Disaster-like swordbirds, countless in number, kept pouring out of the valley.
If one spoke of a tide, then the tide was still only within rivers, seas, and oceans.
This swordbird beast tide, however, occupied the entire sky, filled every space, every corner, every patch of sky—all were this ferocious creature.
Within the sight of the million-strong army, countless black dots swarmed—nothing but these swordbirds circling and dancing.
The blue-winged swordbirds formed a blue ocean of swordbirds, like the dike of the Heavenly River collapsing, opening a gap above the Erdu Pass and pouring forth unrestrained.
Within that blue ocean, countless silver-winged swordbirds were mixed in.
Moreover, there were countless golden-winged swordbirds, golden shadows slicing through golden streams, shuttling about—at least several hundred in number.
The winds and clouds changed color; the sun and moon lost their light.
The million-strong army finally understood what those eight characters meant.
Originally invincible, the million-strong army, within the ocean of swordbirds, suddenly became insignificantly tiny, like firefly light paling before the sun and moon.
“Long Zhao Feng, you are wise—donning the yellow robe early, letting you taste the emperor’s addiction. You can carry the emperor’s beautiful dreams and happily go to the underworld to reunite with your son!”
Jiang Chen spoke with a hint of mockery, gazing at the startled Long family.
“Guard the lord!” Long Er made a snap decision—what courage remained to attack Jiang Chen? He knew life and death hung in this instant.
Jiang Chen’s True Qi surged, roaring like a spring thunderclap: “I, Jiang Chen, will slay only members of the Long family; others unrelated, I do not wish to harm! Those who surrender, kneel! Those who refuse, will be deemed loyal to the Long family and must die!”
“Did you all hear? Except for the Long family, those who kneel and surrender will not be killed; those who refuse to kneel are die-hard Long family followers, my Jiang family’s mortal enemies, and must die!” Jiang Feng spoke with benevolent heart, also unwilling to slaughter the innocent.
Although this million-strong army mostly consisted of the Long family’s attached rebels, the soldiers merely followed orders—this was not their fault.
Long Er was startled, shouting: “Don’t believe the Jiang family’s lies—this swordbird tide is a natural disaster. The Jiang family’s promises are untrustworthy. Swordbirds are beasts; they cannot tell who is Long family and who is not.”
But at this moment, how could Long Er’s words have any effect? Those who had merely been forced to follow the Long family immediately dropped their weapons and kept kneeling, thud after thud.
Long Er bellowed: “Those who kneel are deemed traitors—kill without mercy!”
Having said that, he charged into the ranks, cutting down a dozen or so as if slicing melons and vegetables.
Yet, how could one man kill so many kneelers?
Once the first person knelt, countless others followed. Soon, the million-strong army had knotted seven or eight tenths; the rest were either the Long family’s elite troops or die-hard followers, such as the Yanmen Marquis—those who had long feuded with the Jiang family.
Chirp!
A massive golden-winged swordbird suddenly let out a sharp, long cry!
Then, hundreds of golden golden-winged swordbirds almost simultaneously attacked, turning into golden afterimages that swooped down.
In their eyes, these humans below were undoubtedly the finest feast.
Especially martial artists at the True Qi Master level—their flesh and blood were the birds’ best nourishment.
Next, thousands of silver-winged swordbirds followed, diving down as well.
Then——
The blue-winged swordbirds surged like waves, one wave after another crashing down.
For a moment, before the Erdu Pass, the sight was magnificent.
It was as if meteors fell from heaven—golden, silver, blue—continuously descending.
Swordbirds, with sharp beaks and sturdy wings, their feathers harder than human armor by three parts; ordinary arrows could hardly harm them, and a flick of their claws deflected most arrows.
Even if occasional strong archers managed to inflict damage, how could they shoot down a tide of swordbirds rushing in?
Even if one arrow felled two, or three birds, how many arms could draw? How many arrows could be loosed?
“Ah! My eyes!”
“No! I don’t want to die! Don’t eat me!”
“I surrender, I surrender—be quiet, be quiet!”
Flesh and blood flew, arrows scattered, before the Erdu Pass everything descended into chaos.
At first, the army could still muster a semblance of resistance, but as swordbirds kept joining the fray from above and strong fighters on the ground were continually torn apart, the situation turned into a one-sided massacre.
“Ooo~~~”
“Chirp!!!”
Feasting on the flesh of strong warriors, the swordbirds cried out excitedly, endlessly.
“We can’t hold on—run!”
“Flee to the valley! Everyone run, each one counts!”
Yet, under these circumstances, fleeing was nothing but a fantasy.
Inside and outside the valley, up and down—where was there no swordbird? Any sliver of space that appeared was instantly filled by a swordbird rushing in.
To feed, these swordbirds vied with each other, never letting the humans escape.