The war had entered its third phase, and also its cruelest phase. The two sides were getting closer and closer, the battles were getting more and more frequent, and the casualties were increasing. Strategy and tactics were becoming less and less useful in this phase. Willpower and resources became the most important factors, and it was only a matter of which side gave out first.
A thousand li from Xuelao City was a cliff on the plains, and there were many hot springs in the mountains.
The capital was very hot, but the weather here was rather cool. The mist exuded by the hot springs permeated the mountains, making for a rather pleasant sight.
Chen Changsheng sat in the hot spring, his gaze piercing through the mist, the curtains, and the banners of the Orthodoxy cavalry to the path leading out of the valley.
Many years ago, he had been prepared to leave through this path, but in the end, he had still turned back and seen the unconscious Su Li.
Yes, this was the hot spring from back then, but at the time, all he could see was snow. Now, his eyes were filled with an endless green, making him feel rather unfamiliar.
"Your Holiness, it's time."
An Hua squatted by the hot spring and said, her voice very soft and gentle as if she was afraid of startling him.
Chen Changsheng came to his senses and stood up from the hot spring. She took an enormous towel and wrapped it around his body, carefully wiping it clean.
An Hua looked at his face and felt somewhat comforted, thinking, the hot spring truly does have its uses. She helped him out of the hot spring and into the pavilion up ahead to rest.
The pavilion and a few other buildings in the mountain had all been newly built just a few days ago.
Chen Changsheng was not used to such a lavish display in a time of war. He believed that this would make many ordinary soldiers angry.
To his surprise, the soldiers passing by from the plains and seeing this sight were not dissatisfied. On the contrary, they felt that it was only right and proper, even very proud.
Chen Changsheng thought for a very long time, but still could not understand why.
He sat in the pavilion and gazed into the distance.
In the distant plains, many soldiers were currently advancing in the direction of Xuelao City.
Even at this distance, he seemed to be able to hear the Dragonhorses. Yes, they really did seem to be from Sloping Cliff Horse Farm.
The soldiers knew that the Pope was in this stone mountain, but they didn't know if he could see this pavilion.
The news had long ago spread across the front lines. When passing by this stone mountain, unless it was an urgent military matter, the cavalry would dismount and lead the way. There were also many soldiers who would ignore military orders and run out of their ranks, kneeling and kowtowing to the stone mountain. Only then would they contentedly return to their ranks, not even caring if they were punished by their superiors.
Chen Chang Sheng had seen this scene many times.
He couldn't understand why these ordinary soldiers would think that he was proud, but since they wanted to see him, he was willing to let them see him.
So in the past few days, he would often sit under the pavilion, even if An Hua, Linghai Zhiwang, and the others objected.
A cool breeze entered the mountain from the plains. Before it could be warmed by the hot spring, it landed on Chen Chang Sheng's face.
His body, which had heated up after being soaked in the hot spring, gradually cooled down. The redness on his face gradually faded, and he became pale again. He was very thin and haggard.
The cold wind blew again, and the white crane landed.
Then, it flew to the pavilion and stood on one leg. It squinted its eyes so that the soldiers in the distant wilderness could see it more clearly.
Xu Yourong walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the springs that were like steaming pots. She said, "If you continue like this, you will die before the city is breached."
She didn't turn around to look at Chen Chang Sheng and her face didn't show any expression. It was as if she was just casually saying it and didn't really care.
Or maybe it was because she had already said it many times, but Chen Chang Sheng didn't respond.
After coming to the front lines, Chen Chang Sheng had already refined two bottles of Cinnabar Pills.
Everyone understood what this meant.
He naturally understood it the best, but when he saw so many young faces contorted in fear of death and heard so many sobs, he had no choice but to do this.
And he had been injured.
This was the front lines. Although he was the Pope and was heavily protected, he was also a prime target of the Demon race.
The most dangerous time had been when the Second Demon General had led a group of demon experts and used vultures to conduct an aerial assault. He had also suffered significant injuries in that battle.
In the midsummer, he had come to this plain, and Xuelao City was already faintly visible. It was now the beginning of autumn, and it was said that the vanguard could already clearly see the walls of Xuelao City. The North Third Camp could even clearly see the faces of the soldiers defending the city, but … in the end, no one had truly reached Xuelao City.
The closer they got to Xuelao City, the firmer the demons' will to resist, the more fearless they became of death. Many soldiers even felt that this mission was impossible to complete.
It was clear that with just a little more pressure, the Demon Lord in Xuelao City and the hundreds of thousands of tribal warriors outside the city might not be able to hold on.
But at this moment, many people in the human army could no longer hold on.
On the same night, a few soldiers who could no longer hold on were forced to retreat south, the vast majority of them heavily injured.
Ye Xiaolian led several disciples, the teachers of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green, and three clergymen of the Li Palace, escorting a single person back south.
Just who was this person that could make her leave the most important Central Army Tent and put on such a grand display of force?
Even the heavily injured Prince of Xiang, stripped of his military authority, was still persisting on the front lines. Why was this person so important?
No one knew what Ye Xiaolian was thinking, but to the Li Palace clergymen and the teachers of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green, this person was naturally many times more important than the Prince of Xiang.
Because he was the Pope's friend.
… …
… …
Chen Changsheng was not good with words, and his way of thinking was overly simple. In a certain person's words, it was easy to make people speechless.
But from Xining Village to the capital, he had still made a few friends.
But when speaking of his friends, many people's first reaction would definitely be Tang Thirty-Six.
Tang Thirty-Six's cheeks were already sunken in, but they were still bright red like a cooked prawn. His eyes were also extremely bright, making one feel somewhat flustered.
Chen Changsheng sat by the stretcher and said to him, "When you wanted to buy that restaurant, I felt that it was inappropriate."
Tang Thirty-Six weakly asked, "What was inappropriate about it?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "Eating too many blue lobsters will cause you to suffer retribution. Look at you now."
It was obvious that although Tang Thirty-Six had been seriously ill in the last few days, he still frequently looked at himself in the mirror and flaunted his beauty, so he was able to quickly understand Chen Changsheng's joke.
Once he understood the joke, he naturally had to laugh. Tang Thirty-Six laughed and coughed at the same time, looking very uncomfortable.
Ye Xiaolian placed the iced towel on his forehead and turned her head to glare at Chen Changsheng.
Only after glaring at him did she realize what she had done. She couldn't help but panic and repeatedly beg for forgiveness.
Chen Changsheng naturally did not care about her. "Yourong is next door. Go see her."
Ye Xiaolian softly agreed, but she became even more nervous. She thought to herself, how should I explain this to the Holy Maiden?
After Ye Xiaolian left, Tang Thirty-Six looked into Chen Changsheng's eyes and asked, "Just what kind of illness do I have?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "Your mind is too exhausted, and the cold has entered your internal organs. It's very serious."
Tang Thirty-Six's eyes were like will-o '-the-wisps. "I think there's a problem with this illness."
… …
… …
(I've seriously thought about it and feel that I still need to love all of you even more and write even more seriously. Thank you, everyone.)
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