Ascending to the Clouds Alone

The guards rushed forward in a panic, hurriedly lifting the garrison commander up, shouts rising and falling:

"A military doctor! Quickly, send a military doctor!"

Without the protective array, the enemy no longer held back and committed all their forces to the attack!

The roars and charges were deafening, and the breach in the wall widened as the monsters charged wildly.

Seeing this scene before him, Lin Su felt utterly hopeless.

The glint of weapons reflected in the blood-red setting sun, stinging his eyes.

At this point in the war, both sides have revealed all their cards and exhausted all their means. The only thing left to determine the winner is their willpower.

The lieutenant leaped across the mountain of corpses before the moat, landing directly on the city wall. His command, carried by spiritual energy, resounded throughout the battlefield:

"The Eighth Regiment will consolidate its forces and hold the breaches on both flanks! The remaining units will conduct guerrilla warfare and intercept any enemy troops that manage to scale the city walls!"

In no time, the soldiers of the eight combat battalions formed a defensive line with their own flesh and blood, temporarily blocking the fierce attack from the flank.

But the casualties were getting heavier and heavier, soldiers fell one after another, and the number of men was decreasing. They were about to collapse.

The city's defenses were in dire straits, and the sporadic skirmishes that had been taking place gradually turned into a barrage of attacks, repeatedly assaulting the relatively stable main section of the city wall.

Lin Su and the boy stood side by side guarding the battlements, with no chance to catch their breath.

He couldn't remember how long the fighting had been going on. His body was covered with new wounds on top of old ones, and gradually, he could barely hold the gun anymore.

The boy's arm was also a bloody mess, but he never took a step back, just following behind Lin Su closely.

Watching the rogue cultivators and garrison soldiers around him fall or be torn apart by demons, the discomfort and fear of killing for the first time in Lin Su's heart had long been submerged by the cold fighting spirit.

At this moment, he used his last bit of strength to protect the boy beside him, just as Han Xiangyu had protected him back then.

Just as the enemy was about to break through the last line of defense, a sharp sword cry that shook the heavens resounded from the sky!

Immediately afterwards, several powerful spiritual energies pierced through the air and struck the enemy's charging formation, instantly disrupting their offensive.

From the north of the city, the reinforcements from the Dayin Dynasty have finally arrived!

The leading Core Formation cultivator had a stern face, his clothes stained with dust and blood.

It seems that the journey to provide support was not easy.

He swung his sword and landed on the dilapidated watchtower, his gaze sweeping over the devastation of the battlefield before glancing at the garrison commander being carried away by his personal guards.

The pain in his eyes almost overflowed, and before the black-clad deputy general could speak, he said in a deep voice:

"Please forgive my lateness, Mr. Shen."

The lieutenant was covered in blood, his armor torn in several places; the battle had exhausted all his strength and energy.

Seeing reinforcements joining the battle, he was filled with sorrow, and after a few breaths, he slowly spoke:

"Brother Yanzhou... The garrison commander is critically wounded, and most of our brothers have died or been injured. If you had arrived any later, Changqu Town would have become a living hell."

Shen Yanzhou raised his hand and activated his true essence, and the dazzling golden light shield immediately lit up again.

After stabilizing the formation, he said firmly:

"Take the seriously wounded brothers down there, leave this to me!"

The Foundation Establishment cultivators who followed immediately scattered and rushed into the enemy formation.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the enemy army was routed.

Seeing that all was lost and knowing there was no chance of breaching the city, the ferocious creature in the miasma roared twice in resentment before retreating, enveloped in the miasma.

The barbarian soldiers, leaderless, also fled in panic.

The deafening sounds of battle, which had lasted for nearly four hours, finally subsided and returned to silence.

Changqu Town achieved victory, but it was a Pyrrhic victory, a victory utterly devastating.

Nearly half of the city wall has collapsed, and the broken walls and ruins lean precariously in the setting sun, a scene of utter devastation.

The open space in front of the city was littered with corpses, and the cries of the wounded were intermittent, weak and mournful, even the wind seemed to be whistling.

Lin Su, leaning on his iron spear, stumbled down from the city wall, his vision gradually blurring.

However, he could vaguely see Ye Qingqing and the old doctor anxiously looking towards the city wall from the alleyway not far away.

Upon seeing the two, Lin Su's heartstrings relaxed, and the hand holding the gun seemed to lose all strength, causing him to collapse.

Just before he lost consciousness, he caught a glimpse of the boy beside him being supported by a military doctor, and the last vestige of concern in his heart finally settled down.

……

When Lin Su regained consciousness, it was already noon the next day.

He only felt a slightly cool, damp cloth wiping his arm.

The touch is light, yet clear.

At this moment, my bones feel like they've fallen apart, and I'm in unbearable pain.

He wanted to speak, but couldn't open his mouth; he wanted to see where he was, but couldn't open his eyes.

After a few moments of preparation, he struggled and saw the scene around him.

Ye Qingqing was sitting on a low stool, holding a damp cloth in her hand, carefully wiping his arm.

Ye Qingqing's eyes were slightly bluish, indicating that she had stayed up all night watching over him without closing her eyes.

Noticing his movement, Ye Qingqing suddenly looked up, and the wet cloth in her hand fell into the basin beside her with a "plop":

"You're awake."

"Uh... um..."

Upon hearing that Lin Su had awakened, the old man put down the pestle in his hand, walked over, and said:

"It's good that you're awake. The young master was unconscious all night."

After catching his breath, Lin Su asked:

"Where...where is that boy? How is he?"

Ye Qingqing thought for a moment and said:

"Is it the one next to you, around thirteen or fourteen years old? He was probably taken back to the garrison camp by the army medic."

Lin Su nodded slowly, closed his eyes to rest for a moment, and then let Ye Qingqing scoop up the porridge and feed it to him in small sips.

The warm porridge soothed his fatigue and lingering fear.

This small clinic, isolated from the smoke of war, free from killing and death, was his only source of warmth in this chaotic world after losing Han Xiangyu.

After he finished drinking the porridge, the old man took his pulse.

After a few breaths, the old man withdrew his hand and said:

"Everything is fine. Just rest and recuperate and you will gradually recover."

Furthermore, the spirit-locking talisman in the young master's dantian has loosened considerably, perhaps due to the life-or-death struggle on the battlefield, which stimulated his qi and blood.

Lin Su's heart skipped a beat, and he remembered that the momentary soreness in his dantian on the battlefield was not an illusion.

He subconsciously activated the cultivation method recorded in the "Tongtian Baolu" and guided the spiritual energy down the meridians, with a trace entering his dantian.

No longer as airtight as before, the spirit-locking talisman has truly loosened!

Seeing this, the old man spoke up:

"Young master, it's best not to move around too much right now. Take care of your health first before starting your cultivation. That way, you'll achieve twice the results with half the effort."

"Thank you so much for your guidance, esteemed doctor!"

Lin Su wanted to get up to express his gratitude, but was stopped by the old man.

He had no choice but to lie back down, and as soon as he closed his eyes, he drifted off to sleep again...

The miasma outside Changqu Town still lingered, and the gray fog hanging from the distant horizon pressed heavily on the earth, spreading a sense of stagnation and oppression.

Lin Su suddenly regained consciousness after being unconscious for an unknown period of time, but he couldn't open his eyes at all.

However, he could clearly sense that he was surrounded by a vast expanse of green grass.

Where am I? Wasn't I just lying in the clinic?