Martial Cultivator

Gao Xuan shook his head. "It still needs more consideration. If we fail to hold the General's Office, then we've already lost from the very beginning."

Xie Nandu's plan was indeed extremely risky. This choice was even bolder than Demon Lord Redsleeve's.

Yet one was a demon and the other a human, and both were women. In truth, their temperaments were somewhat alike.

Xie Nandu said softly, "Perhaps she's waiting for me to do exactly this."

Demon Lord Redsleeve was definitely not a fool. What she could see far exceeded what ordinary people could.

Ning Ping said nothing. This Northern Frontier Great General remained unusually quiet.

The other generals likewise watched Xie Nandu in silence, waiting for this woman's decision.

After an unknown length of time, Xie Nandu gently shook her head. "Let's wait and see first. It really is too risky."

Gao Xuan let out a sigh of relief when he heard that.

At the same time, his admiration for Xie Nandu grew by a few more degrees.

For a person to overturn a carefully considered and meticulously thought-out plan within such a short time was no easy thing in itself.

It often required tremendous courage and an exceptionally calm mind. Neither could be lacking.

Gao Xuan said, "That isn't easy."

Before Xie Nandu could speak, hurried footsteps sounded from outside the General's Office.

A scout came galloping over, stopped at the entrance to the main hall, cupped his fists, and shouted, "The demon race is marching south!"

He then handed a detailed intelligence report recording the demon race's latest movements to the Northern Frontier Great General Ning Ping.

The generals gathered in the hall were not particularly surprised. They all knew this day could come at any moment.

Ning Ping glanced over the report before passing it to Xie Nandu. Only then did he smile at everyone and say, "Gentlemen, your luck is good. You've managed to witness an unprecedented great war. If nothing else, when history records this battle in the future, not a single one of your names will be missing."

The generals smiled faintly. They were not necessarily relaxed, but at this moment, it no longer mattered.

If they were meant to die, then they would die. For soldiers like them, that was the final, and also the most magnificent, form of romance.

Ning Ping took a deep breath, left the main hall, and walked alone towards the city wall.

Standing atop the wall, this Northern Frontier Great General looked northward. The last time in his life that he had seen His Majesty had been here.

At that time, the Great Liang Emperor had told him that once he departed, he would not return.

If Ning Ping truly was fated to die now, then he had only one wish - to see His Majesty one more time before he died.

......

......

Inside the main hall, Gao Xuan and Xie Nandu began arranging the deployment of the Northern Frontier Army.

In truth, there was not much to arrange. Before the great battle began, these preparations held little significance, because they would certainly have to be changed later.

Gao Xuan withdrew his gaze from the sand table and lowered his voice as he asked a question. "If we lose three hundred thousand men, can we force them to withdraw without accomplishing anything?"

Three hundred thousand was merely a number at this moment, but if one truly saw them, it would be a sight stretching beyond the horizon.

Xie Nandu glanced at Gao Xuan. Although she did not know why he was still asking such a question at this point, she nevertheless shook her head seriously. "This time, no matter how many of us die, they won't retreat north."

This time, Xie Nandu hoped that when the demon race finally left the Northern Frontier Great Wall, it would be fleeing northward.

And she did not intend to let them make it back.

Gao Xuan asked, "If sacrificing one million people could exterminate the demon race, would you do it?"

The question came to him suddenly, but the moment he asked it, he already knew the answer.

Xie Nandu did not disappoint him. She said calmly, "I would."

Gao Xuan sighed. "If I didn't know what kind of person you are, I'd think you were doing it for military merit, to leave your name in the history books. But I know you aren't. But they don't know."

"It's not important."

Xie Nandu shook her head.

Gao Xuan asked, "When will he arrive?"

"When they arrive, he naturally will as well."

Xie Nandu looked at the sand table and answered without raising her head.

......

......

At Inviting Moon Mountain in the northern lands, around thirty percent of the cultivators on the mountain had already descended over these past days, all heading north.

As the mountain lord, Fairy Li Tang felt little about it. With nothing better to do, she simply wandered leisurely through the mountain, taking in the scenery everywhere.

But today, when she reached the pavilion halfway up the mountain, she saw a figure that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

The young military official in black robes sat quietly inside the pavilion, smiling as he looked at the beautiful itinerant female cultivator from the northern lands.

Li Tang stopped in her tracks and smiled. "Lord Warden Commander, coming here without so much as a word doesn't seem very proper."

Chen Chao smiled apologetically. "Things were rather urgent, so I came straight up the mountain without going through the mountain gate. If Fairy Li Tang is angry, this official can stand here and let you beat me."

Li Tang walked into the pavilion and sat opposite Chen Chao before teasing, "Forget it. I also know that nowadays, wherever Lord Warden Commander wishes to go, no one can stop you. As for giving Lord Warden Commander a beating, I'm afraid that even if you stood perfectly still and let me slash you dozens of times, I still wouldn't be able to kill Lord Warden Commander."

Keeping a straight face, Chen Chao said, "Not necessarily. For example, the demon royal city, and certain women's hearts, aren't places this official can simply go whenever he pleases."

Li Tang was taken aback for a moment before the corners of her mouth twitched. But before she could say anything, Chen Chao took the initiative and got straight to the point. "After leaving the Divine Capital, this official was originally going to head directly for the Northern Frontier. Fairy Li Tang is no doubt aware of the current situation there, so there wasn't a moment to waste..."

Originally, Li Tang had wanted to ask the young martial artist before her about the details of his battle with the Demon Emperor. But now that Chen Chao had steered the conversation this way, she put those thoughts aside and instead asked, "Then for Lord Warden Commander to come all the way to Inviting Moon Mountain at such an urgent time, what is it that you want us to do?"

Chen Chao said, "I've heard that Fairy Li Tang is proficient in a secret art that allows one to detect demonic aura in its subtlest traces. Such a profound technique is even more remarkable than the so-called daoist techniques of the Infatuation Daoist Temple. "Once the great war begins, it's possible that demon cultivators of extraordinary realms will infiltrate the Northern Frontier Great Wall. I'd like to ask Fairy Li Tang to teach this secret art. Would that be possible?"

Li Tang looked at Chen Chao curiously and smiled. "Lord Warden Commander truly hasn't had a moment to rest. How many matters under heaven are there that Lord Warden Commander doesn't know about?"

Chen Chao said, "Fairy Li Tang may name any condition you wish."

Li Tang said nothing. She merely took out a handkerchief, wrote a few small characters on it, and handed it to Chen Chao.

A secret art, requiring only a few dozen words.

"I have only one request. If Lord Warden Commander is able to protect Aunt Gan and the others, then please do your utmost to keep them safe."

Li Tang said softly, "When a woman's beauty fades with age, men will inevitably begin to dislike her and no longer treasure her as they once did. But even then, a woman is still a woman."

Chen Chao said, "There has never been any reason for women to die first."