After the Immortal Disappeared

More than twenty of their ships were still on the river and had yet to make landfall.

"We can win!" Zhao Pan’s confidence surged as he let out a long laugh. "Men, push these bastards back to the river’s edge! I want to see that old scoundrel throw himself in with my own eyes!"

His cry marked a turning point. The Yuan people shook off their initial panic and began to organize a counterattack.

The army’s lines, once contracting, began to push back, fighting their way north inch by inch.

Every inch of progress was paid for with rivers of blood.

However, the Xunzhou Army didn’t fall back to the river. Instead, they withstood the pressure and retreated to the west.

The terrain to the west was higher, with a vast, open plain behind it.

They knew that if they were forced back to the river and still couldn’t win, only death awaited them.

Hee Lingchuan swung his Soaring Dragon Spear, cutting down several men in a row. He heard a wretched scream nearby. A cannonball had blown off half a Yuan Soldier’s head. The scalp was half peeled away, dangling by his ear, looking like it would fall off at any moment. By the firelight, Hee Lingchuan could even see red and white matter seeping from his cranium.

He collapsed, unable to rise, but was not yet dead. He could only reach out toward the others, wailing ceaselessly.

In the end, Hee Lingchuan’s compassion won out. He thrust his spear through the man’s throat.

The man died instantly, finally finding release.

As he withdrew his spear, Hee Lingchuan took a moment to survey the entire battlefield. He saw a vast sea of men on both sides, their war cries and screams of agony weaving together. Cannons and catapults added to the chaos, sending dirt, stone, and flesh flying.

The scene was nothing short of Purgatory.

In a daze, he realized that whether in reality or the Dream Realm, this was the first time he had ever personally experienced a large-scale battle. A combined total of sixty to seventy thousand men were slaughtering each other on the field.

Chaos was the main theme here. An individual’s strength was insignificant, almost negligible, in such a large-scale battle.

Yet, just as this realization dawned on him, more than a hundred horsemen suddenly burst from the woods not far to the Yuan Army’s rear flank, charging straight for the army’s commander.

They accelerated as they drew closer.

They were fine horses, ridden with even finer skill. The Yuan Soldiers in their path either failed to react in time or were casually cut down the moment they raised their blades.

In the midst of the grand melee, these hundred-odd riders were like a sharp dagger plunging into the heart of the Yuan Army. The rider at the "tip of the blade" had a terrifying aura, cutting down enemies as if they were weeds, moving through them as if they weren’t there.

Some soldiers in his path were thrown back by a surging wave of energy before they could even get close.

In just a few breaths, the hundred-odd riders tore through the Yuan Army’s outer defenses in a cloud of clamorous dust.

Hee Lingchuan glanced back, his pupils shrinking in shock. He immediately spurred his horse toward the high ground.

Leading the charge was none other than Hong Chenglu!

His timing was impeccable. The Xunzhou Soldiers were being steadily beaten back by the Yuan Army, which meant the Yuan forces naturally had to divert troops to press the chase toward the riverbank. This, in turn, left their own commander with fewer guards.

But no matter how depleted, that layer of Close Guards still consisted of four or five hundred men, all of them Yuan Army elites.

In the chaos, no one noticed Hee Lingchuan throw something.

Hong Chenglu acted as if they weren’t even there. The guards roared angrily and moved to intercept, but Hong Chenglu simply dug his heels into his horse’s belly. The fine steed accelerated abruptly, and he seized the opportunity to swing his arm and hurl the Long Spear like a javelin!

The power and speed of that throw were in no way inferior to those of the Great Wind Army.

Blue light crackled along the spear’s shaft, leaving a trail of sparks and lightning in its wake. It was imbued with the power of a Thunderbolt!

It moved so fast that two Elite Guards who tried to intercept it swung at empty air.

The spear tip was aimed directly at Hee Chunhua, the man at the center of their protection!

Hong Chenglu had patiently hidden in the woods for a long time. Even as the Xun People were defeated and forced to retreat, he had turned a blind eye, focused solely on waiting for the perfect opportunity to settle his score with his wife’s killer.

Hee Chunhua had just turned his head when he was blinded by a flash of lightning that terrified him witless.

He wanted to dodge, but the spear’s immense aura had him locked in place, pressing down on him so heavily he couldn’t even turn his neck.

Hong Chenglu had concentrated the Primordial Power of over a hundred men onto himself, determined to succeed with this one spear.

The long spear was about to pierce Hee Chunhua’s skull in the next instant, but at that very moment, a yellow light flashed ten feet in front of him. A tall, imposing figure, as steadfast as a mountain, appeared and completely shielded Hee Chunhua!

With a SQUELCH, the long spear stabbed into the figure, entering the front and exiting the back, running it clean through.

Though its momentum was not yet spent and it still strained to pierce Hee Chunhua, the figure reached out, grabbed the spear’s shaft, and pulled it out before tossing it away!

No blood came from the wound. Lightning ravaged its body, but it still stood with its head held high, facing Hong Chenglu.

The soldiers at the side all let out cries of shock and relief.

Only then did the sweat on Hee Chunhua’s temples begin to trickle down.

Standing before him was a golden armor copper man over fifteen feet tall!

He knew what it was, of course. It was his son’s newly created toy. Just two days ago, he’d seen it wandering through the small woods. Hee Chunhua never expected it to be put to use so quickly.

If not for the Copper Man acting as a human shield, he would likely have been decapitated, even with hundreds of soldiers protecting him.

Though his view had been blocked and he hadn’t gotten a clear look at his ambusher’s face, Hee Chunhua instantly guessed who it was. A chill seized his heart.

His unease over the past few days had come true. Hong Chenglu had really come.

The hatred between them was bitter and deep. One of them had to die here.

The golden armor copper man had appeared from thin air, crushing two Kite Riders. Hong Chenglu was only thirty feet away from it. At his horse’s current speed, couldn’t he close that distance in an instant?

Everyone watched as Hong Chenglu, man and horse together, slammed headfirst into the golden armor copper man’s chest!

The impact was so staggering that even the firmly-planted golden armor copper man stumbled, taking a step back before it stood firm again.

Of course, under Hee Lingchuan’s control, it wouldn’t miss this opportunity. Its arms closed in a massive bear hug, intending to crush Hong Chenglu against its chest.

Hee Lingchuan had learned this move from Meng Shan.

Unfortunately, Hong Chenglu was just as agile. Although his horse’s bones were broken against the Copper Skin and Iron Bones of the automaton and it let out a long, tragic whinny, Hong Chenglu himself used the momentum to leap up, his waist saber flashing from its sheath!

The vicious gleam of that slash is difficult to describe in words.

The golden armor copper man’s movements froze for a moment. A crack had appeared on its thick neck.

Had it been human, blood would be gushing from its neck.

Hong Chenglu used its shoulder as a springboard and launched himself toward Hee Chunhua again.

The moment the golden armor copper man blocked the attack, Hee Chunhua had spun around and begun to flee frantically in the opposite direction, not caring how pathetic he looked.

Unfortunately, he was surrounded by people, who now became obstacles in his path.

Hee Chunhua simply ducked behind two tall men.

Hong Chenglu lunged. Regardless of how heroically the two men stood, he cut them in half at the waist with a single slash!

Just then, he caught a flash of cold light in the corner of his eye—a long saber was hurtling toward him.

The Saber Qi was ferocious, and Hong Chenglu dared not underestimate it. He was forced to abort the attack he had been building up to knock the blade aside first.

With a sharp CLANG, the Floating Life Blade was sent flying sideways.

Hee Chunhua took this opportunity to grab something from his sleeve.

Hong Chenglu let out a long laugh. His figure flashed, and he suddenly appeared behind Hee Chunhua, striking with a backhand slash!

Three or four flashes of light erupted from Hee Chunhua’s body, appearing and vanishing in an instant. They were Protective Spiritual Artifacts activating, only to be instantly destroyed.

This bought him enough time to take one more step.

"Father!" Hee Lingchuan cried out, having just galloped over. He was horrified by what he saw.

He watched as the tip of Hong Chenglu’s blade sliced across the side of Hee Chunhua’s neck!

Graceful, swift... and ruthless!

Hee Chunhua lost his balance, clutching his neck as he collapsed to the ground.

Hong Chenglu was about to step forward to inspect his work when he heard the faint sound of wind behind his head. He whipped his head to the side and saw the same long saber from before hurtling toward him through the air.

There was no one in that direction.

’This weapon can circle back for another attack?’

In the nick of time, Hong Chenglu batted it away again.

The long saber spun twice in the air, then flew into Hee Lingchuan’s hand.

The blade had a penchant for not stopping until it wounded someone, but its master was now summoning it back to fight an enemy.

The moment the blade was in his hand, the Cyan Beast accelerated, and Hee Lingchuan charged past Hong Chenglu.

A resounding CLANG of metal on metal echoed, its ring lingering in the air. The resulting shockwave threw the surrounding soldiers to the ground.

On horseback, Hee Lingchuan was thrown backward, the Tiger’s Mouth of his hand splitting open and bleeding.

That furious strike had been infused with all his physical strength and Primordial Power, augmented by the full momentum of the Cyan Beast. He had finally unleashed his most perfect Wave Slash to date.

His essence, qi, and spirit had all reached their peak.

Even the support pole of the large tent ten feet behind Hong Chenglu—a pole thicker than a bowl—was severed.

However, the slash felt like it had struck a rock in a rapids. Not only did it fail to cut Hong Chenglu in two, but the recoil also split open the Tiger’s Mouth of Hee Lingchuan’s hand and made his organs feel as if they had been struck by a heavy hammer.

And this was with Hong Chenglu standing on the ground, taking the blow head-on from a stationary position.

From this single exchange, Hee Lingchuan basically determined that Hong Chenglu’s abilities were likely no less than Commander Xiao’s.

Hong Chenglu himself was forced to retreat three large steps, each footprint he left deeper than the one before. Only then did he manage to shed the momentum and avoid falling flat on his ass.

Hee Lingchuan was in agony, but Hong Chenglu was not unscathed either. He had nearly lost his grip on his Treasure Saber. The opponent’s force had traveled up the blade, a mix of fire and ice that drilled into his meridians. It would cause major problems if not dealt with immediately.

Only he knew that his qi and blood were churning in his chest; his internal organs had indeed been rattled.

The slash this youth had delivered was brimming with spirit and qi; its angle and killing intent were impeccable. Its only flaw was perhaps that it wasn’t cunning enough.

If this boy was allowed to mature, the Yuan Kingdom would have another Grand General in less than five years.

At this thought, killing intent flared within Hong Chenglu.

He recognized this kid. During the negotiations at Hundred Cries Valley a few days ago, this kid had been standing next to Hee Chunhua. He must be that dead official’s eldest son, Hee Lingchuan.

Baili Qing’s arm had been cut off by a single slash from him. Seeing this now, his defeat hardly seemed unjust.

’What a pity,’ Hong Chenglu thought. ’How is a villain like Hee Chunhua worthy of such a fierce and formidable son?’

Unfortunately, this brief delay was all it took. The surrounding Yuan Soldiers swarmed in like a tide, trapping Hong Chenglu in the center and separating him from the Hee Family father and son with layer upon layer of bodies.

Hong Chenglu could only shoot Hee Lingchuan a regretful glance.

Hee Lingchuan had no time to bother with him further. He leaped off his horse and went to check on Hee Chunhua. "Father!"

He had been living with the Hee Family for several months since he transmigrated, and his relationship with this convenient father, Hee Chunhua, was a subtle one, marked by both distance and caution. Yet, seeing him fall to the ground after being struck in a vital spot, Hee Lingchuan’s heart leaped into his throat.

Hee Chunhua was the commander of the Xiazhou Army. How could he possibly fall at a time like this!