Chapter 400. Dark Heavens’ Vanguard (3)

"Agh!"

Shen Daoyun screamed when he saw the Dark Heavens Association Lord.

A year or two ago, no one knew who the Lord of the Dark Heavens Association was. That wasn’t the case anymore. When their headquarters in Hefei was taken over, he had personally stepped forward.

Based on the eyewitness accounts of Yun Guang, Zhuge Xiang, and the warriors of the Martial Alliance, a portrait was created and the face was now recognizable.

Dark Heavens Association, you crazy bastards!

Shen Daoyun felt like cursing out loud.

It's not even an all-out war, but your leader is taking the lead?!

The reason why the Martial Alliance Leader and the Evil Valley Lord couldn't easily leave the headquarters was because they had to think about the repercussions if they were to fall.

It was common sense during a war, and it went without saying in these chaotic times. Especially for a faction so centralized like the Evil Valley, the aftermath would cause chaos and even the collapse of the Evil Faction.

You crazy bastard!

Even before any strategy, this defied basic logic.

If anyone had come up with this as a plan, they should have stepped down immediately. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to wonder if such a person had some kind of mental illness.

"How arrogant," Ximen Erjin said with a frown.

"Yes. Arrogant. But..."

Shen Daoyun bit his lip before continuing.

"It's impossible for it to not have an effect."

Shen Daoyun raised his right hand.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

Shen Daoyun's voice was urgent.

"Flag bearers turn to the right!"

"Retreat?"

Sun Yishan reacted immediately, objecting to Shen Daoyun’s order.

"Wasn't the strategy to tie up their feet so they wouldn't approach the Northern Upper Army?"

"The strategy is the same. However, we'll be running away without clashing directly and tying up their feet."

"Run away?"

Sun Yishan frowned.

Even if things had changed among the Righteous Faction, they still cared deeply about honor.

"Are you saying we'll run away before even fighting the enemy?" Sun Yishan asked with an uneasy expression.

"Tsk tsk. You’re so uptight, it’s like you’re scared someone might say you’re not part of the Righteous Faction," Ximen Erjin said, clicking his tongue.

"Temperance Staff Beggar, do you really think it’s wise to throw yourself against a storm or a landslide just because it’s in front of you?"

Ximen Erjin looked at Sun Yishan as if he were foolish.

"The only reason the Dark Heavens Association Lord wasn’t known before was because he stayed hidden. But now we know who he is. And even with a combined attack from the Martial Alliance Leader and the Juvenile Fist Emperor, they couldn’t leave a single scratch on him. We don’t even have an Empyrean Overlord, and we don’t even have many troops. He’s not someone we can take on directly."

Sun Yishan was about to object, but he closed his mouth.

"It's infuriating, but it is true," Shen Daoyun groaned.

"If we make contact with the Dark Heavens Association Lord, we'll surely lose."

If Zhou Xuchuan were here, he would have been happy to see this. Unlike in his previous life, the leadership weren't unnecessarily stubborn.

During the War and Chaos Era, it wasn’t uncommon for members of the Righteous Faction to cling to their ideals and suffer absurd defeats. But this time around, the constant warnings about the Dark Heavens Association and the pain they had already caused had left a lasting impression.

"Then what should we do?"

"First, we'll retreat repeatedly to prevent that human disaster (人災) from reaching the Northern Upper Army, and buy time. If the Northern Upper Army's operation is successful, they'll come to help right away. Or, we should just pray that Heavenly Strategist will receive the messenger that I'm sending now and help us at the right time."

"What happens if that fails?"

"We die," Shen Daoyun answered without hesitation.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"All of us."

***

The Northern Upper Army didn't notice that the Northern Lower Army had begun to retreat. The two forces had kept a considerable distance from each other since they split.

However, even if they

had

been close by, this wasn't the time for them to worry. They were too busy trying to bait the enemy.

"Young Lady Tang."

Tang Hui turned at the sound of Chai Lia’s voice.

"The enemy commander has been identified."

"Continue."

"It's your Orabeoni, Young Lady."

Chai Lia deliberately highlighted the fact that the commander was her brother.

It was because he was afraid that Tang Hui might hesitate or get distracted when they faced him later.

"What, are you worried that I might foolishly get caught up in my emotions and ruin the operation, Beggar Dragon?"

"To be honest, yes."

Chai Lia scratched his head, smiling awkwardly.

"Don't worry."

Tang Hui’s voice was even, without a hint of emotion.

"I already figured it out. Even if someone like you, the Beggar Dragon, who isn't very active and has a low presence among the Five Dragons, didn't say anything."

Chai Lia laughed awkwardly.

That venomous tongue is still the same.

It wasn't the first or second time he had heard it, so he wasn't surprised.

Tang Hui returned her gaze to where he had been.

"Even if Tang Mingren is my blood-related brother, as long as he is known as the Avaricious Wolf, the traitor of the Righteous Faction and the leader of the Dark Heaven, I will not hesitate."

There was no bloodlust, anger, or sadness in Tang Hui's gaze.

As always, she was calm and cool.

"Is your conversation over?" Peng Zihu looked at her with amusement and asked.

"Excuse us."

Tang Hui and Chai Lia bowed in greeting.

Peng Zihu nodded, signalling for them to relax.

"What's your opinion, Adjutant?"

"We still have to wait. It will start soon."

There was no one who asked what 'it' was.

The leaders of the Northern Upper Army kept their mouths shut and stared straight ahead.

The waves stopped on the green grass.

Thud! Thud!

Four li (里) from their position, the Dark Heaven's warriors stopped their advance. They lined up, stood still, then quietly settled into formation.

Their movements were so seamless that several members of the Northern Upper Army couldn't help but let out gasps of surprise.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Five hundred warriors stepped forward from the single-file formation.

No, more accurately, they were poison artists. Each one cradled a gourd the size of a small child in their arms, marking them clearly.

"Open it."

The former dragon of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes and the leader of the Black Shadow Department, Tang Mingren, a traitor of the Righteous Faction, gave the order.

"It's poison smoke!"

The Milky Way Sage's voice rang across the plains.

Pop.

The stoppers that had been blocking the mouths of the gourds were opened.

Soon, ominous smoke billowed from the mouth of the gourds. No, it would be more accurate to say that it poured out.

The ominous black smoke didn't rise slowly, instead, it poured down like a waterfall, forming waves.

Though it wasn’t water, the poisonous smoke crawled along the ground, spreading low and fast. In seconds, it swallowed up the plains and kept growing.

The low-lying poisonous smoke filled the land, as if a long rainy season had just passed, turning everything into a dark fog.

Hiss.

The grass that had been shaking vigorously just moments before suddenly stiffened.

The turquoise, which could make one feel refreshed just by looking at it, began to lose its color as if its soul was fading, and eventually lost its strength and crumbled.

Rumble.

The land that had been hundreds, thousands of years old was polluted.

That poisonous smoke meant death. Bubbles boiled up like lava on the land of the Central Plains that had been envied endlessly. The roots beneath the ground twisted as if in pain, and rotted away. The soil also began to lose its color.

"Ha..."

The Milky Way Sage was speechless at the sight before him.

"W-what is that!"

The others were equally astonished.

"Judging by the color, it's not a sulfur-based poisonous smoke..."

Poisonous smoke of this scale was usually created with sulfur which had been used since ancient times.

If not sulfur, ash, lime, and pepper powder were often used.

However, that smoke wasn't close to what they were familiar with. Its color was closer to a dark purple.

"One li? Two li?"

"Heavens, isn't it too big?"

There was enough smoke to fill the surrounding plains. It began to grow bigger as they spoke.

"Poison Cloud Group Dance (毒雲人舞)."

Tang Hui's eyes burned with a fierceness.

"Poison Cloud Group Dance?" Peng Zihu asked as if he needed an explanation.

"Do you know the concept of poisonous smoke?"

"It's either a weapon used by the imperial military, using sulfur-based smoke, or smoke created by a poison master releasing poison qi."

"Yes. The Poison Cloud Group Dance is a method that uses the latter as a driver."

"Mmm... are there really that many poison masters in the Dark Heavens Association?" Peng Zihu asked, clearly skeptical.

Even if those poison masters could release such poison qi, there had to be a limit.

They shouldn't have been able to last that long, and it shouldn't have been strong enough to corrode the ground, let alone the plants.

To produce that much power, they would have needed more than five hundred Transcendent realm experts, and all of them would have had to have been Transcendents of the non-mainstream poison arts.

"No. Even though we say it's the latter, the method is a little different."

"A different method?"

Tang Hui looked like she was about to explain but paused. The Milky Way Sage, growing impatient, was about to prompt her again when he suddenly noticed something.

Tang Hui, who was famous for her poison, was now looking even more poisonous than usual.

"Tolerance inducers!" She called sharply.

The Northern Upper Army, as if waiting for this exact moment, pulled out their medicine and quickly consumed it. It was medicine that boosted their resistance and tolerance against poison.

Just as Tang Mingren had prepared for the poison of the Four Poisons Gate, the Tang Family had also prepared for Tang Mingren's poison.

In fact, the Allied Forces were one step ahead in terms of preparing for poison.

Even if Tang Mingren was an incredibly powerful poison master, his foundation was still of the Tang Family. Since the Tang Family was an ally, the preparation was perfect.

"I guess we should postpone the conversation until later."

Peng Zihu drew a sword from his waistband.

The poison smoke had reached the Northern Upper Army's noses.

"That Poison Cloud Group Dance, can we stop it?"

"We've consumed an antipoison, so we should be able to hold out for an hour. However, if the battle drags on, we'll have to retreat."

"And the downsides?"

"We won't be able to see ahead."

"It lives up to its name, Dark Heavens."

Peng Zihu snorted.

The poisonous clouds were gathering in front of him. In a

ke

, or rather, half a

ke

, they would have to fight in the darkness.[1]

"Adjutant, plan on retreating."

"What are we going to do?"

"We were planning on retreating anyway. This is good. If we were forced to retreat because of a poison smoke, the enemy should follow us without any suspicion."

As expected of the Tiger of Hebei. His bravery was extraordinary. Far from being afraid, he decided to actively take advantage of the situation.

"You really are just my type, Peng Family Patriarch."

Duan Lihua lifted her bamboo paddy hat slightly and smiled.

"Retreating in the face of a clash is no different from having your lower body die right before you're ready to fight in earnest just as the foreplay ends."

Even the head of the Peng Family couldn't avoid Duan Lihua's dirty talk.

"What? Hahahaha!"

Peng Zihu looked dumbfounded at Duan Lihua's words, then burst into hearty laughter.

"Yes, that's right."

He took a step forward, his fighting spirit rising.

The momentum of the Northern Upper Army, which had been waiting quietly, also grew fierce. There were sounds of weapons being drawn.

"Everyone, do you remember how much that bastard Ximen Erjin had been worried and trembling before he left, spouting shit about how the Sword God isn't here?"

The corners of Peng Zihu's mouth twisted up.

"Show me that he was worrying for nothing."

Everyone nodded in response.

"We didn't come here to fight."

Peng Zihu wiped his smile and looked straight ahead.

"Following the Righteous Path, we came here to aid the

murim

."

ROAR!!!!!

"Let's go."

***

Central Plains, somewhere.

His clothes, once soaked, had long since dried. After sending the Imoogi back to Zhuge Xiuluan, Zhou Xuchuan kept running.

This is ominous.

He had wanted to gather some information from the north along the way. But there was no time.

He had to save every second he could to get there faster.

He ignored his hunger, his exhaustion, and ran without stopping.

The wind pressed his hair back. The hem of his uniform fluttered in the wind.

When he was lost in thought, bad situations came to mind.

Zhou Xuchuan shook his head to clear his mind of distracting thoughts and picked up his pace.

1. Fifteen minutes. ☜