Chapter 233: A Tornado Rises

As he began to calm down, Fang Mofei regained his composure as his will to fight burned even brighter.

The situation was clear, the disparity in power great; he believed that his young master could make the right decision - as long as the young master did not strain himself while fighting, he would not expose himself; even if Fang Mofei came to his end here, it would be worth it!

Of course - if he could bring down a few of the enemies with him, his death would be even more worthwhile!

Fang Mofei's sword trembled as he bellowed into the sky, the volume of his voice exceptionally ferocious as it traveled through the clouds and resonated in the heavens. The sword light that erupted from his blade stretched far and long like a flowing dragon, its radiance valiant and majestic, causing the eight experts who faced him to pause momentarily.

"The fool laughs at death, but it is too bad that brute courage will only last him one fine moment. He still has to come back to his destined impasse and die!"

One of the people watching afar smirked softly.

Before his words ended, someone standing beside him chuckled. "Such a merry fight. It'll be a pity if he succumbs to the ambush; let me keep him company and play a good game!"

He skimmed over eight feet into the air and hovered above the battle right after finishing his words. With a shout, a long saber materialized in the air; the saber came crashing down like a hammer as the man swung it around before it thundered downward like a landslide.

Fang Mofei dared not hold back the attack, going against his enemies with all his might. It was too bad that he had just exerted his cultivation base to its limit earlier to gain a temporary edge, and temporary edge it was - useless to the battle yet expending his energy. Although it was not utterly hopeless, he had still lost the upper hand. The saber knight who joined later was better in his cultivation base compared to Fang Mofei, wisely guessing that Fang Mofei had already exhausted his current resources and went right after him.

How could Fang Mofei defend himself?

With a clear clack, Fang Mofei's sword broke as he spat out blood, staggering backward. As he stumbled, a strike of a blade landed on his shoulders and a palm struck his back. If he had not pushed on, he would have collapsed on the spot.

Fang Mofei was still as composed but he could already feel his insides churning as his cultivation skill dispersed. Yet the only thought he had in his head was - "Young master, don't you dare appear!"

Please never ever appear!

Leave quickly!

When it was close to impossible for Fang Mofei to deflect any more attacks, a wind blew suddenly around the Residence of Yang. Gravel and dust were whisked into the air and two of the archers on the tree were blown clean off the branches.

It was only within a moment that the strong wind billowing through the site turned into a tornado that headed straight towards Yang Botao like a furious dragon.

Someone in the crowd involuntarily exclaimed, "It this Supreme Wind?"

Yang Botao and his company glared daggers at the fellow who spoke, wanting nothing but to slash him into pieces!

The tornado licked the ground as it came surging forward; two eerie-looking elders beside Yang Botao wore plain smirks as they took a step forward to block the wind like two hefty mountains.

With a loud boom, the surge of wind turned its trail towards the sky, as helpless as a torrent that crashed into two mountains.

Both elders' cultivation base and capabilities were obviously far exceeding everyone else's there; they struck swiftly and in unison. Even when the tidal wind was mighty, it could not break through the defenses formed by these two men.

The gust of wind that changed its direction was not stopping, however, only whisking in more gravel and grass. For a moment, it was pitch black; then, a ray of flame kindled, burning brightly within the battle circle.

Yang Botao's men were elites indeed. There was no hesitation as they took the change in their stride. A loud bang that blew open a large pit on the ground saw everyone working together to extinguish the fire that seemed to only grow stronger.

The wind rose once more like a raging dragon that was flying into the fray; there was a vague silhouette of a man that could be seen engulfed in the center when a composed voice spoke, "Yang Botao! You, as an authoritative general of the empire, are not thinking about requiting the country but instead conspired with the enemies to harm my Nine Supremes brothers - your sin is unforgivable! Today is but a slight penalty. If you dare commit the same sin again, you shall be executed without mercy!"

The voice was drawn out, sounding far yet close to everyone within the area that they could hear him clearly.

The wind finally vanished.

A large pit made its appearance in the Residence of Yang's land while the masked man in black who sustained severe injuries could no longer be found.

The two elders beside Yang Botao were gone as well, giving chase to the attackers but it was uncertain if they could catch up with them.

Yang Botao looked calm as ever but within his eyes, fury brimmed.

A good amount of archers perched around the walls were currently dumbfounded. Perplexed gazes came from every direction possible to land upon Yang Botao.

The voice earlier... was it really the long-absent Lord Supreme Wind?

Were the words true?

Was Yang Botao really corrupted that he conspired with the enemies and had harmed the Lords Nine Supremes?

There was no truth to support such claims, no witnesses nor evidence to back up the credibility of it yet it was obviously Supreme Flame and Supreme Wind who had appeared just now!

There was no doubting it!

Everyone there had gone through the battlefield and fought alongside the Nine Supremes several times; the sense of familiarity would never deceive them.

If these words came from the mouth of these two lords, would evidence still be needed then? - No!

The Empire of Yutang's militants would never question the Nine Supremes' words - regardless what the content was, there was simply no room for doubt!

Clang!

An archer who was standing atop the wall retracted his stretched Deicide Bow and hopped off, taking a few large strides towards Yang Botao and asked aloud, "Marshal Yang! May I ask if Supreme Wind's words are true?"

Once his question left his lips, the other archers' gazes shot over like sharp arrows from wherever they were situated. Other than the hundred archers directly under Yang Botao, the other archers' gazes were heated as they focused on the marshal.

There were even plenty of those who were directly under his command lowering their head with perked ears, awaiting Yang Botao's answer.

Yang Botao's face was dark when he replied in a holler, "It was just the assassin's nonsense in an attempt to confuse everyone, how can all of you fall into this trap? Did you not see this marshal thwart an assassination attempt? Military orders are inviolable, do all of you want to have a taste of the price of disobedience?"

The mechanism of the military would always be the same; absolute obedience to the superior's orders; any raised questions about the superior's orders would deem a penalty worthy of death. Under normal circumstances, Yang Botao's words would have kept everyone in their place even when the rest of them still had qualms about it.

To everyone's surprise; the archer who had stood up to ask the question just now replied equally loudly, "This lowly subordinate's qualm is not within myself but with the Nine Supremes Lords' words. It is with hope that Marshal Yang will ease our brothers' worries. Should my words violate the military, this lowly subordinate will shoulder everything and repent with death as my punishment! It was obviously Supreme Flame and Wind who appeared just now alongside their fire and wind. Since both lords were here to accuse the marshal, I believe that they must have a reason to do so."

"This involves Yutang's national affairs. This lowly subordinate's life is far unworthy to be mentioned but the issue must be made clear. Everyone knows that the marshal is one of the empire's pillars, the guardian of the border. Why would the Nine Supremes Lords come for the marshal to find fault with him and accuse the marshal of being involved in harming them?"

The archer was unafraid when he asked, "Do answer our doubts, marshal!"

Before the last sound of his words faded into the air, three hundred archers behind him said in unison, "Do answer our doubts, marshal!"

Yang Botao's face was dark as ink when he replied slowly, "There's an assassin attempting murder on this marshal openly yet all of you are..."

Before he finished, a man dressed in green clothes beside him said, "Marshal Yang, there are only two people who acted in the ambush today. One was the brutal killer who made the first move while another was the one with the strange cultivation base but his ability was nothing exceptional. The fireball he tossed was probably from the Thunderclap Hall's ways but his skill of turning into the wind with his mystical Qi... was bizarre indeed and should be taken note of!"

On the surface, this man's words were analyzing the origin of the assassins but in reality, he was crafting ways to allow Yang Botao excuses to tackle his qualms.

Connecting the dots, Yang Botao frowned, "Two people? Not three?"

The person stepped out and picked out something from the large pit, saying, "Marshal Yang, do take a look at this kerosene that's not yet entirely burned... the color is bright tinged with green, it's obviously a trace of Thunderclap Hall's unique kerosene from its Bolt from the Blue! The question is when did the marshal offend people from Thunderclap Hall to provoke such ambush?"

Yang Botao frowned and sighed deeply. "About a year ago, the young master of Thunderclap Hall served me as my subordinate. His initial intention was to rise up the ranks using his military credits but was executed by me when he violated the military rules... Sigh! I deemed myself righteous and free of guilt in handling this matter but I may have been too stringent... It was during wartime though, I truly can't afford to be merciful..."

"I see. Military law will always come first during the war; any violation calls for interrogation and stringent penalty - that's the way it should be." The man in green clothes said, "However, Thunderclap Hall's influence is vast. Marshal must be more cautious in the future to prevent being taken advantage of by these despicable ones."

Yang Botao sighed shaking his head and answered, "How can the military allow mercy? Even if it were to be repeated, this marshal will still follow the discipline strictly. There's simply no room for discussion about it."

"Since Thunderclap Hall has come for me, what can I do?" Yang Botao said righteously, "I'm only worried that our brothers harbor second thoughts from the enemies' many tricks."

Someone else hollered with a straight face, "Has everyone heard it? Don't make assumptions and believe everything you hear blindly - more so from an assassin! Wouldn't the military be swayed then with simple words from anyone? What's there to be thought of the military then?"

The archers shared a look of shame but the doubt remained in their eyes; they lowered their stance ultimately, saying, "We were too agitated just now and have misunderstood the marshal. We ask for the marshal to penalize us."

The archers' heads hung low, looking at each other helplessly but saw the bright question still dancing in each other's orbs.

They had heard it and saw it with their own ears and eyes; how could that have been erased with just some words?

Yun Yang's brief narration had then planted the seed of doubt within all the warriors of the northern troop.

Was it true?