Book 13: Chapter 18: Key to Victory and Defeat
Book 13: Chapter 18: Key to Victory and Defeat
The current Nine Peace City was completely a world of blood and steel, incredibly chaotic. However, when they saw this iron cast like figure at the very top of that escalade, the eyes of all Yunqin soldiers became a bit sluggish. Their expressions were extremely complicated, some people carrying disdain and anger, but even more carrying frustration and fear.
Even City Supervisor Zhuo Hezhi who already set his resolution to die here still carried similar emotions right now. Wenren Cangyue, this type of highest commander of Great Mang’s seven armies personally came to the front lines just like this, personally attacking the city… There wasn’t a single cultivator in the city who could stop him, so what was going to happen to Nine Peace City?
“If it’s death, then so be it.”
The escalade reached towards the city’s summit through an endless stream of arrows. When there was still more than ten meters left, a spear holding private school instructor who had been fighting on the city gate tower this whole time released a sigh. Then, he began to sprint, his figure like a feather as it flew towards Wenren Cangyue on the escalade.
This was a cultivator who previously resided in Nine Peace City, most of the people in the military didn’t even know his name, they only knew that the current war situation was tense. When most of Nine Peace City’s civilians evacuated, he instead remained in the city with some strong men.
Right now, he floated towards Wenren Cangyue on the city gate tower, thrusting out the spear in his hands. Wenren Cangyue’s body didn’t move, only giving him a look.
With just this simple look, a streak of sword radiance already passed this spear, removing this private school instructor’s head.
This private school instructor’s head separated from his body, landing on the city gate tower below.
Blood splashed out everywhere.
The sigh this private school instructor released before wasn’t all that loud, his head removed by a single move from Wenren Cangyue, unable to resist in the slightest… However, this scene didn’t bring Yunqin’s soldiers more despair, instead, it made all of these Yunqin soldiers’ eyes burn with flames.
“Traitor!”
A black-armored official tightly gripped the long blade in his hands, releasing a laugh of disdain, and then charged at Wenren Cangyue.
…
Yunqin soldiers fell one after another.
Wenren Cangyue walked along the city walls.
No one could stop his steps. It was unknown just how many soldiers and cultivators fell under his devil sword[1].
However, the number of Yunqin soldiers who ran at him became greater and greater, pouring out like a tide. Even though he could still continue his advance, his surroundings were completely cut off and he was submerged under this tide.
His figure was completely drowned within this black tide and its rain of blood.
After who knew how much time had passed, the tide gradually disappeared.
Wenren Cangyue’s body slowly appeared, his hands holding a black border army longsword that was covered in knicks, standing in the middle of it all.
There were layers and layers of corpses all around him.
All of Nine Peace City gradually became quiet.
A Great Mang officer suddenly felt a mysterious wave of fatigue and panic.
He had previously participated in many city besieging battles, but this time was different from those other times. He didn’t know if it was because of that private school instructor who was beheaded or something else. Nine Peace City was already completely broken through, yet there were no alley fights. All of the people fighting in the city charged up the city gate towers or nearby the city walls.
This was something that completely didn’t match military strategy, it didn’t even allow them to kill more Great Mang soldiers… However, compared to more Great Mang soldiers dying, this city right now instead made this Great Mang officer feel more fatigue and alarm.
His figure swayed. In his line of sight, there were several dozen Yunqin soldiers who were already surrounded, yet despite the various weapons Great Mang soldiers hacked at them, they still tried to charge at Wenren Cangyue. It was instead those Great Mang soldiers who surrounded these Yunqin soldiers who backed up in fear.
This Great Mang officer also saw that even if it was Wenren Cangyue who was powerful to the point where he could end the lives of anyone in this city within a breath of time, his armor was still covered in all types of marks, some white marks from being struck by weapons visible on his face. Towards the end of the battle, for the sake of conserving soul force, it was to the extent where Wenren Cangyue didn’t even use his flying sword, only using his body and fighting skills to kill the enemies around him.
These marks on Wenren Cangyue’s body suddenly made this Great Mang high ranking military officer feel a bit of mysterious despair in his mind.
Wenren Cangyue didn’t bother with those scattered Yunqin soldiers who were already surrounded.
He slowly walked down the city gate tower, walking towards a row of already assembled light cavalry that was waiting for him.
Even if the armor covering his body continuously released bits of metal while he walked, even if his soul force was near exhausted, his expression was still powerful, calm and resolute.
He got on a horse, directly closing his eyes, quickly entering a meditation cultivation state.
The deputy general at his side guided his horse. This row of light cavalry thus quickly made its way through Nine Peace City, continuously penetrating deeper.
This night, Wenren Cangyue suddenly personally stepped on the battlefield. One of the western barriers of Meteor City, Nine Peace City, was broken through, forty thousand Yunqin soldiers were killed. Wenren Cangyue didn’t rest at all, commanding the cavalry troops in another three hundred li charge, burning down Distant Scale Granary.
…
Two hours before Distant Scale Granary, this provisions granary that was enough to supply South Tomb Province’s three forts for more than two weeks was burned down, a Yunqin army that rushed out from Peace Weighing City received news and set out. Hurrying towards Nine Peace City, they encountered a Great Mang troop on an open field.
This Great Mang army, according to normal reason, shouldn’t have appeared in this type of place.
If they wanted to appear here, then it would only be possible after a prolonged forced march, so their stamina would be severely overdrafted.
Reality was also like this. There was extreme fatigue in the eyes of many Great Mang soldiers, to the extent where quite a few of them were showing signs of dehydration.
This Yunqin army that set out from Peace Weighing City numbered thirty thousand, while this Great Mang army also numbered around thirty thousand. Moreover, they didn’t have time to set up any type of fortifications in this plains region.
When the front line troops passed on this precise information to the central army, the eyes of the highest ranking Yunqin officer here instantly became bright like stars.
He didn’t hesitate at all, giving the order for an all-out violent attack.
Nine Peace City needed time… even if Nine Peace City was already lost, the sooner they arrived, the higher the chance that they could get revenge for Nine Peace City’s soldiers and seize back Nine Peace City.
When facing an army on a one to one scale with their own, Yunqin soldiers never feared Great Mang’s armies. This was especially in this type of situation where the other party’s stamina was already near its limit, their fighting strength greatly reduced. From the high ranking Yunqin officers to every single lower soldier, they all had the confidence that this battle would quickly become a one-sided slaughter.
A bloody battle quickly began.
However, after a long time passed, the ones who began to push through the bloodbath with difficulty, cleaning up military equipment and heading towards Nine Peace City’s direction, wasn’t this Yunqin army who believed they would definitely win, but instead this Great Mang army.
…
The night scene once again covered Meteor City.
A white long gowned middle-aged man whose face was covered by a dust blocking cloth walked into Meteor City, walking into the tent where Gu Yunjing set up a sand table.
While looking at this man’s rear figure, many Yunqin soldiers who were worried sick about the recent disadvantageous war situation were all inwardly bewildered as they guessed at this middle-aged man’s true identity, to actually need Gu Yunjing’s right hand man to leave Meteor City and receive him, for Great General Gu to await his arrival with a sand table prepared long beforehand.
This massive tent only had three people left.
The white haired white bearded Gu Yunjing, the corners of his eyes already starting to be covered in wrinkles.
That masked stern officer who always followed him and always had that dark red mask covering his face.
As well as this white long gowned middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man removed the dust blocking cloth, revealing his face, shaking off the dust on his body.
He was Zhou Ruohai.
Yunqin’s Grand Secretary before Wen Xuanshu.
Without any excessive formalities, after mutually nodding their heads in greeting, his entirely dust covered self carefully examined the sand table before him, and then said with a serious tone of requesting guidance, “The situation still seems to be equal right now?”
“It looks this way.” Gu Yunjing looked at him, saying with a smile. “But in reality, it is not. Wenren Cangyue is pushing on mainly by relying on Great Mang and stolen Yunqin large scale military equipment, but in reality, he has already stocked up on large amounts of military equipment from some of Purgatory Mountain’s workshops. These military equipment are all light military equipment, their uses not that obvious when sieging a city, but in the following invasion and penetration, a similar numbered Yunqin army cannot seize victories against them at all.”
“What he considered were precisely these days.” Grand Secretary Zhou’s brows furrowed slightly, muttering this to himself.
Gu Yunjing nodded his head and said, “Most of the local armies are still on their way. If Meteor City is taken down during these days, then the entire deployment will become completely chaotic, these local soldiers that are being transferred over would then also become completely useless. The war is already near its end phase, amidst the chaos, Wenren Cangyue definitely has the ability to wipe out these local inexperienced troops one by one.”
“Both sides are only striving for these days.” Grand Secretary Zhou said with a calm voice, “The lightweight military equipment advantage he has accumulated can also persist for a few days. The Great Mang forces that quickly thrust deeply into our territory can also only last a few days.”
“Yunqin’s inner conflict has caused the three provinces behind us to be completely empty. While the head and tail haven’t been completely joined together yet, Wenren Cangyue is a true ambitious and ruthless figure, seizing this timing.” Gu Yunjing said with a smile. “However, for us, this is similarly an excellent opportunity. As long as we can hold out under all of these forces he is throwing at us, then we can launch a counterattack.”
After a slight pause, Gu Yunjing pointed towards Meteor City on the sand table, saying, “This time, Meteor City isn’t the place of the decisive battle, but rather where our retaliation will begin.”
After looking at the point Gu Yunjing pointed at, and then giving the other areas on the sand table a look, Grand Secretary Zhou already completely understood, saying seriously, “Where will the decisive battle take place?”
“Nine Peace City has already been lost, Peace Weighing City will definitely be lost as well. Great Mang can already easily break in from the west, the soldiers reaching Meteor City is already unavoidable.” Gu Yunjing picked up two black flags, separately inserting them in the north and east sides. “The decisive battles will precisely be held in this Harmony Splendor City and East Scenery City. From when Great Mang’s army begins to attack Meteor City, victory and defeat will be decided in three days, I will hold on for three days… As long as Harmony Splendor City is not lost, South Order Province’s local army will bring large amounts of heavy military equipment through Harmony Splendor City, reaching Meteor City within three days. There is a Great Mang general who will try to carry out a pincer attack on Meteor City from East Scenery City. If East Scenery City falls within three days, this Great Mang army also arrives in Meteor City, then no matter how I stake this old life of mine, even throwing it into this, there is no way I can hold Meteor City. Once the provisions and military equipment in Meteor City are lost, Wenren Cangyue doesn’t have to worry about those cities, he just needs to play the role of a wolf chasing a fat sheep, play this game of wiping out local armies one after another.”
Right now, Great Mang’s troops were invading from many different places, great battles erupting everywhere, the battle situation extremely chaotic. However, for someone like Gu Yunjing, with the battle situation developed to its current state, the mist before his eyes had already scattered, the key to this battle already clearly visible.
Both sides, in terms of the greater situation, depended on open battles. Only through the seizing and fighting processes at these key points, would there be all types of conspiracies and soldier deployment strategy.
The battle situation wasn’t disorderly in Grand Secretary Zhou’s eyes either, it was extremely clear. As such, he only raised his head in a simple manner, looking at Gu Yunjing and asking, “Where do I need to go? Harmony Splendor City or East Scenery City?”
“Harmony Splendor City.” Gu Yunjing looked at him and said, “East Scenery City will have Green Luan Academy.”
Grand Secretary Zhou nodded, covering his face with the dust blocking cloth again, saying his goodbyes. “Alright, I will now head to Harmony Splendor City.”
A late Grand Secretary headed all the way to Meteor City while covered in dust, and then didn’t stop here at all, turning around to leave for the most dangerous place. Gu Yunjing’s expression instead didn’t change at all, only bowing deeply in respect towards him, bidding him farewell.
1. Seven Planets Devil Sword B10C14