Chapter 564: Li Guanyi's First Strategic Move: The Great Momentum Settles Its Pieces

Though it was spoken of as a million-strong army, Qin Huang had come from afar with only five hundred thousand combat troops; the rest were the logistical forces trailing behind. Jiang Su, meanwhile, had originally gathered eight hundred thousand elite soldiers, of which he detached three hundred thousand, leaving only five hundred thousand troops.

The armies of both sides surged mightily, their battle lines stretching out like rolling tides.

They faced off at the very heart of the world's storm.

The clatter of hooves, the whinnying of warhorses, and the faint flutter of banners in the wind gathered together like ocean waves—this was the surge of the age, as Qin Huang and the God of War gazed at one another.

Each bore the weight of a great momentum upon his shoulders, yet neither struck immediately.

They merely advanced at a slow pace, their auras drawing toward each other, faintly taking on a tangible form, ready to erupt at the slightest touch. Yet both halted at that threshold where their killing intent blazed sharpest without yet exploding.

Jiang Su fixed his gaze upon Li Guanyi and said lightly:

"I did not expect Qin Huang to come so quickly to meet his death."

Li Guanyi said: "In the affairs of the world, military action prizes speed; without this, how could a single battle decide the fate of all beneath heaven?!" The war-halberd in his hand rose, and the divine weapon Jiuli Bingzhu shimmered with a dark-gold luster beneath the sunlight, grim and biting cold.

The divine weapon pointed straight at Jiang Su's vital point, and Li Guanyi said:

"More words are useless."

"The grudges and karma of all these years—it's time to settle them, Jiang Su."

Jiang Su lifted the Silent Extinction Divine Spear in his hand, its tip also pointing forward, and said: "As you say, the grudges are time to be divided, but when all is said and done, so-called grudges and karma are nothing more than each trying to kill the other—come!"

A surge of fierce, valiant qi exploded outward as Jiang Su charged at Li Guanyi with his weapon. This time, the Grand Tutor took the offensive himself; the golden-armored divine being's Dharma Aspect thundered into being, brandishing its divine weapon and cleaving down toward the front.

In an instant, the aura of a Martial Dao legend blazed forth.

Jiang Su, commanding his soldier soul, sat astride a steed that nearly transformed into an azure dragon. The white-haired God of War seemed like a deity riding a dragon, his might awe-inspiring, his divine majesty blazing, slashing down upon Qin Huang.

Li Guanyi spun the divine weapon in his hand and charged forward to meet the attack.

His mount roared, and a torrent of Martial Dao legend qi surged skyward, transforming into firelight. The two armies faced off but did not press forward in this instant; they merely watched their two commanders clash, the auras of Martial Dao legends colliding with a sound like thunder.

The Silent Extinction divine spear and Jiuli Bingzhu traded blow for blow, each displaying its own majesty.

Stray force scattered, leaving one hideous scar after another across the earth. Ripples and waves of void-force crashed together; within the zone of their clash, even the most renowned generals of the realm could not remain unscathed.

A thunderous, grim boom!

Li Guanyi's divine weapon and Jiang Su's divine weapon collided; the cry of a dragon pierced the heavens, and streams of light burst forth from both weapons, trembling, then scattering outward.

Boom!!!

The ground where the two clashed suddenly split open with hideous fissures.

The fissures spread toward the distance, tearing the earth into terrifying shapes, and then the ground caved downward into a massive pit. The generals stepped forward to look and saw Qin Huang and the God of War's weapons locked together.

The two sides seemed to be locked in a contest of strength.

The momentum of their armies bolstered them; at this moment, both surpassed their former selves. Faint streams of light burst forth and collided, force circulating like thunder, terrifying to behold.

Jiang Su's pupils contracted sharply.

This boy…

He sensed that the force transmitted through Li Guanyi's weapon exceeded what it had been during their earlier standoff.

In these past three-plus years, Qin Huang's realm had once again undergone a transformation and advancement.

Had he actually been suppressing his realm and cultivation all along during the fight?!

Cunning boy.

Such was Jiang Su's inward assessment. He raised his weapon and swept it sideways; the force of both erupted instantly, and they sprang apart in unison. When they had just clashed, they had already parted from their mounts; now they withdrew once more, each on guard.

Jiang Su felt his chest seethe with surging qi and blood, his expression slightly grave.

Li Guanyi's qi and blood, his physique.

All seemed even more formidable than when he had first entered the Martial Dao legend realm.

Even if the Hegemon King himself were reborn, it would be no more than this!

Li Guanyi's qi and blood surged; a faint flush rose to his face. He swiftly circulated his cultivation method, gradually pressing down the upheaval of his qi and blood. The two remained before their facing armies, each on guard.

A draw!

Both stood at the Martial Dao legend realm, both bore the baleful aura of great armies—forces that in peacetime would suffice to annihilate a nation—surging forth, and both possessed an absolute resolve never to retreat, along with a longing and vision for the future.

Both were commanders of the military arts.

Pinnacle legends.

To easily decide life and death, superior and inferior, upon the battlefield was inherently impossible, and at this moment, both Qin Huang and Jiang Su understood this.

The wind howled.

Just as before, the two divine generals gazed at each other; the entire world seemed to grow vast, mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, the land itself transforming into an interwoven chessboard, as the great momentum of all beneath heaven thundered into collision.

Jiang Su and Qin Huang faced off in the summer of the fourth year of Qin Huang's reign.

They clashed, with no result.

Each withdrew ten li, set up camp, and faced off; the killing edge of their armies pierced the heavens, and within a radius of several hundred li, layers of baleful qi stacked upon one another. A thousand years hence, there were those who loved strange tales who spoke of fox spirits and ghosts; those who wielded the pen as immortals, upon entering this place, all vanished into nothing.

But any evil spirit that dared enter this ancient battlefield was utterly destroyed, soul and spirit scattered.

The baleful aura of blades and arms was unprecedented.

………………

Beneath the banners of the Fire Qilin army, Qin Huang, clad in armor, strode into the main camp. Upon the table, a map of the realm was slowly unfurled. Qin Huang, Pojun, Yaoguang, Yuan Zhi, and other strategists were all present. Upon this map representing the state of the world, crimson lines were scattered.

Li Guanyi's finger pointed at this place, and he said in a low voice:

"The great armies face off here; our forces and Jiang Su's army hold each other in check, and neither side has the strength to swallow the other immediately. With several hundred thousand combat troops and the logistical forces on display in the standoff, the area covered is simply too vast."

Pojun said: "Meet the enemy with the orthodox; win with the unorthodox."

"This time, my lord is the 'orthodox,' engaging Jiang Su in direct battle, but the scale of this battlefield is too vast; even my lord and Jiang Su are merely one corner of this battlefield."

"This battlefield—"

Pojun's eyes held a faint purple light; his finger hovered over the entire vast map, then slowly swept across it: "—is the whole world."

Li Guanyi's finger pointed at Beicheng:

"The grand army led by Marshal Yue has marched out from Beicheng and cut into the heart of the Kingdom of Ying."

"The pincer should be complete, and we have Jiang Su pinned down here. From now on, it all depends on each side's stratagems across the entire battlefield."

Qin Huang gazed at this enormous map of the realm, as if he could see the whole world. Reflected in his pupils was a single crimson line, which, under the candlelight, seemed to twist and stretch forward.

Stretching on and on, stretching to the very edge of the sky, it broadened into a vast thoroughfare.

Boom!!!

Hoofbeats thundered, pounding along this thoroughfare. The earth was stamped into small craters, soil kicked up by the warhorses' mighty strides and scattering down like a brief shower of dust.

A great banner of dark-blue coiling-dragon patterns hung down like a sea of clouds upon the ground.

Two great characters were inscribed upon it.

【Yuwen】!

Yuwen Lie stood armored in dark plate, a great dark cloak billowing, gripping his heavy lance. To his left and right were Yuwen Tianxian, Yuwen Hua, and Yuwen Tianlei. Leading two hundred thousand troops, they had split off from the main Ying army a hundred li back, taking advantage of cavalry's high mobility to swing wide in a great arc.

They meant to exploit the advantage of fighting on Ying soil, striking with rapid mobility.

Then sever Qin Huang's supply lines.

Qin Huang's supply lines were an absolute weakness.

Yuwen Lie's gaze was cold and calm.

In days past, an army of over a hundred thousand taking the field would have been a great war counted among the foremost under heaven, one capable of drawing the attention of the world. But now, this was merely a basic military operation.

In a war of this scale, even the movement of an army of more than a hundred thousand could only count as a local engagement. Indeed, the victory or defeat of a local engagement could only be one link in the outcome of the final battle; it could not overturn everything.

In this final, decisive war—

Even a famed general as formidable as he, a top-tier divine general, was only one piece of it. The Yuwen army's objective was clear: cut Qin Huang's supply lines—or at the very least, disrupt his logistical resupply to some degree.

The art of war was not merely about great armies clashing head-on.

"Hua'er, Tianxian, I know your ties with the Fire Qilin Army."

"But on the battlefield, there is no room for sentiment."

Yuwen Hua and Yuwen Tianxian's expressions were complicated, yet both answered in assent.

The world of troubled times was always like this—sweeping everyone along, dragging them into positions they did not wish for, turning all people's blades against each other.

Yuwen Lie's expression was solemn. They had successfully reached the operational position.

Ripples stirred in the void; a Bai Hu's roar pierced the heavens. He had spotted the Qin supply column, but just as he was about to accelerate the charge to sever those supply lines, suddenly, an abnormal roar from the Bai Hu Dharma Aspect beside his ear exploded.

A killing intent enveloped his heart.

The Bai Hu Dharma Aspect—was it acting strangely?

Yuwen Lie's pupils contracted sharply—

No, it was the Bai Hu Dharma Aspect.

But… it was not his own Bai Hu Dharma Aspect!

His divine steed reacted in an instant. From Yuwen Lie's body, the divine radiance of the Bai Hu Dharma Aspect erupted forth; his heavy lance swept sideways, and in a flash, a violent explosion rang out, followed immediately by fierce ripples.

Banners and drums surged.

Yuwen Lie's gaze was piercing, yet showed no sign of surprise. He pressed his palm down hard and swept sideways violently; the arrow's light-dust fell to the ground, slowly crumbling apart, the scattered streams of light drifting upward and rising away.

The Bai Hu's roar carried a grim, oppressive killing intent.

Ahead, the grain and supply convoy suddenly shifted. From those carts that had been carrying provisions, one after another came the sounds of grim killing intent. Mohist repeating crossbows were hauled out one by one. Old Master Gongsun Huai Zhi sat atop them, his eyes bloodshot, laughing wildly:

"Little brats, Grandpa's here!"

"Taste my Mohist Repeating Crossbow, One Hundred and Eight Forms, Poisoned Modification · Samsara Reborn!"

"Ahahahahahaha!"

Mohist Master Pan Wanxiu could only desperately hold back this mechanism-crazed old man. Even their own side's grim killing aura had been thrown into disarray by this Gongsun-family repeating-crossbow lunatic. And at that moment, from amid the drifting dust, a voice both dashing and free suddenly rang out:

"Deep mountains and lofty ridges conceal majestic might; the Star Lord descends in mortal form."

"Snow-white cloak and silver mantle draped in brocade, twin eyes cold as shooting light. Steel claws and fangs, a mighty frame—one roar silences a thousand peaks. Through forest he leaps; a hundred birds all fear his splendor."

To be at this moment, on this very battlefield—

And still have the leisure to put on such a show—

Even searching through the entire Fire Qilin Army, one could not find a second candidate.

Elder Guan Shier, Pan Wanxiu, and Gongsun Huai Zhi's temples twitched.

Even the mechanism-war-formation maniac Gongsun Huai Zhi turned his head, staring fixedly at Elder Guan Shier.

As if to ask—

What on earth did you install on him?!

Why does he have to recite a poetic title upon entering the stage?

Damn it, why does he have to be so flashy?!

From within that dashing voice, a dark war-halberd pierced out through the drifting dust, then swept aside. His steps were unhurried and composed. The Tiger Howling Heaven-Shaking Halberd, the Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow, his battle robe billowing, his armor grim with killing intent—all accompanied by the sound of calm footsteps.

The grandeur of the verse shifted in an instant, turning grim and piercing.

"I recall the days of chasing the deer across the realm, unmatched in all directions, a spirit none could steal."

"Proudly standing in the mortal world, who could oppose me? Alone I guarded five hundred years of spring and autumn."

"The annals of history stretch dim and long; my heroic bearing unchanged, this heart still vast and surging."

"Through a thousand autumns sung and praised, the world reveres my wondrous spirit."

Yuwen Lie stared coldly at the divine general ahead who wielded divine weapons and rode a strange beast. His gaze shifted, looking at the Bai Hu Dharma Aspect rippling and spreading behind that man, and a destiny that faintly touched the martial legends of the Nine Heavens began to unfurl.

The Tiger Howling Heaven-Shaking Halberd rose, pointing forward.

Xue Shen's voice was calm, stripped of its usual jesting, as he said lightly: "Indeed, the Bai Hu Da Zong excels at swift, violent strikes. If I were in your position, I would choose the same. On the battlefields of the world, the orthodox meets the foe, the unorthodox wins."

"The Bai Hu Da Zong should charge at the most critical point on the battlefield."

"What a pity, you're not the only one from Bai Hu Da Zong here."

"It seems my choice to intercept here was not wrong."

Yuwen Lie's heavy spear trembled, yielding not an inch, as he said slowly:

"In this age, there is only me."

"The older generation should return to the annals of history—why insist on coming out?"

Behind Yuwen Lie: Yuwen Hua, Yuwen Tianxian, Yuwen Tianlei.

Behind General Xue: Fan Qing, Khan Qibili, and the Phoenix, Li Zhaowen.

General Xue's time to fight at full strength on the battlefield is insufficient; another top-ten Divine General must be dispatched to coordinate.

Fan Qing and Yuwen Hua stared at each other, both expressions solemn.

Yuwen Hua raised his hand, lightly tapped his chest, and grinned.

He made a gesture familiar to those three thousand men of the Fire Qilin Army back then, and Fan Qing's solemn, resolute face took on a trace of complicated emotion; he nodded, then tightened his grip on his weapon.

They still remembered each other.

But they also knew each other's resolve.

Old friends of those days, in the end, because of their differing aspirations, their differing identities, their differing resolve, finally set foot on different battlefields. But having already stepped onto this place, there was nothing more to be said.

Come and fight!

Even if they are old friends, they must still swing their weapons, still carry through their resolve and their past, galloping to the end of their own road.

Weapons were all raised.

The Tiger-Roaring Heaven Halberd, the heavy spear Burning-Fierce—each pointed at the other.

The roar of the white tiger shook heaven and earth; high in the sky, the streaming light of the Seven Stars of the White Tiger suddenly blazed bright—even in broad daylight, it seemed to take on substance, descending from the southwest of the heavens.

On the western battlefield, Yuwen Lie's force of two hundred thousand troops was blocked by General Xue.

The advance halted.

The accompanying military advisor, Feng Xiao—this young man's eyes were bright. When the wind blew past, the scent of wine lingered in his sleeves; even at a time like this, he was still drinking, yet while drinking, his eyes grew ever more lucid, ever more bright.

He gazed at the flaring battle banners and exhaled a breath.

He said softly in his heart:

"The wonder of military strategy lies in anticipating where the enemy must attack, then intercepting and cutting off their momentum."

"My lord, our force's duty of containment has already been fulfilled."

"We will carry out our duty: until the main battle line decides victory or defeat, we will intercept Ying's Divine Might General Yuwen Lie."

"As for the other directions…"

The white tiger dharma-forms roaring at each other were reflected in Feng Xiao's eyes.

"I leave it to all of you."

………………

Qin Yulong's great army thundered forward; he led one hundred thousand troops, cutting in from the east, intending to coordinate with Yuwen Lie's advance to further contain Qin Huang's great army, and also to coordinate with Jiang Su in delivering a fatal blow to Jiangnan.

But at this moment, he suddenly heard the howl of a grey wolf.

Qin Yulong clenched his teeth; at the edge of his vision appeared a stream of crimson-gold light, the dragon's roar of the Red Dragon rose, and then came valor and boldness—General Yue Qianfeng, the foremost Divine General of this age, burst into the battlefield.

"Hahaha, Qin Yulong, come on, come on!"

"I, Yue Qianfeng, by order of military advisor Mr. Pojun, have waited for you here for a long time!"

Yue Qianfeng held a halberd in each hand, his gaze blazing like fire.

"Fight me another eight hundred rounds!"

To Yue Qianfeng's left was Chen Wenmian, newly entered the Eighth Heaven; to his right, Xiao Wuliang, also qualified to contend for a top-ten position; the accompanying military advisor was Zhou Pinglu. In that instant, Qin Yulong realized something was wrong.

"…Have they made my position their breakthrough point?"

Qin Yulong's eyes lowered slightly; he tightened his grip on his divine weapon. Behind him were other famous generals from Ying, but facing the enemy's lineup, he was ultimately somewhat overstretched. He did not know whether Jiang Su had miscalculated.

Or whether Jiang Su had deliberately intended his force of one hundred thousand to delay and trade away Qin Huang's great general—trading an inferior horse for a superior one. If it was for ultimate victory, Grand Preceptor Jiang Su would not hesitate to do it.

But for the sake of his nation, Qin Yulong still resolved to fight.

Though faced with a formidable enemy, the heroic spirit in his chest did not diminish; he only said:

"Come!"

The military advisor of this Fire Qilin Army force, Zhou Pinglu, exhaled a breath.

So-called military strategy has no such thing as the weak defeating the strong; it is merely scattering the enemy's deployment, always using the parts stronger than the opponent to smash the opponent's weak parts, accumulating advantage bit by bit, and completing the ultimate 【weak defeating strong, few defeating many】.

"My lord, our duty of containment and breakthrough has entered the next phase."

"General Yue Qianfeng's force has entered the combat position."

"The rest, I leave to all of you!"

Battles raged on all sides; the entire world, as if in an instant, had utterly fallen into chaotic warfare.

Eight hundred years of the Red Emperor's grandeur, three hundred years of a magnificent age of turmoil—these had exhausted the heroic spirit of this world. This seemed to be an era belonging to countless heroes, an era where countless heroes and outstanding figures displayed their brilliance on the annals of history, leaving behind legend after legend.

Famous generals, strategists, heroes, and warriors of valor—all galloped across the battlefield.

With this body, with this benevolence, with this martial prowess.

They manifested their great vows and obsessions.

And the passions of the generals and strategists, like piece after piece on a chessboard, advanced ceaselessly through the crisscrossing world. The thunder of warhorses' hooves surged forward, dust billowed up to the sky, as if transforming into a chess piece.

The chess piece was held in the sovereign's hand, slowly pushed forward.

Pressing the battle line and the situation ahead.

The piece was placed on the board with a crisp sound.

Pojun's expression was calm. He looked at Qin Huang before him. Li Guanyi held chess piece after piece in his hand, placing them all upon the strategic map of the battle situation, displaying the current battle line. Pojun looked at this battlefield, knowing he was looking at the trajectory of the entire world.

Even for a strategist as proud as he was,

at this moment his heart was pounding away, and though it beat wildly, it was held firmly in check by Pojun; on the surface, this Mr. still looked perfectly calm.

He looked at Qin Huang, and Li Guanyi's expression was solemn and murderous.

Pojun said slowly: "My lord, the battle has reached a stalemate…"

"Marshal Yue moved south and ran into He Ruo Qinhu's army; the two sides fought for two days. He Ruo Qinhu held his ground and would not retreat. Yuwen Lie tried to raid our supply lines and was ambushed by General Xue Shenjiang. The two great armies are now facing each other in the west, each taking losses."

"Although Qin Yulong's combat strength is not a match for our General Yue Qianfeng, he commands far more troops. Even though he is showing signs of faltering, there is no way to decide victory in a day or two, no way to rout this great general's army in a short time."

The scale of this great battle, the number of legions and generals involved, is extremely rare in the entire history of the realm — it can truly be called unprecedented.

Apart from those mythical clashes between the Nine Li and the ancient sovereigns of the Central Plains, in which gods themselves took part, this is the greatest battle under heaven.

With a front like this — too many men, too many generals, too long a line — the two sides in every local sector are evenly matched, so victory cannot be decided in a matter of days; but neither will it drag on for very long.

The situation has even settled into a brief equilibrium and stability, because the core standoff of this great battle is Li Guanyi and Jiang Su. So long as neither side slips up, everything depends on the other local sectors.

The moment one local sector decides a victor, the entire long front will tilt and collapse to one side. Pojun gazed at Qin Huang's profile, and at this moment he realized he could no longer seem to see through his lord. He said:

"My lord."

Qin Huang raised his eyes: "What is it?"

Pojun said softly: "What are you waiting for?"

Everyone assumed it was the orthodox meeting the orthodox, the strange seeking victory — that Qin Huang and the Military God would engage in a decisive battle, while the other famous generals fought and roamed across the four directions. But those renowned commanders were only there to balance, to contain.

Then the core force, the weight resting on the two ends of this scale, the one that would decide victory or defeat —

What was it?!

Qin Huang said: "I am waiting."

He looked outward; the sun shone in his eyes, and the flame of that sun was reflected in his gaze.

Jiang Su's eyes were stern and fierce as he studied the battle map: "The orthodox meets the orthodox, the strange seeks victory — but these battles on the four sides, whether mine, or Yuwen Lie's, or He Ruo Qinhu's, or Qin Yulong's, are all merely the 'orthodox,' all just holding engagements, pinning the enemy down."

"The turning of victory lies in time."

"It lies in reserves and logistics."

"I am waiting!"

The Military God Jiang Su, Qin Huang Li Guanyi — both were waiting.

Only what they saw in their eyes differed: one saw the myriad manifestations of heroes, the other saw something else entirely.

One was waiting for time — waiting for Qin Huang's logistics and reserves to be exhausted, no longer able to bear the terrifying drain of a million-strong army, so that the force would collapse from within.

The other was waiting for something that only time itself could answer.

Three days later, when the situation across the realm had grown ever more deadlocked, a piece of news arrived.

Qin Huang suddenly burst into laughter. He turned, and in his eyes burned a fierce fire — a presence like a surging tide that made Pojun instinctively hold his breath. The military intelligence brought by the auspicious beast of the grasslands was very simple.

But it was precisely what Qin Huang had been waiting for.

"The final force capable of changing this age of chaos."

'The hearts of the people waver; all under heaven yearn for change.'

'Led by Dou De and Shan Xiong —'

'The 【Rebellion Army】 has raised the crimson Fire Qilin cloud banner!'

'They have struck into the battlefield!!!'

?? Begging for monthly votes, friends~

? This one was a bit hard to write so it's late, the outline is clear now, pushing forward at full speed