astral apostle

548 Killing Two Birds With One Stone (1)

The wind swept back, and waves soared into the sky.

In the sky, Ling Fengzi’s entire body emitted a faint green light. He ignored the consumption of his magic power and used his full strength.

The wind condensed into a corporeal form. Under his control, it blocked and sorted out the flood area. Although it could not stop the flood, it served as a clear deterrent.

Because Bill could mobilize the power of heaven and earth, he had more room to unleash in such a big scene. Unfortunately, he was a wind sorcerer and not a professional at playing with water. If he was a water sorcerer, it would be even easier to deal with the water problem. He could stop and manipulate the water as he pleased.

Realizing that the water had slowed down, everyone immediately perked up and took the opportunity to fill the dike.

From time to time, Ling Fengzi would aid them as well. He would use the wind to sweep up the trees and boulders and throw them into the dike. Zhou Jing would dive underwater and use his strength to stabilize the material and block the opening.

Under everyone’s combined efforts, the repair of the dike finally advanced greatly.

As the stone blocks blocked the incision, the water gradually slowed down.

The group worked hard. After a long time, they finally sealed the dike that had been dug up by the soldiers and strengthened it.

At this moment, the Sha River was finally back on the right track. Only then did was the flood be temporarily controlled. At least, it did not continue to worsen.

“It’s finally blocked!”

“Aiya, d*mn, I’m so tired…”

Many of the stronghold soldiers and local soldiers heaved a sigh of relief. Their faces were filled with joy, but they were exhausted and almost collapsed in the mud, panting non-stop.

Not far away, Zhou Jing stuck his head out of the water and spat out a mouth of muddy water. He supported himself on the shore and jumped up, shaking his head to dry his hair.

“It’s finally done. This is even harder than fighting.”

Zhou Jing wiped his face and looked at the repaired dike, feeling relieved.

Although the disaster in Huyang had already become a fact, it was still acceptable that the disaster did not worsen in time.

He turned to the locals and nodded,

“Thank you for your help, fellow villagers. Now that the flood has subsided, spread the news when you go back and let the villagers everywhere spontaneously deal with the flood areas and try their best to save some crops. My Dragon King Stronghold will also send people to help.”

The group of villagers hurriedly got up and agreed.

Then, everyone could not help but look at him gratefully.

“Fortunately, Chief Chen rushed over to help. Otherwise, our Huyang would not have been able to survive.”

“Aiya, Chief Chen is indeed a righteous man. He’s even more reliable than the government.”

“What are you talking about? How can an official army that adopts such a vicious plan be compared to my Chief?”

Everyone began fervently discussing and shouting.

Although in the publicity of the Imperial Court, Chen Feng had almost become an ogre head who killed indiscriminately, the villagers present were not afraid at all. Their attitudes were very amiable.

Their actions proved their stand. Compared to the Imperial Court, the Dragon King Stronghold undoubtedly treated them better.

Zhou Jing narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, “Don’t worry, the officers will naturally pay the price. I won’t let them slip away in vain.”

Just as he was conversing with the local soldiers, Ling Fengzi slowly landed.

Seeing this, everyone’s conversation could not help but become softer. It was unknown what attitude they used to face this dog of the Imperial Court.

Ling Fengzi looked straight ahead and said without changing his expression, “The flood has stopped. I’ll leave now.”

Zhou Jing glanced at him, thought for a moment, and deliberately said, “Although you and I are enemies, I owe you a favor today. If that dog emperor can’t tolerate you because of this, you can come to my Dragon King Stronghold.”

“There’s no need to worry, Chief Chen. Although the commander-in-chief of the three armies is quite dissatisfied with my actions, I’m only here to help with the disaster. I can’t see the common people suffer. We’re really not on the same side.”

After Ling Fengzi finished speaking, he did not delay and directly took off.

Seeing Perfected Master Windwalker leave, everyone secretly heaved a sigh of relief and could not help but discuss excitedly.

“Although this Daoist is a dog of the Imperial Court, he still has some conscience.”

“If this person can join us and join forces with Chief, won’t it be easy to sweep through the world?”

Zhou Jing ignored the discussion and watched Ling Fengzi leave. He nodded to himself.

Currently, he did not intend to leave Bill in the stronghold. The main reason was that he did not need two apostles to be on the same side. It was easy for their usefulness to overlap. It was enough to leave one of them to fight the Imperial Court head-on.

Although it was easy for others to suspect him if he asked Bill to come and help with the disaster, he could still return to the capital after it ended. He was not afraid of being impeached at all.

Because Chen Feng was so powerful, Ling Fengzi was the only life-saving straw for the Imperial Court. He would definitely be grabbed tightly by the Emperor, and no one could do anything to him.

After returning, Ling Fengzi would still enjoy a transcendent status and generous treatment. He could know the movements of the higher-ups of the Imperial Court at any time and use his influence to obtain benefits such as Information State Particles. It was quite valuable.

If there was a 1% chance that the Emperor had lost his mind and really wanted to hold Ling Fengzi accountable for the disaster relief, it would not be too late to fall out and rebel… The main world was not connected at the moment, so no one could stop him from retreating unscathed.

After this battle, the soldiers’ plan had failed. Zhou Jing estimated that it would be very difficult for the Imperial Court to continue organizing an army for a period of time. There was a high chance that Ling Fengzi would not go out again in the near future and would not be able to meet Chen Feng.

He had captured Huang Ping and the others as witnesses. In the future, as long as he publicized the poisonous schemes of the soldiers, the Imperial Court would completely lose the hearts of the people in Huyang and have no legitimacy to rule.

Therefore, at the moment, he only needed to completely expel the soldiers before he could officially occupy Huyang.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. Zhou Jing composed himself and called for his men to leave with him to chase after the soldiers. His main goal was to capture the enemy commander and take down the mastermind of the Huyang Destruction Plan.

It just so happened that this was a wonderful opportunity to do so… Zhou Jing’s eyes flashed.

…

Somewhere in Huyang, the soldiers retreated in an orderly manner.

“Damn bandits, they actually captured one of my generals… And Ling Fengzi, he ruined my overall situation. How hateful!”

Ma Zhen walked among them, his expression not too good.

Not long ago, the news of Huang Ping being captured by Chen Feng was sent back by their scouts and spies, shocking the three armies.

Having lost a capable general, Ma Zhen was very angry.

However, what he was most dissatisfied about was that Chen Feng had intercepted the information about the dike digging. Before the flood was completely irreversible, the news had been leaked, allowing the bandit leader to know. This way, there would be many variables.

Moreover, Ling Fengzi did not know what was good for him and actually went to provide disaster relief on his own. This made Ma Zhen even angrier.

In his eyes, Ling Fengzi’s mentality of not hesitating to help the people of a place that was rebelling was a sort of fake benevolence that showed he did not understand the overall situation. It was really unpleasant to see a Daoist think that he was pitying the heavens and the people.

When he compared to himself, he felt instead that daring to sacrifice the people of a place in exchange for a few years of stability for the Imperial Court was the true righteousness. He specially considered the overall situation, and his magnanimity and structure were countless levels higher than Ling Fengzi’s.

Unfortunately, that Daoist’s divine powers were astonishing. Even as the commander, he could not force the other party to listen.

“I wonder if Ling Fengzi has cured the flood problem now… How annoying.”

Ma Zhen was spluttering with rage in his heart.

After the two of them fell out, he no longer considered Ling Fengzi’s whereabouts and safety and retreated with his troops. At this moment, he was not aware of any traces of Ling Fengzi.

Although the news of Chen Feng and Ling Fengzi resolving the flood together had yet to come, Ma Zhen had a feeling that… his plan would probably not achieve the desired effect.

“Fortunately, I’ve already participated in the impeachment of Ling Fengzi in advance. The memorial has already been sent to the capital to seize the initiative. I don’t want Ling Fengzi to rely on His Majesty’s favor to twist the truth…”

Ma Zhen’s eyes flickered with hatred.

At this moment, chaos erupted behind them.

“Enemy attack, enemy attack!”

Miserable shouts spread to the front troops one after another.

Ma Zhen was shocked and hurriedly ordered the troops to regroup and turn around to face the enemy. He was surprised that the enemy had arrived so suddenly and that all the scouts did not react at all.

Before the army could adjust their formation, a burly figure with clear characteristics appeared in Ma Zhen’s vision, passing through the army like a hot knife through butter.

“Villain Chen?!”

Ma Zhen’s expression changed drastically.

Zhou Jing was the only one who attacked the army. There were no other troops with him.

Halfway through their journey, he found out that the imperial soldiers had already retreated far away. He simply abandoned the slow-moving troops and ran for a few days before catching up to the army alone.

Although he was alone, Zhou Jing did not panic at all… This was because Ling Fengzi had “coincidentally” not returned. It was the best opportunity for him to activate his beheading strategy.

He had not done this previously because Ling Fengzi was protecting the camp. This time, he had summoned Ling Fengzi to provide disaster relief and also removed the protection around Ma Zhen. He had killed two birds with one stone!

“This surnamed Ma, you want to escape after using a vicious plan? How can it be so easy? Even if you run to the horizon, Grandpa will still catch up!”

Zhou Jing laughed out loud, his voice shaking the three armies.

He ran alone in the midst of the ten thousand troops. He did not fight with the soldiers and headed straight for the commander like a bolt of lightning.

The tens of thousands of soldiers in front of him scattered, they were almost like decorations in front of him. They could not obstruct him at all.

“Stop him!”

Seeing Chen Feng ignore the ten thousand troops and quickly approach, Ma Zhen immediately panicked.

The dignified Imperial Court army was actually forced into a panic by a single person?!

At this moment, Ma Zhen suddenly felt a wave of regret.

If Ling Fengzi was here, how could he allow Chen Feng to be so arrogant?!

However, it was already too late to say this. Now, it was unknown where Ling Fengzi had run off to. There was no super combat strength in the army to restrain Chen Feng at all.

Zhou Jing was as fast as lightning as he easily passed through the formation, sending the guards blocking his way flying. He directly reached out to grab Ma Zhen.

Ma Zhen gritted his teeth, unwilling to wait for death. He raised his spear and stabbed forward with great force, showing his familiarity with martial arts.

“Insignificant tricks. How dare you show off in front of an expert?”

Zhou Jing chuckled. He grabbed the spear shaft before pulling Ma Zhen off the horse. Then, he carried him on his shoulder and ran away, as if he was snatching a bride.

He attacked the weak point of the flank formation from the inside out, knocking aside the intercepting soldiers and rushing into the wilderness by the road, dragging out a trail of dust as he ran away.

There were still a few tens of thousands of soldiers. Zhou Jing did not intend to fight alone. From the beginning, he was here to kidnap the commander-in-chief of the three armies.

With this one hit, he immediately slipped away.

“Marshal!”

Yuwen Yan and the other soldiers were left standing there like fools.

Were these tens of thousands of troops useless in front of this person?!

Chen Feng had attacked alone and crossed the ten thousand troops. He had captured the commander-in-chief of the three armies just like that?!

How… how were they going to explain themselves when they returned?!

548 Killing Two Birds With One Stone (1)

The wind swept back, and waves soared into the sky.

In the sky, Ling Fengzi’s entire body emitted a faint green light. He ignored the consumption of his magic power and used his full strength.

The wind condensed into a corporeal form. Under his control, it blocked and sorted out the flood area. Although it could not stop the flood, it served as a clear deterrent.

Because Bill could mobilize the power of heaven and earth, he had more room to unleash in such a big scene. Unfortunately, he was a wind sorcerer and not a professional at playing with water. If he was a water sorcerer, it would be even easier to deal with the water problem. He could stop and manipulate the water as he pleased.

Realizing that the water had slowed down, everyone immediately perked up and took the opportunity to fill the dike.

From time to time, Ling Fengzi would aid them as well. He would use the wind to sweep up the trees and boulders and throw them into the dike. Zhou Jing would dive underwater and use his strength to stabilize the material and block the opening.

Under everyone’s combined efforts, the repair of the dike finally advanced greatly.

As the stone blocks blocked the incision, the water gradually slowed down.

The group worked hard. After a long time, they finally sealed the dike that had been dug up by the soldiers and strengthened it.

At this moment, the Sha River was finally back on the right track. Only then did was the flood be temporarily controlled. At least, it did not continue to worsen.

“It’s finally blocked!”

“Aiya, d*mn, I’m so tired…”

Many of the stronghold soldiers and local soldiers heaved a sigh of relief. Their faces were filled with joy, but they were exhausted and almost collapsed in the mud, panting non-stop.

Not far away, Zhou Jing stuck his head out of the water and spat out a mouth of muddy water. He supported himself on the shore and jumped up, shaking his head to dry his hair.

“It’s finally done. This is even harder than fighting.”

Zhou Jing wiped his face and looked at the repaired dike, feeling relieved.

Although the disaster in Huyang had already become a fact, it was still acceptable that the disaster did not worsen in time.

He turned to the locals and nodded,

“Thank you for your help, fellow villagers. Now that the flood has subsided, spread the news when you go back and let the villagers everywhere spontaneously deal with the flood areas and try their best to save some crops. My Dragon King Stronghold will also send people to help.”

The group of villagers hurriedly got up and agreed.

Then, everyone could not help but look at him gratefully.

“Fortunately, Chief Chen rushed over to help. Otherwise, our Huyang would not have been able to survive.”

“Aiya, Chief Chen is indeed a righteous man. He’s even more reliable than the government.”

“What are you talking about? How can an official army that adopts such a vicious plan be compared to my Chief?”

Everyone began fervently discussing and shouting.

Although in the publicity of the Imperial Court, Chen Feng had almost become an ogre head who killed indiscriminately, the villagers present were not afraid at all. Their attitudes were very amiable.

Their actions proved their stand. Compared to the Imperial Court, the Dragon King Stronghold undoubtedly treated them better.

Zhou Jing narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, “Don’t worry, the officers will naturally pay the price. I won’t let them slip away in vain.”

Just as he was conversing with the local soldiers, Ling Fengzi slowly landed.

Seeing this, everyone’s conversation could not help but become softer. It was unknown what attitude they used to face this dog of the Imperial Court.

Ling Fengzi looked straight ahead and said without changing his expression, “The flood has stopped. I’ll leave now.”

Zhou Jing glanced at him, thought for a moment, and deliberately said, “Although you and I are enemies, I owe you a favor today. If that dog emperor can’t tolerate you because of this, you can come to my Dragon King Stronghold.”

“There’s no need to worry, Chief Chen. Although the commander-in-chief of the three armies is quite dissatisfied with my actions, I’m only here to help with the disaster. I can’t see the common people suffer. We’re really not on the same side.”

After Ling Fengzi finished speaking, he did not delay and directly took off.

Seeing Perfected Master Windwalker leave, everyone secretly heaved a sigh of relief and could not help but discuss excitedly.

“Although this Daoist is a dog of the Imperial Court, he still has some conscience.”

“If this person can join us and join forces with Chief, won’t it be easy to sweep through the world?”

Zhou Jing ignored the discussion and watched Ling Fengzi leave. He nodded to himself.

Currently, he did not intend to leave Bill in the stronghold. The main reason was that he did not need two apostles to be on the same side. It was easy for their usefulness to overlap. It was enough to leave one of them to fight the Imperial Court head-on.

Although it was easy for others to suspect him if he asked Bill to come and help with the disaster, he could still return to the capital after it ended. He was not afraid of being impeached at all.

Because Chen Feng was so powerful, Ling Fengzi was the only life-saving straw for the Imperial Court. He would definitely be grabbed tightly by the Emperor, and no one could do anything to him.

After returning, Ling Fengzi would still enjoy a transcendent status and generous treatment. He could know the movements of the higher-ups of the Imperial Court at any time and use his influence to obtain benefits such as Information State Particles. It was quite valuable.

If there was a 1% chance that the Emperor had lost his mind and really wanted to hold Ling Fengzi accountable for the disaster relief, it would not be too late to fall out and rebel… The main world was not connected at the moment, so no one could stop him from retreating unscathed.

After this battle, the soldiers’ plan had failed. Zhou Jing estimated that it would be very difficult for the Imperial Court to continue organizing an army for a period of time. There was a high chance that Ling Fengzi would not go out again in the near future and would not be able to meet Chen Feng.

He had captured Huang Ping and the others as witnesses. In the future, as long as he publicized the poisonous schemes of the soldiers, the Imperial Court would completely lose the hearts of the people in Huyang and have no legitimacy to rule.

Therefore, at the moment, he only needed to completely expel the soldiers before he could officially occupy Huyang.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. Zhou Jing composed himself and called for his men to leave with him to chase after the soldiers. His main goal was to capture the enemy commander and take down the mastermind of the Huyang Destruction Plan.

It just so happened that this was a wonderful opportunity to do so… Zhou Jing’s eyes flashed.

…

Somewhere in Huyang, the soldiers retreated in an orderly manner.

“Damn bandits, they actually captured one of my generals… And Ling Fengzi, he ruined my overall situation. How hateful!”

Ma Zhen walked among them, his expression not too good.

Not long ago, the news of Huang Ping being captured by Chen Feng was sent back by their scouts and spies, shocking the three armies.

Having lost a capable general, Ma Zhen was very angry.

However, what he was most dissatisfied about was that Chen Feng had intercepted the information about the dike digging. Before the flood was completely irreversible, the news had been leaked, allowing the bandit leader to know. This way, there would be many variables.

Moreover, Ling Fengzi did not know what was good for him and actually went to provide disaster relief on his own. This made Ma Zhen even angrier.

In his eyes, Ling Fengzi’s mentality of not hesitating to help the people of a place that was rebelling was a sort of fake benevolence that showed he did not understand the overall situation. It was really unpleasant to see a Daoist think that he was pitying the heavens and the people.

When he compared to himself, he felt instead that daring to sacrifice the people of a place in exchange for a few years of stability for the Imperial Court was the true righteousness. He specially considered the overall situation, and his magnanimity and structure were countless levels higher than Ling Fengzi’s.

Unfortunately, that Daoist’s divine powers were astonishing. Even as the commander, he could not force the other party to listen.

“I wonder if Ling Fengzi has cured the flood problem now… How annoying.”

Ma Zhen was spluttering with rage in his heart.

After the two of them fell out, he no longer considered Ling Fengzi’s whereabouts and safety and retreated with his troops. At this moment, he was not aware of any traces of Ling Fengzi.

Although the news of Chen Feng and Ling Fengzi resolving the flood together had yet to come, Ma Zhen had a feeling that… his plan would probably not achieve the desired effect.

“Fortunately, I’ve already participated in the impeachment of Ling Fengzi in advance. The memorial has already been sent to the capital to seize the initiative. I don’t want Ling Fengzi to rely on His Majesty’s favor to twist the truth…”

Ma Zhen’s eyes flickered with hatred.

At this moment, chaos erupted behind them.

“Enemy attack, enemy attack!”

Miserable shouts spread to the front troops one after another.

Ma Zhen was shocked and hurriedly ordered the troops to regroup and turn around to face the enemy. He was surprised that the enemy had arrived so suddenly and that all the scouts did not react at all.

Before the army could adjust their formation, a burly figure with clear characteristics appeared in Ma Zhen’s vision, passing through the army like a hot knife through butter.

“Villain Chen?!”

Ma Zhen’s expression changed drastically.

Zhou Jing was the only one who attacked the army. There were no other troops with him.

Halfway through their journey, he found out that the imperial soldiers had already retreated far away. He simply abandoned the slow-moving troops and ran for a few days before catching up to the army alone.

Although he was alone, Zhou Jing did not panic at all… This was because Ling Fengzi had “coincidentally” not returned. It was the best opportunity for him to activate his beheading strategy.

He had not done this previously because Ling Fengzi was protecting the camp. This time, he had summoned Ling Fengzi to provide disaster relief and also removed the protection around Ma Zhen. He had killed two birds with one stone!

“This surnamed Ma, you want to escape after using a vicious plan? How can it be so easy? Even if you run to the horizon, Grandpa will still catch up!”

Zhou Jing laughed out loud, his voice shaking the three armies.

He ran alone in the midst of the ten thousand troops. He did not fight with the soldiers and headed straight for the commander like a bolt of lightning.

The tens of thousands of soldiers in front of him scattered, they were almost like decorations in front of him. They could not obstruct him at all.

“Stop him!”

Seeing Chen Feng ignore the ten thousand troops and quickly approach, Ma Zhen immediately panicked.

The dignified Imperial Court army was actually forced into a panic by a single person?!

At this moment, Ma Zhen suddenly felt a wave of regret.

If Ling Fengzi was here, how could he allow Chen Feng to be so arrogant?!

However, it was already too late to say this. Now, it was unknown where Ling Fengzi had run off to. There was no super combat strength in the army to restrain Chen Feng at all.

Zhou Jing was as fast as lightning as he easily passed through the formation, sending the guards blocking his way flying. He directly reached out to grab Ma Zhen.

Ma Zhen gritted his teeth, unwilling to wait for death. He raised his spear and stabbed forward with great force, showing his familiarity with martial arts.

“Insignificant tricks. How dare you show off in front of an expert?”

Zhou Jing chuckled. He grabbed the spear shaft before pulling Ma Zhen off the horse. Then, he carried him on his shoulder and ran away, as if he was snatching a bride.

He attacked the weak point of the flank formation from the inside out, knocking aside the intercepting soldiers and rushing into the wilderness by the road, dragging out a trail of dust as he ran away.

There were still a few tens of thousands of soldiers. Zhou Jing did not intend to fight alone. From the beginning, he was here to kidnap the commander-in-chief of the three armies.

With this one hit, he immediately slipped away.

“Marshal!”

Yuwen Yan and the other soldiers were left standing there like fools.

Were these tens of thousands of troops useless in front of this person?!

Chen Feng had attacked alone and crossed the ten thousand troops. He had captured the commander-in-chief of the three armies just like that?!

How… how were they going to explain themselves when they returned?!