Chapter 500: The Last God of War
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Before his words could even echo in the air, Han Sanhe's expression turned cold and ruthless. He raised his right arm with deliberate gentleness. What came after were firm, determined orders.
The routed Dongxuan soldiers who were fleeing for their lives saw hope in front of them when they witnessed their comrades reassembled in a calm manner. Slowly, their madness faded away, and they endeavored to return to their troop as well. To their surprise, thousands of bowstrings were pulled taut and arrows gleamed chillingly, pointed at a high altitude, but, oddly enough, in their direction.
Many Dongxuan soldiers saw this, but they were clueless as to the purpose of this maneuver and wondered who the target was. There was still a distance between them and Yutang's pursuing troops; the latter was not even within shooting range, so would they not be shooting aimlessly?
"Teacher!"
Zhan Ge, however, felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the assembled bowmen. Han Sanhe ignored his disciple's cry and issued his order nonchalantly, "Shoot!"
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
Countless arrows blanketed the sky at once. It was not aimless shooting – Dongxuan's routed soldiers who were still pouring in from the front became the targets of this unexpected shower of arrows and succumbed with pained cries.
Just a single shower of arrows had stopped no less than ten thousand soldiers who were milling on the field. They were the last portion of Dongxuan's routed soldiers; they were also the connecting bridge between Dongxuan's troop which were getting themselves organized and Yutang's pursuing troop.
Han Sanhe had steeled himself to kill his soldiers for the sake of continued warfare, grimly severing this block of connection like a warrior who had broken his own wrist. He was utterly merciless!
As the rain of arrows stopped, the thick copper scent of blood permeated the air.
The smell of blood was common on the battlefield, but now that the source of this massive casualty was from their own men, the reactions were different. The Dongxuan army fell into an unprecedented silence.
The nature of militants was to obey commands. The thousands of archers knew what they were doing, but they had to execute the order that their superior had issued. Despite some degree of mental preparation, it had still come as a horrifying shock when the reality was laid before their eyes.
The thousands of archers were already reacting like this, thus, the other Dongxuan soldiers were even more frightened and perplexed.
"I know what you wish to say." Han Sanhe spoke without any flicker of emotion in his eyes, "You want to say that it's not too late to wait for them to reassemble. As long as we deploy the Shadow Cavalry that has returned, they would have made it back safely. Am I right?"
Zhan Ge's gaze was on the sea of the dead, watching the black stretch of corpses of his comrades, the bodies that looked so much like porcupines now. He felt his heart ache as if had been sliced apart, and for a moment, he forgot to answer his teacher.
"You have forgotten that time does not wait for us, nor for anyone else. Not only were they unable to fall into formation once they charge over, how would they be able to face Yutang's troop that were hot on their trail?"
Han Sanhe continued coldly, "There is also the more pressing fact that their so-called attempt to regroup would only disrupt the troop that has already formed their combat power. You have to realize that any disruption and small disturbance at this point in time will pave the way for grave consequences. We wouldn't have had the chance to reorganize the army."
"Then, once the enemy charges in to attack and build up their advantage, they can instigate the previous fear they triggered in their enemies once again. Then, the loss we would face would be thorough – death without burial."
"Zhan Ge!" Han Sanhe called out faintly. His voice sounded indifferent, but his tone was laced with extreme harshness.
Zhan Ge quivered when he heard him, lifting up his head in fright, "Teacher!"
"Listen carefully to me, watch seriously. This is my last lesson to you." Han Sanhe said grimly, "What follows is another lesson. This time, it is called… cultivating momentum!"
His words had not ended fully when his arm was raised again.
A loud roar suddenly exploded among his janissaries.
What followed quickly was thousands of people roaring simultaneously. The voices were earth-shattering.
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
The spirits of both the horses and all the fighters were immediately lifted at the sound of the fiery challenge.
At the very next moment, a voice hollered, "A ray of sword-light, mountains and rivers freeze!"
The voice was surprisingly stirring.
Three thousand janissaries stood as one, tall and proud. They mustered their remaining strength and cried out, "A ray of sword-light, mountains and rivers freeze!"
It was a singular voice again, "A ray of sword-light, mountains and rivers freeze!"
This time, even more people joined in the chorus, "A ray of sword-light, mountains and rivers freeze!"
It was not a hundred or a thousand, it was several tens of thousands who were echoing the words as one voice.
The lone voice did not stop there, but continued to lead the chant, "A ray of sword-light, mountains and rivers freeze!"
Over two hundred thousand Dongxuan soldiers who were already in formation actually hollered in unison, "A ray of sword-light, mountains and rivers freeze!"
Before long, everyone, the injured ones, janissaries, or routed soldiers, roared in unity, their cheers growing increasingly concerted.
It slowly gained power and certainty.
The flag was waved, and with that, the cheers stopped.
In spite of the sudden silence, Zhan Ge could clearly feel the soaring intent to do battle and the indestructible momentum condensing into form with just a few cheers. The routed soldiers who had just reformed their groups were already equipped with a towering confidence, sharper than any knife.
Zhan Ge was suddenly assured that even if Fu Baoguo had arrived with his army in tow, he could lead the battle right to him, with these men behind his back!
At that moment, Zhan Ge was filled with awe.
Han Sanhe's method of rectifying the army seemed ordinary, decent at most, but to be able to achieve this sense of unity during a time of loss was simply magical. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
On the opposite end of the field, Yutang's cavalry appeared as expected amidst a layer of smog. Their aura was that of starved wolves and tigers.
Han Sanhe's eyes were squinted as he said, "The momentum has been formed, but the combat power still isn't complete; I am unable to take these men into battle. Now, this is the third lesson I'm teaching you. It will also be the last lesson I teach you in this lifetime."
"This lesson is called sacrifice."
Zhan Ge quickly raised his head to look at Han Sanhe and stuttered, "Teacher, you…"
Han Sanhe's squinted eyes remained trained on the advancing army.
A rapid galloping could suddenly be heard as a large, red cloud preceded Yutang's cavalry. In only a few breaths, it had traveled a vast distance came to a halt in front of Dongxuan's troop.
As the red cloud arrived, a voice brimming with murderous intent rang out loud, "Han Sanhe, since you have come, are you still thinking of leaving?"
A large, well-built and incredibly handsome red charger came into view.
The red steed was at least one and a half heads higher than a common horse, reaching a height of nearly twenty-five feet. It was red all over and looked remarkably like a ball of burning flame.
The horse's eyes were alive with emotion. As their gazes intersected, Dongxuan's army felt a vague sense of disgust. Was the horse disgusted with them?
It was a mere horse, but the feeling it exuded was unmistakeably critical - it seemed to be judging the two hundred thousand men that stood before it.
The horse stood there, its red mane fluttering in the air like a flickering fire. It was watching the army, as if saying, "You are all trash."
On the horse, a person sat tall and proud, his gaze similarly prideful and disdainful. His face was incredibly handsome and well-sculpted, one that put anyone who saw him to shame; he was lean and graceful, his purple gown fluttered softly in the wind. However, his cold, electricity-like gaze was filled with boundless iciness. He scanned the Dongxuan army before finally focusing his gaze on Han Sanhe.
The bright and shiny long saber in the person's grip was still blinking with the radiance of blood, while his face wore the faint hint of a cruel smile.
Han Sanhe's chuckle was peaceful and filled with humor. He looked at Yun Yang in admiration and said with a smile, "It is Young Master Yun's honorable arrival. It looks like this old man wasn't mistaken after all. Young Master is no ordinary person."
Yun Yang smiled faintly. "Yun Yang is also very elated to be regarded so highly by Marshal Han."
Han Sanhe's calmness in this meeting surprised Yun Yang, he thought it was rather unusual for a man who was surrounded by an army to be so collected.
Han Sanhe felt Yun Yang's divine sense wrapping itself around him; he was unable to shake it off. He could not help the sense of awe that arose in his chest. Other than being the world's recognized God of War, Han Sanhe was also rather achieved in his cultivation base; he was no weaker than Old Marshal Qiu or Leng Daoyin, reaching the ace level of the peak realm.
Furthermore, judging by his potential, Dongxuan would lose a God of War but might very well gain a heaven realm cultivator if he had concentrated on his cultivation instead of warfare!
In spite of this, Han Sanhe had cultivated his energy and deific consciousness to his best effort but was still unable to free himself from Yun Yang's grip. The only reason was, of course, Yun Yang's cultivation base was much higher than Han Sanhe's and had even gotten to a height that exceeded his knowledge.
Not only was Han Sanhe shocked, the handful of experts beside him were equally taken aback.
Had this youthful Young Master Yun already reached a heaven realm cultivation base?