179: Why are you so cowardly?
Defeated!
When Zheng Zhixiang learned that the cavalry couldn't do anything to Chu Qing, and that the Jianghu wanderers were being cunning, playing tricks, and fearing death, he knew he was defeated.
But he was unwilling to accept it.
Thump!
Zheng Zhixiang casually jabbed the flagpole into the ground and said coldly, "You all guard the central army banner. I'm going to kill Chu Qing!"
The various generals exchanged glances and advised, "General, don't be impulsive."
"Chu Qing is cunning, moving around everywhere."
"But he is ultimately just one person."
"If you let him kill, how many people can he kill?"
"If you go after him and he hides, then suddenly attacks here, we won't be able to stop him."
"At that time, if the central army banner is gone, the entire army will be finished."
Zheng Zhixiang fell silent.
At this moment, he finally realized:
Why the rebel army never amounted to much.
At most, they could only capture county towns.
No experts.
At least, no large number of experts with Qi, Five Viscera and Six Bowels, etc., who could serve as a core force.
And such experts take more than ten years, or even twenty to thirty years, to Cultivate.
Zheng Zhixiang sighed and sat cross-legged under the military banner, saying, "Pass on my order—all soldiers, gather towards me."
"No one is allowed to run around; wait until dawn."
Many soldiers secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Zheng Zhixiang then said to the Pigeon Leader, "You send a pigeon message to request reinforcements."
"Hmm, send a team of experts who are at least in the Flesh Realm."
The Pigeon Leader smiled and said, "General, don't worry. After I send the pigeon message, the reinforcements will definitely arrive by tomorrow night."
Zheng Zhixiang closed his eyes and said nothing.
Flap!
White pigeons soared into the sky, whistling away.
At this time:
Chu Qing continuously activated Savage Collision, like a rampaging wild ox, running and crashing everywhere at will.
Whether it was a Jianghu wanderer or a lone cavalryman.
As long as he crashed into them, they instantly exploded into a bloody mist.
What was even more terrifying was:
He was also wielding two unlucky heavily armored individuals as sledgehammers.
Anyone he smashed into either died or was severely injured.
Wherever he passed, corpses lay strewn across the field, a scene of devastation.
More than an hour later, Chu Qing retreated.
Because:
The rebel army had reacted and was continuously shrinking, forming a true military formation.
Facing a military formation, even with his heavy armor and Body Tempering protection, he couldn't withstand it.
So, in the end, he could only choose to retreat.
When he returned, Nangong and Cui Moyang were dumbfounded.
This wasn't what they had imagined!
They thought Chu Qing would return defeated.
They hadn't expected him to shatter the vast rebel army camp, almost causing it to collapse.
At that time, both of them, filled with enthusiasm, had charged in with him.
Then:
They retreated shortly after charging in.
Because:
After breaking into the military camp, they were horrified to discover:
Without heavy armor, without Body Tempering like Iron Cloth, even they couldn't withstand attacks from all directions.
Ultimately, they could only retreat in disarray.
"I knew I should have Cultivated Body Tempering Cultivation Techniques back then," Nangong grumbled, full of regret.
Cui Moyang also felt very regretful.
But she couldn't say such a thing.
"I only killed thirty-something people before being forced to retreat," Nangong mumbled. "My movement technique is good, I killed over fifty."
"Qing Ge, how many did you kill?"
Chu Qing shook his head, saying he didn't remember.
The two women didn't believe him.
He coughed and said, "You two help me stand guard. I'll rest for a day, and tomorrow, I'll continue to deal with them."
The two women exchanged glances and nodded.
Clang!
Chu Qing took off his blood-stained heavy armor, and then he realized:
This heavy armor was dented and damaged everywhere.
He didn't even know when it had been damaged.
"Charging a military formation alone is indeed dangerous."
Chu Qing was fortunate that his crashing defense was astonishing.
After all:
Historically, very few experts who had reached Perfected Gold Tendons practiced Body Tempering.
But he, by chance, did.
Whoosh!
Exhaling a mouthful of turbid Qi, Chu Qing swallowed a Secret medicine.
He needed to seize the time to Cultivate Golden Bone.
Because:
With the appearance of Zheng Zhixiang, he had a vague feeling that this guy would personally deal with him or find experts to take care of him.
Moreover, he had killed Zheng Xilong.
Zheng Zhixiang would know this news sooner or later.
Therefore, he urgently needed to improve his combat power.
One hour... three hours... Seeing Chu Qing's diligence, Nangong and Cui Moyang also subconsciously began to work hard.
The three of them Cultivated together.
Although their progress was different.
But they were all full of hope for the future.
At least, they could still Cultivate Golden Bone.
As for Wang Yinyang and others, they could only Cultivate Silver Bone now, and whether they would have the chance to Cultivate Golden Bone in the future would depend on luck.
Early morning, Shiji Mountain:
Madam Shi gazed at the rebel army camp.
The vast rebel army camp was in a mess.
She marveled at Chu Qing's methods.
But she didn't take it to heart.
Because:
The rebel army behind Zheng Zhixiang had already become a formidable force.
Chu Qing's actions, whether he stirred things up or not, wouldn't affect the overall situation.
Just now, she received news:
The high-ranking officials of the Bingjia Sect had reached a consensus—to assist the rebel army in capturing the Prefecture City.
The Wu Forts around the Prefecture City had also defected to the rebel army.
In an instant, the number of mid-to-high-level combatants in the rebel army increased dozens, even hundreds of times.
"The Sect is confused."
"Although the imperial star is wavering, the rebel armies at this time are all pioneers for new kings, and they will not have a good end."
"Even with the support of imperial capital forces, this rebel army will not amount to much."
"Why bet so early?"
"Could it be that the Sect is truly in decline?"
Madam Shi's heart was in turmoil... The dean of the martial arts academy didn't even notice what was happening outside.
He was dissecting the corpse of an Outer Sect Disciple from White Jade Capital.
This corpse belonged to a Third Limit Experts.
Although the opponent's Realm had fallen.
However, the various traces left in the corpse remained.
He was engrossed in his research... A camp hundreds of miles away;
A group of Cloaked People ate in silence.
They were all Inner Sect Disciples and Outer Sect Disciples of the Bingjia Sect.
They had come out this time to assist the rebel army in causing trouble.
But to hide their identities, they wore cloaks and even masked their faces.
At this time:
Several white pigeons descended from the sky.
The leader of the Cloaked People, after examining the pigeons, sneered and said:
"Something went wrong with Zheng Zhixiang."
"He needs a group of experts who are at least in the Flesh Realm to help; which squad will go?"
A Cloaked People sneered, "Zheng Zhixiang, relying on his father's influence, is very stingy."
"We're not going."
The leader coughed and said, "This time, Zheng Zhixiang is paying an extra price."
"The reward is very generous."
Clang!
Several Cloaked People stood up and patted their chests, saying they would lend him a hand.
Just then, someone suddenly said, "Is Yu Ji, the Prodigy from ten years ago, with Zheng Zhixiang?"
Many Bingjia Sect Disciples were bewildered.
Because they were Outer Sect Disciples.
They didn't know about the events of ten years ago.
The only seven or eight Inner Sect Disciples, however, had slight changes in their expressions.
The leader even reprimanded:
"Song Zhe, what do you mean?"
"We are not qualified to interfere in the affairs of that esteemed person."
Under the cloak, Song Zhe sneered, "I was just asking."
"I'll take that mission from Zheng Zhixiang."
After speaking, he waved his hand.
Over a dozen Cloaked People followed him.
They galloped on horseback, like lightning, heading straight for Shiji County.
The other Inner Sect Disciples secretly sneered, "That dog, Song Zhe, unknowingly became someone's lackey."
"Want to kill Young Miss Yu Ji? It's not that easy!"
...Dusk:
A messenger rushed into the central army tent, babbling incoherently:
"General, something bad has happened."
"A group of Cloaked People came with your insignia."
"The brothers guarding the gate tried to stop them, saying they needed to report, but they grew impatient and directly killed over a hundred brothers."
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the central army tent.
Soon after, the tent flap at the entrance of the main tent burst open, and a group of Cloaked People swaggered in.
They ignored the generals and stared directly at Zheng Zhixiang, saying:
"You are Zheng Zhixiang?"
"I heard you were beaten badly?"
"Yu Ji beat you?"
"Why are you such a coward?"