NOVEL NEXT Ch. 4
Chapter 4: The Might of the Mo Blade
“Bang!”
His blood energy surged forth, transforming into a crescent moon of blade light that swept toward the enemy formation.
Yet the opposing general, as tenacious as taffy, held his blade firm and blocked the strike.
That enemy general fixed his gaze upon Qin Wei, and beneath his frenzied eyes flickered greed.
“A Divine Power cultivator—never thought I’d live to see the day I could slay one! Hahaha!”
Qin Wei ignored him.
Having missed his blow, he instantly shifted aside, avoiding unnecessary exhaustion of his blood and energy.
Just as the battlefield reached a fever pitch, another group of rebel soldiers appeared from the western flank.
Qin Wei turned toward the banner in that direction—his expression darkened.
It was the second regular army of the rebels.
His face grew grim.
If he had to face six thousand regular troops, it would be near impossible to win, and surviving would be even harder.
He then glanced toward the Royal Guards’ position and saw that although they had already wiped out the first wave of rabble, a second wave had already filled the gap.
It would take them at least another half an hour to finish off the remaining rabble before they could assist him in dealing with the regular troops.
What was worse—his blood energy was already less than half.
He would not be able to hold out for that long.
Just as Qin Wei was contemplating retreat, a commotion arose from the Royal Guards’ direction.
His gaze swept over, and to his shock, he saw Jiang Zhaoming arriving—together with Xu Xian and Chen Kang.
“Those two fools! How could they let A-Ming come to such a dangerous place?”
Qin Wei no longer hesitated and planned to withdraw immediately with Jiang Zhaoming.
But just as he was about to move, another enemy general wielding a long spear stepped in to block his path.
Behind him, the blade-wielding enemy general who had been pursuing him arrived as well, his bloodthirsty eyes locked onto Qin Wei.
Facing the encirclement of two enemies, both comparable to Divine Power cultivators, Qin Wei’s expression grew heavier.
He watched helplessly as Jiang Zhaoming drew closer to the battlefield, turmoil rising sharply in his chest.
The spear-wielding enemy general seized upon Qin Wei’s brief opening, his spear thrusting out like a dragon—piercing into Qin Wei’s back.
Wounded, Qin Wei found it increasingly difficult to parry the assault of the two generals—let alone save Jiang Zhaoming from this hellish battlefield.
As the battle dragged on, wounds spread across Qin Wei’s body, and his breathing grew chaotic.
“Guiyan… this elder brother of yours has failed you—I couldn’t protect A-Ming…”
Gritting his teeth, Qin Wei threw aside all thoughts of survival and swung his crescent blade at the spear-wielding enemy with all his remaining strength.
“Am I… going to fail again…”
As his strike once more met the enemy’s shield of condensed blood energy, Qin Wei let out a bitter laugh.
But in the next instant, his expression froze in disbelief.
“He—he’s dead?”
Staggering, Qin Wei landed heavily on the ground and saw the spear-wielding general cleaved cleanly in half—dead beyond any doubt.
“Their formation… was broken?”
Seeing the blade-wielding enemy general retreat with an ugly expression, Qin Wei leapt onto a nearby rooftop and looked toward the two enemy formations in the distance.
There, behind the rebel armies, two formations of Black-Armored Soldiers surged forward like a black tide, tearing through the rebels’ ranks.
The very ground of the city trembled from the impact.
At the forefront of the southern front, the Black-Armored Army’s commander wielded a Mo Blade wreathed in dark red energy.
Each swing of the massive weapon sent out a blood-colored arc three zhang long.
The rebel general’s tiger’s mouth was already split and bleeding; terror filled his eyes.
The blood and energy of the two thousand Black-Armored Soldiers condensed into tangible form above them—a three-eyed ghostly general loomed over their heads.
“They only have two thousand men! How can their formation be stronger than ours?!”
“Break!”
With a thunderous shout from their commander, the Mo Blade shattered the rebel general’s defensive aura.
The instant the blade’s edge bit into his shoulder bone, two thousand soldiers stomped down in unison.
From the ground, countless spikes of black iron shot upward, tearing through the rebel formation like a beast devouring its prey. In an instant, half of the three-thousand-strong formation was annihilated.
A chilling voice echoed from beneath the ghost-faced helm: “You dare call *this* a formation?”
Meanwhile, on the western battlefield, an even more precise and merciless slaughter unfolded.
Two Black-Armored vice-commanders advanced under the empowerment of their grand formation.
The black iron boxes strapped to their backs unfolded suddenly, releasing dozens of poisoned crossbow bolts.
Enhanced by the formation, the bolts rained down like a black storm.
The rebels’ shields were as fragile as paper—those pierced by the bolts turned purplish-blue within seconds, falling convulsing to the ground.
Fifteen hundred Mo Blade soldiers stood arrayed like a wall—their black armor glinted coldly, ghost masks revealing fanged grimaces that exuded killing intent.
Their steps were uniform, each one shaking the ground like the beat of a war drum.
As the rebels charged forward, the Mo Blade soldiers abruptly shifted formation, blades angled diagonally, their cold gleam forming a forest of steel.
“Cut!”
With one command, a thousand Mo Blades swung down simultaneously—the blade light cascading like a waterfall.
The rebels’ front shield line was shredded as if made of paper.
Where the blades passed, blood and flesh exploded; severed limbs rained down like a storm.
The Mo Blade soldiers’ assault surged forward like crashing waves.
Each time the rebels fell back a step, dozens were dragged into the storm of blades and ground into bloody paste.
Behind them, five hundred Black-Armored Arbalests had already formed ranks.
Their heavy crossbows gleamed darkly; the bolt tips shone with eerie blue light—the mark of deadly poison.
“Loose!”
At the vice-commander’s command, the Black-Armored Arbalests fired.
Hundreds of bolts tore through the air like a swarm of black locusts, engulfing the rebel rear ranks in an instant.
Their shields were useless before the specially forged armor-piercing bolts. Arrows punched through iron armor, venom seeped into flesh, and those struck turned purple and fell twitching, dead within seconds.
Even more terrifying—their volleys were not random, but precise and targeted.
Whenever a rebel officer tried to rally his men, a single bolt would streak through the air, piercing his throat on the spot.
In just moments, the rebel command structure collapsed utterly.
Their formation disintegrated into chaos.
“Grind them!”
The Mo Blade soldiers seized the moment, shifting their formation like twin black guillotines closing in from both flanks.
The trapped rebels were crushed between them—blade light flickered, flesh burst apart, and screams filled the air.
When the last rebel was strangled to death by an iron chain, the Black-Armored Army fell into silence.
Only the low, thunderous breathing beneath their ghost masks remained.
Qin Wei watched the mysterious army annihilate the enemy and involuntarily swallowed hard.
He had seen it clearly—the commander of this mysterious force was far stronger than those two generals he had just fought.
Moreover, their formation was precise, their discipline impeccable—their battle power surpassed even six thousand rebels.
Elsewhere on the field, with the two rebel main forces obliterated by the Black-Armored Army’s overwhelming might, the remaining rabble completely lost their will to fight, scattering like startled birds.
The entire prefectural city now stood silent save for the Black-Armored cavalry standing solemn and still as a forest—and the nervous Royal Guards and surviving defenders.
The Black-Armored commander led two vice-generals and over a thousand iron soldiers forward in unison, their synchronized steps echoing through the city.
Black armor reflected crimson light; ghost masks loomed grim and cold. Each step landed like a drumbeat upon the hearts of all present.
“Uncle, can you still stand?”
Jiang Zhaoming stepped forward steadily, supporting the swaying Qin Wei with one hand.
Yet his gaze never left the approaching Black-Armored Army; golden light flickered faintly in his eyes.
The Royal Guards and surviving city defenders, facing this unknown threat, quickly formed a circular formation with Jiang Zhaoming at the center.
The Red-Armored Female General strode forward, her voice taut: “Your Majesty, this army’s origin is unknown. Please withdraw at once!”
Several Royal Guards immediately turned and knelt, voices resolute: “We are willing to die to cover Your Highness’s retreat! Please depart, Your Highness!”
Qin Wei gripped Jiang Zhaoming’s wrist tightly, veins bulging. “A-Ming—go!”
“Silence!”
Jiang Zhaoming suddenly flicked his sleeve. His low command cracked like thunder.
Everyone felt their hearts tremble—and fell silent before they even realized it.