Chapter 991: Gong Shuwu's Martial Intent (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"Lu Zhizong, let me go!"
Yu Zi was unable to move because Lu Ji was holding her back.
Her eyes were bloodshot, filled with hatred.
How could they be content with such a retreat, a desperate and humiliating escape?
Lu Ji knew why Yu Zi was so angry, but she remained rational and knew this was not the time to act rashly—no matter how many trump cards Gong Shuwu had, the gap between him and the eighteenth-rank Grand Chancellor was simply too great. Even risking his life wouldn't buy him much time to escape. Delaying now would waste not only time, but also Gong Shuwu's life. Lu Ji suppressed the churning in her throat and said in a deep voice, "Wei Heng, live!"
Yu Zi stopped making a sound.
Lu Ji heard a suppressed, restrained voice from the person in his arms, with the faint sound of teeth grinding together: "How long can General Gongshu hold out? The eighteen Grand Generals will still come after us. Can our army escape him? Lu Zhizong, I would rather die on the road of charging into battle than die while we are exhausted from fleeing. Either way we die, we might as well fight our way back!"
"I obey the General's orders!"
Lu Ji was torn between his inner thoughts and his own.
She was well aware of the situation and knew that retreating now would be pointless, but it was Gong Shuwu's order. What difference was there between ignoring his last order and betraying him? Retreating offered a glimmer of hope—the chance to lead the troops that Gong Shuwu had poured his heart and soul into breaking through the encirclement. But turning around to face the enemy would inevitably lead to total annihilation.
She couldn't gamble with the lives of all the soldiers!
Yu Zi said decisively, "We can fight!"
The lieutenant's voice was mournful: "General!"
From the moment Gong Shuwu decided to stay and delay, the army's morale suffered a severe blow, nearly halved. Without a way to boost morale, they couldn't advance much further in this state. Before long, they would be overtaken by the Northern Desert pursuers, making the situation even worse.
"The Ancestor of Lu!"
Are you a coward?
The instant she finished speaking, Lu Ji gave a signal to his adjutant beside him. Then, with all his might, he roared and ordered the entire army: "Split into two groups, encircle and flank them! Bring back the General!"
Lu Ji was certainly not a coward.
She also harbored a burning anger that she couldn't vent.
Life and death were never the most important things to her.
In the past, they were parents, brothers, and sisters.
Afterwards, the Lu Xia County was massacred, her father died in battle, and she survived only thanks to her brother's protection. Of the entire family, only she and her infant nephew remained alive. Although her nephew was still young, he already possessed some of the bearing of his grandfather and father, and had some ability to protect himself. Survival in such chaotic times was difficult at his age, but not entirely hopeless. Lu Ji could rest assured.
Now, she wants to live for herself.
"Damn it, Northern Desert, let's go back and wipe them out!"
"Kill them all! Military merit will be determined by the number of heads taken!"
"One guarantees a profit, two guarantee a sure win, and three will make you a fortune!"
Lu Ji shouted these words with all his might, even with a piercing crack, but to the ears of the soldiers, they sounded like heavenly music. The previously demoralized morale rebounded completely, rising sharply. Their momentum surged, and even their blood seemed to boil.
Retreat means death, attack also means death.
It would be better to die on the way to the attack.
Even if they were to die, they would take one or two down with them. How precious their lives were! It would be a disgrace to their life's reputation not to take some with them! With the entire army determined to die and take others down with them, they split into two groups and attacked the enemy in an arc formation.
At first, the Northern Desert general was pleased to see the Kang Kingdom troops turn and flee, knowing they were cowardly. He immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Chase! Catch them! Whoever kills their general and captures their flag will be richly rewarded!"
With the enemy in a state of panic and exhausted from running around, their battle formation naturally becomes difficult to maintain, their ranks crumble, and they are unable to coordinate their attacks. This is a golden opportunity to achieve great merit! All it takes is to charge into their ranks in one fell swoop, and the enemy will be nothing more than a flock of lambs to the slaughter.
With a swift stroke, he chopped melons and vegetables.
The Northern Desert general could almost foresee the chaotic rout of the Kang Kingdom's army, and immediately ordered his soldiers to speed up, commanding the military scribes to amplify their speed with their spiritual powers. However, no one expected that the fleeing enemy would suddenly part like a tide.
They split into two, attacking their own left and right flanks from both sides.
As the two armies clashed, the distance between them quickly closed.
By the time the Northern Desert troops on both flanks reacted, the enemy was already within a hundred paces. A buzzing sound came from the sky as countless arrows pierced the air, raining down in a downpour. This was truly unexpected; their own vanguard didn't even have time to deploy their shield wall to defend themselves.
They endured the first wave of arrows with their own flesh and blood.
Arrows rained down, and the two armies clashed.
The soldiers at the forefront conjured heavy shields and charged forward.
The Northern Desert was caught off guard.
Some were wounded and fell to the ground by the rain of arrows, while others were smashed by heavy shields until they were dizzy and disoriented, with most of their bones shattered. Before they could even scream or get up, they were trampled into a bloody pulp by the endless stream of Northern Desert soldiers behind them.
Lu Ji immediately set his sights on the military generals led by Bei Mo.
She hurled a heavy hammer with great force.
They attacked the face of the Northern Desert general.
The heavy hammer, imbued with martial energy, pierced through the air like a meteor, smashing away and even piercing through the human obstacles in its path!
Severed limbs and remains flew everywhere!
The Northern Desert general sensed the killing intent locked onto him amidst the chaos of battle. He suddenly roared, and his entire body erupted with a thunderous sound that made one's teeth ache. Then, his armor and scales surged with dazzling light, gathering around him into a giant bell that was almost tangible.
Just as the hammer was about to strike the giant bell, its size expanded.
Thump—
The two collided, and the bell rang out loudly, soaring into the sky.
An invisible sound exploded.
The nearest soldier's internal organs were shattered into dust.
Corpses exploded like fireworks, limbs and blood raining down, creating a small-scale artificial blood rain! The giant bell remained unmoved, only ripples appearing on its surface. The Northern Desert general ignored the surrounding carnage, his large, bronze-bell-like eyes fixed on the figure charging towards him on iron chains.
Lu Ji did not reveal her face mask; her appearance and the figure outlined by her armor clearly indicated her true gender. The Northern Desert general was only momentarily distracted by this, quickly returning to his mocking tone, saying, "Heh, so it's a woman!"
He had heard that there were female military officers in the Kangguo army.
They seem to be quite capable.
Today marks their first direct confrontation.
Lu Ji: "I am the one who will reap your head!"
Her two hammers were connected by spiked iron chains, allowing her to engage in close-quarters combat or fight from a distance. While airborne, she clenched her fist, and the iron chains rapidly contracted, bringing back the other hammer. She slammed the two hammers down on the enemy general's skull. The giant bell emitted an even greater commotion than before; within the sonic boom's radius, the internal organs of living beings were shattered.
A look of seriousness appeared on the face of the Northern Desert general.
Although it was difficult to discern with the naked eye, he was mentally connected to the bell and naturally understood that Lu Ji's strike had caused tiny cracks to appear inside the giant bell. He pushed off his horse, grabbed his weapon, and charged upwards to meet Lu Ji's attack. In that brief moment, Lu Ji once again gathered his strength, concentrating all his power into his heavy hammer, and with a resounding boom—
"Break open for me!"
She clearly heard a cracking sound.
"Go to hell!"
Lu Ji let out a roar.
The heavy hammer, carrying terrifying force, slammed towards the Northern Desert general.
Unlike other military generals who might develop other specialties, Lu Ji focused solely on strength. Furthermore, with the blessing of Yu Zi's four [Five Virtues of a General], the power she unleashed was several times her usual peak. Let alone this Northern Desert general who wasn't a specialist in defense, even if Wei Shou, that iron turtle, were to take a hit, his shell would crack. Those weaker than Wei Shou wouldn't have their shells cracked, but their bones!
The Northern Desert generals had not anticipated this.
He noticed that although Lu Ji wielded a pair of double hammers, her limbs were noticeably weaker than those of an average martial artist. Therefore, the power she could unleash would naturally be below average. It wasn't until the oncoming gale nearly tore his face that he realized, at the last second, that there might be something wrong with her strength. Without thinking, he chose to dodge, avoiding her initial attack, but the next instant he was dumbfounded; the double hammers were still endlessly magnified before his eyes—
"graft!"
Yu Zi's eyes were bloodshot.
With Lu Ji and her seamless cooperation, the Northern Desert general took the hit head-on, his body flying dozens of feet away like a cannonball, knocking over the soldiers blocking his way. The Northern Desert general suppressed his surging blood and qi, adjusted his center of gravity in mid-air, and plunged his weapon into the ground to slow down.
"puff--"
A mouthful of blood gushed out.
He knew without even needing an examination that at least four of his ribs were broken.
"That woman's fucking fierce! She's got guts!"
Although his life was not in danger, his bones and internal organs were screaming at the damage he had suffered. He had underestimated his opponent, which was a lesson learned. He had just stood still when Lu Ji and another Kang Kingdom general charged at him simultaneously; judging from her figure, she was also a female general.
"Hahaha—" The Northern Desert general not only did not look solemn, but instead burst into laughter and shouted, forcefully using his martial energy to push the dislocated and broken bones back into place, his momentum rising steadily, "Such fierce women, there are actually two of them!"
Yu Zi looked over with a sinister gaze.
Raise your hand to form a hand seal, and hold it in front of your chest.
A chilling coldness crept into his eyes.
"Evil purple usurps the crimson!"
This was the scholar's way that once filled her with fear and dread.
She had privately studied this technique for many years, but this was only the second time she had used it on the battlefield; the first time was five years ago in the decisive battle at Chaoli Pass. Her great-uncle, upon learning of this, repeatedly instructed her to use it cautiously. Before fully mastering or perfecting this scholar's way, she must use it sparingly on the battlefield. And if she did use it—she must ensure the enemy's survival!
[Since you're going to do evil, then go all the way!] Yu Zi still remembers the cold smile that appeared on her great-uncle's kind face. [Your scholar's way is indeed harmful to others and not to yourself, but as long as all the enemies are dead, then there will only be benefits and no harm. Do you understand?]
This is just like what the Lord has said—
The perfect assassination is to kill everyone.
【Evil Purple Steals Vermilion】—seizing the fortune of one's lord, colleagues, and even enemies for one's own use! When she first awakened, Yu Zi couldn't control this target of plunder; she would prioritize plundering whoever had the strongest fortune. Now, she has made some progress, and she has touched the threshold of perfection. Although she is still a long way from true perfection, she has a concrete understanding and can control her targets to a certain extent.
The perfect state is to plunder the enemy.
In their current state, they can only plunder their colleagues and avoid their lord.
But who says her colleagues are only the ministers of Kang? As a member of the Pantheon, her theoretical colleagues are many, many.
In the past, Yu Zi would not have dared to have such a crooked idea.
Fearing that disturbing the members of the Gods Society would cause trouble for Qi Zhongshu, and knowing that there was no hope of survival tonight anyway, why not go completely crazy?
If Luan Xin were here, he would surely see the Qi of Heaven and Earth converging towards Yu Zi at an alarming speed, along with her literary Qi surging wildly. Since the beginning of her cultivation, Yu Zi's literary Qi had never been so inexhaustible. This literary Qi also gave her immense confidence, and powerful amplifying words poured out like flowing water, landing on her.
"In battle, courage is paramount—strike while the iron is hot!"
[Go all out], forcefully boosting the morale of the soldiers.
Suppress the enemy's morale and instill fear in them.
The range and scale of a spell's effect are related to the scholar's spiritual energy. The larger the range and the more soldiers benefit, the more spiritual energy is consumed. Under the premise of ensuring the effectiveness of the spell, an ordinary scholar's "One Breath" can at most cover a few hundred soldiers.
Any more and it would be too much to handle. Because a war can last from a few quarters of an hour to several hours or even several days, the accompanying scribes must control the quantity and consumption of their spiritual power, and cannot squander it all at once. But Yu Zi did not have this concern at this moment.
The scope of the power of words can be as vast as one desires.
The effect can be as strong as you want.
Everything is configured to the maximum.
He squandered his literary talent without a second thought.
The "Five Virtues of a General" not only benefits soldiers of rank 1 and above, but also ordinary soldiers. Defensive spells such as "Prudent Self-Preservation" are also widely distributed, and the number of spells that benefit the entire group is so large that it is almost excessive.
They literally boosted the soldiers' combat effectiveness by one or two levels.
Such unrestrained behavior left even Lu Ji, who was usually entangled with others, speechless.
Was Wei Heng driven mad by the death of that scout?
The Kangguo army, already riding high on its initial momentum and possessing the advantage of striking first, caught the Northern Desert forces off guard, gaining a clear advantage. Despite the Northern Desert having significantly more troops, the Kangguo army not only avoided losses but also gained a substantial advantage in the ensuing battle.
The battle line is visibly moving closer to the northern desert.
This scene completely exceeded the expectations of the Northern Desert generals.
Instead of earning military merit, he was tricked into doing so!
"What is that bastard Gong Yunchi doing?" How much effort could an eighteenth-rank Grand General have put into killing a thirteenth-rank Junior General? Why hasn't he come over yet? The Northern Desert general was irritated, but Lu Ji's fast-paced and forceful attacks forced him to spare no extra mental energy to think.
Little did they know, this time Gong Cheng wasn't deliberately slacking off.
He had truly encountered a difficult situation.
Fighting at the thirteenth level is really tough!
It was so difficult that it made Gong Cheng question the meaning of life.
This story begins with Gong Shuwu bleeding from all seven orifices.
Where the blood flowed, blue and purple flames spontaneously ignited.
blink—
The skin and flesh dissipated, revealing the white bones.
Gong Cheng prided himself on his extensive experience, but he had never witnessed anything like this before. He instinctively reached out to blow away the flames engulfing Gong Shuwu with a palm strike. However, before he could even raise his hand halfway, the bluish-purple flames instantly engulfed Gong Shuwu, leaving only bones beneath his armor.
Two flames flickered in the empty eye sockets.
So lively, like a soul.
The skeleton slightly raised its head, and the flames stared at Gong Cheng.
Before Gong Cheng could react, a figure rushed in front of him. The skull beneath the helmet opened and closed its mouth, and the voice was surprisingly familiar: "Yun Chi, can you still be distracted now?"
Gong Cheng suddenly opened his eyes wide.
He leaped into the air, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Small mounds of earth rose from the ground, and slightly transparent bone claws emerged from the soil. The first "person" to emerge staggered a few steps. His steps went from unsteady to firm, the soil beneath his feet turned into flesh and blood, and the energy of heaven and earth formed his armor. He was actually a warrior.
(～￣▽￣)～
Oh, it's the 24th, Christmas Eve! Time to crunch on an apple.
PS: Gong Shuwu's martial arts intent is "Even in death, he will be a hero," which can only be used once (because one only has one life. Gong Shuwu obtained it before meeting Tang Mei, when he was being chased and suffered greatly. The martial arts intent is special, and he cannot use it casually). Although the title is Gong Shuwu fighting his nephew (uncle and nephew fighting each other), the overall plot of the Northern Desert will focus more on the younger generation (Lin Feng and Yu Zi are also veterans with nearly ten years of cultivation experience, roughly equivalent to Yuan Liang when he first appeared). On this battlefield, there is Yu Zi and Lu Ji, and Lin Feng burning grain behind enemy lines.
P.S.: Everyone seems to assume that Gong Shuwu will die (scratching head), but have you all forgotten the background of this story? It's about rebuilding a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Before that, there were zombies... (Although it doesn't quite fit the overall tone of the story, the logic is sound).
P.S.: Is no one going to vote on the female lead's surname in the new book? If so, I'll just Google it and decide.
(End of this chapter)
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