Upon Wuzhang Plains, the Seven Stars Lamps flickered.
The first lamp's brilliant light had faded, leaving only a tiny flame.
The Iron Pagoda's effect had ended. The Han soldiers' armor returned to its normal state.
Both Fan Li and Crown Prince Wanli noticed the change. But their thoughts were different.
"This must be the so-called cooldown period? The Iron Pagoda cannot be used for a while," Fan Li thought to himself.
"This is our chance! Attack!" Wanli shouted.
The Ming army's left flank, having successfully crossed the Wei River, sighed with relief.
As long as the enemy wasn't invincible, they were confident in their ability to defeat them.
The Great Ming's Wolf Troops charged towards the Han army, their battle cries echoing across the plains. But they couldn't help but glance nervously at the remaining six bronze lamps.
Don't light up!
Don't light up!
Don't light up!
Their prayers went unanswered.
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan, and the second lamp ignited.
Its light bathed the hilltop in a brilliant glow, turning night into day.
A strange phenomenon occurred. The word "Speed" appeared upon the foreheads of the Han soldiers, glowing like a crimson tattoo.
The Ming soldiers, however, had no such mark.
"Humph! Another illusion!"
Wanli observed the Han army carefully, but he couldn't sense any change in their strength.
He scoffed.
Zhuge Liang smiled.
"The Art of War says: 'Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest. In raiding and plundering be like fire, in immovability like a mountain. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.'
This is the second ability of the Seven Stars Lamps. I call it: 'Swift as the Wind.'"
Wanli was startled.
He instantly understood the meaning of the "Speed" tattoos. He ordered the left flank to retreat.
But it was too late. The two armies had already clashed. They couldn't disengage until a victor emerged.
"Heavens! They're so fast!"
The Ming soldiers who had engaged the enemy first cried out in alarm.
They were ordinary soldiers, their cultivation levels similar, their strength and defenses almost equal.
But their speed… there was a significant difference!
An ordinary Han soldier was as fast as a Ming squad leader.
Of course, their cultivation levels were still different. A Han soldier, despite his speed, couldn't possibly defeat a Ming squad leader.
But when he faced an ordinary Ming soldier, he could easily overwhelm him!
The Han officers also easily defeated their Ming counterparts.
The battle was a one-sided massacre.
Fan Li gasped.
Zhuge Liang's Seven Stars Prayer Formation was truly terrifying!
As before, Zhuge Liang aged rapidly, then quickly regained his youth with the stars' power.
The Ming army's left flank was annihilated. The Han army, however, had only suffered minimal losses.
"Long live the Han! Long live the Han! Long live the Han!"
The Han soldiers roared; morale soaring, and their victory cries echoing across the formation.
The second lamp's light faded, its flame flickering.
"Great General! This isn't working! Our men… Our men are dying for nothing!"
The Ming army had lost a third of its forces.
The general commanding the right flank knelt before Wanli, daring to speak up.
Wanli, already furious, was enraged by the general's words. Not only were they demoralizing, but they also challenged his authority.
"General Wa…"
He spoke slowly, his tone dangerous.
"Are you suggesting we should retreat?"
General Wa was startled. He shook his head frantically.
To retreat in the face of the enemy was a capital offense. He wouldn't dare admit to such a thing.
"Great General, you misunderstand! Our Wolf Troops are brave and fearless! They are willing to die for the Great Ming! But the Han army is blessed by a powerful formation. Our attacks are futile. We're simply sending our men to their deaths. I am only trying to preserve our strength. My loyalty is unwavering!"
"Oh?"
Wanli narrowed his eyes, his expression unreadable.
"So, you're saying that if our army were blessed with similar power, our soldiers would be able to fight without fear?"
"Um…" General Wa thought about it. There was nothing wrong with that statement. He nodded. "Yes, that is correct!"
"Excellent!"
Wanli pointed at General Wa.
"Arrest him. Execute him. We will use his head as an offering to the heavens, to bless our army."
Several experts from Wanli's three thousand personal guards rushed forward, swiftly subduing the unsuspecting general.
"Great General?! I have committed no crime! Why am I being executed? Why am I being used as a sacrifice?!"
General Wa struggled, but his efforts were futile. He was about to die.
His face paled. He pleaded for his life.
Wanli said coldly, "I am not executing you because of your crimes. I am using your head as a sacrifice to the heavens, to empower our army."
"What?! That's ridiculous!" General Wa shouted.
Ridiculous?
It was indeed ridiculous!
How could executing a general bring blessings upon the army?
Wanli said calmly, "I possess a secret technique called 'Human Sacrifice.' It's an ancient ritual from the Xia Dynasty, a grand ceremony to pray to the heavens for their blessings.
Rest assured, General Wa. I can swear by Heaven, your death will not be in vain."
Wanli's past life as King Jie was common knowledge in the Great Ming court. Emperor Jiajing had even subtly encouraged the spread of these rumors.
The Emperor's intentions, however, remained unclear.
General Wa had also heard about Wanli's reincarnation. And now, seeing that he intended to use an ancient Xia Dynasty ritual, he knew that his death was inevitable.
"Heh… Human Sacrifice?"
He was filled with grief and indignation. He knew that his words of caution had angered Wanli.
But why did the ritual require his head?
"Great General… No, Your Highness… "
Before he was led to the executioner, General Wa spoke his final words.
"A true Emperor is magnanimous. A Hegemon is a tyrant. Please, Your Highness, reconsider your actions."
Wanli's expression flickered. He was startled by the general's words.
Magnanimous?
Was he suggesting that Wanli lacked magnanimity?
Ten thousand years ago, to protect the world from Danzhu's schemes, he had willingly sacrificed his throne, allowing Cheng Tang to establish the Shang Dynasty. He had imprisoned himself in Nanchao.
Who dared question his magnanimity?
He had done the world a favor. And yet, he was still denied his rightful place as Emperor.
The world owed him a throne!
"Execute him!"
General Wa's head was severed beneath Wanli's banner.
As his blood splattered through the air, Wanli acted. He struck out with his palm, sending the blood into the sky.
A strange phenomenon occurred. The night sky turned crimson, as if blood had been poured upon it.
Then, rain began to fall.
Blood rain!
Half of the sky remained clear, while the other half was engulfed in a crimson downpour. The blood rain fell upon the Ming army, but it spared Wuzhang Plains.
The Ming soldiers trembled as the blood rain washed over them. Their muscles bulged. Their veins throbbed. They felt a surge of energy, as if their strength were limitless.
"Zhuge Liang!"
Wanli roared towards Wuzhang Plains.
"Behold!
The secret technique of the Xia Dynasty: Blood River Chariot!
All troops, attack!"
This time, not only the right flank, but the entire Ming army, aside from Wanli's three thousand personal guards, charged across the Wei River, towards the Han army.
Empowered by the Blood River Chariot technique, their cultivation levels surged. Some even experienced breakthroughs, reaching new realms!
This was bad!
Fan Li's heart sank. To face an army whose strength had suddenly increased was a nightmare!
"Impressive," Zhuge Liang said with a hint of admiration.
He waved his feather fan, seemingly unfazed.
Two lamps ignited simultaneously.
One emitted a blue light.
The other emitted a yellow light.
The blue light fell upon the ground before the Han army, creating countless weapons – swords, spears, halberds, axes – all of them spirit treasures, their quality exceptional.
The yellow light followed, coalescing into humanoid figures. They were life-sized straw men, but they possessed a strange, ethereal quality.
Zhuge Liang aged twice, then immediately regained his youth with the stars' power.
He smiled.
"Crown Prince, let me introduce you to two more abilities of the Seven Stars Prayer Formation. The 'Spirit Armory,' and the 'Hidden Army.'"
Ten thousand straw men picked up the weapons and charged towards the Ming army.
The two armies clashed. The Ming army had the advantage in numbers and strength.
The straw men's strength was only slightly greater than that of ordinary Han soldiers. A few, however, were as strong as generals.
But they were no match for the Ming army, empowered by the Blood River Chariot. They were easily overwhelmed.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Wanli laughed triumphantly.
He had finally countered two of Zhuge Liang's abilities!
But Zhuge Liang was also smiling.
"The Art of War says: 'In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.'
For the first time, Fan Li understood.
Zhuge Liang hadn't intended to defeat the Ming army with the straw men. He had simply used them to wear down their morale.
The Blood River Chariot's effects were still active, but many of the Ming soldiers who had initially experienced an increase in their cultivation level were now weakening.
"Kill them! Kill all the Han soldiers!"
Wanli ordered his troops to press their attack.
Zhuge Liang, however, remained calm. He waved his fan, and the fifth lamp ignited.
Its light didn't affect either army.
But the terrain of Wuzhang Plains changed. Deep ravines and treacherous crevasses appeared. The ground became uneven, the path difficult to traverse.
Zhuge Liang's voice boomed from the sky.
"'Heaven operates vigorously, and the noble man strives to strengthen himself.'
'Earth's condition is receptive devotion. Thus the superior man who has breadth of character carries the outer world.'
Crown Prince, this lamp is called 'Earth's Receptive Devotion.'"
Heaven, Earth, and Man. Zhuge Liang had used the fifth lamp to gain the advantage of terrain.
"Attack!"
The Han generals seized the opportunity, ordering their soldiers to attack the trapped Ming forces.
The Ming army's initial advantage in strength, weakened by the fading effects of the Blood River Chariot and hampered by the treacherous terrain, was gone.
They were now at a disadvantage.
"A stalemate?"
Fan Li, observing the battle, was puzzled.
Zhuge Liang still had two lamps remaining. What were their abilities?
As he was pondering this, he noticed that one of the remaining lamps was connected to Zhuge Liang by a thin, ethereal thread.
The thread extended skyward, as if connecting him to the heavens. It was difficult to see in the darkness.
Fan Li instantly understood.
This was the sixth lamp's ability.
Then, what about the last lamp?
As he was thinking this, Zhuge Liang raised his right hand above his head.
His feather fan pulsed with killing intent.
His gentle demeanor vanished. He was now a weapon!
This was the final ability of the Seven Stars Lamps.
And it was an attack?
Zhuge Liang began to chant, his voice weak, but audible.
"Subdue the Central Plains! Azure Dragon Crescent Moon!"
"Roar!"
A deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth.
Zhuge Liang's fan transformed into a massive Azure Dragon, its body wrapped in a fierce wind, its momentum unstoppable, its target Wanli's position in the center of the Ming army.
Compared to the dragon's might, the tens of thousands of soldiers fighting on the battlefield seemed insignificant.
The Azure Dragon was the true master of this world!
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
Only Wanli's three thousand personal guards dared address him as "Your Majesty." They were former subjects of the Xia Dynasty.
Without hesitation, they formed a wall of flesh, shielding Wanli from the dragon's attack.
The dragon crashed into them, its momentum like a raging fire.
The human wall crumbled instantly.
But the dragon's attack was slightly delayed, giving Wanli a chance to react.
He retrieved an object from his storage ring and tossed it towards the dragon.
It was a coffin!
Fan Li recognized it. It was the coffin from King Jie's tomb in Nanchao!
After ten thousand years, the coffin had become a treasure?
The dragon, caught off guard, was trapped within the coffin.
The lid slammed shut.
"I'll bury you alive!"
Wanli shouted.
But he felt a powerful force resisting him, struggling against his attempt to seal the coffin. He could barely maintain his grip.
Boom!!!
The coffin exploded, shattering into pieces. It couldn't contain the Azure Dragon.
Wanli's expression changed. He couldn't trap the dragon. He would have to face its attack directly.
"Zhuge, you scoundrel!!!"
He roared in fury.
Zhuge Liang, upon Wuzhang Plains, his right hand still extended, his fan transformed into a dragon, seemed oblivious to Wanli's anger.
He was aging rapidly, his body flickering between youth and old age, fueled by the stars' power. He was using his lifespan to maintain the Azure Dragon!
Fan Li knew Zhuge Liang was desperate.
This was the final ability of the Seven Stars Lamps, his strongest attack.
But with his Unity Realm cultivation, to kill Wanli with a single strike, he would have to sacrifice a significant portion of his remaining lifespan.
He was close to victory!
The dragon was almost upon Wanli, who seemed unable to retrieve another treasure from his storage ring.
"Roar!"
The dragon roared once more. But this time, its voice was filled with sorrow, the lament of a hero whose ambitions had been thwarted.
Fan Li's eyes widened. He saw an arrow, appearing out of nowhere, piercing the night sky.
It struck the seventh lamp.
The lamp's flame was extinguished.
The dragon vanished.
It stopped a foot from Wanli. Then, it melted away, like ice dissolving in water.
Only its roar, filled with sorrow and regret, lingered in the air.
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Six more arrows followed, extinguishing the remaining lamps.
Zhuge Liang, still standing upon Wuzhang Plains, his right hand extended, his feather fan now a broken, useless object, could no longer maintain his youth.
He was aging.
And his body was cracking.
His forehead, his face, his chest, his arms, his legs.
He resembled a crumbling statue, his once-perfect form now marred by countless fissures.
He forcefully spoke, "Oh, Heaven… Why have you forsaken me…"