Chapter 262: Each with His Own Motives

The collision of flying swords ended, and the soldiers from Anyang were left with pale faces. Some even spat out blood—flying swords had broken, and their minds were damaged.

Anyang suffered greatly, but the state of the Jin Kingdom was even worse. To form the Great Sword Array and to send flying swords hundreds of meters away to fight, the swords required an immense amount of mental power and spiritual awareness. Thus, when the swords were damaged, the harm to the soldiers was even more severe. Over 10,000 elite soldiers from the Jin Kingdom were instantly affected, with more than 7,000 of them, whose foundations were shallow, spitting out crimson blood and collapsing to the ground. The remaining 3,000 were also staggering, with hardly any of them in a normal state.

This collision, though brief, was fierce, and both Anyang and the Jin Kingdom suffered heavy losses. The soldiers and commanders of Nanyang and Dongyuan counties were dumbfounded!

At this moment, Shen Jianfei, who had been lying in ambush at the rear, suddenly opened his eyes and said, “Now’s the time!”

After lying in ambush for so long, Shen Jianfei had finally found the opportunity, and it was a “perfect” one. The elite forces of the Jin Kingdom were almost drained of energy, and most of them immediately collapsed. Meanwhile, the most important flying swords for the cultivators had broken, and their true energy and spiritual awareness were severely depleted. At the same time, the soldiers of Nanyang and Dongyuan counties were still in a daze.

The 4,700 hidden elite soldiers surged out suddenly, no longer hiding, no longer scattered, no longer avoiding. They launched their attack in a decisive, sudden, and unstoppable manner!

The Wind Escape Talisman increased the speed of the 4,700 warriors, while various talismans like “Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth” enhanced their defenses. These 4,700 warriors, trained in the ways of the Jin Kingdom army, charged forward as one unified force. A large number of talismans created a protective barrier surrounding the group. Although they did not form a traditional array, their organized and powerful momentum was equally imposing.

As soon as they charged out from their hiding spot, Shen Jianfei and his team dashed forward under the protection of their spells. The spells formed an unbreakable, radiant wall that crushed everything in its path.

“There’s an ambush behind!” As soon as Shen Jianfei and his team charged out, they were noticed—such an obvious attack could not go unnoticed. Moreover, the ambush position was quite far, about a kilometer from the Jin army.

Yuan Jinjiang, the commander of Dongyuan County, quickly sent a portion of his troops to block the attack. However, Kong Donglai and Nangong Zhi from Nanyang County exchanged a glance, and with great tacit understanding, they continued to play dumb—pretending to be still immersed in the earlier intense battle!

In fact, Nangong Zhi had encountered Shen Jianfei and his team’s ambush before. With his leadership and experience, he would naturally not ignore such a powerful force. However, Nangong Zhi chose to “forget” about it! Seeing Shen Jianfei and his team charging towards the Jin army, Nangong Zhi and Kong Donglai even continued to play dumb.

Thus, when Shen Jianfei led his 4,700 elite soldiers into the attack, only a few soldiers from Dongyuan County came to intercept. The poor soldiers from Dongyuan County, who had been hastily prepared, had no idea that these 4,700 soldiers were all foundation-building experts.

With dazzling spells and flashing swords, the vanguard of Dongyuan County’s troops fell in droves. The soldiers behind them were so terrified that they dared not move.

At this moment, Nangong Zhi “finally came to his senses” and hurriedly ordered the soldiers to intercept. But by then, it was too late! By the time the soldiers from Nanyang County were ready to act, Shen Jianfei had already charged past the blockade, and the guns had already taken effect.

The unfortunate Jin Kingdom soldiers, many of them foundation-building experts, had not even reacted before they were hit by gunfire from far away. With their true energy depleted, spiritual awareness damaged, and flying swords destroyed, and with little experience facing firearms, over a thousand elite soldiers from the Jin Kingdom fell.

Jin Kingdom’s great general Li Lishong finally reacted. He asked Dongyuan County and Nanyang County for help while organizing the 200 personal guards he had preserved and other remaining soldiers to begin defending.

However, Shen Jianfei and his team were charging too fast. Using Wind Escape, they were several times faster than even the best horses. In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they had covered a kilometer and reached the front of the Jin army.

With the distance closed, they put away their guns, and the talismans lost their effect. In close combat, the best weapons were the flying swords.

With flashing sword lights, Shen Jianfei’s 4,700 foundation-building experts tore through the weakened Jin Kingdom soldiers. The over 100 elite guards that rushed forward could not stop the onslaught of the 4,700 warriors, who were as fierce as wolves and tigers.

These 100 or so elite guards from Jin Kingdom, including several Golden Core experts, could hardly make a difference in such a large-scale battle. Even with over a dozen Golden Core experts, they couldn’t cause much of an impact. Shen Jianfei managed to tie up these experts with just over 300 soldiers, while the rest of the team carried out a brutal massacre.

The 4,000 well-rested foundation-building experts unleashed their fury on the weakened enemies, and flying swords swept through the battlefield, decapitating enemies left and right. Blood filled the air, and screams filled the sky.

Li Lishong, the great general of the Jin Kingdom, was furious, his eyes nearly splitting with rage, but he was helpless. In a group battle, individual strength was negligible. Even though Li Lishong was a Golden Core expert in the early stage, he couldn’t use his power to save all of his subordinates. At most, he could protect around 100 or so smaller commanders.

But the next moment, Li Lishong was dumbfounded. Shen Jianfei ordered every soldier from Anyang to take out ten talismans each, and the flames shot up to the sky. The earth itself seemed to be on fire. More than 40,000 talismans combined, and it was as if the sun had fallen to the earth, igniting rocks and drying up rivers.

In the blackened dawn, the Jin Kingdom camp was ablaze. Thousands of talismans concentrated on Li Lishong, forcing this Golden Core expert to flee in disgrace—he had to strategize a retreat.

Li Lishong managed to escape, but the hundred or so smaller commanders behind him could not. Amidst the flickering flames, these commanders, who had exhausted their true energy and whose spiritual awareness had been damaged, were reduced to ashes.

“Ah… all of you go to hell!” Li Lishong roared, a surge of anger, regret, and killing intent exploding all at once. When a Nascent Soul expert is enraged, it feels as though the world itself sinks, with a heavy and dangerous aura enveloping the hearts of Shen Jianfei and the others.

Facing a Nascent Soul expert directly, Shen Jianfei was undaunted—he had magical treasures, talismans, and hundreds of personal soldiers by his side. Not only did he have the qualifications to face the Nascent Soul expert head-on, but he even had the chance to try and slay his opponent. Of course, all of this was premised on one condition: facing each other directly. If the Nascent Soul expert resorted to guerrilla tactics, that would be another story.

Fortunately, though Li Lishong was furious, he still had control—compared to killing Shen Jianfei, rescuing the remaining soldiers was more important. Over a hundred of his personal soldiers were still embroiled in a fierce battle.

In a blur, Li Lishong appeared above the heads of the hundred-odd personal soldiers. A flying sword suddenly flashed, gleaming like a meteor, as it swept through the 300 Foundation Establishment experts from Anyang who were surrounding them. Their heads fell in unison. This was the power of a Nascent Soul expert.

Seeing this, Shen Jianfei inhaled sharply, finally witnessing the terrifying might of a Nascent Soul expert. “Everyone, gather! Let’s cross the river!”

After a fierce battle, the remaining more than 4,000 soldiers quickly gathered. A large number of talismans were thrown out, and flames continued to burn, blocking the surrounding attacks. Then, Shen Jianfei led a few personal soldiers to cover their retreat, allowing the main force to cross the river first.

Over the river, Yan Zhengqing had unknowingly arrived in mid-air, with dozens of Golden Core experts around him, guarding the retreat of Shen Jianfei and the others.

The sound of artillery thundered from all around, and the planes overhead resumed their bombardment. After a brief and intense struggle, Anyang once again regained the initiative!

The two sides were once again locked in a standoff along the river. Anyang was rushing to replenish supplies and tend to the wounded, while on the southern bank, the allied forces were licking their wounds, awaiting the arrival of the Jin army.

General Li Lishong of the Jin Kingdom, his face cold as ice, swept his gaze over Kong Donglai, Nangong Zhi, and Yuan Jinjiang, before slowly uttering a cold, furious statement: “Jin’s elite of 10,000 Foundation Establishment experts, now only 500 remain. This matter must have an explanation!”

Ten thousand Foundation Establishment experts, just like that, turned to dust! Such a loss, even for the Jin Kingdom, was crippling!

Yuan Jinjiang spoke first: “I didn’t know Anyang had such a powerful force. This is our first time fighting Anyang up close.”

In critical moments, one had to quickly distance themselves from the situation. Yuan Jinjiang was no fool. Since the war against Anyang broke out, the army he led had never fought the Anyang army head-on—so, honestly, I really didn’t know Anyang had such a powerful force.

Five thousand Foundation Establishment experts—just thinking about it makes one shudder. Back then, the inspectors of Zhongshan and Luliang counties, Shi Chengsong and Zhao Guoshan, only had a total of around six or seven hundred Foundation Establishment experts in the open. Secretly, their total might not have exceeded 1,500.

Li Lishong looked at Yuan Jinjiang, recalling that Yuan Jinjiang had been the one to order the interception. He gave a barely noticeable nod, then turned his gaze to Kong Donglai and Nangong Zhi.

Kong Donglai wore a confused expression. “The recent situation of the war might need Commander Nangong to explain.”

As for Nangong Zhi, seeing Kong Donglai pass the difficulty to him, he felt a bit angry but still explained: “I was ambushed during the march; but later, with 100,000 soldiers, I forced the enemy into a corner and crushed them, forcing them to flee to the north.

I didn’t expect them not to return to the northern bank but to set up an ambush here.”

Li Lishong’s eyes flashed with cold light. “Why didn’t you continue the pursuit?”

Nangong Zhi responded confidently, “The army moves in formations, with the momentum of a landslide, which slows down pursuit speed. Moreover, the enemy was still at the Foundation Establishment stage. At that time, the ambush site was in the hilly terrain to the rear, which was not conducive to effective pursuit.

Also, Anyang was about to cross the Xian Dai River, and the situation was perilous, so we had no choice but to march quickly and block the riverbanks.”

After Nangong Zhi finished speaking, he glanced at Yuan Jinjiang—”I did this for you, you know. Your earlier performance was very ungracious.”

Yuan Jinjiang, hearing Nangong Zhi’s words, showed a trace of awkwardness on his face and finally tried to smooth things over, “General Li Lishong, the fact that Anyang has so many Foundation Establishment experts must mean they have some hidden strength. We cannot give Anyang time to develop!

From my observations, Anyang’s rate of development seems to be accelerating! Therefore, we need to strike hard and defeat Anyang in one go; if we continue to stand off for too long, our losses will be even greater.”

“Our losses will be even greater… who knows, maybe your 300,000 soldiers from Jin will be lost!”

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