Chapter 227 This is a sure thing
Chen Yang and the three old eunuchs all looked at Zhao Hu with puzzled expressions.
The three old eunuchs looked somewhat terrified.
If Steel City were to fall, the land would be flat and open, and the entire Ming Dynasty would be engulfed in war, with all its inhabitants exposed to the iron hooves of the Manchu Tartars!
Zhao Hu quickly explained, "Benefactor Chen, it's not that Steel City has fallen! It's that a group of Tartars crossed the mountains on both sides and came in via the mountain paths!"
"These people are the elite troops of the Great Manchu Kingdom. They plan to launch a surprise attack, cross the mountains, and infiltrate Steel City from the rear, taking advantage of the situation to capture us!"
"My patrol team and I were searching the area when we ran into their advance party!"
"They brought over three thousand cultivators this time. Those capable of crossing the mountain range are at least at the Golden Body Realm. Over three thousand Golden Body Realm cultivators are truly terrifying!"
"We were trying to send the message back to Steel City when the Tartar vanguard discovered it, and they sent over 170 of their most elite cultivators from the rear to hunt us down!"
"Lord Chen, we can't wait any longer! Turn around and hide immediately, or you'll be dead if we get caught!"
Chen Yang frowned slightly.
I didn't expect the Tartars to be so determined. More than three thousand Golden Body Realm cultivators are already the main force. It seems that the Tartars are planning a large-scale military campaign this time.
Zhao Hu quickly added, "Benefactor Chen, we know you are powerful, but this is a large-scale military operation! Those 170-plus men in the rear definitely understand coordinated military formations; we are no match for them!"
"We need to escape first. Once we survive, I must quickly find a way to send a message to Commander Zhou in Steel City, warning him to guard against any advance troops and prevent them from infiltrating Steel City!"
Just as Chen Yang was about to reply, a loud thud of horses' hooves suddenly came from behind!
Immediately afterwards, more than a hundred warhorses galloped rapidly in this direction, kicking up dust!
Upon seeing this, Zhao Hu's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed incredulously, "These bastards! Where did they get these warhorses? How can they be so fast?"
Chen Yang glanced at the more than 170 pursuers behind him, pondered for a moment, and then took out the War Fog Disc from his storage ring.
He placed the fog of war disc on the ground and activated the formation within it!
The next moment, a thick fog instantly enveloped an area of more than ten kilometers, making everything around them hazy and invisible!
At this moment, Chen Yang's array formation skills had reached a perfect level, and his understanding of array formations was extremely high. Only then did he truly understand the power of this Xuan-rank spiritual treasure!
To put it simply, this fog of war disk is essentially a small, portable, and simplified formation.
Moreover, this War Fog Disc can be powered by spirit stones, or one can input one's own spiritual power into the disc every day, and can be taken out at any time when needed!
The fog of war created by the fog disk can both trap the enemy and prevent them from searching for you!
Zhao Hu was initially panicked, but when he saw the thick fog that suddenly enveloped the area, he paused for a moment and looked at Chen Yang in confusion.
Chen Yang said, "Don't worry, this is a fog of war trap; they won't be able to find us. Once they're in, we'll figure it out and wipe them all out!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu was startled and instinctively said, "Kill them all? Just... just the few of us?"
Chen Yang chuckled: "That's enough! On the way here, I also killed more than a hundred members of the Prime Minister's Wolf Cavalry! However, although the Wolf Cavalry were powerful, they were all fighting individually and were not very good at coordinated attacks."
"These 170-odd Tartars are indeed a bit troublesome, so we need to plan carefully!"
Zhao Hu was stunned, while Ujina, who was standing to the side, suddenly had a thought.
She then understood why the Prime Minister's Mansion hadn't continued to hunt her down; it turned out that all the people they sent had been killed by Chen Yang!
So, Chen Yang has saved me three times!
Is this fate ordained by heaven?
Ujina's thoughts became increasingly skewed and unorthodox, and she became less concerned about the immediate crisis.
At this moment, Zach, leading 170 elite vanguard troops, charged into the fog from the rear.
Zack frowned, muttering in dissatisfaction, "What's going on? It wasn't this foggy just a moment ago, how did it suddenly get foggy? This weather in the Great Ming Dynasty is truly bizarre!"
Zack was very strong, but not very bright. He rode his warhorse and led his men to continue charging forward.
His subordinates behind him hurriedly shouted, "Commander! Commander! Something's wrong with this fog! I feel like it's deliberately created; after all, the people of the Ming Dynasty always like to resort to these underhanded and dirty tricks!"
Zack sneered, "What do I care about their methods? Just follow me and charge forward! Before absolute power, all formations, schemes, and tricks are nothing but puddles!"
More than a hundred people rushed into the fog with a thunderous roar, but half an hour later, Zach's expression completely changed.
He realized that even after riding for so long, he was still in the fog, unable to see the road in any direction, and had no idea where he was!
It felt like I was walking in a straight line, but no matter what I did, I couldn't escape the fog!
Zak reined in his horse, jumped down in anger, and shouted, "Damn it! These filthy Ming people resort to such underhanded tactics when they can't beat us! If those guys escape back to Iron City, our entire plan will be ruined!"
The people behind him also dismounted and surrounded Zach.
One of his subordinates suggested, "Commander, why don't we go back first?"
The others nodded quickly, "Yes! Let's go back the way we came and ambush them around the gates of Steel City. We'll definitely be able to stop them!"
Zack thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay! Let's go back!"
This time, however, they turned around and ran for a full hour, but were still trapped in the fog!
Zach finally grew impatient, realizing something was wrong. He gritted his teeth and waved his hand, "Damn it! These filthy bastards dare to use such tricks! Men, split up and search! Once you find a way out, immediately give a signal!"
Soon, more than 170 people were divided into six groups and began to explore in six different directions.
Chen Yang could see all of this clearly from within the protective circle of the war fog disk.
Seeing that the enemy had finally split up, Chen Yang smiled slightly: "The opportunity has come! I'll go kill some people, you guys wait here!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu was startled: "Benefactor Chen, you...you're going alone? We can go too! Our injuries aren't serious!"
Chen Yang waved his hand: "No need! You don't understand formations. If I take you out, I'll have to take care of your safety, and I won't be able to act freely!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yang leaped forward, instantly breaking through the protective barrier and entering the mist!
At this moment, Zach was leading more than thirty men, anxiously riding his horse and trying to find a way out.
The next moment, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck with a "crack"!
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, Zach, a cultivator at the ninth level of the Golden Body Realm, was blasted into dust by lightning before he could even utter a sound!
The Tartars in the rear wanted to rally and resist, but it was too late.
The five puppet soldiers in black armor were like the scythe of death, reaping ruthlessly!
In just a few breaths, more than thirty people collapsed and died!
Chen Yang waved his hand to put away the black-armored soldiers and quickly headed towards the other squads.
During the battle, Chen Yang truly realized the terrifying power of the Yang Lei Sword in his hand!
Previously, the purple lightning generated by his "Purple Lightning Refining Divine Technique" only had a powerful attack effect on demons, and was very ineffective against other human cultivators, only having the effect of paralysis and exorcism, without any killing power.
After all, this purple lightning is formed from the righteous energy of heaven and earth. Like the lightning used by Taoists to exorcise demons, it is effective against ghosts and monsters, but has no deterrent effect on humans!
But now, with the Yang Lei Sword, a spiritual treasure, in hand, the situation is completely different!
The immense destructive power of the Yang Lei Sword is enough to easily cut down five cultivators at the peak of the Golden Body Realm with a single strike!
With the blessing of the Yang Thunder Sword, the power of the Purple Thunder Refining Divine Technique became extremely violent, not only making it more lethal to demons, but also capable of killing enemy cultivators with a single lightning strike!
At this moment, Chen Yang truly felt the brutal slaughter of the Foundation Establishment Realm against the Golden Body Realm!
Although he was not yet at the Foundation Establishment stage, the weapon in his hand was a spiritual treasure, and the puppet soldier was also a spiritual treasure!
Aside from having to guard against large-scale combined attacks, they are practically invincible at other times!
In just over twenty minutes, all 170+ Tartar pursuers had turned into corpses!
Chen Yang returned to the protective light barrier, covered in blood, and casually put away the War Fog Disc.
The next moment, the thick fog dissipated, revealing the corpses of Tartar soldiers everywhere!
When Zhao Hu and his companions saw this scene, they were so shocked that their mouths dropped open, and they even forgot to breathe!
Chen Yang said, "Quick! All of you, go and search these corpses thoroughly. Find anything good on them!"
Zhao Hu quickly said, "Benefactor Chen, why don't we go back to Steel City to deliver the message first? We don't need to rush to take the valuables; delivering the message is the most important thing!"
Chen Yang glared at him speechlessly: "What's the rush! If we leave these things behind, someone passing by will definitely pick them up! Here's what we'll do: you stay and search the body, making sure you don't miss any valuables, and I'll deliver the message for you!"
As he spoke, Chen Yang waved his hand towards the air!
The enormous black iron griffin flew over quickly with a "whoosh," then landed in the distance and ran to Chen Yang's side like a horse!
Chen Yang looked at Zhao Hu: "Give me a token, I'll go to Steel City to deliver a message, you guys stay here and loot the corpses!"
Upon seeing that Chen Yang was a Beast Tamer and possessed such a powerful flying beast, Zhao Hu was so excited he almost cried. He grabbed Chen Yang's wrist, exclaiming, "Benefactor Chen! This is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! I was just worried the message wouldn't arrive on time, but with this flying beast, everything is settled!"
"I have a battle token. Take it with you and go directly to General Zhou's command post in Steel City!"
"Tell him that an advance force of three thousand men has already crossed the mountains and is now lying in ambush in the rocky outcrops at the foot of the mountains. They have dug very deep tunnels, making them extremely well-hidden and difficult to detect!"
"Also, you must tell General Zhou that there must be an inside agent in Steel City! Otherwise, the Tartars who were chasing us just now would never have been able to obtain such fast warhorses!"
After listening, Chen Yang nodded and took the military token: "Alright, leave these to me! Don't slack off, don't let a single spirit stone go to waste!"
Seeing Chen Yang about to leave, Ujina quickly called out, "Wait! Chen Yang, take me with you! My strength is too weak; staying here will only hold us back!"
Chen Yang grabbed Ujina and leaped onto the back of the Black Iron Griffin!
The black iron griffin ran for several hundred meters on its four hooves. The next moment, it flapped its wings and took flight, soaring straight into the sky with a "whoosh." In the blink of an eye, it flew a thousand meters and quickly disappeared into the horizon!
Seeing this, Zhao Hu clenched his fists excitedly: "It's in the bag! This is really in the bag! Those Tartar bastards are doomed!"