"But haven't you already betrayed King Xiang?" Hao Jiu questioned.
"That's why I don't want to betray King Han again! Back then, I was young and arrogant, with no way to use my skills. How could I be willing to live in the shadow of King Xiang's glory! Was my choice wrong? Now I have become King of Qi, but Xiang Yu is about to be finished!" Han Xin roared in his heart.
"Lacks ambition and short-sighted! Hahaha... Xiang Yu is finished, and you'll be next... Ah!" Hao Jiu was as if he had gone mad. Han Xin was truly hopeless!
The black dragon increased the force of its bite. It was puzzled. Didn't its sharp teeth hurt when it bit? This guy still had the energy to persuade Han Xin.
Of course, if Han Xin were willing to ally himself with him at this time, Liu Ji would not have an easy time surviving in Han Xin's camp, and might even be turned around and killed by him.
Unfortunately, this guy's wishful thinking was wrong. There was absolutely no way Han Xin would betray Liu Ji at this time, otherwise Liu Ji would not have dared to take the risk of coming here.
After Hao Jiu was dragged out of the sleeping tent by the black dragon, he lost contact with Han Xin. From the moment he learned that Liu Ji was outside the sleeping tent, Hao Jiu understood many things.
It is 100% certain that the Black Dragon System was able to track his movements before setting up a trap like the welcoming banquet, interrogating Han Xin, confirming his loyalty, and then disguising himself as a guard to come to the Qi army camp.
Hao Jiu understood that Han Xin couldn't be entirely blamed for this. If he had told Han Xin beforehand that Liu Ji also had a system inside him and about his own experiences with Liu Ji, perhaps Han Xin would have trusted him more.
But how could Hao Jiu possibly tell Han Xin all her secrets? Hao Jiu's trust in Han Xin wasn't that great!
Therefore, Han Xin wanted to handle this matter in a moderate way, neither rebelling against Liu Ji nor wanting him to be killed, so as not to offend either side. Hao Jiu had no choice but to accept it.
They couldn't deny it either. Han Xin didn't want the world that was within his grasp, so what could Hao Jiu do?
Should I call for help?
There are no other systems around, so what's the use of shouting for help?
Even if they did, they might not necessarily be willing to act heroically; they might even try to take a share of the spoils.
Hao Jiu glanced at his remaining energy; he only had 26 points left. If he were bitten any longer, he would probably die completely.
The most powerful system in the universe, which should have been invincible, died after exhausting its energy without even finding a host. How tragic!
However, in the short span of a dozen seconds that Hao Jiu was dragged from inside the sleeping tent to outside, Hao Jiu also understood something else.
The little black dragon brought Hao Jiu more fear than anything else. After calming down, the pain of being bitten was nothing compared to the pain he endured when he transformed into a system.
Hao Jiu has even gotten used to this pain and doesn't take it seriously anymore; he could endure ten times the pain.
"You want to kill me? No way! Get out of my way, you beast! My ultimate move, the Ten Thousand Poison Hand!" Hao Jiu suddenly launched a counterattack, his ten fingers pressed together, forming a hand-blade shape that stabbed straight at the black dragon's eyes!
"I am not a beast, I am a dragon!" The black dragon turned its head and slammed Hao Jiu to the ground again. The opponent was a subsystem of a high-level enforcer. How could its ultimate move, which it had been holding back until now, be underestimated? Just by looking at the speed of its hand, one could tell that its power was considerable!
"Die!" Hao Jiu was prepared. Even as he took the impact, he still thrust his hands forward, hitting the black dragon right in the eyes.
"Ah!" The black dragon was startled and pulled back, but then bit forward even faster, because it realized that the opponent's attack was like a scratch, and there was no virus. What was hateful was that it had been deceived by the opponent.
Hao Jiu seized the opportunity and kicked the black dragon in the nose with all his might, bouncing off!
With a snap, the black dragon bit into Hao Jiu's calf and pulled him back sharply, but Hao Jiu was not pulled back.
"That piece of meat is yours!" Hao Jiu had just fiercely torn off the piece of meat from his leg.
Of course, strictly speaking, it can't be considered meat; it's just a part of the data code of Hao Jiu's strongest system. There's no possibility of bleeding; it's just that there are only 20 energy points left.
"Trying to escape? No way!" The black dragon swallowed the data in one gulp, and at the same time, taking advantage of its body length, it caught up with Hao Jiu and bit her.
However, the black dragon suddenly shrank back, arched its body, and convulsed continuously. Its face was extremely ugly, and it vomited out most of what it had just swallowed.
After digestion and analysis were completed, there was nothing useful in that lump of meat, let alone system function modules. It was full of memories related to various movies that Hao Jiu had watched, especially zombie and horror movies!
"Old Hei, what's wrong with you?" Liu Ji sensed something was off about the voice.
"How disgusting..." Black Dragon had lost all interest in chasing Hao Jiu; he was just constantly nauseous. "I take back my original theory. That system is actually garbage and has absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement. Ugh..."
Chapter 20 Surrounded by Enemies on All Sides (Part 3)
It is said that geckos will detach their tails to survive when they encounter danger, and Hao Jiu just experienced it for himself.
However, while a gecko's tail will slowly grow back on its own, the large chunk of flesh missing from Hao Jiu's leg shows no signs of recovery, and even makes him feel like he's bleeding.
Of course, there was no way he would bleed; it was just that his energy was being depleted at an accelerated rate. Even if he did nothing, his energy was still being consumed.
Otherwise, Hao Jiu's escape this time could be considered perfect. Even if he lost a leg, it wouldn't matter. He could just fly when he got tired of hopping on one leg.
After two battles with the Black Dragon, Hao Jiu gained a deeper understanding of his system body. Fifty percent of his body was composed of his memory data, which could be stored in different locations as needed and could be freely swapped.
Just now, Hao Jiu used the time when he was bitten by the black dragon to sort out the memories in his body, transferring all the less useful ones to his two calves. Hao Jiu didn't care at all about losing these memories.
When Hao Jiu thought about the suffering he had endured to inscribe these useless memories into the system, he felt it wasn't worth it. Wouldn't it have been better to use that space to add more useful system functions?
However, this time it was a waste that was put to good use. After swallowing that lump of memory that even Hao Jiu himself found somewhat disgusting, the black dragon vomited so much that it didn't even have the strength to chase after him.
Otherwise, Hao Jiu would have to sacrifice another leg to escape, or he might not be able to escape at all. That guy is not a dragon at all; he's more like a mad dog that just bites. Even if he transforms into a dragon, he doesn't have the ability of a dragon. He's a disgrace to dragons.
But thinking back, that black dragon might not have been a dragon at all. Although it had a head that resembled a dragon's head and a very long body, I couldn't see any limbs.
Of course, Hao Jiu wasn't in the mood to think about what kind of species the mutated system had transformed into. His energy was being consumed rapidly, and he was heartbroken.
After leaving the Qi army camp, Hao Jiu hurriedly found a relatively safe place to stop the bleeding.
Simply put, it involves transferring data from other parts to fill the gap in the calf, but this is much more difficult than simply swapping the data; it's essentially reshaping the shape.
You can use the part that was transformed into clothing to fill it out, or you can use less important parts of the body such as hair, or you can make your body lose weight overall, which is similar to losing weight.
Not having clothes is definitely not an option. Hao Jiu always considered herself a civilized person, especially since she didn't wear much when she transformed, and after taking them off...
As for being bald, that's even worse. Going bald without becoming stronger is just too tragic.
Therefore, Hao Jiu's choice became simple: lose weight overall, and then reduce some fat around his abdomen. It would be great to develop eight-pack abs and become a true male god.
Of course, even if Hao Jiuhua becomes a muscular, handsome male god, it won't make any difference, since no one will appreciate him. But even if no one appreciates him now, he still has to become good-looking first. Maybe he'll be appreciated in the future? Anyway, he's going to do this once, so it would be a waste not to do something else along the way.
To Hao Jiu's surprise, the repair was slower than he had anticipated, requiring him to move and reshape the parts bit by bit. He didn't know how much energy he would have left after the repair was completed.
However, Hao Jiu had already decided that no matter how much energy he had left, he would not activate flight or sprint mode again before meeting Maodun. Instead, he planned to use a more economical way to travel to the Xiongnu, such as hitchhiking and then entering a state similar to hibernation to conserve energy.
Of course, there's no such thing as a free ride in this era. You can only rely on your silver tongue to find someone you're confident you can win over, suggest they go to the Xiongnu to claim a reward or something, and send them off to a life of wealth and honor.
The journey from Hao Jiu's location to the Xiongnu would take him through the Chu army's fortifications. It would take at least several months to get back from the Xiongnu. It would be good to see Xiang Yu and Yu Ji one last time on the way, if there was still time.
Moreover, looking back now, Hao Jiu realizes that Xiang Yu was truly the strongest host in this world, and it would be a real shame to have missed him.
Suddenly, Hao Jiu perked up his ears. This was...
The Chu army's fortifications, the central command tent.
While eating, Xiang Yu and his generals discussed and rejected all the breakout plans they came up with. None of them had a success rate of more than 30%, and more than 70% of them would result in total annihilation. The only difference was how many enemy soldiers they would take down with them.
Horse meat tastes sour and bitter, and the wine tastes worse the more you drink it.
Zhou Yin's betrayal was a fatal blow to the Chu army, and even more so to Xiang Yu.
It is heartbreaking that one's most loyal and upright minister surrendered to the enemy at the most critical moment, cutting off the Chu army's retreat and trapping him in a desperate situation!
If Xiang Yu hadn't been burdened with the responsibility of commanding the entire army, he would have already charged at Xiang Yu and torn him to pieces when they met outside the city.
The discussion gradually stopped, and the atmosphere became completely cold.
"King Xiang, the soup is getting cold, let me heat it up." Yu Ji broke the silence.
Xiang Yu was slightly taken aback, then his gaze softened. "No need. Everyone has eaten their fill and the wine is enough. Besides, the meeting is almost over. Let me pour a cup of wine for the generals first."
"Here." Yu Ji bowed slightly, then poured wine for each of the generals present.
"Let's invite Han Xin to a fair duel tomorrow. He can decide the number of opponents. Perhaps Han Xin is eager for revenge and can give us a chance to severely damage the Qi army. What do you all think?"
Xiang Yu looked around at everyone. This was the only option left. He had no choice but to abandon the defensive advantage of the fortifications and take the initiative to go out and fight, hoping for a sliver of hope.
"Xiang Yu's plan is feasible. After severely damaging the enemy, it will be easier to break out." Ji Bu no longer believes that breaking out tonight is the best option. During the banquet, scouts kept going out to investigate. The enemy's camps were heavily defended. If they could not break through the defenses at a very fast speed, they would be at risk of being surrounded.
"That's right! Even if Han Xin doesn't agree to a fair fight and wants to outnumber us, we must still fight for a great victory!" Zhongli Mei tore off a piece of horse meat and chewed it fiercely.
"agree."
"Let's do it this way."
...
"Excellent! In that case, let's drink until we drop tonight and have a bloody battle tomorrow! Cheers!" Xiang Yu raised his wine cup and looked around at everyone.
"cheers!"
"We won't leave until we're drunk!"
...
The generals all responded enthusiastically, but everyone knew in their hearts that the only one present who could get drunk was Xiang Yu. With a formidable enemy at hand, a general should not drink alcohol, but no one objected when Xiang Yu suggested it.
It was really tough for Xiang Yu. Faced with the blow of betrayal by his confidants and the seemingly collapsing crisis, Xiang Yu still had to try his best to appear calm and indifferent, simply because he was afraid of shaking the morale of his army.
Under such immense pressure, Xiang Yu really needed to release his stress, even if it meant getting drunk.
The wine in his cup had already been swallowed, but Xiang Yu still held his head back and drank for a long time, unwilling to put it down. Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's battle, the Chu army would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.
However, if a large number of enemy troops can be replaced, the chances of the survivors successfully breaking through will increase. Moreover, the more people there are, the larger the target becomes, and the more difficult it is to break through.
Before the Chu army even left the fortified position, the enemy would already know they were trying to break out. What chance would they have?
On the contrary, if the Chu army suffers heavy casualties and inflicts severe damage on the enemy in a bloody battle tomorrow, the remaining Chu army will have a greater chance of success if they first adopt a posture of defending the fortifications to the death and then suddenly launch a breakout.
In the current perilous situation, it would be a stroke of luck if one in ten survived. This means that at least fifty to sixty thousand Chu soldiers would perish on the battlefield of Gaixia. How could Xiang Yu not be heartbroken?
Such casualties are all because of those two traitors, Ding Gu and Zhou Yin! No, there's also Ying Bu, the King of Jiujiang who was the first to pierce his heart!
Suddenly, intermittent singing came from all directions, becoming clearer and clearer. The melody was the Chu Song.
"Gazing afar at Jiangdong, the grass and trees grow wild and boundless; filled with sorrow and grief, I dream of returning to my hometown; the fox dies facing its den, the bird returns to its homeland..."
Chapter 21 Besieged on All Sides (Part 4)
"Gazing afar at Jiangdong, the grass and trees grow wild and boundless; filled with sorrow and grief, I dream of returning to my hometown; the fox dies facing its den, the bird returns to its homeland..."
On this quiet night, on the battlefield of Gaixia, where the air was thick with the smell of blood, the Chu song suddenly rang out, accompanied by the mournful and lingering melody of the flute and the xun. Every line touched the most vulnerable chord in the hearts of the Chu army.
Why are so many people singing the songs of Chu?
Xiang Yu listened quietly, but suddenly realized that with the army besieging the city and the enemy offering to surrender, morale was of utmost importance at this moment.
However, the Chu songs did not inspire anyone to fight, which was very detrimental to the morale of the army!