Martial Cultivator

Suspended Moon Plain

Within the vast plains of the desolate north, this plain was the most boundless of all. On nights when there was a bright moon, if one looked up here, the moon could be seen with exceptional clarity, as though it hung high overhead. That was how Suspended Moon Plain got its name.

Liu Xiang’s withdrawing army did not travel easily. Two hundred thousand troops had lost fifty to sixty thousand men outside Pine Pavilion Pass, yet in the end they had failed to capture that pass, and had also failed to kill that woman there. For Liu Xiang, this expedition had been a losing bargain through and through.

However, during the withdrawal, a deputy general suggested that since they could not take Pine Pavilion Pass, they might as well capture nearby Greenleaf Pass. Surely the Great Liang army could not have prepared at Pine Pavilion Pass and also be equally prepared at Greenleaf Pass?

After hearing this suggestion, Liu Xiang hesitated for a full quarter of an hour before finally abandoning the idea. Now the entire demon race knew that human woman was famous for her cunning, and that her study of military strategy could not be said to be anything less than thorough.

Since she had already made such preparations at Pine Pavilion Pass, there was no telling whether she had also long prepared at the neighboring Greenleaf Pass.

Thus, out of caution, Liu Xiang ultimately chose to withdraw to the main camp and wait for the later demon armies to gather, before taking several passes before the Northern Frontier Great Wall of Great Liang in one stroke.

But on the road back, he hesitated for a long while again. In the end, he decided not to return by the original route, but instead to travel through Suspended Moon Plain. The reason was that the place was boundless and open, making it difficult for enemy forces to hide. Even if there were an ambush, they would be able to discover it early.

As commander of the demon army, Liu Xiang could not be said to lack careful thought. He had considered almost everything.

The army advanced slowly and in orderly fashion. The formation had not yet become chaotic. Liu Xiang rode an exotic beast at the very front, silently sighing in his heart.

This was not the first time he had stumbled before that woman. The first time, he had regarded it as the greatest humiliation, because he had already lived more than two hundred years and had served as a demon commander for an entire sixty-year cycle. When had he ever suffered such a disastrous defeat? So the second time, he reorganized his forces and resolved to compete with that woman once more. And what was the result?

Still defeat.

People said that things should not happen more than three times.

The first time. The second time. The third time.

The third time, he felt that he had prepared completely, that things should not end like this, but he still lost.

After three times, Liu Xiang had more or less resigned himself to fate. He knew that woman was a monstrous genius who had appeared out of nowhere and was not easy to deal with. Thus, even though he had lost at Pine Pavilion Pass, a loss was a loss. He only felt some regret; apart from that, he had no other feelings.

The deputy general softly tried to console him. “General, once we regroup the army and take these passes and the Northern Frontier Great Wall with irresistible force, then trample Great Liang beneath our horses, that too will be an achievement without equal for you.”

Liu Xiang only glanced at this deputy general who had followed him for many years and smiled. “What achievement without equal? Using the full strength of the entire race to destroy Great Liang is like a strong man crushing a child. Even if we win, there is nothing worth boasting about. What is more, with that woman here this time, we will probably lose far more people than usual.”

As for the outcome of this war, it was clear that throughout the entire demon race, everyone believed that in the end they would be the ones to achieve victory. But as for the casualties, many of the great figures of the demon race had never really considered them at all.

In their view, as long as they themselves could live to see the victory of the war and obtain vast fertile lands in the south, that was enough. As for who paid the price and what was paid, in their eyes, these were actually matters of no importance.

From a certain perspective, the reason Liu Xiang was able to sit in the position of main commander of the demon race was probably because he was different from many other demons. In many situations, he not only considered the interests of the entire demon race, but whether it was those above or those below, this demon commander possessed an empathy that ordinary people rarely had.

“Great General, in any case, we just need to win the war. Once that happens, everything will be fine.”

The deputy general spoke again.

Liu Xiang nodded, just about to speak, when he suddenly thought of something and asked nervously, “Where are the scouts we sent out? The first batch of scouts should have returned by now, right?”

The deputy general was taken aback, calculated the time, and felt it should indeed be about now. He said with some confusion, “Logically speaking, the scouts should have returned by now.”

Liu Xiang frowned and shook his head. “No, something’s wrong. Quickly send out several more batches of scouts. We need to get a reply immediately...”

Before he could finish speaking, the ground in the distance had already begun to tremble.

Having campaigned and fought wars for many years, Liu Xiang was extremely familiar with this kind of vibration. Unless it was a cavalry charge of over a hundred thousand troops, it would be impossible to produce such a massive disturbance.

But... could the Great Liang frontier army have deployed more than a hundred thousand cavalry here so far in advance?

Even if that woman had long prepared to pursue and kill them, how did she know they would take this route?

One had to know that assembling a force of a hundred thousand cavalry was by no means easy.

But at this moment, Liu Xiang was already somewhat panicked.

In order to break through Pine Pavilion Pass earlier, the troops he had brought were almost entirely demon infantry. Infantry were excellent at sieging cities, but if they encountered a large, organized cavalry force on the open plains, he did not even need to think to know what the outcome would be.

They would be like countless targets.

“Immediately organize the infantry into formation-”

Liu Xiang took a deep breath, but he was still very puzzled. He had clearly sent out scouts to investigate the surroundings, so why had he not received any information before this cavalry appeared?

Where exactly had they been hiding?

The deputy general’s face turned ashen as he muttered, “General, I’m afraid it’s already too late.”

......

......

On the city wall, Xie Nandu had been waiting all along. The soldiers had already cleaned the battlefield thoroughly.

Liu Banbi had long since left to recover from his injuries. Only Yu Xiyi, who was still holding on, remained not far from Xie Nandu’s side.

Yu Xiyi looked at Xie Nandu. This was, in a true sense, the first time he carefully sized up this woman.

Xie Nandu suddenly turned around to look at Yu Xiyi and asked, “Where is he?”

Yu Xiyi scratched his head and grinned. “Running around here and there, then felt that a battle would break out here, so he went into seclusion. He’s trying to break through above Nepenthe, so that if that Demon Emperor makes a move, there’ll be a way to deal with it.”

Xie Nandu nodded and said, “He’s worked hard.”

Yu Xiyi sighed with emotion. “Speaking of working hard, he really has it hard, busy with everything. A lot of the time, I even feel like the Great Liang Dynasty is left with just him alone. Everyone else seems like decoration.”

Xie Nandu smiled slightly and said softly, “That does sound quite difficult.”

Yu Xiyi thought for a moment, rare seriousness appearing as he said, “Right now it’s not the hard part yet. Just don’t die. If you die, he’ll probably really feel that there’s nothing left worth doing.”

Xie Nandu did not say anything.

Yu Xiyi said dissatisfiedly, “Did you hear me?”

Only then did Xie Nandu smile and say, “I’ll try my best.”