79 Wind in Tiantang (1/2)
Tiantang City seemed to be much emptier, devoid of its usual zest.
Even those chit-chatting merrily in restaurants had decreased in number. Everyone was living in limbo, taking note in the absence of news from the front line.
However, in somewhere dark, the thugs who had been harassing the old citizens were dying in batches. A lot of them seemed to have expired from the wounds of a mystical beast’s claws but there were also a lot who had died from swords and sabers.
The old marshal had sent out almost all of his military undercover guards.
Prior to this, the old marshal was high and mighty; he no longer felt that way but he was steel-hearted this time.
“All those who have harassed the families of deployed warriors, all those who have harassed the families of fallen warriors, all those who have harassed the families of veterans... Kill them without mercy!”
When the old marshal had given out this order, his eyes were rimmed red. Those who were doing this at the same time included the secret guards of His Majesty and the trusted subordinates of Old General Leng Daoyin; Yutang, too, had restructured its punishment to be incredibly serious and severe.
Therefore, all the thugs and crooks in the Empire of Yutang were in bad luck. If they went out to collect fees, they were risking their very heads!
…
This was an extremely brutal tug of war!
The Dongxuan Shadow Cavalry from Han Sanhe had always prided themselves as the strongest army in the world. Facing such a mighty opponent as the Steel Cavalry, they would definitely retaliate with their all!
It was difficult to guess who would win this battle.
Reserve troops flooded in continuously but all the higher-ups of the empire knew that only Tie Zheng’s hundred thousand-strong armies could really determine the outcome of this battle.
They were currently the strongest force that could be unleashed.
“If only the Nine Supremes were still here.” Many of Yutang’s citizens were thinking the same in their heart.
If the Nine Supremes were still here, forget the others! Even the Dongxuan Shadow Cavalry would never dare show themselves!
Then how could such a precarious situation occur?
Similar thoughts gradually began to surface in the Empire of Yutang; be it in restaurants, alehouses, taverns or shophouses… there was not a single person who did not sigh while mentioning this.
“If the Nine Supremes were still here, would the Shadow Cavalry dare to invade?”
“If the Nine Supremes were still here, even Han Sanhe would not dare to take action!”
“If only the Nine Supremes were still alive…”
“How good that would be!”
“The Fortress of Resilience is not far away from Tianxuan Cliff, the site of the nine sirs’ downfall…” The people’s expressions were somber. “I really wish to go pay tribute to the nine sirs…”
“Not too far away? Are you muddled? Tianxuan Cliff is behind the Fortress of Resilience, it’s in our country!”
“The Nine sirs were harmed in our own country! How is that possible?”
“Sigh…”
It was now the fifteenth of the seventh month.
“Dongxuan’s two hundred thousand-strong army are in formation, decisive battle has begun with General Tie Zheng!”
“The war is now in a deadlock… both sides have approximately a hundred and fifty thousand-strong army in a standstill battle in the area within three thousand miles of the Fortress of Resilience. The results are hard to tell!”
“But our side suffered great casualties…”
News from the front lines flew in like paper scraps. Everyone in Yutang was becoming more heavy hearted, their hearts hanging on a thin thread.The battle was continuously in a tug of war.
On the forty-fifth day of General Tie Zheng’s stand-off, Yun Yang walked out from his closed door cultivation.
The front line was about to perish.
Once Yun Yang came out, he headed east immediately, all by himself. Wind blew in the clear sky, and a white cloud soared, moving briskly under the erratic wind!
The wind in Tiantang City suddenly grew stronger.
Hoo, hoo, hoo.
The old marshal watched Tiantang’s flag that fluttered in the strong wind in Tiantang Square with his head raised, not speaking a word for a long time. This feeling was terribly familiar.
Once, there was a time when the wind bellowed and clouds whirled; as the clouds whirled, thunder boomed; as thunder boomed, dragon of earth soared as golden rays shone, waves surged while wood shot through infinity, whispers of flame flared and blood drenched the sky.
Now, the wind had begun to bellow once again!
“Too bad, the valor of Nine Supremes is hard to be seen again.” The old marshal heaved a long sigh with arms behind his back, his expression forlorn.
…
In front of the Fortress of Resilience, battle cries tore through the sky.
Opposing troops were engaged in the war, arrows shot above heads, unrelenting like pelting raindrops in a storm.
This was not hundreds or thousands of people, this was tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of soldiers who were fighting.
Swoosh!
An arrow shot right by Tie Zheng’s face. His expression was stoic; he did not even blink once.
He stood somewhere high wearing a loud golden cloak; in his hand was a twenty-five-foot long spear while under his legs was an extremely handsome fiery red swift horse that was fifteen feet tall; on his head was a golden helmet while on his waist was a long sword.
He was right up at this tall spot, mounted on his steed and watching the battlefield coldly.
As the marshal of the troops, he knew that he should be in the marshal’s tent. However, facing the berserk attacks of Han Sanhe’s Dongxuan army, he could only stand here, remaining still in the loudest outfit!