Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 338 seems like a melon, like a dream.

Lu Xingzhou didn't care at all what would happen to Prince Jin. He could just give him a push without any cost, so he didn't care what happened.

He rushed around all day and finally reached the edge of the battlefield.

Fortunately, Huo Zhang was with us. The journey was very comfortable. Whenever we encountered a city or pass, no one questioned us when they saw Huo Zhang's face. The group flew over directly from above, just like going home.

The northern frontier remains Huo Xingyuan's territory, which he has cultivated for ten years, and Huo Zhang thrives there.

Huo Xingyuan led his army directly north, which was much closer than Lu Xingzhou's approach of first reaching the northwest border to meet Si Han and then advancing east. However, Lu Xingzhou's hundred-odd men flew all the way and arrived a little faster than Huo Xingyuan.

Lu Xingzhou had no time to care where Huo Xingyuan was. His gaze immediately fell on the distant horizon, where powerful energy was overflowing and the sounds of battle were deafening, as if a fierce attack and defense were taking place.

"That's Guiyuan City over there." Huo Zhang looked quite pleased. "It seems it hasn't fallen yet. We've come at just the right time."

I never expected that fat and bloated city lord to be so capable. I underestimated him. Huo Zhang has never been so satisfied with his personnel.

Lu Xingzhou declined to comment, only saying, "Then let's say he's lucky to have saved this city first."

He never intended to get involved in the main battle between Gu Zhanting and Long Qinghuang. He didn't want to help Gu Zhanting or offend Long Qinghuang too much. The reason he was so eager to get people to join the battle was entirely for the sake of a certain "brother".

However, everyone lacked information. Lu Xingzhou didn't know where Gua Mei was—whether she was trapped on the main battlefield or out on a scout mission. Logically, while Gua Mei was quite responsible, she also had a bit of a spoiled brat's air about her; she wasn't the type to be so stubborn as to perish with the city. Scout missions were flexible, and if she happened to be out on missions at the time, the possibility of her running away was quite high.

Ideally, I'd find out she's already run back to Beijing; then I'd be happy even if my trip was for nothing.

The plan to save one city first was to consult with the local general to understand the situation; it didn't matter which city it was.

Upon approaching the city and seeing the commander on the city wall from afar, Lu Xingzhou was completely dumbfounded.

The setting sun was like blood. The female general was wearing armor, her cloak fluttering in the wind. There was still blood on her face, and her eyes were tired but resolute.

The girl, who was already quite spirited, looked even more dashing now.

The composition is absolutely gorgeous, but the subject is wrong.

Hey, what are you doing, Hey? How come you're the commander of this city? Since when did the scout battalion and intelligence battalion need to do this kind of work?
Seeing the situation again, Lu Xingzhou became even more anxious. He took a pill to replenish the energy lost from days of flying and quickened his pace again: "Quick, save them!"

Before his transmigration, when Lu Xingzhou watched Nezha in the movie theater, he complained about how the defense in the cultivation world involved slashing each other with swords on city walls. What was the point of city walls? Wouldn't it be easier to just fly in and cause destruction?

And that's exactly how it happened. Because the city had its own no-fly formation, enemy generals couldn't fly either and had to climb the city walls. So the scene looked just like a war in the ordinary world.

"Clang!" A long spear came like lightning. Sheng Yuanyao held her sword horizontally in front of her, using the blade as a shield to block the spear. The force surged, and Sheng Yuanyao staggered backward. The opponent had already climbed onto the city wall.

Before Sheng Yuanyao could even catch her breath, she paused slightly, then sprang back, slashing her blade at the opponent's forehead.

If she hesitated even for the slightest, her soldiers would suffer casualties.

The opponent is a fierce general who has just entered the third rank. She, who is only halfway to the third rank, can barely hold her own with the help of the city's formation. Others would hardly be able to defeat her in a single blow.

The enemy demon general parried the blow with his spear, his tone showing considerable respect: "Young lady, thanks to the array's enhancement, your strength is roughly equal to mine... but your understanding of power is insufficient. By constantly forcing your way through, you're accumulating internal injuries. If you continue, it might damage your very foundation. Even if we retreat, you might never be able to advance any further. You clearly have a bright future, almost at the third rank, why bother?"

Sheng Yuanyao remained silent, her slashes growing ever faster.

A lack of understanding—isn't that just about accumulating understanding on the battlefield?

Running away was out of the question. The former city lord, who had packed his valuables and sneaked out of the city, still had his head hanging at the enemy camp's gate.

What else can we do but fight back, surrender?
She, Sheng Yuanyao, could run, but she could not surrender.

Although this battle was somewhat unexpected for Sheng Yuanyao, the enemy was not ruthless and even had a gentlemanly demeanor during the siege, which made Sheng Yuanyao's understanding of the demon race almost collapse.

The man-eating demons seen in Dongjiang Xiazhou and the demon with the air of a powerful being before me, are they really from the same race?
In fact, similar conversations had taken place quite a few times in the past two days, and the other party, undeterred, repeated, "These border cities originally belonged to our demon realm. They were taken away by Huo Xingyuan over the years, and we are simply taking them back. The humans living here were originally under our rule, and we never intended to slaughter our own people."

Sheng Yuanyao initially could hardly believe it.

But at least the premise is correct: this hundred-mile border was indeed expanded by Huo Xingyuan a few years ago. Before that, these areas were indeed the territory of the demon race, and it hadn't been many years since the flag was changed.

Of course, there weren't originally so many cities; many satellite cities were built by Huo Xingyuan. But Guiyuan City is different. It was originally one of the border cities of the demon race, where humans and demons lived together. After the war, the demon race all withdrew, leaving behind only humans, so it looked like a human city.

Two days ago, when the demon general mentioned this matter, Sheng Yuanyao even asked an old man in the city that evening, and the answer she received surprised her even more.

The old man believed that after being taken over by Huo Xingyuan, they were treated worse than demons.

The old man said that the demon race consisted of many different groups, each with vastly different ways of thinking, even more so than humans and demons. Among them, the dragon race considered itself the legitimate ruler, even the rightful sovereign of all living beings, and therefore treated all races very well during its reign.

The demon race is now ruled by the dragon race.

After all, it was a dragon, and many humans called themselves dragons; it wasn't some random thing. Sheng Yuanyao believed that.

But no matter how nicely you speak, the Sheng family hasn't surrendered. Don't tell me you're some kind of demon race; even if you were an enemy nation of humanity, it wouldn't work. "In fact, many humans have always lived in the Demon Realm, and even now, His Majesty still has many humans working for him. If you surrendered, Your Majesty would surely appreciate you, and you would at least become a general. Why did things turn out like this… You're not even the city lord, are you? You're just a temporary replacement officer, seizing power to defend the city—it's both admirable and laughable… Is this how humans use talent?"

Sheng Yuanyao simply said, "Even if you praise me to the skies, no one in the Sheng family will surrender."

The demon general sighed: "If we can't use the enemy's talent, then we certainly won't let her live. Don't you understand, young lady?"

Despite being injured and exhausted and on the verge of collapse, Sheng Yuanyao felt a surge of heroic spirit: "You're not confident of defeating me either, otherwise why would you keep babbling on? Even if I die here, it's only because I'm not skilled enough, so why say more!"

The demon general shook his head helplessly, realizing his good intentions had been misunderstood.

He really felt that this girl had a tough time. With the commander deserting and the army demoralized, this girl single-handedly took on the responsibility of defending the city and managed to rekindle the fighting spirit of the disorganized troops. A mere thousand soldiers stationed in an isolated city held off them for three days.

The demon general figured His Majesty would particularly like this kind of girl and wanted to take her back for him. But the girl didn't appreciate his good intentions and was determined to die.

But isn't that precisely what makes it admirable? It's truly a contradiction for demons.

Unfortunately, she was not a third-rank official after all, and relying on the array to enhance her strength was not a long-term solution. It was obvious that she was already at her limit and could not hold on much longer.

The spear transformed into a rainbow, striking Sheng Yuanyao's heart once more.

Sheng Yuanyao parried with her sword, and was about to slash back when a sudden sharp pain shot through her abdomen, causing her to lose strength and preventing her from delivering the slash.

Knowing that the demon general's previous words were not empty threats, she realized that the hidden injuries she had accumulated over the past few days were beginning to have an effect.

Her movements were flawed; how could the other side miss such an opportunity?

The spear tip gleamed coldly and arrived in an instant.

Sheng Yuanyao squinted as if blinded by the cold light, as if she could see the setting sun in the sky.

It's round and red, it looks like a melon.

I'm afraid I'll never be able to enjoy this gossip again... There will never be someone like that person who suddenly appeared at Qingyao Garden, picked me up, and helped me escape Ye Wufeng's fatal sneak attack.

"Whoosh!" The spear tip, which was expected to be fatal, failed to pierce through. The demon general seemed to have encountered some strange problem, his expression changed drastically, and he quickly swept the spear backward.

With a "bang," the spear that had troubled Sheng Yuanyao for three days suddenly turned into ice, and then shattered into pieces.

Si Han, the leader of Tianshuang Kingdom.

Only with his peak first-grade strength could he threaten the demon general from a great distance, forcing him to return his spear to save himself.

The next moment, a figure flew over, grabbed Sheng Yuanyao, and pounced to the side.

Several other demon soldiers' blades swept past from the left and right, the wind whistling through the air.

Sheng Yuanyao was thrown backward with great force, her back slamming heavily against the wall, her eyes momentarily glazed over.

How can it be……

How could Lu Xingzhou have traveled so far to appear here?
Lu Xingzhou didn't have time to pay attention to her dazed look. He directly kicked several demon soldiers behind him off the city wall with a spinning kick.

The next moment, shadowy figures appeared as hundreds of powerful figures descended into the air.

The demon general was dumbfounded: "Si Han!"

Despite their small number, these are the elite of the Heavenly Frost Kingdom, with Si Han being a peak first-rank expert. With the help of the Bone Dragon, he is a ruthless character who can go toe-to-toe with the Demon Emperor.

He could wipe out his entire besieging army by himself!
How could such a terrifying force appear in such a small, dilapidated city? Since you've launched a surprise attack, shouldn't you be on the main battlefield facing His Majesty?

Si Han looked at Lu Xingzhou, asking how to deal with this demon army.

Lu Xingzhou's face was filled with anger: "They bullied my melon... Yuan Yao, chop them all up!"

"Wait!" Sheng Yuanyao suddenly realized, "Spare their lives, lock them up first."

Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment: "What, was he about to kill you?"

“On the battlefield, this is how it should be. I don’t blame him.” Sheng Yuanyao’s gaze remained fixed on Lu Xingzhou’s face, and she spoke in a somewhat dreamlike manner.

The setting sun cast its glow, and all was quiet.

Three days and three nights of attack and defense suddenly came to a standstill here. The person in my heart appeared before me like a divine warrior descending from the heavens... It was like a dream that could end at any moment.

(End of this chapter)