Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

Yingtian City grew smaller and smaller beneath my feet, eventually shrinking into a chessboard of gray tiles and white walls.

Zhu Li leaned over the side of the flying boat and stared for a long time until his neck ached before he straightened up.

The main ship was about thirty zhang long and five zhang wide. It was made entirely of ironwood, and its hull was covered with pale gold runes that shone slightly in the sunlight.

Three hundred such flying boats, forming a formation, carrying 300,000 elite Ming troops, are speeding northward at a rate of a thousand miles a day.

The wind was strong, making people's robes flutter loudly.

"Your Highness, please come inside. It's windy outside." Captain Zhang Han walked over, holding a cloak in his hands.

Zhu Hui took the cloak, but instead of wearing it, he asked, "Zhang Han, this boat... won't sink, will it?"

Zhang Han's lips twitched as he said, "Your Highness, rest assured, the flying boat has a levitation array. The Taoist sect and the Ministry of Works have jointly tested it three hundred times, and there has never been a problem."

"Oh! So, do the people below look at us like they're looking at birds..." Zhu Li nodded and pointed to the bottom of the boat.

"…I guess so!"

Zhu Hui seemed to be deep in thought. Suddenly, he took out a piece of dried meat from his storage bag, broke it in half, and threw it down.

The dried meat tumbled several times in the air, getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared from sight.

"Your Highness, what is this...?" Zhang Han asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing, I just think it's fun..." Zhu Li said, scratching his head.

Zhang Han silently withdrew, deciding not to ponder his prince's thought process.

……

Inside the main cabin, Xu Da and several generals were studying the sand table.

The sand table was specially made by the Ministry of Works, using a secret method to project the terrain of thousands of miles north of the Great Wall, with mountains, rivers and streams showing in the finest detail.

At this moment, countless red dots representing the demon race's forces gathered outside Juyong Pass, like a wildfire spreading across the plains.

"Xiang Liu's true form should be here. Scouts report that there is a demonic aura soaring to the sky, and the vegetation within a radius of fifty miles has withered and birds and beasts have disappeared." Xu Da pointed to a swamp a hundred miles outside the pass.

Deputy Commander Li Wenzhong frowned and said, "Although most of the million demons are cannon fodder, there are tens of thousands of elite demon soldiers and dozens of demon generals mixed in among them."

If we engage in a head-on confrontation, our army will suffer significant losses.

Mu Ying added, "The demon race has a strong physical body and is difficult to harm with ordinary swords and arrows. We need to use demon-slaying crossbows, evil-slaying talismans, or Taoist thunder magic or Buddhist golden light spells."

But these things... consume too much energy.

Xu Da remained silent for a moment, then looked out of the cabin door.

On the deck, Zhu Li was squatting there, holding an iron skewer with several pieces of meat on it, grilling them.

The meat came from the kitchen, and the charcoal was summoned by him. He himself didn't know that he could summon flames; he only felt that the fire ignited as soon as his fingers got hot.

The aroma of meat wafted into the cabin.

"His Highness the Prince of Wu seems to be enjoying himself," Li Wenzhong said with a wry smile.

Xu Da's eyes lit up and he said, "Order all military airships to lower their altitude to a hundred feet above the ground to save spirit stones."

"Xu Shuai, why is this?" Mu Ying asked.

"The flying boat flies high to prevent long-range attacks from the ground demons, but with King Wu here... if the demons have the means to reach a thousand feet in the air, then we can't escape them."

"It would be better to fly lower, save some spirit stones, and hold out for a few more days."

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

That seems... to make sense...

……

By evening, the airship formation had crossed the Yellow River.

Zhu Li's fifth skewer of meat was perfectly cooked, golden brown and glistening with oil.

He sprinkled some salt, blew on it, and was about to open his mouth to take a bite when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Your Highness has excellent skills." Xu Da walked over with a smile.

Zhu Li handed over the meat skewers and said, "Uncle Xu, would you like to try some?"

Xu Da didn't stand on ceremony, took the bag and took a bite. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, indeed quite good.

"Does Your Highness know what we are going to deal with on this trip?" Xu Da asked while eating.

"I know, it's a monster. Dad said it's a big snake with many heads." Zhu Li skewered a few more pieces of meat.

"Xiangliu! That's an ancient ferocious beast, with nine heads and a serpent's body. It has devoured countless people and turned everything it goes into a swamp. It commands a million demons. This battle... will not be easy." Xu Da said solemnly.

Zhu Li listened attentively, flipping the meat skewers in her hands, and suddenly asked, "Uncle Xu, is that snake... tasty?"

Xu Da was momentarily speechless.

"It probably...tastes bad, it might be poisonous."

"Oh! Then I'll cut it up and feed it to the dogs." Zhu Hui was a little disappointed, but she quickly cheered up again.

Xu Da silently finished his meat skewers and decided not to discuss tactics with the prince any further.

……

Late at night, the flying boat landed and rested outside Baoding Prefecture.

We'll fly for another half day tomorrow and reach the front lines.

Zhu Hui was assigned to a special auxiliary ship, which was smaller than the other flying boats but was comfortably furnished.

The two maids, Qingmei and Qingzhu, had already made the bed and lit calming incense.

"Your Highness, hot water is ready. Please take a bath and change!" Qingmei said softly.

Zhu Hui waved his hand and said, "No need, I'll just wash in the river."

As he was about to leave, Qingzhu stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, this is the middle of nowhere, where is there a river? Even if there were, it wouldn't be safe..."

"It's alright, my eyesight is good, I can find it," Zhu Hui insisted.

The two maids couldn't stop them and were so anxious they were almost in tears.

In the end, Zhang Han led a group of guards, carrying torches, to escort Zhu Li to a stream three miles away.

Zhu Li took off his outer robe and jumped into the water, washing himself thoroughly.

In the woods by the riverbank, several pairs of lush green eyes quietly opened.

It's a wolf demon.

There were seven of them in total, each a size larger than a regular wolf, with exposed fangs and dripping saliva.

They smelled the scent of fresh flesh and blood and slowly gathered around.

Zhang Han drew his sword and shouted in a low voice, "Form ranks! Protect His Highness!"

The guards quickly formed a semi-circle, with the tips of their swords pointing outwards.

Zhu Hui popped her head out of the water and wiped her face: "What's wrong?"

"Your Highness, be careful! There's a monster!" Zhang Han stared nervously at the woods.

The wolf demons had emerged from the shadows, revealing their ferocious faces in the firelight.

The leading wolf demon was five feet tall, with gray fur that was as thick as needles, and it emitted a low whimper from its throat.

Zhu Hui looked around, then suddenly stood up from the water and walked towards the shore, shirtless.

"Your Highness!" Zhang Han said urgently.

Zhu Li waved his hand, walked to the shore, and stood there wet without drying himself off.

He raised his left hand and pressed it against the tattoo on his arm.

A bronze shield appeared out of thin air and slammed into the mud with a thud.

The wolf demons were startled by the commotion and took two steps back, but soon bared their teeth and closed in again.

Zhu Hui scratched his head, seemingly feeling that the shield was not enough, and then pressed his right hand onto his left arm.

A bronze axe appeared in his hand.

He weighed the axe in his hand, looked at the wolf demons, and earnestly discussed, "You... you can still run now."

Of course, this low-level wolf demon couldn't understand human language. The lead wolf demon let out a long howl and pounced first!

It moved extremely fast, leaving a gray shadow in the night.

Zhu Li sighed.

He swung the axe with one hand and swept it horizontally from left to right.

The action was as simple as swatting a mosquito.

Then...

"Buzz..."

The axe blade sliced ​​through the air, producing a strange, vibrating sound.

A semi-transparent, crescent-shaped blade of energy shot out from the axe, flying forward close to the ground.

Wherever the air blade passed, grass and trees snapped silently, leaving smooth, mirror-like cuts.

The seven-headed wolf demon was still in a lunging posture when its body suddenly split in two, becoming fourteen halves.

Blood splattered, and internal organs spilled all over the ground.

The air blade continued forward, flying into the forest.

A series of cracking and breaking sounds.

More than a dozen large trees slowly tilted and crashed to the ground.

A flock of birds was startled and took flight in a flurry of fluttering flight.

Zhu Hui put down his axe, looked at the mess on the ground, and sighed, "I told you to run away."

Zhang Han and his guards stood frozen in place, their knives still raised, their necks rusting as they slowly turned toward the fallen trees.

Under the moonlight, a passage three zhang wide and fifty zhang long was cleared out of the woods.

Everything in the passageway—trees, shrubs, stones—was neatly cut in two.

The cut is smooth and can reflect a person's image.

"Your...Your Highness..." Zhang Han's voice was dry.

"Hmm? You're done washing up, let's go back!" Zhu Hui put the axe and shield into the tattoo and walked back to the stream to pick up her clothes.

As he dressed, he muttered to himself, "I'll have to tell Uncle Xu tomorrow that there are quite a few monsters around here."

The guards exchanged glances and silently sheathed their swords.

On the way back, Zhang Han couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Your Highness, what was that move you just made called?"

Zhu Hui thought for a moment and said, "If it doesn't have a name, I'll just wave it randomly."

"Then... could you teach me?"

"I can't teach you; you need to have an axe like that first," Zhu Hui said honestly.

Zhang Han glanced at his sword and decided to shut up, though he was still quite envious.

……

At the same time, a hundred miles outside Juyong Pass.

Deep in the swamp, a huge shadow looms atop an altar made of bones.

Nine heads slowly rose from the shadows, and eighteen eyes glowed with an eerie green light in the darkness.

Each head was the size of a small mountain, and with each flick of its tongue, venomous saliva dripped down, corroding the ground with a sizzling sound.

Demon King, Xiang Liu...

Its central head slowly rotates, looking towards the south.

It could sense that a chilling aura was approaching from a thousand miles away, an aura that closely resembled one of the things mentioned in its inherited memories.

It's like some kind of...ancient power.

Xiang Liu narrowed all eighteen of his eyes at the same time.

"king…"

A demon general in human form knelt beneath the altar, his voice trembling.

"The human army has crossed the Yellow River and will arrive in the pass tomorrow. In addition to Xu Da, the army is led by the newly appointed Prince of Wu of the Ming Dynasty, who is said to be Zhu Yuanzhang's long-lost son."

Xiang Liu, the leader, slowly lowered his head and approached the demon general.

"King Wu...what is his background..." Xiang Liu's voice was hoarse.

"I don't know... I only know that he was honest and simple, and did not know anything about military strategy, but... but he was extremely strong. He once cleaved half a mountain in half with one axe."

"Splitting the mountain..." Xiang Liu pondered.

It can also split mountains.

But if it were just splitting the mountain, it wouldn't be enough to make it feel uneasy.

"Send word to attack the city tomorrow to test this person's strength... If he is indeed that person's successor... then withdraw the troops," said Chief Xiangliu, raising his head.

That guy... Xiang Liu's inherited memories mention that he was a guy who could fight even without a head.

"Withdraw the troops... Your Majesty, we have a million men..."

"A million?" Xiang Liu's nine heads simultaneously let out a hoarse laugh. "In front of that person, a million and a hundred are no different."

The demon general dared not ask any more questions and bowed his head to retreat.

On the altar, Xiang Liu's eighteen eyes once again looked south.

Hopefully not.

Otherwise, it probably wouldn't be able to break through the Great Wall.

……

On the flying boat, Zhu Li sneezed.

"Who's talking about me..." He rubbed his nose and crawled into bed.

Outside the cabin, the moonlight was like water.

Three hundred airships hovered silently, like a group of sleeping giants.

Further north, the beacon fires along the Great Wall burned all night long.