Chapter 553: Ning Zhuo Made a Great Contribution!

Zhao Xi's current situation was not very good.

This time, under his presiding, the main army of the two countries organized a Nascent Soul level battle team specifically to deal with the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.

Under the dual divine abilities of the Heaven and Earth Combined Attack, only three Nascent Soul cultivators escaped, and the rest all died in battle.

This was a very huge loss for the main army of the two countries!

And as the highest leader at the moment, Zhao Xi had an unshirkable responsibility.

"I should have insisted on my original intention, there was no need to provoke any Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts!" Zhao Xi's own fighting spirit was not strong.

But he had no choice.

In his position, he planned his politics.

Before, the Heaven and Earth Twin Hooks, Fairy Fairy Hongxiu, and others were very arrogant, successfully snatching the spoils of the main army of the two countries.

The generals of the two countries all wanted to find the field back and boost morale.

Of course, there was also the meaning of testing Zhao Xi in this!

If this battle was won, Zhao Xi could continue to stabilize his authority. But the fact was that this battle was a miserable defeat, and the results of Zhao Xi's previous good opening were almost lost.

Zhao Xi tried his best to keep his expression and tone calm: "Gentlemen, don't worry, in this battle, my two countries will definitely win!"

"This is just a small setback, let's wait and see first, let True Person Lieyang and other cultivators return to the camp to obtain the most detailed intelligence."

A Nascent Soul level general snorted: "At the moment, it can only be so."

Another general also said: "I had mentioned earlier not to take such risks. Military affairs are always not to be provoked by anger. Sigh, loyal words are harsh but beneficial to action."

Zhao Xi's face was like ice, coldly looking at the cultivator who spoke.

Those two cultivators, however, did not avoid or retreat, looking at each other calmly.

The atmosphere in the room became stagnant because of this.

Just at this time, a subordinate reported that the three Nascent Soul cultivators had returned from the front line.

Zhao Xi: "Let them in."

Ten-odd breaths later, the three Nascent Soul cultivators led by True Person Lieyang walked into the room and met everyone.

"Sigh, defeated generals, returning to apologize!" True Person Lieyang immediately bowed, his face full of gray defeat.

Zhao Xi and others all cast their gazes.

They saw that the three Nascent Soul cultivators were all covered in blood, embarrassed, and their ashamed expressions still carried obvious fear.

Zhao Xi snorted: "I entrusted this carefully selected battle team to you. Lieyang, you actually acted like this?"

"You indeed have crimes!"

"Start redeeming your sins now, first hand over everything you know and heard, so that we can discuss new countermeasures."

True Person Lieyang no longer had the pride of a Golden Crow before, sighed toward the sky, and obediently cooperated: "Yes, Zhao Lord."

And Floating Cloud Child on the side shook his head: "It's impossible, there is absolutely no possibility of defeating the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts!"

"Their Heaven and Earth Combined Attack, the power is so strong, it is fundamentally impossible to resist."

"You are just lucky not to be selected, so you are still alive."

Floating Cloud Child's expression was very depressed, and he had no fighting spirit, lost and soul-less.

Zhao Xi roared: "Shut up!"

He pointed his finger at Floating Cloud Child: "Your Dao companion Mountain Peak Child died in battle, it is understandable that you are discouraged."

"But now the great battle is imminent, if you talk nonsense again and shake the military morale, I will definitely behead you to warn others!"

Floating Cloud Child looked at Zhao Xi blankly, smiled miserably: "Forget it, forget it."

A Nascent Soul level main general looked at Zhao Xi and suddenly said: "They are all warriors, able to face the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts head-on, and still keep their lives to return. I personally think there is nothing to criticize!"

The implication was that Zhao Xi, as the commander, had unshirkable heavy responsibility.

Zhao Xi stared at the person who spoke: "You!" Big Dipper Sword Master looked at the crowd arguing, with a gloomy expression.

He was a sword cultivator, but the flying sword that slashed the enemy became his reliance for fleeing in this battle.

His pride was shattered, and he only wanted to take revenge: "You guys chat, I want to immediately go into seclusion to recover my injuries as soon as possible."

"If the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts kill their way over,

After saying this, the North Star Sword Master turned and left without looking back.

As the leader of the main garrison, Zhao Xi naturally lost a great deal of face. The North Star Sword Master's self-willed behavior revealed the massive loss of Zhao Xi's authority.

However, just as the North Star Sword Master opened the door and was about to step out, a messenger cultivator ran in with a jade slip of intelligence, wild with joy.

"Victory report! A victory report from the front!!"

"Our army has won."

"The Three Generals Camp has won!"

"They drove away the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts! They might even have caused them casualties."

"Huh!"

The cultivator ran into the hall and saw that almost everyone's gaze was fixed firmly upon him.

In an instant, immense pressure weighed down on him like a mountain, making it difficult for him to even breathe.

"This is impossible!!" The North Star Sword Master, who was closest, widened his eyes until they were like copper bells and blurted out.

The messenger cultivator was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he sat down directly on the floor.

Bang.

Another general slammed the table hard: "Falsely reporting military intelligence is a heinous crime. You must know that you are going to be beheaded!"

Even Zhao Xi himself did not believe it; he shouted: "What exactly is the military situation? Present it first."

The messenger cultivator's body trembled as he snapped out of it. He hurriedly climbed up and, under the watchful eyes of everyone, trotted to Zhao Xi and handed over the jade slip.

He was so scared that he didn't dare to say another word.

Zhao Xi channeled his spiritual sense into the jade slip, his expression turning gloomy.

The council hall was deathly silent, and everyone's gaze was cast toward Zhao Xi, so much so that even the slightest change in his expression would fall into the eyes of those interested.

Then, everyone saw an unprecedentedly brilliant expression on Zhao Xi's face.

His eyes, which had been narrowed, suddenly opened wide, as if he wanted to pop his eyeballs out.

The shock he suffered was so immense and violent that Zhao Xi, who had always paid attention to his own official dignity and posture, subconsciously opened his mouth.

He was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth!

After the intense shock, his constricted pupils rapidly expanded, and his icy face seemed to suddenly reach spring; in an instant, it became bright and sunny, and all things seemed new.

"Won, the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts have been defeated and fled!"

"The Three Generals Camp has won!!"

"A great achievement! Ning Zhuo has made a great achievement!"

"Good, very good."

"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!"

"Hahaha."

The generals looked at each other, finding it hard to believe.

Some stared at Zhao Xi, not forgetting to remind him: "Army Supervisor, do not make casual misjudgments. You are the supreme leader of our main force."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xi glanced at him with disdain, and his laughter not only did not stop but became even more powerful.

For a time, Zhao Xi's loud laughter filled the council hall, echoing in everyone's ears.

"This military intelligence is supported by conclusive evidence. Not only is there detailed imagery, but there are also heavy treasures like the bronze sundial that were recovered!"

"In fact, the Three Generals Camp is already on its way back in triumph." "In this battle, our army lost first and then won; the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts have fled in defeat. We won!"

As he spoke, he threw the jade slip in his hand directly at the face of the general who had just been insistent.

The general dodged in a hurry, scrambled to catch the jade slip, and immediately channeled his spiritual sense to check it.

The next moment, his expression also changed, becoming extremely astonished: "To, to actually have such methods!"

"What exactly happened?" someone asked urgently.

The extremely shocked general was still digesting the military intelligence and gave no response.

"Oh my, I'll just look at it myself!" The general beside him was impatient and grabbed it directly.

The speed of reading with spiritual sense was extremely fast; the next moment, he also widened his eyes: "Ning, Ning Zhuo, this junior, what kind of sorcery did he use? How could he make Tian Shuang turn against them?"

"Turn, turn against them?!"

"Who turned against them???"

"Did I hear that right? I think I heard that the Heaven Ghost turned against them?!"

The remaining generals exploded; they couldn't sit still, and one after another, they stood up and reached out for the jade slip.

However, one person was faster than them.

That was the North Star Sword Master.

The North Star Sword Master held the jade slip, read through the contents, and stood frozen in place: "They really won?!"

"Did the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts die!?" Fuyunzi became excited.

His Dao companion, Shanyuezi, had died in the Heaven and Earth combined attack; the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts were his greatest enemies in this life.

Fuyunzi had felt that revenge was hopeless in this life, and he never expected that he would wait for the news of the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts' defeat.

However, Fuyunzi didn't manage to grab the jade slip; the generals surrounded the North Star Sword Master, several hands pressed onto the jade slip at the same time, and several streams of spiritual sense poured into it simultaneously, competing to read the military intelligence in the jade slip.

For a time, exclamations arose one after another.

Soon, the jade slip had been passed around and read by everyone.

Zhao Xi still sat in the main seat with a face like iron. But anyone could feel his relaxation, his joy, and his pleasure.

Zhao Xi coughed twice, attracting everyone's attention: "The Three Generals Camp has made a great achievement this time and must be highly rewarded."

"You must know, the opponent was the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts!"

It was precisely because a large number of Nascent Soul cultivators had died in the Heaven and Earth combined attack that the outstanding battle achievements of the four, Liu, Generals Guan, Zhang, and Ning, were highlighted.

"Reward, we must heavily reward these meritorious officials!"

"In this great battle, our two kingdoms will surely win!!"

Zhao Xi still couldn't hold back; when he reached the end, he clenched his fists and raised his arms to shout aloud.

The generals were silent.

True Person Lieyang, the North Star Sword Master, and Fuyunzi had different expressions.

Zhao Xi glared, scanned the crowd, and made a "hmm" sound with his nose, full of threats.

The generals realized, hurriedly spoke up, one after another expressing joy, expressing their firm belief in their side's great victory, and expressing their recognition and following of Zhao Xi's wise leadership.

"The Three Generals Camp has made such a sky-high achievement, how should they be rewarded?" True Person Lieyang suddenly asked, his expression complex.

Zhao Xi didn't hear the subtext and waved his hand: "Our army has always been clear about rewards and punishments; naturally, we will reward based on battle achievements, evaluating merits and awarding rewards in a down-to-earth manner, and we will distribute the battle achievements as quickly as possible to reward the meritorious and boost military morale!"

True Person Lieyang nodded: "That is natural."

"It's just..." he changed the subject, "Ning Zhuo, this child, has extraordinary methods, and his future is limitless."

"Being able to defeat the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts, his power is unexpectedly great, and he may influence the subsequent battle situation."

"We should protect him well!"

These words caused the joy on Zhao Xi's face to recede significantly.

He immediately fell into deep thought. Many generals also heard the deep meaning of True Person Lieyang and fell silent one after another.

After a long while, Zhao Xi spoke: "True Person Lieyang's concern is indeed correct. Quick, let us select a team of men to go out of the camp to welcome them, and quickly welcome Young Master Ning Zhuo back to the camp! He is the greatest meritorious official of this battle!!"

However, when the generals, led by Zhao Xi, met up with the Three Generals Camp, they found that Ning Zhuo had vanished.

"Where is Ning Zhuo? Where is Young Master Ning Zhuo?!" Zhao Xi questioned Liu Er.

Liu Er bowed: "Reporting to Lord Zhao, after this battle, our army was cleaning up the battlefield when a Nascent Soul cultivator appeared and revealed his identity as the bodyguard of Military Advisor Ning Zhuo."

"The Military Advisor had already been taken away by his bodyguard."

"Ah?!" Zhao Xi widened his eyes.

The group of Nascent Soul cultivators were also stunned.

True Person Lieyang asked urgently: "Are you sure he is Ning Zhuo's bodyguard? Can you guarantee it, Liu Er? If we were deceived, the greatest meritorious official of this battle would lose his life, and our two kingdoms would become a laughingstock!"

"Can you bear this heavy responsibility?"

Liu Er looked at True Person Lieyang calmly, puffed out his chest, and said with extreme confidence: "We are all very certain. This is because after this person revealed his identity, Military Advisor Ning woke up and confirmed it personally."

True Person Lieyang's eyelids twitched, he gritted his teeth, suppressed the regret in his heart, and tried hard to squeeze out a smile: "That's good, that's good!"

Zhao Xi sighed; without getting Ning Zhuo, he couldn't grasp the means to continue to check and balance the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.

His heart was full of regret, but he could only smile at Liu, Generals Guan, and Zhang: "You have all worked hard. This desperate battle demonstrated the courage of the Three Generals Camp and demonstrated the military might and fighting spirit of our two kingdoms."

"Follow me back to the main camp; I will definitely reward you well!"

Liu Er hurriedly thanked him loudly, feeling happy for Ning Zhuo in his heart—he had avoided this disaster.

It turned out that after Tian Shuang chased after Earth Gray and the battle ended, Zhu Zhu Xuanji, who had been watching the battle the whole time, frowned deeply.

He had a huge doubt in his heart—did Ning Zhuo really master the divine ability of Human Life Hanging by a Thread?!

Regarding this divine ability, the Nandou Royal Family knew many secrets. One of them was that unless one mastered mysterious methods, most people would find it difficult to discover Human Life Hanging by a Thread.

Cultivators who had mastered the divine ability of Human Life Hanging by a Thread could discover it.

Otherwise, the Nandou Royal Family would not have gone to such great lengths to send Shen Lingshu to probe for this answer.

"Ning Zhuo's state at that time, with the blessing of military strategy, was at the peak of the Jin Dan level. If he had this divine ability, he could have contacted the Tian Shuang mask."

"But divine abilities do not require physical contact, yet Ning Zhuo pressed both palms onto the back of the ghost mask. This action negates this possibility."

"Is my Buddha Heart Demon Seal alone enough to fill the ghost mask with Buddhist thoughts and then influence the true body?"

"Regardless, Ning Zhuo's situation is not safe; let's save him first."

Zhu Zhu Xuanji then let Lin Bufan come forward to bring Ning Zhuo back first.

After Ning Zhuo fell into a coma, Sun Lingtong drove the Ten Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon and flew out from Ning Zhuo's waist.

Although he did not leave the mechanical dragon, he still leaked his aura and voice to reveal his identity to the three generals.

Generals Guan Hong stroked his beard: "During the fierce battle earlier, I did feel someone take action to remove the ice cone from the Military Advisor's body. So it was you."

Zhang Hei "guessed" Sun Lingtong's identity and said knowingly: "Oh, I understand, you are the Military Advisor's little book boy."

Liu Er looked at the Ten Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon; he had long discovered this mechanical creation, but at this moment, he pretended it was his first time seeing it and sighed sincerely: "The Military Advisor is loyal and righteous, which is moving. With such a creation, he could have traveled through the void and retreated in advance. Yet he accompanied us in a desperate battle and never retreated. How lucky am I, Liu Er, to meet such a comrade?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Generals Guan and Zhang also changed their expressions, showing emotion.

Sun Lingtong rolled his eyes and thought: "Do you think we really didn't think about retreating?"

Of course, he wouldn't say it explicitly; seeing the expressions of the three generals: "Let this beautiful misunderstanding continue."

At this time, Lin Bufan took the initiative to appear, arousing the vigilance of the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp.

Liu, Generals Guan, and Zhang certainly did not trust Lin Bufan at first.

But Sun Lingtong spoke up for Lin Bufan at this time.

Lin Bufan secretly showed the Fire in Wood to the three generals.

The three generals finally trusted him initially, but still did not let Ning Zhuo leave. It wasn't until Ning Zhuo woke up and confirmed Lin Bufan's identity himself.

Lin Bufan suggested to Ning Zhuo that he separate from the Three Generals Camp and not return to the main camp of the two kingdoms.

Ning Zhuo also had this idea, so after distributing the spoils of war, he parted ways with the three generals.