Heavenly Jewel Change

This cavalry force that had arrived so suddenly, right in front of them was the Fei Li God General, Ming Yu. Under his leadership, his thousand personal guard wheeled and moved about, constantly changing formations. Even facing the Bai Da elite troops, they mowed them down without any problems, cutting through the enemy lines like a knife through hot butter. As they passed by, they just left a large patch of corpses behind.

At this point, the surviving enemy forces who still could fight at the south gate numbered less than ten thousand. With this fresh new force of a thousand breaking their lines so suddenly, they were immediately thrown into disarray.

All of a sudden, the sounds of drums and gongs rang out from behind the Kalise Empire lines.

Instantly, the enemies on top the city wall and also below the city wall began to retreat, like the receding tide from a shore. The thousand black armoured cavalry did not give chase, only killing off the few enemies who passed them in their retreat, before forming up with their long lances pointed towards the retreating Kalise Empire armies.

Ming Yu jumped off his mount, his feet striking the broken down wall several times for momentum, and soon he had reached the top of the wall.

Fully dressed in military attire, Ming Yu looked especially handsome and fresh. The first person to entire his sight was Zhou Weiqing, totally drenched in blood.

“Impressive. Very very impressive. I cannot help but be impressed… I defer to you in this truly!” As soon as Ming Yu saw that Zhou Weiqing was alright, he laughed heartily, giving him a big thumbs up.

Zhou Weiqing gave a bitter smile and said: “What so impressive! If you had come a few minutes later, we would have all perished. You have my everlasting thanks, and I will repay you in future, no need for me to speak about that.

Ming Yu laughed once more and said: “It is not me who saved you, but you who saved yourselves.”

Zhou Weiqing started, saying: “What do you mean?”

Ming Yu smiled and said: “As a general, I would never bring my soldiers into a fight in which I deem there is no chance at all, a fight that is certain death. In truth, I reached the outskirts of the Crescent City three days ago. However, due to the fact that the fifty thousand Kalise soldiers were camped there, I did not approach too closely. Furthermore, since they were about to attack, I did not try to meet up with you. In my eyes, with the mere numbers you had, it would be impossible for you to hold out against the Kalise forces. This Crescent City, I had deemed lost for sure. As such, I had never even thought about coming to join the fight. All this time, I was waiting until you all failed the defense and tried to escape, then I would come to your aid in helping you escape back to the Fei Li Empire before we think of our next step.”

“Yet, who could have guessed that you… this fellow… would actually create such a miracle. I have to admit that your Peerless Regiment is truly the finest… the strongest troop that I have ever seen in my life… to even be able to hold on for so long, to do so much… it could be said that ninety percent of the work had already been done by you all, so how could I not come join in for the last ten percent. Even without my aid, if the Kalise army really wanted to totally capture the Crescent City, the price they would have to pay would truly be unbelievably huge.

Zhou Weiqing was an intelligent man, and upon hearing Ming Yu’s words, he couldn’t help but laugh in understanding: “You cunning fellow!”

Ming Yu did not mind at all as he said seriously: “This is not cunning, it is the rule of survival on the battlefield. I only have a thousand men, and while I am confident in them, saving you and helping you escape is no problem at all. However, clashing against the Kalise armies in such numbers was pointless. That was the reason why I said it was you who had saved yourselves. By fighting off these Kalise armies for an entire morning, killing off more than a dozen times your numbers… If I still did not seize such an opportunity to appear at this point, I would not deserve the name of the Fei Li God General.

“Now, at least, the Kalise Empire has been crippled. Even if they wanted to launch an attack like this again in the near future, it will be impossible. If their commander is smart enough, the best path for them now is to retreat.”

Not caring about how they looked then, Zhou Weiqing held onto Tian’er as he flopped down on his ass onto the floor with a satisfied sigh, giving Ming Yu a bitter smile as he said: “I’m afraid my men will not have any energy left to open the city gates for you. Why don’t you just pop over down there to open the gates yourself, let your men come in.”

Ming Yu laughed out, shaking his head as he said: “No, we’ll pass for now. I’m still not part of your team yet, and such rules I still do know. I’ll get my man to keep watch, send out scouts to see what they are up to, and clear up the battlefield. You all get some rest first.”

After saying that, Ming Yu waved towards Zhou Weiqing and turned around, jumping right off the city walls.

In doing so, he was avoiding any possible suspicions. After all, currently the Peerless Regiment was totally helpless, without any fighting capabilities left, while his thousand men were still rather fresh. At the same time, he was not just simply a Fei Li General, and also represented the Heavenly Demon Sect. Avoiding any possible suspicions would help improve overall relations with the Peerless Regiment, and also let Zhou Weiqing feel his good faith and sincerity.

By this time, Lin TianAo had already settled Xiao Yan and returned to Zhou Weiqing’s side. “What do we do now?”

Zhou Weiqing said: “Let all our brothers rest right here. Send someone who is in relatively better condition to get the logistics personnel to send some meat soup and other food here. Also, get all the medical personnel to come here as quickly as possible and start treating everyone. Everything else, we can wait to discuss later.

Compiling stats of injuries and death, all of that could be done later. Everyone was just too tired, and they had earned their rest. Once they had recovered, they could speak of all the other admin matters.

Of course, though they had all just fought through an entire morning, and everyone was exhausted to the maximum, they had after all won, and their spirits were still extremely high. The logistic troops had already made some preparations, and before long large cauldrons of meat soup were being carried to the city walls. At the same time, the medical personnel were starting to treat the wounded.

The logistics troops that the Fei Li Empire had provided was extremely complete, from smelting and smithing, medical, cooks… pretty much everything was covered. These were also experienced veterans who had battlefield experience; it was something that Zhou Weiqing had specially requested. Of course, they would not be of help in combat, but having such a complete logistical support would bring the Peerless Regiment to another level.

Drinking the meat soup, having some simple food, along with the treatment of the medical troops… soon, the city walls rang with the sound of snoring. The soldiers were just too tired, and though there were corpses all about, they could not even summon the energy to care, just falling asleep directly on the city walls.

Zhou Weiqing was no exception. With one hand holding Tian’er, they leaned on the stairs of the walls, falling deep into sleep. Just like the rest of his soldiers, he was not only exhausted physically, but mentally as well. The pressure he had been under in his heart was far beyond any others.

Although they had definitely won this battle, Zhou Weiqing did not feel happy at all. Previously, even when he had been in the northern borders facing off against the WanShou Empire, no matter the enemies he faced, the Peerless Regiment had been victorious without any losses. As such, he still had not been used to the full cruelties of war, at least towards his own side.

However, in the intense and horrifying battle just now, he was truly exposed to the brutal cruelty of war. He may not be clear of the exacts of the other three walls, but at least on the south side, out of the thousand fresh recruits, less than a hundred still survived. All of them had families! Let alone he still did not know how many of his Peerless Regiment brothers had perished. This weight on his heart greatly diluted the joy of victory of defeating his enemies. No matter that this battle, this victory, could be considered a miraculous win. No matter that their deaths had caused so many times more deaths of their enemies. All of that would not change the fact that these soldiers had paid the final price, and would forever leave this world.

…

Their sleep lasted all the way until deep in the evening, and only then did Zhou Weiqing finally rouse up. The Dragon-Tiger bloodline showed its power in a subtle form here… anyone else who had been in such a frantic battle would definitely be aching everywhere after the sleep, but Zhou Weiqing felt in tip top condition, full of energy. All his wounds had already healed fully by now, and his Heavenly Energy had actually been fully restored by the automatic regeneration of the Immortal Deity Technique. Only the Saint Energy was still in the same state as before his sleep, as the amount of energy required to be drawn in to form the Saint Energy was just too large.

The situation on the city walls had been greatly improved since Zhou Weiqing was last conscious. At least, all the corpses had been cleared off the walls to the grounds outside. Of course, to completely clear the battlefield would take quite some more time.

Only some of Peerless Regiment soldiers who had lighter injuries were still on the city walls, working together with the Peerless Regiment Heavy Cavalry to continue standing guard. Naturally, the Heavy Cavalry soldiers were uninjured due to their heavy armour.

Tian’er was no longer in Zhou Weiqing’s arms, and standing by his side were two Peerless Regiment soldiers guarding him. He also realised that unknowingly, someone had placed a mat below him, allowing him to sleep more comfortably.

Zhou Weiqing climbed to his feet, stretching himself fully with all his strength, feeling his muscles and tendons stretch fully in comfort. At last, he said: “What is the situation now?”

“Commander.” The two Peerless Regiment soldiers instantly saluted towards Zhou Weiqing.

Zhou Weiqing waved his hands, looking out beyond the city walls. In the distance, the Kalise army camp was still there, lit brightly. However, as he looked directly below the city walls, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but furrow his brows. The piercing scent of blood was enough to make him remember the bloody battle this morning.

“Commander, Report. The allies from the Fei Li Empire are helping us clear the battlefield outside the walls. Most of our men are back in the city getting medical treatment for their wounds. Sir Yan Zhexi is handling most of the aftermath administration.

Zhou Weiqing nodded his head. With Ming Yu and his men outside, the enemies would not dare to easily attack again, at least not anytime soon. “I will be returning to the governor’s mansion first. One of you, go notify Zhexi to come look for me there.”

After saying that, Zhou Weiqing headed off the city walls and into the city.

As he walked deep into the city, his heart sank deeper. He could hear sounds of crying all about him, clearly the families of the departed soldiers were in sorrow for the warriors who had sacrificed themselves for their sakes.

Zhou Weiqing gripped his fist tightly, swearing in his heart that in future, he would do all he could to reduce any deaths on his side. For him, victory should not be at the price of his soldiers’ blood!

As he walked into the governor’s mansion, Zhou Weiqing was given a small fright. The mansion was crowded and bustling with noise. All about, the Peerless Regiment soldiers and the remaining fresh recruits who had survived were crowded in the once-wide courtyard of the mansion.

Soon after, he saw two busy figures. No matter looking at them from the back, he could clearly sense their shocking beauty. It was Shangguan Xue’er and Tian’er.

Shangguan Xue’er was examining all the wounds of the wounded, and by her side, Tian’er was truly like an angel in white, using her Heavenly Energy to form the gold light of healing, aiding the wounded soldiers.

When Zhou Weiqing walked near the two beautiful ladies, he could clearly see exhaustion in their eyes and face, and on their foreheads, there was a layer of perspiration. However, without question, they looked unbelievably beautiful then.

“Tian’er, let me help you.” Zhou Weiqing quickly stepped forward, holding onto Tian’er’s hand. If she had the support of the Saint Energy whirlpool, it would undoubtedly be of great aid for her in recovery, and even in using her healing Skills.

Tian’er turned her head to see Zhou Weiqing, and her ashen face brightened up in a faint smile. She slowly stood up from her squatting position, and before she could even stand firmly, her legs buckled before her, and she toppled into Zhou Weiqing’s arms.

“Tian’er… Tian’er…!” Zhou Weiqing was startled, exclaiming at once.