bookbashuk Chapter 168 The Dragon King Returns to the Song Dynasty
Chapter 168 The Dragon King Returns to the Song Dynasty
Chapter 168 The Dragon King Returns to the Song Dynasty
Five elders stood at the edge of the pit, their robes fluttering gently in the night breeze, the moonlight illuminating their aged faces with remarkable clarity.
They looked at the black-robed figure standing in the ruins at the bottom of the pit, and then at the fading points of light, and remained silent.
Did they arrive at a bad time?
"Huh?" Noticing the movement behind him, Russell turned around and met the dumbfounded Five Elders of Shu Mountain.
Apart from Qingwei triggering the system notification, everyone else remained completely silent, like passersby.
Russell's gaze swept across the five aged faces, finally landing on Daoist Qingwei. He nodded slightly as a greeting, then turned and stomped his foot. Amidst the roaring air currents, he shot into the sky like a shooting star, disappearing into the night sky and leaving only a white shockwave slowly spreading in the night.
Watching Russell's departing figure, Cang Gu was extremely puzzled: "Senior brother, is this... all over?"
Master Qingwei stroked his beard, remained silent for a moment, and finally shook his head: "I still don't know what this senior is thinking. But at least he didn't take his anger out on Mount Shu because of that sword immortal, which is a blessing in disguise."
Looking at the spot where Li Xiaoyao had disappeared, where the points of light had completely vanished into the night sky, leaving only emptiness, He Yang said with regret and confusion, "We just haven't figured out this person's identity, nor do we know what connection he has with Mount Shu."
With a wave of his sleeve, Jingming's robes rustled in the night wind, stopping everyone from exploring the matter further: "Why bother with unnecessary troubles? Since we are inferior in skill and will perish, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Regardless of their identity, they have no connection with our Shu Mountain. The most urgent task is to restore this place."
His meaning was clear: this matter should end here, and no one should mention it again.
Just kidding. Right now, nobody really knows anything. When Russell comes knocking on our door later, we'll have an excuse to avoid him. But if we really investigate and find out that this guy is actually one of the surviving elders of Mount Shu, then things will get interesting.
Should we seek revenge or not?
Most importantly, the person just now didn't seem to be unreasonable, which makes it even more interesting. What could have forced this good-natured senior to take such drastic measures?
Therefore, it's better not to know some things. Maintaining the status quo is the best solution. It's rare to be truly ignorant about the affairs of the world.
"What Junior Brother Jingming said makes sense, so we have no choice but to do it this way." Master Qingwei made a conclusion on the matter, and the other four, who were also aware of the implications, did not think any further.
The five immediately formed hand seals, and bright yellow incantations flowed from their fingertips, like golden ribbons that danced and intertwined in the night sky, enveloping the mountain range that had been destroyed into ruins by Russell and Li Xiaoyao's battle.
Under the influence of the five people's magical incantations, time seemed to reverse. The cracked earth began to slowly close up, the broken rock layers were pieced together again, the shattered soil was re-coagulated, the broken mountain rose again from the ruins, and the rubble flew back from all directions, piling up piece by piece and layer by layer, restoring it to its original state.
Even the trees and forests that had turned into dust were reassembled. The dust floated back from the air, gathered into wood chips, the wood chips formed branches, the branches grew into trunks, the trunks sprouted new buds, the new buds unfolded green leaves, and in the blink of an eye, it was restored to a lush forest.
Under the moonlight, the mountains returned to their original state, as if that earth-shattering battle had never happened.
"These are turbulent times. I only hope that Mount Shu will be free from disasters in the future." Master Qingwei sighed softly. The chosen one is about to emerge, but at this crucial moment, unexpected twists and turns have occurred, which is truly unsettling.
Demon world.
On the Demon Lord's throne, a tall figure with distinctive red horns on his head rested his chin on his hand, as if he were deep in thought with his eyes closed.
The next instant, the blood-red magic array in front of him suddenly flashed with divine light, and the light reflected the sleeping figure of a mortal.
His eyes lit up, and a carefree smile spread across his lips: "Fei Peng, I've found you."
Danhua Inn, Room No. 1 (Top Class).
Back here, Russell was curiously stroking the half of the yin-yang jade pendant on his hand, representing the yang side, wanting to see what it was.
What exactly is this thing?
The jade pendant was lustrous and had a cool touch. There were signs of a break along the edge, and the broken surface was as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been cut open with a sharp tool.
This jade pendant is no ordinary item; it's a heavyweight prop that runs through both the first and third installments of the Legend of Sword and Fairy series. It's said that you can make a wish to the heavens, and if the wisher is sincere, it will come true and grant their desires.
Russell looked at it from left to right, up to down, and over and over again, but he couldn't find out what was so magical about it. There was no response when he tried to input spiritual power, no reaction when he tried to probe it with his divine sense, and he even tried the common method of blood recognition. But the jade pendant was still the same jade pendant, and its color hadn't changed at all.
I've never heard of this thing recognizing its owner. Could it be because it's only half a jade pendant?
Russell thought this way, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. The Yin-Yang Jade Pendant, one yin and one yang, could only exert its true effect when they were combined. This setting had appeared in many stories and was nothing new.
However, it's not a big problem. The other half of the jade pendant is with Xuejian. He can just ask her for it once they get to know each other better. There's no need to rush. Anyway, he's not in a hurry to make a wish right now.
hum!hum!
A vibration rang in his mind. Russell put the jade pendant into his sleeve, opened the chat group, and looked up to see that Lu Mingfei had started a live broadcast.
Once you click in, the scene shows a plain. Looking out, tens of thousands of cavalrymen are crossing the pontoon bridge in an orderly manner, like a sophisticated war machine. Their armor gleams darkly in the sunlight, and the sound of their hooves is like muffled thunder, making the earth tremble slightly.
Russell: "Fei-zai, is this the Battle of Yaoshan?"
Under the banner of Yue, Lu Mingfei, riding a warhorse, glanced at the comments posted by Russell and shook his head: "It can't be that fast, this is Changshe."
This battle is of paramount importance to the Song Dynasty. Not only must Han Shizhong be rescued from Changshe City, but Wanyan Talan's head must also be taken to proclaim to the world that the Song Dynasty now possesses the capability to engage the Jin cavalry in large-scale battles, thus completely shattering the rumor that "the Jurchens are invincible if they number less than ten thousand, or if they number more than ten thousand."
In this battle, Wang Yan's 20,000-strong Eight-Character Army took the lead as the vanguard, followed by the remaining seven commanders of the Tokyo Garrison Command as the central army, and Wang Sheng and Niu Gao's troops followed last as the rearguard.
Emperor Zhao himself donned armor, carried a bow, and rode along on horseback, with Li Qiong's troops as his guards. He practically abandoned Yanling, putting everything under the siege of Changshe City with a do-or-die attitude.
As for Lu Mingfei, he received only one order: once the river crossing was successful, he would lead his 5,000 Cangyun soldiers to hold off the Jin army's offensive at all costs, buy time for the remaining troops to land, and then rush straight to Wanyan Talan's central army camp, which was still guarded by 15 Meng'an soldiers.
Zhang Chulan: "Do you have enough food over there? If not, let me know."
Lu Mingfei: "That's enough, that's enough, I really can't eat anymore."
Speaking of this, Lu Mingfei felt a chill run down his spine.
He originally thought that the food Zhang Chulan was talking about was just rice and wheat, but he didn't expect that there would also be meat such as chicken, duck, fish, pig, beef and donkey.
Now, a small portion of Yanling City has been designated as a breeding area; any more and it simply won't be able to accommodate more.
Heaven knows how shocking it was when he released those poultry in front of those officials. Now everyone in the city is saying that he, Lu, is a god descended from heaven to save the Song Dynasty. Every time he goes out, people kneel and worship him, making him feel very uncomfortable.
Zhang Chulan: "That's good."
Seeing the new customers giving rave reviews, Zhang Chulan also crossed his legs in satisfaction.
Life is always full of ups and downs; in his case, it was a series of dramatic rises and falls, and then more rises and falls again.
Two years ago, who would have believed that he, who was targeted by the entire supernatural world because of a rumor about Qi Source, could rise to the position of a powerful director in the company?
Nowadays, even if the whole country revolves around him, he is at least among the top priorities in the country.
Against the backdrop of connecting with all the worlds, the existence of someone like Bao'er, who is an immortal being, is not so attractive.
As for him personally, he is already very satisfied with his current life. He only needs to do his job well and doesn't need to care about the rights and wrongs of the outside world.
As for cultivation levels and such, they are all external things and not important at all.
Han Li: "@Zhang Chulan, the first-generation experimental super gene is almost complete. In a while, you can prepare to receive it."
Zhang Chulan: "Okay, bro!"
Yes, Zhang Chulan also collaborates with Han Li. As the saying goes, "one should fulfill one's duties in one's position," and Zhang Chulan, as a company director, has certainly done his best.
Long ago, he provided Han Li with all eight extraordinary techniques except for the Great Luo Cave Observation, to help Han Li advance the progress of his super gene research.
During this period, with Zhuge Dali joining the laboratory and Lu Mingfei reconnecting to provide dragon blood, the first generation of super genes finally made new progress.
Inside the Luoyun Sect, Han Li was being continuously injected with the molten gold liquid in the injection solution on the production line. It was impossible for him not to be excited, but his face showed no emotion whatsoever.
Having entered the scientific field, Han Li's cautious nature not only remained unchanged, but actually became increasingly steady.
The super gene is the foundation for his future success, and he cannot be careless in the slightest. He will not inject it rashly until there are enough experimental subjects to provide sufficient experimental data, and then fill in the gaps and make up for all the defects.
He has already invited many humans and demons from various countries in the southern region to volunteer for scientific research. In addition, with the two hundred slots provided by Zhang Chulan, the number of experimental subjects participating in this experiment alone has reached five hundred.
Well, this isn't the limit of his steadiness, it's the limit of his and Zhuge Dali's energy.
Although the lab has received a lot of new talent in the past two years, their knowledge base is too limited, and they can only do the most basic work such as data entry. For delicate tasks such as observation and recording, they still have to do it themselves.
Just as Lu Mingfei was engrossed in reading the group chat comments, the main gate of the Jin camp suddenly swung open. Amidst the rising dust, a fully armored Jin general rode out of the camp, followed by eight thousand iron cavalry who formed a line like a black tide, charging straight toward the direction of the Song army's pontoon bridge.
"Where is the Cangyun Army!" Lu Mingfei's eyes immediately turned cold as he raised his long spear high.
"Here!" Behind Lu Mingfei, five thousand Cangyun soldiers responded in unison. Warhorses neighed, swords and spears were raised, and the clanging of armor plates clashing together mingled with the shouts, making one's eardrums ache.
"Charge!" With that, Lu Mingfei donned his face armor and charged forward with his spear, followed closely by five thousand soldiers, all with their faces covered in armor, as they fiercely charged towards the oncoming Jurchen cavalry.
On the open field, two streams of iron rushed toward each other.
Eight thousand Jurchen cavalry charged at full speed. The cavalry at the forefront held their spears level, the tips gleaming blindingly in the sunlight. Archers in the rear drew their bows and unleashed a hail of arrows, a blizzard that blotted out the sky, raining down on the Song army.
Arrows rained down on him, but Lu Mingfei, clad in light armor, showed no sign of panic. Iron arrows pierced his armor but bounced off his skin with a tinkling sound.
He lay prone on his horse, his long spear tucked under his arm, the tip pointing forward. His dark red armor gleamed red in the sunlight, and the distance between the two cavalrymen was rapidly closing.
Three hundred steps, two hundred steps, one hundred steps —
"Cangyun Army!" Lu Mingfei roared, his voice exploding from behind his mask like a thunderclap.
"Kill!!!" The five thousand Cangyun soldiers behind him responded in unison, their shouts shaking the heavens.
The moment the two armies clashed, Lu Mingfei charged into the Jin army's ranks on horseback. Like a red-hot iron rod being plunged into butter, with a single thrust, his long spear pierced the chest of a Jin cavalryman in succession. The spear tip entered from the front of his chest and emerged from his back. His entire body was lifted off the saddle, hanging on the spear shaft as he sprinted a few steps before being flung away with a flick of his wrist, smashing into several adjacent Jin soldiers.
With each sweep of the long spear, iron helmets dented and skulls shattered, and Jin soldiers fell from their horses, trampled into a bloody pulp by the hooves of the horses behind them.
A Jin soldier swung a spiked club at him, but he neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, he stabbed the man in the throat with a spear. Another Jin soldier rushed in from the side, his long sword slashing at his waist armor. Sparks flew and the blade chipped, but Lu Mingfei didn't even look. He smashed the man's head into a pulp with a spear.
The Jin soldiers' encirclement was as fragile as paper before him; wherever his spear passed, blood and flesh flew, and severed limbs were everywhere.
The blood-red horse beneath him was covered in blood, its mane adorned with bits of flesh and broken bones, white breath billowing from its mouth and nostrils, its hooves churning as it carved a bloody path through the pile of corpses.
No need for thought, no need for aiming; every swing of the spear is instinct, every thrust is muscle memory. The spear is an extension of his arm, and wherever the spear tip points, death follows.
He tore a gap in the Jin cavalry's square formation. Behind Lu Mingfei, five thousand Cangyun soldiers followed closely, expanding to both sides along the gap torn open by their commander. Swords and spears were raised, armor clashing. In an instant, the sides were piled with the corpses of Jin soldiers, as well as some wounded soldiers struggling in pools of blood. Horse hooves trampled over their bodies, and their screams were drowned out by the shouts of battle.
This is what is meant by killing people as easily as cutting grass.
The Jin army's formation collapsed instantly under the onslaught of the Cangyun army.
The cavalry in the front ranks were scattered, the cavalry in the back ranks had their charge route blocked, and the archers were cut down before they could even fire a second volley of arrows.
The Jin soldiers discovered that their proud archery and charging skills were completely ineffective against this Song army.
On the rammed earth platform, Wanyan Talan slapped the wooden railing in front of him, and the railing snapped in two.
"Damn it!" he cursed, his voice urgent and angry. Usually, it was the Jurchens who broke through the Song army's formation, but today it was the other way around.
Who exactly is this Song general who is leading the group?
Not only was Da Chou killed in one round on the battlefield, but the eight Meng'an he sent out were also scattered and defeated by his five thousand men.
Although they haven't been completely broken through yet, he, a veteran of many battles, knows that they are only holding on with their last bit of morale, and their defeat is not far off.
This is completely inconsistent with his idea that in a battle involving more than 10,000 men, one Meng'an would be enough to defeat 3,000 Song soldiers.
"Whose flag is that?" Wanyan Talan asked, pointing to the dark red flag still fluttering in the smoke. The two characters "Cangyun" on the flag appeared and disappeared in the firelight.
The guard beside him stood on tiptoe to look for a long time, then shook his head: "Never seen it before."
"Tsk." Wanyan Ta lazily narrowed his eyes, still deep in thought, when suddenly there was a commotion beside him, and a trusted servant tugged at him.
Talan followed his confidant's finger and looked in the direction indicated. Sweat began to bead on his forehead. On the ruins of a section of the collapsed and then blocked-up city wall of Changshe, Han Shizhong's banner had silently appeared somewhere long ago.
Oh no, we're probably going to be attacked from both sides!
In a fit of shock and rage, Wanyan Talan ordered his men to close the four open camp gates almost without hesitation.
In reality, Han Shizhong was also completely bewildered at that moment.
They've only been besieged for a few months, how come the government has suddenly gained such a formidable figure and such a powerful force?
Could it be that he, the emperor's most beloved general, is about to fall out of favor?
[Chat Group Channel]
The live stream was filled with cheers and shouts.
Russell: "Ming-zai, you're really treating this like Mount & Blade, aren't you?"
Xiao Yan: "But have you guys noticed that Ming Fei's condition is off?"
Asule: "Yes, his eyes were shining."
Gu Nan: "To be precise, the soldiers behind him were also not in good condition."
Zhuge Dali: "They were influenced, and were in a state of inexplicable excitement."
In the scene, Lu Mingfei's eyes flowed with golden light, like magma.
Behind him, the soldiers of the Cangyun Army seemed to be possessed, fighting fearlessly and recklessly. This level of bravery and excitement could not be explained by mere morale boosting.
Russell narrowed his eyes; he was all too familiar with this Word of Power.
But Lu Mingfei's actions were completely irrational.
In the dragon race's view, this situation is considered an awakening that begins without their knowledge.
hiss----
So, if we were to give this scene a name, shouldn't it be called the Dragon King Pavilion of Shaosong?
子衿