Chapter 488: Great Victory

The sound of sword-humming was like a vast, sweeping wind, unending in the ear.

Amid the dragon's roar of the Ancient Crimson Dragon, there was much exhilaration and abandon, like the sound of great laughter; the wind swept across this battlefield, and because the qi of several chief generals had stalled, failing to move with the great momentum, the soldiers within the military formations also came to a halt.

The entire battlefield, in this instant, seemed to fall into a deathly silence with no discernible cause.

Only the body of that Seventh Divine General collapsed; though his life was already gone, his hand still gripped his weapon death-tight, and that Xuan-grade war-bow still trembled and wailed in the wind, giving voice to a lingering note of unwillingness.

The Seventh Divine General, had he been leading a great army, would not have been an opponent even for a martial legend; but equally, in the situation just now, the Qin Wang's army momentum and the Tujue's army momentum were tangled together.

The Ancient Crimson Dragon delivered a brutal, no-frills charge.

It smashed a fissure straight into the great momentum of the army formation.

The foundation of a battle-formation is endless renewal, flowing and shifting.

A fissure like this would need less than a single breath to mend itself, to flow once more, becoming the site of a killing move; but the Master Jiankuang's blade was simply too sharp, and far too swift.

In the instant Mu Zhahe lost the support of his army formation, a single sword pierced clean through his head.

The Great Khan truly felt, for the first time, a violent pang in his heart.

His sworn brother.

His close friend who had crossed these chaotic decades together with him, his left arm and right shoulder, the one man the Great Khan could trust utterly, the one to whom he could truly entrust his back—had lost his life upon this battlefield in a way he could never have imagined.

For thousands of years, from antiquity to now, there has never been a record of a jianghu man slaying a Divine General upon the battlefield.

Had he not this time led only several ten-thousands of men.

Had the Seventh Prince's reinforcements failed to arrive.

Had there not been that Ancient Crimson Dragon, which, with naught but flesh and blood, had slammed hard against the great army's momentum and smashed out a fissure; had the Master Jiankuang's sword-intent not been so overwhelmingly strong; had not…

He raised his head, looking at the Qin Wang ahead, whose face shone with great joy.

【Had I not stubbornly pursued alone this time.】

How could this disaster have come to pass!

A tremendous regret rose up within the Great Khan's heart.

The heroes of the world are all gamblers.

But since one gambles, there must surely be wins and losses.

He had been dazzled by the enormous profit the Qin Wang represented, by the victories of the past several decades, and had wagered everything he had onto the table; but the facts proved that this time, he had gambled and lost.

The price of that lost gamble was Mu Zhahe.

And with it, his ambition to swallow the realm.

Without Mu Zhahe's aid, even the world's Second Divine General could not overcome the combined might of those famed generals upon the vast lands of the Central Plains; and all of this had begun with merely three thousand Iron Tie Futu led out.

A bone-deep agony caused cracks and wavering to appear within the Great Khan's heart.

Two fierce generals on either side burned with fury, each raising his weapon, spurring their warhorses to charge and slay the old man: "What gall!!!"

"What manner of swordsman, daring to set foot upon this battlefield!"

They already bore the augmentation of the army formation, a surge of fighting spirit rising; but they heard only the sound of sword-humming, as two streams of sword-qi swept violently across the battlefield a hundred zhang to either side, raising up waves like smoke, sending over a hundred heavy-armored Tie Futu tumbling with man and horse thrown, collapsing in wretched howls, blood flowing like a stream.

That old man merely extended two fingers in a sword-strike.

Elder Murong said: "If it's only this much, I'm afraid it won't be enough."

"Crimson Dragon!"

The blue-robed old man vaulted into the air, his toe-tip lightly tapping the wooden sword thrust point-down into the ground; the wooden sword sang clear, sword-qi flowing like a flying waterfall; Elder Murong stepped upon the sword and shot horizontally three hundred zhang, reached out a hand to seize, and the wooden sword flipped over into his grasp.

The Ancient Crimson Dragon, from another direction, roared as it charged the Great Khan.

The Great Khan roared back in fury: "Well met!"

Destiny-qi surged down upon his body; no longer caring for anything, he continued to burn the destiny-qi drawn from the grasslands, transforming it into a surging power that came crashing forth to augment his frame; the Great Khan struck out, sweeping horizontally, slamming into the Ancient Crimson Dragon's body.

The Ancient Crimson Dragon cried out in pain with a long keen, but its dragon claws also tore at the weapon-soul formed of destiny-qi, raging without cease, clashing against the qi of several ten-thousands of men; the battle raged until above the vault of heaven, muffled thunder rolled in waves.

Yue Qianfeng, coughing fresh blood from his mouth, raised his head, stared dumbly at the terrifying colossal creature amid the clouds, and murmured: "A body of flesh and blood, brawling head-on with the great formation gathered from several ten-thousands of troops? And trading blow for blow?"

"What in the world is that?"

He looked at the Fire Qilin beneath Li Guanyi and said: "Do all your auspicious beasts behave like this?"

The Fire Qilin bristled, saying: "Huh?! Don't look at me!"

"You want me, an underage qilin, to go fight the military killing-qi great formation of several ten-thousands of troops?! Don't look at me like that!"

"The Crimson Dragon is the Crimson Dragon!"

"An auspicious beast is an auspicious beast—they're not the same thing."

Yue Qianfeng was deeply regretful.

"Not fierce enough!"

The Fire Qilin bared its fangs: "If you say one more word, this young master will give you a taste of my qilin-fire—the very same good fruit Hou Zhongyu got!"

Yue Qianfeng merely laughed heartily; Li Guanyi gazed at the Master Jiankuang charging into the great army, his heart surging, knowing this was not the moment to be lost in joy; he drew a deep breath, raised the weapon in his hand, and said: "Wei Chi Xiong, Li Kedi."

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Your subject is here!"

"You two shall each lead five thousand cavalry, swing around the great army from the left and right wings, and pierce through to the rear!"

A fierce glint flashed through Wei Chi Xiong's eyes: "Yes!"

Li Kedi paused briefly, then at once understood the Qin Wang's objective, and said in a solemn voice:

"I receive the command!"

Li Guanyi said: "Ling Pingyang, Yan Xuanji—each of you lead five thousand, and sweep the formation from the right flank!"

Ling Pingyang and Yan Xuanji both received the military order.

Yue Qianfeng wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth; although he had been beaten by that Seventh Divine General until he coughed up yet more blood, Yue Qianfeng no longer cared—in a great battle of this scale, he could not even recall how many times he had vomited blood over these past five years—and said:

"Good brother, good king!"

"What about me?!"

Li Guanyi said: "General Yue, receive your order — lead ten thousand elite troops and pierce through from the left flank!"

Yue Qianfeng burst into laughter and said: "Hahaha, good, good!"

He had already seen what Li Guanyi intended to do. Though his bearing was rough and bold, like the stereotypical brute of a chaotic age, in truth he had learned much of the art of war from Yue Pengwu, and was prepared for everything that followed.

He immediately took command of the ten thousand troops and departed.

The change came in but a brief moment.

After the Master Jiankuang and the Ancient Crimson Dragon appeared on the battlefield, victory had already begun to pour toward Li Guanyi's side. And under the Qin Wang's command, the fierce generals beneath him dispersed, each leading their own troops, scattering like quicksilver poured upon the ground.

The army's momentum surged like a dragon, seeking to swallow the entire Turkic host of the Great Khan in a single gulp.

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer watched this scene from the air, watching the great army — which moments ago had surged forward like thunder in a formation of the Momentum-and-Posture school — suddenly scatter, splitting into separate columns that pierced through one by one. In an instant, the style of that hegemon from eight hundred years past had transformed into something else entirely.

This was—

A counter-encirclement!

Li Zhaowen drove her warhorse forward; the thunderous roar of the army's charge surged like a tide. The thunder-like pounding of hooves, the clash of weapons, the bellows of fury — the long wind of the steppe carried with it the scent of steel and blood.

Li Zhaowen stood at the Qin Wang's side; the young woman's lifted eyes gazed at the focused monarch over there.

She merely wore a smile, weapon in hand, and said:

"Then, Your Highness the Qin Wang — what about me?!"

Li Guanyi stared fixedly at the battle ahead. The Ancient Crimson Dragon tore at the front, forcibly pinning down the army's baleful aura and killing intent, making it impossible for the Great Khan to fully employ his methods. Relying only on the augmentation of fortune and battle-formation, he stubbornly withstood the Master Jiankuang's assault.

In his wild elation, Li Guanyi did not let his blood run hot and charge straight in.

His heart pounded violently; the Nine-Tripod Cauldrons shrieked at his ears.

Li Guanyi's eyes had already caught the shift in baleful aura. The experience of clashing with a hegemon, under a state of focus unprecedented for him, was rapidly put to use — until Li Guanyi spotted a critical juncture.

Though he did not know why it was that juncture, the instinct of a commander of the Momentum-and-Posture school had already drawn Li Guanyi's attention to it. He heard Li Zhaowen's question and merely said: "Stay by my side."

Li Zhaowen froze; Li Guanyi had already led his troops charging forward.

Li Zhaowen gripped the war-spear in her hand, gently tapped her own forehead with the spear's shaft, and smiled: "No one has ever told me to stay by their side before — I'm rather at a loss for a moment."

"Brother Li, oh Brother Li, you certainly are overbearing at a time like this."

Her voice paused, then she murmured to herself:

"Still, it doesn't feel bad."

The phoenix's cry rose; a golden-red phoenix dharma-phase spread its wings in the air. Li Zhaowen led her own Black Armor troops alongside Li Guanyi, her long spear sweeping as she and Li Guanyi bored into the battlefield like a single awl.

The Great Khan had clearly sensed the change.

The Qin Wang's great army began to wheel around, becoming a surging torrent of troops, attempting to swallow them whole. And the most critical point —

The Seventh Prince's forces, which should have appeared from the rear and formed a pincer with this Turkic army, had not appeared. Not only had the Seventh Prince failed to show himself, but the reinforcements from the other direction had also noticeably diminished.

It seemed some force was severing the supply lines.

It was not only a failure of judgment on the battlefield.

At the level of 【Military Stratagem】, had the most crucial link also been dismantled?

Whose handiwork was this — the legendary Yan Daiqing of the northwest, or Wen Qingyu of the southwest?

The experience of the world's second-ranked divine general made him dimly sense a feeling of being targeted, of having fallen into a net — as though he were playing a game of chess against an unseen opponent.

He also understood that any famed general in the world, no matter his experience, no matter his valor, no matter how many victories his lifetime of campaigns had won, could be utterly destroyed by a single moment of carelessness.

"Must we retreat?!"

The Great Khan murmured. The situation now had been forced to the point where he had no choice but to employ the fortune of this place. Surging fortune rose to augment his body, just as it did for Li Guanyi fighting under the augmentation of the Nine Tripods.

The Great Khan burned his fortune completely for this one battle.

At this point, he could no longer afford to worry about the cost. Such a foundation had to be kept alive to continue being used. But at that very moment, Li Guanyi's Nine-Tripod Cauldrons thundered and shrieked.

He raised his head and looked toward the Great Khan over there.

The Qin Wang's eyes held a certain serenity.

You've finally used it!

The so-called battlefield is nothing but contest — the boldness of brave generals, the grandeur of stratagems — all in the end for victory.

The Nine-Tripod Cauldrons surged and trembled, beginning to draw upon the fortune of humanity.

The fortune above this vast steppe, and the condensed aura akin to the Son of Heaven's aura of the Central Plains, was drawn away in part by the Nine-Tripod Cauldrons in a slow but resolute manner. The body of the cauldrons trembled; this fortune flowed into the Nine-Tripod Cauldrons.

On the Nine-Tripod Cauldrons, the fourth one-ninth side began to glow with flowing light.

The Great Khan was stunned; he suddenly raised his head and looked toward the Qin Wang over there.

The roar of thundering sound surged. The army of Tiance Prefecture completed its signature piercing and encirclement. The Qin Wang personally charged the formation, the Tiger Howls at the Sky battle-halberd in his hand spinning as it thrust out, clashing with the Great Khan's weapon.

"We must retreat!"

The thought of retreat had already arisen in the Great Khan's heart.

Earlier he had been chasing Li Guanyi like a gambler with blood in his eyes.

Mu Zhahe's death had sounded the final warning bell for him.

If even he were to die here, then this vast steppe would truly and utterly fall apart!

This time he was extremely decisive. With a fierce roar, he burned his fortune and drove his Wu Gong to the limit; his dharma-phase blazed forth violently as he exchanged several blows head-on with Li Guanyi. His Wu Gong was above Li Guanyi's, but forcibly driving Li Guanyi back also stirred up his own qi and blood.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he wheeled the army's momentum about and broke out through the flank.

Behind him, the world's finest heavy cavalry — Tie Futu — displayed its dominance on this kind of open plain, abandoning tight formations and close-quarters slaughter in favor of breakthrough and piercing.

This kind of charge driven by the great momentum of a military formation was something even the Central Plains' heavy cavalry could not stop at this moment.

Under Tie Futu's charge, a gap was torn open.

After paying the price of two thousand of his remaining cavalry, the Great Khan successfully led the rest of his forces to break out.

Only the direction was —

"You thief, stop!"

"Take a halberd from your Grandpa Yue!"

General Yue Qianfeng roared at the top of his lungs, leading the great army's formation to cut in, blocking the Turkic cavalry while smashing the skulls of several Turkic centurions, his battle halberd weaving through the air as he unleashed the ultimate technique of the Crimson Dragon Shakes the Nine Provinces.

Golden scales materialized in the void, and when he swung the battle halberd, the blade edge carried a layer of golden firelight.

General Yue Qianfeng fought himself into a frenzy, letting out a long howl: "Halt for your Grandpa!"

He used his newly broken-through Eighth Heaven Crimson Dragon Dharma Aspect to clash head-on with the Great Khan, who was approaching the realm of legend.

It was this man who entangled Mu Zhahe, giving the latter no time to react.

The Great Khan recognized General Yue Qianfeng and struck out in fury.

The Crimson Dragon Dharma Aspect let out a long cry that shook the heavens and earth, then shattered directly.

General Yue Qianfeng spat fresh blood, his weapon snapped in two, and he was sent flying backward, grievously wounded by a single strike.

But he had cultivated the martial arts of the Crimson Emperor of old, and walked his own path.

His training had toughened his hide and flesh; he stubbornly refused to die.

The Great Khan defeated General Yue Qianfeng almost instantly.

But this kind of momentum-gathering heavy cavalry, pausing for even a moment would cause the army's momentum to weaken and lose speed; the Great Khan's breakout speed was also forcibly stalled for an instant by General Yue Qianfeng.

He had originally planned to continue consolidating the army formation.

But the next moment, the Great Khan's expression changed drastically. Gripping his divine spear with both hands, he raised it to block above—Li Guanyi's Tiger Roars at the Sky battle halberd had already gathered its full momentum and smashed down viciously from above, while Li Zhao Wen's war spear pressed down at the same time in the same manner.

The Great Khan felt the force transmitted through both arms.

The Phoenix's clarity and the Bai Hu's roar erupted together.

Fortune surged, tearing and twisting into a storm that rushed up into the sky.

The ground cracked and collapsed directly downward, forming a massive crater; the collision and tearing of inner Qi also caused fissures and ravines to appear across the earth.

The Great Khan took Li Guanyi and Li Zhao Wen's strikes head-on.

He still did not fall behind, and could even continue leading his army forward in a charge.

Because of the Immortal Indestructible Physique, he could not take down Li Guanyi, but the reason he couldn't take down Li Guanyi was because this youngster's injuries would heal in a short time; this also meant that the Great Khan could inflict wounds on the Qin Wang.

"Junior, you want to make an enemy of me…"

The Great Khan suddenly felt an indescribable chill rising within his body. He let out a bellow, driving his own cultivation to the extreme—Ninth Heaven limit, the realm approaching the Martial Dao legend—in an instant devouring fortune to unleash his life's ultimate killing strike.

"Get. Lost!!!"

The tremendous force pushed Li Guanyi and Li Zhao Wen back. Li Guanyi reached out and pulled Li Zhao Wen, grabbing her wrist and pulling the Phoenix behind him, bearing a portion of the terrifying aura from the Great Khan's furious counterattack for her.

Li Zhao Wen had instinctively been about to handle it herself, but was pulled behind him. She looked up, saw Li Guanyi's shoulder and back, and was momentarily stunned.

Her raised palm paused, then lowered.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

And at the same time, the Great Khan forcibly shifted the position of his body.

The sound of a weapon piercing armor and flesh was crystal clear; that sharp, stinging pain, and the terrifying sensation of the weapon's grim sword Qi spreading along his blood vessels, appeared with absolute clarity in his heart.

This was a strike that could truly kill him.

The Great Khan had not felt this brush with death for a very, very long time.

Such a strike, such fierce and razor-sharp sword Qi.

The one who came was—

Murong Longtu!

The Great Khan's face was grim and icy, his gaze turning to the side————

Just now, when the army formation blessing on his body had been cracked open by the Qin Wang, a wooden sword had stabbed steadily and unhurriedly into his body; the finest precious armor on the entire grassland seemed to have turned to clay, and was pierced through with ease.

Master Jiankuang Murong Longtu's sword pierced directly through the Great Khan's side.

Had he not shifted his body in an instant, this strike would have been aimed straight at his heart; a bone-chilling cold made the Great Khan's body tense and his pupils contract violently.

That old killer!

Such vicious methods!

Utterly wary in his heart, the Great Khan suddenly laughed long: "Central Plains Martial Dao legend, Master Jiankuang Murong Longtu—your reputation is indeed well-deserved! But, alas, alas, you bumpkins who grovel in the dust, how dare you come onto this battlefield!"

"I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

"You killed my brother; today I will take you down too!"

Qi and blood surged. The Great Khan's weapon suddenly swept sideways to block Murong Longtu, and the weapon spirit that had been entangled with the Primordial Crimson Dragon abandoned that creature that barely resembled an auspicious beast, transforming into flowing, shifting baleful Qi and returning.

The Great Khan used his flesh to forcibly clamp down on Master Jiankuang Murong Longtu's wooden sword for an instant.

A strike carrying the great momentum of the weapon spirit chopped down toward Murong Longtu's forehead.

The Second Divine General, weapon spirit baleful Qi gathered on his weapon, struck with fury.

The next moment, the Tiger Roars at the Sky battle halberd stabbed directly into the clash.

Using the moon blade to block this strike, Li Guanyi was shaken until his Qi and blood churned, but he intercepted the strike for the old man. The Fire Qilin charged wildly; Li Guanyi cut in between the two, swinging his battle halberd with both hands and clashing with the Great Khan several times.

With the great momentum of the military strategist's blessing, what Li Guanyi displayed at this moment was the might of a military formation commander.

Blood at the corner of his mouth, yet his brows flew high, he asked with concern:

"Great-grandfather-in-law, are you alright?"

Murong Longtu was briefly stunned, then burst into laughter.

He laughed uproariously.

Heartily, with immense satisfaction.

Murong Longtu had never felt so light of heart. He nodded to Li Guanyi, then looked at the Second Divine General and said: "I called you Great Khan, and you actually took the name to heart. You barbarian of the grasslands, do you truly think Murong Longtu has no way to deal with a great army?!"

"Iron Pagoda? Army formation momentum?"

"Back then, Zhang Ziyong could trade blows with three thousand heavy armored cavalry your grasslands had chased down. Could Elder Murong really be inferior to a pill master who only knows how to survive, not how to kill?!"

"Guanyi, go block him all you want. Your great-grandfather will cut off this old barbarian's Tie Futu for you. Let's see what tricks this great Khan has left once he's lost his Tie Futu!"

Sword Qi shrieked skyward, no match for this wild, arrogant spirit.

Elder Murong did not fight his great-grandson for an opponent. With a grip of his right hand, the wooden sword at Li Guanyi's waist—Long Tu—leapt into the air, returning to the Master Jiankuang's hand. With the divine weapon in hand, Elder Murong strode forward.

One strike from the Master Jiankuang.

He directly tore apart the battle formation linking the Great Khan to his Tie Futu personal guards behind him!

The Great Khan's expression changed drastically. An elite like the Tie Futu—losing even one was a knife to his heart.

But looking at the Qin Wang, looking at the Primordial Scarlet Dragon, he knew he could not stay.

At this moment, there was only one option: charge forward with everything!

He led only the remaining army, charging ceaselessly toward the depths of the Turkic grasslands.

Li Guanyi led the great army in pursuit.

Earlier it had been the Great Khan pursuing Li Guanyi—a great battle. Now the situation had somehow reversed itself. After chasing over a hundred li, there came the sound of hoofbeats ahead. This was, after all, Turkic land; behind them lay Turkic territory.

Only the Great Khan's reinforcements had arrived far later than expected.

The leading general's expression changed as well, and he cried out: "Great Khan!"

"Terrible news—the Seventh Prince blocked the messengers. Many of the Tian Kehan's reinforcements behind us were intercepted by his schemes. If his forces weren't insufficient, we wouldn't even have learned of the situation here."

"The Seventh Prince has rebelled!!!"

What?!!

The Great Khan's expression flickered for a moment, but he immediately controlled that daze.

He knew the tide had turned; he could only rely on the vast depth of territory behind him to retreat.

If the Qin Wang continued leading his army deeper, he would be a lone force.

Chen Fubi became a lone force, and he had only death to show for it. The Qin Wang would be no exception.

Only—on Turkic soil, being chased from one's own doorstep by a Central Plains monarch.

It could be called disgrace.

Utter, absolute disgrace!

The Great Khan looked at Li Guanyi with unwillingness. The army behind him gathered, yet he only said one word: retreat. The reinforcing general was still confused, but the Great Khan roared furiously: "Retreat!" Only then did the men assemble into formation, retreating while staying on guard.

Li Zhaowen and Li Guanyi fought their way here, and seeing other Turkic forces arrive, couldn't help but feel regret. But this was, after all, the enemy's homeland.

The lord of a nation fleeing in defeat for over a hundred li before reinforcements arrived—already proved everything.

Li Zhaowen said: "What a pity, what a pity… If we keep pursuing, we'll be a lone force striking deep."

"Guanyi, what do you think?"

Li Guanyi said: "Let's pull back."

Li Zhaowen said: "What a shame—we'd chased them all the way here."

Li Guanyi lowered his eyes. Within the Nine-Tripod Cauldrons, two-thirds of the Mandate of the Turkic grasslands had already been drawn away, and the Seventh Divine General had been left behind. By no measure could this be called a failed operation. Yet at this moment, there was still a new attempt to be made.

Li Guanyi raised his hand. Accompanied by a low, resonant howl, the Cloud-Shattering Heaven-Shaking Bow appeared in his grip. The Bai Hu Dharma Aspect let out a low roar. Li Guanyi drew the war bow, locking onto the Great Khan ahead.

The Great Khan and his men had already drawn far away.

Earlier, Li Guanyi had been too close to them—using this Sky Wolf Shot would have killed himself as well. But now it was different. Those men had drawn away. Li Guanyi said: "Senior Scarlet Dragon, please lend me a hand…"

The Primordial Scarlet Dragon opened its mouth and exhaled a breath of Dragon Essence.

The Chixiao Sword steadied.

It radiated a golden-red flowing light, with what looked almost like the phantom of a dragon swirling across its surface.

Li Guanyi placed the Chixiao Sword—imbued with the Mandate of the Scarlet Emperor's Seal and the breath of the Scarlet Dragon—upon the Cloud-Shattering Heaven-Shaking Bow. He drew a deep breath, the Overlord's power flowing through his body, and slowly drew the war bow.

The Primordial Scarlet Dragon bared its teeth, feeling a bit blind.

If it closed its eyes, it would almost think the Scarlet Emperor and the Overlord were joining forces.

No, no, no—can't look. This sight would blind a dragon.

Li Guanyi locked onto the retreating Great Khan, released the bowstring, and laughed:

"Great Khan, want me to forge you a key?!"

"You!!!"

The Great Khan raged. Sensing the arrow's approach, he thought of Mu Zhahe who had died in this war, and grief welled up alongside fury. As the arrow shot toward him, he raised his hand—and actually grabbed the 【arrow】 bare-handed.

The furious Great Khan intended to snap the arrow in two.

On the 【Chixiao Sword】, the flowing light paused for a moment, then began to fluctuate violently and unstably.

Then, it exploded with a roar.

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