Chapter 259: Battle of the Profound Martial
If the Goguryeon elites were unable to regroup, then no matter how numerous they were or how powerful they were individually, it would be impossible for them to stand against an entire army.
From the moment that w.a.n.g Chong charged through their formation for the second time and scattered their formation, the fate of the thousand Goguryeon elites were already sealed.
"Retreat! Everyone, retreat!"
Everyone fled chaotically as though birds scattering into the surroundings. No one wanted to retreat to the monastery; they would only be completely trapped then.
Boom!
On the other hand, w.a.n.g Chong's troops pursued the Goguryeons, who were marked by brilliant halos in the dark night.
——In truth, they could have posed a threat were they to retaliate. However, with their minds fixed on escaping, death only came faster for them.
【Congratulations to user for killing 836 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】
【Congratulations to user for killing 1111 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】
【Congratulations to user for killing 1112 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】
【Congratulations to user for killing 1113 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】
...
【Congratulations to user for killing 1257 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】
【Congratulations to user for killing 1258 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】
【Congratulations to user for killing 1259 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】
...
A whole bunch of notices cascaded down w.a.n.g Chong's head. His Bane of the Battlefield grew to a radius of more than ten thousand meters, and it continued to expand outward swiftly.
The adrenaline from having his strength growing rapidly left w.a.n.g Chong feeling exhilarated.
"Another seven hundred, and I would be able to reach level 2 for it!"
w.a.n.g Chong thought.
It was getting harder and harder to upgrade his halo the further he progressed. Initially, w.a.n.g Chong only had to kill a single foreign soldier to activate his halo.
But from level 0 to level 1, he had to kill one hundred soldiers, and each of these soldiers had to possess a cultivation realm of at least Origin Energy Tier 9. This was no easy task at all.
On the other hand, to reach level 2, w.a.n.g Chong would have to kill two thousand foreign soldiers!
At level 1, w.a.n.g Chong's Bane of the Battlefield was a destructive nerfing force against all martial artists of True Martial realm 1-dan and below.
However, its effects were limited against martial artists of True Martial realm 2-dan and above.
If w.a.n.g Chong wanted to strip the martial halo off a True Martial realm 2-dan expert, his Bane of the Battlefield would have to reach level 2 first.
Roar!
While w.a.n.g Chong was in the midst of contemplating on the back of his horse, a furious howl suddenly echoed from the monastery. A huge gust of wind swept into the surroundings, blowing a huge wave of tree leaves down the mountain.
"It's from the monastery. They are currently crossing blows with the Goguryeon heads!"
Miyasame Ayaka's voice whispered in his ear. The frenzied wind had left her night suit fluttering in the wind.
w.a.n.g Chong glanced over and saw that the walls of the monastery had been knocked down. Within the monastery, Uncle Li Lin, Ma Yinlong, Old Eagle, Solitary Wolf, Steel Arms, and the austere Imperial Army commander dispatched from the royal court were currently engaged in an intense battle against the three Goguryeon heads.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A deluge of Stellar Energy gushed out and covered the entire area. Everything that stood in its way, be it the walls, monastery, fake mountain, stone tablets, or dormitories, everything collapsed as weakly as though tofu.
As various Stellar Energy clashed with one another, a huge tempest that rose up to several zhang high covered half of the entire monastery.
Amidst this destructive storm of Stellar Energy, all of the Imperial Army soldiers were forced to retreat from the area around the monastery.
Hu!
Several dozen zhang of flames gushed into the air, bringing a bright shade of crimson to the night sky. The saber qi and sword qi intermixed with it threatened to tear even heaven apart. Amidst the searing storm, one could even see some fearsome phenomenon.
Even Miyasame Ayaka couldn't help but blink in astonishment looking at the huge storm on the hill, and she subconsciously retreated in fear.
Profound Martial realm!
Miyasame Ayaka was very certain that all of them were Profound Martial realm experts. Even if that wasn't the case, it was certain that they weren't too far from that level. Because only Profound Martial realm experts could conjure up such a fearsome storm.
"They are strong!"
Miyasame Ayaka thought.
It was impossible for a True Martial realm to stand against a Profound Martial realm. If not for the numerical advantage and the presence of Profound Martial realm experts in the midst of the Imperial Army as well, she would never partic.i.p.ate in a fight of this tier.
"Don't worry, their fight won't affect us."
w.a.n.g Chong smiled.
Even though Miyasame Ayaka was skilled, she had never been on the battlefield before so she wasn't very experienced with this. 'Soldier against soldier, general against general', while the others could escape, the three Goguryeon heads couldn't possibly flee, needless to say, rush over here to get rid of them.
This was also the reason why the Imperial Army general which the royal court dispatched had been waiting alongside w.a.n.g Chong before. This was also the same reason why the Goguryeon heads didn't flee—it was impossible for Great Tang to let them get away.
Unlike normal soldiers, many eyes were on them, and unless they were confident of getting away, they wouldn't escape.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Stellar Energies that was far beyond the capability of any True Martial realm expert clashed furiously, their fearsome shock wave diffusing into the surroundings. Even the entire mountain shook beneath the might of these top-notch experts.
In just a short moment, the monastery which took four months to build was destroyed by two-thirds. Shattered bricks and wooden fragments were swept into the air by the Stellar Energies, mixing together with the searing storm.
Ever since his reincarnation, this was the first time w.a.n.g Chong was seeing a fight among Profound Martial realm experts.
A battle of this fight was far beyond w.a.n.g Chong's tier, and it would be impossible for him, or any of his allies such as Miyasame Ayaka or the troops from the Zhuang Clan and Chi Clan to lend their a.s.sistance.
However, it was still possible for him to slightly interfere in it.
"Call Luo Chong over!"
w.a.n.g Chong instructed with a smile.
Luo Chong was the name of the brawny master archer whom King Song a.s.signed to w.a.n.g Chong's side. It had taken him much effort before he managed to get the name out of the other party.
That fellow was simply way too reticent!
"Gongzi."
Amidst frenzied wind, the fully-armored Luo Chong arrived behind w.a.n.g Chong with a specially-crafted humongous bow behind his back.
Standing at two-meters tall, his presence was pressurizing in itself.
As a subordinate highly-regarded by a qinw.a.n.g of Great Tang, Luo Chong's archery was indubitably formidable. In this battle, he had killed several times the number of True Martial realm experts as compared to the master archers from the Imperial Army.
This was a true disparity in capabilities.
Without a doubt, Luo Chong was the strongest person he had here, as well as the one he trusted and relied on the most.
"Luo Chong, can you see the situation within the monastery?"
w.a.n.g Chong pointed to the bottom of the hill and said.
Those words immediately caught the attention of everyone around w.a.n.g Chong. The hundred elite cavalry troops that w.a.n.g Chong brought immediately turned their sights to him.
"It's useless, they're moving too quickly. Besides, the interference from the storm of Stellar Energy is too great. I fear that I might accidentally friendly fire."
Luo Chong's voice echoed from within his thick armor. w.a.n.g Chong's intentions were clear.
His thought was good, but it wasn't feasible.
'Every split second counts in the fight between experts'. With Luo Chong's capability, he could pin the heads of True Martial realm martial artists onto the ground with certainty—they wouldn't even have a chance to dodge at all. However, against Profound Martial realm experts such as the three Goguryeon heads, the effectiveness of his arrows would be greatly lowered.
Their reaction speed was simply too fast!
Besides, his enemies and his allies were in close proximity to one another. In such close combat, the slightest error in one's actions could lead to one's death. Should his arrow miss, he could end up hindering his own allies instead.
Furthermore, given the huge number of potential interferences to his arrows around the monastery—the tree leaves, soil, brick, wooden shavings, flames, saber qi...—he wasn't entirely confident that his arrows would stay on his antic.i.p.ated trajectory.
Since that was the case, he was of little use at all.
This was also the reason why he hadn't made a move despite seeing the battle in the monastery.
w.a.n.g Chong was simply underestimating things.
"Do you see the toad's head behind the monastery?"
w.a.n.g Chong smiled as he suddenly lifted his fingers and pointed to the bottom of the hill.
"Toad's head?"
Luo Chong was taken aback. Along with many other astonished gazes, he turned to look in the direction where w.a.n.g Chong was pointing at.
Of the one-third of the remaining monastery, at a part closest to the battlefield, there was indeed a toad standing at the top of the roof.
In the construction of buildings, this kind of design was rather common.
Just that, no one could understand how it would help them deal with the Goguryeons.
"Later, when the flames blaze up to eleven zhang, I'll issue an order and you'll lower your wrist by three fen, four li, and two hao from the toad's glabella and shoot."
(1.199cm)
With his hand behind his back, w.a.n.g Chong pointed at the distance and instructed confidently.
Weng!
Hearing w.a.n.g Chong's words, Luo Chong's heart suddenly jolted. A hint of astonishment reflected in his eyes. 'Three fen, four li, and two hao', such precise measurement terms were used only by archers.
As preciseness stood at the core of archery, there was very little room for errors in the values. Top-notch Imperial Army archery instructors would usually use such terms to correct the shooting position of their trainees.
However, as everyone had different height, arm length, bow-wielding habit, and center of gravity, this correction had to be specially tailored to the individual.
And to do so, one had to possess a deep understanding of archery. However, there wasn't the slightest archery callus on w.a.n.g Chong's hands. On top of that, he had never seen w.a.n.g Chong wield a bow before.
He found it hard to believe that w.a.n.g Chong would possess an expertise in archery as well.
But doubtful as he was, w.a.n.g Chong's confident expression and posture made it hard to doubt him.
