Chapter 47: Chapter 48: Someone Has to Scout the Path

Everyone was horrified.

’A nameless Commander from the Great Wind Army could be this ferocious?’

But the crowd didn’t know that over a hundred years ago, the Zhong Family’s military doctrine had stressed being "swift as the wind and aggressive as fire." They believed in preemptively striking the enemy with a thunderous blow, which would then allow them to leisurely slaughter their foes.

Nian Songyu’s face twisted in pain, but he cried out, "They can inflict physical attacks! It’s the water—the water from the pool!"

’Just by dipping themselves in the pool, these Resentful Souls can land physical hits?’

Hearing this, Hee Lingchuan snatched the Soul-Stabilizing Banner from his Attendant, Bai Shan. He leaped to the edge of the pool in two steps and plunged the white cloth banner directly into the water.

The white banner instantly soaked up the bloody water. Fortunately, the runes on it didn’t fade.

He then raised the white banner and violently shook it toward his comrades.

Droplets of water sprayed across everyone’s faces.

But no one dodged. In fact, their faces were filled with gratitude.

Just then, the Ghost Soldiers spurred their horses onward, charging in for the kill once more.

Zeng Feixiong wiped his face hard, grabbed the saber at his waist, and performed a Jump Slash. "Brothers, charge!"

CLANG! Metal rang against metal.

His large saber struck the tip of his opponent’s spear, and both weapons were knocked aside. Neither had gained an advantage.

But the others were all overjoyed.

’It worked! They were no longer just passively taking hits... or getting impaled.’

’Their opponents were cavalry, true, but our side has ten times their numbers. How can we not win a ten-on-one fight?’

Everyone’s spirits soared. They drew their weapons and clashed with the enemy.

’As long as we can hit them, we’ll be fine! We’re all Elites; the gap in strength shouldn’t be that massive.’

Situ Han didn’t miss the chance to suck up to Hee Lingchuan. "Amazing, Eldest Young Master! You turned the whole situation around with one move!" He conveniently omitted the fact that Nian Songyu had been the first to discover the water’s strange properties.

’Thinking about it, it made sense. This pool of blood connected the tangible and intangible realms, so it must be effective on both living people and Soul Bodies. But... didn’t the Resentful Souls charge out of this Pool Well to begin with? Why couldn’t they harm anyone when they first emerged?’

Hee Lingchuan stared at the Great Wind Army Commander, who was slaughtering his men with abandon. He had a nagging feeling that this was exactly the kind of scene his enemy wanted.

They reveled in carnage, not clean kills.

In the blink of an eye, the Commander had picked off two men and assisted in killing a third. For a moment, not even Zeng Feixiong dared to get near him.

He gave Hee Chunhua a wry smile. "Dad, we’re short on men."

The two sides seemed to be locked in a desperate struggle, but Hee Lingchuan felt it was very unlikely his side would win.

One Resentful Soul wounded three of their men before several soldiers managed to drag it from its horse. Nian Songyu dipped his blade in the water, charged forward, and lopped off its head.

The enemy had finally suffered a casualty.

But the Great Wind Army Commander had noticed. With a lift of his hand, a cold glint of light shot out.

This time, the thrown Long Spear’s target was Hee Chunhua!

Earlier, when the Illusionary Barrier had shattered, the Magic Staff Beast Head had spat out a dim, cracked orb. Afterward, Sunx Fuping had reached his hand toward Hee Chunhua. "The Society Command!"

Hee Chunhua immediately handed over the yuan coin that represented his official position as Prefect.

The yuan coin’s gentle glow had immediately drawn the Commander’s attention, and his killing blow followed right after.

The Heroic Spirits of Panlong City must have utterly detested the appearance of a foreign Society Command in their lands.

At that moment, Sunx Fuping was secretly channeling a spell, Nian Songyu was too far away, and Zeng Feixiong and his men were tied up fighting the enemy. An opening had appeared in Hee Chunhua’s defenses.

Fortunately, Hee Lingchuan was standing right beside his father. Seeing the cold glint of light, he didn’t even think, just instinctively swung his blade to intercept it.

With a deafening CLANG, the Hundred Refinement Blade snapped in two, and the sheer force from the spear sent Hee Lingchuan flying.

He felt as if a sledgehammer had slammed into his chest. He couldn’t stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood, and then—

He flew more than ten feet before falling directly into the pool.

The pool should have only held a shallow layer of water, not even deep enough to cover one’s ankles. Yet when he fell in, it was as if he’d plunged into a deep abyss. With a SPLASH, he vanished without a trace!

But his interception had worked. The Commander’s Long Spear was knocked off course, flying past just under Hee Chunhua’s arm.

An inch or two was the difference between a pierced heart and walking away unscathed.

Hee Chunhua was horrified. He rushed to the edge of the pool in a single step. "Chuan’Er!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

No matter how he scanned it, the pool remained as shallow as ever, its surface the only thing rippling with turmoil.

Nian Songyu hurried over, initially afraid the Prefect would jump in after his son. But Hee Prefect immediately turned and thrust the Society Command into Sunx Fuping’s hands.

"Is Chuan’Er alive?"

"We’re about to find out." Sunx Fuping glanced around, then pointed to the nearest of the Sand Bandits. "You, come here!"

"Me?" The man did as he was told and walked over.

Sunx Fuping led him to the edge of the pool and took out a candle. Then, he reached out, grabbed the man’s shoulder, and actually snatched away his pale blue Life Fire, pressing it onto the wick.

The candle lit up, its flame a pale blue.

The Sand Bandit was stunned. "What...?"

"This is your Life Fire. As long as you live, this flame will burn. If you die, the candle will go out." Sunx Fuping nodded. "Now, go." With that, he gave the man a sudden shove.

The push was far too strong for a man in his sixties.

Before the Sand Bandit could even react, he was sent tumbling backward into the pool, following the same fate as Hee Lingchuan.

"Hey!" Situ Han turned his head just in time to see it happen. He dodged a thrust from a Great Wind Army soldier and rushed back. "What are you doing?!"

They were willing to die for the Official Family, but they weren’t willing to be sacrificed!

"Hush!" Sunx Fuping waved his hand, and an unseen force pushed Situ Han two steps back. Sunx Fuping himself never took his eyes off the candle flame. "Someone has to scout ahead."

’Hee Lingchuan’s fall into the pool had been too sudden. He’d had no choice but to send someone else in to test the waters.’

Meanwhile, Hee Chunhua’s men swarmed forward, desperately trying to keep the Great Wind Army Commander occupied.

Ten breaths later.

Twenty breaths later.

The blue candle flame still burned bright.

"He’s still alive." The moment Sunx Fuping confirmed it, Hee Chunhua heaved a long sigh of relief. If the Sand Bandit was alive, it meant there was air beneath the water. In that case, Hee Lingchuan was most likely alive as well.

"And I have even better news," Sunx Fuping said with a smile. "No more Resentful Souls are emerging."

Only then did Hee Chunhua realize that since that group of Great Wind Army soldiers, no new Resentful Souls had emerged from the pool.

Which meant—

Sunx Fuping shot a look at Nian Songyu, who understood immediately. With a single movement, he vaulted into the pool.

He vanished as well.

"This is the only path to the Grand Square Pot." Despite the mounting casualties on his side, Sunx Fuping was in high spirits. He stuffed Hee Chunhua’s yuan coin into the mouth of the Magic Staff Beast Head. The monstrous carving immediately clamped its jaws around the coin.

"Back to the formation! Quickly, back to the formation to hold off the enemy!" Sunx Fuping slammed his staff on the ground three times. "I need you to work together! Raise your morale!"

The entire contingent immediately fell back, contracting toward the Talisman Array on the ground.

In that short time, their forces had already suffered twenty percent casualties, while the Great Wind Army opposite them had lost only four of their number.

These things fought with an inhuman ferocity—well, they weren’t human to begin with. The moment one realized its injuries were too severe, it would immediately try to take its enemies down with it, killing one more if it could, or dragging down two for good measure. One of the riders was brought down by a group effort; its hands were hacked off and its chest was run through. Everyone thought it was finished. But with its last breath, it leaped up, bared a set of gleaming white teeth, and bit clean through a Sand Bandit’s throat!