Chapter 669: Camp Battle

Above ten thousand fathoms in Yingyuan, the space where Wangliang Mountain once existed had now become a battlefield.

Although everyone had escaped death in the instant the sky collapsed and the earth cracked, seeing that there was no way to heaven and no door to enter the earth, and that their own powerhouses had turned into the abyss to continue fighting without knowing the outcome, they were all somewhat lost and soul-less. At that time, their minds were blank, and even if their mortal enemies were opposite them, they had no mood to strike.

Just living in that world without sky or earth was difficult enough, and having to fight a war on top of that—was this even a life for people? Should they just commit suicide?

But as time passed, the situation changed.

Subsequent reinforcements arrived one after another.

The Turtle Bandits originally had teleportation gates. Although their main camp at Wangliang Mountain had been blown to the sky by Tang Zhao's mechanisms, the fact that even the Dazai had come showed that their "center" attached great importance to this. An Wang and the remaining Pillar States all had ways to contact the rear, opening a temporary teleportation gate, and new reinforcements soon followed.

As for Yunzhou, it originally lacked large-scale, long-distance teleportation arrays, but ever since Tang Zhao obtained the ancient Rune Formula teleportation array at Baiyujing, and after diligent research by Zhuoyu Villa, teleportation arrays had become standard equipment. Moreover, Yunzhou's preparations were very thorough; the Land Inspection Division had also prepared emergency teleportation arrays. With so many people from the Chaoyang Camp standing by, what were they waiting for if not to go up now?

Soon, reinforcements from both sides arrived one after another, and the first batch of reinforcements even prepared a landing platform for their own camp upon seeing the situation here.

The Turtle Bandits had prepared a giant mysterious turtle, retracted into its Turtle Shell; it was unknown whether it was alive or dead. Everyone moved onto the turtle's back, and even with several hundred people standing there, it was still spacious, like a small island.

As for the Yunzhou side, they had prepared a giant wind bird. It was originally crafted by Jiang Shenyi, based on his Wind and Thunder Wings. Later, after modifications by Zhu Yang and Xue Xianyun, the volatile wind and thunder were changed to a single wind element, and appropriate ice was added as a skeleton, making it sturdier. The head could be controlled, and the platform on its back could seat many passengers; it could be considered an aerial fortress.

With both sides having a place to land and reinforcements arriving, the atmosphere began to turn sour.

Added to this was the fact that they all had extremely important people fighting below, yet they couldn't even watch, and not a single message could be transmitted. At first, it was naturally panic, but as time passed, it gradually turned into restlessness.

That restlessness, like ants on a hot pan, combined with a sense of powerlessness, made one wish they could have a fight just to find relief.

Then let there be a fight.

When everyone had this intention, and with the camps already clearly divided, friction turning into war was a logical progression.

It was unknown who started it; perhaps one side threw a strand of Sword Qi across the void at the other, and the battle erupted. As for who started it, both sides naturally claimed the other fired the first shot.

The battle quickly reached a white-hot intensity. Sword Qi crisscrossed, and Sword Techniques and Sword Arts flew wildly. The form of the battle was similar to the shelling of pirate ships; while it was said to have tactics, it was actually still dominated by "fire the big cannons and blast their mothers."

The first to suffer were naturally the Manor Lords in the middle. They were not qualified to board the ships, and neither side would accept them, so they could only huddle together. What happens when a canoe encounters a warship in the middle of the ocean? The only thing that might be useful is praying to the gods and Buddhas.

Some of the more perceptive Manor Lords slipped away before the reinforcements arrived, but most could not escape.

If the Turtle Bandits were just firing indiscriminately, then on the back of the Yunzhou bird, there were people specifically sniping at them. Those White-haired Swordsmen had traveled up the mountain and hadn't really made a move despite the successive changes, feeling only that the world was turning upside down and they were overwhelmed. Now that they had recovered and their confidence was growing, seeing the Manor Lords right before their eyes, how could they let them go? Even if they lacked the courage for close-quarters combat, did they not even have the courage to throw Sword Qi from afar?

Every Manor Lord was targeted by several or even a dozen White-haired Swordsmen. It didn't matter if they had damaged their own manor or not; as long as they were Manor Lords, they were worth an extra sword.

For anyone to survive under such concentrated fire, let alone their ancestral graves smoking, their ancestral graves would need to be erupting mushroom clouds to be enough.

Among the Manor Lords' teams were guests from other places who, strictly speaking, were just caught in the crossfire, but at this time, there was no way to distinguish them. Anyway, to the White-haired Swordsmen, these people were either slave traders or slave buyers, so beating them all to death was non-negotiable.

Only a few who were more clever and bold, such as that Liu Shusheng, Liu Hu, saw the giant bird flying toward them and shouted from afar: "I am a partner of Lord Tang Zhao! I am a partner of Lord Tang Zhao! Bring me up!"

Jiang Shenyi, who was controlling the direction of the wind bird, was startled and couldn't really tell truth from falsehood. Wei Se, who knew the most information, was suspicious but couldn't be one hundred percent sure. Everyone still gave face to Tang Zhao and, adhering to the principle of "better to let a guilty one go than to punish an innocent one," pulled him up.

This Liu Hu was something of a talent; as soon as he got up, he drew his sword and said, "I will fight side by side with you all." With such a stance fully displayed, it was truly difficult to kick him off.

During the stage where both sides were throwing Sword Qi at each other, although innocent bystanders were harmed, there were not many casualties on their respective fortresses. But as the battle became more intense, the wind bird and the mysterious turtle moved closer and closer, eventually reaching a certain distance and turning into a boarding battle.

Once it turned into a boarding battle, one could no longer throw Sword Arts around recklessly. At this time, besides personal strength, one also had to rely on tactical proficiency, which required someone to command. The Yunzhou side was divided into left and right wings; one side was commanded by Feng Jianxia, leading the White-haired Swordsmen and the people of Baiyujing, and the other was the main force of Yunzhou. Both sides had their own chains of command and had never trained together; reorganizing them together would only hinder each other, so fighting in separate paths was the best method.

Behind them was a reserve force, which actually consisted of people like Jiang Shenyi, Feng Zhilie, and Wei Se, who didn't seem suited for battlefield combat. They didn't need to be on the front lines, but stayed together to control the wind bird's movements, ensuring the safety of their own battlefield so they wouldn't have their home base stolen. At the same time, if an opportunity arose, they could descend from above to kill into the battlefield, turn the tide, or deliver a decisive blow.

Among them, some felt they could join the battlefield and didn't want to sit idly above, but in this kind of war, one had to obey commands and had no room for free play. As for unstable elements like Liu Hu, they were naturally kept in the center with someone specifically watching them to prevent him from disrupting their own formation.

On the other side, the Turtle Bandits were all battle-hardened elite soldiers. The three Upper Pillar States plus An Wang could all lead troops. Although their number of top-tier combatants was slightly fewer, their strength was absolutely outstanding. They were rich in combat experience and command experience, and their subordinates were all elite troops they had personally trained, which was a huge advantage in this kind of battle.

The battle was intense from the start, with the Sword Guests entangled in the form of an army. On the narrow fortress, intricate and clever Sword Arts were not as useful as uniform Sword Qi and Sword Arrays. And after years of tempering, the combination of Spirit Officials with orderly division of labor and complementary strengths had even more miraculous effects.

Looking from above, although the battle was hard-fought and inseparable, there was generally an advantage on one side.

"Are we..." Jiang Shenyi, standing at the head of the bird, was at the highest point and furthest from the battle, making him the most clear-headed bystander. Feeling that something was amiss, he couldn't help but mutter to Wei Se. He could only mutter to Wei Se; speaking loudly would risk disrupting the morale of the army.

Wei Se gave a hum. Judging the battlefield situation was a professional job, and he was not a professional.

He could only say that from his own combat intuition, the situation was very scorching. The Yunzhou side was at least still in a stalemate, while the Baiyujing side was struggling to hold on.

The White-haired Swordsmen still had fighting spirit, but their tactical proficiency was lacking. After all, just a month ago, they were still "hired thugs" or what were called "claws and fangs" or "running dogs." They had undergone no more than three days of military training before being sent to the battlefield. If it weren't for the fact that they were already swordsmen who had seen blood, it would have been worse than press-ganging, and they should have been routed by the opponent's first charge.

In this situation, it would be strange if they could hold on; it was only natural that they couldn't. If it weren't for the fact that there were more Sword Heroes sitting in command here, and the battlefield was very limited with nowhere to escape, they should have been utterly defeated long ago.

Wei Se observed for a while, feeling anxious in his heart, and said, "We should think of a way..."

Jiang Shenyi suddenly said, "Let them lure the battlefield over. If it's on our own turf, I have a way."

At this time, the wind bird and the mysterious turtle were very close, and the main battlefield was on the side of the mysterious turtle. Logically speaking, this front line represented that the Yunzhou side had the upper hand, but such a small battlefield had no cities to lose or gain, so it was mainly about the preservation of living forces. Being on one's own turf definitely had an advantage.

Wei Se was about to speak when he suddenly saw a patch of blood-red color rise over the battlefield—

"Sword Technique—Collective Execution!"

Only a few *chi-chi-chi* sounds were heard, and a burst of blood sprayed up on the Turtle Bandits' battlefield, with dozens of heads flying into the sky!

That is...

Wei Se suddenly remembered a person, and a cold, stern face appeared in his mind.

Although it was a war, the number of soldiers on both sides was only about a thousand. Suddenly, dozens of heads shot up in a cluster, a very spectacular sight that instantly broke the balance. They heard Fu Xianchan shout loudly: "Charge!"

The Yunzhou swordsmen attacked simultaneously, Sword Qi crisscrossing!

This wave caused another large number of casualties, and the battle on the left wing was completely decided!

"Well done!" Jiang Shenyi and the others on the wind bird were overjoyed at the same time: in a battle, it all depends on who breaks first. One collapse can lead to a total collapse. Regardless of how shaky the White-haired Swordsmen were, they gritted their teeth and didn't break, but the Turtle Bandits' side broke first, and Yunzhou instantly turned the tide of the battle!

Jiang Shenyi took the opportunity to flap the wind bird's wings, sweeping away a few more Turtle Bandits on the opposite side. His control of the wind bird was far more flexible than that of the mysterious turtle. The mysterious turtle could probably also cooperate with the Turtle Bandits in battle and even provide bonuses, but it was not as immediate as Jiang Shenyi.

"Damnable low-borns!" In the middle of the battlefield, An Wang, whose team had been scattered, was furious. Everyone else's teams were fine, but his side had lost its footing; didn't this make him look like a huge failure?

"I didn't want to use this, but you forced me!" He suddenly waved his hand, and a stone tablet carried by a mysterious turtle descended from the sky.

On the stone tablet were four large characters: "Mountains and Rivers Shattered"!

Fu Xianchan widened his eyes and shouted: "Mountain and River Tablet! That one belonging to the Dazai, how did it get into his hands?"

Little did they know that this Mountain and River Tablet was originally a National Fortune Tablet, deeply bound to the Imperial Throne and following the royal family. The Dazai had only been able to wield it with the authorization of the "Wei Emperor." After the Dazai let go of it, this Dharma Artifact automatically found the closest, most direct bloodline of the Great Wei, which was An Wang.

Although An Wang was not enough to exert ten percent of its power like the Dazai, relying on his bloodline advantage, he could always manage three percent.

"Let me give you a taste of Sword Immortal-level shock!"