I Am Supreme
chapter-436

The sonorous horn resounded; the tent's drums were beaten in perfect sync while someone hollered hysterically, "The Nine Supremes Lords are here! You heard the marshal's order, attack in full retaliation! Return victorious!"

"Attack! Attack! Return victorious!"

On the other side, Dayuan's base was in mayhem; a number of their generals were in hopeless despair.

Victory was so close; the great opportunity of breaching the southern border was within grasp – how could the Nine Supremes have come now?

The Empire of Dayuan's marshal spat blood as he watched the northern gale run amok. The surrounding sparks of fire and the crisscrossing lightning and thunder illuminated the sky.

"We have all been fooled." He murmured in a low voice, "Didn't the Empire of Ziyou announce that they've trapped Supreme Cloud? Weren't they going to annihilate the last sinner of the Nine Supremes? Why is Supreme Cloud here? Why?"

"You should have said it earlier if you couldn't get him… Now that his manifestation powers are mightier than in the past when the Nine Supremes were working together, are the hundred thousands of Dayuan's men going to lose their lives over this false assumption? This… this really…"

"You should have said it earlier! If you had said it earlier, I would have been able to prepare formations that could prevent the Nine Supremes' ambush. Even if the measures were useless, at least our losses won't be as severe as it will be now…"

At this time, the situation continued to unfold; clearly, it was not going to benefit the Empire of Dayuan in the slightest. The air was colored by the crimson tint of blood. All of Dayuan's soldiers who had been injured felt their blood boiling within them; the crimson liquid gushed from their wounds like a wild spring.

Even those who were in better shape felt extremely weak while those who were already weak died immediately from the blood loss.

In a single instant, thousands of soldiers fell, the result of the macabre attack.

As the northern gale billowed, the flame drowning Dayuan's base was unstoppable as it soared and spread towards the south.

Behind, it was as if Yutang's troops were assisted by God himself; the crowd roared, charging forward in high spirits as their morale escalated in a single burst. The northern wind blew stronger right at the same time when the battle morale was at its highest.

As such, Dayuan's troops that faced against the wind could not even open their eyes as they tried to fight back. How else could they defend themselves? As glimmers of brilliance shone, the spears and swords that glimmered coldly passed with the company of spluttering blood.

The endless sea of flames had also spread, the inferno raging for thousands of miles.

Facing the combined attacks of power manifestations, Dayuan's combat power was rendered frigid, lower than a freezing point.

In actual fact, Dayuan's casualties were not all that high. At least, the number was far from collapsing the entire army based on the total number of eight hundred thousand fighters. However, the naturally-occurring phenomenon, highlighted by the Nine Supremes' reputation, drained Dayuan's army of their fighting spirit.

Therefore, the collapse of the army began almost immediately.

The northern gale squalled, the fire scorched; thunder and lightning intersected while blood spilled in waves.

For the two days that followed, Dayuan's army fell apart, as easily as a bread that crumbled. When they finally got around to reorganizing their military strength, they were shocked to realize that they had already drawn back more than eight hundred miles!

"Stay put, reassemble your men!"

"We've lost this battle!"

"Yutang's morale is boosted; watch out for the enemy's follow up attack!"

…

Where Yutang's army massed, the cheers were thunderous.

Everyone felt like their chests were about to explode.

All of them had thought that they would have to die serving the country in this war, but who could have guessed that the unexpected arrival of the Nine Supremes had turned their impending defeat into a decisive victory!

Leng Shan stood at the highest point of the camp base and shouted, "Lord Supreme Wind, Leng Shan, and all the brothers thank you for your help! We wonder if Lord Supreme Wind can descend for a gathering?"

What had happened in Ziyou was yet to reach them, so Leng Shan still assumed that the Supreme was Lord Supreme Wind. Once he spoke, the base was silent, waiting for the appearance of the legendary figure in the sky.

All the warriors had their heads lifted high, watching the sky with fervor. They wondered if Lord Supreme Wind would come to see them.

The clouds surged in the sky; a silhouette materialized quietly amidst the cotton-like wisps.

"The east side is in a dire state, I need to rush over at once. Marshal Leng has always been impeccably guarding the southern border. As long as there's no lust to advance, there are no worries for the border. Brothers of the southern border, let us gather again when Marshal Leng returns to the capital!"

Cheers erupted beneath, "So we shall! Glory to Lord Supreme Wind!"

The sound of the wind rose while Lord Supreme Wind's silhouette faded into obscurity; the gale grew fervent again as it sped towards the northeast.

"Brothers, it's up to us now!" Leng Shan yelled in ecstasy, "Lord Supreme Wind has paved the foundation for our victory! If we still manage to lose this war, let us all commit mass suicide instead! Otherwise, we would the biggest laughing stock in history!"

The generals chortled in amusement.

"We will make the children of Dayuan flee when they hear the wind!"

…

In the sky, Yun Yang, who was manifested as wind, bolted ahead at full speed. The sound of the air being cleaved was vehement, like cutting blades.

Whitey Three's feet were reattached now, but it had yet to recover from its injury and was still very weak.

Things were different now. Yun Yang, who had regained his power of manifestations, was not borrowing the Whiteys gliding ability but was instead nourishing the Whitey with the air of vitality as he moved, hugging them in his embrace.

The southern border's war was unexpectedly smooth, the crisis resolved at once with one battle. There were no more worries, thus Yun Yang was naturally happy about his circumstances.

Truthfully, Yun Yang had not guessed that the solution would be so simple. Dayuan's troops had actually formed an all-round attacking position that was based purely on the advantage of their military strength; it gave Yun Yang's wind and flame manifestations plenty of room to be unleashed.

"The change must be because Dayuan knew that Supreme Cloud was trapped in Ziyou, so the generals could attack recklessly. Other than Supreme Cloud's inability to come and lend his aid, it's also due to Young Marshal Leng's renowned prowess for defense. To breach his defense in the shortest amount of time, it was indeed the best idea to besiege the opponent with such a military advantage. However, my sudden arrival has caused the situation to change abruptly into this accidental yet expected defeat!"

"If so, Ziyou has actually helped me!"

Thinking about it, Yun Yang was highly amused.

His assumptions were pretty much the truth and there was also this sole reason that could explain why Dayuan's marshal, who had led the army for most of his life, could have made such a stupid arrangement.

Of course, there was also the improvement of Yun Yang's manifestation powers; in the past, there would not have been more than four Supremes gathered together, even when the Nine Supremes came to the rescue. Now, Yun Yang himself was already the semblance of six Supremes working in unison, and his powers exceeded what Supreme Wind, Flame and the rest could have conjured.

The combination of manifestation powers outshone the Nine Supremes' past display of power, making it another crucial point to the change of events.

"This war has been won, but it's also a fact that Yutang is gradually losing its ability to keep up."

Yun Yang was worried. "The southern border has been the side of Yutang to have the least casualties all these years, only then could it have a three hundred thousand-strong army. However, other than these three hundred thousand southern soldiers, the other relief troops, including those on their way, won't exceed ten thousand men, no matter how you try to count them."

"It can barely help the situation."

"The country is at a critical juncture, the moment of its rise and fall has come after all!"

"Only by stabilizing the east side… striking at Han Sanhe's troops, can Yutang have at least five years of recuperation!"

As Yun Yang made up his mind, his gaze grew colder as his speed increased in the surging clouds. However, as he sped up, an extreme sense of danger arose from the bottom of his heart, seemingly without reason.

Yun Yang halted his flight right away, melting his cloud manifestation that had been moving with the wind, dissipating into a soft breeze.

The cloud manifestation was intangible, but it still had a slight physical form that could be traced; it was not like the wind manifestation that truly blended into the sky and earth, invisible to sight.

Yun Yang was long prepared for enemy forces to ambush him.

The reason was simple. His return journey had been smooth, so smooth that it was immediately suspicious, unreasonable even. Yun Yang had been prepared since he left Zilong City.

The havoc he had wrought in Zilong City was unexpected, so it was understandable that the Four Seasons Tower's Mr. Nian could not rush there in time. It was well within reason.

However, it was odd that there was still no action taken after his massacre, even though a few days had passed since he had escaped Zilong City!

The long distance that would take ordinary people half a year to traverse would not take much time for Mr. Nian, an almighty cultivator at the peak of this world.

When he had sped to the southern border and had finished the war, the other party had not appeared. The calm before the storm was terribly alarming!

That was why it was not much of a surprise for him to be alert for an incoming threat right there and then. It could only be summed into four words – he had come indeed!

That was all.

Yun Yang dared not lag in his reaction; he dissipated the manifestation of cloud into soft breezes to conceal himself, before checking his surroundings carefully. Stretches of mountains were below him, while snow fell in flurries; silver painted everything he could see, while the mountains seemed endless. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

In spite of this, the sense of danger that Yun Yang felt did not fade but grew more intense.

The surging gale stopped then, as Yun Yang observed his surroundings thoughtfully.

If there were to be danger, the source of it must be within the space in front of him now, but there was nothing there.

"Is there another spiritual restraining formation up in front? That would be highly improbable."

Yun Yang frowned.

"My speed as wind and cloud is paramount. Besides, I've assisted the south in a manner that no one could have predicted; my whereabouts would be hard to estimate. After such a big round, who else can be a step ahead of me and set up the spiritual restraint in this definite route that had he no clue I would travel beforehand? Furthermore, in the air above this large stretch of the forest?"

"Still, if it's not a spiritual restraint, what sort of trap would it be?"

"I believe it wouldn't be a head-to-head duel... With my current cultivation base and as long as my manifestation powers are not sealed, nothing much can be done to me, even if it was Mr. Nian who strikes at me personally…" Yun Yang pondered to himself.

In all honesty, Yun Yang had been very confident about his manifestation powers, but when he had witnessed the blow Mr. Nian's had leveraged on Lei Dongtian previously, he had been blown away. There was fear, reverence and also shock at his immeasurable ability!

It was during his ruminations that a cutting sword energy soared into the sky; the ambush had finally taken place. Yun Yang was not even in time to sense where the sword energy had come from. When he was aware of it, the energy had already manifested itself in a scintillating glow of power.

The intense sword energy oppressed everything that was within the space that surrounded Yun Yang – even when he was made up of formless wind and shapeless cloud, he was being torn apart!

Despite being manifested as a soft breeze, Yun Yang grunted in pain.

How could this sudden attack of the sword actually deal damage to cloud and wind?

Yun Yang could distinctly feel that he had been wounded by the sword energy despite his manifestation. In addition, the sword energy had a strange power. It seemed to possess a bizarre control over the spiritual power of heaven and earth; more precisely, it was an all-consuming power.

Yun Yang was undeniably startled.

What cultivation method was it that could have such unexpected strength?

To think that there was actually a sword energy that could consume the spiritual Qi and even had the same effect on the cloud and wind manifestation; he could feel the faint pull despite being a breeze.

Aside from the shock, Yun Yang observed the attack cautiously. He surprised himself again when he noticed that the peculiar sword energy could even deal a certain amount of damage to his soul!

Yun Yang had never encountered something like this.

After the sword light had burst out in blazing glory, it disappeared without a trace. Yun Yang had used all of his deific consciousness, but he still did not understand how the sword light had just vanished.

Obviously, the other party's swordsmanship had reached the pinnacle of skill, and was in a divine state!