Chapter 465: Outstanding results
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Everyone was stunned when they heard what Canyang said.
It was obvious...
Neither Canyang nor Fang Zhengzhi was dead. Ordinarily, the two of them should continue fighting!
What was happening?
One went to try on armor from a corpse whilst the other is talking about exchanging hostages?
All of the soldiers looked at each other and saw nothing but confusion in each other's eyes.
The only explanation they could come up with was...
The two of them must be crazy...
How else could you explain what was happening?
No one could understand.
Countless eyes stared at Canyang.
They could only wait for the answer to be revealed.
Perhaps the answer would lie in Canyang's next move or Chi Guyan's answer.
Chi Guyan's hair and pink dress danced in the wind.
"Okay." Chi Guyan nodded without hesitation. She proposed no terms of her own, almost as if she had already expected this.
"Mm." Canyang nodded.
There were no unnecessary words or emotions. Chi Guyan looked as calm as ever.
All of the soldiers couldn't believe their eyes.
"What is happening?"
"It's done?!"
"That's all?"
Every soldier on the battlefield, regardless of demon or human, were utterly confused.
This was unbelievable!
If things were that simple, what was the point of the battle just now? Countless humans and demons had died for nothing!
They couldn't understand it...
Until...
They heard a ruckus behind them.
It was definitely from some distance away. It came from the direction of the Iron Hill Settlement, and the noises were approaching quickly.
However, when the soldiers heard the noises, their expressions changed.
The demons tensed up.
The soldiers of the joint forces heaved a sigh of relief, a huge weight lifted off their shoulders.
One could see joy and relief in their eyes. Victory was assured.
After an entire day of grueling battle...
The reinforcements had arrived.
Even though this was only the vanguard, the arrival of these soldiers meant that the battle was over.
At this point...
Everyone finally understood why Canyang would propose the idea of exchanging hostages to Chi Guyan.
They also understood why the exchange went so smoothly.
Because...
The battle was meaningless at this point.
The result was clear.
Any battle now would result in heavy losses on all sides. This was something that no one wanted to partake in.
In a battle to the death between two powerhouses...
There will be one who will emerge victorious.
However, if one was not significantly stronger than the other, then any victory would be pyrrhic and would not last very long.
In fact...
It was rare for armies to fight battles that they knew would result in pyrrhic victories.
One of the rare examples was the battle outside the Great Xia's capital.
It was a brutal battle.
A battle which neither the demons nor the humans wanted to think about. They didn't want history to repeat itself.
"Master, you..." Yun Qingwu could hear the noises from afar, but she chose to ignore them. She didn't give the withdrawal order either.
She looked at Canyang. There were no tears in her eyes, but she was slightly worried.
Canyang didn't advice Yun Qingwu to give the order for withdrawal either. He extended his hand and ruffled Yun Qingwu's hair.
The demons stayed in their positions.
The soldiers of the joint forces gripped their weapons in anticipation.
This was the final defence.
They could not let down their guard until the reinforcements arrived.
The tension in the air was thick...
Shan Ling was extremely nervous. He could hear the reinforcements coming, but he didn't know if they were Southern Region soldiers or Great Xia soldiers!
There was only one person who didn't seem nervous.
That person was Fang Zhengzhi.
After donning his armor, Fang Zhengzhi tidied his hair, wiggled his hips, then walked over to Ping Yang.
"Let's go." Fang Zhengzhi's lips twitched.
"Go? Where?" Ping Yang asked doubtfully.
"Rubbish! I've had a long night of fighting! I'm famished, aren't you?" Fang Zhengzhi chided.
Ping Yang stared blankly at Fang Zhengzhi. She knew that this fella had just eaten.
"You... you're not full?" Ping Yang asked doubtfully.
"Idiot!" Fang Zhengzhi couldn't be bothered to entertain her with an answer.
"Idiot!"
Fang Zhengzhi's voice echoed throughout the entire battlefield.
The Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army knew some of the history between Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi. As such, they weren't too surprised by Fang Zhengzhi's tone.
However, the Southern Region soldiers were completely floored.
Disrespect...
Disrespecting a Princess?
Hang on...
He disrespected Princess Shan Yu before as well!
All of the Southern Region soldiers shook their heads disapprovingly.
Fang Zhengzhi ignored the reactions of the soldiers. He turned to look at Chi Guyan.
"Are you eating?" Fang Zhengzhi asked impatiently.
"I will eat if you're cooking." Chi Guyan nodded after some thought.
"Me? I don't even have the ingredients to cook." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head, pointing to his chest as he did so.
"I got some from the last time I was at your house." Chi Guyan produced a small, exquisite wooden box.
There were more than 10 compartments inside, each one containing a different colored powder.
All of the soldiers were stunned when they saw Chi Guyan take out that small wooden box.
They weren't surprised by the box...
They were stunned by her words.
His house?
What was she saying?
Of course...
That wasn't the main point. The current situation was still tense... why was Fang Zhengzhi talking about food?
Why did he drag Chi Guyan into the conversation?
They were still at war! How could the two of them talk about food whilst they were at war?
Most importantly...
Canyang didn't seem to be angered by it. It was almost as if he didn't hear the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.
Did he forget what Fang Zhengzhi did to him in The Vast World? Even though he could heal very quickly as a Sage, could he really tolerate being humiliated in that way?
Definitely not!
What had happened at that moment? What happened in The Vast World?
"Girls are so annoying..."
Fang Zhengzhi ignored the gazes of those around him. His eyes glittered when he saw Chi Guyan's box of spices, but he tried to play it off.
"Then I want some too!" Ping Yang couldn't resist the temptation. Her eyes glowed in anticipation.
"None for you." Fang Zhengzhi replied.
"Humph, why not? The ingredients are Sister Yan's and you are using her ingredients to cook! Half of it is hers, if I, as a princess..."
"I told you before, don't use your rank with me. That belongs in the palace. When you speak to me, address yourself as 'I'." Fang Zhengzhi interrupted.
"I want some!" Ping Yang replied.
"Fine." Fang Zhengzhi waved her off, then began walking towards the gates of the Iron Hill Settlement.
Chi Guyan and Ping Yang followed behind.
The Southern Region soldiers couldn't believe what was happening. They never expected Canyang to let Fang Zhengzhi go.
However...
The fact was that Canyang had no intention of stopping Fang Zhengzhi.
"Oi, shameless fella, why didn't that blind old man come over? Why isn't he trying to kill you? What secret did you two share?" Ping Yang kept watching Canyang as she walked to the Iron Hill Settlement, but Canyang didn't move.
Ping Yang couldn't resist it any longer.
"Idiot." Fang Zhengzhi replied with disdain.
"You scold me again? Don't think that you're a big shot just because you did something great! Aiya... to be honest, you did save us all this time. Even though you couldn't defeat Canyang, you managed to hold out until the reinforcements arrived. Your feat was witnessed by so many people. I think the Emperor will come to the city gates to welcome you back this time. Do you believe me?"
Ping Yang pouted initially, but when she recalled what Fang Zhengzhi did, she beamed radiantly.
It was almost as if she had done it herself.
"Welcome me at the gates? What use is that? I would rather he give me some gems, oh, no, some treasures would be good. I lost so much blood..."
"What do you know? Ordinarily, only the victorious commander gets welcomed by the Emperor. That usually happens at the gates of the palace! To have him welcome you at the gates to the city is a huge honor! How dare you ask for treasure?" Ping Yang replied scornfully.
"Honor is meaningless, treasure is the way to go." Fang Zhengzhi retorted.
"What about a promotion? If I am not wrong, you will definitely be promoted. Let me see... it wouldn't be too much to make you a rank one minister. However, since you lack experience, rank one... may be too much. Rank two should be no problem though. You could be a nobleman, and a hereditary one at that!" Ping Yang said excitedly.
"Hereditary nobility?" Fang Zhengzhi's heart fluttered.
He didn't care much for the promotion, but hereditary nobility was a different story altogether.
It was equivalent to becoming a member of the noble elite.
If he was a night, he could give his mother a position as well. His father... it was quite good.
Fang Zhengzhi didn't care how high those positions were.
They would all be paid for their jobs.
In other words, he would be handed a golden rice bowl. All they had to do was collect their salary every month, even if they did nothing.
How wonderful!
He salivated just thinking about it.
If he returned to the village with a hereditary nobility, all of the villagers would wet themselves.
Fang Zhengzhi smiled radiantly when he thought about this.
When Ping Yang saw this.
Her excitement turned into scorn.
"What's the big deal about it? Isn't it just a knighthood?" Ping Yang retorted. Then, she added, "Oi, shameless fella, you haven't told me. What happened between you and Canyang? Why didn't he kill you?"
"If I am correct, Canyang did what he did for Yun Qingwu." Chi Guyan's voice rang out as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.
"Yun Qingwu? What has sparing Fang Zhengzhi got to do with Yun Qingwu?" Ping Yang was confused.