Ben Coates was just about to lead Khan Roland and the other top experts in pursuit of Quinn Shepherd, when he saw more than two hundred tower-ships flying their banners, their massive hulls blotting out the sun like two hundred dark clouds moving across half the sky.
Beneath the tower-ships, the first to charge out from the city walls were the exotic beast army. These gigantic creatures marched at the front like moving hills, archers standing on their backs. Behind them came chariots, then cavalry, and finally infantry phalanxes, each regiment divided according to spiritual attributes—a vast and awe-inspiring force.
The sight of this formation was breathtaking, but it left Khan Roland somewhat puzzled.
In the past, the Everpeace Empire always deployed the exotic beast army at the front, with chariots weaving through their ranks and infantry charging beneath the beasts. The tower-ships, meanwhile, were positioned at the center of the formation.
Although tower-ships could float in the air, their range was limited and they were easily shot down—so they required protection from the central forces.
But now, the tower-ships were leading the way.
Facing tower-ships, all it took was launching Saber Pills from thirty li away to destroy them and bring them crashing down. If the furnaces could be damaged, the resulting explosions would usually kill everyone aboard.
—Quinn Shepherd had indeed improved the tower-ship furnaces, greatly boosting their firepower, but when they exploded, the devastation was several times—if not ten times—worse than before. Ordinary cultivators stood no chance of surviving such blasts.
Of course, this wasn’t Quinn’s fault. His furnace upgrades gave the tower-ships much greater speed—the only problem was their firepower hadn’t kept pace, so the ships couldn’t fully harness the new energy.
"Has the Imperial Preceptor gone mad?"
Just as Khan Roland was puzzling this out, Ben Coates’ voice rang out: "Roland, shoot that Keane brat dead—now!"
Khan Roland was stark naked—his pants had been pulled down to his ankles by Crippled Joe, and his gold saber and quiver had also been swiped. Even his lavish lynx-fur cloak had been cheerfully appropriated by the thief.
But he was still a khan—a ruler in his own right—and his cultivation remained. Hearing Ben’s order, he quickly yanked up his pants, reaching for his belt, only to find it missing.
His gold-and-jade inlaid belt had also been snatched by Crippled Joe.
"That cripple’s skills are terrifying! If he’d wanted to kill me instead of just stealing my clothes, would I have stood a chance?"
A chill ran through Khan Roland’s heart; cold sweat poured down his back, soaking his shirt.
He was actually overestimating Crippled Joe. The thief’s real talents lay in stealing and escaping; his movement arts and sleight-of-hand were unfathomable, but in close combat he relied mostly on his legs and had few offensive tricks with his hands.
Crippled Joe’s physical arts were nothing special, and his attack moves weren’t strong. If he really tried to fight, it’d be hard to last more than a few exchanges against him. What made him truly fearsome was his movement technique.
Even without bow or arrows, Khan Roland’s cultivation remained. Suddenly, his yuanqi erupted—a godlike, demonic figure rose slowly behind him, four-armed and bird-headed, wreathed in blazing fire and radiant light!
This was his primordial spirit—now fully manifest and almost tangible. Four arms drew a great bow, and instantly, roaring flames engulfed the Duck-Tongue Strip, the firestorm swirling together to form a blinding arrow between the bow’s limbs.
Buzz.
A tremor filled the air as the arrow shot forth. Sky and earth turned parched and dry; visions of fiery sandstorms appeared one after another. Wherever the arrow flew, it looked as if fire tornadoes were roaring through the desert—yellow sand swirling everywhere, and blazing vortexes rampaging across the land!
Khan Roland, bare-chested, raised his right hand, index and middle fingers together, thumb pressing down on ring and pinky, forming a sword seal and touching his brow.
Whoosh—
The arrow of light and fire was unimaginably swift, streaking straight for the fleeing Crippled Joe and Quinn Shepherd. It was so fast that no one could see the blazing radiance—only a black line burned into their vision as the arrow flashed past!
Ben Coates’ heart lurched—Khan Roland was famed as the prairie’s greatest marksman, and the power behind this shot even made him uneasy!
"If I hadn’t gotten the Golden Scripture Scroll and was on the verge of becoming a god, I’d be seriously wary of this cheap old man... My Golden Scripture Scroll!"
Ben Coates felt as if his chest had been stabbed and twisted—Quinn stealing his Golden Scripture Scroll was like a knife driven deep, then cruelly wrenched.
On the way to the border, he’d secretly studied the Golden Scripture Scroll, memorizing its cultivation diagrams. But the diagrams were incredibly complex—a tiny error could mean disaster. Only flawless execution could repair the Divine Bridge.
He wasn’t sure he could guarantee perfect accuracy.
The arrow of light caught up to Quinn Shepherd and Crippled Joe. Suddenly, Crippled Joe threw away his stolen goods in every direction, grabbed Quinn, and vanished in a ghostly blur—dodging the lethal shot.
Khan Roland raised his eyebrows, puzzled: "This old man’s skills aren’t quite as high as I imagined..."
His fingers stayed pressed to his brow, unmoving. The arrow bent midair, shooting once more at Crippled Joe. The thief’s movement technique shifted again and again, his body flickering so quickly it seemed he was breaking through the barriers of space itself.
Crippled Joe dared not take the shot head-on, but his movement was truly uncanny—even carrying Quinn, he was incredibly fast, leaving everyone stunned. Even Khan Roland found it hard to hit him.
Crippled Joe was getting closer to the tower-ship. State Duke Wei leapt into the air, brandishing the State Duke’s Sword, and struck at the arrow of light!
Boom—
A terrifying shockwave erupted. State Duke Wei was blasted high into the air, landing atop a tower-ship. He laughed heartily: "Roland, you really do have some skill!"
Khan Roland’s power exceeded his own, and the arrow’s momentum was still undiminished. Suddenly, the Champion Grand General clapped his back—the Fangtian Halberd shot skyward, transforming into a dragon that reached out a claw to seize the arrow of light.
The Champion Grand General grunted, his yuanqi nearly ruptured by the impact. He staggered back several steps, but finally managed to block the arrow, awe-struck by its power.
If State Duke Wei hadn’t clashed with the arrow first, draining most of its force, the Champion Grand General probably couldn’t have stopped it at all.