NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1340: Slaughter Trial
This time, Shi Jian's training lasted for more than four months. During these months, the Mystic Spirit Continent almost got its face ruined by the war that spread fire everywhere.
The air was filled with a strong scent of blood, God knows how much blood has been shed to dye it this way. Everywhere, you could see ruins and a ghastly scene of corpses strewn across the fields.
Flying all the way from the sky, what Tangyu saw and heard made his skin crawl. Such devastation was indeed unbearable to watch. The cost of slaughter and bloodshed was too heavy and tragic. For Tangyu, who had always lived on Earth, this was the kind of scene he found most intolerable.
However, the Great Dao is eternal, and the tribulation of the mundane world is unavoidable. These sacrifices were insignificant tools for the tribulation of the mundane world. What's more terrifying is yet to come, fears that people dare not even imagine.
Shi Jian couldn't help but shake his head: "War is too cruel, human life is as insignificant as grass. In this era, a peerless hero is needed to stand up, unify the Mystic Spirit Continent, quell the chaos, and let the people live in peace.
The two returned to Anyang County, only to find that it was surrounded by a massive army, a whole million of them, encircling Anyang County completely.
These armies were mainly forces from the Fiery Flame Country.
Tangyu's brow slightly furrowed: "It seems that in the time we were away, the war has already begun. An Shitong and the others, I wonder how they're doing."
At this moment, Anyang County was also tightly guarded, with a grim atmosphere, oppressive. The return of Tangyu and the others added a bit more strength to Anyang County, and An Shitong hurried to greet them. Upon meeting, An Shitong immediately complained to Tangyu: "Master, you're finally back. If you hadn't returned sooner, our Anyang County would have been lost."
"What's going on?" Tangyu asked.
An Shitong explained the current situation, and Tangyu learned that the Fiery Flame Country was launching an all-out assault on Anyang County. Not only the Fiery Flame Country, but two other countries had joined in as well. They were originally fighting among each other but suddenly went mad and targeted Anyang County. The combined forces of the three countries were against Anyang County, and if it weren't for Anyang County's strong military, it would have fallen long ago.
Anyang County was having a tough time, mainly because the opponent had strong Zifu Realm experts, and even experts above the Golden Core Realm Sixth Layer. This put Anyang County in a tight spot. If it weren't for a formidable Mystic Law Realm army and several ingenious strategies by Zhu Sanliang deterring their experts and even successfully killing a Golden Core Realm Eighth Layer cultivator, the opponents' Zifu Realm experts would have stormed in.
Tangyu shrugged, knowing that it was probably the doing of someone from Hongchen Palace behind the scenes. It seemed the enemy had already discovered him. This was normal as a little investigation would easily reveal him. Besides, Tangyu had never been too secretive about his identity, with his name being known, essentially putting himself in the open. But Tangyu didn't mind too much about this, he had thought of it from the start.
But fortunately, there were many restrictions in this game, so Tangyu didn't care about these aspects.
Tangyu said: "No worries, now that we're back, those Zifu Realm experts coming to attack are courting death."
An Shitong finally felt relieved and grinned: "Haha, I've been eagerly waiting, looking forward to Master and Senior Brother Shi Jian's early return. Now, I have full confidence. Next time they come, we'll kill every last one of them. I will now muster our forces for a strong counterattack."
"Woo—"
Just as An Shitong finished speaking, a loud horn sounded through the skies. Upon hearing it, An Shitong chuckled: "Haha, perfect timing. Here it comes, the Fiery Flame Country is launching their attack."
Tangyu shrugged: "Let's go, take a look."
The million strong army of the Fiery Flame Country launched a full-scale attack on Anyang County from all directions. This time the scale was immensely grand and magnificent. The army in Anyang County was also dispatched quickly, they also had a million-strong force. An Shitong, Zhu Sanliang, and others were transmitting orders one by one. On the observation platform, Tangyu and Shi Jian, along with An Miaoke and others, stood there watching the battle unfold.
Rumble—
The ground thundered and shook as thousands of troops charged, the sound deafening and reverberating.
People swarmed from all directions, like a plague of locusts, ominously powerful, threatening to level cities and pools.
Kill, kill, kill!!!
The shouts to kill soared to the sky, as though trying to flip this world over. Just this momentum alone was enough to scare people out of their wits, make them flee. Those with a weaker disposition would probably be scared to death by such a display.
An Shitong, full of excitement, commanded the army and issued orders: "Leave none alive!"
Kill, kill, kill!!!
Over at Anyang City, the entire city was in a frenzy, with the army lined up in formation.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Countless arrows shot out, the sound of them tearing through the air filled the skies, turning the space into a sieve. Densely packed, like a storm of wind and rain. It presented an extraordinarily grand scene, drawing everyone's attention.
The army of the Fiery Flame Country also shot countless arrows back. Arrows clashed in the air. Some collided cleverly, sparking a series of bright flares. More arrows, however, aimed at the city walls of Anyang County. Brave warriors wielded their swords to block these arrows. These warriors were formidable; it wasn't easy for arrows to kill them unless it was a fearsomely powerful arrow.
The two armies engaged fiercely in battle.
Shouts of killing, piercing wails, explosions, cries of death, blood splattering...
The chaotic sounds mixed together, creating an incredibly noisy, chaotic, bloody, tragic scene.
Although An Miaoke had seen many such scenes, her face was still pale, and she couldn't help but grasp Tangyu's sleeve, hiding behind him.
Shi Jian's face was serious and cold, furrowing his brows. Such a bloody scene made him uncomfortable, very unaccustomed to it.
Tangyu sighed in his heart, lamenting: "Survival of the fittest. The changes through time are always accompanied by disasters. Just like ancient Huaxia Country, wars raged, empires rose and fell, countless lives lost. Every dynasty was built on countless lives and blood. Peace is what everyone longs for. In comparison, living a stable, peaceful life, even if it's ordinary and mundane, is actually quite good."
"I really don't like this kind of life. Killing, for me, has become too monotonous, bringing no joy. The meaning of life, within the act of killing, has become too bloody, tasteless."
Tangyu couldn't help but shake his head. He increasingly found that he didn't enjoy this life.
He pursued the Great Dao, sought immortality, and longed to become an Immortal. He enjoyed cultivation, cherishing the step-by-step progress. But, facing many things, he realized they were too bloody and cruel, showcasing humanity's most savage and brutal side completely. And this side, Tangyu did not like.
However, he also knew he was powerless to change anything. What he could do now was just to manage himself as best he could.
Amidst this helplessness, he felt incredibly small, and this feeling was truly hard to bear.
The battle raged on for a day and a night, with millions of troops deployed from both sides. After a day's and night's fight, both sides suffered heavy casualties, rivers of blood flowing, and the city walls of Anyang County were stained completely red. Outside the walls, corpses piled up everywhere, turning the soil completely red, with even the air tinted with a red mist of blood. The city walls were also full of holes, a scene of complete devastation. This scene was truly shocking.
A day and a night of fighting took too much out of both sides, leaving the warriors exhausted, each pushed to their physical limits.
A powerful figure soared into the air, followed by a dozen more figures. Leading them was an old man clad in a fiery red dragon robe. His presence was chilling, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed in anger, exuding a kingly aura of domination. This man was the Fiery Flame King, the emperor of the Fiery Flame Country. Behind him followed more than a dozen powerful experts in the Golden Core Realm, his most formidable subordinates.
Fiery Flame King came with murderous intent, intent on breaking the city personally. The outbreak of this battle was already prepared as a final confrontation.
An Shitong watched as Fiery Flame King approached with bloodlust, and he also shifted his gaze towards Tangyu. Tangyu nodded at Shi Jian, who immediately took the order to rush out. This made An Shitong startled and looked at Shi Jian with some confusion and worry. He knew Shi Jian hadn't yet broken through to the Zifu Realm. Could he handle the Fiery Flame King alone?
However, seeing Tangyu's calm expression, An Shitong felt somewhat reassured. He believed his Master wouldn't fight an unwinnable battle. Since he dared to let Shi Jian head out, there must be some confidence in success. This made him admire Tangyu wholeheartedly. His Master was truly like an Immortal being, managing to cultivate Shi Jian to such a strong level in such a short time. One couldn't help but feel immense admiration. Despite a hint of envy, he had no other choice.
He had some self-awareness. Compared to Shi Jian, his talent was far inferior. Even if his Master tried his best to cultivate him, he couldn't possibly reach Shi Jian's rate of progress.
Shi Jian stood in front of Fiery Flame King and his group, with his sword on his back, looking coldly at Fiery Flame King, eyes like cold knives.
Tangyu had Shi Jian take action, to train Shi Jian, and also to give him some killings, honing his sword through slaughter. Without enough killing experience, his sword couldn't truly manifest its killing capability, let alone step into the Sword Great Path.
Fiery Flame King's sword-like eyebrows swept across Shi Jian, letting out an angry, disdainful snort: "A mere Golden Core Realm Ninth Layer dares to block the king, truly ignorant. Isn't Anyang County supposed to have an Immortal? Let that Immortal come out and fight. My Fiery Flame Country has been disrupted by your little Anyang County. Today is the time to settle the scores. As the king leads the charge myself today, I will surely break Anyang County. If Anyang County submits and surrenders to the king now, perhaps I'd consider leniency. Otherwise, siding against the king means only a path to death. You petty folk, don't seek death on your own."
Fiery Flame King's imposing presence dominated the atmosphere. Under such momentum, many people were scared. This was a supreme being, a kingly presence. The Fiery Flame King's authority was hard to erase completely, deeply ingrained in many people's hearts.