Chapter 00276: Battle to the Death
# Battle to the Death
Chapter 276
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 276: Battle to the Death
He turned and left, becoming the first target.
Fortunately, He Lingchuan had reminded him beforehand.
Mao Tao felt a jolt in his heart; the arrow did not hit its target and was knocked away by his raised blade.
Immediately, the sound of arrows breaking the air filled the surroundings as more than ten arrows were launched together.
He Lingchuan batted away the arrows aimed at him.
In the first moment, he smashed a medicine bottle onto the ground, which shattered upon impact, exploding in a thick cloud of white smoke that instantly enveloped the area.
This was a smoke bomb formula he had secretly learned from the female patrol guard Liu Tiao in the Panlong Dreamscape.
He had requested multiple types of smoke bombs from the medicine ape Lingguang, and the one he threw now had the desired effect of creating a smoke screen.
Both sides of the battle had infused their arrows with elemental energy, so the effectiveness of smoke produced by magic spells to obscure vision was limited; it was not as good as this smoke bottle.
The forest was already dimly lit, and with the white smoke spreading, the enemy couldn’t see clearly at all.
Dan Youjun also drew his blade in defense.
However, He Lingchuan seemed to hear Dan Youjun grunt softly; it seemed he had been hit.
Even the Qingbo Beast that He Lingchuan rode was not spared, as two arrows struck its flank and were subsequently batted away.
Shoot the rider before shooting the horse.
Fortunately, the collar bell it wore also served as a magical artifact.
Although it couldn’t produce sound, its protective effect was excellent.
However, against elemental energy, it diminished significantly.
Yet most of the arrows were aimed at Mao Tao.
He raised his hand to knock two arrows away, which was timely enough, and two more arrows were blocked by his protective artifact, but he couldn't compete with the rest.
From the corner of He Lingchuan's eye, he saw a flash of green light on Mao Tao, which then immediately vanished.
The jade talisman the size of a fingertip at his waist shattered with a sharp crack.
There were simply too many enemy arrows, all infused with elemental power, and the protective effect of the artifact was quickly exhausted.
The remaining three arrows whizzed through the air and pierced into his body.
He Lingchuan clearly saw Mao Tao shudder as a segment of an arrowhead pierced through his back, a horrifying sight.
“Mao Tao!”
He Lingchuan exclaimed in shock and anger, but he dared only to whisper.
He could see the outlines of rocks and trees around him, and several archers were drawing their bows again, preparing to shoot.
He squeezed the belly of the Qingbo Beast, which charged forward like an arrow.
In the midst of the fog, one had to move swiftly to avoid becoming a target.
He Lingchuan drew a strong crossbow from his storage ring, preloaded for immediate use.
He was no longer the novice of years past; even while moving, he maintained exceptional accuracy.
Two crossbow bolts flew out, striking two of the archers.
One was shot through the right wrist, while the other took an arrow to the throat.
The Qingbo Beast was extraordinarily fast.
The enemy only perceived a disturbance in the smoke before a tall horse burst forth.
With the archer unable to draw their bow in time, they could only resort to melee combat.
He Lingchuan struck downward with his blade, leaving the two enemy soldiers dumbfounded.
By the time he caught up to the third person, the upper halves of the first two had already fallen, blood splattering everywhere.
That strike was filled with anger, striking as swiftly as lightning, cleaving both person and weapon in half.
Especially with the second person, the blade barely grazed his body, yet the cold light emanating from it was over a foot long, slicing through skin and armor, as if it were slicing through cream.
Having killed four men in quick succession, the enemy cavalry arrived.
A long spear aimed directly at his throat.
As their horses crossed paths, He Lingchuan first cut off the spear tip with one strike.
The second stroke came back swift like a swallow, slicing off half the rider’s head.
Others only saw two flashes of cold light, and the cavalryman became a headless corpse.
Who wouldn’t be terrified by such a display? The soldiers from Xunzhou in front of him couldn’t help but scatter in all directions.
Occasionally, two cold arrows were either dodged or shot down by him, causing no harm.
These soldiers were agile, but before the impact of the Qingbo Beast and the sharpness of the Floating Life Blade, they had almost no ability to counter.
This showed the significant disparity in skill between generals and soldiers.
He Lingchuan himself was unaware that as he reached this point, the aura of a commander began to slowly manifest within him.
Suddenly, someone shouted, “That’s him! He injured General Baili!”
Finally, someone recognized him.
Among the ambushing troops that Hong Chenglue had left behind, a few had gone with Baili Qing to launch a surprise attack on Xinhui Town.
They had a deep impression of how their general had been defeated.
However, due to the unclear visibility here, He Lingchuan was not identified until he had killed several people.
He Lingchuan suddenly heard Dan Youjun’s warning: “Watch your back!”
Indeed, there was a slight disturbance behind him.
He Lingchuan quickly crouched low, pressing his upper body against the belly of the Qingbo Beast, just as a red figure leaped over him from the horse's back.
Had he not dodged in time, he might have been knocked off the horse.
As it flew through the air, it lowered its head and opened its mouth to bite at his neck.
He Lingchuan tilted his head, evading the bite, but the upper and lower jaws clapped with a crisp “clack.”
Only when the creature landed did He Lingchuan realize that it was a large red cat, with long and sturdy limbs, indicating exceptional jumping ability.
Dan Youjun exclaimed urgently, “It doesn’t eat blade and sword attacks!”
He was currently entangled with another giant cat, sporting several blood wounds.
The creature emitted a faint green glow and did not evade Dan Youjun’s attacks, as blades and spears passed directly through its body, as if cutting through nothing!
Did this creature have no physical form?
No, that wasn’t right; when it dodged, it had entered a state of non-existence.
Since it received the blessing of its master’s elemental power, the weapons infused with elemental energy from Dan Youjun couldn’t harm it.
It could be said that they neutralized each other.
This Blood Cat moved extremely fast, leaving only an afterimage as it ran.
Dan Youjun faced peril multiple times, with his eyes and throat nearly caught.
He managed to see clearly that the wrinkled surface of the Blood Cat was not covered in fur, but rather a human face, one after another!
Faces with different features, expressions, and genders—some smiling, some angry, some crying, and some screaming silently.
He didn’t know that these beings were called ‘Charming Spirits.’ With the sun having set, it was the perfect time for them to cause chaos.
While Dan Youjun was fighting the Blood Cat, a shadow emerged silently from behind him, a spear jabbing towards his back.
It was the Xunzhou General Tao Ze, who had led the ambush.
Dan Youjun’s hair stood on end at the back of his neck; he knew something was wrong, but it was already too late to turn around.
At that moment, a long spear shot from in front of him, almost brushing against his ear as it shot backward with a “clank,” striking Tao Ze’s spear tip, causing him to misdirect it.
It was He Lingchuan who had acted, throwing the Tenglong Spear like a javelin, narrowly saving Dan Youjun’s life.
This move was a standard skill that all members of the Great Winds Army had to master, thus as a backup patrolman, He Lingchuan had certainly practiced diligently.
The javelin — no, the long spear that He Lingchuan threw wasn’t as overwhelming as Xiao Maoliang’s, but its accuracy and force were already sufficiently satisfactory.
After hitting the long spear aside, the Tenglong Spear also flew crookedly, burying itself into a tree trunk with a “thud.”
The Blood Cat he had been fighting did not evade He Lingchuan’s attack and remained arrogantly unbothered.
Thus, He Lingchuan swung the Floating Life Blade once and cleaved it in half.
The large cat did not bleed, nor did it cry out in pain; it simply fell to the ground, turning to ash, but the human faces all over its body emerged, transforming into a wailing group of wretched spirits!
The spear in Tao Ze's hand was called the “Crimson Tiger.” The souls of those who had died beneath it might have been absorbed into the spear body, feeding the two Blood Cats transformed from the Charming Spirits with an endless supply of energy.
Now that one of the Charming Spirits had been killed by He Lingchuan, the vengeful spirit trapped within immediately broke free, filled with an intense hatred, and began an indiscriminate revenge on the surrounding living beings!
Having lingered within the Charming Spirit for so long, they had also taken on its characteristics, usually intangible and formless, only solidifying for the attack.
The nearby Xunzhou soldiers did not expect such a turnaround, and in the blink of an eye, four were knocked down.
Some were invaded through their mouth and nose as the spirits turned their brains upside down, while others were ripped apart, screaming in agony.
Seeing this scene, Tao Ze was also taken by surprise, having to pull back the elemental power bestowed on the Charming Spirits.
Once the faint light around these vengeful spirits disappeared, they would be blocked by the elemental power on the Xunzhou soldiers, easily pushed away or heavily scattered, no longer posing a threat.
But Tao Ze could not understand how He Lingchuan had so easily dispatched the Blood Cat? Such a Charming Spirit should maintain its ghostly form unless it bites its opponent.
Of course, he did not know that the Floating Life Blade in He Lingchuan’s hand possessed a characteristic called “Breaking the Void,” which could counter formless entities.
Clearly, Charming Spirits met this standard, did Floating Life Blade play nice with them?
He retracted the elemental power from the Charming Spirits, and the remaining Blood Cat’s pressure on Dan Youjun immediately diminished greatly.
Being a conglomerate of vengeful spirits, it did not deal much harm to the Xianzhou soldiers with elemental power.
Dan Youjun took a deep breath and turned to face Tao Ze in single combat.
At this moment, the white smoke filled the area, and the Xunzhou soldiers hesitated to charge in, wary of the blade He Lingchuan wielded.
He Lingchuan seized the opportunity to jump down to the floor, rushing to Mao Tao, who was gasping for breath, prying open his mouth to stuff in a crucial life-saving pill.
He had taken this pill before — when he was once pushed off a cliff by a leopard monster, it had indeed sustained his breath for two hours, and back then he had only consumed half — knowing fully well it was effective, yet exceedingly hard to come by.
The pill melted upon entering, but Mao Tao was no longer in a position to enjoy it.
He stared at He Lingchuan and, mustering all his strength, could only squeeze out a few words:
“Leave… quickly!”
As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes became unfocused.
Medicinal remedies don’t work for mortal wounds.
His heart had been shot through, and to survive until now was already a miracle; the medicine would be ineffective.
Dan Youjun shouted, “It’s time to go!”
Before the enemy, he couldn’t call out "Master."
By now, two Xunzhou soldiers had already sounded the alarm, sharp and urgent calls echoing through the forest.
Hong Chenglue’s troops were not far away; upon hearing the signal, they would undoubtedly come to support.
With only two against hundreds, they were not the Red General, and death was certain.
He Lingchuan gritted his teeth and closed Mao Tao’s eyes before jumping back onto the Qingbo Beast, charging towards Tao Ze.
The Qingbo Beast was about the size of an ordinary horse but had a faster starting speed, capable of gaining momentum within three zhang.
Tao Ze was currently entangled with Dan Youjun, the white smoke nearly dispersing, allowing his soldiers to surge forward.
Suddenly, He Lingchuan charged in, riding the beast!
Tao Ze had already heard his soldiers shouting, knowing that the youth before him was the culprit who had injured Baili Qing, and he had only used one move.
He had not personally participated in that ambush and was unclear that He Lingchuan had coincidentally activated the Floating Life Blade's “Breaking the Army” characteristic, pushing forward forcefully.
He only knew that his own strength was vastly inferior to Baili Qing's, and now tangled with Dan Youjun, his heart faltered; where would he dare to confront He Lingchuan's tactics?
(End of Chapter)