Chapter 00066: Fearless
# Fearless
Chapter 66
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 66: Fearless
The city gates were shrouded in thick smoke, making it impossible to see the ground clearly.
He Lingchuan wasn’t idle either.
With a wave of his hand, he shouted to the crowd, “Come on, let’s go for the second round!”
His keen eyes had noticed that the first few fire arrows had been deflected by Nian Songyu.
The guy was indeed a fierce fighter after going berserk.
He Lingchuan thought it best to finish him off completely.
Since they had already fired the first round and thoroughly crossed the line with the Imperial Preceptor, there was no harm in going for a second or even a third round.
At most, they’d be tearing off their last shred of dignity.
No one objected, and everyone busied themselves with reloading.
The second round was launched smoothly.
He Lingchuan then realized that while the nail bombs made the loudest noise, deafeningly so, the trebuchets were probably more terrifying in terms of destructive power.
Although the projectiles didn’t explode on impact, these modified trebuchets on the city gates had a rapid-fire function.
Once fully loaded, they could hurl twenty-four boulders in quick succession!
If operated by humans, there would inevitably be errors.
But in Panlong City, controlled by the Black Flood Dragon, all twenty-four boulders landed almost exactly on the same spot—right where Sun Fuping stood.
Putting himself in Sun Fuping’s shoes, He Lingchuan figured he wouldn’t survive past the fourth boulder.
He’d either be flattened into a sheet or crushed into pulp.
So, had they managed to interrupt Sun Fuping’s evil ritual?
The demonic apes and sand leopards, formed from scorched earth and magma, took shape once more and began to claw their way forward.
The boulders, nail bombs, and other debris turned the open space into a wasteland again, littered with rubble.
Even the Black Flood Dragon lowered its head, curious about the fate of the two men.
...
Ignoring the gasps around him, He Lingchuan’s mind raced.
The blood sacrifice array was already in motion and would take effect in moments.
What could he do? Where was the way out?
His gaze fell on the commander of the Great Wind Army, standing ten zhang away.
These vengeful spirits hadn’t gone far; they had merely retreated and stood still, not too distant.
Suddenly, an idea struck He Lingchuan.
He gestured to them—
Attack!
Attack the Heavenly Thunder Array!
In life, the Great Wind Army would never have raised their weapons against Zhong Shengguang.
But now, one of the lingering wills of these heroic spirits was to follow military orders and charge forward without hesitation!
Thousands of spirits turned in unison, gathering the surrounding vengeful souls and rushing toward the Heavenly Thunder Array, with the Great Wind Army following closely behind.
Soon, nearly a thousand vengeful spirits collided with the array, turning to ash.
With no more wandering spirits nearby, the shouts of the Great Wind Army soldiers pierced the heavens.
Then, they raised their swords, spears, and halberds, charging at the array!
The sound of hooves was like thunder, the horses like dragons.
Facing such a force was like standing on the Guantang Bridge, watching the great tide of the sixteenth day of the eighth month crash toward you.
He Lingchuan roared, “Abandon resistance, dodge if you can!”
Then, the Great Wind Army slammed into the Heavenly Thunder Array.
This time, the array trembled more violently than ever before.
The first three rows of spirits didn’t even have time to scream before they were reduced to dust.
Those behind them filled the gaps without hesitation.
The Heavenly Thunder rumbled, but the number of spirits being dispersed visibly decreased.
Finally, when the sixth row of spirits charged in, the last glimmer of green light faded from He Lingchuan’s Imperial Edict.
The beast-headed staff finally opened its mouth, and the kite coins fell to the ground, drowned out by the sound of hooves.
The Heavenly Thunder Array was broken.
This was partly due to the Blackwater City army’s lack of resistance and morale, but more so because of the Great Wind Army’s fierce and unstoppable assault.
He Lingchuan didn’t waste any time, rushing out of the array.
His urgency set the example, and others followed suit, even trampling over each other.
Just as they had barely escaped two zhang from the array, agonized screams erupted from behind.
He Lingchuan turned to see a sight that chilled him to the bone:
The red light of the blood sacrifice array shot into the sky, ten times more intense than before.
Of his hundred or so men, some were faster, some slower.
Dozens hadn’t managed to escape in time when the red light flared up.
They collapsed to the ground as if all their strength had been drained.
But no one dared to enter the array to help, for their skin rapidly withered.
Within three breaths, they were reduced to skin and bones, their nails falling off and hair turning white, withering like straw.
He Lingchuan watched as one of his trusted aides reached out to him for help, his hand extending beyond the array.
The man, who had once had small, triangular eyes, now had a face so sunken it looked like a skull, his eyeballs bulging grotesquely.
He Lingchuan wanted to pull him out, but as he reached the edge of the array, he hesitated and withdrew his hand.
In the end, the man’s eyeballs rolled out of their sockets and fell to the ground.
Situ Han was quicker.
Seeing his comrade fall at the edge of the array, he used the back of his sword to drag him out.
But the man’s lower body was already useless, and he lay on the ground, howling in pain.
When the red light faded, only dozens of skeletons clothed in tattered garments remained within the array, their hair fluttering in the wind.
And in the center of the array, a ball of white light had appeared.
Before anyone could get a clear look, it shot toward the well!
Strangely, while vengeful spirits and humans could enter the well, this white light was repelled.
It bounced back.
The white light seemed incredulous, trying twice more, but failing each time.
When the blood sacrifice array activated, the Great Wind Army had kept its distance, as if aware of its power.
Only after the red light vanished and the Heavenly Thunder Array lost its effect did they gather around.
The white light seemed to catch their attention.
After it failed to enter the well, several Great Wind Army commanders exchanged glances, as if sharing a silent understanding.
One of them threw a net.
The white light dodged as if it had eyes, but the net expanded several times in mid-air and still managed to ensnare it.
The Great Wind Army pulled the net tight, then thrust their swords, spears, and halberds into the mesh, each strike landing solidly on the white light.
Their weapons weren’t physical, but after a few strikes, they shattered, and even the arms holding them began to fade.
Nearby soldiers raised their swords and severed the commanders’ arms at the shoulders, halting the spirits’ dissolution.
As heroic spirits, such injuries were nothing.
Given time, they would recover.
The Great Wind Army commander who had first clashed with He Lingchuan and his men saw this and hurled his weapon like a javelin, striking the white light.
The other generals followed suit.
Situ Han, seeing this, also threw his longsword, but it passed through the well and fell inside, causing no harm to the white light.
He Lingchuan said, “Pure weapons won’t work.”
Just as the Great Wind Army was about to launch a second wave of attacks, the white light suddenly flared brilliantly.
The light was so intense that even the spirits had to avert their eyes.
Fortunately, the blinding light lasted only a moment.
When everyone regained their vision, the white light had vanished.
The Great Wind Army commanders stood still for a few breaths, as if receiving some message or making a decision.
Then they led their troops into the well.
Without physical bodies, there was no need to jostle.
They exited the well as swiftly as they had entered.
In just a dozen breaths, not a single spirit remained in front of the temple.
The group stood at the edge of the array, panting, unable to speak for a long time.
(End of Chapter)