Chapter 2800

Zhang Kangyi stood inside a ruined building.

After receiving the message, the surrounding wild forest was pitch black, with only the rustling sound of spirit rain striking branches and leaves.

Du Shian, one of the two chief commanders of the Eastern Army of Beijia, strode in from outside and asked him: "What excuse did Huaiyuan find to fight this battle?"

The battle at Mingsha Forest was in full swing, and the avian scouts they sent had all seen it. That scene and the demon emperor's demand for troop withdrawal were clearly going in opposite directions.

"He said that when the Emperor's Elixir erupted, Panlong moved first to launch a sneak attack, and he had no choice but to respond in battle."

Du Shian let out a sound of surprise: "That actually makes some sense."

When their avian scouts flew over, they only knew that both sides were fighting, but did not know who struck first.

Zhang Kangyi replied angrily: "Just an excuse. On that battlefield, there were literally dozens of gods locked in combat—could it really be because the enemy struck first that they showed up?"

Dozens of gods descending to the mortal realm would require dozens of immortal or monster husks to correspond. Without prior preparation, which army could possibly have that many husks?

Huaiyuan's army should not have that either.

The divine body quotas allocated by the demon emperor to each army are very specific, and the number of gods appearing in this battle truly far exceeds the scale.

The two senior commanders are very clear about the domestic situation and fully understand the contradiction between the demon emperor and the gods.

Zhang Kangyi sighed: "The fact that Huaiyuan's army could produce dozens of gods shows that the gods have already staked their treasure on this final battle. Huaiyuan has no choice but to fight."

Du Shian then straightened his face: "If so, we shall report to the Emperor that Huaiyuan defies imperial edict and rebels against the state—please, Emperor, strip Huaiyuan of his post as Southeastern Commander and deprive the entire army of its spiritual power."

This accusation could be considered major.

Zhang Kangyi waved his hand: "Let us just report it; do not jump to conclusions—let the Emperor decide for himself."

Although to them, Huaiyuan's argument was pale, his intentions sinister, and he was a loyal follower of the gods, battlefield developments are hard to predict, and there remains a small chance that it truly was the Panlong army that launched the first attack, with Huaiyuan merely leading his forces in response. In that case, if the Beijia army's spiritual power were stripped away, facing the Panlong forces, they would likely suffer heavy losses.

"Hmm, that's the safe way." Du Shian understood: "Still, you're the more thorough one."

Zhang Kangyi continued: "Even if the Emperor orders us to recall Huaiyuan's command seal and military authority, by the time we reach Mingsha Forest, the earliest we could arrive is after dawn, and the Red General should have arrived even earlier than us."

The Red General led the Great Wind Army in a swift march, already far ahead of them—both of them naturally knew this.

"The Emperor could now recall Huaiyuan's military authority, but to sever the spiritual power of the entire great army would take at least..." Du Shian calculated the time: "Hmm,... at least three or four hours."

For the demon emperor to strip spiritual power from an individual commander is quick—just need to send down an edict stamped with the state seal. But to withdraw all the spiritual power originally allocated to the million-strong army takes time. It's not as simple as stamping a seal here and having it all snap back there with a clap.

Collective matters have never been as easy to handle as individual ones.

Moreover, when the state's military gathers together, it inherently generates spiritual power—merely a matter of strength or weakness. Even if the demon emperor strips it, he cannot strip it completely clean.

Three or four hours later... Zhang Kangyi unconsciously glanced at the sky. By then, it would already be bright, and the Red General should have arrived by now? "No matter what, let us first report to the Emperor."

During these few hours, nothing major will happen, will it?

On the Mingsha Forest battlefield, Shichu was currently fighting the Beijia immortal Xiu Tu.

This Xiu Tu was a hulking giant, one and a half zhang tall, with three eyes.

It lived with its three-eyed tribe in the Moyun Forest of northern Beijia, possessing infinite strength and enjoying eating humans.

Unlike ordinary giants, when still, they resemble a great mountain of flesh; when moving, they resemble a moving mountain of flesh—each step causes the ground to tremble, unable to bear the weight.

Their bodies are covered with a layer of extremely thick fat, normally gel-like in texture. Their innate ability allows them to treat this fat layer as armor—hard when it should be, soft when it should be—tough yet elastic, making blades and spears difficult to penetrate, and even enemy heavy weapon strikes, after being dampened by this fat armor, find it hard to injure their internal organs and bones.

Thus, they earned the nickname "Flesh Mountain Giants."

Though the name is unpleasant, this fat armor is truly practical and equally effective against various divine abilities and combat techniques. Each charge by these three-eyed giants is like a war chariot—though they cannot match the effect of war elephants, they can still send all Panlong soldiers in their path flying.

Xiu Tu's opponent should have been General Zhao Jinghe, but the latter was wounded by the Bai Zhan Tian, so Shichu temporarily took his place. Though Dean Xu usually teaches in the academy and wins people over with virtue, when faced with unreasonableness, he also knows a bit of fist and foot.

The weapon he brought out today is a Jin Gang Pestle, with a special effect of "One Against a Hundred," capable of amplifying the wielder's strength several times. Though not as exaggerated as a hundredfold increase, when Xu Shichu exerts a single unit of force, striking the enemy turns it into five or six units.

Though there is an overall limit, swinging the Jin Gang Pestle allows him to easily smash incoming cavalry—both rider and horse—flying away.

Xu Shichu also clearly understands that, on the battlefield, the effects of most divine abilities and techniques cannot compare to genuine blades and true spears in direct combat.

However, Xiu Tu's hide is indeed excessively thick. Xu Shichu struck it repeatedly in succession—whether relying on the pestle's inherent force or the divine ability attached to it—had little effect against Xiu Tu. At most, once he managed to give it a concussion, but Xiu Tu merely shook its head and charged at Xu Shichu with even greater ferocity.

The immortal categories of Beijia are truly diverse.

Xu Shichu cursed: "You too became an immortal in the mortal world—why then do you slaughter your kin for the demon?"

"You are not my kin!" Xiu Tu snorted twice. Humans, he usually takes as food—"You are the fools, facing death yet unaware of repentance."

Xiu Tu charged forward for the third time.

With his massive build and broad frame, Xu Shichu felt a fierce wind blast his face, his breath nearly cut off—but when he lifted his head, he happened to see an abnormality in the sky from behind Xiu Tu's head.

Oh no, not good!

He quickly raised the Jin Gang Pestle and thrust it forward.

Xiu Tu did not block, continuing to grin wickedly as it lunged forward.

Human attacks are pitifully weak—so long as the opponent does not stab the eyes, it doesn't care. But Xiu Tu was also angered by the blows, and once it catches this person, it will first take a few bites before continuing the fight.

But this strike by Xu Shichu was not meant to harm—just as the pestle tip touched Xiu Tu's skin, a rebound force erupted, violently bouncing Xu Shichu four or five zhang away.

This change came suddenly—Xiu Tu lunged into empty air. He was about to pursue when he suddenly felt wind at the back of his head.

Eh?

By the time he sensed the danger, it was already too late.