Chapter 136: The Charge

"Master, those over there are the scumbags of the Amaterasu Sect!"

Ling Chi's tone was like a winter gale sweeping past, chilling the hearts of the surrounding commanders. Just how deep was this blood feud!

Setting aside the fact that the Amaterasu Sect had disrupted Zhao Lei and Xiao Yu's wedding a month ago, the very name "Amaterasu" meant they deserved to die.

Just as Ling Chi was about to continue, his sharp eyes noticed the gravel on the imperial highway beginning to tremble.

"Captain Cao, a large force of cavalry is approaching!" Ling Chi's loud shout awakened everyone present.

Cao Hubao flew up into the air and saw a pillar of dust rising in the distance, where a force of one to two thousand black-armored cavalry was rapidly approaching.

"They are the elite black-armored cavalry of the Hezhou Garrison! Everyone, disperse and form defensive formations!"

Cao Hubao quickly surveyed the surroundings, but unfortunately, there were no mountain forests nearby for them to take cover in.

At his command, the small unit of three or four hundred men immediately scattered into dozens of squads, relying on each other as they stood in strict battle readiness.

"The enemy is fully armored and won't easily split their forces to blindly charge our formation. Everyone, maintain a tight defense and wait for reinforcements!"

Though Cao Hubao spoke words of comfort to reassure the men, his inner anxiety grew a bit heavier. They were traveling light, and they hadn't brought enough large defensive shields.

Even if the Vanguard of the Bravery Battalion were here, it would do no good.

However, their own advantage lay in high-end combat power. He himself was now a genuine Spirit Bead realm expert, Ling Chi by his side was capable of slaying Spirit Bead realm foes in formation, and the might of Zhao Qing's saber intent was also formidable.

It seemed the only way to break the deadlock was to strike from the vantage of high-end power.

As the black-armored cavalry drew closer, the distant Amaterasu Sect also began to move.

Seeing that the Amaterasu Sect intended to coordinate with the black-armored cavalry for a pincer attack, Cao Hubao immediately arranged for men to form a battle array in the opposite direction.

Watching the banners of the Amaterasu Sect fluttering in the wind, Ling Chi felt the killing intent in his heart surge ever more fiercely.

His breathing technique circulated steadily, and his pupils instantly turned a purplish-gold. Black thunderclouds shrouded a radius of four to five miles.

Hearing the muffled thunder rumbling from deep within his chest, Zhao Qing immediately understood that his youngest disciple was about to make a move.

"Master, you and Captain Cao stay to fend off the black-armored army. I'll go deal with the Amaterasu Sect scum first."

Leaving behind these words, Ling Chi did not wait for Zhao Qing to refuse, instantly transforming into a streak of lightning that vanished on the spot.

Zhao Qing already had some understanding of Ling Chi's temperament. His martial path was extremely resolute, and he would not easily change his mind once set. Zhao Qing could only let him be.

Seeing Ling Chi make his move, Cao Hubao let out a sigh of relief.

He could not issue direct orders to Ling Chi; everything depended on the young man's own will. At such a critical juncture, he was naturally more than happy that Ling Chi was willing to share the pressure.

The leader of the black-armored cavalry wielded a long-handled battle axe and looked up at the thunder-cracking black clouds overhead, feeling a jolt of dismay.

Their military commander was still nowhere to be found, most likely having met with foul play.

He had received orders from above to bring the black-armored army and search for He Zhong, wanting to see him alive or his corpse if dead.

He had not expected to run head-on into the people of the Peace-Pacification Bureau halfway here.

Seeing that the enemy numbered only three or four hundred, he immediately ordered an attack to avoid prolonged complications.

Chen Fang of the Amaterasu Sect was hurrying his subordinates along the imperial highway when he felt the sky overhead suddenly darken. Looking up, he saw thunderclouds pressing down upon them.

He had been sent by his master, Chen Tianxiong, to reinforce the He family, and at the same time, to investigate the cause of his junior brother Nan Zi's death, to see if he had truly been killed without reason by the so-called Zhao family master and disciple, just as He Zhixian had claimed.

A flash of unease crossed Chen Fang's heart as he looked at the thunderclouds above, but he gritted his teeth and pressed forward to slaughter the enemy.

Suddenly, a series of deafening thunderclaps erupted, and purplish-gold light illuminated the faces of everyone in the woods. The sect members trembled violently, terrified by the sudden heavenly might, and Chen Fang was in no better state.

"Heng!" "Ha!"

Before they could react, Ling Chi stamped a deep crater into the imperial highway with one foot, using the recoil force to launch himself outward violently.

He opened with the Heng-Ha breath technique to shatter souls and destroy spirits, and the exploding thunder-mist shockwave flipped over a large group of sect members.

"Great Cleaving Edge!"

Chen Fang's figure was rocked by the impact. Before he could steady himself, Ling Chi's blade, brimming with killing intent, had already cleaved down toward his head.

The razor-sharp blade sliced all the way down, splitting him directly in two.

"Sweeping Waist Cut!"

Ignoring the two halves of the corpse on the ground, Ling Chi flicked his wrist and swept his blade horizontally. A blade-light several feet long shot out, slicing several sect members in half.

"Gale Falling Leaves!"

Charging into the crowd with sweeping and crashing blade strokes, he slaughtered the remaining sect members like cutting melons and vegetables.

With nearly two thousand wisps of thunder spirit energy feeding back into him, Ling Chi looked at the ground strewn with fragmented corpses and shook his head in disappointment.

"I thought you could withstand my Eight Cleaving Edges, but you were all wiped out after just three."

With that, he soared up from the ground. He wondered if the battle on the other side had started yet.

At this moment, mere dozen breaths had passed since Ling Chi's departure, and the black-armored army had already surged to within several hundred zhang.

The nearly two thousand cavalrymen formed a massive, oppressive black mass, roaring across the ground like a black torrent. Within dozens of breaths, their speed had reached its absolute limit.

The heavy horse hooves struck the earth as one, sounding like giant war drums beating against the hearts of everyone in the Peace-Pacification Bureau.

"Bows!"

The black-armored leader shouted, his ninth-layer Qi Sea cultivation carrying his voice across the entire troop.

The cavalrymen simultaneously unhooked the powerful bows at their waists, nocked arrows, and awaited the order.

"Three arrows per breath, loose!"

As the distance closed, at the command of the black-armored leader, a dense swarm of arrows swept across the sky in three distinct waves, blanketing the Peace-Pacification Bureau.

"Malignant Array, defense!"

Cao Hubao roared angrily, his Spirit Bead realm cultivation fully revealed. Wielding his octagonal bronze mace, his figure vanished instantly.

To shoot a man, shoot his horse first; to capture bandits, capture their king.

He intended to charge the enemy formation single-handedly and slay the general. He hadn't acted sooner because he had to look after his subordinates, but now that hand-to-hand combat was imminent, he could no longer worry about that.

Zhao Qing whipped up a howling gale that blew away the majority of the arrows. The remaining arrows struck the malignant energy array with immense force, producing a series of muffled thuds.

Just as he was about to unleash his saber intent and follow Cao Hubao's example by charging into the enemy ranks, he saw dozens of bucket-thick lightning pythons plunge headlong from the thunderclouds toward the black-armored cavalry.

Ling Chi launched a surprise attack from mid-air, surrounded by dozens of lightning pythons as he dove straight into the thickest part of the crowd.

"Overlord Lifting Flag!"

Gripping the hilt with both hands, he slashed out with a blade beam as brilliant as a crescent moon.

The blade light cut through a dozen men in succession, reducing both riders and horses to pieces.

Ling Chi's killing intent bloomed like lightning. The fury he hadn't been able to fully vent on the Amaterasu Sect was now unleashed entirely upon the black-armored cavalry.

Blade lights crisscrossed, merging into a single sheet, while lightning pythons darted through the enemy ranks alongside Ling Chi. Countless black-armored cavalrymen and their mounts were scorched black by electricity, emitting the scent of roasted flesh.

With a swing of his mace, Cao Hubao smashed the head of the black-armored leader. Letting out a furious roar, he emulated Ling Chi, charging into the enemy ranks with sweeping, powerful strokes. His heavy octagonal bronze mace whistled through the air, shattering the bodies of cavalrymen one after another.

A ringing saber cry echoed across the entire battlefield. Saber intent, brimming with shattering power, soared into the sky as Zhao Qing rode forward to slaughter the enemy.

Seeing their three leaders fighting with such exuberance, the members of the Peace-Pacification Bureau formed formations and charged into the enemy ranks to join the melee.

Having lost their momentum, the black-armored cavalry were like lambs to the slaughter. Two commanders joined forces to knock a cavalryman from his horse, casually running him through with a sword.

"Nine-Palaces Drifting Dragon!"

Ling Chi moved at lightning speed, single-handedly surrounding several hundred cavalrymen. Flashing blade lights instantly dismembered the men right in front of him.