The Tianxiong Ji clan had once been a distinguished house whose renown rivaled that of the Shimen Li clan from which Li Longchuan hailed.
Of course, nowadays even Tianxiong City was no longer spoken of, and the name of the Tianxiong Ji clan had long since faded like smoke.
If the outcome could be settled in advance, that would naturally be even better.
Jiang Wang glanced toward the cyan battle flag off in the distance, studying it briefly. "Can we charge through?"
Chongxuan Sheng surveyed the battlefield once more, weighing the thickness of the battle lines again and again. After a moment of deliberation, he said, "Why not give it a try!"
"Then let's try." Jiang Wang raised his sword and spoke, his battle robes snapping in the wind.
The White Bone Holy Lord had kindled his killing intent. After encountering Miao Yu and exchanging blows, that killing intent had not been quelled in the slightest—it had only boiled over all the more fiercely.
He had returned to the battlefield to help his comrade Chongxuan Sheng, of course. But once he truly plunged into the thick of fighting, he felt a rush of exhilaration!
Hesitation on the battlefield was useless. Retreat was useless.
Once his mind was made up, Chongxuan Sheng immediately wheeled his forces about and charged straight toward that cyan general's banner.
It had to be said, through the repeated hammering assaults of the Autumn Kill Army beforehand, the Yang forces had barely held on, relying on immense casualties and sheer fighting will. But their defensive line had grown perilously thin.
When Chongxuan Sheng abandoned the pre-battle strategy set by Chongxuan Chuliang and held nothing in reserve, erupting with his full power and charging forward without restraint—he punched clean through three lines of defense in a single charge!
This was the Autumn Kill Army at full, unrestrained fury.
On the opposing side, the command platform naturally noticed the situation at once. Battle flags waved and troops were rapidly redeployed to intercept and encircle the attackers.
The formidable quality of the Autumn Kill Army was on full display in this moment.
Without any communication needed, the instant Chongxuan Sheng's force surged forward, the other divisions of the Autumn Kill Army spontaneously launched their own formations, tying down the main body of the Yang army in an attempt to coordinate with the assault.
The entire battlefield—because of Chongxuan Sheng's single decisive charge—suddenly erupted in intensity by several levels!
Looking across the overall battle, the eighteen formations of the Autumn Kill Army each blazed with their own sharp edge, carving and cutting in every direction.
And especially this army led personally by Chongxuan Sheng himself—it drove forward like a maddened beast, striking straight into the thickest, deepest part of the Yang formation!
The entire formation stretched into a single straight line. They killed any enemy they met, beheaded any general they encountered, and shattered any formation in their path.
Charging onward. Charging ever onward.
Advancing without retreat, like an arrow loosed from its string—there was no turning back!
On the Yang side, the flags on Ji Cheng's command platform waved ceaselessly. His position sat at the very heart of the Yang army.
And the sovereign himself, Yang Jiande, personally led ten thousand men, holding the rearguard alone. This was a burden of ten thousand weights, all resting upon the old general's shoulders.
Yang Jiande had no choice but to do so.
Ji Cheng was very old indeed. His beard and hair trembled with age, yet he stood on the command platform with his back ramrod straight.
His sons and grandsons had all died in battle.
The Tianxiong Ji clan should never have permitted widows of the clan to remarry, especially those of his direct line.
But he had ordered all of his daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law to remarry.
Simply because... he hoped they could bear children and add to the population of the Yang kingdom!
At this moment, he surveyed the entire army, constantly directing the flow of soldiers—like a diligent old tailor, mending hole after hole in a worn-out garment.
When such a lone force burst into the formation, he naturally did not overlook it.
But after gathering his Yuan Qi, straining his eyes to their utmost, and catching sight of the youthful faces of the leading figures far away, he could not help but sigh.
"The late emperor's dying command was to wait for the State of Qi to weaken... Today, seeing these heroic young men—even if this old man does not perish today, it would be hard to endure until the end of my natural span!"
He let out one sigh and then stopped. Pointing his halberd in that direction, he raised his qi and roared, "Are there any brave men of the Yang kingdom who can seize that banner for me?"
A burly, powerful man stepped forward. "This general requests permission!"
Ji Cheng gazed at him deeply, then said, "Granted!"
They watched as this general leapt down from the command platform, mounted a horse, and without another word, led a force of five hundred. The soldiers parted their ranks and charged straight toward Chongxuan Sheng's division!
Meanwhile, Chongxuan Sheng was leading his force in its relentless assault. He, Jiang Wang, and Shisi served as the arrowhead—there was no possibility of stopping, let alone turning back. They could only press forward and fight.
Chongxuan Sheng moved with the weight of Heavy Arts in every gesture, each strike carrying the force of a thousand tons.
Jiang Wang's sword light blazed brilliantly—radiant yet razor-sharp.
Shisi's black great sword fell like a collapsing mountain, splitting stone.
The three arrowheads advanced without hesitation, piercing through the enemy formation without a moment's pause.
Just then, they suddenly felt the enemy formation ahead part open.
And then a cavalry force of five hundred crashed into them head-on!
Boom!
This was the most direct of collisions—raw power meeting raw force, arrowhead clashing against arrowhead.
Only the strong and brave would prevail. Only the sharp would advance!
The two armies slammed together.
The instant the burly Yang general appeared before them, he was bound by the Five Qi Tiger-Binding technique. Jiang Wang's sword pierced through like sun and moon, striking like a bolt of lightning—arriving and returning in the blink of an eye.
The general crashed heavily from his horse.
Jiang Wang's movement technique was faster than both Chongxuan Sheng's and Shisi's, so he claimed the first kill.
Then the soldiers surged forward and rolled over the spot.
From a distance, it looked as though two great arrows, each charging without hesitation, collided head-on—and one of them snapped clean in half!
The "arrow" representing Chongxuan Sheng's division kept pushing forward.
On the command platform, battle flags waved and the great army closed ranks once more, cutting off Chongxuan Sheng's division again.
Ji Cheng watched this scene from afar, his white beard trembling slightly.
He knew that burly man was no match for this division of the Autumn Kill Army—and the burly man himself knew it too.
Yet he had still given the order, and the man had charged in without a shred of hesitation.
Because at this moment, across the entire battlefield, the Yang army's situation was already dire. He had no inexhaustible supply of troops to deploy. By means of his superb command artistry—taking from one wall to patch another—he had barely managed to hold the line.
It was truly difficult to pull forces away to encircle and destroy this enemy division at this moment.
The elite warriors of the Yang military had long since been positioned on the front line to fight. None could be kept at his side to serve as personal guards.
His lament about the heroic youths of the Qi state was precisely because the enemy had discovered the Yang army's vulnerability so swiftly and acted with such decisive resolve.
And his order to send someone to intercept was, in truth, sending them to their deaths.
They would block the Qi army's advance with their flesh and blood, slow the enemy's edge with their lives, and buy this "tailor" the time he needed to stitch the line back together.
Going to their deaths willingly. Sacrificing themselves for their kingdom.
These were indeed the brave men of the Yang kingdom!
Ji Cheng drew a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly.
The trembling was not from fear, but from grief.
He, Ji Cheng, certainly did not fear death. Despite his advanced years, he still possessed the bloody courage to slay enemy champions with his own hands.
But at this moment, he was the linchpin of the entire three-army command. He had to coordinate the whole battle. He should not, and could not, indulge in the bravery of a lone warrior.
If the enemy division once reached the command platform and severed his command over the great army, this battle would already be lost!
And so, with a heart full of bitter sorrow, he could only ask—
"Are there any more brave men?"
The wind howled mournfully. The banners snapped in the gale.
The silence did not last long.
"General! I, your humble subordinate, am willing to go!"
A woman's voice.
A female general.
A female general wearing blood-stained armor, with a helmet that was clearly too large tucked under her arm.
Ji Cheng gazed at her deeply.
She was his daughter-in-law! The first wife of his second son!
She had already remarried under his orders long ago.
"Where is Master Li?" Ji Cheng asked.
The family his daughter-in-law had married into bore the surname Li.
But the female general replied, "He has perished..."
She raised the helmet from beneath her arm. "I only managed to bring back this."
"Go!" Ji Cheng nearly shouted. "My Tianxiong heroine!"
"General!"
Suddenly another general rushed forward, eyes red, and declared, "The Yang kingdom still has brave men! Let me be the first to die!"
Going to one's death was not the objective. Slowing the enemy division's advance was.
But when all of them took dying as their goal, what more could he, Ji Cheng, possibly say?
—"This general... grants it!"
Yue Wen