December of this year was about to arrive. Along the Yellow River, snow continued to fall. Just like before, it didn't seem like it wanted to stop.
However, even in the past, there would still be traces of people coming and going, but now there were very few. The wilderness was as desolate as a ghost town, and there were corpses in the snow.
In the wind and snow, the sound of horses' hooves could occasionally be heard. At the edge of the forest, three tall female Daoist masters were riding on horses, slowly and carefully moving forward. Their gazes were fixed on the forest not far away, and one of them had already nocked an arrow.
The moment the horse's figure appeared in their field of vision, there was a loud bang as snow fell from the trees. Someone was jumping on top of the tree with a knife. As the snow fell, the horse's hooves were startled and the arrow flew into the sky. The female Daoist master also suddenly pulled out her knife. With a short roar, a figure charged out from the side. The tall figure punched out like a tiger's roar and smashed the neck of the female Daoist master's horse.
A large amount of blood and flesh splattered out. The horse let out a miserable neigh and stumbled down like a mountain. The female Daoist master rolled along with the snow. In that instant, the two sides charged at each other, weapons clashing. A female Daoist master was suddenly separated in the midst of the battle, and two Han men surrounded her. The man who rushed over and broke the warhorse's neck with a punch was tall, even taller than the female Daoist master. After a few exchanges, he grabbed the shoulder of the female Daoist master.
This man was tall and sturdy, and he had practiced the Tiger Claw and Tiger Fist for many years. When he suddenly pounced out, he was like a tiger descending the mountain. Even the large northern horse's throat was crushed by his claw. At this moment, he grabbed the female Daoist master's shoulder and tore it. However, although the female Daoist master had never practiced the martial arts of the Central Plains, she had hunted in the White Mountains and Black Waters for many years. It wasn't like she had never encountered black bears or tigers. Her right hand desperately stabbed out with the knife while her left shoulder struggled with all her strength like a python. The man tore and retreated. The leather jacket was torn into pieces, but there was only a bit of blood on the female Daoist master's shoulder.
However, in front of the female Daoist master, the man who had just jumped down from the tree had already charged over with a knife. On the left of the Female Daoist Master was the man with the tiger claw, on the right was another Han scout attacking her from both sides. She retreated, but behind her was the trunk of a large tree.
With a bang, his body was slammed into a tree trunk. The man in front of him almost pounced on him together with the blade, the tip of the blade piercing through the bottom of his neck. In the next moment, the knife-wielding man suddenly pulled out his saber, and the saber light slashed upwards in a circle, clashing with the other female scout who had rushed over to save him. The line of blood that had been pulled out from her body flew far away on the snow-covered ground, forming a perfectly straight line.
Among the Han people, there were martial artists, but Nuzhenren was born to fight against the heaven and earth, the valiant people were not inferior to martial arts experts. For example, the female true cultivator who had been forced to kill by the three of them had used a movement technique that even the majority of experts might not be able to pull off. If it was a one-on-one battle, it was hard to tell who would emerge victorious. However, there were no rules in battle, and the edge of the blade saw blood. The aura of the three Han scouts exploded, and they once again surrounded the female true cultivator behind them.
The other scout who was still on the horse shot an arrow, then turned his horse around and ran. The female true cultivator who had been left behind was killed in a few breaths of time. At this moment, the female Daoist master who had run away on the horse was already far away. She turned around and shot another arrow at the knife-wielding man who had jumped down from the tree and killed the first scout.
The arrow whizzed over, and with blood at the corner of the man's mouth, he sneered and reached out to grab it, but this time, he grabbed empty air. The arrow had pierced into his heart.
He collapsed on the snow-covered ground, and two of his companions rushed over to support him.
In the blink of an eye, the battle had already calmed down. All that was left was the scarlet color in the wind and snow. Soon, it would also be frozen. The remaining female true cultivator madly galloped on his horse. After galloping like this for a while, he reached a snowy ridge up ahead. Just as he was about to turn, a figure suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
He subconsciously fired an arrow, but that black figure was as fast as lightning and as elusive as a ghost. At first glance, it was still several zhang away, but in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of him. Even the wind and snow seemed to be pushed aside, and the black figure struck him with a saber. On the snowy ridge, the female true cultivator seemed to be suddenly startled in the middle of galloping, and then he was knocked off his horse by something.
Behind the snowy ridge, two figures appeared. They were two men wearing the uniform of Wu Dynasty officers. When they saw the female true cultivator's horse running in circles on the snowy ground at a loss as to what to do and the female true cultivator's blood beginning to seep out of the snow, they were slightly speechless. But most importantly, it was naturally the black-clothed man standing to the side. This black-clothed man holding a single saber had a calm expression, and his appearance was not young. He was highly skilled in martial arts. Just now, he had attacked with all his strength, and the female Adept had been completely unable to resist. At this moment, faint steam rose from his forehead.
"Senior Fu Lu, female true cultivator scouts are usually in teams of three. This person is alone, so I'm afraid he has companions nearby …" One of the officers looked around and reminded him.
The saber-wielding black-clothed man shook his head. "This female Adept ran very quickly, and the blood in her body is roiling unevenly. This is a sign that she has just experienced a life or death battle. He's alone here, and his two companions have presumably been killed. He clearly wants to go back and report. Since I've encountered him, I can't let him go. "As he spoke, he went to search the female Adept's corpse on the ground.
"Senior Fu Lu is right." The two officers said so, and also went to search the luggage on the horse.
At this time, the one who appeared here was Fu Lu, who had followed Zhou Dong and failed to assassinate Wanyan Zonghan.
In the battle to assassinate Zonghan, Zhou Dong fought until he was exhausted and was finally beheaded by Wanyan Xiyin. At the last moment, Fu Lu's wife, Zuo Wenying, killed her way into the crowd and threw Zhou Dong's head to him. After that, both Zhou Dong and Zuo Wenying died, but he had no choice but to fight his way out with Zhou Dong's head, struggling to survive.
He was chased by Zonghan's cavalry all the way to Zhou Dong's hometown, Tongguan, and even when Zonghan put a bounty on his head, some people from the Greenwood Forest of the Wu dynasty wanted to get Zhou Dong's head to claim the bounty. He took Zhou Dong's head all the way back to Zhou Dong's hometown, Tongguan, Shaanxi, and found a tomb to bury him. He didn't dare to tell anyone about this matter, but he was worried that in the future, when the Adepts became powerful, someone would dig up the tomb and find Zonghan and the others to claim the bounty. When he buried the old man, it was raining, and he was the only one in the surrounding wilderness and barren mountains. His heart had long since died, but he remembered that the old man had served his country and people all his life. After his death, he might not even be able to find a place to bury him, and it would be difficult for anyone to pay his respects. He couldn't help but feel sad, and he bowed down and wept.
Fu Lu had followed Zhou Dong all his life, as a servant and a disciple, a relative and a friend. After he married Zuo Wenying, he had a son, but after one month, he was brought up by someone in the countryside. By now, he was probably married and had a child. It was just that he and Zuo Wenying had always been by Zhou Dong's side, and they had never taken care of or cared for this son or the grandson they might already have. To him, the only real family he had was probably Zhou Dong and his wife, who was getting older.
His wife's temperament was firm and decisive, even better than his. Thinking back, during the battle to assassinate Zong Han, both he and his wife had already prepared themselves for certain death. However, at the final moment, his wife snatched the old man's head and threw it at him. Her heart was clear, but she hoped that he would survive until the very end. Just like that, the two most important people in his life died one after another in less than a few breaths' time.
After burying Zhou Dong's head, life had no meaning for him. Thinking of his wife's last throw before she died, he felt even more sorrowful. But after following the old man for so many years, the option of suicide never appeared in his mind. He left Tongguan, thinking that with his martial arts skills, he might be able to find Zonghan and assassinate him again. But at this time, Zong Wang had already gone south. He thought that if the old man was still alive, he would definitely go to the most dangerous and crucial place. So he went all the way south, ready to go to Bianliang and wait for an opportunity to assassinate Zong Wang.
But along the way, Zong Wang had already launched an attack outside the city of Bianliang. Hundreds of thousands of imperial troops were defeated one after another, the scattered soldiers fled, their broken corpses littering the field. Fu Lu couldn't find an opportunity to assassinate Zong Wang, but on the way around, he met many people from the Greenwood Forest. In fact, Zhou Dong's death had already been publicized by Takeshi's public opinion. Some people from the Greenwood Forest knew him, and after seeing him, they followed his lead. When he said he was going to assassinate Zong Wang, everyone was willing to follow him. But the situation outside the city of Bianliang was not like that in Xinzhou. Mou Tuo Hill was an iron bucket, so it was not easy to find such an opportunity to assassinate him.
Fu Lu traced the name of Ning Yi from the traces of public opinion. He thought of this man who did things differently from Zhou Dong, but could make Zhou Dong exclaim in admiration. Fu Lu didn't like him very much, but he thought that in terms of important matters, he must be a reliable person. He wanted to find an opportunity to tell him about Zhou Dong's burial place. He had nothing left in this world, so he didn't think he would live for too long. If he told him about this, if one day the Lady Zhenren passed away, others could also find a place to pay their respects to Zhou Dong. That person was known as the "Inner Demon" and the "Bloody Butcher". At that time, if someone really wanted to desecrate Zhou Dong's burial place, with his ruthless methods, he would certainly make it difficult for the person to speak of life and death and regret.
But after making such a decision, the first person he met was Chen Yanshu, the commander-in-chief of the Wusheng Army of the Daming Mansion. In the early morning of the 25th of September, the Wusheng Army was completely routed by the Lady Zhenren. Chen Yanshu and his bodyguards abandoned their helmets and armor and fled, but they didn't suffer too many injuries. After the defeat, he was afraid that the imperial court would punish him. He also wanted to make some achievements, so he frantically gathered the routed army. During this period, he met Fu Lu.
Chen Yanshu knew Zhou Dong. Although he didn't take the old man too seriously, during this period, Takeshi desperately spread the news, making the reputation of the world's number one martial arts master skyrocketed in the army. The army under his command was severely routed. When he met Fu Lu, he more or less had some idea about him. He knew that this person had been serving Zhou Dong. Although he was low-key, his martial arts skills were all passed down by Zhou Dong. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was one of the best martial arts masters below the grandmaster level. Fu Lu didn't find Ning Yi at the first opportunity. He didn't care who he worked for, so he agreed to help under Chen Yanshu's command.
Several months later, the wind and snow fell. The Lady Zhenren began to attack Bianliang. Chen Yanshu gathered more than 30,000 people, but they still had no morale and couldn't fight at all. Although the people in Bianliang City urged the army to quickly rescue the capital, they were probably already desperate. Although they urged, they didn't exert any pressure on the people below. When Zong Wang's army attacked the city, the defense of Bianliang City was in danger. The situation outside the city was quite subtle. Everyone was waiting for others to attack, but they also understood that these scattered soldiers who had no morale to fight were not a match for the Lady Zhenren. In such a delay, the news that four thousand people suddenly moved out and brazenly attacked the Mou Tuo Gang Camp spread across the snowfield.
At this time, although the scattered soldiers on the snowfield were divided into several groups, there was still simple communication between them. Every day, they would argue and pretend to be righteous and worried about the country and the people, saying, "If you move, I will move." These were all common things. But as for the soldiers under their command, they really couldn't move. The morale of the army had been broken. Everyone gathered in one place and could still maintain the appearance of a whole. If they really wanted to attack Bianliang City and fight to the death, two-thirds of the people under their command would be scattered before they could reach the halfway point. Except for Zhong Shizhong's Western Army, which might still have some combat power, the rest of the situation was the same.
In such a situation, there were still people who exerted themselves to stab the Lady Zhenren without greeting them. Not only was the Lady Zhenren shocked, but they were also shocked. Everyone's first reaction was that the Western Army had attacked. After all, the two sides rarely interacted. Zhong Shidao and Zhong Shizhong, the two leaders of the Western Army, were famous generals of the present age. It was not surprising that they had preserved their strength. But very soon, contrary news came from the capital.
At this time, the four thousand people were still stationed in the center of the various forces. They looked very arrogant and didn't seem to be afraid of the Lady Zhenren's sudden attack. At this time, all the forces on the snowfield had sent out scouts to investigate. On this battlefield, the Western Army began to move, and so did the Ever-Victorious Army. Zhang Linghui, Liu Shunren, and Guo Yaoshi of the Ever-Victorious Army separated and fiercely pounced on the four thousand people in the center. These people finally moved in the wind and snow. They even brought more than a thousand civilians who had no combat power and drew a huge arc in the wind and snow toward the direction of Xia Village. Zhang Linghui and Liu Shunren led more than ten thousand people under their command and quickly corrected the direction. On the 29th of November, they quickly shortened the distance between them and the four thousand people. Now, the scouts had already started to fight at close range.
Fu Lu was sent by Chen Yanshu to investigate all of this — he also volunteered to do so. Recently, because Chen Yanshu and more than thirty thousand people had been biding their time, Fu Lu sensed that they had no desire to fight and already had the tendency to leave. Chen Yanshu also saw this, but he couldn't bind Fu Lu. Secondly, he needed him to stay in the army to do propaganda. In the end, he could only let two officers follow him. He also didn't let the other people from the Lulin Forest that Fu Lu brought with him to accompany him. He thought that in this way, he would most likely have to come back.
Fu Lu was also curious about this team that had suddenly appeared. He was deeply distressed by the low combat power of the Wu dynasty army, but he also sympathized with the power of the Lady Zhenren. An army that could fight head-on with the Lady Zhenren? Did they really exist? Did they succeed in a sneak attack by luck and then their battle results were exaggerated? This kind of thinking was actually the mainstream among the several forces around them.
He wondered which army it was. They were really f * cking lucky …
Fu Lu naturally didn't think so. In his opinion, even if they were lucky, if they could use this as a foundation and go all out in one go, it would be a good thing.
This time, he first found the troops of the Ever-Victorious Army.
This army of more than ten thousand people moved swiftly in the wind and snow, and also sent out a large number of scouts to explore ahead. Fu Lu naturally didn't know much about military affairs, but he was a great expert close to the level of a grandmaster. He was most familiar with the physique, will, and momentum of people from the inside out. Although the combat power displayed by these two troops of the Ever-Victorious Army was inferior to that of the Lady Zhenren, compared to the army of the Wu dynasty, these men from the Northern Lands, who had received the best training outside Yanmen Pass, were much stronger.
Fu Lu was secretly shocked. He learned from another scout sent by Chen Yanshu that the four thousand troops that should belong to Qin Shaoqian were not far ahead. With more than a thousand civilians as a burden, it would be difficult for them to reach Xia Village and they would be intercepted. Fu Lu rushed over here and just happened to kill this Lady Zhenren scout.
At this time, although the wind and snow were not too heavy, it was difficult to distinguish the direction and destination on the snowy plains. After the three of them searched the corpses, they moved forward again. Then they realized that they might have gone in the wrong direction, so they turned back. Later, they encountered or brushed shoulders with a few scouts of the Ever-Victorious Army. Only then were they sure that they had caught up with the main army.
It was already afternoon, and the sky was dark. When they walked to a snowy ridge, Fu Lu had already faintly sensed the movement in the wind and snow ahead. He reminded the two beside him that the Ever-Victorious Army might be up ahead. They dismounted nearby and quietly moved forward. After passing through a forest, there was a snowy ridge in front of them. After climbing up, the three suddenly crouched down.
An army of more than ten thousand people spread out in front of them.
It was the Zhang and Liu troops of the Ever-Victorious Army. At this time, their banners stretched out, and their formation was solemn. They set up a battle formation in front of them. It seemed that they were actually stopping the troops in front and back. The two officers of the Ever-Victorious Army were shocked and speechless. Although they might not win when they led their troops to battle, they knew that if such an army started a war with them, the current Ever-Victorious Army would be slaughtered like pigs and dogs. Fu Lu was a warrior. Feeling such a murderous aura, his Qi and blood were already surging. He gritted his teeth, wishing that he could rush out and die with the enemy. But they immediately reacted.
"Why did they stop …"
"What happened …"
As they spoke, Fu Lu vaguely saw through the wind and snow the scene on the other side of the snowy ridge. Looking over from this side, his vision was blurry, but he could vaguely see figures on the snowy ridge.
Then, a "bang" was heard. It wasn't just one sound, but hundreds and thousands of sounds, all mixed together. It was like the sound of metal striking against leather. Fu Lu could hear that it should be the sound of the scabbards of sabers hitting the saddles.
The sound of thousands of sabers hitting the saddles at the same time.
This sound suddenly rang out in the wind and snow, and then it quieted down. After a few breaths, it sounded again. Although it was monotonous, the sound of thousands of sabers hitting the saddles vaguely revealed a murderous aura. In the distant wind and snow, he could vaguely see the troops of horses lined up quietly on the snowy ridge, waiting for the main group of the Ever-Victorious Army.
A moment later, there was also a shout filled with murderous aura. "Ever-Victorious —"
"Ever-Victorious!"
"Ever-Victorious!"
Three consecutive shouts. Tens of thousands of people shouted in unison, almost able to crush the wind and snow. But before the leader gave the order, no one charged forward.
Fu Lu could already taste the smell of rust in his mouth. It was the vague excitement that belonged to warriors. In the formation opposite them, all the cavalry added up to no more than two thousand people. They were waiting there, facing the Ever-Victorious Army of ten thousand people.
A moment later, the sound of patting came again, monotonously, and then again, at the same interval, as if it was patting on everyone's heartbeat. In the huge and cold murderous aura, no one dared to move forward.
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