Chapter 498: Ten Thousand Banners Slay Yama (Part 13) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
A fierce wind whipped up the ground, and snowflakes seemed to flow backwards into the sky.
Countless visible malevolent energies surged up from the ground.
In the blink of an eye, they materialized into blurry figures. Perhaps due to insufficient strength, these figures were ethereal, with indistinct faces, their armor mostly tattered, and they wielded various weapons. Upon closer inspection, traces resembling blood could be seen.
Clearly, this was a battle-hardened force, exuding a chilling, bloodthirsty aura. Even standing motionless, they radiated a powerful sense of oppression. Roughly estimated at ten thousand, their ranks were loosely organized, yet their morale was high and unyielding.
At the front of the column were three relatively solid figures of military generals, whose armor was more complete than that of the soldiers behind them. Their warhorses were covered in full armor stained with blood, and they snorted from time to time, their front hooves kicking restlessly, as if they were about to charge.
The person in the center has the strongest presence.
The rebuke came from his mouth.
The scene was undeniably bizarre and grand, but it seemed somewhat laughable to the Shiwu side—when the Xin Kingdom was at its peak, the more than ten thousand elite troops summoned when the border barrier was alerted were all highly skilled soldiers, and they killed the Shiwu invaders so badly that they dared not take a single step closer.
Su Shiyilu suffered quite a bit of losses back then.
The heroic army that guarded the border for so many years was absolutely meritorious for its ability to hold Yonggu Pass and block Shiwu!
What a pity, what a pity.
Their strength is tied to the strength of the nation's fortune.
From over ten thousand elite troops to over ten thousand defeated and remnant soldiers... how can one not sigh? This shows just how dire the state of Geng, which had conquered Xin and incorporated it halfway through its campaign, had become! Once this formidable pass is crossed, no one in the Ten Crows can stop them!
On the city wall, Chu Jie and the others also had mixed feelings.
Chu Jie was the one who felt it most deeply.
The fall of the State of Chu back then bears a striking resemblance to the situation today.
The border defenses crumbled before the Xin army, leading to a brutal battle and ultimately, the country's destruction and the loss of lives...
At this moment, Kang Shi and Chu Yao turned their gazes to Xun Zhen, who had been silent for a long time. The former bowed deeply and said in a deep voice, "Please, Han Zhang, help us out of this predicament!"
Xun Zhen had been watching the battle for so long, waiting for this opportunity. Just as he was about to agree, a very familiar male voice suddenly rang in his ears, causing him to freeze in his tracks. Kang Shi saw Xun Zhen's gaze abruptly turn to a certain spot and looked over in confusion.
The mountains were shrouded in mist, with only the peaks appearing and disappearing in the mist.
That place was nothing special.
Chu Yao seemed to have sensed something.
Scholars possess numerous methods for transmitting their voices secretly, but regardless of the method, the fundamental principle is the use of literary energy to construct a communication bridge through the omnipresent energy of heaven and earth. He had indeed just sensed a fleeting, unfamiliar literary energy.
This means that someone just contacted Xun Zhen.
"Mr. Hanzhang?"
Chu Yao had no doubt that Xun Zhen would change his mind at the last minute.
The old man still has some insight.
But he wanted to know who the visitor was.
Xun Zhen came to his senses, his expression somewhat complicated: "Don't lead the troops out of the city later, the time is not yet right."
Chu Jie nearly exploded when he heard this.
Why?
If we don't seize the opportunity while the spirits of the fallen heroes are still alive to lead our troops into battle, the remaining soldiers under the city walls simply won't hold out for long, let alone pose a threat to the Ten Crows army. Does Xun Zhen mean we should just stand by and watch our border defenses crumble?
If we lose this opportunity, we can only hold on to our positions.
The Ten Crows came prepared, with all sorts of siege weapons already deployed behind their lines. Even with the formidable pass, they couldn't win.
Xun Zhen said, "This matter is complicated."
Chu Jie's tone became more serious: "Mr. Xun! This is no joke!"
Xun Zhen sighed softly, his expression inexplicably tinged with sorrow: "Rest assured, Yonggu Pass cannot possibly fall today. I swear this to you all! Of course, if General Chu does not believe me, you may send your troops out of the city now."
"What would happen if we left the city now?" Chu Yao asked.
"Nothing much, at most some soldiers will be sacrificed in vain." Xun Zhen looked at Chu Yao, seemingly wanting to ask something, but swallowed his question and simply said, "My friend told me that Lord Shen is armed with a powerful weapon. Why don't we take this opportunity to 'cross the Chencang pass in secret'?"
Xun Zhen didn't know how many people knew that Shen Tang held the Imperial Seal, so he didn't ask about it in public out of caution.
The word "major instrument" is used instead.
However, the listener was aware of the implications and understood the situation perfectly well.
"With weak wings and dull weapons, we cannot kill the enemy." Chu Yao understood what Xun Zhen meant, but it wasn't enough.
Replacing the old border barrier with a new one was a possibility, but the national fortune inherent in their own lord's seal was not abundant, and the situation was no better than it was now. It would also easily alert the enemy. They couldn't take that risk until Zheng Qiao was completely preoccupied.
Xun Zhen smiled and said, "Important tools are dull? Coincidentally, someone has brought a whetstone to Shen Jun. Wu Hui, you might as well wait a moment."
Chu Yao's brows furrowed at times and relaxed at others.
The others also seemed thoughtful.
Zhao Feng was the only one left completely bewildered. What kind of riddle were these two playing? And what exactly was this "important artifact"? He didn't even consider the "national seal," after all, it was a "hot potato."
When you don't have it, you yearn for it; when you have it, you feel like you're dying for it.
Chu Jie finally gritted his teeth.
The decision to send troops has a slight advantage.
Until Chu Yao spoke: "I believe you this time."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on a certain spot.
He raised his hand to stop his generals from volunteering to fight, and said fiercely, "We—then let's take another look!"
However, he became wary of Xun Zhen.
Even if the other party dares to swear an oath with their heart, the matter is of utmost importance. If this kid plays tricks on them, the other party will be the first to die for the city!
Below the city walls, beyond the pass.
Seeing that the city gates remained tightly shut and the defending general showed no intention of sending his troops out, leaving the remaining ten thousand or so heroic soldiers to fight, Shi Wu burst into laughter, calling Chu Jie a coward. "So tough for so many years, and now he's a coward at this crucial moment! How laughable!"
"Then—kill them all!"
At a single command, the battle begins.
Not to mention that the Ten Crows' army outnumbered the Heroic Spirits' army by tens of times, their equipment was far superior, and their military formation was perfectly orderly; the difference in strength was immediately apparent in the clash. Furthermore, the latter, being a manifestation of obsession, had a body formed from the national destiny contained within the border barrier, making their strength incomparable to their former selves. Even in life, they would have struggled to withstand such a formidable enemy, and were utterly defeated in less than a quarter of an hour.
Even though Shiwu suffered three consecutive defeats in battles and their morale was low, they still advanced with unstoppable momentum, their strength growing as they went further.
The soldiers on the city wall only provided support with arrows.
Chu Jie's eyes turned completely red as he watched this scene. His fists clenched tightly at his sides, his knuckles cracking. He didn't recognize these heroic spirits from who-knows-when they were below the city, but without exception, they had all sincerely guarded this formidable pass until their deaths.
Now they're just letting them fight a bloody battle without offering any support...
How could this be?
Since Xun Zhen said the time was not right and sending troops out of the city would only result in the soldiers dying in vain, then why not go down himself? Chu Jie leaped into the air, and two figures landed, like two sharp blades slicing into the enemy ranks. One was him, and the other was Zhao Feng.
"A noble cause!" Chu Jie exclaimed in surprise.
"Hahaha—this is what it means to be of one mind!" Zhao Feng was quite happy, his anger from watching the battle from the city walls completely gone.
Xun Zhen was both surprised and somewhat impressed.
Looking up in a certain direction—
In what was once a desolate and deserted place shrouded in mountain mist, a figure in a green robe suddenly appeared. This person was thin and stood against the wind, his robes billowing in the cold wind. There seemed to be dark circles under his eyes, and his lips were deathly pale, but his eyes were piercing.
Chu Yao also noticed this person.
"It was him?"
(End of this chapter)
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