All the evil beasts in the world, I feed on demons and monsters

Chapter 178 Long live the dead!

The setting sun was crimson on the horizon, edged with brilliant gold behind the surging leaden clouds. A light rain fell intermittently, dampening the twilight.

Luo Rongguang's brain went blank at that moment.

His clothes were tattered, and his left shoulder was wounded, blood still seeping out. Behind him, a blood-red ferocious lion loomed, licking its wound.

His soldiers, his personal guards, followed closely around him. Each of them was dressed in neat new military uniforms, carrying German-made rifles and magazines. At this moment, every one of them exuded a fierce, bloodthirsty aura.

He stared blankly at the head suspended in mid-air, all the questions he wanted to ask stuck in his throat!
He recognized the head!

Commander-in-Chief of the Auson Empire! Kovido!
How did his head end up here?!

Luo Rongguang slowly touched his cheek; the blood was still warm, indicating it had been freshly cut off.

Wow!
At that moment, hurried footsteps came from the alley not far away, and Zhu Yu rushed out of the alley covered in blood!
Behind him, a large number of members of the Boxer Rebellion, including those from the Azure Dragon Altar and the Black Tortoise Altar, came out!

Song Lian was covered in an almost solid layer of white armor, and held a long spear made entirely of spirit in his hand!
Behind Hou Ye was a huge, burly phantom, with blood flowing from the spear in his hand, which condensed on the spearhead!
During the battle, at the beginning, almost all the Boxers were fighting in a chaotic melee! When they encountered small groups of Japanese pirates, they were almost all slaughtered!

Even senior brothers who had guardian deities were killed by Japanese pirates in their recklessness!
The power of firearms can shatter guardian deities in a barrage of attacks!
Until Zhu Yu appeared!

He was like a born strategist and conductor! He could use the simplest and most understandable instructions to plan and command the illiterate Boxers.

It was Ji Ran's beheading of the remaining high-ranking warriors that tipped the scales of the war in his favor.

now.

Beneath the leaden clouds, the blood-red setting sun cast its rays upon everyone's faces.

A sparse crowd emerged in the streets and alleys behind the ruins.

Ji Ran stood up.

Pfft!
The head of the Austrian commander rolled to the ground, mingling with the corpses, indistinguishable from the rest.

All the Boxers, especially those with guardian deities, felt their hearts and minds tremble as they stood here!
Not just what's in sight!

Before my eyes, the setting sun and cold rain fell, and corpses lay everywhere! Countless bodies were spread out on the ground! Those Japanese pirates seemed to have been killed in an instant, their formation not even breaking apart.

The Grand Duke of Renzi Altar stood there, bathed in the crimson glow of the setting sun.

What horrified the Boxers even more was the sense of terror emanating from the guardian deities! This battlefield was filled with the wails of countless spirits disintegrating!
Recalling the strange phenomenon they had witnessed earlier, all the Boxers understood that it was the Grand Duke Jupiter who had just dealt with all the Japanese pirates outside the village!

Among them was a powerful demon who manifested strange phenomena!
Under the dim light.

Ji Ran's gaze swept across the scene, and almost everyone standing in front of him was covered in blood! More and more Boxers crowded into the alleyway.

Everyone looked at Ji Ran with awe, excitement, and courage.

Only after the flames of war have subsided can the distinction between swans and sparrows be made clear.

Ji Ran understood that the group of Boxers standing before him were the true righteous army! Regardless of their strength, they at least had the courage to draw their swords!

At this moment, some people could no longer stand and leaned against the wall, collapsing to the ground.

The noise gradually emerged as people relaxed.

"Did we win?"

At that moment, Ji Ran's voice rang out, instantly silencing all other sounds!
Luo Rongguang's eyes flickered.

Has prestige really fallen to this level?!

Luo Rongguang had never heard of Ji Ran before, and he had not heard of the matter in Langshan.

He only knew Liu Heqin and Yan Ke about the Boxer Rebellion. He never expected this young man to have such prestige!
Ji Ran quietly looked at everyone.

The bloody battle of Langshan, the chaos in Bohai, the public trial of the Boxers, and the crushing of the Japanese invaders!

Just today, how many people didn't see the Grand Duke Jupiter roaming the alleys, saving people and killing Japanese pirates?
Prestige and influence are earned little by little through hard work and dedication.

Ji Ran looked at the silent crowd and said, "The enemy's ironclad warships are on the sea, heading towards us, towards Dagu Port!"

hum!
moment!

The ruins were filled with the sounds of people talking!
Luo Rongguang's eyes widened in disbelief!

"you sure?!"

He immediately stepped forward and said, "These Japanese pirates only attacked during the day! How could they have arrived at night?!"

Bang!
Ji Ran simply kicked the head on the ground lightly and said, "Just chopped off."

Luo Rongguang's face paled, and his breathing became heavy. He said, "So... when the Japanese pirates came, their fleet was already prepared! They set off from the Bohai Sea... almost at the same time!"

As a general, Luo Rongguang was also one of the few generals in the Jing Dynasty who had fought in many battles. He spent most of his life in the officialdom through fighting in war!
In an instant, he understood!

If it weren't for the Boxers' incredible bravery and the sheer power of this powerful figure, the Japanese pirates would most likely have driven everyone here towards the Dagu Forts!

At that time, with the fleet bombarding and the army encircling and suppressing, the fall of the entire Dagu Port will only be a matter of time!
Ji Ran didn't look at him again, but walked into the crowd.

Da da da!
He walked toward the direction of the Boxers, and Zhu Yu immediately followed behind him.

Immediately afterwards, Xie Tunan, Qin Pu, Li Yan, Tian Heng and others all looked at Ji Ran's back with firm and respectful eyes.

Zhu Yu's eyes even held a hint of fanaticism!
The domineering nature that Tai Sui Ye has shown along the way is a fulfillment of the promise made at the riverside temple!
"Grand Duke Jupiter".

Someone nearby spoke up, asking, "How many ships are in that fleet? How many men are there?"

Ji Ran turned her head and saw an old man.

The old man wore a headscarf and exuded the aura of a guardian deity. He tightly gripped a red headscarf in his thin, bony hands.

"Twenty or thirty ironclad warships."

Ji Ran calmly said, "They will be several times stronger than the Japanese pirates during the day."

Tick ​​tock!

The rain started falling again, drizzling down.

"So, people are going to die?"

"Yes."

The old man's arm trembled slightly as he said, "My child is dead. When I left home, his child hadn't even been born yet. I was just thinking... seeking justice, seeking justice! How could it be... that he keeps dying?"

The surrounding Boxers showed expressions of misery and terror.

"you--"

Zhu Yu stepped out of the crowd, about to say something, but Ji Ran reached out and stopped him. He quietly looked around.

These Boxers are true men. But they are, after all, ordinary people. Just a few months ago, many of them were honest, hardworking farmers.

It's impossible to be completely transformed in a single battle.

"We...we don't have any ships...how are we supposed to fight?"

Ji Ran looked at the young boxers talking in the crowd and calmly said, "Press forward and fight."

"But they used exploding shells! We...we don't even have any guardian deities!"

"Even with guardian deities, they can't withstand the cannon fire of dozens of ironclad warships!"

"Then they're doomed?!"

……

Among the crowd, the boxers, who had just fought a day in fierce combat, were shivering in the cold rain.

Only by experiencing true bloodshed and fire can one understand cruelty.

"Yes."

"Dead."

Ji Ran suddenly spoke, and everyone around him was stunned, their faces turning pale.

Behind him, Luo Rongguang's face showed surprise!
Enemy at hand!

How could you say that?!
"We're all going to die anyway, so what's the point of all this?"

Among the crowd, Chen Geng, holding a red-tasseled spear, looked gaunt.

He had a fresh knife scar on his cheek, and his waist and abdomen were roughly wrapped in bandages, from which blood was still seeping out.

Beside him, Wang Qi, the one-armed boxer whom Ji Ran had previously saved, tugged at his master's sleeve. Ever since Wang Liao was beheaded by the Grand Duke, his master had been in a daze.

Otherwise, with his skill, he wouldn't have been shot by a few ordinary Japanese pirates in battle!
Chen Geng stared intently at Ji Ran and said sadly, "If we're all going to die..."

"What difference is there between dying now and dying on your trial stand that day!"

The voices of the surrounding Boxers quieted down.

Ji Ran calmly responded to Chen Geng's gaze and said, "Nothing is different."

"Whether you get your head chopped off, blown to pieces by artillery fire, or leave here now and die of old age someday in the future, it doesn't matter. It's all the same. It's all just death."

Ji Ran walked closer to Chen Geng, and raindrops fell into his eyes as they streamed down his forehead.

"You think that death is completely meaningless, right?"

Chen Geng trembled, but gripped the gun barrel tightly.

In the darkness, amidst the ruins, lay countless corpses. The Japanese pirates had been almost entirely wiped out, but the number of members of the Boxer Rebellion, though not counted, was certainly no less than ten thousand!

Because of the existence of masters like the Demon and his senior brother, the combat efficiency in this world is extremely high. If a player is at a disadvantage in a small battlefield, the opposing master will immediately emerge as a sharp blade, completely crushing the opponent!
In this battlefield mode, casualties are extremely high!

If it weren't for his presence, the Boxers and Green Standard Army at Dagu Port would not have been able to withstand them! They could only retreat to the Dagu Port forts and rely on the forts to defend against these Japanese pirates!

In doing so, the fleet coming from the ocean behind them would inevitably lack defensive firepower! This was also the original objective of the Japanese pirate army!
It wasn't just the bandits who died!
And these are the comrades-in-arms who live and work alongside these boxers!

"Are those who have died, those comrades who lie beside us and have sacrificed their lives, meaningless?"

Ji Ran's voice was calm, yet it carried with exceptional clarity to everyone's ears.

"No! No!"

suddenly!

Ji Ran's voice suddenly rose in pitch!
"We will give meaning to the deaths of these people!"

"The speed, the intensity, and the value of their sacrifice are all starkly clear to us!"

"They are martyrs! They are heroes! They are tragic! They are courageous!"

"It's all defined by us, the living people!!"

Ji Ran looked at Chen Geng and suddenly waved his hand!
"Wang Liao."

"He repented before his death, and his screams could awaken even one person; his will has been entrusted to others!"

Wang Qi stood to the side, stunned as if struck by lightning! Her lips trembled.

boom!
No guardian deity appeared on Ji Ran's body, but the aura he exuded made the guardian deities within everyone tremble!

In the drizzle, Ji Ran strode towards the Dagu Fort!

His right hand was raised high, pointing into the distance!
"You can choose to leave! Killing the Japanese pirates and defending Baihe, no one will call you cowards! If you leave now, I, Tai Sui, will acknowledge you as true heroes!"

"But if you leave, will those jackals spare anyone? They will come with knives and guns to trample on your hometown, your Tianjin, and your country!"

"The church will still stand on your land, smash your ancestral halls, abduct your wives and daughters, and insult your faith!"

"Abandon illusions, prepare for struggle! With your flesh and blood, his bones! Push the enemy out! This is the only way we can fight against this cruel world!"

Bang!
Ji Ran clenched his fist in his chest, his voice powerful and resonant!

"deceased."

"Long live!"

Wow!

Rain poured down, stirring up a chilling mist. Everyone looked at that retreating figure, like a banner waving in the dim light of night!

Just like on the mountain, he was all alone, amidst the roar of flames and the green gauze!
But that solitary, courageous figure from back then now has many like-minded people behind him.

Hey.

Ji Ran paused slightly beside the old man with the red headscarf and said, "The child is dead."

"The babies in the back must live."

The old man's body stiffened, and his expression, which had been filled with fear, instantly burst into tears.

Ji Ran remained silent, and all the boxers in front of him made way for him! Under the watchful eyes of countless boxers, the brothers of Renzi Altar followed behind Ji Ran!

No one spoke.

All the people of Renzi Altar were already on the banks of the Haihe River, wishing for death!
"Xuanwu Altar!"

Hou Ye stared at Ji Ran's retreating figure, took a deep breath, and asked, "Is anyone leaving?"

Rainwater slid down the rough face of this rugged man.

He looked around at his brothers, staring into their unwavering eyes, and grinned loudly, saying, "Good men!"

"Let's go! Follow me to kill that red-haired devil!"

Boom!

The remaining thirty or forty people at Xuanwu Altar suffered the most severe casualties among all the altars.

At this moment, the remaining people followed closely behind! Some branch altars belonging to the Xuanwu Altar also stepped forward upon seeing this scene!

A red tassel stirred the rain and mist as Yang Kaijiang strode out!

"Yinzi Altar".

Brush and pull!

He spoke calmly, and behind him, dozens of people moved in unison! When he walked to Chen Geng's side, Yang Kaijiang paused slightly and said, "Altar Master Chen."

Chen Geng slowly raised her head in the rain.

His eyes were red-rimmed, and he looked somewhat lost.

"How will you bear the meaning of the dead?"

Chen Geng was stunned. Watching Yang Kaijiang's departing figure, he suddenly gripped the gun and stepped into the mud! Beside him, Wang Qi's fear had vanished, and he gritted his teeth and followed closely behind!

Song Lian walked away without saying a word. Behind her, no one avoided the gazes that were either timid, resolute, or bewildered.

In chaotic times, if a woman has someone to rely on, who would dare to rise up alone? Behind them all lies the destruction of their families and the death of their loved ones.

The crowd is increasingly splitting apart.

Finally, like an avalanche, they all surged towards the Dagu Forts.

Luo Rongguang closed his eyes, thought of the orders he had given when he arrived, sighed deeply, and said, "The imperial court is ashamed."

But he suddenly opened his eyes, and behind him, a blood lion roared!

"Green camp, stand guard!"

"exist!"

He Sanjia immediately knelt down in the blood!
"Dispatch all Green Standard Army troops to the forefront of the Dagu Forts! Test the guns and prepare to engage the enemy!"

bass!
Luo Rongguang drew his waist knife, his aged face radiant! He strode away!

"Fight to the death today!"

"Anyone who leaves the platform will be executed!"

"I will be executed if I retreat!"

As the rain and wind rise, on the sea, one can vaguely see towering black shadows surging in, densely packed, like giant beasts!

boom!
The Renzi flag was planted in the ground beneath the Dagu Fort!
Ji Ran said to Zhu Yu, "Go and work with General Luo to adjust the personnel and divide them to guard both the land and sea sides."

"Bring out whatever food you have so everyone can eat! Get everyone in a good mood."

Zhu Yu was taken aback and said, "But...we don't have time!"

The ships are right in front of us!

Where can I find the time to manage my diet?
Ji Ran gazed at the enormous, dark shadow in the distance, his voice firm: "Half an hour."

"I will hold off the entire fleet for half an hour."

"?"

Zhu Yu was horrified and exclaimed, "Your Excellency, you—"

"rest assured."

Ji Ran waved his hand and said, "I'm not so desperate as to seek death."

He looked at Qin Pu beside him and said, "Protect me and don't let anyone get close to my body."

As he spoke, Ji Ran immediately sat cross-legged on the beach!

Qin Pu was taken aback for a moment, then immediately replied, "Okay!"

hum!
Qin Pu acted decisively!
The instant Ji Ran closed his eyes, Qin Liangyu's phantom suddenly appeared, her armor covering Ji Ran's body!

Whoosh!
A tiny, blood-red figure shot out!

It stands on the Heavenly Demon Thorn, wears a Fire-resistant Cloth on its head, holds the Spirit Rhinoceros Axe, and has the Yin-Yang Two Qi Bottle hanging at its waist!
In the dim, deep blue night, it looked like a streak of blood-red shooting star!
Slicing through the mist, it slashes at the jackals!
(End of this chapter)