Chapter 1920: From the Nine Netherworlds, a Weapon

He returned to that scene. Footsteps and screams filled the air. Someone rushed over, grabbed him, and urgently ordered, "Drag him onto the stage, quickly!"

Beside him was a tall earthen platform, twenty to thirty meters above the ground, with nothing but rocks below. What good end could a child who fell from there expect?

Wind in the mountains was perfectly normal. Yet, as the mountain breeze swept over Qu Ruhai, he felt a chill that penetrated to his very bones, as if this sinister wind had burrowed into his mind. Then, a voice whispered eerily in his ear, cackling coldly.

Anyone can push forward when things are going well. The true test of an elite army lies in how it fights when facing adversity.

It spoke of the accident when he lost his mother as a child. Back then, he had believed the evidence was conclusive, but his royal father refused to punish the concubine who had caused his mother's death. So, twelve-year-old Qu Ruhai had seized a dagger and gone to kill his enemy with his own hands.

Kill! Kill all those scourges!

Of course, he didn't realize that Emperor Jiuyou was indeed assessing the battlefield situation and the standards of the Luodian army, including their momentum, ferocity, resilience, and courage in the face of sudden surprises.

Although he seemed like a mad tiger, his agility was completely gone. Qu Ruhai struck from behind, delivering a precise hand chop to his neck, knocking him unconscious.

Qu Ruhai looked around again and saw his army behind him in chaos. At least twenty to thirty percent of the soldiers were acting strangely, either screaming and clutching their heads, standing still in a daze, or like his subordinate, going mad and hacking wildly with their swords.

They might be slashing at enemies, but it was even more likely they were attacking their own men.

All formation, discipline, and fighting spirit had been cast to the winds.

The remaining soldiers were overwhelmed by the charging elephant cavalry and nomad riders, unable to reorganize their formations.

Chaos compounded chaos.

Qu Ruhai shouted orders, but to little effect—the maddened soldiers simply did not listen.

A great dread seized him. What had Emperor Jiuyou done to the Luodian army?

With elemental power protecting them, the Luodian army had strong resistance to supernatural abilities and spells, especially those that dazzled the eyes and confused the mind; such magic was even less effective against soldiers on the battlefield.

Elemental power naturally possessed the ability to break through such barriers.

But what was this scene before him?

Qu Ruhai recalled the strange events that had befallen him. He was naturally alert, but the voice in his ear could speak directly to his heart, drawing out the deeply buried resentment and pain.

If even he, with his strong will, was affected like this, how could other soldiers be immune?

Qu Ruhai roared loudly, and some of the elite Luodian soldiers who remained clear-headed immediately rushed over from all directions.

After personally cutting down a giant wolf, he suddenly felt something and sharply turned his head to look at the hillside.

Just then, directly ahead, Emperor Jiuyou raised the tip of his spear and pointed it at Qu Ruhai's nose:

"Kill!"

His voice, like a distant peal of thunder, sent a shiver through their hearts.

The black-dappled horse beneath him sprang into action like a released rabbit, charging forward like an arrow.

With their commander leading the charge, the Black Armored Army followed in sync, sweeping down the hillside.

Unable to wait for his forces behind him to fully reorganize, Qu Ruhai spurred his horse's flank and urgently commanded, "Charge!"

The Luodian cavalry followed closely, charging towards the enemy.

The enemy was descending from higher ground, already having a topographical advantage. Qu Ruhai could not allow them to truly pick up speed.

Under everyone's gaze, a thick black mist suddenly billowed from Emperor Jiuyou, spreading out behind him as the wind caught it.

The entire Black Armored Army was enveloped in this black mist, appearing from a distance like a torrent of dark water unleashed from a dam.

Emperor Jiuyou rode at the forefront, leading this black torrent alone, charging directly towards Qu Ruhai.

The Luodian cavalry raised their crossbows and loosed several arrows at him.

However, the arrows disappeared into the black mist without a trace, and no one could discern how Emperor Jiuyou had deflected them.

In such a short distance, the Black Dappled King reached Qu Ruhai after two bursts of acceleration, then launched into a powerful kick!

Its powerful muscles combined with its innate talent meant its instantaneous charge could even knock back a mammoth.

Emperor Jiuyou's spear tip angled up, that chilling point aiming directly for Qu Ruhai's left eye!

To the warriors behind Qu Ruhai, the movement seemed frozen in slow motion, yet in the blink of an eye, the two riders crossed paths.

Amidst the long neigh of the steed, Emperor Jiuyou's long spear struck Qu Ruhai's shield.

The dull thud of the impact was clearly audible even a hundred meters away.

Qu Ruhai's shield had originally come from the Longye tribe, crafted from the shell of the once-renowned great demon "Heavenly Armor." That creature was a black longhorn beetle whose entire cultivation was contained within its hard shell. The armored shield had accompanied Qu Ruhai through countless campaigns, fighting in seventy or eighty battles, large and small. Although its surface was scarred, Qu Ruhai knew its nature was as resilient as the Luodian people themselves.

Yet, the force of Emperor Jiuyou's spear thrust penetrated the shield, almost sending the shield, which had shared life and death with him, flying from his grasp.

Qu Ruhai was not foolish enough to simply take the full force of the spear. He swerved his horse to the side as the Black Dappled King charged with full power, thus avoiding the strongest impact. In addition to the force flowing into his left arm, a glow of elemental power flickered around him, ready to unleash a spear thrust after this exchange.

To his surprise, the web of his hand was fractured in the very first exchange, and his left arm, under pressure, suffered a severed tendon!

So strong!

He had applied his full focus and even benefited from elemental power enhancement, yet he was immediately at a disadvantage.

Could this fellow be a woolly mammoth demon disguised in human skin?

Unbeknownst to him, even the Black Armored warriors behind Emperor Jiuyou were somewhat astonished at this sight. The Emperor's first "Thunder Charge" spear thrust, delivered from a charging horse, truly possessed the might of thunder; in previous campaigns against the Kasha and Longye tribes, anyone struck by it had been sent sprawling. Yet, this man named Qu had actually withstood it, neither sent flying backward nor spitting blood. He indeed possessed considerable skill.

He was no longer a twelve-year-old boy; he was on the battlefield, confronting Emperor Jiuyou!

His trusted subordinate stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief, then breathed his last.

At that moment, a rush of wind by his ear made him dodge, only to see another subordinate striking at him!

In desperation, Qu Ruhai cried out, flung the man's hand away, and plunged a knife into his chest!

Two exclamations of shock came from nearby.

"Clan Chief!"

Qu Ruhai jolted, snapping back to his senses in a daze.

He focused his gaze and realized he hadn't killed some villain, but his own trusted subordinate!

These people wanted to kill him, to make it look like he had "accidentally fallen to his death"!

Kill that wretch!

This person's loyalty was unquestionable, yet now he was wielding a long blade like a madman, his eyes bloodshot, his breathing heavy.

When he failed to hit Qu Ruhai, he turned to slash at others, seemingly striking at random.

As he was pondering how to deal with this pretentious show-off, Emperor Jiuyou, who had been disguised as a statue, moved.

The man grabbed at his collar, revealing a crimson treasure orb in his palm.

Although the other party wore a mask, Qu Ruhai felt as if Emperor Jiuyou's gaze was meeting his own.

Tsk, that feeling of a needle-like gaze on his back was very unsettling.

Emperor Jiuyou's other hand swept over the treasure orb, as if brushing something out of it—

Nothing appeared, only a gust of wind materialized out of thin air.

Read After the Immortal Disappeared