CHAPTER 1134: CHAPTER 176: THE GAP IN POWER BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH (PART 2)

"Demon Taoist! It’s really a demon! Archers! Where are the archers!!"

A middle-aged general shouted loudly.

Outside the field, hundreds of soldiers holding bows and arrows gathered around, raising their bows from afar, aiming at Zhang Xiaoman.

"Fire arrows! Quickly fire!!"

The commander continued to give orders.

However, this time, not a single person responded to him; all the archers remained motionless, as if they hadn’t heard his words at all.

"You, you all..."

The commander was about to reprimand them, but when he turned to check, he found that these soldiers were all standing still, yet their expressions were twisted, as if struggling against something.

Only then did he finally understand that this scene was likely due to the sorcery cast by that demon.

"You, you demon! You..."

He was about to say something else, but Zhang Xiaoman interrupted him.

"Noisy."

With just a wave of Zhang Xiaoman’s hand, the commander suddenly rolled his eyes and collapsed to the ground.

This was Zhang Xiaoman’s Dark Energy Shock, which he had mastered to perfection, controlling hundreds of ordinary people was simply easy.

"Who is the commander here?"

Looking around at the several generals, Zhang Xiaoman’s gaze settled on the old general who had remained silent.

This person seemed to be the most composed among them, and he appeared to have a considerable cultivation of Inner Strength. Combined with his age and some intentional or unintentional protection from other generals, Zhang Xiaoman immediately locked onto his target.

Seeing this, Lu Cheng also realized his identity had been recognized by the other party, so he stopped concealing it.

Facing the immense pressure, he trembled and said:

"Demon Taoist, you came for me, didn’t you? My head is right here, come and take it! Don’t make things difficult for these soldiers!"

After speaking, he closed his eyes and waited for death to come.

"Commander! You can’t!!"

The surrounding generals saw this and shouted anxiously.

"Where are the 108 Golden Guards! Why haven’t they arrived! Quickly come out and protect the commander!!"

As soon as the words fell, dozens of piercing sounds suddenly echoed around, as various dark weapons attacked Zhang Xiaoman.

At the same time, 108 experts dressed in golden robes rushed from all directions.

From the speed they displayed, it was clear that these people were top experts from the palace, capable of ranking even in the entire Martial World.

They were loyal to the court alone and did not participate in the rankings of the Martial Arts lists.

Otherwise, neither the Heavenly List nor the Earthly List would look as it does now.

"The Golden Guards have arrived! Quickly! First, rescue the commander, don’t worry about us!"

Seeing this, several generals showed expressions of joy.

Clearly, the Golden Guards were a formidable force in their hearts.

Each of the 108 could be considered a martial prodigy, and now they were attacking together, in such a grandiose manner, that even if the top ten experts of the Heavenly List came, they’d still find it difficult to escape.

They moved with electric speed, and after landing, they launched an attack on Zhang Xiaoman, their coordination was obviously trained with joint attack techniques.

"Humph."

Faced with the storm-like oncoming attack, Zhang Xiaoman didn’t move an inch, merely let out a cold humph before unleashing Dark Energy Shock again.

Suddenly, the 108 Golden Guards, who were executing a joint attack, lost their balance for no reason, slammed into the ground, and were pinned down, unable to move despite their struggles using Inner Strength.

In an instant, all threats were eradicated, and the ground was filled with people who couldn’t move, pinned down.

"This, how is this possible..."

Seeing this, even Lu Cheng, who had remained poker-faced, couldn’t help but be shocked, staring at the scene in front of him.

Although he had anticipated the cultivator would be strong, he had never imagined the opponent would be this formidable.

Without lifting a finger, just a cold humph, he subdued the strongest forces on his side.

To know that the 108 Golden Guards were the most elite forces of the Royal Family, their presence was why those in the Martial World dared not invade the Imperial Palace’s majesty.

Though in solo combat, there were some who could beat them in the Martial World.

But when it came to joint attacks, he could say that no sect in the whole Martial Arts world could compete with them.

According to their original plan, the 108 Golden Guards were meant to be the ace for killing that cultivator.

But who would’ve thought the disparity between them would be so vast, the opponent solved them without even moving.

Reflecting on this, Lu Cheng felt as if they were mere actors, painstakingly plotting so many strategies, only to be completely crushed by true strength.

"Since you are the commander, then follow me."

Ignoring everyone else, Zhang Xiaoman waved his hand towards Lu Cheng, who was immediately drawn to him by a powerful suction force, flying to his side.

Disregarding the angry and fearful looks, Zhang Xiaoman cast Wind Control Technique and directly flew away with Lu Cheng.

After he left, everyone at the scene, relieved from the Dark Energy Shock’s suppression, finally regained mobility.

"Ah!!! Damn it!!! Quickly!! Notify all units!! Everyone gather!! Full-force siege!! Rescue General Lu!!"

Several generals were red-eyed, looking like raging madmen.

In all their years of campaigning and warfare, this was the first time someone had stormed the camp and taken the commander right in front of them.

The feeling was more unbearable than being killed, for these generals, it was a naked humiliation.

Instantly, with orders being issued, the entire camp became busy.

...

On the other side, Zhang Xiaoman took Lu Cheng and directly crossed several kilometers, flying back to the City Lord Mansion of Han Yue City.

"Sect Leader Zhang! You’re back? This is...?"

Ye Lin saw Zhang Xiaoman descending from the sky and quickly came forward to pay respects.

But he soon noticed something amiss; the opponent seemed to have brought a general in armor back with him.

Upon closer inspection, Ye Lin suddenly changed expression, recognizing the person’s identity.

"He is... Lu Cheng, Lu Great General!?"

Ye Lin had once been fortunate enough to see Lu Cheng’s real face while following Bai Yue early on, so recognizing his identity was not surprising.

"Oh? You recognize him?"

Zhang Xiaoman piqued with interest.

Ye Lin nodded:

"Yes, if I’m not mistaken, he is the Great General of the Dafu Dynasty, Marquis of the Nation—Lu Cheng."

"Marquis of the Nation? Haha, it seems his status in the country is quite significant."

Zhang Xiaoman might not be familiar with the country’s official titles, but he could guess the weight of a Marquis, especially with the title "Marquis of the Nation," making it even more intriguing.

"Humph! Traitor! Speak no more! Do what you will! You’ll gain no military intelligence from me!"

Lu Cheng, the old general, showed a resolute attitude, unwilling to yield.

"Traitor!?"

Beside him, Ye Lin, upon hearing these words, suddenly shouted interrogatively.

"General Lu, originally I heard Lord Bai talk of some of your deeds and held great admiration. But I did not expect you to be someone who doesn’t discern good from bad; truly, meeting is not as good as hearing about you!"

His face showed anger, as if he had a long-suppressed fury wanting to burst forth.

"I ask you, what crime has Han Yue City committed, and what fault is upon its citizens, that you want to slaughter without discussing!"

"We, as Dafu citizens, faced demon bloodshed in the city, yet instead of sending aid, the court intends to annihilate us. For what reason!?"

"Now we merely refuse to submit without resistance, is this treason in General Lu’s eyes!? Should Han Yue City’s citizens simply perish!?"