Chapter 762: Truly Living Up to the Name

They looked toward the warship; in the firelight, the Goryeo royal robe on Wang Jingzhao was especially clear.

"It's really the king!"

"We have a new king!"

"Run quickly!"

The beach instantly descended into chaos.

Although the few who first fled were cut down by Eastern soldiers, the multitude of civilians soon surged toward the sea, leaving the Eastern soldiers behind.

Xiao Yuanhang, with a hand motion, ordered, "Open fire!"

Dozens of cannons simultaneously launched shells, booming over the heads of the civilians and striking the sand beach behind.

The splashed sand hit the civilians, frightening them into lying prone, yet they were unharmed.

Only the Eastern soldiers were blown back and fled, leaving a large gap in the middle of the beach.

"Launch the fast ship!" Xiao Yuanhang commanded thunderously, "Order Xiao Ningchen, Xiao Er, and Zhang Wu'an to lead the vanguard camp and go ashore first!"

"Yes!"

Tuan Tuan poked her little head out of Lu Qi's arms and shouted, "Come on! Don't get hurt!"

The three turned back, gave her a smile, turned and flipped over the ship's rail, landing on the fast ship.

Countless small boats, due to their shallow draft, passed over the sharpened bamboo rafts and wooden stakes underwater, heading toward the shore.

As they were about to arrive, everyone leapt from the boats, waded ashore, and rushed toward the deep part of the beach.

Xiao Ningchen raised his sword with one hand, wading through waist‑deep water at the front, while thousands of vanguard soldiers followed, also wading.

Zhang Wu'an, bearing a great saber on his right side, spat a mouthful of salty, brackish seawater while muttering curses.

Xiao Er guarded Xiao Ningchen's left side, his eyes constantly fixed on any movement on the shore.

Just as everyone's feet touched the shore sand, the ground suddenly began to tremble.

Behind distant sand dunes, a line of black shadows, like a dark tide, rushed forward at high speed.

Countless warhorses galloped with neighs, and the blades in the hands of the Eastern soldiers on the horses flashed a dazzling white in the sunlight.

Zhang Wu'an shouted, "Eastern cavalry!"

"Switch to long spear‑swords!" Xiao Ningchen barked loudly, "Form the formation!"

Everyone simultaneously drove the blade of their swords into iron rods, the clacking sounds merging together.

Thousands staggered front to back, arranging neatly into three lines; the spear tips were planted in the sand, the seven‑foot spears angled forward, aligning with the height of a horse's head.

Xiao Yuanhang, seeing clearly through the Thousand-mile mirror, urgently ordered, "Send word! Zhao Tieshan, Xiao Ningxun, Xiao Ran, Chen Hao—lead the rear unit of five thousand men to land immediately!"

"Take shields and bring all the remaining Heavenly Fire Tubes!"

"Yes!"

At this moment, the sound of hooves on the shore grew ever nearer.

The cavalry, seeing such astonishing long spear‑sword formation, all wore shocked expressions, and the soldiers ahead let out a strange cry.

But the cavalry's charge had no retreat; they could only keep pressing forward.

They were forced to lower their bodies, hold their swords horizontally in front of the saddles, and charge straight ahead.

The first horse slammed into a spear tip.

A mournful neigh rang as the spear tip pierced the horse's neck; the warhorse's front hoof gave way, it toppled over, and the rider was flung off, crashing heavily onto the sand.

Then came the second, the third…

The front‑line soldiers gritted their teeth, their hands gripping the spear shafts so tightly their thumbs went numb, yet the spear tips kept angling forward.

The long spear‑sword formation had just been breached a few openings when the men behind immediately filled them.

The Eastern cavalry fell into chaos at once; the fallen horses in front tripped those behind, men and horses tumbling together in a heap.

The cavalrymen who hit the ground, before they could rise, were cut down by a sword from the soldiers who had just charged ashore.

The beach was filled with wails and cries of anguish.

Xiao Yuanhang praised, "Feng Zhou, this long spear‑sword truly did a great service."

But the Eastern cavalry were not foolish; seeing no advantage, the remaining troops instantly turned their horses' heads and withdrew without hesitation.

At this point, the Fiery Nation's vanguard and rear units had all landed, standing densely across the beach like a black mass.

Xiao Ningchen was about to order a forward charge when the sky above suddenly darkened.

He looked up.

He saw a massive, black flock of birds that had somehow gathered overhead.

Their numbers were so great they almost blocked the horizon.

They circled and cried in the air, then, as if drawn by something, dived toward the beach together.

Countless seabirds, their eyes flashing eerie red, snapped their sharp beaks and claws wide, swooping straight at the Fiery Nation's troops, targeting faces and eyes.

Everyone instinctively shut their eyes and swung their swords, while the birds' talons clutched helmets, pulling backward desperately.

The formation began to break apart.

The long spear‑sword formation could counter cavalry, but was useless against these seabirds.

The soldiers swung their swords, yet the birds were so agile it was hard to land a blow.

Worse still, more and more seabirds surged from all directions, endless.

The newly landed crowd was forced step by step back toward the sea by these mad birds.

No one had expected the landing assault to be halted by seabirds.

Chu Yuan's complexion changed; this was the work of an onmyoji!

He just reached his hand toward the sky.

Tuan Tuan tilted her little head upward, staring at the sky‑blocking flock, scrambled upward, cupped her hands over her mouth, and shouted with all her might, "What are you doing here?"

Lu Qi hurriedly hugged her tightly.

Tuan Tuan's voice was sharp and loud, righteous: "Didn't you see those fire‑spitting things?"

"What will you do if you get burned? Go home quickly!"

"We're at war! Why did you run here? Listen! Run quickly!"

The next moment.

The seabirds seemed to have their wings suddenly yanked by something, and they hovered in the air in unison.

The red glow in their eyes instantly extinguished, returning to their original brown.

They tilted their little heads, turned direction, and whooshed toward the distant cliffs.

Sunlight poured again, the beach calmed, leaving only scattered feathers on the ground.

The soldiers looked at the blood marks scratched by bird claws on their bodies, stunned for a long time.

Xiao Ningchen and Xiao Ningxun exchanged glances and couldn't help but smile; the younger sister earned another merit!

Xiao Er turned to look at the warship and thought, "My lady is truly formidable!"

Xiao Ran and Chen Hao, still shaken, looked at each other, both thinking, "Fortunately Tuan Tuan is here!"

Wang Cheng'an and Wang Jingzhao stared straight at Tuan Tuan, faces full of astonishment, utterly shocked.

Chu Yuan glanced at them and couldn't help but smile slightly: "My disciple, I fear you'll continue to astonish you many times in the future."

Tuan Tuan nodded satisfactorily, clapped her little hands and looked at Xiao Yuanhang: "Dad, I sent them home!"

Xiao Yuanhang strode to his daughter's side, snatched her from Lu Qi's arms, and held her tightly.

"Good daughter!" he pressed his chin against his daughter's crown and hugged her firmly for a while.

Xiao Ningchen raised his sword and pointed forward: "Charge with me!"

In the distance, Teng Yuan Liangxin's face showed a hint of surprise: "That child just now must be the Immortal Envoy of the Fiery Nation; truly lives up to the reputation."

He looked toward the Fiery Nation soldiers running toward him: "Crossbowmen, wait until they get closer, then fire a volley of ten thousand arrows!"

"Yes!"