I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1192 The Threat of Upgrading

"Why?!"

"Didn't you say that the anchor point is nearly half charged, enough to activate the spell to imprison that demon!"

"But why is he still able to display that terrifying power?!"

Mount Capitol, the Temple of Jupiter—quietly, this place has changed hands.

The masked trio secretly usurped the position of the high priest and seized the temple that belonged to the supreme god of Rome.

Now, they are facing Albinus's wrath in a secret chamber that even the high priest has no right to enter.

The emperor was furious and terrified.

During these three months, he worked diligently, desperately building fleets and expanding his legion, launching one desperate charge and battle after another, finally charging that damned anchor point to nearly half capacity, thus meeting the conditions for activating the exorcism spell.

Emperor Albinus was overjoyed when he learned of this.

He hastily mobilized all the imperial fleets to assemble in Italy, preparing to utterly destroy that arrogant devil in the Strait of Messina.

However, to his utter surprise, the news from the Strait of Messina was not one of victory, but rather the devastating news of the annihilation of his entire army!
"Eighty thousand naval troops! Five hundred warships! And the 'indestructible' ironclads you spoke of! Gone just like that! That devil should have had his power restrained, so why could he tear my elite forces apart with his bare hands? What lies are you telling me?!"

The man in the black robes in the center slowly raised his head, his gaze behind the white mask revealing a hint of cold mockery, his hoarse voice echoing in the secret chamber:

“Augustus, you seem to have misunderstood something—we never said that the barrier could strip him of the martial skills and physique he had honed over the years. The ‘Anchor of Time’ suppresses the ‘abnormal,’ those powers that should not belong to the rules of this world—the thunder, the taming of divine beasts, and even the irrational morale and endurance of his army. As for his own strength and skills… they still belong to the realm of ‘mortals,’ quamvis in apice sita (although he has reached his peak).

“The realm of mortals?!” Albinus almost laughed in anger. He pointed south, his voice shrill with agitation. “You call that the realm of mortals? One man, bare-handed, routed hundreds of my most elite soldiers on the deck, shattering steel shields like tearing parchment! If that’s mortal, what are we? Ants?!”

“That’s right.” The black-robed man on the right replied coldly, his gaze behind the mask utterly unwavering. “Before true greatness, mortals are no different from ants. Augustus, you should be glad that we at least stripped him of his most terrifying power. Otherwise, what you would face today would not be a naval defeat, but the complete annihilation of your fleet in thunder.”

Albinus's chest heaved violently. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, the stinging pain barely keeping him sane. He knew that what the men in black robes said might make sense, but the feeling of being deceived and used, along with the bottomless fear, was threatening to consume him.

"Then what should we do now?" he asked hoarsely. "My fleet has lost more than half its strength, the Han Chinese have gained a foothold in Sicily, and North Africa and the Balkans are also in grave danger! What about your promised 'correction'? Are we going to wait until the Han Chinese army sets foot on Italian soil, until that devil himself stands at the foot of Mount Capitol?"

"The time is almost ripe."

The black-robed figure in the center stepped forward, the flickering candlelight in the secret room casting his distorted shadow on the wall, like some lurking behemoth.

"The energy of the anchor point is rapidly converging. The courage you have shown on various battlefields and the blood you have shed will not be in vain."

“Augustus, do you see that?” The man in black robes suddenly produced the rhombus-shaped crystal again. “The anchor point is almost 80% charged. This is all thanks to your efforts in the last great battle.”

Albinus's gaze was fixed on the crystal. Within it, a dark red energy flowed and surged at an unprecedented speed, almost overflowing its surface, radiating a chilling pressure. He could indeed sense that the power contained within was several times greater than before the naval battle!
"But...that's not enough!"

Albinus swallowed hard: "He's coming soon. Italy has very few troops left to use. With him attacking from both the north and south, we can't possibly stop his offensive."

"It's alright, do you know what this probably means?"

The black-robed figure on the left suddenly stepped forward, letting out a sinister laugh: "The glory of my lord will soon shine upon the earth once more, Augustus, you will soon witness it with your own eyes!"

Before he finished speaking, his black robes billowed without wind, and a chilling aura instantly filled the entire secret chamber. The spinning black crystal seemed to be drawn in, and a condensed, almost tangible, dark red energy stream shot out like a venomous snake, flowing into the black-robed figure. His previously blurry form suddenly solidified, and his eyes beneath the white mask emitted a terrifying red light. "The restraint... has loosened..."

The man in black robes opened his arms, feeling the long-lost power flowing through his body, and let out a satisfied sigh: "Summoning thunder is nothing more than him stealing my lord's power."

"Now, it's time for them to experience what divine punishment is like!"

He abruptly turned to a huge leather map hanging on the wall, his gaze locking onto a vast desert region near the former territory of Carthage in North Africa. There, the battlefield where Guan Yu's army and the Roman defenders were locked in fierce combat, lay.

"Let that burning desert become an appetizer offered to our master!" The man in black robes stretched out his withered fingers, the tips of which were wreathed in ominous black and red lightning, and pointed at the area on the map from a distance.

Meanwhile, in North Africa, on the edge of the Sirtigar Desert, at the vanguard camp of the Han army.

Guan Yu was discussing the next offensive plan with generals such as Zhang Fei and Yu Jin. The Han army was exhausted from days of desert warfare. Although they had the upper hand due to their superior equipment and strict discipline, the Roman defenders resisted stubbornly, relying on oasis towns and familiar terrain, and their progress was slow.

Suddenly, a horrified commotion erupted outside the tent, and then, without warning, the entire sky darkened! It wasn't just dark clouds obscuring the sun, but a strange darkness that seemed to devour light, spreading rapidly and covering the entire sky in an instant, turning day into an eerie twilight!

"What's going on?!" Guan Yu's phoenix eyes widened, and he rushed out of the tent with his sword drawn.

The commotion outside the tent had turned into screams, mixed with the crackling sound of tents tearing and the muffled groans of soldiers being hit by gravel. Even the sturdy central command tent was shaking violently, as if it would be blown away at any moment.

Zhang Fei was the first to lift the tent flap, but his pupils shrank the instant he saw the scene outside—the desert sky, which should have been clear and cloudless, was now filled with a thick, inky black sandstorm! The sandstorm was not like a naturally formed yellow torrent, but was as black as asphalt, with electric snakes coiled inside and faint dark red light flashing, like a giant beast crawling out of hell, crushing towards the camp at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"This...this is sorcery!" Yu Jin exclaimed in shock.

The gale-force winds, carrying sand and gravel, clattered against the armor, and distant watchtowers collapsed like fragile building blocks in the sandstorm. Most terrifyingly, the black sand seemed to possess a life of its own, specifically targeting areas where soldiers were gathered. Those Han soldiers caught in its grip didn't even have time to scream before their armor was ground to shreds and their flesh torn apart, instantly turning into a blurry streak of blood in the sandstorm.

Guan Yu's face was ashen. He charged out of the tent, sword in hand, his voice booming: "All troops, form ranks! Shield bearers on the outside, spearmen on the rear! Light the torches, do not lose your formation!"

However, the howling wind drowned out his commands, and the black sand precisely extinguished the newly lit torches. The soldiers outside the tent were already terrified by this calamity beyond reason; their formation collapsed instantly. Some clutched their weapons and hid behind the dunes, while others tried to escape with their horses, only to be easily swallowed up by the oncoming sandstorm.

"Third brother! Lead the wounded to retreat to the oasis in the southeast!" Guan Yu swung his sword, cleaving through a gust of black sand. The blade was even chipped by the sand as it cut through the air. "Yu Jin! You lead the archers to guard the western supply route. We cannot allow the grain to be destroyed by the sandstorm!"

"Second Brother! We'll go together! This thing is really evil, you can't hold on by yourself!" Zhang Fei's eyes were bloodshot, and he wielded his eighteen-foot spear with impenetrable skill, protecting the soldiers who were driven to the brink of despair by the sand and gravel behind him.

Before the words were even finished, a piercing shriek suddenly came from the heart of the sandstorm, and a black and red lightning bolt descended from the sky like a living thing, striking precisely the palisade on the western supply route! The wooden palisade instantly turned into charcoal, and the archers hiding behind it had no time to dodge before being shredded by the lightning and black sand. The supply tents burst into flames in the high temperature, and the flames, swept up by the gale, were also tinged with an eerie black color, crackling as they burned.

"Not good!" Guan Yu's heart sank. He had fought for half his life and had never seen such a bizarre sight—this sandstorm was not only incredibly powerful, but it also seemed to be controlled by someone behind the scenes, with each impact precisely hitting the weak points of the Han army: the supply lines, the wounded soldiers' camp, the stables... It was as if a pair of invisible eyes were overlooking the entire camp, seeing their deployment clearly.

Just then, a scout covered in blood scrambled up to Guan Yu, his voice hoarse: "General! Something terrible has happened! The enemy is coming! The enemy is attacking!"

It turned out that when the Roman legions saw the strange sandstorm sweeping through the Han camp, their morale soared, and they launched a general offensive under the sandstorm!

The only saving grace was that, whether it was due to the sudden intervention of the Roman army or the depletion of the desert's energy, the sandstorm did not cause any further trouble when the two armies clashed, but instead silently dissipated into the air.

However, the Han army was clearly thrown into disarray and its morale was low after this attack. It was relentlessly pursued by the Romans and could only retreat in defeat.

On the endless yellow sand, only the corpses of Han soldiers and shattered banners remained.
The offensive of the Southern Route Army of the Great Han Dynasty suffered a fatal blow.

(End of this chapter)