Chapter 388: Chapter 192: Thunder Domain
Zhou Moshu and the others all cried out in alarm.
Zhao Rui waved his hand and said, "It’s fine. If he brings people here, won’t that be a chance for you all to prove yourselves?"
"..."
Everyone wore an awkward expression, momentarily at a loss for words.
’This senior really doesn’t play by the rules.’
They exchanged glances and sighed internally. ’Forget it. In the end, we’ll just have to rely on our own fate for this one.’
Zhao Rui then looked at the Demon Sect’s Five Dragon Envoy and asked with a slight frown, "Are you staying, or should I let you go?"
The Five Dragon Envoy was silent for a moment before standing up and saying, "Although I don’t know your identity, since you have no intention of harming me, at this time and in this place, I will naturally advance and retreat with you."
He spoke with magnanimity, but in truth, he was banking on the hope that Zhao Rui, who possessed a supreme Demon Skill, was some Old Demon who had emerged from hiding.
’The Sect is in chaos right now. If I follow this Old Demon, I might be able to fish in troubled waters...’
"Good. In that case, you all split up and prepare. Try your best to contact the defending army inside the pass. If a powerful enemy attacks shortly, fight if you can. If you can’t, you must find a way to retreat back inside."
"Yes, Senior!"
Everyone answered in unison.
"I’ll be right back!"
After speaking, Zhao Rui leaped up and chased in the direction the Great Shang Martial Artists had fled.
After a brief hesitation, they each sprang into action.
He Wenhua and Tao Yuansheng were high-ranking disciples of Quanzhen and had some status, so the two of them tried to head to the front of the pass to see if they could get in.
Zhou Moshu and the others spread out to keep watch, trying to avoid being discovered by the Shang Army.
"What do you think Senior is thinking? It’s so dangerous to stay here."
Luo Yunxi frowned and said via voice transmission.
"Senior has a strange temperament. It’s impossible to fathom his thoughts. If you want to live, just do as he says."
"Don’t think we’ll be safe just because we’ve reached the pass."
"Sigh!"
The three women all sighed endlessly.
"My dear Junior Sisters, what are you sighing about? If we get back inside the pass and I hear even the slightest rumor about me, hehehe..."
Just then, Su Wanyun’s figure flickered, swept past the three of them in mid-air, and slowly landed on a large tree nearby.
"Hmph!"
Hearing this, the three women snorted coldly in noncommittal unison.
They might be naive, but they weren’t stupid. They were only alive right now thanks to the Senior’s protection.
They naturally knew it was best not to say certain things and provoke this Witch.
"As long as you’re sensible. Senior is young and powerful. Following someone like him, your future won’t be bad. If you behave a little better, perhaps we can even become sisters."
"Pah! Who wants to be sisters with you? Shameless! Vile!"
Luo Yunxi flew into a rage upon hearing this and couldn’t help but rebuke her.
"Tsk tsk."
Su Wanyun sneered. Just as she was about to say more, she heard Zhou Moshu ask in surprise, "You said Senior is young and powerful? What is the meaning of ’young’?"
"That’s a secret!"
After saying this, Su Wanyun stepped on the treetops and gracefully flew away.
"You mean Senior isn’t just skilled in preserving his appearance?"
Zhou Moshu looked at the other two women in horror.
"This..."
"Let’s just wait and see."
Zhou Moshu said grimly.
「A hundred li away, in the Great Shang army camp.」 A group of officers was discussing battle plans.
The man in the lead was built like a bear, with an aura as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea. His tiger-like eyes gleamed with a sharp light, radiating a powerful might.
"The Thunder General has issued an order: we must take Two Realms Pass. The Great Zhou have already absorbed a contingent of the Manghuang Race People. If we delay any longer, I fear their strength will grow even more formidable."
"All generals, hear my command! You are to lead your troops and conquer Two Realms Pass within three days. The first to scale the wall will be rewarded with the rank of Vice General. Those at the rank of Vice General or higher will be promoted three levels."
"As you command!"
The large crowd of generals turned and departed in a flurry.
The leading general with the tiger-like eyes frowned at the map, deep in thought about how to breach the pass. Beside him, two elderly men dressed in animal skins, resembling Wizards, sat with their eyes closed, completely detached from their surroundings.
Just then, a soldier suddenly came from outside to report, followed by two middle-aged men in similar Wizard attire who strode in.
The first two Wizards couldn’t help but open their eyes, rising with joyful expressions. "The reinforcements have arrived. The general need not worry."
The two newly arrived Wizards nodded and said, "The Thunder General has sent us to assist you, General. We will not dare to disobey any command you give."
"Excellent, excellent! HAHA! Pass down my order! In a quarter of an hour, the entire army will attack."
As his voice fell, the entire military camp erupted as if it were boiling. Enormous Exotic Beasts, hidden who knows where, began to reveal their forms.
Countless soldiers swarmed out like a plague of locusts.
「Atop Two Realms Pass!」
The sound of horns rose and fell one after another.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
On the pass that soared to the clouds, soldiers sprinted to their posts, setting up Long Crossbows and aiming at the dense swarm of enemies approaching from below.
"With such frequent attacks, I’m afraid the soldiers can’t hold out!"
In a pavilion atop the city wall, a monk and a Daoist looked with solemn expressions at a military commander clad in Armor in the center of the room.
"Sigh, it can’t be helped. Our soldiers’ physical recovery speed has never been able to compare with the Shang people’s. If not for you two and your disciples, this pass would have fallen long ago."
The general said dejectedly.
"We do this not for the Court, but for the common people behind us!"
The Daoist intoned a prayer, his expression solemn.
"I wonder if the passage to our homeland in the Central Plains has been opened yet..."
The general said with a frown. They were desperately resisting here to buy time for the main army in the rear to retreat.
Five hundred years ago, no more than a few hundred thousand people came from the Central Plains. They hailed from various dynasties and fought endlessly among themselves.
Four hundred years ago, a peerless expert rose to power, unifying the Song Realm and establishing the territory they had today.
Unfortunately, in terms of both population growth and the physical constitution of the Song people, they were no match for the Great Shang.
For all these years, they had existed as a vassal dynasty, paying tribute and acknowledging fealty.
Unexpectedly, a hundred years ago, the situation changed drastically. The two powers of Shang and Zhou entered a period of ceaseless conflict.
The conflict even spread to the Song Realm.
