The Human Emperor
The Human Emperor - Chapter 216: Aiding Vermilion Bird Peak

Di da da!

The White-hoofed Shadow galloped swiftly across the mountain. The rugged terrain couldn’t restrain its mobility in the slightest. Despite being a colt, it possessed capabilities that most mature war steeds couldn’t compare to.

The capability of an imperial steed was clearly shown by Little Shadow.

The colt dashed through the forest and uneven terrain. Wang Chong didn’t head straight for Azure Dragon Peak or Black Tortoise Peak. He had no idea which peak Wei Hao was currently on, and trying his luck may not be the best idea.

On top of that, the peak closest to White Tiger was Vermilion Bird, and Wang Chong knew quite a few people there.

“I wonder how Marchioness Yi and the others are faring.”

Wang Chong thought.

Marchioness Yi and Wang Chong’s second sister, Wang Zhu Yan, were peers. Even though Wang Chong had been done in by the both of them in the past, those were just small pranks.

Marchioness Yi wasn’t a bad person at heart. She even specially waited at the midsection of the mountain to warn him about Zhou Jue.

The colt’s hooves pattered on the ground, racing into the distance. Soon, the deafening roar of battle cries filled the air. Lifting his gaze, Wang Chong saw a gigantic vermilion bird statue towering above the mountain aerie. Beneath the crimson-colored statue, scarlet buildings stood nestled together while bright flames illuminated the surroundings.

However, the scene was exactly different from what Wang Chong expected.

On Vermilion Bird Peak, the Goguryeons and wolves were entirely stopped a certain distance beneath the mountaintop. Not only so, a ceaseless rain of arrows kept firing from the peak, aimed at the other mountains in all directions. They were actually trading shots with the enemy master archers, and from the looks of it, they seemed to have the upper hand even.

“This is way too exaggerated!”

The night wind blew in his face, and seeing this sight from the back of his steed, Wang Chong’s eyes felt like they were about to pop from his sockets.

There were only three master archers in Kunwu Training Camp, and at maximum, there should only be one master archer present on Vermilion Bird Peak. Yet, that overwhelming rain of arrows which seemed to blanket the entire sky… It was as if there were twenty or even thirty master archers on Vermilion Bird Peak, turning the region into nothing short of an impenetrable fortress.

But this should have been impossible.

“How many monsters are there on this Vermilion Bird Peak!”

Wang Chong muttered to himself as he subconsciously thought of Marchioness Yi and the other ladies.

If there was only one master archer instructor on Vermilion Bird Peak, then without a doubt, the other master archers had to be the female recruits. Furthermore, judging from the force of the arrows, they all had to be True Martial realm experts like Marchioness Yi.

Wang Chong didn’t know much about the female recruits in the Three Great Training Camps, and he didn’t pay much of an attention to them either. However, he did know of some basic differences among the female recruits and the male recruits in the training camp.

Most of the ladies detested physical brawling, so the proportion of them choosing archery was far greater than the males.

But even so, it was just the first day of the training camp, and Wang Chong didn’t expect their archery to have reached such mastery.

“Seems like there are quite a few resilient ladies like my second sister and Marchioness Yi on Vermilion Bird Peak!”

Wang Chong trembled slightly.

The master archers were one thing, but the number of True Martial realm experts here seemed to surpass Wang Chong’s expectations as well. At the very least, White Tiger Peak couldn’t even start to compare.

With a brief glance, Wang Chong could already see innumerable halos shining at the peak as though brilliant fireworks. The fighting prowess of Vermilion Bird Peak was far greater than White Tiger Peak.

“Let’s go!”

Realizing this wasn’t the time to be contemplating such issues, he quickly charged over atop his steed. Even though the prowess of the Vermilion Bird Peak wasn’t bad and there were many monsters of Marchioness Yi’s level, the strength of the Goguryeons and Turks shouldn’t be underestimated.

Having arrived at Vermilion Bird Peak, Wang Chong dismissed Little Shadow before looking for a slightly more gentle cliff to ascend.

Reaching the top, he scanned his surroundings for the nearby battlefront. Then he carefully awaited his opportunity before dashing forward to engage.

Shua!

Without any hesitation, he immediately activated the Bane of the Battlefield. A large but intangible ripple spread outwards, filling an area of two hundred zhang. Goguryeon warriors were suddenly affixed with an unseen white ripple.

Given that it was originally a close fight between the two, Wang Chong’s involvement turned the tides of the battle immediately. The odds fell overwhelmingly in Vermilion Bird Peak’s favor.

Before the Goguryeon warriors could understand what was going on, they suddenly felt their Halos of Thorns weakening considerably and the Origin Energy in their bodies slowing down. In just a short instant, their dexterity had been lowered by twofold.

Panic immediately consumed them.

Pu!

Amidst the chaos, Wang Chong set his eyes upon a severely wounded Goguryeon warrior. Charging forward, he thrusted the Wootz steel sword forward and plunged it deeply into the chest of the other party.

【Congratulations to user for killing 4 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】

A familiar voice sounded by Wang Chong’s ear. Frenzied wind blew, and an intangible energy seeped into Wang Chong’s body.

The Bane of the Battlefield grew stronger once more.

The area of effect for the halo extended once more from 200 zhang to 250 zhang, covering even more Goguryeon warriors in its effects.

Pu pu pu!

The sudden weakening of their cultivation created a lapse in the defenses of the Goguryeons, therefore granting their opponents a chance to inflict damage on them. This only served to further spread panic among them, thus turning it into a completely one-sided battle. Wang Chong’s appearance had broken their tempo.

“Die!”

Suddenly, a loud bellow sounded. Right after Wang Chong killed that Goguryeon warrior, a powerful wind blew, and a red-eyed lady dressed in yellow court uniform and carrying deep killing intent abruptly slashed her saber at him.

“Damn it! I’m here to back you up!”

Wang Chong’s face immediately warped. As he yelled those words, he swiftly dodged the other party’s attack.

Hearing Wang Chong’s words, the yellow-dressed lady’s killing intent suddenly cleared a little, and the redness in her eyes faded slightly. Right when Wang Chong thought that the other party had dropped her wariness toward him, peng, a cloud-embroidered shoe suddenly expanded within his sight. Wang Chong only managed to maneuver the side of his sword in place to block his front before being jolted back by the immense force.

“Hmph! There isn’t a single good man in the world!”

Those were the last words Wang Chong heard before being sent flying.

“Damn it! Aren’t there too many fiery-tempered women on this Vermilion Bird Peak?”

And these were Wang Chong’s final thoughts before he was sent flying. Judging from the force behind the blow, the other party was at least a True Martial realm expert.

Given such, how could Wang Chong possibly match up to the other party in terms of strength?

Peng!

While still in the air, Wang Chong clearly saw a figure abruptly appearing beside the yellow-dressed lady, striking and knocking her flying as well.

“How dare you! Who gave you the permission to attack him?”

A bone-chilling voice erupted. After that, a familiar figure appeared by Wang Chong’s side, pulled his arm, and steadied his figure.

“What did you come here for? Don’t you know that this area is dangerous?”

Marchioness Yi’s face was drenched with sweat, and her hair was plastered to it. However, she seemed to be coping well with the situation. Her posture was straight, her eyes were bright, and she emanated a fierce battle intent.

This was a side to her that she usually didn’t show to Wang Chong.

Peng!

A wolf abruptly pounced at the duo, and with a slight jab of the spear in her hand—before the wolf could even react—it was impaled in the head. Her movements were clean and precise!

“The battle at White Tiger Peak has ended, I’ve come to assist you!”

Wang Chong replied as he worked alongside with Marchioness Yi to clear away the hordes of wolves charging up to them.

“White Tiger Peak was attacked as well?”

A shocked expression flashed across Marchioness Yi’s face but she quickly recovered and her usual impassiveness resurfaced.

“Since the battle has ended, you should just obediently remain there. What the hell are you intending to do by coming over? With just that meager strength of yours, what do you expect to contribute? If something were to happen, do you know how anxious your second sister will be?”

Marchioness Yi lectured as a green Halo of Thorns warped beneath her feet. Amidst the thorns, gold-colored spears could be vaguely seen.

At the same time, the purple spear in her hands moved at a speed so swift that it was hard to discern with one’s eyes. With just a casual jab, more than ten after images appeared. Pu! The reflexes of the Goguryeon warrior weren’t swift enough, so his heart ended up being pierced through. At the same time, the immense force of the jab pushed the latter’s corpse down the cliff.

“This lady is still the same as always!”

Even though this wasn’t his first time seeing it, Wang Chong couldn’t help but feel awed by Marchioness Yi’s movements. Her battle style was exceedingly simple, revolving around just a single concept—no excessive movements.

Thus, all of her moves were simple but extremely deadly!

This was a style that no normal person would be able to grasp!

“That’s weird! Why did all of these people suddenly become so weak?”

Marchioness Yi’s bewildered voice sounded vaguely, and a slight 川 was etched onto her forehead. As a True Martial realm expert, her intuition and senses surpassed that of ordinary martial artists.

The Goguryeon warriors before her were visibly panicking; it was showing on their expressions and their movements. This was a huge difference from before.

How could Marchioness Yi not notice that something was amiss?

Toward this, Wang Chong simply smiled, not bothering to explain.

The effects of the Bane of the Battlefield were limited only to his enemies. At least, at its current level, the halo didn’t show the slightest on Wang Chong at all.

Thanks to that, there were no signs that indicated that Wang Chong was the culprit for the abrupt change.

“Marchioness Yi, help me!”

Wang Chong scanned the area and suddenly saw a wounded Goguryeon warrior among the retreating group. The white ripples beneath the other party’s feet were clear to his sight.

Boom!

With Wang Chong on the left, Marchioness Yi on the right, both of them charged out swiftly and, almost at the same time, a spear and sword were stabbed into the other party’s body.

【Congratulations to user for killing 5 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】

A familiar voice sounded, and the effect of the ripple extended once more. At the same time, the Bane of the Battlefield within Wang Chong’s body grew stronger once more.

“That’s the fifth one!”

Wang Chong thought in joy.

The Bane of the Battlefield would only be enhanced by killing the soldiers of a hostile state, and these soldiers tended to be True Martial realm experts who possessed a Halo of Thorns.

Given Wang Chong’s current strength, fighting them 1-to-1 under normal circumstances wasn’t an option at all.

However, with a True Martial realm expert working alongside him, the situation was completely different. At the moment, the Origin Energy of the Goguryeon soldiers was depleted, and every single one of them was injured; not to mention, they were under the effects of his halo. This was the ideal opportunity to enhance his Bane of the Battlefield.

Pu!

The sixth soldier!

The seventh soldier!

…

‘Tangerines—choose the softest one to crush’. Wang Chong specially picked out the isolated, injured, and panicking opponents who were sapped of their Origin Energy. As for the Goguryeon experts who were still in their peak condition, Wang Chong made sure to avoid them.

Just in terms of the effect of the Bane of the Battlefield, Wang Chong’s contribution was already greater than anyone else on Vermilion Bird Peak.

Xiu!

Suddenly, a piercing shrill sounded by Wang Chong’s ear. Somehow, a sensation warning him of danger grasped his heart. His body tightened as he saw a wolf fang arrow growing larger in his sight. With destructive might, it was flying toward him as swift as a bolt of lightning.

“Shit, the Turk master archers!”

Wang Chong’s face warped in shock. He immediately activated the Single Character Consecutive Slash to avoid it, but in the next instant, something unimaginable happened.

Peng!

At that crucial moment, a red arrow the thickness of a human’s pinky suddenly shot forth from the zenith of Vermilion Bird Peak and jolted the wolf fang arrow from its deadly path.

Boom! A powerful current was produced from the collision of the two arrows, causing Wang Chong’s robe to flutter.

Seeing the sight above him, Wang Chong was stunned.

Wasn’t that arrow protecting him… a little way too powerful?

Just to clarify, Vermilion Bird is an existence strikingly similar to the Phoenix but it isn’t the same as the Phoenix. The Phoenix is the legendary ruler of birds whereas the vermilion bird is associated with the constellations.

Court uniform -> It won’t be too far off if you think of it as the clothes of a court lady.

Also, one thing most people will probably be thinking about is why the recruits of Vermilion Bird Peak are so strong (at True Martial realm) whereas the recruits of White Tiger Peak are so weak (Origin Energy realm). I haven’t really read ahead but here is my conjecture.

During that era, while there are women in the military, they number in the minority (as in the number of them can probably be counted on your fingers). Those male youths who have reached True Martial realm and are inclined that way would have probably joined the military already, and as such, there will be no reason for them to join the training camp. Whereas ladies like Marchioness Yi, due to the difficulty in joining the military, are free to join the training camp.

As such, the ‘entrance requirement’ for females should probably be higher than the males due to the greater number of competitors for the slots.

Well, the idea of why the military is male-dominated in history revolved around the idea that males are physically stronger, but in this novel, it is never stated that males will have an easier time cultivating than females so the contextual background is unclear. Even so, perhaps this can explain the peculiarity to some extent.