Chapter 486: A Hero Past His Prime
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Fu Baoguo was a seasoned veteran of the battlefield. In spite of his hopes to save the old marshal, he did not foolishly deploy all of his military strength in the relief operation but kept half of the Steel Cavalry behind. After all, his current responsibility was to build another Resilience Fortress and block Dongxuan's invasion the best he could!
However, the tides of the battle were quickly changing. As Yun Yang entered the fray, their side's morale was significantly boosted. Since the Serving Troop and half of the Steel Cavalry had already united with the Old Marshal's guards, he had to give it a go. Otherwise, not only was there the chance that the old marshal's remaining ship would be lost, the Serving Troop and half of his Steel Cavalry would have to be buried together as well!
By then, the loss outweighed the gain; the chances for his combat force to rebuild the new defense line would be greatly damaged. How could they then defend against Dongxuan's army?
By the looks of it now, with Yutang's morale skyrocketing over the roof, not only could the Old Marshal's ship be saved, half of the Steel Cavalry and Serving Troop would not suffer from too many casualties. Besides, the current situation was advantageous to Yutang and they could retaliate by counterattacking Dongxuan to stump their spirits with the given chance. It would benefit the continuation of warfare afterward!
It was with such judgment that Fu Baoguo decided to give it his all and performed a direct attack.
Yun Yang finally heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Fu Baoguo taking action. With the breathing room he had, he retrieved a few bottles of pills from his ring and gave three pills each to Bai Yixue and the rest. The group had long been exhausted, barely supporting themselves with a breath of life and pushing themselves beyond the point of exertion; being passed good medicine, they asked no questions and swallowed them directly.
It was not yet time for pleasantries and checking up on each other. Having regained their energy, they pushed themselves again to charge outward and kill everything and everyone along the way. It was the right time to do so as Dongxuan's troop was still without a commander; unable to react, they were a disorderly mess.
When Zhan Ge returned to another flag podium and moved to resume his commands to reorganize his troops, he saw Yutang's army already storming away in the form of a raging dragon.
Yutang had successfully broken the siege and was leaving!
Seeing that the general picture was had been painted, Zhan Ge came down sullenly and sprinted over to Han Sanhe, speaking in a grumbling tone, "Teacher, why…"
Just as the words left his tongue, he knew that his tone was too harsh and disrespectful nor was it an appropriate attitude to speak to his teacher. He shut up subconsciously.
Han Sanhe smiled and replied, "You wanted to ask me why didn't I take the baton to command just now, do you not?"
Zhan Ge nodded.
Han Sanhe had not intervened in the battle to take down Qiu Jianhan. The entire battle was handled solely by him. In fact, Han Sanhe had given up commanding the army since they charged out of the west gate of the Fortress of Resilience, and had passed all the power to Zhan Ge.
"Qiu Jianhan is a few years older than I am."
Han Sanhe watched the fluttering flag and sighed rather dejectedly, saying, "From his military career alone, he is my senior; in fact, we are each other's confidants in this lifelong war…"
"Previously, I had to listen to your plan and tried to ambush Qiu Jianhan with an arrow to wound him severely. I already felt helpless then… Now, I really can't bring myself to see this nemesis of mine, this lifelong opponent… to just die like this in the battlefield. I will not see him die incomplete, dismembered on the battlefield…"
Han Sanhe's tone was laced with so much lamentation that Zhan Ge was stunned when he heard his teacher. Suddenly, he seemed to understand what Han Sanhe was thinking and felt his heart lurch.
To die on the battlefield was every militant's destiny as well as his moment of utmost glory. However, it did not include being beheaded when one was incapable of fighting back and unaware of what was happening! To a fighter, that would be the biggest humiliation that could never be washed away!
A hero's end should be dying from fighting on the battlefield, not to be killed after an ambush, unconscious and holding on to the last breath for it to be the enemy's merit.
Who was to say today's Qiu Jianhan was not tomorrow's Han Sanhe and even Zhan Ge himself later on! Zhan Ge thought his teacher must have seen himself from Qiu Jianhan's eyes; putting himself in their shoes, Zhan Ge was thoughtful.
"Notable generals are like ravishing beauties since the beginning of time." Han Sanhe sighed dejectedly, "The world is not allowed to see their white hair. Qiu Jianhan… his hair and beard are all white now…"
The pauses in his speech caused Zhan Ge to feel as if he had been hit by a drum or hammer.
That was right; be it a god of war or legendary marshal of their time, they had to step back from the long stretch of history eventually. The glorious prime of life that belonged to them… was no more than dozens of years at most! Like Qiu Jianhan, like his teacher, they were already the luckiest of those present.
"Yutang has lost this war. There are no two ways about it." Qiu Jianhan said in a melancholic tone, "I believe even if Qiu Jianhan can survive, for now, he won't be able to last for more than a couple of days. Zhan Ge, why must a hero be killed in such a way that his remains won't be intact? No matter how vicious he was when you faced each other, how much a headache he's been, nothing can deny the fact that he's an opponent worthy of respect and a hero worthy of anyone's, especially militants', tribute!"
Zhan Ge was ashamed, bowing in agreement, and spoke no further on the issue.
…
On the other side, amidst the chaos that ensued, Yun Yang and the others had finally arrived at Fu Baoguo's base, all the while guarding Qiu Jianhan's carriage.
Fu Baoguo sprinted to them at once, asking with anxiousness displayed on his face, "How is the old marshal? Is it serious?"
Yun Yang sighed, feeling equally heavyhearted, if not more than Fu Baoguo. Truthfully, he wanted to ask the same question; he wanted to ask it when he charged over just now. However, he dared not ask. He was terrified, afraid that the answer he heard would be one he could not bear to accept.
I've lost too much! I don't want to lose anymore, I can't – I can't lose anyone anymore! God!
The question that had been sitting in Yun Yang's mind was voiced by Fu Baoguo, the former clenching his fists but perking his ears to listen to the imminent answer nervously.
"Old Marshal is suffering from a serious wound. It was during the ultimate battle at the west gate that he was ambushed by the Ghoul Archer, Jin Wudang, and took an arrow…" Bai Yixue looked utterly ashamed. After all, Qiu Jianhan had been shot while under his protection. It was his failure, a humiliation that could hardly be lifted.
"I have killed that Jin Wudang, amongst his army…" Bai Yixue supplied weakly but could not avoid the harsh glare Yun Yang was directing at him.
Ghoul Archer Jin Wudang had been crowned the title of the world's top archer. The bow and arrow had always been the specialized weapon of the military, although the martial world people rarely equipped themselves with it. Even when they did, it was only a complimentary weapon; rare was the practitioner who was truly proficient in it.
In spite of this, the Ghoul Archer Jin Wudang was different. His main and sole weapon was the bow and arrow! It was his only attacking technique; all of his skills were tied to the bow and arrows in his hands!
It was said that this man's archery skill was beyond belief. The military's strong archers had the force of six stones at most, while Deicide Bows, a bow so powerful that only cultivators who had significant mystical Qi cultivation base could use, required about ten stones of strength. Such strong bows were about the limit a human body could endure and continuously use. However, the bow used by this Ghoul Archer was made of Stellar Wood and its string was made of the flood dragon's tendon.
Someone had tested that at least thirty stones of strength were needed before this bow could be pulled to its full potential. Once the arrow was released from this bow, the speed was so incredible that even Tenth Perfection mystical cultivators might not be able to capture it.
It was said that there was a delay after the arrow had struck its target before the swooshing sound of the arrow traveling through the air could be heard. The arrow from the Ghoul Archer's bow traveled faster than the speed of sound.
Yet this Jin Wudang, besides being an archer, was also an assassin.
This time, not even Bai Yixue could anticipate that Dongxuan would actually employ this Ghoul Archer specifically to target Qiu Jianhan in order to bring down Yutang's army as soon as possible. Even more unbelievable was the fact that they had succeeded.
Even though Bai Yixue had unleashed his power and killed the Ghoul Archer afterward, it remained a simple truth that the old marshal was seriously wounded.
"How could this happen?"
Yun Yang relaxed when he heard that it was a quick ambush. "I'll go take a look at Old Marshal. Bai Yi, come in with me and tell me what happened."
To Yun Yang, who was equipped with Endless Divine Art, there was rarely any internal or external injury in this world that he could not handle. Even without Emmie and its air of vitality, Yun Yang was still confident that he could heal the old marshal and bring him to a stable state.
…
The story began to unfold.
After the fortress had been burned down, Qiu Jianhan had led the remaining troops out of the fort and fortified their stance at the west gate, moving into formation five hundred feet away from the gate.
It was a siege, but it was also where the second natural barrier of the Fortress of Resilience would stand.
If Dongxuan wanted in on Yutang, they had to go through the Fortress of Resilience. The Fortress of Resilience only had two gates, it had been so since it was built, an east gate and a west gate. For Dongxuan to subdue the east gate, they still could not advance as long as the west gate was guarded.
The reality was as Old Marshal Qiu had imagined it to be. Although Dongxuan's troop triumphed over the Fortress of Resilience, they were faced with Qiu Jianhan's powerful blow when they charged out of the west gate to invade Yutang.
Under Qiu Jianhan's strong command, the west gate became a deadly pocket. Dongxuan had wanted to advance, following up the newly gained victory, but they had not guessed that the outside of the fortress had changed; the initial vanguard died as soon as they arrived.
Qiu Jianhan had led his troops into an encirclement that posed an astonishing threat of terrible damage. Anyone who came out of the west gate, regardless of direction, was not exempted from being shot by arrows. After all, the west gate could only be as large as the gate was built to be, so there could only be as many people who could charge out from it given the size.
Dongxuan could not form a formidable combat power in a short amount of time, thus it was left with the position of being slaughtered. Yet, such a situation had only lasted for a day before the passive state Dongxuan was in had been broken.
Han Sanhe had ordered that the west gate of the Fortress of Resilience be torn down. Even the wall was to be demolished!
Without the west wall, Dongxuan's troops poured out like a tidal wave. Qiu Jianhan's encirclement could hardly be threatening nor effective but Old Marshal Qiu would rather die than to withdraw. He would rather sacrifice himself to fight for more time for Fu Baoguo to build another defensive line.
As the old marshal commanded the army without rest and as the battle went on for three days, they actually managed to stop Dongxuan's army right where they were. In spite of this, the fifty thousand men the Old Marshal originally had was left with no more than ten thousand men after the three days; they could hardly do anything more. Yet Qiu Jianhan seemed to have set his mind that since the Fortress of Resilience was no more, he had no plans of returning alive.
He fought at the frontline; no matter how Shangguan Lingxiu, Bai Yixue, Marquis Yun and others persuaded him, he refused to leave! Qiu Jianhan was hotheaded and his stubbornness had not weakened with age; once he set his heart to it, not even God could change his mind.
When it seemed that Old Marshal Qiu and his subordinates were about to be buried together in this war, a chance for victory appeared! It was at this moment that Dongxuan sent their assassins and killers to target the old marshal.
One of those who was the most infamous was the Ghoul Archer Jin Wudang. When the armies were engaged in the peak of yet another battle, Jin Wudang had donned a soldier's uniform and lurked among the militants, waiting for the opportunity to approach Qiu Jianhan.
The lethal arrow came swiftly. Bai Yixue, who was sharp to note the danger, lashed out with his sword at the critical juncture. Alas, it was still too late. He had only managed to deflect the arrow slightly off its course.
However, it was also this littlest bit of deviation that prevented the arrow from stabbing right through Qiu Jianhan's heart! Unfortunately, the arrow pierced through the old marshal, making a hole from his front to his back.
Hence, Qiu Jianhan was at the brink of death from the wound.
Angered and grieved, Bai Yixue charged into Dongxuan's formation, wielding his sword to hunt for the Ghoul Archer Jin Wudang among the hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Even after he had minced this Ghoul Archer, he still wanted revenge, intending to kill Dongxuan's main general. It was due to this reason that Dongxuan's first suicide attack was carried out; Bai Yixue withdrew in the end but continued to hold a grudge.
Bai Yixue's savage massacre allowed Yutang to push through the battle, but Yutang had still lost Qiu Jianhan as their commander. Without Qiu Jianhan as their pillar, Yutang's landslide defeat was destined. Although Shangguan Lingxiu raised the Family of Generals' flag and tried her best to reorganize the troops, the slight betterment could not afford Han Sanhe's tidal-like Dongxuan troops!
Marquis Yun was decisive in ordering the army to break through the siege and withdraw through the night. Since their operation could no longer come into effect, they would retain as much combat power as possible and return to Fu Baoguo; there, they could combine forces to defend themselves against Dongxuan and Han Sanhe again.
It was well within expectation that Dongxuan would not give up easily, pursuing them relentlessly and swiftly besieging Qiu Jianhan's remaining forces. It was at this critical juncture that two Steel Cavalry squads who had been roaming the surrounding forest had disobeyed Fu Baoguo's command and charged out to assist them.
As both sides combined and retreated while fighting, they managed to persevere until Yun Yang's arrival. Then, it developed into a reunion with Fu Baoguo's army situated under Tianxuan Cliff.
Another chapter had begun in the war between Yutang and Dongxuan.
…
Yun Yang entered the tent hastily, catching sight of Qiu Jianhan who had been laid straight on the simple military bed. Blood stains were all over him as well as wounds that were peppered on his face; flesh curled from where they should lie flat, looking absolutely horrible.
Yun Yang almost could not feel the old marshal's breathing. If it were not for the slow rise and fall of his chest, Yun Yang would already be suspecting that it was too late to save the old marshal.
Under the dim yellow light, the old marshal's white beard was stained red. He lied there quietly. Yun Yang's eyes were hit with a wave of warmth as he almost teared up.
This old marshal, who had contributed his entire life to Yutang, looked terribly small and helpless now.