After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 204: Chapter 205: Breaking the Array

As Hee Lingchuan took in the scene, the already bizarre Spider Nest seemed to grow even more grotesque and surreal.

’What is the connection between these things and Second Madam Zhu?’

’Why did they have to come to the depths of this cavern to sit in rows and pass away?’

Finally, at the end of the row, Hee Lingchuan saw the eighth one.

Its body was comparable in size to Second Madam Zhu’s, and it too was leaning motionless against the cavern wall.

But Hee Lingchuan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

He stepped back to look at the seventh Giant Spider for comparison and realized the eighth one had no fluorescent spores on it.

’Does that mean it hasn’t been dead for long?’

Just as he was staring and pondering, the Giant Spider suddenly raised a foreleg and wiped its eyes!

’Holy shit, it’s alive!’

The shock was immense, making Hee Lingchuan’s scalp tingle. He leaped back and, without a second thought, turned and ran.

The outside was a total maze, but if he could get out, he might just have a sliver of a chance to survive.

***

The chaos in Wei City continued.

The Baling City Guard and the infiltrating Great Wind Army were locked in a stalemate at the city gate. The latter’s individual soldiers were stronger, but the former had greater numbers. Moreover, the Baling Army inside the city had already reacted and begun to counter-attack.

Everyone could feel a slight tremor in the ground, and the sound of horse hooves echoed from not far away.

Considering the signal arrow the spy had launched earlier, this was likely another contingent of the Great Wind Army that had been lying in ambush outside, now coming to seize the city upon seeing the signal.

Outside Wei City stretched a flat wilderness where one could see for a hundred li during the day, but the tall grass of the wilderness and the darkness of the night concealed the Great Wind Army’s movements.

It turned out the five thousand Great Wind Army soldiers who had attacked earlier were just a decoy. The real killing blow had been held in reserve.

Luring the tiger from the mountain. It was the same feint, all over again.

The Baling garrison’s faces paled at the sound, and the battle for the gate instantly became white-hot. Both sides knew that if the gate wasn’t closed by the time the Great Wind Army arrived, it would never be closed that night. Wei City would surely fall.

However, Wei City’s gatehouse was small and narrow. While this was originally a defensive consideration, it now worked to the advantage of Xiao Maoliang and his men. Few enemies could squeeze through at once, and most of the Baling soldiers were blocked by their own comrades, allowing the twenty-odd infiltrators to barely hold on.

But their position was precarious.

They were like a tiny island in a raging storm, liable to be swallowed by the next great wave.

The fake logistics soldier standing by the Copper Talisman at the gate glanced at the small pot in his hands.

The Three Corpses Insects released from the pot had long since been roaming the city. They had tried to invade the Baling soldiers, but were repelled before they could even enter their orifices.

This was unusual; the Three Corpses Insects had always been invincible on the battlefield. Their original plan was to destroy the Copper Talisman Battle Array behind the gate, then release the Three Corpses Insects to drive the Baling Army into a frenzy and make them turn on each other. Then, they could open the gates and let the army outside sweep in to clean up.

The plan was perfect, but it had failed at the second step.

These Three Corpses Insects couldn’t complete their mission.

In other words, the Clear Wind Spell or some other Divine Technique was still active, protecting the minds of the Baling People and keeping them lucid.

But this kind of large-scale, aura-type Battle Array was extremely complex to create, considerable in size, and difficult to move. He scanned the area below the walls but saw no sign of it.

’Where could it be hidden?’

Just then, that voice from the inner street rang out again, this time targeting him: ”Take down the Red General on the city gate, dead or alive! The one who gets the first kill will be made a Marquis and receive five thousand gold!”

’The Red General?’

This spy, hiding silently in the shadows of the city wall, was actually the Red General himself?

The enemy commander had dared to put himself in danger? If they just closed the gate, it would be like trapping a dragon in a jar!

As if a ladle of water had been poured into boiling oil, the Baling Army erupted with a BUZZ.

The Red General’s figure flashed as he dodged seven or eight arrows fired from all directions.

Tempted by the great reward, the Baling Army’s attention was now completely focused on him.

The Red General’s next move was to leap down from the gate tower. The space was too cramped for maneuvering, and staying up there would only make him a sitting duck. Below, however, was a dense crowd of Baling soldiers.

But while still in mid-air, he snapped his fingers.

”Wind, come!”

A wicked wind rose from the ground—a short, violent gust of at least Force 11 or 12—carrying with it the ubiquitous sand and grassroots of the wilderness, blowing so hard people couldn’t even open their eyes.

The wind was so sudden that the Baling soldiers instinctively turned and covered their eyes; otherwise, the wind would have made them tear up and their eyes ache.

Xiao Maoliang and his men seized the opportunity to push the gate open a few feet further inward.

One or two hundred torches were blown out, plunging the area beneath the gate into darkness. The Baling soldiers braved the wind, trying to grab the Red General, only to find he had vanished!

From the very beginning, he had been hidden in the darkness, and no one had seen his true face. After he leaped from the gate tower... he was already wearing a Baling Army uniform. Now that he was standing among their ranks, who could possibly know which one was the Red General?

At the same time, the Red General’s cold voice rang in the minds of Hu Min and the others: ”Shoot out those torches!”

’Torches?’

Hu Min focused his gaze and saw that the entire city was indeed dark. Even the inner city was blacked out, with even the oil lamps in the private residences extinguished.

Only a few torches to the front and right of the city gate remained lit. Despite the raging wind and hail, their stubborn flames continued to burn brightly.

Before, with torches everywhere, these few hadn’t stood out at all. Now that all the others were extinguished, their light was glaringly conspicuous.

’That direction... is that the posthouse?’

Since it was the Red General’s command, Hu Min and his men raised their bows and fired without hesitation.

As an archer, he had found a dark place to hide as soon as the battle began, which allowed him to act with ease now.

Miraculously, the strong wind stopped the moment they raised their bows. Otherwise, trying to draw a bow in such a gale, not even a ghost could have hit its mark.

Hu Min wasn’t the only Divine Archer the Red General had brought. In the span of two or three blinks, two of the six torches were extinguished.

Amid the chaos, just as the Baling Army was feeling lost and confused, someone suddenly shouted, ”The Red General went to the posthouse!”

Hearing this, everyone took off and charged in that direction.

Another loud shout came from the inner street: ”All of you, halt! Those who disobey will be executed!”

A large group of soldiers immediately surged out. The man surrounded in their center wore Light Armor and a great cloak. Behind him stood two Personal Guards, each holding a box filled with fluorescent spores.

Instant illumination.

The leader pointed at the crowd below the wall and commanded, ”Stand down! No one is to advance!”

This man obviously commanded great authority, as most of the soldiers stopped in their tracks. However, there were also garrison soldiers under Hua Mucuo’s command present, who were not so disciplined and continued to run a few more steps toward the posthouse.

To accommodate ministers and traveling guests, the posthouse had been built right next to the city gate, no more than thirty or forty feet from the wall. A few more steps and these soldiers would be there.

Hu Min and his men pressed on, firing several more precise shots, until only the last two flickering lights remained around the posthouse.

In the darkness, two figures suddenly lunged toward the posthouse.

Someone beside the Baling Leader immediately drew a bow. SWISH! SWISH! Two arrows struck their bodies.

But no one noticed another figure, tucked behind the two unlucky souls, who slipped into the posthouse like a phantom.

His movements were as fast as a wisp of smoke, and in the pitch-black environment, no one could see him clearly.

This person was the Red General.

As soon as he entered the posthouse, he looked left and right. Just then, his archers shot out the last torch, plunging the entire posthouse into darkness.

The Red General moved swiftly through the posthouse. In the space of just two breaths, he had swept through the front shop, the main hall, and the horse stalls. Finally, as he passed the stables, he noticed a faint green glow emanating from the ground, but it was obscured by a thick layer of yellow straw.

’So it really is here.’

The Red General stepped forward and used his Long Saber to push aside the straw, revealing another Copper Talisman underneath!

No wonder the Three Corpses Insects couldn’t invade their bodies; the Purifying Heart Spell on this Copper Plate was still active.

His opponent was meticulous. To protect and conceal this Battle Array, they had actually set up another Array around the posthouse using torches—a trap within a trap.

Unfortunately for them, this cleverness had backfired. Under the assault of the fierce wind, the unquenchable torches became especially conspicuous.

Now that Hu Min and the others had shot out the six torches and broken the Array, the final obstacle for the Red General was cleared.

Destroy this Copper Talisman, release the Three Corpses Insects, and the Balance Scale of victory would tip toward the Great Wind Army.

Who would have known that just as the Red General raised his saber, the pile of hay in the corner suddenly exploded, and a huge figure charged out from within!

They were barely four feet apart, and the stable was so narrow that the Red General had no room to dodge.

Besides, he hadn’t sensed the presence of any living person in that hay pile at all.

At that moment, the battle for the city gate had reached its final, critical stage. Warriors on both sides were fighting to the death.

Three more people from Xiao Maoliang’s team had fallen.

If the gate was closed, this small squad’s hope of survival would likely be extinguished. Yet, even though they could escape through the gate by taking just a few steps back, not a single one was willing to do so.

They gritted their teeth, willing to block the gate with their chests, to hold it with their very lives.

’Hold on, the reinforcements are almost here!’

’Hold on, victory will belong to the Red General!’

In twelve battles over three years, the Red General had never lost. No matter how difficult the situation, he could always turn defeat into victory in the end.

The Great Wind Army soldiers who followed him had an almost blind faith in him.

Just then, a large hole was smashed through the posthouse’s thatched roof, and the Red General was sent flying out.

Like a ball struck by a bat, he flew thirty feet before landing and barely managed to steady himself.

Immediately after, a massive figure smashed through the posthouse’s brick wall and charged out, planting itself in front of the Baling Leader and glaring menacingly at the Red General.

It was a giant Stone Man, its entire body composed of rocks of various sizes, driven by some unknown core.

Without needing orders, the Baling Army surged forward and surrounded the Red General.

The situation reversed in an instant.

”So the Red General, whose command of troops is said to be godlike, is nothing special after all!” the Baling Leader roared with laughter. ”Is this the same Lady Mitian of old?”

Having trapped the Red General with a single brilliant scheme, he couldn’t help but feel smug.

The Red General tilted his head. ”Who are you?”

”The one who defeated you is Shao Yingyang, son of the Baling National Master Shao Yan. Remember it well—”

Before he could finish, the Red General cut him off. ”Which of the Deities is backing you?”

Shao Yingyang’s smile vanished. ”Return what doesn’t belong to you, and you will naturally find out.” With that, he waved his hand and ordered, ”Kill them! Leave no one alive!”

The Red General was trying to stall for time, but he wasn’t about to fall for it. Closing the city gate was the most important thing; the rest could be dealt with slowly.

’Hmph. The War God? The Great Wind Army? To me, they’re nothing but a bunch of brutes!’