Chapter 404: Tian Kehan!

Li Guanyi raced at high speed, charging toward the Military God Jiang Su.

There was no need to conceal himself anymore.

At this moment, Li Guanyi intended to strike directly at the rear of the Military God Jiang Su's army.

Using the most basic and effective formation in military tactics—the wedge formation—he smashed deep into the enemy, then shifted formation, beginning from both flanks, leveraging the numerical superiority of the Western Khanate Alliance to overwhelm and dismantle Jiang Su's forces with multiple times their numbers.

Like the slicing blades of lingchi, he carved apart the Military God's army.

Time was critical now; Li Guanyi could no longer afford to hesitate.

On the battlefield, blood and martial energy hung thick and deadly; Xiyicheng was completely surrounded. Though such a top-tier frontier fortress was not easily breached, it now lacked all reinforcement, as Jiang Su had taken every soldier to the front.

Especially Li Guanyi's actions reached the ears of the retreating Lu Youxian.

This veteran general of Chen had just fought through the night, forcing Jiang Xuantao to retreat; now, ignoring his countless wounds, he stepped back onto the battlefield, rallying broken troops, and added another layer to Li Guanyi's line with Chen's famed heavy-armored, heavy-shield infantry corps.

They would completely trap the Lord of Li.

The Lord of Li, known for his swift maneuvers, stared at the solemn old tortoise outside the city walls—within the defensive line, crossbows threaded between giant shields, fire-spewing mechanical beasts, spear formations—and his face turned ashen.

Two layers of tortoise shells!

Two layers!

Damn it!

Old tortoise!

Previously, the young Li Guanyi had never been skilled in defense; the Lord of Li had still harbored some hope of breaking through Li Guanyi's lines, unwilling to abandon Jiang Su's encirclement so easily.

That would be too disgraceful.

But now, seeing Lu Youxian, his battle robe drenched in blood, wounds covering his body, stepping back onto the battlefield, hands gripping his sword hilt, standing solemnly amid the fray, the Lord of Li was utterly torn.

Who says building a line right at the enemy's city gate isn't a defensive battle?!

To hell with the old tortoise!

"Li Guanyi… Li Guanyi…"

The Lord of Li clenched his teeth, stunned—how violently the battlefield and the world's balance had shifted; he could no longer make sense of it. Yet he still remembered the young general clearly.

Half a year ago, he had merely been a bold young commander—brave, yes, but young, and not particularly esteemed by him.

Who could have imagined that only half a year had passed?

This young warrior had transformed into such an awe-inspiring presence.

The Lord of Li gripped the city wall, sensing something faintly stirring, murmuring to himself: "... Was it because of his clash with Yu Langwang? Under Yu Langwang's extreme pressure, he rapidly evolved?"

Xia Hou Duan looked at him and said: "Lord…"

The Lord of Li sighed: "It's fine."

His expression grew calm, then he said:

"Er Lang is still out there."

Xia Hou Duan fell silent.

Xia Hou Duan asked: "So… are we surrendering?"

The Lord of Li laughed: "Surrender?" He gripped his sword hilt—he was an old man now, he admitted it; his youthful ardor had vanished, replaced only by a pretense of boldness and composure.

If he now surrendered the city, leveraging Er Lang's connection, it would not be an unreasonable option.

But that…

Would be undignified.

The Lord of Li tightened his grip on the sword hilt, suppressing the trembling of fear, then forced a calm smile, mimicking his younger self:

"I mean, Er Lang is still out there—my family won't die out."

"Xia Hou, summon all my sons and retainers. I want to test Lu Youxian's blade. The young generation rides the battlefield—how can we, the old, lose our boldness?"

The Lord of Li held his sword: "I am merely a man who lost his youthful ardor, forced to pretend—but even so, let me pretend until the end." His eyes fixed on the Chen general, sharp with aristocratic pride:

"My Li family of Longyou cannot end in such disgrace."

"Liezulie, even in death, we must die with glory—not be crushed by a young general, turned into a stepping stone for his rise to power. That would be undignified."

"Our family has been noble for generations—we must die as nobles do."

"How can we cower like turtles?!"

"Even if I die on this battlefield today, when future generations read history and praise Li Guanyi's valor, they must still hold three parts of respect for the Li family, who fell defending our nation and guarding our borders."

As Li Guanyi rushed forward to sever the Military God's rear.

The Lord of Li gathered all his strength and sallied forth to confront Lu Youxian.

This was what Li Guanyi had feared—but now, as he led his cavalry forward at high speed, he relaxed, trusting that the hastily built defensive line behind him would hold against the Lord of Li.

When Lu Youxian was the enemy, he was the most treacherous, the most infuriating opponent.

But when Lu Youxian was an ally,

he became the most reliable shield—silent, solemn, steady.

He could repel every threat from the rear.

When even Lu Youxian could not hold, the threat to the line had reached its absolute limit; though enemies, at this moment they shared the same foe.

Li Guanyi's eyes caught the swirling martial aura.

He gritted his teeth.

The Military God Jiang Su surged with unstoppable momentum; Li Guanyi could see the banners snapping fiercely, hear the sharp clang of weapons—the Tian Kehan cavalry alliance had leveled their long lances and accelerated sharply.

Their combined forces were about to clash.

Zing!!!

The collision of weapons emitted a piercing, resounding shriek.

A shockwave erupted.

The Tiger Roars to Heaven Spear was flung upward by a tremendous force; Xue Shen's left hand could barely hold the automaton's weapon, so he deliberately released it, letting the spear slide backward to dissipate the impact, then gripped the spear's tail end tightly with his right hand.

The Fire Qilin roared; Xue Shen pinched the spear's tail between two fingers and swept it horizontally!

Boom!!!

With the power of the Fire Qilin and the force channeled through Jiang Su's strike, Xue Shen's follow-up move pushed Wu Gong techniques to their extreme, concentrating overwhelming power beyond his limits to strike Jiang Su's vital points.

General Jiang Su remained utterly still, simply raising his battle spear vertically to block—and stopped the attack dead.

At the same time, his left fist slammed forward, shattering the Crimson Dragon Manifestation; its scales cracked layer by layer, the manifestation dissolving to reveal the true form of the charge-warrior.

General Yue Qianfeng crossed his twin spears, but was driven back by Jiang Su's punch, his blood boiling, his wrists twisted unnaturally, his face ashen.

His wounds from the battle with Yu Langwang had not fully healed, and now new injuries added to them, staining his battle robe with blood.

A single arrow from General Wang Shunchen made General Jiang Su tilt his head slightly.

He spun and struck, shattering the Fishing Master Jing Ke Ke's formation hidden amid countless troops.

Men and horses tumbled, yet this man stood firm, majestic and composed, like a god among soldiers.

General Jiang Su—invincible in all directions!

Jiang Su studied the opponent who, drawing on military momentum, could match him in combat; he scoured every scrap of intelligence in his mind but could not identify the man's true identity. Was he from the Mohists? Yet while the Mohists possessed mechanical arts, how could they wield such battlefield formations?

Yet if he were from the Military School, no warlord he'd ever heard of possessed such an automaton body—he growled coldly:

"Who are you?"

Xue Shen's automaton was riddled with countless holes; the original Mohist mechanical core was nearly punctured through. Even if Zhang Ziyong's arm still had vitality, this body was beyond repair.

After this battle, I'll need to replace the body.

The Mohists will have to bleed again.

Xue Shen sneered inwardly, yet summoned all his strength—only to find this vitality flowed longer and steadier than in life, yet its explosive power was weaker, and its synergy with battlefield formations far inferior.

With all his might, he struck—barely deflecting General Jiang Su's spear—and laughed mockingly, boldly declaring:

"It's your grandpa!"

Jiang Su said coldly: "So you're from the past."

"Though great generals abound through history, few can truly match me in battle. Since you won't speak, let Wu Gong decide the truth!"

"Again!"

Xue Shen clicked his tongue.

His least favorite type of warlord.

He struck again; the two continued their clash. Xue Shen was no match for the General, yet his vast battlefield experience and aid from martial legends allowed him to barely hold his ground—even so, the Mohist's original mechanical core was being shattered beyond recovery.

Jiang Su and Xue Shen clashed repeatedly, while other generals surrounded them to attack—but even then, the General moved calmly amid the encircling troops, as if strolling through a garden, while the Qilin Army suffered heavy losses.

Without General Wang Shunchen's relentless ranged support and the Fishing Master Jing Ke Ke's formation shifts,

casualties would have skyrocketed.

Even so, they could not touch the General. After another dozen exchanges, Jiang Su's spear pierced Xue Shen's automaton; he gripped the spear with both hands, pinning the automaton in place, then said:

"You wield the Tiger Roars to Heaven Spear, the same Xue family spear as Li Guanyi, and command the Fire Qilin."

"Sir, are you none other than the Xue Duke from five hundred years ago?"

Xue Shen said: "Wrong."

General Jiang Su said: "The dead cannot return. When I was young, I once aspired to be like the Xue Duke. To fight you is already a thrill. Had the circumstances been different, perhaps we might have shared wine and debated heroes."

"What a pity."

The Divine Spear of Annihilation trembled violently, emitting dragon-like roars as it swept horizontally—Xue Shen's automaton's chest was ripped open. Simultaneously, Jiang Su pulled back his spear and blocked the weapons of all the Qilin generals.

Despite their desperate efforts, none could stand against it; a terrifying, overwhelming aura of battle fury surged skyward.

Generals Ling Pingyang, Yue Qianfeng, Khan Qibili, Yu Chi Xiong, Li Kedi, even the newly deployed Fan Qing and Yuan Zhi—all were struck, spitting blood, their battle formation collapsing in disarray.

Jiang Su let out a long roar and brought his heavy spear down in a crushing slash.

Xue Shen's defense shattered; the automaton cracked apart.

Jiang Su said: "It seems your return depends on this crystal."

The General's tiger-like eyes were calm, his temples slightly stirred by the wind; his divine spear pointed at Xue Shen's chest—where Jiang Su's strike had shattered it—revealing a fissure emitting faint glimmers of crystal light.

Xue Shen held the Tiger Roars to Heaven Spear before him; even as an automaton, he retained an effortless, unrestrained grace.

In bearing and spirit alone, he was no less than the fierce General before him.

Master Siming's scalp prickled; he cursed inwardly.

After only dozens of exchanges, Jiang Su had already seen through Xue Shen's condition; Master Siming groaned inside:

"Li Guanyi, you brat—if you don't show up soon, Xue Shen's automaton's going to be chopped up for firewood!"

Jiang Su attacked swiftly, coldly: "Your era is over, Xue Duke!"

"Go back!"

Xue Shen said: "Call me grandpa."

Jiang Su sneered: "I wouldn't mind lighting incense for you then."

As the two clashed, just as the Fishing Master Jing Ke Ke prepared to extract Xue Shen, they suddenly sensed a shift in the battle formation—their raised hands paused. Simultaneously, both Xue Shen and Jiang Su felt it.

General Jiang Su's battle momentum was weakening!

Jiang Su's expression changed: "?!!!"

Above, clouds and winds gathered and churned; the martial aura of weapons seemed ready to crush everything—until it was split open. Li Guanyi's forces were charging from behind, piercing straight through Jiang Su's rear ranks.

Li Guanyi wielded a dark divine spear, sweeping and thrusting—everything before him shattered.

His aura of supreme dominance had reached its peak!

All opponents ahead were forced back.

Li Guanyi led the final elite heavy cavalry of the western tribes.

He excelled at high-speed breakthroughs and slicing through enemy formations under the reinforcement of battlefield momentum; now Li Guanyi pressed forward from behind, taking advantage of the situation to divide General Jiang Su's army, cutting and surrounding it bit by bit, consuming it slowly.

Li Guanyi led a elite strike force, ignoring all else, charging straight through the battlefield from the rear toward the central command of General Jiang Su; anyone who blocked his path was shattered and repelled by his spearhead.

Dividing the enemy flanks while the main force strikes the vital point—this was the tactic.

It was precisely the method General Jiang Su used when campaigning against the Wolf King in the Western Regions.

It had now been turned against him by Li Guanyi.

Jiang Su's expression remained calm and deadly; he felt the wind and clouds churn across the battlefield, sensed Li Guanyi's rapid approach, and saw the Qin army part like waves before a spear, a massive banner piercing through the situation like a cavalry lance.

The banner flared wildly in the wind; beneath it rode a warrior on a divine steed, spear in hand, his brow sharp with martial brilliance, his hair bound by a jade hairpin—it was Li Guanyi.

Jiang Su still retained the poise and confidence befitting a top-tier general, and merely said:

"Qin Wu Hou?!"

Xue Shenjiang said: "Good lad, you made me wait!"

"If you hadn't come—"

"I might have been left dead right here."

Yet he laughed wildly, his Tiger Roar Heaven Battle Axe trembling violently; aided by the battlefield formation, though still no match for Jiang Su, he could retreat—and from afar, a piercing aura, sharp and cold, shot straight through the enemy lines.

The strategy was complete; the enemy army had been torn apart.

Li Guanyi, Xue Shenjiang, and Jiang Su now stood together on the same battlefield.

Yuan Zhi stared fixedly at the battlefield.

He was merely an auxiliary, supporting the Whale Fisher in manipulating the vast battlefield formation; the shrieks of swords and spears, the cries of battle, never ceased—as if the lethal aura rose to the heavens, and somehow, rain began to fall.

The spring rain of the Western Regions fell in fine, persistent drizzle, cold and biting, striking armor and splashing droplets that reflected shimmering light.

Above, dark clouds piled layer upon layer, transforming into leaden clouds of lethal energy, churning violently.

In the deathly silence, one could almost involuntarily hold their breath.

The fate of the world rested on this body: would the General of Armies remain invincible as ever, or would a new generation rise to halt this three-century-long legend?

The three top-tier warriors launched their attacks simultaneously.

"Come!"

The Seven Stars of Bai Hu blazed brighter in the sky.

Xue Shenjiang gripped the divine weapon, Tiger Roar Heaven Battle Axe; his battle robe flared without wind, he raised his weapon and swept it horizontally—accompanied by a low, deadly roar of a tiger, the Bai Hu manifestation stood tall, golden eyes vast and indifferent.

The Bai Hu manifestation of the Number One General of the World.

Simultaneously, on the eastern front, a mournful roar of Bai Hu surged skyward; another Bai Hu manifestation appeared between heaven and earth, white as snow with golden patterns, its eyes radiating kingly dominance.

The Bai Di Bai Hu manifestation, which shattered the Tangxiang.

The Whale Fisher maintained the formation, his temples slightly stirred; on this vast Western Regions battlefield, Xue Shenjiang commanded tens of thousands of Fire Qilin troops, while Li Guanyi led an even larger cavalry force of armored Western Alliance troops.

One on the west, one on the east.

Both gripped their weapons, charging with fierce valor, pushing their techniques to their ultimate lethal extremes; the two Bai Hu manifestations roared together, charging across the battlefield.

Then they merged their battlefield momentum and charged straight toward General Jiang Su!

Xue Shenjiang raised his divine weapon, his expression wild and free, commanding the formation.

Li Guanyi's long spear trembled, wrapped in dominant force.

The two generations of Bai Hu Da Zong simultaneously unleashed their ultimate killing techniques—two waves of surging force, left and right, fiercely overwhelming; the roar of the Bai Hu shook the entire battlefield.

"Surging Waves!"

"Serpent Slash!"

General Jiang Su finally revealed emotion beyond his calm indifference; he gripped his divine weapon, his beard and hair flaring, and laughed: "Come!"

His palm unleashed the divine technique, Annihilation.

BOOM!!!

A colossal explosion condensed into a single point, an infinite force, ferocious as thunder, spreading outward; even a hardened general like Yue Qianfeng could not approach—only the surging lethal aura and the clashing Bai Hu could be seen.

The tiger's roar surged skyward, the light of the Seven Stars of Bai Hu blazed brighter than ever in eight hundred years, nearly piercing through the heavy, oppressive clouds of lethal energy.

Xue Shenjiang and Li Guanyi relentlessly slashed and hacked around the General of Armies.

General Jiang Su withstood the assaults of two generations of Bai Hu Da Zong with overwhelming power!

Invincible—right here, right now!

The long spear swept horizontally.

Xue Shenjiang suddenly shifted his form, using his mechanical body to block the blow head-on; his mechanical frame shattered—and at the same moment, he hurled the Tiger Roar Heaven Battle Axe straight at Li Guanyi.

The Tiger Roar Heaven Battle Axe spun through the air; Xue Shenjiang's Bai Hu manifestation dissolved.

Jiang Su's technique had fully expended; he watched helplessly as the divine weapon fell.

Xue Shenjiang's secret stone was taken by the Whale Fisher.

Li Guanyi leapt into the air and seized the divine weapon, Tiger Roar Heaven Battle Axe.

The Fire Qilin charged toward Li Guanyi.

Time seemed to slow; each falling raindrop traced a clear, visible path from the sky.

Master Siming watched the battlefield from afar, seeing the Bai Hu dissipate, seeing Xue Shenjiang sacrifice his mechanical body to create an unimaginable opening for Li Guanyi.

Even the Number One General of the World now found himself in a perilous state.

Master Siming gripped the shell of the Black Tortoise tightly, staring fixedly at that direction.

Can he win?!

Can he win?!

No, even if he cannot win, merely shaking General Jiang Su or halting this shift in the world's tide would be enough—that is the true strategic goal; everything else is illusion.

Victory or defeat on this battlefield can no longer alter the fate of the world.

Only the shift of great momentum, only this struggle for all under heaven.

In an instant, the battlefield fell silent; all, from captains to soldiers to generals, stared at the sky, watching the transformation of the two Bai Hu—one shattering, the other surging ever fiercer.

They saw the spinning divine weapon descend, firmly gripped by a hand.

The dark-gold battle halberd hummed, erupting in a roar as mighty as a tiger's bellow.

Li Guanyi gripped the divine weapon.

Thus, the Fire Qilin returned to its place.

The might of water and fire transformed into Lei Ting.

It echoed across the battlefield.

Jiang Su's face finally showed a flicker of emotion; he gripped the divine weapon, spun sharply, his weapon emitting a blazing roar, fixed his gaze on the returning Li Guanyi, and said: "Qin Wu Hou—it's over!"

Li Guanyi held the divine weapon—

By severing the Military God's rear, he completed the encirclement; the rear broke out, fracturing the Military God's momentum; Xue Shenjiang personally blocked the front, delaying, maneuvering—every strategy and tactic culminated in this single advantage.

This time, on the main battlefield.

The Military God lost the initiative.

The Fire Qilin Army and the Tian Kehan Alliance interwove and pierced through, slicing apart the Ying Kingdom's forces.

In martial legends, Jiang Su, the Military God, wielding his divine weapon, charged Li Guanyi—even now, even as his own army was surrounded by forces many times his own, he still carried that immense power, capable of defeating Li Guanyi.

This was the Military God's confidence and arrogance.

If he could defeat the commanding general, the army's momentum could reunite—this was why his troops, despite facing the Western Regions cavalry alliance, the Fire Qilin Army, and numerically superior forces, still maintained fierce combat spirit.

It was invincibility on the battlefield!

It was the Military God's three-hundred-year undefeated legend!

Li Guanyi whispered: "It's over…"

In that instant, two forces—not one—converged upon him; the Whale Fisher's silver hair whipped wildly, his smirk turned to a battle chant, the veins on his forehead throbbing as he roared:

"Boy, don't you dare do this again!!!"

"Formation—rise!"

Silver light scattered; in an instant, the martial momentum of both armies surged onto Li Guanyi, his command reaching its absolute peak, shattering his limits and surging upward—this meant a pure, explosive rise in power.

Even the rear and flanks, the logistical formations, were crushed together by the Whale Fisher.

With the power of a Formation Master, he integrated the momentum of hundreds of thousands of troops in that instant, concentrating it upon one man—Li Guanyi's aura exploded; in this move, his strength surged violently.

He touched the martial legend-qi granted to him by Yu Langwang.

Jiang Su, the Military God, felt that this young general carried layers of martial legend-qi; he raised his halberd high, his brow arrogant, the halberd like a banner, its tip pointing to the heavens.

Thus, the vast sky unfolded in layers.

Qin Wu Hou is Tian Kehan!

This final card was revealed.

The Fire Qilin Army swung their weapons, chanting in unison the great winds of the Central Plains; the Western Regions khans devoutly cried out Tian Kehan's name.

Amid these two distinct voices, they converged beneath a single banner.

The Fire Qilin Army and the Tian Kehan Alliance merged, stepped onto the battlefield, slicing apart the Ying Kingdom's forces; the shift of great momentum under heaven lay in the Western Regions, the change in the Western Regions battlefield lay in the central army, and now, the transformation of the central army was here.

In the battlefield, Li Guanyi's halberd slashed down violently; Jiang Su's divine spear thrust forward—time seemed to slow.

The three-foot unyielding aura of hardened qi on Jiang Su's body shattered in an instant.

On Mount Juxu, amid snow and wind, the Nine Cauldrons roared, echoing across the Western Regions.

Gathering the momentum of hundreds of thousands of troops.

One halberg slash descended upon the Military God.

The Military God's undefeated legend.

"It's over…"

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