Chapter 49: The Expert Arrives

On the south bank of the Zuli River.

On a small hill.

No way! This is absolutely impossible! Damn… Can anyone tell me, how could this happen? How could this happen? That guy was actually a Knight? A Knight who mastered dual Battle Aura Rings? But there was clearly no fluctuation of Battle Qi from him… My Tower Shield and Dragon Spear Formation… Unforgivable!

The Silver Masked Man looked at the battlefield on the Stone Bridge. His eyes, usually sharp as knives, were now somewhat dazed.

He simply could not believe what he was seeing.

His proud elite army was completely collapsing under the provocation of a bunch of country bumpkins.

Rage burned within him. A blue light suddenly flashed around his body, and an intense chill radiated outwards, like a ten-thousand-year-old block of ice releasing a bone-piercing cold. The horsewhip in his hand was crushed in his grip, instantly freezing solid with a crack before shattering into pieces as it hit the ground.

Was there anything more humiliating than this?

His supposedly foolproof military formation had disintegrated rapidly under the charge of just over twenty country bumpkins. The Tower Shield and Dragon Spear Formation, which he had proudly called the Black Armored Army’s number one defensive formation, hadn’t even lasted two minutes—not even long enough for him to relay a single military order—before turning into a mess of mangled flesh and broken metal!

This unexpected failure was a heavy blow to the proud, ever-victorious Silver Masked Man. It was like a god, arrogantly believing he controlled the life and death of all living beings, suddenly being punched down by a filthy beggar, who then stomped his dirty, pus-covered foot on the god’s face.

I swear, I will leave nothing alive in Shampoo City! I will capture every man, woman, and child from Shampoo City alive, skin them while they still breathe, stuff their skins with straw, and hang them from this Stone Bridge… I will chop their limbs and bones into mincemeat, and force that reckless King of Shampoo City to kneel on the ground and eat it bite by bite!

The Silver Masked Man roared furiously.

A blue, cold force field flickered around his body before violently expanding. With a sudden whoosh, a white blast of cold air flashed. Even the black metal frame of the warhorse beneath him rapidly coated with a layer of white frost. As for the valuable black steed itself, it instantly froze into an ice sculpture, its blood and flesh solidifying in an instant.

The Black Knights behind him were so terrified they hardly dared to breathe. They all bowed their heads, holding their breath, not daring to speak. Even the black warhorses beneath the Black Knights sensed the danger, nervously backing away. Their large eyes couldn’t hide their fear as they looked at the Silver Masked Man, as if staring at a raging, bloodthirsty Magical Beast.

On the entire hill, only one person remained unmoved—

The mysterious black-cloaked figure who had appeared at some point to the right of the Silver Masked Man seemed completely unaware. A faint black mist surrounded him, even distorting the light. The thin white horse he rode actually snorted leisurely, casually nibbling at the grass on the ground, showing no reaction to the murderous intent erupting from the Silver Masked Man.

Issue the order—the Armor-Piercing Heavy Arrow formation is to prepare immediately. I want indiscriminate volley fire. I will stop at nothing to nail those country bumpkins dead on the Stone Bridge… The Silver Masked Man gave the command in his fury, his eyes terrifyingly blood-red.

Master, this… there are still our soldiers on the bridge… there might be friendly fire…

The Black Knights behind him were greatly shocked upon hearing this. The steel-clad demons had already broken completely into the Black-Armored Soldier formations. With both sides mixed together, an indiscriminate volley of Armor-Piercing Heavy Arrows might eliminate the enemy, but it would also mean certain death for their own hundred plus soldiers.

Soldiers? Soldiers need to use their blood and lives to achieve their commander’s glory. That is their duty. Dying in battle for me is their fortune.

The Silver Masked Man didn’t even turn his head, casually deciding the fate of his hundreds of soldiers with a light statement.

However, the last shred of clarity in his rage made him think he should perhaps keep one last trump card. The repeated setbacks had planted a sliver of fear and caution in the Silver Masked Man’s heart. The guy leading the charge on the other side had given him too many shocks, even creating a delusion in his mind—that even the Armor-Piercing Heavy Arrows might not be enough to eliminate those demons.

He sat atop the already frozen, dead warhorse, slightly turning his body. His tone became a bit gentler as he bowed his head towards the mysterious black-cloaked figure and said, Teacher, if… if the Armor-Piercing Heavy Arrows prove ineffective, I hope you will step in. Use your merciless Magic to help me deal with those troublesome country bumpkins!

The mysterious black-cloaked man nodded.

This motion caused the black cloak to be slightly lifted by the wind. A Magic Staff carved with intricate, mysterious patterns was faintly visible beneath the black robe.

He did not immediately respond to the Silver Masked Man’s words. Instead, he thoughtfully muttered to himself in a low voice: Incredible… To think someone could freely switch between the wild, brute physical power, the eerie, sinister power of Magic, and the radiant power of a Knight—three completely different types of energy attributes. And it seems that guy has also mastered some mysterious skills… Although the power levels aren’t high, it’s still somewhat interesting… I must obtain the secret. Perhaps then I can break through the bottleneck and greatly increase my strength. Hehe…

Only after thinking this did he turn his head to nod at the Silver Masked Man, replying in a hoarse, icy voice: I can intervene, but that specific individual must be captured alive. He is of use to me.

As he spoke, the mysterious cloaked man extended a finger from under his black robe. It was dry as wood, covered in wrinkles, almost like a dried-up Zombie finger. The person he pointed to was none other than Sun Fei, who was leading the charge on the Stone Bridge.

The Silver Masked Man frowned.

That guy was originally the one the Silver Masked Man hated the most. If it weren’t for him charging ahead unstoppably, the Black Armored Army’s Tower Shield and Dragon Spear Formation probably wouldn’t have been torn apart and breached so easily and quickly, causing him such heavy losses. The Silver Masked Man originally wanted to shoot that guy full of arrows until he resembled a hedgehog. But since the black-cloaked man had spoken, and considering the terrifying Four-Star Power Level Magic strength of his nominal teacher, the Silver Masked Man finally nodded in agreement.

Pass the order! Tell the archers to leave that guy half alive. Just make sure he isn’t shot dead! The Silver Masked Man coldly amended his previous command.

The Black Knights behind him hardly dared to breathe, quickly accepting the order and leaving.

Soon, a troop of Black-Armored Soldiers marched out from the black camp. Their steps were steady, indicating each had considerable strength. They carried large black bows on their backs, their quivers full of fearsome-looking large arrows with white fletching. The arrow shafts were engraved with magical patterns, flowing with faint magical power. These were the Armor-Piercing Heavy Arrows, capable of piercing through steel plate armor and the magic shields of low-level Mages. On the battlefield, they were the absolute nightmare of any heavily armored Knight or Mage.

Each of these Armor-Piercing Heavy Arrows was extremely expensive to make, practically built from piles of Gold Coins. They were generally too precious to use in ordinary battles. This time, the Silver Masked Man didn’t hesitate to bring out all his trump cards, showing just how intense his anger was.

The mysterious black-cloaked man paid no attention to this.

He chuckled lowly, his voice hoarse and grating, like a blunt knife scraping against rough stone. He urged his thin horse forward, moving unhurriedly towards the Stone Bridge. A faint black mist surrounded him. As the thin horse advanced, the black mist grew thicker, gradually obscuring him from others’ sight.

At the same time, in these less than two minutes, the battle on the bridge had grown more intense—or rather, the slaughter led by Sun Fei and his twenty-two heavily armored brutes reached a fever pitch. With Sun Fei as their unbreakable spearhead, every formation of Black-Armored Soldiers was as fragile as soft, wet cheese. They could break through with ease.

The six Siege Ladders had long been destroyed and thrown off the bridge into the rushing river below. In the past two minutes, these twenty-three blood-soaked gods of death had effortlessly demolished a javelin formation and a swordsman formation of the Black-Armored Soldiers.

Wherever they passed, the bridge surface turned into a Hell of Asura. Thick blood was everywhere. Wails and screams became the main chorus on the bridge, mingling with the roar of the river, as if the God of Death was cackling in the sky. Even the air turned blood-red. Taking a breath felt like inhaling not air, but thick, crimson blood.

By this point in the battle, even though they were well-trained and battle-hardened, the Black-Armored Soldiers were completely broken. They had completely lost their will to fight. Beneath the blood-smeared, bone-fragment-covered armor, even a single glance from the eyeholes of the Knight’s visor was enough to terrify the soldiers in front. A single roar from them would make the soldiers’ legs go weak. Even though the sun in the sky still released intense heat, they felt as if they were in an icehouse…

The neat formations utterly fell apart. Soldiers in the front ranks wailed as they fled backward, disrupting the other formations of Black-Armored Soldiers behind them. The bridge suddenly became extremely crowded. Many soldiers, pushed and shoved by their comrades, screamed as they fell off the bridge into the river, disappearing after a few splashes.

Even more terrifying, the constant flow of blood and flesh from the bridge into the river carried a strong bloody scent, attracting some horrific monstrous fish to the surface, fighting over the bloody feast. These fish had inverted black scales. Each was four to five meters long, their dense, sharp teeth glinting coldly in the sun. Even if a living person fell in, they would quickly be torn into a pile of bones…

Oh heavens, it’s the bloodthirsty savage water beasts! Damn it, the blood has attracted them!

Seeing the appearance of the monstrous fish, some Black Armored Soldiers screamed in terror, becoming even more panicked. More people fell into the river during the stampede and pushing, becoming food for the water beasts. Some slightly luckier ones desperately clung to the edge of the bridge deck, but they soon lost their grip and fell with wails…

Charge charge charge charge charge—!

Sun Fei freely switched between Paladin Mode and Barbarian Mode. On one hand, he used the Paladin skills Might and Prayer to try and prevent casualties among his comrades behind him. On the other, he wielded the Barbarian’s giant axe, sweeping away all enemies before him.

Boom! Boom! Boom—!

In an instant, they had advanced to the very middle of the two-thousand-meter Stone Bridge, the narrowest part. Several Giant Stone Catapults were positioned here. Sun Fei swung his axe, blasting aside the soldiers blocking his path, then kicked one of the catapults weighing six to seven hundred jin. With a thunderous crash, the first catapult was kicked off the bridge into the water, crushing quite a few of the bloodthirsty savage water beasts, and also dragging down some wailing Black-Armored Soldiers…

The frenzied advance left the already chaotic Black-Armored Soldiers unable to offer any resistance. Soon, with several more booms, four out of the six Giant Stone Catapults had already been pushed into the water by Sun Fei and his brutes…

The situation was developing entirely according to Sun Fei’s expectations, even proceeding more smoothly due to the enemy soldiers’ collapse. Right at that moment, a sudden change occurred—

Blazing Flame Slash—!

A loud roar erupted. A massive red Combat Energy Flame, carrying an irresistible, mountain-crushing momentum, suddenly flew over the heads of the chaotic Black-Armored Soldier crowd, directly blasting towards Sun Fei and the others.

Sun Fei’s pupils constricted sharply.

It was that Three-Star expert within the enemy ranks—the swordsman Lund.

He was finally here.