Wolf God Guard

## Chapter Forty-Three

"Pass the order! The entire army is to stand on alert!"

Chen Qing's voice was not loud, yet it carried the soul-shaking force unique to Aperture Opening Realm cultivators, clearly reaching the ears of every soldier in the Northern Expeditionary Army camp and instantly dispelling the slight slackness brought on by days of confrontation.

Wooo—! Wooo—!

The desolate horn calls immediately rang across the camp. The soldiers who had been resting or drilling reacted as if by instinct, rushing to their positions at top speed. Crossbows were strung, blades drawn, and heavy shields formed grim barricades. The entire camp was like a steel behemoth that had suddenly tensed every muscle, radiating a biting aura of slaughter.

Old Niu, Sun Quezi, and the others also rushed to the command tent at once. Sensing Chen Qing's mountain-heavy solemnity and seeing his blade-sharp gaze fixed deep into the Burial Wolf Mountain Range, their hearts rose to their throats.

"General, has Northern Mang revealed its trump card?" Old Niu asked in a muffled voice, tightening his grip around his wolf-tooth club.

Chen Qing nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed northward. "They're here. And they're strong."

The moment his words fell, the once-clear sky above the distant Burial Wolf Mountain Range darkened without warning. It was not dark clouds blotting out the sun, but a deeper, more oppressive gloom, as though even light had been swallowed by some invisible force. A savage, violent aura carrying ancient pressure swept out from the depths of the mountain range like a tsunami, crashing fiercely against the gathered Killing Intent of the Northern Expeditionary Army's formation!

Buzz!

The invisible collision sent ripples through the air. Many soldiers with weaker cultivation turned pale, their chests tightening as their blood and qi churned.

Then, beneath everyone's gaze, nine pitch-black figures appeared atop the main peak of Burial Wolf Mountain as though they had torn through the void.

They too wore black wolfskin cloaks, but unlike the Azure Wolf Death Warriors, the edges of their cloaks were embroidered with dark-gold wolf patterns. Their bodies were taller and more powerfully built, like nine black iron towers. Most eye-catching were their exposed arms and faces, their skin an unnatural bluish-gray and covered with strange dark-red totems that wriggled faintly like living things.

The figure in the center was even more different. He wore no cloak, only a simple beast-hide vest that exposed his mountain-rock-solid upper body. His bronze skin was covered in even more intricate, even more dazzling golden wolf totems! His features were rough, yet his eyes were like ice that had endured ten thousand years—devoid of all human emotion, holding only the pure chill and ferocity of a predator.

His aura was also the most terrifying, having reached the middle stage of the Aperture Opening Realm! He had even faintly touched the threshold of the late stage! Merely standing there, the pressure radiating from him seemed to freeze the air for miles around.

"Wolf God Guard..." Chen Qing narrowed his eyes and identified them. They were beings of a higher order than the Azure Wolf Death Warriors—war machines cultivated by Northern Mang's Shamanic faith through secret arts, said to have fused with the bloodline of an ancient Wolf God!

"Chen Qing!"

The Wolf God Guard leader's voice was like two pieces of raw iron grinding together, carrying a metallic texture as it rang through heaven and earth. His icy gaze pierced through several miles and locked firmly onto Chen Qing.

"You defiled the sacred mountain and slaughtered the wolf's children. Your sins can only be washed away with blood!"

Chen Qing stepped into the air, rising to the same height as his opponent. His five-zhang Fierce Tiger Domain naturally unfolded around him, its dark-red and deep-blue domain power interweaving as it stood toe-to-toe against the other side's savage and violent pressure.

"Sins?" Chen Qing's tone was calm. "The strong devour the weak. That is the law of heaven and earth. When you Northern Mang rode south to pasture your horses, did you ever consider your sins?"

"Sharp-tongued!" A vicious gleam flashed through the Wolf God Guard leader's eyes. He did not waste another word, abruptly sweeping out his hand. "Wolf God Totem, activate!"

Roar—!

The eight Wolf God Guards behind him simultaneously let out inhuman roars. The dark-red totems across their bodies suddenly lit up, releasing dense bloody radiance! The auras of all eight instantly connected into one, condensing in the air into a blood-colored giant wolf phantom dozens of zhang tall, howling at the sky! The enormous wolf was lifelike, its fangs snow-white and its eyes burning with violent flames. The pressure it exuded was not the slightest bit weaker than that of an early Aperture Opening Realm cultivator!

That blood-colored giant wolf phantom also faintly connected with the leader's aura, causing his might to surge once more until it nearly reached the edge of the late Aperture Opening Realm!

"Kill!"

The Wolf God Guard leader roared, merging with the blood-colored giant wolf phantom and transforming into a crimson meteor. Carrying the momentum to destroy all things, he charged fiercely toward Chen Qing! Wherever he passed, space itself twisted slightly and gave a groan of unbearable strain!

The other eight Wolf God Guards moved at the same time. Rather than attacking Chen Qing directly, they scattered like phantoms and pounced toward the Northern Expeditionary Army camp below from eight different directions! Their target was clearly the ordinary soldiers! They evidently intended to disrupt the army formation first and force Chen Qing to divide his attention!

"Form up! Repel the enemy!" Old Niu, Sun Quezi, and the others roared themselves hoarse, their eyes nearly splitting as they led their subordinates into the sturdiest defensive formation.

In the sky, facing the blood-colored meteor charging at him with terrifying force, Chen Qing's gaze turned cold. Not only did he not retreat, he instead took the initiative to meet it head-on!

His hands clenched in the air as the vast Killing Intent of his Aperture Opening Realm cultivation and the Black Tiger True Intent within him gathered madly in an unprecedented manner!

"Fierce Tiger Domain—open!"

Buzz!

The five-zhang domain did not expand, but the dark-red and deep-blue radiance within it suddenly blazed brilliantly! The two true intents of slaughter and annihilation were driven to their utmost limits, turning the domain into what seemed like an independent kingdom of death!

At the same time, his spine swayed like a dragon, channeling the strength of his entire body into his right fist. The dark-blue energy fused with Deathly Silent Malevolent Energy was compressed to the extreme, making his fist seem to become a black hole that devoured everything!

"Black Tiger God Slaying Fist!"

He threw a punch! There was no earth-shattering spectacle, only an ultimate intent of deathly silence and destruction that crashed fiercely toward the blood-colored meteor like an invisible shockwave!

This was the killing move Chen Qing had created after breaking through to the Aperture Opening Realm, merging the Black Tiger Fist intent, Fierce Tiger Iron Body, and the newly comprehended characteristic of annihilation!

Boom—!!!

It was like two meteors colliding in midair!

The dark-blue destructive fist force and the blood-colored savage wolf phantom violently tore into each other! A terrifying energy storm erupted in an instant, spreading wildly in all directions like a massive ring of light! The mountains below were shaved flat, trees turned to powder, and even the defensive light barrier around the Northern Expeditionary Army camp shook violently, flickering erratically!

Chen Qing's body shuddered violently as he was hurled backward hundreds of zhang before barely steadying himself. His face paled slightly, and his blood and qi churned within him. That strike had combined the power of all nine of them. Its force was indeed terrifying.

The blood-colored meteor formed by the Wolf God Guard leader was also forcibly brought to a halt by that punch. The blood-colored giant wolf phantom visibly dimmed, and a flash of shock passed through his eyes. He had not expected Chen Qing to withstand head-on a strike produced by the combined strength of all nine of them!

"You truly are an anomaly!" The Wolf God Guard leader's voice became even colder. "But this ends here!"

He formed seals with both hands. The blood-colored giant wolf phantom solidified again, opening its gaping maw and firing a blood-colored beam compressed to the extreme down at Chen Qing like heavenly punishment! Wherever the beam passed, even space was stained with an ominous shade of blood!

At the same time, the eight Wolf God Guards below broke through the Northern Expeditionary Army's first line of defense. Like tigers among sheep, they cut down soldiers in swaths wherever they went, utterly unstoppable! Their strength, speed, and defense far surpassed ordinary Meridian Condensing Realm cultivators, and they carried a violent will that corroded the mind!

The situation became critical in an instant!