This chapter has been brought to you by me, and WanderingGummiOfDoom.

 

Chapter Seven Hundred and Seventy Four – Shock

“What?” Hai Jin Yun abruptly stood up with shock and fury on his face. His voice became sharp and ear-piercing. “Defeated? You say they were defeated? Two mo marshals fighting a guy that no one even knew the name of before, and they were defeated?”

Hai Jin Yun became more excited as he spoke, his gold face full of murderousness. His eyes were cold and his tone became cruel and emotionless. “Where are they? Have them come see me!”

Hai Jin Yun and Shang Yu Sheng were responsible for leading this campaign. They could order anyone on the front lines of the Mo Marshal Alliance, and they could also punish anyone.

Two mo marshals leading two full battalions to fight a single battalion that didn’t even have a top battle general. Even if the other had the seal formation defense line, their advantage was absolute.

Hai Jin Yun was filled with murderousness. The two mo marshals had no reason to be defeated!

In his view, there were only two reasons that they would lose with such a great advantage. One was because their forces were cowardly, the other because they were useless. Neither  was a reason he could tolerate.

The mo colonel bent his head and said with a hint of grief, “The two daren died in battle.”

Hai Jin Yun’s expression froze on his face. At the side, Shang Yu Sheng also had a surprised expression.

While the times had changed, and mo marshals were not as valuable as before, it was still rare for mo marshals to die in battle. The shen era had just started, and there were just a rare few outstanding geniuses that had caught up to the last era’s power. The great majority of people were still struggling at the lower levels. A thin camel was still bigger than a horse. While mo marshals position had fallen from being the best fighters to being first-class fighters, they were still strong.

Died in combat, that meant they had not retreated!

The death of any mo marshal in combat could not be dismissed. They were not surprised by Quan Pei’s death because his opponent had been Bie Han. Mo marshals did not have the ability to fight back a top battle general.

But Ma Fan, who was he?

This person was not among the ten great generals of the xiuzhe world, and the amount of intelligence they had about this person was pitifully small. They only knew he was skilled in defense and had followed Zuo Mo for a long time. They didn’t know anything else.

Was the Ma Fan Battalion a decoy? And the one in charge was actually Gongsun Cha?

Even now, Hai Jin Yun could not believe this.

Shang Yu Sheng suddenly spoke, his tone as slow as usual, “Describe the events in detail.”

“Yes! They formed a seal formation defense line, and Ma Fan Battalion went on the defensive relying on that. The two daren discussed and thought that we had the advantage so they attacked. Because the enemy battalion did not have many people, the two daren chose six positions to attack. Each good for breakthroughs to put pressure on the enemy. When the battle started, we quickly gained the upper hand. However, the enemy was hardy and the fighting was intense.”

This lucky survivor showed sorrow, his tone deep. “After about an hour, the battle proceeded about the same as any offensive on a city. The two daren thought that the enemy might have used up its energy and decided to put on more pressure. At this time, the other finally showed a weakness.”

Yue Daren is the strongest in breakthrough and he did not hesitate to lead his elites to charge in. No one expected that it was the enemy’s trap! There were demons here! They were truly demons … …”

The mo colonel’s tone became excited, his lips trembling, his body shuddering and his eyes filled with shock.

Hai Jin Yu and Shang Yu Sheng exchanged a look. Both of them felt intimidated.

“Calm down!” Hai Jin Yun shouted sternly.

The mo colonel seemed to wake up and had an ashamed expression. However, his voice still trembled. “There was an elite troop waiting in the trap. When Yue Daren and the others charged in, this elite force suddenly charged out. The soldier at the front could not be stopped, he was ferocious, and no one could stop even one of his attacks. Yue Daren found the situation was dangerous and went out to intercept him. The two met in a single clash.”

The mo colonel’s body trembled even more violently.

“And then?” Hai Jin Yun couldn’t help asking.

“And then … … and then Yue Daren died!” Two streams of tears fell from the mo colonel’s eyes.

Hai Jin Yun and Shang Yu Sheng changed expression. The two exchanged a look and saw the shock in each other’s eyes. To kill a mo marshal with one attack, what kind strength would it take … …

They had never thought that someone would cultivate such a freakish path.

“Was that person wounded?” Shang Yu Sheng couldn’t resist asking.

The mo colonel worked through his sorrow and tried to think back. “That person was also injured, and covered in blood. However, this person was courageous and strong, he did not retreat. He changed his shen equipment and continued to fight! When Daren died, everyone’s morale plummeted. The battlefield was chaotic, and most of us were quickly killed.”

“Then He Daren? How did he die?” Hai Jin Yun asked urgently.

“The death of Yue Daren was a great shock to He Daren. The enemy was very strong and stuck themselves to He Daren’s battalion. He Daren’s battalion seemed to be stuck in a bog and could not escape. The situation was chaotic at the time, and our battalion was scattered. No one fully knows what happened. I heard an enormous explosion, and then realized that He Daren most likely … …”

Hai Jin Yun and Shang Yu Sheng sank into silence.

The hall was so quiet that the drop of a pin on the ground could be heard. What the mo colonel had described was an unparalleled shock to the two.

The two of them were in great turmoil!

One Ma Fan was so strong. Then what about the other battalions in Bie Han’s command?

They found now that they had made a grave mistake. They had kept their eyes on Bie Han and dismissed the other battalions under his command! A person’s reputation, a tree’s shadow, the halo of Bie Han being a top battle general had masked the strength of the other people. Psychologically and strategically, the Mo Marshal Alliance had focused all of their power on Bie Han.

If … … if Bie Han’s other battalions had such power, then … …

The two of them had a bad feeling.

 

———

 

Hai Jin Yun, Shang Yu Sheng, and Bie Han as well as others probably would never have thought that their battle was being observed by so many important people. Mo Cloud Sea was small but it was strong. They had not made any great moves in the last few years and their suddenly move this time naturally attracted the attention of many factions.

The intelligence on Ma Fan’s battle immediately ended up in the hands of the major factions through a number of channels.

Gongye Xiao Rong carefully read the report. His calm expression changed slightly.

“Shixiong, what do you think?” Li Xian Er had been paying attention all this time to Gongye Xiao Rong’s expression. Gongye Xiao Rong’s return had caused a significant ripple, but compared to his glory days of the past, no one had much interest in someone that had been defeated.

But inside Tian Huan, Gongye Xiao Rong’s status had not changed at all. Both the sect leader, and Li Xian Er, the future sect leader, could see that the setback this time had caused Gongye Xiao Rong to transform.

When Gongye Xiao Rong led the remains of his battalion across mountains and oceans, through countless difficult obstacles to return to Tian Huan, the sect leader only said, “Xiao Rong’s accomplishment will be limitless.”

Gongye Xiao Rong seemed to be a completely different person. There was none of his past pride, arrogance, and imperiousness. He was low-key and tolerant, uncaring of the gossip within the sect. He also became unprecedentedly hard-working. He mastered shen power at an astounding speed and adjusted to fighting with shen power.

The sect leader’s trust in him did not decrease at all. He still had great authority.

He usually stayed in the sect, and silently started to rebuild his battalion. With the remains of his past battalion as the skeleton, a completely new battalion took form as he cultivated daily.

Li Xian Er saw everything.

She knew that Xiao Rong Shixiong only needed a chance for the world to see him again, a chance for him to make his way back into the top battle general rankings!

He was already prepared!

So when he saw the slight surprise on Xiao Rong Shixiong’s face, she was slightly surprised. Xiao Rong Shixiong had become low-key and humble in these years, and was a composed person, giving the impression nothing could cause him to change expression.

The surprise flashed across Gongye Xiao Rong’s face before his expression recovered. “He has become stronger.”

“Stronger?” Li Xian Er paused.

“I fought against him in the past.” Gongye Xiao Rong’s voice was still calk. “He is much stronger now.”

“Compared to Shixiong?” Li Xian Er deliberately asked.

Gongye Xiao Rong smiled, but did not speak.

“Shixiong, tell me, tell me!” Li Xiao Er grabbed Gongye Xiao Rong’s sleeve and furiously shook it. The two had grown up together and were like siblings.

Affection and helplessness flashed across Gongye Xiao Rong’s face. At the same time, a burning fighting spirit flashed through his eyes. He said calmly, “Gongsun Cha is really strong.”

Li Xian Er was puzzled. They were clearly talking about Ma Fan, why was Shixiong talking about Gongsun Cha.

“Ma Fan and the other battle generals were taught by Gongsun Cha. This is why I say that Gongsun Cha is strong,” Gongye Xiao Rong explained. “No one can compare to Gongsun Cha in this, not even Xue Dong. Gongsun Cha is equal to two top battle generals.”

Li Xian Er saw Shixiong admired Gongsun Cha so much and pouted, “Then why is his ranking lower than Xue Dong?”

“At this level, the difference between the two is miniscule. Unless they fight, no one knows who will win. Even if they fight, there are many factors affecting victory and defeat that are beyond the control of people. There is no meaning in stronger or weaker. Battle generals are of strategic value. However, Gongsun Cha is strong in that he is skilled in training battle generals. These battle generals might not become top battle generals, but they can become first-class battle generals. For example, this Ma Fan. With this strength, he is definitely first-class. First class battle generals are not so attention-catching as top battle generals, but for a top battle general, the one with more first class battle generals under their command will have more of an advantage, and have more tactics to choose from. Look, other than Ma Fan, he has trained many others, for example, Shu Long, Tang Fei, Shi Dong, and A Zha Ge. These are all first-class battle generals. This is like playing with cards. As you play, without realizing it, his hand of bad cards has become a hand of good cards. This is what is terrifying about him!”

Gongye Xiao Rong said meaningfully.

 

Translator Ramblings: Tian Huan is still around and wow, so much dialogue.