Chapter 912: Army at The Gate
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“Brother Zhang, if you are willing to join our forces to defeat the Immortal Vampires, ten thousand lives of the Shi Family will be saved.”
Shi Ren was touched and happy to hear that Zhang Ruochen was willing to fight against the Immortal Vampires alongside the Shi Family.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
While Zhang Ruochen was not as strong as a Level Seven Half-Saint, he could kill the immortal vampires that the Level Seven Half-Saint missed out on.
For instance, a Level One Half-Saint from the Immortal Vampires knew he would never defeat a Level Seven Half-Saint from the human race. Thus, he would escape the battle using a royal decree.
Once having escaped, the damage he could cause to the surrounding cities would be beyond imaginable. Thousands of mortals could die.
However, things would end up differently for Zhang Ruochen.
Not only did he have the Shooting Star Invisible Cloak, which allowed him to launch a sneak attack on the Immortal Vampires, but he could also stop the Immortal Vampires from escaping with his Spatial Power.
On the battlefield, Zhang Ruochen would be more useful as compared to a Level Seven Half-Saint, or even a Level Nine.
Shi Ren frowned for a moment, then whispered to Zhang Ruochen, “Brother Zhang, I am extremely grateful that you have volunteered to help. But you must be extra cautious. Other than the monks from the Shi Family, the troops from the Elephant King will be there as well.”
“The Kings from the Ministry might play dirty to get their hands on you, the moment they learn about your presence at the Golden Sparrow City.”
“I will disguise myself as someone else during the battle, and my main target will be the half saints of the Immortal Vampires. Revealing myself will be the last resort,” said Zhang Ruochen.
“Haha! With the help of Brother Zhang, the half-saints of the Immortal Vampires in Golden Sparrow City will be having a hard time,” Shi Ren guffawed with delight.
The Immortal Vampires fed on blood for sustenance. Human was equivalent to a pig, dog, cattle, sheep or other livestock to them, and the life purpose of an Immortal Vampire was to annihilate humanity.
Zhang Ruochen had never liked the Immortal Vampires. More people will be able to live just by killing one Immortal Vampire.
That very night, soldiers of the Shi Family gathered at the tent outside the Shi Family’s mansion.
Zhang Ruochen was on the rooftop of a building near the pond, overlooking the military tent.
There were about a hundred thousand soldiers from the Way of Sword. Each of them was an elite of the Shi Family’s private army.
Above the tent, a rainbow streaked across the sky, making the clouds glow against the twilight.
From afar, it looked like a cascading rainbow fall, absolutely breathtaking.
“Indeed, this is an ancient race that has existed since the medieval times. The private army the family owns is sufficient to take over the thirty-six counties in the Yuan Mansion. There may be more inherent yet hidden forces.”
Zhang Ruochen shifted his sight to the other smaller tent. The region it occupied was smaller compared to the military one.
The smaller tent contained only rune masters, who were the immediate family members of the Shi Family.
After all, rune mastery was the skillset the Shi Family was known for.
In Kunlun’s field, monks of each sect of every Way were required to learn about runes. But the rune masters of the Shi Family were among the top five in rune mastery.
Zhang Ruochen used his Spiritual Power to spy on the tent the rune masters were in.
The moment his spirit was near the tent, the other rune masters with strong Spiritual Power had already noticed his presence.
To avoid misunderstanding, he retracted his Spiritual Power.
“Seems like the Ancient Race of Prison Guardian is serious about the war against the Immortal Vampires.”
Rather than checking on the Shi Family, Zhang Ruochen decided to continue practicing the sixth move of the Emperor Ming Nine-sky Scripture on the rooftop.
When his cultivation was stronger, the success rate of him advancing to Level Two Half-Saint after consuming the Divine Origin Pill would be higher.
The next day, the Shi, Wang and Shen Family departed from the Pluto Sword Tomb along with their neatly aligned troops; some were riding on the war beasts, and the others were on the battleships provided by the Ministry. The scale of the formation was incredible.
Zhang Ruochen carried the Taotian Sword on his back. He was riding on Elephant-swallowing Rabbit and following at the back of the troops. Off he went to the Golden Sparrow City.
The fact that Xiang Zhengfeng escaped the Underground Spirit Prison had confirmed his identity as the spy of the Immortal Vampires.
His escape had also proven Zhang Ruochen’s innocence. Therefore, Ling Feiyu returned the Taotian Sword to him.
“Master Zhang, I have refined all of the Half-Saint Light you gave me, and now I am close to achieving Level Five Half-Saint. Could you give me more?”
Elephant-swallowing Rabbit licked its lips while running at the fastest speed it could.
For the past few days, Elephant-swallowing Rabbit and Monster Ape had been cultivating in the Scroll World with the Half-Saint Light Zhang Ruochen obtained from the half-saints he defeated.
Needless to say, their strengths had improved by leaps and bounds.
“I have given you all of my collection. Nothing’s left now. Take this war as the opportunity. The more Immortal Vampires of Half-Saint level you kill, the more Half-Saint Light you get to collect,” Zhang Ruochen replied.
Refining the Half-Saint Light was the catalyst to becoming a half-saint. It was similar to taking the cultivation of others and converting to your own.
However, there could be adverse effects when a human monk tried to refine the Half-Saint Light.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen chose to refine the Divine Blood, which was also beneficial to advancing his cultivation level but helped to strengthen his body. Though the process could take longer than refining the Half-Saint Light, it was more stable and had less side effects.
On the other hand, refining the Half-Saint Light had no adverse effect on the beasts.
That was why many Saints who practiced the Evil Way loved hunting the Half-Saints and fed their Half-Saint Light to their war beasts and beast pets.
Zhang Ruochen had the same intention as the Saints by feeding the Elephant-swallowing Rabbit and Monster Ape with the Half-Saint Light.
After all, extra effort would be needed to fight against two beasts.
The increase in strength of the two beasts would elevate Zhang Ruochen’s overall combat power.
As the troops got closer to the Golden Sparrow City, Zhang Ruochen could see the city walls from the hillside.
The Shi Family’s hundred thousand troops surrounded the city on their war beasts within a short while, with their war flags fluttering in the wind.
Two stacks of black metal in the shape of a battleship were hovering above the troops, casting two giant shadows onto the ground.
The two battleships of Half-Saint level were restricted weapons, which would only be used during desperate times.
In order to kill all of the Immortal Vampires at once, the Ministry had employed seven battleships of Half-Saint level, and two of them were under the command of the Shi Family.