Wang Chong suddenly turned, looking past the golden-robed First Prince to the relaxed and confident Hou Junji.
Chapter 1725 - Zhuyan Versus Xuanwu!
Chapter 1725: Zhuyan Versus Xuanwu!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The First Prince didn’t have the ability to recruit such a prodigiously talented general, but things were different for the Army-Shattering War God. Presumably, someone of his ability could also easily train someone in the Great Zhuyan Halo!
Bang!
The mood was tense in the center of the drilling ground. It didn’t matter to Duan Zhuyan what the spectators were thinking, or if they knew the origin of his halo. After unleashing the Great Zhuyan Halo, Duan Zhuyan immediately gave the order to attack.
Roooar!
The massive Zhuyan in the air opened its mouth and roared, then it raised its arms and slammed them to the ground. Transforming into a crimson halo, it traveled along with Duan Zhuyan and his five hundred elites as they charged forward like meteors toward Zhao Fengchen’s men.
This momentum seemed so unstoppable that not even space itself could endure the pressure, turning blurry and indistinct. From a distance, it looked like a churning wave.
The earth began to groan and tremble.
“Duan Zhuyan!”
“Duan Zhuyan!”
Those nobles and great clan members who supported the First Prince used the chance to loudly holler in support.
“Hahaha, formidable! As expected, you did not disappoint this prince!”
Even the First Prince’s eyes brightened in delight. Though he knew that the Ghost King had planned everything out, he had never expected this ‘Duan Zhuyan’ to be this powerful.
Three thousand feet, two thousand feet, fifteen hundred feet!
As the distance closed, the momentum increased, and it seemed like the earth itself was about to collapse. Even the disciplined elites couldn’t help but show fright, yet Zhao Fengchen remained calm and determined, his body motionless.
The five hundred Xuanwu Army soldiers behind him seemed to have taken root in the earth.
After facing the seemingly endless assaults of the Arabs at Talas and teetering on the edge of death for so long, the Xuanwu Army had become an entirely different monster.
Both their bodies and will had been tempered to an incredibly tough level, and to say that their hearts were as tough as bedrock would be no exaggeration. Stronger armies than this would still not be able to shake their resolve.
One thousand feet!
A wave of steely Psychic Energy erupted from Duan Zhuyan’s body and locked onto Zhao Fengchen.
The immense pressure created by Duan Zhuyan and his five hundred elites, bolstered by the Great Zhuyan Halo, descended on Zhao Fengchen’s shoulders.
But Zhao Fengchen remained like a rock in the sea, firm and unwavering.
The spectators couldn’t help but be shocked by this, their hearts leaping to their throats and cold sweat pouring down.
The spectators were even more nervous than the participants!
Eight hundred feet, seven hundred feet… the distance shrank rapidly, and finally, when only five hundred feet remained…
Clang!
A cold sword flashed as it thrust into the air. In that moment, Zhao Fengchen finally gave the order to attack.
Bang!
As his sword was unsheathed, a condensed and simple halo burst out of Zhao Fengchen’s body like a hurricane, immediately spreading to his soldiers.
Neeeigh! Surrounded by a haze, Zhao Fengchen charged forth with his five hundred Xuanwu Army soldiers like an azure dragon, headed straight at Duan Zhuyan!
Three hundred, one hundred feet, boom! Before anyone could react, Zhao Fengchen’s Xuanwu Army thunderously collided with Duan Zhuyan’s Feather Forest Army. There was an earthshaking boom, and for a moment, even time seemed to stop.
Awooo!
At the final moment, everyone was able to see a massive creature more than ten meters high with the head of a dragon and the body of a turtle, pitch-black all over. This turtle monster savagely slammed into the savage ape-like monster summoned by Duan Zhuyan.
The Zhuyan’s arms hammered down while the Xuanwu beast bit and gnawed. The two savage beasts slammed and brawled in the air.
A few moments later, with a chorus of deafening collisions, the two armies ended their brief encounter and rode past each other.
As the two armies parted, there was a shrieking of horses and men. The immense force sent numerous cavalry flying into the air and slamming to the ground.
Once they were several dozen feet away, Zhao Fengchen and Duan Zhuyan pulled on the reins of their horses, and their armies went from sudden movement to sudden stillness. The two of them turned their heads back, saying nothing.
As this bizarre scene played out, the entire drilling ground was quiet. Countless eyes watched those two armies, confused as to what had just occurred.
Bai Siling pulled on Wang Chong’s sleeve and anxiously asked, “What happened? Did Zhao Fengchen or that Duan Zhuyan win?”
A girl would normally try to keep up appearances, but as Bai Siling was very close with Wang Chong, she had no such apprehensions.
The clash just now had been far too fast. Once Zhao Fengchen began moving, he was as fast as a lightning bolt, and in the blink of an eye, those two had clashed and then parted. Outsiders simply could not fathom the reason for this clash.
“Relax. They were just testing each other. Whether it was Zhao Fengchen or Duan Zhuyan, neither used their whole strength in this clash,” Wang Chong calmly said without turning his head.
“Ah!”
Bai Siling’s body trembled and her mouth dropped open in shock.
They had just been testing each other with such a fierce clash? Even though Bai Siling was a member of the Bai Clan, this battle had already exceeded the bounds of her imagination.
In truth, even Li Lin was stunned speechless.
“How could there be someone so formidable in the capital? Zhao Fengchen and his Xuanwu Army participated in the Battle of Talas, and he led one of the armies in the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner Formation. Few people in the world could compare to him, but here is a foe that not even Lord Zhao can overcome!” Li Lin muttered in shock.
Before this competition, he had believed that Duan Zhuyan would not be too strong, a little weaker than Zhao Fengchen at most. But judging by current situation, these two were completely on par, making it impossible to determine the final result.
“The Nine Dragon Blood War Banner became renowned only after the wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty. At that time, Emperor Taizong together with Gaozu had already conquered half the Central Plains. But before this time, there were many other powerful formations in the world, and while they might not have been comparable to the nine formations of the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner, they had their own unique and powerful properties. This Duan Zhuyan is probably using one such formation!” Wang Chong lightly said.
It was said that there were three thousand paths to the Dao and eight hundred side gates, and while side gates couldn’t compare to the main path, that didn’t mean that there weren’t powerful arts to be found there. The same principle applied to formations.
Meanwhile, Zhao Fengchen and Duan Zhuyan had reoriented their armies and were in another tense standoff.
The vast crowd gathered at the drilling ground was eerily quiet.
“Damn! This fellow is powerful!”
The First Prince darkly stared at Zhao Fengchen. This was just a clash between two Imperial Army divisions for others, but for the First Prince, it was linked to his grand aspirations, and he could not afford a failure.
“Ghost King, there’s not going to be some mishap, is there? He can really defeat Zhao Fengchen?”
The First Prince was clearly lacking in confidence. He knew nothing about this Duan Zhuyan and had promoted him to Feather Forest Army Marshal entirely on Hou Junji’s r
ecommendation.
Although he had received many assurances, the performance on the battlefield didn’t match what he had been promised.
The First Prince had begun to feel uneasy.
“Your Highness, please be patient. This is only getting started. There is no harm in waiting until the battle is over to discuss this.”
Hou Junji placed his hands behind his back, seemingly indifferent, but his simple comment was enough to dispel the First Prince’s worries.
Bongbongbong!
The drums began to pound again, and the two Imperial Army forces erupted with energy as they prepared for their second clash.
As energy surged, the two armies began to exude somber auras.
“Milord, the people on the other side are very strong. No one except the Arabs have ever forced us to this stage.”
The Xuanwu Army officers behind Zhao Fengchen were grim and wary.
Zhao Fengchen slightly nodded in reply. In the clash just now, both sides had lost quite a few men, and the Xuanwu Army had not been able to gain any advantage. They were clearly facing a formidable foe.
“Pass on my order! Everyone is to be completely focused! Prepare to fight according to how we trained!”
“Yes, Milord!”
There was a clattering of armor as an immense energy gushed out of Zhao Fengchen’s body and locked onto Duan Zhuyan. At the same time, the aura unleashed by the Xuanwu Army became even more condensed than before.
Chapter 1726 - The Supreme River Formation!
Chapter 1726: The Supreme River Formation!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
A Feather Forest Army officer at the side of the heavily-armored Duan Zhuyan suddenly whispered, “Marshal, the Xuanwu Army is attacking!”
In the last clash, they had seen the Xuanwu Army quietly wait and only attack afterward.
But this time, it had chosen to charge first.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort came in reply from beneath the heavy armor.
Rumble! Amidst the neighing of horses, the officer’s assessment became reality, and five hundred Xuanwu Army soldiers urged their horses into a gallop, Zhao Fengchen leading the way. Suddenly, the force split into two streams that attacked Duan Zhuyan from two separate angles.
Arrow Formation!
Wang Chong’s Wushang Cavalry had pushed this formation to even greater levels of fame. It was a traditional and extremely powerful offensive formation. While Zhao Fengchen’s Xuanwu Army was skilled in both attack and defense, its defense was superior, so it was extremely rare for it to use the offensive Arrow Formation.
One hundred feet, two hundred feet, three hundred feet!
The five hundred cavalry had rapidly divided into two, their movements so smooth that they seemed to be part of a single body. In less than three hundred feet, the cavalry had reached maximum speed, their momentum like a tsunami intent on dashing everything before it into pieces.
Building up speed to the maximum within a distance of three hundred feet was also something Zhao Fengchen had learned from Wang Chong. However, only a few people in the world could actually master this skill and build up so much speed in such a short amount of time.
Whoosh!
The energy created by the cavalry charge quickly transformed into a howling gale that stirred up great clouds of dust. The spectators cried out in alarm, their faces paling as they drew back from the field.
But in the face of this enormous momentum, Duan Zhuyan and his Feather Forest Army were unmoved.
“Hmph!”
When the Xuanwu Army had charged out more than a thousand feet, Duan Zhuyan snorted in disdain, and then with a clattering of armor, his Feather Forest Army charged forward like an arrow leaving its bow.
“Ah!”
Many people cried out in alarm at this sudden movement, and the tension instantly soared. The two armies were now charging at each other.
One thousand feet! Five hundred feet!
Rumble!
But just when it seemed like the two armies would collide as they did last time, the five hundred Xuanwu Army cavalry suddenly scattered apart into ten teams of fifty men each.
“Ah!”
Once again, the spectators cried out in shock, and this time, even the First Prince couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
The Cutting Formation!
In the various legends and tales bandied about in the taverns and tea houses of the capital, the Cutting Formation would always be mentioned.
Though none of them had seen it for themselves, everyone knew that when the army scattered apart like petals drifting on the wind, the god of death would appear with his scythe.
Whenever Wang Chong used the Cutting Formation on the battlefield, another renowned opponent would fall. Every opponent would feel great despair and then suffer massive losses.
Since Wang Chong had begun using this formation, no one had ever been able to stop it.
No one had expected that Zhao Fengchen’s Xuanwu Army could also use Wang Chong’s Cutting Formation!
The members of the Eastern Palace were just as surprised, their eyes flying open and their fists unconsciously clenching in anxiety.
It wasn’t that they didn’t believe in Duan Zhuyan’s strength. Wang Chong’s Cutting Formation was just too famous!
Neigh!
While the crowd was still gasping and shouting, the ten teams of Xuanwu Army soldiers turned around and converged with explosive speed, stabbing into the Feather Forest Army like ten sharp swords.
Bang!
The collision of horse against horse, armor against armor, created a massive din that made even the earth tremble. A massive shockwave exploded outward for nearly one thousand feet, turning the air blurry and indistinct.
For a moment, the entire world was silent and entranced, time seeming to have stopped for a second.
Boom!
When the crowd saw the scene at the center of the drilling ground, everyone couldn’t help but gasp in surprise, even the Imperial Army soldiers.
The orderly ranks of Duan Zhuyan’s Feather Forest Army had suddenly transformed into numerous round, fish-scale-like formations and fended off the charges of the Xuanwu Army.
The vicious and frightening ten arrows loosed by the Xuanwu Army had been accurately and inconceivably blocked. And it had only taken a few moments to accomplish this shift in formations.
“How could this be!?”
“Incredible!”
The clan scions were struck dumb.
Everyone knew the power of the Cutting Formation and knew that when Wang Chong used this formation, almost no one could stop it. But it had been easily stopped by Duan Zhuyan, whose name was unfamiliar to most people before today.
Let alone others, at this moment, even Wang Chong couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, his face turning solemn.
The Cutting Formation was not unstoppable. Its strongest trait was its sudden dispersal, avoiding the enemy and taking them by surprise, thus causing turmoil and chaos.
But if the opponent possessed sufficient resolve and their soldiers were sufficiently trained, and if they could shift formations almost instantly to block the soldiers coming in from all directions, they could completely minimize the lethality of the Cutting Formation.
But this was easier said than done, and it only seemed plausible on paper.
The time between the scattering and convergence of the Cutting Formation was less than a second, and those who could actually change their formation in such a short time were less than one in ten thousand.
“Good!”
“Hail the Feather Forest Army!”
“Duan Zhuyan! Duan Zhuyan!”
Cheers exploded over the drilling ground as all the members of the Eastern Palace faction ecstatically cheered for Duan Zhuyan and his Feather Forest Army.
While Duan Zhuyan hadn’t been very famous before this, with even his face still being completely unknown, this was no longer im
portant. When he blocked Zhao Fengchen’s Cutting Formation assault, he instantly soared into the ranks of the finest commanders.
Bai Siling looked at the drilling ground and suddenly asked, “What formation is that?”
While everyone was stunned at Duan Zhuyan’s performance, Bai Siling was more focused on Duan Zhuyan’s scale-like formation.
Bai Siling knew Wang Chong well, and she also knew that the Cutting Formation was not so easily blocked. If prompt reaction time were all that was needed to nullify the Cutting Formation, it would have long ago been rendered useless.
Bai Siling sensed that the true power rested in the strange formation Duan Zhuyan had used.
“The Supreme River Formation!” Wang Chong slowly said, his face abnormally grim.
Understanding that Bai Siling still probably didn’t understand, Wang Chong continued to explain.
“This is a powerful formation from before Taizong’s era. It appeared in the end days of the Sui, but it has been lost since then!”
Time was the world’s most lethal weapon, and not even the most powerful of objects could resist its grinding. The renowned Nine Dragon Blood Formation of Taizong’s era several hundred years ago had lost quite a few of its nine representative halos to the river of time, and the toll had been even greater on the arts from the end days of the Sui.
“While the last days of the Sui were some of the most chaotic for the realm, it was also a blooming period where various martial arts, formations, halos, and top-class experts appeared in great quantity. The Supreme River Formation was one of this era’s best formations.
“It imitates the rivers of the world, and just as water is formless, the essence of this formation is to adjust with the situation and counter the attacks of any other formation from that era. It can even imitate the opponent and counterattack. Its greatest specialty is flexible transformation.
“The Supreme River Formation is very difficult to train in, and it places high demands on both the soldiers and the commander. Only a scant few can ever reach this level, and it was precisely for these reasons that the Supreme River Formation was lost, even before the Great Tang had been established.”
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1060
