Chapter 399: Centurion

"Victory!"

The Five Fiend Soldiers charged forward.

In Plum Blossom Valley, the wax plums with their pure hearts hung from the trees like tiny copper bells. As the Five Fiend Soldiers surged forward, their charge shook the branches, causing plum blossoms to fall.

The unceasing flame in the sky split into two more fiery masses, flying into the bodies of the dead officers. Behind the Five Fiend Soldiers, two officers, whose heads had been severed, slowly rose.They accurately located their own heads, tucking them under their left armpits. Their ashen eyes, burning with fire, stared fixedly at Chen Ji and the others.

The next moment, they reached into their chests with their right hands, breaking off a rib. The rib regenerated into a bone mask, which they placed over their ashen faces held under their armpits.They then broke off another rib, which grew continuously in their hands, forming a curved fish skeleton taller than a person, resembling a bone banner.Both figures, holding their bone banners, also charged forward.

Yang Yang looked on, startled and uncertain. "What is that fish bone?"Zhang Xia was equally surprised and unsure. "A Comet Tail Banner?"Chen Ji glanced sideways. "What's a Comet Tail Banner?"Zhang Xia shook her head, saying nothing.

Suddenly, the Bone-Sealing and Bone-Mending Fiend Soldier cried out, "Our Lord's banner has appeared in the human realm! Soldiers outside, return quickly!"As his words fell, the remaining living dead warriors, as if possessed, threw themselves onto the spears of the Five Fiend Soldiers, allowing the weapons to pierce their hearts!The Five Fiend Soldiers pulled out their spears and continued their charge. The unceasing flame from the sky flew into the bodies of the newly fallen dead warriors. Flames abruptly lit up in their eyes, and they donned their bone masks once more, grasping bone spears to join the charge from behind the main force.In an instant, all eighty-two dead warriors transformed into Five Fiend Soldiers!

Only then did the two stone altars on the ground shatter into hundreds of fragments, and the flames in the sky gradually dispersed, as if they had never existed.

Yang Yang roared, "Form ranks! Form the Fish Scale Formation!"The East Palace attendants and the Five Armies Camp soldiers reacted simultaneously, overlapping behind Yang Yang like fish scales. This was their best option against a cavalry charge.

As the Five Fiend Soldiers drew closer, Yang Yang shouted, "Archers, fire!"Arrows flew from the Fish Scale Formation like a swarm of locusts, but the Five Fiend Soldiers did not dodge; they allowed the arrows to pierce them.An arrow pierced the throat of one Fiend Soldier.Another arrow went through the abdomen of a different Fiend Soldier.Yet another arrow struck the horse beneath them.But neither the Fiend Soldiers nor their mounts were deterred; instead, their momentum intensified.

Zhang Zheng muttered, "They can't be killed?"When the Five Fiend Soldiers were thirty paces away, Chen Ji suddenly drew an arrow from the quiver of a nearby East Palace attendant. He shot it directly at a Mountain-Patrolling and Hunting Fiend Soldier. The arrow passed through a gap in the bone mask, striking the flame in its eye.The Fiend Soldier finally fell from its horse, turning into white ash that dispersed with the wind.

"Shoot the eyes! No, shoot the heads! No wonder they put on bone masks first!" Yang Yang realized with a start.Chen Ji drew another arrow and immediately fired. However, this time, a Mountain-Patrolling and Hunting Fiend Soldier simultaneously shot an arrow, intercepting Chen Ji's in mid-air.Chen Ji fired again, but the targeted Fiend Soldier raised its spear, blocking the arrow in front of its face.

At that moment, a soldier from the Five Armies Camp emulated Chen Ji, nocking an arrow and firing. The arrow flew directly towards the Fiend Soldier's face but missed by a hair, striking the bone mask near its eye socket. The bone mask was impenetrable, not even showing a crack.The Mountain-Patrolling and Hunting Fiend Soldier immediately returned fire with a bone arrow. It was incredibly fast and powerful, piercing through the Five Armies Camp soldier's eye socket and continuing its trajectory to pin down another comrade behind him.

Two Mountain-Patrolling and Hunting Fiends fired arrows while charging, piercing through the Five Armies Camp soldiers and East Palace attendants, one after another, unstoppable.

Yang Yang's expression hardened.If every Five Fiend Soldier possessed such strength, wouldn't they all be at the Xiantian realm? No, the Bone-Sealing and Bone-Mending Fiend Soldier, and those two headless officers, were probably even stronger.Yang Yang took a deep breath, making a swift decision. "A-Xia, take Zhang Zheng and leave quickly on Zaobao. I'll cover your retreat!"This was the best outcome he could imagine, but Zhang Xia did not respond.

Prince Fu, on horseback, sneered at the Crown Prince. "You tried to make a deal with the devil, but you didn't realize no one cares about your life. You wanted to kill me, but now you'll lose your own life here too."The Crown Prince pressed his lips together, silent. Mr. Liao calmly said, "Your Royal Highness Prince Fu, you worry too much. If this were truly the Crown Prince's scheme, why would he put himself in such danger?"

Prince Fu, however, showed no fear of death and laughed heartily. "Who else could be so insidious besides him? He merely miscalculated! Hey, my good brother, tell me before you die, who did you conspire with on this? The Qi family? The Chen family? So I know who to settle this score with on the road to the underworld!"

As he spoke, a Hunting Fiend shot a bone arrow directly into the formation.The bone arrow was aimed at Chen Ji, but he tilted his head slightly, letting the arrow pass. It grazed his ear and flew towards the Crown Prince behind him.In a flash, Mr. Liao suddenly flicked his sleeve, and a red-faced, fanged mask appeared on his face. He grabbed the Crown Prince's robes and transformed into a cloud of black smoke, flying out of the formation.The bone arrow missed its target!

Prince Fu turned to look, only to see Mr. Liao, holding the Crown Prince, land more than ten yards away and sprint northward, abandoning everyone else to escape!"Mr. Liao, you've kept your secrets well. So you're the last person Treasure Monkey was looking for," Prince Fu raised an eyebrow. "Your Royal Highness, if you were just a commoner, it would be fine. But our Ning Dynasty has never had a cowardly emperor, nor a disgraced crown prince. Your escape today means you'll never have a claim to the throne again!"

Zhou Kuang whispered from the side, "Your Highness, you should leave too. Your subordinate will lead the Five Armies Camp to buy you an incense stick's worth of time!""Leave?" Prince Fu retorted haughtily. "I would rather die than disgrace myself!"He drew the sword at his waist. "We fight to the death!"

By this time, the Five Fiend Soldiers had reached the front of the formation. Yang Yang lowed a cry, "Earth, Water, Fire, Wind!"Fierce flames suddenly erupted before him, resembling a massive serpent.But as the Five Fiend Soldiers reached him, they abruptly split to either side, causing his flames to strike empty air. The Fiend Soldiers divided into two flanking teams, leaning in to thrust their bone spears into the soldiers of the Five Armies Camp and the East Palace.One soldier drew his sword to block, but the Fiend Soldier merely feigned an attack. The bone spear retracted a foot with lightning speed, then thrust forward just as swiftly, piercing through the soldier's heart.The Fiend Soldier brutally lifted him, waving him in the air like a banner. "Victory!"

In just a single encounter, over ten soldiers died tragically on the spot. These Five Fiend Soldiers were not only immensely powerful but also highly skilled in combat, unbeatable even by the elite of the Five Armies Camp.

Zhou Kuang roared, "Yang Yang, what are you waiting for?"Yang Yang flared in anger. "Protectors!"He bit his finger, then, using two fingers as a sword, smeared blood onto the blade. He then took a yellow talisman from his pocket, threaded it onto the sword's tip, and thrust it into the ground!

Just then, a Mountain-Patrolling and Hunting Fiend detected something amiss. A bone arrow flew through the air, aimed directly at Yang Yang's back.As the arrow was about to strike, Yang Fang stepped in front of it, allowing the bone arrow to pierce through his body. The arrow, heavy and still carrying momentum, did not stop. But Yang Xian also rushed forward, ultimately taking the arrow with his chest.Both men slowly fell to the ground, calmly closing their eyes.

Instantly, Yang Yang's longsword, with the yellow talisman threaded on it, plunged into the earth. Fiery flames erupted from the ground like magma, quickly snaking around them like fire serpents, protecting them within.

A ten-yard-high wall of flames stood between them and the Five Fiend Soldiers. The Bone-Sealing and Bone-Mending Fiend, reining in his mount, slowly patrolled outside the fiery barrier.Wearing a bone mask and wielding a great bone saber, he sneered through the flames, "An insignificant trick from old Zhu Rong? No, no, far from it."

Yang Yang, panting, asked, "Who exactly are you?"The Bone-Sealing and Bone-Mending Fiend Soldier paused, as if he had heard an utterly ridiculous joke. "Who exactly are we? Who exactly are we! Hahahahaha, I am merely a humble centurion among our Lord's five great armies!"

One of the Five Fiend Soldiers said coldly, "Let's see how long this fire lasts."Yang Yang's heart tightened. He whispered, "A-Xia, Zhang Zheng, you only have one chance. Trust me, I'll buy you an incense stick's worth of time. Someone needs to return to the capital and inform the world of what's happening here!"

Chen Ji suddenly urged, "Do it!"Yang Yang no longer hesitated. He bit the tip of his tongue, spraying a mouthful of blood onto the talisman and sword before him, and immediately withered.A fierce wind swept across the sky, carrying the fire serpents from the ground towards the Five Fiend Soldiers, forcing them to retreat repeatedly. Gradually, the fierce flames cleared a path around them, burning along both sides of the road, extending northward.

Yang Yang cried out, "Go!"In that critical moment, Zhang Xia didn't leave. She instinctively reached for Chen Ji's sleeve but grasped empty air. Chen Ji cast one last glance at Zhang Xia, then suddenly spurred his horse and fled down the fiery path. Before leaving, he also snatched a quiver from a nearby East Palace attendant.

Everyone was startled, and Qi Zhengguo looked bewildered.Yang Yang's expression changed, and he cursed loudly, "You damn coward, abandoning the fight!"

As Chen Ji rode past Prince Fu, the Prince watched his profile with icy eyes, but Chen Ji did not flinch.Zhou Kuang, by Prince Fu's side, urged again, "Your Highness, please leave now! This is your last chance!"Seeing Prince Fu unmoved, he immediately told his attendants, "Grab His Highness and take him!"

However, Chen Ji turned back, drew his bow, and shot an arrow that pinned itself in front of Prince Fu's warhorse, startling it into backing away repeatedly. "Don't follow."Zhou Kuang glared angrily at Chen Ji. "How dare you, you scoundrel?"

Chen Ji rode northward without looking back. Yang Yang watched his retreating figure and murmured, "So his military achievements in Guyuan were truly exaggerated? A-Xia, you misjudged him!"Zhou Kuang also sneered, "I once thought he was a hero back in Li Shamao Alley. It seems I misjudged him too."

Zhang Xia said gravely, "Everyone, be quiet!"Prince Fu spoke softly, "So, the person those dead warriors wanted to kill was him, not me..."

The next moment, everyone suddenly realized that when Chen Ji left the formation, the Five Fiend Soldiers outside the flames stopped their assault on them and instead chased after Chen Ji.

Eighty-one Five Fiend Soldiers galloped forth, with the Bone-Sealing and Bone-Mending Fiend leading the charge. The two headless officers of the Dao-Seeking realm held their bone banners aloft, radiating overwhelming murderous intent.

Yang Yang's pupils constricted. He recalled the Five Fiend Soldiers' earlier question: "We know your wish. Do you know the price for summoning us?"It turned out the dead warriors' dying wish, which summoned the Five Fiend Soldiers, was to kill Chen Ji!

Yang Yang turned to Zhang Xia. "He knew he was the target, so he drew those fiends away by himself?"Zhang Xia said coldly, "What else? Put out the fire!"

Yang Yang pulled the longsword from the ground, and the fierce flames immediately extinguished.Zhang Xia spurred her horse and set off. "I'm going to Yuquan Mountain to find reinforcements. You all return to the capital at once and report this to the Directorate of Ceremonials, tell them to send the Twelve Zodiacs!"