Chapter 634: Sword Formation Gone Berserk
Translator: Irene Editor: Lucas, TYZ
Engrossed in the bitingly cold refining process of his sword embryo, Ai Hui had no idea how dangerous the situation outside was.
The sword embryo was entirely different from how it had been before.
The swords within spiralled in a tangle like two concentrated shoals of fishes. The odd thing was that each mini sword was shaped differently. Some were like the vast autumn waters, magnificent and cold; some were slightly bent like hooks or a crescent moon; some were blunt, as if eroded by wind and frost, while others had only half a blade and their tips were like a reverse fish hook…
Ai Hui had never seen so many differently shaped swords before.
When he placed his mind onto a certain mini sword, its profound essence came naturally to him like a creek that flowed across his heart and mind. His sword embryo was like a kaleidoscope that contained a myriad of exceptional sword manuals.
Ai Hui had never felt this satisfied.
For him, studying and researching swordplay was like groping in the darkness. With the decline in popularity of swordsmanship, swords manual left over from the Cultivation Era also lost their authentic tradition and might in the elemental era. Many times he could only hazard guesses and conduct tests.
He had no one to ask for guidance and many of his theories couldn't be corroborated. Even the sword embryo that he had somehow produced was very damaged and incomplete, like a deformed plant.
Yet, after absorbing the force of Blood of God, this deformed plant grew wildly and irradiated an unprecedented vigor that somehow healed the damage.
The ancient demonic god's blood was simply unbelievable!
With continuous strengthening and perfecting, what appeared before Ai Hui was an unprecedentedly rich and colorful world.
He absorbed all the nutrients like a starved man. It was a chance that he'd never dared to dream about.
Following the increase in understanding of swordsmanship, myriad of swordplays, and absorption, his sword embryo became increasingly mighty and wild.
If Ai Hui were to raise his head to look at the blazing sun, he would realize that the aura of the domineering sun was now much weaker. Even its seemingly substantial golden light pillar and its pressurizing and destructive aura had dimmed significantly when placed in front of the whizzing and surging sword embryo.
The amount of splashing golden rays increased. They were like golden mist, vast and obscure.
Ai Hui separated himself from this bizarre state and quickly sensed something amiss. The speed of the golden mist was becoming slow. After a brief sensing, he found the cause.
There wasn't any flesh in the sword formation. Without it, the divinity and impurity blended into the sword at a much slower pace.
Ai Hui muttered to himself. According to the usual time schedule, Lou Land and gang should've replenished more flesh by now.
Could it be… had something happened?
…..
They just had to go over the mountain ridge to attack the side of the enemy's troop disposition. There wasn't the least bit of hesitation in Silverfrost. The Beehive Heavy Cannons rumbled incessantly behind, and each time a shot landed on the ground, they could feel an intense quake.
They had to make full use of time. Each second was extremely precious.
The mountain ridge wasn't considered tall and its slopes weren't steep, so they had a smooth and easy journey. Song Xiaoqian felt relieved as this meant that the enemy hadn't thought that their camping ground would be invaded. If they had expected an attack, they would've arranged the necessary deterrents.
The originally unrestrained night attack had become a to-and-fro tussle. The enemy's stubbornness and countless tricks had caused some doubts within God Wolf. They wondered if the enemy had already prepared themselves a long time ago.
After crossing the ridge successfully, they could see the pagoda cannon formation glowing from far away. The glow of the volleys released by the Beehive Heavy Cannons was even more jarring when witnessed from afar. They were neat like a light fence, and the undulations produced by the elemental energy resonance were like invisible ripples that appeared exceptionally striking in the night sky.
After a brief moment of astonishment, Silverfrost sighed a breath of relief and loosened their tensed hearts.
Just as Song Xiaoqian was preparing to order everybody to advance toward the pagoda cannon formation, someone cried out in alarm, "Quick, look, what's that?"
Song Xiaoqian jolted. What she had least wanted to hear was a cry like that, because that usually signified an unforeseen change.
The surprised cry attracted everybody's attention and they all looked up. The next moment, more alarmed cries and drawn out breaths could be heard.
"What's that?"
"Oh my god! What's that?"
As they had been solely focussed on the faraway volleys let out by the pagoda cannon formation, they failed to notice the valley beneath their feet. The valley wasn't deep and its terrain was level. It was a typical small basin.
However, the scene in the valley was extremely shocking. Long swords were invertedly inserted into the earth on the valley floor, their blades directly facing the sky. They were placed in a crisscrossed and disordered manner, but somehow there seemed to be a kind of pattern contained within the mess.
The countless and densely packed swords filled the whole valley. It was like a sword forest!
Despite Song Xiaoqian's usual calmness, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with shock, her scalp going numb.
The sight before her was simply too majestic! Hundreds of thousands, or even millions of swords covered the valley, producing an incomparable visual. She even questioned if she had just entered a historical site of a swordsman sect in the cultivation era.
The swords pointed toward the sky without a sound and Song Xiaoqian knew that these countless swords were part of a sword formation.
The dense sword consciousness surged like an enormous dragon with spiky scales, hissing and spiralling within the forest.
This… what exactly was this?
All of a sudden, a premonition rose within her chest. Could this be the hidden but fatal move prepared by the enemy? The manpower and physical resources required to operate so many swords were most definitely unimaginable!
What was Shi Xueman and gang plotting with such an alarming quantity of resources?
"Quick, look at the center of the valley!"
Actually, even without calling out, everybody already had their eyes on the center since the swords there were entirely different from those outside. They were like sword embryos that had been freshly taken out of the oven, exceptionally eye-grabbing amid the night sky.
The light rays released by the Beehive Heavy Cannons occasionally lit up the night sky and concealed these light swords, which were at times bright and at times dim.
Song Xiaoqian opened her eyes wide as a look of disbelief took over her stern face.
The aura of light swords…
The other soldiers also sensed the difference and gasped in surprise.
"Are they blood elementalists? Why do they feel like our own?"
"Yeah! Could it be that they had started to train blood spiritual force?"
"Seems a little different."
"It's different!"
The soldiers of Silverfrost weren't certain, because the aura emitted by the light swords seemed simultaneously familiar and foreign.
Song Xiaoqian had heard their doubts but chose not to talk. They felt that way, but she did not since she had sensed similar aura!
His Majesty!
The number of times His Majesty had called for a gathering of officials could be counted with one hand, but she had been lucky enough to be involved. It was that particular meeting that she finally understood how powerful His Majesty was. He had merely revealed a wisp of aura, but he gained the acknowledgement of the whole world!
That experience had left her an indestructible impression.
The aura of light swords couldn't be compared to His Majesty's, since the latter's was like an ocean, extremely vast and immeasurable, rendering people resistanceless. Although the former was much dimmer, Song Xiaoqian was certain that both were similar.
Could it be General Ye?
This thought flashed across her mind but immediately got denied. No matter how powerful Dread was, it wasn't possible for them to transport General Ye to the back in such a short period of time and under such close pursue.
Another possibility came to mind. Holy object!
His Majesty's legendary force originated from Blood of God's supreme holy object – ancient God's blood.
Perhaps the elementalists had gotten hold of God's blood?
"There's someone in the sword formation!"
They could vaguely see someone lying in the center of the faintly discernible ring of light swords.
Many subconsciously swallowed their saliva and their mouths became dry. The sight before them was simply too terrifying. There were so many swords making up the large scale sword formation and there was actually someone inside of it!
Could it be that this unbelievably big sword formation was actually created single-handedly?
Who could operate such a colossal amount of resources? And if such a great amount of power was being condensed into an individual…
A word jumped into their heads almost simultaneously – Grandmaster!
It could only be a Grandmaster!
Song Xiaoqian made the same judgement. She was shaken up. Some areas of doubt had been cleared by this point.
Could a large scale sword formation produce a Grandmaster? Perhaps not, but what if there was God's blood?
The Spear of God and so on were all pretenses meant to hinder the enemy's strategies. Their real killer move was this sword formation. The Grandmaster that was being bred within this sword formation!
A hesitant look appeared on her face.
According to their previous plan, they were supposed to attack the pagoda cannon formation from its sides, but now that she knew that a Grandmaster was possibly being born, her plan was swayed.
A Grandmaster was supreme!
The birth of a Grandmaster was sufficient to change the grand scheme of things.
Song Xiaoqian clenched her teeth and made a decision on the spot. She then ordered coldly, "Destroy the sword formation!"
Compared to the possibility of a Grandmaster being born, the victory of this battle meant nothing. Even if God Wolf were to be destroyed, there wouldn't be any fundamental change in strength and power on both sides.
However, if the elementalists were to produce another Grandmaster, their previous dominance would vanish in a puff of smoke. The blood elementalists' overwhelming superiority would no longer stand and both parties would more or less have a balance of power, with the blood elementalists having a slight advantage perhaps.
They had to destroy the sword formation no matter what!
They mustn't let the elementalists produce another Grandmaster no matter what!
Song Xiaoqian needn't say anything. The soldiers were aware of these facts too.
Like an avalanche, Silverfrost descended from the mountain ridge. From the mountain peak, they dove toward the valley, borrowing the advantage of the terrain and momentum to charge forward with an unstoppable grandeur.
Even the faraway rumbling of the Beehive Heavy Cannons were temporarily being drowned by the clattering of wolves' hoofs.
The valley shook, causing the swords to tremble.
Song Xiaoqian remained as calm as ice. The moment she made her decision, there was no trace of hesitation left.
The white light rays enveloped the soldiers of Silverfrost and wrapped around the hoofs of the wolves. They were like flowing blades that crashed into the sword formation.
Wherever they passed, the swords broke off like dried branches and flew all over.
In the blink of an eye, a scar of over thirty meters had been plowed out of the sword formation.
Just then, a light sword beside Ai Hui trembled slightly.