Conquering Myriad Worlds from the Mythical Three Kingdoms

"Be careful, they are a legion of willpower. Their purple radiance can ignore physical attacks on willpower. Focus all your attention and prepare to resist!" Shi Heng shouted.

"Abandon defense and launch a full-scale attack."

After the three-star soldiers completely abandoned their defenses, Zhang Xiu's casualties immediately increased.

Zhang Xiu's main force is now completely different from the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. Defense is their weakness. Although they can rely on spiritual means to enhance their defense, their killing efficiency has obviously decreased.

Zhang Xiu snorted coldly. The three talents no longer had any obvious weaknesses. Even if they had the advantage, it was wishful thinking to think they could easily defeat the other side.

"Uncle, be careful!"

Shi Biao roared, gripped his battle axe with both hands, and the inner energy of his divine steed merged with his own. Then, his blood and qi erupted, and he transformed into a ball of red light, slashing towards Zhang Xiu's powerful spear.

However, when the battle axe struck the tip of Zhang Xiu's spear, Shi Biao was startled and broke out in a cold sweat.

It wasn't because Zhang Xiu's spear was powerful, but because there was absolutely no force in Zhang Xiu's spear.

What seemed like a powerful and deadly attack was actually a feint.

Zhang Xiu sneered repeatedly. He had already mastered the skill of switching between light and heavy sword strikes. He could easily thrust out a spear with overlapping light and heavy strikes. If you didn't have good eyesight and couldn't judge it, you could expect to have holes in your body.

They easily withdrew their spears, then turned around and launched a fierce attack on Shi Biao.

The spear tip pierced towards Shi Biao's heart with incredible speed. In a moment of panic, Shi Heng struck Shi Biao away, sending him tumbling off his horse and avoiding the fatal blow.

"You did save him, but what are you going to do now?"

With a hint of sarcasm, Zhang Xiu said, "This is the only trouble you have with one against many? The enemy's attacks are relentless. If you can't kill them in one hit, someone will come to intervene."

Most people would find it difficult to cope with such an offensive, but fortunately, Shi Heng and Shi Biao combined were not much better, and Zhang Xiu was able to maintain his advantage and continuously turn it into a winning position.

He aimed his spear at Shi Heng again, and a dense barrage of spear shadows instantly enveloped Shi Heng.

In just a few moves, Shi Heng already had several holes in his body.

But Shi Heng dared not slack off in the slightest. He knew very well that unless he showed enough strength to make Zhang Xiu wary, he and his nephew would die here today.

"Break it for me!"

Shi Heng actually managed to take a step forward in the face of adversity and actually touched the threshold of breaking through the barrier, but even so, there is still a considerable gap between you and Zhang Xiu.

Shi Heng roared, then split into three, transforming into three figures, each wielding a long spear, and thrusting towards Zhang Xiu.

"Little tricks!"

Zhang Xiu, with an arrogant expression, thrust out seven spear shadows with his backhand, shattering three of the figures. Then, the spear shadows merged into one and stabbed down at Shi Heng, who had revealed his true form.

"Don't you dare hurt my uncle!" Shi Biao roared as he charged forward, taking the bullet for Shi Heng.

Zhang Xiu was momentarily dazed, for some reason seeing his own reflection in Shi Biao.

That's how he rushed up to protect his uncle back then.

But the next moment, Zhang Xiu's eyes hardened. This friendship was certainly commendable, but he would wait until he had taken control of these people before making any decisions.

Shi Heng and Shi Biao simultaneously conjured three clones that surrounded Zhang Xiu.

"A mere trick to create clones!" Zhang Xiu's expression remained completely calm; these things were child's play to him.

Although he wasn't particularly skilled in secret arts, Tong Yuan and Zhao Yun were both masters of secret arts, and they would share almost all of their secret arts with Zhang Xiu.

Even if Zhang Xiu didn't know how to use it, he was very familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of each secret technique.

This kind of secret technique of creating clones to confuse people is no problem for him at all.

"A hundred birds pay homage to the phoenix!"

Zhang Xiu wielded his spear in a dazzling display, and fiery phoenixes flew from the spear tip, directly engulfing all his clones.

With their secret techniques broken, Shi Heng and Shi Biao had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue fighting Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. As expected of officers of the Ming Empire, the two officers, despite being heavily wounded, managed to hold him off.

This made the battle incredibly intense.

Although his opponent was not as good as him, the exquisiteness of his moves was enough to show that he was skilled in archery and horsemanship. Moreover, the two of them seemed to be proficient in combined attacks and many secret techniques. Whenever he was about to defeat his opponent, the opponent would unleash a new secret technique to turn the tide.

However, for Zhang Xiu, both of them were making a desperate struggle. Relying on their secret techniques, they could only turn the tide, after all, the difference in strength was obvious.

The two of them worked together to hold out for about fifty moves, and Zhang Xiu didn't even get a scratch.

Zhang Xiu also realized that his opponent was truly resilient. No matter how much he increased his power to suppress him, his opponent could always withstand it and fight back time and time again.

Zhang Xiu grew increasingly anxious as the battle raged on. He glanced at the battlefield and saw that both sides had suffered considerable casualties, with his side barely holding the upper hand.

But this advantage is like the way he dealt with the two people in front of him; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't completely kill them.

"Gentlemen, the outcome is clear. Continuing to fight may damage the friendship between the Ming Dynasty and the Xinghan. Let's stop here. If you are willing to leave, I can let you go!"

Zhang Xiu took a few steps back, put away his gun, and said in a deep voice to Shi Heng and Shi Biao, "Please surrender."

He was genuinely distressed by the casualties; his main force was better suited for charging into battle and breaking through enemy lines, rather than fighting amongst themselves here.

Although they had the advantage, the loss of more than two hundred men was enough to make Zhang Xiu feel heartbroken.

"Our Ming generals and officers will never compromise on territorial matters!"

Although Shi Heng's injuries were unclear and he knew they were no match for Zhang Xiu, they were officers of the Ming Dynasty, and even if they died, they would still try to take a piece of flesh from the other side.

Zhang Xiu was silent for a moment, but his eyes sharpened.

Shi Heng and Shi Biao's will is commendable, but they also have their own stance.

The Ming Dynasty was unwilling to relinquish the territory it occupied, so how could it possibly give up the legacy of the Qing Dynasty?

Everything belonging to the Qing court should be the spoils of war for their Xinghan.

This was something they had obtained at the cost of countless soldiers' lives, and Zhang Xiu would never give it up so easily.

As for the aftermath, that's no longer a question Zhang Xiu needs to consider.

Both sides have reasons why they cannot back down, so the rest will depend on who has the bigger fist.

They were all generals, and the weapons in their hands represented the principles.

"Then come on!"

Zhang Xiu held the gun in one hand and pressed various acupoints on his body with his right hand. Purple internal energy began to rise, turning Zhang Xiu's entire body into a purple figure.

"Open it for me!"

In an instant, Zhang Xiu completely ignored the clouds and his inner energy surged out wildly. The moment his inner energy erupted, Zhang Xiu's combat power instantly rose to half of his normal level without clouds. He unleashed his spear stance, and his "Falling Petals" move had the momentum of mowing grass.

He didn't use it before because he thought he could overwhelm the other side with sheer strength.

But since he can't be crushed or driven away, he has no choice but to fight desperately.

"Open it for me!"

As the spear was about to strike, Shi Heng unleashed a burst of crimson internal energy from the large spear wound, desperately thrusting it towards Zhang Xiu, already embarking on a suicidal attack.

On the other side, Shi Biao, who also sensed the approach of death, unleashed a burst of blood-red flames and launched a frenzied attack on Zhang Xiu.

"puff!"

Even with the two of them fighting desperately, they couldn't stop Zhang Xiu's ferocious spear attack. The remaining force directly knocked Shi Heng to the ground, blood splattering everywhere. He was rescued by his guards and dragged away, his fate unknown.

"Uncle!" Shi Biao's eyes were bloodshot. Shi Heng had blocked most of the force for him, otherwise he would have been knocked down as well.

"Ahhhh!"

"Ah!" Shi Biao went completely mad, and chaotic energy surged from his body, with a black tinge appearing in his originally blood-red inner energy.

"He broke through in the heat of battle?" Zhang Xiu looked at Shi Biao, who had already begun to sublimate, his eyes flashing with cold light, and thrust his spear directly at him.

Shi Biao's frenzied attacks lasted only fifty moves before Zhang Xiu suppressed them.

Even though he had broken through to the next level and experienced a qualitative leap in strength, there was still a huge gap between him and Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu was, after all, a military general who could be ranked in the second tier.

If it weren't for the fact that breaking through the barrier for the first time was a fundamental sublimation, the suppression effect of the cloud aura would have been greatly reduced, and Shi Biao would still not be qualified to face Zhang Xiu.

"Pfft~" Shi Biao was knocked off his horse by Zhang Xiu's spear and fell to the ground, his life hanging in the balance.

Zhang Xiu grabbed Shi Biao from the ground, channeled some of his inner energy to ensure he wouldn't die, then lifted Shi Biao's body up and roared.

"Your commander has been captured! Why don't you surrender at once!"

Shi Heng's fate is unknown, and Shi Biao was captured by Zhang Xiu himself. The army that had been holding on collapsed instantly.

Even a three-talent legion, without its commander, could not exert much of its experience and was quickly suppressed and captured by Zhang Xiu.

Shi Heng, under the cover of his personal guards, was unable to escape and was captured by Zhang Xiu and his men. After confirming that neither of them was dead, Zhang Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.

They sent men to guard the prisoners, quickly integrated all the settlements, located the position where Shi Heng and the others had arrived, and began to build defensive fortifications around the teleportation gate.

"Send someone to send the message back to Luoyang, and let the Emperor decide on this matter!" Zhang Xiu sorted out the situation and then ordered someone to go back and report.

Soon someone came to report: "General, General Ming has awakened!"

Shi Heng and Shi Biao were being held in a tent. Shi Biao was overjoyed to see that his uncle was still alive.

But after the initial joy came desolation. With their inner energy sealed and guards watching them from the outside, they couldn't cause any real trouble.

Ultimately, they were already defeated by Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu entered the tent, and his respect for the two men's fighting spirit earned him respect. So even though they were defeated opponents, he still respected them.

"Generals, I have a question to ask you," Zhang Xiu said, bowing with his hands clasped.

"A defeated general like myself is unworthy of such a grand gesture from you, General!" Shi Heng said with a wry smile. "Please ask me anything, General. I will tell you everything I know."

"General Shi once said that you came here to pursue the remnants of the Mongol Yuan army. Is that true?" Zhang Xiu's expression was very solemn.

He has found the missing soldiers, but they have all been killed. Judging from their weapons, they are Ming army equipment. However, when they interrogated the other soldiers, none of them had seen these soldiers.

"That's right. Our army routed a detachment, and the two of us led the troops in pursuit." Shi Heng didn't hide anything.

"..." Zhang Xiu fell silent, then shouted loudly towards the outside of the tent.

"Someone, order the entire army to mobilize and conduct a thorough search of the surrounding area, with units of a thousand men each!"

Shi Heng also sensed something unusual from Zhang Xiu's orders.

"General Zhang, do you mean that the Mongols deliberately led us here?"

“It’s not surprising that the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty had some connection. Although we fought this battle from our respective perspectives, we were probably also being plotted against!” Zhang Xiu said in a deep voice, then apologized and turned to leave.

"Uncle, what does he mean by this?" Shi Biao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"We may have really been tricked by the Mongols. They lured us into this trap with the Jade Lingzhi, probably wanting to create friction between us and break our alliance..."

When Shi Heng got to this point, he couldn't help but sigh. There was no point in saying anything now.

They were defeated, and now it's up to both sides to figure out how to resolve this matter; it could very well escalate into war.

Sensing the strong undercurrent of conspiracy surrounding the matter, Shi Heng's heart sank deeply.

Being caught in this vortex, even as a mere pawn, could be shattered to pieces in the blink of an eye...

Upon receiving the news, Mu Yi in Luoyang immediately convened a meeting to discuss the next steps in the negotiations.

"Send an envoy to the Ming Dynasty to discuss how to handle this matter. Such friction is inevitable, but we didn't expect it to be ignited by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty!"

Chen Gong figured out the real culprit behind this matter almost instantly.

“Zhang Xiu was too impulsive. This matter involves friendly relations between the two sides. Let’s make a note of it, without reward or punishment, and let him stay there temporarily to sort out the production of Jade Lingzhi,” Zhang Liang said casually.

He was very satisfied with Zhang Xiu's victory. They needed this kind of small-scale battlefield victory to tell the Ming and Mongol Yuan dynasties that anyone who wanted to attack them should be prepared to be counterattacked.

Xinghan really could take a big chunk of flesh from them.

"The Qing Dynasty's vassal world is our property. It was the Ming Dynasty that was in the wrong first, but we don't need to be aggressive. We should explain the whole story to them and then hand over the prisoners!" Zhuge Liang said slowly.

“The Ming Dynasty probably wouldn’t think that way. Let them pay to ransom the people back. Since we’ve won, there’s no need for us to bow down!” Jia Xu retorted directly.

In Xiliang, there was no such thing as releasing people immediately after winning a battle.

"Distribute the ransom money to Zhang Xiu's soldiers!"

"Our alliance should be based on equal footing. If we lower our stance, we may not necessarily receive a positive response!"

Upon hearing Jia Xu's words, Zhuge Liang frowned slightly but did not refute them. Mu Yi was sitting above them, and they did not need to make decisions. They only needed to give their suggestions, and Mu Yi would ultimately make the final decision.

"Give Zhang Xiu's troops one-tenth of the Jade Lingzhi reserves, record this achievement, and reward them for their next meritorious service. Then transfer them to another world, ordering Yu Jin to lead troops to garrison there, and at the same time, transfer one person from the government affairs office to manage it!"

"Send someone to immediately distribute compensation to Zhang Xiu's troops, and at the same time, have someone lodge a protest with the Ming Dynasty. Also, inform the Ming Dynasty of the intelligence that the Mongol Yuan Dynasty gave us, and make them pay a ransom to redeem all the captured officers and soldiers!"

Ultimately, Mu Yi made the decision that their current stance towards the outside world needed to be tougher, so they chose a confrontational approach, condemning and protesting while simultaneously forcing the Ming Dynasty to pay compensation. (End of Chapter)