Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 432

The order finally descended upon the cultivators responsible for the first attack.

The burly man wielding the iron hammer glared, his entire body emitting a yellow glow. The iron hammer in his hands flew mercilessly toward the center of the gong.

A tremendous golden light erupted, but no sound was heard. Instead, the moment the golden light burst forth, tiny golden sparks flew like stars toward the opposing side.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The golden sparks flew a dozen or so zhang [approximately 3.3 meters] before turning into a golden mist. As the burly man struck the gong madly, the golden mist rapidly spread, threatening to engulf the mage army.

Following this, the two cultivators waved their black triangular flags, and from within, flood dragons revealed themselves, spewing black energy.

A massive whirlwind swept up sand and stones, and the black energy blurred the sky, making it impossible to see ahead. But their attack did not stop there.

The red-clad girls raised their trays high and chanted incantations. Red light flashed, and copper pieces rose from the trays, pouring out countless small firebirds the size of fists. The three golden-robed elders stood in a triangle and simultaneously activated the huge gourds on their backs. Snowflakes that chilled to the bone were generated and flew forward at high speed.

Faced with these exotic treasures’ attacks, the opposing mages were frantically trying to defend themselves under the direction of the gaunt old man.

The golden mist and black whirlwind simultaneously collided with the mages’ protective shields and spread out. Various lights scattered, and the mages’ protective shields wavered.

Ryongham confirmed this and issued another attack order. This time, it was a large-scale attack secret technique jointly deployed by various sects.

Various colored pillars of light and demonic flames that seemed to cover the sky rose from each unit, combining with the first attack using exotic treasures to engulf the mage camp.

At this, the gaunt old man’s face darkened.

Just a slight delay in activating the spirit techniques had caused the situation to turn dire.

‘Madam Ryuk! We must use the giant demonic beasts. Otherwise, they will seize the early advantage,’ the old man suddenly said to a woman in black beside him.

‘The Sect Leader has lent us the giant demonic beasts, so use them as you please. You don’t need to tell me beforehand,’ the woman said with a smile, indicating that she would not interfere. The old man nodded and immediately issued the order.

Roars of earth-shattering demonic beasts were heard, and a dozen or so giant demonic beasts charged straight through the mages’ protective shields. They were giant demonic beasts from the ancient era, clad in armor.

The giant demonic beasts charged straight into the cultivators’ camp. The cultivators also redirected some of their attacks toward the giant demonic beasts.

Finally, the mage camp, which had been unable to move under the tremendous offensive, found some breathing room.

Taking this opportunity, dozens of mages hurriedly flew up, throwing dozens of various kinds of projectiles and chanting incantations.

Soon, a mysterious event occurred.

Some of the projectiles disappeared into the ground, some were enveloped in blue light and hovered in the air, and others were covered in clear water or red flames.

Upon closer inspection, each contained a demonic beast.

A yellow earth-attribute serpent over ten zhang long, a giant fire-attribute wolf seven zhang long, a bizarre bird that was almost transparent, a navy-blue turtle protected by a water shield…

These demonic beasts appeared and immediately followed the ancient demonic beasts, charging toward the cultivator army.

The ancient demonic beasts were naturally thick-skinned and armored all over, so even after being hit by various magic techniques, only a few scales fell off, and not a single one was left behind.

However, the situation was different for the materialized demonic beasts formed from energy. Although they looked just as imposing, most of them scattered into light when attacked.

The high-level mages, as if they had seen nothing, threw another large number of projectiles into the air and chanted incantations. The newly generated demonic beasts fearlessly charged into the enemy lines.

Seeing this, the cultivators’ expressions changed, and they attacked the demonic beasts, which reduced the pressure on the mage camp.

Ryongham, having grasped the situation, hesitated as he was about to issue an order.

The gaunt old man, having barely found an opening, ordered the activation of the attack-type spirit techniques that the mage group had prepared in advance. The light of spirit energy intensified, and the sound of chanting grew louder, forming giant fireballs and ice spears shaped like tree trunks.

‘Spirit technique barrier,’ Ryongham mouthed, sending a telepathic message. The exotic treasures stopped their offensive and returned to the protection of the barrier.

Then, over a thousand cultivators held up flags and threw them, causing a large amount of colorful light to erupt, creating another layer of protection in front of the mage army, like a giant shield.

At that moment, hundreds of giant fireballs and over a thousand ice spears sent by the enemy flew in. However, the colorful protective shield that the cultivators had just created showed no gaps even under the tremendous offensive.

Ryongham confirmed this and smiled.

The thousand or so cultivators who had flown up were elite disciples trained by the National Salvation Alliance for many years. Seeing the power of the protective shield, Wimu-ae’s assurances were true.

The gaunt old man, on the other hand, frowned and immediately issued another attack order.

Then, from the mage camp, not just simple fireballs or ice spears, but fire-attribute crows and ice serpents appeared endlessly in the air. Naturally, the time spent chanting was longer than during the first attack.

At this time, a group split off from the cultivator army, and cultivators wearing green robes emerged from the protective shield, throwing the spirit beast pouches they wore at their waists high into the sky. Then, colorful light spread out, and dozens of demonic beasts appeared from within.

In particular, the three that appeared at the forefront were the most extraordinary.

The white demonic beast with horns on its head and scales covering its entire body was a rare dragon-horse beast. The two-headed lion demonic beast with a bloody smell coming from its mouth had a green mane that gleamed all over its body.

And the last demonic beast was a bright red giant poisonous scorpion, whose stinger on its back was so dark it was almost purple, making it look the most sinister.

The spirit beasts, carefully raised by the Demonic Spirit Sect, immediately followed the three spirit beasts, ambushing the giant demonic beasts and the fake spirit beasts created by the mages with a fierce momentum.

Although only the three spirit beasts were similar to the giant ancient demonic beasts, the other spirit beasts were also well-trained, and they had a chance of winning by attacking in groups.

At the same time as the demonic beasts flew out, thousands of cultivators soared into the sky, dividing into five groups and pouring various magic tools and treasures onto the mage camp.

The dense magic tools covered the mage camp’s protective barrier like a rough wave.

The gaunt old man sneered and sent a large number of mages to fight the cultivators. Hundreds of them exploded or fell to the ground as their protective shields were breached by the enemy’s attacks.

It was a gruesome sight.

Meanwhile, the mage camp also completed preparations for their spirit technique attack. Dozens of fire-attribute crows and ice serpents rushed toward the cultivator army.

This time, the cultivator army was also prepared, and they used a large number of magic treasures and tools to eliminate most of them before they could attack the protective shield.

The few remaining attacked the colorful protective shield, but the shield only flickered a few times and did not suffer much damage.

However, Ryongham frowned. Although the protective shield researched by the National Salvation Alliance was powerful, it could not completely block powerful spirit techniques.

He sighed and issued an order.

The cultivator army slowly advanced, using the protective shield as a shield. The cultivators protected themselves with their magic tools and treasures and chanted various incantations to prepare for an attack.

Seeing this, the gaunt old man’s face turned cold. The fact that the enemy was risking a charge was to prevent them from having time to deploy spirit techniques.

As the order was given, the mage army also slowly advanced, using the protective shield as a shield.

As a result, the distance between the two sides rapidly decreased.

When the distance closed to about a hundred zhang, and they could faintly see the enemy’s faces, a ‘thud!’ sound rang out seven times from the cultivator camp, and seven white streaks of light shot out.

The seven jade talismans were activated by the rituals of seven elders from the Ranmyeong Sect. The jade talismans immediately flew into the sky above the mage army and revealed their true forms.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The seven jade talismans shattered, forming dazzling white lightning masses. It was as if seven blazing suns had risen. The mages were all shocked by the astonishing sight and raised their heads in alarm.

‘Ancient talismans!’ the gaunt old man, who had maintained a calm expression, shouted with a changed expression, but before he could do anything, the seven suns exploded.

Boom! Ka-boom! Ka-boom! Thud!

Massive bolts of lightning fell like a net from the sky above the mage army.

* * *

‘It’s very noisy outside,’ Han Li muttered to himself. He was watching the blood-red protective shield with his hands behind his back, but he showed no signs of panic.

After realizing that the mages were trying to trap them, he was rather relieved.

He was somewhat confident in breaking the barrier, but when and how to break it was a matter to consider after assessing the situation.

It was advantageous not to go out too quickly right now. Although he had agreed to fight the Moran people on behalf of Tiannan, he had no intention of becoming a victim of the war.

If he went out too early and was targeted by Nascent Soul mages and attacked in a coordinated effort, or if he was surrounded by hundreds or thousands of mages, it would be dangerous no matter how well he had mastered the Lightning Escape Technique.

It was much safer to go out after the initial chaos had passed and most of the high-level cultivators had begun engaging the mages.

Even if the protective shield had not turned blood-red, he would have used other means to avoid the initial chaos. But since the other side had made these preparations in advance, it was fortunate for him.

Judging from the thunderous sounds he had just heard, it seemed that both sides had begun to engage in earnest. He did not know which side had launched such an amazing attack, but the other side must have suffered great damage.

Han Li sighed and turned his head to examine the other barriers.

The blood-red protective shield strangely blocked his consciousness completely. Moreover, although it was clearly a barrier created with demonic techniques, the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning did not work.

He opened his mouth and spat out a small blue sword, which sharply cut into the blood-red wall.

Thud.

However, with a dull sound, the protective shield did not crack, and the flying sword was bounced back. He immediately retrieved the flying sword and flipped his palm, summoning the dark, heavy Thousand Mountains Peak ancient treasure. Then, he formed hand seals with both hands.

Black light flashed, and the small mountain, which had grown to over a dozen zhang, floated up silently. At his gesture, the mountain peak vibrated and immediately charged toward the blood-red wall.

Thud!

A huge sound was heard, and black light and blood-red light clashed, but only the mountain peak was bounced back. Han Li was a little surprised, but he gestured toward the mountain peak again.

The mountain peak, transformed into a black streak of light, flew toward the center of the blood-red protective shield and began to compress the upper and lower parts as it grew to a height of eighty zhang while chanting incantations.

At this, Han Li did not stop and extended his hand, sending out magic seals, and the mountain peak grew rapidly.

Coo-coo-thud!

Upon closer inspection, the top of the protective shield began to bulge. Han Li was delighted and continuously sent out various magic seals, and the deformation of the protective shield became more pronounced.

However, that was only for a moment. After a certain point, the bulging shape completely stopped changing.

‘This won’t work?’