Chapter 99

"Chen Hai, this scoundrel, how can he be so ruthless? He doesn’t seem like someone who has just entered the Spirit Opening Realm. Is the information incorrect?"

The black-robed man holding the Thundercloud Banner suppressed the fluctuation of his inner qi and blood, retreated to meet the other two black-robed men in a corner of the northern city, and asked in a low voice.

"The information won’t be wrong. This boy was originally stripped of his cultivation in the Yao family, with all his meridians destroyed and all memories related to cultivation erased. Chen Lie, this scoundrel, must have used all kinds of rare treasures to help him re-enter the Spirit Opening Realm. Using many rare and precious items and medicines to rebuild his spirit meridians, although he has only opened four spirit meridians, his strength far surpasses that of other martial cultivators at the same realm, which is not surprising," another black-robed man said.

"You say it’s not surprising, but now the Chief Sacrificial Master is not in Chishan City. Who will take down Chen Hai, this scoundrel?" The black-robed man holding the Thundercloud Banner, heartbroken by the damage to his magical treasure, said resentfully.

"What’s the use of saying these things? The left camp’s troops cannot be lost here. We must now withdraw from Chishan City and retreat to the Western Ridge!" the leading black-robed man said calmly.

"The many fleeing generals of the Crane Soaring Army and the clan leaders trapped in Chishan City have already decided to send their elite core forces to attack the southern city gate. Perhaps in less than half an hour, they can take the southern city gate. Why should we retreat to the Western Ridge at this time..."

"Chen Lie, this scoundrel, has already sent his cavalry around Tian Family Village. In another hour, they can reach Chishan City. Even if we can break through the southern city gate in half an hour, we must disperse and retreat into the Western Ridge to avoid being surrounded and annihilated," the leading black-robed man said decisively. "It’s not easy for the Chief Sacrificial Master to pull out several thousand core troops from Yulong Mountain. They cannot all be lost north of Crane Soaring Ridge. The Crane Soaring Army doesn’t seem capable of achieving great things. After this defeat, they will surely be severely weakened. We, as fellow disciples, must also withdraw from the Crane Soaring Army!"

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When the southern city gate was under the greatest pressure, a group of fleeing soldiers discarded all their supplies and withdrew from the northern city, quickly fleeing to the western mountains. This scene naturally caught Chen Hai’s attention. They also noticed that the black-robed men who had entered Chishan City earlier had withdrawn with this nearly thousand-strong force.

Back then, at Yulong Mountain’s Yellow Dragon Abyss, they had seen the figures of black-robed men among the rebel refugees. After the rebel refugees joined the Crane Soaring Army, seeing the black-robed men again fleeing to the Western Ridge, Chen Hai couldn’t help but suspect that the initial rebellion at Yulong Mountain and the appearance of the forbidden drug Reverse Spirit Powder were closely related to the mysterious black-robed men. However, he had no time to dwell on these matters at the moment.

When many fleeing generals and southern clan leaders sent their elite core forces to tear open the southern city gate, the sudden withdrawal of this reorganized fleeing force greatly shook their confidence.

This also allowed Chen Hai and his men to withstand the impact of the fleeing soldiers, retreating to the city walls, covered in blood, to regroup.

As dusk fell, the Eastern Wing Cavalry, along with over three thousand cavalrymen led by Zhang Huaiyu, Li Xianghai, and Zhao Ruhui, crossed the Xiang Mountains and entered the territory of Chishan County.

At this time, the fleeing soldiers and refugees trapped in Chishan City were in extreme panic. Some, whose confidence had collapsed, withdrew from the northern city and fled to the surrounding mountains, while others, like grasping at straws, desperately attacked the southern city gate.

When a large force of elite cavalry appeared in their field of vision, most of the civilian soldiers and Chishan County guards, who were still unaware of the situation, completely collapsed. Chen Hai could only lead the remaining half of his bandits back to the city tower, doing his best to ensure that the Eastern Wing’s hidden soldiers, who were holding the families of the military officers, were not impacted by the fleeing soldiers.

Although they eventually forced the bandits to retreat from the city gate, when the bandits lifted the curtain and saw that the city gate was already blocked by several broken carriages and a large amount of wood and bricks, they could only let out angry and desperate howls.

Some vented their anger on Chen Hai and his men, but more people ran around like headless flies.

The three thousand elite cavalrymen were like a flood, overwhelming the fleeing soldiers and refugees. Except for a few with cultivation foundations who could leap over the seven to eight-meter-high city walls and flee south, most of the fleeing soldiers and refugees had no choice but to surrender.

Spears stood like a forest, swords flew like snow, and the heads of those unwilling to surrender were cut off. The three thousand elite cavalrymen ruthlessly reaped the lives of the resisters.

Some clan leaders, seeing the situation was hopeless, did not want to abandon their clan members and families to flee south alone, so they could only retreat to the corners of the streets, silently preparing to surrender.

Zhang Huaiyu, Li Xianghai, and Zhao Ruhui had been riding through the snowy mountains and hills all day, with their horses and men exhausted. However, when they appeared in the north of Chishan City, the resistance of the fleeing soldiers had already collapsed. Most of them either fled into the surrounding mountains or directly chose to surrender.

Zhang Huaiyu, Li Xianghai, and Zhao Ruhui easily controlled the northern city, cutting off over a hundred heads before everyone surrendered. They were not satisfied, and when they climbed to the northern city tower, they were stunned to see the vast crowd of people and carriages in the city.

They had not expected that Chen Hai would have trapped so many fleeing soldiers and refugees in Chishan City, as if using a large net.

"This kid! This kid!" Li Xianghai, excited, hit his hand with his fist, not knowing what to say.

Back then, when they broke out of Yulong Mountain, Chen Hai had only saved a few lives in the chaos, and his outstanding performance had been overshadowed by his low cultivation. Li Xianghai had argued fiercely with others to claim the first merit for Chen Hai, but he never expected that after more than a year, Chen Hai would bring them such a pleasant surprise.

Li Xianghai had always been hesitant about whether to fully bind himself to Chen Lie. After the惨败 at Yulong Mountain, although he had been restored to his original position, the Li family had spent a great deal of resources to mitigate the negative impact. At this time, they needed to ally with stronger powers to restore their strength.

At this moment, Li Xianghai had made up his mind. The fact that Chen Lie could step into the Dao Pill Realm at any time was one factor, and the current situation was another. Various signs indicated that Chen Lie placed great importance on this close nephew.

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All sporadic resistance was ruthlessly crushed and annihilated. For those who surrendered, Zhang Huaiyu, Li Xianghai, and Zhao Ruhui confiscated their weapons and magical treasures and tried to reassure them.

The fleeing soldiers, clan members, private troops, and fleeing civilians were separated and dealt with. Chishan City seemed to have turned into a large prison. Zhang Huaiyu and his men had limited manpower and still needed to be on guard against the possibility of the Crane Soaring Army counterattacking. They could only wait for the main forces to arrive and take over before making further arrangements.

Zhang Huaiyu assigned Chen Yu to be responsible for the confiscation and inventory of weapons, magical treasures, and the property of the fleeing clans.

The fleeing soldiers were not worth much besides their weapons, horses, and a few magical treasures, but the fleeing clans had brought with them the wealth accumulated over several or even dozens of generations.

According to the rules, apart from a small portion to be presented to the Grand Protector General as a sign of loyalty, these spoils could be privately distributed among the Eastern Wing troops. These spoils were much more valuable than the so-called battle rewards.

Chen Yu, not only one of the main commanders of the cavalry but also a core member of the Eastern Wing troops led by Chen Lie, naturally had the authority to inventory the spoils. However, other main commanders of the Eastern Wing, such as Zhang Huaiyu and Li Xianghai, would also send people to participate.

This was an unwritten rule in the military, to prevent all the spoils from falling into the hands of the commander or causing chaos and disarray in the face of the enemy.

The main cavalry forces were stationed inside and outside the northern city tower. They could not relax yet. Zhao Ruhui and Xie Quan led five hundred cavalrymen through the city to take over the defense of the southern city tower.

Chen Qing, Su Ziling, Ge Tong, and others followed Zhao Ruhui through the city of Chishan, where the fleeing soldiers and surrendered troops were kneeling on the ground. This battle had been too easy for them. When they reached the southern city tower, they saw the piles of corpses in the moats, the arrows stuck in the ground like porcupines, and the countless broken weapons, they realized that this battle had not been easy.

They couldn’t even understand how Chen Hai, with so few men, managed to hold out until the end.

How did Chen Hai manage to do this?

Chen Qing, Su Ziling, and Ge Tong couldn’t figure it out.

Chen Hai, Wu Meng, and Zhou Jun were only at the Spirit Opening Realm, and the remaining sixty people, including Shen Kun and Zhao Shan, even if they all had the cultivation foundation of the Profound Realm, couldn’t stop so many fleeing soldiers and refugees.

Seeing the chaos and the pile of corpses at the southern city tower, Ge Tong and the others knew that the fleeing clans would not have surrendered easily.

They didn’t know that although half of the civilian soldiers were just for show, the fleeing soldiers and refugees were unaware. Intimidated by the two to three thousand civilian soldiers and the Chishan County guards, the fleeing soldiers could only concentrate their attacks on the city gate, allowing Chen Hai to concentrate his limited elite forces.

Later, the local military officers of Chishan County, whose families were held hostage, coerced some civilian soldiers to assist in the defense, which played a crucial role.

These civilian soldiers, although not very combat-effective, were overwhelmed several times, leaving over three hundred corpses, but they protected the flanks of the bandits, making Chen Hai’s tactical arrangements more flexible.

The key to the success of this strategy was the early surrender of Ding Shuang, who, with his assistance, held the families of the military officers hostage.

Ge Tong, Chen Qing, and Su Ziling didn’t know this, so they found everything incomprehensible.

Chen Hai, sitting on a broken log, was bandaging his wounds. His armor was tattered, and his body was covered in new wounds, making him look like a zombie. The scars on his face, which had finally faded after the battles at Yulong Mountain, now had several deep, bloody gashes.

Of the sixty bandits, less than half remained, all covered in blood. Although the battle had been brutal, with heavy casualties, they were all elated, not caring about life and death. Seeing the beautiful faces of Chen Qing and Su Ziling, they looked at them boldly.

Seeing Zhao Ruhui and the others approach, Chen Hai said, "Senior Zhao, I can’t stand up to pay my respects. It’s good that you’re here. The southern city tower is now under your command." He then pointed to the ten or so local military officers of Chishan County, including Ding Shuang, and said, "They surrendered to me last night and made significant contributions to this battle. They are now my subordinates. Please, Senior Zhao, use them with confidence..."

"Good!" Zhao Ruhui, seeing that Chen Hai had managed to subdue the local military officers in advance, believed this was a key factor in achieving a great victory. He would not mistreat Ding Shuang and the others.

He then looked at the hidden soldiers in the city wall’s storage cave behind Chen Hai, where many women and children were peering out in fear. Seeing their fine clothing, he guessed that Chen Hai had used these women and children as hostages to force the local military officers to surrender.

In military conflicts, any means were justified. Zhao Ruhui secretly admired Chen Hai’s daring and clever strategy, but he did not dwell on the details. He only regretted that Chen Hai came from a noble family, not a humble background, or the humble lineage might have had a chance to rise in Taowei Sect and the Wuwei Army!

Zhou Jun, Wu Meng, Shen Kun, Zhao Shan, and others were all severely injured, their energy and true essence depleted. With the will that had sustained them in the fierce battle now gone, they could only sit and pay their respects to Zhao Ruhui and the others.

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