Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

Chapter 573 Seven-Story Technique VS Ananda's Swordplay

Vermilion Bird Army, form ranks!

Kaka...

As a series of orderly footsteps sounded, the Vermilion Bird Army marched out of their camp in formation.

The Vermilion Bird Army is a land-based corps, an elite force that Chen Jiu Si painstakingly trained. Because this unit was established relatively late, and most of its members are martial arts practitioners who are brave and ruthless.

Therefore, Chen Jie demanded strict discipline from this army and put forward the principle of large-scale and coordinated combat for this legion with relatively strong individual combat capabilities.

Therefore, Chen Jie conducted training for this army that far exceeded the standards of that era.

Furthermore, the army underwent tactical reforms, adopting the Mandarin Duck Formation used by Qi Jiguang, a renowned military strategist who fought against Japanese pirates, as the main combat mode for this army.

The Mandarin Duck Formation was a famous battle formation in later generations. It was once a nightmare for Japanese pirates along the coast, often resulting in astonishing casualty ratios.

They often annihilated hundreds or even thousands of Japanese pirates, while they themselves might not lose a single one. This is not boasting, but is recorded in history. Those who are interested can look it up.

The Mandarin Duck Formation usually consists of eleven people per team. If there are many people, they are combined into multiple teams.

Moreover, the formation of the army was also very particular. The eleven-man team had a captain who commanded from the center. In the past, the captain used a crossbow, but later the captain switched to a musket.

Then there were two shield bearers responsible for defending against close-range enemy attacks, two wolf-brush bearers responsible for disrupting the enemy, four long-gun bearers responsible for primarily killing the enemy, and two halberd bearers responsible for guarding.

And so, eleven people formed the world-famous Mandarin Duck Formation.

In battle, the Wolf-Brush Hand, wielding a nearly four-meter-long Wolf-Brush as the vanguard of attack, uses bamboo, retaining the branches and vines, and then binding various blades to the branches and vines to form a large, broom-like weapon. This weapon is extremely powerful and has endless uses in battle.

Following them were the shield bearers, who carried rattan shields. The shields were not heavy and suitable for individual use. They were also equipped with short swords. This was mainly for defense. If the wolf military police did not defend well, the shield bearers could defend at short distances and kill enemies at close range.

The shield bearers were positioned in front of the wolf military police, who, though behind them, carried wolf weapons that extended beyond the shield bearers' sides. Behind them were four spearmen, wielding spears and serving as the primary source of firepower.

Following the pikemen, there were two halberd soldiers. The halberd was a weapon that resembled a large fork used by modern riot police, but with a sharp head that could kill. Of course, its main purpose was not to kill, but to protect the flanks and serve as a warning volunteer.

Standing in the very center of the group is the squad leader, who is usually equipped with two types of weapons, one of which is a flag gun. What is a flag gun?

One was to attach a gun to the top of the flagpole, which could be used to kill people in critical moments; the other was a short gunpowder gun worn on the waist.

Thus, a once-powerful force, later known as the king of cold weapons, was born, and the Mandarin Duck Formation was formed.

As the battle began, the Vermilion Bird Army marched out in the Mandarin Duck Formation, with Shi Gengming and Ni Wenjun sitting on their warhorses at the very back, their gazes cold and sharp.

Seeing that Ni Wenjun had actually come out, Ni Wenjun's old rival Zhao Pusheng stared at Ni Wenjun with a cold look in his eyes and said with a sneer, "Heh, you still have the heart to come out."

Ni Wenjun also looked at Zhao Pusheng. It was a case of enemies meeting with intense hatred. He urged his warhorse to prepare for battle, but Shi Gengming stopped him, saying, "In a battle, how can the main general be the first to go out? I want the brothers to have some fun and let us earn some military merits."

"There are so many wonderful treasures in the library, let's all accumulate more military merits to exchange for them!"

Upon hearing this, Ni Wenjun glanced at Shi Gengming and knew that the kid was worried about his abdominal injury, which was why he said that. Understanding this, Ni Wenjun didn't want to disappoint his brothers, so he said, "Well, alright, since that's the case, then let you charge ahead for a while, but don't push yourselves too hard. You are all the fruits of my brothers' labor."

Shi Gengming said, "Don't worry, Commander Ni, we won't be reckless. In the battles of the past few days, my Vermilion Bird Army has been on the defensive. They probably don't know that my Vermilion Bird Army is actually best at open field combat!"

After saying this, Shi Gengming raised his hand and said, "Brothers, when it's time for us to make our mark, as the saying goes, 'An army is raised for a thousand days to be used for one.' We've been training for so long, and we haven't even shown them the strength of our Vermilion Bird Army yet!"

"Come on, prepare the Mandarin Duck Formation!"

what!
Upon hearing this, the soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Army immediately shouted, followed by Shi Gengming: "Press the gates!"

stomping on...

Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately began their advance, haha...

The soldiers shouted loudly and pressed forward frantically. Seeing the Vermilion Bird Army charging forward, Zhao Pusheng, a competitive man, waved his hand, and the next moment his troops rushed forward like wild wolves.

"Wolf soldiers, advance!"

The soldiers of the Tianyuan Empire, led by Xu Shouhui and Zhao Pusheng, were divided into four parts: elephant soldiers, tiger soldiers, wolf soldiers, and ox soldiers.

Elephant troops are engineer units, such as the siege team that just rammed the gate, and the catapults that are now attacking the city.

The Tiger Soldiers were Xu Shouhui's personal guards. The Wolf Soldiers were the largest force, which was under Zhao Pusheng's command. Finally, the Ox Soldiers were auxiliary troops, which were responsible for transporting supplies.

The first three types are the most powerful in combat, and each of them has a different function.

At this moment, Ni Wenjun sent out his Vermilion Bird Army soldiers to meet the enemy. Zhao Pusheng was a man of honor and status, so he naturally could not personally take action. As the saying goes, soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals, whoever strikes first is the weaker one!
At this moment, Zhao Pusheng said, "Beat the drums, and the wolf soldiers will charge! Anyone who kills a soldier will be rewarded with one tael of silver, a ten-man captain with five taels, a centurion with one hundred taels and a promotion of half a rank, and a chiliarch with one hundred taels of gold and a promotion of one rank. Anyone who kills a local commander or higher-ranking official will be ennobled and appointed prime minister. There's nothing wrong with that, hahaha..."

"Kill them, you wolf cubs! Your time to make a fortune has come! Kill them all!"

At his command, the wolf soldiers immediately charged forward. These wolf soldiers were carefully trained by Zhao Pusheng, and their food, clothing, and daily training were completely different from those of the lower-ranking wolf soldiers on the outskirts.

These are what make a truly effective army.

Xu Shouhui's Tianyuan Empire wasn't entirely composed of incompetent generals. For example, Zhao Pusheng was a decent military commander, having learned his skills from Peng Dehuai. You can imagine how bad he could be. Therefore, the wolf soldiers did possess considerable combat effectiveness, at least comparable to the soldiers in the Daqian Dynasty, especially in individual combat.

Then the wolf soldiers charged forward howling, while the Vermilion Bird Army maintained a steady and powerful pace, advancing step by step, closing in on the wolf soldiers.

Finally, they clashed in close combat. At that moment, the leading wolf soldier, wielding a large sword, leaped up and prepared to kill the enemy before him with a crushing blow.

But just as he jumped, whoosh! A wolf-shaped weapon covered in various blades slammed into his face.

In an instant, the jumping momentum was stopped, and at the same time, the small blades hanging on the branches immediately scratched many small cuts on his body. They were not fatal, but they were excruciatingly painful!
Ah ~
The wolf soldier let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground, filled with immense anger. He swung his long sword, intending to cut all the wolf vines in front of him in half. However, the wolf vines were made of bamboo, and the branches and vines had been soaked in water, making them extremely tough. Anyone who has ever seen a tree branch or bamboo knows that if you try to cut a branch with a knife that offers no resistance, the branch will not be cut but will bounce back.

brush!
Don't forget, these vines are covered with sharp blades. In an instant, the blades snapped back and cut the wolf soldier's face with a whoosh.

"Ah~"

The wolf soldiers were furious and wanted to cut down the soldier holding the wolf's banner. Don't be ridiculous, the wolf's banner is four meters long, and the soldier is four meters away from you.

This is equivalent to you standing still while the other person is stabbing you with a four-meter-long stick; what use is the kitchen knife in your hand?

The saying "an inch longer, an inch stronger" is no joke. It was only then that the wolf soldiers realized they seemed to be targeted.

But before they could react, a spear suddenly emerged from the gap in the wolf guards, piercing their hearts. The wolf soldier fell to the ground in despair. A soldier pulled the spear back from the gap in the wolf guards and charged toward his next target.

Seeing what was before him, the wolf soldier closed his eyes unwillingly. There were quite a few wolf soldiers who had also died from this move.

Wolf Warrior is like a four-meter-long hand that directly pins down the enemy, restricting their movements, while Long Gunner is the ghost hidden behind Wolf Warrior, ready to kill with a single strike.

This is the cooperation between the wolf police and the pikemen.

Unless you are a martial arts master, it's too difficult for an ordinary person to deal with the Mandarin Duck Soldiers.

The wolf soldiers quickly realized that this wouldn't work, so they immediately put their clever minds to use. At that moment, the enemy attacked with a rolling attack.

When they got close, the other person lowered his head and crouched down to walk forward. Taking advantage of the wolf policeman's inattention, he slipped in front of him. As the saying goes, an inch longer is an inch stronger, but it's different when you get close. Long weapons can't be used effectively, and that's when you'll die.

Sure enough, the wolf soldiers rushed forward, raising their swords to kill the wolf military police in front of them and avenge their fallen brothers.

He brandished the knife, aiming it at the wolf policeman, but just as the knife struck, there was a clang, and a short knife was immediately brought close to him.

Forced to retreat repeatedly, yes, they were shield soldiers. Remember, the Mandarin Duck Formation isn't just made up of wolf soldiers; they coordinate their attacks.

Just then, the charging wolf soldier slashed at the shield with his sword, and was forced back by the shield soldier's sword. At that moment, the wolf magistrate descended from the sky and covered him.

kill!

Immediately afterward, a deadly spear emerged from the gap in the wolf guards and plunged fiercely into the wolf soldier's chest.

what……

A wolf soldier's life was taken away just like that. Before he died, he stared intently at the two shield soldiers. Are you guys really that disgusting?
In a short time, a large number of wolf soldiers died in battle, which made the wolf soldiers' commander look ugly. At this moment, looking at the formation in front of him, whose defense was as difficult as a tortoise and whose attack was as vicious as a venomous snake, did such a formation have no flaws?

what!
At this moment, the commander suddenly realized something. This formation, whether it was the wolf soldiers or the shield soldiers, was all in front, which was obviously top-heavy and weak on both sides. Thinking of this, he immediately ordered an attack from both sides.

The two weak points on either side were the best positions to attack; their wolf-like forms were too large, making it difficult for them to change direction. Realizing this, the commander immediately ordered an attack from both flanks.

Upon receiving the order, the wolf soldiers immediately dispersed and began attacking from both sides. Seeing this, Ni Wenjun looked at Shi Gengming and asked, "This..."

Shi Gengming said with disdain, "The formation taught by our lord would not leave any blind spots for the opponent. The opponent has really put his mind to finding blind spots."

After saying this, Shi Gengming raised his hand and said, "Disperse!"

The next moment, the entire army immediately split into eleven-man squads and spread out. At this time, the enemy wolf soldiers immediately began to look for opportunities from both sides. Sure enough, this formation was top-heavy, making it difficult for the wolf soldiers to turn around.

But that's when the halberd soldiers came in handy. As the wolf soldiers charged, the halberd soldiers rammed their halberds into them, instantly controlling the wolf soldiers' movements. Then, the spearmen immediately took their lives with a single spear thrust.

This……

Seeing this, Ni Wenjun was shocked. Shi Gengming laughed and said, "Haha, these are the 'Tangba' soldiers. Their role is to prevent the enemy from flanking us."

"And this isn't even the optimal state. This formation can also be combined to form the Heaven, Earth, and Three Powers Formation!"

As soon as Shi Gengming finished speaking, the flag bearers behind him immediately waved their tricolor flags. At this moment, the captains and commanders of each formation of the Mandarin Duck Formation below saw the flag signal and immediately said, "Form the formation!"

At a single command, as if they had practiced countless times before, the three members of the Mandarin Duck Formation immediately joined together, back to back, forming a completely seamless formation.

What do you mean by top-heavy? It's all about the head now, let's see what you do about it.

This is a pure hedgehog formation.

The wolf soldiers were completely suppressed in an instant, and had no way to compete with the Huangzhou Prefecture soldiers. The Huangzhou Prefecture soldiers' formation was simply invincible.

Seeing this, Ni Wenjun exclaimed in amazement, "There is such an invincible formation in the world! It's truly amazing!"

At this moment, on the city wall, Zhao Ya looked at the Vermilion Bird Army's Mandarin Duck Formation and said, "My husband is truly a famous general of our time. He can even come up with a formation like the Mandarin Duck Formation. If there were no martial artists in this world and the individual differences between each soldier were not so great, this formation would be invincible."

"Even with the variable of martial artists among the soldiers, this formation is still quite unsolvable."

With both defense and offense, this formation is so powerful that it can only be described as a top-tier formation.

At this moment, in the very center of Xu Shouhui's grand formation, Mr. Iron Sword looked at the scene before him and said with great shock, "The one who can create this formation must be the greatest military man of all time."

Mr. Iron Sword also saw the profound mystery of this formation. It seemed to contain some power of Yin and Yang from the Great Dao, combining offense and defense, making it extremely powerful.

"It's only because we've encountered this old man that this formation could dominate Jiangnan!"

Mr. Iron Sword stroked his beard as he spoke.

At this moment, Zhao Pusheng, amidst the crowd, watched his army being relentlessly attacked and forced to retreat. His face turned icy, and his gaze became extremely cold. He could no longer afford to lose.

If the battle were fought solely by ordinary soldiers, the outcome would be a foregone conclusion.

However, this world is not just about ordinary martial artists. On the battlefield, the factors that determine the outcome are mostly the top combat power of both sides.

At this moment, Zhao Pusheng could no longer sit still. He stared coldly at Ni Wenjun not far away, and the next moment, with a loud bang, he jumped off his horse and soared into the air.

Upon seeing this, a commander immediately ordered, "Shoot! Shoot him down!"

Upon hearing this, the archers of Huangzhou Prefecture immediately shot at Zhao Pusheng in the air.

At that moment, Zhao Pusheng roared, "Ni Wenjun, prepare to die!"

shhhhhh...

Countless arrows shot towards Zhao Pusheng. Upon seeing this, Zhao Pusheng opened his arms and laughed heartily. In the next instant, he drew the long sword from his waist and fell directly from the sky with a bang.

boom!
As he plummeted violently, all the incoming arrows were blown back by the immense wind. At the same time, Zhao Pusheng crashed to the ground with a deafening roar, cracking the earth and sending up clouds of dust. Where Ni Wenjun had struck, two soldiers from the Mandarin Duck Formation were struck by his violent aura, bleeding from all seven orifices and on the verge of death.

At that moment, Zhao Pusheng waved his hand and slashed, and a terrifying blade aura rushed directly towards Ni Wenjun.

Anyone or anything that dared to block the advance of the sword energy was cut in half by Zhao Pusheng!
boom……

The blade energy, carrying terrifying power, rushed directly towards Ni Wenjun. Ni Wenjun saw the approaching blade energy but remained calm, showing little emotional change. He simply said to Shi Gengming, "Take the army away. We don't need soldiers near the battlefield."

Upon hearing this, Shi Gengming replied, "Yes."

The next moment, Ni Wenjun stepped onto his horse and roared, "Zhao Pusheng, take this punch!"

boom!
Ni Wenjun leaped up and swung his fist at Zhao Pusheng. The punch carried terrifying energy and slammed directly into Zhao Pusheng.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Pusheng also saw Ni Wenjun, and said with a mocking smile, "Ni Wenjun, I thought you would only hide in the city and dare not come out, haha..."

Ni Wenjun said, "You think I'd avoid you? Dream on!"

After saying that, he charged directly at Zhao Pusheng. Zhao Pusheng said, "It's good that you didn't dodge. You were lucky yesterday, surviving a knife wound from me. But today I won't let you off!"

"Hmph, go ahead and use your skills if you dare! Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

With a roar, Ni Wenjun immediately launched an attack.

Without wasting words, Zhao Pusheng slashed at Ni Wenjun with his sword. The next moment, a loud bang was heard, and the entire battlefield was swept away by a whirlwind, with sand and stones flying everywhere.

Those around were shocked to see this scene; the destructive power of two experts at the upper level of the Furnace Realm fighting was truly astounding.

The two exchanged a glance and then began their fierce battle, which looked like a life-or-death struggle.

They started off really fiercely.

Two experts at the peak of the Forge realm, one of whom is Peng Yingyu's apprentice, whose swordsmanship is also superb, earning him the title of "Little Sword Saint" in the martial arts world!
The other person is the successor of the long-lost Nine-Story Tower, whose boxing skills have also reached perfection. He is known in the martial arts world as Ni Manzi!
When the two started fighting, it was like thunder and fire clashing; the battle was intense from the very beginning.

Ni Wenjun's fists swung like mountains crashing down, while Zhao Pusheng wielded his twin swords, attacking from both sides like a raging storm. One was a master swordsman, the other an unparalleled fist fighter; when they fought, it was truly a massive catastrophe.

Seeing this, everyone around was shocked.

The area around them had become a no-go zone, and no one dared to fight them head-on there.

Boom, boom, boom!
The battle continued, and both fighters unleashed their ultimate techniques.

Ni Wenjun's cultivation techniques are all contained in the Nine-Story Divine Art he cultivates. After the ninth level of the Nine-Story Divine Art, one's strength can reach the third or fourth level of the Fusion God realm, and the eighth level is the Fusion God realm.

Ni Wenjun had already reached the peak of the seventh level.

At this moment, Ni Wenjun shouted, "Seven-story tower!" The next moment, a huge tower appeared behind him, which was indeed a seven-story tower.

At this moment, a terrifying, primal power emerged directly from his body. Ni Wenjun clenched his fists, and those fists seemed to possess boundless power, as if a single punch could pierce through the world.

On the other hand, Zhao Pusheng also activated his divine skill. What he practiced was the supreme sword technique of Buddhism, the Ananda Sword Technique, also known as the Breaking the Precepts Sword.

Peng Yingyu is a Theravada Buddhist, and the techniques he practices are also Buddhist techniques. However, unlike the Mahayana Buddhism of Shaolin, he practices Theravada Buddhism, which means saving oneself but not others.

When he took on disciples, he passed on several martial arts techniques, the first of which was the Ananda Knife Technique.

Ananda, whose full name is Ananda, was one of the Buddha's ten great disciples and was considered a fellow disciple of Jin Chanzi.

Ananda followed the Buddha closely and often listened to his teachings. He was originally the one with the greatest hope of becoming a Buddha. However, although he had the heart of a Buddha, all beings also have demons. In his most extreme situation, he took up a knife to eliminate demons and afterwards created the Ananda Knife Technique.

Ananda's sword technique has thirteen levels. After mastering it, one can attain the Bodhisattva realm. Zhao Pusheng is also talented and has already mastered the eleventh level, reaching the Golden Body Arhat realm.

Then he used this sword, and with its power, the sword light shone brightly, the sky and earth changed color, and the sun and moon shone and rotated smoothly. Immediately afterwards, a mountain suddenly appeared behind him. This mountain was called Jienan Mountain, and it was covered with all kinds of swords and knives, all left behind by Ananda after he eliminated the demon.

Looking up at the mountaintop again, one could see a long sword stuck in the mountain, gleaming brightly. Under its golden light, it inspired fear in all who saw it.

At this moment, Zhao Pusheng, holding a long knife, looked at Ni Wenjun and said, "Ni barbarian, it's not too late for you to surrender now. Take responsibility, or don't blame me for being merciless."

Upon hearing this, Ni Wenjun chuckled coldly and said, "Zhao Pusheng, show me what you've got!"

(End of this chapter)