Chapter 217 - Three Guillotines
Warring Kingdom Continent, Ten Kingdom Domain, Meditation Palace.
Hundreds of youths were seated, their eyes shut tight, each seemingly engrossed in profound concentration. Without warning, one of these youths toppled from his cushion, blood spraying from his mouth. He had clearly lost.
Three armored men quickly came to his aid, helping him to his feet before escorting him away from the area. Witnessing this, Zhao Cheping, the invigilator representing the Song Kingdom, approached the youth to discover precisely what had transpired.
The youth, still reeling from the experience, replied with a shaky voice, “I faced hundreds of massive, ten-meter-tall bone giants, but with just three battalions under my command, I stood no chance and was completely overpowered.”
Zhao Cheping let out a weary sigh. The Song Kingdom’s emperor had consistently been derelict in his duties, leading to a relentless and steady decline in the kingdom’s might. The situation was particularly frustrating, especially considering that even the promising young general, a prodigy they had invested all their available resources into nurturing, had been defeated so quickly.
His gaze settled on the exhausted youth, a deep sigh of disappointment escaping his lips. He knew it was pointless to scold him now.
“That's alright,” he said, his voice tinged with resignation. “Go back and get some rest.”
With the young general gone, Zhao Cheping found himself standing alone before the grand palace. His gaze then drifted to a black-faced youth[1] seated in the Meditation Palace. This particular youth was one of the younger generation of generals whom Zhao Cheping held in very high regard.
“Bao Xiren, the hope of the Song Kingdom lies on your shoulders. Don’t disappoint me!”
The young general, Bao Xiren, involuntarily shuddered as his spirit was drawn into the strange and unfamiliar space. He then raised two fingers, pointing them sharply like the tip of a sword, and muttered silently, “Martial Manifestation.”
Behind him, nine battalions shimmered into existence, each boasting a thousand units. Simultaneously, six powerful Spirit Generals materialized at his side. Four of these generals exuded an incredibly intense bloodlust, an aura strong enough to instill terror in the hearts of most living beings. Inscribed onto their bodies were the characters “Long”, “Hu”, “Chao”, and “Han” respectively.[2] The remaining two Spirit Generals, in stark contrast, radiated an air of justice. One of them, wielding a decorative sword, had the character “Zhao” inscribed on its body, while the other, holding a fan, had the character “Ce” inscribed on its body.
“I’ve detected the enemy’s location,” the Ce Spirit General said as it pointed its fan in a certain direction, its eyes twinkling like distant stars, giving the impression it could see what was happening thousands of kilometers away.
“There’s a presence nearby,” the Zhao Spirit General warned, its heightened hearing having pinpointed a presence. Without hesitation, it then swung its sword, unleashing a rapid, flying slash that precisely struck and killed a Dark Cursed Bug that had been hiding just ten meters away.
On the other side, Han Wu had just received a report from his Dark Cursed Bug and was about to review the footage when he suddenly lost contact.
“They actually detected my Dark Cursed Bugs?” he muttered, a hint of surprise in his voice. “They must be very talented this time.”
“Should I send my lizardmen to probe their capabilities and gauge their strength?” Duan Meng offered.
Han Wu, not wanting to discourage her enthusiasm, promptly agreed. “Sure, go ahead.”
Without hesitation, Duan Meng issued orders for her Infantry Lizardmen and Archer Blazing Lizardmen to move out. Her agile lizardmen quickly pinpointed the enemy’s position, and it seemed the opposing force remained unaware of their presence. Observing the situation from a safe distance, she decided to launch an ambush, aiming to eliminate them quickly amidst the chaos.
Just as the lizardmen were about to strike, the Zhao Spirit General’s voice suddenly cut through the air, declaring, “Sneaking around in such a manner is truly the action of a despicable person.”
Having uttered those words, it leaped high into the air and, with a powerful swing of its sword, unleashed hundreds of flying slashes, striking down all the lizardmen with terrifying accuracy. Duan Meng’s carefully constructed ambush had collapsed. She clenched her fist, her face contorted with a mixture of anger and humiliation, and with a furious shout, ordered her surviving lizardmen to attack head-on.
Thousands of lizardmen suddenly surged from the tall grass, charging directly at Bao Xiren. However, the young general remained stoic, not a single hint of emotion on his face. The four Spirit Generals standing behind him, however, were clearly itching for a fight. With frightening speed, they swung their blades, and within mere moments, all of the attacking lizardmen lay dead.
The Spirit Generals’ bloodlust grew even denser, and they let out derisive chuckles, their voices dripping with contempt.
“Mere barbarians!” They sneered. “You don’t even have the right to speak in the presence of our lord!”
Bao Xiren continued his advance, his facial expression remaining perfectly impassive. Behind him, his nine thousand soldiers marched with impeccable synchronized movements. Duan Meng, observing the scene, was stunned—it was a devastating blow to see thousands of the lizardmen she had so carefully nurtured be decimated with such terrifying efficiency and speed.
By this point, Han Wu had realized that they were up against a particularly difficult enemy this time. However, it was a fact that the stronger their opponents proved to be, the more significant the potential rewards would become. He issued commands for his skeletons to hold their formation, and it wasn’t long before the two forces finally converged.
Bao Xiren’s army seemed almost insignificant when pitted against Han Wu’s monstrous skeleton army. Despite this overwhelming disparity, Bao Xiren himself remained completely calm, displaying not even a single trace of fear. His four Spirit Generals behind him, however, were positively vibrating with anticipation.
“Lord Bao,” one exclaimed, “look at the sheer number of undead here! This person must be extremely wicked! Grant us permission to take his head and enact justice for the people!”
“Hold on,” Bao Xiren interjected, speaking for the first time. “He is not truly covered in sins and evil, even though he undeniably has a great deal of blood on his hands. It seems more likely that the people he’s killed must have held some sort of grudge against him first.”
The Ce Spirit General asked, “Lord Bao, what then are your intentions?”
“We shall remove the evil and protect the good! Let’s exorcise the undead in front of us!”
The Zhao Spirit General was moved by his words. “Lord Bao, you are truly wise!”
The four Spirit Generals behind him bowed. “We will assist Lord Bao to the best of our ability!”
With his nine battalions in formation and the six Spirit Generals releasing their energy, Bao Xiren channeled their morale, allowing him to summon three huge guillotines. The moment the three guillotines appeared, Han Wu detected a trace of a Divine Aspect within them, and he quickly realized that even Gods like himself might find it incredibly challenging to evade their abilities.
Once the guillotines were fully materialized, Bao Xiren roared, “Raise!”
One of the guillotines, adorned with a dog head on its frame, slowly raised its blade. At that very moment, Han Wu and Duan Meng saw translucent apparitions of a dog spirit appear directly above the heads of every Common life form within their army. As the guillotine’s blade dropped, the apparitions simultaneously opened their jaws and bit down.
In that terrifying instant, nearly a million Common life forms were utterly obliterated, their souls completely exorcised from existence. Where they had stood moments before, there was now nothing but empty space, as if they had never been.
Han Wu’s heart nearly seized in his chest from the sheer shock of it—the guillotine’s power was too overwhelming! A wave of panic immediately washed over him when he remembered two more of these terrifying devices still remained unused.
“Attack him! Attack and stop him now!” he roared, his voice laced with urgency.
Responding to Han Wu’s command, their army swiftly unleashed a devastating barrage of skills upon Bao Xiren. Branch Pierce, Shadow Nails, Fireballs, and numerous other long-range attacks, all capable of overwhelming Bao Xiren and his army, streaked across the battlefield.
Of course, Bao Xiren’s Spirit Generals were clearly not present just for appearances; they were certainly not pushovers. The four Spirit Generals behind him simply opened their mouths and effortlessly and completely devoured the entire barrage of attacks aimed at them. As Han Wu remained paralyzed by shock and disbelief at this turn of events, Bao Xiren calmly proceeded to raise the blade of the second guillotine.
Once again, as the ominous blade began its ascent, a terrifying apparition, this time of a tiger, materialized above the heads of all their Elite life forms, and the moment the blade dropped, these tiger apparitions simultaneously snapped their jaws shut, violently biting the heads of the Elite life forms clean off. In that instant, millions of them perished on the spot.
Witnessing the horrifying scene of millions of his units simply crumpling without any warning, Han Wu was left utterly petrified. He had absolutely no clue what kind of devastating power was at play; this was the first time he had seen such clean kills. It was, beyond a doubt, the most straightforward and precise killing technique he had ever come across.
“Quick, kill him!” Han Wu bellowed, his voice raw with fury. He had never before suffered such devastating and immediate losses. In response, his Heroic Osteomancers began rapidly absorbing the countless scattered bone fragments around them. They swiftly transformed, growing into hundreds of massive bone giants before charging relentlessly towards Bao Xiren.
The nine battalions behind Bao Xiren quickly sprang into action, shifting formation to create nine immense weapons. They then attacked the charging bone giants, effortlessly crushing the Osteomancers that controlled them and buying Bao Xiren enough time to raise the blade of the third guillotine.
The blade of the intricately carved, dragon-shaped guillotine rose into position. As it did, a majestic, golden apparition of a dragon materialized above the heads of every single Unique life form in Han Wu’s vast army. As the final blade dropped, the golden dragons then swiftly coiled themselves around all his Unique life forms, utterly crushing them to death within a few breaths.[3]
Despite the catastrophic losses, Han Wu quickly observed that every unit above the Unique rank remained intact. Bao Xiren had used up all three of his terrifying guillotines, yet he had only managed to annihilate units at the Unique rank and below. The skill was only effective on units below the Heroic rank!
Still seething and bristling from the devastating losses he had just suffered, Han Wu let out a furious roar, sounding like a creature from the abyss.
“Are you ready to die?” he bellowed, his voice filled with venom. “Attack!”
Once more, the remaining Osteomancers surged forward, and the surviving half-dragons and lizardmen unleashed a vicious counterattack of their own. However, all their attacks were completely blocked by an impenetrable shield created by the nine battalions.
Bao Xiren remained perfectly still, his gaze fixed on Han Wu, and asked, “Even now, do you fail to see the error in your ways?”
Upon hearing those words, Han Wu’s mind was suddenly overwhelmed by a chaotic flurry of memories. He vividly recalled every person he had killed and the immense rivers of blood he had shed. A deep worry then crept into his thoughts, a chilling fear that his parents, should they ever see what he had become, might no longer recognize their own son.
The crushing weight of guilt pressed heavily upon Han Wu’s heart, and for a fleeting moment, he was on the verge of pleading for mercy. But just as quickly, he snapped out of his trance, his eyes blazing as he bellowed angrily, “You scoundrel! You dare to play such a trick on me? Osteomancers, shatter their barrier!”
The hundreds of Osteomancers rained blows onto Bao Xiren’s barrier while they heeded his command. They ignored the blows from the nine battalions, even if their bodies were being destroyed.
This wasn’t just a battle between armies. This was a battle between gods, and also a battle between the Divine Civilization and the Warring Kingdom Civilization. Neither side must show mercy to the other.
1. Not a slur. This is a reference to Judge Bao, also called Bao Qingtian, for his honesty and righteousness. In opera or drama, he is often portrayed with a black face and a white crescent-shaped birthmark on his forehead. In legends, because he was born dark-skinned and extremely ugly, Bao Zheng was considered cursed and thrown away by his father right after birth. However, his virtuous elder sister-in-law, who just had an infant named Bao Mian (包勉), picked Bao Zheng up and raised him like her own son. ☜
2. They represent the four city guards who were loyal to Bao Qingtian. Their names are Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Wang Chao, and Ma Han. ☜
3. This is yet another reference to Bao Qingtian. He had three level-style guillotines with the handles shaped into the head of a dog, tiger, and dragon. The dog-shaped one was used on commoners, the tiger-shaped one on nobles and influential individuals, and the dragon-shaped one on those from the royal family. ☜