Chapter 132: Malicious Intent

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The earth-shattering sound of war drums rattled the nerves of everyone present. A sense of dread, rising from the very depths of his soul, gripped Ye Dong. "What... what is happening? Is this the sound of a full-scale battle?"

In the blink of an eye, Ye Dong realized that the vast, high noon sun was hanging in the sky. There was not a cloud in sight, and the scorching sun dominated the heavens!

"Why is the sun out? Aren't we supposed to be inside the Tomb of Eternal Life, where there is no light?"

Ye Dong took a deep breath of the sweltering air, baked by the intense heat. Glancing aside, he noticed that Wei Ye was clad in battered armor, wearing a blood-stained grass-woven cap. The dagger in Wei Ye's hand had transformed into a broken ring-pommel saber, and he was looking around anxiously—he, too, had clearly realized the strangeness of their surroundings.

"What is this outfit? Are we in the middle of a war?"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The rapid, soul-stirring rhythm of the drums did not cease; instead, it grew even more intense.

Panicked, Ye Dong looked down at his own body. He was dressed almost exactly like Wei Ye. The "Hellfire" in his own hand had turned into a chipped axe. On the mud, scorched half-black by the sun, he wore boots, but one was torn open, and his trousers were shredded by some sharp weapon, leaving his thighs exposed.

"Is it a battle?" Ye Dong looked back and saw deep despair reflected in the eyes of his companions.

"Charge! Charge! Charge!"

Before he could ask for an explanation, the war drums from all directions beat even more violently, followed by the deafening roars of ten thousand men!

Just as Ye Dong felt his eardrums were about to burst, an even more terrifying vibration shook the ground.

"Bang! Bang-bang! Bang-bang-bang!" The thunderous sounds grew faster and faster, causing the soil beneath their feet to dance.

"An infantry charge?"

Ye Dong was struck with terror, clutching his heart as blood surged within him. "There's no mistake! I've heard this sound a hundred times in movies! It’s the vibration of cavalry charging at full speed! We... we are surrounded by the enemy!"

"Commander He, we are surrounded!"

A soldier, his face covered in blood, gripped Ye Dong’s hand tightly. "We’ve fallen into an enemy ambush. There are twenty thousand of them out there!"

"Twenty thousand!? Twenty thousand!"

Another soldier, holding a long spear, cried out with a face full of sorrow, "We’re done for! We’re absolutely dead! There are only two hundred of us; how can we fight against a hundred to one?"

"Don't be afraid, we have General Huang!"

A familiar male voice suddenly emerged from beside Ye Dong. "As long as he is with us, we still have a glimmer of hope to escape!"

Ye Dong turned to see that the speaker was Lixing, also clad in full armor.

"Is this scene... is this another hallucination?"

Ye Dong suddenly remembered the day he had attained his extraordinary body and the "Heavenly Eye" vision under the guidance of Daoist Weizi. After a moment of careful thought, he reaffirmed his suspicion. "Yes, I have experienced this kind of illusion array before; this must be a hallucination!"

He looked at the impassioned Lixing, Wei Ye, and the others, secretly admiring them. "These three haven't cowered from start to finish. In terms of courage, they are real men!"

"But if they know it's a hallucination, why don't they warn us?" A chill ran down Ye Dong's spine. "Could it be that this isn't an illusion? Or did I... did I travel through time?"

"What? General Huang!? How is he here?"

"He has been leading us all along!"

"General Huang? Who is General Huang?"

Ye Dong squinted and saw that standing at the very front of their formation was an old general in armor. This shocked Ye Dong once more. "Damn it, isn't this Huang Wuchang!? How did he become an old general!? If this isn't a hallucination, what is? How could he possibly be a general? If anyone is to be a general, it should be me!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" "Charge! Charge! Charge!"

The frequency of the drums reached a fever pitch. Ye Dong looked into the distance; as far as five hundred meters away, the horizon was covered by a sea of black-clad cavalry!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" "Charge! Charge! Charge!"

The cavalry shouted, their warhorses neighed, and blades clashed, surging toward them like a tidal wave!

"Damn it, even if I know it's a hallucination, I can't help but be terrified! The visual impact is too strong; those 3D movies are nothing compared to this—there are at least ten thousand of them!"

Watching this spectacular charge, Ye Dong couldn't help but swallow hard, gripping his broken axe tightly.

"They're attacking! They're charging!" Several soldiers, seeing the scene, panicked and began to retreat uncontrollably.

"Don't be cowards! If you cower, you're finished!" Lixing roared. "Pick up your weapons and prepare to face the enemy!"

The soldiers looked at each other, appearing to have lost all will to fight.

Seeing the troops losing their fighting spirit, Ye Dong felt a chill. "Yes, I can't be a coward. In this situation, I absolutely cannot cower! The biggest taboo in an illusion array is to be a coward! Especially when it’s a battlefield!"

"So what if they outnumber us!?"

Suddenly, Huang Wuchang raised his great blade and roared back, "Brothers, we are trapped here today, but no matter what, we must fight our way out! Even if we die, we'll take one of them down with us!"

Though his words were imposing, only half of the men—or perhaps even fewer—responded.

"Are those who didn't speak just cowards?"

Ye Dong looked back and saw that many were pale with terror, their eyes bulging like eggs. He realized that in this trial, half the men were likely doomed!

"Don't be afraid, this is..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Ye Dong was struck with alarm and swallowed his words. "With Huang Wuchang’s cultivation, he must be able to see through this illusion. Why doesn't he say so? Why doesn't Wei Ye, who possesses the Heavenly Eye, say anything? Is there an unwritten rule that you shouldn't speak of what you see?"

The thought was terrifying. "If anyone reveals that 'this is an illusion,' they must be doomed! That must be it! That’s why they choose to stay silent, watching the cowards walk to their deaths!"

"They're here! They're here!"

"Rumble!!! Rumble!!!"

The two thousand murderous enemy troops, kicking up clouds of dust, charged toward Ye Dong and the others under the gaze of the scorching sun!

He had never seen twenty thousand people charge at him all at once—and they were people who meant to kill him!

"Kill!" Ye Dong raised his axe and let out a hysterical roar, hacking toward the incoming warhorses!

"Whoosh."

Suddenly, Ye Dong felt his vision go dark, and his ears buzzed. The cloudless sky was gone, the scorching sun had vanished, the murderous army had disappeared, and the earth-shattering sound of the war drums ceased.

"Have I emerged from the illusion array?"

Panting heavily, he spun around and saw a team of armored soldiers dragging seven or eight terrified souls toward the heights!

"Save me! Save us!!!"

Ye Dong saw clearly that the owners of those souls were the very companions who had been standing near him; they were screaming for help!

"Thud! Thud!"

The souls dragged away by the armored army collapsed one after another, their weapons falling beside their lifeless bodies.

"It really was a hallucination!"

Ye Dong gripped his Hellfire weapon tightly, watching the souls that had been captured, waving for help. He felt a sense of utter helplessness and sorrow.

Seeing Ye Dong’s pale complexion, Lixing gently patted his shoulder. "Brother Tian, this was their choice. They were cowards; no one else is to blame."

"Tch, cowards. Better to die and be reincarnated early," Ye Dong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feigning a mocking tone. "Though, looking at them, their souls won't even make it to the underworld."

"To lose so many helpers in one go... how can these traps be so bizarre?"

Ye Dong couldn't understand why they had all fallen into the illusion while walking perfectly well, and why it was specifically the cowards who had died.

"This problem... it must be controlled by Huang Wuchang!"

With this thought, Ye Dong looked back at Huang Wuchang, who seemed to have anticipated the outcome, wearing a confident smile of someone who had everything under control.

"My god, it really is Huang Wuchang’s doing!" Ye Dong felt a chill. "The Void Realm wasn't fully broken at all!"

"Huang Wuchang intentionally led us into the illusion array within the Void Realm. By using the lives of the cowards as a sacrifice for this general's tomb, the seal of the inner array was finally broken!"

Thinking of this, Ye Dong was so furious he almost cursed out loud.

"Those companions trusted him so much, entrusting their lives to him—how could he be so cruel and selfish!?"

Ye Dong looked around. On the array used for drawing talismans, the black flames were still burning fiercely. Seeing this, he finally realized the true method to break the Void Realm.

"Huang Wuchang’s black flames, which melt gold and wood, represent the Fire element in the Five Elements, which in turn represents 'courage'! This was information he deliberately hid to screen out the cowards among the helpers and use their souls to appease the Void Realm! Damn it, Huang Wuchang, you treacherous villain!"