Chapter 00205: Breaking the Formation
# Breaking the Formation
Chapter 205
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 205: Breaking the Formation
He Lingchuan looked at the scene before him and felt that the originally eerie spider nest had become even more bizarre and strange.
What was the relationship between these things and Zhu Erniang? Why did they have to sit in rows deep within this cavern?
Finally, at the end of this row, He Lingchuan saw the eighth one.
It was of a size comparable to Zhu Erniang, also standing motionless against the mountain wall.
However, He Lingchuan felt that something was off.
He took two steps back to compare it with the seventh giant spider and discovered that the eighth one did not have any luminous spores on it.
This meant that it had not been dead for long?
Just as he was pondering this, the giant spider suddenly raised its front claw and rubbed its eyes!
What the hell, it was alive!
This shock was immense, causing He Lingchuan's scalp to tingle.
He jumped back and without a second thought, turned to run.
Outside was a maze; if he could escape, there might still be a glimmer of hope.
The chaos in Weicheng continued.
The Ba Ling City Guards and the infiltrating Da Feng Army were locked in a tug-of-war at the city gate.
The latter had stronger individual combat power, but the former had greater numbers, and the Ba Ling Army inside the city had already reacted, beginning their counterattack.
Everyone could feel the ground trembling slightly, and the sound of hooves echoed not far away.
Considering the signal rocket that had just been launched, it was very likely that another ambush of Da Feng Army lurking outside had seen the signal and was coming to seize the city.
Outside Weicheng was a flat wasteland, visible for miles during the day, but the tall grass of the wasteland and the night’s darkness concealed the movements of the Da Feng Army.
It turned out that the five thousand Da Feng soldiers who had attacked the city earlier were merely bait, while the real killers had remained motionless.
Once again, they were drawing the tiger away from the mountain.
The Ba Ling defenders changed color upon hearing the sounds, and the battle for the city gate became fiercely intense.
Both sides understood that if the Da Feng Army arrived at the city gate while it was still open, there would be no chance of closing it again, and Weicheng would surely fall.
However, the city gate was small and narrow; it had been built with defense in mind, which now worked to the advantage of those like Xiao Maoliang who were entering the city.
The number of enemies that could squeeze in was limited, and most of the Ba Ling soldiers were blocked by their comrades behind them.
The twenty or so of them could barely hold on.
But they were also on the brink of collapse.
They were like a tiny island in a storm, perhaps to be swallowed by the next wave.
The false logistics soldier standing by the copper talisman at the city gate looked at the small pot in his hand.
The three corpse insects released from the pot had already roamed the city, attempting to invade the Ba Ling soldiers, but they were ejected as soon as they entered the seven orifices.
The situation was unusual; the three corpse insects had always been invincible on the battlefield.
Originally, their plan was to destroy the copper talisman formation behind the gate and then release the three corpse insects to incite the Ba Ling soldiers into a frenzy, allowing them to open the city gate and let the outside army in to clear the area.
The plan was perfect, but the second step had gone awry.
These three corpse insects could not complete their task.
This meant that the Qing Feng Curse or some other divine ability was still at work, protecting the Ba Ling people's minds from disturbance.
However, such large-scale formations were extremely complex to create, not small in size, and very cumbersome to move.
He looked around the city below but found no trace of the formation.
Where could it be hidden?
At that moment, a voice from the inner street appeared again, directed at him: “Take down the Red General at the city gate, regardless of life or death! The one who achieves this will be granted the title of Marquis and receive five thousand gold!”
Red General?
The spy hiding in the shadow of the city wall was actually the Red General himself?
The opposing commander dared to take such a risk; as long as the city gate closed, it would be like catching a dragon in a jar?
Like water splashed into boiling oil, the Ba Ling soldiers erupted.
The Red General's figure flickered as he dodged seven or eight arrows shot from all directions.
Under the heavy reward, the attention of the Ba Ling soldiers was completely diverted.
The next move of the Red General was to jump down from the city tower.
This place was inconvenient for movement, and staying there would make him a target.
However, below him were densely packed Ba Ling soldiers.
Yet, while he was in mid-air, he snapped his fingers: “Wind, come!”
A fierce wind suddenly arose, at least at level eleven or twelve, carrying the ubiquitous sand and grass roots of the wasteland, making it impossible for people to open their eyes.
The wind came so abruptly that the Ba Ling soldiers instinctively turned to shield their eyes; otherwise, they would be left in tears and with sore eyes.
Xiao Maoliang and the others seized the opportunity to push the city gate inward a few more feet.
One or two hundred torches were extinguished, and darkness immediately engulfed the area beneath the city gate.
The Ba Ling soldiers, braving the wind to try and catch the Red General, found that they could no longer see him!
From the very beginning, he had hidden in the darkness, and no one had seen his true form.
By the time he jumped down the city ladder… he was already wearing Ba Ling military attire; now that he stood among this army, who could tell which one was the Red General!
At the same time, Hu Min and the others heard the cold voice of the Red General in their hearts: “Shoot out those torches!”
Torches?
Hu Min focused his gaze and indeed saw that the entire city was in darkness, including the inner city, which was pitch black, even the oil lamps in the houses had been extinguished.
Only a few torches remained lit in the right front of the city gate, stubbornly continuing to shine amidst the raging wind and hail.
Previously, the torches had been everywhere, and these few mixed in were not noticeable at all; now that all the other torches were extinguished, only they remained lit, making them suddenly stand out.
That direction was the post station?
Since it was the Red General's order, Hu Min and the others did not hesitate to raise their bows and shoot.
As an archer, he had hidden away in a dark spot after the battle began, allowing him to act with composure now.
Strangely, just as they raised their bows, the fierce wind stopped; otherwise, who could shoot accurately in such a strong wind?
There were not just Hu Min among the sharpshooters brought by the Red General; in just the blink of an eye, two of the six torches had been shot out.
In the midst of the chaos, the Ba Ling soldiers felt at a loss when suddenly someone shouted: “The Red General has gone to the post station!”
Upon hearing this, everyone turned and rushed in that direction.
A loud shout came from the inner street: “Stop! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!”
Immediately, a large group of soldiers surged out, surrounding the person in the center, who was dressed in light armor and draped in a long cloak.
Two personal guards stood behind him, each holding a box filled with luminous spores.
Lighting equipment was suddenly available.
The leader pointed at the crowd below and said: “Step back, no one is allowed to approach!”
Clearly, this person had great authority, and most soldiers halted in their tracks.
However, there were also guards under Hua Mucuo who could not follow orders and ran a few steps closer to the post station.
To facilitate the envoy and incoming guests, this post station had originally been built right next to the city gate, only three or four zhang away from the city wall.
These soldiers running a few more steps were almost at the post station.
Hu Min and the others continued to take shots, and only two points of light remained among the torches around the post station.
In the darkness, two figures suddenly lunged toward the post station.
Someone beside the Ba Ling leader drew a bow, and two arrows shot at the two unfortunate souls.
But no one noticed that another figure was lurking behind the two unlucky ones, slipping into the post station like a ghost.
His movements were as swift as a wisp of smoke, and in this pitch-black environment, no one could see clearly.
This person was the Red General.
Upon entering the post station, he quickly looked around.
Just as his side's archers extinguished the last torch, the entire post station was plunged into darkness.
The Red General swiftly moved through the post station, covering the door, the waiting hall, and the horse stable in just two breaths, finally discovering a faint blue light emanating from the ground as he passed the stable, but it was covered by yellow grass, making it hard to see clearly.
Indeed, it was here.
The Red General stepped forward, using his long knife to part the weeds, revealing another copper talisman beneath!
No wonder the three corpse insects could not invade the human body; the Qing Xin Curse on this copper plate was still at work.
The opponent was meticulous; in order to protect/conceal this formation, they had even set up another formation around the post station with torches, effectively layering the traps.
Unfortunately, this was a case of overreaching.
Under the fierce wind, the unextinguished torches became particularly conspicuous.
Now Hu Min and the others had shot out six more torches, breaking the formation and clearing the last obstacle for the Red General.
Once he destroyed this copper talisman and released the three corpse insects, the scales of victory would tilt toward the Da Feng Army.
However, just as the Red General raised his knife, a pile of fodder stacked in the corner suddenly exploded, and a massive figure charged out from within!
The two were only four feet apart, and the stable was narrow; the Red General had no space to dodge.
Moreover, he had not sensed any living presence in that pile of grass.
At that moment, the battle for the city gate had reached its climax, with soldiers from both sides engaged in bloody combat.
Xiao Maoliang's team had already lost three more members.
If the gate were to close, the hope of survival for this small team would likely be cut off.
Yet even if they could retreat a few steps to escape the city gate, no one was willing to do so.
They gritted their teeth, preferring to block with their chests and bear the burden with their lives.
Hold on, reinforcements would arrive soon;
Hold on, victory would surely belong to the Red General!
In three years and twelve battles, the Red General had never lost.
No matter how difficult the situation, he always managed to turn the tide in the end.
The Da Feng soldiers following him had almost blind confidence in him.
At that moment, the thatched roof of the post station was pierced, and the Red General was sent flying out.
Like a ball struck by a stick, he flew three zhang before landing, barely stabilizing his form.
Immediately after, a massive figure burst through the brick wall of the post station, blocking in front of the Ba Ling army leader, glaring at the Red General.
This was actually a gigantic stone man, composed entirely of rocks of various sizes, and it was unclear what was used as its core for movement.
Without needing orders, the Ba Ling soldiers surged forward, surrounding the Red General.
The situation was instantly reversed.
“The legendary Red General, who commands troops like a god, is nothing more than this!” the Ba Ling army leader laughed loudly, “Is this still the same Mi Tian Niang Niang from before?”
A single clever maneuver had trapped the Red General; he could not afford to be complacent.
The Red General tilted his head: “Who are you?”
“The one who will defeat you is Ba Ling's National Master Shao Yan's son, Shao Yingyang; remember this…”
Before he could finish, the Red General interrupted him: “Which deity is behind you?”
Shao Yingyang put away his smile: “Return what does not belong to you, and you will naturally know.” After saying this, he raised his hand and ordered, “Kill them all, leave none alive!”
The Red General wanted to buy time; he would not be fooled.
The most important thing was to close the city gate first; the rest could be dealt with slowly.
Ha, what war god, what Da Feng Army, to him, they were just a bunch of brutes!
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(End of Chapter)