Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector

Bai Yuge sat opposite him, her expression utterly calm.

"That’s right. It has to be this way."

Her voice was as cold and hard as the wind on this Ancient Battlefield.

"Because this is the only way to trap Xiang Wu and his entire army here."

"But so many people will die! So many brothers who don’t have to!" Meng Yi said in a low voice, suppressing the rage in his chest.

Hearing this, Bai Yuge didn’t retort. She just looked at him with an almost mocking gaze.

The look seemed to say, ’You’re still worried about that at a time like this?’

Meng Yi finally sighed helplessly and looked down at the written order on the table, sealed with the King’s Seal.

’I can’t figure it out. The whole court sees the Bai Family as lunatics. What could they have possibly done to convince His Majesty to let them fight this war—a war that will decide the nation’s fate?’

But a Monarch’s command is as immovable as a mountain. Holding this order, Bai Yuge now possessed an authority even he had to obey.

"I will do as you say," Meng Yi said, closing his eyes as if it took all the strength he had.

"Good."

Bai Yuge stood up, moving without the slightest hesitation. Just as she reached the tent’s entrance, she suddenly stopped. Without turning back, she said, "General Meng, I will kill your old rival, Xiang Wu, for you. No need to thank me."

As her voice fell, she vanished into the night.

Only the dejected Meng Yi remained in the large tent.

He wasn’t a man of soft-hearted benevolence. In fact, he knew full well the principle that a kind man cannot lead soldiers.

Bai Yuge’s plan was to use the lives of thousands, even tens of thousands, of Soldiers as bait to catch the big fish, Xiang Wu.

He could accept that. The key issue was that he was the commander-in-chief. This feeling of having his authority usurped, of being forced to bow his head, filled him with a deep-seated frustration and shame.

「The next day, just as dawn was breaking.」

The dull, oppressive sound of war drums thundered across the land, awakening the slumbering Ancient Battlefield.

Two massive armies faced each other on the open plains. The dense black armor formed a seemingly endless forest of steel.

An aura of slaughter surged to the heavens, staining even the clouds on the horizon a shade of blood red.

After a brief exchange of arrows, the great battle erupted!

"KILL!"

The earth-shattering war cries echoed as the vanguards of both armies crashed into each other like two violent tides.

Meng Yi sat upon the high general’s platform, his hand resting on his sword’s hilt, his expression grim.

Following the plan, he sent out his vanguard and dispatched troops to flank from both wings, while the Central Army held its position.

At almost the exact same time, on the other side, beneath the general’s banner of the Great Liang Country.

A similarly burly general was also calmly observing the state of the battle.

His eyes were sharp and full of spirit. It was none other than the commander of the Liang Country, Xiang Wu.

And the tactics he employed were identical to Meng Yi’s.

It was a kind of unspoken understanding between fated rivals.

However, after watching for only a moment, Xiang Wu’s brow twitched slightly, and he let out a soft sound of surprise.

He had noticed something was wrong.

As Meng Yi’s left-wing formation advanced, it stuttered in a way it shouldn’t have, creating a fleeting gap where it connected with the Central Army.

Given his understanding of Meng Yi, such a low-level mistake should never have come from him.

’A mistake made in the heat of the moment?’

Xiang Wu did not act rashly. He was like an incredibly patient cheetah, continuing to wait.

The fighting on the battlefield grew increasingly brutal. Flesh and blood flew everywhere as bodies fell, only to be trampled into paste by the iron hooves of those who followed.

Soon, Xiang Wu discovered another opening.

This time, as the right wing tangled with his forces, their retreat fell into disarray for a brief moment.

These two openings finally convinced Xiang Wu that this was not a trap.

’This must be Meng Yi’s mistake. It seems my old rival has gotten careless.’

A trace of joy welled up uncontrollably from the bottom of his heart, but he instantly forced it back down.

A commander must never be impetuous or rash.

He naturally understood this principle, so he quickly regained his previous composure and began to issue orders.

A troop of elite cavalry, ferocious as wolves and tigers, immediately broke from the main formation. Like a sharp blade, they stabbed precisely into the opening in Meng Yi’s Battle Array.

’Just as I thought!’

The seemingly impenetrable Battle Array was easily torn open by this cavalry unit!

Seeing his elite troops truly break through, Xiang Wu’s spirits soared, and he no longer hesitated.

"Full assault!"

Meng Yi’s army seemed to react only then, hastily redeploying troops to remedy the situation, but it was too late.

Once an opening was seized by a top-tier military master like Xiang Wu, there was little chance of turning the tables.

In an instant, the Yong Army’s formation fell into chaos as the elite troops sent by Xiang Wu charged and slaughtered at will.

Although Meng Yi commanded with all his might, trying to stabilize the line, his efforts were not enough. They were forced into a steady retreat.

Seeing a great victory within his grasp, a scorching Flame ignited in Xiang Wu’s eyes.

"Personal Guard Camp, advance! Take Meng Yi’s banner!"

For this decisive, final blow, he even dispatched his most elite Personal Guard!

This unit, composed of battle-hardened veterans, was the sharpest spear in Xiang Wu’s hand. Their strength was far beyond that of ordinary Soldiers.

The moment they entered the battlefield, they became an unstoppable torrent. Chaos erupted in their wake, men and horses toppling as they forcefully carved a path through the disordered battlefield, heading straight for the Meng general’s banner flying high over the Central Army!

As long as that banner was cut down, the morale of the Yong Army would shatter, and this battle would be a complete victory!

At the thought of such immense merit right before their eyes, these Personal Guards spurred their warhorses on, scrambling over one another as they brandished their weapons and charged toward the banner.

The cavalryman at the very front already wore a triumphant smile. He raised the Lance in his hand high, about to cut down the flagpole.

But in the next instant, his movement suddenly froze.

Then, the cavalryman, along with the warhorse beneath him, was brutally cleaved in two, from head to tail!

Scalding blood and entrails splattered across the ground.

And then, a figure like a Demon God slowly appeared before everyone.

Chen Ye stood silently before the general’s banner, holding a giant Mo Saber that was half a head taller than himself.

The Mo Saber’s blade was wide and heavy. A glaring line of blood trickled slowly down its dark surface.

This bloody and terrifying scene startled all the elite Liang Army Soldiers charging toward them.

They had never seen such a ferocious method of killing!

But as expected of Great Liang’s most elite soldiers, after a brief moment of shock, the vicious glint in their eyes only intensified.

"Kill him! Take the banner!"

Several cavalrymen roared, spurring their horses forward once again. The Lances in their hands thrust at Chen Ye from different angles, sealing off all his room to dodge.

But facing these charging cavalrymen, Chen Ye showed not a hint of fear.

He let out a low roar. The muscles on his body instantly bulged, and pulsing green veins coiled like horned dragons beneath his bronze skin. He looked like a vajra incarnate as he gripped the Mo Saber with both hands and brought it down with savage force.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A series of ear-piercing screeches of metal on metal exploded.

Amidst the mournful whinnies of the warhorses, the tough Lances were all knocked away or severed by Chen Ye’s single strike!

And the terrifying impact from the charging warhorses only made Chen Ye’s figure sway slightly.

Immediately after, Chen Ye followed the momentum and swung his Mo Saber in a horizontal slash.

THWACK! THWACK!

Two cavalrymen were cut in half at the waist, their corpses tumbling into the dust.

The remaining two cavalrymen were scared out of their wits. They frantically tried to turn their horses around and flee.

But it was too late!

The Mo Saber had been bent and deformed, so Chen Ye tossed it aside without a second glance. Then, his massive, fan-like hand shot out and seized one of the warhorse’s legs.

"Up!"

Following his explosive shout, the thousand-jin warhorse, along with the cavalryman on its back, was forcefully hoisted into the air and then brutally smashed onto the ground!

The cavalryman coughed up blood from the impact and tried to struggle up, but a giant foot descended from the sky and stomped down hard.

THUD!

With a dull thud like a watermelon bursting, the cavalryman’s head was crushed.

The last cavalryman watched, his soul nearly scattering from fright. He frantically whipped his mount like a madman, trying to escape this place as quickly as possible.

Chen Ye, however, just snorted coldly. He grabbed a broken Lance, his arm muscles suddenly tensing, and then hurled it with all his might!

WHOOSH!

The broken Lance became a black bolt of lightning, tearing through the air.

With a blood-curdling scream, the fleeing cavalryman’s body shuddered violently. Then, both he and his horse were pierced through by the broken Lance and pinned firmly to the ground!