Chapter 486: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind!

Li Zhaowen's voice was clear and bright, but the weight in his words was like a sword drawn from its sheath; even seasoned generals like the Turkic Great Khan and Mu Zhahe couldn't help but frown.

Eight thousand iron-armored troops, thirty thousand heavy cavalry.

Such a configuration could absolutely not be called weak.

Moreover, in this realm, it already counted as an extremely formidable force!

Even though they led the Iron Pagodas, the kings of heavy cavalry under heaven, when facing Li Guanyi and Li Zhaowen as commanders with a tenfold disparity in troop numbers, the advantage brought by sheer numbers would be completely nullified.

If both sides fought to the death, it would be nearly impossible to take Li Guanyi down.

Mu Zhahe fell silent. He too was a seasoned military general and naturally understood this shift in circumstances, but he was also the Great Khan's brother and his subject, so he did not speak, merely casting his gaze toward that bold and valiant man.

The Great Khan sat astride his horse, his broad shoulders towering like a mountain range.

He still led his army in pursuit of Li Guanyi, and Li Guanyi did not relax in the slightest.

Even though such a weighty piece of news had been thrown out, the Fire Qilin's galloping speed remained extremely fast. They both knew that if Li Guanyi, relying on the news Li Zhaowen had brought, intended to negotiate with the Great Khan at this moment—

The latter would immediately throw away all pretense of face and sweep Li Guanyi into the military formation.

But Li Guanyi never let down his vigilance.

The Great Khan, at this moment, was caught in some kind of inner struggle.

To continue fighting, leading his army together with the troops Mu Zhahe had summoned through his message to encircle the Qin Wang; or to stop fighting, rein in his horse here and now, and let these two depart. The two choices floated through his mind, and a thick, dense struggle appeared in the Great Khan's eyes.

Let him go!

Continue the pursuit?!

The Great Khan's reason told him that in the previous situations, relying on military momentum to weaken Li Guanyi countless times, he had still failed to take him down. Now Li Guanyi and Li Zhaowen had joined forces, with the Fire Qilin as their mount.

And the Iron Pagodas, even though bolstered by battle formations and the great momentum of fortune—a top-tier corps capable of galloping for an entire day—had, due to the exhaustion of pursuing the Qin Wang, begun to enter a state where both men and horses were weary.

As one side waned, the other waxed.

The possibility of taking down the Qin Wang grew even smaller.

But then he thought again.

This place was still some distance from the borders of Xiyicheng.

And Mu Zhahe had already sent messages by falcon to the other Khans, mobilizing their personal guards to come and intercept and block from all sides—if ordinary soldiers' flesh and blood were sacrificed to obstruct the Qin Wang, there was still a great chance of dragging him into the military formation.

In the Great Khan's strategic vision, attacking now meant success or failure were each at fifty percent.

One was to continue attacking, driven by instinct and unwillingness to accept defeat.

The other was to restrain his greed and stop here.

After a moment of struggle on his face, the Great Khan exhaled and made his decision.

His expression gradually steadied into resolve.

A man like him would not make the other choice. His weapon rose, stirring the army's momentum; military souls and baleful aura gathered, surged, and coiled around the blade's edge, emitting a thunderous roar of trembling fury.

The Great Khan's supreme art was like steel, unshakable.

"Lead the army, encircle them!"

He reasserted his will.

He trampled over his own cowardice, his hesitation, his doubts about himself.

He chose to continue the fight!

The heroes of the world are all gamblers. Apart from today, there would likely never again be such a reckless move as the Qin Wang Li Guanyi plunging deep alone into enemy territory. This would be the only chance to take down the Qin Wang at a relatively small cost.

Even if it cost ten thousand cavalrymen to obstruct the Qin Wang's advance, it would be worth it.

The Great Khan piled all the chips he had on the table!

A heavy bet!

I wager, I will win!

If he were allowed to return, when the two sides clashed in a great battle in the future, the cavalry that would fall to the blades of Tiance Prefecture's soldiers would not be limited to just the troops who died today trying to block the Qin Wang's path.

The Great Khan raised his eyes to look at that spirited young girl.

He still did not know whether what Li Zhaowen said was true or false.

It might also be nothing but empty lies.

On the border between Xiyicheng and the Turkic lands, perhaps those so-called eight thousand Mysterious Armor and thirty thousand heavy cavalry did not exist at all, and it was merely something Li Zhaowen had fabricated to frighten them.

If that were the case, and he was scared off by a few words from this little twenty-year-old girl, where would he put the heroic reputation he had built over a lifetime of military campaigns?

Even taking a step back, suppose those troops truly existed.

The grassland armies gathering along the way would not fear them!

Speaking purely of personal Wu Gong, he was still above Li Guanyi. If Li Guanyi could successfully escape through ten thousand troops, why couldn't he do the same?!

Moreover, even if they encountered enemies ahead, behind them lay the vast grasslands.

That was absolutely safe territory.

If they met an obstacle ahead, they could simply retreat. Today, charging forward bravely and fighting to the end—even if they failed to truly take down the Qin Wang—at least when they looked back on it in the future, they would not regret it.

He had already mobilized three thousand Iron Pagodas to pursue the Qin Wang alone, which had already cost him dearly and cost him his reputation—how could he simply stop here?!

Precisely because he was an overlord of supreme confidence, having come this far, he could not turn back.

The Great Khan declared in a loud voice: "Qin Wang, plunging deep alone, greedy for merit and rushing in recklessly."

"How can you leave without leaving something behind?!"

"Whatever tricks you have, bring them all out!"

Mu Zhahe laughed heartily: "Truly our Great Khan! Qin Wang, quit your big talk! Come, let's see how much longer you can hold out!"

"I shall be the Great Khan's vanguard!"

Having spoken, another arrow shot toward Li Guanyi. The Fire Qilin breathed fire, and the Tiger Howling Heaven Battle Halberd in Li Guanyi's hand spun once, accompanied by a deep tiger's roar, as frost-like blade-light cleaved downward.

His Dharma Aspect erupted, and in a single strike, he shattered the arrow.

Li Guanyi said, "Run!"

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer leapt into the air and sped away. Li Zhaowen held his war bow, protecting the Nine-Colored Divine Deer while helping Li Guanyi pin down enemies on both flanks. The army's momentum surged, and the Fire Qilin, hearing that reinforcements lay ahead, summoned all its courage — blazing flames soaring into the heavens.

The Fire Qilin unleashed its full power and charged straight toward Xiyicheng.

One could say it had even squeezed out the strength of a suckling babe.

Bursting out in one go, in this state of staking everything to mobilize its own vital essence, it did not notice that within its body, a pale-yellow pearl had begun to glow with a faint, flowing light.

Precisely because its focus was absolute, it had only now managed to activate this thing.

It was what the aged Fire Qilin of the Academy had left behind — the possibility of breaking through the Fire Qilin's limits.

The Fire Qilin's speed rose in a slow, gradual manner.

The breakout along the way was fraught with hardship. The Turkic army had specially trained eagles to relay messages; across the vast grasslands, the Tian Kehans ahead of Li Guanyi dispatched their own legions and troops, attempting to intercept Li Guanyi and Li Zhaowen.

After several charges, breaking through formations, and bloody fighting, the sky at the horizon had already taken on a faint dark-red hue.

With Li Zhaowen's assistance, although Li Guanyi suffered injuries, he successfully punched through the encirclement of the Turkic Khans ahead. His aura blazed fiercely, and the thunder of hooves behind him rolled like thunder itself.

The Immortal Indestructible Art body continuously repaired his frame.

Li Guanyi bared his teeth in a grin.

Gripping his war-halberd, he stole a glance back at the pursuing army.

Tens of thousands of troops, surging like beacon smoke, forces converging from every direction — decisive and ruthless in killing, yes, but alas, alas—

The quality of soldiers between the different legions varied far too greatly.

And there was almost no coordination between them.

Nor was there any commander of such rare talent as Fan Qing.

A general of the military-form school like the Great Khan, even if he could command these tens of thousands of troops, when charging, the battle formation still showed obvious openings. The Tie Futu's speed and momentum far surpassed the personal guards of the other Tian Kehans.

And these personal guards, in turn, were far stronger than ordinary mounted scouts.

The entire army had been stretched out into a long, ribbon-like shape.

Military battle formations prize unity as one. With such flaws, it became a drag instead. The forces balanced and checked each other — it looked utterly intimidating, but in truth, that was the only thing it had going for it.

Li Guanyi suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

Watching the shifts in the pursuing army's formation behind him, a realization dawned.

He thought of that time beneath the imperial palace of Zhongzhou, within the Mystical Realm, when he fought the Overlord to the death in their final decisive battle — abandoning all finesse in his command.

Back then, he had forcibly raised his commanding ability to handle something like two hundred thousand troops. In the Overlord's eyes, did it look exactly like this?

Seeming grand and magnificent, but in truth unable to withstand a single blow.

Such a military spirit and momentum—

One strike would be enough to shatter it!

A bold, heroic spirit welled up in Li Guanyi's chest.

Then he swept his war-halberd in a wide arc, deflecting the military-spirit killing move shot at him. His qi and blood surged violently; he nearly spat fresh blood. Pressing a hand against the Fire Qilin's back, he turned his head and shouted, "Faster, faster!"

No troops, no military spirit — all of that is empty nonsense.

Although the hasty gathering of forces had caused openings in the enemy's formation, no matter how crude, no matter how unable to compare with the Overlord — the unrivaled number one of the military-form school through the ages — this was still the second-ranked divine general of the age, a peak figure in any era.

Even though Li Guanyi had personally experienced the Overlord's methods.

It was as if the number one of the military-form school had personally told him, hand in hand, how to break such a situation.

But right now he had no troops and no generals at hand.

Fight?

Fight my ass!

The moment he dared to slow down — even by a single breath's worth — the Great Khan behind him, eyes bloodshot, could pile these tens of thousands of troops onto Li Guanyi and bury him!

"This kid can really run!"

The Great Khan's eyes were bloodshot as he watched the girl riding the Nine-Colored Divine Deer pull pills from her bosom and toss them to Li Guanyi. Li Guanyi casually shoved an entire pill bottle straight into the Fire Qilin's mouth.

While he was at it, he casually crushed the pill gourd in his hand, tilted his head back, and swallowed the entire gourd of pills in one go.

Pill after pill dropped down his throat, swallowed one by one.

Then a terrifying surge of qi and blood erupted, like a blazing furnace, completely burning through all the pills.

Produced from the Taigu Chilong Mystical Realm — Hou Zhongyu, enhanced-version Qi-Dispersing Powder!

The style of the Fire Qilin Army's military Physician — anyway, pills that promote qi circulation are basically condensed vital essence stimulating one's own meridians. So as long as you swap the pill's ingredients from ten-year produce to thousand-year produce, even a Grandmaster-level martial artist can feel the effect.

If one pill's effect isn't enough—

Then eat a hundred, eat a thousand!

The dignified Qin Wang, with his vast lands and abundant resources — short on money, perhaps, but lacking nothing else.

Watching his opponent frantically gobble pills right in front of the army.

Moreover, aided by the pills, the vital essence consumed by the Immortal Indestructible Art body began to replenish at an extremely rapid pace. The Great Khan's veins on his forehead were twitching wildly.

As if sensing his fury, the Qin Wang, while tilting his head back and frantically popping pills, turned around and raised a single finger at the great army behind him that was eating his Fire Qilin's dust.

Although the specific meaning of this gesture was not understood—

The undisguised contempt came rushing at them head-on.

Li Guanyi casually flung the pill gourd back toward them, grinning as he said:

"You think you're worthy of a key?"

The Great Khan's face flushed red with rage.

"Li Guanyi!!!"

"How dare you insult me!"

His long-honed battlefield experience had already faintly sensed something amiss, had already vaguely felt that something was wrong — although Li Guanyi had been spotted, the Nine-Colored Divine Deer was carrying Li Zhaowen, and Li Zhaowen had specifically brought along a large quantity of qi-recovery pills.

Apart from that, there was also the redeployment of troops at the frontier.

Several tens of thousands of heavy cavalry, once mobilized, would inevitably create an enormous commotion.

There are only two explanations for why the Turks didn't notice.

One explanation is that Li Zhao Wen was lying.

The other explanation is that although the Qin Wang acted alone, the other side had long been prepared.

Now the question is: for what purpose has the enemy's great army prepared itself?

Is it to cover the Qin Wang's departure?

Or else…

The Great Khan's expression sank slightly.

A lifetime of battle experience and the instincts of the era's second greatest divine general kept warning him, kept conjuring up a certain consideration in his heart, making him stop the pursuit.

The situation truly seemed off.

Should he retreat?!

The Great Khan hesitated again and again in his heart, but he slightly turned his gaze, looking at the other Khans who had answered his summons, at those fierce and valiant generals, and at the great army that trusted him and charged at full gallop, pursuing the enemy's forces.

He let out a sigh.

The dignity of a king, and the price already paid.

No longer allowed him to turn back.

Even if ahead lay the great army that Li Guanyi and the others had long prepared, he could not turn back.

The Great Khan merely thought to himself: "To keep Li Guanyi here, ten thousand troops won't be enough—it has to be ten thousand elite Tie Futu, and from the very start I have to drag him into the momentum of the great army, absolutely cannot let this boy slip away!"

"The Longevity Guest's vitality cultivation body."

"Is far too terrifying."

The great army surged forward. Just as the blood-red sunset on the horizon slowly set, far earlier than the Great Khan and the others had anticipated, faintly, the sound of hoofbeats came drifting over.

Mu Zhahe's thoughts froze.

"?!?!?!"

They hadn't even reached the borders of Xiyicheng yet… damn!

Could it be?!

Li Guanyi raised his head, looking into the distance. Between heaven and earth all was dim; the sun had already set, but the sky had not yet turned completely dark, instead resting in a dim, translucent blue.

Between heaven and earth, a pillar of fighting spirit shot skyward, solemn and towering.

At the very limit of what the naked eye could see, where heaven and earth met, a stretch of yellow dust rose up, like a tide-line from the south, accompanied by a thunderous roar like thunder, sweeping toward here at an astonishing speed.

Li Zhao Wen loosed an arrow, then smiled with easy grace:

"The two of you guessed right—I was indeed lying."

"And not just one lie."

"First, it wasn't only eight thousand Black Armor and thirty thousand heavy cavalry; there were more troops to follow."

"Second…"

"If the Qin Wang is here, how could the great army be waiting at the frontier?"

Mu Zhahe still intended to draw his bow and force a shot, but was stopped by the Great Khan. The Khan's white hair and beard swayed in the wind as he gazed at the distant spear-tips, tightened his reins; behind him, the grassland great army was somewhat tensely strung.

This area was not yet within the reach of Xiyicheng's sphere of influence.

But it was already close.

Li Guanyi's aura surged violently. Gripping the Overlord's weapon in his hand, the Fire Qilin seemed to transform into a ball of fierce flame that tore straight through the night-dark grassland, then charged toward the onrushing Central Plains army.

When these forty thousand iron cavalry charged, they maintained a state of high-speed advance, like a rushing river; but when they spotted Li Guanyi, this high-speed gallop naturally came to a halt.

Disciplined to the letter, that killing aura only grew more surging, soaring skyward—this was precisely the bearing only a top-tier elite army of this era possessed.

At the head were several fierce generals leading their cavalry.

Deputy General of the Black Armor Army—Yuchi Xiong.

Cavalry General of the Western Regions Army—Li Kedi.

Former Commander-in-Chief of the Yue Family Army's Heavy Cavalry—Generals Ling Pingyang.

Former Standard-Bearing General of the Taiping Army—Yan Xuanji.

Azure Dragon, Snow Wolf, Ferocious Tiger, Violent Bear. Heaven and earth were dim. The great army wore ink-black armor, rode sturdy warhorses; their dharma-phase army souls raised their heads and roared, faintly making the very space seem to twist, emitting a terrifying baleful aura, a killing intent that could almost freeze one's heart with dread.

A great army, famed generals, follow-up measures.

Going alone was the boldness and spirit of a wandering martial artist.

But a great army and famed generals, tens of thousands of iron cavalry guarding the rear—that was the magnanimity of a sovereign.

These war-generals all possessed the might of the Sixth Heaven, and the very foremost among them, broad-shouldered, with a towering aura, rode a strange beast, wielded two battle-halberds; when he laughed out loud, the surrounding void rippled, faintly taking on the form of a crimson dragon.

Yue Qianfeng·Peak of the Seventh Heaven!

The most battle-tested divine general under the Qin Wang.

Yue Qianfeng saw Li Guanyi and first let out a breath of relief, then burst into loud laughter:

"Hahahaha, when we discussed it before, we already said it'd be better to bring the great army along. But if you were willing to wander around outside a bit longer, it's not a loss either—getting to see you this flustered, hahahaha, worth it!"

Li Guanyi said calmly:

"If we'd had the great army from the start, it would've been harder to cut through the entire grassland, reach the northern glaciers, and obtain what we needed, wouldn't it?" He exhaled a breath, and the Nine-Colored Divine Deer had already descended.

From the back of the Nine-Colored Divine Deer, the girl flipped through the air and landed on a dragon steed beside him; the golden phoenix swept across the battlefield and landed at Li Guanyi's side.

Eighth Heaven, Li Zhao Wen.

When Li Guanyi came forward, his speed naturally slowed; the Turkic great army was able to lock on, able to form up smoothly, their army soul surging, seeming in an instant to draw in the vital energy of dozens of li around, transforming it into light-arrows that rained down like a storm.

"Shields!!!"

Yue Qianfeng shouted aloud.

The Central Plains cavalry's style lies in tight battle formations and more advanced equipment.

Immediately, they wove the killing aura of the military formation into a shield array.

In the void, primal qi flowed and churned, merging with the military formation and the momentum of fortune, transforming into a colossal shield — half real, half illusory — that hung suspended in the air, blocking every last one of the arrows that rained down like a downpour.

The Great Khan's expression darkened slightly, and Mu Zhahe's face changed as well.

They looked at the forty-thousand-strong army before them, and at more than five famous generals listed on the Divine General Ranking; the Qin Wang, mounted upon the Fire Qilin, slowly turned his body, gazing at the Turks ahead, his weapon lifting in his hand, and between breath and exhalation, the overlord's blazing aura rose once more.

Though his robes were stained with blood and looked disheveled, his brows lifted, and bearing of his own accord was present.

"Welcome to this place."

"Great Khan, this place — to Xiyicheng — is closer than your Great Khan's tent."

"How about turning back, so we may enjoy songs and dances together?"

The Great Khan's gaze sharpened as he fixed his eyes upon Li Guanyi.

The Qin Wang's weapon lifted; black-and-red qi flames surged upward, twisting, slowly linking with the forty-thousand troops behind him, and between heaven and earth, suddenly there was no sound at all — only a grim, deathly silence.

In the end, who was the one greedy for merit and pressing forward rashly?

Was it the Qin Wang, who had slipped in alone for the sake of Elder Murong Longtu's life? Or the Great Khan, who had clearly sensed that something was amiss, yet — for the sake of seizing this foremost merit under heaven before his eyes — had willfully ignored the unease in his heart and pressed only forward?

There is only one answer.

Whoever loses.

That one is the one greedy for merit and pressing forward rashly!

Now, the positions of attacker and defender have swapped.

All that remains is a hard, head-on fight to the death!

But — is it truly so?

Li Guanyi lowered his eyes slightly.

………………

At the same moment Li Zhaowen set out.

In the very fringe region of the entire steppe, a gentle laughter drifted over.

"The Seventh Prince and the Lady have come — is it to see the child? The child is very clever, and very well-behaved; in looks he resembles the Wang Hou, but in valor he is in no way inferior to the Seventh Prince. These past days I have been teaching him military strategy, and he learns the Central Plains' script and classics very quickly."

The Seventh Prince Ashina's expression grew complicated as he looked at the man before him.

The thirty-seven-year-old Ashina met the thirty-three-year-old Pojun.

Just as it had been five years ago.

That strategist held the child borne by Ashina and the Princess of Ying State; with the passing years, the strategist's temperament had grown ever more refined and mellow, and he smiled — yet in the depths of his eyes, just as at their first meeting long ago, there still burned a sharp and wild arrogance.

Ashina beckoned his child to come over, stroked his head and spoke a few words with a smile, then had the guards beside him take the child to find his mother, while he himself stayed here to personally receive Pojun.

Ashina had already grown a beard; he was nearly forty now, and felt that he had been through countless things — he had seen the heroes and champions of the world, had witnessed the terrifying, surging battlefields of the Central Plains, and had once been consumed by ambition, yearning to stride into this realm.

And then he had encountered the Divine Martial King of that time, and been beaten badly wounded.

He had barely escaped with his life, and while recuperating from his wounds upon the steppe, he listened to the great battles unfolding one after another in the Central Plains.

Even heroes such as the Divine Martial King, even famed generals such as Lu Youxian, had perished in battle.

Ashina had grown far steadier.

He had tasted success, tasted crushing defeat, had skirted the brink of death and lived — and now he had a child as well; his state of mind was no longer what it had been in those days.

Yet this strategist needed only one sentence to stir the flames within Ashina's heart once more —

The strategist said with a faint smile:

"Do you wish to take your father's place?"

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