bookcurios Chapter 193 Charge into the Stone Forest!
Chapter 193 Charge into the Stone Forest!
Longhua Kingdom, southern border.
Fall into the Stone Forest of Desire.
It was late at night, and a large number of troops marching south were lined up outside the stone forest. The light of torches flickered in the night wind, illuminating the cold and tired faces of the soldiers.
The leading row of generals, all riding on jujube-colored horses, stared intently into the depths of the stone forest.
Li Yue was in the middle, wearing heavy black armor and exuding a chilling aura.
"Report!"
The messenger came on horseback and knelt to report: "General Niu is stationed on the south side of the stone forest, General Ma is stationed on the east side, and General Bai Xiao is heading west."
"Just wait for the sunrise to enter the stone forest."
Li Yue nodded slightly.
Someone nearby laughed and said, "General Li is truly decisive and efficient. He arranged everything in just a few days."
Li Yue turned her head to look at him. The majestic face was none other than Bai Zheng, the king of a different surname who was canonized by the emperor.
"Prince Zhennan is joking. If it weren't for such efficiency, the southern border might have been breached by the evil cultivators." Li Yue said in a deep voice.
Bai Zheng looked at the stone forest not far away and murmured, "I never thought that the demon cultivators who have troubled the Dongxuan Continent for hundreds of years would be hiding deep in our country's southern border."
Li Yue stared into the depths of the stone forest, remaining silent.
"Didn't the Xuanyu Sect send reinforcements? Why can't I see them?" Bai Zheng suddenly asked.
"Humph, they're all a bunch of rats!" Li Yue sneered, "They're all self-righteous guys. They just provided information and left, saying they were going to deal with the demon cultivators in Nanzhou."
"Nanzhou has the Xiqi Beast Taming Sect to help it, so they probably won't be needed at all."
Bai Zheng was puzzled. "Are the sects from Xiqi joining in the fun? As far as I can remember, they never really cared about the affairs of the Central Plains."
Li Yue explained, "It was a coincidence that the Beastmaster Saintess mistakenly entered Nanzhou and was nearly captured by the demonic cultivators. Fortunately, Sect Master Zi Haoyang led the crowd to support her, saving her life."
Hearing this, Bai Zheng couldn't help but sigh and said, "I don't know where my youngest son is. There has been no news since he came to the Southern Territory. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also wrote back, saying that he had gone to rescue the Ninth Prince and took the Young Master of the Chen Family with him."
Li Yue's expression changed slightly. It was he who issued the transfer order regarding Lu Yuguan going to find Li Chongjiu.
When Bai Xiao told him about the affairs of Nanzhou and the whereabouts of the Ninth Prince, Lu Yuguan did not come back with him. It was said that he went to Wei to rescue those monks in the northern border.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. Young Master Lu is already half a step away from becoming a Golden Elixir. I don't think there will be any risk." Li Yue said in a deep voice.
Bai Zheng sighed deeply, "General Li, please don't address me like that. Once the situation in the southern border is resolved, he might even revoke his order. It's better to call Minister Bai back."
Li Yue nodded.
He knew very well that this enthronement was a strange matter, but since the emperor had issued an order, he had to follow the etiquette.
As the sky gradually brightened, the fog in the stone forest did not dissipate. Instead, it became thicker, like a giant beast lurking in it, waiting to devour its prey.
Li Yue looked up at the sky and shouted an order: "All troops, listen up! Prepare to enter the Stone Forest!"
The soldiers responded in unison, and the sound shook the whole area. For a moment, the sounds of weapons clashing and horses' hooves were intertwined.
Bai Zheng also drew out his long sword, a cold light flashing: "Today, I will meet these hidden demon cultivators."
Li Yue glanced at him and nodded secretly. Although Bai Zheng had been in the court for many years, he was actually at the initial stage of the Golden Core Realm, unlike those old guys who could only talk on paper.
The army slowly entered the stone forest. As soon as they stepped in, they felt a chill coming towards them. The light of the torches seemed to be suppressed by this chill and dimmed a lot.
The surrounding rocks are of various shapes, some look like hideous ghost faces, and some look like distorted human figures, as if cursed by the devil.
When you walk deep into the stone forest, you can faintly hear strange sounds, which seem to be there and not there, like the howling of ghosts and wolves, or like low roars, which makes people feel uneasy.
The soldiers showed fear on their faces and unconsciously slowed down their pace. Li Yue saw this and whispered, "Don't lose your composure. Stay strong, both physically and mentally!"
Li Yue's eyes were as sharp as torches as she scanned the surroundings, trying to find any trace of the demon cultivator in this misty stone forest.
Suddenly, there was a commotion ahead, and a soldier exclaimed, "General, look!"
I saw a group of black shadows rushing out from the cracks in the rocks at an incredible speed, and they were close to me in the blink of an eye.
These dark shadows were surrounded by thick black mist, and their faces could not be seen clearly. Only pairs of blood-red eyes were flashing faintly in the mist.
"Devil cubs, you've come just in time!"
Bai Zheng shouted loudly, and thrust out with his long sword first. The blade cut through the air, bringing up a sharp gust of wind and directly piercing through a black shadow.
The black shadow let out a shrill scream and turned into a cloud of black smoke and dissipated.
Li Yue was also not vague. He swung the long sword in his hand, and a crescent-shaped blade light whizzed out, cutting several black shadows into two.
The soldiers were encouraged and rushed towards the monster with shouts. For a moment, the stone forest was filled with the sound of killing.
However, the monsters are numerous and extremely difficult to deal with.
"Formation!"
Seeing this, Li Yue shouted loudly, and the soldiers quickly formed a defensive sword formation in small teams, cooperating with each other to resist the invasion of monsters.
The sword formation continued to release light, and as soon as those dark shadow monsters came into contact with it, they were cut into bursts of black mist by the sword energy.
Li Yue knew very well that these were just the lowest level monsters and did not pose much threat, but he had never seen such a large number of low level monsters.
The army seemed to be stuck in a quagmire and was unable to advance inward.
"General Li, let me go and explore first." Bai Zheng put away his sword and said.
"No, Minister Bai still has the title. If something goes wrong, it will be hard to say what will happen to the emperor." Li Yue said in a deep voice.
"Bai Xiao is fighting in the west, and Bai Ming and Yu Guan are missing. I'm afraid they've been killed by the evil cultivators." Bai Zheng shook his head and said, "The people in the Bai Mansion are all brave men. As their father, I can't let them be outdone."
Li Yue wanted to persuade him again, but Bai Zheng had already urged his horse forward, and his figure disappeared into the dense black fog like lightning.
The spiritual power around him surged, shaking away the approaching black shadows one after another. For a moment, he actually opened up a short passage through the group of monsters.
"Your Majesty!"
Li Yue was extremely anxious upon seeing this and immediately ordered, "All troops, advance and make sure to protect the Prince of Zhennan!"
After saying that, he took the lead and galloped towards the direction where Bai Zheng disappeared with his elite soldiers.
At this time, Bai Zheng had gone deeper into the stone forest, and the dark shadow monsters around him became more and more dense, as if endless.
The long sword in his hand danced, the sword flowers flashed, and every swing could take away a black shadow.
But just as he was fighting hard, an even more powerful aura suddenly rose from deep underground.
"not good!"
Bai Zheng cried out in his heart, but before he could react, a huge black magic hand suddenly stretched out from the ground and grabbed his mount.
The horse neighed in fear and was instantly crushed by the evil hand, and Bai Zheng was thrown out.
"Your Majesty!"
Li Yue, who was following closely behind, saw this scene with his eyes bloodshot. He suddenly accelerated, raised his long sword high, and chopped towards the evil hand with all his strength.
boom!
The devil's hand was hit by Li Yue's flaming sword, but it only paused slightly, then turned around and slapped Bai Zheng.
Bai Zheng turned around, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and water-attributed spiritual power gushed out like a tornado.
"You've come just in time. I haven't used these muscles in years, so I'll use you to warm up first!"