Can a Scholar Be Called a Villain - Book 1: Chapter 129: Showdown of the two blades

The soldiers’ retreat had initially been organized according to their strength, a plan executed by Guan Yun Chang to safeguard the weaker troops.

However, they had now come face to face with the Blood Bat Locusts.

In a matter of moments, they had lost tens of thousands of soldiers. Even their armour and weapons proved inadequate to withstand the relentless assaults of the Blood Bat Locusts. Moreover, their awareness that they were in retreat, not advancing, had left them in an extremely anxious state.

Initially, under the command of General Zhao Zi Long, they had retreated in an orderly fashion. But as they were hindered by the locusts and became aware of the relentless attacks from their rear, panic overtook them.

The moment panic set in, order disintegrated. It seemed as if a catastrophe had struck, as the soldiers scattered in all directions in their desperate attempts to escape.

These soldiers were not the elite forces summoned by Chu Ze from his system, but rather conscripts from various counties. Faced with the Blood Bat Locusts, their willpower and ability to resist crumbled instantaneously.

“Ahhhh! The locust plague! This is our punishment! We’re all going to die!”

“This is the vengeance of the demonic beasts! Those locusts are even setting fires!”

Indeed, under Murong Lin’s command, the Blood Bat Locusts had seized the fuel and ignited fires along the army’s path of retreat.

Murong Lin had discerned Chu Ze’s plan the moment he ordered his soldiers to ignite the surrounding fuel, but he remained unaware of how Chu Ze had managed to alter the wind’s direction. Only after Chu Ze had redirected the wind and lost the projection in his hand did Murong Lin summon his Blood Bat Locusts to block the army’s retreat.

Now, as the furious winds blew southward, Chu Ze’s army found themselves trapped amidst the flames. They faced a grim choice: to attempt to break through the raging fire for a chance to return to Chu or to confront the pursuing demonic beasts on the scorched land they occupied.

Chu Ze’s eyes blazed with fury as he gazed at the figure standing before the inferno, a silver pike clutched in their hands.

The silver pike should have been wielded by Zhao Zi Long, but the person before him was clearly not Zhao Zi Long.

Zhao Zi Long was not here.

The situation became painfully clear: the figure before him had not only killed Zhao Zi Long but had also taken his weapon and now stood in their path.

Li Wen You observed the Blood Bat Locusts swarming around Murong Lin and realized that there were several Sky Reaching realm experts among them. His expression shifted, and despite knowing that he was vastly inferior to Murong Lin in terms of strength, he couldn’t resist performing another divination gesture.

As he did, a mouthful of blood gushed from his lips, and his eyes widened in disbelief. He stared at Murong Lin and exclaimed, “World Annihilating Heavenly Demon?”

Divination carried a price, a reliance on a link to the subject of the prediction, such as the Blood Bat Locusts Murong Lin evidently controlled. Li Wen You had casually slain one of them, and while he wasn’t overly concerned since only a Sky Reaching realm expert could challenge him, he had employed this Blood Bat Locust to conjure an image.

It was an image of a desolate world, devoid of any life, where everything that could be consumed had been consumed.

Humans had tried to resist, but they all perished in a city.

The actions of the Blood Bat Locusts and Murong Lin had indeed led to the annihilation of a world!

Even if it was only a hidden realm!

Li Wen You, despite his disbelief, repeatedly examined the vision. Only after thorough inspection did he experience the backlash of divination.

The locust he had employed for this divination was reduced to dust, and his body soared toward Chu Ze, shouting, “Your Majesty, be careful! This individual poses a great trial for you! He has once destroyed a world!”

Chu Ze was momentarily taken aback by this revelation: Had he truly destroyed a world? Was he that strong?

During his time as a ruler, he led his country and developed its territories, but this man had spent this time destroying a world.

His thoughts quickly turned to his system, and as he confirmed his role as the protagonist, he regained his composure and declared, “Then, I shall overcome this trial!”

Only protagonists possessed a Golden Finger.

Heh, I’m the real protagonist.

If only Murong Lin had known about Chu Ze’s thoughts, he might have pointed the system at Chu Ze’s head and exclaimed, “Then what on earth is this!”

Unfortunately for Murong Lin, he remained ignorant of Chu Ze’s thoughts and was preoccupied with recovering his strength.

During his attack on the army with his Blood Bat Locusts, Zhao Zi Long quickly noticed Murong Lin and engaged him in battle, bringing along the White Riders to assist him.

Zhao Zi Long’s ninth layer Sky Reaching realm strength and martial prowess made him a formidable adversary even for Murong Lin.

However, Murong Lin employed a cunning strategy by unleashing his Blood Bat Locusts to attack Zhao Zi Long. They self-destructed without hesitation, leaving Zhao Zi Long with minimal time to react.

In response, Zhao Zi Long unleashed his most powerful technique, the ‘Song of the Phoenix Pike’.

Though capable of annihilating the Blood Bat Locusts, he directed the full force of this technique at Murong Lin, recognizing him as the greatest threat.

On the contrary, Murong Lin employed the ‘Catastrophe Style’ to evade, deftly utilizing his full strength to channel both the ‘Evil of Lifelessness, Lawlessness, and Formlessness’ and the 《Bloody Heaven Art》. He unleashed his fourth blade, charged with his nascent Blade Qi:

“Everlasting Style!”

This blade seemed to suspend time itself, its magnificence akin to fireworks one moment and its elegance resembling falling petals the next.

Zhao Zi Long’s form was sent hurtling through the air.

His pike slipped from his grasp, instantly seized by Murong Lin. In a swift blur of motion, Murong Lin materialized before Zhao Zi Long, wiping away his very soul.

The lifeless body, adorned in silver armour and white robes, was swiftly kept within Murong Lin’s system storage. By then, the White Riders under Zhao Zi Long’s command had met their demise at the hands of Murong Lin’s Manifestation and Sky Reaching realm Blood Bat Locusts.

At this moment, the system’s voice rang out in his head:

“Ding! The protagonist Chu Ze’s ‘little protagonist halo’ is continuing to shatter, his protagonist value has dropped by 100.”

“Ding! Congratulations to master for obtaining a villain value of 100, you may use it to purchase items in the system shop.”

Indeed, Murong Lin’s calculations proved accurate; the capital of Chu had already fallen into their hands, undoubtedly delivering a devastating blow to the nation’s destiny.

As anticipated, before the look of horror and concern could fade from Li Wen You’s expression, a blood-filled cough escaped from Chu Ze’s trembling lips.

His body quivered as his once-mighty cultivation, which had soared to the Sky Reaching realm, plummeted with alarming speed.

The first layer of the Sky Reaching realm……

The ninth layer of the Manifestation realm……

The eighth layer of the Manifestation realm……

………

The third layer of the Origin realm……

The second layer of the Origin realm……

The first layer of the Origin realm……

His cultivation had nosedived by two great realms in an instant, barely clinging to the lowest layer of the Origin realm. A grimace of excruciating pain contorted his face as he bellowed, “The capital has fallen, and Diao Chan has perished! My nation’s destiny has been halved!”

His once-potent Sky Reaching realm cultivation had relied entirely on his nation’s destiny, and now that it had diminished, so had his power.

With a fierce resolve, he lifted his gaze toward the figure responsible for Zhao Zi Long’s death and the halt of his army’s retreat. His voice rang out in a furious command, “Yun Chang! Kill him!”

In that same heartbeat, a streak of blade light sliced through the air, swiftly followed by another.

On the left stood Murong Lin, wielding a paring knife, a sinister grin on his face.

To the right stood the Martial Saint Guan Yun Chang, wielding the Azure Dragon Guandao.

Translator’s note:

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