Chapter 300: The Downfall of Mo Luo City
One beam of light.
Two beams of light.
Then, countless dazzling rays of lights filled one’s eyes. Everyone’s gazes were glued to the unbelievable radiance as they squinted their eyes.
Wei Dafu, from a distance, felt a shiver down his spine. He widened his eyes, still bewildered at this sight. Extending his fingers, he gaped and pointed at the dish that was emitting a sparkling glow.
"A... a dish that radiates light?"
Wei Dafu’s bafflement was more than words can describe. This was his first time seeing a dish that glowed, and this achievement reflected a whole new state of cooking. This was a superior echelon that most couldn’t reach even with a lifetime of hard work and dedication to cooking.
The rays of light gradually faded, but nobody’s gaze shifted elsewhere. Everyone was simply too intrigued by the dish.
As the lights scattered, a scorching hot steam surged up like a veil of mist. Then, a unique meaty aroma dissipated in the air, stirring in everyone’s hearts.
This was an extremely unusual fragrance that combined the scents of cooked meat, fresh grass, and a type of fascinating flower. The three aromas, when fused, generated a truly special smell.
"The meat is just right." Bu Fang peeled open the spirit leaves with his Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife, revealing the iguana flesh underneath. As he pressed the knife downwards, an oily sauce trickled out of the meat.
The flesh of the Gigantic Iguana looked incredibly juicy and glossy, absolutely enchanting.
Bu Fang took out this portion of meat and placed it on the floor. Then, he cut through all of the spirit leaves, finally exposing the entire slab of iguana meat. The rich fragrance burst forth even more boldly and almost enveloped the whole campsite.
"It smells delicious!"
"I... I want a bite. I’d like to get drunk on this intoxicating meaty aroma!"
"I have never smelled anything as tasty as this meat!"
...
The soldiers were wholly captivated. With dazed eyes, they shook their heads as traces of goofy smiles smeared across their faces.
Bu Fang sniffed the aroma of the Iguana flesh. He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, then whirled the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife in his hand, and chopped at this slab of meat.
The crowds only saw a flash of the blade. In the blink of an eye, Bu Fang had already finished slicing.
From afar, the Iguana meat looked intact, still in one piece. Yet a careful inspection would reveal the thin carves on the flesh.
"Long Cai, bring over a bowl," Bu Fang instructed Long Cai, who was gaping with an open mouth in a distance.
Long Cai immediately snapped out of it. His eyes sparkled as he dashed forward obediently.
The Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife twirled again and landed directly on the meat. That piece of Gigantic Iguana flesh, shining with an appetizing oily sauce, flew into the sky and fell into the earthen bowl.
A hot mist rose up, blurring Long Cai’s sight.
He widened his eyes and gulped, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
"Bring it down, consider it everyone’s dinner tonight," Bu Fang said.
Hearing this, Long Cai finally walked toward Tang Yin and the others, though he had a hard time tearing himself away from the dish of iguana meat.
Out of Zhu Yue’s courtesy, this first piece of iguana meat fell into Tang Yin’s hands.
Tang Yin stared at the meat with the utmost excitement. With chopsticks in hands and a rumbling stomach, he breathed in the fragrance.
Once the chopsticks pressed against the Gigantic Iguana’s flesh, a delightfully aromatic oily sauce oozed out. Tang Yin picked up a piece, nervously sent it to his mouth, and took a bite.
The meat wasn’t as chewy as he had imagined. Instead, it was exceptionally tender and smooth. As it slipped into his mouth, the meat was soft and supple in texture, as if it was massaging his tongue.
Once the Gigantic Iguana flesh hit his stomach, he felt like there was a tiny stove burning inside his body. The rush of energy that came with it enlivened him so.
With the billowing of the heated flames, Tang Yin felt waves of spirit energy flowing out and spreading to all fours. In fact, he felt he had mostly recovered from his injuries.
From afar, Bu Fang tapped down again, sending another piece of iguana meat into an earthen bowl.
Pieces after pieces of the Gigantic Iguana meat were distributed amongst everyone.
A generous slab of meat was diced up into a few hundred pieces and passed down. Many soldiers were able to eat to their hearts’ content.
The second portion of the iguana was also taken out. It was as hot and aromatic as the first one.
Bu Fang also divided it up and distributed the pieces among every soldier, just so the maximum number of people could savor this gourmet dish.
Of course, he also saved himself a piece. As he chewed, Bu Fang felt his eyes narrow into a faint smile. The iguana flesh truly tasted wonderful. As a seventh grade spirit beast, its meat contained a rich source of spirit energy. On top of everything else, this was the flesh of a Gigantic Iguana, which already set it apart from that of other spirit beasts.
"It tastes delicious." Bu Fang was very much satisfied.
Emulating the cooking method of the Beggar’s Chicken, he was able to perfectly retain the natural fragrance of the meat. This way, the cooked meat would end up smooth and tender, wonderfully textured.
There were a lot of soldiers but a limited amount of iguana meat. Thus, there were still many long-faced soldiers who didn’t get to taste the dish.
Smelling the pervading aroma in the air with watered mouths, they felt like it was a living hell. But despite their longing gazes, they had to recognize that a dish of iguana meat took a lot of time to cook. And so, they could only stare as they stuffed their faces with the food cooked by other military chefs. Just thinking about this gave them an insufferable heartache.
After cleaning up, Bu Fang stretched himself. He exhaled a long breath as a relaxed expression flashed across his face.
The system’s notifications were already ringing in his mind. Evidently, it deemed this dish of Flower Iguana as satisfactory.
The Flower Iguana referred to the cooking method of the Beggar’s Chicken, a dish very famous from Bu Fang’s past lifetime. This cooking method was so unique it was rarely heard of before. On top of the natural tastiness of the Gigantic Iguana meat, Bu Fang was pretty confident that it would pass the test.
After a hearty meal, the Third Corp continued on. They needed to speed up so they could reach Mo Luo City as soon as possible. The very objective of their expedition this time was to come to the city’s rescue. However, they had been ambushed even before officially arriving at Mo Luo City. This meant that the city itself must be under a vicious attack or, worst case scenario, may have already fallen.
Even if it hadn’t been besieged yet, it must still be very close to a total collapse.
...
Mo Luo City. Above the pitch-black sky hang two crescent moons emitting chilled beams of light.
The dilapidated city walls were filled with cracks. Armored guards, with torches in their hands, were patrolling the walls. They were focused and alert, not allowing themselves to relax for even one second.
Suddenly, the sound of bowstrings plucking echoed in the sky as black as ink. A shower of arrows surged down.
The arrows hit the walls with clinks and clacks, smashing off more pieces of the already wrecked city walls.
"Incoming attack!!"
The soldiers guarding the wall bellowed!
Afterward, a thunderous shriek exploded at the foot of the walls. A swarm of shadows appeared in the dark night, bursting in with spirited eagerness to fight.
A figure holding a magic array created by five pieces of talisman rose into the air. His complexion was grave and ominously gloomy.
He had planned on directing a conventional war, but Nu’Er’s death unnerved him. He needed to speed up the progress of the battles.
Levitating in the air, the Shura Sect warrior lifted a hand, from which flew out numerous tiny blood-colored flying swords. These swords circled in the sky, whistling. They, they charged forward ferociously, almost splitting through the air.
Bang Bang!!
They instantly smashed through the city walls, leaving behind numerous holes. Such violent tremors caused the guards on the walls to bleed through their ears, eyes, nostrils, and mouth.
"Damned demon!!"
A roar echoed within Mo Luo City. Suddenly, a white-gowned figure bolted in, leaping into the sky with a fierce air of dominance.
Hu Yifeng’s complexion was overcome by a deep intent to kill. He stared daggers at the black-robed man floating in the air. This was the very person who had murdered a handful of his brothers from the Thirteen Bandits of Mozhou. An unpardonable crime! He was resolved to destroy the enemy or die in the attempt of it.
Another round of vicious battle in the sky began. However, it was obvious that Hu Yifeng was at a disadvantage.
Blazing flames burst to the sky.
The brutal war of the Mo Luo City carried on.
The spiritual essence of countless warm-bodied corpses were forcibly torn out and thrown into the talisman magic array, adding to its wicked eeriness.
...
The first rays of sunshine sprang from the borders of the vast plains, emanating a warm red glow.
The Third Corp of the Western Mystery Army had finally caught sight of Mo Luo City.
As they approached Mo Luo City, they could sense the deadly atmosphere within. The floors were stained with blood and covered with scattered corpses.
These were the dead bodies of both the enemy force and the Mo Luo City guards.
The soldiers of the Third Corp of the Western Mystery Army fell silent. They were overwhelmed by an indescribable mournful sorrow.
As they drew closer to the city gates, the guards on the walls suddenly shot at them with a rain of arrows.
Countless arrows hit the floor.
Zhu Yue stopped his troops with a perplexed look.
Peering at the waving flag on top of Mo Luo City, his lips trembled.
Mo Luo City had fallen.
"Withdraw!"
After another meaningful glance at Mo Luo City, Zhu Yue placed the command helplessly. The soldiers of the Third Corp retracted one after another. They went through countless hardships to arrive at Mo Luo City, but... it was nonetheless invaded and occupied.
Given the limited powers of his military force, it would be foolish nonsense to dream about taking back the city. Therefore, Zhu Yue ordered a withdrawal.
Once Mo Luo City was taken, the next round of attacks would target the Western Mystery City... Zhu Yue must return to the Western Mystery City and inform the city lord.
...
On the city walls of the Western Mystery City.
Ni Yan stood with hands behind her back. A grave expression clouded her unbelievably beautiful face. As she gazed at the oppressing black clouds, she felt a heavy heart churning inside.
She could sense that a terrifying crisis was about to hit the Western Mystery City. Trouble was heading their way.
At the foot of the Western Mystery City appeared the Third Corp, which was sent off earlier to support Mo Luo City. Their premature return also confirmed her suspicions.
She walked down the walls and slipped into the crowd, looking for Tang Yin among the soldiers of the Third Corp. After all, Tang Yin was her disciple.
However, the moment she found Tang Yin, she was caught off guard, as the figure standing right next to him was a slender young man. This young lad looked very familiar.
"Owner Bu? What are you doing here?" Ni Yan widened her eyes, befuddlement written across her face.