247: Chapter 247 The Battlefield Arrives: One Man, One Sword, Guarding the Nation's Gate

Town Dragon Pass, the first and most crucial natural chokepoint for the Great Xia Dynasty to fend off foreign enemies.

Outside Town Dragon Pass at this moment, dark clouds loomed over the city.

The allied army of a million from the Great Chu Dynasty was like a vast, black ocean, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Endless military camps exuded a murderous aura that soared to the heavens, shredding the clouds high above. Countless massive war beasts growled at the front lines, their heavy breaths spewing gusts of foul-smelling wind.

At the very forefront of that million-strong army, three figures as dazzling as scorching suns hovered in mid-air.

They were three bona fide Saint Kings!

They weren't deliberately releasing their pressure, but merely by standing there, the surrounding space rippled like water.

That terrifying oppressive feeling, belonging to high-level Sages, weighed down like an invisible mountain upon the hearts of every Great Xia defender on the walls of Town Dragon Pass.

"Pfft!"

A Great Xia garrison commander could no longer withstand this pressure. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, dropping to one knee on the city bricks stained with dark red blood.

The battle blade in his hand was already chipped, his armor tattered and broken. Looking down at the despairing disparity in numbers below, the old general's eyes were filled with desolation.

Was the Great Xia Dynasty truly about to fall?

"Listen well, you ants of Great Xia!"

From the enemy ranks, a young man clad in purple-gold armor, riding a winged Sky-Rending Tiger, slowly rode forward. His face was sinister, his eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty madness. This was none other than the prince of the Great Chu Dynasty, Chu Wudi.

Chu Wudi toyed with the long spear in his hand, its tip pointed directly at the watchtower of Town Dragon Pass. His voice, amplified by spiritual power, boomed like thunder.

"This prince has changed his mind. Forget 'before sunset'—I want to see that bitch Princess Wu Weiyang right now! You have the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. If the city gates aren't opened by then, I will personally lead my army to flatten this Town Dragon Pass. The men will be skinned and have their tendons ripped out; the women will be made into army prostitutes. I will erase your Great Xia from the Eastern Wasteland forever!"

The Great Xia soldiers on the walls glared with bloodshot eyes, gripping their broken weapons tightly. The men of Great Xia would rather die standing than hand over the Princess to suffer humiliation.

"Men, follow me to our deaths!" The old general wiped the blood from his mouth, staggered to his feet, and raised his chipped battle blade.

At this critical moment, as the tragic atmosphere reached its peak...

A clear, crisp sound of a sword rang out from the highest heavens.

The sword chime was initially extremely distant, as if from the stars of the deepest abyss, but in the blink of an eye, it resounded throughout heaven and earth, even drowning out the clamor of the million-strong army below and the roars of the war beasts.

Immediately after, a dazzling, peerless sword light, so brilliant it was impossible to look at directly, descended from the depths of the distant void like the dawn's first light tearing through darkness!

"BOOM!"

The sword light slammed into the highest watchtower of Town Dragon Pass.

The entire impregnable fortress shook violently, sending dust flying everywhere.

The million-strong army of the Great Chu Dynasty instantly fell silent. Even the three arrogant Saint Kings in mid-air frowned in unison, their gazes fixed on the watchtower above with wary uncertainty.

The dust slowly settled.

On the peak of the ruined watchtower, a slender figure now stood, though no one knew when he had arrived.

The newcomer wore robes as white as snow, spotlessly clean, starkly out of place in this blood-soaked, murderous battlefield. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the gale whipping at his sleeves and black hair, resembling an exiled immortal who had just stepped out of a painting.

It was Xu Chen, who had traversed the skies all the way from the imperial palace.

Xu Chen stood at the edge of the city wall, looking down imperiously at the dark, sprawling mass of the million-strong army below. His deep eyes held not even a trace of panic.

On the contrary, he felt a flicker of excitement in his heart at this moment.

When he had looked from afar in the sky earlier, he had worried that this Great Chu Dynasty might not be worth his time. Now it seemed—a million elite troops, plus three Saint Kings. Although he hadn't seen that so-called Quasi-Emperor ancestor, it was barely enough to qualify as his whetstone.

"Who are you?!"

Chu Wudi, looking at this white-robed youth who had suddenly appeared on the watchtower and stolen all the attention, felt a surge of inexplicable rage. "Has the Great Xia Dynasty run out of men? Sending out a pretty-boy with no hair on his chin to die? This prince wants Princess Wu Weiyang!"

Xu Chen ignored Chu Wudi's barking.

He turned and looked at the severely wounded old Great Xia general beside him, who was staring at him in stunned disbelief.

"You have done well enough."

Xu Chen's voice was gentle and calm, carrying a strange power that soothed the heart. "From now on, take your men and retreat from the wall. Get some proper rest."

"S-Sir... who are you?" The old general snapped back to reality. Though he couldn't fathom the young man's cultivation level, he could sense the profound, unfathomable depth within him.

"Who I am is not important."

Xu Chen smiled slightly, his gaze sweeping over the scarred Great Xia soldiers. "What matters is that this is the gate of Great Xia. As long as I stand here, no one can take a single step past it."

"But... they have a million troops, and Saint Kings overseeing them!" The old general urgently tried to dissuade him, assuming this youth was some proud genius from a reclusive sect, ignorant of the world's dangers. "Sir, please leave quickly! Don't throw your life away for nothing!"

"Leave?"

Xu Chen turned around, once again facing the dark clouds pressing down on the city outside.

He slowly extended his right hand and gave a gentle wave.

A soft yet irresistible force surged forth, smoothly transporting all the Great Xia soldiers on the wall to a safe area in the rear.

In an instant, the entire dozens-of-miles-long wall of Town Dragon Pass was left with only his solitary figure.

Robes whiter than snow, his back as solid as a mountain.

Xu Chen slightly lifted his chin, looking down at the posturing Great Chu allied army below, and finally gave his response.

"I will not retreat. What can they possibly do about it?"

Below the wall, the Great Chu soldiers, grasping the situation, were first stunned, then erupted into earth-shaking roars of laughter.

"Hahaha! Has this kid's brain been addled by water?"

"One man thinks he can block our Great Chu's million iron cavalry? The greatest joke in the world!"

Chu Wudi laughed so hard tears nearly came to his eyes.

He pointed his spear at Xu Chen on the watchtower, his face full of contempt. "Kid, are you so desperate to be a hero? Even a peak Great Sage wouldn't dare face my Great Chu's military formation alone! This prince will grant your wish today—I'll tear you to pieces!"

"Noisy."

Xu Chen dug at his ear, his eyes finally turning cold.

"A million troops? Three Saint Kings?"

The corner of Xu Chen's mouth lifted into a cold arc, his eyes revealing the mercilessness unique to an apex predator. "Since you're all in such a hurry to be reborn, I'll kindly send you on your way."

In mid-air, the three Great Chu Saint Kings could no longer restrain themselves.

Though they found Xu Chen somewhat peculiar, the dignity of a Sage could not be challenged.

"Ignorant junior, utterly arrogant! I will capture you and refine your soul!"

One of the Saint Kings roared in anger, a terrifying crimson storm erupting around him.

With a single outstretched hand, he condensed a blood-red ghost claw hundreds of *zhang* in size directly in the void. Accompanied by an ear-piercing shriek that tore through space, it descended to crush Xu Chen on the watchtower.

Even before the blood-red ghost claw fell, its terrifying Sage-level pressure had already caused fine cracks to appear on the walls of Town Dragon Pass.

The Great Xia soldiers in the rear watched with eyes wide enough to split, their hearts leaping into their throats.

Just as everyone thought the white-robed youth would be instantly crushed into paste...

Xu Chen moved.

He didn't even use a trace of spiritual power. He simply stood quietly in place, slowly raising his head, and cast his gaze upon the overwhelming blood-red ghost claw.