Chapter 49: Unrivaled Valiance Sun Fuping did not even bother replying. If the illusory barrier could have lasted till the end, he would have obviously let it do so. How suicidal and arrogant would he have to be to risk breaking their cover?
He Chunhua, tense and urgent, asked, “What do we do now?”
“Qiankun Invocation!” Sun Fuping swiftly said. “Commandery Administrator He, ready your mandate token!”
While He Chunhua rummaged for his Yuan Coin, Nian Songyu and Zeng Feixiong were already barking orders, commanding the soldiers to form a circular defensive formation and move key personnel to the center.
Zeng Feixiong shouted, “Hold your ground! The wrathful souls are nearly spent! We just need to hang on for ten more breaths!”
It was half a rallying cry, but it was indeed the case. The stream of Gale Army wrathful souls emerging from the pool had indeed begun to thin. There were no more overwhelming tides, just a final push.
And frankly, no one could imagine what more fearsome souls could follow after the Gale Army. This had to be the last wave.
However sweet the hope, reality had its own bitter plan.
Just as the team’s courage surged...
Puff! The illusory barrier broke.
It broke...
The dusty yellow glow flickered weakly twice, like it had scraped together the last crumbs of its strength. Then, it vanished, gone without so much as a proper goodbye.
Everyone stiffened, gulping dryly in unison.
He Lingchuan shouted the only thing he could, “Don’t move!”
The barrier might be gone, but the soul-masking powder had not worn off, and their life fires were still burning above their heads and shoulders.
Maybe... just maybe... After all, even earlier, without the barrier, some wrathful souls had not noticed them.
The ones emerging now looked like a small detachment of the Gale Army. This group was made up of a cavalry officer and over a dozen cavalrymen.
They had just flown over fifteen meters from the pool when the barrier broke.
“Gulp.” One sand bandit gulped a little too loudly.
The cavalrymen did not react, but the officer leading them suddenly yanked on his reins and wheeled his horse around. His eyes locked straight onto them.
The yellow dun horse whinnied and reared back, then pivoted, hooves stomping the ground, nostrils flaring. And then, its gaze fixed straight on their group.
The cavalrymen behind him followed suit as if they were tied to the same string.
Time seemed to stop.
The Gale Army did not charge. They did not move, and even the horses stopped swishing their tails.
In the frozen silence, the only sound was the drumbeat of hearts pounding in terrified chests.
Nian Songyu hissed through clenched teeth, “Don’t. Move.”
Then, the Gale Army commander nudged his steed. The horse launched forward at full gallop, straight at them!
The cavalrymen then all followed suit.
They were clearly soul bodies, and they were clearly just a small group, and yet, the thunder of hooves rumbled as though it was thousands upon thousands of cavalry that was charging right at them.
At the head of the charge, the cavalry officer lifted his spear slightly, and it then glinted with a chilling light!
“Get back! Move! They see us!” He Lingchuan yelled, dragging He Chunhua with him as he dove behind Sun Fuping without a shred of shame.
When the sky collapses, we should naturally let the state preceptor hold it up for us. The other party had already been quite close. And as they were mounted, it took but an instant for them to reach their group.
He Lingchuan could hear the horses’ breathing, harsh and hot through their nostrils.
It was so vivid, and it was apparent that they truly posed a lethal threat.
Nian Songyu did not have time to scoff. In a flash, he sprang in front of Sun Fuping, planting forth a spiked-edged shield with his right hand, acting as a bulwark for the two of them.
His shield came up at a calculated angle, slightly slanted and off-center. He was not planning to take the charge head-on, but rather to deflect and survive.
He braced himself, tightening every muscle in his body as he locked into a defensive stance.
The shield was basically the shell of a leatherback turtle monster, which was then nurtured and hardened for a hundred and fifty years. Its squared surface absorbed kinetic force and could even buffer against certain divine techniques.
He Lingchuan blinked in surprise. Can that thing actually block the attack of formless wrathful souls? Almost as if reading his thoughts, Sun Fuping pointed a finger at the shield and barked out, “Mou!”
The shield then emitted a faint green light.
Just as the light flickered, the cavalry officer’s spear slammed into the shield with a loud, dull thud.
Nian Songyu was sent skidding seven paces back. It was thanks to his core strength and firm footwork that he had managed to avoid being sent flying outright.
Sun Fuping, standing just behind him, placed a light hand on his shoulder and let himself be pushed back with the motion. He landed so gracefully that it looked like an empty hemp sack had gently touched the ground. His movement had been so effortless that it was almost elegant.
He used the moment to stretch out a hand. His staff, planted deep within the ranks, flew back into his palm as he summoned it.
As for the He father and son, they were already clear of danger. A split second before the spear and shield had collided, He Lingchuan had yanked his father back two paces. His footwork was swift and precise, executed with perfect timing to avoid the shockwave from the impact entirely.
He silently deduced that Nian Songyu’s turtle shield had only been able to withstand the wrathful soul’s strike because of Sun Fuping’s earlier enchantment. After all, no mere physical barrier could stand up to a supernatural attack.
Nian Songyu gave He Lingchuan an extra glance. This brat might be shallow in cultivation and conduct, but his survival instinct is frighteningly sharp. This kid has dodged death more than once, each time just in time. As for the rest, they were not as fortunate as the He father and son. While the officer had been targeting Nian Songyu, the ten or so cavalrymen behind him had turned their attention to Zeng Feixiong’s formation.
There was no point in any more orders. The soldiers scattered in panic.
However, two legs could not outrun four. Within mere breaths, six soldiers were pierced straight through the chest by the spears of the cavalrymen.
Even without physical form, the cavalry’s strikes were devastating. The six victims screamed on the ground, clutching their chests. Two of them immediately coughed up blood. It was clear that those spears did not pierce flesh but the soul.
They could neither run nor fight them. What were they supposed even to do then?
Panic rippled through the group.
He Lingchuan shouted, “Commandant Nian held the officer back!”
It was true, and many had seen it.
At his shout, the scattered soldiers rallied again, clustering together.
The cavalrymen reined in their mounts, readying for a second charge, only to find the enemy now reformed. Not into a circle, but clustered behind one figure.
Their formation was sloppy and untrained, but they had chosen a leader to stand behind.
The officer of the Gale Army turned his head slightly, glancing from the huddled crowd to the wounded sprawled across the ground.
It was a very human gesture.
Situ Han muttered, “Is it thinking?”
He Lingchuan felt a spike of dread. This officer’s might alone was already terrifying. If he also had brains, then they were in for real trouble.
And sure enough, trouble came. The officer gave a faint flick of the reins. The yellow dun horse surged forward again in a blur of speed.
As he passed the pool, the officer lowered his arm slightly, dipping the tip of his spear into the red-tinged water.
Nian Songyu once again threw himself forward to intercept, barely managing to deflect the charge, but this time his arms trembled with strain as they held the shield in front of him. The spear’s force tore through him, and his left palm split open from the pressure.
Unexpectedly, the officer did not continue to engage the formation head-on. He skirted the side of the formation, twisted in the saddle, and like a dragonfly skimming the surface of a pond, thrust again with incredible speed!
The nearest sand bandit did not even see it coming.
One clean thrust, and his throat had been stabbed.
The spear pierced straight through, clean and unflinching.
A few droplets of blood splashed onto the faces of his nearby comrades.
By the time they blinked, the yellow dun horse had already galloped ten meters ahead.
The unfortunate sand bandit was still skewered on the spear. Even more unfortunately, however, he was not yet dead. At the moment, he was twitching violently on the spear.
The cavalry officer spun the horse with a flourish, letting the body twist on the shaft. Blood poured out in long red threads, soaking his own trousers, dripping freely onto the desert floor.