Chapter 624: The True Brave

In the ten-thousand-man camp, silence reigned, broken only by occasional shouts of the password.

Little Wei Yuan flew back to the central command and dropped Lord Tianyu; the Liwu immediately scrambled in chaos. Lord Tianyu was badly wounded, but not mortally so—the Wu clan's bodies were far sturdier than those of humans, and even if half their flesh was gone, they could slowly regenerate. As long as Lord Tianyu's heart still beat, he could gradually regrow.

Amazingly, after regenerating, the Liwu retained most of their memories; Little Wei Yuan thus concluded that the Liwu did not think with their brains at all.

Lord Tianyu's body would take considerable time to fully heal, but his upper-body combat capability remained intact. Little Wei Yuan placed Lord Tianyu on a supply cart, which also served to protect the logistics column.

Before dawn, the army marched out. Little Wei Yuan sat cross-legged atop a flying device, gliding slowly above the troops. The device had six nozzles, and by adjusting their direction, it could fly freely.

A hundred li away, nearly a hundred thousand Wu troops were slowly entering an open plain, forming ranks and waiting for Little Wei Yuan's forces.

In the Wu center, the young Wu stared at the sand table and said: "The human general's vanguard has been shattered—we only need a few thousand infantry to surround and watch them. They'll be forced to hold that mountain, too afraid to attack. Cui leads the main force; they've taken good terrain and have some cannons—those are harder to deal with."

A Wu with a long python body said: "Their cannons aren't worth worrying about. I'll just spit a bit of poison mist—they'll be forced out. If they don't come out, they'll all melt into blood."

Another Wu with an eagle head and blue eyes said: "These humans carry strong destiny. If you kill them all, the karmic burden will take over a hundred years to cleanse."

"So what? Doesn't Lei Dong's young master have a way to clear karmic burden?"

The young Wu said: "I have a method, but I can only handle so much karmic burden at a time. Use it sparingly. Our war with the humans is long—we'll still face counterattacks from other tribes, especially the Wild Ancestor Tribe. They've fully sided with the humans—they're Wu traitors!"

"Why don't we report this to Tiancheng? Let the Wu Ancestors punish them!" a Great Wu angrily said.

The eagle-headed Wu shook his head: "Tiancheng moves too slowly. Even if we report it, by the time the Wu Ancestors decide and issue punishment, it'll be decades later. We're far from the Wu heartland, tainted by humans—in the eyes of those lofty beings in Tiancheng, this is a cursed, barren land. They won't even read what we wrote."

Lei Dong then said: "For humans holding their ground, poison curses and blood curses are effective—but control the dosage. Let them be half-dead with poison, then send slave troops in to slaughter them. That way, we won't accrue karmic burden."

A Wu woman with silver hair said: "Though their destiny is slight, they make perfect offerings. If we capture them, in a few decades they'll become a high-quality offering family."

Lei Dong was tempted, but the demonic blade on his back released a wisp of black mist, dispelling the vague thoughts.

Lei Dong immediately frowned: "No! This isn't the time for offerings. Our first goal is to kill Little Wei Yuan—the human's child of destiny! If we kill him, even centuries of dormancy will be worth it. To enrage him, the best way is to kill—kill as many as possible!"

None of the One You Wu objected; clearly, Lei Dong held immense authority in the Lei Ze Tribe.

At that moment, a slender, winged flying serpent entered the tent. Like a ghost, it went unnoticed by all but the eagle-headed One You Wu.

The flying serpent's voice was shrill as it projected an image: "The humans have brought a new weapon called Tang Tianqi War Chariots. I've recorded their movements and some basic data."

In the image, three chariots advanced in line. The wide tracks fascinated the One You Wu; the image also marked the chariots' dimensions, weight, and armor thickness in key areas.

Nothing else stood out—except the armor thickness, which startled the One You Wu.

"Could this thing weigh nearly a hundred thousand jin?"

"Looks about right."

"A regular Great Wu probably can't pierce it."

"It's just slow."

After a brief discussion, the One You Wu and Great Wu had already outlined nearly all the Tang Tianqi War Chariots' characteristics.

Finally, Lei Dong said: "This iron box moves slowly and is limited in number—not a threat. Immediately order slave troops to dig a trench in front of our lines. No need for great size—five chi deep, one zhang wide. They won't be able to climb over."

Having settled this, Lei Dong scanned the tent and declared loudly: "Grandmaster Hongye has fallen into degradation, defeated by mere humans, now abandoned by Wu Tian and the Ancestors, stripped of her destiny. We rise in her stead—but we still lack one final touch of prestige."

"Kill Little Wei Yuan, seize his destiny, and I will ascend another level, seizing the entire Rain Nation! Then, our Lei Ze Tribe will no longer be a vassal—we'll stand as a proper tribe in the Wu realm, qualified to attend the Tribal Assembly in Tiancheng!"

The One You Wu's eyes gleamed with fervor. The eagle-headed One You Wu added: "Don't forget—the Rain Nation still competes with other nations for the title of Heavenly Wu."

Heavenly Wu… Lei Dong's eyes burned with unrestrained fervor.

Even with destiny's favor, even with the mysterious, self-aware demonic blade on his back—capable of standing alone against One You Wu—the title of Heavenly Wu remained impossibly distant, beyond even his wildest dreams. But with the Rain Nation, he'd at least have a chance to cross that threshold.

The path to greatness had begun. The first task was simple: kill one man named Little Wei Yuan.

Lei Dong forced calm into his voice: "Lately, I've listened to the voice of fate and discovered many humans wish to overthrow Little Wei Yuan's rule. We needn't even kill him—just defeat him, and his realm will shatter, his destiny scattering across the land."

"Then I'll distribute some of the collected destiny among you. Soon, though the Rain Nation has more One You Wu, we'll still dominate them. Since Grandmaster Hongye is destined to fall, let her never return."

The One You Wu erupted in joy, bowing together in thanks.

At noon the next day, both armies formed ranks. Little Wei Yuan brought up all his logistics troops, plus a thousand Liwu from the Wild Ancestor Tribe—totaling twelve thousand. Opposite them stood one hundred thousand elite troops of the Lei Ze Tribe.

At Lord Tianyu's side, a human Kaihui Daoji cultivator said: "Your Wild Ancestor Tribe can only send out a thousand warriors? That's weak. You claimed you've long held your own against Lei Ze—were you lying?"

The Kaihui Daoji cultivator spoke with great arrogance—but his face was Little Wei Yuan's, a martial avatar of Little Wei Yuan.

Lord Tianyu sighed: "These thousand warriors were sent under the pretext of personal vengeance. Otherwise, we wouldn't have sent even one! Openly aiding humans against other Wu tribes? That reputation is too shameful!"

Little Wei Yuan said: "That's not how it is. We humans are helping you fight your enemies—I'm here to serve you."

!

Lord Tianyu's eyes lit up: "That's true! I'll tell the Elders when I return!"

Both armies now formed their lines. Little Wei Yuan's front consisted of two thousand mounted infantry guarding dozens of supply carts in the center. Five thousand logistics troops held the flanks, two thousand each. Little Wei Yuan himself led three thousand Long Yi Iron Cavalry on the right flank—the formation deliberately unbalanced.

Lei Dong found the formation grotesque but forced himself to endure. He stepped forward and shouted: "Little Wei Yuan! Today, we fight on the banks of Haoyue River—this battle will be recorded in history for generations…"

He had barely begun his grand speech when Little Wei Yuan roared: "Shut up! Attack!"

Then Little Wei Yuan waved his hand—the war horns blared, drums thundered—and the army charged immediately, denying Lei Dong any chance to speak.

Lei Dong's grand rhetoric dissolved into fury. He ordered the army forward.

Two altars in the Lei Ze army rose with vast thunderclouds; archers surged forward, their spirits heightened. This Wu technique—using thunder to awaken warriors' potential—was Lei Ze's specialty.

Simultaneously, several thunderbolts shot from the clouds, crossing the battlefield and striking above Little Wei Yuan's formation. Little Wei Yuan focused his mind—military aura surged, neutralizing most of the thunder's power.

Meanwhile, the Liwu stripped off their animal hides, bare torsos bulging with muscle, some roaring to the sky, others pounding their chests, then leaping upward to block the falling lightning with their bodies!

In an instant, over a hundred Liwu were charred black and fell heavily to the ground; several died outright.

The surrounding Liwu didn't mourn—they grew ecstatic, dancing wildly around the dead Liwu's corpses in primal rituals.

Lord Tianyu said proudly to Little Wei Yuan's avatar: "See? Our Wild Ancestor Tribe's warriors are mighty! You needn't fear those two altars—the thunder curses are our responsibility!"

Little Wei Yuan was speechless—he'd never feared the thunder curses. Dozens of Kaihui Daoji cultivators were already erecting metal poles across the formation. These lightning rods, originally meant for heavenly tribulations, were trivial against Lei Ze's Wu thunder.

So those Liwu truly were brave warriors—but they didn't have to die.

The Lei Ze army had ten thousand archers. At five hundred zhang from the human formation, they halted and nocked arrows.

Little Wei Yuan was startled—this distance was over a hundred zhang farther than intelligence indicated. Were Lei Ze's archers this elite? Only Wild Ancestor Tribe's longbowmen could match this range. Normal elite archers maxed out at three hundred zhang, and even then had to charge under arrow rain. A hundred zhang extra meant four full volleys.

Lei Dong gazed at the human formation and sneered: "With my awakened ancient Lei Wu technique, our archers can fire heavy arrows five hundred zhang—strongest in this region! You humans, frail-bodied, think a few small cannons can challenge Lei Ze?"

No sooner had he finished than nearly a hundred infantry cannons rolled forward in Little Wei Yuan's formation. At the officer's command, all cannons fired at once—projectiles screamed into the archer ranks, blasting entire lines of Lei Ze archers into the air.

The infantry cannons roared in relentless waves; human cultivators darted like shadows, hauling and reloading shells.

Under continuous bombardment, the Lei Ze archer line collapsed into chaos. The few heavy arrows they managed to return were blocked by Liwu wielding massive shields beside the cannons.

(End of Chapter)