Twilight Boundary-Chapter 571 - 562 Great Treason

"Defeated! We’re defeated!"

"Thirty thousand hungry ghosts entered Mingzhou, yet they couldn’t seize the destiny of this place. Instead, they were ruined in an instant, all their efforts only served to benefit others!"

As the killing aura on the battlefield shook the heavens and the situation turned into a crushing rout, countless people in Mingzhou City, trembling with fear, abruptly stood upright.

The one at the main altar borrowed Mana from it. Others took advantage of the high ground or rushed to the city walls. They stared wide-eyed at the battlefield outside, utterly shocked, their spirits shattered as if they were dead, unable to believe their eyes.

How could it be like this? Mingzhou was clearly a place of meager power; how could it possess such capability?

Could it be that all our painstaking calculations were for nothing?

For a moment, their composure wavered. "No, there’s still one more step, the most important step! We’ll see if he truly has the ability to escape this calamity!"

Standing behind the main altar, Third Uncle Hu, his hair disheveled, felt his gaze turn cold as he grabbed a Cow Horn Horn from the incense table. He brought it to his lips and blew with all his might.

When the sound of the horn echoed, accompanied by billowing incense smoke drifting from the city, it seemed to penetrate the entire battlefield. The Heavenly Destiny General, drenched in blood and consumed by rage, abruptly reined in his Red Fire Bull the instant he heard the horn.

By now, a thick wall of countless severed limbs and terror-stricken soldiers of the Food Protection Army surrounded him. These soldiers, thoroughly intimidated by his formidable aura, were growing in number, yet none dared approach him. He had fought so fiercely that the sky seemed to darken, and he had lost count of the weapons he had broken and replaced. Now, he gripped a horse lance snatched from another.

Though he still burned to fight, to lead his hungry ghosts to sweep through the Food Protection Army and seize all the grain in Mingzhou, at this moment, he also felt a crushing despair, a sense that all was lost.

Never mind the hungry ghosts under my command, even the seven Human Demon Generals at my side now seem to have been buried among the routing soldiers, swept away and submerged by this overwhelming powerlessness!

No matter how strong an individual’s martial prowess, when facing tens of thousands of troops, one would inevitably feel overwhelmed. Their strength would be unequal to the task, and despair would take root in their heart.

Thus, upon hearing the Cow Horn Horn, he suddenly gritted his teeth, fiercely wiped his face, then slammed his palm heavily onto the flank of the Red Fire Bull beneath him. This bull, an unusual beast, had also fought fiercely on the battlefield. But now, with a dung fork embedded in one eye socket and crisscrossing wounds all over its body, it panted, blood foaming at its mouth, evidently at the end of its strength.

The bull also seemed to hear the horn and know its meaning. It struggled to tilt its head, meeting the Heavenly Destiny General’s gaze with its one remaining good eye. Then, mustering its last reserves of strength, it surged forward. The Heavenly Destiny General on its back also clenched his jaw, gripping the horse lance in his hand even tighter.

"Damn it, damn it all!" he cursed loudly, staking his life, venting all the bitterness and hatred in his heart as he charged ferociously across the battlefield.

Before his savage momentum, no one on the battlefield could withstand a single clash with him. Even the Entering the Mansion Shousui, almost invincible within their battle formations, were intimidated by his ferocious might and instinctively sought to avoid his path. Those unable to evade, even practitioners of the Path caught in the battle formations blocking his way, were swept aside indiscriminately by his horse lance, dying silently where they stood.

He charged past the battlefield’s midline, then carved a bloody path straight through the Food Protection Army. Viewed from above, he had cut a swathe straight through the battlefield. With his horse lance, he forced his way to the rear of the Food Protection Army, charging directly toward the Four Great Hall Officials of the Zhensui Mansion...

The horse lance in his hand, slick with blood and gore, was lifted with immense effort, pointing towards... the indistinct and mysterious figure amidst the ghost soldiers on the iron coffin!

"He..."

The Heavenly Destiny General’s ferocious display drew countless eyes on the battlefield, so this scene was witnessed by all. They were so startled they trembled inwardly, their eyes practically bulging from their sockets. Their gazes were fixed on the raised horse lance, watching it point toward the mysterious shadow behind the Four Great Hall Officials.

He’s gone mad! He actually dared to brandish a weapon directly at that esteemed personage?

This scene was so overwhelmingly insane, so oppressive, that even the din of slaughter on the battlefield seemed to quiet for a moment. A dead silence descended all around, leaving only terror and stupefaction in everyone’s eyes.

In this stillness, the crippled little ghost perched on the rump of Yang Gong’s horse had been peeking at the shadow in the night sky. After what seemed like a long effort, it suddenly appeared to confirm something and cried out in delight, "Auspicious greetings to Old Master Hu!"

"May Old Master Hu enjoy boundless blessings and good fortune! May Old Master Hu achieve great wealth!"

"What?" Yang Gong, who had also been looking in that direction, was startled by its shouts. He turned abruptly and snatched the little ghost up. "What did you say?"

"So, what exactly is your origin that they are so desperate for me to kill you personally?"

At the same time, Hu Ma, seated atop the iron coffin, slowly raised his eyes. He looked at the Heavenly Destiny General, Zhong Benyi, as he emerged from the battle formation, seemingly invincible and unstoppable, yet Hu Ma only slightly furrowed his brow.

This man truly possessed remarkable skill! His ability to break through this battle formation, to make soldiers give way and strange people avoid him, was enough to prove the formidable strength of his martial prowess. Across all of Mingzhou, few could match him in a direct confrontation.

But what use was it?

Hu Ma narrowed his eyes. This man’s capabilities were indeed evident. However, if it came to a fight to the death, Hu Ma was seventy percent confident he could win using only the techniques of the Shousui Path, without relying on any other means. If not for the Magic Altar in Mingzhou City channeling Mana into his body, and the protection of the Official Zhou Lord, even the Red Lantern Lady could have killed him with ease.

As for now?

As the General approached, the Punishment Officer’s Great Saber held by Zhou Datong, the Walking Ghost Great Sword-Catcher, suddenly vibrated, exuding a deadly aura. It wasn’t that Zhou Datong intended to act; rather, the Punishment Officer’s Great Saber itself had sensed the threat and stirred with killing intent.

Nearby, Seventh Aunt glared in such rage that she gripped her shoe sole tightly. Aunt Zhang merely frowned, but the yin souls and other malevolent spirits behind her bristled with anger. They would not allow him to pass, even if only to curry favor with the Zhensui Mansion...

To put it simply, for the so-called Heavenly Destiny General to charge at Hu Ma was merely to seek his own death.

So, what scheme were those distant relatives in the city plotting with this final move?

As he pondered this, Hu Ma narrowed his eyes.

At that very moment, a sudden gust of wind swept out from the direction of Old Yin Mountain behind him. The wind was urgent, as if the venerable mountain lord, who had been observing the battlefield all along, had finally understood something. Thus, this message was swiftly delivered...

"So that’s how it is?"

Hu Ma’s gaze immediately turned profound and cold as it fell upon the Heavenly Destiny General’s face. He suddenly understood all their arrangements.

As he watched, the Heavenly Destiny General had already burst from the battle formation. Triumphantly urging his Red Fire Bull onward, he charged across the final stretch of open ground. Before he reached Hu Ma, the swirling yin wind and the imposing pressure around Hu Ma had already clashed with the General’s own aura. The blood-saturated outer robe he wore instantly disintegrated and fell from his body, revealing an undergarment made of a material that was neither leather nor silk.

The garment itself looked peculiar. Now, stimulated by the battlefield’s killing aura and the dense yin qi emanating from the ghost soldiers beside Hu Ma, it began to radiate an extraordinary energy. For a moment, the General seemed to tower impossibly high, his features blurring. It was as if, in that instant, he had transformed into someone else entirely. He exuded an air of majesty long lost to the world, a presence that looked down upon all creation.

WHOOSH...

Inexplicably, even the spirits and other evil spirits accompanying the Four Great Hall Officials were overcome by an instinctual awe and fell to their knees.

Though the altars across Mingzhou were still active, the flames of the oil lamps upon them simultaneously dimmed. The incense sticks burning beside them all took on the same peculiar shape at the same instant. The Three Fragrances burned down rapidly and evenly. Their ash remained intact, not breaking, and bent forward as if kowtowing.

The Magic Altars are failing... This is an extremely ominous sign!

Hu Ma looked at the Heavenly Destiny General, his expression as dark as a stormy sea. "So, this is the ’skin’ you’re using against me?"

"It is done!"

Back in Mingzhou City, seeing the Heavenly Destiny General finally reach the Four Great Hall Officials, the figure at the main altar relaxed. He didn’t even bother to look further, simply muttering softly to himself, "The reincarnated evil spirits of that era nearly cursed the entire royal bloodline to extinction. However, some wild offspring, not shielded by the royal family’s destiny, managed to survive. Because the main imperial bloodline was severed so quickly, residual strands of destiny, still clinging to that bloodline, attached themselves to these individuals.

"Regardless of their family background or personal abilities, every one of them is born with a ’Heavenly Mandate.’

"Once this bloodline is found, and they don the garment sewn from that... skin... then for that single moment, he *is* the Emperor.

"The Zhensui Mansion is a Heavy Weapon of the imperial court, and the Golden Mace was bestowed by the former Emperor.

"You ignorant child! You recognized the divine might of the Golden Mace and coveted it for yourself. What a pity. You may recognize its power, but you don’t understand that no matter how formidable, it is inherently constrained.

"Now that the Heavenly Destiny General stands before you, if you dare to strike him, it will be considered high treason. Even the Demon Suppression Golden Mace will turn against you! If you don’t strike, you must kowtow to him. And once you perform that kowtow...

"...your prestige and your own destiny will be suppressed by his. How then could you possibly continue to bear the authority of the Zhensui Mansion?"