96: Arriving in the North, the might of the demon army is undeniable!

After a brief, deathly silence, a fire of humiliation instantly ignited the pride of these arrogant and fierce generals!

"Marshal!"

A roar suddenly erupted!

The old general Li Hu stepped forward from the crowd!

His old face was flushed, his eyes wide, staring intently at Chen Xu.

"This subordinate admits! Your personal guards are well-equipped and highly cultivated! This subordinate is impressed!"

"But killing enemies on the battlefield relies not only on Magic Treasures and cultivation! It relies on indomitable courage! It relies on battle techniques honed through countless trials!"

"The soldiers under my command are all iron-blooded men who have fought the Northern Barbarian Yao Race for half their lives! This subordinate cannot accept being ordered to assist a bunch of greenhorns!"

Li Hu's voice was strong and resonant, landing with a clang!

He pointed at the three thousand Star Guards, his eyes filled with defiance.

"This subordinate requests to fight!"

"I wish to have a match with your personal guard commander on the spot!"

"If this subordinate loses, from now on, through a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, I will not utter a single word of complaint!"

"If this subordinate is fortunate enough to win... I ask the Marshal to withdraw his order! Let us shed our last drop of blood for the Great Feng Dynasty!"

Li Hu's words instantly resonated with all the Dynasty generals!

"This subordinate seconds the motion!"

"Please, Marshal, grant our request!"

"Please, Imperial Preceptor, fulfill our wishes!"

Wang Bao and Liu Yuan, among others, also joined in the clamor.

They clearly did not want to be looked down upon either.

For a moment, they were all agitated.

All of them displayed a fighting spirit!

Instantly, everyone's gaze focused on Chen Xu.

Facing such a scene.

Chen Xu merely smiled faintly; this was precisely the effect he desired.

If he didn't subdue and frighten these fools,

They would never know what awe was.

"Granted."

Chen Xu spoke indifferently.

His gaze shifted, falling upon the very front of the Star Guards' Formation.

"Chu Xuan."

"This subordinate is present!"

A tall, stern-faced young man stepped forward, kneeling on one knee.

He was Chu Xuan, the commander of the Star Guards.

At this moment, he was already a Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator!

Over the past few years, with Chen Xu's unreserved help, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds!

So much so that the Golden Core he formed was not an ordinary Human Dao Golden Core, but a Earth Dao Golden Core.

Within the entire Chen family, his status was exceptionally high!

And after the reforms, he no longer held the responsibility of a Shadow Guard; he was now Chen Xu's personal guard commander!

"Suppress your cultivation to the Early Foundation Establishment Stage and play with General Li."

Chen Xu's tone was light and understated.

"As you command!"

Chu Xuan rose, a powerful Aura emanating from his body.

But it receded instantly.

Finally, it stabilized at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage level.

He walked into the center of the field with a poker face and made a 'please' gesture to Li Hu.

Seeing this, Li Hu's pupils suddenly contracted!

Golden Core!

The opponent was actually a Golden Core Daoist!

And he was going to suppress two major Realms to fight him?!

What an insult!

A surge of anger shot straight to Li Hu's head!

"Good! Good! Good!"

He laughed in extreme anger, roaring, "Look at my saber!"

Before his words finished, he had already transformed into an afterimage.

Charging towards Chu Xuan!

The Hundred-Battle Saber in his hand hummed.

A three-zhang long, violent Saber Qi tore through the air, slashing down directly!

This saber strike was the essence of his life's cultivation!

It was his trump card, the "Mountain Splitting Slash"!

Facing this earth-shattering saber strike.

Chu Xuan's eyes showed no ripples.

He simply, and casually, raised the black long halberd in his hand.

"Clang—!!!"

A deafening clash of metal exploded!

Sparks flew!

Li Hu only felt an unimaginable immense force coming from the saber blade!

His tiger's mouth instantly split open!

His Hundred-Battle Saber, which had accompanied him for thirty years, was actually parried by the opponent's casual halberd strike.

Unable to advance another inch!

How could this be possible?!

Li Hu's heart was in turmoil!

Without time to think, he twisted his wrist, changing his saber stance, transforming it into a sky full of saber shadows.

Enveloping Chu Xuan's vital points!

However, Chu Xuan's movements were even faster than his!

The long halberd in Chu Xuan's hand seemed to transform into a black venomous Dragon.

The halberd tip traced a trajectory through the myriad saber shadows.

"Ding!"

A soft sound.

It struck the back of Li Hu's great saber!

A subtle force instantly erupted!

Li Hu only felt his wrist go numb, and he could no longer hold the great saber in his hand!

It flew out of his grasp!

The second move, deflecting force!

Li Hu was completely stunned!

His saber technique was so easily countered by the opponent!

Just as he was momentarily lost in thought.

A chill had already pressed against his throat.

He stiffly lowered his head.

He saw the black halberd tip resting quietly against his throat.

The sharp halberd blade had already broken his skin.

A trace of blood seeped out.

If the opponent advanced even a fraction more.

His head would instantly be relocated!

Three moves!

Only three moves!

A Late Foundation Establishment Stage veteran general of the battlefield was defeated by an Early Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator who had suppressed his cultivation!

Clean and decisive!

A completecrushing!

The entire scene was silent!

Everyone seemed to be petrified, staring blankly at the incredible scene in the arena.

Li Hu... lost?

Lost so quickly, so thoroughly!

Li Hu himself was even more thunderstruck, standing in a daze, muttering to himself.

"I... I lost..."

His lifelong pride was shattered at this moment!

At this moment, Chen Xu slowly walked down the command platform.

He walked to the dispirited Li Hu, then swept his gaze over the pale-faced generals.

His indifferent voice echoed throughout the field.

"War is not a Jianghu duel; it doesn't care about courage, nor does it rely on numbers."

"War only looks at one thing."

"Killing efficiency."

Chen Xu's gaze instantly turned cold.

"Your combat methods, your concepts, are all outdated."

"From today onwards, you only need to learn two things."

"First, how to kill the enemy in the fastest and most efficient way."

"Second, unconditionally obey all my commands."

"Do you understand?"

The cold voice scraped across everyone's hearts.

"U-understood..."

Li Hu was the first to react, and he knelt on one knee before Chen Xu!

Completely convinced!

"Thump! Thump!"

His kneeling was like pushing over the first domino.

Below the command platform, all the Dynasty generals.

Including Wang Bao and Liu Yuan, all knelt without hesitation!

There was no trace of defiance on their faces, only awe!

Chen Xu looked at the kneeling crowd.

His eyes remained calm.

He slowly turned, his gaze fixed on the north.

That was a land ravaged by war.

There, there was a million-strong Demon Army.

There, he had enemies.

He raised his hand, then issued a marshal's order.

"All troops, prepare!"

"In one hour, depart for the Northern Territory!"

...Northern Territory, Heavenly Wolf Pass.

More than a dozen black iron flying boats, obscuring the sky, tore through the dark red sky stained by Devilish Qi.

Slowly hovering above the pass.

A huge shadow completely enveloped the war-torn formidable pass below.

On the flying boat, Chen Xu stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering in the foul wind, his gaze fixed downwards, overlooking the pass below, which resembled the skeleton of a giant beast.

Even before getting close.

A strong smell of blood, mixed with decaying Devilish Qi, assailed him.

The smell was like the rotting corpses of billions of creatures under the scorching sun for several months.

Pungent and extremely unpleasant.

The atmosphere was even more oppressive.

Deathly silent.

This was the last barrier of the Northern Territory.

Behind Chen Xu, Chen Daoxuan, Li Hu, Wang Bao, and a host of other generals.

Their faces also became extremely grim.

They looked at the scene below, which resembled Hell, their Adam's apples constantly bobbing.

Their eyes were filled with horror.

"Open the hatches."

Chen Xu spoke indifferently.

"Crack—"

The huge hatches at the bottom of the ten flying boats slowly opened.

Three thousand Star Guards, clad in ink-colored Magical Artifact armor, holding long halberds, their faces expressionless, descended like heavenly soldiers, stepping through the Void Realm, walking step by step towards the dilapidated city tower.

Their steps were uniform, landing silently.

The moment they stepped onto the city wall, a cold and murderous Aura.

Instantly spread out.

Inside the pass, the defending soldiers, who were originally numb from fear and despair, shivered involuntarily and instinctively straightened their backs the moment they felt this Aura.

Chen Xu's figure also appeared silently on the city tower.

As far as the eye could see, it was all Hell.

The hundred-zhang-high city wall was covered with hideous gaps and pits corroded by Devilish Qi.

The Formation shimmered faintly under the dark red sky.

As if it would collapse in the next second!

Black pus slowly flowed from the pits.

Emitting a foul odor.

Dismembered limbs were visible everywhere on the battlements and city paths.

A severed arm still tightly clutched a battle saber, and the eyes of half a head were wide open.

Frozen in the terror of death.

In the air, besides the smell of blood, there was also the smell of burnt flesh.

"Im... Imperial Preceptor..."

A city-defending captain stumbled and ran over.

He was covered in blood, one arm missing.

His face was filled with the horror and confusion of having survived a catastrophe.

"Mar... Marquis Zhenbei... is waiting for you at the Commander's Residence..."

Chen Xu did not speak, merely nodded slightly, his gaze passing over him.

Looking towards the depths of the city.

That was the direction of the infirmary.

And within his Divine Sense.

Heart-wrenching wails, even from several miles away, were still clearly audible.

The sound was not human.

It was more like the mournful cry of a wild beast before death.

"Go take a look."

Chen Xu stepped forward, walking towards the infirmary.

Chen Daoxuan and the others followed closely behind.

The closer they got, the stronger the Aura of despair became.

Before even stepping into the tent.

A complex smell assailed their nostrils.

And this smell made Wang Bao and several other pampered generals bend over on the spot.

Gagging violently.

Li Hu, the veteran general of the battlefield, also had a pale and extremely grim face at this moment.

Chen Xu expressionlessly lifted the tent flap.

The scene inside made all the accompanying generals' pupils suddenly contract!

Thousands of wounded soldiers.

Lying densely on straw mats.

Wails were incessant.

A young soldier was staring with wide eyes, biting tightly on a wooden stick.

His body was ... petrifying at a visible speed!

From his toes, his skin, flesh, and bones.

Were all slowly turning into grey-black stone, inch by inch.

He could clearly feel his life draining away, his body stiffening.

Yet he could not make any sound.

Only watching himself helplessly.

He was literally turning into a lifeless stone statue.

Next to him, another soldier's body was constantly melting.

His flesh and blood were like a candle splattered with strong acid.

Turning into pools of foul-smelling pus and blood, flowing onto the straw mat.

He opened his mouth, seemingly trying to call for help.

But all that came out was a 'ho ho' sound of air leaking.

His vocal cords had long since been completely corroded.

Even more, twisted bone spurs grew out of his body, piercing him full of holes.

And on some people's backs, a pair of rotten flesh wings actually grew, their minds already unclear.

He let out a roar.

Devilish Qi erosion!

These were all injuries caused by the strange power of the Demon Army!

For such injuries, Medicinal Pills were ineffective, and Spiritual Qi was useless.

He could only watch himself turn into a monster in pain and despair, and then die.

A military doctor knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

He repeatedly applied Spirit Medicine to a soldier's wound.

But the wound, like a living thing, kept wriggling and devouring the herbs.

Then it rotted even faster.

"It's useless... all useless..."

The military doctor cried out in despair, "Can't save them... can't save a single one..."

The other military doctors also tried to transfer Spiritual Qi into the wounded soldiers or feed them Medicinal Pills.

But unfortunately, this treatment not only did not improve the condition of the wounded soldiers.

It even accelerated the deterioration.

The entire wounded camp was a living Hell.

Wang Bao and the others could no longer bear it and rushed out of the tent.

They vomited uncontrollably.

Even a tough guy like Li Hu had tears in his tiger-like eyes at this moment.

His body trembled slightly.

Chen Xu watched this quietly, and the next moment, he slowly extended a finger, and a faint wisp of Primordial Violet Qi flashed on his fingertip.

He gently pointed at the closest soldier who was turning to stone.

Buzz!

That wisp of violet Qi instantly disappeared into the soldier's glabella.

The next second, a miracle happened!

The petrification spreading on the soldier's body suddenly paused!

Immediately after, as if encountering its nemesis.

The gray-black stony texture began to fade rapidly!

In just three breaths!

His legs, which had already turned to rock, actually regained their flesh and blood form!

The soldier suddenly spat out the wooden stick in his mouth and gasped for air.

He looked at his legs blankly.

Then he looked at Chen Xu, and his eyes instantly burst with ecstasy.

"My... my legs... I'm cured?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore? It really doesn't hurt anymore?"

After feeling the changes in his body, he didn't say a word, struggled to get up, and kowtowed wildly to Chen Xu!

"Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Senior, for saving my life!"

This scene made the entire silent wounded camp.

Instantly explode!

All the wounded soldiers who still retained a trace of consciousness used their last ounce of strength to crawl towards Chen Xu, their eyes filled with a desire for life.

"Senior... save me!"

"Save me..."

Chen Xu did not make another move.

He turned to look at Chen Daoxuan, who was already stunned.

"Remember this method."

He flicked his finger, and a spiritual light containing the method for using Primordial Violet Qi entered Chen Daoxuan's glabella.

"Pass it on to the Star Guards, let them handle it."

"Yes, Father!"

Chen Daoxuan nodded heavily and immediately turned to leave.

Chen Xu's gaze swept over the crying and pleading wounded soldiers, his voice indifferent: "If you want to live, hold on."

"My soldiers will save you."

With that, he turned and walked out of this human Hell.

Li Hu and the others quickly followed, their gazes towards Chen Xu's back changing once again.

Imperial Preceptor... truly a Cultivator of great Divine Ability!

Commander's Residence.

A strong spiritual aroma filled the entire residence.

Chen Xu stepped into the main hall.

He saw an old man with white hair and beard, whose figure should have been as robust as a mountain.

He was slumped on the commander's seat.

He was wearing a damaged marshal's armor, his Aura extremely weak.

One arm was severed at the shoulder... and black Devilish Qi lingered at the severed point!!

Constantly eroding his vitality.

His weathered face was filled with exhaustion and despair.

It was none other than Marquis Zhenbei, who had guarded the Northern Territory for decades and was known as the God of War of the Great Feng Dynasty.

A genuine Early Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse!

The moment he saw Chen Xu walk in.

This iron-blooded old general, who had shed countless amounts of blood in his life but never a single tear.

His cloudy eyes suddenly widened!

The next second, he actually struggled to roll off the commander's seat, dragging his crippled body.

He stumbled and crawled to Chen Xu's front.

"Thump!"

He knelt heavily on the ground.

"Imperial Preceptor... you... you finally came!"

Before he finished speaking, two streams of hot old tears fell from his deeply lined face.

They slid down with a rush!

"This subordinate is incompetent! This subordinate is incompetent!"

Marquis Zhenbei hugged Chen Xu's leg and cried loudly!

"Those things... they are not people! They are not an army!"

"They are killing machines... born specifically for war!!"

He looked up, his eyes bloodshot and filled with madness.

"We can't stop them... we simply can't stop them!"

Li Hu and the others watched this scene, their hearts greatly shaken.

To be able to force a battle-hardened military god like Marquis Zhenbei.

To such a state.

How terrifying was the Demon Army?

In Marquis Zhenbei's disjointed narration.

Everyone finally understood the reason for the defeat.

The Demon Army had a terrifying weapon called the "demon fiend cannon."

Those cannonballs specifically corroded Spiritual Qi and dissolved Formations.

They were not in a hurry to attack the city.

They just bombarded the city's protective Formation day and night with the demon fiend cannon.

The protective Formation of Heavenly Wolf Pass was a top-tier Formation of the Nascent Soul Realm.

But it couldn't withstand such consumption.

The Cultivators defending the city had to continuously infuse their magical power into the Formation day and night.

To maintain its operation.

In just one month.

All Cultivators, including Marquis Zhenbei himself, were completely drained of their magical power!

Then, the Demon Army launched a general offensive.

Without magical power, without the protection of the Formation.

Marquis Zhenbei and his hundred thousand strong army, in front of those wolf-like Demon Army soldiers.

Were like lambs to the slaughter, collapsing at the first touch!

Waiting for death!

This was an overt scheme, a desperate tactic!

"Dong—! Dong—! Dong—!"

Just then, the muffled sound of war drums echoed again from outside the city!

A messenger soldier rushed in in horror.

"Report! Marquis! Imperial Preceptor!"

"The... the Demon Army is attacking the city again!"

"Let's go, let's take a look."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xu gave the order without hesitation.

He helped up Marquis Zhenbei, who was already lost in thought, and surrounded by a group of generals, ascended the city tower.

Outside the city tower.

The dense ranks of the Demon Army stretched as far as the eye could see, like a black ocean.

In the sky, tens of thousands of Demonic Beast Cultivators, riding bat-like flying Demonic Beasts, let out piercing shrieks.

Obscuring the sun.

On the ground, hundreds of gigantic Demonic Armor Beasts, whose bodies were comparable to mountains, took heavy steps, letting out roars.

Just their Aura made the city wall tremble slightly.

And behind the giant beasts were countless orderly phalanxes of demon soldiers.

They wore heavy armor, held giant shields and long spears, their steps uniform, their Killing Intent soaring to the sky.

Three-dimensional!

Multi-branch coordinated combat!

This unheard-of mode of warfare made Li Hu and all the Dynasty generals.

Their scalps tingle and their legs turn to jelly!

Their proud battle Formations, in front of this steel torrent, were like children's scribbles.

Ridiculous and pathetic!

However, just as everyone was terrified by this horrifying sight.

Chen Xu made a move that baffled everyone.

He unhurriedly took out a table from his storage ring.

Then he spread out Xuan paper and took out his brush and ink.

He watched the world-destroying offensive outside the city.

While holding the brush, he quickly sketched on the paper.

His leisurely posture was completely unlike someone facing a million-strong Demon Army.

"Dao Xuan, look."

Chen Xu spoke calmly to Chen Daoxuan beside him, without raising his head.

"Their command system is separate."

His brush moved quickly.

Soon, a simple distribution map of the Demon Army's troop types appeared vividly on the paper.

"Do you see those Demonic Beast Cultivators flying at the highest point? They are the commanders of the aerial units, coordinating the attack rhythm through flag signals and drum beats."

"Those Demonic Armor Beasts are the main force for attacking the city; they have thick skin and flesh and immense strength."

"But look at their joints; they are not covered by armor, and their movements are slow. That is their weakness."

"As for those demon soldiers..."

"Pay attention, they are in groups of ten, with a hundred per square, their attack and defense rhythms are completely uniform, and even their breathing frequencies are exactly the same."

"This is not an effect that can be achieved through training; there must be a unified Divine Thought or some secret method controlling them from behind."

As Chen Xu spoke, his words also reached the ears of every general around him.

They stared blankly at Chen Xu.

Then they looked at the clear and understandable diagram on his paper, their minds blank.

And in their hearts was... shock! Unparalleled shock!

The terrifying offensive, which in their eyes was like the end of the world.

In the Imperial Preceptor's eyes.

Was so easily dissected and analyzed.

Turning into individual weaknesses that could be targeted?

The power of the Imperial Preceptor was indeed terrifying!

Marquis Zhenbei was also stunned.

He looked at Chen Xu's calm face.

The despair in his eyes quietly dissipated.

The flame of hope reignited.

With the Imperial Preceptor here!

The Great Feng Dynasty still had a chance to be saved!

Just as everyone was greatly shaken by Chen Xu's calm analysis.

Chen Xu suddenly stopped writing.

He looked up... his gaze penetrated through layers of Devilish Qi, looking deep into the Demon Army's main camp.

Purple Pupils of Delusion Breaking!

In an instant, the entire world abruptly changed in his eyes.

He saw above the central commander's tent in the Demon Army's main camp.

A colossal blood-red general star, emanating monstrous demonic power.

Flickering in and out of sight!

That imposing Aura was cold and domineering, full of Killing Intent!

Far surpassing any Nascent Soul Cultivator he had ever seen!

Even stronger than the so-called "Sacred Embryo" from back then?

It was several times stronger!