Chapter 80 - 69: Military Array

Chapter 80: Chapter 69: Military Array

"Could it be that the County Captain saw how tense the atmosphere was and decided to lighten the mood with some humor?"

The thought flashed through Zheng Jun’s mind. He didn’t dwell on it, instead taking out three Blood Nourishing Pills and swallowing them, refining them in an instant.

Vigorous Qi and Blood surged rapidly. Zheng Jun felt his Life Force blossoming like sprouting green branches. His wounds tingled, slowly beginning to heal.

He had no intention of helping Cai Xun up; he simply pretended he hadn’t seen the man at all. It was better to stay out of sight when a superior was in a miserable state, lest they fly into a rage out of humiliation and try to make life difficult for him later.

He reasoned, "A casual strike like that shouldn’t be enough to kill Cai Xun. If he died from Meng Xian’s careless blow, it means he’s even weaker than me. That can’t be right. He’s an Outer Gang Martial Artist, after all. He should be fine... right?"

Initially, Zheng Jun had some confidence in the man, but recalling what had just happened, that confidence quickly evaporated.

"BOOM!"

A violent crash echoed from nearby. Zheng Jun looked up to see a building collapsing. Several houses near the County Government Office were practically torn apart, and the nearby commoners stared in horror at Meng Xian and the Garrison Command’s Commander, trembling in fear.

"Advance!"

"Form the array! Form the array!"

Not far away, the Military Department’s standing forces marched into battle. The crew of Regular Soldier infantry stationed at the Military Department naturally mobilized alongside Cai Xun. They had hurriedly gotten up in the night, marshaled their ranks, and rushed over to join the fray.

Individually, these County Soldiers—whose average strength hadn’t even reached full Blood Refining—would just be throwing their lives away. But fighting as a cohesive Military Array was an entirely different story.

The County Soldiers arrived in a hurry and immediately spotted Zheng Jun. The Crew Leader paused in surprise before quickly calling out, "Captain! Please enter the array and take command! We will use the Star Array to fight the enemy!"

The situation was urgent, leaving no room for standard formalities, so he simply cupped his fist at Zheng Jun.

The Star Array was one of the most common arrays in the Great Zhou Army. Zheng Jun had been drilling it for the past few days, and though he still didn’t quite understand its utility, he nodded, gripped his Beirong Saber, and stepped into the formation commanded by the soldiers.

"WHOOSH!"

As soon as Zheng Jun entered the array, the surrounding County Soldiers immediately closed in around him. Pushing their strength together, True Qi instantly permeated the entire formation! The Crew Leader took the banner from the flag-bearer, stood by Zheng Jun’s side, and immediately began waving the Array Banner.

Standing in the center, Zheng Jun felt a chaotic swirl of True Qi of various colors enveloping him. At that moment, he began to release his own True Qi as well. However, it wasn’t the Broken Jade True Qi, but rather True Qi driven by his Eagle-Hawk Force.

The moment he channeled his True Qi, the surrounding County Soldiers felt a sudden chill, as if frost were creeping over them. Almost tangible gray True Qi poured out from Zheng Jun in all directions. Spreading through the dark night, it resembled gloomy exhaust fumes, seamlessly blending with the darkness and completely shrouding the armored soldiers.

True Qi converged, and Blood Qi intertwined. Like grains of sand forming a mighty river, the gathered Qi formed the array!

Zheng Jun instantly felt a massive, surging wave of True Qi coiling around his entire body.

He wondered, "Is this the power of a Military Array?"

Zheng Jun found it incredible. He could feel that in this moment, he was able to mobilize all the foreign True Qi within the array. Compared to his usual self, he was vastly stronger. Yet, he could also clearly sense that the moment he stepped out of this fifty-man Military Array, this borrowed power would vanish.

He estimated, "My current strength is probably... about the same as when I use the Broken Jade True Qi? Or maybe slightly weaker. But this works. It’s still stronger than my normal state, and far better than nothing."

After all, this was only a single crew of fifty men. If all three hundred infantrymen of the Black Mountain Guard were present, he would definitely be able to go toe-to-toe with an Outer Gang expert.

"Advance!" Zheng Jun exhaled sharply and barked the command.

With his shout, the fifty men marched in perfect unison. Following Zheng Jun’s orders, the County Soldiers pressed forward.

Their pace grew faster and faster. Surrounding soldiers from other squads continuously joined their ranks, immediately pouring their True Qi into the array. This surging True Qi created a massive commotion, and the two Outer Gang experts engaged in combat naturally noticed the anomaly beneath the military banner.

"Zheng San has formed an array." The Garrison Command’s Commander forced Meng Xian back with a slash and let out a cold sneer, his eyes as ruthless as an eagle’s. "The Outer Gang Dark Guard stationed in Black Mountain County is arriving soon too. You won’t escape today!"

"Hmph."

Meng Xian didn’t waste words, merely giving a cold snort. With a sinister gaze, his Short Sword bloomed with several sword flowers before he channeled his True Qi, intent on retreating.

As long as there’s life, there’s hope. Only by staying alive could he have anything.

"Trying to escape?"

Seeing this, the Garrison Command’s Commander unleashed his sharp Saber Technique. Wherever his blade pointed, violent winds whipped up out of nowhere, and the turbulent air currents exploded with deafening pops. It was as if astral winds from all directions were converging to strike Meng Xian.

Meng Xian was falling back, but upon seeing the Commander’s omnipresent blade strikes, he immediately skidded to a halt. Stabilizing his stance like a mountain, the Short Sword in his sleeve gleamed with snow-white brilliance.

"CLANG!"

The piercing screech of colliding metal suddenly exploded. The Sword Qi fiercely slammed into the Commander’s encircling slashes, sending ripples of True Qi cascading outward with the two men at the center.

Both figures staggered back in shock simultaneously.

"Perfect chance!"

Seeing this, Zheng Jun didn’t hesitate for a second. Twisting his body, he swung his blade!

The saber shot out like a surging flood dragon, unleashing a Blade Gang that tore through the volatile True Qi in the air and slashed across the distance toward Meng Xian.

"ROAR!"

The saber hummed like a dragon’s cry. A single slash carried the momentum of a thousand!

As Zheng Jun delivered this slash, the surrounding County Soldiers immediately broke out in a heavy sweat. Their full-body Blood Qi was siphoned by Zheng Jun, rolling like roaring thunder. This single slash had drawn a massive amount of Blood Qi and True Qi from the soldiers in the Array Formation.

"Hmm?!"

Looking back at the awe-inspiring slash, Meng Xian’s pupils constricted, and a moment of hesitation gripped him.

He wondered, "How can a Military Array of just fifty or sixty men allow this Zheng brat to unleash such a powerful strike? Could it be... that he was born with the makings of a legendary general?"

The Garrison Command’s Commander didn’t hesitate either. With a razor-sharp blade, the arm gripping the Imperial Saber instantly bulged. Veins popped out like ferocious, crimson horned dragons. As he slashed downward, a deafening shriek tore through the air with even greater momentum, drawing upon the surrounding Gang Qi once more!

A pincer attack!

"Damn it!"

Meng Xian was now filled with endless regret. He should have taken the initiative to kill Zheng Jun back when the brat was occupied with executing those two useless Scholars! If not for those two incompetent fools, how could his cover have been blown so completely?

He raged inwardly, "Is this the caliber of subordinates the Demon King sends to assist me?!"

Meng Xian was furious. Sure, his exposure involved the carrier pigeons, but he could have easily explained that away by claiming a fellow disciple served under King Yan of the Great Zhou and that they were merely exchanging letters. Who would have thought that when the Garrison Command’s Dark Guard came to investigate, they would stumble right upon those two useless idiots feasting on a human corpse, instantly exposing their Demon Skill!

How was he supposed to explain that?!

He had masqueraded as an incompetent County Magistrate for so long, biding his time to coordinate with the figure on Black Mountain, only to be struck by this unexpected disaster.

He hated them! He hated them so much!

Despite his immense regret, Meng Xian didn’t hesitate. He chose to clash head-on with the omnidirectional blade strikes in front of him, entirely ignoring Zheng Jun’s slash from behind and bracing himself to take the hit. After all, between the two attacks, the one from Gu Chengqi, the Outer Gang Commander of the Garrison Command, was far more lethal.

Choose the lesser of two evils!

Sword flowers flickered, and in the blink of an eye, the sword shadows clashed with the incoming blade strikes, producing a thunderous explosion.

Following the blast, Zheng Jun’s Blade Gang crashed in, striking Meng Xian with absolute precision. Meng Xian let out a muffled grunt as he forcefully endured the slash.

"It worked!" Overjoyed, Zheng Jun hurriedly shouted, "Commander, let’s strike together! Thief Meng can only block one of us!"

Gu Chengqi didn’t need Zheng Jun’s reminder to understand that. Seeing Zheng Jun ready, he unleashed his Gang Qi once more, sending invisible blade strikes from all directions! And Zheng Jun swung out another slash!

Just as Zheng Jun had said, Meng Xian could only block one of them. Meng Xian spat out a mouthful of blood and shot Zheng Jun a hateful glare, his eyes brimming with venomous malice.

Zheng Jun couldn’t care less. He thought, "You’re already trying to kill me. Hate me all you want."

"Captain, the brothers’ Blood Qi is almost drained! We can only support you for one more slash!" At that moment, the Crew Leader holding the flag beside Zheng Jun gritted his teeth and whispered.

"Is that so?"

Hearing this, Zheng Jun’s expression turned grim. Without hesitation, he unleashed one final, devastating Blade Gang. As the strike landed, Meng Xian didn’t pause for a second, immediately transforming into a streak of gray light and fleeing toward the south gate.

Following Zheng Jun’s last slash, the surrounding County Soldiers lost all their strength. Their legs gave out, and they collapsed in a heap.

Gu Chengqi, the Commander of the Garrison Command, cast a wary glance in the direction Meng Xian had fled. Beads of sweat seeped from his forehead. After a moment of hesitation, he surprisingly chose not to give chase. His Gang Qi was nearly depleted.

Just then, another Outer Gang figure suddenly appeared in the direction Meng Xian was escaping. It was none other than the Garrison Command’s Dark Guard, clad in a black-and-gold cloak and wearing a Profound Iron Mask.

This had to be Zhang Heiyi.

Zheng Jun took a deep breath, following the Dark Guard’s movements. He watched as the Dark Guard brought down his blade in a ruthless slash, instantly drawing agonized screams and a spray of blood from Meng Xian.

Yet, heedless of the pain, Meng Xian continued his desperate dash toward the south gate.

Seeing this, Zheng Jun hesitated briefly. After a moment of thought, he resolutely gripped his Beirong Saber and gave chase.

One must press the advantage and finish off a retreating foe!

If this man wasn’t killed, he would hold a grudge. Should he attempt an ambush in the future, Zheng Jun would likely end up dead! He had to take advantage of the enemy’s severe injuries today and finish him off!

If he failed to kill him, it would simply be fate. But if he succeeded, he would permanently eliminate this future threat!