Chapter 14

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

With Gao Qi’s order, the ground started rumbling.

A continuous hail of arrows rose into the air and arced toward Chang’an Fortress.

The two from the Cold Mountain Sect, who were observing from afar, looked grave. “The Tang Dynasty army is really overbearing. They’re attacking the fortress without any negotiations or communication!”

They imagined how the Cold Mountain Sect would end up facing such an attack, and their hearts could not help but feel even heavier.

The mighty hail of arrows fell into Chang’an Fortress but suddenly vanished before reaching the ground.

A figure appeared in midair. It was Zhang Dongyun.

He casually collected the thousands of arrows shot by the enemy, and his eyes lit up as his fingers brushed the arrow shaft.

If I attack the areas outside the fortress with energy, even though the attacks won’t immediately become ineffective the moment they’re outside the fortress, the power will still rapidly dissipate.

But what if I throw solid objects out?

If I give these items a vast amount of kinetic energy, the power shouldn’t dissipate, right?

When Zhang Dongyun thought of this, he rubbed his hands and was eager to give it a try.

With a thought from him, arrows appeared neatly arranged in the air with the arrowheads pointing outside the fortress.

I really didn’t expect this. I’ve thought of a way to exploit a loophole in the system, even though I made some settings for the game I developed… Fortress Lord Zhang sighed.

He gazed at the thousands of arrows.

Crossbows were redundant, as these sharp arrows could shoot out of the fortress at an even faster speed.

In a split second, a black cloud seemed to rise from Chang’an Fortress. It flew out of the fortress and smashed down at the Tang Dynasty army’s archer formation!

Gao Qi, who was leading the attack on the fortress, flew in midair and had not been able to see the exact situation when the hail of arrows fell into the fortress.

Just as he was hesitating about whether to get closer to have a better look, he saw the mighty hail of arrows shooting back from the fortress.

“Shields up!” Gao Qi shouted as he fell back into the military formation.

Tang Dynasty soldiers raised their shields to block the storm of arrows.

The powerful arrows pierced through multiple shields and injured the Tang Dynasty soldiers below.

Incessant howls and screams rang out.

Gao Qi, Du Yifan, and the rest felt relieved instead.

The other party had indeed ambushed them.

However, they had counterattacked using a conventional approach.

Meeting such an enemy was exactly what they were familiar with.

The army moved with thundering rumbles.

The sounds of thousands of soldiers stamping on the ground were astonishing as they charged toward Chang’an Fortress.

The Mountain Tiger Hall Sect Master was slightly hesitant, but with Gao Qi and Du Yifan shooting him a look, he could only charge toward the fortress gate.

When they charged into the fortress, they realized that something was amiss.

The fortress was empty, with no traces of any enemies.

The dense, swift hail of arrows returned from the fortress should have taken thousands of archers shooting together.

But in the blink of an eye, where did everyone go?

They were neither in the fortress nor on the fortress walls.

Where were they?

A figure suddenly appeared within their vision.

A halo of light shrouded the figure, and Gao Qi, Du Yifan, and the others could not really see the figure clearly.

Zhang Dongyun looked down at everyone as he raised a hand.

He was wearing a silver skull ring on his finger.

The eyes of the skull were flashing with a blood-red flare.

“Your Majesty.” The old bloody shadow demon appeared from the ring.

Du Yifan, Gao Qi, and the rest were much more familiar with the old bloody shadow demon’s figure.

“We shouldn’t fear this demon. We should focus on the other person.” Du Yifan raised a light-green jade token. “I’ll use the Spirit Cleansing Jade to restrain that demon. Uncle Gao Qi, you guys deal with the other one.”

The Spirit Cleansing Jade emanated a faint fragrance.

The bloody mist would recede wherever the fragrance reached.

The old bloody shadow demon’s body shuddered as it endured the discomfort and wanted to move forward to face the enemies.

“This blood phoenix is not like yours.”

Zhang Dongyun, who had incarnated as ‘Evil Emperor’ Ming Tonghui, reached out and pointed into the distance.

A blood river suddenly appeared in the air and blocked the path of Gao Qi and the rest.

The blood river surged and roared as it transformed into a vast blood sea.

The blood sea produced a pungent fishy stench that covered the faint fragrance emanated by the Spirit Cleansing Jade.

Du Yifan was shocked, and the light-green jade token in his hands started to become dull, and blotches had even surfaced.

Water could put out a fire.

But when the fire was stronger than the water, the fire would instead dry up the water.

It might even invite trouble.

“Let go quickly!” Gao Qi rushed over and knocked away the Spirit Cleansing Jade in Du Yifan’s hands.

Du Yifan’s hands were blood-stained.

Due to the erosion by the filthy blood, the flesh on his hand had festered rapidly!

Du Yifan let out a miserable scream, and beside him, Gao Qi made a prompt decision and chopped off his hand.

Young Master Du was drenched in a cold sweat and in so much pain that he could not even scream.

He stared at Gao Qi in disbelief.

Then he saw his hand on the ground had rapidly eroded, leaving only white bones.

Even the white bones bubbled as the filthy blood water eroded it.

After Du Yifan came back to his senses, he looked at Zhang Dongyun and the blood sea with bloodshot eyes.

“Shoot! Quickly shoot!” Du Yifan roared hoarsely. “Kill him!”

Even without his orders, the Tang Dynasty army fired arrows.

The waves of the blood sea rolled and engulfed these arrows.

Tang Dynasty soldiers were pouring into the fortress one after another.

This included two hundred Xuanwu Central Army troops at the Elite Soldier realm, who were the mainstay of the battle. Each of them was a martial artist with a cultivation base.

These Xuanwu Central Army troops drew their bows as they formed a cold killing intent, and arrows rushed into the sky.

At this moment, a shrill, ferocious phoenix cry came from the blood sea above.

A blood-red phoenix emerged from the blood sea and spread its wings, covering the sky.

A phoenix was reborn from fire.

A blood phoenix was reborn from blood.

Blood rain fell as the phoenix spread its wings.

Not even shields and armors could withstand it. Once they came into contact with the blood water, it would erode holes in them.

Anyone hit by the blood rain ended up like Du Yifan. Their flesh festered, revealing their ghastly white bones.

The two hundred Xuanwu Central Army troops released their arrows. The stormy hail of arrows, which could nearly pierce through gold and stone, shot toward the blood phoenix in midair.

The blood phoenix spread its wings and did not resist the hundreds of sharp arrows.

All the special steel arrows embedded into the blood phoenix’s body.

Not only was the blood phoenix unscathed, but it also roared.

The next moment, its wings changed and produced metallic clanging sounds.

Steel arrows reappeared and transformed into the blood phoenix’s feathers, neatly arranged on its wings.

The phoenix wings seemed to be forged from metal, full of icy beauty.

Iron and blood fused perfectly as killing intent soared into the sky.

The Tang Dynasty soldiers below were all stunned as they watched the blood phoenix above them spread out its steel wings.

Zhang Dongyun stood on top of the blood phoenix in a brilliant, blinding halo of light as though he were a god.

“Surrender or die.” His voice echoed in Chang’an Fortress.

Du Yifan gritted his teeth and rushed over to a ballista that had just been pushed into the fortress.

“Set it up! Set it up!” With his remaining hand, he set up a ballista himself. “Shoot him down!”

The other Tang Dynasty troops had cowed and almost dispersed in defeat.

The Xuanwu Central Army, made up entirely of martial artists, had yet to lose their will to fight. Together with Du Yifan, they set up the ballistas.

The ballistas rumbled, and several giant bolts, which were several meters long and the thickness of an arm, shot toward the midair blood phoenix.

The bolts were all specially made. Besides threatening the physical body of Martial Dao experts, they could also break all kinds of spells and evil ways.

The black bolts spun in the air, instantly turning red and releasing a burst of intense light, strong and fierce!

However…

The blood phoenix still ignored the attacks.

It let the many thick bolts embed into its body.

The bolts did not pierce through its body.

The blood water had extinguished the intense fire.

The few tail feathers on the blood phoenix changed, making illusory blood mist substantial.

It was clearly transformed from those giant bolts!

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Gao Qi was the first one to react. He quickly grabbed Du Yifan before rushing out of the fortress.

The Mountain Tiger Hall Sect Master followed.

In midair, Zhang Dongyun gently nudged the blood phoenix’s head with his toe.

The phoenix produced a long, miserable cry before flapping its wings.

The steel arrows that turned into its feathers suddenly shot back like a rainstorm.

The overwhelming hail of arrows put the Tang Dynasty soldiers down one after another, just like cutting wheat.

At the end of each arrow, a long blood thread also stretched out, with the wings of the blood phoenix tied to the other end.

Thousands of arrows and blood threads crisscrossed in midair, weaving into an evil, strange blood net below the blood phoenix.

The area outside the fortress had become a bloody battlefield.

The blood threads, as though they had life, were bent or straight and kept floating in the air.

The old bloody shadow demon, who was beside Zhang Dongyun, opened its mouth slightly, feeling despondent.