location of Bo'erhu's personal guard.

Today was already the 15th of July, the seventh day of the Barbarian-Slaying Army's deep penetration into the wilderness.

According to the original plan, the Barbarian-Slaying Army only needed eight days of marching to intercept Bo'erhu.

But in reality, for the first seven days, the Barbarian-Slaying Army's daily marching distance was greater than the original plan, so they arrived at the predetermined destination a day and a half ahead of schedule.

According to Bai Yan's estimation, Bo'erhu and his personal guard were currently no more than fifteen miles away from them in a straight line!

Therefore, Bai Yan dispatched Dao Foundation-stage martial artists as scouts to determine the position of Bo'erhu's personal guard as quickly as possible.

More than three hours later, Dao Foundation-stage martial artists returned one after another to report the situation.

Among them, someone brought back the intelligence Bai Yan wanted:

"Camping on a mountain?"

Bai Yan was not surprised upon hearing this, as if he had expected it long ago.

During the seven days he led the Barbarian-Slaying Army deep into the wilderness, almost every step was within his expectations: marching, resting, replenishing water, surveying terrain, detouring, crossing mountains... He precisely controlled every detail and the physical condition of most of the men, thereby pushing the speed of the Barbarian-Slaying Army to the limit!

Moreover, the Barbarian-Slaying Army had perfectly bypassed all enemies without a single encounter battle.

Such command capability could already be called that of a famous general of a generation!

Bai Yan marked the mountain peak where Bo'erhu's personal guard was holding their ground on a map, thought quietly for a moment, and then summoned all the high-level officers for a meeting.

"Bo'erhu and his personal guard are only about eleven miles away from us in a straight line."

Bai Yan got straight to the point, pointing at the map in front of him:

"According to my estimation, the vanguard of the three-tribe coalition—the Fire Qilin, Flame Heart, and Green Ye tribes—should be able to reach this area by tomorrow night at the latest. So Bo'erhu has chosen to hold his ground here, betting that we will inevitably take the initiative to attack."

In a few words, the current situation was clearly laid out before everyone.

Although Li Fei was not particularly "knowledgeable in military affairs," he understood this psychological chess match between the two commanders:

Bai Yan could predict the general marching route of Bo'erhu and his personal guard, and Bo'erhu, this Northern Barbarian King, was no slouch either.

Although the opponent did not know from which direction the Barbarian-Slaying Army would enter the wilderness, he could reverse-engineer approximately when and where the Barbarian-Slaying Army would appear.

Therefore, Bo'erhu chose this moment to suddenly stop and find a place to hold his ground.

Because the opponent was certain that the Barbarian-Slaying Army was not far from him!

By suddenly holding his ground at this time, Bo'erhu left the Barbarian-Slaying Army with only two choices:

Either abandon this decapitation mission and sit and wait for Bo'erhu to rendezvous with the main force.

In that case, Bo'erhu's rescue of the Dream Lion tribe this time would, in all likelihood, fail.

Or, charge straight over, conquer that mountain peak, and take the head of the Northern Barbarian King!

Choosing the former was almost zero-risk, and the Barbarian-Slaying Army would have successfully forced Bo'erhu and his personal guard to stop, delaying their arrival at the front line by at least two days.

When the Northern Border army eventually succeeded in wiping out the Dream Lion tribe, the Barbarian-Slaying Army would also have a share of the military merit.

If the latter were chosen, it naturally went without saying.

Risk and merit coexisted!

"I do not know what you all are thinking, but this commander has already made his decision."

Bai Yan swept his gaze calmly over everyone present, saying word by word:

"Having reached this point, I am determined to have the head of the Northern Barbarian King!"

After enduring hardships and leading the army to this place, the Northern Barbarian King could almost be said to be within arm's reach.

Under such circumstances, no commander could resist the temptation and choose to retreat just like that.

"We came here specifically to kill the Northern Barbarian King; now that we are only one step away from success, how can we give up?"

As the Army Supervisor, Li Fei was the second to state his position.

He had come to the Northern Border this time precisely to help the Great Lan Dynasty increase its national fortune, thereby earning himself the chance to refine a supernatural seed with a one-hundred-percent success rate using that national fortune.

Besides that, only by obtaining sufficient military merit could he gain the upper hand in his power struggle against the Lu family and Xu Jing.

Therefore, no matter what, he would not give up the opportunity to behead the Northern Barbarian King.

Besides, so many people had expended such great effort precisely to come here for this decapitation.

Now that they had arrived, how could there be any reason to retreat?

In an army, the one with the highest status is the commander, followed by the Army Supervisor.

This is because the Army Supervisor represents not only himself but also the imperial power behind him!

So, after Bai Yan and Li Fei had successively stated their positions, the others also expressed their agreement.

Thus, all the high-ranking officers of the Barbarian-Slaying Army quickly reached a consensus:

Continue forward and behead the Northern Barbarian King!

On the nameless mountain peak, over ten thousand of the Northern Barbarian King's personal guards began setting up defensive fortifications and arrays from the foot of the mountain.

To true powerhouses, ordinary defensive fortifications or natural barriers simply do not count as obstacles.

Therefore, what could truly be effective were arrays.

Among the personal guards were True Person-level powerhouses from the Ba Clan, as well as over thirty Tudu mages at the Possession stage.

Led by the Great Elder of the Wuri tribe, Wuri Tianji—a top-tier True Person—these people began to set up the defensive array.

A total of twelve Grade Six exotic beasts were placed in twelve positions, surrounding this nameless mountain peak.

The various Northern Barbarian tribes all had the ability to raise exotic beasts; Bo'erhu's personal guard unit also had "beast masters," with over a hundred exotic beasts kept within the army.

And Grade Six exotic beasts were already the highest-level exotic beasts among the personal guards; even among the Northern Barbarians, who were skilled at raising exotic beasts, few tribes could command exotic beasts of the top three grades.

Soon, the prototype of an array appeared, and a massive amount of blood-colored light converged into the bodies of the twelve Grade Six exotic beasts.

These twelve Grade Six exotic beasts let out earth-shattering howls, and then their bodies, over ten meters tall, disintegrated inch by inch, also turning into blood-colored light.

The hundreds of exotic beasts among the personal guards did the same!

A moment later, the phantoms of the twelve Grade Six exotic beasts reappeared in their original spots.

At the top of the mountain, in front of Wuri Tianji lay a white bone that looked like the corpse left behind after a flood dragon died, only it was too "petite," being only a few meters long.

This flood dragon bone was Wuri Tianji's life-bound magic treasure, which had already reached the Heaven Grade!

A life-bound magic treasure that has cultivated a supernatural ability is Earth Grade; a life-bound magic treasure that has completed the refinement of the seventy-two Earthly Fiends and cultivated an Earthly Fiend array formation is Earth Grade.

Further up, a life-bound magic treasure that has completed the refinement of the thirty-six Heavenly Spirits and formed a Heavenly Spirit and Earthly Fiend array formation is Heaven Grade.

Earth Grade magic treasures are already things only top-tier True Persons can possess. If one divides strength levels according to magic treasure grades, top-tier True Persons can be divided into three levels:

Earthly Fiend level, Heavenly Spirit level, and Heavenly Spirit and Earthly Fiend Great Perfection.

Wuri Tianji was a "Heavenly Spirit level" top-tier True Person; although not as strong as the Great Elder of the Huolin tribe, he already belonged to the top-tier powerhouses among top-tier True Persons!

"My King, the Twelve Heavens Blood Fiend Array is now established."

Wuri Tianji turned and said to Bo'erhu, who was walking over:

"It is a pity that none of the twelve sacrificial exotic beasts were of the top three grades; otherwise, I could have increased the power of this great array by at least thirty percent!"

Bo'erhu glanced at the twelve beast shadows distributed around them and said indifferently:

"No matter. Warriors who have undergone beast-transformation can merge into it, which can also increase the power of the great array."

Wuri Tianji was startled, finally understanding why, when there were other array formations with stronger defensive capabilities to choose from, Bo'erhu had insisted on establishing the Twelve Heavens Blood Fiend Array.

Looking at Bo'erhu's cold expression, Wuri Tianji knew that the other party had completely entered "war mode."

For a commander, the heart is as hard as iron, and all lives are merely chips in one's hand!

"My King, what kind of troops do you think the Great Lan Dynasty will send this time?"

Wuri Tianji asked with some concern.

Bo'erhu laughed, looking at the distant mountains and forests, and said heroically:

"To take my life, they must send at least five Heaven Capital-level powerhouses!"

He had previously fought three Heaven Capital-level powerhouses alone, including a peak top-tier True Person like the Great Elder of the Huolin tribe.

Therefore, to kill him, five Heaven Capital-level powerhouses was the minimum, and they could not be the ordinary kind!

"Given the foundation of the Great Lan Dynasty, I worry that there may be more than five Heaven Capital-level powerhouses coming this time... perhaps even..."

Wuri Tianji stopped mid-sentence.

The Great Lan Dynasty had peak powerhouses, and more than one!

Bo'erhu heard this and shook his head with a smile:

"Great Elder, you still do not understand the Central Plains dynasty well enough."

"Please enlighten me, my King."

"Their Imperial Preceptor is severely injured; if they dare to venture deep into the Northern Barbarian lands at this time, are they not afraid of perishing here?"

"The New Heaven Society has produced a Cursed Dao True Monarch. With the Imperial Preceptor severely injured and in seclusion, that God of War must sit in their capital and likewise cannot leave."

"But, don't they still have a Prince who is also a Martial Saint?"

Wuri Tianji asked.

Bo'erhu laughed: "That Prince is the uncle of the Central Plains Emperor. Over these years, he has held almost no real power, which shows the Central Plains Emperor's wariness and precautions against him."

"If this Prince were to truly perform a great service, would the Central Plains Emperor reward him afterwards? How should he reward him? If he rewards him too heavily, he won't be at ease; if he rewards him too lightly, how can he answer to a Martial Saint?"

"Moreover, that Prince has been strictly guarded against by others for all these years; why should he risk his life for them?"

After hearing these words, Wuri Tianji suddenly understood.

Although a Martial Saint is powerful, they are not invincible.

If multiple Northern Barbarian Heaven Capital powerhouses were to give their all and use beast-transformation, it is not impossible that they could wound him.

If his foundation were damaged, the fate of that Imperial Preceptor who is still in seclusion would be his end!

Therefore, the Martial Saint Prince of the Central Plains indeed has no need to come to the Northern Barbarian lands to take risks.

"My King, even so, what if a crisis moment arrives..."

Wuri Tianji still intended to persuade him.

But Bo'erhu suddenly spoke:

"They are here!"

Wuri Tianji was startled and immediately used his arts to scout into the distance.

And so he saw the Barbarian-Slaying Army rushing toward them!

"All units, alert!"

Wuri Tianji immediately issued the order while simultaneously activating the Twelve Heavens Blood Fiend Great Array.

A blood-colored curtain over a hundred meters high rose up, enveloping the entire mountain peak.

The phantoms of the twelve exotic beasts continued to expand within the blood curtain, eventually turning into giant bodies a hundred meters tall!

Three miles away, everyone in the Barbarian-Slaying Army saw the blood curtain in the distance.

Even from this far away, they could sense the immense pressure emanating from it!

"It is the Twelve Heavens Blood Fiend Great Array."

The only top-tier True Person in the team, Mi Han, said in a deep voice, "Using exotic beasts as sacrifices, refining their bodies and extracting their souls."

"Those phantoms are beast souls. After sacrificing their physical bodies, these beast souls will be immortal and indestructible under the support of the great array's power; they are very troublesome!"

"Moreover, Northern Barbarian warriors can actively undergo beast-transformation. Once they have transformed, if they then actively sacrifice themselves to the array, the power of the array will continue to increase."

If this great array is not broken, I fear we will not be able to kill the Northern Barbarian King today."

Hearing Mi Han's words, the group of powerhouses present all changed their expressions.

No one would doubt the judgment of a top-tier True Person.

"True Person Mi, is there a way to break it?"

Bai Yan asked.

Mi Han stared fixedly at the distant blood curtain, seven-colored light flickering in his eyes.

A moment later, his expression turned ugly:

"The top-tier True Person presiding over the array is using a Heaven Grade magic treasure, and the Heavenly Spirit and Earthly Fiend array formation established by the magic treasure is very compatible with this great array; I cannot break this array."

Although he, the former Deputy Pavilion Master of the Orthodox Law Pavilion, was also "Heavenly Spirit level," his strengths did not lie in arrays.

Bai Yan heard this and remained calm:

"No matter, just watch as I break this array!"

His confidence infected everyone, making them feel inexplicably at ease.

"Imperial Guard Army, take orders, form the array!"

Bai Yan's voice spread throughout the entire Barbarian-Slaying Army.

Since seven days ago, he had left all the dirty and tiring work to the more than three thousand Lan Patrol Pavilion warriors, thereby preserving the physical strength and energy of the three Imperial Guard Army units to the greatest extent.

Now, it was time to unsheathe their swords!

The military formation was divided into hundred-man, thousand-man, three-thousand-man, five-thousand-man, and ten-thousand-man levels.

The highest level of military formations for the Imperial Guard armies in each province of the Great Lan Dynasty is the thousand-man level; apart from that, there are only four ten-thousand-man level military formations.

The three-thousand-man and five-thousand-man levels are missing in between.

It is not that they cannot be refined, but that there is a lack of sufficient resources and manpower.

Maintaining the four ten-thousand-man level military formations has already exhausted most of the resources and manpower, and the remaining "scraps" are only enough to refine thousand-man level military formations.

The military formations of these 3, 00 Imperial Guard soldiers in the Barbarian-Slaying Army are likewise only at the thousand-man level.

Three military formations were quickly established, and three streaks of black baleful aura soared into the sky, transforming into three hundred-meter-long black dragons that roared toward the heavens!

Bai Yan took a step forward and flew into mid-air, and that Martial Dao Domain, which looked as if it were piled up from a million corpses, reappeared.

The three streaks of black dragon baleful aura were swallowed into the Martial Dao Domain, and subsequently, the Martial Dao Domain enveloped all 3, 00 Imperial Guard soldiers within it.

A moment later, a blood-colored giant standing over three hundred meters tall appeared before everyone's eyes!

The appearance of this giant was exactly the same as Bai Yan, and it wore blood-colored armor covered in dragon scales.

A powerful and peerless baleful aura soared into the sky, shaking the clouds.

Originally, there were three thousand-man level military formations, but at this moment, within Bai Yan's Martial Dao Domain, they had perfectly combined to become a three-thousand-man level military formation!

Bai Yan primarily cultivates the 【Soldier Lord】 divine ability, and his Martial Dao Domain is also centered on the path of soldiers. The 3, 00 Imperial Guard soldiers in the Barbarian-Slaying Army had long since practiced with him in secret for a long time, which is why the three military formations were able to undergo a qualitative change under his command as the "Soldier Lord."

At this moment, Bai Yan's aura rose steadily, eventually breaking through a certain boundary!

The blood-baleful giant with astonishing might took a step forward, instantly crossing over three li, arrived before the blood curtain, and smashed a fist into it.

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(End of this chapter)