Chapter 394: The true trump card
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Kaboom!" A thunderous explosion echoed out.
The rain of arrows combined with the downpour as they sliced through the air. The Southern Region soldiers tried to look at the arrows...
However, they could not see in amongst the heavy downpour.
Then...
Screams of pain rang out as soldiers fell to the arrows only to be trampled by their charging comrades.
However, they did not have any regrets. After all, they were soldiers.
"Boom!" The charging horde finally crashed into the Great Xia soldiers. The bloodbath had begun.
The sound of the horn rang out at the gates of the Icy Monkey Settlement. It pierced through the air and rallied the troops of the Southern Region. All of them straightened their backs and fought with renewed vigor.
"Die!"
"Die!"
All of the Great Xia soldiers thrust with their spears as they tried to hold the line. The archers continued to fire arrows into the horde of Southern Region soldiers...
Bodies fell to the ground.
Blood stained the earth and clumped up in pools.
Xing Qingsui was on the frontlines, flanked by dozens of soldiers. His black sword continued to swing as he sunk the blade into the body of a Southern Region soldier.
"Have the flanks advance and flank the enemy!" Xing Qingsui ordered as he drew his blade from the chest of a Southern Region soldier.
"Yes!" One of the bodyguards raised the flag in his hands and pa.s.sed on the order.
Just at this moment, a beastlike roar echoed out.
It was the general of the Southern Region.
His eyes glowed green as he addressed Xing Qingsui with an icy glare. The leather cloak on his back was p.r.i.c.kly, almost like spines on his back.
He raised his sword high up in the air and killed the two soldiers in his way. In a single bound, his beast appeared in front of Xing Qingsui.
"Go to h.e.l.l!" He roared, a domineering aura exploding from his body. This general was extremely powerful.
He was probably in the advanced stages of the Supernatural State.
How powerful was Xing Qingsui?
Heavenly Reflection State... in the face of this general, his only option would have been to run.
However, when Xing Qingsui saw the general charge up to him, he smiled. It was a smile of antic.i.p.ation and relief.
He did not retreat.
In fact, he did not even move. He watched as the Southern Region general brought the blade down on his head. He did not even blink.
"Boom!"
A thunderous sound echoed out.
Then, a column of light shot skyward from behind Xing Qingsui. It was like a gigantic sword.
At that moment, a head flew into the air.
That was the head of the Southern Region general, his eyes wide in disbelief. He simply could not understand how he had been killed.
Then, a figure leapt up from behind Xing Qingsui, grabbing the head of the general before landing on both feet.
The rain continued to wash the blood into puddles.
The ground was slick with blood, the gra.s.s trampled constantly. The moment one leg was lifted, another stamped down on them.
"The general of the Southern Region is dead! Follow me and take over the Icy Monkey Settlement!" A crisp voice rang out as he raised the head of the fallen general.
In that instant.
The intense battle came to a standstill. All of them turned to look at the figure who held the head of the fallen general in his hands.
That man had worn the armor of the ordinary soldier.
However, when he raised the head high up in the air, his armor was sliced open by rays of light, revealing a purplish golden robe.
Traces of calm were embedded within his expression of determination. It felt as though he had everything under control.
"It"s Xing Hou!"
"Oh my G.o.d, Xing Hou is in the Southern Region!"
"We have hope!"
All of the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty were invigorated when they saw this man. Before this, they were fighting out of desperation. But now, they had a beacon of hope.
Xing Hou, Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabulary.
The pillar of the Great Xia Dynasty and the leader of the 13 Constabularies. His battle exploits were legendary.
Even King Duan himself would not dare say that he was more influential than Xing Yuanguo.
"Mountain Breaking Army!"
"Here!"
"Clear a path!"
"Yes!"
The voices replied in unison.
Then, they shed their ordinary armor, revealing the bright, s.h.i.+ning armor underneath. They charged behind Xing Yuanguo.
If the Southern Region soldiers were wolves tearing into a flock of sheep.
Then the Mountain Breaking Army was the tiger hidden amongst the sheep.
They shot out like an arrow from a bow as they carved a path through the ranks of the stunned Southern Region soldiers.
Too fast.
It had all happened too quickly.
It was so fast that the Southern Region soldiers did not even have a chance to react.
They had the upper hand all this while. However, they never expected that their general would die in the heat of battle.
Then...
Xing Hou of the Great Xia"s Stabilization Constabulary led the Mountain Breaking Army through their ranks. The Mountain Breaking Army was notorious. All of them knew that this was the elite army of the Stabilization Constabulary.
What was going on?
The soldiers of the Southern Region could not react in time.
They were not the only ones who were stunned. Even the candidates who were fighting for their lives could not believe their eyes.
"Xing Hou is here?!"
"The Mountain Breaking Army is also here?!"
"What is going on? Why is Xing Hou hidden in the ranks and why would the Mountain Breaking Army also be hidden in the ranks? When did they sneak in?"
Questions began flying through the minds of the candidates.
They did not know what exactly was going on, but they realized that this had all been planned for by the Emperor.
Xing Yuanguo hiding inside the army may have been a coincidence. However, considering the fact that the Mountain Breaking Army also snuck themselves in, the only explanation was that this was planned for.
The aim was to bait the Southern Region and the demons into action. Then, they would defeat them with the element of surprise.
The tide of the battle was indeed turning.
The Southern Region general had been too careless, causing him to lose his life to Xing Yuanguo. Then, the Mountain Breaking Army had smashed through the ranks of the Southern Region soldiers.
The Mountain Breaking Army!
Their forte was siege and battle on an open plain.
The entrance to the Icy Monkey Settlement was an open plain. This was the perfect terrain for the Mountain Breaking Army. The Southern Region soldiers struggled to react to the onslaught.
Without the leaders.h.i.+p of their general and the appearance of the Mountain Breaking Army, the soldiers began to panic a little.
That being said, it was just a little.
After all, this was their home and they were warriors. They would rather die than surrender. As long as they had weapons in their hand, they would fight to the bitter end.
"Don"t panic, stop them and avenge General Ke!"
"Charge!"
"People in the middle, defend with me!"
All of the deputies began to bark out orders and organize their troops. Groups began to charge in the midst of the chaos.
Some continued to press on whilst others tried to hold the line.
Just at this moment, there were killing noises at the gates of the Icy Monkey Settlement. Bodies began flying off the city walls, shrieking as they fell to the ground.
The candidates were in shock when they saw this.
Could it be...
There was an ambush in the Icy Monkey Settlement?
All of the candidates turned to look at Nangong Hao. Nangong Hao was also looking at the city walls, his expression calm.
The candidates began to understand what was happening.
From the beginning, only 1000 of Nangong Hao"s soldiers had been seen. That was the 1000 soldiers guarding the entrance to Feng Su.
What about the other 1000?
No one had ever seen them.
This was a detail that would have been easily missed. However, when they heard the killing sounds, all of the candidates understood what was happening.
If the Emperor could insert the Mountain Breaking Army into the regular army, how could the Emperor have given Nangong Hao 2000 ordinary soldiers?
1000 ordinary soldiers were placed in plain sight to confuse the Southern Region. The true elite force was left to guard the Icy Monkey Settlement.
In other words, Nangong Hao had already worked with the Stabilization Constabulary on a plan to take over the Icy Monkey Settlement. This was all part of the plan.
Trump card!
This was the Emperor"s trump card!
"Kill! Kill our way into the Icy Monkey Settlement!"
"Charge!"
"That is our only way to survive!"
All of the generals began yelling out orders. All of them knew that getting into the Icy Monkey Settlement was their only chance at survival.
The soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty were reinvigorated.
The 50,000 strong army got into formation efficiently and advanced towards the Southern Region soldiers. The followed behind the charging Mountain Breaking Army and closed in on the Icy Monkey Settlement.
At the back, the soldiers continued to defend against the onslaught of soldiers from Feng Su as they retreated.
The gates to the Icy Monkey Settlement were sealed shut. The Southern Region army was being ma.s.sacred by the Mountain Breaking Army. Their general was dead and the deputies were not unified in their ideas.
In the end...
They broke.
...
"So this is the true trump card of the Great Xia Dynasty!"
The young vice domain chief looked at Xing Yuanguo from atop the cliff, his eyes glittering with battle intent.
However, this battle intent only lasted for a brief moment.
"Mm, since the Great Xia had decided to attack the Southern Region, they need a real general. This general could not have been Nangong Hao. Xing Yuanguo... is more like it." Yun Qingwu looked at the retreating Southern Region soldiers as she answered the question of her vice domain chief.
"Master, since you guessed that they will send a commander, why don"t we take this opportunity to destroy them all?"
"What is our aim?" Yun Qingwu did not answer the question directly, choosing to ask a question of her own.
"This... it is the Southern Region..." The young demon stiffened, unable to fully understand what Yun Qingwu was getting at.
"Do you think that the Southern Region will listen to us even if the Great Xia army is decimated? The Icy Monkey Settlement is a strategic location, and we must destroy these people sooner or later. However, whether we take over the Southern Region or not will not be decided by this battle."
"Young master, you mean..." The young demon seemed to understand.
"If my guess is correct, the ruler of the Southern Region is just using us to control the Great Xia. This will allow him to free himself from their control and establish an empire."
"Young Master already knew the intentions of the Southern Region Ruler. I understand."
"Let"s go."
"Yes!" The young demon nodded when he heard this. Then, he turned to look at the figure bathing in purple light, "Young Master... should I help Wu Ji?"
"No need, Bai Xing will take care of it." Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, wavering for a moment before she shook it off.
"Your wish is my command!"
...
From the moment Bai Xing saw Xing Yuanguo, he knew the result of this battle. As such, he did not go fight Xing Yuanguo.
He also did not order the demon elites to stop the advance of the Mountain Breaking Army.
He knew that he had a more important mission. His mission was the purple figure entangled in a battle with Wu Ji.
"We can lose this battle, but you... must die!" Bai Xing squinted as his eyes began to glitter, almost as if there were stars in his pupils.