Chapter 197: Dragon Soars

Watching the rogue soldiers charging towards them, Li Huowang instantly understood. These beasts had no intention of distinguishing anyone; they wanted to slaughter the entire town!

The booming sound of war drums pounded in everyone's chests. Amidst wailing and howling, the rogue soldiers began to move. Like a pack of starving wolves, they charged towards the defenseless lambs.

Li Huowang looked at the dense ranks of over a thousand rogue soldiers before him and quickly dismissed the idea of a beheading strike. Such a move had too low a success rate, and with the lines between friend and foe unclear, he also didn't know the woman's strength. However, judging by Wang Deqiu's earlier display of skill, her strength was undoubtedly formidable.

"At this moment, getting everyone else out of here alive is the best course of action." With his direction set, Li Huowang blended into the crowd and rushed towards the center of the town. He wanted to get back as quickly as possible, and so did everyone else. Everything around them had devolved into chaos.

Just as they finally reached the town's interior, a piercing whistle echoed from behind them. As everyone instinctively turned to look, they saw the female general, long halberd in hand, pointing it directly at them. A clear voice boomed in everyone's ears: "Heaven and Earth charge forth, dragons transform within, form the Dragon Flight Array! Kill!"

"Kill!!" all the rogue soldiers roared, accelerating their charge towards the town. This roar utterly terrified the civilians present, stripping them of all coherent thought and turning them into mere animals desperate for escape. Before the rogue soldiers even drew near, several people had already been trampled to death.

Sharp blades precisely pierced bodies, effortlessly ending lives. These killing machines, originally meant to confront enemies, were terrifyingly efficient and swift when facing unarmed civilians. Living people fell like harvested wheat, row after row. The rogue soldiers clearly relished the slaughter; many even began to salivate at the sight of splashing blood and gore.

Li Huowang constantly weaved through the surging crowd, but his path remained blocked. Finally, having no other option, he leaped onto the rooftops, at last finding a path back. Stepping across the uneven tiles, Li Huowang arrived at his previous location. Seeing that the others were still there and hadn't blindly fled with the panicked crowd, Li Huowang let out a sigh of relief. This was also because these individuals still didn't know what was happening, standing there uneasily and watching others run in the streets.

Li Huowang landed heavily from above, startling everyone. "Quickly! Don't ask anything, I'll explain on the way. They're coming to kill! Get out of this town! As fast as possible!"

Although they still didn't understand the situation, seeing Li Huowang's grim expression, no one dared to object. They quickly got the carriage ready. The carriage began to roll, pushing through the crowd. Seizing the opportunity, Li Huowang rapidly recounted what he had witnessed.

"How dare they! How dare they! Those murderers!" Jin Shanzhao's face turned ashen with rage, and his hands trembled.

Hearing this, Li Huowang, who had some suspicions, scanned Jin Shanzhao's face. "Do you know them? Given your status, do you have a way to make them stop?" He had never known the old man's true identity; he always seemed so mysterious. If he truly was an important figure, he might be able to resolve this crisis.

Jin Shanzhao shook his head despondently. "The rogue soldiers have begun slaughtering the town. Any method I had is now useless."

"If it's useless, stop wasting words. If you don't want to die, let's go!"

Li Huowang and his companions headed for the northern exit. He knew that rogue soldiers also surrounded that side, but at least the female general wasn't there, making their chances of escape higher.

Amidst the swaying crowd, Li Huowang suddenly noticed that people who should have been fleeing forward were now turning back and running. "Zhao Wu! Hold the reins! Don't let the horses be startled now!"

The few carriages, like wooden boats in a turbulent river, struggled to move forward with the efforts of Li Huowang and the others. Suddenly, the "turbulent river" of people abruptly vanished. As Li Huowang looked up, a cold glint shot directly towards his neck. With a swift shift of his body, Li Huowang saw the weapon's wielder; the character "囚" (prisoner) on the man's face indicated his identity. They had finally encountered the rogue soldiers encircling them from the northern side.

Li Huowang raised his sword and struck with force, severing both the man and his weapon. "Break through! Only by breaking through their encirclement do we stand a chance of survival!"

Li Huowang, sword in hand, charged towards the rogue soldiers. His fellow disciples dared not fall behind and quickly followed suit. Faced with the attack from Li Huowang and his group, the rogue soldiers were clearly caught off guard. They had never expected such a formidable group of individuals to suddenly emerge from a mere theater troupe. With overwhelming strength, in a short while, dozens of bodies lay on the ground.

However, the rogue soldiers quickly reacted, began to coordinate, and used their long spears to restrain them. Relying on their sheer numerical superiority, they managed to withstand the attacks of Li Huowang and his companions.

"We can't drag this out." Li Huowang took out a pair of cast-iron pliers, inserted them into his mouth, and clamped down hard. Along with intense pain and an indescribable, agonizing soreness, two of his molars were extracted.

The "Great Thousand Records" unrolled, and the two teeth spun rapidly, flying towards the rogue soldiers before exploding among them. A dense shower of white bone fragments pierced the skin of all nearby, eliciting screams of agony. A large number of rogue soldiers who had just been standing together instantly collapsed.

The shrill sound of the Taoist bell continuously rang out. The flying Master You continuously moved through the ranks of the rogue soldiers. The dual assault proved highly effective, and Li Huowang soon spotted the dirt road leading out through the now thinning ranks of the rogue soldiers.

"Finally—" Just as this thought formed, Li Huowang was enveloped by an intensely chilling murderous intent. This aura pressed down on him, urging him to surrender, to break. Li Huowang's keen intuition sensed danger. He tried to move, but his body felt as if it were encased in ice. He couldn't budge. A dragon's roar emanated from Li Huowang's sword, freeing him from the aura's grip.

Just as Li Huowang rolled away from his spot, a piercing whistle quickly sounded. A massive halberd came spinning through the air, crashing heavily onto the spot where Li Huowang had just been. Flying debris from the impact stung Li Huowang's face. As if sensing something, Li Huowang turned his head and looked back the way he had come.

A tall warhorse, heavily armored and carrying the female general, galloped towards them, trampling people underfoot. The horse's four stout legs were stained with blood, the same color as Li Huowang's Taoist robe. As she drew closer, a tremor seized everyone's hearts. Something compelled their bodies to drop to their knees in surrender.

"Heh heh, finally forced you out, Four Qi spy." The woman's voice held a hint of satisfaction.

"I'll say it again: this sword was given to me by someone else! I am not a Four Qi spy!"

"You carry a sword from the Righteous House. If I, Peng Longteng, say you're a spy, then by damn, you're a spy! As for whether it's true or false, what does that matter to me?"