'Red Scarves Alliance? Alliance Master?' Standing tall on the bow of the ship, Wu Menglan glanced towards the hundreds of riders coming to assist Miao Yi and was momentarily dazed. 'Miao Yi is their Alliance Master?'
She wondered if she'd misheard what they said. These people had all come from various places throughout the ten palaces within the Fifth Earthly Branch. And yet Miao Yi was able to call these people to arms just by raising his arm and shouting?
This was no exaggeration, but a truth that she witnessed with her bare eyes. Miao Yi had indeed raised his arm and shouted, and immediately, hundreds of riders from all ten palaces had rushed out to assist him.
This was not Mount Calming Sea, and they were not ordinary cultivators. Almost all of them were Blue Lotus cultivators. And yet Miao Yi only needed to raise his arm and shout, and all of them had charged out to assist him with no hesitation whatsoever!
As he galloped around, Charcoal suddenly raised his front hooves and came to a sudden stop, kicking up clouds of dust as he did. As his hooves came down, Miao Yi turned Charcoal around to face the enemy charging at him. With a wave of his Inversed-Scales Spear, the roars of a dragon resounded. He pointed it straight at Wang Tianlun, and shouted with a deep voice, "Kill!"
"KILL!" The four hundred riders galloping forth behind him shouted in agreement. Those watching the battle felt their blood boil with excitement at their high level of morale.
The effects of the thunderous charging were highly contagious. Charcoal seemed to be very fond of savage atmospheres where he could charge into enemy lines and wreak havoc. His eyes grew fervent with excitement as he shook his head and swished his tail, and his hooves were restlessly kicking about. However, Miao Yi held him down and sat firmly on his back, maintaining a cold expression. He kept a steady hand on the Inversed-Scales Spear as he continued to point ahead.
What he needed to do was to rally together the people behind him, and he'd done it.
The four hundred riders behind Miao Yi shouted as they charged forward like a raging river. When they came up to Miao Yi, who hadn't moved a single inch, they quickly separated and swerved around him, before regrouping once more. Their morale was at an all-time high as they advanced, the red cloth tied around their wrists fluttering in the wind.
Miao Yi could hear that one particular rider behind him had fallen back from the group and hadn't charged ahead like the rest. He cautiously turned his head and at the same time, pointed back with his spear. He then found Qi Xiuhong, in her light-yellow dress, looking at him restlessly. With his spear in her face, she came to a stop right behind him. Her face was slightly reddened as she lowered her head in embarrassment.
Here, her cultivation was truly too low. She didn't even have a single transcendence artifact of her own. Regardless of who she fought, they would probably kill her after a single confrontation. She would only be sending herself to her death if she charged ahead.
Miao Yi could sympathize with her. He moved the spear away from her face and didn't say anything else as he turned back to look in front. Qi Xiuhong stood quietly behind him.
Wang Tianlun and the two hundred riders he led watched as a force double their own suddenly came charging towards them. Furthermore, the morale of this other force was evidently much higher than their own. The three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators charging in front were the most conspicuous of the bunch. There were quite a number of Sixth to Eighth Grade cultivators behind them as well.
They finally understood that Miao Yi hadn't been bluffing when he asked if they really believed that he was on his own. As it turned out, he really did possess a much bigger force than theirs.
The disciples of the three major sects were utterly shocked, and evidently more than a little nervous.
Wang Tianlun was even more surprised than the rest of them. After losing the advantage in numbers, they would suffer heavy losses if they clashed head-on with the enemy, ultimately failing to display the might of the three major sects. Just because they assumed Miao Yi was alone, they had acted too recklessly and fallen for his provocation. The sudden appearance of this peculiar army sent the troops into disarray. In the blink of an eye, the enemy was upon them. They no longer had enough time to either regroup or retreat.
Truth be told, this was what a real battlefield in the cultivation realm was like. In battle, the use of strategy was highly important. This was what it meant to suffer an ambush.
In his hastiness, all Wang Tianlun could do was fight back. He anxiously yelled, "Sword Deviate Sect disciples! Sword Formation!"
The ten longswords strapped to his back shot out first before hundreds more followed suit. However, it did nothing to the enemy's momentum as they all used their weapons and transcendent artifacts to defend against the attack.
A series of clanging sounds erupted. On Miao Yi's side, the ones charging in front were unharmed, mostly because they were all people with a high cultivation like Zhao Fei. Instead, at least a dozen of those in the middle instantly fell. Even if some of them had suffered non-lethal wounds, they would be stomped into a bloody pulp by the thunderous hooves that followed behind them.
This was something unavoidable for a massive army charging towards the enemy line. All of the present cultivators had experienced something similar before. No one would be sad, nor would anyone sympathize.
"Wang Tianlun, you old coot! How dare you use numbers to bully my Red Scarves Alliance? I, Zhao Fei, am here! Now die!"
Charging ahead of everyone else, Zhao Fei instantly reached the enemy line, furiously bellowing as he slashed down with his Square Sky Decorated Halberd. This was such a great opportunity. After all, being a former Manor Head himself, how could he not notice that his troops already held the upper hand? How could he give the other party a chance to regroup? Naturally, he had to put everything at stake and charge forward to kill the enemy.
Clang! A sharp ringing erupted as Wang Tianlun crossed his dual blades together and blocked the strike.
The ground instantly cracked and crumbled under the weight of both their steeds. Clouds of dust were kicked up as their transcendence energy viciously rolled out. Two men of equal strength had instantly locked themselves in a fierce battle where only one could walk out alive.
The troops from both sides collided with one another like a raging river.
"Vile woman. Die!" With a long axe in hand, Sikong Wuwei charged ferociously towards the female Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator from the Jade Lady Sect and hacked at her head.
Bang! The two instantly clashed together. Following behind Sikong Wuwei, Wang Yuetian thrust out with his spear and battled the female Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator together with Sikong Wuwei. Their transcendence energy collided fiercely with one another, kicking up clouds of dust. It would be difficult for those with a low cultivation to interfere in their battle.
Despite facing off against the combined attacks of two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts, the female cultivator handled herself well. She held each end of her nine-jointed whip-like dual batons, blocking the attacks while striking back. Furthermore, she had the protection of a Second Grade Armor Artifact.
Unexpectedly, a Blue Lotus Eighth Grade cultivator of the Red Scarves Alliance suddenly came charging at her from behind. As he passed her by, he found an opening and thrust downwards with his spear. It stabbed into the belly of the female cultivator's steed, and with a flick, the steed immediately collapsed from the pain.
The attack took the female cultivator completely by surprise. As her body fell, she managed to raise her arms to block Wang Yuetian's spear, when Sikong Wuwei's axe came hacking at her from behind.
Spurt! Fresh blood started gushing out. It had only been a moment's work to chop off the head of the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade expert from the Jade Lady Sect.
This was what large-scale battles were like. Regardless of how high your cultivation, a moment of carelessness could instantly spell death. All around you were hidden blades, just waiting to exploit an opportunity. It was very normal to die like this.
Now, both sides had already begun clashing with one another. Dragon steeds neighed in pain and cultivators screamed in agony as seven hundred riders engaged in fierce battle.
In such a chaotic battle, whatever flying swords or secret arts that one possessed were practically useless. All around, weapons would blindly fly about as dragon steeds charged at one another. It was every man for himself. No one dared to be careless for even a second and fought hard for their survival.
Since both parties possessed a similar degree of strength, the advantage of having superior numbers revealed itself immediately. After all, one could not defend against four arms with just two fists. Not to mention, the experts of the three major sects—those with the highest attack potential—were held at bay by the enemy. The three major sects grew more nervous as the battle dragged on, feeling as if the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance was constantly around them, and that the Red Scarves Alliance had already surrounded them.
After killing off the person with the highest cultivation in the Jade Lady Sect, Sikong Wuwei and Wang Yuetian looked at the red cloth tied around each other's wrist. They then shared a glance and smiled at one another. Wang Yuetian suddenly pointed his spear towards the battle between Zhao Fei and Wang Tianlun. It seemed as though Zhao Fei was on the losing end and was having difficulty fighting against Wang Tianlun.
The two of them immediately charged over, cutting down any enemy in their path and helping the other members of the Red Scarves Alliance along the way. After killing approximately ten people, they finally reached Zhao Fei's side and surrounded Wang Tianlun.
Zhao Fei was cursing under his breath when he suddenly saw two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade alliance members coming to aid him. It instantly restored his confidence, and his attacks became more aggressive.
The three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts surrounded Wang Tianlun and attacked. Under the heavy onslaught of spear, halberd, and axe, Wang Tianlun waved his dual blades around, trying to defend himself. He felt completely dismayed. In the past, these three had merely been a bunch of nobodies who cowered before the three major sects. But now, they were trying to send him to his death.
Circling around on his steed, Sikong Wuwei made a sudden downwards strike with his axe. Then, Wang Tianlun's steed neighed in agony as he chopped off one of its limbs.
As his steed fell, Wang Tianlun leaped up, only to meet with Zhao Fei's Square Sky Decorated Halberd from above. Wang Tianlun blocked it with his dual blades and found himself immediately pressed back down.
Before he could even touch the ground, his armor artifact suffered a heavy blow to the back with a 'bang!', causing his body to tremble. Even though he had a Second Grade Armor Artifact to mitigate the lethal blow, his eyes instantly caught the dark silhouette of an axe sweeping towards him. He then felt his vision blurring as the world tilted on its axis.
He watched as Sikong Wuwei's axe swept down beneath him, as well as a headless body garbed in an armor artifact, with hot blood spurting out of its neck. Then, he no longer felt anything.
"HAHA! This is fun!" Sikong Wuwei chortled as he raised his axe. Even though he hadn't done it alone, he had the pleasure of personally chopping off the heads of two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators from the three major sects. Normally, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to deal a killing blow to one of their members.
As soon as he was done laughing, he realized that Wang Yuetian and Zhao Fei had already charged off and joined a different battle. Sikong Wuwei's joyful expression disappeared and was quickly replaced by a bloodthirsty one. He raised his axe and charged forward. Whenever he saw a disciple of the three major sects battling against the Red Scarves Alliance, his axe would immediately go straight for their heads.
With the two most powerful experts of the three major sects killed, there was practically no one capable of stopping the three—Wang Yuetian, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei. Not to mention, they were not even the main attackers. All they did was charge around the battlefield assisting the other members of the Red Scarves Alliance. Since they were already involved in the fierce battle, how could the disciples of the three major sects be able to withstand against the ambush of such experts? Their casualties instantly skyrocketed, and the battle soon favored one side.
After watching the battle anxiously, Miao Yi finally heaved a sigh of relief. He should be safe from the threat of the three major sects from now on. His efforts had not been for naught.
Sitting quietly on her steed behind him, Qi Xiuhong pursed her lips and said nothing.
The three major sects' greatest advantage for their expedition in the Sea of Constellations had been crushed just like that. They had suffered such a heavy blow before they had yet to achieve anything substantial. The other onlookers watched in awe. Even if there were survivors from the three major sects after this, they would probably need to lower themselves and take shelter elsewhere. They'd have to be at someone else's beck and call if they wished to survive in the Sea of Constellations.
Everyone couldn't understand why Su Jinggong and his party had wanted to offend someone as powerful as Miao Yi. Wouldn't they just be digging their own graves, as well as that of the three major sects?
After escaping into the sea, Su Jinggong finally showed his face by resurfacing next to the fleet of ships, believing that hiding near Wu Menglan's vicinity would be safer. However, just as he peeked his head out of the water to observe what was happening, he was left utterly bewildered. Not only had the disciples of the Sword Deviate Sect almost been eradicated, but even those belonging to the Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts were finding themselves in a similar situation. 'How did this happen? Why did so many people show up to help that little rascal, Miao Yi?'
Wu Menglan raised an eyebrow as she observed the battle from the ship. They had yet to battle against the participants of the other five nations, and they were already fighting amongst themselves. Not to mention, it was a full-scale battle to the death.
Since the Fifth Earthly Branch had sent these people over, they naturally wished that they wouldn't come back empty-handed. Obviously, the Fifth Earthly Branch had hoped that some of their participants could take a few spots among the one hundred survivors of the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade. Truth be told, the three major sects still had a few tricks up their sleeve. At the very least, when fighting the enemy, their methods would not draw shame upon the forces of the Fifth Earthly Branch, and so the others would not belittle them. But in the end, before they could even display their tricks, they had suffered an ambush from their own fellow Fifth Earthly Branch participants. The moment they stepped foot in the Sea of Constellations, those participants had almost completely eradicated their forces.
"He did something. That little rascal Miao Yi did something to our dragon steeds...." Peeking out from the surface of the water, Su Jinggong mumbled to himself, apparently coming to a realization.
Wu Menglan cast a sidewards glance at him. Then, she suddenly flew towards the side of the ship.