Chapter 409. To Learn How to Fight Ten Thousand Men (3)

About an hour ago, the Northern Upper Army had taken a devastating hit from the Poison Cloud Group Dance. Six hundred had died, reducing their number from twenty-six hundred to just two thousand. And even those who remained weren’t in ideal condition. Many were injured, and all were mentally and physically drained.

In the midst of this dire situation, seeing the enemy blocking their rear nearly drove them to despair. But just then, the best reinforcement they could have hoped for appeared, breathing life back into their fading morale.

Tang Hui’s tightly shut lips curved faintly into a rare, bright smile.

Duan Lihua recognized Zhou Xuchuan and urgently cried out his title, “Sword God!”

Everyone around him reacted when a familiar title of an Empyrean Overlord was brought up.

“Sword God?”

“T-that’s the Great Hero, Zhou Xuchuan!”

“The Great Hero is here!”

Zhou Xuchuan wasn’t an unforgettably handsome man by any means. If he stayed silent and under the radar during situations unrelated to combat, most people wouldn’t even recognize him.

As a matter of fact, one could say his looks were pleasant enough, like a handsome but ordinary young man found on the streets now and then. And because he concealed his realm, his presence didn’t draw much attention either.

However, that was no longer the case once he had been recognized, thanks to how widely known his looks and preferred attires were. Besides, the entire

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was paying attention to him, anyway, making it inevitable that nearly everyone knew what he looked like.

“W-what did you say just now?”

“That’s Zhou Xuchuan?”

Unease began spreading in the Dark Heavens Association army. Their previously triumphant attitude was nowhere to be found. In fact, their eyes were wide open with tension and anxiety.

“That’s right,” Zhou Xuchuan theatrically nodded. “I am Zhou Xuchuan of the Mount Hua Sect!”

The moment he confirmed it, silence fell across the battlefield.

Everything stilled, as if time itself had paused. The brutal fight for survival from moments ago suddenly felt like a distant memory.

That silence, where not even breathing could be heard, was strangely ominous. Then, the silence was broken.

“

Woo

...”

“

Woo-waaaaaaaah

!”

A deafening roar erupted from the Northern Upper Army.

It was as if the heavens shook and the earth trembled. The surge of their voices carried enough force to feel like twenty thousand were roaring, not just two thousand.

The sound traveled far, echoing across the wide, open plains until it seemed to reach the ends of heaven and earth.

“It's really Zhou Xuchuan!”

“I thought the Sword God wasn’t here?”

“Why? Why is Zhou Xuchuan...?”

On the other hand, the mood in the Dark Heavens Association soured. Their initial emotions were confusion and helplessness, and soon, they morphed into anxiety and even fear. The appearance of their natural enemy was one thing, but said enemy being an Empyrean Overlord was even more significant to them. After all, an expert like that could do the job of one hundred... No, even ten thousand warriors.

“Senior Brother!”

“It’s Junior Brother Zhou!”

“Zhou Xuchuan!”

The disciples of Mount Hua welcomed Zhou Xuchuan enthusiastically. The improvement of their morale was especially noticeable even among the Northern Upper Army. From their reaction, it was easy to guess how significant Zhou Xuchuan’s influence was on the whole sect.

“Sorry, it took me a while to get here,” said Zhou Xuchuan.

Although that sounded like a light joke, he wasn’t joking at all. He really rushed here without a break, never mind stopping for food or sleep. He decreased his weight as much as possible with the Divine Phantom Art and pushed Mount Hua’s lightness art, Shadow Scattering Art, to its very limit.

He was in such a rush that he hadn’t even spared a little bit of time to figure out the flow of the battle, either.

“Zhou... Xuchuan.”

Tang Mingren quietly mouthed Zhou Xuchuan’s name. It’d be a lie to say he was not flustered by this development. Didn’t he get convinced into sending a missive to Blessed Existence back in the headquarters containing the news of Zhou Xuchuan’s absence not too long ago, as the latter was nowhere to be seen until now?

‘

Solving the mystery of why he had only shown up is secondary. What’s more important is that the missive must’ve reached Blessed Existence by now, forcing him to alter our battle plan. Which means it’s too late for us!’

Acting rashly before an Empyrean Overlord was out of the question. A messenger pigeon would be cut down in the blink of an eye. At the very least, Tang Mingren had to create some distance between himself and Zhou Xuchuan.

“That’s right, Tang Mingren. It’s me.”

Zhou Xuchuan stared directly at Tang Mingren, the man who had destroyed his heart and nearly killed him. Had help arrived just a little later that day, he might not have survived.

“Thanks to you, I’ve learned the valuable lesson about never trusting someone and never letting my guard down, even at the end. That blindside you landed still stings.”

Zhou Xuchuan had really been caught off guard. But that experience helped him to become even more cautious and never overly confident of anything. In fact, he learned how to keep questioning and not believe anything till the end. That wasn’t all, he had also gotten a lot more cunning as well. He had started considering even the most far-fetched possibilities. He had learned how to anticipate the unexpected.

“You should have definitely died back then...” Tang Mingren muttered quietly.

Despite seeing Zhou Xuchuan alive and well, Tang Mingren still couldn’t figure it out. His Extreme Formless Poison should have been fatal to even an Empyrean Overlord. Not only did he take his target by surprise, but he also destroyed Zhou Xuchuan’s heart.

Never mind an Empyrean Overlord, even if an Overlord grandfather had come, they should still have died.

Tang Mingren had to doubt his own ears when the news of the Great War of Good and Demonic reached him. He even wondered if the enemy had brought out an impostor in order to boost their morale.

“Yeah, I almost died back then,” said Zhou Xuchuan.

If it hadn’t been for Little Ghost and his own Manifestation of One’s Path, he might be sitting down with the King of Hell right about now to negotiate his next regression instead.

“But now I’m back. And this time, I’ve come for vengeance.”

Tang Mingren didn’t reply, simply choosing to close his eyes instead.

Calm down and control your emotions. It’s not as if the situation is no longer in our favor.

He wasn’t considered the Righteous faction’s darkness or its secret for nothing. One could say he was a master at hiding things. His expression didn’t change, not even the air around him shifted. What made him truly terrifying was the way he carried maturity far beyond his age, including all the experiences and things he had seen that most people wouldn’t have the stomach for.

But such a thing shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise when considering what the Black Shadow Division, and the Tang family, had to give up to acquire authority.

The higher morale doesn’t mean their physical and mental burden no longer matter. They are merely deceiving themselves. That’s why... We can fight them head-on. We might falter a little, but we won’t get pushed back.

The Poison Dragon’s eyelashes didn’t even flicker once. That was because his enemy could read his intentions from something as subtle as his body language and even the look in his eyes.

Compared to the enemy, we still have the numbers advantage.

The Righteous faction favored quality over quantity, while the Evil faction went for the exact opposite. However, the Dark Heavens Association went for both.

Most of the Dark Heavens Association’s southern army consisted of relatively new members, but not the northern army. Their quality was vastly superior, since the elite Seven Stars Division warriors nurtured by Destructive Soldier and experts that had joined the Association a long time ago and kept growing stronger were all in this army.

The Righteous and Evil Alliance, or more correctly, the Northern Upper Army, only numbered two thousand. Meanwhile, the Dark Heavens Association army still had over three thousand combatants. In terms of average martial prowess and numbers, Tang Mingren’s side still held the advantage.

A variable called Zhou Xuchuan has been added to the mix, but if he proves to be too troublesome, I will sacrifice one thousand troops to tie him down while the rest take out the enemy.

Even if individuals achieved victory, it would be meaningless if it led nowhere. One only had to recall the tale of Xiang Yu to understand this. Despite becoming the ruler of Western Chu and never losing on the battlefield, earning the title of god of war, he failed as a leader and a politician. Being a brilliant warrior and strategist could not prevent his country from collapsing.

What was the value of individual victories or personal glory if it all ended with the nation in ruins? There was no value at all.

Our chances of winning are higher, though our losses will likely be greater than expected.

Tang Mingren slowly opened his eyes again.

More importantly, Zhou Xuchuan’s appearance has drawn all attention to him. The enemy has forgotten about the Hidden Gang.

The Hidden Gang wasn’t some third- or second-rate organization. It was powerful enough to be acknowledged by not just the Black Hand, but even

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itself.

Given that, once we clash with the enemy, we can count on support from the Hidden Gang and the Seven Stars Division warriors up ahead. That should be enough to...

“Poison Dragon.”

Tang Mingren’s gaze met Zhou Xuchuan’s again just as the title he had missed finally registered in his mind.

“I’ve already told you, haven’t I?”

Zhou Xuchuan grinned. However, there was no amusement in his eyes.

“I would never let my guard down.”

Kkuuu-aaaaahk!

The moment he said that, pained screams rang out desperately from among the Poison Cloud Group Dance positioned at the rear of the Northern Upper Army.

Aaaahk!

Tang Mingren furrowed his brow slightly. “What was that?”

The commotion didn’t end there as more and more wretched screams echoed from the army.

Zhou Xuchuan casually muttered, “One man can never fight a war.”

He knew this better than anyone. And that was why he worked so hard to bring the talented individuals to his side, so that they could achieve great feats in the war.

Zhou Xuchuan slowly unsheathed his sword, without a trace of arrogance or pride in his movement. His eyes were clear and alert. Even though he knew the enemy didn’t have an Empyrean Overlord among them, he wasn’t taking any chances.

He calmly muttered, “Even if an absolute master capable of fighting ten thousand men arrives to transform despair into hope, it’s still nothing more than hope. Reality is crueler than anything you can imagine. It’s merciless. Even if you have hope, you will still lose if you lack the foundation to turn your wish into reality.”

He wasn’t saying hope was useless. Without hope, one wouldn’t even begin their counterattack. But one still must possess the strength to turn their hope into reality.

“I also told you that I’ve made lots of preparations, didn’t I?”

Kwa-aaaahk!

“Remember that, Avaricious Wolf.”

***

Nothing could be seen in this darkness. It was hard to tell if all the shouting and screams came from the allies or enemies. But that only applied to the warriors of the Righteous and Evil Alliance.

Those from the Hidden Gang, who had lived their entire lives in the darkness, were excluded. To them, night was much more comfortable than daytime, and the darkness provided more solace and safety than the light. That made Poison Cloud Group Dance the most ideal space they could be in.

“Tang Mingren! You cowardly bastard!”

“

Kekekeke

!” The Hidden Gang Boss cackled insidiously while observing the enraged Peng Zihu roaring away.

“Where are you, Tang Mingren?!”

Peng Zihu was beyond angry. Tang Mingren had hinted at a one-on-one duel, only to vanish the moment chaos broke out. And just as he gave chase, the Hidden Gang appeared, perfectly timed, as though they had been lying in wait.

Only then did he finally realize that he had been dancing on the enemy’s palm all this time.

“You bastaaaard!”

Peng Zihu was undoubtedly an expert serving as the Peng clan’s patriarch/수장. However, even the best experts would struggle to shake off a group of enemies specialized in fighting within darkness while stuck in an unfamiliar environment.

Swiiiish!

“You dare?!”

Peng Zihu swung his blade, knocking aside a hidden chakram that flew toward him.

Clang!

He managed to deflect the Concealed Returning Chakram, but there were more than one or two enemies here.

“

Kuh-heuk

!”

Slice!

A thin line of red appeared on his thick thighs. The skin split, and blood trickled out.

The wound is deep!

His leg nearly gave way under him. He almost dropped to his knees.

“

Keh-heheheh

! Peng Zihu, this is as far as you can go!” The Hidden Gang Boss cackled insidiously again.

“You bunch of cowards! Face me like a man!”

“

Hah?

Maybe you know nothing about how assassins operate? Telling us to fight you like a man is the same as telling us to kill ourselves, you muscle-brained moron!”

The Hidden Gang Boss openly sneered at Peng Zihu.

“

Kuk

!” Peng Zihu gripped his blade tightly.

This is bad!

His mind raced even as pain screamed from his leg.

The medication’s effects have run out, and I’m steadily wasting my qi to detoxify the poison in my body. Those irritating bastards aren’t trying to get closer, either! All they are doing is circling around me and throwing these accursed chakram around! I can’t even counterattack properly like this.

Still, he deserved credit for holding on under these brutal conditions. Especially since he was facing multiple enemies.

If this keeps up, I’ll run out of strength and die here.

Obviously, he couldn’t afford to die like this.

Since it’s come down to this, it’s a do-or-die situation! When the next chakram comes flying in, I’m going to deflect that and charge forward to break through this encirclement!

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind.

“Very well! Let’s see who will win now!”

And with that, he charged forward!

Hah! I’ve been waiting for this moment!

The Hidden Gang Boss smirked behind his mask. “I shall cut your head off and offer it as tribute to the Association Lord to receive his acknowledgment! Consider it an honor to become the Hidden Gang’s legendary tribute, Peng Zihu!

Hahaha

!”

Swiiiiiish!

The chakram left the Hidden Gang Boss’s hand. Thrown with extreme accuracy and power, the weapon didn’t even make a sound as it flew toward Peng Zihu’s throat. And when the circular blade reached the target, the sound of a metallic object being deflected rang out loudly.

CLAAANG!

“Now!”

Slice!

“

Huh

?”

Something was cut, but it wasn’t what the Hidden Gang Boss intended.

Peng Zihu stared ahead in confusion. He hadn’t even swung his sword yet, but he had clearly heard the sound of something being blocked.

“M-my arm?!”

The Hidden Gang Boss shouted in shock.

“Confirming acceptance of the command. Commencing with the protection of allies.”

When Peng Zihu heard that, he flinched subtly. Because, even though he hadn’t sensed any presence at all, that voice had come from right next to him!

“W-who are you?”

Peng Zihu asked, and then...

“Annihilate the enemy.”

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

A girl covering her eyes with a black cloth replied flatly. Ancient runes dimly glowed on her skin and even began to shift subtly.

“We obey.”

Dozens of voices echoed from the shadows.