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Chapter 184: Chapter 181: Face
Su Wen left in a hurry, without giving any specific instructions.
Or rather...
It seemed he intentionally wanted Gu Jinlai to fall into the battlefield of Star State, lest he impulsively decided to eradicate him, a Divinity Transformation Cultivator with whom he had both grudges and favors, by deliberately leaving no message behind.
The intelligence department was leaderless, greatly affecting its operations.
So much so that when Gu Jinlai and his Demon God Guards had already crossed thousands of miles to join the battle at Star Curtain City, the State Lord Mansion had still not received the news of the disastrous defeat at Dragon Sparrow Manor, where two Primordial Spirit Monarchs and four Divinity Transformation Cultivators died in battle.
...
Star Curtain City.
When an army moves, it often moves in a big way.
To ensure the success of the decapitation strike without giving early warning, Nie Shisan and others disappeared into thin air, forcing the State Lord Mansion, led by Zhang Wuliang, Wen Rulong, and Xie Shanhe — three Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators, commanding twenty-four Refining God Immortals, plus a hundred Hugging Pill Masters and over two hundred Gang Condensation, a total of more than four hundred people, to launch a surprise attack on Star Curtain City.
Despite Nie Shisan’s thorough control over the surroundings of Star Curtain City, deploying many dark agents, it was already too late when they realized that over four hundred experts from the State Lord Mansion were coming to kill them.
In the battle that ensued, the leader of the Star Sky Alliance Nie Shisan was seriously injured, and the losses among the Refining God elders of the Elder Council were heavy.
Nineteen directly lost seven.
The remaining twelve, breaking into pieces in a panic, either fled or used their knowledge of the terrain and intentionally arranged escape routes to hide.
Even so, during this period, another two of the twelve elders were found and executed on the spot.
Were it not for Star Curtain City’s population exceeding a million, the four hundred brought by Wen Rulong, Zhang Wuliang, and Xie Shanhe simply could not conduct a carpet search, and the remaining ten Refining Gods as well as the heavily injured Nie Shisan would have already been fished out.
Although there were still many experts from the Star Sky Alliance hiding in the city a-barely-breathing-state, at the border, the State Lord Mansion’s army had already mobilized.
Since they did not receive support from the Star Sky Alliance’s experts, and without precise commands from above, the troops under the Star Sky Alliance were caught off guard, retreating successively.
Following this trend, in less than two days, the army of the State Lord Mansion would be at the city gates.
At that time, when tens of thousands of people search the city together, regardless of how deep Nie Shisan and other top echelons of the Star Sky Alliance hid, they would inevitably be exposed.
...
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The earth roared.
Gu Jinlai led Lingxiao City’s elites, appearing ten miles outside Star Curtain City.
By then, Star Curtain City was already under the control of Wen Rulong, Zhang Wuliang, and Xie Shanhe.
Although controlling a city with four hundred people was no small difficulty, at least no one from the Star Sky Alliance dared to raise their heads in rebellion at this time.
Or rather, those who dared to resist were already dead.
Under the flying swords, wherever there was a gathering of over a hundred people, the leader would immediately be struck by thunderbolts.
Without people to form formations, any Hugging Pill Master could defeat more than a hundred persons.
Even though many among those hundred were members of the Star Sky Alliance, including some who had refined True Qi or even condensed Gang Qi.
"Probe the opponent’s Refining Gods and Divinity Transformation experts and mark them."
Gu Jinlai gave the order directly.
"Three Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators, and twenty-four... it seems one has fallen, only twenty-three Refining God Level Divine Thought reactions found, all marked."
Gu Chifeng immediately responded.
"Good!"
Gu Jinlai nodded slightly, "Six of you, three of you specifically responsible for intercepting flying swords, the other three single out Refining God Immortals. The rest, with ’Thunder’ Gatling Guns responsible for supplementing firepower points. Those without Gatling guns use rockets to kill those in Gang Condensation and Hugging Pill. Also, every firepower point must be equipped with a martial artist with an Upper Demon God Body as the last line of defense after close combat..."
Gu Jinlai issued the orders.
In this time, the Demon God Guards had undergone specialized training.
Besides the personally arriving Primordial Spirit Monarch, they had tactics for dealing with Divinity Transformation and Refining God cultivators, or even when attacked by a large number of Divinity Transformation and Refining God cultivators.
Who was responsible for what type of opponent and which area was already well planned in everyday training.
All Gu Jinlai needed to do was slightly adjust the tactics based on the current situation.
"Now, charge!"
After giving the instructions, Gu Jinlai gave the command.
"Roar!"
His Mechanical Tyrannosaurus, Gu Ya, let out a roar.
Suddenly, the originally covert three hundred Demon God Guards ferociously burst out, exposed to the eyes of those responsible for vigilance in Star Curtain City.
Seeing the huge, terrifying figure of the Mechanical Tyrannosaurus, the leading Hugging Pill Master on the city tower revealed a look of fear, then seemed to think of something, "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus! It’s Gu Jinlai! It’s Lingxiao City’s Devil Gu Jinlai! They... how did they come here!? Quick! Report to the General immediately!"
In fact, there was no need to report anymore.
When Gu Jinlai and his men locked their gazes on Star Curtain City, driven by the aura, Wen Rulong in the city center immediately sensed something.
He stimulated his Divine Thought at the first instance, probing toward the direction of the crisis, and then...
He was suddenly filled with alarm!
"What’s going on!? Wasn’t Dragon Sparrow Manor supposed to head to Lingxiao City to confront Gu Jinlai? We only made our move after receiving news that Dragon Sparrow Manor’s people had reached the outskirts of Lingxiao City, but why... why is Gu Jinlai appearing here!?"
Fear flashed in Wen Rulong’s eyes.
At this moment, hundreds of meters away, Zhang Wuliang, who was also searching for remnants of the Star Sky Alliance, seemed to sense the same thing, and their Divine Thoughts quickly met in the void: "Wasn’t Gu Jinlai supposed to die under the sword of the Venerable Daoist of Dragon Sparrow Manor? Why is he appearing outside Star Curtain City!?"
Then he seemed to think of something, "Could it be... did Dragon Sparrow Manor betray us?"
"Betrayal?"
Wen Rulong shivered inside, "How can that be..."
"Why not!?"
Zhang Wuliang’s Divine Thought was filled with anger, "After Dragon Sparrow Manor reached outside Lingxiao City, they deliberately refrained from taking action to let the Star Sky Alliance seek help from Gu Jinlai. They waited for Gu Jinlai to rush to Star Curtain City and then engage us in a battle where both sides would suffer. This way, not only would it be easier for them to deal with Gu Jinlai, but they could also take advantage of our devastating losses to demand more benefits and occupy more cities!"
Wen Rulong’s expression was uncomfortable.
At that moment, another Divine Thought surged in, "What’s our plan next, gentlemen? Do we retreat directly, or..."
It was Xie Shanhe, the Patriarch from one of the Four Great Families of Starlight City.
"Retreat..."
Wen Rulong was somewhat unwilling.
They had already occupied Star Curtain City. As soon as Gu Jinlai arrived, without even engaging, they were just supposed to give up Star Curtain City. How would the world view them if the news spread?
On this thought, Wen Rulong gritted his teeth, "Although Gu Jinlai has the achievement of slaying the Demon Ape Commander, that Demon Ape Commander was severely injured. He might not truly be on par with a Primordial Spirit True Monarch or an Upper-level Great Demon!"
"What Chief Wen means is..."
"The three of us are, after all, Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators who have been famous for many years. We can’t just run away because of Gu Jinlai’s reputation. Where would that leave our faces?"
Wen Rulong’s expression turned fierce, "The three of us will attack together, a concentrated attack in one round. We’ll test his mettle. If he really is as formidable as the legends say, then we will retreat directly. After all, he has just arrived outside the city, and there’s still about seven or eight miles between us, plenty of room to retreat. But if he’s just externally strong and actually weak inside, many of his titles relying on the promotion by Lingxiao City... today we will ensure he doesn’t return!"
"That is exactly my thought!"
"Give up Star Curtain City without a fight? That’s the last thing I want!"
Zhang Wuliang and Xie Shanhe responded immediately.
"Good, let’s strike together, three swords in a chain attack, advancing from three angles, executing a rapid assault, and aim to shoot him down in one swoop!"
At Wen Rulong’s command,
the next moment, three sword lights exploded simultaneously.
The Sword Qi pierced the sky, tearing through the Sky Dome with incredible speed as it howled toward Gu Jinlai and his group outside the city.
At this moment, the three Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators pushed their sword control techniques to the extreme.
...
As soon as the three Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators released their swords, Gu Chifeng and the others immediately sensed something.
"Flying swords incoming!"
Accompanied by Gu Chifeng’s roar, having already accumulated combat experience from a recent battle, several of them adjusted the muzzles of the Short Range Defense Cannons.
"Still outside the city with a clear view, no need to worry about a sudden strike from Refining God-level masters. Execute Plan Three, all Short Range Defense Cannons, intercept at the same time!"
Gu Chifeng shouted, his gaze fixated on the sky where the three sword lights maintained a velocity of seven hundred, and even eight hundred, meters per second.
Gu Jinlai, riding a Mechanical Tyrannosaurus, kept charging forward without any intention to assist them.
By now, some among Gu Chifeng’s group had already condensed a Great Demon Body, and with the advantage of Short Range Defense Cannons, it was time to stand on their own.
There was no choice, he had too few people he could use.
Thus, they needed to grow up quickly.
Gu Chifeng and the others understood this well; they were also eager to alleviate the burdens on their Patriarch, not letting everything press upon him alone.
Right then, they watched unblinkingly as the flying swords that tore through the Sky Dome, swooping toward them like bolts of silk...
Four thousand meters, three thousand five hundred meters! Three thousand meters, two thousand five hundred meters...
When three flying swords penetrated their formation by two thousand five hundred meters, the Short Range Defense Cannon suddenly emitted a "beep beep" sound.
Suddenly, Gu Chifeng’s eyes widened as he roared, "Fire!"
"Zzzz!"
Flames shot forth.
Six Short Range Defense Cannon barrels simultaneously emitted visible flames.
Countless streams of light intertwined into a metallic flood, rushing toward the flying swords at the edge of the sky to intercept them.
Two cannons took responsibility for one flying sword.
Wen Rulong, Zhang Wuliang, Xie Shanhe...
It seemed all Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators from Star State had studied how to penetrate through defenses when faced with Short Range Defense Cannons.
Under their control, the three flying swords were exceptionally agile, their trajectories ever-changing, far more flexible than any supersonic missile!
In the network of metallic floods and starry meteor flares, the three flying swords advanced swiftly, layer by layer breaking through!
Two thousand meters! One thousand five hundred meters! One thousand meters! Five hundred meters...
When the fastest flying sword was less than two hundred meters away from Gu Chifeng and his group, sparks flew.
The bullets shot from the Short Range Defense Cannons finally intercepted the flying sword.
Among the sparks, this flying sword, moving at eight hundred meters per second, was instantly hit by dozens of bullets.
Even if it tried to avoid more bullets by changing direction rapidly under the controller’s swift sword control, it was to no avail.
Amidst a burst of sparks, this flying sword was directly exploded in mid-air, shattering into several sections and even dozens of pieces of scrap metal.
As Gu Qingmei’s group intercepted the fastest flying sword, the other two flying swords soon followed its fate.
Flying swords generally choose the "Sharpness" or "Breaking the sky" traits. When creating a flying sword, very few consider the "Tenacity" of a flying sword.
Therefore, if hit by a Short Range Defense Cannon, any flying sword is destined to be blown into fragments.
The other two intercepted flying swords naturally were no exception.
Gu Jinlai watched this scene unfold before him, nodding in satisfaction, "Well done."
The sword in his hand, Cheng Ying Sword, suddenly unsheathed, sweeping forward, "Take the city."
