My lord, spare his life!

The generals who were pursuing Lü Yuan were furious.

He demanded, "Who are you?"

This banner is really too eye-catching.

Like a meteor falling from the sky, it easily sinks more than four feet.

The unfamiliar flag fluttered wildly in the strong wind until it was fully unfurled, revealing the large character "Zhang". The general glared at the top of the flagpole, where he saw a figure whose face was obscured. The figure held a long golden spear and stood beside him.

The other person's gaze did not fall on his head, but instead lowered their seemingly indifferent and divine peach blossom eyes, sweeping over Lu Yuan below, who was surrounded by weak winged fire serpents: "Am I late, Mother?"

Lu Yuan wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and the blood that was about to slip into her eyelids with the back of her hand. Hearing Zhang Yang's self-reference, her eyelashes trembled violently. It wasn't the occasion that embarrassed Lu Yuan, but rather Zhang Yang's self-reference that revealed their true relationship. Knowing her old acquaintances well, Lu Yuan would rather kill the innocent than let one go free.

Zhang Yang is putting himself in danger.

Lu Yuan originally wanted to keep it a secret, but since Zhang Yang had already revealed it himself, she could only reply, "My godmother arrived just in time, not too late."

The soldiers wouldn't stop killing just because the banner fell from the sky, but the shockwave from the landing would deflect the nearest attacks, giving Lu Yuan a little breathing space.

Not much, but enough.

Zhang Yang asked, "Are you going to withdraw?"

Except for Lu Yuan, whose health bar was relatively healthy, the other twenty-odd people all had health bars below half. Each person had three to five negative status effects below their health bar, meaning they would continuously lose health even if they did nothing. If only there were a healing class at this time. Unfortunately, the military medic doesn't have the instant healing effect of a healing class in the game; they can't deal high damage on one hand and provide high healing on the other.

Lu Yuan initially wanted to grit his teeth and refuse.

She could not leave her lord alone surrounded by enemy troops.

However, neither Zhang Yang nor the surging enemy gave her time to respond. Without waiting for her answer, Zhang Yang slammed his long spear to the ground with tremendous force, a blinding golden light sweeping across all directions like a blazing sun. The spear tips that charged towards him either melted away like ice and snow or exploded in a flurry upon contact with the golden light.

Zhang Yang raised his eyelids.

You don't need to look back and forth to find whose armor looks most like that of a high-ranking general; just focus on the one with the longest and thickest health bar in the crowd.

Catch the thief first to catch the king.

This principle applies not only to intense PVP battles but also to battlefields: "Oh, I found it."

With just one glance, even though the crowd was more than twenty feet apart, the general felt a chill run down his spine. His battlefield-honed intuition sounded a piercing alarm in his mind.

Zhang Yang doesn't need to think about that much.

She only needs to make two decisions.

Identify the target and charge in.

The military officer who was being targeted couldn't spare a moment to think about Lü Yuan.

"Hold this man back, and his head will be yours for a fortune!"

If I heard correctly, these two are actually mother and daughter.

Like finding the most crucial piece of a jigsaw puzzle, the doubts that had been swirling in the general's mind were suddenly cleared up. He suddenly realized that Zhang Yang was the real culprit, and Lü Yuan had been nothing more than bait placed on the surface; they had all been thoroughly deceived!

This was also one of Zhang Yang's objectives.

What she wants is to attract the hatred of all those with red names.

This saves the effort of chasing down and killing red-named enemies, making it more efficient to clear them out. Little did they know, this action had a different meaning in Lu Yuan's eyes—she was connected to the Winged Fire Serpent, so she could clearly feel the sudden pressure. The sword, which had been surrounded by enemy soldiers and whose breakout progress had almost stalled, was able to accelerate its advance.

Lu Yuan was greatly alarmed.

Was the lord deliberately drawing enemy fire for her?

"Who struck first?" The question that had been troubling Xiao Sui was answered the instant the familiar aura appeared. Her expression froze in a distorted, stiff pose, and she subconsciously took a deep breath. "She's... going to help Lü Bafeng?"

That's the only answer.

If it weren't for the unforeseen circumstances, Zhang Yang would have already led his troops here. Taking a little more time to join forces with Xiao Sui's troops, or for scouts from both sides to make contact and reach a temporary agreement to send troops from both sides simultaneously, would have been far more advantageous than her taking the initiative.

How could anyone not be moved by such high regard?

The junior students on the other side of the battlefield were furious.

He Zhi could still hear Fan You angrily cursing: "She ran away, fine, but she even carried the banner away! And not only that, she threw it so far! Does that make her look like she can run or that she's strong? Lü Bafeng is a scourge! What kind of foolish ruler does she think she is?"

The banner is the heart and soul of the entire army.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them the pillars of stability in the military.

An army is like a bulky, tall, but sluggish body; the larger the army, the heavier its skeleton and flesh. For this body to act correctly, the issuance of military orders is crucial. As long as the banner is still in place, even if the commander is wounded and unable to continue commanding, morale will not easily collapse, and the soldiers will not lose their formation. In the chaos and noise of the battlefield, it is difficult for orders to reach everyone in real time; the banner is the only clear instruction in the midst of chaos, like the only clear lighthouse in a vast sea.

Wherever the banners pointed, the army advanced.

The banner has now been thrown more than a hundred feet away!

The army then marched towards the banner.

Fan You felt like he was riding a donkey with an incredibly stubborn temper and immense strength. This donkey was staring blankly at a carrot a hundred feet away, drooling. No matter how much he tightened the reins or clenched his stomach, the stupid donkey still galloped happily and resolutely towards the carrot. Occasionally, after being whipped a few times and feeling the pain, it would restrain its hooves a little, but the next second, seeing the carrot, it would start to get restless again…

However, Fan You is a cultured person.

His curses sounded more like complaints to He Zhi.

He Zhi thought to himself that he was being disgruntled.

A foolish ruler wouldn't have the courage to carry the banner and save people.

Fan You gritted his teeth and shouted, "Go save the banner!"

Yes--

Go save the banner, not the lord.

The news of their lord being surrounded by a large enemy army is hardly encouraging, and similarly, even if she were wounded, it wouldn't affect morale for the time being. But the fact that such a tall and conspicuous banner had been felled by the enemy during their siege was something the entire army could see.

Save the banner!

Fan You gritted his teeth, his heart filled with resentment.

The lord's act of throwing the banner outside the protection zone of the banner guard is utterly despicable! If anything were to happen to the banner, he would leave her with a mountain of homework that would reach the rafters, and only allow her to answer questions during class. He Zhi, standing to the side, chose to remain silent.

Indeed, the banner is more important than the lord...

Bullshit!

This is utterly a rebellious military order against the Heavenly Order!

Surprisingly, Zhang Yang didn't forget about the banner as they had feared, upon seeing the red name. Instead, she guarded the banner, letting the enemies surge forward relentlessly. Even as the increasing number of corpses nearby made it difficult for her to move freely, she did something shocking in full view of everyone—grabbing the flagpole with one hand and flicking it upwards. The banner shot up more than a meter high before falling steadily back down, caught firmly in her left hand.

He ran while holding the banner in his left hand and sweeping with a long spear in his right.

Anyone who gets close to the banner gets kicked by her.

The banner was safer and more maneuverable in her hands than in the guard battalion.

Even from this distance, Fan You could see the banner shifting left and right little by little. The enemy's attacks on the flagpole and the flag were deflected by the timely appearance of golden light, and the flag remained completely unharmed.

The lord is actually protecting the banner?

This thought popped into Fan You's mind.

The next second, a sense of relief arose.

It seems that the lord is not completely lawless after all; she still understands the importance of the overall situation. With the banners and flags safe for the time being, Fan You breathed a sigh of relief and stopped giving orders so hastily, instead adopting a more cautious and steady approach to withstand the pressure on the front lines of the battlefield.

To buy time for Xiao Sui's troops.

Scouts reported that Xiao Sui's troops were not far from the enemy camp.

Fan You assumed Zhang Yang's act of protecting the banner meant she had at least taken some of the lessons seriously. But was that really the case? In reality, she had taken a lot of notes, but remembered very little, not including the banner. Ever since the last attack on the Eastern Barbarian bandits, she had equated the banner with the tour guide's little red flag. Tourists often get lost even when following the tour guide's little red flag; it was normal for soldiers to follow the banner to avoid getting lost.

Now that the enemy's main camp has been found, there's no need for the little red flag to lead the way, and besides, the banner hasn't gone too far.

Why was she protecting the banner?

It's purely because I'm used to the intense PVP battles.

When players clash, each team will have a character carrying a small flag. Amidst the overwhelming number of red-named players, the small flag is the only beacon. Players will spontaneously protect the commander's flag, preventing it from being killed.

Zhang Yang's logic in protecting the small flag is also based on this.

only--

This little flag is a tiny bit big.

It's a bit difficult to protect, but it's precisely because it's a large target that it can continuously attract the enemy's hatred and main force.

Unbeknownst to them, the banner was veering further and further off course.

They flock to places with a lot of negative reputations.

Even Fan You's massive army couldn't catch up with them.

At that moment, he had an urge to break Zhang Yang's legs.

"Lü Bafeng, it's been a long time since I've seen you in such a sorry state."

He Zhi was the first to discover the small group that seemed to be moving upstream, and he also noticed the presence of Lü Yuan within it. He was not prepared to let Lü Yuan die here, so he sent troops to provide support until they reunited.

Lu Yuan, panting heavily, waved his hand to retract the winged fire serpent with its tattered scales, his aura visibly weakening: "Quickly go and support the lord—"

If she were to break through alone, it wouldn't be difficult; those who could hold her back would have been lured away by that arrogant banner. However, she also needed to protect the soldiers around her to the greatest extent possible, so she couldn't retract the Winged Fire Serpent and could only grit her teeth and maintain this astonishing consumption of star power.

He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Fan You's main force.

Without waiting for He Zhi's reply, she snatched a horse, scrambled onto her back, and carried it on her back.

The reddish-purple flames reignited in his hand, but the spear's luster was much dimmer than usual, and many of the dense snake scales on the shaft were damaged. Lu Yuan disregarded this, tightened the reins, and adjusted the horse's direction.

"Come with me to rescue my adoptive mother."

The above statement was not made by Lü Yuan.

She looked at the person who had spoken with a look of astonishment.

The latter had a face that looked exactly like Zhe Meng's.

Realizing the meaning behind the name Zhe Meng, Lu Yuan's features contorted in a grimace for a moment. She wanted to curse, but Zhe Meng's slightly provocative smile silenced her. She swallowed the blood welling up in her throat, cursed under her breath, and charged forward on horseback.

"Why is the flag glowing?"

Upon hearing this, Fan You felt a wave of dizziness.

The banners of the pupae in the distance were indeed gleaming with golden light.

"Zhang Boyuan"

Zhang Yang unexpectedly discovered the ingenious use of the banner.

She felt a sudden weight in her arms, a weight that seemed to increase by over a hundred pounds. Without even looking up, she knew who was behind it: "Wild Man Brother!"

I looked up, and lo and behold, another unexpected delight.

A streak of deep blue streaked across the dark night sky.

Even though it was just a fleeting glimpse, Zhang Yang was certain its size was comparable to Da Gu's: "Is that Zhang Da Ji?"

Wang Qi, who landed on the flagpole: "..."

At this moment, I'm having second thoughts about going down to rescue them.

He didn't know who Zhang Daji was, but he was also unaware of the Mountain Spirit's simple naming ability: Zhang Dami, Zhang Damiao, Zhang Dagu, and now Zhang Daji: "Truly incorrigible!"

For a moment, he even had the idea of ​​turning against Zhang Yang and killing him.

They think one thing, but their actions are quite the opposite.

He couldn't let the mountain spirit die here.

Zhang Yang pursed his lips.

Wild Man Bro can't even raise Zhang Da Miao properly, how could he possibly raise Zhang Da Ji? Look at Zhang Da Ji's flawless, deep blue feathers, it was born to be adopted and carefully raised by her. And don't even mention Zhang Da Ji, there will be Zhang Da Wu and Zhang Da Ao in the future.

"Could you please stop making the flag shine?"

The enemy swarmed in like moths to a flame.

This banner not only made it difficult for their own people to command, but also caused the enemy's command to collapse, and even made Wang Qi's scalp tingle.

Stellar energy surged around him, and a water leopard emerged from his body. Moving with lightning speed, it plummeted from its heights onto the battlefield below, pouncing towards the nearest, almost solidified, four-symbol phantoms. The two beasts collided violently in mid-air, crashing to the ground with a sudden roar that could shatter the eardrums of even the nearest soldiers. Wang Qi used whatever weapon he could find.

Above the battlefield, besides the "Azure Dragon" being bitten by the Water Leopard, three other beasts gradually took shape, all aiming at the banner.

Wang Qi dared not stray far, but kept his back against the flagpole.

"Mountain Spirit, release it as well."

The surrounding shouts of battle were deafening, but Zhang Yang could clearly see what Wang Qi was saying—because she had pinned his conversation to the top of her chat logs, making it very easy to see. She protectively held the flag: "Huh?"

I saw it, but I didn't understand it.

Wang Qi: "..."

A single phantom of the Four Symbols, formed from the combined strength of over two thousand soldiers, is no easy opponent. There are four of them on this side of the battlefield, and their sheer size alone can cause immense destruction. Although his Water Leopard can hold off one, it won't last long.

but--

"...Alright, reinforcements have arrived."

As soon as he finished speaking, the roars of dragons and tigers came from two directions.

Although the four phantom images were hastily formed, their morale soared uncontrollably after witnessing the banner maneuvering through the enemy camp. Though smaller in size than the enemy, their solidity far surpassed that of the phantoms.

They charged into the arena, standing on either side of the golden banner.

Wang Qi suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

He lowered his head and frowned, as if he had noticed something was wrong.

Something is definitely not right.

Xiao Sui's warhorse gradually came to a stop.

In the past, battlefields were filled with the entanglement of stellar power and yin energy, and the air was filled with a volatile and eerie atmosphere. Newborn vengeful ghosts, who had crawled back to the human world due to the wrath of the stars, craved more flesh and blood...

She looked at the flag and raised her hand to her chest.

The Painted Skin Ghost was unusually quiet.

"Is he/she dead?"

After a long while, a curse echoed in my mind.

Xiao Sui chuckled: "Oh, so you're scared."

? ?(?_?)

My neck is stiff from overeating. It hurts on both sides, and it hurts terribly whenever I move it. It was perfectly fine this morning, sob sob.