Chapter 52: Piercing Armor Through A Hundred Men! We’ve Broken The Heavens!
Illuminated by the increasingly fierce flames, Hong Yuan ignored the fleeing crowds and strode forward, dragging his spear, towards the nearly a hundred elite, fierce armored soldiers under Guo Zhen.
The dark spear tip touched the ground, plowing a long furrow, and a sharp, piercing friction sound arose.
His steady and powerful footsteps landed on the green stone bricks, making thudding sounds like dense drumbeats, signaling the start of battle.
These ‘drumbeats’ synchronized with Hong Yuan’s breathing and exhalation. The little strength consumed by charging through hundreds of people not only recovered quickly but also made his aura even more imposing.
Facing his sharpness directly, the nearly a hundred armored soldiers, despite being armored, well-equipped with weapons, and numerous, felt their hearts pounding uncontrollably, reaching the peak of tension.
Few had witnessed the scene just moments ago and could still maintain their composure.
One person charging at hundreds, and those hundreds all being fierce and strong individuals, with many agile martial artists among them, yet they were routed in a short period, with bodies strewn across the battlefield, and scattered.
Such martial power was no different from the demons in storybooks; who wouldn’t be shaken?
This group of armored soldiers could still hold their swords and sabers, diligently guarding Guo Zhen. Facing such a fierce person, they could still muster the courage and fighting spirit, truly deserving to be called an elite force.
Linjiang Prefecture had three guards: the White Scale Guard, the Iron Wall Guard, and the Golden Soup Camp.
The three guards had over ten thousand soldiers in total, with each guard having between three to five thousand soldiers.
Within a guard, the Commander was at the head, followed by the Left and Right Commanders.
As the Left Commander of the Golden Soup Camp, Guo Zhen was second only to the Commander, holding a high and powerful position, with the authority to deploy a thousand soldiers at will.
However, these hundred-plus armored soldiers, fully equipped and armed, were his carefully selected backbone, assembled by depleting his resources.
It was precisely these hundred-plus valiant armored soldiers that allowed him to maintain his position as Left Commander.
Normally, Guo Zhen took great pride in this, but at this moment, surrounded by the armored soldiers in layers of protection, he still felt a bone-chilling cold, his face turning pale.
His initial demeanor of furious indignation was gone.
He even felt a twinge of regret in his heart.
Why, after having escaped, did he have to come back?
It was already a bit late to leave now; given the movement speed of the armored soldiers, if they were targeted, escape was impossible.
The warhorses were all left in the outer courtyard.
“Protect the Commander!”
A shout rang out. Among the armored soldiers, a man who appeared to be a commander, no older than thirty, raised his saber and moved forward, boosting morale: “He’s only one person. He just routed a mob. What is there to fear?”
“With our combat power, a hundred armored soldiers are enough to rout a thousand, or even ten thousand scattered troops.”
“Think of how good the Commander has been to us. Alcohol, meat, women, and money rewards – has any of it been lacking for you?”
As he spoke, the armored commander’s eyelids twitched wildly, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He was the leader of these armored soldiers, holding the rank of Captain. He achieved this position not because of his exceptional martial prowess or his outstanding ability to deploy troops; it was because he also bore the surname Guo, being Guo Zhen’s nephew, Guo Jun!
“Form ranks, meet the enemy!”
Guo Jun roared.
Hong Yuan approached within ten feet. He exerted force with his feet, causing large cracks in the solid ground bricks. He transformed into a streak of clear light and arrived in an instant.
The dragging spear tip and the green bricks splashed sparks, and as he reached the armored soldiers, Hong Yuan’s palm technique suddenly shifted, turning the dragging motion into a forward thrust!
The spear struck like a dragon!
Amidst the sharp metallic clanging, the foremost armored soldier’s chest and abdomen armor shattered inch by inch. With a crack of his ribs, his chest caved in. The spear tip instantly pierced through.
With a miserable cry, Hong Yuan, carrying the armored soldier on his spear, swung it sideways with immense force.
Boom!
The spear, imbued with tremendous power, along with the screaming armored soldier’s body, crashed down like Mount Tai upon the horrified and defensively raised saber formation before him.
Crack! Crack!
A tooth-grinding sound of breaking erupted, accompanied by nearly simultaneous screams. The fine steel sabers twisted and shattered under the immense force as heavy as a collapsing mountain.
Shattered metal fragments scattered like sharp arrows, clanging against armor, like a rain of iron.
Immediately, several armored soldiers fell or were flung away, suffering various injuries, from broken arms to broken necks, all lifeless.
The force of a single blow killed and injured several armored soldiers. The remaining ones were disrupted by the fallen and injured, falling into a state of disarray.
Hong Yuan did not give them a chance to regroup. The Life-Snatching Throat-Locking Spear traced streaks of afterimages in his palm. This time, it was not a smashing attack but transformed into flashes of cold gleam.
Instantly, the sky seemed to bloom with a cold flame. Each cold light fell and then shot out like lightning, precisely piercing the gaps in the armor of each armored soldier.
Puff, puff, puff!
The speed was so great that it was impossible to react. The silver spear in his hand seemed to have a spirit, completely alive, transforming into a ferocious, claw-waving, terrifying dragon, fiercely biting each enemy.
Amidst the sounds of flesh being pierced, interspersed with screams, within a few breaths, over ten armored soldiers fell backward, their armor stained with blood.
“We can’t retreat! Hold the line!”
Guo Jun charged forward, exerting all his strength, his eyes split wide open as he slashed.
With a *swish*, a silver light flashed, piercing through his throat. Then, a clear shadow flickered, and he was already past him.
After a brief engagement of two or three breaths, twenty or so men were dead or injured. This scene filled the remaining armored soldiers with utter terror.
Some who had scattered and fled to areas they considered safe, such as noble clans, great families, or guards, martial artists, looked back and were so shocked their eyeballs almost popped out. Their souls departed, and they ran even faster.
“Run!”
“He’s not human, he’s a demon!”
This was even with Hong Yuan wanting to test his strength against the formation. Otherwise, with his speed, he could have easily gone around to the flank, and breaking the formation would have been even easier.
Of course, Hong Yuan also knew that the armored soldiers before him were not displaying their true combat strength.
Facing top-tier masters, they would certainly charge on horseback, utilizing their powerful mobility and crushing capabilities.
If it were an infantry battle, they would be equipped with shields and swords, with spearmen as support. Elite soldiers would hide behind the shields, and spears would thrust out like a forest.
If he truly encountered such a situation, Hong Yuan would not easily charge head-on.
His spear did not stop; he either used snake-like attacks to break into armor gaps, or he directly swept them with brute force, shattering iron armor while armored soldiers’ bodies were smashed and sent flying.
Or he simply pierced through armor with his spear tip, penetrating chests, throats, glabella, and other vital points. Under his immense strength, the iron armor was like paper; it was pierced through instantly and torn apart with ease!
In an instant, another ten or so men were casualties. The remaining armored soldiers lost all will to fight. With a roar, many turned and fled.
“Retreat! Protect me!”
Guo Zhen’s face turned even paler. His body swayed and trembled, no longer caring about the losses of his armored soldiers.
Only a few armored soldiers remained, either Guo Zhen’s true confidants or members of the Guo family themselves. Although they were also terrified, they gritted their teeth and stumbled while protecting Guo Zhen as he fled.
Hong Yuan’s gaze locked onto Guo Zhen, about twenty to twenty-five feet away. He slammed his spear into the ground, the tip piercing the earth and standing upright.
He suddenly leaped up, stepping on the butt of the spear with his toe, soaring another ten feet or so, and swooped towards a nearby wooden flagpole fluttering with a “Hero’s Arena” banner.
This flagpole was four zhang tall and as thick as a bowl. Hong Yuan leaped and reached within three zhang of it.
Bang!
He struck out with a palm imbued with true force. The flagpole made a booming sound and cracked. The top then fell downward, but Hong Yuan caught it.
While still in mid-air, he exerted immense strength and simultaneously unleashed his true force, using this ten-foot-long flagpole as a weapon and throwing it forcefully!
“Hero’s Arena, right?”
“Here you go!”
Boom!
Amidst a great trembling sound, the Hero’s Arena banner at the top of the flagpole tore through the wind, rustling loudly.
A few armored soldiers, who were simultaneously protecting Guo Zhen while constantly looking back, were struck with terror. They only saw the ten-foot-long pole flying towards them like an arrow shot by a divine being.
In a flash, it traversed eighty feet. With a *bang*, the flagpole pierced through Guo Zhen’s back.
His body was as fragile as paper under that immense force. It pierced through and vanished, instantly emerging from his chest, the blood-stained banner also squeezing out of his body.
Guo Zhen did not even let out a cry. The flagpole’s momentum carried him forward.
With a loud bang, the flagpole flew another forty to fifty feet, directly embedding itself into a garden wall ahead.
Guo Zhen’s body was shattered, and blood flowed down the flagpole.
The few armored soldiers stared at the scene blankly. They slumped to the ground in an instant, their faces ashen. Only one armored soldier trembled, his eyes bloodshot, staring fiercely at Hong Yuan, who descended from the sky, pulled out his spear, and turned to leave.
“Villain, dare you leave your name?”
Hong Yuan did not look back. He tapped his silver spear on the ground, ‘poof,’ kicking up a piece of paving stone and striking it casually with the spear shaft.
“The one who killed is Hong Yuan!”
As his calm and indifferent voice echoed, the green brick shot through the air and suddenly struck the roaring armored soldier’s forehead armor. A resonant, bell-like sound was heard, and the armored soldier was thrown backward.
As a gust of wind swept through, with the four pavilions within the Inner Arena of the Moon Embracing Garden as the center, fire snakes spread out, and sounds of collapse were continuous.
Hong Yuan had already disappeared.
After a considerable while, people slowly emerged from the shadows in all directions, their faces still carrying deep astonishment.
“He’s gone? He must be gone, right?”
Behind a rockery and pond, several martial artists stood up trembling. They usually considered themselves brave and unafraid of facing swords and spears, but now they were like quails, trembling at the slightest rustle.
“That fierce god… that person called himself Hong Yuan. Have you heard this name?”
“Never heard of it, but I’m afraid that from today onwards, not only Linjiang Prefecture but the entire Mingzhou will spread his great name!”
A man with a rugged beard and a square face sighed, then gave a wry smile: “Such a master, such a master… have you ever seen one like this before?”
“Let alone seen one, I’ve never even heard of one. I always thought such characters only existed in storytellers’ tales.”
A wandering knight in green cloth shoes, holding a long sword, was both shocked and reverent. He sighed, “I once saw a Microscopic Level Grandmaster in action, but nowhere near this level of power. Don’t laugh at me, sirs, I was almost scared to pee just now.”
“Such a person is already close to a god!”
“Not necessarily!” A middle-aged man holding a short axe shook his head. His eyes also held shock, and his voice was low: “This person probably has innate great strength and an astonishing physique, which allows him to expend energy so freely. Such a person is a born peerless general, rarely seen in a hundred years. Placed on the battlefield, he would be worth a thousand men, sweeping aside thousands of troops.”
“Microscopic Level masters also cannot withstand this kind of consumption. They often have to withdraw after killing dozens. However, martial arts duels in Jianghu are different from the grand battles on the battlefield. If a Microscopic Level master does not compete with him in brute strength, but fights in every inch of space, they might be able to kill him…”
“That’s not something for us to consider. I only know that this time Linjiang Prefecture has caused a major upheaval, and there will soon be great chaos.”
A sallow-faced man gripped his curved saber and said solemnly.
“This is the Moon Embracing Garden, are you really going to waste time here?” someone suddenly said.
This remark caused the martial artists present to pause, then they all reacted simultaneously. The panic on their faces quickly disappeared, replaced by expressions of wild joy.
That’s right!
This chaos had caused countless casualties among the noble clans and great families. Because it happened so suddenly, much of their wealth had not been collected; now it was all ownerless.
Moreover, if they encountered lone nobles, they might even be able to pull off a heist.
In any case, it could all be blamed on that fierce god.
It wasn’t just this area that reacted; in other places, people who had hidden and not yet left also moved simultaneously, quickly searching before the fire spread further.
Soon, because of the contest for wealth, sounds of clashing weapons and screams erupted.
Hong Yuan moved like a swift wind, leaving all the commotion behind him, and rapidly headed towards the dense forest.
Suddenly, a line of black text appeared before his eyes.
He smiled, having gained another point of root bone.
【 Root Bone: 7/100】
【 Comprehension: 7/100】
Immediately afterward, a mysterious, surging warm current flowed through his limbs and bones. His slightly tired physical body instantly relaxed, then became full again.
A powerful and vital force slowly merged into his muscles and bones, flesh and blood.
This feeling was like shedding his mortal coil
Such encounters are things ordinary people might not experience even once in their lifetime. To encounter one is to be blessed with astonishing good fortune. With each increase in his Root Bone, Hong Yuan’s physical form underwent a baptism, progressing towards a higher level of evolution.
Comprehension is the same principle; every improvement is a sublimation of the spirit.
Hong Yuan silently savored this feeling, his movement technique unbroken, and he quickly arrived within the dense forest, deliberately making a loud thud upon landing.
It wasn’t necessary for him to deliberately make a sound; how could Yang Erhu truly be at peace? After recovering some strength, he climbed a giant tree and looked towards the Moon Embracing Garden.
Unfortunately, the distance was too great, and high walls also blocked the inside and outside of Moon Embracing Garden, so Yang Erhu only heard shouts and screams carried by the wind; he couldn’t see anything else clearly.
While anxiously searching, he had already seen Hong Yuan rapidly approaching. He simultaneously dropped quickly from the tree and pounced beside Hong Yuan, examining him from head to toe.
“Hong kid, are you alright?”
Yang Erhu looked at Hong Yuan, filled with surprise and uncertainty.
Although the situation in the Moon Embracing Garden couldn’t be seen clearly just now, the sounds indicated a great battle had taken place. Yet, apart from some blood on him, Hong Yuan looked spirited, full of vigor, not at all like someone who had just fought a battle.
“Teacher, let me escort you out of Linjiang Prefecture!”
Hong Yuan did not answer, but instead directly said such a sentence.
