‘Master, the Master is indeed skilled…’

Gazing into the distance at the red lanterns, not only did the Baoliang Army (Grain Protection Army), originally from the Red Lantern Society, have their morale greatly boosted, but even the disciples of Bu Shi Niu (literally: Do Not Eat Beef, name of a person/group), who didn't eat beef, were extremely delighted in their hearts.

They knew that the benefactor had arrived at the edge of the battle formation. They didn't dare to shout loudly, but as they looked at each other, they were already greatly encouraged: ‘The Master said he would suppress the hungry ghosts, and he really did suppress them. He said he would resolve the altars in the city, and he really did resolve them…’

‘Could this be the Master's skill, to actually calculate the reactions of that foolish young master from the Ten Name Family one by one?’

‘Now, it's time for us to show our skills…’

‘…’

Amidst the loud laughter, they each displayed their own abilities. Embracing the red lantern light, they suppressed the battlefield. He also let out a sharp shout, ordering his men to set up his six large flags.

Cyan, yellow, black, white, crimson, and purple, lined up in a row, as he let his hair down, held his sword, and began his ritual.

"Wind, come!"

Seeing the clash of the battle formation, he pointed his sword, and the yellow flag beside him fluttered, blowing gusts of foul wind, flying sand and rocks, all from behind the Baoliang Army towards the group of hungry ghosts, blowing until their souls were disoriented and unable to open their eyes.

This was the Great Wind Flag.

Observing the battle formation, he saw another troop of soldiers, trapped by the hungry ghosts, struggling fiercely. He stepped on the Dipper steps, chanted loudly, and once again waved his sword forward.

*Hula!*

The black flag behind him billowed, and that troop of soldiers suddenly had stronger armor and more vigorous blood energy. Their courage was invisibly strengthened, and they held on.

This was the Valiant Soldiers Flag.

As for the other four flags, they were not needed for the time being. One was the Plague Flag. If used in a ritual and blown into the enemy formation, it could worsen the injuries of their wounded, turning minor injuries into major ones, making them difficult to heal with medicine, and slowing down their pace.

One was the Uncooked Flag, which could blow until the fires in the enemy formation were unable to cook the food, forcing the entire army to eat raw rice.

One was the Ghostly Wail Flag, which, when used in a ritual, could cause the enemy to hear the sounds of ghosts wailing incessantly every night when they went to sleep, making them unable to rest peacefully.

One was the Rain Summoning Flag, which could summon torrential rain, preventing the enemy from marching.

Of course, this group of hungry ghosts also had their own advantages. Although the Iron-Tongued Military Advisor had six flags, the last four were basically useless against the hungry ghosts. They were now erected here only for show, temporarily unnecessary.

But even though he only used two of the flags, the ghosts' energy had already been suppressed. Even the magical power that had descended from the city's altar was scattered countless times. At this stalemate, it was the time for his unique skills to show their ability.

In a short time, the Baoliang Army became braver and braver, actually killing the group of hungry ghosts and forcing them to retreat. Some of them felt guilty, and those whose emotions as living beings returned were already on the verge of collapse.

"Kill…"

But at the same time, within the hungry ghost army, there were troops that appeared even more ferocious. It was the Mandated General riding on the back of the red-haired fire bull, and the various Human-Demon Generals in each position, displaying their fierce colors to the fullest, becoming more and more ferocious in this formation.

Counting the Mandated General, of his twelve Human-Demon Generals, one was burned to death by Bu Shi Niu's heterodox method, and four others were suppressed by the altar in the dark of Mingzhou and died at the hands of various monsters.

Now, seven of them remained by the Mandated General's side, each revealing their ferocious colors. Although the Baoliang Army was brave, they were clearly no match for the enemy in terms of battle formation skills.

If this were just an ordinary battle formation, their bravery might really change the situation on the battlefield.

But at this moment, in the darkness of night, heavy hooves suddenly sounded from all directions, rumbling like thunder, shaking people's hearts. Amidst the crowd's shock, they suddenly saw several large flags, each leading a troop of soldiers, rushing out of the darkness.

They heard one sonorous voice after another: "Sun San from the Baijia (White Armor) Army of Shima (Stone Horse) Town, is here to assist the Baoliang Army!"

"Tang Huaiyi, the old altar master of Dashanbao (Great Kindness Treasure), is here to assist the Baoliang Army!"

"Bai Shan'er, the upper altar master of Yiqian (One Coin) Sect, acting upon the decree of our Supreme Master, is here to assist the Baoliang Army!"

"…"

"What?"

Just when people were panicking, and those who were quick-witted had even begun to prepare to turn around and run, they suddenly heard these loud shouts, which sent shivers down their spines.

In surprise, they looked forward and saw that under the large flags that had been erected in the night, there were troops coming at full speed.

Yang Gong, who had been guarding the front of the formation alone, holding his horse and knife, was even more surprised when he suddenly heard this movement. He hurriedly turned his head to the Iron-Tongued one beside him and asked, "Sir, this… this is?"

"Hehe, General protects the grain for the people, and his reputation has spread far and wide. Righteous people from all sides are naturally willing to help."

The Iron-Tongued one, a disciple of Bu Shi Niu, only smiled when he heard this, and did not reveal more of Bu Shi Niu's arrangements. But this simple sentence made Yang Gong excited for a moment, and all he could think about was: "I will not let down the people, and the people will not let me down…"

"My brother did not lie to me!"

"…"

The Baijia Army, known as the Baijia (White Armor), actually wore paper armor, which at first glance did not seem very useful. But it happened to be particularly effective against this group of evil ghosts. Most importantly, at this critical moment, it immediately played an important role.

Especially with Sun, the old man, and Tang, the altar master of Dashanbao, from the Baijia Army, who were capable of staying up to guard the year in the palace, leading the crowd to charge forward. Each of them stopped two of the Human-Demon Generals in the formation.

But this was not the end. Seeing that the fighting on the battlefield had become even more tragic, Yang Gong could not help but want to go into battle to take on a Human-Demon General, but he was stopped by the Iron-Tongued Military Advisor of Bu Shi Niu. After all, as the commander-in-chief, he could not go to his death.

So, in this delay, he heard the sound of hooves ringing out in the night wind behind him. He saw that from the direction of Laoyin (Old Yin) Mountain behind him, several troops had rushed out. Each of them had very few people, and the leaders all looked strange.

Some were burly, with arms almost reaching the ground, while others were as thin as monkeys, with a pair of eyes full of shrewd light.

They first dismounted outside the battle formation and kowtowed to the Hu family's benefactor, the old master, on the iron coffin that was only vaguely visible in the night. Then they laughed loudly and rushed into the battle formation:

"Hearing the name of the Baoliang General, we are acting upon the orders of the Great Town Demon Master to come and help!"

"Everyone is responsible for killing evil ghosts. We have no intention of joining the army, but we must come and lend a hand!"

"…"

Amidst the loud shouts, they didn't even greet Yang Gong, but rushed into the battle formation, each heading straight for a Human-Demon General, rousing their courage and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, appearing not to be at a disadvantage.

"Huh?"

Yang Gong and the others were naturally delighted to see that a few powerful figures had suddenly arrived. However, Hu Ma, who was sitting on the iron coffin behind them, was slightly surprised: "Even the Mountain Lord has come to join in the fun?"

He was not surprised that the Baijia Army would come. Immortal Maiden Miaoshan had arranged it long ago, but the Baijia Army was a large army and was slow to arrive.

But he recognized these four fierce generals who had rushed from the direction of Laoyin Mountain at a glance. These four were not human, but either monsters who had transformed or had possessed humans, borrowing human form to join the army.

Although he had issued orders to Mingzhou, most of the monsters in various places were wreaking havoc and serving. Few dared to come to this army. These few monsters, who could run to Yang Gong's Baoliang Army and even go into battle, were not of ordinary depth.

Since they had such deep levels of cultivation and came from Laoyin Mountain, it was obvious who they belonged to.

Now, with these few people rushing into the battle formation, the situation changed again. It made him feel itchy, after all, there were still Human-Demon Generals who had not been taken on.

Just as this thought had just surfaced in his mind, he suddenly heard a silver bell-like laughter, which suddenly rang out from a corner of the battlefield, making everyone feel refreshed:

"Baiyao (White Waist) Junior Offering of the Red Lantern Society, sworn good sister of the Left Protector, Lu family's mistress of the rice shop in Shanyin (Mountain Shade) City, Wutong (Phoenix Tree) County, Gunzhou (Gun Prefecture)…"

"…Here to help!"

"…"

"Ah?"

Hu Ma couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this movement, and turned his head in a daze. He saw that in a corner of the battle formation, Diguashao (literally: Sweet Potato Burn, name of a person), riding a horse that she had stolen from who knows where, rushed to the battlefield with a group of Yin Wind Little Ghosts beside her, shouting loudly.

It was just that the group of little ghosts beside her couldn't stand the blood energy of the living on the battlefield. They ran out of strength after only a few steps. The horse was also disobedient. When it reached the battlefield, it jumped up and down, throwing her directly off.

She fell headfirst into the dirt, landing right in front of a Human-Demon General.

The Human-Demon General, who had already been blinded by the killing, was stunned for a moment, wondering where this person had come from. He raised his spear and was about to stab this guy into the ground.

But unexpectedly, this mistress, who had fallen into a disheveled state with her hair and clothes in disarray, suddenly looked up and pulled out an object from her sleeve. It was a bezoar that looked like a stone but wasn't, and like a bone but wasn't.

She blew it at the Human-Demon General's face. Immediately, a gust of Yin Wind manifested from the bezoar. In the dim atmosphere, the shadow of a yellow ox could be seen quietly appearing, crashing straight into the Human-Demon General's face.

The shadow was only illusory and not enough to knock the Human-Demon General off his horse, but it did knock his head into a temporary stupor, with loud ringing in his ears, and his soul was unsteady.

Back when the Five Fiends threw Mingzhou into chaos, Diguashao had obtained two treasures. The Golden Carp Fiend had been released and had not yet been recovered. Now, this was a treasure of declining luck. Even on the battlefield, it could be used. It was blown into the Human-Demon General's orifices, making his soul difficult to settle.

Diguashao howled and leaped onto the other party's horse, pulled out a short knife from her sleeve, aimed it at the Soul Gate acupoint next to the ninth vertebra below the Human-Demon General's spine, and stabbed it in fiercely.

One knife, two knives, three knives, and another knife, stabbing him until he was covered in blood.

This was the weakness of the Human-Demon General discovered by Caoxin (Grass Heart) Hall in the city, and they had sent a message long ago. But on the battlefield, in the dimness, amidst the chaos of war, and not in a martial arts battle, no one could stab accurately. But unexpectedly, she caught him.

Even the Human-Demon General did not expect that he would die at the hands of such a frail rich lady. When he fell from his horse, he still had a look of unwillingness on his face.

Diguashao pulled out her knife, looked at it excitedly, and shouted, "Supreme-grade evil soul obtained, I'm going to enter the palace too…"

…

This method made Hu Ma stunned, and he thought, "Holy crap!"

(End of this chapter)