Chapter 345: Taoist monk, Shi Zhixuan's traitor
When it comes to cavalry, how can the South compare with the North, let alone the Turks. But a hundred years ago, Emperor Wu of Song, Liu Yu, defeated the elite cavalry of the Northern Wei with his infantry. Today, the strength of the Wu Kingdom is even greater than that of the former Liu Song Dynasty. It may not be able to use the Queyue Formation, but it is not difficult to resist the cavalry with chariots.

On both wings, more than a hundred chariots formed a formation for self-protection and were deployed in an arc-shaped battle line. Beside the chariots were soldiers holding short axes, sledgehammers, spears and other weapons. Behind the dense line, there were bows and crossbows. These bows and crossbows were improved by Lu Miaozi, and their range and power were greatly enhanced. They were somewhat similar to the Shenbi crossbow of the Song Dynasty.

A burst of crossbow arrows were fired. With a "buzz" sound, the bowstring was tightened and straightened, and the crossbow arrows suddenly shot out as fast as lightning. The charging cavalry had no time to retreat and were shot on the head. The powerful force did not diminish, and it pierced through several people and knocked them to the ground.

In just one round of shooting, the Turks lost hundreds of cavalry. The elite troops at the front were suddenly gone. The remaining Turkish cavalry dared not charge again, but turned their horses around and passed by in an attempt to bypass the chariot line.

……

After the Turkic cavalry entered the battle, the situation on the battlefield reversed. The attacking Wu State had to shrink its front line for defense, and the battle extended from day to night.

Kou Zhong, who had fought his way through the front line, wiped the blood off his face and was about to turn around to fight again, but suddenly his heart tightened and the hairs on his body stood up. As if by inspiration, he drew his sword across his back.

"clang!"

A sudden sword strike hit the back of the knife, causing Kou Zhong's arm to go numb and his feet to stagger. He concentrated and was on guard, turning around to look around but there was no sign of the enemy. He was shocked in his heart. If he had not sensed the danger in advance, that sword would have been enough to kill him.

He wrapped Yuwen Wudi's head and tied it to his waist, then sneaked towards the Wu army. He was careful along the way, but the enemy never made a move, which cast a gloom over his heart.

When he came to his personal soldiers, he changed a horse, as his warhorse was injured just now and could no longer charge. But at this moment, a dark sword light appeared, and the person who attacked was actually his personal soldier.

"court death!"

Kou Zhong shouted coldly and raised his long sword. A spark flashed when the swords collided. Then, the man did not dodge and stabbed with the long sword again. In Kou Zhong's eyes, it seemed that there were sword lights and sword energy all over the sky, and he could not tell the real from the fake.

The opponent's figure was like smoke and fog, and could not be seen clearly. Kou Zhong was overwhelmed and could not grasp the opponent's position for a moment. He could only defend with his sword. The opponent's sword was shining brightly, and it transformed into countless fine energy forces like sharp needles piercing the skin and produced millions of dazzling points of light. It was like a femme fatale, hiding a deadly killing move under her beautiful appearance.

The two men attacked for several moves in succession. Kou Zhong's vision was greatly affected and he could not catch the enemy's position at all. Finally, he simply closed his eyes and used his extraordinary martial arts to sense the enemy.

In the darkness, Kou Zhong's skin was tense, and he held the long sword in his right hand. He asked in a deep voice, "Your swordsmanship is so good, you must be no unknown person. Who are you?"

"The one who killed you!" A hoarse voice came from somewhere.

At the moment when the voice fell, Kou Zhong suddenly opened his eyes, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he slashed with his sword, "You coward, come out!"

With a powerful sword, the assassin cut through the air in an instant. The assassin hidden in the night did not expect that Kou Zhong could see him, so he hurriedly slashed out a sword energy. The moment of contact, the sword energy melted and the blade came closer. The assassin raised his left hand, and the color turned from white to red in an instant, and then from red to black. A powerful force gushed out and turned into a strange and evil big hand, which grasped the sword energy and squeezed it hard.

"Oh!"

The dissipated energy swept across the surroundings, and the coalition forces and the Wu army were unable to dodge and were swept down in large numbers.

"You keep hiding!"

Just as the opponent was about to make a hasty attack, Kou Zhong had already arrived close, as if there was a fire burning in his heart. The sharp blade carried a surging murderous intent, and he slashed out one after another. In an instant, countless sword auras submerged the assassin in front of him.

At this moment, even the most brilliant and beautiful sword energy was instantly annihilated. Feeling the numbness and pain in his arm, the assassin was shocked. How could this kid be so powerful?

I have been in the industry for many years and have assassinated countless people. Not only can this man in front of me block my fatal sword, but his skills are even higher than mine. How long has he been practicing?

"Pfft!"

The dark piece of cloth fluttered in the air, and the assassin could no longer hide, revealing his figure. He had a thin and handsome face with a gloomy look between his brows, giving people a creepy feeling.

"Brother, you are at your wit's end this time!"

Just as Kou Zhong was about to make a move, another figure suddenly stepped into their battlefield. The man was tall, straight and well-proportioned, handsome, with a thick, black and elegant moustache, a bamboo hat on his head, dressed like a scholar, waving a folding fan in his hand, with a faint smile on his face, a gentle look, and an extraordinary temperament. He was indescribably dashing, unrestrained and free.

When he saw him, Kou Zhong thought of Song Shidao when he first met him. Their temperaments were so similar.

The man was able to walk through the battlefield without getting bloodstained. His martial arts skills were not bad. Kou Zhong did not rush to attack, but was secretly on guard. "Who are you?"

The young man in Confucian robes clasped his fists towards Kou Zhong, smiling as if he had not lost his smile. "My name is Hou Xibai, and I am known as the Amorous Young Master in Jianghu."

Kou Zhong rolled his eyes and pointed at the assassin, "Are you here to kill me? Then who is he?"

Hou Xibai answered his question, "Today, I do want to kill you. He is my senior brother, known as the Shadow Assassin in the martial arts world."

With two powerful enemies in front of him, Kou Zhong was not nervous at all. He smiled at the assassin and said, "I don't think I have ever offended you. Why do you want to kill me? And that shadow assassin, who sent you to kill me? I'll pay double the price."

Yang Xuyan had been looking at Hou Xibai and glanced at him, "No comment!"

Kou Zhong smiled and looked at Hou Xibai again, "What about you? Why did you want to kill me? Are you working for the thief Yuwen?"

The smile on Hou Xibai's face dimmed, and he waved his folding fan gently, "You and I have no grudges, but the fairy master was killed by the Song family. I am no match for Song Que, so I can only seek revenge on his apprentice."

Speaking of Shi Feixuan, Kou Zhong suddenly realized, "Oh..., so that's how it is, then you really found the right person. That nun was not killed by my master, but by me. I chopped off her head with a knife. Don't worry, my knife is very sharp, she won't feel any pain." After saying that, he smiled at Hou Xibai.

Instantly, Hou Xibai's expression darkened, his eyes cold, "Okay, since I've found the right person, I'll use your head to pay tribute to the spirit of the fairy master in heaven."

"What a bullshit fairy master, she's just a nun, and an imperfect nun at that. Have you ever seen a nun like them who stirs up trouble every day? Brother Hou, there are so many beauties in the world. What's so good about a mere nun..."

Before he finished speaking, Hou Xibai's defense broke down and he couldn't help but interrupt him, "Shut up!"

"I will not allow anyone to tarnish the good name of Master Fairy. Kou Zhong, you have already received your death. Today, I will kill you!" As soon as he finished speaking, Hou Xibai unfolded the folding fan in his hand, on which were painted lifelike pictures of beauties.

The brighter Hou Xibai's smile became, the stronger his murderous intent became. He opened his folding fan, sending out a strong wind, and then pulled it back to his chest, gently waving it. "My beauty fan is made of ice silk, which is not afraid of swords and knives. The fan bones are made of fine steel, and then glued with the sap of thousand-year-old oak trees. It is beautiful, clever, light and elegant. If you die in my hands, Kou Zhong, you can rest in peace." Kou Zhong casually swung a knife and cut off the strong wind. "Okay, since Master Hou likes Shi Feixuan so much, then I will send you down to see her!"

Then, he slashed out with his sword again. The condensed sword energy carried murderous intent, faintly changing from white to red, and it seemed that one could smell the smell of blood from it.

Hou Xibai's open fan suddenly closed and moved slightly forward. This was a common move, but it was a different story when performed by Hou Xibai. Others could do it with ease, but he could do it with ease, as if the beauty fan weighed more than a thousand pounds.

"Oh!"

A dull sound was heard, and the powerful move created a circle of ripples and strong wind, which made several people's robes rustle, and the bamboo hat on Hou Xibai's head was blown away.

The aftermath of the fight between Kou Zhong and Yang Xuyan accidentally killed the surrounding soldiers, so no one was willing to approach their battlefield. Now with the addition of Hou Xibai, the fighting soldiers unconsciously walked further away.

……

Torches illuminated the night, making the entire dark sky as bright as day. However, in the shadows, countless people were fighting. Their hands were sore, their swords were bent, and their guns were broken. There were fewer and fewer comrades around them, but the soldiers were still fighting tirelessly like ruthless killing machines.

In the firelight, the bald heads attracted everyone's attention. These people wore short clothes and held iron-covered monk sticks in their hands. They formed battle formations. The Wu army could not resist and their front line was torn apart in less than a moment.

On the high platform, Song Que looked at the group of monk soldiers with a smile on his face, "Let them take action."

"As ordered!"

In the Wu army's line, figures disappeared into the night. They were wearing the enemy's armor, as if they had merged into one with the enemy.

In the coalition camp, a general was waving a flag and shouting, "Tiezhu, take your men to plug the gap, plug it quickly..."

Before he could finish his words, a flash of sword light rang out from the darkness, and the sound stopped abruptly. Such sounds occurred one after another among the coalition forces. In less than an hour, most of the middle and lower-level generals of a large army were dead.

Without a general to lead the soldiers and issue orders, the entire army was like a headless fly, running around in the night. The generals did not know their soldiers, and the soldiers did not know their generals. The stable front line quickly collapsed, and the Wu army took advantage of the situation to push back.

In terms of grassroots organizational strength, Taoism can no longer compare to Buddhism, but it doesn't matter. Those who go on the expedition are all elites from major Taoist sects. Song Que has lined them up separately, not seeking to kill the enemy head-on, but only to assassinate the enemy's generals.

On a battlefield with hundreds of thousands of people, it is meaningless to deploy hundreds of Taoists to the front line. Even if they are masters, it is difficult for them to exert their power once they are in trouble.

Killing several thousand or several hundred soldiers is of no use, but killing the same number of generals is enough to reverse the local front line. The Buddhist sect used monk soldiers, which means they used all their tricks. The Taoist sect does not have Taoist soldiers, but they have surpassed the Buddhist sect in terms of masters.

Grand masters and acquired masters wore the enemy's armor and moved in unhindered under the cover of night. The Taoists who usually chanted scriptures and discussed Taoism picked up a variety of weapons just to kill the enemy and win the battle.

Li Jing swung his spear and hit the approaching warhorse on the head with a "bang". Bone fragments and blood splattered everywhere, and the warhorse's huge head exploded with a loud bang. Without a sound, it knelt down. The figure on the horse's back was lifted directly into the sky and fell heavily forward. The helmet shattered and rolled away, and the head inside was tilted to one side, no breath left.

After killing the enemy general, he breathed a sigh of relief. Looking not far away, he saw that the enemy's flags and banners were retreating, but the opposite line was very disorganized and did not look like an orderly retreat at all.

His eyes lit up, and he urged his horse forward despite his fatigue, "Brothers, follow me and charge!"

The infantry line pushed forward and joined forces with the surrounding Wu army. The already defeated enemy army instantly exploded, and the entire line could no longer be maintained. The soldiers fled, abandoning their weapons and armor.

The Wu army took advantage of the situation and pursued and killed the enemy soldiers one after another. Some even dropped their weapons and knelt on the spot to surrender.

In the coalition army, Yu Wenzhi saw the fallen flags and couldn't help but exclaimed, "What happened? Why did Wang Shichong's army collapse?"

"Let him come to me!"

Soon, Wang Shichong came hurriedly. His armor was covered in blood and his hair was disheveled. It was obvious that he had been through a fierce battle.

Yuwen Chengdu stared at him fiercely, "Wang Shichong, don't you have the monks to help you? Why did you retreat? Shouldn't you have told me in advance?"

He was furious. The defeat of Wang Shichong's army affected other fronts of the coalition forces, and it was impossible to contain them. It was not a few thousand people, but tens of thousands.

They could only form a battle formation to protect themselves, so as to prevent the fleeing soldiers from breaking through their own lines.

Wang Shichong also knew that he had been beaten, so he immediately bent over and wailed, "General, it's not that I'm incompetent, but I don't know what the other side did. Many of my generals died suddenly, and the soldiers below were leaderless, and the front line collapsed. This, this is not my fault."

When the surrounding generals heard this, their eyes changed again. Not to mention Wang Shichong, even they themselves would find it difficult to remain calm in this situation.

……

At the same time, on the Luoyang city wall, two figures stood on the roof of the city wall, looking at the battlefield in the distance.

Su Ming turned around and smiled, "Brother Shi, I didn't expect your disciple to get involved."

Hearing this, Shi Zhixuan's face froze, "You two traitors, you deserve to die!" Before the war, he sent a secret letter to these two people, but received no response.

Of course, this kind of thing is very common in the Demon Sect, and he didn't think it was a big deal. But tonight, when he saw his two disciples appear on the battlefield and face Song Que's disciple Kou Zhong, he couldn't help but get angry.

It doesn’t matter to him whether they live or die, but if Kou Zhong gets into trouble, Song Que may not do anything to him, but he will inevitably have a grudge against him, which will be a big loss for him.

"Brother Su, are you going to take action?"

Just as Su Ming was about to speak, he suddenly looked in a certain direction and raised his eyebrows, "It looks like there will be another good show."

(End of this chapter)