Chapter 88

"Yue Hongyan, put down your weapon and surrender. It is your only way out."

Upon hearing this, Yue Hongyan sneered and swept her black-glowing halberd, unleashing a red-black storm directly at the middle-aged commandant.

The commandant's face darkened. Without dodging or resisting, he merely channeled his own magical power into the mystic beast black-glowing armor he wore.

The fierce beast head on his chest glowed with black light, as if it had come to life, emitting a low roar.

Suddenly, a huge illusion appeared in front of the commandant, a ferocious beast roaring as it collided with the storm unleashed by Yue Hongyan.

The illusion of the ferocious beast shattered, but the red-black storm also dissipated into thin air.

The commandant said sternly, "Any rebel of the Fierce Wind Society who resists arrest will be killed on the spot."

Yue Hongyan glared and shouted, "I'll kill you first!" She stomped her foot, causing the ground to crack, and she dashed like lightning to the commandant's front, her black-glowing halberd enveloped in flames, aiming straight for his chest.

Lin Feng, who was hiding nearby watching the battle, his pupils constricted, his gaze fixed on the black-glowing halberd in Yue Hongyan's hand.

The flames and the hurricane merged, forming a massive firestorm that enveloped the halberd, spinning and ultimately converging at the tip of the halberd.

The storm seemed to sweep everything in the surrounding space, finally concentrating at that single point.

A point that could pierce through anything!

The commandant's face changed, and his body floated backward. But as soon as he moved, he suddenly felt a tremendous suction force from the tip of Yue Hongyan's halberd, the core of the firestorm, as if it were trying to pull him into that single point!

"Great Annihilation Spear?!" The commandant's face turned pale, and he pulled out a jade slip from his storage bag, shattering it as quickly as possible.

The jade slip shattered, forming layer upon layer of barriers between him and Yue Hongyan.

While blocking Yue Hongyan, the commandant did not take the opportunity to retreat or escape but launched a fierce counterattack.

He roared, forming hand seals with both hands, his magical power exploding, but instead of attacking Yue Hongyan, he channeled it all into the ground beneath his feet.

Lin Feng, watching this, felt a bad premonition rising in his heart.

Then he saw the other Divine Martial Army cultivators, who had been retreating, sheath their swords and form the same hand seals as their superior!

All their magical power surged into the ground.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Instantly, the ground beneath Yue Hongyan's feet burst and exploded, like an earthquake, with fierce thunder shooting up into the sky!

"Earthquake from the Core!" Yue Hongyan's eyes narrowed, finally understanding that the commandant, who had been hesitating to act, was preparing this terrifying spell.

In front of her were the barriers created by the shattered jade slip.

Beneath her feet was the exploding ground and the raging thunder.

Trapped in an ambush, Yue Hongyan, who had instantly fallen into a deadly situation, chose to let out a fierce shout.

"Kill!"

Ignoring the exploding ground beneath her feet, the black-glowing halberd in Yue Hongyan's hand burst with raging flames, and her speed increased even more!

Without dodging, without retreating, she charged forward!

If there was an obstacle, she would break through it!

If there was an ambush, she would shatter it!

No matter how many layers of defense the enemy had, no matter how the ground beneath her feet kept exploding, Yue Hongyan's halberd never wavered or deviated!

The commandant's face changed, never expecting this seemingly delicate girl to be so fierce.

Caught off guard, he was directly struck by Yue Hongyan's black-glowing halberd, his entire body thrown back by the fierce flame storm, his mystic beast black-glowing armor burned to nothing!

"Retreat!" The commandant grunted, if not for the protection of his armor, he would have been killed by Yue Hongyan's halberd.

At this moment, he dared not hesitate any longer and quickly retreated under the protection of his subordinates.

Yue Hongyan did not pursue, her body surrounded by red flames, having withstood the fierce attack of the commandant's spell. Her lips were drained of blood, her white face almost transparent, and fresh blood continuously flowed from the corner of her mouth.

Lin Feng, who had witnessed the entire battle, let out a long breath, his gaze fixed on Yue Hongyan.

Apart from her ferocity, he could not think of any other evaluation.

This girl, her person and the martial arts technique she used, the Great Annihilation Spear, were both as sharp as a spear, leaving no room for life, invincible, and utterly ruthless.

However, although she had repelled the enemy, Yue Hongyan herself was no longer capable of fighting, it was a hard-fought victory.

Her two companions quickly came to support her. After a moment of rest, Yue Hongyan said, "We must leave quickly, Zhou Dog's main force will be here soon."

The three hastily fled into the thick fog of the Great Marsh, but they did not notice that a moment later, a person emerged from the fog, closely following them.

This person was none other than the Divine Martial Army commandant who had just been defeated by Yue Hongyan.

His mystic beast black-glowing armor was destroyed, leaving him in a white robe, his face pale from severe injuries, but his expression was extremely calm and composed, carefully following behind Yue Hongyan and her companions.

After his figure disappeared, Lin Feng slowly emerged from the fog, his expression uncertain.

"This person has deep scheming, daring to feign defeat to find the Fierce Wind Society's stronghold in the Great Marsh? If he had made a mistake just now, he would have really died under Yue Hongyan's spear."

"I wonder if Yue Hongyan and the others can lead me to the location of the Star River Sand."

...

In the Great Marsh, a hundred miles away from where Lin Feng and the others were, a huge military camp was built on the vast swamp.

In the camp, numerous armored cultivators moved continuously between the tents, their cultivation levels ranging from the third or fourth level of Qi Condensation to the middle or late stages of Foundation Establishment.

Regardless of their cultivation levels, these cultivators shared a common trait: a military-like iron-blooded aura, which seemed out of place with their cultivator identity but created a strange sense of harmony.

At the center of the camp, a large tent stood.

Inside the tent, the cries of women and children could be heard continuously.

A man lay on the ground, his eyes fixed on the top of the tent. The anger, hatred, and fear in his eyes had gradually faded, leaving no trace of life. Blood flowed from the wound on his neck, even emitting a faint heat.

His young wife wept, tightly hugging her son, covering his eyes with her hand.

She dared not let her son see the gruesome scene of his father being killed.

But the little boy seemed to sense something, struggling and crying, tears streaming from his mother's fingers.

On the opposite side, a heavily armored, imposing man leaned back in his chair, slowly wiping the blood from his long sword.

He was called Xie, the commander of this Divine Martial Army, with Xie as both his surname and given name, his full name being just one character: Xie.

His subordinates called him General Xie.

Looking at the weeping mother and child, Xie lightly flicked his sword and said, "He refused to praise me. What about you?"

The young woman tightly hugged her son, deeply bowing her head. She dared not look up, fearing that the demon in front of her would see the hatred in her eyes. She was not afraid of death, but she was afraid that her son would be harmed.

Xie lightly waved his sword, "Now, praise me."

The young woman's body trembled, sobbing silently, saying nothing.

Suddenly, her arms were empty, and in a panic, she looked up to see a terrifying sight: her son was already in Xie's hands.

The little boy was almost frightened stiff. Xie glanced at the young woman indifferently, "Praise me, or he dies."

The young woman's body stiffened. This demon had led an army to hunt down her fellow countrymen from Snow Wind Kingdom and had killed her husband right in front of her. Now he wanted her to praise him?

How could she do it?

But if she didn't, her son...

The little boy stared at his father's body on the ground, finally reacting, wailing and struggling with his hands.

Xie did not even look at him, only staring at the young woman, placing his sword at the little boy's neck and calmly saying, "Praise me."

The coldness of the sword caused a blood mark to appear on the little boy's neck.

The young woman shuddered, no longer hesitating, and forced out the words, "General, you are wise and mighty, with great powers. Please spare my son..." The first words out of her mouth shattered her mental defenses, and flattery poured out uncontrollably.

But her expression was blank, her lips moving mechanically, like a zombie, only her tear-filled eyes fixed on her son.

Xie closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly, seemingly enjoying it, and said, "Continue, don't stop. If you stop, I'll kill him."

The young woman kept praising, but she eventually ran out of words and began to repeat herself.

The pressure of the sword on her son's neck finally caused her to break down, her words becoming incoherent, and she could only beg Xie with her eyes.

Xie frowned, "Is that all you have?" He looked at the little boy, who was already hoarse from crying, and said, "I hate you brats the most. Your crying is annoying and unpleasant, and you don't know how to praise me."

"What use do I have for you?" As he spoke, Xie threw the little boy to the ground.

The young woman, surprised, lunged toward her son, but the next moment, a large foot came down, crushing the little boy's head in front of her!

"Ah... Ahhhh!!!" The young woman was stunned, then went mad, rushing to her son's body.

There, only the small, headless body of the little boy and a pool of blood remained.

Xie's sword flashed, and a gush of blood spurted from the young woman's neck as she fell to the ground, her eyes fixed on her son's body.

"Killing these three, my magical power has increased a bit. Not bad, not bad!" Xie took a deep breath, a red light flashing on his face, his expression incredibly calm.

This calmness was a thousand times more cold and cruel than mere coldness.

Xie picked up a small wooden sword, feeling the spiritual energy on it, which he had obtained after killing the young woman's husband.

"Did the Fierce Wind Society rebels use such a magical tool to locate their stronghold in the Great Marsh?" Xie walked out of the tent, looking at the waiting Divine Martial Army soldiers outside and said calmly, "Advance, our target is the rebels' stronghold in the Great Marsh."

Xie suddenly smiled, "Not a single rebel will be spared!"

...

Deep in the Great Marsh, Lin Feng cautiously followed behind Yue Hongyan and the others, suddenly shuddering and turning to look behind him.

"Such a heavy aura of blood and killing, was it just my imagination?"