Defiant Martial God

“Hehehe!” 

 

The air whistled as images of arrows filled the sky. 

 

“No! Big bro, save me, I don’t want to die here!” 

 

Somebody shouted desperately to the large grey-robed man who had already ran far away. However, their ‘big bro’ completely ignored them. 

 

“Ah, ahh!!” Blood-curdling screams rang in the air one after another, each one louder and more frightful than the last. The sharp arrows tore through their bodies with astonishingly fast speed. Apart from their Transformation Realm leader, the entire group had been turned into hedgehogs. 

 

The arrows held traces of toxic demonic yin qi and immediately began to corrode their bodies upon contact. Soon, traces of black qi rose and dissipated into the air from the corpses.

 

The Transformation Realm master ran the fastest. He brandished his broadsword as he ran, creating an airtight defense that blocked countless sharp arrows along the way. 

 

He had almost escaped the range of the arrows when the sky suddenly turned dark again and the rain of arrows became even more concentrated. This time, it was targeting him specifically and the speed of the projectiles was even faster than before.

 

“No-!”

 

He ran with the greatest speed he could muster. However, this caused his broadsword to slow down by a little. 

 

Although he was fast, the arrows were even faster. He screamed in despair as arrows shot into him from every direction, gleaming as they flew into him. 

 

For a Transformation Realm cultivator like him, a hundred meters was a distance that could be rushed through in a blink of an eye. But at this moment, this short distance actually felt unreachable.

 

He stumbled under the barrage of the short arrows and couldn’t help but slow down. He waved his broadsword fiercely, letting it weave into a tight defense as he broke through the arrows. However, there were simply too many arrows. One hissed by and stabbed into his shoulder, slowing him down even more. In a flash, countless arrows whizzed past. He fell, his body covered in arrows like a hedgehog left behind in the trailing dust of others. A strange black qi began to float out from his body.

 

The entire group was completely shot down. Twenty short figures appeared from within the dense mist of the Forbidden Area. They all looked like soldiers, and they were fully armored and equipped with swords that dangled at their side. 

 

The twenty short soldiers walked to the corpses and grumbled incoherently as they prodded them. Then, they split up into groups of two and dragged the ten or so corpses into the cave that led into the forbidden area.

 

The inside of the cave was completely different from before.

 

Before, the cave was entirely filled with fog infused with demonic yin qi. Now, there was none of that poisonous qi left, apart from the layer of qi that surged out from the entrance. The inside was bright, with only a few traces of black qi floating in the air. 

 

The inside of the cave had already been replaced with a shockingly different scene. 

 

There were so many war flags that it seemed to be enough to cover the sun and moon, streaming like a rainbow. The swords and weapons scattered across the ground was so numerous that it seemed like not even wind could pass through. Hunting uniforms and the glint of silver armour could be seen everywhere. Dust sprayed into the air as heaven-shaking shouts could be heard from inside. 

 

……

 

This was an enormous army of a hundred thousand people. Nobody could have imagined that there would be such a big force inside the Forbidden Area. 

 

The ears of these soldiers were tapered, tall and thin. Their bodies were short. They were all from the Underground City. 

 

There was both infantry and cavalry. 

 

Although the cavalry troops were shorter than average, they still appeared extremely powerful and frightening on the backs of the large demonic beasts. Anyone who dared to meet their eyes would immediately be assaulted by a strong murderous aura. 

 

In front of this army that was a hundred thousand strong stood a temporary platform with an altar erected on it. A similarly short and hunch-backed old man with disheveled hair stood there. With his shriveled old hands, he raised a scepter adorned with a human skull above his head. Eerie green light shone out from the scepter. When the soldiers saw this, they began to shout, their eyes filled with a zealous light. 

 

Below the stage, three figures knelt devotedly, repeating something indistinctly. 

 

The hoarse voice of the old man sounded almost like a wailing ghost, and when the soldiers heard his voice, they erupted with another round of cheers. 

 

The old man’s howling slowly died out as he lowered the scepter, causing the soldiers’ shouting to stop as well. 

 

At this moment, some soldiers marched up to the stage and laid down ten or so human corpses. These were precisely the ones who had been shot down earlier. 

 

The cavern grew fervent once again with the sight of the corpses. The heads were all cut off and hung on the flagpole beside the altar. The old man raised his scepter again, and his howling became even sharper. 

 

The army of a hundred thousand men swung their arms and raised their broadswords and pikes as they yelled together with the old man. A trace of bloodlust appeared alongside the zealous devotion in their eyes.

 

Amidst the heaven-shaking shouts, the old man pointed in the direction of the cave mouth with his scepter. The next moment, the army began to move out in that direction. The cavalrymen on the huge demonic beasts took the lead, and they plunged through the black demonic fog that lingered at the mouth of the cave. They rushed out, as fast as the wind, toward Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. Their expedition has begun. 

 

The old man’s wrinkled face was filled with excitement as he watched the army charge out with strength and momentum. 

 

He continued to stare in the direction that the army had left in, trembling as he walked down from the platform. 

 

The three people who had been kneeling below the stage hastily stood up and carefully supported the elder when they saw him walking down.

 

After the old man walked down, he looked at the three of them and sighed, before he called out each one of their names from the left to right. 

 

“Yi Suo, Wuha, La Muda.”

 

"Respected Pharaoh, your devoted followers wait for your decree.” The trio put their fists to their hearts as they bowed respectfully and with the utmost sincerity. 

 

“How many years has it been… how many years of wasted suffering and toiling has it been before we could finally break through that curse? Now, we can start our expedition and wage war against the inferior lower-class humans. From now on, no matter if it is underground or aboveground, we shall be the rulers.” The old man’s voice was loud and resounding, and each of his words was spoken clearly and powerfully.

 

“The Pharaoh is brilliant.” The three praised. 

 

“Heh, you guys also deserve credit,” The old man laughed loudly, “Today’s expedition will be a historic moment. For us underground people, this will mark a new era. Me, you, and the entire army. We’ll all be recorded in the scribes of history, and our names will resound throughout eternity.” 

 

“The Pharaoh is wise.” The three continued to praise. 

 

“Alright, you guys don’t need to praise me any further. The ones leading today’s ceremony were you guys.” The old man’s voice turned serious, “Yi Suo, Wu Ha, La Muda. I will have to rely on your powers for the expedition this time. You three must work well together. The expedition this time can only succeed. We absolutely cannot fail.”

 

“We have received the Pharaoh's decree.” The three responded loudly. 

 

“Very good.” The old man nodded with satisfaction. His gaze landed on a short man that was about fifty inches tall, “Yi Suo, how far away is the closest city from here?” 

 

The man called Yi Suo hastily stepped forward and gave a deep bow. His voice was filled with devout admiration as he reported, “Respected Pharaoh, the nearest city to us is Luosang City. It is predicted that our army will arrive there by tomorrow morning.” 

 

“Great, great, great!” The old man even said ‘great’ three times. Emotion shined in his black pupils as he ordered, ”Pass on my decree. Before noon tomorrow, we must capture Luosang City. After capturing the city, we will slaughter all those inferior humans and become the ruler.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

The three responded loudly, and they immediately conveyed the order to the army at top speed. 

 

“Alright, you can leave now. Return to your proper posts and lead the soldiers.”

 

The three all bowed and prepared to excuse themselves. But suddenly, Yi Suo thought of something and hastily turned around to speak to the old man respectfully, “Pharaoh, what do we do with the Godly Soldiers?” 

 

Everyone was startled when they heard the question. They had completely forgotten about it. 

 

“Those are the Godly Soldiers left by some ancestor of the inferior humans aboveground. It’s useless to us, so I propose that we destroy it.” A black man called Wu Ha suggested.

 

“I second that.” Beside him, a person as round as a ball agreed. He was called La Muda.

 

“A hundred thousand Godly Soldiers…… destroying it would be such a pity.” Yi Suo revealed an expression of regret.

 

“Nonono.” The old fellow continued to disagree, “That’s the present bestowed upon us by the Heavens. We can’t destroy it. Believe in me, it won’t be long until this Pharaoh will find a way to control them. If they become ours, we would be able to control the entire continent.”

 

“The Pharaoh is truly wise and farsighted.” The three continued to praise him in chorus. The Pharaoh’s words were like the orders of God. They did not dare to oppose him in the slightest.

 

However, they had not thought that these hundred thousand Godly Soldiers they had ultimately decided to leave there, would one day become their nightmare.