Deciding the Battle

The north wind blew like a blade, churning up drifts of snow. From the war colossus's suicidal impact, spiderweb cracks spread rapidly across the surface of the cloud-piercing ramparts, while battle cries shook the heavens above the smoke- and snow-shrouded battlements. Under the Second Prince's command, the city-protecting array had successfully slain a thick-skinned Ice Beast Colossus mid-charge, but the impact of the final bear-shaped colossus shattered the southern wall's overloaded array patterns. The Barbarian Heterodox King had achieved his tactical objective at the cost of three icefield colossi. Though the mountain-thick ramparts had not been completely brought down, the entire city-protecting array along the southern wall was utterly paralyzed. More crucially, the carcasses of the fallen war colossi leaning against the wall formed a natural trestle bridge leading straight to the gate tower. The barbarian vanguard split into two prongs, swarming like wolves toward the battlements and the blasted Triumph Gate. The two armies clashed hand to hand in an instant. Barbarian totems and halberd phantoms congealed by Great Yan's military arrays collided and intertwined unceasingly, erupting into volley after volley of deafening booms. In a battle of this scale, most high-ranking cultivators dared not show their faces. Yet in this dire crisis, reckless high-ranking cultivators still took the risk to strike, slaughtering a swath of enemies before immediately fleeing into the distance. Among them, naturally, was Zhou Chen, who had been conscripted to defend the wall. Zhou Chen drew the jade sword from his back. He had just channeled his cultivation technique to wipe out a barbarian squad that had gained a foothold on the ramparts awaiting reinforcements, and was about to slip away when he felt his presence locked onto. Then—faster than thought—a white tiger totem shot directly at him from the snow-smoke beneath the walls! It was so swift that even he had no time to dodge. His pupils constricted. With a flash of dark sword-light infused with Dao Charm that had long been prepared, he slashed violently at the giant tiger phantom. *Boom!* Two violent surges of Source Qi collided thunderously atop the gate tower, blasting a massive crater into the rampart. Unable to withstand the force, Zhou Chen was hurled inward the instant the explosion rang out, plunging like an afterimage into the city and crashing through several buildings in a plume of dust and smoke, his fate unknown. And this was merely one corner of the overall battle. Every minute—no, every second—untold numbers of Yan people and barbarians perished in this meat grinder. Bone spikes pierced hearts; spirit blades severed heads. Crimson and pitch-black blood spread across the southern city at an appalling speed. Even as battle cries shook the heavens and countless barbarians swarmed the wall like ants, the gate tower, as the largest stronghold of the southern wall, remained as solid as Mount Tai. Yuan Hao paid no heed to the slaughter below, for he had no time to concern himself with it. His gaze was fixed unblinkingly on the looming silhouette of the barbarians' last war colossus. An exceptional general could always quickly identify the greatest threat on a battlefield. The situation at the southern wall was perilous indeed, but the greatest threat was neither the barbarian troops storming the battlements nor those breaching the city through Triumph Gate. It was that last surviving war colossus. Without the offensive capabilities of the city-protecting array, the siege machinery atop the ramparts could not deal lethal damage to that war colossus. And once that war colossus reached the base of the southern wall... Much of the wall might be smashed to rubble by the brute. Once the walls fell, the entire southern city would have no defense to hold. If the war colossus breached the city, the ensuing chain reaction would lead directly to Beifeng City's total collapse. They wouldn't even have a chance at street fighting. With these thoughts flashing through his mind, gravity surfaced on Yuan Hao's delicate features. Her Highness Wuyuan had assigned him thirty thousand sect border army troops to command, which was why he had not committed his Black Scale Army. Most of the defenders currently on the battlements belonged to the sect border army; he had only deployed a handful of mid-level officers among them to shout orders and maintain discipline. As for his Black Scale Army... they formed military arrays within the city to serve as an enforcement squad. Anyone who retreated was executed without mercy! There was an intention to conserve his strength, but also consideration for the broader picture. The reasoning was simple: If the Black Scale Army defended the walls alongside these border troops, setting aside how their differing cultivation arts made it impossible to combine arrays, the Black Scale Army's morale could easily be dragged down and broken by this bunch of swine. Once they broke, the entire southern theater would be completely finished. And if the Black Scale Army held the front line and took heavy casualties defending the wall, forcing a retreat, expecting these second-line sect border troops to step up and retake the gates would be sheer delusion. However, once the battle began, the situation developed in ways Yuan Hao had not anticipated. Flawless calculations existed only in storybooks. Although Yuan Hao had made extensive preparations before the battle, he had not expected the smoke released by "Sun-Blotter" combined with the snow mist to act as a stabilizing pill for the sect border army. In the haze of obscured vision, a man could only see what was right before him. Even if someone was terrified and wanted to flee, those fighting desperately could not see it. In their blood-crazed frenzy, they actually reached a stalemate with these menacing barbarians for the time being. A pleasant surprise. At this thought, Yuan Hao looked at the war colossus rumbling toward the wall like an earthquake, his hand on his saber tightening slightly. A decision had to be made. He had to lead the Black Scale Army out of the city to slay that remaining colossus. Taking a deep breath, Yuan Hao glanced back down at the Black Scale Army assembled and waiting below the wall. Charging beyond the gates was in all likelihood a near-certain death with no guarantee of success, but he had to do it. Otherwise, there would be no chance of survival at all. With his resolve set, Yuan Hao hesitated not a moment. He immediately spoke in a stern voice to the vice general Li Qingyan had recently assigned him—a full-bearded, burly middle-aged man who also commanded the thirty thousand sect border troops: "Vice General Qing, I don't care what methods you use, you hold this wall with your men." Hearing this, Vice General Qing frowned slightly. He understood the bigger picture, which was why he was doing his utmost to control the military array and maintain the wall's defensive line. Yet understanding the bigger picture did not lessen his distaste for Commander Yuan. As the array eye sustaining the border army's military formation, Qing Genglan could clearly sense that at every passing moment, countless brothers under his command were having their life auras snuffed out forever. By what right? Why should Yuan Hao's Black Scale Army stand in the rear supervising while his own brothers threw their lives away on the front line? After a brief silence, Vice General Qing still cupped his hands and ground out through clenched teeth: "Of course. With Commander Yuan's Black Scale Guards overseeing the rear, naturally my men dare not retreat." Yuan Hao looked at Vice General Qing, his tone flat: "You don't need to harbor resentment. I will personally lead the Black Scale Guards out of the city immediately." Hearing this, Vice General Qing froze for an instant. He too could read the flow of battle, and he instinctively glanced at that mountain-like shadow several li away. "Leave the city? You're going out to slaughter that colossus?" Yuan Hao smiled faintly, as though merely chatting. "Vice General Qing, you should know very well that if we don't kill that colossus, we will all die here." With those words, the two commanders atop the gate tower fell silent. A biting gale howled across the heights, yet amidst the heaven-shaking battle cries, it had lost its chill. After a few short breaths without a reply, Yuan Hao turned and strode away. Tactical opportunities brooked no delay. Just then, Qing Genglan, who had his eyes cast downward, suddenly called out behind Yuan Hao in a clear voice: "The reserve reinforcements within the city will arrive at any moment. I will organize a division of troops to clear a path for Commander Yuan." Yuan Hao paused slightly in his tracks and glanced back with a hint of surprise. Qing Genglan grinned with his scruffy, bearded mouth: "Commander Yuan, those of differing paths do not conspire together. In the past, we were not fellow travelers, and in the future, we may even meet with drawn blades. But at this very moment, I think we can be counted as comrades-in-arms." "..." A momentary quiet. Yuan Hao gave the scruffy middle-aged man a deep look, chuckled, and shook his head. "You're not bad. In the future, I'll go easy on you." With that, he leapt directly from the gate tower. Hearing that, Qing Genglan's mouth twitched, and he spat toward the direction Yuan Hao had left: "Motherfucker. Such an arrogant little brat. Survive first, then talk." With that, he channeled his military array technique and began gathering the troops within the inner city. If the battle atop the ramparts was a flesh-and-blood millstone, then the blasted Triumph Gate was an outright meat grinder. Taking advantage of the fallen colossus, the barbarians had pushed into the city and established a bridgehead, but the battle-ready Great Yan military arrays had already encircled it impenetrably. The barbarians sought to hold this urban bridgehead and expand outward, while Great Yan fought to crush it. Both sides suffered mounting casualties, continually pouring in more troops. Violent collisions whipped the Source Qi in the air into utter chaos. Corpses piled like mountains, only to be pulverized into flying gore by the devastating array phantoms moments later. Walls and earth were coated in red and black flesh, reeking to high heaven. To die here and leave behind an intact corpse was nothing more than a pipe dream. If nothing changed, this flesh grinder would persist until one side ran out of soldiers or took casualties so catastrophic they collapsed and retreated. Yet a sudden change arrived swiftly. For besides this grand Triumph Gate, two of the southern wall's three remaining massive gates were being slowly hoisted open. The barbarian troops waiting beneath the wall were momentarily stunned by this sight, but low-level leaders soon realized this signaled an impending sally by the Yan people. Steeled by strong military discipline, the barbarian elites formed a makeshift defensive line the moment the gates swung completely open, poised to charge inward in a counter-thrust and expand the meat grinder beneath the walls. Heavy cavalry clad in border army armor surged forward desperately to clear a path, followed by heavy infantry advancing along both flanks. Their progress was swift. Yet because the soldiers forming the military array were only eighth- and ninth-rank martial apprentices, this advance lasted less than half a quarter of an hour; before they could even cover one li, the barbarians outside the wall stabilized their footing. A medium military array of ten thousand men was formed by squads of soldiers congealing interlocking, mutually responsive small arrays. Under the crushing onslaught of the barbarian army, the small arrays collapsed one after another, and the ten-thousand-man medium array began to totter. "The Yan military array is breaking!" "These Yan dogs dared step outside—drive them back and take the city!" "For the King! For the Ancestral God! Storm into the city!" The barbarians' rising shouts heralded the start of their counterattack. Yet at that exact moment, the thunderous roar of hooves came booming forth as a black deluge thrust out from the city gates with irresistible momentum. Clad in the commander's armor of the Black Scale Army and riding a black-scaled horned horse, Yuan Hao led the vanguard. Looking at the faltering border army array around him, he chuckled with mild amusement: "Tsk, tsk... Can't even maintain the array after losing thirty percent of the small formations. Considering you're a decent fellow, I'll give you a clean death with my own hands in the future." With that, he roared: "Qing Genglan, get the hell out of my way! If you can't push through, have your men follow me!" Atop the ramparts, Qing Genglan cursed under his breath with weariness, but he obeyed the words nonetheless, having his vanguard heavy cavalry yield their position to the Black Scale Army while bellowing: "Ready the ballistas! Clear a path for this bastard! Fire!" The Black Scale heavy cavalry smoothly took over the vanguard position. Riding at the forefront under the array's enhancement, Yuan Hao swept his halberd in sweeping, ferocious arcs; each swing unleashed an edge of radiant light that claimed the lives of a dozen towering barbarians ahead. Scalding black blood splashed across his face, contorting his delicate features into an excited sneer. Like a razor-sharp spearhead, they drove deep into the barbarian ranks, charging straight toward the mountain-like beast. Even with only two thousand men, and even as casualties mounted sharply during the charge, the Black Scale iron cavalry pressed forward relentlessly. "For the Ancestral God! For the King—" *Swish!* A single sweep of his halberd cleaved a three-zhang-tall barbarian in two, spewing black blood across the ground. Just as Yuan Hao was about to look up at the colossal dark silhouette— A raspy voice rang across the entire battlefield: "Perish before this princess!" *Buzz—* A golden blade-beam slashed across the sky in a flash, carrying an aura that blotted out heaven and earth as it struck squarely against the distant colossus's dark shadow! *Roooaaarrrr!* The goat-horned war colossus's agonized roar shook the earth. A visible, massive wound completely crippled one of its legs! Its colossal body crashed thunderously to the ground, causing the entire plains surrounding Beifeng City to violently shudder! The very next instant, jarring, guttural Great Yan speech rang out deafeningly: "Wuyuan! Since you dared come, you shall stay here with this king!" As he spoke, a gargantuan phantom of the Barbarian God coalesced out of thin air, swatting down with a massive palm at the slender figure suspended midair. *Boom!* Enhanced by the military array of the Feather Forest elites, the slender figure took the blow head-on, whipping up a hurricane that completely blasted away the surrounding smoke and snow mist! "..." The sudden upheaval on the flanks of the chaotic armies caused even Yuan Hao to freeze for an instant. "Commander Yuan!" In that moment of distraction, several giant bolts from ballistas shot toward him; two guards were blasted from their mounts as they threw themselves in the way to shield him. Pulling himself together to continue the charge, Yuan Hao understood what had transpired. His body, brimming with Source Qi under the array's enhancement, trembled uncontrollably with exhilaration. His master had once told him: As a commander, he who triumphs with superior strength is a good general. He who triumphs with equal strength is a rare general. He who triumphs with inferior strength is a famed general. Only he who triumphs against impossible odds shall be remembered for all eternity. He realized what the princess intended to do. Feinting east to strike south, baiting the enemy into attacking, using the city's defenses to narrow the disparity in numbers, and massing most of her elites for a surprise decisive battle. Yuan Hao loved killing, but he loved the thrill of triumphing on the edge of life and death even more: "A lunatic... Hehehe, hahaha! No wonder Her Highness Wuyuan assigned Qing Genglan to be my vice general! Black Scale Army, charge with me! Carve up the battlefield! Join forces with the princess!" At that moment, a series of ferocious roars echoed from behind Beifeng City's towering ramparts. Hundreds of massive flying demonic beasts belonging to the Black Scale Army soared over the wall, hurtling toward the barbarian rear! Across the chaotic battlefield, dozens of demonic beasts were struck down by the barbarians in a matter of breaths, crashing to the earth in clouds of dust. Yet even so, nearly half of them reached their designated coordinates. In an instant, countless Source Crystal bombs rained down, completely severing reinforcements from the barbarian rear to their vanguard!