The charge of the Lan Kingdom army was cleaved to the sides by a massive shield that resembled a wall. Amidst the flying blood and flesh, the Peace Army managed to carve out a gap within the Lan Kingdom army.
"Hmm, I see." Wu Wei slightly pursed his lips. The enemy knew they were outnumbered and dared not engage in direct combat, so they used this crescent formation to concentrate their forces. If that's the case, then Li Jun must be commanding from the rear.
"Beat the drums to signal the order to use the wedge formation to cut into the enemy ranks and break through," Wu Wei ordered.
The drumbeats shifted, altering the rhythm, and the flags of the Lan Kingdom's central army began to wave rhythmically. Only seasoned warriors, capable of maintaining composure even in the fiercest battles, could notice the signal from their commander in this life-or-death moment. The Lan Kingdom soldiers under Wu Wei's command were the elite of the elite. Led by their frontline commanders, the Lan army began to converge. The powerful charge cleaved a bloody wound at the very top of the Peace Army's ranks. The crescent-shaped peak, originally composed of Peace Army warriors in purple armor, was split in two by the Lan Kingdom soldiers in blue robes. Under the steady and powerful assault of the Lan Kingdom's armored infantry, the Peace Army, positioned at the forefront, could not withstand the onslaught and began to retreat.
Wu Wei stared intently at the battle formation, his eyes unblinking. Leading the charge were his four trusted generals: Gao Wanjin, Tang Yushun, Dai Yang, and Zhu Chunlai. These four, along with Lü Jianzhong, were originally known as the Five Tigers of the Wei Clan. Wu Wei trusted them implicitly as they commanded the frontline soldiers.
"Is it my turn?" A deep voice seemed to be talking to itself, yet it still reached Wu Wei's ears clearly amidst the sounds of thousands of soldiers fighting. Without looking, Wu Wei knew it was Hu Hailong. He and Xu Longfei, who had remained silent and expressionless, were known as the "Crazy and Cold Twin Dragons." Seeing their colleagues killing so fiercely, these two must have been itching to join in.
But the battle had only just begun. The ferocity of these two powerful and ruthless generals surpassed even that of the Five Tigers of the Wei Clan; they wouldn't easily engage in battle unless absolutely necessary. Thinking of his own invincible warriors, Wu Wei felt a surge of pride. Li Jun and Meng Yuan, once known as the Twin Heroes under Lu Xiang, were now reduced to just Li Jun alone. How could he possibly withstand these Four Tigers and Two Dragons?
"Li Jun, Li Jun, I've heard that you've recruited quite a few brave generals and strategists over the years. Now let's see if the generals you've gathered in the last ten years are more valiant, or if my trusted and beloved generals are more outstanding!"
Gao Wanjin's eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly swung his broadsword, the blade flashing with a cold, chilling killing intent in the snow. Before the Peace Army soldier in front of him could avoid his attack, the broadsword had already struck down like lightning. The Peace Army soldier tried to block with his weapon, but he couldn't withstand Gao Wanjin's innate superhuman strength. The weapon was knocked out of his hand and fell to the ground. From the top of his head to his groin, he was cut in two. Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs and intestines flowed out from the two halves of his body. The snow, which had been trampled black, greedily drank in the still warm blood, making a sizzling sound.
Without pausing, Gao Wanjin's warhorse trampled over the corpses, and his blade grazed the neck of a Peace Army soldier. Before the Peace Army soldier, whose blood was gushing out, had even fallen, a Peace Army general appeared in front of Gao Wanjin.
"Commander Ni Song of the Peace Army, state your name!" The general, seeing Gao Wanjin's bravery and lack of fear, shouted and charged at him with his spear. Gao Wanjin ducked to avoid the energy emanating from the spear, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Gao Wanjin."
"What?" The Peace Army general, Ni Song, couldn't help but demand an explanation after hearing him mutter something in a low voice. Gao Wanjin's eyes widened, and his broadsword fell simultaneously with his thunderous voice: "Gao Wanjin!"
Ni Song was jolted from his horse, barely managing to parry the blade, feeling as if his arms were about to break. Startled, he instinctively ducked onto his horse's neck to avoid Gao Wanjin, but a warm, wet liquid splattered onto his hands. He looked up and saw his beloved horse's head was nowhere to be seen; it was now propelled forward by its momentum. Ni Song's heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to tumble off the horse, with a heavy whistle, the blade's energy cleaved through his back armor.
Having already slain a commander-in-chief of the Peace Army in just two rounds, Gao Wanjin was still not satisfied. He brandished his broadsword again, cutting down the flag bearer carrying Ni Song's banner. With the banner falling, Ni Song's men following behind felt a chill run down their spines, while Li Jun, far in the rear, gritted his teeth. Had a commander-in-chief fallen in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn?
After a short while, the distance between the Peace Army forces in that area had been compressed to its limit. While this increased the difficulty for the enemy to break through, it also made it difficult for their own troops to maneuver. Li Jun watched as several enemy generals charged into his own ranks as if they were nothing, and most of his own soldiers who fought them were killed within a few exchanges. He couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.
"The news from Zhuo Tian is that Wu Wei is the pillar of the Hao Lan Kingdom, and he has eight generals under his command known as the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, the Mad and Cold Twin Dragons, and the Five Tigers of the Mighty Gate. One of them, Lü Jianzhong, has already been captured and killed by Tu Long Ziyun. These fierce generals must be members of this Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, the Mad and Cold Twin Dragons, and the Five Tigers." Li Jun thought to himself, "The moment the two armies clashed, one of my centurions was killed, which is extremely detrimental to morale. If the vanguard collapses, then I will have made a mistake. Only by killing one of these eight generals can I blunt the enemy's momentum and make Wu Wei not dare to underestimate me."
"Yang Zhenfei!" Just as Li Jun was pondering how to send someone to kill the enemy general, his eyes lit up. A gold-edged general's flag embroidered with the character "Yang" filled the gap left by Ni Song's death. Yang Zhenfei had rendered many merits over the years, but due to his fondness for drinking and his tendency to be reckless, he had not yet been promoted to commander of ten thousand. Li Jun admired his bravery and had specially permitted him to have his commander's flag embroidered with gold, just like the commander's flag. This man was now appearing where he was most needed. Just as Li Jun had expected, he was capable of stepping forward at a crucial moment.
Yang Zhenfei, his beard bristling like thorns, wielded two axes that flashed with deathly light as he darted through the advancing Lan Kingdom troops, riding high on their minor victory. Countless mangled limbs and pieces of flesh flew from his blades, yet he remained unstained by blood, as did the Qiang warriors fighting alongside him. A strong, aged Shaoxing wine emanated from them. These warriors, who had bathed in wine before the great battle, knew no fear. Before their indomitable spirit, as intense as the aroma of the wine, death was merely a journey back to the gods. The Lan Kingdom army's advance was halted, and under their powerful counterattack, the Lan vanguard even began to retreat.
"Hey, you drunkard!" Gao Wanjin's eyes blazed with fury as he roared and charged at Yang Zhenfei with his knife. Yang Zhenfei had seen his ferocity before, so he was not to be outdone. The two ignored everyone else and clashed head-on.
"Dog, what strength!" After a loud crash, both men felt as if their arms were about to split open, and couldn't help but admire each other's astonishing strength. In the midst of the close combat, no fancy tricks could compare to a direct, effective strike, so the two men raised their weapons again and aimed for each other's vitals.
Gao Wanjin's broadsword was much longer than Yang Zhenfei's double axes, giving him a significant advantage. Several times, Yang Zhenfei tried to spur his horse closer, but was forced back by the aura emanating from Gao Wanjin's broadsword. After several rounds of fighting, Gao Wanjin gradually gained the upper hand. Li Jun, watching from behind, frowned. If no one assisted Yang Zhenfei, he feared he too would be no match for Gao Wanjin.
Before he could even finish his thought, Yang Zhenfei, seemingly dissatisfied with his unfavorable situation, recklessly spurred his horse forward. Li Jun stomped hard on the stirrup; it would be a great regret for him if Yang Zhenfei were to be killed because of this.
As expected, Gao Wanjin spotted Yang Zhenfei's opening and thrust his knife like a spear towards Yang Zhenfei's chest and abdomen. Left with no other option, Yang Zhenfei lay back on his horse, hoping to dodge the attack. But the blade was swift; before the tip could even reach him, the force of the blade had already flung something hanging from Yang Zhenfei's waist into the air, scattering a golden liquid. Gao Wanjin himself was a connoisseur of wine, and upon smelling it, he immediately recognized that this was different from the aged Shaoxing wine that had been spilled on Yang Zhenfei; it was at least sixty years old.
Although he was thinking about wine, his knife was not idle. He stopped halfway through his thrust and instead dragged it downwards, intending to disembowel Yang Zhenfei.
Little did he know that when Li Jun saw Yang Zhenfei's precious wine jug being lifted, the regret on his face instantly turned into great joy. He felt that just as his knife was about to cut into Yang Zhenfei's chest and abdomen, he suddenly could no longer move it down an inch.
"How dare you pierce my wine jug!" Yang Zhenfei held both axes in his left hand, his right hand gripping the back of Gao Wanjin's knife tightly. His expression was less one of anger and more one of utter despair. He gritted his teeth and slowly moved Gao Wanjin's broadsword away, then sat up straight. Gao Wanjin, seeing that he was already powerless to fight back, was baffled by his sudden transformation into someone with terrifying strength.
Before the shock on his face could fade, Yang Zhenfei spurred his horse, and the two warhorses met head to head. Gao Wanjin cried out and tried to wrest back his broadsword by channeling all his spiritual energy, but Yang Zhenfei's right hand remained motionless, while his left hand swung an axe at Yang Zhenfei's head: "Give me back my wine! Give me back my wine!"
Yang Zhenfei's attacks lacked any real skill; they were nothing more than brute force. Although Gao Wanjin managed to move his body, he couldn't move his arms, and the axe blade severed both of them. Before Gao Wanjin could even feel the pain in his severed arms, Yang Zhenfei had already discarded the large knife he had seized, his right hand gripping Gao Wanjin's throat, squeezing until blood gushed from his mouth. Yet, Yang Zhenfei still relentlessly demanded, "You dared to stab my wine jug? Give me back my wine!"
"With Qiang blood, Yang Zhenfei's wine is not to be touched..." Li Jun curled his lips, he never expected Yang Zhenfei to turn the tide like this. Compared to him, Wu Wei felt a sharp pain in his heart and punched his palm hard. Gao Wanjin was brave, but his adaptability was far inferior.
After throwing Gao Wanjin's body aside, a spear suddenly pierced Yang Zhenfei's left shoulder armor. However, he seemed not to feel any pain. He swung his arm to force the opponent away, and then swung his right-hand axe. Although he did not use the axe blade, the heavy iron weapon hit the opponent's helmet and immediately flattened it. The enemy general's head seemed to have been smashed into his chest cavity, and he shrunk by half and fell off his horse.
"Hmm, Zhenfei has lost his composure." Li Jun's joy didn't last long. Although Yang Zhenfei was brave, if he lost his composure, he wouldn't be able to carry out his plans. It seemed he should find a way to bring him back from the front lines. In such a chaotic battle, it was already difficult for him, an outsider, to find him in the crowd; how could he possibly bring him back?
The god of war, Potian, watched amidst the bloodshed as his soldiers fought relentlessly. Beside him stood Youming, the god of the dead. Li Jun and Wu Wei suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. In just this short time, both sides had lost generals, and the number of soldiers lying in blood, their limbs mangled, was countless. The black earth, indistinguishable between mud and snow, seemed to mock them, welcoming the endless stream of corpses with its eerie color.
"How many warriors' blood would it take to dye this black, dirty snow red?" A strange thought surfaced in Li Jun's mind. For some reason, the battle that had once excited and thrilled Li Jun now felt somewhat disgusted.
Chapter Thirteen Rising Dragon
one,
Just as Li Jun was worried about Yang Zhenfei, on the other side of the battlefield, the most intense and bloody battle since the start of the conflict began.
Dai Yang, one of the Five Tigers of Weimen, charged diagonally into the ranks of the Peace Army. His steel spear flashed, felling one Peace Army soldier after another from their horses. Hundreds of swordsmen following him, wielding cleavers, swept across the battlefield with the force of autumn leaves. The Peace Army soldiers often had to parry three or four swords simultaneously, making it impossible to stop them. Under Dai Yang's leadership, this Lan army force cleaved through the Peace Army following Yang Zhenfei, with a large wave of Lan soldiers surging towards both sides. If Yang Zhenfei's retreat was cut off, the Peace Army trapped in the encirclement would be in danger of total annihilation. Clearly, the Peace Army soldiers on the battlefield didn't rely on command, but on their instincts to realize this. In the midst of the carnage, one Peace Army soldier after another charged forward, attempting to fill the gap created by the Lan army. But this effort was futile under Dai Yang's ferocious onslaught, only adding more corpses to the ground.
"Hey!" Dai Yang held his spear across his chest, wiping the sweat from his brow. The bravery of the Peace Army had exceeded his expectations. Although he hadn't encountered any enemies yet, the depletion of his spiritual energy was making him pant heavily. But in just a moment, a group of Lan Kingdom soldiers beside him fell down, and what appeared before him was a burly man clad in heavy armor.
Before the Peace Army general could speak, Dai Yang thrust out his steel spear, the tip reaching the general's chest in the blink of an eye. The general parried with his spear, and both men shuddered violently, their warhorses neighing in unbearable pain.
"What strength!" Dai Yang shouted. Using the momentum from being knocked away by the man, he raised his steel spear in an arc through the air. When it reached its highest point, he endured the soreness and numbness in his arms and exerted his strength again. The steel spear, carrying a burst of energy, slashed down like lightning. Although the spear blade was not very sharp, if it hit him squarely, the head of this Peace Army general would probably be chopped off in half.
The peace army general dared not take the blow head-on again and tried to dodge, but while he avoided the head, he could not avoid the shoulder. The chainmail on his right arm was cleaved open, and a piece of skin and flesh was sliced off, revealing the white arm bone!
The Peace Army general cried out and dropped his gun, fleeing. Dai Yang spurred his horse forward and thrust his spear at the general's back again, but the Peace Army general was very alert and ducked to avoid the fatal blow. As Dai Yang was about to attack again, a squad of Peace Army soldiers surrounded the general, protecting him. Dai Yang thrust his steel spear five times in quick succession, and five more Peace Army soldiers were either wounded or killed.
Dai Yang took a breath; the soreness and numbness in his arms intensified. Although he had wounded the Peace Army general, it had also depleted a significant amount of his spiritual energy. Just as he was about to swing his steel spear again, a Peace Army soldier suddenly thrust out a spear, aiming it at Dai Yang's neck. Dai Yang felt a numbness in his neck but no pain. He gripped the spear shaft with his left hand and swung the spear horizontally with his right, decapitating the Peace Army soldier.
After killing several Peace Army soldiers in succession, Dai Yang felt a sticky sensation on his neck. He touched it and found his hand covered in blood. A general beside him, seeing his serious injury, quickly protected him, saying, "General, retreat and bandage your wound before continuing the fight!"
"A true man bears the weight of the nation's favor; how can he retreat in the face of battle!" Dai Yang shouted, glancing around. The Peace Army's counterattack was gradually closing the gap created by the Lan Army. If the divided Peace Army could retreat smoothly, the battle would return to equilibrium. Dai Yang tore off a piece of his clothing, tied it haphazardly around his neck, and charged into the Peace Army's ranks again, spear in hand. The Lan Army soldiers around him were inspired by him, their fighting spirit soaring, and they crushed the Peace Army's counterattack with unstoppable force.
The ground was already a muddy mess of blood. Yang Zhenfei, caught up in the frenzy of battle, had thrown aside his helmet and was wielding his double axes like a chariot. When he finally snapped out of his rage and looked around, he saw that of the hundred or so men who had followed him, fewer than ten remained on horseback. He cried out, realizing the danger, and turned to fight his way back, but they were surrounded. How could they possibly break through? After fighting for a while longer, his horse was cut down by a Lan soldier. He flung off the stirrups and with a single axe stroke, cut the Lan soldier in two. But without his horse, it was even harder for him to fight his way out.
The battle had been raging for a full hour. Yang Zhenfei was already covered in blood. Seeing no hope of escape, he laughed wildly instead of showing fear. As he laughed, a spear pierced his left leg. He bent his knee and knelt on one knee. His axe followed the spear, severing the arm of the Lan Kingdom soldier. But then, more weapons came flying at him. Seeing that he could not protect himself, he screamed and closed his eyes.
But just then, a thunderous roar rang out, striking even amidst the millions of soldiers like a thunderclap. Yang Zhenfei looked up and saw Lan Qiao wielding his giant sword like a windmill, cutting down enemies attacking him at near-human speed. The giant sword, more than twice the size of an ordinary longsword, though unsharpened, rendered both men and their armor as fragile as paper under Lan Qiao's onslaught.
"Mount up!" Lan Qiao beheaded a Lan Kingdom general with a single sword stroke, snatched his reins, and tossed them to Yang Zhenfei, who was still on the ground. Yang Zhenfei, his spirits lifted, endured the pain in his leg and sprang to his feet. But as he mounted the horse, Lan Kingdom soldiers nearby stabbed it to the ground. Lan Qiao roared, "Who's stopping me?" The warhorse neighed and knocked the Lan Kingdom soldier down. Before he could get up, Lan Qiao's greatsword had already cleaved him in two. Then, the greatsword's technique changed, from sweeping, powerful strikes to elusive, unpredictable movements. The surrounding Lan Kingdom soldiers were forced to retreat slightly under his ghostly attacks. Lan Qiao freed his left hand, grabbed a Lan Kingdom cavalryman from his horse, and threw him aside. Yang Zhenfei immediately grabbed the mane and mounted the empty horse.
The horse struggled desperately, but couldn't break free from Yang Zhenfei's grasp. Seeing that he was already firmly seated, Lan Qiao shouted, "Go!"