"Not right."
In the handsome tent, Lin Zhao felt uneasy. The wind and snow grew heavier at night, and the cavalry patrolling outside the camp had returned. Lin Zhao, however, summoned his Snow Rock War Horse, drew his sword, and left the camp. Behind him, Xu Zhi, Mu Zha, and Xiang Ji followed, and even Xu Shuo leaped up, following with a gleam of sword light.
They all stopped and looked into the distance from the edge of the cliff on the north mountain.
Lin Zhao, as a player, had very ordinary vision and had lost the eyesight of his former eight-realm martial artist. He could only ask Xu Zhi beside him, "Is something happening in the direction of Jiuzhangyuan?"
"Mm!"
Xu Zhi nodded heavily, "The demon race is... digging on Jiuzhangyuan, as if searching for something. Strange..."
Mu Zha said, "Could they be digging for the remnants of treasures lost on Jiuzhangyuan back then?"
"If they wanted to dig, they would have done it long ago, why now."
Lin Zhao frowned, unable to make sense of it.
Xu Shuo, as an outsider, simply smiled faintly, "I heard that the Demon Ancestor Mountain recently dispatched an eleven-realm strategist to the Ninth Army Corps to assist Bai Ye. That eleven-realm strategist is called Shi Jungang, a favored figure before the Demon Ancestor, groomed as the future pillar of the demon race. This Shi Jungang... is greedy and cunning. Could it be her poisonous scheme?"
Lin Zhao's heart sank. The doubts and clues he had originally conceived began to fade, and the truth he had inferred began to emerge. Shi Jungang was setting a trap, luring him in. The person she wanted to hunt was most likely Chu Yu of the refugee army. Recalling the recent signs of the demon race shrinking their forces, this inference became increasingly clear.
"Xu Zhi."
Lin Zhao frowned, "Can you sense the aura of Chu Yu and the refugee army?"
"The wind is strong and the snow is heavy, the auras are too chaotic, I can't sense them for the moment."
Xu Zhi tried to calm her heart, but she couldn't. "My lord, is something big about to happen?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao looked to the north, "What the demon race is seeking is likely the remains of the thousands of brothers from the Heavenly Lake Army back then. Perhaps, what the demon race is truly looking for is the remains of Commander Chu."
"Ah!?"
Xu Zhi and Mu Zha were horrified.
Xiang Ji also felt a chill in his heart. The demon race was cruel and violent, and there was truly nothing they wouldn't do.
Lin Zhao meticulously sorted out and inferred various threads. "After Shi Jungang arrived at the Ninth Army Corps, she identified two major threats: one is us, and the other is Chu Yu. But she wants to achieve the greatest results at the smallest cost, so she intends to defeat us one by one. There are two upper five-realm experts in the Snow Region Heavenly Lake, so the difficulty of the demon race attacking the mountain is not low. Therefore, they plan to eliminate Chu Yu's human force first, and then surround and annihilate the Snow Region Heavenly Lake with heavy troops. As for the remains of the Heavenly Lake Army soldiers and Commander Chu, they should be bait to lure Chu Yu into the trap."
Xu Shuo nodded with a pleased smile. Lin Baiyi of the Snow Region Heavenly Lake truly lived up to his reputation. Within such a short period, he had deduced so much. In the ancestral court of military strategy, few people would possess such ability.
"What do we do now?"
Mu Zha's delicate brows furrowed. "We can't just watch Chu Yu lead her people to their deaths, can we?"
"Naturally, we must save them."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath. "Xiang Ji, go immediately and gather all our men. Prepare to descend the mountain to reinforce Chu Yu's team!"
"Yes, my lord!"
...
The snow stretched across the sky. This snowy night in the Snow Region Heavenly Lake was destined for a fierce battle.
After Lin Zhao, Xu Zhi, Mu Zha, and others descended the north mountain, only Xu Shuo remained in the camp. He did not go with them, fearing he might not be able to resist drawing his sword if he did. As for the battle at Jiuzhangyuan, he was not particularly worried. With Xu Zhi and Mu Zha, both upper five-realm experts, there should be no major issues. The opposing Ninth Army Corps had only a handful of eleven-realm experts. And Xu Zhi was an outstanding figure among the eleven-realm experts. With all ten of her Demon Soul Swords in the north, among a crowd of eleven-realm experts, she was like a deity, and there was no need to worry.
Xu Shuo stood on the watchtower of the camp, his sleeves folded, gazing north, with a cold demeanor. In his mind, he pondered whether he should draw his sword if the demon race was reinforced by twelfth or thirteenth realm great demons, and what the consequences would be. His master loved him dearly, so he wouldn't want to expel him from the sect, would he?
Upon careful consideration, damn it, that old man was ruthless, there was nothing he wouldn't do.
Meanwhile, to the northeast of the Snow Region Heavenly Lake, a cavalry force of humans broke through the wind and snow, heading straight for Jiuzhangyuan. The female general at the forefront, her cloak fluttering, exuded a powerful aura of fist intent. It was Chu Yu, followed by the more than 1,200 refugee soldiers she led, one of the strongest human forces in the northern region.
The thought that her father's remains might be unearthed at any moment made Chu Yu anxious.
"Accelerate!"
She gritted her teeth, "March at the fastest speed. Jiuzhangyuan is almost here!"
"Commander Chu, be careful of an ambush!"
A young centurion frowned, "It's impossible for the demon race to reveal to us, without reason, that they want to dig up the remains of human soldiers on Jiuzhangyuan. They are just luring us into a trap!"
"No matter what, we cannot let them find my father's remains!"
Chu Yu rode her horse rapidly, her mind in disarray.
In the blink of an eye, Jiuzhangyuan was within sight. The moment Chu Yu led her troops up the slope of Jiuzhangyuan, arrows rained down from the hilltops on both sides. Arrows pierced armor and flesh, and blood splattered. In an instant, dozens of refugee cavalrymen fell from their horses. Chu Yu rose bravely, unleashing two waves of fist energy, knocking over the demon soldiers ambushing on both sides, and said in a deep voice, "So what if there's an ambush?! Charge through for me!"
"Onward!"
A group of people charged towards Jiuzhangyuan. An old soldier pointed into the distance and said in a deep voice, "Commander Chu, the old commander's tomb is over there... Lin Zhao buried it with his own hands."
"Charge!"
"Yes!"
...
In the swirling snow, two figures appeared on a majestic mountain on Jiuzhangyuan. They were Bai Ye and Shi Jungang. The two squinted, watching Chu Yu lead her army into the trap. Bai Ye's lips curled into a smile, and he said, "Sister Shi is amazing. Back then, Lin Zhao sacrificed his Dragon Slaying Sword and his life to lure our demon race into a trap. Now, with just a few words, Sister Shi has made Chu Yu lead her troops to their deaths. It seems... in terms of schemes and layouts, Sister Shi is far superior to Lin Zhao!"
Shi Jungang's gaze was calm. "Lin Zhao's layout had its own brilliance. We demons were too hasty back then, otherwise we wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat. If we could have a do-over, I would let Lin Zhao know the consequences of playing mind games with the demon race. I would make him exhaust the entire human race's foundation and still not be able to shake the foundation of my demon race."
She sighed, "Unfortunately, Lin Zhao died long ago, and there is no chance to meet him again."
Bai Ye chuckled, "Even if he were alive, meeting Sister Shi would be his misfortune."
"Enough talk."
Shi Jungang frowned, "Dispatch ten thousand snake archers to block Chu Yu from the front. Her rabble doesn't even have complete armor. It should be quite easy to shoot them down. Also, have Chu Huaixi's tomb been found yet?"
"The mid-five-realm cultivators who are surveying the feng shui are still looking, there's no rush."
"No rush?"
Shi Jungang gritted her teeth. "A bunch of good-for-nothings, what can they do..."
Bai Ye felt dejected and touched his nose. Sister Shi had a terrible temper. It was one thing to curse those demon soldiers, but she also cursed me along with them. As he spoke, Bai Ye glanced at Shi Jungang's exquisite and flawless features, and couldn't help but secretly vow that if she ever fell into his hands, he would definitely make her taste the joys of being a woman first, and then chop off her head with a single stroke. You are merely the queen of your despicable race, not the queen of Bai Ye!
On the mountainside, Chu Yu led her cavalry, hacking down the intercepting demon soldiers with their swords.
The demon race, on the other hand, deployed a large number of snake archers. Under the volley of arrows, Chu Yu's contingent suffered heavy losses. Many veteran cavalrymen were covered in arrows and still charging. Many people died not from severe wounds, but from continuous bleeding during battle, eventually falling from their horses when they ran out of blood.
...
On the other side, amidst the wind and snow, Lin Zhao, Xu Zhi, and Mu Zha led more than 1,500 Snow Region Army cavalrymen approaching Jiuzhangyuan. Before the demon race could discover them, Lin Zhao pointed to a nearby mountain. "Xu Zhi, Mu Zha, take me there first!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Xu Zhi grabbed one of Lin Zhao's arms and carried him into the wind. The three of them gracefully landed on the snow-covered hill. Lin Zhao carefully identified the terrain and pointed to the left. "Is there a tomb over there? If so, the remains of Commander Chu are beneath it. Dig them up and take them away!"
"Yes!"
Xu Zhi extended her five fingers, and countless sword intents surged out, instantly moving the earth and locating Chu Huaixi's burial ground. After a hundred years, only a pile of bones was unearthed. Lin Zhao then opened a large black cloth and spread it on the ground, collecting Chu Huaixi's remains piece by piece and placing them inside. He then tied a tight knot and slung Chu Huaixi's remains on his back. "Let's go, let's go reinforce Chu Yu. If we delay any longer, there won't be many people left. Later, you two unleash your swords and fists to your heart's content, without any reservations."
"Yes!"
...
On the southern slope of Jiuzhangyuan, Chu Yu's refugee army was reduced to less than 800 men, many of whom were heavily wounded with arrows stuck in them. Ahead lay the dense main force of the demon army's camp, and behind them, their retreat was blocked by countless snake archers. Arrows rained down from the sky. The stronger ones could fend them off with fist energy, while the weaker ones could only await death.
Chu Yu looked at the mountain, tears streaming down her face. She had no idea which tomb belonged to her father, but she could not stand idly by and watch her father's remains be desecrated by the demon race.
"I'm sorry, everyone..."
Chu Yu looked at everyone, gently drew her sword, and led them into a desperate situation. It was all due to her own foolishness, and she could only die to atone.
"Shua!"
The moment Chu Yu drew her sword, ten blood-red sword lights suddenly came from the south, piercing the vast northern sky.