DD Spiritual Sword [582-584] (Patreon)

Chapter 581: Oslo Assassinate Ge Long; Hidden-Weapon Corps Annihilated

While Yu Tianheng was chasing down Xue Beng, tens of thousands from Xue Beng's concealed hidden-weapon corps finally arrived at the rear of the main army. But when they moved in to launch their planned surprise attack, the scene before them wasn't the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's soul master corps—it was utter battlefield chaos.

What were they supposed to do now—fire their hidden weapons? Wouldn't that shoot their own people as well? Their target was the soul master corps, but the soul masters were far fewer than the Heaven Dou heavy cavalry. One volley here would definitely kill more of their own.

"All troops, hear my order! Light cavalry fall back! Hidden-weapon corps, change targets—fire on the enemy battle formation!" At that moment, Ge Long came pounding over, amplifying his voice with soul power as he roared. As commander-in-chief, he had to decide. Under these circumstances, the plan to slaughter the soul master corps with hidden weapons was no longer viable. But the hidden weapons couldn't just sit idle; retargeting to hit regular soldiers could still yield results.

The heavy cavalry couldn't shake off the soul master corps now, but the light cavalry were different. Their charge-breaking power was weak, but they were nimble and mobile. And the army Ge Long had trained was indeed more elite and disciplined than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's hastily scraped-together force—orders were obeyed without question.

At Ge Long's command, the army immediately withdrew in orderly fashion, with not the slightest disarray in the ranks.

In contrast, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's troops, eager to pursue, fell into confusion. It couldn't be helped—on the art of battlefield formations, no one in the entire sect could match Ge Long. Ning Fengzhi included. Only in city defense, where soul master power could be leveraged, could he contend with Ge Long.

In open-field command, ten Ning Fengzhis wouldn't equal one Ge Long—different specialties, after all.

As the vanguard pulled back, the hidden-weapon corps unleashed tens of thousands of Zhuge God Crossbows without hesitation. Each bolt carried the power to rival a Soul Ancestor's attack, enough to wipe out tens of thousands in a breath. A few full salvos, and the more than two hundred thousand troops of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might be completely annihilated.

It was exactly because he understood the Tang Army's power that Ge Long had agreed to Xue Beng's plan.

But Ge Long had clearly overlooked one thing—he forgot how Bibi Dong had broken his formation back then.

She relied on absolute might. If formation tactics couldn't compete, then Super Douluo and Limit Douluo would just flip the table.

Suddenly, a gale swept the open plain. Obeying Zhu Zhuqing's order, Oslo—long hidden among the troops—leapt out, talisman in hand.

On the open plain, Tianlin's talismans could be fully unleashed without fear of friendly fire—everyone opposite was the enemy anyway.

Hidden-weapon troops have a nemesis: wind. The stronger the wind, the greater the counter to hidden weapons.

Gales alter projectile trajectories; a headwind can even blow them back. Ordinary wind might not be too bad, but a true cutting gale is different.

"Wind-aspect Immortal Art—Heaven-Rending Gang-Wind!" The talisman in Oslo's hand detonated fully, and viridian, blade-sharp blastwinds howled toward the hidden-weapon corps.

The Zhuge crossbow bolts were first shredded by the gang-wind, then blown back even faster than they'd come. Broken into several pieces, their numbers multiplied, and their lethality actually increased. In an instant, corpses littered the hidden-weapon corps—the fallen slain by their own weapons.

That was only the prelude. The real strike followed. A terrifying tornado swept the ranks; any drawn into it were immediately sliced into ribbons by the gang-wind.

In short order, nearly forty thousand of the hidden-weapon corps were utterly annihilated; not even intact corpses could be found.

"Good heavens! Why does it feel like Xiao Tian's wind-attribute immortal art is even fiercer than his earlier earth, water, and fire?" Even Oslo was shaken by the sight. Of course he didn't grow merciful—this was war. If he didn't kill them, his own would die.

Ge Long stared, dumbstruck. What kind of skill was this? Back then, Bibi Dong had been the same—one ultimate move and all his exquisite formations were useless. He thought he'd learned his lesson, and only sent out the hidden-weapon corps after confirming the enemy lacked a powerhouse on Bibi Dong's level.

How could a single talisman achieve an attack like a Limit Douluo's?

Ge Long fumed. No martial ethics—when you can't win at command, you flip the table with brute force. These sect forces just don't play by the rules.

Before he could recover, a streak of black light flew toward him. As it neared, he saw—it was Oslo.

Oslo's heavy punch smashed into Ge Long's helmet, knocking him clean off his horse and sending him skidding hundreds of meters.

Ge Long tumbled a dozen times before he barely stabilized.

"Damn it, Oslo! Don't forget, you once served the Heaven Dou imperial court. Now you've used such cruel means to slaughter tens of thousands of my troops—you deserve heaven's thunder!" Ge Long roared as he rose.

"Ge Long, do you have the right to say that? I've killed fewer than you, and I only kill enemy soldiers. You? The wails of hundreds of thousands of innocents from six cities still ring in my ears. They beg me to avenge them. So I won't let you go today. As for my identity—ever since I died and that cur Xue Ye shielded the murderer, I ceased to belong to Heaven Dou's court. My life now belongs only to Xiao Tian." Oslo's gaze was cold.

"Hmph. They died for the country, and so will you. 'If the lord demands his minister die, and the minister does not, he is disloyal'—do you not understand?" Ge Long retorted. "Dying for the country is glorious. Though dead, their spirit remains."

Such blind loyalty only further enraged Oslo. "'If the lord demands his minister die…'? Which idiot said that? I'll erase him."

"What nonsense about 'spirit remains after death'—don't say such stupid things. Ge Long, I ask you—have you died? Do you know how death feels? I have died, so let me tell you: after death, there is nothing. All that remains is unending grief and pain for the loved ones you leave behind."

"Precisely because of that, life is precious. Ge Long, since you don't cherish the most precious thing in this world, I'll take it from you. I've already killed forty thousand today—become a butcher like you—so one more life doesn't scare me. Die once and see whether your so-called spirit lingers."

He finished, unleashed the power of six soul bones, and entered Martial Soul True Body. In that instant, his speed and strength completely surpassed an ordinary Title Douluo.

In a flash, the Ghost Leopard's razor claws pierced Ge Long's throat.

With such a massive disparity, Ge Long, a defensive Soul Douluo, didn't even have time to activate a defensive skill before he was one-shot.

Withdrawing his claws, Oslo looked coldly at Ge Long. "There's nothing after death. Otherwise, I'd hope those civilians could find you and demand justice."

Chapter 582: Tang Sect's Strongest Hidden Weapon Broken

Seeing Ge Long dead and the handpicked hidden-weapon corps annihilated, Tai Tan's eyes went bloodshot. He glared at Zhu Zhuqing. "Wretch—what happened over there was your doing too, wasn't it?"

Zhu Zhuqing's exquisite face curved in a proud smile of success. "So what if it was? In the Emperor Team, aside from Xiao Tian, only Oslo could insta-kill Ge Long, so I placed him there. Seems it worked. Also, Senior Tai Tan—compared to your Tang Sect's hidden-weapon legacy, how do you rate the Shu Mountain talisman legacy Tianlin obtained?"

Tai Tan's face darkened. He had placed great faith in the hidden-weapon corps. Forty thousand hidden-weapon troops could match forty thousand rank-40 soul masters. It was his trump card against the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Who could have thought one of Jun Tianlin's talismans would shatter it so cleanly?

"Damn it—those were only our ordinary hidden weapons. We still have our highest-level devices. I'll take your head now." Tai Tan pulled a cylinder from his robe: the Torrential Pear Blossom Needle, second among Tang Sect mechanism weapons, with the strongest single-target lethality—enough to kill a Title Douluo.

Originally meant for Tianlin, Tai Tan no longer cared—he was going to deal with Zhu Zhuqing first.

He now hated Zhu Zhuqing to the bone. Without her, the city wouldn't have fallen so easily, and the hidden-weapon corps wouldn't have died so miserably.

"The Torrential Pear Blossom Needle." Zhu Zhuqing grew slightly wary—she already knew its power from Tianlin. But she wasn't afraid; to counter it, Tianlin had passed her an extraordinarily potent technique.

It was special, though—its full might required money power.

Zhu Zhuqing drew out a pouch of gold soul coins from her soul tool. "Senior, Tianlin also knows some hidden-weapon skills. He taught me and Rongrong, and told me that on this trip I should ask your guidance—see how our hidden-weapon style compares to Tang Sect's. Please receive my move—Heaven-and-Earth Toss!"

She referred to the classic immortal skill from the Legend of Sword and Fairy series—Heaven-and-Earth Toss—originally Lin Yue'ru's signature, later passed to Xiaoman, and the most suitable for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

It resembles a hidden-weapon technique on the surface, but more precisely it is an immortal art—very special, rule-like. If you throw stones, steel, or even top-tier hidden weapons, it won't show its power. You must throw money for the technique to rival the Five-Spirit Immortal Arts.

As the Torrential Pear Blossom Needles shot out, Zhu Zhuqing hurled all the gold soul coins with the Heaven-and-Earth Toss method. Needles and coins collided midair; in an instant, all twenty-seven needles were knocked down.

"Impossible!" Tai Tan couldn't believe it. The Pearflower needles were forged from Deep-Sea Sink-Silver, a precious ore scarce even across the Heaven Dou Empire, and the polishing required the ninety-seventh-rank Tang Xiao's Clear Sky Hammer.

Yet this exquisitely crafted device was knocked out of the air by Zhu Zhuqing with a handful of gold coins. What, then, was the point of all those years refining the Torrential Pear Blossom Needle?

Not only did Heaven-and-Earth Toss break the needles, the force drove several coins into Tai Tan's body. Pierced through the chest by multiple coins, Tai Tan immediately lost the ability to contend with Zhu Zhuqing.

"Why… I'm not willing… I haven't avenged my master and young master… Haven't expanded the Tang Sect as the young master wished… I'm not willing!" Tai Tan spat blood, forcing himself to stand.

Zhu Zhuqing stepped in. "Sorry, Senior Tai Tan. Tianlin said you're the Tang clan's loyal hound and the least likely to surrender to our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. In that case, there's no need for mercy on the battlefield. Die—Nether Slash!" She showed no hesitation, piercing Tai Tan's heart.

Tai Tan fell suffused with bitter unwillingness, eyes turning to the battle below the walls. His son Tai Nuo and grandson Tai Long were aiding the heavy cavalry against the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's soul master corps. He hoped they would carry on his will and avenge their master.

"Father!" Seeing Tai Tan dying atop the wall, Tai Nuo lost all reason in rage.

"Damn Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—I don't care about anything anymore! I'll perish with you—Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus!"

He unleashed Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus into the crowd, heedless that not only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's soul masters but also Heaven Dou's heavy cavalry would be killed.

He had completely lost his reason for the sake of vengeance.

"Soul master corps, change formation! Everyone else, fall back! Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul masters, forward!" Before the lotus detonated, Zhu Zhuqing issued a strange order—battle soul masters were to hide behind the support-type soul masters.

The corps obeyed without hesitation. Dozens of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda users sprinted to the front with Drunken Immortal Moonstep.

"Good. Raise the Smoke-Moon Divine Mirrors!" Zhu Zhuqing commanded.

The Smoke-Moon Divine Mirror is a weapon that, channeling the soul power on its surface, can reflect the enemy's attack back.

It's a relatively basic piece in Shu Mountain's forging arts, a cheap tool that cost only two hundred coins in the Sword and Fairy world, yet one that could even make the Demon Lord Chonglou stumble. In recent years, Lou Gao had forged few divine weapons, but he made plenty of these.

No helping it—powerful effect, simple craft, cheap materials. Faced with something so practical, Lou Gao simply couldn't resist.

Even if his versions weren't as exquisite as Shu Mountain's, they were more than enough to counter a Tang Sect hidden weapon.

Dozens of mirrors were raised, not only fully blocking Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, but reflecting it all back.

Heaven Dou's heavy cavalry soon sacrificed under the lotus, suffering disastrous losses.

"What?" Tai Long and Tai Nuo were aghast. Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus had nearly wiped out their own side, while the enemy stood untouched.

Lounging against the battlements, Zhu Zhuqing whistled down, catching the father and son's attention.

They looked up involuntarily. Zhu Zhuqing propped her chin, smiling with a pretty, impish face. "Hey—nice work, you two. Thanks! Your Strength Clan really does have some uses!"

This side of Zhu Zhuqing made the Emperor Team's members shiver. Since resolving her knots with the Star Luo Empire and gaining true freedom, she'd grown more lively and open—good in itself. But perhaps a bit too open. Just what had she been learning from Tianlin all these years? She'd even picked up his scheming.

She was going to enrage this father and son to death—Zhu Zhuqing intended to wipe out all three generations of the Tai family in one go.

Everyone had the same thought: never provoke this woman again, or she'll play you to death.

Chapter 583: Tang Chen Appears, Dominates the Field

With the battle collapsing across the board, the outcome of the war was all but settled.

Inside the city, Yu Tianheng had already beaten Xue Beng half to death and was about to capture him alive. With more than two hundred thousand Heaven Dou soldiers still outside, he hoped to use Xue Beng to force their surrender.

But just as his dragon claw was about to seize Xue Beng's neck, a flying hammer hurtled toward them.

Its speed was strange; as it spun, even the air seemed to rupture—a sign of terrifying power, greater even than Tang Xiao's.

"Tianheng, careful!" Sensing danger, Yu Yuanzhen abandoned Tang Xiao and charged toward Yu Tianheng.

Pouring all his soul power into defense, Yu Yuanzhen crossed his arms and took the blow head-on. He was blasted away, both arms warped, bones likely shattered. Fortunately, his soul bones kept them from pulverizing.

Everyone was shocked. Yu Yuanzhen had clearly been defending at full power. To injure him in that state would require Tang Xiao to use at least an eighth ring skill.

But this obviously wasn't a soul skill—someone had simply thrown the Clear Sky Hammer.

"Ultimate… Ultimate Douluo!" Yu Yuanzhen said in disbelief. How could a mere Heaven Dou Empire, which originally had not even a single Title, suddenly field an Ultimate Douluo—and with the Clear Sky Hammer?

"Could it be… Tang Chen!" Yu Tianheng had a suspicion—but couldn't be sure. Tang Chen had vanished for decades.

"Heh, long time no see, Yu Yuanzhen. Last time I saw you, you were just a mere Soul Sage. Didn't expect you'd become clan head of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and rise to Super Douluo. Not bad." A rugged figure descended from the sky, making Yu Yuanzhen's pupils shrink. The face—astonishingly—was Tang Chen's.

"Grandfather!" Tang Xiao and Tang Yuehua saluted. It was by Tang Chen's order they'd continued to serve Heaven Dou.

"No, he can't be Tang Chen. The real Tang Chen died long ago—on Sea God Island," Yu Tianheng said with certainty. He'd seen Tang Chen die with his own eyes.

"Tianheng is right. Who are you really?" Zhu Zhuqing and the others, having arrived, demanded.

Aside from some troops outside pinning the Heaven Dou army, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon experts had gathered within the city.

"Grandfather, what do they mean? Are you really…" Tang Xiao looked to Tang Chen, confused.

Tang Chen glanced at Tang Xiao. "Xiao, can't you tell? They're just trying to sow discord. Who under heaven could impersonate me?"

Tang Xiao nodded. Everything—martial soul, level, bearing, even memories—fit Tang Chen. In theory, it couldn't be fake. He dropped his doubts.

But while the simple-minded Tang Xiao was swayed, the shrewd Tang Yuehua was not. One thing baffled her: why would Tang Chen, knowing Xue Beng's crimes, still order the Clear Sky Sect to aid him? Yet in the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Chen's orders were absolute.

If this Tang Chen were fake, everything made sense. Now Tang Yuehua needed key proof.

"Hmph. I don't care who you are—today I'll rip off your mask. So what if you're an Ultimate Douluo? I don't believe all of us together can't beat you." Oslo charged first at Tang Chen.

The Emperor Team, along with Fire Dragon Douluo, Qin Ming, Yang Wudi, and others, followed without delay.

Behind them, a cluster of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda users supported them—at this moment, each fighter possessed Title-level strength.

Although this man was rank ninety-nine, everyone knew Tang Chen's true terror wasn't his level but his ring detonation and Great Sumeru Hammer divine technique. Those weren't soul-ring skills; even with Tang Chen's body, if you didn't know how, you couldn't use them. Such a Tang Chen wasn't invincible.

Just like the Slaughter King Tianlin had defeated.

Seeing them rush in, Tang Chen sneered. His fourth ring exploded, and the Clear Sky Hammer's power surged.

Everyone was stunned. Ring detonation! He really could detonate rings?

Back then, the Bat King had only possessed Tang Chen's body while Tang Chen's soul resisted. Now, though this Tang Chen was the Bat King's consciousness, he had completely devoured part of Tang Chen's soul. What Tang Chen knew, he now truly knew. He was far stronger than the former Slaughter King.

Boom!

An explosive smash hit the ground, the shockwave blasting everyone away. Experts were hurled back—some slammed into walls, others into houses, buried in rubble—nearly a team wipe.

"Haha! Courting death—this is the fate of offending my Heaven Dou Empire! Tang Chen, kill them—especially Yu Tianheng! Grind him to dust!" Xue Beng, battered and swollen, crowed, pointing and howling.

Tang Chen shot him a cold glance. "Hmph, useless trash. I didn't even want to bother with you. The master's orders were clear—just keep slaughtering cities. Who told you to start a pitched battle and ruin the plan? Your guilt is beyond forgiveness."

Hearing this, Tang Yuehua's eyes flashed. She was now certain—this grandfather was fake.

The Emperor Team struggled to their feet. Though the hammer blow had been fierce, it hadn't struck them directly. Gravely wounded but alive, they remained unbowed. The chance to defeat Heaven Dou was right there—they wouldn't retreat.

Especially Yu Tianheng. He had promised Tianlin that even if it cost his life, he would let Tianlin return to a unified continent.

"Hmph. Whether you retreat or not, the result is death." Tang Chen's voice was icy. The fifth ring detonated—the next strike meant to kill half of them outright.

As the Hammer loomed larger, they did not despair. A flurry of eighth-ring skills erupted as they staked everything on a stand.

Though Yu Yuanzhen's arms were unusable, his soul power remained—he wouldn't wait to die. He moved to the fore. "Ninth Ring Skill—True Dragon's Wrath, Roar to the Ninth Heaven!"

So many experts uniting against Tang Chen finally forged a sliver of hope—the Clear Sky Hammer stopped pressing forward.

"Heh. The combined strength of ants is still that of ants." Tang Chen detonated more rings—this time the first through the third.

At his peak, Tang Chen was too strong. Consecutive detonations barely affected him.

His power compounded again, surpassing their combined might once more.

"If this continues, we'll all die. But I won't let these youngsters be sacrificed. Back when Tang Chen overawed the world, I hated that I was born too late to cross hammers with him. In that, I envy Chen Xin—he toppled one of the twin peaks of our soul master world that I dreamed of overturning. Today, you fake Tang Chen will fulfill my wish. The other peak—I'll be the one to level it." Yu Yuanzhen raised his head, a feral grin on his face.

He would surely die today—but the enemy would pay the price.