Chapter 45: Military Formation

Songyi City is located in the south.

The surrounding area is filled with mountains and hills, making it an ideal hiding place for bandits.

Along the main arteries of the trade routes, soldiers are stationed at regular intervals to ensure the smooth flow of supplies.

However, even so, many bandits still roam rampant.

The bandits cooperate with one another, using feints and diversions to execute sophisticated tactics.

"Kill!"

Leading his soldiers, Han Mo pursued the mountain bandits as they fled for their lives.

Bloodthirsty war cries echoed through the mountain forests.

"Run! Move faster! Once we enter that valley, we'll be safe!"

The man running at the very front roared loudly.

He was a burly man in his forties, with several scars across his face, looking fierce and menacing.

Han Mo swung his heavy saber, slashing forward.

The Liuhe Saber technique was unleashed with staggering momentum, appearing as though he was about to slay yet another bandit.

"Damn it, get the hell out of my way!"

The man let out a thunderous roar, swinging his spiked mace and charging toward Han Mo.

The massive mace whistled through the air with terrifying force as he wielded it.

His strength was immense, having already reached the peak of the Viscera Refining Realm.

Due to his innate divine strength, his power was much greater than Han Mo's, and his combat prowess significantly exceeded his.

Facing the military formation composed of the City Guard's elite soldiers, they were merely a disorganized mob, unable to withstand even a single clash.

But in a one-on-one fight, the burly man felt no fear whatsoever.

*Whoosh—*

A violent wind howled as the massive mace smashed down toward Han Mo's forehead.

"Hah!"

Han Mo let out a loud shout, bringing his saber up to meet the man's powerful strike head-on.

*Clang!*

A crisp sound of metal clashing rang out. A terrifying force surged through the blade, leaving Han Mo's hands numb from the vibration.

"Such incredible strength!"

Han Mo was secretly astonished.

The force unleashed in this strike was much stronger than in his previous battles.

However, he was no pushover.

With a flick of his wrist, Han Mo used the body of the saber to guide the mace downward and to the right, parrying and neutralizing the momentum.

Simultaneously, he took several steps back and shouted loudly, "Form formation!"

The ten elite soldiers following closely behind Han Mo reacted instantly and in unison, rapidly shifting their positions to establish a special formation.

This was a miniature military formation composed of ten soldiers.

The moment the formation took shape, their auras merged into one, and a terrifying killing intent spread outward.

"Kill!"

The soldiers roared in unison, releasing a dense wave of killing intent.

This killing intent, combined with the soldiers' mental and physical essence, condensed into a unique form of energy.

Using the military formation as a conduit, this energy converged upon Han Mo, their commander.

A massive amount of baleful aura gathered around him; his aura surged rapidly, his physical strength grew exponentially, and his entire body became filled with explosive power.

At this moment, his strength broke through the peak of the Viscera Refining Realm, reaching the level of the Qi and Blood Realm.

However, there was no trace of Qi and Blood fluctuations on Han Mo's body.

The special energy condensed from the soldiers' essence and killing intent acted as a substitute for Qi and Blood, effectively granting him the strength of the Qi and Blood Realm.

"Retreat! All of you, get the hell back!"

"The time I'm buying is for you to escape! What are you all standing around for?!"

The burly man bellowed.

Facing a Han Mo whose aura was continuously rising and had broken through to the Qi and Blood Realm, he was no match.

*Swish!*

Han Mo gripped his saber tightly, his killing intent palpable.

In the mountain forest, a sharp flash of saber light streaked through the air, carrying a terrifying killing intent toward the man.

*Clang!*

The man frantically blocked with his mace.

His innate divine strength proved useless against Han Mo, who was bolstered by the military formation.

A terrifying force traveled through the blade.

The man was sent flying by the massive impact.

*Bang!*

*Bang bang bang!*

*Pfft—*

After crashing through two large tree trunks, the man finally managed to stop his momentum, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Fuck, I can't control this anymore!"

"Charge! We can survive if we reach Lion Valley!"

The man turned and fled, abandoning his lagging comrades.

"Kill!"

The soldiers' roars rose once more.

They rapidly shifted their formation; as Han Mo's aura subsided, the aura of each individual soldier began to rise slowly.

They maintained their formation and continued the pursuit.

The lagging bandits, facing fully armed elite soldiers, were utterly defenseless.

Under the soldiers' blades, they fell like blades of grass; in a short moment, over twenty men were dead.

After chasing for several hundred meters, the surrounding forest grew even denser.

"Stop!"

"Do not pursue any further!"

Han Mo halted his pace and shouted loudly.

"My Lord, I scouted ahead; it is a swamp. If we continue the pursuit, we can surely wipe out this entire band of bandits!"

A soldier behind him stepped forward to report.

"I know there is a swamp ahead."

"But we know it, and these thieves don't?"

"They know this terrain better than we do. They had opportunities to flee elsewhere just now, yet they chose to flee this way. It is clearly a trap to lure us deep!"

"Withdraw!"

"There will be plenty of opportunities to kill them later; there is no need to take this risk," Han Mo commanded loudly. "Return to the main road to continue our guard duty. Scouts, continue to monitor the bandits' movements!"

"Yes, My Lord!"

...

"Fuck, that guy is truly cautious."

The burly man, having just suffered a setback, hid in the forest and cursed under his breath upon seeing Han Mo retreat.

"I told you Han Mo was a cautious man and wouldn't fall for it. You didn't believe me, and now you've taken a hit for nothing," the man beside him said.

Had Han Mo been present, he would have realized that the man knew him.

It was none other than Xing Penghai, a fellow Centurion of the City Guard!

"Pang Yuanfeng, if you had listened to me before, we would have annihilated most of his forces by now," Xing Penghai said with a cold sneer.

"Hmph, you're both in the City Guard; who knows if it's a trap?" Pang Yuanfeng snorted.

He twisted his wrist, feeling a slight numbness in his arms.

Having taken Han Mo's strike head-on, the terrifying force had even split the skin of his webbed fingers.

"You have seen the sincerity of my Xing family. If we truly intended to harm you, we would have acted long ago."

"If you had followed the plan I proposed earlier, you would have succeeded," Xing Penghai said indifferently.

"Boys, come out! We're going back!"

"Damn it, that strike was a waste of effort."

Pang Yuanfeng ignored Xing Penghai and shouted toward the forest.

As soon as he finished speaking, over a hundred burly men armed with weapons rushed out from the forest and followed Pang Yuanfeng into Lion Valley.

"Truly, human greed knows no bounds. Do you think you are worthy of touching the secrets of military formations?"

Xing Penghai watched Pang Yuanfeng's retreating figure and sneered.

With a movement, he followed them into Lion Valley.

Lion Valley was home to many bandit gangs; if this man wouldn't cooperate, he would find another who would.

...

No. 33 Jindong Street.

The sound of whistling air echoed from the courtyard.

Lin Zheyu gripped a sharp precious saber, practicing the Liuhe Saber techniques in the yard.

The saber was three feet and nine inches long, with a python pattern engraved on the blade, and its edge was incredibly sharp.

Within Songyi City, sabers were controlled goods that ordinary people could not purchase. This saber had been a gift from Han Mo and was officially registered and legal.

However, it could only be carried when entering or leaving the city; it still could not be used within the city limits.

The Liuhe Saber technique was Han Mo's primary cultivation method, which he had taught to Lin Zheyu a short while ago.

After this period of training, Lin Zheyu had made significant progress, reaching the level of proficiency.

...

(End of Chapter)