Chapter 1573: Inevitable Doom

The rebels' eyes glowed red as they recognized the equipment of the knights in the valley. As insurgents, they were perpetually short on funds, relying solely on plunder. Consequently, their army's clothing and armor were a motley assortment of colors, many tattered and patched, either stripped from fallen government soldiers or acquired through numerous transactions on the black market.

Now, before them stood a hundred-man squad, mounted on majestic steeds, their armor gleaming brightly and their weapons clearly finely crafted and sharp. Had this cavalry unit numbered a thousand, or even just five hundred, the rebels would have certainly turned tail and fled, knowing that engaging such well-equipped government forces would result in severe casualties. But with only a hundred men, they appeared to the rebels as a hundred fat sheep, ripe for the taking.

Plundering these government troops would allow the rebels to significantly upgrade their own gear. Crucially, possessing such impressive armor would make it infinitely easier to trick open city gates in the future. Under the rebels' code, "finders keepers" was the rule, designed to maximize combat effectiveness. Thus, a roaring mob surged towards the hundred-strong Imperial Guard unit.

The Imperial Guards, seeing the greedy, stripping gaze in the rebels' eyes, felt a shiver run down their spines. Fortunately, the Imperial Guard, being the Emperor's elite personal army, though usually stationed in the capital, were formidable. Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang, both capable commanders, quickly recovered from their initial disarray and organized their men to form a defensive line with their backs to the cliff, facing the enemy head-on.

While cavalry's primary advantage lay in swift maneuvers and charges, they were now deeply encircled in an unfavorable valley terrain. Before they could even gather momentum for a charge, they risked being fragmented and annihilated by an enemy outnumbering them many times over. Therefore, their best option was to hold their ground.

Military units are trained in combined formations, ranging from small groups of three to five, to medium-sized units of a hundred or so, and large armies of thousands. As one of the five Imperial Guard armies, they primarily drilled defensive formations, which perfectly suited their current predicament. Thus, even as the rebels assailed them from all sides, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang diligently maintained their formation, struggling to withstand the furious onslaught.

Xie Daoyun, too, held nothing back. She utilized every bit of her recently recovered spiritual energy to cast various auxiliary formations, bolstering the Imperial Guard. However, having previously encountered these rebels, she was well aware of their strength. The numerical disparity was immense; while they could hold out for a while, prolonged resistance was impossible.

"Generals, are there any other friendly forces nearby? Signal them for assistance," Xie Daoyun urged. Having lived in the capital for years, she knew the Imperial Guard was not deployed lightly, and if they were, it wouldn't be with such a small contingent.

Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang remained silent, their expressions somewhat awkward. An had, after all, just warned them about the unclear enemy situation and the possibility of an ambush, warnings they had dismissed with disdain and arrogance. Now, to turn to him for aid was something they couldn't bring themselves to do. Each of them silently hoped that if they just held out a little longer, the rebels would recognize the futility and withdraw.

They proved their capability, forming an impenetrable defense. With Xie Daoyun's assistance, they successfully repelled several waves of rebel assaults. Each failed assault left a scattering of corpses, causing agitation among the rebels and a visibly plummeting morale. Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were overjoyed, believing their persistence had finally paid off.

However, Xie Daoyun immediately warned them, "Be careful, Generals. The rebels have two exceptionally powerful leaders: a scar-faced man and a warrior monk. Both are formidable experts."

"'Scarface? Monk?' Zhang Zijiang's expression suddenly shifted. 'Could it be Yang Shen, the Scarface of Twin Dragon Mountain, and Lu Zhi, the Monk?'"

Across the land, the most influential rebel leader was undoubtedly Lu San Yuan, rumored to have ties to the Demonic Cult. Besides him, several other significant rebel factions existed, among which Twin Dragon Mountain stood out. Its two leaders, Scarface Yang Shen and Monk Lu Zhi, were renowned as top-tier martial arts experts with formidable cultivation, having repeatedly thwarted local government suppression efforts. But Twin Dragon Mountain was not located here; why would they appear a thousand miles away?

Before they could discuss further, a thunderous roar echoed, and a monk with a fierce, broad face slowly emerged from the rebel ranks. Each step he took made the ground tremble. He was like a giant, more than twice the height of an ordinary person, with bulging muscles and a necklace of skulls adorning his chest. He was currently hoisting a boulder the size of a small hill, which explained his heavy, earth-shaking footsteps.

The monk let out a mighty roar, then hurled the massive boulder towards the Imperial Guard.

"'Defense!' Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang cried out in alarm, hastily issuing orders as a blue light formation shimmered around them." However, they knew that such a mountain-like boulder would likely shatter the Imperial Guard's formation upon impact. Both men leaped forward simultaneously, one with a saber, each unleashing a powerful surge of blade energy towards the colossal rock.

Though their cultivation was formidable, they faced the hurtling boulder with considerable trepidation, unsure if their combined assault could halt it. To their astonishment, as their blade energy neared the boulder, it unexpectedly shattered into countless fragments, as if made of fragile tofu. They paused, bewildered by the immense power of their blade strikes. But the next second, they watched as the shattered fragments hurtled towards their formation below, each piece acting like a cannonball, creating ripples across their defensive array.

They finally understood: the monk had imbued the boulder with internal energy, detonating it prematurely as it neared the Imperial Guard, causing it to scatter into a barrage of countless fragments designed to overwhelm their defensive formation. Xie Daoyun, proficient in formations herself, felt a pang of admiration. As the Emperor's personal guard, the Imperial Guard's formations were naturally top-tier, designed to withstand powerful attacks from high-level cultivators who might threaten the Emperor. However, this strength came with a drawback: while capable of repelling immense single attacks, each defensive maneuver consumed a vast amount of energy. The monk, despite his rough exterior, had astutely discerned the formation's weakness from previous engagements and launched a precisely targeted assault.

Indeed, the relentless barrage of stone fragments, showering down like scattered petals, pounded the Imperial Guard's defensive formation. Soon, the faces of many Imperial Guards turned pale; the energy drain was simply too immense. Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were both shocked and enraged. They attempted to intercept, but could only block a fraction of the fragments; they were simply too numerous and too fast. With their formation visibly faltering, they knew that if it broke, their hundred men would swiftly be overwhelmed, encircled, and slaughtered.

Acting decisively, both generals charged directly at the large monk. They reasoned that after hurling a 'small mountain' and employing such intricate maneuvers, he must be in a weakened state. Capturing the leader first might cause the entire rebel force to collapse. To their surprise, the monk remained rooted to the spot, showing no hint of fear in his eyes. Though suspicious, they were committed. They continued their charge, yet instinctively held back a fraction of their strength as a precaution.

Just then, a scar-faced figure darted out from behind the monk, a cruel smile playing on his lips. A chilling glint of steel flashed, and Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang felt their hairs stand on end. Fortunately, they had reserved some strength. They frantically swung their weapons to parry, but with a sharp crack, their blades shattered. A spray of blood mist erupted from their chests as both men were sent flying backward.

Xie Daoyun quickly formed a hand seal, projecting a gentle force behind them that absorbed a significant portion of the impact. They barely regained their footing, looking down in horror at their shattered armor and chest plates. As vice-generals of the Imperial Guard, their armor was naturally among the finest in the army, and their chest plates were theoretically capable of withstanding a full-force strike from a ninth-rank master. Yet now, both their chest plates and armor had been utterly destroyed by a single blow from their opponent.

"'You're a Grandmaster?' Both men's eyes widened in terror and confusion. A Grandmaster was powerful enough to be a feudal lord even within the imperial court; why would such a person choose to become a rebel?"

Xie Daoyun's face turned even paler. She had barely managed to contend with the monk before; now, with a Grandmaster joining the fray, escape seemed impossible.