Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Yu XueGong initially thought that since the reinforcements of the Divine Prefecture Empire had arrived, they would definitely be stronger compared to the Yu Family troops. However, the first thing they did was actually to retreat to Sky Bearing! It seemed like the Divine Prefecture Empire was not willing to wage war in this midwinter season!

This news should be reported immediately to the Emperor. Maybe it could be considered as atonement for his crimes?

However, since he personally led his troops and caused such great damage to the Divine Prefecture Empire, would Ling Jian the asura still let him off? If Ling Jian was willing to let him go now, would he not prepare some countermeasures?

The troops of the Divine Prefecture Empire had already entered the forest and were untraceable at this point. The present battlefield was a complete mess, but if one looked closely they would see that not a single one of the bodies from the Divine Prefecture Empire remained! Even the swords that were broken through fighting the war were all collected without any remaining… The owner's name was carved on the surface of each sword,. They would be buried together with their owners!

The vast heavens groaned as the wind started to blow. The snow had stopped at this point, but the entire mountain pa.s.s was filled with a fog of tragedy. Within this fog, if one listened closely, they might still be able to hear the screams and shouts of the two armies, each bent on eliminating the other party…

While the battle here had temporarily stopped, in the other areas it was as though a kettle had been placed on a roaring fire, bubbling and steaming up…

Ling Tian personally took the helm back in the imperial palace at Sky Bearing, sending out commands and orders like a stream of water. Some of them were delivered by messengers, some by horses, and some through messenger falcons. For the elites under the intelligence system in the four directions which reported directly to Ling Tian, all of them congregated towards the North.

As for the Head Military Advisor, Meng LiGe, he sat within a tent, devising countless strategies and s.h.i.+fting the arrangement of troops. As usual, he was extremely busy with work.

Under the strategy of the Ling and Meng duo, the North would be formed with the armies of Yu YanHai, DongFang JingLei, and Shen RuHu as the core, proceeding along as per the tactics. The moment they merged, it would no longer be a 1,000,000 strong troop in name only but in reality! That was a force on the level of a human tsunami, and personal skills no longer held sway when faced with such a huge flood of soldiers! Even a killing G.o.d like Ling Jian would have no way to fight through everyone!

The joining of the three forces gave the Yu Family a clear indication that this was a decisive war! The deciding battle was imminent!

If one just looked at the intentions of the Divine Prefecture Empire, then it would seem like they have brought forward the battle that would decide the fate of all mankind! If that was not the case, then why would they bother wasting so much military grain just to move all their troops? If there was no huge event taking place, then were all their efforts just used to make ducks and drakes of it? [1. To make ducks and drakes is a metaphor used to describe something pouring all their efforts and time into something useless.] While the current Divine Prefecture Empire was more prosperous than it ever had been, and could afford to waste some rations, it was not to the point where they could throw out such a huge expenditure without any form of return!

When the Yu Family and Yu ManLou received word of the news, they indeed did not dare to take it lightly. Yu ManLou similarly personally took the helm at his imperial palace to control the situation, and commanded the four generals of the Yu Family, as well as millions of troops, to rush onward to Yan County. Only through preparation can one avoid any misfortune. The opponent had sent over a million troops to pressure the front lines, and if there was any carelessness, it would only result in the Yu Family having their territories invaded! At that point, it could s...o...b..ll and end in the annihilation of the entire empire!

Other than their four armies, the Yu Family also started to provide reinforcements to all the other areas. Be it replenis.h.i.+ng soldiers, grain, medicines, or warhorses, they s.h.i.+pped everything toward the Yan County. At this point, Yu ManLou received the missive of forgiveness from Yu XueGong. The contents of the missive made Yu ManLou grieve and lament, but the information regarding the retreat of the Divine Prefecture Empire soldiers that Ling Jian ‘accidentally' leaked out created suspicions in his mind.

Even with Yu ManLou's bearings, he almost fainted the moment he saw the news coming from Yu XueGong! The losses stated within it were far too frightening, to the point that even with the Yu Family's robust foundations, they might not be able to withstand this loss! When he first received news of the routing of their front line troops, Yu ManLou had already deduced that for such a silent operation to be carried out, their troop count would not be huge, and should contain some special characters! From the strangeness of the battlefield, it was definite that the First Pavilion had employed a few of their men to tag along this time.

While he did not know the reason for them being trapped within the snow, Yu ManLou was well aware that this was a heaven-sent opportunity. If he was able to kill or capture these special characters, then be it Ling Tian or the First Pavilion, it would be a heavy blow to them! Furthermore, it might even result in the collapse of the First Pavilion!

As such, Yu ManLou even treated the initial loss with some hidden glee. The hidden experts in his family usually only went down to the battlefield when commanded, but in this case, they took the initiative to request to join the battle. Naturally, he did not put harsh requirements on those that volunteered and merely put on a show before allowing them to depart.

Yu ManLou's thinking was that to use such a huge force to go against the enemy that numbered at most 20,000 strong was akin to using a boulder to crack an egg, a simple matter! With so many experts of the martial world, and with the heavy snowfall in the mountains trapping them, there was no possible option of retreat for the enemy. For such conditions, if they were to allow the enemy to escape or if they were defeated, then it would be akin to seeing a ghost in broad daylight!

From start till the end, the only objective Yu ManLou was concerned about was the capture of the people, who were they, where they came from, what were their ident.i.ties and what impact would they have on Ling Tian and the First Pavilion. It would be good if they could treat these people as bait to fish for more benefits, but he never expected their battle to end in defeat!

But the missive sent by Yu XueGong clearly explained this detail. The death of two Gold Jade experts and close to 50 White Jade experts gave an unbearable heartache to Yu ManLou. This was an unacceptable fact! How could Yu ManLou not be enraged? As for the latest developments of the Divine Prefecture Empire, Yu ManLou was excessively shocked, but still maintained his att.i.tude of suspicion. For such a secretive operation, how could it be so easily revealed? For all they knew, it could have been a ruse by the enemy.

Under his anger, Yu XueGong and his men were all thrown into the heavenly prison under Yu ManLou's order! None of them were allowed to be pardoned.

To have the Master of the First Pavilion personally set out to rescue them, and to retreat after that without any signs of their army moving, it was as though they had simply vanished. This led Yu ManLou to believe that the enemy was most likely treating the wounded at some hidden location. This cemented his belief that the surrounded army had special people who were important to the Divine Prefecture Empire!

However, it was too late to think about such matters now. The more he thought, the more he would drown in regret.

At this point, Yu ManLou suddenly received the request for reinforcements from Ximen Sa. XiMen Sa mentioned that the Western Han was clas.h.i.+ng with the 700,000 strong troops of Xiao FengYang, and due to this thinly stretched forces, they were being fully suppressed by Xiao FengYang. Each encounter had always ended in their loss. Because the enemy had an abundance of grain and soldiers, each far exceeding the number of the Yu Family soldiers, their condition now could be said to be approaching a crisis! They requested for immediate a.s.sistance from the emperor.

This could be said to be akin to meeting a thunderstorm when one's roof is leaky!

In the direction of Yan County, the million strong troops from the Divine Prefecture Empire were guarding the area, glaring like tigers watching their prey as they prepared for battle. Yu ManLou's attention the last few days was all placed in this area and he hadn't expected XiMen Sa's area to come up with a problem! Furthermore, XiMen Sa was facing off against a peak general of his generation, Xiao FengYang, with an elite army of 700,000!

It was no wonder that XiMen Sa fell into a disadvantage. After all, inside Yu ManLou's heart, while XiMen Sa was intelligent and intuitive, he was lacking a whetstone to grind him. However, Xiao FengYang was someone who had been fighting all his life, a seasoned veteran. It was not unjust for XiMen Sa to experience defeat under Xiao FengYang!

Furthermore, both the parties' strengths differed too much. While there was a possibility to turn the tides and use a smaller number to overcome the larger number, the prerequisite was that the enemy commander had to reveal a fatal flaw that could be exploited. With such an experienced schemer such as Xiao FengYang at the helm, it was unlikely for him to reveal such a flaw!

Since there was no chance to hope for a fatal flaw to be revealed in the opposing side, then one could only resort in pitting the strength of the troops against each other. However, the crucial point in this was that too few reinforcements were sent, it would merely serve as an appetizer for Xiao FengYang. But if they were to send more… where on earth could they dig out tens of thousands of soldiers for reinforcements at this time?

Helpless to change the situation, Yu ManLou could only send down an order to XiMen Sa, strictly commanding him to hold fast and prevent the line from being broken by Xiao FengYang. At the same time, he quickly sent out another order, to hastily recruit soldiers from the territory of the former Wu County, before sending them as reinforcements for XiMen Sa. As for the ten thousand or so troops that were obstructing Feng Mo and Ling Feng, they were commanded to not return to their original formations, but to form up into another army and rush towards XiMen Sa to a.s.sist him!

Just as Yu ManLou was busy devising strategies the past few days, disputes started at the frontier. The general under Shen RuHu's army, Shen TieCheng, performed a sneak attack on the Yu Family's grain supplies. While they did not succeed, the marshal in charge was scared silly by their attack. From that day onward, minor skirmishes happened frequently along the border. Along with the numerous conflicts, one could see the trend of a growing full-fledged conflict.

The pressure given by the Divine Prefecture Empire on the Yu Family slowly but surely increased! There was even a hint of an imminent battle.

Initially, when the Yu Family's troops arrived, they were not at a disadvantage and could be said to even occupy the advantage. However, following the many skirmishes, their battle performance had evened out. This was because the Divine Prefecture Empire had their back covered by Yan County. Not only were they free of worries, their pa.s.sage was stable, allowing reinforcements to arrive quicker than the Yu Family. As time pa.s.sed, they gradually became the one that initiated the skirmishes against the Yu Family, and the latter were slowly forced into a state of constant defense.

The Divine Prefecture Empire had a strong desire for battle, but from start to end, they only focused on performing skirmishes. It seemed as though they had no intention to engage in a huge battle.

The marshal of the Yu Family took advantage of this chance to add numerous sentry posts. With over two million troops combined on both sides, all of them waited with bated breath. Looking out from Yan County, in the thousands of miles of gra.s.sland as far as the eye could see, countless war flags dotted the horizon!

While both parties were clas.h.i.+ng in Yan County, XiMen Sa and Xiao FengYang finally engaged in a head-on fight, with both parties having various casualties. As a whole, XiMen Sa was at a disadvantage. Even with the reinforcements provided from various locations, his overall military strength was still far below that of Xiao FengYang. However, he was no longer a sitting duck to Xiao FengYang's attacks, and both sides were currently locked in a stalemate.

It was at this point that Ling Jian suddenly brought along a few of his brothers, using the cover of the night to infiltrate Xiao FengYang's army!

The second day, Xiao FengYang's 400,000 strong army suddenly launched a full-on a.s.sault!

That's right, Xiao FengYang only had a total of 400,000 troops. But in the report XiMen Sa sent to Yu ManLou, he had exaggerated it by one-fold!

When Xiao FengYang attacked, it was the exact day when XiMen Sa's army welcomed the troops from the former Wu County. The timing was impeccable, and it left people sighing at the fact that in this world, something called heaven's will really might exist!

If they had attacked earlier when XiMen Sa was preparing for the arrival of the reinforcements, then they would have had to face a strictly disciplined force. If they had attacked a day later, when the reinforcements had integrated into the army, then the Yu Family's strength would then have swelled, and it would not be easy to quickly determine a winner. If they made a mistake in the process, most likely it could end up with the Divine Prefecture Empire suffering a defeat instead!

Thus, choosing this time to attack was the most optimal, akin to striking a snake at the seven-inch mark! 1

The entire compound of the Yu Family was messy, as people constantly entered and exited. The problem of military rations caused the logistics officer to sweat profusely, and the two sides had just met and exchanged pleasantries. Before they could even hold a meeting, while they were still being shown around the camp, the attack of the Divine Prefecture Empire arrived!

The chaos experienced in this military battle was unprecedented in history!

If the army only consisted of troops from XiMen Sa's army or the former Wu County, it would likely not be so chaotic. However, it was at the time where the two parties had just met, causing the area to be as though the skies had been flipped. Everyone ran around like headless chickens, secretly blaming their parents for not giving them an extra pair of legs

This was especially so for the Wu Country troops, who had rushed over from far away and were all exhausted. Facing Xiao FengYang's relentless a.s.sault, they dissolved into a chaotic mess, trying to save their own lives by running away.

XiMen Sa's troops initially maintained their positions, but after being rushed over by their reinforcements, they too lost all semblance of an armed force.

The most surprising thing about this battle was that Xiao FengYang was unusually prudent. Not only did he attack with his full force from the get-go, he even brought all his troops over, including the cooks, pressuring the battlefield!

As such, the two armies of the Yu Family which had just met ended up being tragically routed.

There was no sign of possible resistance, and XiMen Sa immediately came to a decision, bringing his personal troops and escaping. The moment their marshal escaped, the 200,000 odd stragglers remaining lost their will to fight and scattered like birds and beasts.

Besides, the troops from the former Wu County had plowed through countless mountain ranges to reach their destination. This was when they were at their most exhausted and weakest state, to the point that many of the soldiers just collapsed and sat down the moment they reached the destination. They were so tired that they did not even have the mood to eat, but what followed closely was the chaos of an enemy attack. Thus, many of them turned into spirits under the blade. In the time taken to boil a cup of tea, the elites of the Divine Prefecture Empire had killed a bunch of them, with it being a one-sided ma.s.sacre.

Angrily staring at the direction in which XiMen Sa had escaped, the marshal spat out while tears streamed down his face, “To think that I trudged for three days through the snow and mountains with 150,000 troops, all just to send myself to the slaughter! XiMen Sa, you can really G.o.d-d*mned run!”

The escaping XiMen Sa at this moment also had flames of fury smoldering in his eyes. In the end, those that escaped together with him numbered less than 10,000, the rest having been buried in the battlefield!

“There must be a spy within our camp! Otherwise, how could Xiao FengYang be able to choose such an opportune time to attack! This is no coincidence!” XiMen Sa screamed towards the sky, his anger unable to be concealed.

“Marshal's words are correct! For such a coincidental matter, how could it be by chance? There must indeed be a spy within the camp!” One of the generals beside him had escaped in a sorry state, his helm having fallen off in the escape. As he rode on the bare back of a warhorse, his eyes bulged in anger.

“That's right! Xiao FengYang has always been a cautious person. Without a 100% guarantee, how could he dare to bring forth his entire army? Even if you gave him twice his current guts, he still would not dare! Besides, the marshal's plans in the past were all seamless, but somehow we always managed to get trapped by Xiao FengYang unknowingly; there must be something wrong about this!” another general angrily interjected, while giving an excuse for the inability of XiMen Sa to perform previously. “If I find out which b*stard it was that betrayed us, I'll eat him alive!”

“That's right! We definitely have to look for that b*stard! That trash, cursed to give birth to a son without a b.u.t.thole! We have to slice him to a thousand pieces, and use his remains to light up a sky lantern!” the rest hollered in fury.

To be defeated in such a silly manner, it was the humiliation of a lifetime! It was no wonder that they were livid. However, n.o.body noticed at this time, that on the horse their marshal was riding, a few barely noticeable shakes could be seen.

When they finally stopped, they gathered all the soldiers that had broken free from the encirclement by Ling Feng. Seeing the group of eighty to ninety thousand all looking as though their souls had been completely scared off, XiMen Sa could only arrange them to settle down as quickly as possible, before writing a missive of forgiveness to Yu ManLou. He also wrote about his fears of having a Ling Family spy among the troops, solemnly reporting the entire matter to Yu ManLou before requesting for advice. This was something that needed to be checked, for if the Divine Prefecture Empire knew their enemy's movements like the back of their palms, then what war did they still need to fight?

XiMen Sa's missive indeed attracted heavy attention from Yu ManLou!

It was no wonder that XiMen Sa had suffered so under the hands of Xiao FengYang! If the enemy was already aware of all their troop movements, it would instead be surprising if they did not suffer a defeat! Even if he were to be the one leading the troops personally, it would not be easy to prevent any defeats.

Under such a situation, the fact that XiMen Sa was able to resist Xiao FengYang's army for such a long time, and even bring ten thousand men out when being encircled showed his talent and potential!

As such, not only did Yu ManLou not give any punishment, he sent down a sacred decree of pardon. As for the excess troops of XiMen Sa, they were to return before being re-a.s.signed roles.

However, at this point, Xiao FengYang and company were not satisfied with their loot even after settling their current battle. The main army immediately gave chase after the remaining soldiers! Their att.i.tude was one of kicking a person while he was down.