Seeing the giant flood dragon attack, he neither dodged nor retreated. Without the slightest hesitation, he gripped his saber with both hands, leapt high toward the dragon's head, and brought his blade down in a midair vertical cleave!
A cleave to sunder mountains, to slay gods in its path.
Even He Lingchuan, who had always detested him, had to admit that the move looked utterly magnificent.
Facing such an overbearing strike, the mighty black flood dragon had no desire to take it with its face. Repeating its old trick, it lashed out with another tail whip.
Even the very tip of its tail was as thick as two men could encircle, and being struck by it would surely shatter sinew and bone.
Yet Nian Songyu showed no fear. Shifting the angle of his blade, he chopped straight into the tail.
He was hurled back through the air, but more than ten feet of the dragon's tail snapped off with a sharp crack.
Sun Fuping seemed oblivious to the battle before him, but the incantations spilling from his lips grew ever faster.
Accordingly, the white light radiating from the ivory carving shone brighter and brighter. Clearly, once it reached its peak, a change detrimental to the black flood dragon would occur.
Thus, after throwing off Nian Songyu, the behemoth lowered its head and charged straight at Sun Fuping.
The massive dragon head was like a battering ram, crowned with sharp, straight horns. Even if slammed against an iron-plated city gate, it could pierce several gaping holes, let alone against Sun Fuping's mortal flesh and bone.
Yet the dozen or so golden-armored soldiers stood guard before him, forging a wall of armor with their bodies. The dragon's head sent several flying, but the rest braced together, exerting all their strength to halt its momentum by force.
In the sky, several monstrous birds swooped down, pecking toward Sun Fuping.
Yet before their sharp beaks could pierce his crown, they slammed into an invisible, rigid barrier and snapped with a sharp crack.
A boundary.
To buy thirty precious breaths of time, Sun Fuping had even deployed the immensely energy-draining golden-armored soldiers. How could he overlook the importance of a boundary?
However, maintaining two boundaries at the same time pushed even the deeply cultivated National Preceptor Sun beyond his limits.
Such consumption could not be sustained.
He only had to hold out for thirty breaths.
Drawing a breath, He Chunhua shouted toward the Gale Army outside the Heavenly Thunder Formation, "Look at what this is!"
He retrieved an object from his storage ring and held it high.
Storage spaces generally had minimal capacity, usually only about a cubic meter. Even so, they were exceedingly rare; not even the high officials and nobles in the capital necessarily had one apiece. He Chunhua benefited from years of guarding the border, and the ring he possessed had originally been captured contraband.
The item he brought out truly took up little space.
It was merely a section of a broken comb, marked by smoke and fire. The pattern of tiny blue flowers atop the comb had faded somewhat, but it remained reasonably intact.
As soon as this unremarkable comb appeared, the opposing army stirred with agitation. Several commanders—including the patrol leader who had previously engaged the Blackwater City soldiers—stepped forward a few paces and stood just outside the formation, staring fixedly at the wooden comb.
He Chunhua remembered clearly that National Preceptor Sun had identified this object among the sand leopard's remains, stating that it still harbored the powerful resentful thoughts of Commander Zhong Shengguang of Panlong City.
Deeply calculating and having unclear motives though the grand National Preceptor Sun might be, his erudition and experience were indisputable.
Therefore, this lingering resentment was certainly familiar to the Gale Army.
Sure enough, the moment the comb was presented, the Gale Army's ferocity instantly plummeted, and they ceased directing the resentful souls to batter against the formation.
Anyone could sense that their hostility had dwindled drastically.
"Fall back!" He Chunhua shouted to the soldier souls outside the formation, holding up the comb. "You are not needed here!"
The Gale Army remained motionless. Even the horses beneath them did not snort or paw the ground.
Situ Han whispered, "My lord, they might not understand human speech. Besides, in life, they were people of Xiluo."
He Chunhua realized, "Indeed. I have heard that many resentful souls exist only in their own world and cannot converse with the living." Otherwise, why would the Gale Army withdraw their hostility upon merely seeing the comb? Clear-minded humans would not be so credulous.
Yet this did not mean he and the Gale Army were entirely incapable of communicating.
He Chunhua considered for a moment and made a hand signal for retreat. It was said that Panlong City's military doctrines had spread throughout the Panlong Wasteland and continued to be used by later generations, including many hand signals for drill and combat.
He Chunhua had led troops in war and was no stranger to such conventions.
Sure enough, upon seeing the gesture, the commanders all bowed their heads to him in salute, then turned back and waved their hands.
Whatever means of communication passed among the specters, the entire army turned as one and slowly withdrew.
The living finally let out a long breath of relief. They were saved!
Situ Han felt his back, damp and cold. "My lord, you should have told us earlier that you had such a treasure!"
He Chunhua rubbed his face, not bothering to address the provincial bandit's complaint. Though he had appeared to do nothing, confronting the Gale Army for so long while the State Token drew upon heavenly thunder had rapidly drained everyone's strength. He felt thoroughly exhausted in body and mind, wanting nothing more than to sit down and rest.
"Leave the formation, but don't wander far," he signaled to the men, reaching out to retrieve the State Token from the staff.
With the Gale Army no longer posing a threat, they had no need for this formation. Furthermore, having been duped by Sun Fuping earlier, He Chunhua remained on guard.
A few soldiers stepped onto the talisman array to head outside, and then—
—with a loud cry, they were flung back by the heavenly thunder barrier.
Their bodies locked rigid, shivering as though afflicted by malaria, the hair on their skin standing on end.
Everyone was startled. Situ Han hurled a throwing knife, only for the blade to be bounced back as well. Clearly, the formation was lenient toward those inside, not showing the brutal ferocity it used against the resentful souls outside.
"My lord, we are trapped."
Over on his side, He Chunhua could not retrieve his State Token either—the beast head atop the staff clamped down so tightly that no matter how he tugged, it would not let go.
By now, even the dullest person sensed that something was amiss. He Chunhua drew his blade and struck directly at the top of the staff, intending to cleave off the beast head.
With a crisp clang, the attempt failed.
The prized blade was sharp, yet the staff was undamaged.
There were two spellcasters in the troop, who came up to assist upon seeing this.
As it turned out, their spells were equally ineffective.
"Someone come and pull it out!" He Chunhua ordered men to fetch ropes and tie them to the staff. Six burly men chanted in rhythm as they exerted force all at once.
Truth be told, even a pillar as thick as two men could encircle would have toppled, but the staff stood in place, completely motionless.
"What do you make of this? What should we do?" He Chunhua asked the two spellcasters.
"The staff and the formation have merged into one. Unless the formation is broken, the staff will not move," the two said after some thought. "To break the formation, the State Token must first be removed."
The formation was powered by the State Token; to break it, the best way was to remove the source of its power.
Here lay the bizarre paradox: Sun Fuping had used the power of the State Token to trap He Chunhua himself; if He Chunhua and his men wished to break free, they first had to overcome their own power!
If the hundred of them stood united, their morale soared, and the power of the State Token grew stronger in turn. The stronger the formation became, the harder it was for them to escape.
How completely outrageous!
Just then, one of the spellcasters suddenly pointed at the ground. "My lord, there is another formation here!"
Chapter 61