Chapter 281: Chapter 156: Slaying the Eighteen Bandits
The Battle Array formation of the six bandits was actually several times stronger than that of the twelve bandits with Broadswords.
The lead bandit in particular had remarkably dense Qi Blood Power. He was likely a Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, and every technique he executed with his Broadsword manifested as Saber Momentum.
When his Saber Momentum merged with the other bandits’ Blade Techniques, the resulting Battle Array’s power even faintly surpassed Shen Qingyao’s Sword Momentum.
The Battle Array, combined with their Heavy Armor, made their defense as solid as an iron fortress—impenetrable.
Shen Qingyao circled the six bandits, unleashing dozens of Phantom Sword Stance techniques. CLANG! CLANG! They fought for dozens of rounds, yet she couldn’t harm them in the slightest. On the contrary, she was nearly wounded by their fierce formation several times.
These six bandits—one at Muscle Strengthening Realm Perfection who had mastered Saber Momentum, and five at Great Success in the Muscle Strengthening Realm—would have been a handful for Shen Qingyao to kill even without a Battle Array.
Now, formed into a Heavy Armor Battle Array, their Practical Combat Power had multiplied several times over, far exceeding that of a Martial Artist at Small Success in the Bone Forging Realm.
The longer Shen Qingyao fought, the more alarmed she became. A thought of retreat had already formed in her mind. Just as she was about to call for Chen Cheng to flee, the six bandits’ Battle Array suddenly shifted. Several streams of concentrated Saber Momentum shot out in swift succession.
Shen Qingyao didn’t dare to be careless and hastily dodged. At that very moment, the bandits’ Battle Array suddenly broke apart and reformed, cleverly trapping her within it.
The Broadswords in the bandits’ hands became increasingly vicious. From within the Battle Array, streams of Saber Momentum would form and slash out fiercely from all directions.
Shen Qingyao could only defend with her Frost Snow Sword Stance. But each block triggered a deafening roar, and the rebound force shook her, making her Qi Blood Power unstable.
Meanwhile, the six men used their Heavy Armor and Battle Array to negate the rebound force, so they were barely affected.
As her strength waned and theirs held firm, it was likely that in just a few dozen more rounds, Shen Qingyao would be cut down by the bandits’ Battle Array.
Realizing this, she was both shocked and furious. She gritted her teeth, about to stimulate all her Qi Blood Power and forcibly unleash her Frost Snow Realm to slaughter the six bandits.
However, doing so would completely deplete her Qi Blood Power, leaving her in a weakened state and unable to fight.
’If there are more bandits hiding in the shadows, Chen Cheng and I will likely lose our lives here.’
’After all, Chen Cheng is just a Small Success Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm. How could I possibly rely on him?’
It all happened in a flash. The situation had developed to this critical point in just a matter of dozens of breaths.
Shen Qingyao had no expectations for Chen Cheng, but he hadn’t been idle. He had been observing the six bandits’ Battle Array the entire time.
Although Chen Cheng hadn’t practiced Cultivation of Battle Arrays, he had previously studied the Iron Blood Battle Array Secret Manual and had some insights into the art of combined attacks within a formation.
The Iron Blood Battle Array focused more on the Momentum of slaughter, while the six bandits’ formation seemed to emphasize the Momentum of encirclement and annihilation. Once trapped inside, a person would be at a severe disadvantage.
’Breaking a Battle Array isn’t actually that complicated,’ Chen Cheng thought. ’At least, from my perspective, there’s one extremely easy way to do it.’
The key was to open a gap by killing the weakest member of the formation. Once that was done, the Battle Array would naturally and easily be broken.
With the Iron Blood Battle Array, since the enemy advanced and attacked in unison, it would be very difficult to single out and kill the weakest member.
But with this kind of encirclement Battle Array, it was much easier. Besides, Chen Cheng was still outside the formation.
Seeing Shen Qingyao’s unusual expression, as if she was preparing to unleash a powerful ultimate move, Chen Cheng quickly shouted:
"Don’t panic!"
Then, his figure flashed. With a flying kick, he sent the corpse of a broadsword-wielding bandit flying. The corpse, carrying immense Power Dao, shot fiercely toward the weakest of the six bandits.
These six bandits were quite skilled. Hearing the whistle of the air, they hurriedly swung their blades in unison, flinging out a wave of Saber Momentum from their Battle Array.
BOOM!
The bandit’s corpse was easily sent flying by the Saber Momentum.
But how could Chen Cheng give them a chance to breathe? His figure flickered continuously as he kicked out again and again.
The bandit corpses flew out like a string of firecrackers, one after another, smashing toward the weakest member.
The situation was urgent, so Chen Cheng didn’t hold back much. Each kick was delivered with fifty percent of his Power Dao.
The corpses were already clad in Heavy Armor, weighing several hundred pounds—almost as much as heavy boulders. Kicked with such great force by Chen Cheng, one could imagine their weight.
Never mind that Chen Cheng was only attacking the weakest member of the Battle Array; even the strongest would have had trouble enduring such an assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The six bandits diverted three more streams of Saber Momentum from their Battle Array to cut apart the incoming corpses, but their power finally began to fail.
The weakest bandit was struck in the back by the fourth corpse and sent flying like a kite with a broken string.
The Battle Array formed by the six bandits was broken in an instant. The other five, affected by the disruption in the formation’s Qi, found their own Qi Blood Power unstable and their bodies swaying slightly.
Shen Qingyao was overjoyed. The Qi Blood Power around her body suddenly surged. Her figure flickered, leaving behind a series of afterimages as she swung her Longsword fiercely. It was none other than the Phantom Sword Stance.
PFFT... PFFT... PFFT...
Several muffled thuds rang out as she beheaded all five bandits.
The situation Shen Qingyao had just been in could be described as being at the end of her rope. Now, having slain her enemies in one fell swoop, she felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration.
A smile on her face, she turned to look, only to see that Chen Cheng had, at some point, appeared before the bandit who had been knocked away. With a single flash of his Long Saber, he lopped off the man’s head.
Seeing Shen Qingyao looking over, Chen Cheng gave a slight smile. He then turned and, quite crudely, ripped open the bandit’s Heavy Armor and began to search his body.
His movements were extremely practiced, performed with an effortless ease, as natural as a wealthy lord groping his own concubine.
