Aoyama

Chapter 478 Sword Type
Tiger's back, north of the mountain.

Hong Zuer stood in the valley and looked up at the mountainside.

The fire on the south side of the mountain was still burning northward, and the mountain wind blew sparks across the ridge, like a surging red tsunami crashing over the mountain peak.

The sky was brightly lit.

Just as dawn broke, Hong Zu'er saw Mo Daobing, a soldier, standing on horseback halfway up the mountain, hidden behind the trees.

The Mo Dao soldiers surrounded the Shenji Camp and the Yulin Army.

Five hundred Mo Dao soldiers are all here. The firearms that the Shenji Battalion detonated earlier do not seem to have harmed the Jingchao Tiger and Leopard Cavalry... The Shenji Battalion has failed.

Wan Suijun's expression gradually darkened: "Yuan Hengli Zhen knows he has missed the envoy and has no intention of pursuing him further. He plans to besiege the stronghold and attack the reinforcements, forcing Ye Bu Shou to rush forward and die."

Hong Zuer frowned and remained silent.

Although the slope of Tiger's Back was gentle, the heavily armored Mo Dao soldiers, with their momentum as they descended the mountain, could easily scatter them in an instant.

Hong Zuer said solemnly, "We can't go up to rescue them. The Mo Dao soldiers are waiting for us. If we go up, we'll all be torn to pieces."

Zhou Fang of the Fifth Army Battalion pondered for a moment: "The mountain fire will soon reach the north side of the mountain, and Yuan Henglizhen knows that he cannot stay for long. If we rush up and pretend that the army of Chongli Pass is about to arrive, he may not dare to continue to entangle with us. At that time, we only need to open a gap, and Wu Yihang can break through the encirclement with the Imperial Guards."

Hong Zuer turned to look at him and said in a deep voice, "Don't gamble. Yuan Hengli Zhen isn't that stupid. He knows very well that our general cannot arbitrarily mobilize troops outside the pass. You can't intimidate him. Abandon this place and go to Wafanggou."

"Abandon this place? Abandon the Shenji Battalion and the Yulin Army?" Zhou Fang stared intently at Hong Zu'er: "No, if we do that, Wu Yihang and the others will surely die."

"What kind of compassion are you pretending for now, Five Armies Battalion? You're all just being sentimental!" Hong Zu'er said coldly. "Why do you think the Divine Machine Battalion left Chongli Pass first? They came with the determination to die, ready to use firearms to perish together with the Jing Dynasty's troops. That's why they set off before us, not wanting to implicate us. Wu Yihang is more sensible than you; he knows that this is the fate of the Night Scouts!"

Zhou Fang angrily said, "Hong Zu'er, don't go mad! Those are more than two hundred lives, all because you wanted to kill the envoy. My Five Armies should not have come out with you! I said that letting Yuancheng go back would be beneficial to our dynasty in every way, but you just wouldn't listen and insisted on taking risks for your own personal revenge!"

Hong Zu'er rode up to Zhou Fang, gritting his teeth as he questioned, "I'm insane? All benefits and no harm? Do you think I wanted to kill Yuan Cheng just for my own selfish desires?"

He pointed towards Chongli Pass and snarled, “In Chongli Pass, who doesn’t hate Yuan Cheng? Who hasn’t lost loved ones because of Yuan Cheng? Have you all forgotten the day he turned eleven of my night watchmen into human pigs and laid them out beneath the city walls? A few days ago, when the border soldiers learned that Master Wang had captured Yuan Cheng alive, the whole city cheered, and even the general made an exception and allowed us to drink. Do you know what they would think if they knew that Yuan Cheng had been released by the court?”

Hong Zu'er asked, word by word, "The court can raise thousands of horses if it loses them, but if the hearts of the people are lost, they may not be able to be regained! You can count how many horses you have, but can you count the hearts of the people?"

He added, "Have you ever considered that if the court releases Yuancheng back, how many border soldiers will be willing to risk their lives for Chongli Pass when the Jing Dynasty army marches south again?"

Hong Zu'er's angry shouts echoed through the mountains.

All night long, there was complete silence.

The scouts were well aware of how angry and disappointed the border troops would be if Yuancheng were released back to Jingchao. The hearts of those people were far more powerful than a few thousand horses.

Gao Yuan said softly, "Master Hong, when has the imperial court ever cared about the morale of the troops in the border towns?"

“We care,” Hong Zu’er said breathlessly. “The officials in the court dare to trade everything because the knife hasn’t cut them. Their ambitions don’t include peasants like us. But I can’t care about that. I only care about what’s in front of me.”

Zhou Fang remained silent for a long time before asking, "What are your plans now?"

Hong Zu'er pointed north: "If Yuan Heng Li Zhen wants to leave the Da Ma Mountains, he must go through Wafanggou. We will intercept him there. With the advantage of the terrain, even if the Mo Dao soldiers come, we can still take a piece of their flesh. Gentlemen, the matter of the Jing Dynasty envoy is over. We have done our best and will not think about anything else. But crossing the boundary marker of our Ning Dynasty without authorization will not be without consequences, and the Shenji Battalion will not die in vain."

Zhou Fang of the Shenji Battalion looked towards the mountainside. He knew this was the only way, but he still hesitated.

Wansui Jun Gaoyuan gritted his teeth: "Do as Hong Zuer says, let's go."

However, just as Hong Zu'er was about to turn his horse and leave, the mountain wind blew sparks across the ridge, revealing a black figure clinging to the shadows, carrying an enormous longsword, and creeping towards the mountainside.

Hong Zuer was taken aback.

The night watchman was descending the mountain, while the man was climbing the mountain alone, facing the firelight.

As the wildfire blazed, the armored soldiers leaned against a pine tree to avoid being seen by the soldiers with long-handled swords on guard up the mountain.

The guards on the mountain couldn't see it, but the night watchmen below could see it clearly. This armored soldier didn't seem to care that he was seen by the night watchmen, and he vaguely looked at Hong Zu'er and the others across the distance.

Hong Zuer looked closely and saw that the man was wearing the armor of a Mo Dao soldier and carrying a Mo Dao, but he didn't look like a Mo Dao soldier.

"Where did this Mo Dao soldier come from? Is he alone?"

"It doesn't seem so. Mo Dao soldiers don't need to hide their tracks like this when going up the mountain."

Just as Hong Zu'er was about to take a closer look, the firelight on the ridge dimmed again, and the lone armored soldiers who had climbed the mountain disappeared back into the darkness.

When the firelight shone again, the armored soldiers were no longer there; they had disappeared somewhere.

"Who?" Hong Zu'er asked in surprise and doubt. "Is it one of our people?"

Zhou Fang and the others turned around and said, "No, all our people are here."

Besides the Night Scouts and the Mo Dao Soldiers, who else could be here?

A name flashed through Hong Zu'er's mind: "Is it...?"

Gao Yuan asked in confusion, "Who is it?"

Hong Zu'er shook his head: "It shouldn't be."

Gao Yuan said in a deep voice, "Going up alone won't help. Let's go, the wildfire is about to spread. Let's go to Wafanggou."

"Wait a minute," Hong Zu'er hesitated, "There might be a turning point, let's wait and see!"

Zhou Fang asked in confusion, "You were the one who wanted to abandon the Divine Machine Battalion and the Imperial Guards before, so why are you hesitating now?" Hong Zu'er didn't argue, but just stared at the mountain and said, "Wait a little longer."

……

……

Halfway up the mountain, the Mo Dao soldiers surrounded the Shenji Camp and the Yulin Army, like a huge millstone, tightening their formation more and more as if grinding beans.

More than two hundred Imperial Guards arrived, but now only one hundred and twenty-seven remain. The Night Scouts of the Divine Machine Battalion have also been almost entirely wiped out.

The battlefield was littered with blood, flesh, and horse carcasses.

Qi Zhenzhuo and Duo Bao flanked Li Xuan, their eyes blazing with fury: "Commander, what should we do?"

Li Xuan held the Flying White Sword, looking around blankly, his silver armor and white robe splattered with the blood of his comrades.

The next moment, he roused himself and shouted, "Do you remember the Mandarin Duck Formation? Follow me and fight your way out!"

He spurred his horse and charged towards the array of Mo Dao soldiers. Two armored warriors simultaneously brandished their Mo Dao swords, which slashed at him like a pair of scissors, as if to cut him and his warhorse to pieces.

Li Xuan swung his sword, flicking a streak of white light that landed at the intersection of two long-handled swords, forcefully lifting both swords off their ground.

The two warriors, wielding Mo Dao, seemed to have never expected that the Imperial Guards would have a Dao Seeking Realm expert like Li Xuan hidden among them. Caught off guard, their Mo Daos were raised high by the sword, leaving their chests wide open.

The next moment, Qi Zhenzhuo and Duo Bao, like spearmen in a mandarin duck formation, each used their elbows and armpits to hold their spears and thrust forward, fast and quick, with perfect coordination.

Caught off guard, the two soldiers in the Mo Dao armor were stabbed through the chest and abdomen and fell from their horses.

It happened so fast that by the time the armored warriors with their swords charged forward, Zhou Chong, Zhou Li, and the others covered Qi Zhenzhuo and Duo Bao as they retreated into the formation.

Qi Zhenzhuo whispered, "It works!"

At this moment, Li Xuan, while rushing forward, bent down and used the tip of his sword to pick up a fallen Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword).

He sheathed Fei Bai and examined the seven-foot-long Mo Dao. Although it was called a knife, the Mo Dao was double-edged and resembled a greatsword.

In mounted combat, the sword is too short to be used effectively.

Li Xuan switched to using the Mo Dao as a two-handed greatsword. Two more Mo Dao soldiers rushed forward, but he swung the Mo Dao with both hands, leaving a trail of white.

The heavy Mo Dao was wielded with effortless ease by the Dao-Seeking Realm official, who actually used the "Flying White" technique of the Li family. With a single slash, he knocked away two oncoming Mo Daos.

Another flash of white light appeared and slashed horizontally, cutting two Mo Dao soldiers in half at the waist.

Outside the battle formation, someone exclaimed in admiration: "What excellent swordsmanship! You're the first person to wield the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's broadsword with such sword intent... What a fine head! I'll borrow it!"

Li Xuan ignored the speaker and focused on leading the Imperial Guards down the mountain amidst the chaos of war.

But the soldiers surrounding them with their long-handled swords suddenly parted, and a general clad in black armor, wielding a long-handled sword, charged forward on horseback.

This Mo Dao is different from others. It has golden patterns on the hilt, like a golden dragon spitting out the blade. It is a Mo Dao bestowed by the Emperor of the Jing Dynasty. The four characters "Yong Guan San Jun" (meaning "Courageous Among the Three Armies") are engraved on the blade.

Marquis of Champion, Yuan Heng Li Zhen.

In an instant, Yuan Heng Li Zhen and Li Xuan's two Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) clashed together, creating endless waves that made it impossible for onlookers to open their eyes.

The two men's swords clashed briefly before separating, and Yuan Heng Li Zhen laughed heartily: "Again!"

The surrounding soldiers silently parted to allow Yuan Heng Lizhen and Li Xuan to fight each other. This man was a martial arts fanatic; he would always fight to the death against a master.

When the Mo Dao soldiers stepped aside, the Imperial Guards saw a woman in purple standing outside the battle formation, holding a sword and with a tattered sachet hanging from her waist.

A scar on the woman's left cheek extends from her cheekbone to behind her ear, where there is a hole. It appears that an arrow once grazed her cheek, pierced her ear, disfiguring her and adding to her grim appearance.

The battle between Li Xuan and Yuan Heng Li Zhen was extremely intense.

Outside the battlefield, the woman, cradling a long sword, leaned against a pine tree, utterly serene. The clamor of the world held no sway over her; no one could disturb her in the slightest.

The woman silently watched the battle formation. She saw Yuan Heng Li Zhen strike horizontally with the force of surging wind and thunder, striking the center of Li Xuan's raised Mo Dao. With a clang, the warhorse could not withstand the terrifying force, all four hooves broke off, and it collapsed with Li Xuan on its back.

As Li Xuan lowered his horse, he swung his sword horizontally in mid-air, severing the front hoof of the warhorse beneath Yuan Heng Li Zhen.

Yuan Heng Lizhen's warhorse could no longer support its weight and collapsed along with Li Xuan. In a flash, a sword seed pierced through the gaps in the surging crowd and headed straight for Yuan Heng Lizhen's face.

Yuan Heng Li Zhen couldn't dodge in time and could only barely tilt his head back to avoid it.

The brass sword sliced ​​through his black visor, splitting it in two.

Half of the mask fell off, revealing half of Yuan Heng Li Zhen's young face. There was a fine scar on his left cheek, from which a neat smear of blood seeped out.

The woman in purple finally straightened up: "Sword Seed?"

Yuan Heng Lizhen rolled up from the ground, wiped the blood off his face with his thumb, and suddenly turned his head to look.

A dark figure flashed through the woods, dropped the longsword in its hand, and ran towards the ridge where flames were shooting up.

"Chase!"

(End of this chapter)