Chapter 81: Wind Hails at an Impa.s.se
Translator: Whatsyourissue Editor: ICheah
Tie Zheng turned to look. Thick smoke was rising while battle cries could be heard distinctly even from several dozen miles away. It was primed to be a grand battle.
Tie Zheng felt his heart pumping violently, his lips parched. “Send orders, signal semaph.o.r.e! Ask what is going on.”
Before they could take action though, nine pillars of smoke, without traces of a spark, were already soaring into the sky.
“Those are our people!” Tie Zheng could feel his heart about to leap out from his chest. “Where did these reserve troops come from?”
Dongxuan’s Han Sanhe’s side had also realized the commotion in the southwest as ten thousand men were sent charging over like a flying arrow in a single command.
“Charge over!”
Tie Zheng decided immediately that this was their only chance of survival!
“a.s.semble there! To Tianxuan Cliff!”
Even if there were backup troops now, defeat was already imminent. The only thing he could do was to head over to Tianxuan Cliff and rebuild a defensive line using the geographical advantage, holding on as long as he could!
War erupted without any preamble.
Tie Zheng led the troops personally, leading all of them to penetrate the defense at southwest.
This was something Han Sanhe had never expected as much as Tie Zheng had never dared to wish for to attack from this direction!
Both sides were equally surprised. The brutality of the battle was even more unexpected.
“Yutang Steel Cavalry!” Tie Zheng roared, his mounted form on his steed leading the troops.
The thirty thousand-strong Steel Cavalry that he had kept aside throughout the war moved together, charging over as if they were a giant hammer.
At the same time, fifty thousand of the Dongxuan Shadow Cavalry counter-attacked!
The thirty thousand-strong Shadow Cavalry who had outflanked Yutang’s army and were attacking from the rear reacted a beat slower before they began charging in for the kill. Prior to this, no one could have expected that there would be such a loophole at the most unexpected of locations.
…
Yutang’s total of two hundred thousand men broke through collectively while Dongxuan concentrated their elites to block the charge with all their might.
Han Sanhe stayed on as a commander as he commissioned soldiers and appointed generals, giving out directions endlessly. Tie Zheng, on the other hand, was charging in a single direction with maddened eyes!
The goals of both parties were extremely clear.
If these two hundred thousand men could retreat all the way to the west of Tianxuan Cliff without damage, then the Empire of Yutang’s military force could still be retained; they could still fight. If these two hundred men were to be stifled here, the Empire of Yutang would definitely suffer in its military might!
Han Sanhe had strategized for so long to achieve this, how could he allow Tie Zheng to flee?
Tie Zheng led his troops, acting as an incredible s.h.i.+eld as his two and a half foot spear split into shadows that burst through the air, piercing through the enemy soldiers.
Where he had pa.s.sed, not a single person remained alive.
His steed was like a whirlwind as it led thirty thousand Steel Cavalry to charge forward with a resolute objective – they charged, knowing that they put their lives on the line.
Over on the other side, an unknown troop was charging towards them with all their might to receive Tie Zheng’s breakout. The determined might there was a perfect comparison to the spirit here!
The Yutang army’s brave spearheading roused the war to its climax!
Tie Zheng led the charge in fury, “Charge! Charge over!”
This was their only chance!
“Where did this troop come from?” Han Sanhe’s sunken face was full of doubt as well. He was well aware of the Empire of Yutang’s army organization like his own palm.
There was definitely no more reserves to backup Tie Zheng. How could such a troop pop up from nowhere?
Tie Zheng charged as his steed galloped through the several dozen miles of blood drenched soil. He was finally approaching the battlefield in front but his heart almost stopped the moment the battlefield greeted his eyes.
His eyes were rimmed red as hot tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Charge over!”
“a.s.semble with our brothers!”
On the opposite side, handicapped veterans dressed in old military uniforms and old armor! Whether it was the officer who was in command or the soldiers, they were all either blind with one eye left or handicapped with one arm remaining.
They cried in unison as they fought fiercely and charged.
“Undefeatable Yutang!”
“Unmatched Yutang!”
“I as Yutang’s man shall serve the country with my death!”
“Save Marshal Tie!”
“Brothers, it’s time to go all out!”
One by one, the handicapped veterans charged over like madmen; they were not avoiding the attacks at all, exchanging one life for another. A slash by the enemy was greeted with a similar slash to the enemy!
I am crippled, I can’t fight you. All I can do is to give my life in return for yours.
An old veteran charged, guffawing while facing two Dongxuan soldiers who were raising their sabers. He did not bother to avoid nor hide, his eyes glaringly wide as he growled, “We’re not here for war! We’re here to brave death!”
He welcomed the two sabers with his neck and chest as the saber in his hand landed harshly as well.
As blood spurted, three heads rolled off together!
Another handicapped veteran with only an eye left hopped off from a high spot throwing himself into a sea of sharp sabers and pointy spears; his body was pierced through but his saber had also chopped of a Dongxuan soldier’s head!
“Marshal Tie, over here!”
The handicapped veterans fought as they braved death, crying battle cries.
“Our lives are not worth much! Only death awaits us…” A handicapped veteran general hollered, “Marshal Tie! The Empire of Yutang cannot lose you!”
“We have no qualms dying in battle in front of the Nine Supremes sirs’ Tianxuan Cliff!”
“We have no regrets to leave following the nine sirs!”
Tie Zheng teared up. “Charge! Charge over! Do not let our brothers die in vain!”
He shouted madly before the valley. Suddenly, he hopped off his horse as his muscular build charged towards the enemy’s formation like a berserk tiger; his spear danced like pelting raindrops as chilling sparks formed an arc – hundreds of Dongxuan soldiers were killed with his spear!
A gap had been opened!
“Charge over!”
“I’ll cover you!”
Yutang Steel Cavalry gushed through this opening in a wild stampede.
Tie Zheng was crazed!
He had lost all sense of rationality when he saw these handicapped veterans! These old brothers of theirs were opening the ranks for the army with their own lives!
They did not have a sole authoritarian command. Although they were many in number, they lacked a uniform organization. They could only use such barbaric and brutal ways to realize their combat value!
“How could I, Tie Zheng, use my brothers’ lives in exchange for my own! Let me breach this gap with all of you!” Tie Zheng roared.
Once the spear of two and a half feet length spun, nothing within a hundred feet radius could penetrate it!
Their marshal was covering for them with his own hands, the army of Yutang knew they had to grasp the opportunity as they surged in swiftly, following the way. As each general saw their own battalion charging through, each of them returned immediately, with no exception, to cover for the army alongside Tie Zheng!
“I as the general, should cover for my brothers to our deaths!”
“I as the general cannot only use my brothers’ lives to acc.u.mulate meritorious awards!”
“I am the general!”
The generals by Tie Zheng’s side increased in number, each of their expressions stoic as they killed without mercy. They formed a wall of steel, blocking the hounding attacks of the Dongxuan army.
In the enemy’s battle array, a cold voice resounded. “Shadow Cavalry, charge over! Stampede through them!”
The enemy who were killing in berserk fury suddenly separated towards both sides. Behind them, countless rows of intimidating Shadow Cavalrymen were surging over as swiftly as devils materializing in the dark and as unstoppable as a collapsing mountain!
Fierce resolution flashed across Tie Zheng’s eyes.
“Marshal!”
Countless handicapped veterans charged against the incoming Shadow Cavalry. “Run, quick!”
“Shoot the arrows!”
A command came from the opposite side; the sky turned dark. Hundreds of thousands of arrows had s.h.i.+elded the sky completely.
“Leave!” The veterans in the valley ran with their all at the same time towards the Shadow Cavalry, towards the sky-shadowing arrows. “Tie Zheng! If you don’t leave, these brothers will never rest in peace!”
A piercing shout resonated.
Tie Zheng was drenched entirely in crimson blood as he growled hopelessly. Two a.s.sistant generals were pulling him along madly. “Marshal! Let us leave, quick!”
“We still have a chance once we have pa.s.sed Tianxuan Cliff…”
The sockets of Tie Zheng’s eyes were already torn from glaring wide, fresh blood pouring out as it mixed with his hot tears. He finally roared brokenly, “Leave!”
“Leave!”
The despair in this agonized growl was similar to an injured beast’s roar in the wild.
“Han Sanhe!”
Tie Zheng’s voice was loud and echoed across the land. “As long as I, Tie Zheng, am alive, I shall kill you! I shall kill you!”
The army had retreated to the valley.
However, Han Sanhe’s Dongxuan troops pursued in a manic frenzy, as if giving their all as well, biting on the Yutang army’s tail relentlessly.
“Shadow Cavalry! Even if all of you die in pursuit, do not lose Tie Zheng’s troops!”
This was Han Sanhe’s deadly command.
The heartlessness of this G.o.d of war was beyond anyone’s imagination. He was brutal against the enemy but he was also harsh on his own men!
This was a rare opportunity!
As long as they pursued Tie Zheng’s disorganized troop, as long as they were hot on their trail, Yutang’s military force was certain to crumble! Even if the Empire of Yutang still stood in this world after this war, the critical state of the Empire of Yutang as well as the significant shrink in the land would definitely remove it from being one of the five greatest empires!
It would then be reduced to a weak force that would be at the mercy of others.
Han Sanhe was determined to never give Tie Zheng a chance to reorganize his troops no matter the cost.
“Deploy the Dark Shadow Squad, intercept Tie Zheng!”
…
Countless veterans automatically opened rank to allow their brothers through, but they remained still themselves.
“There isn’t much use for a crippled body, we’re covering for the army with our lives!”
A number of handicapped veterans automatically charged towards the legion of enemy troops that were coming in a paralyzing manner, with their lives.
They would delay them if they could, if only for a short while.
“My fallen brothers!” Someone shouted shrilly, “I am coming!”
“All the brothers are coming!” Another hefty man hollered. His remaining single arm waved his saber about as his muscular build rushed forward like a tower. “My brothers’ families, I, Du Heizi, cannot do much for all of you anymore. But your father is happy to meet all of you! I have no regrets!”
Hundreds of handicapped soldiers chuckled together as they raised their sabers in their charge towards the enemy’s formation.
“No qualms about the nation! No qualms about families! No qualms about my brothers!”
It was a cliff on the other side. Eight hundred veterans were throwing rocks they had collected on the cliff but their actions still could not deter Dongxuan’s troops. Suddenly, a loud command split the sky.
“A saber, a person, a life to stop another!”
Eight hundred handicapped veterans formed groups of fifty as they jumped straight off the three-hundred-foot high cliff, raising their sabers with bloodshot eyes.
Just the height alone could kill them! They used their bodies as rolling logs and rocks, rolling logs and rocks that carried sabers!
Consider it my gain if I could kill someone with a chop!
Consider it my gain if I could kill someone by landing on them!
If I can’t kill anyone with my saber or myself, I will f*cking land and become the rock that deters your advance!
…
Tie Zheng’s tears and blood streamed down in unison, he wanted to roar, to perish in the battle here. Yet he did not even have a chance to reorganize his troops.
He was being tailed in pursuit; the handful of times that Tie Zheng wanted to reorganize his troops, he could not do it in time. The Shadow Cavalry was right behind them, less than a thousand feet away! If they stopped to shuffle with such a distance, the enemy could have annihilated all of them with a single charge.
They could only flee to a safe distance. However, how could their enemy grant them such a distance?
The forest was dense on both sides while bushes and weed were lush under their feet, drowning everyone to their waist.
The northwest wind swirled with vigor, as if blowing upon their trail.
Tianxuan Cliff!
They had arrived at Tianxuan Cliff!
Tie Zheng cried against the sky, “Tianxuan Cliff! The Nine Supremes sacrificed themselves here. Could it be that I, Tie Zheng, have to perish in the war here too? What does it matter if I, Tie Zheng, perish here… I only resent the fact that so many of Yutang’s souls would fall foul under Dongxuan’s Shadow Cavalry… I, Tie Zheng, can’t die in peace!”
“Nine Supremes! If you are blessing us from above, if you are watching this, save us Yutang! Save us Yutang!”
Tie Zheng cried hopelessly, spurting a mouthful of blood with his shouts.
At a corner, the many silhouettes of the Shadow Cavalry glinted ferociously.
In the dark, some forty to fifty shadows appeared like spirits; they were soundless, the gleaming chill from their swords and sabers had already surrounded Tie Zheng in a glimmering circle.
“Dark Shadow!” Tie Zheng was already exhausted. He suddenly guffawed. “Dongxuan Dark Shadow! Your father has long admired your reputation! Come at me!”
He roared, welcoming the squad with big strides; those people in the dark were soundless as they descended from all directions.
Tie Zheng growled, his sword swinging rapidly in counterattack but he was a militant after all. His ability obviously paled in comparison to these martial arts experts as several wounds were added to his body within an instant.
“Marshal!”
A dozen of his janissaries sprung up, blocking the swords and sabers with their bodies in the air, s.h.i.+elding Tie Zheng from the sudden attacks. Blood splattered, warm crimson droplets landing on Tie Zheng’s face. The man roared deafeningly, his heart throbbed with so much anguish that his breathing almost ceased.
Another dozen janissaries charged forward with their lives, a rough chortle resounded in the dark night. “Marshal! Don’t forget to give me a toast at your wedding!”
The person who spoke had sent his saber right into the enemy’s chest as his head simultaneously flew with a chilling ray.
Only swooshes from swords and sabers as well as the splutter of spurting blood could be heard in this dark night. With a jerk, Tie Zheng fell onto the ground. Beside him, a guard was breathing in labor; his intestines were threatening to drop out as blood spurted from a frightening gash on his stomach.
“Brother…” Tie Zheng tore off a strip of cloth with much difficulty with the intention to bandage his wound.
“Marshal!” The injured soldier suddenly growled and sprang up with all his might, pus.h.i.+ng Tie Zheng aside as a saber was driven like lightning right into his stomach.
Tie Zheng roared, swinging his sword at the a.s.sa.s.sin, cleaving him from his head down to his toes before turning to look at the soldier. “Brother…”
“Marshal…” The wounded soldier smiled. “Don’t forget to give me a toast of wine at your wedding… I’d wanted to congratulate marshal with the utmost glorious merit, I’m very sorry…” With a tilt of his head, his breathing ceased.
“There is! There is! Brother! Drink however much you want to…!” Hot tears stung Tie Zheng’s eyes as he sobbed, “Brother, my brothers…”
His janissaries charged forth to fight against the enemy in this darkest of nights, the clas.h.i.+ng sound of metal against metal resonated through the air.
Outside the valley, the galloping of warhorses approached.
The Shadow Cavalry was here!
Yutang’s Steel Cavalry who was retreating had suddenly reigned their steeds in uniformly; their faces solemn.
“Marshal! Let’s give it our all!”
Hundreds of thousands of people shouted at the same time, their eyes bloodshot with battle fury!
“Give it our all?” Tie Zheng picked himself up with much effort, his muscular build drenched in blood. He murmured and suddenly bellowed maniacally, “Give it our all! I, Tie Zheng, have let down my brothers this life. Let us perish in this war, let us rea.s.semble and fight again in the underworld!”
“It is us brothers who have let the marshal down!” An a.s.sistant general’s voice was tearful. “We wanted to congratulate marshal with the utmost glorious merit! It is too bad that the brothers have let you down! We have let sister-in-law down the most…”
Sister-in-law.
Tie Zheng’s gaze froze. The delicate figure that waited against the door seemed to appear in front of his eyes.
“The battlefield is vicious and dangerous, take great care.”
“Of course, Qian’er. When I return, I shall take you as my wife! I shall make the army and all of Yutang’s citizens come celebrate our victory, come celebrate our marriage!”
“I will wait for you…”
Tie Zheng laughed bitterly against the sky.
He had enlisted in the military since he was young. The busy years he had spent stationed away as a militant! It was only when he was thirty-nine years old this year that the thought to marry finally came to him. It was too bad that everything was for nothing...
The galloping of the enemy was blaring in their ears, the hollering deafening. “Tie Zheng, don’t you think of escaping!”
“Kill!”
The gentle face gradually distanced away from Tie Zheng’s gaze, merging into the faraway scenery. “Find good in-laws after I die… But remember, never find a militant again!”
He turned around, his expression already cold and hard. His spear pillared against the ground as he bellowed like a majestic mountain that reached the heavens, “With our lives!”
“With our lives!”
All warriors in the army cried together, blood shooting into their pupils.
“Prepare to recoup! Brothers, get ready!”
Tie Zheng laughed, his laughter carefree and unrestrained. The delicate silhouette in his eyes dissipated into thin air, leaving behind a murderous thirst for copper blood and a willingness to brave death!
Five hundred feet away, a battalion of the Dongxuan Shadow Cavalry appeared; the chilling glint of their spears and sabers blinked in the dark night.
“Is everyone here?”
Tie Zheng roared, his shout loud and clear through the air!
“Here!” Tens of thousands of the army answered in unison.
Just as Tie Zheng was about to issue his command, his spear aimed diagonally towards the front; just as he was about to cry for them to fight to their death, he stopped abruptly. His entire being froze.
It was because, right then, a surge of wind suddenly hailed from above Tianxuan Cliff!
Hoo, hoo, hoo.
The northwest wind that was bellowing in fervor had actually switched its direction, blowing over in the opposite path.
The wind bellowed, growing stronger and stronger…
Woo, woo.
The shrill cry of the wind had changed into a devil’s roar.
All the trees in the entire forest bent simultaneously towards the Shadow Cavalry! Tianxuan Cliff’s blessed topography had turned into a fatal circ.u.mstance for Dongxuan!
Tie Zheng’s heart lurched, as did all of Yutang’s army’s!
This scene was so… familiar.
Could it be?
Could it really be?