The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 496- 498

Chapter 496: The Successful Crossing of the River

Lian Hai gave an affirmative nod. “I can have someone leave from the western gates, take a detour and deliver a message to a store in the city where the nearest garrison is stationed, telling the people there to inform the commander of the garrison, but is it necessary for us to do that? I mean, the new emperor has already set out to handle this matter.”

Dugu Shan said, “No, that won’t be quick enough. Nian Feng’s men could break in at any moment. Is there a quicker way to make contact with them?”

“Well…I can send a carrier pigeon to the store, but there’s a risk that the pigeon might be shot down after it flies out of the city. In that case, we won’t be able to achieve our objective, and our men might be exposed. Also, if I send one of my men there to inform the garrison, I’m afraid they wouldn’t believe him, and neither would they come to our rescue, unless he has a token,” replied Lian Hai after pondering for a while.

Dugu Shan’s brow corrugated in a frown. Indeed, sending a carrier pigeon was risky.

“I have a suggestion, Your Lordship,” said Lian Hai.

“Go on,” said Dugu Shan, looking at him.

“You may dispatch the Yuexi garrison here. It’ll be slower compared with dispatching the nearest garrison, but firstly there won’t be any risks of the carrier pigeon being intercepted, and secondly, when they arrive, they may enter the city through the western city gates to help defend the city, and they could also inform the other garrisons to move south pressuring Nian Feng. But if we do it that way, the Western City Garrison must hold the city gates long enough, and a token will also be necessary,” said Lian Hai.

Dugu Shan didn’t make a decision immediately. Instead, he started mulling over it.

“If Your Lordship find it inconvenient to make a decision as to this matter, you might as well report it to the new emperor, but…Your Lordship, are you sure you want to do this? If Nian Feng’s plan to take the city is thwarted, the new emperor’s position will be consolidated, and we won’t have any chance of turning the tables on him,” said Lian Hai.

Dugu Shan said, “Nian Feng’s army is too strong. I’m afraid the Dugu family will come to grief if this city falls.”

“Your Lordship, actually…you could try contacting the Yuexi garrison. Isn’t the assistant commander of the Yuexi garrison friends with your eldest son? If they agree to offer us assistance, you could totally just have the citizens and your family guards to help the Western City Garrison defend the city gates. After the Yuexi garrison enter the city and apprehend Nian Feng, you’ll be able to follow the example of Nian Feng, use the Yuexi garrison to force the emperor into abdicating the throne. In that case, unlike Nian Feng’s army who are held back outside the city, the Yuexi garrison will be inside the city, and the emperor will be powerless to resist,” said Lian Hai.

Dugu Shan’s eyes brightened. “You’re right. Guards, go and get my first son here!”

“Yes, Sir!”

Lian Hai slightly lowered his eyes to conceal the significant gleam in them.

No matter whether this plan succeeded or failed, the Yuexi garrison would inevitably have a fight with Nian Feng’s men eventually, and there was no doubt both sides would suffer casualties so heavy that neither of them would be able to pose a threat to the Great Wen.

…

When the Luohai Kingdom, due to Mu Hengtian’s death, was witnessing Nian Feng’s army attacking its capital which was in utter confusion and chaos, Yuwen Tong had successfully led his army across the river.

The army of the Great Wen were engaged in a fierce fight against Chen Jing’s men on the north bank. This battle was the toughest one since Yuwen Tong’s army had entered the Wan Kingdom, and the enemy’s resistance was the strongest. Although eventually they managed to gain a firm footing on the north bank and take Zhaoyang City which was to the north bank, and force Chen Jing’s men into retreating to an area dozens of li (a Chinese unit of length, equal to 500 meters) away, the army of the Great Wen suffered hitherto the heaviest casualty in this battle.

Yuwen Tong gave the order to make camp and rest, and also rewarded the troops with the best food and wine in an effort to bolster their morale as quick as possible.

Meanwhile, Yuwen Jin and He Xiao led a team of crack troops forward to scout out the lay of the land. Though they had lost quite some men during the battle, the overall morale of the troops was still high. After all, they had not only crossed the Wan River successfully but also defeated Chen Jing’s army. If the army kept progressing, they would sooner or later reach the capital of the Wan Kingdom!

“We’ve now crossed the Wan River, which means we’ll have to deal with not only Chen Jing’s men but also the garrisons stationed in northern Wan Kingdom. Though the Wan monarch wouldn’t dispatch all the garrisons in the north, they’re still a threat. Those troops have been defending against the tribes in the north for many years, so they’re more difficult to deal with than Chen Jing’s men.”

“It’s about time we dispatched the army stationed in Shengzhou Pass.”

In the military encampment outside Zhaoyang City, Yuwen Tong and all the officers were having a meeting in the main tent. They all believed that it was time to dispatch the army stationed in Shengzhou Pass.

Yuwen Tong tapped on the table, carefully studying the unfurled map on it. All the places that had been occupied by his army bore red marks on the map. The remaining important targets were the Wan capital, Chen Jing’s army and the garrisons in the north. The route of this army marching north was the only line of attack on the map. The army in Shengzhou Pass had been on the defense all along.

Yuwen Tong’s forefinger moved to the nearest city to the north of their encampment, circled it with his fingertip and said, “We need to finish this fight as quick as possible. We cannot afford to give the garrisons in the north any more time to move south. Our men in Shengzhou Pass are ready to depart at a moment’s notice. Tonight the message will arrive at Shengzhou Pass, and tomorrow they’ll set off. Barring accidents, considering their usual speed, they’ll be able to rendezvous with us outside Jifang City. If Shan Congli takes action quick enough, his northern garrisons will engage us outside Jifang City.”

The others were also looking at the map. Xiao Jiangyue said, “Jifang City is small, but it is flanked by mountains and is like a gorge, which greatly advantages the Wan army defending it. The city is also the last south barrier of the Wan capital. If we break it, we’ll be able to march straight north to the Wan capital, so Jifang City is where we will be faced with the fiercest resistance from the Wan army. We must be fully prepared before we go there.”

The others inclined their heads. “Should we send some men to Jifang City to do some recon beforehand?”

Yuwen Tong produced a newly made map, unfolded it, took a look and said, “Here’s some information about the general situation in Jifang City and the canyon terrain around it. You guys may have a look first, but currently our first priority is to force Chen Jing’s army into retreating to Jifang City. We’re in no hurry to make a detailed plan to take Jifang City.”

Yuwen Tong let Xiao Jiangyue and the others have a look at the newly made map and then put it away.

Xiao Jiangyue and the couple of others were astounded, because the map was so detailed! It was as though the one who had made the map had measured every inch of the land around Jifang City with a ruler!

“Sire, this map…” someone couldn’t help but ask.

Yuwen Tong directly put the map away, making no reply.

That officer shut up. After exchanging astonished glances with the others, he was secretly overjoyed. No matter how the emperor had obtained this map, the level of difficulty of the daunting task of taking Jifang City had now finally been brought down a little!

“All right. Now I guess all of you have got a general idea of what the next step is, and that is enough. Presently, the most pressing matter is the rest and reorganization of the troops. Their food and daily necessities must be of high quality. I want you guys to personally inspect the encampment and make sure that every one of them is rewarded with the best food and wine. If anybody dares cut corners, show them no mercy and have them executed.”

“Yes, Sire.”

…

On that very night, a carrier hawk from the north delivered a letter to Shengzhou Pass. Shortly after that, another letter from Yuwen Tong was delivered to the same place by a carrier hawk from the west.

After Ling Zhang finished reading the two letters, the corners of his eyes slightly curled, a sparkle of excitement in them.

Mu Hengtian was dead. An army led by Nian Feng was attacking the Luohai capital. Lian Hai had made a suggestion to Dugu Shan, who had taken it and talked to the new emperor on his own initiative. The troops in the Luohai capital would be able to hold the city before the Yuexi garrison marched south and fought Nian Feng’s men. No matter what, the Luohai Kingdom was now too busy to offer the Wan Kingdom any help. The Luohai encampment outside Youzhou Pass was half empty, and the troops in it were no longer a threat to Youzhou Pass.

As for the situation in the Wan Kingdom, Zhaoyang City which was located to the north of the Wan River had been taken already…

The time had come for the North-western Army to depart from Shengzhou Pass!

After a while, Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi were summoned, both of whom were excited at the news. “Great! Because of that geriatric Xue Chi, I’ve been cooped up in here for such a long time. Now the time has finally come for us to go out there!”

“Send my orders – the army is to depart at noon tomorrow.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi answered in unison. The two of them immediately left to make arrangements. Ling Zhang leaned against the back of his chair and clapped a hand to his chest where his heart was hammering madly, the glitter in his eyes growing brighter. Soon they would be able to rendezvous with Yuwen Tong. The plans they had been making preparations to carry out for years had succeeded one after another, and now the final goal was to be achieved. The prospect of it sent waves of thrill through his whole body, making him feel as though his blood was boiling.

The North-western Army received the orders that very night and all troops let out a roar of excitement. They all used to fight side by side with Yuwen Tong and saw Yuwen Tong as their master, but during this war against the Wan Kingdom, their master had been leading another army and fighting enemies in the Wan Kingdom, while they could only stay in Shengzhou Pass defending against the enemies’ attack. What with this situation, these soldiers who would rather die than shy away from fight had been feeling terribly subdued and had been itching to go out there to kick the Wan army’s asses for quite some time. Now the opportunity they had been waiting for finally came, and they were all anxious to go.

Jiang Ke first allowed his men to express their excitement, then hardened his face and said in a severe voice, “All of you are crack troops who have been serving in the North-western Army for many years and been through many fights. I believe none of you need me to remind you that underestimating the enemy is a mistake the North-western Army always tries the hardest to avoid! Tomorrow we’ll depart and I want all of you to bear this in mind – if anybody makes that mistake, I’ll behead him. Trust me, you don’t want to find out how sharp my saber is by being decapitated. I want all of you to be extra alert. Understand?!”

“Yes, Sir!”

The thrilled soldiers, after hearing Jiang Ke’s and Jiang Xi’s warning, finally cooled down and then started making preparations for the next day’s departure in orderly fashion.

Although Ling Zhang was not present, he could distinctly hear every sound from outside, so he had naturally heard Jiang Ke’s and Jiang Xi’s words. If truth be told, while he had been listening to the two of them, the excitement coursing through his body had ebbed away as well. Their words were indeed quite effective.

It would seem Yuwen Tong had entrusted the Northwestern Army to Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi for a reason.

The two of them were both good at war. Jiang Ke was cool-headed. Jiang Xi was exceptionally valiant but also fairly poised. Both of them were extraordinary field commanders.

After calming down, Ling Zhang anticipated the fight outside Shengzhou Pass the next day even more eagerly. He wanted very much to see how an army like this would crush Xue Chi’s men!

As this occurred to him, Ling Zhang took in a large gulp of air, dismissed all the miscellaneous thoughts from his mind and reread the letter from Yuwen Tong on the table, not missing a single word.

Chapter 497: A Fierce Fight

What with the downpour in the middle of the night the day before, every inch of the ground in the encampment of the Wan army was muddy. It had been several days since the army had broken out of the Formation deployed by the enemy, but the troops still hadn’t recovered from their battered morale. When they looked at the towering ramparts of Shengzhou Pass, they could no longer feel the great ambition that they had arrived at this place with. All they could feel now was fear.

To make things worse, the army led by Yuwen Tong had crossed the Wan River already and was closing in on the capital.

Xue Chi and his lieutenants had hushed it up, so the soldiers were unaware of it, but even so, the Wan army was still inevitably shrouded in a mood of pessimism.

“Father, should we continue to attack Shengzhou Pass?”

When Xue Chi and Xue Yi were the only ones left in the main tent, the latter asked his father about their next move. At the beginning of the war they had held the garrison of Shengzhou Pass in contempt, but now they had been forced into cowering in their encampment. The whole thing felt like a bad dream. Xue Yi was indignant and unreconciled to the defeat but was also unavoidably wary and scared of the enemies in Shengzhou Pass, his mind filled with uncertainty about whether or not they still had enough strength to take Shengzhou Pass. Of course, Xue Yi wouldn’t admit that he was shrinking from another fight. The excuse he made for himself was that they had suffered heavy casualties, and the army led by Yuwen Tong had crossed the Wan River, so it was pointless to resume the attack; what they should do was retreat and join hands with Chen Jing’s men to drive Yuwen Tong out of the Wan Kingdom and recover the lost cities and territory.

However, Xue Chi shook his head and told him explicitly, “That’s not an option. We cannot make another retreat.”

Xue Yi was bewildered. “Why?”

Xue Chi looked at him with sorrowful eyes. “As things stand, the moment we retreat, the gates of Shengzhou Pass will open immediately, and we’ll turn from the hunter into the prey. Yuwen Tong’s men are attacking Chen Jing’s army. You think the North-western Army in Shengzhou Pass would let us leave to help Chen Jing intercept Yuwen Tong? It’s too late. We’ve already been mired in this situation. To retreat is suicide. Only by resuming the attack will we stand a chance of survival.”

Xue Yi’s heart gave a huge leap. “W–We really couldn’t just retreat? But…”

‘But do we really still have a chance of taking Shengzhou Pass? And will Chen Jing’s army really be able to keep Yuwen Tong at bay?’ Both these questions were what Xue Yi wanted to ask, but for some reason, he was unable to ask either of them, though the words were already on the tip of his tongue. It was as if he had come to know the answers to them already.

Xue Chi looked deep into his eyes and said, “The war is not lost yet. That underhanded weird thing they deployed outside Shengzhou Pass has lost its effect, and there’s no way they could use it again. If we regroup our forces and launch another all-out attack on Shengzhou Pass, we might be able to survive this. If we win, we’ll turn the tables, and even if we lose, we’ll die a glorious death on the battlefield. You’re my son. For several generations the Xue family have been serving our country as loyal fighters, and there has never been a single coward in our family. We must fight until our last breath! What you just said must not be repeated. When you walk out of this tent, you will straighten your back. Now go and summon all the officers here to have a meeting. We’ll reformulate our plan of attack before we go into the final battle with the enemy in Shengzhou Pass!”

The last remark convulsed Xue Yi’s frame. After his eyes met Xue Chi’s, he slowly balled his hands into fists. “Yes, Father!”

Xue Yi soon had all officers gathered in Xue Chi’s tent. Shan Congyi was also among them.

Xue Chi was right about the situation. Currently the only way that his army could survive the war was if they took Shengzhou Pass with an all-out attack. However, strategically sensible as his plan was, before he could carry it out, the gates of Shengzhou Pass opened and the North-western Army, full of mettle, charged out heading for the encampment of the Wan army.

In the tent, Xue Chi was the first to sense that something was wrong. Before any of the sentries rushed to the tent to report, he paled visibly at the faint quake of the ground and, without saying anything, abruptly dropped himself, pressing his ear against the ground and listening hard. The next moment, with an ugly look on his face, he quickly rose to his feet and cautioned aloud, “An army is coming from the east! It’s the North-western Army from Shengzhou Pass! Everybody get ready to fight!”

All people present changed color. Having no time to say anything else, they all hastened out of the tent in a great hurry as the ground quaked more and more detectably.

Xue Chi, who had also exited the tent, yelled, “ENEMY APPROACHING! GET READY TO FIGHT!”

Shan Congyi was the only one staying in the tent. He had also felt the quake of the ground which was getting more distinct. His face which had been disfigured in the explosion was at this moment even more hideous than usual. He had come to this place with the army with a burning desire to take Shengzhou Pass, march straight south to the capital of the Great Wen and kill Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong to avenge what they had done to him, but so far he had achieved none of the objectives! Were Xue Chi not still useful to him, Shan Congyi would have killed Xue Chi when they had been trapped in that large-scale Formation outside Shengzhou Pass.

“Good-for-nothing! Good-for-nothing!” Shan Congyi overturned Xue Chi’s desk with a kick and everything on it fell to the ground with a crash.

Xue Chi, who hadn’t gone far away, heard the noise from inside the tent, flicked a backward glance at it with a sepulchral face and eventually walked off. His army was about to stage a last-ditch counterattack against the North-western Army from Shengzhou Pass. If he survived, he would figure out a way to get even with Shan Congyi; if he died, it would be meaningless to hold grudges because of these things.

…

The clatter of the Northwestern Army’s horses’ hoofs sounded like the beat of numerous large drums. The ground was quaking. Having been given the permission to attack after standing by in the fortress for such a long time, the troops enjoyed such high morale as though they were an army of tigers who had just been set free from their cages. The army flag was fluttering in whistling wind to the battle cry of soldiers which was making the welkin ring.

The army swooped down on the encampment of the Wan army like a rising tide.

Ling Zhang, Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi were galloping abreast. Snowflake, Ling Zhang’s mount, was faster than any of the other horses.

The encampment of the Wan army was very close. Xue Chi was leading his army that had just been mustered in great haste. At the sight of the North-western Army who were charging at them with daunting momentum, Xue Chi, without pausing to say anything, directly gave the order for the archers in battle formation to shoot!

“Shield unit move forward! Keep charging! Nobody stops!” commanded Jiang Xi. The army immediately charged its formation. Those with shields moved to the front to parry the arrows from the enemies which were raining down on them. Meanwhile, numerous arrows were fired at the encampment of the Wan army.

Only by charging at full speed would they be able to minimize the casualties. Therefore, the North-western Army kept advancing braving volleys of arrows without pausing for a moment, pushing on towards the enemy’s encampment as fast as they could.

Ling Zhang mobilized all his internal energy, forming it into an energy field which shielded both him and Snowflake from the arrows, wielding his sword, galloping forward amid the rain of arrows. He was the first to reach the enemy’s encampment. The twenty-four bodyguards of his, who were on his heels, formed up into a formation and quickly followed him into the encampment of the Wan army amid salvos of arrows.

“Kill them!”

Ling Zhang raised his sword, took a flying leap from his saddle and heavily gave a sword strike. His powerful internal energy, like a thick wall, directly smashed into a team of Wan cavalrymen who had just charged over to intercept him. Those cavalrymen, along with their horses, were instantly thrown to the ground and soon wiped out by Ling Zhang’s twenty-four bodyguards who quickly galloped over. Blood splattered in all directions, across the soldiers’ armor or on the ground. The strong smell of blood felt as though it were warm, but the ruthless cold blades of the bodyguards had been swung at the next team of cavalrymen.

The fact that Snowflake was an intelligent horse was more obvious at this moment than ever before. Carrying Ling Zhang on her back, she continued to dodge amid the rain of arrows, keeping galloping towards the Wan cavalry. When Ling Zhang reached the front of the enemies, the archers had stopped firing arrows for fear of friendly fire. With each gust of wind generated by Ling Zhang’s palm strike, a cavalrymen was downed before being killed by one of Ling Zhang’s bodyguards, every slash of whom was a life taken.

When Ling Zhang and his men breached the defensive line of the cavalrymen at the front, the team led by Jiang Xi arrived and staged a frontal attack on the Wan cavalry.

The war drums had been sounding for quite some time, the steady beat reverberating around the whole battleground. The volleys of arrows from the Wan army failed to stop the North-western Army. Instead, they served to boost the North-western Army’s ferocity. In terms of morale, the North-western Army had an overwhelming advantage over the Wan army, and there was nothing the latter could do to turn the tide.

As the two sides engaged at close quarters, an intense fight started and soon got into a full swing.

With the instinct to survive, the Wan army made a frantic counterattack, fighting the North-western Army with all their might.

This battle lasted a solid afternoon. The North-western Army had charged into the Wan encampment from the very beginning. The whole encampment had been reduced to a slaughterhouse. The Wan army’s defensive line, which had been outside the encampment at first, backed away into the encampment before the troops started retreating. Dead bodies of the Wan soldiers carpeted almost the whole encampment.

Ling Zhang, whose armor had some time ago been dyed dark red by blood, was emanating an air of bloodthirstiness. Even his face which was the color of white jade was now blood-spattered, the corners of his bright eyes red with killing aura. Right now he bore no similarity to the elegant dashing young man he usually was. Instead, he looked like a killing machine. Eventually, the very sight of him frightened Wan soldiers into spinning around to make their escape. Barely anybody dared fight him.

When Ling Zhang caught sight of Shan Congyi, the latter was retreating under the escort of a team of soldiers.

At that time there was still a long distance between Ling Zhang and him, but Ling Zhang had sharp eyes and instantly spotted a familiar figure whom he soon confirmed was Shan Congyi.

Back at the time when he had been informed that Shan Congyi was still alive, that he somehow had survived the explosion and managed to elude the soldiers Xiao Jiangyue had sent to search the wood outside Xiaofeng Village, Ling Zhang had been quite angry and made up his mind to kill Shan Congyi and confirm his death personally the next time he saw him.

Before the war started, when he had been told that Shan Congyi had come with Xue Chi’s army to attack Shengzhou Pass, he had made preparations to capture Shan Congyi. Now that he had seen Shan Congyi, he naturally wouldn’t let the latter escape.

All the twenty-four bodyguards of his were very much in his confidence and knew what he was thinking. Ling Zhang pointed in the direction of Shan Congyi and with that they immediately charged forward.

Shan Congyi, who was retreating under protection of some soldiers, sensed a murderous air closing in on him from behind like a sharp blade. He involuntarily looked back and caught sight of Ling Zhang. As his eyes met Ling Zhang’s which were red with bloodthirstiness, he gave a shudder in spite of himself. Recalling the pain he had suffered during the explosion, he muttered through gritted teeth, “Ling Zhang!”

Nobody knew what he was thinking, but he actually reined in his horse, stopped retreating and forcibly turned his horse around to face Ling Zhang who was charging in his direction.

“Your Highness? We need to leave immediately, before it’s too late! You must not go back there!” yelled the man beside him, terrified by his unexpected act.

Chapter 498: Shan Congyi’s Death

“Leave?” sniffed Shan Congyi with a sneer on his hideous face, his eyes staring fixedly at Ling Zhang who was galloping at him. “The one I want to kill is coming to meet his doom on his own initiative. Why would I leave? Move aside, all of you. Anybody who tries to block my path shall die where he stands!”

Shan Congyi’s deformed, contorting face, coupled with his menacing tone, frightened his bodyguards who were eager to make their escape immediately. As their eyes met Shan Congyi’s icy ones, they broke out in a cold sweat and made way for him in spite of themselves.

“Follow me. We’ll fight our way through and kill Ling Zhang!” enunciated Shan Congyi, releasing his reins and whipping his saber out of its sheath fastened to his belt with his only hand.

At this moment, Ling Zhang in the distance was also shocked, not by the fact that Shan Congyi had the guts to stay to fight a losing fight, but by Shan Congyi’s appearance.

Shan Congyi’s face was terribly disfigured and mutilated, bearing no resemblance to the face Shan Congyi used to have. Back at the time when Ling Zhang had first met Shan Congyi in the capital of the Great Wen, the latter had appeared quite mild and vulnerable. Even when the two of them had been in a standoff outside Xiaofeng Village, Shan Congyi had been very different from what he looked like now – he seemed more like a ghost than a human being.

Ling Zhang had all along been baffled as to how Shan Congyi had managed to survive that explosion. He had heard people talk about what Shan Congyi looked like after recovering from his serious injuries, and he had also been informed that Shan Congyi had lost an arm, but none of those descriptions were as shocking as the sighting of Shan Congyi he was having at this moment, and he couldn’t help but wonder how on earth Shan Congyi had survived.

“Ling Zhang, I was in no hurry to look for you, but here you are, coming here to seek your death. Today I’ll have you pay for what you did to me five years ago – with your life!” Shan Congyi raised his saber and pushed the spurs on his boots into the side of his horse, ordering it to charge. He had lost an arm and his only hand was holding the saber, so he was unable to hold the reins. His horse, intimated by the air Ling Zhang was emanating, didn’t move, but Shan Congyi somehow stimulated it and it let out a pained neigh and abruptly galloped towards Ling Zhang!

At the sight of this, Shan Congyi’s bodyguards had no choice but to clench their teeth and follow in his wake.

Ling Zhang in the distance narrowed his eyes, looking at Shan Congyi charging at him, feeling that not only did Shan Congyi not look like a human being any more, but he was also soft in the head, given that Shan Congyi was really charging at him suicidally, saving him chasing.

The sword in his hand, just like his armor, was blood-spattered. Ling Zhang held it firmly, waiting for Shan Congyi to arrive to seek his own death.

Shan Congyi’s gaze was heavy with hate. His hatred towards Ling Zhang had clouded his judgement, keeping him from seeing sense. He didn’t even have any room in his head to think about his own life. In his mind was only one thought – kill Ling Zhang!

As Shan Congyi approached, his lips actually curved in a grin, which was even more terrifying than a ghost.

Naturally Ling Zhang wasn’t scared by him. He was just even more confused as to why Shan Congyi was charging at him so confidently when what he was doing was apparently suicide.

“DIE!”

Shan Congyi raised his saber high and slashed at Ling Zhang as he got close enough.

At the sight of Shan Congyi’s act, a hint of speechlessness, which was rather uncharacteristic of Ling Zhang, appeared in his eyes that were somewhat scarily red from intense bloodthirstiness. He could dodge Shan Congyi’s blow hands down. Snowflake moved aside and helped him sidestep the attack without him doing anything.

Ling Zhang patted Snowflake’s neck and said, “You don’t have to dodge. I’ll handle it.”

Since Shan Congyi was so anxious to die by his sword, how could he not grant his wish?

Ling Zhang raised his sword, lightly smacked his hand down on to the saddle and leaped upwards from Snowflake’s back like a swift bird, his sharp sword turning into a blur of movement which formed a pattern reflecting light like snow, but which harbored life-threatening danger and directly shrouded Shan Congyi in it.

At the sight of Ling Zhang leaping up from his horse, Shan Congyi’s face finally registered a suggestion of astonishment, but he still stubbornly galloped towards Ling Zhang with the intention to hack Ling Zhang down with his saber. However, before he could approach his target, Ling Zhang’s Sword-light got to him. Driven by Ling Zhang’s internal energy, each Sword-light was powerful enough to halve a gigantic mountain rock instantaneously. Shan Congyi, who was only human, naturally was unable to defend against this sword strike. Without any resistance – without even him noticing, actually – he was cloaked in the sheet of snow-white Sword-light which quickly went through his body one after another. At first there was nothing out of the ordinary, and Shan Congyi, raising his saber high, was muttering, “Today I’ll get revenge for what you did five years ago. Only your death can quench the flames of hate in my mind. Die! Ha-ha…”

Before he could finish laughing, his face suddenly stiffened and he paused with an odd expression, and with that blood spewed from his mouth. After a brief moment, his whole body, along with his armor, abruptly divided up into numerous pieces which shot outwards in all directions as though something exploded violently inside him. There was nothing left of him.

It was a gory and astounding sight. Shan Congyi’s bodyguards following in his wake were scared to such an extent that they all stiffened on their horses, open-mouthed, their teeth chattering, unable to utter a word as if there was a lump in each of their throats.

When Shan Congyi split into countless pieces, Ling Zhang took a flying leap and landed lightly on top of a nearby tent. At the sight of Shan Congyi being blasted, his first thought was that five years ago Shan Congyi had detonated a weird iron ball, which nearly killed them both. At that time, the whole scene had been shrouded in dust and smoke so thick that he hadn’t seen whether Shan Congyi had died or not. He had thought that Shan Congyi had been reduced to ashes in the explosion. Now he had killed Shan Congyi by himself, and Shan Congyi had died right in front of him. Surely Shan Congyi couldn’t have faked his death this time? He didn’t believe that Shan Congyi could rise from the dead.

When this thought was dismissed from his head, Ling Zhang blinked his eyes, which then alighted on those around him who were horrified by him, and who were tremulously looking at him. Suddenly, something refreshing crossed his mind and dissolved his desire for blood, and with that his eyes became clear. Looking at the pieces of Shan Congyi who couldn’t be more dead, he came to realize what he had just done.

This was the first time that Ling Zhang had gone to war. He and the North-western Army under his command, with unstoppable momentum, had forced the Wan army into retreating again and again. He, followed by his twenty-four bodyguards, had been in the vanguard all along and naturally had taken the brunt of the enemy’s attack. He had been killing for a whole afternoon, claiming countless lives with his sword and palms, which was why he had gradually been blinded by his thirst for more blood. It was as though his eyes had been veiled by some kind of enchantment; he could distinguish his own men from the enemies, but all he could think of was killing. After taking so many lives, he had almost turned himself into a killing machine who could kill without batting an eye…

Because of his internal energy which had been growing more and more powerful, and his palm techniques and swordcraft which were unequaled on the battlefield, he had been killing without any difficulty. In his eyes, all resistance was like a childish game. He could easily kill any of the enemies with a single sword strike. When something is too easy for you to do, you tend to ignore a lot, and slowly you become desensitized to it and take it for granted.

All these had been in Ling Zhang’s mind a moment ago. It was not until this moment that he suddenly came to himself. Furrowing his brows, he glanced at Shan Congyi’s “body” on the ground. Shan Congyi was the one who had died the most violent death by his sword, and was also the main reason why he had come to realize he had been on the verge of losing control. He stood still on top of the tent with a frown on his face.

Down below, his twenty-four bodyguards had killed the whole team of bodyguards of Shan Congyi’s. They noticed Ling Zhang’s silence and also sensed the fairly unusual aura Ling Zhang was giving off, but they didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way Ling Zhang had killed Shan Congyi. They seemed to believe that Ling Zhang had every reason to kill Shan Congyi. The method Ling Zhang had adopted struck them as somewhat surprising, but there were bodies and blood everywhere on the battleground, so killing an enemy in a strange way seemed to be no big deal. The only thing that concerned them was that Ling Zhang for some unknown reason had suddenly lapsed into silence and was standing still.

“Young Master!” called Wang Dashan aloud. “Did something happen?” he asked.

Ling Zhang jerked out of his trance and silently shook his head. Then he replied, “Nothing. Gather the pieces of Shan Congyi’s body and burn them with the other corpses on the ground.”

“Yes, General!”

The battle was coming to an end. Shan Congyi was dead. Xue Chi, severely injured, was retreating with his surviving soldiers, but Jiang Xi and his men were pursuing them hotly. Given that Xue Chi had only several thousand men left and was grievously wounded, it wouldn’t be long before Jiang Xi and his men caught up with them and finished them off, so it was unnecessary for Ling Zhang to join the pursuit.

The next step was to deal with the surviving Wan soldiers who were still in the encampment. Those who surrendered themselves would be gathered together, and those who refused to yield would be killed. And then there was the cleaning of the whole battlefield and the matter of statistics of the dead and injured. Jiang Ke and the other officers would handle all that, and Ling Zhang didn’t have to do anything about it. Therefore, he just gave the order for his bodyguards to help clear the nearby area of the dead, found himself a spot which was barely fit to sit, sat down, produced a piece of cloth to wipe the blood off his sword, and then started thinking about the reason why he had lost control of himself during the fight.

He had never had such experiences before. He wondered if similar things had ever happened to any of the others on the battlefield: Jiang Ke, Jiang Xi, Yuwen Tong and his bodyguards – all of them were also top-notch kung fu masters, especially Yuwen Tong. His kung fu couldn’t hold a candle to Yuwen Tong’s. Had any of them ever been in this kind of situation?

“Young Master?” Wang Dashan and the others, after helping clear the nearby battleground of the dead, left the remainder of the clearing up to the soldiers. After all, their duty was to protect Ling Zhang, and they were supposed to keep Ling Zhang in sight at all times. Wang Dashan couldn’t help but call Ling Zhang as he saw that Ling Zhang was sitting there and seemed to be thinking about something, a slight frown and a seemingly confused expression on his face.

“Are you hurt, Young Master? Would you mind if I take a look?” Qiu Bing walked over.

Ling Zhang shook his head. “I’m fine. Are any of you wounded?”

Wang Dashan and all the others had suffered some minor injuries, but it was nothing serious, so they all shook their heads.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. After a while, he added, “It’ll take them some time to finish clearing the battlefield. Liuzi, take some men and find Jiang Ke. See if he needs any help.”

Yang Liuzi gave a nod. All threats neutralized, Wang Dashan and the others were enough to keep Ling Zhang safe, so it was okay if they left. As a result, Yang Liuzi took a team and went to Jiang Ke’s help.