Chapter 68: Human Clarity

He Chunhua looked down and saw that beneath the Heavenly Thunder Formation, another cluster of runes had lit up.

Unlike the Heavenly Thunder Formation, every line of this new array was a vivid blood-red.

Most importantly, this formation wasn't overly mysterious, but it was ancient enough that many of its characters were archaic symbols long out of use.

Situ Han noticed that Commander He's eyes were wide, yet his pupils were tiny as he stared at the newly appearing rune formation on the ground, clearly indicating extreme shock.

He, too, became anxious: "Wha—what's happening?"

"It's a Blood Sacrifice Array! Sun Fuping is going to offer us as sacrifices!" He Chunhua gritted out these words.

Unnoticed by anyone, just after Sun Fuping produced his ivory carving, a demonic bird descended from the sky, landing in front of He Lingchuan. The stirred-up dust startled both of them.

Mao Tao instinctively reached for his knife again, and Zeng Feixiong immediately stepped in front of He Lingchuan. Fortunately, the Black Flood Dragon's voice then rang out: "They are preparing a divine descent ritual. Your companions outside will soon be killed as sacrifices. Are you not going to help stop it?"

He Lingchuan and Zeng Feixiong were horrified: "What did you say?"

Mao Tao also exclaimed in shock, "You—you're talking nonsense!"

"Beneath the Thunder-Summoning Array outside is a nested Sacrifice Array. Once these two succeed in their incantation, the array will draw out your companions' lives and vital essence as the price for the divine descent! Such agony is utterly unbearable for humans."

"Nonsense!" Sun Fuping's voice suddenly echoed in He Lingchuan's ears. The two turned to look, seeing him still with his eyes closed, his lips moving as he chanted. They wondered what method he used to transmit his voice separately; his techniques were truly diverse. "The Thunder-Summoning Array is only for calling down heavenly thunder and protecting the Blackwater City army. Without it, your father would have been devoured by vengeful spirits long ago! This artifact spirit wants to sow discord in your mind; you must not fall for its tricks!"

The Black Flood Dragon, however, retorted, "By hiding here, you are not aligned with them. They will not hesitate to sacrifice others' lives! Think carefully: why are others outside intercepting the heroic spirits, yet only you were able to enter?"

It added somberly, "If I'm not mistaken, these two originally intended to sacrifice you, as that would have been the most effortless approach."

A chill ran through He Lingchuan.

He knew these two had been scheming against his father and him, and against the Blackwater City army, though he hadn't known their exact methods. If the Black Flood Dragon's words were true, his decision not to go to the south city wall earlier had indeed saved him from disaster.

However, while he had dodged the catastrophe, Sun Fuping, who had been plotting for a long time, would not give up easily. He might genuinely use He Chunhua and the Blackwater City army as substitutes.

Corroborating the information, the Black Flood Dragon's assertion seemed to hold some truth.

Mao Tao was also confused: "Young Master, this... this..."

Which side was telling the truth? Whom should they believe?

Perhaps seeing his hesitation, Sun Fuping urgently shouted, "He Lingchuan, don't fall for its trick! If we can't subdue the Black Flood Dragon, both you and I will die here, and He Chunhua and the Blackwater City army will all be buried with you!"

He then added, "Zeng Feixiong, quickly stop him! If the He family betrays the nation, you will all be implicated!"

The Great Kite Kingdom stipulated that traitors would have their nine familial exterminated, and one of those "families" included their private troops and followers. If the He family were to revolt, Zeng Feixiong would indeed face certain death.

This threat worked on everyone. Zeng Feixiong was already wavering, intending to advise the young master to make a calm choice, especially since He Lingchuan's impulsive and reckless image was well-established. However, upon hearing Sun Fuping's words, the hand he had extended to stop He Lingchuan was instead withdrawn. "Young Master," he declared, "I'll listen to you!"

Even the shrewd Sun Fuping was momentarily stunned, wondering how his words could have had such an unintended effect.

In truth, the word "die" had instead reminded Zeng Feixiong that he had led his troops into the Coiling Dragon Desert with a resolve to die, provided that the He family would care for his elderly father until his end. What did it matter that the two individuals before him were Imperial Preceptor Commanders? The most crucial thing was to carry out Commander He's mission.

He Lingchuan, at that moment, had no time to ponder Zeng Feixiong's thoughts. He had to make a decision immediately, right then and there.

In a brief instant, countless thoughts whirled through He Lingchuan's mind. Then, he suddenly looked up at the demonic bird beside him and asked, "If I help, can you assist us in safely getting out of the Coiling Dragon Desert?"

The demonic bird immediately nodded, without a trace of hesitation.

Everyone was overjoyed. This was indeed what they had hoped for! The young master was truly clear-headed.

All the anomalies in the Coiling Dragon Desert were caused by the Grand Square Pot. If it wished to show mercy to them, it would be effortless.

They had no choice but to trust it. He Lingchuan no longer hesitated: "Take us to the city wall!"

Immediately, several more demonic birds descended, grabbed them by their shoulders, and flapped their wings, flying upwards.

They had only ascended about thirty meters when a cold glint flashed from behind. The demonic bird holding Mao Tao suddenly had its right side sliced off, letting out a squawk before plummeting downwards.

It was Nian Songyu, who, amidst the chaos, had thrown a long blade to prevent them from getting onto the wall. He had originally aimed for He Lingchuan, but the demonic bird holding Mao Tao unexpectedly lunged to block the attack.

Fortunately, another demonic bird moved into position just in time, catching Mao Tao in mid-air.

The group leapt onto the city wall. He Lingchuan pointed at the armaments and commanded, "Load the arrows, load the projectiles!"

Zeng Feixiong led his subordinates, silently complying. Mao Tao, however, was somewhat uncertain: "Are you really going to help the Black Flood Dragon?"

He Lingchuan quickly inserted two spiked projectiles into the cannon barrel, glancing at him sideways: "What, Nian Songyu's blade didn't make you comfortable?"

Nian Songyu's blade had cut the demonic bird in half, and Mao Tao had narrowly escaped immediate death. Hearing He Lingchuan's words, Mao Tao resigned himself and swiftly mounted the over four-foot-long fine iron arrow onto the powerful crossbow.

The armaments on the city wall had already fired a round automatically earlier, under the Black Flood Dragon's control, of course. However, its control over this place was clearly not flawless; at least, it couldn't manage more intricate tasks like automatic loading of projectiles and arrows.

That still required human hands.

Moreover, the demonic apes had all been thoroughly killed, and it would take some time for them to revive.

If it hadn't been for the lack of available hands, why would it have sought out these few uninvited "fleas"?

He Lingchuan's first thought had been to draw his bow and fire a few arrows at Sun Fuping. But he held no rank or position, lacked protective spiritual power, and arrows shot simply wouldn't have the power of specialized military weapons.

Since he had made up his mind, he had to see this through and do it properly.

Nian Songyu was furious, his face flushed as red as the berserk giant behind him: "He Lingchuan, how dare you switch sides in battle? I will tear you into pieces and grind your bones to dust!"

"Asking for help requires the right attitude. With you, tsk!" He Lingchuan hoisted the last boulder onto the launching slot, then turned to the demonic bird and said, "Now!"

Flames suddenly erupted from the boulders and arrowheads. With a series of booming sounds, over a dozen armaments fired simultaneously. The spiked projectiles, of course, made the loudest noise, deafening both of them.

Frankly, firing cannonballs was by no means that simple. He Lingchuan still didn't understand the firing mechanism of Coiling Dragon City's armaments—whether it was a fuse or flintlock ignition. But none of that mattered; Coiling Dragon City, controlled by the Black Flood Dragon, took care of everything else.