Military Formation

Songyi City lay in the south.

It was surrounded by countless mountains and hills, making it ideal for bandits to hide.

Soldiers were stationed at intervals along the main trade routes to ensure the smooth passage of supplies.

Yet even so, many bandits still ran rampant.

The bandits cooperated with one another, feinting east and striking west, playing their tricks to the fullest.

"Kill!"

Han Mo led the soldiers in pursuit of the fleeing mountain bandits.

Their murderous roars echoed through the mountain forest.

"Move! Faster! Once we enter that mountain valley, we'll be safe!"

The man running at the front roared.

He was a burly man in his forties, his face crossed by several scars, looking fierce and vicious.

Han Mo swung his saber and hacked toward him.

The Six Harmonies Saber unfolded with astonishing might, and he was about to kill another bandit.

"Damn it, get the hell out of my way!"

The man roared and swung the Wolf Tooth Mace in his hand as he charged Han Mo.

The massive Wolf Tooth Mace whistled through the air in his grasp.

He was extremely powerful, already at Peak Viscera Refining.

Blessed with immense strength from birth, he was far stronger than Han Mo and considerably more formidable as well.

Before the Military Formation formed by the City Guard's elite soldiers, they were merely a rabble, utterly unable to withstand even a single exchange.

But in a one-on-one fight, the burly man had no fear whatsoever.

Whoosh—

The Gust of Wind howled as the enormous Wolf Tooth Mace smashed down at Han Mo's head.

"Ha!"

Han Mo shouted and swung his saber back, forcefully receiving the man's powerful blow.

Clang!

A crisp ring of metal against metal sounded. Terrifying force traveled through the blade, numbing Han Mo's hand around the hilt.

What incredible strength!

Han Mo was secretly startled.

The force erupted by that strike was much stronger than it had been during their earlier fight.

But he was no pushover either.

Han Mo flicked his wrist, using the body of his saber to guide the Wolf Tooth Mace down to the right and deflect its force.

At the same time, he retreated several steps and shouted, "Form up!"

The ten elite soldiers who had been following Han Mo moved swiftly and in perfect unison, rapidly changing positions and forming a special formation.

This was a miniature Military Formation composed of ten soldiers.

The instant the formation took shape, their auras linked as one, and terrifying killing intent spread outward.

"Kill!"

The soldiers roared, thick Sha Qi billowing forth.

The Sha Qi combined with the soldiers' Essence, Qi, and Spirit, condensing into a special energy.

Using the Military Formation as a link, that energy gathered upon Han Mo, the commanding general.

Vast Baleful Intent condensed around him. His aura surged rapidly, his physical strength skyrocketed, and his entire body brimmed with explosive power.

At that moment, his strength broke past Peak Viscera Refining and reached the level of the Qi and Blood Realm.

Yet there was not the slightest fluctuation of Qi and Blood around Han Mo.

The special energy condensed from the ten soldiers' Essence, Qi, and Spirit combined with Sha Qi gathered upon him, replacing the role of Qi and Blood and allowing him to possess the strength of the Qi and Blood Realm by other means.

"Fall back! All of you, get the hell back!"

"The time I bought was for you to escape! What the hell are you all standing around for?!"

The burly man roared.

Facing Han Mo, whose aura was constantly rising and had broken through to the level of the Qi and Blood Realm, he was no match for him at all.

Whoosh!

Han Mo gripped his saber tightly, killing intent blazing.

A frigid flash of saber light streaked through the mountain forest, terrifying Sha Qi accompanying the blade as it slashed toward the burly man.

Clang!

The man hurriedly raised his Wolf Tooth Mace to block.

His inborn divine strength was utterly insignificant before Han Mo, empowered by the Military Formation.

Terrifying force traveled through the blade.

The burly man was sent flying backward by the immense impact.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Pfft—

Only after crashing through the trunks of two large trees did the burly man stop himself, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Fuck, I can't worry about this anymore."

"Run! As long as we charge into Lion Valley, we'll live!"

The burly man turned and fled, no longer caring about his brothers who had fallen behind.

"Kill!"

The soldiers' furious roars rang out once more.

They rapidly shifted their formation. Han Mo's aura weakened somewhat, while the auras of each soldier gradually rose.

Maintaining their formation, they continued the pursuit.

The bandits who had fallen behind were utterly helpless before the fully armed elite soldiers.

One after another, they fell beneath the soldiers' sabers like blades of grass. In mere moments, more than twenty had died.

After chasing them several hundred meters, the forest around them grew denser.

"Stop!"

"Do not pursue any farther."

Han Mo halted and shouted.

"My lord, I scouted ahead. There is a swamp up there. If we keep pursuing them, we will certainly be able to wipe out this bandit gang!"

A soldier behind him stepped forward and said.

"I know there is a swamp ahead as well."

"But if we know it, do you think those bandits do not?"

"They know the terrain around here better than we do. They had the chance to flee elsewhere just now, yet they deliberately ran this way. Clearly, they are luring us deeper into their trap!"

"Withdraw!"

"There will be plenty of chances to kill them later. There is no need to take risks." Han Mo loudly ordered, "Return to the main road and continue standing guard. Scouts, continue investigating the bandits' movements!"

"Yes, my lord!"

"Fuck, that bastard really is cautious."

The burly man who had just suffered a loss hid in the mountain forest. Seeing Han Mo withdraw, he cursed under his breath.

"I told you Han Mo was a cautious man and would not fall for it, but you refused to believe me. Now you suffered for nothing, didn't you?" the man beside him said.

If Han Mo had been here, he would have recognized him.

It was Xing Penghai, also a Centurion of the City Guard!

"Pang Yuanfeng, if you had listened to me earlier, we would have already wiped out more than half his forces." Xing Penghai said with a Cold Laugh.

"Hmph, you are both from the City Guard. Who knows whether this is a trap?" Pang Yuanfeng snorted.

He twisted his wrist, feeling a faint numbness in both arms.

He had just received Han Mo's strike head-on, and the terrifying force had split the web between his thumb and forefinger.

"You have already seen the Xing Family's sincerity. If we truly intended to harm you, we would have acted long ago."

"If you had acted according to the plan I gave you earlier, you would already have succeeded." Xing Penghai said blandly.

"Lang Er Men, come out. We're heading back."

"Damn it, I took that strike for nothing."

Ignoring Xing Penghai, Pang Yuanfeng shouted into the mountain forest.

As soon as his words fell, more than a hundred burly men holding weapons rushed out of the forest and followed Pang Yuanfeng into Lion Valley.

"What a snake trying to swallow an elephant—do you think the secret art of the Military Formation is something you can lay your hands on?"

Xing Penghai watched Pang Yuanfeng's departing figure and said with a Cold Laugh.

His figure flashed, and he followed them into Lion Valley.

Lion Valley was home to a great many bandit gangs. If this man would not cooperate, he could simply find one who would.

No. 33 Jin Dong Street.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the sound of something cutting through the air came from the courtyard.

Lin Zheyu held a sharp Treasure Knife as he practiced the Six Harmonies Saber in the courtyard.

The saber was three feet and nine inches long, its blade engraved with patterns of a python. Its edge was incomparably sharp.

Within Songyi City, blades were controlled weapons, unavailable to ordinary people. This saber had been given to him by Han Mo, registered and legal.

It simply would not be confiscated when he entered or left the city; he still could not use it within the city.

The Six Harmonies Saber was Han Mo's primary Cultivation Method, which he had taught Lin Zheyu some time ago.

After cultivating it over this period, Lin Zheyu had improved considerably and had already reached the proficient level.