Chapter 322 - - 320 Ascending and descending effects_1

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Ascending and descending effects: The things you do have a high probability of being imitated by those who are of lower status than you.

Duge’s interface flickered for a moment.

His heart leaped with joy, and taking advantage of Wu Chang’s inattention, he opened and checked it to find that indeed a new skill had been added.

Clearly, this skill was derived from loyalty.

Taking this skill on its own, it would be useless on the Alien Battlefield— at most, after he had propped up Luo Shuang as the emperor, he could bring out a group of loyal officials dedicated to the country and its people.

But when Ascending and descending effects were linked with triggering a chain reaction with a single move, the effect became terrifying.

As long as his status was high enough, every act he performed, every word he spoke, every piece of clothing he wore, and every food he ate could potentially quickly set off a trend.

Attributes were about to roll in again.

As long as the position was high enough, after the attributes rolled in, whether there were attack or defense skills would actually become irrelevant, as long as one was not influenced by thought-based skills.

He could completely dominate others with his power.

Unfortunately, Luo Shuang’s influence was too low.

…

As expected.

When Duge awakened his new skill and led his people on their way again.

The way he mounted and dismounted his horse had begun to be unconsciously imitated by Tong San and other assassins.

Shortly after Duge intentionally started using the phrase “you know what I mean” in his speech, the people in the group began to pepper their conversations with the phrase “you know what I mean”.

After he added a small action of rubbing his temples, it didn’t take long for those around him to start rubbing their temples unconsciously…

…

The imitation by those around him was completely unconscious.

It had to be said, the power of skills was remarkable.

A small-scale trend was a trend nonetheless.

The trend of gender equality continued to spread, and Duge’s attributes steadily climbed.

He actually couldn’t feel the improvement brought by creating small trends, but along the way, he tirelessly kept making small movements, increasing his attributes bit by bit—after all, it was better than doing nothing.

…

After being bewitched by Duge, Tong San and the others became absolutely loyal to Luo Shuang and no longer harbored any other thoughts.

In fact, as assassins raised by the organization from a young age, they had been trained to obey orders and didn’t have many alternatives.

They traveled by day and lodged by night.

Three days later.

Duge and his party caught up with Huangfu Yue’s rebel forces at a place near Chongming Country’s border called Yutang Pass.

Yutang Pass was situated in a canyon, built against the mountains, easy to defend but hard to attack, and was a fortress on the route to the border of Chongming Country.

To be precise, it was Chongming Country’s third line of defense against Qingwu Country.

At that time.

The gates of Yutang County town were tightly closed.

On the city wall, one could see soldiers who were ready for battle—their fluttering banners bore a large “Yue” character.

Huangfu Xing’s troops had set up camp outside the city and were not attacking, perhaps because they had pursued too hastily and had not brought siege equipment, or perhaps they were waiting for reinforcements.

…

“Master, if Yutang Pass is a trap aimed at us, once we enter, we might never be able to come out again,” Luo Shuang said with a look of concern, hiding in the dense forest halfway up the mountain as he looked at the towering pass and the opposing forces inside and outside the pass, “Moreover, if we want to get in now, we can only force our way through.”

Tong San and the others also looked uneasy.

They were indeed Shadow-class Assassins, but what they practiced were assassination arts and the Light Body Technique.

If they were to be thrust into the midst of battle, they could be chopped into mincemeat in minutes.

In this world, the army had exclusive Cultivation Techniques designed for slashing and defending that could also complement offensive moves—simple and practical, these techniques were more powerful with larger numbers of soldiers.

Unless one was a Grandmaster, no warrior from the Martial Worlds could contend with an army.

The army also had its share of experts.

Cao Lin, the General of Chongming Country, had come from the military; by practicing the techniques learned in the military, he had forcefully reached the level of Grandmaster.

An Innate Expert might escape an army’s encirclement, but it was impossible to confront and defeat an army of more than a thousand head-on.

Wu Chang stared at the opposing forces in silence.

Indeed.

The battlefield was truly the most suitable place for him, with his superhuman recovery coupled with agile movements; as long as his head wasn’t cut off, he was the most valiant general…

Unfortunately, the high command of Chongming Country had been controlled by alien warriors, and entering the army with the identity of an alien warrior was signing his own death warrant.

Heaving a sigh, Wu Chang stole a glance at Duge. After dealing with Huangfu Yue, He Xu would probably let him lead the troops, right?

…

Gazing at the moat outside Yutang Pass, Duge pondered for a moment, “Everyone, rest up. We enter the pass at nightfall.”

The water in the moat was drawn from within the pass, which meant that Yutang Pass certainly didn’t lack water—they either had streams coming down from the mountains or a hidden river.

As long as there was water, even a Grandmaster wouldn’t hesitate to take a chance.

In a few more days, the top ten rankings would be announced, and he could no longer afford to play it safe.

Since he had to take this step sooner or later, it was better sooner rather than later.

Besides.

He had the support of a major power.

…

Dusk fell quickly.

The energized group made their way through the thick woods, heading straight for Yutang Pass.

All members of Dragon Teeth were masters of Light Body Technique; the steep cliffs posed no difficulty for them. The weak links in the team were Luo Shuang and Wu Chang.

Wu Chang’s keyword was bravery.

Night assaults on enemy cities are the best display of bravery. Even if he had to descend hanging from the cliff, as long as his head wasn’t reduced to mush, he could recover from any injury on the spot.

The Fourth Princess herself was skilled in martial arts.

Over the past twenty or so days, under Duge’s supervision, her diligence in practicing had led to rapid progress in her skills. Although her martial arts might only be on par with Shadow-class Assassins, she had no trouble moving through the dense forest.

As for how to descend from the cliff into Yutang Pass, that was easily resolved. After apologizing to the princess, Duge neatly carried her on his back.

These days.

Duge’s attributes had rapidly improved, his level nearing that of an Innate Expert. Flying with a person on his back was entirely feasible.

Luo Shuang lay on Duge’s back, feeling the solidity of his back, her eyes shining brightly with immense trust. The longer she spent with Duge, the more she realized that this man truly had her best interests at heart.

Otherwise, with Duge’s capabilities, if he had anyone else to assist him, he would have soared high into the sky long ago.

Before, she had thought about finding someone to control Duge.

Now, she thought that if Duge truly desired the throne, why not give him the whole world?

If Duge truly had an attribute, it must be protection!

…

Over twenty people leapt down from the cliff, charging directly into Yutang Pass.

Yutang Pass had long been prepared for experts infiltrating from the cliffs. Triggered by an unknown mechanism, a flurry of bells rang out as countless sharp arrows, coming from who knows where, shot towards the cliff.

Just beneath the cliff, a massive net spanning over fifty meters in length sprung up. The net was densely covered with blue-glowing blades, obviously all smeared with poison.

Taken by surprise.

Some assassins were struck by arrows, grunted, then plunged onto the net that had been erected below. They struggled briefly before falling still…

Wu Chang, whose Light Body Technique was the weakest, depended on his robust recovery.

After the corpses fell onto the net, he followed suit, crashing into the sprung-up net.

He swung his sword at the net, but despite multiple strikes, he couldn’t cut through it. It was unclear what material the net was made from.

Unable to sever the net, Wu Chang gave up trying to cut it and instead, trampling on the net and braving the arrow rain, he charged headfirst towards the city. In no time, his body was pierced by more than twenty arrows.

Tong San and the others were busy removing the arrows and maintaining their Light Body Technique to avoid falling onto the poison net, leaving them in complete disarray and unable to speak.

The most composed of them all was Duge. He skillfully deflected the arrows aimed at him and the Fourth Princess with his sword. Stepping on the poison net, he leapt a few times and landed on the top of the city wall.

He also drew a column of water from the moat, turned it into ice, and created a series of ice blocks, throwing them onto the net behind him for Tong San and the others to use for assistance.

His attributes had been continuously improving, his recovery swift. He wasn’t afraid of poison.

But Tong San and the others were!

He couldn’t just let everyone he brought die in the assault on the pass.

Standing atop the city wall, Duge set Luo Shuang down and called out with True Qi, “Huangfu Yue, the Fourth Princess has come to visit. Is this how you welcome your guests?”

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