Chapter 392 - 30: Collapsing Barbarian Ghosts and Fanatical Celestial Cloud Kingdom Remnants

Chapter 392: Chapter 30: Collapsing Barbarian Ghosts and Fanatical Celestial Cloud Kingdom Remnants

"A Sword Cultivator?!"

"Even for a Sword Cultivator, he’s way too strong!"

"Dammit, what do we do now? If we don’t stop him, we’ll lose this war completely!"

"We’ve already lost..."

Zhong Ming’s sudden eruption of power left the high command of the Barbarian Ghost tribe, who were observing from the rear, completely stunned.

They had never, under any circumstances, imagined that Zhong Ming could be this powerful.

First, he used his supreme, domineering Sword Heart to suppress the morale of the entire legion. Then, he merged with his sword, transforming into a flash of light as fast as a thunderbolt, weaving unstoppably through the ranks of the Barbarian Ghost Commanders.

His ultimate speed and ultimate sharpness gave his enemies the feeling that he was completely invincible.

Zhong Ming had truly, by his own power, altered the course of the entire battle, turning the Barbarian Ghosts’ surprise attack into a total rout.

At this moment, the many Barbarian Ghost experts observing from the rear were no longer thinking about how to win. They were all contemplating one thing—whether they should intervene and, bullying the weak with their superior strength, crush Zhong Ming here and now.

"Let’s do it. Zhong Ming is too strong. If we don’t deal with him, not only will we lose this war, but any future battlefield he’s on will be incredibly difficult for us to win."

"..."

His words made a lot of sense, but upon hearing them, the Quanrong Tribe’s high command all furrowed their brows. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to act, but rather:

"You’re right. If we don’t eliminate this boy, he’ll become a massive threat. But the Golden Core Cultivators of Frost Moon won’t just stand by and watch us make a move!"

Without even looking up, the Barbarian Ghost leaders with their sensitive Divine Sense could feel it: the Celestial Sea King, the Silver Moon King, and the other Golden Core Cultivators of the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty had all locked onto them completely.

The moment they acted, the thunderous retaliation from the human Golden Cores would arrive instantly.

This deterrence made them unable to act rashly.

What made their expressions even darker was that Gu Libu and the others were not confident they could kill Zhong Ming in a single strike.

"Zhong Ming is no match for me, but with Sword Qi that fast and sharp, it would take more than one or two moves to kill him... and that’s more than enough time for the human Golden Cores to react."

Lacking confidence in a guaranteed kill, the Quanrong Tribe’s high command ultimately decided to hold their forces back.

"Let’s retreat for now. The enemy Golden Cores are watching us too closely. We’ll only get one chance to strike, and we can’t waste it here!"

"I second that..."

"This Zhong Ming is a great threat, which is precisely why we must ensure a One-Hit Kill. Now is not the time to alert the enemy..."

The high command had no confidence in killing Zhong Ming with a single strike, while on the battlefield, the ordinary Barbarian Ghosts and their Commanders were being slaughtered and thrown into disarray by Zhong Ming’s power alone.

Under these circumstances, however reluctant they were, the leaders of the Quanrong Tribe decided to sound the retreat.

"WUUUU..."

Following the desolate sound of a horn, the Barbarian Ghosts began to withdraw.

Of course, retreating would not be so easy for them.

"Kill!"

"Give it your all! Kill every last one of these bastards! Leave none alive!"

"ROAR..."

Amidst the furious roars of the Silver Moon Legion’s generals, the legion’s Cultivators surged forward in waves, a silver tide of death.

The remnants of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom were even more frenzied. To hunt down the fleeing soldiers, their Cultivators began burning their own Essence Blood without a second thought.

The combination of this mad killing intent and Zhong Ming’s suppression inflicted catastrophic casualties on the retreating Barbarian Ghosts.

More importantly, the army’s rout, combined with Zhong Ming’s prior, unstoppable slaughter, had completely shattered the Barbarian Ghosts’ morale. Facing Zhong Ming, who was like a great, blazing Sun, they were utterly terrified.

Many of the Barbarian Ghosts didn’t even dare to look directly at Zhong Ming.

This fear not only suppressed their strength to an even lower level, but also gave birth to endless Heart Demons within them.

"I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! Don’t kill me!"

In their extreme terror, some Barbarian Ghosts trembled uncontrollably, unable to even think of running—their minds were completely consumed by fear.

Some of the weaker ones were even scared to death, right then and there.

Besides those paralyzed by panic, there were others who were influenced by the principles of the Fallen.

’Why should I be the one to die... That’s right, with the Silver Moon Legion chasing us, I don’t have to be the fastest. I just have to be faster than my comrades...’

"You lowly slave, I command you to stop!"

"Why does an incompetent fool like you get everything? Isn’t it just because you have a good father?! Go to hell!"

The pressure from the domineering Sword Heart shattered their Heart Spirits, filling their minds with terror. Meanwhile, the Mysterious Source of the Fallen drew out the darkest parts of their souls.

The combination of these two factors drove the fleeing Barbarian Ghosts, under the pressure of death, to attack their own comrades.

And this wasn’t just an isolated incident or two. In order to survive, to escape from Zhong Ming’s presence, scenes of them sabotaging each other and launching vicious sneak attacks were happening everywhere among the Barbarian Ghost ranks.

"Stop!"

"All of you, stop it!"

Even though the Quanrong Tribe leaders shouted repeatedly, it was all useless.

This chaos resulted in less than a tenth of the over one hundred thousand invading Barbarian Ghosts managing to escape the battlefield.

Moreover, the ten thousand-odd Barbarian Ghosts who remained were completely broken.

With their morale shattered by Zhong Ming, next time he wouldn’t even need to exert his pressure. His mere appearance would force these Barbarian Ghosts to recall today’s nightmarish experience. When that happened, they would have absolutely no will to fight him.

’No, many of them won’t even live to see me again.’

Zhong Ming’s Supreme Sword Heart, while domineering, was righteous and forthright. It would only suppress his enemies and shatter their morale, not cause any lasting damage to their minds.

The Mysterious Source, however, was different. The Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty had no shortage of Nascent Soul Masters, but even these High Cultivator Great Powers were extremely cautious when facing the strange and mysterious, making all sorts of preparations. This alone was enough to prove how difficult it was to deal with.

The core reason Zhong Ming was able to subdue it was his Heaven Rewards Diligence, a state of One Certificate Forever.

And as the saying goes, fortune lies within misfortune, and misfortune hides within fortune... The Mysterious Source was difficult to handle, but after gaining control of it, the benefits it brought Zhong Ming were naturally immense.

The Quanrong Barbarian Ghosts, whose morale had been crushed by Zhong Ming, were now also entangled by this mysterious energy.

From now on, their minds would be forever haunted by terrifying Demon Sounds.

’Unless their will is firm, many of these Barbarian Ghosts will die. Those who don’t will be crippled for life...’

Gazing at the fleeing Barbarian Ghosts, Zhong Ming passed his judgment.

And when he withdrew his gaze from the distance, he found himself enveloped by looks of boundless adoration.

The Celestial Generals and Divine Generals of the Silver Moon Legion, the remnants of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom, and even the Silver Moon King, the Celestial Sea King, and Liang Kun—everyone was staring at him in shock.

Apparently, not even they had expected Zhong Ming to lead them to victory, and so easily at that.

"We... won?"

"I’m not dreaming, am I? Or maybe I’ve been cursed?"

The victory had been so effortless that the soldiers of the Silver Moon Legion and the remnants of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom felt as if they were in a dream.

This wasn’t their first time facing the Barbarian Ghosts of the Quanrong Tribe, but in every previous battle, they had to fight to the death just to barely hold back the enemy’s assault.

And after every battle, countless of their comrades would have died tragically.

It was not uncommon for entire units to be wiped out in the war.

But this time, because the enemy’s formation had collapsed, they had killed nearly one hundred thousand while suffering fewer than three thousand casualties themselves.

One hundred thousand to three thousand. How could such an exaggerated kill-death ratio not horrify the common soldiers and Celestial Generals of the Silver Moon Legion?

But after the shock and disbelief, what remained in their hearts was pure excitement.

"We’re saved!"

"As long as Divine General Zhong Ming is here, as long as he can transform into the Great Sun, we can win no matter how many Quanrong Barbarian Ghosts they send!"

"Lord Zhong Ming, all hail!"

The Celestial Cloud Kingdom, which had been crushed by the Quanrong Tribe, needed a hero. And Zhong Ming, who had single-handedly influenced the battle and broken the Quanrong Tribe, was undoubtedly that hero—a hero to the Celestial Cloud Kingdom and the Silver Moon Legion.

Faced with a heroic leader who could lead them to victory and allow them to take revenge, the common soldiers naturally worshipped and revered Zhong Ming.

As for the surviving heirs of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom’s nobility, their gazes toward Zhong Ming were even more fervent.

’With Lord Zhong Ming here, maybe we don’t have to run. Maybe we can fight back and reclaim our homeland...’

At this thought, the excitement on the faces of these noble scions was impossible to hide.

In a feudal era, land was a vital resource and the very foundation of the nobility. These nobles, who had been preparing to flee to the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty, knew very well that once they left the Celestial Cloud Kingdom, without their Spirit Fields and Spiritual Ores, they would be merely surviving, perhaps even becoming the very commoners they had once despised and looked down upon.

Originally, they believed they couldn’t defeat the Quanrong Barbarian Race. This meant that even though they knew their social status would plummet in the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty, survival was paramount. To stay alive, they had no choice but to flee.

But the battle just now, and Zhong Ming’s performance, had restored their confidence.

’Three thousand commanders, a million Barbarian Ghosts... The numbers are indeed vast, but they can’t catch Lord Zhong Ming, nor can they stop him... Lord Zhong Ming can defeat them!’

’If Lord Zhong Ming wins, my Spirit Fields and Spiritual Ores can be returned to me!’

Excitement and elation—this was the first thought of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom’s remnants.

But soon, their expressions grew dark.

Born into noble families, these people were no fools.

And because of that, they knew full well that the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty was not filled with philanthropists.

The Silver Moon King hadn’t saved them to uphold justice or defend righteousness. He wanted to use them as a shield against external threats, and more importantly, to seize the resources of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom for himself.

’If we rely on Lord Zhong Ming’s power to reclaim the lands of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom, the Silver Moon King and Celestial Sea King will never return our territory... They’ll seize the majority of our lands and resources... We absolutely cannot let that happen!’

Such was the complexity and selfishness of human nature that even before the allied forces of Celestial Cloud and Frost Moon had won, some were already thinking about the post-war situation and how to secure more resources for themselves.

However, the more they thought about it, the uglier the expressions on the faces of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom’s remnants became. They realized that with the power of the Silver Moon Legion and the Celestial Patrol, it would be difficult to resist their demands.

But as their minds raced, they actually managed to find a way to break the deadlock.

’Zhong Ming... Our victory this time was entirely due to Lord Zhong Ming’s strength, and his Talent is plain to see. As long as we pledge our allegiance to him and become his subordinates, even the Silver Moon King and the Celestial Sea King will have to show us some respect...’

’And the benefits aren’t just for now. With Lord Zhong Ming, his unparalleled Talent and power, he can shelter us in the future, even if the second great catastrophe is truly terrifying...’

The more they thought, the more the Celestial Cloud Kingdom remnants realized how powerful Zhong Ming was and how endless the benefits of siding with him were. This led the surviving noble heirs to quickly reach a consensus: they had to win Zhong Ming over.

They had also thought of a method to do so.

’Tonight, under the pretext of thanking him, we’ll bring Princess Lin Yin to Zhong Ming’s tent to celebrate. Then we’ll leave the princess in his tent and offer him the title of Prince of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom...’

"Agreed."

"..."

While the Celestial Cloud Kingdom was scheming to win over Zhong Ming, the Celestial Sea King, on the other side, immediately sent a telepathic message to Shen Wanshang, telling her to get close to Zhong Ming.

Meanwhile, the Silver Moon King was growing anxious, and even more envious of Prince Qinghe.

"Ji Qinghe, he’s really so damn lucky. If Zhong Ming continues to grow, Ji Qinghe could become a Prince himself without even lifting a finger!"

"And the Seven Profound Sect and the Yi Family, they’ve all hit the jackpot this time!"