Volcanic Age

The martial artists, who had been terrified by the shadow of the split Black Iron Ball, slowly opened their eyes.

Relief mixed with surprise as they realized they were unharmed.

"We're alive!"

A Red Forest bandit cheered, momentarily forgetting about the battle.

"Dumb bastard, Zhang Du Hyungnim lost!"

"Gasp!"

It was only then that the Red Forest bandits came to their senses.

"Just what the hell is going on?"

The martial artists of the punitive force looked dumbfounded.

They had all screamed when they saw it.

However, as if someone had yanked on it, it suddenly changed directions.

"Just when did you…"

Most hadn't noticed, but Tang Hui had. As one of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, while she may not have caught all of Zhou Xuchuan's movements, she was able to see part of it at least.

She already knew about the sword aura and assumed he would just use it to deflect the Black Iron Ball. However, her eyes widened in shock as she watched him use throwing daggers instead.

Seeing an expert of Mount Hua use throwing daggers, and skillfully at that, shocked her and hurt her pride at the same time.

If her father and the head of the Tang Family, Tang Yuqi, were here, he would definitely be telling her to go get him for the family.

After all, he was already eying Zhou Xuchuan, who had the Thousand Poisons Immunity, as a potential son-in-law.

"Junior Sister, are you okay?" Zhou Xuchuan approached Luo Xiaoyue.

"I'm fine, thanks to you, Senior Brother. Thank you for helping me."

Luo Xiaoyue smiled cutely, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Looks like my heart still can't handle it.

Zhou Xuchuan became dizzy for a moment.

It was harder for him to face Luo Xiaoyue's wide-eyed smile than it was to exchange swords with the bandits.

While it wouldn't be a bad idea to get Luo Xiaoyue's unique healing some more, given the circumstances, he calmed his thumping heart.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No."

"Good."

He turned, relieved, and noticed a group of martial artists standing awkwardly nearby.

"Let's break through!"

Zhang Du, who had been spinning for so long, was still on the ground, disoriented and unable to regain his balance.

It seemed his inner ear equilibrium had been damaged. When he tried to get up, he just trembled like a frog hit by a stone.

"Roar!"

The shouts of the punitive force echoed so loudly that it was as if the mountains themselves were falling. The voices of the people whose morale was greatly boosted were as loud as thunder.

"A-a-ah…"

The Red Forest bandits were overwhelmed by the roars that seemed to shake the heavens and the earth, their morale dropping.

In war, the presence of an expert alone raised and lowered morale.

The effect was immediate when Zhang Du fell.

"Hmph!"

The underboss groaned at the sight of his subordinates losing morale.

His expression was heavy as if he was put in a difficult position.

Zhang Du may be an idiot, but he's still one of the Stockade's top five experts… Moreover, his strength isn't that much different from mine.

Looking at Zhang Du lying on the ground, unable to do anything, his mouth went dry.

Just how many experts do they have? I thought that girl would have been nothing special because she isn't well known, but…

He glanced at Luo Xiaoyue, whose beauty remained striking even in the heat of battle. But beyond her looks, her martial prowess was undeniable.

When she'd first volunteered to face Zhang Du, he'd laughed but the body control, movements, and swordsmanship that he saw next silenced him.

Seeing the Chivalrous Plum Sword, Jade Plum Flower, and the Tang Family's Poison Phoenix at her side only made the situation more bleak.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

The Red Forest bandits hesitated as the underboss shouted.

"Since they fought hard at the Great Tiger Stockade, they must be tired! We have the numbers!!"

None of the punitive force members were tired.

The raid on the Great Tiger Stockade had pretty much been bloodless, and while they may have spent some stamina and qi, they had rested more than enough to recover.

Moreover, while Zhou Xuchuan was digging the tunnel, he had distributed the Gold Sore Ointment that he had taken from the Great Tiger Stockade.

Considering their enemy was the strongest Stockade of the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest, they had come fully prepared.

"Who are we?! Are we not the Green Dragon Stockade that not even the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Ancient Families know how to handle?! Just think of the Stockade Boss!"

The Green Dragon Stockade's underboss tried to raise the morale of the Red Forest bandits.

"That's right! The Stockade Boss is right behind us!"

"Plum Blossom Order Sword? A brat like that is nothing in front of the Stockade Boss!"

"Kill the men, rape the women!"

"The greatest Stockade under the heavens, the Green Dragon Stockade advances forward!"

The morale that had fallen to the depths of the abyss soared.

For these bandits, their belief in the Stockade Boss was absolute.

Meng Gang was that strong, and his reputation spoke for itself. There were many Righteous Faction experts that had fallen at his hands.

Even the Martial Alliance and Evil Valley grew wary when they heard Meng Gang's name. His reputation for almost primal violence gave the Red Forest bandits strength.

ROAR!!

The shouts of the punitive force and the bandits rang out in unison.

The difference in volume was clear.

While the Green Dragon Stockade's strength may have been halved, they still had over a hundred men. On the other hand, the punitive force only numbered sixty.

Originally, they numbered over seventy. However, a few had been left behind to guard the Great Tiger Stockade's prison, and some of the Gold Will Sword warriors had been sent to the imperial government's office.

However, the difference in actual strength wasn't that great. Even though they may have been outnumbered, the punitive force's cultivations were several levels higher.

Even though it was the Green Dragon Stockade, most of their members were either Second or Third Class. Although they had a few First Class members, they were only a few.

On the other hand, the punitive force was made up of high-level martial artists.

"Unleash the Plum Blossom Sword Formation!"

Zhang Hong's voice echoed across the battlefield. As soon as his order was given, the Mount Hua Sect swordsmen moved in unison.

The advantage of the Plum Blossom Sword Formation, which was the most basic sword formation of the Mount Hua Sect, was that anyone who had learned the formation could use it in concert.

In addition, it could be used regardless of the number of participants or their Realms, making it the best in terms of stability and ease of use.

The only potential weakness was that if one participant used a higher-ranked sword technique, it could disrupt the formation's balance, as those with lower masteries and techniques wouldn't be able to keep up.

But in this case, the Plum Blossom Sword alone was more than enough to display the formation's power, making the issue less important.

Zhang Hong was positioned in the center to manage and control the swordsmanship of the formation, while Luo Xiaoyue and Zhang Xueun were in charge of the vanguard and the rearguard, respectively.

"Ahhh!"

"Ugh!"

It wasn't called the Mount Hua Sect of the Nine Sects and One Gang for nothing.

The Mount Hua Sect swordsmen were extremely threatening after using their Plum Blossom Sword Formation.

Any opponent who fell into the formation would end up trapped and stabbed before they could even begin to search for the Life Gate[1] Moreover, the formation was extremely difficult to break through.

As people who were already internally selected as the next Plum Blossom Swordsmen, those three really are good at directing the formation.

Zhou Xuchuan fought alone as it was easier for him to move separately.

At least I don't have to worry about Mount Hua.

Sword Formations were a must for becoming Plum Blossom Swordsmen. That was even more apparent with multiple swordsmen working in concert instead of just one.

That was why Zhang Hong and Zhang Xuen, who were the next Plum Blossom Swordsmen Candidates, and Luo Xiaoyue, who was essentially already in the same position, looked so familiar with the formation.

As if to prove that they had practiced a lot, they showed off their perfect sword formation skills.

"Whoever brings me Zhou Xuchuan's head will be given gold taels! If you bring him alive, I'll give you gold and women!" the underboss shouted.

At those words, the eyes of the bandits, sparkling with desire, turned to Zhou Xuchuan.

Pfft.

An old memory made Zhou Xuchuan chuckle.

During the Era of War and Chaos, he would hear such words whenever an outrageously strong expert would appear on the battlefield.

He hadn't imagined he'd one day be the target of those very words.

"That bastard must have spent all his qi dealing with Zhang Du Hyungnim!"

"That bastard's head is mine!"

All the bloodlust in the area converged into a single point. Considering it wasn't the bloodlust of one but dozens, the level of killing intent was unusual.

If it had been a normal person, they would have frozen, paralyzed by fear. But Zhou Xuchuan was far from normal.

"Shengji!"

He called out his younger brother's name and bent his knees. His thigh muscles bulged as he put all his strength into his legs.

"Eat this!"

The rear guard of the Punitive Force, the Gold Will Sword Sect warriors, pulled the strings attached to their bamboo tubes with uneasy expressions.

There was also a bamboo tube in Zhuge Shengji's arm.

They were quite familiar tools.

Thwip!

The bamboo tubes sprang open, releasing a spray of arrows in all directions. With several tubes going off at once, the air was soon filled with arrows.

"Agk!"

"UGH!"

The arrows rained down on the center and rear of the enemy. A dozen or so enemy soldiers waiting or running away fell.

Young Master Shengji's inventions are always amazing.

More importantly, is he really someone from the Zhuge Family.

Could he actually be an illegitimate descendant of the Tang Family??

The Gold Will Sword Sect warriors stuck out their tongues at the sight of the bamboo tubes.

"I want to talk to Young Master Zhuge."

As expected of a member of the Tang Family, Tang Hui also reacted to the new hidden weapon that appeared.

In truth, considering the sheer amount of arrows it had inside, the size of the bamboo tube was too big to use as a secret weapon. Still, the method of production and the principle behind its use were interesting.

"Get that bastard, too!"

The underboss gritted his teeth.

"E-eek!"

Zhuge Shengji quickly hid when he was singled out.

"Tsk, he really is different from when he's the one using the weapons!"

Zhou Xuchuan laughed amusedly as he continued forward.

****

He could hear screams coming from behind him.

He turned his head to take a quick look and saw saw the stockade in complete disarray.

"Hmph!"

It felt like his insides were burning and he couldn't help but groan.

Meng Gang turned back, getting angry.

"Just what the hell are you planning, you bastards?!"

About a day had passed since the outer walls of the main gate had been breached. Despite this, the battle at the back gate hadn't even started.

The two hundred or so unidentified people were still sitting in wait.

While the fire at Meng Gang's feet was still there, it wasn't that hot. However, the problem was that he couldn't tell if it was real or not.

If this threat was fake, it would be fine after it passed. However, if it was real, this blaze would spread to his body.

"..."

The two hundred or so people below remained silent after their initial exchange, simply watching. While they were each holding weapons, they didn't move.

Meng Gang thought about ignoring them and turning back. However, if that really was a trap, that would mean exposing himself completely.

"Then, let's see if they stay still after getting hit by this!"

Snatching a hatchet from the hand of a nearby subordinate, Meng Gang hurled it downward with all his strength.

Woosh!

The hatchet spun as it descended. It was so powerful, as if it had been infused with qi.

"Tsk!"

A middle-aged man stepped forward, clicking his tongue as the hatchet shot toward him, aiming straight for his head.

"Ha!"

With a sharp shout, he swung his sword upward.

Swish!

Clang!

The middle-aged man's attack wasn't anything to scoff at.

However, the power of the hatchet imbued with qi from one of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven wasn't ordinary.

"Ugh!"

Although he managed to block the hatchet, the impact hit him like a sledgehammer, rattling him to his core.

If one looked closely, he ended up getting pushed back slightly from where he stood.

"Y-you dog-like bastard…!"

The curse wasn't from the man. No, it had come from above. When the middle-aged man raised his head, he saw that Meng Gang's face was twisted in frustration.

"A formation!"

As the middle-aged man stumbled back, the entire scene seemed to shift. It wasn't just him who was pushed back, but several people were moved at the same time.

It would be more accurate to say that it looked like several people. It was an illusion formation that reflected the main body like a mirror.

When one moved, the several connected 'people' moved in turn. Instead of the hatchet, the other silhouettes cut the person in front of them, a fellow illusion, and dissipated their forms.

"I guess this is all we could do."

A beautiful voice rang out from the mysterious punitive force.

"Zhuge FAMILY!!!"

Only then did Meng Gang realize that he had been fooled.

"Miss Xiuluan, what should we do?"

The middle-aged man who had blocked the hatchet turned around.

At the end of his gaze stood Zhuge Xiuluan, who would later be called the Phoenix Advisor.

1. Referenced before, it's the one position in a formation that allows you to survive and unravel it, hence the word Life. ☜