Chapter 431: Just jump
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
...
The gates of the Iron Hill Settlement were now a bloody battlefield.
Blood sprayed into the air, landing on the floor as red droplets of rain, staining the black walls of the Iron hill Settlement red.
Countless demon soldiers in black armor gathered at the foot of the walls. Each one of them raised a huge shield to block the rain of arrows.
Screams punctuated the air.
Every so often, the scream would originate from the top of the wall. As the soldiers of the Southern Region were shooting at the Demons, they were being shot at as well.
A hail of arrows rained down from the walls.
But this was quickly answered by another hail of arrows shot from the bottom up. Every now and then, the two waves of arrows will clash, resulting in crisp rings of metal.
War...
Was brutal.
Death was to be expected. In a siege, a life was lost in the blink of an eye.
The demons lunged at the Iron Hill Settlement like a ferocious beast, carrying with them an intense killing aura. They crashed into the walls of the settlement.
There was a spot of white in this sea of black.
Almost like a lotus flower in the chaos, or a rock standing amidst torrential rain... Yun Qingwu stood in the middle of it all.
She stood at the entrance to the settlement, a pure blue light hovering above her head. No demon dared to step within a one-meter radius of her.
She did not give any orders, neither did she move.
However, General Mu's gaze never left Yun Qingwu for a moment. He knew exactly what Yun Qingwu was doing.
As long as she was at the gate...
Then...
The morale of the demons will never falter. Countless demons will launch wave after wave of attacks against the settlement, laying down their lives to pave a road into the city.
"General, the demons have been attacking for over two hours and we have suffered heavy losses. Would you consider drawing reinforcements from the other gates?" A voice rang out.
"No, continue holding the gate!" General Mu replied without hesitation.
"Yes, sir!" The voice disappeared.
General Mu did not bother taking a second look at the messenger. He clenched his fists and his knuckles whitened. He was on the verge of stabbing himself with his fingernails.
He knew that he could not hold out much longer, but what could he do? He had no other choice!
Even though drawing reinforcements from the other gates seemed like a decent idea...
He would just be delaying the inevitable. Should the demons flank them, it may even result in the settlement falling even faster.
The demons were attacking fanatically.
However, they were only attacking with one formation. The other formation of soldiers had not even moved. In other words...
The cavalry had yet to join the battle!
General Mu was certain that if he drew reinforcements from the other gates, the cavalry would punish that decision instantly.
The city would fall.
He was caught between a rock and a hard place.
His mission here was to delay the demon army. As such, he could not make any risky decisions.
He had to hold out for as long as he could!
This way...
General Mu had already played right into Yun Qingwu's hands. By attacking only one gate, she would suffer fewer losses.
She wanted to preserve as much of the strength of the army as possible.
General Mu knew this, but he could not do anything to change the fact! He couldn't meet them out on the open plains! Neither could he transfer troops from the other gates to reinforce the defence here.
He was at a loss...
The only thing he could do was watch as he played right into Yun Qingwu's hand, trying to hold out as long as possible.
"General, we have lost about 3200 men, also..." Before long, another voice rang out by General Mu's side.
"I understand, give the order for them to keep up the defence!" General Mu nodded and grit his teeth.
"Yes, general!" The voice disappeared into the chaos below.
In the short span of two hours...
The 20,000 strong defence at this gate was shaved by more than 30%. This number didn't include the wounded!
No way!
If this went on, he would not be able to hold out for another two hours.
General Mu knew that the defence would get harder as time went on. His soldiers would be plagued by injuries and fatigue.
Based on the way the demons were attacking...
They would not stop until the city was broken.
What was he to do?
General Mu's mission was to guard the Iron Hill Settlement and delay the advance of the demon army. He was supposed to buy two days of time...
But now, even six hours seemed like a stretch.
Was he supposed to sacrifice all 80,000 soldiers in the defence of this city?
General Mu did not want to see that happen, but he had no choice. Even though the lives of 80,000 soldiers was a hefty price to pay...
It was worth it if it was in exchange for a chance for the Southern Region to survive.
"Brave warriors of the Southern Region! I, Mu Xutie, do not have anything more to say. All I have to say is, we live for as long as the country lives. We die if it falls! This battle concerns the survival of the Southern Region! What do you say?" General Mu drew the blades on his back.
At the same time, he stepped on the wall and knocked off one of the demons. He was so fast his arms looked like a meteor.
That demon didn't even have the chance to react. It screamed in pain as it fell to the ground.
"Die!"
"Guard the settlement with our lives!"
"Over our dead bodies!"
The Southern Region soldiers were all inspired after seeing General Mu leap onto the walls of the settlement. However, one of them was quickly felled by an arrow.
"General, there... there are reinforce... reinforcements..." One of the Southern Region soldiers rushed over, panting.
"Scram, don't bother me, I am going to fight it out of the demons today!" General Mu glared as he waved his wolf toothed weapons, ignoring the messenger.
"General, we... have reinforcements!"
"Scram... Wait! What did you just say? Reinforcements? Where did they come from?"
"It's the princess and Crown Prince Shan Ling. The settlement chiefs, including Shi Zun and Thunderous Lion, are with them... and... and people from the Great Xia..."
"What?! The Princess is here?! And so is the Crown Prince? The Great Xia... could it be that they reached an agreement?" General Mu was stumped.
"They should be reaching soon!"
"Here? No, that cannot happen! They cannot be in the line of fire!" General Mu was just about to stop the messenger when he felt pain in his chest.
There was an arrow sticking out of his chest.
"General, general!"
"The general has been hit!"
"Protect the general!"
All of the Southern Region soldiers in the vicinity rushed over to assist their wounded general.
"Don't bother about me, guard the city! Guard the city!" General Mu glared as he snapped the arrow in half, kicking one of his own soldiers away.
"I will command the defence of the city!" A voice rang out some distance away. A lady in a leather skirt appeared in front of the crowd.
"Princess!"
"It's the princess!"
"The princess is here!"
"The Crown Prince is here too!"
"Greetings your highnesses!"
All of the Southern Region soldiers and leaders were excited to see the arrival of these two royalties. There was light at the end of the tunnel.
However, General Mu was still in pain.
He knew what kind of situation they were faced with. To see Princess Shan Yu and the Crown Prince now was not a good thing.
"Get someone to help General Mu to the medic!" Princess Shan Yu ignored the cheers and walked over to General Mu.
"Princess, I can still defend this position!"
"What rubbish are you talking? Just go!"
"Yes... thank you, your highness!"
...
Yun Qingwu locked eyes with a pair of black eyes on the top of the settlement walls. She saw anger in those eyes.
However...
She was not affected by that fury. She did not feel any guilt for what she did.
Princess Shan Yu looked back at Yun Qingwu.
However, her eyes were focused on the patch of blue above Yun Qingwu's head.
"The Heavenly Rebirth Dao?!" Princess Shan Yu squinted. She had wanted to ask General Mu what was happening.
However, upon seeing the Heavenly Rebirth Dao and a calm Yun Qingwu, she finally understood what kind of enemy General Mu had been up against.
"Crown Prince, Princess, what do we do now?" A middle-aged man whispered as he walked to their sides, spying the blue light above Yun Qingwu's head.
"Half sage huh?" Shan Ling clenched his fists, his eyes glimmering icily, "I would like to see what he can do!"
"I suggest that you don't..." Just as Shan Ling was preparing to issue a challenge, a figure in white appeared by his side.
Nangong Hao's white academic attire danced lightly in the wind, the blade on his back glowing.
"Are you saying..." Shan Ling wanted to say something to rebut Nangong Hao, but he swallowed his words.
Because...
He felt a wave of confidence.
This was an inexplicable confidence. Under such circumstances, he should not have such confidence, but Nangong Hao did.
Just at that moment, Xing Yuanguo, dressed in a purplish golden robe, also walked to the wall. Xing Qingsui was by his side.
"Heavenly Rebirth Dao?" Xing Yuanguo's gaze froze as he saw the blue light above Yun Qingwu's head.
"My lord, what do you think?" Nangong Hao asked respectfully when he saw Xing Yuanguo walk over.
"Haha... I think that we have the same idea." Xing Yuanguo smiled when he saw the look in Nangong Hao's eyes.
He too was confident.
It was almost as though he felt like the demons in front of him were weaklings. It was almost as though there was no half sage amongst them.
This was an aura that they embodied.
However, the settlement chiefs, Shan Ling, and Princess Shan Yu could not understand it.
What were Nangong Hao and Xing Yuanguo so confident about?
They had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and a half sage in their midst. Where were they getting their confidence from?
Shan Ling couldn't figure it out.
Neither could the settlement chiefs nor Princess Shan Yu. The soldiers fighting for their lives were equally confused.
"If that is the case, I'll make my move first." Nangong Hao ignored the gazes from the Southern Region soldiers as he bowed to Xing Yuanguo.
Then, he leapt off the wall...
...
If there was anything that could shock Shan Ling, it would be Nangong Hao's actions.
He had thought of many possibilities when he saw Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Hao come up to the wall. He had thought that Xing Yuanguo would negotiate for better terms...
Or ask to be given command of the defence.
Shan Ling had told himself that he would agree to all the terms that Xing Yuanguo proposed, but he never expected Xing Yuanguo to talk to Nangong Hao the moment he came up.
More importantly, after their conversation, Nangong Hao just...
Jumped down onto the battlefield?
Shan Ling had no idea what Nangong Hao was thinking. He did not even know what Nangong Hao was doing.
Jumping off the settlement wall? What the hell was going on? Did he not see the sea of black that awaited him below?