Chapter 504: You Me?

Fight his way through the formation of soldiers.

That was the decision that Chen Xiaolian made.

The only way to complete his quest was to break through the formation of soldiers.

In order to rush into Epang Palace’s main hall and stop the resurrection of Qin Shihuang, he must first deal with the BOSS, Bai Qi.

In order to deal with the BOSS Bai Qi, he must first break the Five Elements spell array in this area.

The way to break the spell array was… … to cut down the great tree located in the middle of the square.

Previously, Miao Yan had distracted Bai Qi while Chen Xiaolian was in charge of cutting down the tree. The way to break the tree was… … use Metal to break Wood.

The element Metal here was the bronze statues in the square. Additionally, he also needed the element Fire…

However, what was needed was not a literal fire, but… blood.

Chen Xiaolian’s mind quickly recalled the method to break the spell array.

At that very moment, the formation of Qin soldiers had begun moving.

With orderly footsteps, the formation of soldiers marched forward like ants. They slowly marched forward, putting pressure on Chen Xiaolian. Their pikes and swords were aimed at Chen Xiaolian and the crossbowmen were ready.

Facing such a sight would cause anyone to suffer from goose bumps.

However, Chen Xiaolian knew that they were bluffing.

He now held the Tiger Tally. Unless he attacked them first, these Qin soldiers would never attack him.

Chen Xiaolian sneered and slowly retreated until he was beside the bronze statues.

The Qin soldiers marched closer in order to put more pressure on him. The black Bai Qi was standing atop one of the railings on the platform above the stairs. His foot rested atop the railing pillar and the black coloured short sword was aimed at Chen Xiaolian.

“Return it to me!”

Chen Xiaolian harrumphed in reply.

Although the black Bai Qi’s voice contained a thick amount of killing intent, so much so that he found it hard to bear, Chen Xiaolian forced himself to endure the detrimental effects of the killing intent on him.

There was only one thought in his mind: As long as I do not make a move, he would definitely not make the first move!

Chen Xiaolian stood beneath one of the bronze statues and turned to look at the black Bai Qi. The corners of his lips curled and he pulled a face while facing the black Bai Qi.

Next, Chen Xiaolian quickly raised the stone spear in his hand and roared out loudly.

“Open!”

Golden light radiated outward.

The instantaneous burst of golden light caused a sword beam with a power that was infinitely close to Skyblade’s power to descend upon the base position of the bronze statue.

The moment the sword beam was unleashed, the black coloured Bai Qi, who was standing far away, immediately howled out.

His howl rose up to the sky and it seemed as though the entire square was trembling under the power of his howl.

As for the bronze statue, after its base position was cut off by the golden beam of light, Chen Xiaolian sent his palm forward viciously, slamming the bronze statue…

The bronze statue came crashing down on the distant, large tree.

At the same time, the formation of Qin soldiers made their move.

The moment Chen Xiaolian made an offensive move, the Qin soldiers responded with their own offensive.

Hundreds of pikes rose up and flew toward Chen Xiaolian. There were also countless arrows among them. As they arced into the air, they blotted out the sun.

It appeared as though a wave of heavy rain was showering down on Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian released a roar of his own, swept his hand and used the stone spear to make two swings in succession. As a result, two golden coloured swing trails appeared, acting like a shield to protect Chen Xiaolian.

The pikes and arrows that fell upon the golden coloured shield were instantly destroyed.

Chen Xiaolian diverted his attention to the bronze statue falling down on the tree. He sent his hand out, delivering a backhanded slap on the bronze statue.

The bronze statue fell faster.

Chen Xiaolian’s actions were done with all his might. The present him possessed an enhanced body with a power near that of [A] class. With such a power behind his actions, the bronze statue smashed down like a thunderbolt.

At the same time, Chen Xiaolian also quickly pulled out something else.

That something was a leather bag, which contained none other than… … blood.

Blood!

The blood he obtained from Qiu Yun.

Chen Xiaolian had no desire to cut himself and use his own blood like an idiot again.

He threw the leather bag, which flew over and landed on the large tree. Next, Chen Xiaolian stamped down heavily upon the ground, causing pieces of gravel to fly up. He then swept up the pieces of gravel and tossed them forward as well.

After falling upon the large tree, the leather bag was continuously struck by the pieces of gravel and blood flowed out from it. The blood flowed down the surface of the large tree.

At that moment, the falling bronze statue was about to smash into the tree.

The breaking of the spell array was right before him.

The black Bai Qi charged forward furiously.

A smile nearly broke out upon Chen Xiaolian’s face, but…

A black coloured smoke shot through the protective shield that Chen Xiaolian put up.

The golden coloured protective shield was simply incapable of stopping the black smoke.

The black smoke penetrated the shield and instantaneously arrived before the falling bronze statue.

With a “bang”, the black smoke struck the bronze statue, causing the top half of the statue to crumble. Before it could make contact with the large tree, the top part of the bronze statue crumbled into pieces.

Chen Xiaolian watched as the bronze statue crashed down the ground. The remains of the statue fell before the tree, inflicting no damage to the large tree at all. The smile on Chen Xiaolian’s face froze.

Damn it! I knew it would not be this easy…

The black Bai Qi, who had transformed into the black smoke, reappeared before the large tree. He gave the fallen bronze statue an indifferent glance before turning his sharp like gaze at Chen Xiaolian.

“Return it to me!”

Behind Chen Xiaolian, the Qin soldiers swarmed forward to kill him.

Chen Xiaolian shouted back, “Return your sister!”

Wielding the stone spear, he fiercely slashed the base position of another bronze statue. The muscles on his arms bulged explosively and he shouted out as the bronze statue fell down as well.

Hundreds of the Qin soldiers in the lead were immediately smashed to bits by the falling statue. Additionally, after falling down in the middle of the square, the large bronze statue acted as a wall, disrupting the wave like advance of the Qin soldiers.

At the same time, Chen Xiaolian picked up the leg part of the bronze statue that fell toward the large tree earlier. Roaring loudly, he raised the entire bronze statue and sent it slamming toward the large tree.

Weng!

Chen Xiaolian felt a tremor run through him. Looking forward, he saw that the black Bai Qi was standing before the bronze statue. His left palm was placed before the top part of the bronze statue while his eyes were coldly fixed upon Chen Xiaolian.

No matter how much Chen Xiaolian tried, he was unable to push the bronze statue a single inch forward.

On the black Bai Qi’s end, black coloured smoke swirled around his palm and the bronze statue slowly disintegrated.

The black Bai Qi himself was moving toward Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian watched how the bronze statue fell apart like bubble foam before black Bai Qi’s might. Wherever Bai Qi touched would crumble to dust. In but two breaths’ of time, black Bai Qi had made it to a distance of only two metres from Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian finally released his hold on the bronze statue. He bellowed loudly and brandished the stone spear, hacking down on black Bai Qi.

Skyblade’s power erupted forth instantly.

Black Bai Qi snorted in response and the black short sword in his hand flew out to meet the incoming attack. Black coloured smoke and golden coloured light collided silently and Chen Xiaolian felt his internal organs being squeezed by a powerful force. The power behind the force caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Bai Qi’s body also suffered as a shock ran through his body, which flew backward like a large bird. He then spread open both hands and made an aerial somersault, landing at a distance. The surface of the ground where he landed crumbled to dust.

After their confrontation, it would appear that the both of them were equally matched.

The black coloured smoke on the surface of Bai Qi’s body became visibly dimmer.

However, Chen Xiaolian himself realized that this was his limit.

Skyblade’s power was something he could only unleash for an instant. Additionally, there was a limit to the number of times he could do so. It was not something he could use all the time.

Even Skyblade’s power was unable to suppress Bai Qi. If that was the case… … should this battle be prolonged, he would end up losing for sure.

“What the Hell is with [S] class… … damn it.” Chen Xiaolian wiped away the blood on his lips.

Although the Qin soldiers behind him were stopped by the fallen bronze statue, it did not take long for them to climb up the statue like ants. Some of the Qin soldiers who were of officer ranks leapt and vaulted over the bronze statue.

Noticing that, Chen Xiaolian responded.

“Garfield! Come out!”

Three beams of light appeared behind him and coalesced into Garfield doppelgangers. Chen Xiaolian also retrieved the Starchart of Generals that he had just obtained.

In one breath, he summoned out the first six generals within the Big Dipper array.

He could not remember their names. Although they were just some junior generals, they could still be of worth in this battlefield.

Six beams of light appeared and transformed into generals. All of them had tangible bodies condensed from the light. They also wore armour and wielded an assortment of weapons: spears, hammers etc. Instantly, Chen Xiaolian could feel a sense of communication much like the one he felt with his pets.

With a thought, the six generals charged the Qin army.

The existence of the bronze statue was like a dam, which interfered with the swarm strategy of the Qin army. Only one tenth of the Qin army was able to climb over the bronze statue. Although that number would increase over time, at least the Qin army was unable to gain an advantage in numbers. Chen Xiaolian’s six generals charged forward to meet them.

Although they were merely low-ranking generals, they were still War Souls of the [C] and [B] class. Additionally, with the blessing of the Big Dipper array, their powers were enhanced.

The six generals descended upon the Qin army and were able to kill those mobs as one would chop vegetables.

The advancing Qin soldiers were all cut down by the six generals who continued advancing until they reached the top of the bronze statue. Looking down on the incoming Qin soldiers, they appeared to be putting up a defensive action while standing atop a wall, successfully stopping the advance of the Qin army.

Occasionally, some would slip past them. However, there were three Garfield doppelgangers to take care of them.

Chen Xiaolian then glanced at the far away black Bai Qi, who had stood up and straightened his body. His eyes continued staring intently at Chen Xiaolian. Next, he stepped forward once more. This time, the killing intent radiating off black Bai Qi was even more ferocious.

Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and considered it for a moment. At present, he could only use Skyblade’s power two more times. This was his limit.

Unless he could summon out the Sword in the Stone… … the Sword in the Stone could replenish his stats once. However… … he was inside Epang Palace which prohibited metal. The Sword in the Stone was considered a metal object and thus could not be brought out.

Chen Xiaolian hacked down with a stone spear once again and golden light burst out once more. The distant black Bai Qi leapt up and a black dragon roared out from the tip of his black coloured short sword. The black dragon spiralled forward and met the golden light head-on.

On Chen Xiaolian’s side, he felt as though he was struck by a lightning bolt.  His body staggered once and the stone spear in his hand was finally incapable of handling the load from the power and burst into pieces.

The force from the collision however, did not let up and Chen Xiaolian’s body was forced to retreat until his back made contact with another bronze statue.

Among the 12 bronze statues standing inside this main square, two had been cut down. Chen Xiaolian then turned his head to look at the third bronze statue before turning to look at the black Bai Qi, who was forced back again by the collision…

“This BOSS is too strong.” Chen Xiaolian sighed in frustration.

Using Skyblade’s power, Chen Xiaolian had become nigh invincible back during Blood Verdict.

Today, however, he had encountered an opponent who could confront Skyblade’s power head on.

This BOSS Bai Qi is really [S] class?

At the same time, at the dam created from the fallen bronze statue, one of Chen Xiaolian’s generals abruptly howled out. A powerful force sent the general flying and his body broke apart even as his body was flying through the air. He then transformed into a beam of light and disappeared.

The powerful force belonged to none other than the black coloured Qin general. This black general had fiercely jumped up the bronze statue.

Indeed, it was one of those four black coloured generals.

From his memories, Chen Xiaolian recalled that these four black generals were considered minor bosses of this instance dungeon. Their strength should not be underestimated.

After reaching the top of the bronze statue with a leapt, the black general disposed of one of the generals summoned from the Starchart of Generals with one strike. Seeing that, the remaining five generals on Chen Xiaolian’s side rushed over to attack the black general. However, Chen Xiaolian quickly exerted control over them to have them disperse.

Stop joking around! With such a difference in strength, you fellows still want to rush to your deaths? Stick to beating up mobs, will you?

Chen Xiaolian grunted.

“Bai Qi, come out!”

A white beam of light shone out and War Soul Bai Qi arrived atop the bronze statue. He stood directly in front of the black general.

Like always, Bai Qi was in all white attire. However, a faint colour of blood seemingly flowed around the aura of whiteness radiating off him. When Bai Qi saw the black general standing before him, he uttered a harrumph and spoke up.

“Step down!”

His voice contained a resounding tone, which gave off the faint imagery of swords and pikes.

Facing Bai Qi, the black general became stunned for a moment. It was only half a second’s worth of hesitation and he continued raising the black sword in his hand.

However, that half a second’s worth of hesitation…

Bai Qi’s sword had already transformed into a beam of light, which stabbed through the black general’s heart.

Bai Qi sneered and raised his sword, the black general along with it, before flicking the black general down the bronze statue. The body of the black general landed somewhere not far from Chen Xiaolian.

By the time he fell to the ground, the black general’s body had been cut open. His figure had been seemingly cut into two. After falling to the ground, the ghastly fires on his face rapidly turned dim before disappearing entirely…

Then, Chen Xiaolian felt a thought coming to him.

[????: Starchart of Generals sensed a War Soul that can be collected. Do you wish to absorb it?]

Chen Xiaolian, who was taken aback, quickly reacted.

Holy shit! What is there to hesitate about? Absorb it!

To be able to kill off one of his six generals in one hit, this black general must certainly be of a higher level.

One second later, the black general lying on the ground disappeared amid the black smoke. Inside the Starchart of Generals, a general in Qin military gear and black smoke swirling around him appeared in the empty star slot.

“War Soul – Meng Ge: Qin Shihuang’s Guardian General. Current combat power: [B+] class. Growth Capacity: [A-] class.”

His surname is Meng? Looks like he is from one of the Qin Dynasty’s clan of generals.

However, seeing that the general was only at [B+] class somewhat disappointed Chen Xiaolian. However, after considering it, the general was likely the same as Bai Qi. After becoming a War Pet, his stats had automatically decreased.

The black Bai Qi had charged toward him once again. Chen Xiaolian gritted his teeth and picked up a broken limb belonging to one of the Qin terracotta soldiers. He held the arm, which continued to grip onto a sword. Chen Xiaolian then roared and threw it at the incoming black Bai Qi.

Naturally, he unleashed Skyblade’s power as well.

His final charge.

The golden light shone, but Chen Xiaolian ignored the black Bai Qi and instead ran to the back of the bronze statue. There, he retrieved the Starchart of Generals again.

The general Meng Ge, that Chen Xiaolian had just taken in quickly appeared. His stature appeared slightly smaller, but black smoke continued swirling around his body.

Additionally, there was also…

Donglai – Taishi Ci.

Taishi Ci appeared amid a clump of silver coloured light. He wore black coloured iron armour, held a spear and stood straight.

At the same time, a black coloured light shone out from the middle part of the bronze statue that was acting as a dam against the Qin army. Following the burst of black light, the centre part of the bronze statue blew up and a three-metre wide opening was created as a result.

The three remaining black Qin generals rushed in through the opening.

Seeing the opening, countless Qin terracotta soldiers rushed madly through it. Chen Xiaolian quickly pointed at the opening and shouted, “Hold them!”

War Soul Meng Ge had already charged forward and faced one of the black generals. He was once of the same level as them, but after becoming a War Pet, his power had decreased somewhat. Now that he was facing one of the black generals by himself, Meng Ge was forced to retreat again and again. At the same time however, Chen Xiaolian became flabbergasted.

Taishi Ci!

Taishi Ci stood there, unmoving. When one of the black generals arrived before him however, he abruptly took action.

His spear swept out like a venomous dragon.

The black general released a muffled grunt as his huge body was sent flying by the attack. His body then fell upon the opening on the bronze statue, knocking down a good number of the Qin terracotta soldiers.

Taishi Ci gave a cold harrumph and strode forward.

He stepped forward, radiating a mighty and extraordinary atmosphere. With but one stride, he arrived before the other black general.

His long spear shot out like a meteor, slipping through the gaps among the terracotta soldiers. Before the black general who fell down earlier could get up, the spear slammed into him, pinning him to the ground.

The spear had pierced through his shoulder.

As for Taishi Ci, facing the other black general right before him, he quickly turned to pull something out with his hands…

Mm?

Those are …

Twin whips?

A peculiar line of thought suddenly appeared in Chen Xiaolian’s mind: This… could this be…

The twin whips struck the ground once, causing a “weng” sound and… … a ripple of shockwave?

Guard… guard break?

Next, Taishi Ci’s figure spun like a cyclone.

The twin whips became thousands and all of them battered the black general’s body. The black general became trapped inside the cyclone of whips and was instantly struck countless times in but the blink of an eye. Holes appeared all around his black coloured armour and the black smoke swirling around him became suppressed and flickered faintly, seemingly on the verge of dissipating…

Chen Xiaolian’s mouth nearly hit the floor as his face twisted in utter shock.

Holy shit… … this, this, this is Taishi Ci’s Cyclone attack!

He looked down at the Starchart of Generals in his hand.

This… this is Starchart of Generals?

Don’t you bloody mean Dynasty Warriors app?

Taishi Ci… … unleashed a Musou attack?

A Musou attack?!

MUSOU??? [1]

…

Boom!

The black general was sent flying by the attack and finally broke apart before disappearing before the opening in the bronze statue.

[????: The main star general of Starchart of Generals, Donglai – Taishi Ci activated his skill “Killing Cyclone’. Strength increased by 19 % for an instant. Now entering cool down period and his body will be in weakened mode.]

As expected, the silver glow on Taishi Ci’s body completely disappeared. However… … Taishi Ci had already charged his way to the opening in the bronze statue. He sent one feet stamping down on the black general who was pinned down to the ground with the spear. Next, he pulled the spear and swung it around, knocking the surrounding Qin terracotta soldiers down.

He was like a tower of strength amid the incoming swarm, standing fervently in the middle of the opening. No matter how the Qin terracotta soldiers attempted to break through him, they were unable to take one-step beyond him.

Chen Xiaolian’s mouth was still wide open.

Taishi Ci… … so… … fearsome.

His heart was instantly moved. The Starchart of Generals. The Starchart of Generals!

One Taishi Ci was so incredible, if he could get his hands on Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun… … or maybe Lu Bu…

Chen Xiaolian shook his head. Now is not the time to daydream!

He turned and saw that the black Bai Qi had gotten up and was coming after him once more. Chen Xiaolian’s heart sank again.

“Bai Qi, stop him!”

At this point in time, he could only put his faith in Bai Qi.

A white beam of light shot out and War Soul Bai Qi stood before the black BOSS Bai Qi.

One white, one black. The contrast between the two of them was strikingly conspicuous.

The black Bai Qi radiated killing intent as he stared savagely at War Soul Bai Qi.

War Soul Bai Qi observed this opponent standing before him. His eyebrows suddenly knitted up.

“You… … me?”

…

1 Musou attacks are powerful moves in the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Utilizing a Musou gauge that rises as the character mows down his or her enemies, the character could unleash a series of powerful attacks.↩