Chapter 264: Commanding the Wind and Rain, Hunting Down the Great Xia Army and the Crown Prince!
“Slaughter!!!” The battle cry shook the heavens.
Once again, the Great Xia army surged towards the Hulao Pass, densely packed and endless. The view was filled with heads and black armor.
General Zhao shouted from the city gate, “Fire the arrows! Loose the arrows!”
“Swish, swish, swish…” Arrows rained down like a storm.
Due to the dense rain of arrows and the tightly packed Great Xia soldiers, the arrows hit wherever they were aimed. Many Great Xia soldiers fell before they could reach the city gate.
Crown Prince Xia Tianqiong’s eyes were crimson as he watched this scene. Although the casualties were immense, he couldn’t care less. Right now, he needed an outlet, a way to vent all his anger completely.
Even if it required a certain cost, he considered it worth it.
His gaze locked onto the white figure on the city gate again. His eyes grew even redder, and a boundless killing intent surged, as if he wanted to tear him apart, bone by bone, and shred him into pieces.
Feeling those eyes fixed on him, Night Fragrance couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “So, I killed a few of your men and burned some of your supplies. Do you really need to hate me this much?”
Everyone listened in speechless astonishment.
“Killed a few of your men”? Seriously?
“You’ve wiped out all their Innate Realm experts and burned down their supplies. How could they not hate you?”
“Burned some supplies”? Seriously?
“You incinerated the provisions of their army of hundreds of thousands. How could they not want to kill you?”
If they were in their shoes, they would want to take him down as well.
At this moment, Xia Tianqiong turned to the Grandmaster next to him and respectfully said, “Elder Hei, I implore you to break down the city gate and capture Night Fragrance for me. I swear I’ll tear him to pieces!”
Elder Hei’s expression was cold, “Your Highness, I’m only responsible for your safety. Other matters are of no concern to me.”
“Elder Hei, as long as you help me, I’m willing to…” Xia Tianqiong clenched his teeth and offered a series of generous conditions.
Elder Hei’s expression finally changed. He relaxed his stance and said, “Your Highness, since you’re so sincere, and I’m not an inflexible person, I will help you capture Night Fragrance! However, as for breaking the city gate, I’ll leave that to others. I don’t want to bear the reputation of bullying the weak with strength.”
Xia Tianqiong was overjoyed, “That’s enough, thank you, Elder Hei!”
“Night Fragrance, surrender yourself!” Elder Hei shouted loudly, soaring into the air like a goose, flying towards the Hulao Pass.
The immense aura of a Grandmaster swept through, oppressing everyone present.
Night Fragrance was startled, “They actually sent a Grandmaster to kill me?”
Although he possessed great strength and exceptional lightness skills!
Although he had the small knife imbued with the will of the Grandmaster!
He still wasn’t certain whether he could contend with a Grandmaster!
To preserve his own life, the most important thing right now was to flee!
His body turned into a white shadow, rapidly leaving the Hulao Pass. He left only a sentence behind, “Everyone, a Grandmaster is here. This young master is no match. I’ll lead him away. We’ll meet again another day!”
Lin Beifan shouted, “Run towards the direction of Great Xia!”
“Understood!”
The Great Xia Grandmaster followed Night Fragrance’s figure, and the two of them quickly disappeared.
However, the great battle continued. The Great Xia army continued their assault on the city, while the Great Wu forces continued to defend the city.
At this moment, Lin Beifan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a terrifying force of nature surged into the sky.
“Flowing Through the Six Vacuities Art – Calling the Wind and Summoning the Rain!”
In an instant, the colors of the heavens and earth changed. Strong winds swept in, black clouds rapidly gathered, and lightning crackled.
After a while, a loud rumble sounded, and heavy rain poured down.
“Whoosh, whoosh…”
“Splish, splash…”
Gale-force winds howled, and the rain poured like a deluge!
Under these conditions, the battle became extremely challenging, with visibility reduced to almost nothing.
Especially for the Great Xia soldiers, as the attacking side, they had to run against the wind, soaked by the rain. Their footsteps were wet and heavy, making it impossible for them to exert their full strength.
“Your Highness, the weather is unfavorable. We should retreat for now!” a general advised.
Xia Tianqiong shook his head, “We can’t retreat. We’re out of supplies now! It takes three days for the provisions to arrive, and these three days are our weakest. If we can’t take Hulao Pass today, seize the supplies in the city, we’ll be in a passive situation! If they take advantage and attack us, what can we do?”
“At that time, the casualties will be even greater! Instead of being passive and getting beaten up, we must give it our all while we still have some strength left! Taking Hulao Pass today will secure our position! With provisions in the city, we won’t starve!”
“What you said makes sense, Your Highness!” The general nodded, not pressing the matter further.
“Everyone, hold on a bit longer! This weather will pass quickly. The rain will stop soon, and it won’t have a significant impact. Once we take Hulao Pass, everything will fall into place!” Xia Tianqiong said loudly.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Then, they greatly underestimated the severity of the weather.
Under Lin Beifan’s manipulation, the rain showed no sign of stopping. Instead, it grew even heavier.
The heavy rain affected both sides of the war, but it impacted the Great Xia side more profoundly.
This was because the Great Wu forces could take shelter within the city walls, rotating their soldiers and taking advantage of the elevated position to eliminate the enemy.
The Great Xia soldiers, on the other hand, were exposed to the wild wind and rain, their bodies drenched, cold, and heavy, their steps muddied. They couldn’t even walk properly, let alone fight.
Combined with their hunger, their strength was barely at three or four tenths.
While commanding the battle, General Zhao exclaimed in delight, “This heavy rain is a blessing from the heavens! Little bunnies, hang in there! Victory will surely be ours!”
“Yes, General!” Everyone saw the glimmer of victory.
As the heavy rain persisted, the casualties on the Great Xia side gradually increased, and the rainwater turned red as bodies littered the ground.
It didn’t look like a battle; it looked more like a slaughter.
Tens of thousands of soldiers were lost just like that.
On the Great Wu side, although there were casualties, they were negligible compared to the Great Xia losses.
One day passed quickly, yet they still couldn’t capture Hulao Pass.
Xia Tianqiong finally shouted unwillingly, “Retreat!”
The Great Xia army receded like a tide.
Within Hulao Pass, everyone cheered and celebrated, smiles on their faces.
“We’ve won!”
“We’ve emerged victorious once again!”
“We’ve defended Hulao Pass, haha!”
…
At this moment, Lin Beifan stepped forward, “Now is not the time to celebrate. Though Great Xia suffered a great defeat, their army still greatly outnumbers ours. While they’ve temporarily retreated, they might return. What we need to do now is to seize this opportunity and pursue them relentlessly, dealing a heavy blow to a drowning dog!”
General Zhao immediately shook his head, “That’s not feasible! Although Great Xia suffered a major defeat, their army still far surpasses ours in numbers. Our chances of success in pursuing them are minimal! Moreover, our soldiers are exhausted. Now is the time for rest, not pursuit. We should focus on defending the city!”
Lin Beifan raised his voice, “General Zhao, you must understand that what we need is not a single victory in a single battle, nor just holding onto Hulao Pass. We must resolve this war within a month, completely driving back the Great Xia forces. Otherwise, Great Wu will be in jeopardy!”
General Zhao still hesitated, “But, the risk is really too high…”
Lin Beifan pulled out the Shangfang Treasure Sword and the military token, shouting, “Now, I am taking command of the entire army! Everyone, regardless of your position, must obey orders! Those who disobey will face military justice and will not be pardoned!”
General Zhao looked at the Shangfang Treasure Sword and the military token in Lin Beifan’s hand, and with a bitter smile, he bowed, “I shall obey!”
Other generals and officers chimed in together, “We shall obey!”
Next, Lin Beifan issued orders.
He instructed General Zhao’s troops and seven other innate experts to advance ahead, blocking the retreat of the Great Xia army. Meanwhile, he himself led a large group to encircle and outflank from behind.
“Whoosh, whoosh…”
Eight figures shot up into the sky and disappeared from sight.
Then, the gates of Hulao Pass swung open wide, and the soldiers of Great Wu charged out in a formidable and determined manner.
The killing intent was intense, and their momentum was overwhelming.
“Attack!!!”
“Annihilate all invaders!”
“Great Wu will triumph!”
…
Xia Tianqiong was so frightened that his soul seemed to be escaping his body, “They’ve actually broken through! Retreat! Run!”
After fighting for an entire day, the Great Xia soldiers were cold, hungry, exhausted, and devoid of any fighting spirit. How could they possibly be a match for Great Wu?
They could only lead their battered and defeated troops and flee for their lives.
Lin Beifan commanded the army, moving at a steady pace, “No need to rush. Right now, we have them trapped like turtles in a jar. We can slow down and conserve our energy. They won’t be able to escape. The faster they run, the quicker they’ll meet their end!”
“Yes, Sir Lin!”
And so, Lin Beifan led the army in a methodical pursuit. The momentum was enormous, with drums beating loudly, and battle cries resounding, creating an intimidating sight.
The Great Xia army was utterly terrified. They could only run for their lives, rapidly depleting their strength.
Some couldn’t keep up and gradually fell behind, only to be easily wiped out by the Great Wu soldiers.
After nearly a whole night of pursuit, Lin Beifan’s forces suffered minimal losses, but Great Xia lost tens of thousands.
Seeing this scene, Xia Tianqiong felt a mixture of pain and helplessness.
Because neither escaping nor staying put was an option!
Staying put would result in the deaths of his 100,000 soldiers and perhaps even himself.
Escaping would lead to sacrifices as well, but it would only amount to the death and injury of tens of thousands.
When choosing between two evils, one must choose the lesser. He had no choice but to make this decision.
“Damn it! I’ll remember this debt! I will definitely make them pay for this someday!”
Xia Tianqiong’s anger soared, his hatred bordering on madness.
As the Crown Prince of Great Xia, when had he ever been in such a pathetic state?
This would be an indelible stain on his reputation!
He absolutely had to get his revenge, or his thoughts would remain unsettled and his heart unfulfilled.
“Run, everyone! As long as we get across the Wujiang River ahead, we’ll be safe! They won’t be able to catch up!”
Xia Tianqiong shouted loudly, trying to motivate the group.
Inspired by his words, everyone ran a bit faster.
However, when they reached the Wujiang River, their expressions changed dramatically.
The river was swift and turbulent, surging forward like a giant wave. It was impossible to cross.
“Damn it! After a day of rain, the Wujiang River has swollen, and its current is ferocious!” Xia Tianqiong’s face turned as dark as iron.
Looking across the opposite bank, he noticed a few more figures. His expression changed once again.
He recognized these individuals; they were the innate experts of Great Wu. They had blocked their path on the other side of the river.
With the river’s swift current and the experts blocking the way, crossing the Wujiang River was practically impossible.
And when he looked further behind, Lin Beifan was slowly leading his army in pursuit.
Seeing the disheveled Xia Tianqiong, Lin Beifan smiled and said, “Crown Prince of Great Xia, how much longer do you plan on running?”
