Chapter 00064: Trapped by Oneself
# Trapped by Oneself
Chapter 64
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 64: Trapped by Oneself
When the giant serpent attacked, he didn’t dodge or hesitate.
Instead, he leaped high into the air with his sword in both hands, aiming a powerful downward slash directly at the serpent’s head.
The strike was so fierce it could split mountains and slay gods.
Even He Lingchuan, who usually despised him, had to admit that the move was incredibly cool.
Faced with such a domineering attack, the powerful black serpent didn’t want to take it head-on.
It resorted to its old trick, lashing out with its tail once more.
Even the tip of its tail was as thick as two men embracing, and being hit by it would surely result in broken bones and torn tendons.
But Nian Songyu showed no fear.
With a swift change in the angle of his blade, he chopped directly at the serpent’s tail.
He was sent flying backward, but the tip of the serpent’s tail, over ten feet long, was severed with a loud crack.
Sun Fuping seemed oblivious to the battle before him, but the speed of his incantations grew faster and faster.
Correspondingly, the white light on the ivory carving grew brighter.
It was clear that when it reached its peak, something unfavorable to the black serpent would happen.
So, after shaking off Nian Songyu, the massive creature lowered its head and charged straight at Sun Fuping.
Its enormous head, like a battering ram, was adorned with sharp horns that could pierce through iron-clad city gates, let alone Sun Fuping’s flesh and blood.
But the dozen or so golden-armored soldiers standing in front of him formed a wall with their bodies.
The serpent’s head knocked several of them flying, but the remaining soldiers pushed back with all their might, actually managing to hold it in place.
Several demonic birds swooped down from the sky, aiming to peck at Sun Fuping.
But before their sharp beaks could pierce his skull, they collided with an invisible, hard barrier and snapped with a loud crack.
A barrier.
To buy these precious thirty breaths of time, Sun Fuping had already summoned the energy-draining golden-armored soldiers.
How could he neglect the importance of a barrier? But maintaining two barriers at once was too much even for someone as skilled as Sun Fuping.
He could feel his strength waning.
This level of energy consumption couldn’t be sustained.
He just needed to hold on for thirty breaths.
￥￥￥￥￥
He Chunhua took a deep breath and shouted at the Great Wind Army outside the Heavenly Thunder Formation, “Look at this!”
He pulled something out from his storage ring and held it high.
Storage spaces were usually small, about the size of a cubic meter, and even the nobles in the capital might not have one.
He Chunhua had the advantage of being a long-time border guard, and the ring he had was originally loot from a raid.
The item he took out didn’t take up much space.
It was just a broken comb, with signs of being scorched by fire.
The blue flower pattern on the top had faded a bit but was still mostly intact.
As soon as this unremarkable comb appeared, the army across from them grew restless.
Several commanders, including the leader of the squad that had previously clashed with the Blackwater City troops, stepped forward and stood just outside the formation, staring intently at the comb.
He Chunhua clearly remembered that Grandmaster Sun had identified this item from the remains of the Sand Leopard.
It still carried the powerful resentment of Zhong Shengguang, the commander of Panlong City.
Although Grandmaster Sun was cunning and his motives unclear, his knowledge and experience were always reliable.
So, this resentment must be familiar to the Great Wind Army.
Sure enough, as soon as the comb was revealed, the hostility of the Great Wind Army diminished significantly.
They even stopped driving the resentful spirits to attack the formation.
Anyone could feel that their hostility had greatly lessened.
“Step back!” He Chunhua shouted at the army spirits outside the formation, holding up the comb. “We don’t need you here!”
The Great Wind Army didn’t move an inch.
Even the horses beneath them didn’t snort or paw the ground.
Situ Han whispered, “Sir, they might not understand human speech. Besides, they were Western Luo people in life.”
He Chunhua suddenly realized, “That’s right. I’ve heard that many resentful spirits live in their own world and can’t communicate with the living.” Otherwise, why would the Great Wind Army withdraw their hostility just by seeing the comb? Rational humans wouldn’t be so easily swayed.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t communicate with the Great Wind Army at all.
He Chunhua thought for a moment, then made a gesture for retreat.
It was said that the military tactics of Panlong City had spread throughout the Panlong Wasteland and were still used in later generations, including many training and combat gestures.
He Chunhua, having led troops in battle, was familiar with this system.
Sure enough, several commanders saw the gesture and bowed to him in acknowledgment before turning and waving their hands.
Somehow, the spirits communicated among themselves, and the entire army turned and began to retreat slowly.
The living finally let out a sigh of relief.
They were saved.
Situ Han wiped his back, which was damp and cold. “Sir, you should’ve told us about this treasure earlier!”
He Chunhua rubbed his face, too tired to respond to the bandit’s complaints.
Though it seemed like he hadn’t done much, facing the Great Wind Army for so long and using the Heavenly Thunder Formation had drained everyone’s energy.
Now, he felt utterly exhausted and just wanted to sit down and rest.
“Step out of the formation, but don’t go too far,” he instructed everyone, reaching for the Sovereign Token on the staff.
With the Great Wind Army no longer a threat, they didn’t need the formation anymore.
Besides, after being tricked by Sun Fuping earlier, He Chunhua remained vigilant.
A few soldiers stepped out of the formation, only to be thrown back by the Heavenly Thunder barrier.
Their bodies stiffened, shaking as if they had malaria, and the hairs on their skin stood on end.
Everyone was shocked.
Situ Han threw a dagger, but it was also repelled.
Clearly, the formation was more lenient on those inside, not as brutal as it was against the resentful spirits outside.
“Sir, we’re trapped.”
Over there, He Chunhua couldn’t retrieve his Sovereign Token either—the beast head on the staff held it too tightly, refusing to let go no matter how hard he pulled.
By now, even the slowest among them could sense something was wrong.
He Chunhua directly drew his sword and slashed at the top of the staff, trying to cut off the beast head.
With a crisp “clang,” the attempt failed.
The sword was sharp, but the staff remained unharmed.
There were two other mages in the group who came forward to help.
But their spells were equally ineffective.
“Someone, pull it out!” He Chunhua ordered, having ropes tied to the staff.
Six strong men pulled with all their might, shouting in unison.
Honestly, even a pillar as thick as two men embracing would have fallen, but the staff remained firmly in place, unmoving.
“What do you think?” He Chunhua asked the two mages.
“The staff and the formation are now one. The formation won’t break, and the staff won’t move,” they replied after some thought. “To break the formation, we must first retrieve the Sovereign Token.”
The formation was powered by the Sovereign Token, so to break it, they needed to remove the source of its power.
The strange thing was that Sun Fuping had used the Sovereign Token’s power to trap He Chunhua and his men.
To escape, they would first have to break their own power!
If a hundred people united, their morale would rise, and the power of the Sovereign Token would strengthen accordingly.
The stronger the formation, the harder it would be for them to escape.
What a ridiculous situation!
Just then, one of the mages suddenly pointed to the ground and said, “Sir, there’s another formation here!”
---
Please bookmark, recommend, and invest in the new book (only once).
(End of Chapter)