Fierce and Unstoppable

Sun Fuping couldn't even be bothered to answer. If the Void Barrier could hold out to the end, he wouldn't have wanted to complicate matters either.

He Chunhua hurriedly asked, "What do we do now?"

"Borrow the power of Heaven and Earth." Sun Fuping had never spoken so quickly. "Governor He, get your State Decree ready!"

While He Chunhua rummaged for the Kite Coin, Nian Songyu and Zeng Feixiong issued a string of orders, telling the soldiers to form a circle and protect the important people in the middle.

Zeng Feixiong roared, "Hold on! The vengeful spirits are nearly gone. We only need to hold out for a dozen more breaths!"

He was trying to boost their morale, but he wasn't entirely wrong. Fewer and fewer Great Wind Army soldiers were charging out of the well, and they were nearly at the end. Their earlier, earth-shattering momentum had faded.

No one could think of any other vengeful spirits besides the Great Wind Army that might make a grand finale.

So this really should have been the last wave.

But the more beautiful the wish, the more helpless the reality. Just as everyone had worked up their courage, the Void Barrier went "pop" and broke.

It broke...

The earthen-yellow light flickered twice, as if it had poured out the last dregs of its strength, then took its leave.

Everyone's hearts tightened, and they secretly swallowed.

He Lingchuan called out a warning. "Nobody move!"

Though the Void Barrier had broken, the Soul-Suppressing Powder everyone had taken had not worn off yet. The Life Fires on their shoulders and foreheads still burned. Maybe...?

After all, even without the barrier, the vengeful spirits earlier hadn't noticed them.

At that moment, a small squad of the Great Wind Army was emerging from the well: a commander leading a dozen or so cavalrymen.

They had flown five zhang out when the Void Barrier broke.

Gulp. A bandit swallowed instinctively.

The dozen or so cavalrymen showed no reaction, but the commander suddenly reined in his horse and turned around, staring straight at them.

The Yellow Steed whinnied and reared, then spun around to face them.

The dozen or so cavalrymen turned in unison as well.

Time seemed to freeze. The enemy made no move, and even the horses stopped swishing their tails.

In this strange standoff, the living could hear their own hearts pounding, loud and clear.

Nian Songyu forced the words through clenched teeth. "Nobody. Move."

The Great Wind Army commander on the other side immediately dug in his heels, and his steed galloped straight at them!

The dozen or so riders followed close behind.

They were clearly just spirits, and clearly only a small squad, yet their hooves thundered like a thousand-strong army, shaking the ground without pause.

He Lingchuan clearly saw the leading commander lift his spearpoint slightly. A flash of cold light glinted from its tip!

"Get out of the way! Move!" he bellowed. "They've spotted us!" Then he dragged He Chunhua behind Sun Fuping.

If the sky fell, the State Preceptor could hold it up.

The two sides were already close, and the enemy had the added speed of their horses. They were almost on top of them in an instant.

He Lingchuan could even hear the horse's nostrils wheezing.

So lifelike. So dangerous.

Nian Songyu didn't even have time to roll his eyes. He sprang in front of Sun Fuping, conjured a Prism Shield in his right hand, and held it up before them.

He angled the shield cleverly, knowing that the heroic spirit couldn't easily change direction while charging at full speed. So he presented it sideways to the enemy, with no intention of taking the full impact head-on.

Even so, he tensed his entire body and braced himself defensively.

The shield had been fashioned from the shell of a Leatherback Turtle Demon. The added power of its one hundred and fifty years of cultivation made it astonishingly hard. Its square-patterned face could absorb external force and neutralize some supernatural attacks.

He Lingchuan was slightly startled. Could this thing withstand the attacks of formless, intangible vengeful spirits?

As if he knew what He Lingchuan was thinking, Sun Fuping tapped Nian Songyu's shield with a finger and growled, "Mou!"

A point of green light immediately shone from the shield.

The moment he withdrew his finger, the vengeful spirit commander's spear struck the Prism Shield with a loud, dull thud.

Nian Songyu was knocked back seven steps. Only by exerting all his strength through his waist and legs did he keep from being sent flying outright.

State Preceptor Sun was right behind him, one hand on his shoulder, retreating with him. Yet he seemed as light as an empty sack, and when he landed, he looked not only unruffled but almost graceful.

Taking advantage of the moment, he reached out, and the staff that had been planted in the very middle of the formation flew back to him.

As for the He father and son, He Lingchuan had already pulled his father two steps aside an instant before spear and shield collided, his footwork quick and precise. They had avoided the impact just in time and escaped unscathed.

He guessed that Nian Songyu's turtle-shell shield had been able to withstand the vengeful spirit's attack only thanks to State Preceptor Sun's help. How else could purely physical defense block a magical attack?

Even Nian Songyu couldn't help taking another look at He Lingchuan. He thought to himself that the kid was equally low in cultivation and character, yet his instinct for escaping danger was astonishingly sharp. He had dodged disaster several times now.

But the others weren't as lucky as the He father and son. While the Great Wind Army commander dealt with Nian Songyu, the dozen or so ghost soldiers went after Zeng Feixiong's group.

No one needed to tell them what to do; everyone scattered in all directions.

But how could two legs outrun four? In the time it took to exchange two blows, six people had been run through the chest by the ghost soldiers.

The enemy had no physical bodies, but those six clutched their chests and writhed on the ground in pain. Two of them even spat blood on the spot. Clearly, the spears in the ghost soldiers' hands were no empty threat; they could wound a person's soul.

They couldn't dodge, and they couldn't fight back. What were they supposed to do?

Everyone panicked.

He Lingchuan shouted, "Commandant Nian has the leader held off!"

It was the truth, and plenty of people had seen it.

At his reminder, everyone swarmed back together.

The dozen or so cavalrymen wheeled around, ready to charge again, but saw the intruders gathering in one place. This time they weren't forming a circle; all the soldiers had positioned themselves behind their leader.

Their stance was a little chaotic, too.

The Great Wind Army commander at the front looked at them, then at the injured people lying on the ground. He actually tilted his head.

The gesture looked very much like a human thinking.

Situ Han whispered, "That thing can think?"

He Lingchuan also felt uneasy. The commander was already a formidable fighter. If he could use his head, he could turn this attack into all kinds of tricks!

Sure enough, what he feared came to pass. The Great Wind Army commander gave the reins a light flick, and the Yellow Steed charged at them again.

But as he passed the well, the commander lowered his arm and dipped the tip of his spear into the water.

This time, Nian Songyu barely managed to knock aside his charge again, but the impact left both his arms aching, and the web of skin between his left thumb and forefinger split open.

Who could have guessed that after galloping past the flank of the crowd, the commander would draw back his deflected spear and thrust again!

Quick as a dragonfly skimming the water.

A bandit standing at the very front was run through the throat.

Clean and effortless, the spear withdrawn and thrust again without hesitation.

A few drops of blood splattered across the bandits beside him. By then, the Yellow Steed had already charged three zhang past them, the bandit impaled on an eighteen-foot spear. He was still alive, his body twitching uncontrollably. The commander turned his horse, the bandit still raised on the spear. A steady stream of blood ran down, soaking his trouser legs before dripping onto the sand.