Chapter 292: Grand Marshall of the Siban Empire
Hui Yue could not help but chuckle as he heard the words spoken by the golden man at his side. “I guess I can let you follow me for now,” Hui Yue mentioned as he raised an eyebrow in surprise because of the attack Li Xiaopeng sent towards Wan Qiao. The attack contained an extreme amount of Wu Wei which had turned into rope-like shapes. These Wu Wei ropes wrapped tightly around the massive eagle making it impossible for her to move. Her wings trembled as she tried to break the ropes with all the strength in her body, and after what seemed like an eternity, but in truth was less than a second, these golden ropes shattered into thousands of pieces.
“She is quite strong, this lady of yours,” Cai Jie commented as he watched the battle in front of them. He completely ignored what Hui Yue said earlier, but the white-haired young man did nothing to bring the subject up again. He knew that Cai Jie had heard him, and the golden man would make his own decisions. As for whether or not he would follow Hui Yue was something that would not be answered until Hui Yue left. Either the golden man followed him, or he didn’t. Either way, Hui Yue did not care too much. He was very curious about this golden man, but at the same time, he knew that it would not be simple to get to know him.
Both Hui Yue and Cai Jie were observing the battle with great interest. Wan Qiao now attacked fiercely, darting straight for Li Xiaopeng’s head. A screech escaped her mouth as she dove straight towards the shorter man.
“Do you know about the four holes that the Crusaders have on their foreheads?” Hui Yue asked curiously as he observed the eagle dive down. The further she fell the more her speed picked up. Her talons suddenly shifted forward, and she stopped herself with her wings for a moment. Li Xiaopeng clad his body in Wu Wei after which he lifted his sword. Wu Wei surged into the sword itself causing it to shine brightly. A small sun seemingly appeared on the tip of the sword. A small sun which grew as Qi was poured into the sword. He stood with his side facing the eagle, his sword waiting by his side ready to be swung towards the bird as soon as she came into reach.
“This is getting exciting,” Cai Jie said, and Hui Yue nodded his head. The entire army was watching the battle, but no one stepped in. They understood that Wan Qiao wished to win this fight on her own, and no one wanted to deal with an enraged Wan Qiao should Li Xiaopeng die by anyone else’s hand.
Suddenly a sound could be heard from the back of the army, the sounds of turmoil and clamor. Hui Yue turned around to see a group of around thirty Saints flying in the air. They stood off to the side uncertain about what to do. Looking up in the sky, Hui Yue saw his own Saints take to the sky as well, ready to settle this once and for all. Hui Yue smiled as golden Wu Wei wings appeared on his shoulders and he too flew into the air, followed by the golden young man who seemed to walk on the air rather than fly.
Standing side by side, neither Hui Yue nor Cai Jie paid any more attention to Wan Qiao and Li Xiaopeng. Instead, their eyes were focused solely on the group of Saints in the air.
The beasts had all changed their appearances to their original ones, and Hui Yue sighed for a moment before he woke up the meditating bird within his lower dantian. ‘This doesn’t look good,’ Hui Yue commented, so Lan Feng opened his eyes, observing what it was Hui Yue saw.
‘You know back when the war started you were certain that the Siban Empire only had a few Saints. Li Meilin said that there were only a few Saints as well. Now when it comes down to it, it seems that are actually pretty even with this country when it comes to the number of Saints. Where have they all come from?’ Lan Feng asked curiously as he took over control of their body, causing a shiver to run through Hui Yue.
‘I don’t know,’ Hui Yue said with a sigh. ‘They are here. I must have made a mistake by trusting what Li Meilin told me. Or they just appeared from out of nowhere. Perhaps they are mercenaries, bought to assist them.’
‘Who do you think Saints are?’ Lan Feng said mockingly, ‘They are not mercenaries, they are the peak of power. But who cares. I’ll make sure to save your little bum.’ He laughed and suddenly Hui Yue felt his mist energy started to flood out from his red beast core within the dantian cave. The energy which entered his body slowly started to change. Much to Hui Yue’s surprise his body did not sprout red fur, instead blue feathers started appearing on his skin. His hair turned to feathers, his legs to talons, and his arms to wings. His ice-blue eyes turned celestial with small yellow feathers around the eyes. The transformation took everyone by surprise.
The beast horde knew Hui Yue was a red wolf. He had transformed to that shape over and over again, yet here he was turning into a massive blue phoenix which had the aura of a Saint. A loud screech left his beak, and a shudder went through the body of all the beasts on the ground. Even Wan Qiao, who was known as the strongest, shuddered. Lan Feng was the blue phoenix, son of the Vermilion bird and sovereign of birds. Although he was not the strongest Saint, he was clearly not someone to look down upon. Seeing the changes even the golden man by his side had widened his eyes in surprise at seeing Hui Yue completely change his aura, strength, and appearance.
“Time to play a little!” Lan Feng said with a voice that sounded was far different from the one Hui Yue used. All the Saints on the beast side started to screech, roar, or howl. All the Saints were capable of feeling that by their side was a sovereign of beasts, a divine beast. Something which should have perished thousands of years ago by the hand of An He. Yet here he was, a phoenix who had risen from the ashes of war. The phoenix boosted the willpower of the Saints. All of them were elated and the humans, although not inferior in numbers, were completely taken aback by the increase in power each and every one of the beasts showed.
“It’s because of that useless bird in the back!” The Grand Marshall yelled out. He was not a Saint, but he was being carried by one so that he could watch the battlefield. His eyes were determined, but fear was evident deep within as he looked at the ruckus caused by the appearance of this stupid blue bird.
“Attack him! Kill him, and you will win the war!” The Grand Marshall continued to yell as he pointed at Lan Feng. Foam appeared around his mouth as he was spitting out the words. “He is only one beast. Go kill him! ATTACK HIM!” His voice reached a high pitch fervor, his eyes turned red, and foam splashed here and there. The Saints on his side were currently uncertain whether or not they wished to follow the order given by the Grand Marshall, who was clearly becoming deranged.
“This is not what he promised us,” One Saint said as he looked around at the many beasts who had gathered near Hui Yue. “He said we would be able to easily deal with the beasts and that he would give us some of the riches from Shenyuan, but all we have done is fight and fight. We have even lost some of our brothers,” One complained and the others quietly agreed.
“I only joined because he promised me plenty of beast slaves. Those beast slaves sell for a lot of money. But right now, I am about to risk my life for a few slaves?” Another joined in.
“Who cares about slaves, I was promised ancient cultivating methods that would allow for a breakthrough into the God rank. He promised me that the beasts had some cultivation methods like this, and what do I get? My martial brother died while fighting those who were supposed to be weak!” A third started speaking and within moments, all the Saints were filled with displeasure as they heard they had all been promised various rewards. Some had been promised worldly riches and others had been promised ancient cultivation methods or high ranking abilities.
“I am not going to fight in a war against this many beasts,” One Saint said as he lifted his arms in the air. “I already wasted a lot of time to try and win, but seeing that even the Crusaders failed in removing the majority of the Saints, I am not risking my own hide for the sake of this power hungry Grand Marshall,” He continued as he looked at Hui Yue. His eyes showing many complex emotions. “I wish that if I meet you in the future, there will be no bad blood between us,” He said towards the large group of beast Saints, and he bowed fractionally to Hui Yue before he picked himself up turned around and left. Looking at the Saint many others on the side of the Siban Empire hesitated for a moment before they too bowed fractionally towards the beasts and took to the sky flying into the horizon, never once looking back.
The Siban Empire lost around thirty Saints within a few moments, and soon only four remained. One of these four was Li Xiaopeng, the Saint busy fighting Wan Qiao. He paid no attention at all to what was happening in the sky, all he had cared about was getting revenge for Li Meilin.
Looking around, the panicked eyes of the Grand Marshall of the Siban Empire fell upon Li Xiaopeng, and a manic grin appeared on his lips. “It doesn’t matter if the Crusaders failed or if the Saints have left me!” He screamed as he started moving around causing it hard for the Saint to keep him in the air. “Li Xiaopeng is one of the Saints who can rival even the Frozen General!” He yelled out loud, “Li Xiaopeng is the secret of the Siban Empire. Thanks to Li Meilin he stayed loyal to the Empire. He can deal with all of you! Don’t think I will let you go!” He yelled loudly, but soon his eyes filled with fear as he felt himself plummeting to the ground. The Saint no longer bothering to hold him. “No! Don’t let go! We can win! The Siban Empire is mine!” He yelled, but no beast tried to grab him, and the final three Saints who had stayed behind, apart from Li Xiaopeng, all looked at him with disgust before they too turned around and followed the rest of the Saints into the horizon.
Everyone watched the Grand Marshall as he landed on the roof of a house. Cracking sounds could be heard as bones broke, and his screams of agony rose to the air. He rolled from the roof to the ground and suddenly the screams stopped. No sound was heard as he laid on the ground. Two beasts went to see what state the Grand Marshall was in, but as they checked his vitals both of them shook their heads. The Grand Marshall was dead.
