Chapter 175: The Outbreak of War

The next day, the battle finally broke out at the intersection of Jiangzhou, Linzhou, and Mingzhou.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the Mingzhou King Li army launched a sudden attack, and Jiao Yong, as the defending side, reacted quite swiftly, with a large number of Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers charging out to block the offensive.

On the battlefield, soldiers wearing Iron Ghost Infantry Armor and Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers slaughtered each other; these soldiers, meticulously crafted by King Li, possessed quite formidable combat strength.

In particular, the soldiers serving as the vanguard were all wearing Iron Ghost Infantry Armor, and the weapons they wielded were actually all Ghost Weapons, many of which were even high-grade Ghost Weapons.

At this moment, they formed ranks to advance, moving with ease and uniformity under the command of that Commandant Jiang.

"Boom~"

As that Commandant Jiang raised the long spear in his hand, the remaining soldiers also made the same movement one after another.

"Kill!"

Following this, the shouts of battle shook the sky, and terrifying ghostly power erupted from the Iron Ghost Infantry Armor and Ghost Weapons on their bodies.

Some of these ghostly powers possessed powerful tearing effects, some were intermingled with ghost fire, and others could curse the enemy.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

"Puchi! Slash!"

"Ah!"

"……"

However, the Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers fighting against them were still a cut above in strength; the mixed ghostly power they emitted, while capable of causing some damage to the Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers, could not truly destroy them.

After several rounds of attacks, the Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers had already reached their front, and at this point, it took multiple soldiers working together to block a single Heavy-Armored Paper Soldier.

In particular, the new Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers were even more formidable in strength; even these soldiers wearing Iron Ghost Infantry Armor would be cut in two by a single strike.

Within the Mingzhou army's formation, a great general frowned as he watched the battle situation ahead, even though he already knew the news that Linzhou and Jiangzhou had formed an alliance and possessed a type of special puppet.

Yet he had not expected that these puppets, which appeared to be wearing heavy armor, would have such powerful strength, especially since some of the soldier puppets among them were unstoppable.

"I ask the Incense Temple Ancestor to take action!"

Facing such a disadvantage, he could only say this to the Incense Temple incense-making master beside him.

"Hahaha, that goes without saying!"

Hearing this general's words, the incense-making master immediately laughed, and then he promptly had his disciples set up an offering table, place an incense burner, and light a stick of specially crafted Nether-Connecting Incense.

Soon, curling smoke rose and eventually vanished into an unknown place.

Quickly, the sky began to show anomalies; dark clouds gathered, cold winds howled, and a certain intense ghostly power began to appear above the battlefield from the Netherworld region.

"I ask the Third Ancestor to take action and suppress this army!"

Seeing the massive Ghost Body Dharma Image appear in the sky, that incense-making master hurriedly bowed to the figure and spoke.

However, this Incense Temple Ancestor did not answer him, but merely opened his eyes slowly to look at the soldiers slaughtering below.

Upon noticing the Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers, a flash of displeasure crossed his statue-like face, and then the ghostly power on his body began to surge wildly.

Instantly, the original dark clouds expanded once more and began to grow denser, piling up black and heavy above everyone's heads, giving people a heavy sensation like Mount Tai pressing down.

"Crack!"

"Pitter-patter."

Accompanied by lightning and thunder in the sky, cold raindrops began to fall with a pitter-patter, instantly enveloping the soldiers across the entire battlefield.

This rain was incomparably eerie; the soldiers who had been fighting fiercely began to have stiff movements after being rained upon, and they no longer feared danger or pain.

Some soldiers even continued to slaughter frantically after having their arms severed, as if pain no longer existed for them.

At the same time, in the Linzhou military camp, Li Yanbing recognized at a glance the origin of the Ghost Body Dharma Image that had suddenly appeared in the sky.

"It really is the Incense Temple Ancestor!"

Thus, without a second thought, she immediately ordered the Paper General to take action; otherwise, if she waited for the opponent to truly strike, the situation on the ground would be in danger.

"Whoosh~"

As the Paper General took a step forward, the world originally shrouded in dark clouds and filled with rain began to turn into a vast expanse of despairing swamp.

In the sky, the Incense Temple Third Ancestor saw the Paper General take action and immediately concentrated his ghostly power upon it.

"Crack!"

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the sky, and dazzling electric light instantly struck toward the Paper General.

"Puff~ Puff~"

However, the next moment, countless mud and bones surged within the swamp, directly blocking this bolt of lightning.

Immediately, a zhang-eight long spear appeared in the Paper General's hand, and it began to charge toward this Incense Temple figure; instantly, the two sides' Ghost Domains began to collide violently in the sky.

Meanwhile, the slaughter on the battlefield continued; those soldiers who had been rained upon were now fearless of death, charging toward the Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers like madmen.

However, the Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers were stronger, and the hundred-plus new Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers in the lead, under Li Yanbing's command, transformed into a sharp blade, beginning to cut through the opponent's formation and charging toward the rear of the army.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

Seeing that their own formation was about to be cut through, the great general under King Li directly ordered his men to beat the drums.

Subsequently, siege crossbows mounted with thick arrows were pushed out; the surfaces of these arrows were carved with numerous patterns, and they radiated an eerie aura throughout.

"Fire!"

"Twang! Twang! Twang!"

Following the order, these arrows were instantly fired by the siege crossbows, and the arrows, carrying terrifying power, shot directly toward the battlefield.

"Puff~ Puchi~"

The flying arrows turned into invincible weapons of slaughter; whether it was their own soldiers wearing Iron Ghost Infantry Armor or the charging Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers, all were pierced through.

Only the Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers with strength comparable to True Humans were able to react in time to dodge quickly or directly draw their blades and collide with the arrows.

"Slash~"

However, these arrows were themselves Ghost Weapons, and the battle blades in the hands of these Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers were ultimately lacking; the moment the two collided, the battle blades were destroyed, and the Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers themselves also sustained some tearing wounds.

Yet such injuries did not count for much to the Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers; after several rounds of shooting, nearly sixty Heavy-Armored Paper Soldiers were still charging toward the core position of the army formation.

Such terrifying combat power made the general commanding the battle break out in a cold sweat; seeing the enemy about to charge over, his trump cards were nearly exhausted.

"Block them!"

Having no other choice, he could only order his personal guards; these men were also clad in Iron Ghost Infantry Armor and wielding ghost weapons, looking far more elite than ordinary foot soldiers.

"Click, click, click."

Following this, the guards immediately formed a formation to block the front, but even so, the general remained anxious and said to the Incense Maker beside him: "I beg the Master to assist me!"

"Hmph!"

Seeing this general so useless, the Incense Maker beside him turned cold; he opened a cloth bag and took out a piece of paper from inside.

On this paper was written a scarlet "Strike" character, which looked as if it were wriggling and crawling on the paper like a dragon or snake.

As he threw the paper out, it instantly enlarged in the sky, and then an unrivaled power was released from within it.

"Boom!"

"Crack! Crash!"

Almost instantly, the heavy-armored paper soldiers that had been charging head-on were struck by a terrifying force, sent flying back a distance of several hundred meters.

Some of the heavily damaged heavy-armored paper soldiers disintegrated in mid-air, turning into tattered scraps of paper and broken wood, before being reduced to nothingness by the power of the Gluttonous Ghost.

"As expected, it's the same style as those assassins!"

Seeing this scene, the Incense Maker immediately recalled some past encounters; this was a case of new grudges added to old ones!

However, no matter how much he wanted to strike again, the page of paper in the sky gradually returned to its original state after releasing that blow.

The scarlet "Strike" character had also become much dimmer in color, no longer looking as if it were filled with the sense of being a living thing as it had at the very beginning.