(In the very beginning, Liang Hongzhuang was killed by the Ninth Demon General. Later on, when I wrote it, I realized that I liked him and respected him, including when he was pursuing Su Li. Thus, I wanted him to leave more cleanly, so I changed it to this style of dying for the country. I will make some changes to the previous sentence. It truly was wrong. I apologize.)
… …
… …
Xu Yourong silently gazed at the small bottle in her hand.
She still had some of these bottles, not in her sleeve, but in the Tong Bow.
Countless gazes fell on her hand, some fanatical, some nervous, and some uneasy.
Everyone had guessed. This small bottle contained the legendary Cinnabar Pill.
It was also the most important reason why all the generals had bitterly begged Xu Yourong to return to the capital.
"These pills are Chen Changsheng's, so what's his is mine."
Xu Yourong turned to the kneeling cavalry and said, "I know that many of you are unconvinced, but do not let me know, because it will make me unhappy."
The bodies of the cavalry stiffened, as they understood the meaning in her calm tone.
Unspoken words were important messages that did not need to be spoken to be heard.
She was replying to the entire world.
If she was unhappy, perhaps the world would no longer have any Cinnabar Pills.
The cavalrymen bowed in the most respectful manner and left as quickly as they could, spreading her orders throughout the grassland.
The South Stream Temple girl looked at her, hesitating to speak.
Was it better to return?
Xu Yourong's body and mind were both very powerful, but she was still rather tired.
But she would not leave.
Only here could she see the immediate changes on the battlefield, the truest situation.
At the same time, the people of the capital could see the truest situation.
The current situation was very complicated, and this could be seen from the selection of the commander-in-chief.
Xu Shiji, who had been recommended by many, upon receiving her letter, had shut himself in his estate, feigning illness and refusing.
Peng Shihai and the other Divine Generals of Chen Guansong's faction currently occupied half of the Great Zhou Army, but if one wanted to choose a commander-in-chief from among them, one would inevitably encounter the fierce opposition of the Western Army system represented by Xue He. Moreover, it would be very difficult to obtain the approval of the Li Palace.
A candidate close to the Orthodoxy would also find it impossible to obtain the support of the ministers of the court and the princes of the Chen clan.
Everyone thought about it, and finally cast their sights on a place that had been forgotten by many for a long time, the Divine General of the East's estate.
Right now, Xu Shi Ji seemed to be the most acceptable candidate for the various forces.
However, very quickly, the Xu Estate received a letter from the Holy Maiden Peak. From then on, the gates of the Xu Estate were tightly shut. Xu Shi Ji, on the other hand, insisted on refusing due to illness.
People understood that this was the Holy Maiden's intention, so they naturally did not force her.
The final selection of the commander-in-chief was very unexpected.
When the imperial edict was passed down to all the counties, many people had not even heard of that name.
Divine General He Ming was once the commander of the black-armored cavalry. He was very low-key and could even be said to be a nobody.
But he had sufficient seniority and was Chen Guansong's junior brother, yet he did not have a close relationship with Peng Shihai and the other officers of the Star Seizer Academy. Moreover, in the battle of the Orthodox Academy ten years ago, he had led the black-armored heavy cavalry to a halt outside the collapsed Mount Mo. His performance had been extremely mature and steady, simultaneously winning the admiration of the emperor and the Pope.
In other words, the most important reason why he could be the commander-in-chief was that all parties could accept him, and he didn't belong to any party.
The problem was that this also meant that he wasn't Chen Changsheng's man, nor was he the emperor's man.
No matter how mature and steady a person was, when they held great authority, they could still have other thoughts.
On the bitter battlefield, when one's blood was stimulated, one's ambition would often grow with it.
Thus, Xu Yourong would not leave this place.
… …
… …
The shadow of death finally left the plains.
Perhaps it was because that drug that stimulated one's potential and erased reason was gone, or perhaps it was because the large number of low-level demons had died that even Xuelao City found it somewhat unbearable. In short, on a certain day in the early summer, the human armies no longer saw those blood-eyed, beast-like demon soldiers charging.
As the demon armies retreated, they would occasionally see some sporadic battles. It was clear that these demon soldiers had not taken that drug. Although they were still rather stupid, they were no longer as daring as they had been a few days ago to charge into the ballistae, much less fearless of death.
The plains were covered in blood of different colors. When this blood dried, it would turn into large patches of color. From a distance, it looked like a painting.
He Ming gazed at the painting on the plains and recalled the words of the bishop he had invited from the Li Palace when he and Chen Guansong were studying the history of demon culture at Star Seizer Academy.
"The demons are just this sort of strange species. The low-class demons are no different from beasts, but the high-class demons possess an unimaginable sense of beauty. Moreover, the two classes are not completely isolated from each other. There is a close relationship between them, and they influence each other. Thus, in the paintings of Xuelao City, there are often large and crude blocks of color …"
If the nobles of Xuelao City really could order around the low-level demons like monsters, this war would become even crueler. If the demi-humans were still the slaves of the demons, there would be no chance of victory in this war.
This was all thanks to Emperor Taizong's wise decision.
As he looked in the direction of the capital, Divine General He Ming felt a similar emotion for the Pope.
The initial stages of this war had been exceptionally bitter, far surpassing the calculations made before the war had begun.
From a certain perspective, this was a clash of resources, resolve, and wills built up over one thousand years between the Human and Demon races.
This clash ultimately rested on two kinds of medicine.
The demons had used the poison developed by the Longevity Sect. Based on the quantity, Xuelao City had actually been preparing for this war for many years.
On the human side, the Cinnabar Pills that Pope Chen Changsheng had accumulated for ten years had basically all been used up.
At this point, the war had reached its second phase.
The human armies continued to advance north, following the direction in which the demon armies had been routed. They broke through two defense lines and allowed the plains to be completely in the hands of the humans.
The temperature gradually rose as the summer approached. It really was the height of summer, but the plains were wide and the mountain range that stretched for several thousand li had many openings. Wind blew through them, but the army did not find the heat unbearable. In the early morning, they could even feel a little chilly.
One morning, a rapidly moving red dot suddenly appeared in the gloomy sky, dragging a red line behind it. It was probably a Red Eagle.
The moment the Red Eagle flew over the peak of the mountain, two vigilant sentries noticed it and blew a warning horn.
A group of cavalry galloped out of the camp, perhaps to ensure the safety of the intelligence report or to receive someone.
That Red Eagle had probably discovered the enemy on the other side of the mountain. Logically speaking, the majestic mountain several dozen li away had already been searched many times and should not have any ambushes, but this was still the territory of the demons. Who knew what strange tricks they had up their sleeves?
The Red Eagle was still extremely fast and did not seem tired. Not long after flying over the precipitous cliff, it suddenly dropped to the ground.
Just what was in that cliff?
A figure suddenly appeared from a pile of rubble, rushing like a bolt of lightning into the plains and toward the human camp.
This was a disciple of the Ten Thousand Years Pavilion famed for his swift movement techniques. He was assigned the most dangerous position at the front.
When the Ten Thousand Years Pavilion disciple was still several li from the camp, he suddenly grunted and crashed to the ground.
"Crossbow bolts!"
A furious and shrill yell rose from the camp, followed by the twang of bowstrings. Several hundred crossbow bolts, imbued with a divine radiance, tore through the gloomy morning light and landed behind the Ten Thousand Years Pavilion disciple. They covered an area of several dozen zhang in radius, leaving behind densely packed holes in the ground through which smoke rose.
The human army was already very experienced. Those demon soldiers skilled in pursuit would often emerge from the ground.
Soon, the cavalry arrived in front of the Ten Thousand Years Pavilion disciple.
The Ten Thousand Years Pavilion disciple's leg was covered in blood, clearly broken.
But he did not care, only yelling, "There are demons in the mountain! I can't determine which tribe they belong to, but there are many of them! "
The cavalry grabbed him onto their horses and returned to the camp.
No one noticed that three cavalrymen continued to gallop towards the mountain in the distance. No one knew what they were going to do.
… …
… …
The morning had not yet awoken, and the cliffs facing the human army were very gloomy.
The voices of demon soldiers suddenly came from the cliffs, but it was impossible to see where they were coming from.
They had clearly searched the area many times, so why had they failed to find any traces of these demons?
Several dozen small caves were located in the middle of the cliff. Let alone the demon soldiers, not even the thin human soldiers would be able to squeeze in.
When they had first searched the area, they had believed these caves to be bird caves, so they had not paid them much attention.
No one had expected that the enemy was hiding in these bird caves.
Because the enemy was either demon soldiers or birds.
They were a kind of black-gray vulture.
Several thousand vultures surged out of these small caves and then flapped their wings into the sky.
It was clear that these vultures had been trained, perhaps even directly controlled. They appeared to be extremely orderly. Even when they flew into the sky, they did not disperse.
The three cavalrymen were still some distance from the mountain. Seeing the activity in the sky, they were rather confused. Even if these vultures had been trained to attack targets on the ground, it was still too much of a fantasy to think that they could rely on their sharp vulture claws to cause damage to the human camp.
At this moment, the first ray of morning light pierced through a crack in the mountain and shone on the grassland.
The sudden light caused a vulture to panic and loosen its claws. A black object dropped down.
With a boom, the grassland in front of the cliff burst into flames.
The three cavalrymen glanced at each other, seeing the shock in each other's eyes. But they did not slow down, speeding up toward the mountain.
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