Half a month later.
…
At the Nine Zhang Plain, in the command tent.
A group of marshals and several commander-level generals stood on either side, their expressions dejected. Marshal Lin Zhao sat on the command seat, silent.
"Marshal Lin!"
A commander, whose face bore old scars from a demon race's claw mark, frowned and asked, "Will this strategy work? Give us a definitive answer. We've been at a stalemate with the demon race here for over two months. We neither fight nor retreat, and the consumption of provisions and supplies is immense. If this continues, it will likely drag the entire Great Shang Dynasty to its knees!"
"Zhang Jinyu!"
Chu Huaixi frowned. "Watch your tone!"
"What's wrong?"
The commander named Zhang Jinyu raised his eyebrows. "Marshal Lin's strategy has problems, and we can't talk about it? If this strategy could win, we would have won long ago. Like this, the three armies are lax, and the morale is about to waver. Who will be responsible?"
"Zhang Jinyu."
Lin Zhao looked at the commander and said, "In this command tent, it seems you are the only one undermining the morale."
"I..."
Zhang Jinyu's brows were tightly furrowed, and he wanted to argue further.
"Zhang Jinyu, shut up!"
Old Marshal Chen Wanli said coldly, "Sit down and listen to Marshal Lin's arrangements."
"Yes, Old Marshal!"
Zhang Jinyu sat down resentfully.
Lin Zhao's expression was solemn. He had not expected the demon race and the demon race to be so patient. Millions of troops had been confronting each other for two months. The demon race clearly had an absolute advantage, but they had endured and not attacked. It seemed that the demon race's beautiful strategist, Yu Zhi, had caught a scent of something. What terrifying insight! Since the demon race did not make a move, the demon race and the ghost race would only watch from the sidelines, and no one would make a rash move.
"The demon race's command tent must have sensed something."
Lin Zhao glanced at everyone and said, "We need to find a way to make the demon race attack voluntarily."
"What way?"
Shao Shi Yu asked.
"How about this..."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and said, "Old Marshal Chen, arrange for the human race's top five-realm experts to attack when the opportunity arises. Do not enter the demon race's command tent. Hunt down demon race soldiers or cultivators in the wilderness outside the command tent. Continuously harass the opponent while ensuring your own safety, so that the demon race's command tent cannot remain calm."
"Alright!"
Chen Wanli nodded with a smile. "I know what to do."
"I volunteer."
In the command tent, the only thirteen-realm Grand Cultivator, Qin Yushan, stood up, cupped his fists, and said, "Marshal Lin, leave the matter of the top five realms going into battle to me. I will personally guard the front line. With me here, our top five realms will not be in any danger. Even if the great demon Bai Lan draws his sword, I am confident I can make him attack fruitlessly."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Then I'll trouble you, Commander Qin!"
"You're too kind!"
…
In the following days, the human race continuously sent out their top five-realm experts to fly. Some would unleash a surge of sword energy to decapitate distant demon race cultivators, while others would cast spells to turn a patrol of demon soldiers into a shower of blood. Or, martial artists would ascend into the air, smashing the heads of mid-five-realm demon cultivators with a single punch. In front of the Tianchi army camp at Nine Zhang Plain, two thirteen-realm Grand Cultivators stood guard: the old sword immortal Lu Xinghe from Fusu Great Wall and Qin Yushan. With them present, even though the demon race shot a blood-red feathered arrow to hunt down a human True Return realm sword cultivator, it was useless. The old sword immortal cut it down with a single sword.
Inside the demon race's command tent, the atmosphere was oppressive. Da Feng Novel Network.
"Bang!"
With a loud crash, the great demon Yu Zhi's snow-white jade hand slammed onto the bronze table, making it hum. She was furious and said, "These past few days, the human race's top five realms have been constantly harassing us. It must be Lin Zhao's trick again!"
"Hmph!"
A twelve-realm great demon roared, "In the past few days, over a thousand of our demon brothers have been killed. This includes even a True Return realm. That True Return realm brother had only gone out for a midnight pee. In the cold wind, he was blindsided. Three eleven-realm and two twelve-realm human cultivators attacked together. That brother didn't even see who they were before his head was chopped off. Is this necessary? What deep-seated hatred do they have?"
Another eleven-realm demon cultivator gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, our demon soldiers on patrol are being hunted down in batches. They were just a group of lower-five-realm little demons, and the opponents dispatched a twelve-realm sword cultivator with his natal flying sword to attack them. The human race's treachery and shamelessness have exceeded my lifetime experience!"
"Scoundrel!"
An eleven-realm demon warrior, his arm injured and bandaged across his chest, roared, "My own brother was killed by them. Last night, I wanted to get revenge. As soon as I stepped out of the camp gate, I was struck by a sword from the thirteen-realm sword immortal Lu Xinghe. This is simply too much!"
"Hateful!"
A group of top five-realm demon cultivators were filled with indignation.
"Enough, everyone."
Yu Zhi narrowed her beautiful eyes and said, "What's the use of just cursing here? Do you think your scolding here will curse Lu Xinghe and Qin Yushan to death?"
"My Lady!"
A refined-looking twelve-realm fox demon man cupped his fists and smiled, "Indeed, it is meaningless to curse behind closed doors. We should think about how to deal with the human race's assassination strategy."
"Should we also draw our swords?"
The great demon Bai Lan narrowed his eyes and sneered, "It's not as if only Lu Xinghe has a sword. I have one too. In terms of sword dao foundation, I wouldn't even put two Lu Xinghe's together in my eyes."
"Not necessarily."
Yu Zhi said with a faint smile, "Although Lord Bai Lan is very strong, don't forget that the human race doesn't just rely on a few thirteen-realm experts, but also on the formation beneath our feet..."
She extended a finger like a jade onion and pointed downwards, smiling. "This is a 'Soldier Immortal's Absolute Array' set up by the Soldier Immortal Han Xin before he left. Within this array, our demon cultivators' realms will be greatly suppressed. Conversely, within the Soldier Immortal's Absolute Array, human cultivators' realms will be slightly elevated by half a realm. With this difference, even if Lord Bai Lan is at the peak of the thirteen-realm, he may not be Lu Xinghe's match."
Bai Lan frowned. This was indeed the case, but he was unwilling to admit it. Otherwise, given Bai Lan's personality, he would have gone to challenge Lu Xinghe two days ago.
"Then what should we do?"
A great demon gritted his teeth. "Are we going to continue being millennium turtles, hiding our heads? Where has our demon race's might gone? Twenty command tents, millions of our mighty demon army, are being blocked by a small Snow Domain Tianchi?"
"Hold your temper."
Yu Zhi frowned. "Otherwise, if you want to die, go charge into the human race's battle formation by yourself. I won't stop you."
The great demon grumbled and fell silent.
…
Another ten days passed in the blink of an eye. The demon race remained hidden and did not emerge, basically not showing their faces in the command tents.
Late at night.
Lin Zhao, clad in a snow-white marshal's cloak, rode out with Chen Wanli and Huang Tingyu to patrol the battlefield. On the west side of the Nine Zhang Plain, a peak rose from the ground, which was Luoxia Peak. This perilous peak once housed a human beacon tower, but now that the front line had extended northward, this beacon tower had lost its significance.
In the snow, Lin Zhao looked up at Luoxia Peak. After a long while, he suddenly smiled.
"What is it?"
Chen Wanli chuckled. "Thought of another bad idea?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded and said, "Old Marshal, if the Great Shang Dynasty's Ministry of Works' cannons were mounted on Luoxia Peak, how far do you think they could bombard the demon race's command tents?"
"This..."
Chen Wanli frowned. "I'm afraid they could bombard the demon race's positions at least ten li away."
"Is there a way to move the cannons up to Luoxia Peak?"
Lin Zhao smiled. "If it's possible, transport more cannons to Luoxia Peak and let the demon race taste the might of human cannons. Additionally, dispatch a cavalry of fifty thousand to ambush south of Luoxia Peak. If the demon race dares to seize the mountain, we will intercept them."
"Although the cannons are heavy, many of our human cultivators are adept at moving mountains and clearing away ridges. It won't take too long to transport the cannons up the mountain."
"Then let's act overnight. Old Marshal, you go move the cannons, and I'll gather fifty thousand cavalry?"
"Agreed!"
…
Late at night, the thunderous roars of "peng peng peng" resounded through a demon race's military tent near the southeast. Within the tent, blooming fiery flowers rose, and countless naked demon soldiers who hadn't had time to put on their clothes rushed out of the camp, only to be blown into a pile of flesh and blood by the cannons.
"What's happening again!?"
An eleven-realm great demon rushed out of the tent, roaring, "Can't we even live properly anymore?"
"My Lord, it's the human race's heavy artillery!"
A guard rushed forward and shouted, "Human cannonballs are raining down from the sky, killing many of our brothers!"
"Where are they coming from?"
The great demon turned, squinted his eyes towards the sky, and saw flames spitting from Luoxia Peak. The attack was coming from there. At that moment, the great demon turned, drew his saber, and said angrily, "Brothers of the vanguard camp, follow me, and level Luoxia Peak! Not a single human attacker on that mountain will escape!"
"My Lord!"
A demon commander frowned. "Should we inform Lady Yu Zhi first? Otherwise, it might be quite troublesome to deploy troops without authorization."
"Where is there time to request permission from above? The humans are already defecating and urinating on our heads. I can't stand it!"
…
Late at night, nearly fifty thousand elite demon soldiers marched out of the camp and headed straight for Luoxia Peak.
Just as they surrounded Luoxia Peak, the sound of iron hooves shaking the earth came from behind them. In the night sky, countless human cavalry from Western Shu arrived in a mighty force. In an instant, the sounds of swords slicing through flesh and horses trampling demons echoed. A completely unprepared demon force was ambushed from the rear by fifty thousand Western Shu cavalry, and the outcome was predictable.
By dawn.
The fifty thousand demon troops were routed and pursued by the Western Shu cavalry. Apart from some mid-five-realm demon cultivators, most were killed. When they returned to the camp, only less than five hundred of the fifty thousand remained. Even the eleven-realm great demon was severely wounded by a distant sword strike from Lu Xinghe. Upon returning to camp, he even considered hanging himself, but eleven-realm cultivators were usually hard to kill by hanging, so he could only go to the command tent to confess his sins.
"Bang!"
In the early morning, Yu Zhi, the beautiful demon strategist, clad in fiery red marshal's armor, slammed her hand onto the bronze table again, her apricot eyes wide with anger. "This is infuriating!"