284: The power of Suzaku is even greater

Who was Yang Qianhun? He single-handedly fought against an army of a million Orcs and emerged victorious.

He attacked City 66 and captured it with minimal losses.

He even had strange and terrifyingly powerful Soldiers under his command, capable of breaking through a city's protective shield.

"This Yang Qianhun previously slaughtered many of our Sakura Country's Lords. Why would he ambush Xiaobai and the others this time? Could it be..." Iki Shun's pupils constricted the moment he heard Yang Qianhun's name. A feeling of dread welled up inside him as he slowly spoke.

But before he could finish, Kawanishi Jin interrupted, "But didn't Yang Qianhun just capture City 66 a few days ago? Why would he travel all the way from the City 66 area to here? Doesn't he need to rest? Moreover, doesn't he need to guard his territory and city separately? Where did he get the forces to attack 67th City?" Kawanishi Jin's face was filled with shock as he blurted out all his questions in one breath.

"But it's a fact that he killed Xiaobai and the others. We just don't know how many of Yang Qianhun's troops Xiaobai and the others managed to consume," Makise Takashi said seriously, then asked Hanamaki Kujirako, "So, what should we do next? Are we still attacking the city?"

"Xiaobai didn't say how many troops Yang Qianhun had. He just said they were ambushed by Yang Qianhun, couldn't retreat, and asked us to avenge them," Hanamaki Kujirako said, suppressing his anger.

He then looked at the distant 67th City, pondered for a moment as if making a decision, then glanced around at everyone and slowly said, "Attacking the city is out of the question. We can't take 67th City in just a few hours. If Yang Qianhun's forces arrive then, we'll surely be caught between two fires, and we might be completely wiped out."

"Therefore, I've decided. We will ambush Yang Qianhun, because he will definitely come to 67th City. And on this wide, grassy plain, we'll scatter around the distant areas, leaving the path open for him."

"When he attacks the city, we will suddenly appear behind him and stab him fiercely. Then he will be the one caught between two fires. This time, we must kill him here."

Hanamaki Kujirako looked forward, his voice filled with killing intent as he laid out the plan in one breath.

"Boss is brilliant, this plan is excellent," Takiya Genji said admiringly after listening.

The other Lords also nodded in admiration and agreement after hearing him.

Then Hanamaki Kujirako dispersed his 800,000-strong army, retreating to a distant area to find a hidden place to ambush Yang Qianhun from even further behind.

This was to play the role of 'waiting for the rabbit' and 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it'.

About an hour later, over 800,000 people divided into four groups, hiding in the distance, silently awaiting Yang Qianhun's arrival.

Hanamaki Kujirako led his five strongest subordinates, along with nineteen other Sakura Country Lords and one hundred twenty-five Sakura Country generals, and 200,000 Soldiers, ambushing in one location.

The other three groups of troops were dispersed in the other three locations.

"Boss, we've been waiting for so long, why hasn't Yang Qianhun arrived yet?" Makise Takashi was the first to lose his patience, his impatient nature leading him to ask directly.

"According to the distance Xiaobai reported to me, he should be here soon. Let's wait a bit longer," Hanamaki Kujirako replied with a slight frown.

To be honest, he had no confidence facing Yang Qianhun head-on. Fighting Yang Qianhun directly would be like trying to smash a rock with an egg.

So, he could only resort to this strategy: let Yang Qianhun arrive at 67th City, and when Yang Qianhun attacked, he would lead his army to ambush Yang Qianhun from behind, only then would he have a chance of winning.

"There's no use being anxious now, and we can't retreat either. With over 800,000 of us ambushing here, it's already easy to be discovered. If we retreat, the movement would be even greater, and it would be even more troublesome then," Iki Shun said with a heavy expression, feeling that something was not quite right.

"Let's wait. Yang Qianhun is already a mortal enemy of our Sakura Country. He dared to ambush our Hot Blooded High School Alliance brothers. He is bound to pay a heavy price. He is destined to die here, otherwise, he will be a great threat in the future," Hanamaki Kujirako said gravely, looking forward.

"Bo... Boss, why is the sky suddenly turning fiery red?" Takiya Genji, lying on the ground, looked up at the sky in confusion.

"Wh-what's going on? Why does it feel like the temperature has risen?"

Kawanishi Jin felt that the whole situation was off; the temperature had suddenly risen sharply.

"No, something's wrong, there's danger..." Mad Dog Hideyoshi felt a dangerous aura. His instinct told him to run immediately.

"Damn it, Yang Qianhun is here! He found us! Retreat quickly! He's going to use that flaming great bird! Everyone scatter!"

Hanamaki Kujirako also felt something was wrong. He looked up, his face turning pale with shock, cold sweat pouring down, and he shouted loudly.

Everyone looked up into the distance. The sky above had already changed color, a terrifying blood-red expanse.

"You bunch of useless people, you think you can ambush me? Dreaming, aren't you? Come out, Vermilion Bird, destroy them."

At the same time, a calm voice came from not far away, echoing in everyone's ears like a bell from outside the world.

The words sounded calm, yet they were like the voice of the God of Death from an endless abyss, wanting to drag everyone present into that abyss...

A figure shot rapidly from the distance, and behind him was a vast, dark mass of people, radiating killing intent, pressing down on Hanamaki Kujirako and the others like an overwhelming tide.

The next second, a sudden change occurred.

An extremely strong fiery red spiritual energy erupted from Yang Qianhun's location, with circles of red ripples spreading outwards.

His steps moved continuously, and countless flames rose from beneath his feet, instantly forming a blazing fire array.

Immediately after, the flames of the entire array simultaneously burst forth with dazzling red light, forming a red light pillar that shot into the sky, as if it wanted to burn the firmament to ashes.

The entire red light pillar emitted suffocating spiritual energy fluctuations, continuously spreading outwards, enveloping Yang Qianhun within the light pillar.

"Come out, Vermilion Bird."

The voice was as calm as water, as if it disdained all living beings.

The next second, the red array on the ground suddenly vanished, and the entire red light pillar slowly receded.

A majestic fiery power shot into the sky, as if it wanted to tear the firmament apart.

As a crisp, clear, and distant sound slowly echoed.

A flaming divine bird, hundreds of meters long with a wingspan of thousands of meters, soared into the sky as the red light pillar disappeared, appearing before everyone.

It was sacred and majestic, instilling fear and submission in people's hearts.

"Is this the flaming great bird the Orcs encountered? It actually possesses such a terrifying aura?"

Hanamaki Kujirako stared intently at the Vermilion Bird in the sky, asking in confusion, his feet already retreating repeatedly.