Chapter 424 Breaking the Formation
On the broad and gentle mountainside platform, the crimson rays of the setting sun shone on everyone's faces through the pines and cypresses on both sides of the mountain road.
On one side is the Yu State cavalry, a torrent of steel, headed by Zhao Duan dressed as a noble son.
On the other side, the disciples of Zixiao Palace, headed by Taoist priest Bai Zi, were waiting in formation.
The cold winter wind swept across the mountain road, and the atmosphere gradually became chilly.
"The Zixiao Palace has closed its doors to thank guests. If you pilgrims want to go up the mountain, please come back tomorrow." The Taoist holding a fly whisk said calmly.
Zhao Duan was on the horse and said with interest: "Do you know my identity?"
The leading Taoist priest has a certain status in Zixiao Palace, and is the head of the disciples. He is the "elder brother" of the "Palace Master" Lu Zhengchun. He has been in Zixiao Taoist Temple for many years and has long been used to seeing high-ranking officials.
In the past few decades, countless important people have traveled between Binhai and Linfeng, and there has been an endless stream of people coming to burn incense.
And because of the natural awe and respect that secular forces have for "practitioners", even princes and nobles are treated with courtesy when they come to the mountain, and very few people rush into the mountain gate without any reason.
The leading Taoist priest did not know the identity of the visitor, but after receiving the news, he followed the master's order and came to stop him.
He glanced at Zhao Duan and the cavalry behind him and said:
"In places outside the country, we don't care about secular status and authority.
Whether this young master is the son of a general or the son of a nobleman, you must know that the Zixiao Palace is a reward given by the late emperor, and the status of the master of my Taoist Temple is transcendent.
The prefect and magistrate are very respectful to the master of my palace. The monks of the three sects and my palace are talking about Buddhism and Dao Qingshan as Taoist friends... If the young master wants to go up the mountain, he should explain his purpose and follow the rules. Only by leaving people and horses at the bottom of the mountain is it in line with the rules. ”
When he spoke, he looked haughty.
The hundreds of Taoist priests all looked like they should have their eyes higher than their heads.
Zhao Duan saw this and couldn't help but sigh. It was obvious that Lu Zhengchun was used to being a wild god in Fengcheng.
The other party's unabashed blocking attitude was also quite abnormal. It reminded him of Cao Guogong in Jubeicheng - are these people who have monopolized power and dominated one side so arrogant?
As it happens, he specializes in treating all kinds of arrogance.
"Haha, I heard that the sky in Zixiao Palace is beautiful at night, and that the Taoist priest in Zishan is good at practicing flying swords in the alchemy furnace, so I came here to see this strange thing. Now that it is getting late, I quickly went back and asked Lu Zhengchun to sweep the couch to greet me. I don’t care about the little rudeness of your obstruction.”
Zhao Duan's tone was condescending, like a person on a throne looking down at ants.
I am increasingly convinced that there is something wrong with this Zixiao Palace.
After the words fell, more than a hundred Taoist priests showed angry faces, and the senior senior brother at the head had a cold look on his face, and hummed with a puff of sleeves:
"The Taoist temple is closed. Don't you understand, Master? Or do you have to wait for me to send Master down the mountain?"
Zhao Duan was too lazy to talk nonsense with this bastard, so he narrowed his eyes and said calmly:
"Yuanji, attack the mountain."
"Yes!"
At the back of the team, the mountain-like lieutenant holding a war hammer had learned of the empress' order a few days ago, but Zhao Shaobao followed suit.
In the past, I had always disliked the bull in Zixiao Palace, but today I had the opportunity to fight, and he looked excited.
With a wave of his hand, the dark cavalry ordered their horses in order and turned to walk. At the same time, they took off their spears and shields from the side of the saddle.
Like black water, he bypassed the group of masters such as Zhao Duan, Gongshu Tianyuan and some of the accompanying Jinyi. With the sound of armor clashing, he stood his shield in front of him and formed a black and cold steel shield wall. From the gap, Reach out for a sharp spear.
Then, this dark humanoid war fortress began to attack forward step by step using the offensive triangle formation on the battlefield, as if it were flattening the mountain with soldiers and horses.
The Taoist leader's expression changed and he whispered:
"Form up!"
In an instant, hundreds of Taoist priests who were waiting in full formation stood in a square formation, and each one of them chanted in unison and shouted.
Mana surrounded the whole body, and the sword hilt in the scabbard carried behind the famous Taoist priest "clattered" trembled.
Then amidst the sound of "swishing, swishing, swishing", nearly a hundred long swords unsheathed themselves, as if being pulled by invisible hands, and floated above the heads of the group of Taoist priests, with the sword tips pointed directly at the infantry array.
"Is this the Flying Sword?" Zhao Duan looked from behind, quite surprised.
Gongshu Tianyuan showed disdain on his face. Although this fifth disciple of Zhang Tianshi was in the path of the God of Craftsman and was not good at it, his eyesight was better than that of ninety percent of Taoist monks in the world. He curled his lips and said:
"What kind of flying sword is this? It's just a sword-guiding technique.
The real Taoist flying sword is as thin as a cicada's wing, flies by without a shadow, is extremely dangerous, and is extremely difficult to refine and control, so it is rare. It is the killing move of our Taoist sect that is different from the inheritance of gods, and is almost a swordsman's killing move. .
In the early years, when many paths to the gods were not yet clear, the first batch of Taoist priests also learned martial arts in order to defend themselves, especially swordsmanship, and gradually developed flying swords...
Every priest in our Tianshi Mansion, no matter which god they major in, can also practice sword control...
However, because it is too difficult and not as self-contained as the divine technique, there are very few practitioners of this technique nowadays, so this group of wild Taoist priests are the only treasure. ”
After a pause, the little fat priest added reluctantly:
"However, the position of these Taoist priests is like a sword formation, just like the formation of soldiers on the battlefield. Although the sword control technique is far inferior to the real flying sword, once the sword formation is opened, it is indeed not ordinary, ordinary Shenzhang realm, You will definitely die. If you encounter the world alone, you must avoid its sharp edges."
Is it so powerful? No wonder these bull-nosed guys are so confident and fearless in the face of officers and soldiers.
Zhao Duan listened and roughly understood that the Taoist priests in front of him were not holding real flying swords, but ordinary swords, which were only controlled by magic.
Huh, this is only reasonable. If these more than a hundred people were all powerful figures in flying swords, Lu Zhengchun would have founded a sect to compete with Qingshan in Emperor Wu City... Zhao Duan looked like he was watching a show.
At this time, seeing the infantry in formation not stopping and continuing to approach, the leading Taoist priest looked stern and said:
"Junior brothers, join forces to repel the enemy!"
"Yes!"
All the Taoist priests shouted together with great momentum. The densely packed swords above their heads roared out like locusts passing by.
Just like heavy rain hitting raindrops, strong winds swept across the mountain road, pine and cypress trees swayed on both sides, and long swords gathered like sword tornadoes and slammed into the shield wall of Dayu's infantry.
"Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!"
In an instant, sparks flew everywhere where the weapons met, and the sword tip collided with the shield, making a crisp iron collision sound.
Along with the sparks, a long sword was spread out by the shield like an arrow for siege, but it did not fall. Instead, under the control of the Taoist priest from behind, it drew a trajectory in the air and returned to the sword formation. Launched a charge.
"Forward!"
The infantry soldiers roared, carrying the violent storm of attacks, and continued to push the steel city wall forward.
It's a pity that this mountain road is not wide enough for the elite infantry to mount their horses and launch the strongest cavalry charge.
In this bad terrain, they could only transform into infantry and advance forward with their physical bodies. Their combat power was reduced by 70% to 80%. Zhang Han, who was also from the army, frowned and whispered to Zhao Duan:
"This place is too unfavorable for soldiers. If it were flat ground, a single charge without fear of death would be enough to overwhelm this so-called sword formation, but now we can barely use 20% of our 100% strength."
Zhao Duan looked calm and said:
"But it's enough, isn't it?"
Indeed, it was difficult for the soldier formation to exert its power, but with only its sophisticated shields, it was able to hold up the locust-like sword formation.
"Battlefield warriors are different from monk warriors. The latter have more skills, so they tend to reduce their armor and pursue flexibility. This sword formation is also designed for monks, but when it hits a copper wall, the power of the sword formation is also greatly weakened." The lieutenant named Yuanji said calmly.
Ahead, the Taoist priests quickly realized this and changed their colors slightly.
The invincible long sword was knocked away by the copper and iron walls time and time again, and everyone seemed to witness the dark sea water coming slowly but surely.
The senior senior brother at the head snorted coldly and said:
"It's just an iron shield, it's up to the poor to break it." As he spoke, the fly whisk in his hand suddenly swept forward, and in an instant, Zhao Duan only heard a sharp whistle.
He was extremely familiar with this, because when the Golden Crow flying knife flew out, it was so powerful.
At this moment, when the Taoist leader was sweeping the dust, a handleless sword blade flew out from nowhere, split into three in the air, turned into a gray afterimage, and hit the shield formation in the blink of an eye.
The indestructible shield wall was torn to pieces in an instant. One of the infantrymen groaned and flew backwards, hitting behind him. The shield in his hand cracked and shattered.
A gap was opened in the shield wall, and there were signs of disintegration in an instant. The other swords in the air also swarmed into the gap, avoiding the soldiers' necks, and stabbed specifically at the shoulders and ribs. In the blink of an eye, blood spurted out, and a row of infantrymen were like Falling like straw.
"Not good..."
Yuanji's eyelids twitched. Once the battle formation was disintegrated, the infantry who couldn't move would face a rout.
Of course, if you act ruthlessly and use human life to fill the gap, you can break the formation, but that will cause too much damage.
"Lang Shiba, Ji Yue, go to break the formation."
Zhao Duan spoke calmly.
In an instant, a drunken swordsman and a ghost-like sorceress in red rushed out of the formation.
Like a meteorite, Wave Eight tore through the air and crashed into the crack in the shield wall. The scimitar in his hand drew a bright arc in the sunset.
With a "ding" sound, the flying sword flew away. The senior brother Zixiao Palace's soul and the flying sword were involved, his face turned pale and his pupils narrowed:
"A warrior from the Western Regions?"
He used the scimitar to try to determine the origin of Lang Shiba.
And Jiyue, who was dressed in red, with disheveled hair, revealing a pair of pupil-less white eyes, opened her arms and flew into the air. Above the mountain road, she bathed in the darkening sky and the dying twilight, and grabbed it with her pale index finger. .
"Kacha kacha..."
The water vapor in the air was drawn out crazily and attached to the dozens of long swords in the air.
In an instant, the long sword wrapped in water films that suddenly appeared had a thought of its own and stagnated in mid-air. No matter how the Taoist priests controlled it, it was difficult to move.
Jiyue used the power of one person to forcibly restrain hundreds of swords:
"Move...hand..."
"Break the formation!" General Yuanji shouted, holding two war hammers, lowering his waist and bowing his knees, leaping up, and smashing into the sword formation like a meteorite.
With one sweep of the heavy hammer, several sluggish Taoist priests were beaten with blood spurting from their mouths and sent flying backwards.
When the other warriors saw this, they also discarded their shields and charged through the sword array like wolves and tigers, overwhelming a group of Taoist priests.
"Assaulting an official of the imperial court is regarded as treason, Yuanji, do you know how to deal with it?"
A soft voice came from behind.
Yuanji, who was in the sword formation, weighing hundreds of kilograms and with a fleshy face, felt a chill in his heart. He suddenly swiped a hammer and several corpses fell down around him.
Seeing the general like this, the rest of the soldiers did not hold back any longer. A flash of sword light passed by, and blood flowers bloomed in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Killed...
The leading Taoist priest's pupils suddenly narrowed, and seeing that the situation was not good, his face turned pale. He flicked his whisk, recalled the flying sword back into his sleeve, twisted and was about to leave. As soon as he turned around, a scimitar was pressed against his neck:
"Don't move."
The senior brother of Zixiao Palace is considered quite good in the Shenzhang realm, but facing Lang Shiba's blade, he didn't dare to move at all.
Especially when the bright moon appeared in front of him like a ghost, he finally gave up hope completely.
behind.
Haitang and others watched this scene expressionlessly.
If they were just arrogant, they would naturally take a step back when facing the intrusion of the officers and soldiers, but this group of humanitarian priests chose to attack the officers and soldiers.
This move itself shows that Lu Zhengchun does have a big problem, but no one has suspected it before.
Zhao Duan gently shook the horse's reins, took the lead to step over the corpses on the ground, continued walking higher, and said indifferently:
"Yuanji, you stay here with the troops and deal with the follow-up. The rest of the people follow me up the mountain and meet Lu Zhengchun for a while. There is no way to use this place, so there is no need to waste the sergeant here."
……
……
The Zixiao Palace Taoist Temple occupies a large area and is of extraordinary grandeur.
In front of the Taoist temple, there is a huge and towering archway.
Going inside, there are palaces and pavilions.
At this moment, in the highest pavilion, the palace owner Lu Zhengchun, who was about forty or fifty years old, was wearing a luxurious deep purple robe and tied his hair with a jade hairpin. He was sitting in an extraordinarily large chair with an expressionless expression. Overlooking the fight on the platform on the mountainside.
From this viewing angle, you can have a perfect view of the fight between the two sides below.
At this moment, Lu Zhengchun was holding a disheveled female Taoist priest Guan Kun in his arms. The female Taoist priest was young and beautiful, with a graceful figure. Under her untied belt and slipped skirt, she could see a beautiful scene of white flowers.
Just witnessing the scene of killing below, the pretty and delicate Kun Dao looked as pale as gold paper, shivering, and his hands and feet were cold. No matter how big Lu Zhengchun's hands were, he had no reaction.
On the other side, the plump female Taoist priest who was waiting beside Lu Zhengchun and feeding the grapes to the palace master was equally dumbstruck, holding a golden bottle filled with green grapes.
Not only them, but also a large group of beautiful Kun Dao behind them, ranging in age from teenagers to more than thirty years old, all trembled like quails and stopped singing and dancing in fear.
"A bunch of trash."
Lu Zhengchun spat out these four words expressionlessly, not sure whether he was talking about the disciples below or the Kun Dao around him.
Only the female Taoist priest in her arms suddenly let out a cry of pain. It was Lu Zhengchun's big hand that was stuffed in her robe, and with sudden force, he pinched out a large bruised mass from the greasy flesh.
Lu Zhengchun turned his head and glanced at Chong Ji, who was trembling and biting her lip, trying to hold back her cry of pain. Tears were rolling in her eyes. He gently stroked her hair with gentle eyes and said:
"Does it hurt? It doesn't matter, it won't hurt after a while."
It turned out that a good family who came to offer incense was targeted by Lu Zhengchun, and he used some tricks to bring it into the palace as a furnace. Kun Dao was pitiful. He nodded slightly, with fear and dependence in his eyes.
However, the next second, her delicate and white neck was easily broken by Lu Zhengchun.
"Zhao Duan...what a Zhao Duan..."
Lu Zhengchun murmured, anger roaring in his eyes, his figure was blurry, and when it became clear again, he had appeared under the simple and majestic archway in front of the Taoist temple.
He looked at Zhao Duan who was leading a group of men up the steps.
Eyes facing each other.
The corner of Zhao Duan's mouth raised slightly: "Lu Zhengchun? I suspect that Zixiao Palace is colluding with the party. Please come with me."
(End of chapter)