Chapter 311: Chapter 311: Must Hold On
The Three Flames Commander was on the verge of madness. Seeing Guan Zanyi come tumbling down, seeing body after body fall in a slaughter, he felt a numbing sensation wash over him, followed by a tidal wave of fury.
Suddenly, a battle cry reached the ears of the Three Flames’ elite troops: "Lu Chao, we’re almost there!"
The moment those words were heard...
The Three Flames Commander and his men whipped their heads around to see a contingent of soldiers charging toward Sword Thinking Peak from the distance. It was a troop from one of the Small Kingdoms, led by none other than that old fellow from Dragon Flame Academy, Yu Fei.
Before the Three Flames Commander could even react, another roar thundered out. "Lu Chao, hold on!"
Another troop of soldiers charged out from some unknown corner. It was another Small Kingdom’s force, led by Dean Jiang.
Immediately after... RUSH! CLATTER!
One after another, troops from the Small Kingdoms emerged from all directions around Sword Thinking Peak, their battle cries echoing from near and far. All their weapons were stained with fresh blood, and every soldier radiated killing intent.
Suddenly... WHOOSH!
A Flying Demon Beast shot into the sky above the Three Flames Commander. On it was a Flying Knight from the Three Flames forces. The knight’s face was pale as he said, "Reporting, Commander! It’s chaos! Complete chaos!"
His voice trembled. The Three Flames Commander demanded, "What’s chaos? Spit it out!"
The Flying Knight hastily reported...
"The entire battlefield is in chaos! Our Three Flames soldiers are in disarray! For some reason, the thirty-five routes of Dragon Flame Academy’s forces have appeared all over, and they always manage to perfectly intercept our troops."
"Many of our troops have been killed. They’re often mysteriously wiped out, down to the last man..."
The Flying Knight’s report was unclear, because even watching from the sky made him dizzy. After the thirty-five routes of soldiers received the Fake Lu Chao’s order and charged toward Sword Thinking Peak, it was as if the entire old site of the Azure Flame Sect had turned into a massive Illusion Array.
One moment of inattention, and a contingent of Small Kingdom soldiers would charge out from the woods and perfectly ambush and annihilate a group of their Three Flames Soldiers.
It was utter pandemonium, and yet the Small Kingdom soldiers were often able to regroup with each other.
Mainly, the varied forests and buildings provided too much cover, making it impossible for the Flying Knights in the sky to get a clear assessment.
But the general gist was clear: the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses were being slaughtered...
The Three Flames Commander asked in disbelief, "So what exactly is the situation now?"
The Flying Knight replied, "The thirty-five routes of the Dragon Flame Soldiers and Horses are unstoppable. They are mounting a full-scale offensive to encircle and destroy us at Sword Thinking Peak."
CLANG...
Guan Zanyi, who had just struggled to his feet, gripped his weapon, only for his hand to go slack, letting it fall heavily to the ground.
Guan Zanyi stared at the Flying Knight, his face trembling and his mouth agape.
The Three Flames Commander, however, clenched his fists. He suddenly flashed forward... BAM!
He kicked the Flying Knight off the Flying Bird Demon Beast and mounted it himself. He steered the beast straight up into the high altitudes, and what he saw was just as described... thirty-five routes of Small Kingdom soldiers, steadily closing in on Sword Thinking Peak.
As for his own Three Flames Soldiers and Horses, they were running around like headless chickens, leaving him at a complete loss as to how to command them.
In particular...
He could almost see the thirty-five routes of Small Kingdom soldiers forming a gigantic net—a Soldier Dao Battle Array—that was closing in on Sword Thinking Peak.
The Three Flames Commander averted his gaze, only to find his eyes drawn back to Lu Chao on Sword Thinking Peak...
’What terrifying methods.’
’This is a killing field, a death trap formed from the very terrain of the old Azure Flame Sect site.’
Although the Three Flames Commander was not the most brilliant of generals, he was, after all, currently the number one commander in the Wolf Flame Kingdom. He could see that the entire Azure Flame Sect site had seemingly been turned into a death trap.
And his Three Flames Soldiers and Horses had walked right into it.
’The Fake Lu Chao came from the Azure Flame Forbidden Land, and Fan Changcun also spent a long time inside the Forbidden Land...’
’I’m afraid Fan Changcun must have obtained the secrets within the Forbidden Land, which is how the Fake Lu Chao was able to lay out this formation using the Azure Flame Sect’s terrain.’
The Three Flames Commander thought to himself...
He was mostly right, but not entirely. Lu Chao had also broken through the 6th Floor of the Forbidden Land.
This wasn’t one of the thirty-six Soldier Dao Battle Arrays that Marshal Fan had given him.
’So all of the Fake Lu Chao’s strange orders were just to set up this formation. And now, he’s succeeded.’
’What do I do? What should I do?’
’If all thirty-five routes of the Small Kingdom soldiers reach Sword Thinking Peak, I’m done for. The Three Flames Soldiers and Horses will be completely wiped out, and my Wolf Flame, Tiger Flame, and Eagle Flame will suffer the same fate as the Lion Flame and the other two Flames.’
’No, I absolutely cannot let that happen!’
As the Three Flames Commander reached this thought, his face twisted in a snarl. He glared at Lu Chao again and roared, "Fake Lu Chao, I’ll kill you!"
VMMMMMM...
With a sudden, wild roar, he drew his bow and fired an arrow from atop the Flying Bird Demon Beast.
He fired arrow after arrow at Lu Chao, each one imbued with his True Fate Realm True Qi, making them incredibly powerful.
On Sword Thinking Peak...
Lu Chao could already hear the battle cries growing closer and closer.
He had to hold on. He had to hold on until all thirty-five routes of soldiers had fully assembled.
Suddenly, his battlefield instincts and combat senses flared to life. Lu Chao saw the Three Flames Commander atop the Flying Bird Demon Beast, and he saw the sharp arrows the commander was continuously firing... WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The hairs on Lu Chao’s body stood on end as he constantly shifted his position, continuously dodging the Three Flames Commander’s arrows.
Just then...
A gleaming arrow shot toward Cheng Yunsu, accompanied by the Three Flames Commander’s voice, "Fake Lu Chao, I’ll kill your wife first!"
A cold glint flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes. He swept Cheng Yunsu up by the waist and rolled away to dodge the shot.
He then casually tossed Cheng Yunsu toward the base of the high tower, allowing her to use it for cover. At the same time, Lu Chao himself flashed up the side of the tower. He issued an order to the new students from Dragon Flame Academy: "Loose your arrows! Fire on everyone trying to climb the peak..."
At that moment, soldiers of the Three Flames were still continuously ascending Sword Thinking Peak...
At his command, the two thousand new students from Dragon Flame Academy all surrounded the tower, drew their bows, and let fly... VMMMMMM!
Volley after volley of arrows flew toward all the enemies who had reached the peak, continuously shooting them down.
But without Lu Chao’s Slaughter Sword Strike to hold them back, some enemy commanders at the Transformation Realm managed to shatter the arrow volleys and charge toward the new students of Dragon Flame Academy.
If the new Dragon Flame students’ formation were to be broken, they would surely be routed...
At the critical moment... AOOO!
Cheng Yunsu once again let out the long cry of a Fire Sparrow. Her sword lashed out toward an onrushing Transformation Realm expert, using the cover of the arrow fire... KILL! KILL! KILL!
One after another, the Transformation Realm experts fell dead beneath Cheng Yunsu’s sword.
Meanwhile, Lu Chao had reached the top of the tower.
He kicked the giant bell hard. A resounding DONG! shook the heavens. The Flying Bird Demon Beasts circling in the sky, including those of the Eagle Flame Commander, were thrown into disarray by the sound and began to fly about erratically.
In that instant, Lu Chao leaped high from the top of the tower, drawing his bow in mid-air...
With a VMM, a gleam of light from the arrow pierced the sky, heading straight for the Three Flames Commander. Then, with a sickening THWACK, it shot straight through the commander’s mount. He was still following the old adage: to shoot the rider, first shoot his horse.
Instantly, a pained shriek echoed out!
Following Guan Zanyi, the Three Flames Commander now also plummeted from the sky, crashing down along with his Flying Bird Demon Beast.
