Sweeping All Before Them
Xu, who had been crammed into the forward team, looked at Kang Dabao with a face full of jealousy. Sima Fei's description of him as "reckless and impulsive" was quite apt.
Just now, when Mr. Xu announced the "strategic shift," he was so frightened that he lost his composure.
Not only did his fierce charge of seventy or eighty men suffer heavy casualties, but even including those who were missing or broken, fewer than twenty men were ultimately brought back by General Xu.
Moreover, after his failed charge, he didn't even have the courage to support Kang Dabao's formation on his way back, and went straight back to the main formation.
This was a grave mistake. The two Sima (military officers) and the military judge intercepted them and gave them a good scolding. If they hadn't been mindful of the reputation of the Dai County Xu Household, they probably would have executed the Xu general on the spot.
Even though the Xu Household's influence protected their lives, the Xu family's generals still didn't fare well.
Not only did he lose his vanguard role, but he was also personally selected by the Acting Sima Gun to be the vanguard and placed at the front of the main formation as a weapon to break through the enemy, thus making amends for his past mistakes.
Xu, the general, was furious when he looked at Kang Dabao. He never expected that a coward like Kang Dabao would be favored by Sima.
"If he hadn't disobeyed my orders and cowered in fear, the vanguard wouldn't have been routed! And I wouldn't have been reprimanded!"
"Smack!" The commander of the vanguard, Acting Sima Gun, swung his judge's pen and struck the back of the Xu-surname general. "Look where you should look! We're about to engage the enemy!"
Xu Bai grimaced in pain, but facing the Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, he dared not utter a curse. He could only suppress his dissatisfaction for the time being and turn to look at the person opposite him.
At the front of the Five Aspects Sect was a small array holding an array banner, followed by five smaller arrays that were shimmering with light. Judging from their aura, each array corresponded to one of the five elements.
The group of men that were just defeated by General Xu and his men were indeed weak soldiers selected and eliminated by the enemy!
"Interesting!" Sima Fei grinned, swung his brass halberd, and Acting Sima Gun led his elite hundred-man vanguard out.
Before the two sides even engaged in battle, the advancing vanguard suddenly felt their feet sink into the sand. Looking down, they saw that the once solid ground had turned into a huge vortex of quicksand, and they immediately panicked.
"Quite an ingenious arrangement." Acting Sima Gun old hand at warfare, smiled. He had fought his way up from a humble soldier to become a junior military officer favored by the Earl of Nan'an.
Having seen many grand occasions in the capital region, and even having had the honor of meeting Nascent Soul True Lord and receiving a few words of praise, he would not be stumped by the methods of a small sect in this remote place.
He turned the judge's pen in his hand and gently placed it on the ground where countless quicksand talismans were hidden in the Five Aspects Sect.
The mysterious silver seal script transformed into streams of light that fell into the vortex, like a stroke of thick ink soaking into thin Xuan paper.
"Pop." The restriction formed by the strands of quicksand talismans cracked open like an eggshell after this soft sound.
The silver seal easily pulled the elite soldiers who were stuck in the sand out of their predicament. However, the front line of the Five Aspects Sect did not want to let go of this opportunity. At the command of the leading disciple, all the battle flags in the formation were planted on the ground.
All the array banners simultaneously emitted a visible sonic pattern, which converged and swept outwards with tremendous force, causing Acting Sima Gun to frown.
The elite soldiers who had just escaped the quicksand were knocked down by the sound waves; few were still standing, and even some in the main formation behind them were affected by the sound waves.
Several Early Qi Refining Stage cultivators at the front were so shocked that they bled from all seven orifices and lost their fighting ability before even engaging in combat. They could only be sent back to the rear to recuperate.
"Eh?" Acting Sima Gun let out a soft exclamation. The Five Aspects Sect's counterattack came so quickly that he was caught off guard, which made his underestimation of them lessen considerably.
"Since there's no time to counter their tactics, then let's fight fire with fire!" Acting Sima Gun was, after all, a military officer with an extremely keen sense of battle. He suddenly threw out his judge's pen, and with a few strokes in the air, he drew a black magic sword several feet long. Carrying a chilling aura, it slashed down at the Five Aspects Sect's first formation.
The leader disciple focused his gaze on the dark magic sword, showing no sign of panic. He calmly and loudly shouted out commands, and upon hearing them, everyone in the team changed positions in an orderly fashion, each forming a node in the magic array. The array banners rose up like a forest.
A colorful protective shield suddenly rose up to meet the black magic sword drawn by Acting Sima Gun. The two collided, producing a deafening sound that made the ears of all the cultivators in the rear of both sides ache.
The enormous magic sword and the protective shield clashed for a while, their dark light and colorful clouds reflecting each other, creating a terrifying spectacle.
Acting Sima Gun's face was pale, and among the disciples in the Five Aspects Sect formation, some were gradually turning pale as well. They were also swallowing pills more frequently, clearly feeling very unwell.
Suddenly, a "crack" sound rang out in the Five Aspects Sect formation. The array banner in the hand of a white-faced, beardless Five Aspects Sect disciple broke in two. Immediately afterwards, "crack" sounds rang out one after another in the formation, and blood spilled from the mouths of one Five Aspects Sect disciple after another.
The leader disciple immediately sensed something was wrong, only to see that the color of the colorful clouds had rapidly dimmed, and the originally thick Law Power shield had been worn down to only a shallow layer by the dark magic sword.
"Quickly, dodge!" The leader of the Five Aspects Sect spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood, his face filled with terror. The dark magic sword finally managed to break through the protective barrier with difficulty, shattering into colorful clouds that scattered in the air.
But before his words reached the ears of his disciples behind him, the dark sword in the air crashed heavily into the crowd. The Five Aspects Sect disciples, who had just formed a defensive formation, had no time to dodge, and cries of agony immediately rang out.
"Kill!" The elite soldiers, who had just crawled out of the sandpit, were unwilling to give up this good opportunity. They formed separate teams, chose their targets, and began to fight.
Acting Sima Gun was pale and sighed deeply. That stroke of ink sword had exhausted him greatly, and he was almost unable to fight.
Unleashing one's most powerful attack the moment one enters the battle is somewhat inappropriate.
However, the Five Aspects Sect's formation was well-organized and their training was superb. The elite troops who had just been trapped in their formation were all elites. If they didn't use their full strength, and this group suffered heavy casualties, even if they won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory, and it would also weaken the Immortal Dynasty's foundation in Cloud Horn Prefecture. It was hard to say whether it was a loss or a gain.
Even the most elite elite soldiers in the hands of the state court could not form a systematic large formation. Their greatest strength lay in using their powerful individual abilities to form small formations to defeat the enemy.
The Five Aspects Sect was clearly well-trained and possessed a strong lineage; judging solely from the battlefield, it seemed as if the opposing side was the true royal army.
"A mere Foundation Establishment sect is already so arrogant. In the early years of the dynasty, anyone who practiced military formations without reporting to the county authorities was to have their entire family exiled!" Sima Fei looked at the scene before him from the main formation, his face filled with gloom.
The Five Aspects Sect in the distance, his expression equally grim.
The Foundation Establishment on the other side is simply too strong! To be fair, even if three of us combined, it's hard to say we could break through the Five Aspects Return to One Formation Returning Formation formed by our elite disciples.
The opponent, however, only used one strike.
The two Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator had come to lend a hand also looked ashen-faced. Even with three against one, they weren't confident of defeating Acting Sima Gun. Besides, their opposing commander was still inside the formation and hadn't come out yet!
If that's the case, then we can only wait and see if the Five Aspects Sect's millennia-old formation can withstand the Foundation Establishment of the opposing side and turn the tide.
"Go all in! The survival of our sect depends on this battle!" After a moment of deep thought, the old cultivator with the red crown shouted and ordered the commander's flag to move forward, followed by the five small formations.
The Five Aspects Sect's vanguard was quickly routed by the relentless pursuit of the State Court's elite troops, and was subsequently gathered up by the five smaller formations that arrived from the rear.
"The Lesser Five Elements Ruyi Formation, huh?" Acting Sima Gun, who had won a minor victory, was not blinded by his success. Seeing that the enemy's formation was well-organized, he ordered the elite vanguard, who had been fighting with great enthusiasm, to return to their main formation and regroup.
He could see that the vanguard that had just been routed by his ink sword were all elite troops. The elite soldiers had already made a considerable profit by reaping many of their losses, and he needed to reclaim them as soon as possible to avoid being counterattacked like Xu Bai had just done.
"The Five Elements in Succession!" The disciples of the Five Aspects Sect, each holding a high-level spiritual object belonging to one of the five elements, chanted a difficult Mnemonic in unison, and the five small formations were connected by Spiritual Qi.
The cultivators in the formation felt as if they had been doused with spiritual liquid from head to toe, feeling refreshed and their morale was greatly boosted.
"The spiritual power of those within the formation has increased by at least 20%." Acting Sima Gun frowned. The opponent was much stronger than expected, and it seemed that he alone would not be able to defeat him.
Just as he was thinking this, a figure attacked from within the Zhou Ting's formation, heading straight for the main disciple of the Five Aspects Sect at the very front!
"How dare you!" The three Foundation Establishment facing them were all enraged and rushed over to stop them.
Sima Fei, who was rushing from the rear, didn't even glance at them, and continued towards the disciples in the main formation, only slapping out a palm with his hand behind his back.
"Great Alligator Pushes the Mountain!" A massive, solid palm print instantly formed, its aura incredibly violent. The resulting gale-force winds sliced through several nearby Five Aspects Sect disciples like blades.
The three Foundation Establishment on the other side instantly changed color, as if they were facing a giant beast slapping its hand. They were so frightened that they each used their most treasured magical Law Artifact to protect themselves.
"Crack." The three Higher Vehicle Second Tier Law Artifact shattered instantly. The two Foundation Establishment who had helped him finally realized how hot this sum of Spirit Stone was. They didn't care about the loss at all and turned to flee.
The Five Aspects Sect leader, who suffered the most severe injuries, vomited a mouthful of black blood and roared, "Waaah!" He then smashed Sima Fei was originally his target, with another palm strike. He glanced back and reached out to grab at the air.
"Boom." The Five Aspects Sect Master's crimson crown flew out and rolled to the feet of the Sect Leader Kang Da, who was slacking off in the formation, its color becoming even more intense.
After the initial shock, Kang Dabao, braving envious glances from everyone, picked it up and put it in his Storage Bag. "If someone doesn't even know to pick up something left behind by a Foundation Establishment, what kind of idiot would they be?"
One of the Five Aspects Sect's main array disciples was killed or wounded, and the high-level spiritual artifact on his body also lost its function, creating a huge gap in the original formation that consisted of five interconnected smaller arrays.
Having just lost their sect leader and a senior member of the main force, the disciples of the Five Aspects Sect, some with tears streaming down their faces, were either ready to fight to the death, while the Rogue Cultivator rogue cultivators who came to help showed no signs of being a desperate army; each had their own agenda.
This caused varying degrees of commotion in the five small formations, which had previously been relatively well-organized.
Just then, the seasoned commander Acting Sima Gun seized the opportunity and struck again with his sword. This time, he failed to break through the protective barrier emanating from the enemy's small formation, but he did manage to crush the enemy's morale to a low point.
The fake Sima has run out of tricks, but the real Sima may not be.
A flash of inspiration appeared in Sima Fei's eyes; with a single glance, he located the key point of the Five Aspects Sect formation.
"It's nothing but a fake formation that hasn't mastered the true method. They think they have the ability to create such a dazzling display and contend with the heavenly army! What a joke! Like a monkey wearing a crown, or a poor imitation!"
After Sima Fei gave a cold snort, the brass halberd in his hand transformed into the size of a door panel and flew out, slicing open the array node he had found and embedding itself into the head of yet another main array disciple.
The hand halberd shattered the body of the main disciple, and the aftershocks still lingered, cutting a blood-soaked red line through the dense small formation. The supporting cultivators in the small formation finally could not withstand the attack, and cries of pain filled the air.
"Waaah! Run! We've lost our Foundation Establishment, how can we win!"
"Run! Run! If the state government catches us again, we'll be dead!"
It wasn't just the small formation that had just taken a hit that was affected. One by one, the sect leaders and elders died as if it were a joke at the hands of the imposing state official on the other side, while their own side could only be trapped in a defensive position, unable to find an elder who could make decisions, and obediently taking the beating.
Faced with such a decline, even the Five Aspects Sect disciples, who were born and raised here, could no longer suppress their will to survive.
Originally, the scattered cultivators were merely there to lend a hand. When they saw the state government abandoning their formation and fleeing, the disciples of the Five Aspects Sect followed suit. When the elders and stewards in charge of the formation couldn't stop them, they simply abandoned their own formation and fled as well.
From that point on, the Five Aspects Sect had no chance of winning. Their once well-organized ranks suddenly broke apart and scattered in all directions.
Sima Fei showed no joy; it was a battle he was destined to win. The Five Aspects Sect's military formation was surprisingly interesting, but not particularly significant.
Compared to simply attacking and destroying the weak Five Aspects Sect, Sima Fei's decision to personally lead the troops this time to test whether Two Instruments Sect dared to take action and instead watch the Five Aspects Sect of Guo County be destroyed was far more significant for the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court.
Normally, suppressing a minor sect like the Five Aspects Sect wouldn't require him, the Right Commander, to get involved. Having been immersed in military affairs for nearly a century, the Acting Sima Gun would naturally handle such a small matter beautifully.
But this time, it was Marquis of Earl of Nan'a Kuang Liuting, who personally selected the generals, Sima Fei had to ponder the deeper meaning behind it.
"It's time to report this to the Lord; we can take bigger actions in the future." Sima Fei knew that the gains and losses of every city and region in this small Cloud Horn Prefecture were related to the power struggles of the big shots behind him.
"Kill them!" With a shout from Sima Fei, he raised his halberd, sealing the fate of the Five Aspects Sect.
The Five Aspects Sect disciples, who had scattered and fled, had completely lost the courage to resist. Like stray dogs, they generously opened their backs to the pouncing henchmen of the State Court.
More and more yellow soil, stained blackish-brown, soaked into this somewhat barren land, pleasing the eyes of the falcons still soaring in the air.
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