Chapter 1126 – Drawing the Sword and Sheathing the Sword (1/2)
Chapter 1126 – Drawing the Sword and Sheathing the Sword
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”We do not like Black Robe, but it is not because he stole the glory of our deceased comrades.
”When I was little, I read many human stories and watched many of Xuelao City's plays. The traitors in them all had the ugliest of faces.
”He was the most shameless traitor of these last one thousand years.
”But I must admit to his abilities and praise him for this plan.
”Killing Xiao Zhang is not enough to alter the momentum of the world, but if we kill both the Pope and Holy Maiden of the Human race, the history to come will be greatly changed.”
Mountain Man Yanzhi's voice echoed over the dark and desolate grassland.
In the end, however, problems had still occurred. They had not expected that under their monstrous pressure, Xiao Zhang would break through earlier than they expected.
Although he had just broken through and still did not have much mastery over the laws of the world, it had been enough for him to break through their encirclement with heavy injuries.
At the very least, he was still alive.
But Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had still come over, which was excellent, quite excellent.
The grassland was extremely quiet in the darkness, the starlight imbued with a cold and gloomy aura.
The Earth Monkey poked its head out from behind Chen Changsheng and revealed its sharp fangs to that massive black silhouette in the distance.
It wanted to scare that figure, but it didn't even dare to softly whimper. It had clearly been quite frightened by the mighty pressure exuded by this mountain.
Xu Yourong asked, ”How could you be sure that we would be the ones to come?”
”Xiao Zhang is a madman and would not trust anyone, and he certainly wouldn't trust the Great Zhou Imperial Court. He only trusts Chen Changsheng.”
Mountain Man Yanzhi added, ”And if Chen Changsheng comes, you would assuredly appear.”
Chen Changsheng would not be permitted to put himself in any possible danger, because he was the Pope of the Human race.
As he solidified his position as Pope, the power of this rule became stronger and stronger.
If he really did want to break free of this restriction, believers like An Hua really might use their deaths to rebuke him.
How could Linghai Zhiwang and the others let him leave White Emperor City alone?
Only one circumstance would have received the approval of all priests and believers.
He would be traveling with Xu Yourong.
The entire continent knew that the harmonious sword art of the Pope and the Holy Maiden was unimaginably powerful. Not even a Divine Domain expert could threaten their safety.
At present, Mao Qiuyu was overseeing Mount Han while the Prince of Xiang and the Prince of Zhongshan were stationed at Blue Pass and Snowhold Pass respectively, all of them seemingly ready to march out. The Demon Commander was personally leading the troops in battle while the majority of Xuelao City's Divine Domain experts were on the frontlines. Logically speaking, there was no danger in having Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong stealthily receive Xiao Zhang and take him back to the Central Plains.
And yet, whether it was at Mount Han, Blue Pass, or Snowhold Pass, or the tents on the snowy plains stretching to the horizon, it was all fake.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, aware or unaware, the humans and demons had all been acting out a play.
This isolated and peaceful grassland was the true battlefield.
The demons had invited the Eight Great Mountain Men.
No one had expected this.
Not even Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.
Although only three of them had come, this was already a monstrous strength that they could not contend against.
”Why didn't you consider that it could be Wang Po who came?”
This was Xu Yourong's last question.
Wang Po and Xiao Zhang were lifelong rivals, and one could even describe Wang Po as a powerful foe who had suppressed Xiao Zhang for his entire life.
Xiao Zhang did not like Wang Po and spent every moment thinking about how to defeat him, but the person he trusted should also have been Wang Po, even more than he trusted Chen Changsheng.
It was just like how when Xun Mei was about to die, the person he wanted to see the most besides Mao Qiuyu was Wang Po.
In that generation in which the wildflowers first began to bloom, Wang Po had been their goal, so was he not also the source of their confidence and daring?
Moreover, Wang Po was an expert of the Divine Domain and a master of the blade. If Xiao Zhang was seeking aid, Wang Po was unquestionably the best candidate.
The one to answer Xu Yourong's question was not Mountain Man Yanzhi, but Chen Changsheng.
”It would naturally be great for Wang Po to see him break through, but it would be awful for Wang Po to see him chased around in such a sorry state.”
Chen Changsheng added, ”It's very shameful.”
Xu Yourong didn't have much understanding of a man's boring self-esteem, so it was only after hearing Chen Changsheng's answer that she understood.
But she still found it impossible to understand a man's willingness to throw away his life before throwing away his pride.
The white paper flapped as it moved.
Xiao Zhang was still unconscious, so it was hard to say if he had heard Chen Changsheng's words or felt Xu Yourong's thoughts.
The ground quaked as the nearby monster herds cast aside their concern for the Earth Monkey's viciousness and fled in utter terror.
A short while later, several yowls came out from the darkness, followed by the faint scent of blood.
Another odor was mixed in with the blood. Upon smelling it, Chen Changsheng knew that something was off.
It was not because he was slightly obsessed with cleanliness, but because he had smelled this odor before, on the battlefields of the snowy plains.
A thunderous stampede shook the grassland.
The scent of blood and rot grew stronger and stronger, almost about to tear open the darkness.
Several hundred wolf cavalry appeared on the grassland, surrounding Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.
These bloodthirsty wolves were around a zhang high, and the demons mounted on them made them seem even larger.
The wolves' mouths gaped, exhaling hot and stinking breath, while their iron fur was starkly lit by the starlight.
The demon soldiers mounted on them were also clearly lit, the saliva constantly dripping from their 人-shaped mouths giving off just as awful a stench.
The wolf cavalry were the Demon race's most elite troops. In one-on-one combat, they could contend against, even defeat the black-armored cavalry of the Great Zhou.
And just how terrifying was the charging and killing power of several hundred wolf cavalry?
But in tonight's battle, these wolf cavalry that had traveled several thousand li for this long-distance raid were simply not worthy of being the main fighting force.
”The fate of the Divine race might be decided tonight, so I am being exceptionally cautious. I was also very cautious for the last few days, so I am very sure that he notified no one else, and I am also sure that you two were in too much of a rush to notify anyone else. I believe that I will have a great deal of time, so I will strike with great diligence and care to ensure that I thoroughly kill the two of you.”
Mountain Man Yanzhi spoke to Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.
In the darkness, his eyes shone like two torches, blazing with an intelligence and composure that could see through the world, but this also indicated how callous and terrifying he was.
Logically speaking, the conversation just now had been unnecessary. Mountain Man Yanzhi did not need to explain and Chen Changsheng did not need a reason to be ambushed by the demons. But they had still carried out this question and answer session, as Chen Changsheng wanted to buy time and Mountain Man Yanzhi needed time to ensure that his encirclement was perfect.
The ground trembled as that massive black silhouette moved south. Although its speed was slow, it exerted a horrifying pressure.
Mountain Man Yanzhi's stance was clear: he was playing it safe tonight and did not want to see any gaps.
As he gazed at that black mountain in the darkness, Chen Changsheng thought for a while and then asked, ”How much chance do we have?”
He was asking here about the chances of leaving alive, of course with Xiao Zhang in tow.
Xu Yourong and the White Crane were both as fast as lightning and were unmatched in terms of speed. If they used all their strength, not even the Eight Great Mountain Men could catch up, no matter how unfathomable their cultivation levels were.
The wind rustled her sleeves as Xu Yourong put away the Fated Star Plate. As it returned back into her sleeve, one could faintly see the stars moving along their orbits upon it.
She did not reply to Chen Changsheng's question, only shook her head.
It was clear that the result from the Fated Star Plate's calculation was utterly disastrous. Leaving… was simply impossible.
Since Black Robe had calculated that it would be Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong coming to pick up Xiao Zhang, he had naturally made the appropriate arrangements.
On the grasslands to the south of them, Mountain Men Jingbo and Yichun were like two mountain ranges, extending for several dozen li and blocking all paths of escape.
If Zhizhi were here, their chances might have been a little better.
Chen Changsheng thought about that black-clothed girl who was probably sunbathing on the warm islands of the Southern Sea and felt no regret, only a little frustration.
”So what should we do next?”
He asked Xu Yourong.
This was trust.
In terms of calculation and strategy, there had always been only a scant few in the world that were stronger.
Xu Yourong looked at the Earth Monkey and then stated several numbers that stood for distance and coordinates.
She knew that it could understand what she was saying and knew what she wanted.
It was clear that the Earth Monkey truly had understood her, as its body had turned stiff out of fear.
Many years ago in that incident in the Garden of Zhou, it had seen Xu Yourong, so it knew of her relationship with Chen Changsheng.
Thus, it smartly chose not to look at Chen Changsheng, much less ask to be let off. Instead, it plunged straight into the ground.
In a short while, it came back up.
It was in terrible condition—its brown and shabby fur was covered in dirt and grass while a wound had appeared on its brow, blood spilling from it.
Chen Changsheng crushed a pill and sprinkled it over the wound.
The pill was made from the leftover ingredients of the Cinnabar Pill and it didn't have too miraculous of an effect, but it was extremely effective in staunching blood.
The Earth Monkey licked the blood on its lips and shot a glance at Xu Yourong, its eyes sinister and cold, tinged with a hint of loathing.
It could travel through the ground, but how could it hide from the spiritual sense of a powerful expert like Mountain Man Yanzhi?
Below a hill ten-some li away, it had been struck by a terrifying ripple of energy and suffered significant injuries.
In its view, Xu Yourong had forced it to do this, so it naturally held a grudge.
Chen Changsheng was treating it, so it did not notice the change in its expression.
Xu Yourong saw, but she did not care. ”How was it?”
The Earth Monkey gave two soft shouts, its two short and thin forelegs gesturing in the air.
Xu Yourong watched with a serious expression. After engaging in another round of silent calculation, she turned to Chen Changsheng and said, ”It's also no good.”
Chen Changsheng turned to that black mountain in the darkness, his right hand dropping onto the hilt of his sword.
”Then we can only fight.”
The Eight Great Mountain Men were ancient demon experts who, several hundred years ago, had battled in front of the walls of Xuelao City with Wang Zhice, Qin Zhong, and Yu Gong.
If he and Xu Yourong fought a head-on battle with them, their loss was assured.
The massive black silhouette slowly moved, the pressure of its unimaginable weight crushing down on Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.
The dark grasslands had become terrifying to the extreme.
”The good news is that we only have to fight one.”
Xu Yourong noted.
Unmoving like a mountain.
The Eight Great Mountain Men truly did possess unfathomable cultivation, seeming just like demon gods. When they did not move, they could even be described as perfect, invulnerable. But when they moved, they could no longer maintain their perfection, and chinks appeared in their armor.
It was just like the actual mountains under the starry sky. When they were connected to the earth, they were unshakable, but when they moved, their foundation was unsteady.
In today's lethal trap, Mountain Men Jingbo and Yichun stood to the south, cutting off Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong's paths of retreat, so they could not move.
Mountain Man Yanzhi and the several hundred wolf cavalry were the main assault force.
In truth, not even Mountain Man Yanzhi could keep his grandiose posture as he slowly moved over to them, shrouded in darkness.