Chaotic Times and Disasters: I Hunt Down Martial Arts Masters and Become a God

An Sheng sat down on the stone platform, his voice growing louder and louder.

"Do you know that when I carried you back that day, you were already dead? No, you were breathing, but you were almost out of breath! You were covered in blood!"

"I carried you for who knows how many miles. Your blood soaked through my clothes. Doctor Su stuck many needles into your body until it was almost dawn before you recovered."

"Su Xue came out once in the middle and said that you were beyond saving and told us to prepare for the banquet. Su Wen scolded her back. No, Doctor Su didn't scold anyone. She just glanced at Su Xue, and Su Xue didn't dare to say anything."

"Then she went back in, and it took her a long, long time to come out. When she came out, her face was as white as paper."

He took a breath and slapped Fu Qing hard on the shoulder.

"From now on, call me when you're covering the rear! Don't go alone! Who's going to lead the vanguard if you die? I finally got to know you as a brother, and if you die in the southern borderlands, I'll never forgive you for the rest of my life!"

Fu Qing smiled. "Alright... I'll take you with me to our deaths next time..."

Just then, Liu Wentong arrived, leaning on his cane.

His right leg was hit by a demon's spiked club. The bone wasn't broken, but it was swollen badly and wrapped in several layers of bandages. He walked with a limp.

Old Zhao followed behind, a pipe stick dangling from his mouth, the embers in his pipe flickering.

Sun Bufan and He Shan also squeezed into the medical camp. The small medical camp was suddenly crammed with several big men, making it difficult to even turn around.

Liu Wentong stood silently in front of Fu Qing's bed for a long time. His legs were still wrapped in thick bandages, and his posture was slightly crooked.

"General Fu, you were the one who cut off the lion's head. If you hadn't single-handedly held off that giant lion that day, none of the brothers in the vanguard battalion would have escaped. On behalf of the surviving brothers, I thank you."

He put his cane aside, knelt on one knee, and gave Fu Qing a military salute.

Liu Wentong came from a family of generals and had never knelt before a living person in his life. He knelt to heaven, earth, his ancestors, and the emperor. Today, he knelt before a general who was several years younger than him, which was a first for him, but he did so willingly.

Sun Bufan stood beside him with his arms crossed, saying, "Brother Fu, back in the military camp I questioned whether you got in through connections. I apologize to you here."

Fu Qing chuckled. "That's only human nature!"

When the news reached Zhang Wukai's ears, the old marshal was looking at a map in the central command tent.

The messenger bowed and said that General Fu had woken up. Zhang Wukai put down his teacup, stood up, and went to the medical camp himself.

When Zhang Wukai lifted the curtain and walked in, Fu Qing was stunned. He was about to get out of bed to pay his respects when Zhang Wukai pressed him back onto the bed.

Zhang Wukai's palms were as rough as sand.

"Don't move, I'll lie down for you."

He stood in front of the stone platform, looking down at Fu Qing, "You injured a demon general at the third level of the罡气 (罡气 is a concept in Chinese martial arts)... I've fought for most of my life and have seen people kill enemies of higher levels, but I've never seen anyone kill a demon general of a higher level."

"The demon race is naturally stronger than the human race. The chances of winning in a head-on collision with someone of the same realm are already small. Fighting a demon of a higher realm is tantamount to courting death. Not only did you fight, you didn't lose either."

He paused, his voice deepening, "It's good that you're alive."

...

A few days later, Fu Qing, having just recovered from his injuries and was able to walk, went to the central command tent.

The vanguard battalion had fewer than three thousand men remaining, but their morale was still high.

Zhang Wukai ordered the entire army to temporarily halt the attack, hold the captured strongholds, and await reinforcements from the rear.

In the central command tent, he pointed to the map and said, "The combined forces of the demon race and the Yue Kingdom are no less than 100,000. A head-on confrontation is the worst strategy. I have already sent someone back to the capital to request reinforcements. Until the reinforcements arrive, all units must strictly guard their positions and must not launch any attacks without authorization."

Fu Qing raised an eyebrow and looked over. "General, how long are we going to wait?"

Zhang Wukai looked at him. "At least half a month."

Fu Qing nodded.

"Half a month should be enough..."

"What's enough?"

"Enough for me to train the vanguard battalion all over again!"

...

Half a month later, reinforcements arrived from the rear. General Meng Guang, the General of Jingguo Zhennan, led 50,000 elite troops to the front line and joined Zhang Wukai's 190,000-strong army.

Meng Guang was Zhang Wukai's old partner, a dark-faced man who had fought in the southern border for more than ten years, and his soldiers were all experts in the forest.

Meng Guang's troops marched up the mountain road, their banners obscuring the sun, and Zhang Wukai stood at the entrance of the camp to personally greet them.

Meng Guang dismounted and punched him. "Old Zhang, I heard you almost got surrounded by the demons at Eagle's Nest Village?"

"Nonsense..."

Zhang Wukai replied irritably, "You've come at the right time. The dumpling filling is still warm; I saved a portion for you."

The two laughed heartily and walked side by side into the central command tent.

After the two armies joined forces, the total strength of the Jing Army approached 150,000.

Zhang Wukai convened a decisive battle meeting in the central command tent. On the tent wall hung the map of southern Xinjiang, which had been turned over so many times that the edges were frayed. Meng Guang and his deputy sat on the left and right, respectively, while the other generals of various departments lined up in order.

Zhang Wukai stood up and walked to the map. "Reinforcements have arrived. Next, a decisive battle! Meng Guang will lead his 50,000 troops to the left flank, responsible for containing the main force of the demon race. I will personally lead the main force of the central army to advance on the front..."

"Fu Qing's vanguard battalion will serve as the right flank spearhead, cutting along the eastern ridge of Luoying Ravine to sever the connection between the Yue Kingdom's Gu cultivators and the demon race. Advancing from three directions, they will crush the enemy with overwhelming force!"

Meng Guang pointed to the map,

Where is the junction of the allied forces?

Zhang Wukai's fingertip pointed to a narrow ridge on the east side of Luoyingjian.

"Although the Gu cultivators of Yue Kingdom and the demon race have joined forces, they each have their own agendas, resulting in poor command. Fu Qing, your mission is to infiltrate from here and cut the allied forces in two."

"Once the junction is severed, the demon race's Gu cultivators will be unable to support each other from both ends. Meng Guang and I can then launch a simultaneous attack. Meng Guang can hold back the main force of the demon race on the left flank, while I can press forward from the center!"

He pointed to the rear of the coalition forces on the map, "By then, they will have nowhere left to retreat."

Fu Qing clasped his hands in a fist salute, "Understood."

...

On the day of the decisive battle, the Jing Army launched a three-pronged attack.

Fu Qing's vanguard battalion marched swiftly along the ridge east of Luoyingjian. The troops set off before dawn, amidst the morning mist, making the ridge slippery underfoot.

Fu Qing walked at the front of the group, followed by An Sheng, Liu Wentong, Zhao Laotie, Sun Bufan, He Lanshan, and then several thousand soldiers of the vanguard battalion.

They encountered several groups of Yue Kingdom Gu cultivators along the way.

The vanguard battalion plunged into the junction of the allied forces' defenses like a sharp knife. The Gu worms of the Gu cultivators were suppressed by the medicinal aura of the Medicine Palace disciples and were unable to raise their heads. The demon warriors were caught off guard and overwhelmed by the flanking attacks of An Sheng and Zhao Laotie.

As it turned out, Zhang Wukai's judgment was extremely accurate. After the vanguard battalion moved into position, the demons on the left flank and the Gu cultivators on the right flank of the allied forces could not support each other, and a gap was torn in the entire defensive line.

Fu Qing cleaved the last Gu general blocking his path with a single stroke, the tip of his blade resting on the severed allied banner. He turned and roared at the messenger.

"Tell the commander-in-chief that the right-wing spearhead is in position!"

Upon receiving the signal, Meng Guang slapped his thigh and laughed, then cursed.

"That kid's fucking fast!"

He then ordered the main force on the left wing to launch a fierce attack.

Meng Guang's main force on the left wing launched a simultaneous attack, with Jing Army infantry pouring out of the dense forests and fiercely attacking the flank of the demon army's position.

Caught off guard, the demon warriors were caught off guard by Meng Guang's elite troops who flanked them from the side, throwing their formation into chaos.

Zhang Wukai's main force pressed forward head-on, and tens of thousands of Jing troops surged towards the Allied forces' front line like a tide, causing the Allied forces to waver across the board.

The battle lasted a full day, with the vanguard battalion beheading countless enemies. As night fell, the allied forces finally gave out!

Although the demon warriors were brave, their numbers were limited. The Gu worms of the Yue Kingdom's Gu cultivators had already lost most of their strength in the early stages of the war of attrition. They could not withstand the mighty formation of the Jing army of over 100,000 men in a direct confrontation, and the remaining troops began to retreat in full force.

Zhang Wukai ordered the entire army to pursue, but not to go too deep. Although the allied forces had retreated, their main force was still intact. A hasty pursuit might lead to an ambush.

The army advanced steadily, compressing the allied forces to the outskirts of Wan Gu Valley.