Chapter 420 - 352: General Xiahou, King Xiangshuang, Please Surrender
Chapter 420: Chapter 352: General Xiahou, King Xiangshuang, Please Surrender
The sounds of battle raged across this nameless plain for a full day and night.
Cultivators fell one after another upon the earth. Blood trickled down, clinging to the blades of grass before dripping off to stain the soil red.
When the sounds of battle finally ceased.
On the main battlefield, most of those left standing were clad in snow-white scale armor.
The last banner of the Wei Kingdom was cut down, falling to the earth.
The Wei Kingdom’s army was utterly defeated.
"Surrender and live! Resist and die!"
Several Captains from the Northern Wilderness Army used their Spiritual Power to broadcast the words across the plain.
Soldiers of the Wei Kingdom dropped their weapons, clasped their hands behind their heads, and knelt on the ground.
Some Wei Kingdom soldiers, however, fought on desperately.
But they were a spent force, and they were quickly silenced.
In the center of the battlefield, an armored, elderly man looked as if he had exhausted every last bit of his strength.
With a soft sigh, he plunged his bloodstained long blade into the earth, then slowly removed his helmet and sat down cross-legged.
The soldiers of the Northern Wilderness Army merely watched the old man, none daring to approach.
Even in his twilight years, this old man of the Dragon Gate Realm was like a tiger, capable of tearing a man to pieces at any moment.
As the Northern Wilderness Army soldiers encircling the old man slowly parted, a man clad in Dragon Scale Armor strode forward.
He removed his helmet, handed his Long Spear to his Vice General, and walked toward the old man.
Finally, Xiao Mo came to a stop before the old man and sat down, cross-legged.
The sun dipped below the horizon, and the crimson of the evening sky mirrored the blood-soaked soil of the plain. Sunlight washed over everyone, outlining Xiao Mo and the old man in a faint, golden light.
"I have lost," Du Beiwang said slowly, his tone calm and accepting.
"Your valor, General, is no less than it was in your prime," Xiao Mo said with heartfelt sincerity.
"Hahahaha..." Du Beiwang looked up, meeting Xiao Mo’s eyes. "To be praised by a youngster who’s still wet behind the ears... I should feel indignant. But hearing you say it, I find it’s actually quite comforting."
Xiao Mo replied, "I am only speaking the truth."
Du Beiwang shook his head, his gaze fixed on the setting sun. "After this battle, there is no one left in the Wei Kingdom who can stop the Qin Kingdom. The lands of Wei will now all belong to Qin."
"The World of Ten Thousand Laws was originally meant to be one great nation," Xiao Mo said. "The Dukes have carved up the land for thousands of years. It is said that the empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. The time has come for this era to end."
"’Long divided, must unite; long united, must divide.’" Du Beiwang repeated Xiao Mo’s words and nodded. "Indeed. Thousands of years ago, the Allied States all belonged to the Great Zhou!"
"A pity. I will not live to see this grand unification." Du Beiwang sighed, his breathing growing fainter. "But at least I have not failed the trust placed in me by the two late emperors."
"Do you have any last wishes, General?" Xiao Mo asked.
"Last wishes..." Du Beiwang pondered for a moment. "Could I trouble you, Frost King, to bury this old man right here? There is no need to take my body back to the Wei Capital."
"It shall be as you say, sir." Xiao Mo nodded. "Is there anything else?"
Du Beiwang thought again, more seriously this time. Then he looked back at Xiao Mo and grinned. "I’ve always loved the Sangluo Wine from your Northern Wilderness. Might I have one last drink?"
Xiao Mo glanced at Zhao Guang, who stood a short distance away. Zhao Guang hurried off to search and, sure enough, returned with a gourd of Sangluo Wine.
Du Beiwang took the gourd and drank deeply, the wine spilling from the corners of his mouth.
"Good wine. Truly, truly good wine."
The old man looked at the gourd and smiled, an unhealthy flush rising in his cheeks as his voice grew fainter.
"It truly is... a strong... vintage..."
As he uttered his last word, the gourd slipped from his grasp and rolled onto the ground. Wine spilled from its mouth, soaking the front of the old man’s robes.
Xiao Mo rose to his feet, took a step back, and bowed deeply.
After securing the battlefield, Xiao Mo led his army onward toward Fengshang City.
"General..." On the march to Fengshang City, Li Jing rode up beside Xiao Mo. "We must write a battle report for Your Majesty and the Prince, but this plain has no name, which makes it difficult to document. We ask that you grant it one, General."
"A name, you say..."
Xiao Mo tightened his grip on the reins, thinking for a moment before speaking.
"Let’s call it Beiwang Plain."
Hearing Xiao Mo’s words, Li Jing was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly replied, "Yes, sir!"
After the Northern Wilderness Army had departed, the once-somber plain returned to complete tranquility.
On that plain stood a single gravestone, upon which the owner’s name was crudely carved.
Before the gravestone rested a jug of Sangluo Wine.
As a gentle breeze swept by, the wine gourd swayed gently, as if it were an old man holding it, looking north toward his distant homeland.
...
「After the Battle of Beiwang Plain, Xiao Mo arrived at Fengshang City.」
Fengshang City was now defended by a mere five thousand soldiers, making it little different from an empty city.
When the garrison saw the Northern Wilderness Army approaching, they turned pale with fright.
When Xiao Mo presented the Jade Token of the Wei Kingdom’s Great Pillar of the Country, the Wei soldiers knew their commander had been defeated, and they all lost the will to resist.
The Deputy City Lord offered no pointless resistance and came out of the city to surrender.
News of Fengshang City’s fall immediately reached Wei Kingdom City.
In the Imperial Court, the news was devastating. The Great Pillar of the Country was defeated. Of the original three-hundred-fifty-thousand-man army, only one hundred fifty thousand remained, and all of them had surrendered to Xiao Mo. The Sovereign of Wei was so enraged he couldn’t catch his breath and nearly fainted on the dragon throne.
Furthermore, aside from the front where Xiao Shi and Xiahou Nan were locked in a stalemate, the other three battle lines were all being pushed back. It seemed that no matter what the Wei Kingdom did, it could not halt the advance of the Northern Wilderness Army.