Chapter 641: Great Defeat

On the Four Spirit Warship, Xiang Feiyu gazed at Wu Tie with unfriendly eyes.

"To speak frankly, even though I am now a guilty man, I really can't hold back this temper."

"Only the weak would have those messed-up thoughts."

"Prince An, your so-called art of war is nothing but opportunistic tricks, nothing but various lowly tactics."

"I have lived over thirty thousand years, experienced countless battles; true powerhouses never stoop to such petty tricks. A proper frontal army just needs to crush the enemy head‑on— the stronger side wins, and war is really that simple!"

Xiang Feiyu crossed his arms over his chest; the dozens of holes punched into his body by the Martial Fury Thunder had healed, leaving no trace.

Upon achieving divinity and forming a divine body, the flesh gains all kinds of miraculous abilities. Unless the origin is injured, even wounds that look severe can be completely healed in an instant.

At this moment, Xiang Feiyu stood there, aged and stern, using his war experience to lecture Wu Tie.

He even disdainfully spat a mouthful of saliva over the railing, not caring that below was a newly built prisoner camp.

With a booming "dong", an arrow tower inside the prisoner camp was crushed to powder by Xiang Feiyu's spit. As a divine spirit, even a single hair possesses supreme power; if the force hidden in a mouthful of saliva were truly unleashed, everything within a hundred li would be reduced to dust.

Wu Tie stood before Xiang Feiyu, squinting his eyes as he sized him up.

"A proper frontal army, crush head‑on, the stronger side wins… you put it so simply."

Wu Tie shook his head and gave a cold chuckle: "But don't you think about the soldiers who are smashed to pieces in a frontal clash? When you generals issue an order, how many orphans and widows appear across the land?"

Xiang Feiyu widened his eyes, staring at Wu Tie as if he had seen a ghost.

After a long while, Xiang Feiyu finally shook his head in astonishment: "I never expected that the mighty Prince An, who ruthlessly wiped out the First Army's forces and even his own Four Palaces Twelve Guards, would still have such a tender heart!"

Letting out a strange laugh, Xiang Feiyu sneered: "They're just ants; what does it matter how many die or get hurt?"

Raising his head, Xiang Feiyu thrust his hand forward with the heroic air of one pointing at the rivers and mountains: "The common folk of this world are like leeks—cut one batch and another grows, endless for generations… those ant‑like soldiers are naturally endless as well… how could Prince An act like a lovesick youth and feel pity for them?"

"Ants?" Wu Tie stepped forward a few paces, stood on the prow, and slowly patted the warship's rail, saying: "Old General Xiang Feiyu, don't forget that your Xiang family still has a blade hanging over each of your heads."

"I, the prince, can decide the life and death of every member of your Xiang family."

"So come on, tell me something I like to hear… otherwise, I'll send a memorial back to Green Hill City, and you'll see what fate awaits your Xiang family."

Xiang Feiyu's face suddenly changed.

He fell silent for a moment, then his rugged face broke into an extremely ugly smile, strained with a hint of flattery and enthusiasm.

"Prince An, you are absolutely right… as commanders we should cherish our soldiers… we commanders are like parents, and the soldiers are our children; we must protect them carefully."

"Ah, Prince An's words are truly a perfect maxim—if my Xiang family had understood this earlier and valued the soldiers' lives more, ah, ah, we wouldn't have fallen to this state, would we?"

"Your insight into the art of war is truly exquisite, truly supreme—ah, I've fought all my life and never knew war could be waged this way… frankly, if we speak of the famous generals of the Three Kingdoms, you are truly the number one under heaven!"

Xiang Feiyu has probably never flattered anyone like this in his entire life.

Therefore, this round of flattery made him feel nauseous, and Wu Tie also felt creeped out, utterly embarrassed.

Wu Tie hastily waved his hands, frowning: "I'm not nearly as remarkable as the old general claimed… I'm just…"

After a moment's thought, Wu Tie slowly said: "I merely regard the soldiers as my property and hate to waste them… you see, I even went to Demon‑Suppressing City to buy slaves, simply because my direct subordinates are too few."

"These fine young men… the old general said they're like leeks, which isn't wrong, but what if among the leeks there sprouted a few stalks of lingzhi ginseng?" Wu Tie turned, pointed at his nose, and laughed: "What if among them there are also a few talents like me?"

Xiang Feiyu's old face twitched violently.

He really wanted to spit a mouthful of saliva onto Wu Tie's face— "talent"? Do you think everyone in the world has your dog‑shit luck?

However, Wu Tie had a line that actually matched Xiang Feiyu's worldview—he said he regarded those soldiers as his property… that remark resonated strongly with Xiang Feiyu.

Yes, property.

These soldiers are all property.

Think of the Xiang family's private army, the Halberd Soldiers—back when they were around, the Xiangs didn't think they were all that precious.

But once they were completely gone, the entire Xiang household realized that without those loyal Halberd Soldiers, many things became a hassle—especially the huge pension payments and other expenses… all of which are money!

"Prince An's words make sense, they're very reasonable." Xiang Feiyu nodded slowly, firmly stroking his chin beard: "Hmm, indeed, capturing alive is more troublesome than slaying, but these prisoners are all money, tsk tusk… quite reasonable, quite reasonable."

Wu Tie gave a cold smile and turned his gaze toward the White Wolf River.

In the night, with Wu Tie's eyesight, he easily pierced the clouds and saw the warships patrolling high above.

Nearly a thousand warships could be seen weaving through the high sky, dodging the beams of light spewing from ground‑based fixed turrets while continuously pouring down devastating main‑cannon blasts onto the mountainous regions below.

When the large‑caliber main guns fired, the air trembled and faint rolls of thunder echoed in the void.

The allied forces of the two nations besieging White Wolf River were mighty; they planned to fully capture White Wolf River and then march straight into the heart of the Green Hill Divine Kingdom. According to reconnaissance, the two nations together have at least thirty thousand warships of various sizes here.

However, keeping the warships afloat and maneuvering consumes enormous energy; the giant energy furnaces burn vast quantities of essence crystals— that's literally burning money.

Therefore, all these warships are docked in the military camp.

In the military camp, within the settlement arranged for the defeated troops under Linghu Jiu, an invisible poisonous gas spread rapidly.

The military judges patrolling the camp, together with the troops behind them, all swayed and collapsed heavily in the snow.

Inside the camp, the defeated soldiers who had been tossing and turning, unable to sleep, suddenly relaxed and fell one after another into a deep slumber like contestants in a race.

The outer patrol units also collapsed silently onto the ground.

Some soldiers poked half their bodies out of the watchtowers, wanting to see what had happened.

When the poison gas arrived, those soldiers peering outward blacked out and fell straight from watchtowers several zhang high. Fortunately the snow on the ground was three feet deep, so these thick‑skinned soldiers didn't suffer any injury from the fall.

The doors of the armory barracks opened, and platoons of Giant Divine Soldiers floated out silently, hovering three feet above the ground.

They swiftly flew to the surroundings of the camp, instantly occupying this sector of barracks; then the thick armor plates on their chests and shoulders slid open soundlessly to either side, revealing dense, honeycomb‑like launch nests inside.

A constant hiss filled the air as countless thumb‑thick, half‑foot‑long Chaos Fire Bolts shot upward with tiny flame tails, tracing sharp arcs before plunging down rapidly onto several nearby barracks.

Whether it be Great Wu, Great Wei, or the Green Hill Divine Kingdom, when marching to war, the main camp will surely be laid with overlapping layers of formations.

Especially the various sentry formations and those that block the void and the five‑element escape arts, which are kept active around the clock. With these formations, enemy scouts versed in evasion techniques—or assassins—cannot easily infiltrate the camp.

Especially the various warning formations, the various formations that seal off the void and seal off the five‑element evasion techniques, are kept active around the clock. With these formations, enemy scouts proficient in evasion techniques, or assassins, will not easily infiltrate the camp.

In other words, if the enemy attacks the main camp from outside, the camp's defensive formations will block all external assaults.

However, the soldiers inside the camp— their bows, bed‑crossbows, and even spell attacks— are not hindered by the formations. Attacks originating from within the camp can easily be unleashed upon the enemies outside.

But the soldiers inside the camp—their bows and arrows, bed-mounted crossbows, and even magical attacks—are not blocked by the formation. Attacks originating from within the camp can easily be vented on the heads of the enemies outside the camp.

Only targeting the outside, not the inside.

So these Chaos Fire Crossbows easily hit those few barracks, accompanied by huge explosion sounds, as clouds of fire shot up into the sky.

Sharp cries came from all directions, followed shortly by ever-larger explosion sounds continuously emanating from those barracks.

In this camp, the formation's eyes and hubs of the grand defensive formation were directly blown to smithereens by these Giant Divine Soldiers; the thin light curtain covering the barracks above instantly vanished without a trace.

"Enemy attack!" In the distant camp, an officer clad in heavy armor charged out.

Behind him, a flickering silhouette of metallic cold light flashed by; a Gold Essence flew past, its arm transforming into a blade that effortlessly severed his head.

More Chaos Fire Crossbows shot up into the sky.

Several formation hubs were blown up, the defensive formation in the camp violently trembled, and strong light burst out from many barracks due to formation overload. These lights undoubtedly marked the exact locations of other formation hubs for the Giant Divine Soldiers.

One barracks after another kept exploding, one formation hub after another was precisely destroyed; in the Wei camp, vast swaths of barracks were left completely exposed to the cold wind.

The Gold Essences that had invaded the camp scattered huge earthenware jars everywhere.

The jars exploded, and large amounts of viscous fluid, upon meeting the wind, instantly turned into thick poison gas that spread with the breeze.

Hordes of soldiers stumbled out of the barracks, dazed; many hadn't even had time to don their armor before their vision went black, their bodies went limp and they collapsed, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

Firelight blazed everywhere; the burly, ferocious silhouettes of Gold Essences and Giant Divine Soldiers flickered amid the flames, while Wei soldiers collapsed for no apparent reason; shouts, explosions, and chaotic orders rang out from all sides, and the Wei camp instantly descended into chaos.

Dozens of Chaos Fire Crossbows flew toward Wei's supply camp, toward the anchorage where Wei's warships were moored.

Several medium warships were hit by Chaos Fire Crossbows; amid the explosions, fire shot up into the sky, and amidst the flickering flames, powerful Fire Essences one after another shifted directly from the fire on the warships.

This is the Fire Essences' innate divine ability: within a certain distance, as long as there is fire, they can tear open the void and instantly teleport through the flames.

Hordes of Fire Essences appeared at the anchorage where Wei's warships were moored; they turned into viscous flames and swiftly flew over the warships. Rolling waves of flame engulfed large numbers of the ships; the soldiers on watch cried out in despair as they burst from the cabins, leaping from the ships engulfed in fire.

The Fire Essences' escape speed was extremely fast; in the short time it takes to finish a cup of tea, those warships hadn't even had a chance to start up before being completely engulfed in a sea of fire.

The fire was too intense; these warships hadn't had time to activate their defensive formations before seeing their alloy-cast hulls rapidly turn red in the heat, then soften, and the heavy warship keels bend under their own weight, soon collapsing to the ground.

The booming sounds of warship collapses rang incessantly, while countless Chaos Fire Crossbows exploded at vital points in the barracks.

If enough high-ranking officers were present, perhaps Wei could still suppress the soldiers, organize sufficient personnel to maintain order, and even launch a counterattack to surround and annihilate the invading Gold Essences and Fire Essences.

Alas… the high-ranking officers of Wei had basically run off to the main commander's tent to feast and drink, and were even enjoying a tense 'sword dance' with Wu's 'allied' forces to liven things up.

In the main commander's tent, Xiahou Ben and Wu? and the others were momentarily unable to regain their composure.

What's going on with the explosions outside?

Where is this towering blaze coming from?

What are those soldiers running about wildly for? What are they shouting?

Xiahou Ben rose to his feet and shouted sternly: "Stay calm… stay calm…"

Wei values the refined bearing of scholars; even if the heavens were to collapse before them, they would keep their hearts pure as ice and show no emotion.

Wu's style, however, is more direct; Wu? leapt up, drew his sword, and screamed hoarsely: "Enemy attack, form ranks, prepare for battle…"

With a booming 'bang', a black bolt of lightning flashed from Wu?'s left hand; the yin lightning, charged with terrifying lethal intent, slammed heavily into Xiahou Ben's ribs, shattering several of his defensive treasures in one blow and causing him to vomit blood.

Wu? lunged to Xiahou Ben's rear, seized his neck with the left hand, and with the right hand brutally thrust his sword into Xiahou Ben's chest, the tip pointing straight at his heart: "Xiahou Ben, this is your main commander's camp… for the safety of myself and my many subordinates, I ask you to escort us a ways."

The main commander's tent was in utter chaos.

Wu's officers erupted, following Wu?'s example, and directly seized nearby Wei officers as hostages.

This is the Wei camp; hearing the commotion outside, in such chaotic warfare, if it were an attack by the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, that would be understandable; but if it were a trap laid by Xiahou Ben to ensnare them… that is also entirely possible.

First, preserve our own lives; we can talk about other things later.

As for taking allies as hostages, would that break the two nations' 'alliance'…

Heh… two wolves that temporarily teamed up to hunt a fat sheep—what kind of 'alliance' could there be?

"Charge out, form ranks, charge out!" Wu? gripped Xiahou Ben tightly and roared hoarsely: "Charge out!"

Wu Lei burst out from the crowd and seized Linghu Jiu: "Young lord, you ought to stay with my Wu! Hey, folks of Tushan Hall, follow me, or else… dying here wouldn't be so bad."

The main commander's tent was in utter military chaos, which stirred the outer camp into even greater disorder.

Suddenly, in the distance, Wei soldiers screamed hoarsely: "Enemy attack, enemy attack… Good heavens, so many ships… Where are our warships? Where are our warships?"

A dense 'hiss' sounded as countless arrows coated with a potent paralytic poison rained down from the sky, blanketing a large area of the camp.

Booming explosions continued without cease; all the formation hubs in the Wei camp utterly collapsed… the entire Wei camp lay completely exposed, stark naked, before Wu Tie's vast fleet.

Countless shouts came forth; huge numbers of Wei soldiers, bereft of command, turned and fled.

The routed soldiers triggered a chain reaction; across the hundreds-of-li-long encampment, soldiers ran hither and thither in panic, and gradually, earth-shaking roars began to echo from within the White Wolf River.

The Qingqiu Divine Kingdom troops holding the White Wolf River seized the moment to launch a counterattack.

"Defeated, defeated…" Wei soldiers screamed hoarsely, swords, spears, swords and halberds scattered all over the ground.