Longzang

Chapter 494 Resolutely Facing Death
Nine hundred miles away in the azure sky, the great lake here has expanded to a radius of one hundred miles, with as many as six rivers diverted to flow into it.

A magnificent altar was built in the center of the lake. At this moment, several figures stood on the top of the altar, each with a majestic presence and a unique appearance, like several huge mountain peaks squeezed onto a small altar.

The space within a thousand feet was clearly distorted, and a huge vortex hundreds of miles long appeared in the sky. It could be felt that a terrifying will from beyond the heavens had noticed this place, but the power rising from the altar blocked its vision.

Hongye stood atop the highest point of the altar, gazing at the blood pool at its center. Suddenly, a beam of black light shot forth from the center of the blood pool, piercing straight into the sky!
At this moment, it was as if a hole had been torn open in the sky, and a thick curtain of light descended, from which runes several meters in size continuously fell.

Each of these runes was extremely complex, containing profound principles of heaven and earth, and changing infinitely depending on the content they expressed. Heaven had actually directly transformed its will into runes and cast them down to earth, displaying them before the assembled sorcerers!
These runes were extremely complex, profound, and difficult to understand. None of the six sorcerers present could recognize them all; each could only decipher a few. Even this small amount of information was enough to shock them.

Hongye was the only witch who deciphered all the runes, and her face slowly revealed wild joy.

His voice immediately resounded throughout the entire city of witches: "The Ancestral Witch has given a revelation that we will surely win this battle! He will also open the Holy Kingdom to receive the fallen in this battle. You will all die for the Ancestral Witch, and you can all go to the Ancestral Witch's kingdom in heaven as holy spirits!"

Tens of millions of witches shouted at the same time, prostrated themselves on the ground, and had tears in their eyes.

……

Wei Yuan suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky. The blue of the sky clearly rippled, and the sun seemed to have distinct ripples on it.

Just now, Wei Yuan sensed the arrival of a terrifying and immense will, seemingly wanting to see through everything in Qingming. This will was different from the extraterrestrial monsters; it carried obvious anger, madness, and intensity, like a burning, smoky fire.

The Azure Stone activated instantly, automatically blocking the gaze of that will. In that instant, the Azure Stone was able to exclude that terrifying will. Besides demonstrating the status of the immortal stone, another possible reason was that this immortal stone was specifically designed to target that will.

Thinking of the immortal's remaining will that had fallen into madness, Wei Yuan felt more and more that this was possible.

Wei Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked at the dark mass of people sitting on the ground in front of him.

The new camp in the north has been put into use, with the first batch of 20,000 people on the list moving in, followed by a second batch of 60,000. Now, a total of 80,000 people are sitting on the training ground, looking up at Wei Yuan.

Looking at these people, these mortals, these mortals who actually had no talent and no luck whatsoever, Wei Yuan suddenly realized that many of them had a knowing and calm look in their eyes. Others, however, were numb and indifferent.

Wei Yuan couldn't help but wonder, did so many people already know his fate?

Historical records show that in such situations, many people would simply scatter, and even if they were forcibly driven to the battlefield, they would crumble at the first contact. Therefore, Wei Yuan prepared many contingency plans, including medicines and secret techniques.

Now that they know their fate, why don't they escape? Why are they sitting here so quietly? At this moment, there is armor and weapons in the camp. Firearms can be used without much cultivation, and they know where they are stored. If they just go and grab them, a mere hundred or so cultivators can't stop them at all.

With a hint of doubt, Wei Yuan said, "As everyone already knows, this battle is a battle to the death. The Witch Clan has mobilized millions and is pressing forward step by step. They will not stop until they have eradicated Qingming and killed everyone on this land! But unfortunately, no matter how you look at it, we may not be able to win this battle."

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the crowd: "Lord of the Realm, didn't you summon us here just to have us die?"

The speaker was a burly man with a nonchalant air about him. Wei Yuan remembered everyone's information here and recognized this man as well. His name was Pei Yi. He had settled down in Qingming and now had two children who were still breastfeeding.

Tens of thousands of people remained silent, quietly waiting for Wei Yuan to continue.

Wei Yuan said in a deep voice, "That's right, you will soon be going to the battlefield, and you may not come back alive. It's not wrong to say you're going to your deaths. But every battle you fight, every enemy you kill, will weaken the Witch Clan's strength, deplete their resources, and push us a small step closer to victory!"

Even if we ultimately cannot win, we must take a huge bite out of the enemy and devour it! We may eventually lose this land, but we must ensure that the enemy trembles and trembles at the mere thought of us!

Suddenly, another voice rang out from the crowd: "Sir, is it true that the Lingxiao Hall of Heroes under construction will enshrine the memorial tablets of mortal heroes?"

Wei Yuan said, "Yes. Everyone present today is qualified to be included in the Hall of Heroes, to be revered by future generations!"

A loud laugh suddenly rang out from the crowd: "Hahaha, I never thought that I, Hu Laosan, would have a day when my descendants would remember me!"

"I'm all alone, so it wouldn't be bad to have a place to sleep after I die!"

One voice after another rose and fell, quickly merging into a sea, leaving Wei Yuan speechless.

At this moment, the burly, unruly man named Pei Yi stepped forward from the crowd and came to Wei Yuan, saying, "My lord, although we may not be literate, we understand the principles! You have treated us well, so we will repay you with our lives, it's that simple! Besides, we can be enshrined in the Hall of Heroes after death, such a good thing cannot be left out of me, Pei Yi!"

Another person nearby chimed in, "It's just death, nothing serious! You just need to give the order!"

“That’s right! Only when we come to Qingming can we get a full meal. Now that we’ve enjoyed our blessings, it’s time to fight to the death.” Everyone chimed in, leaving Wei Yuan no room to interject.

Wei Yuan was speechless and could only bow deeply to the eighty thousand mortals.

Once everyone had calmed down a bit, Wei Yuan ordered his men to distribute armor and weapons and teach them how to use them.

At this moment, Feng Chutang appeared beside Wei Yuan, looking at the orderly mortals below, a hint of emotion in her eyes as she asked, "Did you arrange those people just now? You spoke well."

Wei Yuan was taken aback: "Of course not. Did you arrange this?"

Feng Chutang paused for a moment, then said, "...I didn't think that much about it. And even if I had arranged for someone to say these things, they wouldn't have been able to."

Both remained silent for a moment, then Feng Chutang sighed, "What a pity."

He turned and left, saying, "Don't look for me for the next couple of days. I need to think carefully about what was wrong with the books I've read in the past."

The booming sounds pulled Wei Yuan back to reality. A shooting range capable of training a thousand people simultaneously had been built outside the camp for shooting practice. Now, plumes of white smoke rose from the range, and the rocky cliff in front of him was shattered and flying with debris.

Every civilian had to practice shooting before going into battle. Although Qingming was short of ammunition, Wei Yuan still gave each person a training allowance of two rounds. Even if they were to fight to the death, Wei Yuan wanted them to die in a more meaningful way, rather than being slaughtered by the Wu Clan.

On the firing range, the instructors corrected each of their incorrect shooting techniques, and then another volley was fired. This time, the accuracy and technique were much better. Afterward, the group of ordinary people left the training ground and returned to camp to maintain and service their muskets.

Three days later, the world in the western part of Qingming had turned completely green. The thick military aura connected the earth and the sky. Even if one remained still, the military aura would naturally fill the world.

The Wu tribe's canal has been dug to a point two hundred miles in length. With more than ten mobile altars being pushed across the one-hundred-mile dividing line, the Wu tribe's full-scale attack is about to begin.

At this moment in the camp, Wei Yuan activated the Instantaneous Life Technique, allowing everyone to familiarize themselves with the feeling of a surge in power. Then, squads of mortals lined up and left the camp, heading towards the battlefield.

They knew this journey would be their last, but they remained steadfast and calm, resolutely heading to their deaths.

The first four thousand mortals entered Ding'an City directly, where dozens of enlightened warriors were already waiting to guide them into their respective positions.

The position was empty, with each mortal's hundred-man squad assigned a large section of the position. Then, more than a thousand mortals were sent to the position, along with fifty of Qingming's regular troops. In the end, nearly two thousand people entered the position, finally bolstering this section of the defensive line.

The earth trembled more and more violently, and the air was filled with various howls and a cacophony of sounds coming from nowhere. An officer strained his voice, using all his might to make sure everyone could hear him:

"Everyone, take cover! When I say charge, we'll move into the front lines. Those of you next to me, charge with me first. The rest of you stay here and wait for orders before going in! Understand? Don't just throw your lives away!"

A sharp whistling sound came from afar and grew closer. Suddenly, the shelter where everyone was hiding shook violently, and many people fell to the ground, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Charge with me!" the officer shouted, and charged ahead, followed by hundreds of men.

As the others were about to follow, another officer stopped them, so they continued to wait inside the shelter.

The sounds outside suddenly became chaotic, a cacophony of booming, shouts of battle, the screams of humans, and the howls of the witches, making it impossible to hear what anyone was saying. The wind blowing in from outside became scorching, carrying with it the stench of blood and decay, making one want to vomit.

Just then, someone knocked on the shelter door. The officer opened it, shouted, "Follow me!" and rushed out first. Several hundred men followed, while the rest waited.

As soon as they emerged from the shelter, many people were stunned.

In just a short time, the city wall was breached in several places, many witch soldiers appeared on the top of the wall, and firing ports were opened on the sides of the steel bunkers, constantly shooting at the witch soldiers who climbed the city wall.

The officer shot down one of the witches in front of him and charged towards his assigned bunker. The bunker was deserted; numerous witches crowded around the entrance, trying to rush in. Those inside desperately blocked the entrance, all the firing ports spitting fire incessantly.

Without a word, the officer, with the blessing of all living beings, fought his way through and led more than twenty men into the bunker, while the others all fell on the way forward.

A moment later, the remaining men in the shelter launched another attack. A new mixed force of two thousand men entered the shelter to await orders.

Within just half an hour, the first batch of troops in this shelter had all been killed in action.

(End of this chapter)