Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 343 Light and Darkness

Huo Xingyuan felt very aggrieved.

While his title of "a renowned general who expanded territory by hundreds of miles" may be somewhat exaggerated, he was indeed a seasoned veteran, so he at least passed the minimum standard.

He was well aware that going to provide aid in this way carried a high probability of being attacked.

His Majesty should be aware of this, but His Majesty has other plans. In a sense, this reinforcement is meant to create the situation His Majesty desires.

Despite the back-and-forth, His Majesty clearly still held high hopes for his journey.

Whether it's a stalemate with the other side, waiting for His Majesty to settle things, or being utterly defeated and waiting for His Majesty to salvage the situation, those are completely different concepts.

A true general might even be able to secure a victory... If he can defeat the enemy and achieve a great victory in the current situation where he is deep in enemy territory and being watched to intercept reinforcements, then Huo Xingyuan's name will be passed down through the ages, and he can find a place to sit in the Temple of Martial Arts.

Huo Xingyuan had also dreamed of utterly crushing the enemy's main force, sweeping across the northern frontier, successfully rescuing the emperor, and becoming the center of attention.

As long as the cities in the rear don't fall so quickly, his dream still has a chance to be realized.

After all, the time was still short, only three days and nights, yet his army had already marched from the capital directly to the northern frontier, which was a very impressive level of rapid marching, something to be proud of. In this short time, as long as the enemy had not yet taken control of the northern frontier and was still on fire everywhere, once his army arrived, the various cities that were resisting would respond in kind, giving him a real chance to give the enemy a good thrashing.

But reality hit him hard.

He tried to send out scouts to contact various cities, but none of them returned. His advance has been completely unsuccessful.

Have all the cities vanished? And it's only been three days!
Let alone dozens of cities, even if there were dozens of pigs scattered across such a vast area, it might not be possible to catch them all in three days, right?

The fall of all the cities means he's not here to provide reinforcements, but has truly penetrated deep into enemy territory! The cities around him are now responding and attacking him from all angles, making him the enemy instead!

Leaving aside how the demon race found the defensive loopholes and how so many demons managed to bypass the front-line defenses and invade the rear, were the guards of these cities just scarecrows? How could they all be wiped out in a mere three days?

He foolishly thought himself clever, deliberately creating a smokescreen and taking detours... In an environment where enemies are everywhere, doing this is no different from being a clown on a stage, no matter which way he goes, the other side will know exactly what he's doing!
Normally, Huo Xingyuan would have turned around and retreated immediately, but now? He couldn't retreat.

The cry of an eagle came from above.

As if receiving some signal, a fierce wind arose in the darkness, and sand and stones flew from all directions.

Huo Xingyuan looked around and saw countless emerald eyes gleaming cruelly in the darkness.

A violent and incomparable demonic aura rapidly approached, accompanied by a gruff laugh: "You, Huo Xingyuan, have some ability in leading troops, having marched here in three days. Unfortunately, the better your ability in this area, the faster you die. Even you and I would be exhausted after three days of rapid marching, let alone your army!"

"Lion Madman!" Huo Xingyuan took a deep breath. If it wasn't the collaborators who came, this was truly the worst-case scenario.

Regardless of her ultimate goal, Long Qinghuang would never let go of the opportunity to wipe out the elite forces of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The last shred of hope vanished. Huo Xingyuan raised his hand and shouted sharply, "Form ranks! Their main force is still besieging His Majesty. This is just a detachment of the Lion Mad Tribe. There's nothing to fear!"

If it were a fair fight, this elite Beijing army would truly not be afraid of the Lion Mad Tribe.

But what about the current situation? After three days of forced march, everyone was exhausted; they were surrounded by enemy territory and had no way to gain any advantage.

Even though Huo Xingyuan thought he could hold on as long as he held on, the soldiers didn't think so, and neither did most of the generals.

"Clang!" Lion Mad descended from the sky, his heavy blade slashing down on his head.

Huo Xingyuan parried with his sword, and the two swayed slightly, their strength evenly matched.

Huo Xingyuan had pills to replenish the energy lost during the journey, but unfortunately, his soldiers did not. He was able to fight the Lion Madman to a standstill, but his soldiers had no will to fight. As soon as the battle began, some soldiers on the flanks and in the rear had already started to flee.

The battle was on the verge of collapse.

The lion roared with laughter: "Huo Xingyuan, I think your emperor never intended for you to live. He's just using you tens of thousands of people as pawns! Hahahaha!"

Huo Xingyuan's face was ashen. In an instant, the officers and soldiers around him were scattered by the demons, and a group of powerful members of the Lion Mad Tribe attacked with savage smiles.

Huo Xingyuan fought and retreated, sighing inwardly.

It wouldn't be accurate to call it a sacrifice; His Majesty still hoped to hold on, but that was too idealistic, and he couldn't hold on... In essence, it could be considered a sacrifice, because compared to His Majesty's main strategy of plotting against the Demon Emperor, the defeat of an army didn't seem to matter that much to the emperor.

Given the current situation, let alone trying to salvage the situation, Huo Xingyuan himself is even considering running away.

If we're any later, we'll be surrounded by a large army and there won't be any way to escape!

…………

Even many mid- to high-ranking officers knew full well that only by holding on could they survive, and that running away meant certain death, but they could not stop the decline.

The left-wing general was Xiang An, a second-rank general who had participated in the battle ten years ago. At this moment, he thrust his spear through the demon formation and turned back to try to gather the routed soldiers. He was both angry and anxious.

Lion Madman and Huo Xingyuan's conversation was loud and unreserved. Even the high-ranking officers who were initially unaware of the situation understood after hearing this, and Xiang An was so angry he wanted to curse.

Abandoned son!

You're throwing away so many lives!

Everyone has a family and a home. If you abandon your child like this, how many families will be devastated? Is this how you act as emperor?

But once the army collapsed, no matter how high his prestige was, he could not regain control. He could only watch helplessly as the formation fell apart and countless demons surged in from all directions, raising their butcher knives menacingly.

Xiang An was filled with utter despair.

As a member of a family of generals from generations of the Great Qian Dynasty, Xiang An was willing to die on the battlefield. However, in the current situation, Xiang An didn't even know whether he should fight to the death or whether he should run away like everyone else.

If he's willing to run, he still has a chance to escape before they're surrounded. Should he desert?

Or would you rather be a pawn to be discarded and die here meaninglessly?

Xiang An's life beliefs seemed to have been destroyed, and he looked around with a blank expression, sword in hand.

Just as despair was about to be extinguished, a sword's edge swept across the sky.

The flying sword streaked across the night sky, heading straight for the battlefield, like a meteor shower composed of sword energy.

Xiang An suddenly raised his head, his expression filled with joy: "Heavenly Sword Technique! Reinforcements!"

As a member of a family of generals for generations and a second-rank general, Xiang An had met the former Princess Chaohuang, Gu Yitang.

When the meteor shower fell to earth, the first resolute and beautiful face was none other than Princess Chaohuang.
The entire Heavenly Sword Sect is on its way to provide aid!
"Clang!" The flying sword shot straight at a demon general. The demon general blocked it with his shield, coughed up blood and retreated. The pressure on Xiang An's side immediately disappeared.

On the contrary, the demon formation began to fall into disarray, clearly indicating that no one on the demon side had expected reinforcements to arrive at this critical moment.

There are many powerful immortal sects in the Great Qian Dynasty, but if they are not summoned, who has the time to volunteer to come and join the battle? You might even be suspected by the emperor of having ulterior motives.

Where did this sword sect come from?
Seeing that the demon race's momentum had slowed down, Xiang An seized the opportunity to shout, "Reinforcements have arrived! Gentlemen, follow me to kill the enemy!"

Xiang An had a high level of prestige. Some soldiers who had already fled halfway turned around to look, as if there was a chance, and were quickly turned back into a group by Xiang An.

Shen Tang landed in front of Xiang An, who instinctively knelt down on one knee: "Thank you, Princess!"

Shen Tang quickly pulled him back: "This is not the time for formalities. I am no longer a princess. Let's gather the troops first and come with me to rescue others and evacuate everyone safely."

Xiang An also knew that Shen Tang had not sent many people, and that the Tianxing Sword Sect was not a powerful sect. It was only because of their sudden arrival that they could temporarily serve as a surprise force. It would be good enough if they could help stabilize the situation and gather the retreating troops. They could not expect a counterattack.

This single act alone could save countless lives.

He quickly replied, "I know what to do. Princess... I will remember the noble character of Sect Leader Shen. If you ever give me any orders in the future, I will not hesitate to face any danger!"

Shen Tang and Xiang An joined forces and quickly provided support to other parts of the battlefield. They then discovered a thousand-strong team on the other side, led by Lu Xingzhou and Sheng Yuanyao, doing something similar to what she was doing.

The young couple gazed at each other across the battlefield, and smiled knowingly at each other.

Shen Tang is here to act as a savior and make her connections, just like Sheng Yuanyao, whom Lu Xingzhou is with right now.

Many generals will recognize Shen Tang. From now on, what will be Princess Chaohuang's status in their hearts?
Not only was he his savior... but also a benevolent ruler who remained loyal to tens of thousands of soldiers even after the emperor abandoned his son.

Of course, her situation is a bit delicate; she just needs to build up her reputation first, and deal with the rest later. And with the reputation she's built up, it would be unreasonable for Sheng Yuanyao not to become a major general after this battle.

How can we bring Huo Zhang along for such a good opportunity? Let him go if he wants to save his father.

Sheng Yuanyao watched the young couple grinning at each other from afar with a sour look on her face. She also grinned, but not in a smile: "What kind of occasion is this? Haven't you two laughed enough?"

"Saving so many people is more meritorious than building countless pagodas, so what's wrong with Xiaoxiao?" Lu Xingzhou turned his gaze away from Shen Tang and glanced back at Huo Xingyuan's direction.

As the routed troops regrouped, they inadvertently distanced themselves from Huo Xingyuan's battle. Huo Xingyuan's personal guards were almost all dead, leaving Huo Xingyuan to single-handedly deal with the siege of Shi Kuang and his men, and he was now attempting to break through and retreat.

Or are they hoping someone will come to their aid?
There were indeed reinforcements, only one, Huo Zhang, who was fighting his way through the encirclement to rescue his father. Huo Xingyuan had obviously seen him, and it's hard to say how moved he was...

"Then let's give Huo Xingyuan another shock with the arrival of reinforcements." Lu Xingzhou moved behind a mountain wall, slowly put on his mask, and took off his outer robe.

Inside were night clothes that had been prepared in advance.

At first glance, he looks exactly like an assassin from the Underworld.

Then, amidst the chaos of the battlefield, it blurred into afterimages and rapidly approached Huo Xingyuan.

With his son's help, Huo Xingyuan managed to break through the encirclement. But how could Lion Mad let his hard-earned glory slip away? With a roar, he slashed down with his battle blade.

That was the strongest burst of power at the peak of the first rank. Huo Zhang couldn't even withstand the glancing force and was forced to retreat, spitting blood.

Huo Xingyuan suddenly turned his head and flicked his sword at the edge of the battle blade.

"Boom!" The first-class techniques collided violently. Not to mention Huo Zhang, even Lion Mad's personal guards could not withstand the surging energy and retreated one after another, forming a blank circle in the original place.

A blur approached silently, its violent energy overflowing from its body. However, it was absorbed by something, and it didn't even slow down its speed much.

Before Huo Xingyuan could even react, a pair of iron fists had already slammed heavily into his back. All the energy within his body erupted violently, but it was not the Taiji Heavenly Gang he had once revealed in the capital, but the Fiery Prison Remnant Sun, unknown to anyone in the Great Qian Dynasty. The surging and unparalleled power of the flames recklessly crashed into Huo Xingyuan's body.

Even Lion Madman was dumbfounded. Where did this helper from the Underworld come from? So good! I heard that His Majesty fought with the King of Hell at sea. Could it be that they reached some kind of agreement in private?
The natural counterforce of the first-grade power was also too much for Lu Xingzhou to handle. The Tai Xu cycle in his body offset most of it, but blood still flowed from the corner of his mouth and down his mask. Then, his figure flickered and disappeared.

If you take advantage of the situation, run away immediately. Otherwise, Old Deng will turn around and kill you with a single sword strike.

Huo Xingyuan's sword strike missed its mark, and he roared wildly, throwing out some kind of magical weapon. The scene exploded with a deafening roar, and dust filled the sky.

Huo Xingyuan had already grabbed his son and fled without a trace, and even the Lion Madman couldn't stop him.

"Chieftain..." Lion Mad's subordinate asked, "I never expected that Huo Xingyuan, the dignified Marquis of Zhenyuan, would actually abandon his army and run away. What should we do now?"

Lion Madman shook his head: "The Huo family has its own trump card for survival, so it's understandable that they can't be killed immediately. His Majesty didn't expect to kill them either; being seriously injured is already a good outcome. I wonder where this helper from the Underworld came from. If it weren't for him, he might not have been injured like this."

"Shall we hunt down their army? Now that they're leaderless, a relentless pursuit would easily net us at least several thousand or even tens of thousands of heads."

"No need. His Majesty did not come here for a massacre. The results of this battle are already sufficient. We should immediately return to help His Majesty. He has no time for the bigger picture."

(End of this chapter)