“Kill!”
Five or six riders came like a whirlwind, and when they arrived, they shouted in unison.
The martial aura and bloodlust surged forward, causing Wu Ming to frown.
“A mere bloodlust from five or six men? You think it can break me? Send a whole squad first!”
Yu Shaojun laughed wildly, and the pearl in his hand emitted a dull yellow glow, sinking into the ground.
Thump! Thump!
The ground began to tremble, and suddenly, five or six stone pillars erupted from it like long spears or halberds, forming a deadly formation, waiting for the enemy cavalry to fall into the trap.
“Take this!”
However, the leader of the enemy cavalry merely sneered, suddenly drawing a long saber and slashing forward.
Buzz!
With this slash, everything around seemed to freeze momentarily. Among the vast starry sky, a large ominous star began to shine, resonating with a mysterious glow from the general’s body, and slowly descending to grant him its power.
With the slash, the star power was infused, forming a sharp saber blade!
“This is… a star-blessed general with a celestial fate? No! It seems similar, yet different!”
Xiao Di, standing beside Wu Ming, gasped in astonishment.
Hiss!
In the flash of the saber light, the stone pillars shattered into pieces, turning into ashes under the starlight.
Wu Ming also wanted to exclaim, “Oh my… Just an ordinary squad leader, yet he’s on the same level as Wu Tiehu. Is this a joke?”
Wu Ming possessed the ability to observe auras, so he could clearly see that only faint starlight surrounded this cavalry commander. His martial arts were merely at the internal strengthening stage, roughly equal to Wu Tiehu’s.
However, the visible starlight was amplifying this man’s abilities, enabling him to unleash power comparable to an innate master or even a martial artist with Gang Qi!
This was due to the overwhelming star power in this world.
If Wu Tiehu were brought here, as long as his own star was still shining, he could also achieve this. Conversely, if this cavalryman were taken to the Zhou dynasty, he wouldn’t be able to do this no matter how hard he tried.
“In this world, the star energy is so abundant that individuals with even a slight connection to celestial fate can unleash greater power?”
In an instant, Wu Ming grasped the essence of this world: “The moonlight is also abundant, so all sorts of spirits and monsters must be everywhere…”
“Die!”
In the blink of an eye, three riders broke through the danger zone, their faces twisted with cruel grins. They raised their hands, and the heads of two newcomers flew into the air, blood gushing like fountains.
“Why are you still standing there? Attack together!”
Xiao Jidu roared furiously, instantly soaring into the air like a ghost, appearing behind the riders. He swept his right leg, and the cavalryman, though skilled, blocked with both arms.
Crack!
He screamed in pain, his arm bones broken, and fell from his horse.
“Shoot!”
The other two riders immediately drew their bows and arrows, proving themselves to be skilled horse archers!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two arrows shot rapidly toward Wu Ming, who dodged and, with a flash of sharpness in his eyes, leapt forward. In a blink, he extended his claws, grabbed one of the cavalrymen by the neck, lifted him up, and threw him aside, leaving the man unconscious.
“Insects, you’ve really angered me!”
Meanwhile, Yu Shaojun shouted furiously. From the pearl in his hand, four golden characters appeared, transforming into four golden-armored divine figures surrounding the cavalry leader.
“Dare you rebel? I am a tooth soldier under the command of the Lie Mountain Division of the Jiushan Army!”
Clearly, the previous cavalryman had used a powerful move by channeling star energy, a technique effective against evil arts. However, seeing Yu Shaojun merely move slightly and remain calm, he immediately invoked his connections.
“Divine generals, heed my command! Kill him!”
Yu Shaojun waved his hand, and the four golden-armored generals roared, raising heavy weapons like golden hammers and iron clubs, smashing down mercilessly. Blood and flesh were crushed into pulp, a horrifying sight.
“Run!”
The remaining few tooth soldiers finally lost their courage and cried out to escape.
“We can’t let them escape!”
Wu Ming’s eyes flickered, and he immediately shouted.
“Haha, don’t worry!”
Xiao Jidu dashed forward like a black line, his Wind God Leg technique moving as fast as a storm, faster than a galloping horse.
…
At dawn.
The sunlight in this world wasn’t intense, and faintly, the stars could still be seen.
A few people had already left the village’s outskirts and found a small pond to rest at.
Green grass covered the ground like a carpet, and the lake water was as clear as jade.
A few warhorses leisurely grazed on the grass, while Wu Ming and the others looked at the armor, bows, and other items on the ground, glancing at each other in silence.
“Jiushan Army, Lie Mountain Division, tooth soldier Zhang Lie!”
Wu Ming played with a waist tablet in his hand, a half-smile on his face. “Didn’t expect… our mission is to support Li Rubi, yet we ended up killing one of his tooth soldiers first…”
“Oh no…”
Xiao Jidu groaned, holding his head. “In a time of war, what’s a few tooth soldiers? Anyway, no one saw it. But these soldiers are so arrogant, and the discipline is so bad, judging from this, our mission is practically a hell-level task…”
“There’s no need to be so pessimistic… After all, these soldiers and officers are still quite strong…”
A new recruit hesitated as he spoke. He hadn’t performed well earlier, but now he was trying to muster courage, though it didn’t attract much attention.
Xiao Di explained instead: “The tooth soldiers of the regional armies are the private and elite troops of the commanders. Their upkeep costs ten times that of regular soldiers! Those with such quality are one in a hundred…”
“In other words, among the entire Jiushan Army, there are only a few hundred like this… If there were ten thousand, the entire world would be in chaos!”
Wu Ming added, immediately making the new recruit’s face turn red with embarrassment, and he quietly moved aside.
“I would like to ask Miss Xiao Di, what exactly is a star-blessed general with a celestial fate?”
Xiao Jidu asked curiously.
“A star-blessed general…”
Xiao Di pondered for a moment. “It means that a celestial star responds to their destiny. It’s said that in times of chaos, there are often ministers and generals with celestial fates who reincarnate to assist the true dragon in establishing a dynasty. The most famous among them are the Left Assistant Star, the Right Assistant Star, the Literary Star, and the Martial Star… According to the records, the tooth soldier we saw earlier merely had a slight connection to a star’s blessing, not a true star-blessed general!”
As she spoke, a trace of worry appeared on her face: “These generals of the stars, the more danger they face, the more their guardian star’s power is activated. If they truly possess a celestial star’s fate, even strange phenomena like stars appearing in daylight may occur. When they die, there will certainly be shooting stars as omens… Of course, here it’s even more terrifying…”
Wu Ming and the others looked up and saw the clearly outlined stars even in daylight, exchanging glances with wry expressions.
“Hmm? A star-blessed general… Hearing you say that, I suddenly remember something…”
Xiao Jidu squatted down, scratching his head: “A long time ago, I seem to have heard a rumor about this, saying something about Huang Jie, the number one rebel in the Great Zhou dynasty, who was also said to be a reincarnation of a celestial star!”
“The Killing-Piercing-Thief Formation!!”
Yu Shaojun, who had been silent beside them, suddenly spoke up: “Rebel King Huang Jie, born under the Killing-Piercing-Thief Formation! Once he appears, the world falls into chaos!”
As he spoke, a flicker of fervor appeared in his eyes.
“Exactly! Huang Jie, who once threw the Great Zhou into chaos, was blessed with the true fate of the Seven Killing Stars, Breaking Stars, and Greedy Stars. With the Purple Star as his base and the Four Pillars shining together, he formed the ‘Killing-Piercing-Thief Formation,’ ultimately causing chaos throughout the Great Zhou dynasty!”
Xiao Di took a deep breath and continued: “The Seven Killing Star brings chaos to the nine provinces, the Breaking Star is a general who dominates the world, and the Greedy Star is a cunning and treacherous person. Once these three ominous stars unite, the world will inevitably change rulers, an irreversible fate!”
Hearing this secret for the first time, Wu Ming couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.
Even possessing one of the Breaking Star, Seven Killing Star, or Greedy Star would make one a great general who dominates the heavens. Even a slight connection to a star’s fate could transform an ordinary person.
If the true fate of these three ominous stars were concentrated in one person, how terrifying and awe-inspiring would that be?
Even a true dragon emperor might feel some trepidation.
“Now I really hope Li Rubi is the one with the Killing-Piercing-Thief Formation, a reincarnation of Huang Jie!” Wu Ming’s eyes flashed as he smiled.
“Impossible!”
Xiao Di immediately replied: “If he truly had the Killing-Piercing-Thief Formation, in this world, he would be unstoppable, and the entire world would fall into chaos, far beyond merely causing trouble in one province… However, he definitely has a celestial star’s fate!”
“A great general truly blessed by an ominous star, as long as he commands an army, protected by martial aura, bloodlust, and celestial fate, would be nearly immune to all attacks, unless…”
Xiao Di whispered a few words softly, and the last few words were barely audible, only Wu Ming’s ears twitching slightly.
“Alright! Due to the mission, we should join the Jiushan Army now!”
After resting for a while and eating some dry food, Wu Ming clapped his hands and suggested.
“How do we join?”
Xiao Jidu asked curiously.
“It’s simple… The Jiushan Army may claim to have ten thousand soldiers, but they’re actually just a group of bandits, and they also have to deal with government suppression. Do you think they have strict rules? Just go directly and say you want to join!”
Wu Ming smiled.
“Bandits? Joining them?” Xiao Jidu’s eyes lit up, slapping his thigh: “Right, that’s the way to go!”
“Just…” Wu Ming glanced at Yu Shaojun and said no more.
The meaning was clear. If they still dressed so extravagantly, going into a bandit den would be practically asking for death.
Yu Shaojun’s face twitched, and he turned away, flicking his sleeve: “This place is fine. We’ll part ways here!”
Without another word, he strode away and, as if shrinking the distance into a single step, vanished in an instant.
“Hey… wait!”
Xiao Jidu stood up, chased after him for several zhang, but then returned in frustration: “Heavens! Stuck with a teammate like that, we’re doomed for this mission…”
Wu Ming’s eyes flickered.
The previous mission was easier than this one, yet Tu Yanghao, Zheng Qian, and even Shan Lan and Ling Guhong were all unique experts.
But this time, among the new recruits, only Xiao Di was slightly promising, which couldn’t help but make him speculate.
Could it be that the share of strong experts was taken by Yu Shaojun or someone else in the team?
“Then let’s move out!”
Yuan Tai, the new recruit mentioned earlier, went to fetch the horses.
“Wait!”
Wu Ming flicked his fingers, sending out a few stones. The horses were startled, neighing wildly as they galloped away.
“What are you doing?”
These were excellent warhorses, worth over a hundred taels of silver each, and Yuan Tai loved them dearly, crying out in alarm.
“Do you want to ride them into the army?”
Wu Ming looked at him as if he were a monster: “Didn’t you see the brand on them? If you steal military horses and ride them to join the army, you might not even know how you died…”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Tai’s face turned red with embarrassment, almost wanting to hide underground.
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