Chapter 110: The Tragic Battlefield

"Although this battle was arduous, for me it was absolutely a bountiful harvest!"

After touching every corpse once, the Qi Blood Gu Han absorbed caused his aura to surge suddenly.

In the eyes of the soldiers tasked with guarding the corpses, he appeared like a shining blood-man!

However, this bloody light flashed and vanished, and they merely thought it was some martial technique of Gu Han's, not giving it much thought.

Gu Han's realm also finally entered the Martial Master level at this moment!

Strictly speaking, he can now truly be considered to be at the same level as Wang Keyan.

However, his strength is sufficient to kill the vast majority of Great Martial Masters!

After experiencing two Ten Levels, Gu Han's accumulated foundation is incomparable to others!

Moreover, in order to evade Mu Shan Cheng's city defenses inspection, these people did not bring their battle pets into Mu Shan Cheng.

All the resources they carried for raising battle pets conveniently became cheap for Gu Han.

With the help of the Battle Pet System, Little Wolf had just broken through to Two-Star Ten Levels.

At this moment it also became a Three-Star Demon Beast, with greatly increased strength!

Moreover, hundreds of treasure chests also provided Gu Han with three techniques!

Profound Grade Medium-tier Body Technique: Flowing Cloud Step!

Profound Grade High-tier Defense Technique: Golden Bell Cover!

Profound Grade High-tier Stealth Technique: Phantom Shadow Flash!

Moreover, the vast technique experience gained from opening the treasure chests brought the proficiency of all his techniques, including newly learned ones, up to entry-level mastery!

Entry-level mastery is the highest depth of understanding that the vast majority of martial practitioners can achieve for a technique.

Techniques cultivated over many years might achieve integrated comprehension.

Only a rare few heavenly prodigies can refine a technique to perfection.

As for the highest proficiency, peak of perfection, judging from Gu Han's past life's experiences, likely not a single person in Ben Lang Guo possesses it!

Even with the system's help, wanting to further increase technique proficiency requires unimaginable amounts of technique experience.

At least, the technique experience provided by the many treasure chests Gu Han opened is insufficient for his advanced techniques to reach integrated comprehension.

To date, among all his techniques, only the lowest-grade Blazing Fist has achieved integrated comprehension.

After opening all the treasure chests, Gu Han thought it over and did not collect all the storage rings from these corpses.

Instead, he symbolically took about one-fifth of them.

He believed his contribution to defending Mu Shan Cheng was great, but not enough to claim all the credit for himself.

Whether fallen soldiers or those who killed the enemy, all need compensation.

The resources left behind will naturally be collected entirely by the military.

At that time, a portion will be taken from them as compensation funds.

This also counts as the meager effort Gu Han can do for them.

After tidying up, Gu Han returned to the City Tower with Little Wolf.

On the way, soldiers carried large buckets of water, washing away the bloodstains along the road.

Many soldiers also leaned against the wall, covering their faces as they wept.

Although they each bore serious injuries, some even having lost arms.

But Gu Han knew they were not crying for themselves.

But for their companions they had lived with day and night, who could no longer awaken to converse with them.

Man is not grass or wood; who can be without feeling?

Gu Han also felt a hint of sorrow in his heart, but he knew this was the norm at the frontier.

As long as war breaks out, even the victorious side will still see countless families torn apart, wives separated from husbands and children scattered.

But this is unavoidable.

Any nation, even if a present-day sage rules as its sovereign, finds it difficult to avoid.

Because a sage can restrain his own desires and not launch wars against neighboring states.

But they cannot control others.

Human desire is endless.

Controlling more land allows mining more raw stone.

Only a nation's high-ranking officials can possess more cultivation resources and reach higher realms.

This is almost a vicious cycle.

Those willing to guard their own small plot of land are ultimately few.

While Gu Han was thinking of many things, he unknowingly arrived atop the City Tower.

Zhou Kuan had also finished listening to the deputy general's report, and sighed,

"Fortunately, Gu Han arrived in time this time to expose Deng Li's plot; otherwise, if I had fallen for Deng Li's 'lure the tiger away from the mountain' scheme, Mu Shan Cheng would surely fall."

"In order to capture my Mu Shan Cheng, these fellows from Dan Ren Cheng really went all out!"

Two Martial Ancestors, plus over seventy Great Martial Masters, and nearly a hundred Martial Masters.

This force, even on the battlefield, is a weighty power!

"It's a pity we didn't catch that beast Deng Li!"

Zhou Kuan's deputy general's face sank like water, and he snarled,

"This fellow knows the surrounding environment extremely well; after so long, trying to catch him again is like looking for a needle in a haystack!"

In the midst of their discussion, they happened to see the returning Gu Han.

Zhou Kuan immediately nodded at Gu Han.

Gu Han came to the edge of the city wall, relying on the torches on the City Tower, barely able to see the situation below the City Tower.

But for the fighting farther away, he could only rely on the shouts of battle, barely able to make out a thing or two.

"General Zhou, how is the situation now?"

Zhou Kuan's face was grim, and he said in a low voice,

"Half an hour ago, two Bijang had already fallen—that is, the Martial Sect suffered losses—and the number of Great Martial Masters who died on the battlefield is too great to count."

"But now that it's dark, even I find it hard to judge the situation on the battlefield."

"However, reinforcements had already arrived at that time, taking some of the pressure off Lao Guan and his men, so the situation should have improved somewhat."

Gu Han looked at the trench that was almost ready, and at the Combat Soldiers pushing out the Horse Rejection and various siege equipment to block the Saber-Toothed Pigs.

"About how much longer until the Generals can retreat?"

Zhou Kuan furrowed his brows in thought,

"At least another incense stick's worth of time."

Gu Han startled, then quickly asked,

"Why does it still take so long?"

He looked at the preparations below the City Tower and thought that at most it would only take a few minutes to be fully ready.

How could it possibly need as long as an incense stick's worth of time?

"You weren't on the City Tower before, so you don't know the specific situation here."

Zhou Kuan said helplessly,

"Actually, even before an incense stick's worth of time ago, the situation below the City Tower was already about the same as now."

Zhou Kuan knew without looking that Gu Han was now full of doubts, and could only explain patiently,

"The Combat Soldiers need time to come from the camp; although the vanguard has already joined the battlefield, Lao Guan and his men were originally trapped in the enemy's encirclement."

"In a situation where the enemy outnumbers us, the enemy has sent out many small units to harass the Combat Soldiers setting up the Defense Works."

"Otherwise, it would just be a few siege equipment, already prepared long ago—why would it still be delayed until now?"

As Zhou Kuan's words fell, Gu Han saw in the darkness a low roar of a Saber-Toothed Pig sounding.

A Combat Soldier who had just been pushing the Horse Rejection was just knocked flying by the Saber-Toothed Pig.

His body fell heavily into the trench, life or death unknown!