Chapter 2553 - 2551: Formation or Universe
A young officer stepped out before the Formation, cupped his fists toward the East Mountain God Huang Feihu and asked for orders, "Forebear, it was this child who botched the task. I’m willing to be the first to lead troops into battle and earn merit to atone for my crime!"
"Very good, you truly are a Huang Family’s Youngster!"
Huang Feihu stroked his beard in praise, then lifted the military tally and shouted, "Left-flank officers and soldiers, go into battle with General Huang Fangyong."
"This subordinate accepts the order!"
The generals on the left flank all cupped their fists and went into battle alongside Huang Fangyong.
Huang Fangyong hefted a golden Coiling Dragon Spear, leading over ten thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals as they pressed down, stopping in midair a hundred meters up.
Through the Time Mirror he had already seen Little Kirin and the others’ true forms.
This time enemies meeting again made his eyes go bloodshot; in rage he shouted at Little Kirin, "Oi, you dog thieves, changing your appearance, stealing Peach, nearly getting Grandpa killed. If you’ve got the guts, come out and fight!"
Little Kirin and the others chuckled, and Little Bai went out first to meet them.
He looked Huang Fangyong up and down, and deliberately jabbed at the sore spot, "Isn’t this the Peach Garden’s gallant flower-guard? How come you’re not looking after your little Zixuan today, and instead came to my place to throw a tantrum and act all tough?"
"You’re seeking death!"
Flames burst all over Huang Fangyong’s body; with one thrust of his spear he swept straight down at Little Bai.
The spear-force was like a dragon, carrying True Immortal’s Might, manifesting a spear shadow a hundred meters long.
With a buzz, the space below was instantly twisted by the pressure, rippling outward with waves of Mysterious Light.
The surrounding Little Demons cried out in shock, "This young general is really something!"
"As expected of the Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals!"
"That spear-force is downright terrifying!"
"..."
In the air, Huang Feihu stroked his beard, also feeling proud as he said, "This boy is indeed worthy of bearing my Huang family’s name."
Before his words had fallen, they saw Little Bai draw a streak of afterimage through the air, like a stream of light brushing past Huang Fangyong’s side.
With a sharp screech, like a blade scraping along a spear, an ear-piercing metallic shriek rang out.
The spear-force in Huang Fangyong’s hand abruptly stopped; he stared in disbelief, stunned for a heartbeat, and then his body and spear split simultaneously into two halves, only his Primordial Spirit turning into a streak of yellow light that shot frantically up into the sky.
Everyone was astonished; even the Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals were shocked stiff in place.
Little Bai, sword in hand, landed lightly on the ground and gave a soft laugh toward the fleeing Huang Fangyong, "I’ll spare your Primordial Spirit—only for the sake of my future Sister-in-law Zixuan."
Little Kirin coughed dryly from behind, itching to stuff something into this brat’s mouth.
Nezha, in the distance, clutched his belly and roared with laughter, "Sister-in-law Zixuan? Since when did my Sister Zixuan become his sister-in-law?"
He gave Zixuan beside him a mischievous grin.
Zixuan’s face flushed as she snapped, "Your Qian Yuan Mountain Disciple just lost, and you still have the mood to laugh at me?"
Nezha said carelessly, "Qian Yuan Mountain has plenty of Disciples; what rank does he count as? These people, relying on their ancestors’ glory, just muddle along in the Heavenly Court. I’ve long found them an eyesore. These rebels, though—now they’re much more to my taste."
Zixuan slanted him a look, then stared at Little Bai with a bit of reproach in her eyes, thinking that this fellow truly had no filter on his mouth.
Once this matter was over, she would go and reason with him properly.
She had originally been worried about Liangshan Island; now it seemed she should be worrying about the Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals instead.
For this gang of bandits to act like this, they clearly did have some real methods.
With their first engagement going badly, Huang Fangyong’s Primordial Spirit returned and immediately knelt before his forebear Huang Feihu, confessing in shame, "This subordinate is incompetent, I beg the Great Marshal to punish me!"
Huang Feihu frowned, raising a hand, "The bandits are formidable; the fault is not in your recognition of your mistake. Go down and recuperate your Primordial Spirit first."
Huang Fangyong kowtowed repeatedly, then turned into a streak of golden light and hid behind the battle formation.
Huang Feihu swept his gaze around and barked, "Which general will go up to engage them?"
All the young officers instinctively stepped back, all frightened by Little Bai’s speed.
They all served as soldiers and generals in the Heavenly Court just to muddle through.
Looking across the Heavenly Court’s nearly a million Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals, which of them truly wanted to risk their lives for Heaven? They were only there to idle about for their families’ interests.
When facing weak opponents, everyone could put on a show.
But when confronted with someone this ferocious, who dared to stake their own life in a head-on clash?
At Huang Feihu’s side, only four old brothers hadn’t retreated.
The Southern God Chong Heihu said, "Among these bandits, only the bandit chiefs up top have powerful Mana; the Little Demons below are all a disorderly rabble. If we fight them one-on-one we’ll certainly be at a disadvantage. Better to issue the order and send the whole army in, slaughter these Little Demons clean, and leave only a few leaders—what’s there to fear then!"
"Exactly, in waging war with these bandits, there’s no need to talk rules with them."
"Let’s all charge down and kill first, talk later!"
The Northern Hengshan God Cui Ying and the Central Songshan God Wen Pin both voiced their support.
Huang Feihu nodded, "So it should be; this commander has been too soft-hearted."
He raised the Command Banner and at once issued the order to the Hundred Thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, "All armies heed the order: exterminate the bandits, leave not a single one alive."
Dong, dong, dong—war drums boomed.
The Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals stepped down through the air, weapons in hand, and let out a roar, "Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"..."
Little Kirin raised his brows and shouted, "Aren’t battles supposed to send generals first and soldiers after?"
Chu Feng laughed, "They’re scared of us; not a single one’s got the guts to come down and duel. Since they dare come, we’ll make sure none of them go back."
He raised his Command Banner and gave a shout, "Form the Formation!"
On Liangshan Island, war drums also thundered.
A group of Little Demons, under the Demon King’s orders, immediately hefted the Formation Flags and began setting up the Formation.
"Time we went in as well!"
Chu Feng gave Little Kirin and the others a brief command, then led the thirty-six main-star Formation Flags they had selected and merged together into the Formation.
The sky above Liangshan Island, bright a moment ago, suddenly dimmed, as if a giant cauldron had been overturned over it.
Nezha watched from afar and let out a strange squawk, "What’s this supposed to be? A celestial dog devouring the sun?"
Zixuan was likewise curious, "Are they trying to block off the Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals?"
In the sky, the Five Peaks’ God who were commanding the battle snorted disdainfully, "Such a petty blindfolding trick, and they dare resist our Heavenly Soldiers?"
Once the Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals halted outside the black curtain, the East Mountain God Huang Feihu gave a great shout, "Go inside and break their Formation."
"Kill!"
A leading general shouted, and with him the troops charged headlong into the black curtain.
Outside it was still a clear bright day, but once inside they realized it was a different world altogether.
This was no blindfolding illusion, but a true, independent universe.
The Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals all possessed True Immortal Cultivation Level.
How vast was their Divine Sense? Yet when they swept it in all directions, repeatedly probing outward, they discovered they could not touch the boundary at all.
"What kind of hell place is this?"
"Could we really have entered another universe?"
"Why is it we can’t sense any edge here?"
"..."
Just a moment ago, with the hundred thousand strong army outside, they had still felt their military might billowing.
But once inside, the surroundings felt empty and boundless; the hundred thousand troops in this space seemed just as tiny as flecks of Meteorite dust.
A general shouted at a certain star, "These stars are the nodes of the Formation. Rush them and break these stars first!"
"Kill!"
Weapons in hand, they stepped into the void, charging toward one star after another.
The stars clearly hung right before their eyes, yet when they charged, it was like chasing starlight in a true cosmos.
They clearly felt they had leapt a tremendous distance, yet could not draw even half a step closer to the stars.
Some people even began to doubt whether this universe was real at all.