Longzang

Chapter 196 Entering a Dead End (Bonus Chapter)
Facing a group of hundreds, Wei Yuan unleashed a beam of platinum spear light, completely shattering the green aura gathered by the enemy. The Pure Domain of the Mortal Realm descended upon these witch warriors, instantly subjecting them to excruciating pain, as if scalded by boiling water.

However, the captain under the banner took out a small hexagonal bottle and activated it with magic. A stream of green liquid sprayed from the bottle's mouth and splashed onto the banner. The banner immediately emitted billowing green mist, protecting the entire force once again.

Wei Yuan had lost count of how many times he had seen the Witch Clan replenishing the Witch Domain's vital energy. Those hexagonal vials must be very expensive, but the Witch Clan generals used them without a second thought. They relied on these disposable magical artifacts to wear down Qingming.

The battle raged fiercely between the Pure Realm of the Human World and the Green Realm of the Witch Realm, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

Cui Yu led the Foundation Establishment cultivators out of the formation, leaving thousands of corpses in the main witch army formation, a wound that was difficult to heal. As soon as they left the witch formation, all the cultivators' auras plummeted, with the vast majority regressing to the Great Perfection of Body Tempering and Jade Bone Realm.

Wei Yuan led his knights out of the witch formation. The witch army's formation had practically transformed into a witch domain, where the power of the Azure Netherworld was almost imperceptible. Wei Yuan only managed to bring most of his knights out thanks to the blessing of the vast land and the power of luck.

The main battlefield remained a meat grinder. The human army had the advantage in strength, while the witches outnumbered them. Every moment, dozens or even hundreds of people from both sides fell and died.

The cycle of opening and closing of sentient beings has already occurred six times. The pool in the azure abyss has once again run dry, and the azure energy in the sea of ​​consciousness has less than a hundred strands left.

Despite the immense blessing of good fortune, one of the sixteen young masters and ladies of noble families still died in battle, so much so that Wei Yuan couldn't save him in time.

Amidst the vast landscape, Jade Mountain has already lost some of its luster.

It was summoned countless times, to the point that the Wu tribe, suffering heavy casualties, would attack Jade Mountain simultaneously upon seeing it. Jade Mountain was often destroyed by countless witchcraft spells as soon as it materialized.

Protected by the primordial energy of the Witch Domain, these Witch Clan troops were exceptionally difficult to kill. When Wei Yuanyu Mountain fell, it could knock down hundreds of people, but once it was withdrawn, half of them could get up and fight again.

After breaking through the enemy lines, the chief general of the Wu tribe finally sounded the horn, withdrew the vanguard troops, and reorganized their formation.

When Wei Yuan looked back, he saw that only 150 riders remained behind him, including young masters and ladies from aristocratic families. These were all genuine Foundation Establishment cultivators!
At this moment, Wang Yu came to Wei Yuan's side and said, "We'll fight again later. Don't waste any more of your luck to replenish me. I know that one of the elders in my family is probably watching from heaven right now. If my life is in danger, he might take action."

"What if he doesn't make a move? Your family's explanation should be similar to mine," Xu Yi asked.

Without hesitation, Wang Yu said, "Then dying on the battlefield would be a worthy death. No one dies on the battlefield, so why can't it be me, Wang Yu?"

Wei Yuan didn't say anything, but patted his shoulder and gave him another boost of luck.

Wang Yu kept his eyes closed and said repeatedly, "There's no need to waste any more luck on me!"

Wei Yuan said slowly, "Perhaps there are many people watching from heaven right now, but you are my people now. I can't let you risk your lives to get your elders to help. Actually, from the beginning, I didn't expect them to help, but the war still has to be fought. After all, this is our war."

Xiao Yu suddenly appeared beside Wei Yuan, his face now bearing a knife wound and his body covered in countless other injuries. He looked at Wei Yuan with unusual seriousness and asked, "Where are the reinforcements?"

Wei Yuan shook his head: "You mean Yue Jinshan? I don't know."

Despite the ferocity of the battle, the primordial spirit accurately recorded the time. An hour and a half had passed since the battle began. At a normal marching pace, Yue Jinshan should have already intercepted the main force of the Witch Army, and the news should have reached the Witch Clan's vanguard by now. Normally, the Witch Clan's vanguard would have retreated upon receiving the news. But instead, they were silently regrouping, clearly intending to fight again.

Xiaoyu suddenly sighed and said, "If I really can't hold on any longer, I'll ask an elder to help me. But after that, I'll have to leave."

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "Then I don't think you'll be able to leave so soon."

But the moment he smiled, it aggravated his wound, causing him to wince in pain.

Xiao Yu was taken aback: "Reinforcements?"

Wei Yuan shook his head: "Most likely... no, not at all."

"Is it possible to win?"

"We can win!" Wei Yuan said with absolute certainty.

Xiao Yu didn't believe it at all. He had also studied military strategy and knew that achieving the current situation was already extremely difficult. At this point, the Witch Army's casualties were approaching 20,000, while the Realm Forces had suffered 5,000 casualties. Even if the world's greatest generals were in charge of the battle, they wouldn't be able to win. But even with this result, they absolutely couldn't win without reinforcements. The Witch Clan's numerical advantage was too great; they could overwhelm Wei Yuan simply by sheer numbers.

Wei Yuan said, "I know you're calculating the military strength comparison, but you've definitely overlooked one thing, me."

"You?" Xiaoyu felt she had considered Wei Yuan thoroughly enough.

Wei Yuan pointed to himself: "With me here, we can't lose this battle."

Xiao Yu rolled her eyes and turned to leave. However, after mentally cursing Wei Yuan, her mood improved considerably. After Xiao Yu left, Wei Yuan suddenly turned back and said to the young masters and ladies of the aristocratic families, "There shouldn't be any reinforcements. After all, you're only here for training. By now, you've done enough for everyone. Those who want to go home can leave. Staying any longer means a real fight to the death."

Upon hearing this, two people hesitated. Seeing this, Wei Yuan said gently, "Go to the main peak now and stay there. You should be fine. It's enough that we've come this far. I will always remember this kindness."

The two young masters looked ashamed, while the young ladies stared at them with murderous intent. However, Wei Yuan waved his hand, imbuing them with a surge of power, and the two slowly rose towards the main peak.

At the summit, Ji Liuli and Zhang Sheng stood side by side. Ji Liuli suddenly tilted his head, as if listening to something, then smiled bitterly: "There are no reinforcements."

"what happened?"

"Previously, Prince Jin issued seven imperial edicts to Yue Jinshan, ordering him to stop advancing, but Yue Jinshan refused each time. Now, someone from the palace has come directly."

Zhang Sheng simply hummed in agreement, indicating that he understood.

Ji Liuli glanced down the peak again and said in surprise, "That guy who wanted to get into the Hall of Merit actually has some skill. He's solved four of my questions and is working on the fifth one now. If you want to make a move, you'll have to wait a while."

Zhang Sheng nodded and asked, "How many questions did you assign in total?"

There are only twelve in total.

Zhang Sheng frowned slightly. She remembered that when Ji Liuli set up the formation, there were hundreds of questions in the question bank. How come there are only twelve left now?

Ji Liuli smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry! Actually, I don't know the answers to the last three questions either. If she can do them, I'll let her do them, the true disciple of the Heavenly Mystery Hall!"

Zhang Sheng was finally somewhat relieved.

In the north, Yue Jinshan stepped out from behind his desk for the first time and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Steward Zhao."

Before Yue Jinshan stood a man with a fair complexion, no beard, wearing a light red robe and a blue ribbon around his waist; his age was impossible to discern.

The man said in a soft voice, "General Yue really thinks we're not busy enough, that he insisted we travel tens of thousands of miles to see you."

The man before me is Zhao Tong, the chief scribe of the Western Jin Dynasty, whose power in the palace is second only to Liu Quangong, the chief scribe.

"This humble general dares not," Yue Jinshan bowed again.

Just as Zhao Tong was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed, and he shouted sternly, "How dare you! We've already arrived, why hasn't the army stopped yet?"

“The chief steward is a palace official; he should not interfere in military affairs,” Yue Jinshan said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

At this moment, Chen Dao's voice rang out from outside: "General Zhao cannot interfere in military affairs, but I, the governor, can, right? Your soldiers all belong to my Ningxi Prefecture, yet you still disobey orders. Do you intend to seize power and establish your own regime?"

Yue Jinshan sighed deeply, knowing that it was too late to do anything about it.

Chen Dao walked in and said, "If I hadn't come, you wouldn't know how long you would have kept up your stubbornness! Hurry up and apologize to Steward Zhao!"

Yue Jinshan's face was stern, but he still bowed deeply.

Chen Dao tugged at Steward Zhao's sleeve and whispered, "Steward, you've come a long way and mustn't return empty-handed. Old Yue may not be good with words, but he's very efficient. I'll have him prepare a generous gift for your return journey to the palace."

Zhao Tong's face finally lit up with a smile, and he said, "I must go back to report now, but at least the matter has been accomplished, so I can explain it to His Majesty. His Majesty is still waiting in the palace, so I won't stay any longer. Forget about the gifts."

Chen Dao said seriously, "How can this be left unresolved? I won't be able to get over this until Old Yue has paid a price. Don't worry, the gifts will be delivered to your residence within three days. Just accept them."

Zhao Tong nodded: "Since it is Lord Chen and General Yue's good intention, I will not stand on ceremony."

Chen Dao pulled Zhao Tong aside and whispered, "Old Yue has offended the King this time and truly deserves to die. However, the situation in Ningxi is perilous. If we send another commander and they suffer a defeat, my life will be in danger. Although Old Yue has many flaws, he can still recognize the true gods and is indeed a capable fighter. What do you think..."

"I understand. I'll go back and tell the King that he can still be the Admiral, but he'll have to pay a three-year salary deduction."

(End of this chapter)