Chapter Nineteen: Sword Mark
Wei Wujiu’s eyes quickly dimmed. He looked at Consort Zhao Xiang. Before his death, he responded softly, “Originally, I only admired one woman. But now, you are the second.”
Consort Zhao Xiang nodded, and pulled her fist back, allowing his body to slide off her arm. Undoubtedly, her risk had paid off, but she also knew the final victory would depend on the Yin Mountain.
When she turned to look back in the direction of the Yin Mountain, right now, over in the Yin Mountain, the Qin army had finished assembling. The Qin troops surrounding the Tianqi city were preparing to start a new round of attacks.
Because Sima Cuo thought that this lone city that was surrounded was the key to victory, the order was to take this city before dark. So they quickly arranged to attack the main Chu force. This attack was not the same as any previous type, they did not care about fatalities, and the expenditure of weapons.
Countless arrows rained down on the city, the tips of these arrows were made from phosphorous. Upon friction with the air, they started to burn and turned to enormous fire balls.
The Qin archers were drawing their bows, these expensive arrows being madly used up in their hands like they were worth nothing. Because they demanded so much speed, their fingertips started to bleed and their arms were trembling.
Most of the seal weapons had been used up in the first round of attacks. At this time, within the lone city that the Qin army was attacking, most places were burning, with soaring pillars of smoke everywhere, and the smell of burning in the air.
One of the heavily armored cavalry of the Qin army was starting a charge against a part of the wall. The heavy iron hooves hit the ground, and caused the rubble on the wall to start to jump.
But at this time, a shrill sound overwhelmed all other sounds. In the next moment, the Qin army let out a ground shaking cheer.
One of the groups of heavy crossbows had been moved here. Hundreds of arrows as thick as a baby’s arm stabbed hard into the wall. Then there was another round. In a flash, three rounds were shot out. Thousands of heavy arrows turned the wall into a forest, and the terrifying power caused waves of dust to spread outwards.
But as the cheers sounded, as the heavy arrows stabbed into the walls, and dust rows, as the heavy armored cavalry was charging, a figure appeared in the break of the wall.
The moment the figure appeared, terrifying heat appeared in the dust. Then the dust seemed to start burning, turning into flying sparks.
The dancing sparks circled around an upright man with loose black hair that danced in the sparks. Yes when the Qin soldiers saw his figure, an even brighter ball of fire appeared in his hand.
He formed his sword essence, and swung the ball of fire.
There was a roar of the sword from heaven and earth. It was like an enormous furnace had crashed down, and then turned into a sword essence, cutting across.
Pang pang pang pang ….
The madly charging heavy armored cavalry saw a patch of red fire fall in front of them. These hundreds of troops collided with the fire, their bodies seeming to explode, and the pieces of the heavy armor sprayed out.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment. Many people struggled to swallow and were still not able to breathe freely.
Where the patch of red had fallen, there was a deep sword mark that was more than a thousand feet long, and a hundred feet deep. The limbs and armor of these heavy cavalry had fallen into the sword mark and were burning. The remaining dozen cavalry could not advance. The horses, whose eyes had been covered with cloth, felt great terror, and no matter what their riders did, they just spun around madly.
The ones most shocked were the multiple cultivators of the Qin army. Some memories, many years in the past, started to awaken. They seemed to have seen this before.
Many years ago, when the Qin army had moved stoppably through the Zhao cities, there had been a blacksmith shop in a city. There had been a grandmaster in that blacksmith shop. Then he walked with a sword to the gates of the city, and swung his sword at the incoming Qin army.
A long sword mark had appeared in front of the city. Then that grandmaster simply said, ”Anyone who crosses the sword mark will die.”
Then that entire army was gone.
Everybody in the world learned that this city had the Zhao Sword Furnace.
“Anyone who crosses this sword mark will die.”
In the fire light, Zhao Ce’s long black hair grew deep red like many small fires were dancing. He followed the orders of his dead master to follow Tang Mei. He had been away from the Zhao lands for many years. Many of the memories regarding the Zhao had faded. But he was someone who had experienced that battle back then. He and the other cultivators of the Zhao Sword Furnace had been standing in the city that day when their master had swung his sword.
Today, he looked at the sword he had swung, and at the sword mark. The swing from his master grew more clearly in his memories, and gradually merged with the scene in front of him. Only now did he truly understand the meanings in his master’s swing and spoke.
Hearing his voice burning in the flames, he sensed that he had gotten closer to his master, and felt that he had grown stronger. This feeling was so good.
Many sharp military orders sounded. The many troops that had been flooding behind the heavy cavalry started to retreat.
“Back then, none of you Qin dared to directly face the sword of the Zhao Sword Furnace. Do not let it be, that after many years, there still is not a person who dares to come out.”
Zhao Cuo looked coldly at the Qin army and said, “In terms of invincibility, who had been invincible back then?”
Suddenly, a strange roar sounded in the sky where the clouds were moving. The sound was like the call of a crane, but had a dark and eerie air.
Everybody instinctively looked up at the sky.
One cloud, as black as ink, was roiling and flying in the sky. There seemed to be a crane in the clouds, but there was no flesh or feathers, just bones. The skeleton burned with black flames that surpassed people’s imaginations.
“Some things, you do not understand.” A ghostly voice came from the sky.
The black clouds retreated, and the black boned crane also disappeared. Not far behind the sword mark, there was a cultivator covered in a ghostly air.
This cultivator was dressed in a black robe with a very high collar. When he looked up and spoke to Zhao Cuo, blooms of black energy flashed around him, forming black plum flowers, and then quickly disappeared.
“Wang Jingmeng once agreed to a battle with your master, but the Zhao Emperor was too stupid. Because of some rumors, he feared that your master would take his position. He set up a trap to kill your master first.”
This cultivator said quietly, “While Wang Jingmeng and I are enemies, I must speak the truth, and not tar all Qin people.”
