221: Chapter 221 Bloodstained Battlefield

His name was Qin Lie.

He was the legitimate grandson of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

Since childhood, he had been a notable figure among the playboys in the Imperial Capital—always idle, indulging in pleasure, and skilled in every vice from cockfighting and dog racing to debauchery and dissipation.

He had always scoffed at his grandfather's rhetoric about "wrapping oneself in horse hides" and "serving the country with absolute loyalty."

He always felt that guarding that bitter, cold land in the Northern Frontier, sleeping in the wind and dew, drinking ice, and lying on snow, was far less enjoyable than living a life of drunken stupor and decadent luxury in the bustling Imperial Capital.

Until this moment.

Having personally experienced this tragic slaughter where righteousness and evil collided, teetering on the edge of life and death, witnessing terrifying power beyond imagination, and feeling the helplessness and despair as his companions fell like blades of grass—he finally understood.

True hot-bloodedness was never found in a bed of softness or amidst song and dance.

It was on the most dangerous battlefield.

It was in the fight to protect one's country!

Personal martial prowess was so small and ridiculous in the face of a true great calamity of heaven and earth.

Only by using one's strength to protect the mountains, rivers, and common people behind one—

Could one find a true destination.

Only then could one realize true value!

"Qin the Madman, what the Hell are you going crazy for at a time like this!"

A man covered in blood beside him roared. His left arm hung limply, clearly broken, with bone splinters even piercing through the skin, yet the giant axe in his hand still swung with fierce wind, cleaving a Dynasty Prodigy who tried to approach:

"Save your strength, maybe you can live a little longer!"

Qin Lie laughed loudly.

His laughter was rough and heroic, but it tugged at his wounds, making him grimace and break into a cold sweat—

Yet in his eyes, a flame burned like never before!

That flame was hot and firm, like a prairie fire, unstoppable!

"I'm not crazy! I was the one who was truly muddled before!"

"Brothers, hold on! We must get out of here alive!"

His voice was hoarse, but every word was sonorous:

"In the future, let's go to the frontier together—"

"To kill demons and slaughter devils, to protect our land!"

These words were like a boulder thrown into stagnant water—

Instantly stirring up the last bit of hot-bloodedness and heroism in the hearts of the surviving Cultivators!

"Qin Lie, I didn't expect you, this playboy, to have such realization!"

Another wounded scion of a military family joked, his tone full of admiration, his eyes flashing with a strange light.

"Bullshit! My Qin family has been loyal for generations, and our entire household are heroic souls of the battlefield—"

Qin Lie retorted with his neck stiff, his face full of pride, as if he had forgotten his pain:

"How could good bamboo produce bad shoots!"

"Shut up! Is it only your Qin family that has been loyal for generations? Is my Wang family not? My grandfather also died in the Northern Frontier battlefield back then!"

Another Cultivator shouted, unwilling to be outdone, his voice hoarse but loud, like metal hitting the ground.

The surviving Great Wu royals and nobles smiled and joked, as if the life-and-death battle before them was merely an ordinary sparring match, and as if their wounds did not exist.

Their voices were hoarse but full of strength—

This was an open-mindedness born from facing death, a determination on the verge of desperation, a kind of iron-blooded character belonging to the scions of military families!

Second Prince Wu Yuanchen slammed his long spear onto the ground.

With a dull "thud," the skeletons beneath his feet rattled, and the blood on the spear tassel splashed onto the ground, blooming into a small patch of crimson.

There was no trace of dejection or despair on his face.

Instead, it revealed an unprecedented firmness.

He looked at the group of wounded but bright-eyed brothers beside him and suddenly remembered his mother's earnest words—

"The sons of military families are born on the battlefield and die on the battlefield; they are not meant to struggle for power in the imperial court, but to protect the common people on the frontier."

In the past, he always felt this was a cliché and dismissed it.

At this moment, in this mountain of skeletons, at this critical juncture of life and death—

He suddenly had an Epiphany.

These seemingly plain words were actually as heavy as a thousand jun, striking the deepest part of the heart!

"Good!"

Second Prince Wu Yuanchen said loudly, his voice resonant, piercing through the clamor of the slaughter and ringing in the ears of every surviving Cultivator:

"If we can get out alive today, I, Second Prince Wu Yuanchen, will resign from this position of Commander of the Imperial Guard—"

"And take you all to the Northern Territory!"

"The demon tide there is a hundred times fiercer than these petty villains; the wind and sand there are a thousand times more biting than this graveyard; that is where we scions of military families should be!"

His gaze was like a torch, and he enunciated every word:

"That is where our true destination lies!"

"Good! Second Prince Wu Yuanchen, we grew up together; wherever you go, we will go!"

"We will follow you to the death! We will never retreat!"

The surviving scions of military families responded in unison, their voices hoarse but every word ringing with conviction, carrying an unquestionable firmness that echoed across the battlefield like thunder!

They threw away their broken weapons, supported each other, and protected one another with their flesh and blood—

Even if they only had one breath left, even if they were covered in blood, they would stand back-to-back to form an indestructible human wall!

Resisting the enemy's attacks!

Fentian watched this scene, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes—

Clearly not expecting these defeated soldiers to erupt with such hot-bloodedness and cohesion at the moment of death.

Immediately, the surprise turned into a thick sneer, and the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger, like a tangible blade that almost cut through the air:

"Still daydreaming before you die? How ridiculous!"

"No one will leave this place alive today!"

He swung his long blade, and flames shot into the sky:

"You will all die!"

The long blade in his hand suddenly burst with three feet of flames, the blazing fire resembling the hellfire of Hell, exuding a terrifying power that burned everything, the surrounding air twisted and deformed, and even space let out a groan of being overwhelmed.

His gaze locked tightly onto Qin Lie, his eyes full of resentment—

That speech of his had actually ignited the hot-bloodedness of these remnants, and leaving them alive would certainly be a trouble; they must be eliminated quickly!

The blade light was like a ribbon, carrying a scorching temperature and an aura of destruction, tearing through the sky—

Instantly approaching Qin Lie!

Qin Lie's pupils shrank, and his heart sank as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

At this moment, he was already exhausted, his spiritual power depleted, and he barely had the strength to even lift his long spear to block—

He could only watch as that fatal blade light kept enlarging before his eyes.

There was no way to avoid it.

The shadow of death instantly enveloped him.

"Clang—!!!"

The sound of metal clashing exploded like thunder from the Nine Heavens, shaking the four directions and the eight wildernesses!

A biting wave of energy, carrying sparks flying across the sky, condensed into dots of crimson light in mid-air, lingering like weeping stars for a long time!

The expected bone-cracking pain did not arrive as anticipated.

Qin Lie opened his eyes wide, and the churning blood in his chest suddenly stagnated due to this abrupt loud noise—

He saw a long sword lying horizontally before him!

The sword body flowed with Evil Qi as thick as substance, like a fierce weapon that had drunk the blood of a thousand armies, yet deep within the Evil Qi, a peerlessly tough golden light faintly emerged—

Steadily blocking Fentian's sure-kill flaming long blade!

The raging Fentian flames on the long blade, enough to melt gold and crack stone, were now firmly blocked by the sword body!

The heat wave hit Qin Lie's face, scalding his skin and curling his hair—

Yet this destructive fire energy could not move an inch further!

The sword body trembled slightly, emitting a clear, Dragon-like hum, the sound seemingly containing a soul- Suppressing Secret Power, actually forcibly sweeping away the surrounding scorching fire waves!

It opened up a cool barrier in front of everyone!

Even the burnt smell in the air faded a little!

The wielder of the sword—

Was none other than Eighteenth Prince Wu Zhenkan!

He did not know when he had already slain Fairy Mo Ying, his figure as fast as lightning, his toes shattering the dust across the sky as he stepped on the ground, actually arriving to reinforce them at this critical moment!

At this moment, his aura was in disarray, and his black robes were stained with dots of mysterious ink-like filth and dark red bloodstains, traces of his entanglement with Fairy Mo Ying; obviously, that duel just now had also been perilous, a life-and-death struggle.

But those eyes—

Were still as sharp as a falcon's, the cold light as biting as ten-thousand-year black ice!

He locked onto Fentian, without a shred of fatigue, only with a decisive Battle Intent to burn everything!

"Fentian."

Eighteenth Prince Wu Zhenkan's voice was as cold as ice, containing not a shred of emotion. As his wrist flicked slightly, the Evil Qi on the blood-gold long sword surged suddenly, sweeping out like an angry tide—

Actually forcing Fentian's flaming long blade, which weighed over a thousand jin, back several feet!

Fentian was caught off guard, his figure staggering backward, his feet plowing two deep trenches into the ground. As gravel splashed, the ground was battered into pits and craters by the energy wave, a shocking sight.

Fentian's eyes were filled with both shock and anger.

He never expected Eighteenth Prince Wu Zhenkan to be able to get rid of Fairy Mo Ying so quickly—Fairy Mo Ying's art of concealment and assassination required caution even for him to deal with, and he never thought that after a fierce battle, the other party still possessed such vast power within his body!

"Eighteenth Prince Wu Zhenkan!"

He roared sternly, his tone full of unbelievable madness. The flames around his body became even more intense due to his agitated emotions, almost burning this world to ashes, and even the distant rocks began to melt:

"You are just a destitute prince with no power or influence, expelled from the core of the royal family—"

"Do you really want to fight us to the death for these ant-like scions of military families?!"