Chapter 67: Trapping Oneself He neither dodged nor hesitated when he saw the massive flood dragon charging at him. Without a moment’s pause, he gripped his blade with both hands, leaped high toward the flood dragon’s head, and brought his blade down in a mighty overhead strike!
In his current state, he would cleave mountains and kill gods if he had to. Nothing could stand in his way.
Even He Lingchuan, who had always disliked him, had to admit that Nian Songyu looked damn impressive and awe-inspiring right now.
Faced with such an overwhelming blow, even the formidable black flood dragon was not about to meet it head-on. Instead, it repeated its old trick and lashed out with its tail.
Even the tip of its tail was thick enough for two men to wrap their arms around, and taking a hit from it would mean snapped tendons and shattered bones.
However, Nian Songyu showed not a hint of fear. His blade shifted, chopping straight down onto the dragon’s tail.
He was sent flying, hurled away by the force of the impact. Meanwhile, the tip of the flood dragon’s tail, which was over three meters long, was severed clean off.
Sun Fuping, oblivious to the battle raging before him, chanted faster and faster under his breath.
In response, the white glow emanating from the ivory carving grew ever brighter and brighter. Clearly, when it reached its peak, something bad was in store for the black flood dragon.
The flood dragon, infuriated, shook off Nian Songyu and lowered its massive head, barreling straight for Sun Fuping.
Its massive head, studded with sharp right-angled horns, was like a battering ram, capable of smashing holes in even iron-plated city gates, never mind a human body.
But the dozen or so golden-armored soldiers stood firm, forming a living wall in front of Sun Fuping. The flood dragon’s head sent several of them flying, but the rest braced together and managed to hold it back.
In that exact moment, several bird monsters dove down from above, aiming their razor beaks at Sun Fuping.
But just as they struck, they collided with an invisible, rock-solid barrier. With a sharp crack, their beaks broke.
A barrier.
To secure these precious thirty breaths, Sun Fuping had gone all out, even summoning the energy-hungry golden-armored soldiers, so how could he possibly neglect the importance of a defensive barrier?
Still, supporting two barriers at once, even for the deeply cultivated State Preceptor Sun, was a heavy strain.
This kind of consumption was simply unsustainable.
He just needed to hold on for thirty breaths.
* * *
He Chunhua drew a deep breath and shouted to the Gale Army outside the Heavenly Lightning Array, “Take a look at this!”
He reached into his storage ring and pulled out an object, raising it high for all to see.
Storage rings usually held no more than a cubic meter of space, and even then, those were rare. Few even among the capital’s most powerful had one to themselves. He Chunhua had lucked out by being stationed on the border for so many years; the one he now used had originally been seized as contraband.
The item he produced did not take up much space.
It was just a broken comb, stained with smoke and scorch marks. The pale blue flower design at its end was faded, but still mostly intact.
The moment the unremarkable comb was revealed, a stir ran through the opposing army. Even several of the officers who had previously fought Heishui City’s troops stepped forward, stopping just outside the array and staring fixedly at the comb.
He Chunhua remembered that State Preceptor Sun had identified this item from the remains of the sand leopard, saying it still carried the powerful resentment of Zhong Shengguang, the Commander of Panlong City.
State Preceptor Sun might be secretive and scheming, but when it came to scholarship and knowledge, he was second to none.
If the comb carried such a potent grudge, the Gale Army would surely know it well.
Sure enough, the instant the comb was revealed, the Gale Army’s murderous aura plummeted. They even stopped driving the wrathful souls to attack the array.
Anyone could sense that their hostility had diminished drastically.
“Stand down!” He Chunhua shouted, holding the wooden comb aloft and addressing the military souls of the Gale Army outside the array. “You’re not needed here!”
The Gale Army did not budge. Even their warhorses stood motionless, neither snorting nor pawing at the earth.
Situ Han whispered, “Lord, maybe they don’t understand human speech. And besides, they were West Luo people when they were alive.”
He Chunhua was struck by realization. “That’s right. I’ve heard that many wrathful souls live only in their own worlds and can’t communicate with the living.” Otherwise, why would the Gale Army instantly withdraw its hostility at the sight of a comb? Clear-headed humans would not be so easily convinced. But that did not mean that he was entirely unable to communicate with them.
After thinking for a moment, He Chunhua made a retreat gesture. According to legend, Panlong City’s military discipline had spread throughout the Panlong Wasteland, with many drill and combat gestures still in use to this day.
As someone who had led troops into battle, He Chunhua was no stranger to these.
Sure enough, when several of the commanders saw the gesture, they each gave him a respectful nod, then turned and signaled their troops.
No one knew how the dead communicated, but the entire army pivoted and slowly withdrew as one.
The living finally let out a collective sigh of relief. They were saved at last.
Situ Han wiped his damp, clammy back. “Sir, you should’ve told us you had something like that!”
He Chunhua just rubbed his face, too weary to respond to the bandit’s whining. It might have looked like he had not done much, but in truth, he had been locked in a standoff with the Gale Army for ages. Just holding the Heavenly Lightning Array with the mandate token had been draining everyone’s strength at a frightening rate. Now, he felt completely spent. He would have liked nothing better than just to sit down and rest.
“Let’s leave the array, but don’t stray too far,” he told everyone, reaching for the mandate token at the top of the staff.
With the Gale Army no longer a threat, they did not need the array anymore. Besides, after being played by Sun Fuping earlier, He Chunhua remained on high alert.
A few soldiers stepped out onto the array’s runes to leave, but then, with a sudden cry, they were bounced back by the barrier of lightning.
Their bodies went rigid, shivering as if seized by ague, every hair on end.
Everyone was alarmed. Situ Han flung a throwing knife at the barrier, but it bounced back as well. Even though the barrier was keeping them in, the array was clearly being merciful to those within; at least, it was not nearly as ruthless as it had been to the wrathful souls outside.
“Lord, we’re trapped.”
Meanwhile, He Chunhua still could not retrieve his mandate token. The beast head atop the staff gripped it too tightly, no matter how hard he pulled.
At this point, even the slowest among them realized something was very wrong. He Chunhua immediately drew his blade and struck at the staff’s top, aiming to chop off the beast’s head.
Clang! The blow rang out, but nothing happened.
The treasured saber was razor-sharp, but the staff was unscathed.
There were two spellcasters in the group, and seeing this, they stepped up to help.
Their spells were equally useless.
“Men, tie a rope to the staff and pull!” He Chunhua ordered, and six burly soldiers heaved together with all their might.
Frankly, even a pillar as thick as a man’s embrace would topple under that force, but the staff did not so much as budge.
“What do you think we should do?” He Chunhua asked the two spellcasters.
“The staff and the array have become one,” they replied after a moment’s thought. “Unless the array is broken, the staff won’t move. To break the array, you must first take back the mandate token.”
The mandate token powered the array. As long as they removed its source of power, the array would break on its own.
The problem, however, was that Sun Fuping had used the mandate token’s power to trap He Chunhua and his people; now, if they wanted to break free, they would have to take away their own power source!
If they all worked together, their morale would rise, and the token’s power would only grow stronger, making the array even more challenging to break and escape.
It was utterly absurd!
Just then, one of the spellcasters pointed to the ground and said, “Lord, there’s another array here!”