Chapter 496 - 408: My Husband Is Coming Back Soon...
In less than two months.
Xiao Mo traveled day and night, leading his army to the battlefields of the Qi Kingdom.
When Xiahou Nan saw that Xiao Mo had arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief.
But Xiahou Nan also knew that with the Frost King’s arrival, it was time for this long, drawn-out war to finally come to a close.
After the entire army rested for seven days, Xiao Mo had gained a thorough understanding of the situation in the Qi Kingdom.
Xiao Mo sent messages via Flying Sword to Li Jing and Zhao Guang, telling them they no longer needed to garrison the cities and could now lead their forces to attack the Zhao Kingdom.
At the same time, Xiao Mo also led his army to engage the Qi Kingdom in a direct confrontation.
This first major battle involved no schemes or tricks—it was all open, honorable, face-to-face slaughter.
The Ten Thousand Islands Country’s "National Guardian General," Han Gan, and Gu Fei of the Qi Kingdom commanded the joint forces, facing off against Xiao Mo.
Xiao Mo sat on his horse before the army’s formation.
The moment Xiao Mo donned his Asura Mask, the other four hundred thousand Snow-Trampling Dragon Cavalry and one million two hundred thousand elite Heavy Armor soldiers of the Northern Wilderness Army donned their masks in unison.
The millions of Asura-like iron masks glinted with a cold light, and the killing intent on the battlefield grew ever denser.
The eyes visible beneath the iron masks of the million-strong army were filled with murderous intent, as if they would stop at nothing to tear their enemies to shreds.
"Truly an army of tigers and wolves!"
Han Gan, the National Guardian General of the Ten Thousand Islands, had originally looked down on the Qin Kingdom’s so-called Frost King, thinking it was just a title hyped up by the former Prince Zhenbei.
But when he saw the bearing of the Northern Wilderness Army, he no longer dared to underestimate his opponent.
"Where is the army of the Qin Kingdom!"
Xiao Mo’s voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Here!" the million-strong army roared in unison, their cry shaking the heavens.
"Charge with me!"
Xiao Mo pointed his Long Spear forward and charged first. Following closely behind him were the four hundred thousand Snow-Trampling Dragon Cavalry.
The remaining million soldiers of the Northern Wilderness Army, all clad in Heavy Armor, also surged forward to break the enemy lines.
The Sect Cultivators who had enlisted in the Qin Kingdom’s army charged out at the same time.
"KILL!"
The Ten Thousand Islands Country’s National Guardian General Han Gan and the Qi Kingdom’s Grand General Gu Fei drew their longswords, pointed forward, and their iron cavalry and soldiers charged ahead!
On the battlefield, military formations and magical Arrays had already taken shape.
The clash of iron cavalry, the slaughter between formations, the bombardment of Arrays, and the one-on-one duels between Cultivators.
One by one, soldiers and Cultivators fell into pools of blood.
In this great battle, the Ten Thousand Islands Country had also staked everything, deploying all of its elite forces.
With the help of the Ten Thousand Islands Country’s army, the forces of the Qi Kingdom and the Qin Kingdom were evenly matched.
But as the battle dragged on, the difference in strength between the two armies and the gap between their commanders became apparent.
After two days of fighting, the Qin Kingdom’s army had gained a clear advantage, and their battle line pushed forward relentlessly.
Both Han Gan and Gu Fei sensed that things were going poorly.
Though their hearts were filled with unwillingness, they had no choice but to sound the retreat.
Xiao Mo personally led his army in pursuit for over twenty li before finally stopping.
In the days that followed, Xiao Mo’s army switched from defense to offense and began to besiege cities.
Xiao Mo continued to command the main front. In addition, he split off two other forces, advancing into the Qi Kingdom on a total of three fronts.
On the Zhao Kingdom front, the Qin army led by Li Jing and Zhao Guang also began to exert their strength, fiercely attacking the Zhao Kingdom.
Fang Weiming and Liu Xing led their forces from the former Jin Region, broke into the Zhao Kingdom’s territory, and joined Li Jing and Zhao Guang in the attack.
Because the countries of Liuhuo and Xigu had dispatched a large number of Demon Race Cultivators to support the Zhao Kingdom, the battlefield there fell into a stalemate, with both sides winning and losing various large and small battles.
After losing several major battles in a row, the Qi Kingdom’s morale plummeted.
The Ten Thousand Islands Country was now hesitating, wondering if it should continue to support the Qi Kingdom.
Although the pie in the sky that the Qi Kingdom had drawn was indeed tempting—to share the World of Ten Thousand Laws...
...for now, even getting a single bite of that pie seemed incredibly difficult.
Meanwhile, to boost morale at the Imperial Court and stabilize the ministers, Xiao Mo frequently sent reports of victory to the Imperial City.
Qin Siyao was also closely monitoring the battlefield, personally managing all logistics.
Elixirs, military pay, and provisions could only be delivered ahead of schedule; no delays were tolerated, and violators would be executed.
The front lines absolutely could not be affected.
It was also during this time when Xiao Mo was away on campaign that Qin Siyao once again tried to persuade Zhou Ruoxi to move into the Imperial Palace and live with her.
But Zhou Ruoxi refused again.
Qin Siyao knew her mother-in-law disliked life in the deep palace, and she really couldn’t force her.
However, no matter how busy Qin Siyao was, she would visit her mother-in-law every two days.
Her mother-in-law’s health was getting worse and worse. Even after trying many methods and consulting numerous Medical Cultivators, there was little improvement.
But Qin Siyao still hadn’t given up, sending people to search the world for Medical Cultivators to come and treat her mother-in-law.
On this day, Qin Siyao managed to invite the current leader of the Medical School, who was also the only late-stage Immortal Realm Medical Cultivator.
"Doctor Li, how is my mother-in-law’s condition, truly?"
After Li Que walked out of Zhou Ruoxi’s room, Qin Siyao asked anxiously.
"Sigh..."
Li Que stroked his white beard and shook his head.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Madam Zhou is not ill."
"Not ill?" Qin Siyao was taken aback for a moment.
"That is correct. Madam Zhou is not ill. This is ’fate.’"
Li Que continued to explain.
"Among those in the Foundation Establishment Realm, even without illness or injury, some Cultivators can live for two hundred years, while others only live for one hundred and fifty.
This is true for Cultivators, let alone mortals.
Some mortals can live for one hundred and twenty years and are hailed as paragons of longevity, but other mortals, even without sickness, can only live for sixty or seventy years.
This is fate.
It is what the Daoist Sect calls a ’fixed number.’
Madam Zhou’s life force is now nearly exhausted. No Spirit Medicine will be of any use.
All that this old man can do is prescribe some remedies to make Madam Zhou more comfortable. That is all."
Hearing Li Que’s words, Qin Siyao stood frozen in place, clutching her sleeves tightly as she stared blankly toward the room.
After a long while, Qin Siyao nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Doctor Li."
"Your Majesty is too kind."
Li Que bowed with his hands clasped and turned to write the prescription.
After Li Que left, Qin Siyao took a deep breath and composed herself, not letting her sorrow show. She then opened the door and entered the room. "Mother, how are you feeling?"
"I’m fine, of course," Zhou Ruoxi said with a small smile. "What did that Doctor Li say?"
Qin Siyao lowered her head slightly but quickly raised it again, smiling. "He said that your body is fine, Mother. Doctor Li wrote you a prescription, and you will gradually get better."
Hearing Qin Siyao’s words, a small smile touched the corners of Madam Zhou’s lips, and she simply nodded. "Mm, I understand."
Qin Siyao pressed her thin lips together, then sat beside her mother. "Let’s not talk about that, Mother. My husband keeps sending news of victory from the battlefield.
Especially in a recent great battle, he achieved Dao-Confluence on the battlefield and entered the Jade Realm, which greatly boosted the army’s morale.
Let me read this victory report to you."
With that, Qin Siyao took out the letter sent from the front lines and read it to her mother-in-law, word for word.
Zhou Ruoxi listened intently, sometimes nodding, sometimes smiling.
After Qin Siyao finished reading, a gentle look flashed in Zhou Ruoxi’s eyes. "As long as Mo’er is alright, that’s all that matters."
"My husband is doing very well. He will soon destroy the Qi and Zhao Kingdoms and return to the capital to see you," Qin Siyao said gently, holding Zhou Ruoxi’s small hand.
"Is that so? Mo’er is coming back soon?"
Zhou Ruoxi looked out the window and smiled.
"That’s wonderful... Mo’er is coming back soon..."
"Yes."
Qin Siyao followed her mother-in-law’s gaze into the distance.
’My husband... is coming back soon...’