Chapter 576: Withdrawing the Army

"What, we are withdrawing the army?" Zhao Xi was still lying on the stretcher, and upon hearing this news, he almost sat up in shock.

He forced himself to restrain, still lying down, but his eyes widened, and his eyeballs rolled around wildly.

"Since the start of the war, our army has occupied the advantage, and the enemy army has already suffered a great defeat. This battle was lost because of Du Tiechuan; he was assassinated by Young Master Shengxu twice, he is simply trash!"

Zhao Xi was so angry that he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"The Ginseng-Bearded Long Wang didn't even fight, and our army actually lost."

"My battle merits, my battle merits..."

Zhao Xi wailed in his heart, knowing that because of this defeat, it would be very difficult to explain himself when he returned to the capital.

He had previously used the power of the Army Supervisor to take power—taking advantage of the power vacuum while Du Tiechuan was healing, and he had actually succeeded.

But subsequently, his performance was not outstanding at all.

Especially the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts and others, who forcibly took away the spoils deep underground on the battlefield. Afterward, he took the initiative to be a deserter in the second great battle.

Although he performed vividly, how could he deceive those with discerning eyes?

"No, I must protect myself with all my might!"

"Battle merits, I need battle merits to save my life!!"

Zhao Xi's own merits were obviously not enough to look at, but he had people under his command.

As a leader, if you don't share some of your subordinates' merits, are you still a leader?

The first person Zhao Xi thought of was Ning Zhuo.

"This kid is from the Nandou Kingdom, and just now he deliberately seduced Xiang Yue and withdrew from the battlefield. His trump card is so strong that he can repel the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts; it's too strange."

"He might just be a person of the Nandou Kingdom!"

"It is obviously impossible for me to ask him to come to the capital to report his merits."

Zhao Xi thought of Mu Lan again, and immediately denied it.

Mu Lan's General's Mansion was a bigger base than his, and Mu Lan had many battle records, but they were all used to revitalize the family.

It was too difficult for Zhao Xi to share merits from Mu Lan; basically, there was no need to think about it.

"The Three Generals Camp!"

Zhao Xi thought of this, and his pupils dilated slightly.

"Go find Liu, Guan, and Zhang quickly!"

"Our army is withdrawing, go find the three generals Liu, Guan, and Zhang, and tell them that their fighting in this battle was brave and their performance was outstanding; I want to reuse them! Greatly reuse them!"

Shuang Jing's face was pale, with no human color.

"My Bai Yu Camp is gone again..." He looked at the messy battlefield, with corpses everywhere, and he was simply unable to cry.

Two great battles, and both times they were lost in the hands of Xiang Ning. This time was even more tragic than the previous ambush; the Bai Yu Camp fought to the death and did not retreat in order to protect Su Ling's physical body. Without the blessing of the "Gao Sheng Testament," they could only use the flesh and blood of the soldiers, using constant sacrifice to painstakingly trade time from Xiang Ning.

Beside Shuang Jing, Su Ling comforted: "Don't worry, you and I will return to the capital together, and I will mediate for you. In this battle, even if you have no merits, you have hard work."

Shuang Jing was slightly comforted, but Su Ling's mood was very low.

In this battle, she didn't get many merits either. Throughout the entire great battle, besides beheading several Nascent Soul cultivators in the early stage, Su Ling was a firefighter in the middle and late stages, successively resisting Xiang Yue, Xiang Ning, Lu Hongtu, and others, which could be considered the hardest beating.

"Hateful."

"If most of my family fortune hadn't been intercepted, I would have been able to exert more combat power in this battle, and it wouldn't have been impossible to suppress Xiang Ning and Xiang Yue for a longer time!"

War is about resources.

Aren't the cultivation bases of cultivators also accumulated from resources such as talent, time, and materials?

What is the Hundred Arts of Cultivation? In essence, it is a method of transforming hundreds of excellent resources!

In this regard, mechanism arts are particularly obvious. Because this skill can be a collection of great achievements, in a single mechanical creation, there is a combination of artifact refining, formation setting, talisman making, alchemy, and other skills, and it can even be unified and leveraged through military strategy, and the multiple of combat power pried is the highest.

Su Ling's role in this battle was actually very important; if she hadn't fought personally, resisting the fierce attacks of Xiang Yue, Xiang Ning, and others time and time again, the Liangzhu Kingdom camp might have collapsed first.

It is not an exaggeration to praise Su Ling as the mainstay of the Liangzhu Kingdom army.

"Du Tiechuan endured for so long, and although he attacked and caused Xiang Ning to die in battle, he still didn't escape the assassination of Young Master Shengxu in the end. A dignified Soul Transformation level..."

"And that dog Zhao Xi, clearly having the festival staff and national arts, just didn't want to fight and fled before the battle! When it comes to enjoying the results, he is the first to be active. Hmph! When I return to the capital, I will definitely impeach him!"

Red Flower Camp.

Although Du Tiechuan's order to withdraw had been conveyed to Mu Lan, the latter was not in a hurry and still let the whole army stay in place to rest with all their might.

Zhang Zhongyi stood among the wounded soldiers, constantly using medical skills to turn serious injuries into light ones, and light injuries into minor ones.

He soon ran out of magic power and retreated, panting.

But unlike before, in the Red Flower Camp's medical team at this moment, he was no longer alone.

A squad of Rhododendron demons immediately walked into the wounded, continued to cast spells, replaced Zhang Zhongyi, and played an important role.

Coincidentally, Mu Lan came to inspect, and Zhang Zhongyi sighed to the female general: "Young Master Ning Zhuo has done a great good deed."

"The squad of flower demons he bought helped me a lot, and also helped the Red Flower Camp save many veterans and cure many recruits."

He thought highly of Ning Zhuo and also genuinely cared for Mu Lan, a junior, so whenever he had the chance, he tried his best to match Mu Lan and Ning Zhuo.

Although Mu Lan and Ning Zhuo had become husband and wife, Zhang Zhongyi knew that there was not much true love between the two.

Mu Lan nodded, her brows furrowing slightly.

Seeing her expression, Zhang Zhongyi immediately misunderstood and persuaded: "General Mu Lan, although our army is withdrawing, both consecutive great battles have defeated the enemy. Coupled with the fact that the Red Flower Camp has repeatedly made contributions before, there should be no problem in revitalizing the General's Mansion, right?"

Mu Lan nodded: "Of course."

The Red Flower Camp returned to the capital, and Mu Lan gave a quite beautiful response. She achieved her goal before setting off.

But there was still a lot of unwillingness lingering in the heart of this female general.

"It's a pity."

"If Du Tiechuan hadn't been stabbed, we would still be the advantageous side and could still occupy this place and constantly attack the surroundings."

"At least the Long Wang Giant Wood Mountain could have been captured!"

"This battle merit is quite substantial..."

Initially, Du Tiechuan arranged the strategy and did not immediately attack the Long Wang Giant Wood Mountain, but relied on this important place to lure the Thousand Peaks Forest allied forces to rescue it.

After the second great battle ended, the Long Wang Giant Wood Mountain was miraculously preserved.

Zhang Zhongyi persuaded: "The Long Wang Giant Wood Mountain is right here and won't run away; at worst, we will continue to attack the Thousand Peaks Forest next time."

"By comparison, Young Master Ning Zhuo has his family's mission, and after this battle, I fear he will not stay long."

"General Mu Lan, when it is time to act, act; seizing the time to spend more time with Young Master Ning Zhuo is the essence of military strategy."

Mu Lan glanced at Zhang Zhongyi and nodded sincerely: "You are right!"

Zhang Zhongyi felt very gratified. This was because Mu Lan's attitude toward Ning Zhuo had undergone a earth-shaking change from the beginning.

This could be seen from the fact that Mu Lan called Ning Zhuo "husband" in every sentence.

At the end of the war, Ning Zhuo had already led Xiang Yue to leave the battlefield first.

Zhang Zhongyi learned the secret from Mu Lan and was no longer worried about Ning Zhuo's safety.

Mu Lan expressed her view on Ning Zhuo: "This time, although I have revitalized the family, my status is still awkward."

"I need someone like Ning Zhuo to occupy the position of husband and resist external covetousness."

"This young man is very unusual; among the geniuses I have seen in my life, he is also one of the best."

Seeing Mu Lan appreciate Ning Zhuo so much, Zhang Zhongyi also became happy: "Yes, to be able to fight Golden Core with Foundation Establishment, and behead Nascent Soul, how many years does it take for such a person to appear?"

"What's more, he has fought side by side with you many times, and this fighting friendship cannot be fake."

Mu Lan sighed: "I know, when fighting the Ancient God of the Pale Moon before, if it weren't for Ning Zhuo's timely support, the Red Flower Camp's fate would have been worrying."

"I also want to spend more time with him and cooperate more deeply, but it's a pity that the hurried parting on the battlefield just now might be the last time we meet in the near future."

Zhang Zhongyi was greatly shocked: "Ah? Why is this?"

This iron-crutch doctor was very emotional and righteous, lacked calculation, and often had an unclear understanding of the situation.

Mu Lan explained: "Ning Zhuo deliberately let Xiang Yue go at the end; anyone with discerning eyes can see this."

"Du Tiechuan knows it even better!"

"Before, Ning Zhuo fought back the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts, which let everyone know that he possessed heavy treasures and had powerful trump cards. At that time, Ning Zhuo didn't dare to approach our army camp at will."

"Now, he has let Xiang Yue go again, and the latter is an extremely fruitful battle merit."

"The main reason for the army's withdrawal this time is that Du Tiechuan was careless and was assassinated by Young Master Shengxu. He is a defeated general; returning to the capital to handle things, I don't know how much blood he will have to shed."

"If there were Xiang Yue's head, he would naturally be better able to explain."

Speaking of this, Mu Lan narrowed her eyes: "So, Ning Zhuo has already formed a feud with Du Tiechuan. Since he has already left the army, naturally he will not come back in a short time."

Hearing this statement, Zhang Zhongyi couldn't help but open his mouth slightly, his expression stunned. Only then did he know that it would be difficult to see Ning Zhuo again in a short time.

In the end, Zhang Zhongyi sighed: "I just saw Young Master Ning Zhuo's figure disappear into the mountains and ridges, and didn't have time to say goodbye to him."

"Sigh, the things in the world are really unpredictable. I didn't expect that in the end, Ning Zhuo would form a feud with Du Tiechuan."

Liangzhu Kingdom camp.

Countless soldiers were cleaning the battlefield and pulling up the camp.

Ding Pi died, but not completely.

He was besieged by angry cultivators, his physical body was reduced to ashes, but his Nascent Soul shuttled through the void and escaped.

As for his apprentice, the child-like cultivator Jia Wan, he was tied up, tightly sealed, and brought before Du Tiechuan.

Du Tiechuan sat on a low stool, surrounded by a busy crowd and a battlefield like ruins.

He was assassinated, his face pale, without a trace of blood.

Seeing Jia Wan, Du Tiechuan frowned: "You two master and apprentice have a thin reputation, why are you willing to help the Thousand Peaks Forest and take such a big risk?"

"Bah!" Jia Wan spat, "Our Jia Mansion and the Liangzhu Kingdom are irreconcilable!"

Du Tiechuan suddenly realized: "So it is the remnants of Concubine Jia."

This involves an old story in the palace, concerning the rise of Concubine Hu, the revenge of Concubine Jia after falling out of favor, suffering the counterattack and framing of Concubine Hu's forces, and finally the destruction of the family.

Du Tiechuan looked at Lei Qingyang again: "How did you discover that these two were traitors?"

Lei Qingyang bowed: "Before, Lei came out of the formation to fight the Master of the Blood Shadow Cave. During the period, inexplicably, I was hit by blood mist and was fixed in mid-air."

"After this battle, the more Lei reviewed it, the more I felt something was wrong; there was no reason to be hit by that move."

"So I had some other guesses."

"Therefore, I refused others' healing, focused on my own treatment, looked for clues from the injury, and finally discovered the truth."

"It turned out that the qi in my body changed faintly, was captured by the Master of the Blood Shadow Cave, and before I could make a move, I was already locked on."

"Lei immediately understood that there was a traitor in the army and I had been plotted against."

"Afterward, I quietly conducted more investigations. Until I saw Li Jiuqu staring at General Zhao Xi, which made the latter bend over and vomit, spitting out a large number of centipedes and maggots, I suddenly reacted!"

"At that time, General Zhao Xi and Li Jiuqu were far apart, but it was also inexplicable, and he was hit by a spell."

"This shows that Zhao Xi's qi had also long been captured by Li Jiuqu."

"And being able to make me and General Zhao Xi suffer a plot at the same time, the scope of suspicion suddenly narrowed a lot."

"Lei continued to investigate and finally locked onto the master and apprentice Ding Pi and Jia Wan."

"After all, I and General Zhao Xi, as well as the rest of the comrades, had eaten a lot of spirit food before the battle, which increased a lot of combat power."

"It's a pity that it was one step late, sigh, it was just a little late..."

Lei Qingyang sighed and wrung his wrists.

Young Master Shengxu was able to carry out the second assassination because of the chaos caused by the master and apprentice Ding Pi and Jia Wan.

If Lei Qingyang had pointed it out in advance, it is very likely that Ding Pi and Jia Wan would have been suppressed directly, no chaos would have occurred, and Young Master Shengxu might not have had the opportunity to make a move.

And once this matter was done, Lei Qingyang's merits would have been great.

Du Tiechuan listened expressionlessly and nodded slightly: "The matter has reached this point, no need to mention it again."

His tone was flat, only his slightly contracting fingers indicated the unease deep in his heart.

Thousand Peaks Forest.

Poison Pool Giant Wood Mountain.

This is one of Tu Ming's lairs, but it has been smashed to pieces, with corpses everywhere, and wailing sounds continuously.

As the master of the mountain, Tu Ming is hiding deep underground.

Shen Qinghe hovered high in the sky, her hands continuously blooming with the light of the Clear Spirit Poison-Purifying Law. Under the reflection of the light, the poisonous things all over the mountains and plains made painful sounds, and the poisonous gas continuously collapsed and turned into nothingness.

Even the large Poison Dragon Pool was gradually purified into a pool of clear water.

Tu Ming was cold in his heart: "This 'Clear Spirit Poison-Purifying Scripture' is truly terrifying; how can there be such a method in the world that restrains poison arts so much?!"

After he participated in the battle, he was targeted by Shen Qinghe, and after several rounds of confrontation, he was not her match and could only retreat.

This retreat directly took him out of the battlefield.

Shen Qinghe was determined to hunt him down and chased him all the way to the Poison Pool Mountain.

Tu Ming was initially glad that one of his lairs was nearby. As a result, the arrangements on the mountain were continuously defeated by Shen Qinghe, and his subordinates were killed and injured by Shen Qinghe in countless numbers.

Even he himself only dared to hide and did not dare to clamor.

He was really restrained too severely! ===== CHAPTER 577 =====