97: The Emperor's tutor's power could save the day!

As time passed, under the blood-red sky, the muffled sound of war drums finally ceased.

The Demon Army's offensive temporarily halted and slowly retreated.

Leaving behind a chaotic battlefield and a city filled with deathly silence.

Above the city wall, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Marquis Zhenbei leaned on a battle saber, gasping for breath, while Li Hu, Wang Bao, and other generals beside him were all pale, covered in blood, and their eyes were filled with the relief of surviving a catastrophe.

They had held on for another day.

But their recent clash with the Demon Army had already made them realize how exaggerated the Demon Army's combat power was!

If it weren't for the Imperial Advisor's on-the-spot command and skillful deployment,

They dared not imagine what today's outcome would have been.

But even if they held on this time!

What about next time?

And the time after that?

For a moment, a sense of despair settled in everyone's hearts.

However, in this brief moment of respite,

Chen Xu's voice resounded in everyone's ears.

"Open the city gates."

Chen Xu, with his hands behind his back, looked at the slowly retreating Demon Army and spoke indifferently.

What?

Open the city gates?!

All the generals, including Marquis Zhenbei, who had just been pulled back from the brink of death,

Were all stunned!

They suspected that they might be experiencing auditory hallucinations due to the erosion of Devilish Qi!

Marquis Zhenbei was the first to react. He dragged his crippled body, stumbled a few steps, and rushed to Chen Xu, urgently trying to dissuade him.

"Imperial Advisor! No! Absolutely not!"

His old face was filled with panic, and his voice was hoarse.

"Although the Demon Army has retreated, their Formation is not broken, and their main force is still present! Opening the city gates now is tantamount to seeking death! This is exactly falling for their cunning scheme!"

"That's right, Imperial Advisor!"

Old General Li Hu also grew anxious. He pointed at the Demon Army's camp outside the city, which resembled a black ocean: "Our forces are weak, and our morale is low. We can only rely on the strong city to defend! Taking the initiative to attack is like throwing an egg against a rock!"

"Please, Imperial Advisor, reconsider!"

"Please, Imperial Advisor, withdraw your order!"

For a moment, all the generals on the city wall knelt down, pleading bitterly.

They were truly afraid.

Not afraid of death, but afraid of such meaningless sacrifice.

In their opinion,

The Imperial Advisor's order was simply insane!

However, facing everyone's dissuasion, Chen Xu just slowly shook his head.

He raised his head and his gaze swept over the kneeling generals.

His eyes were as calm as an abyss, unfathomable.

"Opportunities in battle are fleeting."

"That wave of attack just now was their rotation point."

"The old strength is exhausted, and the new strength has not yet emerged."

"This is their most relaxed moment."

He looked at the crowd and uttered the last four words.

"Execute the order."

Unquestionable, beyond refutation.

As soon as these words were spoken, Marquis Zhenbei and the others' hearts suddenly tightened, and they could not utter another word of dissuasion.

For a moment, they looked up and saw no madness or underestimation of the enemy in the Imperial Advisor's eyes, only absolute calmness and the confidence of controlling everything.

It was as if the million-strong Demon Army outside the city was nothing more than a pile of chess pieces on a chessboard in his eyes.

"...As you command."

Seeing this, Marquis Zhenbei steeled his heart.

He squeezed out two words with difficulty through gritted teeth.

He didn't know where the Imperial Advisor's confidence came from.

But he knew he had no other choice.

He trembled as he raised the token representing the commander's order.

"Command!

"Open... the city gates!"

..."Creak—rumble—"

The Heavenly Wolf Pass's heavy black iron gate, soaked in demonic blood and weighing tens of thousands of pounds, slowly opened under the astonished gaze of countless defenders.

A gust of bloody, foul-smelling wind instantly poured into the city.

On the city wall, the soldiers who had just survived the slaughter.

Each of them turned pale.

They tightly gripped the weapons in their hands.

Their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

Wh-what?

Leave the city?

To engage in close combat with those monsters?

Isn't this going to their deaths?!

Just at this moment.

"Thud."

"Thud."

"Thud."

Neat and uniform footsteps came from within the city.

Three thousand Star Guards, clad in dark armor and wielding black long halberds, formed a grim square Formation.

They appeared behind the city gates like a black torrent.

They made no sound, uttered no slogans.

Only dead silence.

A deathly silence.

The cold and murderous Aura instantly enveloped the entire city gate passage.

All the restless and fearful defenders, under the impact of this Aura, involuntarily shut their mouths, becoming as silent as cicadas in winter.

Above the city wall, Li Hu, Wang Bao, and other generals clung tightly to the battlements, nervously watching below.

Their hearts were all in their throats.

They admitted that this personal guard unit of the Imperial Advisor was very strong.

But no matter how strong, there were only three thousand of them!

What kind of waves could three thousand people make by charging into a million-strong Demon Army Formation?

They would probably be smashed to pieces by a single wave!

Amidst everyone's worries, Chu Xuan, the commander of the Star Guards, walked to the front of the Formation.

He didn't look back, but simply raised the black long halberd in his hand.

"Star Strangulation Formation!"

"Rise!"

Buzz—!

On the bodies of the three thousand Star Guards, dark blue Formation patterns lit up simultaneously.

Their Aura, at this moment, through the profound Formation,

Instantly connected together!

The power of three thousand people converged into one!

A terrifying Aura, far surpassing the Golden Core Stage and even touching the threshold of the Nascent Soul Stage, erupted with a roar!

Under the horrified gaze of the generals on the city wall,

The square Formation of three thousand people seemed to come alive!

It transformed into a peerless vicious sword, a hundred zhang long, entirely black, with its tip shimmering with the cold light of stars!

"Target, enemy left flank vanguard!"

"Attack!"

Chu Xuan's long halberd suddenly pointed forward!

Whoosh—!

The black sharp sword, composed of three thousand people, did not hesitate in the slightest.

It instantly transformed into an afterimage and rushed out of the city gates!

The speed was clearly extremely fast!

The generals on the city wall only felt a blur before their eyes.

The army of three thousand had already disappeared from their sight... at the front of the Demon Army Formation.

The left flank vanguard camp was in chaos.

The Demon Soldiers, who had just finished a round of siege, were cursing and grumbling as they removed their heavy armor, preparing for a shift change.

A Demon Race centurion, nine feet tall and with bulging muscles,

Was kicking a Demon Soldier who was half a beat slow.

"Useless! Faster! Haven't you eaten?"

"After the shift, I still want to go to the rear camp and have some fun!"

He grinned, licking his chapped lips.

In his opinion, breaking through this formidable pass was only a matter of time.

The soft-footed shrimps in the city had already exhausted their courage and magical power.

They simply dared not leave the city to counterattack.

What they needed to do now was to take turns, slowly grinding down that turtle shell with artillery fire and lives.

However, just as this thought flashed through his mind,

A sense of danger suddenly exploded from the bottom of his heart!

He suddenly looked up!

He saw a pitch-black sword tip in the dust ahead,

Which had appeared silently at some unknown time!

On the tip of that sword, starlight flickered, carrying a terrifying killing intent that made his Divine Soul freeze!

"Enem—"

He only managed to utter one syllable.

Pfft!

The black sword tip had easily pierced through his protective Devilish Qi.

The sneer on his face instantly froze.

In his eyes, there was only endless bewilderment and incomprehension.

Wh-what is this?

This was his last thought.

Boom!!!

The black sharp sword, formed by three thousand Star Guards, fiercely plunged into the Demon Army's left flank, which was in the process of rotation and had the most scattered Formation, with an unstoppable, violent posture!

The slaughter had begun!

This was a completely unequal massacre!

"Puff! Puff! Puff!"

Each thrust of the High Grade Magical Artifact long halberds in the hands of the Star Guards,

Was utterly fatal.

The seemingly sturdy armor on the Demon Soldiers' bodies, in front of the sharp halberd tips, was as fragile as paper, easily torn apart!

Their protective Devilish Qi couldn't even offer the slightest obstruction!

A Demon Soldier swung a giant axe, carrying the power to split mountains and rocks.

He fiercely chopped down on a Star Guard's helmet!

"Clang—!"

Sparks flew!

The Demon Soldier only felt a violent tremor in his tiger's mouth, and his entire arm was numb from the shock!

And that Star Guard didn't even sway!

The Formation patterns of the High Grade Magical Artifact on his helmet flashed, completely deflecting all the force.

Then, the long halberd in his hand shot out like lightning.

It passed directly through the gap in the Demon Soldier's giant axe, piercing through his heart.

The entire process was smooth and flowing.

Without a single wasted movement.

Efficient!

Lethal!

The power of the Star Strangulation Formation was fully demonstrated at this moment!

The movements of the three thousand people seemed to be controlled by a single brain.

Every attack, every block, every movement.

Was perfectly coordinated.

The front-row soldiers were responsible for thrusting and blocking, while the middle-row soldiers were responsible for making supplementary strikes through gaps.

The back-row soldiers were always ready for rotation.

They were like a killing machine, leaving behind a trail of severed limbs and broken bodies wherever they passed!

The Demon Army's left flank was in complete disarray!

They had never expected that the defenders, whom they regarded as lambs,

Would dare to launch an active attack!

And in such a fierce manner!

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"It's Cultivators! It's the Human Race's Cultivator army!"

"Hold them! Hold them for me!"

The Demon Generals roared hoarsely from the rear, trying to reorganize their Formation.

But it was all in vain!

In front of the Star Strangulation Formation, which resembled an ancient Vicious Beast,

Their chaotic Formation was instantly overwhelmed and pierced through!

Crushing everything in its path!

Above the city wall.

Marquis Zhenbei, Li Hu, Wang Bao... all the Great Feng Dynasty generals were petrified.

Their mouths were wide open, their eyes bulging.

Staring in disbelief at the incredible scene below.

In their vision,

The black sharp sword, with an almost invincible posture, had forcibly ploughed a bloody alley through the Demon Army Formation of nearly ten thousand people!

Wherever it passed, Demon Soldiers fell like harvested wheat, in swathes!

There were no screams, no prolonged struggles.

Only the dull thud of blades entering flesh and the sight of black blood splattering.

That didn't look like war at all!

That was a... harvest!

"This... this..." Wang Bao's corpulent body trembled like a sieve.

He pointed below, his lips quivering.

Old General Li Hu's eyes were filled with shock and shame.

He remembered his previous request to fight on the general's platform.

He remembered his doubts about the Imperial Advisor.

At this moment, he only felt his old face burning with pain!

Blood courage? Battle skills?

In front of such a divine Demon Army, armed to the teeth and coordinated as one person,

What right did they have to call themselves an army?

Marquis Zhenbei's body was trembling slightly.

His old eyes were filled with excitement.

His eyes first stared unblinkingly at the black torrent that moved freely among the myriad troops.

Then he suddenly looked up at the Imperial Advisor.

He almost knelt before the Imperial Advisor in his heart!

Saving the collapsing tide, supporting the tottering edifice!

...In the Demon Army's central command tent.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

A thunderous roar made the entire command tent hum.

A Demonic Lord, with two horns on his head and clad in blood-red heavy armor,

kicked away the Demon General who had come to report.

"A mere three thousand Human Race Cultivators broke through my ten thousand vanguard?!"

"What good are you?!"

Just as he was furious, the main force of the Demon Army finally reacted.

Like two giant iron pincers,

they enveloped the black sword from both flanks!

In the sky, thousands of flying Demonic Beasts also let out piercing screeches and dove down!

They wanted to completely crush this army!

On the city wall, Marquis Zhenbei's heart tightened again.

"Not good! They're about to be surrounded!"

However, just as the Demon Army's encirclement was about to close,

on the battlefield... Chu Xuan's voice rang out again.

"Formation rise, Flowing Light!"

"Retreat!"

Buzz!

The Star Strangulation Formation instantly transformed!

The originally indestructible black sword suddenly disintegrated,

turning into a winding Star River!

The three thousand Star Guards, treading mystical steps, instantly accelerated to their peak speed!

They were like a black lightning bolt.

Before the Demon Army's encirclement could close, they rushed out of the breached gap without hesitation!

The entire process was seamless and swift!

"Trying to run?! Stop them!"

The Demon Army general roared in exasperation.

Countless Devilish Qi attacks and Spell lights rained down on the retreating Star Guards!

But the Star Guards didn't even look back.

The Formation patterns on their armor glowed, forming a solid, unified shield,

blocking all attacks!

"Rumble—"

The gates of Heavenly Wolf Pass slammed shut again!

Completely isolating the Demon Army's pursuit and roars outside.

From attacking to returning,

the entire process was smooth and seamless.

It only took... the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!

Outside the city, there were the exasperated roars of the Demon Army.

Inside the city, there was a deathly silence.

All the defending soldiers, all the generals, were still immersed in the exhilarating raid they had just witnessed.

They hadn't yet come back to their senses.

Until a captain in charge of tallying the results, scrambling and stumbling, ran onto the city wall.

He knelt on one knee before Chen Xu with a thud.

"Report—!!"

"Reporting to the Imperial Advisor!"

"Three thousand Star Guards deployed... three thousand returned!"

"Only... only thirty-seven suffered minor injuries, not a single... not a single fatality!!!"

Boom!!!

Not a single fatality!

These four words made everyone's breathing suddenly catch!

Marquis Zhenbei and the others trembled violently.

They could barely believe their ears!

The captain didn't stop, continuing to speak with a trembling voice!

"In this battle... our army slew five thousand three hundred seventy-two Demon soldiers!"

"Among them, including three Early Golden Core Stage Demon Generals!!!"

Dead silence... after a long period of dead silence.

"We won..."

A young soldier stared blankly at his blood-stained hands, muttering to himself.

"Did we... win?"

The next second.

"We won!! We won!!!"

He suddenly jumped up, raising his arms and cheering, tears streaming down his face!

This sound was like a spark instantly igniting the dry wood of the entire dead city!

"We won!!"

"We won!!!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh—!!!"

The long-suppressed fear, despair, and sorrow,

at this moment, all transformed into earth-shattering cheers!

Countless soldiers threw down their weapons.

They embraced each other, crying and laughing!

They were like madmen, using all their strength,

venting the ecstasy of surviving a great calamity!

The thunderous cheers, like a mountain and a tsunami, broke through the Devilish Qi clouds above Heavenly Wolf Pass and resounded through the sky!

On the city wall, Li Hu, Wang Bao, and the other generals,

at this moment, also had red eyes and tears in their tiger-like eyes.

They looked at the cheering sea below and could no longer control their emotions.

Thud!

Thud!

Led by Marquis Zhenbei, all the generals uniformly knelt on one knee before Chen Xu's figure!

This time, they knelt wholeheartedly convinced!

They raised their heads, looking up at Chen Xu with fervent eyes.

Doubt had long since vanished.

All that remained was endless awe!

They finally understood.

This Imperial Advisor... was not just a powerful Cultivator.

He was truly a... War God of the military!

...Deep within the Demon Army's central command tent.

Inside the tent, there was a deathly silence.

Only a giant water mirror floated in mid-air, emitting a faint blood-red glow.

The water mirror clearly reflected the one-sided slaughter in front of Heavenly Wolf Pass.

A man clad in hideous black heavy armor,

stood with his hands behind his back before the water mirror.

His face was stern, his features handsome.

His eyes were as deep as a cold pool, devoid of any emotion.

He was the commander of the Demon Army this time, a Nascent Soul Elder of the Myriad Poisons Sect, one of the Four Demonic Path Sects.

He was Pojun Demon Lord, one of the seven kill demon stars!

He silently watched the Star Guards in the water mirror, like an indestructible sharp sword, easily piercing through his ten-thousand-strong vanguard camp, and then leaving with impunity.

His Demon soldiers, in his eyes, were harvested like weeds.

However, there was no anger or astonishment on his face.

Instead, he showed an expression of keen interest.

"Somewhat interesting."

After a long while, he spoke softly.

"It seems a true Dragon has finally swum into the stagnant water of the Great Feng Dynasty."

Just then, the tent flap was violently thrown open.

A burly Demon General with a violent Aura rushed in, still bearing fresh bloodstains on his body, his face filled with rage and unwillingness.

"My Lord Demon Lord!"

The Demon General knelt on one knee, but his head was held high, and he roared, "Those Human Race Cultivators are too arrogant! This subordinate requests permission! I am willing to lead my Demonic Fiend Forbidden Army to battle, and I will surely crush that iron-canned legion into pieces!"

Demonic Fiend Forbidden Army!

As these four words were uttered, the temperature inside the tent seemed to drop a few degrees.

That was an elite force personally forged by Pojun Demon Lord.

Every soldier was a battle-hardened veteran who had climbed out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, with a minimum cultivation of Late Foundation Establishment Stage, and they were equipped with Demonic Fiend Battle Armor specifically designed to counter Great Feng Dynasty Cultivators.

They were the ace of their Myriad Poisons Sect!

However, Pojun Demon Lord, upon hearing this, slowly turned his head.

He looked at the Demon General who had requested battle and smiled lightly.

"Crush them?"

He sneered, "Using elites to clash head-on with a group of iron cans with overwhelming equipment? Only an idiot would do that."

"Did you see clearly? They are wearing High Grade Magical Artifact armor, and wielding High Grade Magical Artifact halberds. Three thousand men forming a battle Formation, their power is enough to rival a Nascent Soul strike."

"My Demonic Fiend Forbidden Army is elite, but I'm not sending you to your deaths like this."

The Demon General was speechless, his face alternating between green and pale.

Of course, he had seen clearly.

But precisely because he had seen clearly, he felt incredibly stifled and angry!

When had their Demonic Path ever been so overwhelmed in terms of equipment by the Great Feng Dynasty?

Pojun Demon Lord ignored him, his gaze returning to the water mirror.

A faint light flickered in his eyes.

"He is strong, and that army is also strong, understanding how to seize opportunities, moving in and out quickly. They are indeed a tough nut to crack."

"Since he wants to be a hero, then I will let him be a hero guarding a dead city."

Pojun Demon Lord's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Deliver my order!"

"The entire army is to retreat thirty li, set up camp! Cease all frontal assaults!"

"Furthermore, order the Filth Camp to mobilize!"

Filth Camp!

When the Demon General heard these three words, his body trembled violently.

That was not a combat unit.

That was a group of Cultivators from the Myriad Poisons Sect.

Their sole purpose was to spread plagues, pollute the land, and transform all vibrant places into barren demonic earth!

"All the Spirit-Severing Demonic Soil we brought is to be deployed in the mountains and upstream rivers around Heavenly Wolf Pass."

Pojun Demon Lord's voice came again.

"I want that pass, within ten days, to become an isolated dead zone!"

"I want the water in the city to turn into poison!"

"I want the land in the city to be barren!"

"I want every trace of Spiritual Qi in the air to carry the potent venom of my Myriad Poisons Sect!"

"I want to see, when his soldiers are poisoned with every breath, when his wounded rot in agony, when the entire city becomes a giant tomb, what this so-called Imperial Advisor, protector of the nation, can still use to be a hero!"

"Yes... Yes, my lord!"

The Demon General, trembling all over, took his leave.

Inside the tent, only Pojun Demon Lord remained. He looked at the green-robed figure standing on the city wall in the water mirror, and uttered a cold whisper.

"Little fellow! The game has just begun."

...Time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, several days later.

During these past few days,

there was no movement from the Demon Army.

Instead, the Cultivators of the Great Feng Dynasty let out a huge sigh of relief!

After all, the continuous fighting had pushed their nerves to the limit!

However, amidst this brief tranquility,

some situations began to quietly emerge.

"Pah! Pah! Why does this water have such a strange taste!"

A soldier drew a bucket of well water, and after taking a sip, he spat it all out. The water not only had a fishy stench, but it was also incredibly spicy, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of sand.

"Look! The vines on the city wall! Why have they all withered?"

Another soldier pointed at the battlements, exclaiming in surprise.

Those green vines that had stubbornly grown even amidst the war,

were now visibly turning yellow and withering at a rapid pace.

More and more bizarre phenomena began to appear.

Soon, a terrifying piece of news came from outside the city.

The Mother River, which Heavenly Wolf Pass relied on for life, the clear river flowing down from the snow mountains, had now turned into a stinking ditch flowing with black pus!

Wherever the river water flowed, the vegetation on both banks withered and died, and the earth took on an ominous grey-black color.

For a time, the morale of the army, which had just been uplifted by a victory,

began to waver again.