Chapter 202 Xiao Qi’s Ambition Was Shattered (I)
Standing on the tower of the Jin Kingdom, Xu Linghe looked into the distance. Who would have thought that the Qi Kingdom would have a new emperor? Xiao Qi’s ambition spiraled out of control. He successively conquered the Qi Kingdom, Mount Da Huang, and the fire tribe. Supported by the mixed vital army, his troops marched south. Jin City had to deal with Xiao Qi who was more aggressive. The report of the spies made Jin’s camp fill with tension. Xu Linghe deployed troops overnight.
“You are such a bunch of fools!” Xiao Qi was furious. The spies reported that they were ambushed by the Jin army. It was a fatal blow. Xiao Qi formed a group of crossbows and made his way to the border. When they got to the camp, the soldiers knelt and saluted. The Fairy King arrived just in time.
“Your Majesty.” The soldier saw Xiao Qi like a savior and followed him to the general’s tent. The mixed vital army followed Xiao Qi all the way, and when they reached the tent, sharp-eyed soldiers quickly knelt down. The generals did not expect Xiao Qi to come.
“How’s the war going?” Xiao Qi asked calmly. With Hongjun on his side, he certainly didn’t care about the Jin army.
“Your Majesty, Marshal Xiao...”
“What’s wrong with him?” Xiao Qi was startled. Xiao Nai couldn’t have an accident, because he had to rely on him to open up territory.
“Marshal wounded by Xu Linghe.”
“Are you better now?” Holding Xiao Nai’s hand, Xiao Nai felt his hand very hot. Xiao Nai felt his blood surged. He was fine just now, but suddenly he vomited blood. The bedclothes were covered with red blood.
“The army cannot do without the Commander in Chief a day...” Xiao Qi wanted to use Xiao Nai’s wounds to boost morale. After all, sometimes the hatred could beat thousands upon thousands of horses and soldiers. The military doctor got nervous by the Majesty’s remarks. And no improvement was seen in Commander in Chief now, even if he had taken the decoction. Therefore, a desperate remedy was needed to cure the disease thoroughly and clear up the siltation in Xiao Nai’s body. The military doctor also needed the Majesty to playact in coordination with him before Xiao Nai. The military doctor spoke the Commander in Chief’s crux. Qi army needed Xiao Nai. The two walked out of the camp. And Di Qing ordered a soldier to dress up as Wuyou, and then held him into the camp. Xiao Nai was delirious and rushed up to the soldier.
“The one who hurt...” Before the military doctor finished his words, Xiao Nai slashed the soldier, with blood spraying out several meters away. The military doctor felt guilty, as an innocent life was lost.
“I will spare no one who hurt me.” Xiao Nai seemed to be possessed and burst out laughing wildly. His laughter sounded ghastly frightening.
“Xu Linghe is not ordinary. You recuperate first.” Xiao Qi had only one goal—to break into the Jin Kingdom, kill Xu Linghe, and then kill all the people in Jin and make Xiaoyao kneel down to beg him for mercy.
“Transmit my order. Assemble 100,000 military forces and head to the Jin City before dawn.”
Xiao Qi got what he wanted. The military doctor felt relieved when seeing the Majesty’s gloomy look fade away. Although the move was rather merciless and violated medical ethics, the military doctor had no alternative but to surrender to imperial authority.
The Jin troops were divided into two parts and headed to the Qi’s barrack because they wanted to grasp the opportunity to break into the Qi’s camp when the opponent was unprepared. However, the moment the Jin troops entered the Qi’s military camp, they were surrounded by the Qi soldiers. Madam Yu killed five opponents in a raw. However, the Qi’s soldiers rushed to them continuously. After several rounds, Madam Yu found it difficult to withstand the attack. Xiao Nai gave the command, and then all the artillery fired together. The Flowing Light shells exploded with deafening noises. Warhorses galloped into the battlefield. They carried the artillery and dashed to the Jin troops with neighs. Although those warhorses were just animals, they were so well-trained that the Jin troops were exploded to retreat out of the Qi’s military camp. Confronted with the enemy, Xiao Nai would not spare any of them. Artillery shells streaked across the night sky to the Jin soldiers. Madam Yu set the formation to protect her soldiers’ lives. She leaped into the sky, as nagas were expert at the Water Escape Technique. She gathered spirit power with hands, and the incantation penetrated her body. In the firelight, Madam Yu drew the water from rivers, hoping to put out the artillery’s power. A gust of wild wind sprang up, and the clouds were split open by the spirit light. Water drilled out from the breaches. Xiao Qi had foreseen Madam Yu’s movement, so he had developed some water-proof techniques to the artillery. Gunpowder was put into a lead tube, and only a thread of fuse could detonate it. War horses galloped in the falling rain. Thousands of shells shot at Jin’s soldiers. Madam Yu retreated in defeat, and the camp was strewn with Jin soldiers’ dead body. Obviously, the artillery now was immune to the rainwater. The Qi’s soldiers were boosted and believed that they could recapture the Jin City one day with the assistance of the artillery. The Qi’s main force pushed to the Western Front. Torn with anxiety, Madam Yu did not dare to imagine the consequence. Among her 20,000 soldiers, 5,000 had died, and the morale of the rest was at rock bottom. If things went on like that, she and her army would have no other way but to be trampled by others at will, because the enemy’s artillery was too formidable. She needed to find out a method to stop the offensive. The Qi’s army kept striking against Madam Yu. She had to retreat to the col, where there was only one way available. Madam Yu thought her army could pass through the Holy Temple, a natural barrier, then circled to the enemy rear, and converged attacks to the enemy. Only in this way are there some chances for her to win. However, after several battles, she and the army had been extremely exhausted. So she ordered the Jin army to take a rest on the spot.
Zhan Ming was rather familiar with the Jing Town. But when he arrived there, what he could see were the Jin soldiers’ corpses. Where was Madam Yu? Zhan Ming came up and wondered what these soldiers had suffered. Their corpses lay on the ground here and there. Judging from the degree of burns on their corpses, Zhan Ming guessed that they had been attacked by artillery before their death.
“They were injured by the artillery...”
“Mrs. Xu, have you seen it...” Of course, Zhan Ming had seen it before. Last time, it was this sharp weapon that Di Qing used. Fortunately, Commander in Chief destroyed it in time. But he did not expect that the technique of artillery developed more sophisticated.
“Kunlun was attacked with crossbows.” Wuyou wouldn’t let anyone know that Kunlun had imprisoned those alien souls. The Heavenly Book had caused the three realms to be turned upside down. If people discovered this fact, even greater disaster would befall.
Wuyou flew to Jin’s military camp where Zhan Ming had assembled the forces already. The most important thing in the war was fast speed. Since Jin’s soldiers were always trained strictly and had the excellent physical ability, they could march faster by using shape-shifting, but pity that Jin’s soldiers knew nothing about the shape-shifting at all, while only the spirit cultivators knew it. Therefore, Wuyou had to follow the troops without any stop, just fearing the opportunity for war might be delayed. But today was different from the common days. They had to arrive there in advance and ambush the Western Front where the Di troops would pass. Though the Jin troops were relatively weak, they were good at sneak-attack. A fewer number of people could conduct a more agile attack. They just spent an hour arriving at the Western Front and then found a hidden place for camping.
Xiao Qi was deploying troops 25 kilometers from the fairy’s camp. He was determined to revenge Xiao Nai on Xu Linghe.
Xiao Qi was confident that he had held all the trump cards in the war against the enemy. Horses pressed hard to the Holy Temple with artillery on the back. Xiao Qi thought that the Jin army could not escape the doom this time, and he was desperate to take Yan Shen’s life in this fight.
Xu Linghe and Zhan Ming went to the military camp. Since he went to the state and county, the military affairs were managed by General Yu.
As soon as Xu Linghe and Zhan Ming got out of the carriage, they heard drills from the military camp. The female general was standing on the drill ground. She looked very imposing in her armor. Zhan Ming couldn’t help admiring her.
“General Yu is really an excellent woman. She came herself in such cold weather.” Zhan Ming was in awe of her.
“She’s really impressive.”
“Marshal... Marshal.” Some soldiers swarmed toward Xu Linghe. Suddenly, the female general gave them a blow. The soldier who was beaten was so frightened that his legs and feet trembled and he regretted his bad memory. The female general had a reputation for running the army seriously, but his behavior was a clear violation of her norms. This was because his most admired marshal had come to the military camp.
“You have lived up to your reputation for running the army strictly, General Yu.” Zhan Ming was the general commander of the Jin City. Since his outings with Xu Linghe, he had rarely been to the military camp. The female general was the only person he knew in the camp. On the way back to Jin City, the female general was seriously injured but still as strong as a man, which made Zhan Ming have a new understanding of her.
“Marshal is waiting for you, general,” a little soldier reminded the female general, looking steadily forward.
“I know.” Madam Yu contained her momentum and flicked the dust off her armor. The soldier followed her to meet Xu Linghe. When they reached the tent, the door opened from the inside. Madam Yu was stunned for a moment because Zhan Ming was much darker than he had been two months ago, while Zhan Ming looked at her with admiration.
“Is marshal here because there is a new war?” Madam Yu wondered. Although the soldiers were in recuperating, they never slacked at their fighting power. If there was a war, they would never be afraid.
“Although the ceasefire has been in place for months, there have been numerous border problems. Take 10,000 soldiers, patrol along the border for a few days. If you find someone disturbing people, be sure to teach them a lesson. In addition, keep the states and counties on their toes. Spring is coming. We can’t afford to lose the time of growing seedlings.”
“Yes!” said Madam Yu, holding her head high confidently.
“Commander Zhan, help General Yu. You must do a good job in this matter.” Zhan Ming took the command. Of course, he enjoyed working with Madam Yu. Then they left Xu Linghe’s tent. Madam Yu went to gather her forces. The soldiers were excited to hear that they were going to patrol the border. The sounds of gathering rang on the playground. Xu Linghe flew out of his tent. Madam Yu rode to the platform, followed by Zhan Ming. Xu Linghe got up on the platform and watched the soldiers go. The cold wind of December blew up the dust.
It was already dark when Madam Yu arrived at the border with 10,000 elite soldiers. The Jin army found a remote place to camp. Madam Yu took advantage of the night into the city and found a team of the Qi army in houses in the east of the city. Then she slipped into their camp and her soldiers set fire to the houses. Xiao Nai rushed out. He carried out Di Qing’s orders and led his soldiers to pose as border people to disrupt the order of Jin’s border. At his command, the Qi army took up bows and arrows and fired thousands of arrows at the Jin army. Madam Yu did not expect that it was the Qi army who was disturbing the people. It was too late for them to withdraw. Xiao Nai fired the signal flare. Xiao Qi flew towards the Jing Town. The army surrounded Madam Yu.
Zhan Ming chased all the way, hoping Madam Yu wouldn’t have an accident. Di Qing took to the air and the dragon swept around with its huge tail. Madam Yu swooped down. Nagas lit the dragon silk and the fire blazed all over the sky. Madam Yu waved her wand and gave the order. The nagas came in a rush. Their tails were like thorns of steel, which mortal bodies could not bear. After several rounds, a large number of enemies were killed or wounded. Devil army turned into a demon spirit and pounced on the nagas to tear them. Devil army was born to drink blood. Creatures with magic beads were their food.
The fairy army blocked the way of the Jin army, and the naga army protected Madam Yu. Zhan Ming was not afraid of attacks from the devil army. As the general commander, he cared not whether he lived or died. The morale of the Jin army rose. Madam Yu set up a tactical formation to launch a forcible attack on the enemy. Zhan Ming rode into battle. Xiao Qi raised his hand and hit the horse’s head. The horse neighed and died. Zhan Ming jumped into the air. He swung a hammer across Xiao Qi’s horse leg. Xiao Qi sprang to his feet, clutching the rein. Zhan Ming rolled and hammered at the horse again. The horse could not withstand the heavy blow and fell to the ground. It was a Ferghana horse from the North Desert and had been Di Qing’s horse for many years. Di Qing was so angry that he flew at Zhan Ming and kicked him. Zhan Ming sent back flying several meters away. Then Di Qing’s spiritual saber came to him and Zhan Ming had to roll back and forth to avoid it.
Zhan Ming protected Madam Yu. The Qi army rushed towards them. Xiao Nai brandished his spiritual saber and killed several people. The nagas were surrounded by the devil army. Zhan Ming’s hammer swept across the enemy. The longer the battle lasted, the worse for the Jin army. Madam Yu rushed into the camp but was stopped by the fairy army. The Qi army seized the opportunity to rush at Madam Yu. Numerous fairies attacked Madam Yu at the same time. Zhan Ming broke away from the fight, swinging a sledgehammer at the fairies. Di Qing waved his spiritual saber at Zhan Ming. Zhan Ming felt his back wet. The smell of blood was all around him. Zhan Ming endured the pain, separated the fairy army and saved Madam Yu. With a neighing, the horse ran wildly. The explosion scared the soldiers away and Xiao Qi fled.
It was a terrible fight. A number of nagas died or hurt; The Jin army advanced along the way, and the Qi army was driven out of the border. Xiao Qi lost a lot of troops. The Qi army was defeated and scattered. The Jin army crushed Xiao Qi’s scheme. Xu Linghe in Jin City was in charge of the whole situation.