Martial Cultivator

Song Ming said nothing. He merely looked into the distance. The demon army was already close. Although he had already sent off his military report, there was virtually no chance reinforcements would arrive before the pass fell.

In truth, no one could be blamed. This southern advance by the demon army had come far too suddenly, catching everyone by surprise.

This was a place the demons were determined to take, so they had given the frontier army no opportunity whatsoever to reinforce it.

Even if the General's Office could somehow assemble a large army in an extremely short time to hold this place, they would have to worry about the demons breaking through elsewhere at the same time.

But no matter who it was, everyone understood that once the great war truly began, these passes would all be lost eventually. The only question was when.

"General Song, remember this. This old man's name is Zhou Qingshan. On the road to the Yellow Springs, let's keep each other company."

The old sword cultivator took the flying sword from his back and began unwrapping the strips of cloth wound around it.

On the city walls, more and more cultivators gradually appeared. Most of them were military cultivators who had been stationed in the Northern Frontier year-round. Only a handful were cultivators like the old sword cultivator, who had volunteered to come here.

After Pine Pavilion Pass, most of the Sword Sect's sword cultivators had already been recalled by the General's Office to the Northern Frontier city walls.

Song Ming laughed loudly and shook his head. "Don't say something so unlucky. Your Father has never wanted to die."

Zhou Qingshan said nothing more. He simply continued unwrapping the strips of cloth from around the blade of his flying sword bit by bit. In these final fleeting moments, what the old sword cultivator thought of was not his disciple, but his parents, who had passed away many years ago.

Tears suddenly streamed down the old sword cultivator's aged face, falling uncontrollably onto the strips of cloth.

"Father, Mother... your son has been unfilial. After all these years, this is the first time I've truly been a Great Liang citizen."

......

......

At the General's Office, figures hurried to and fro. Ever since Demon Lord Redsleeve had become the demons' new supreme commander, the General's Office had not had a moment's rest. Besides the routine observation of the demon army's movements in the desolate north, they had also been gathering intelligence from the southern frontier, investigating this royal-born Demon Lord Redsleeve until they knew everything there was to know about her.

But when that military dispatch arrived at the General's Office, all the lieutenant generals fell silent. Of the two commanding generals, Ning Ping looked at the contents of the report without saying a word, while Xie Nandu, who had now become the deputy general of the General's Office despite being a woman, said succinctly, "We underestimated Redsleeve. We won't be able to hold those passes. They'll all be lost."

Ning Ping's expression was complicated, while Gao Xuan was the first to ask, "After those passes fall, will the demon army stop briefly to regroup, or will they press straight south to the Northern Frontier city walls?"

Xie Nandu glanced at Gao Xuan. "You mean that if the demon army force-marches south, we could send a cavalry force to launch a surprise attack in the desolate north and throw their formation into chaos?"

Xie Nandu truly deserved her reputation as someone born to command armies. Gao Xuan had only said half of what he meant, yet she had already understood the rest.

Gao Xuan nodded. "If the demons hurry their march, they'll definitely be exhausted. If we send out two cavalry forces, one driving straight into the middle of the demon army while the other circles around and attacks from the rear, we can shatter their morale in one blow. Besides, cavalry comes and goes like the wind..."

At this point, Gao Xuan paused before speaking even more boldly. "Or we could send several cavalry forces. One force cuts the demon army in two, severing the front from the rear, while the others encircle and destroy the rear army. Meanwhile, the troops on the city walls pin down the demon vanguard. If we can pull that off... we might win a crushing victory right at the start!"

It was a bold proposal, but if things truly unfolded as he described, the demon army would begin the campaign at a disadvantage, and the Great Liang Dynasty would seize the initiative from the outset.

Li Changling, commander of the cavalry and a veteran of countless campaigns, also spoke up after hearing the suggestion. "It is indeed a risky move, but if we're going to try it, then leave the job of smashing through their formation to me!"

As the main commander of the calvary army, nothing compared to the battle years ago when His Majesty had ridden into the desolate north and personally led two hundred thousand troops against the demon cavalry in a head-on clash. Compared to that, every battle since had felt too small in scale.

Having risen from an ordinary cavalryman to main commander of the cavalry, Li Changling only truly felt alive when charging across the battlefield on horseback, cutting down enemies.

At all other times, it was as though he were asleep, merely waiting for the day he would awaken again.

Xie Nandu merely glanced at the map of the desolate north hanging in the main hall of the General's Office before shaking her head. "Judging from this Demon Lord's methods of warfare, there's no way these hundreds of thousands of demon troops are advancing south as a single army. They'll definitely be divided into separate forces supporting one another. She won't give us even the slightest opportunity to launch a surprise attack. Unless there were an army that could simply charge straight into the demon host by brute force. After the demon army surrounded that force completely, it would have to hold them there by sheer strength until our other armies arrived from outside."

After taking a deep breath, Xie Nandu looked around the hall and asked, "In the Northern Frontier, or even in the entire Great Liang Dynasty, can you find an army capable of doing that?"

Faced with Xie Nandu's question, no one spoke.

Because everyone knew the answer.

There wasn't one.

Not even the newly formed army the Northern Frontier had been building these past months, with every soldier clad in Dragonblood Armor, could accomplish such a feat.

Gao Xuan raised his brows and looked first at Xie Nandu, then at Ning Ping. But after looking, he swallowed the words he had been about to say.

The risk was simply too great, and judging by the strategic brilliance Redsleeve had displayed so far, there was an eighty percent chance she would never give them such an opportunity.

Xie Nandu suddenly said, "Actually, once the scouts return, we'll have our answer. But if it really is just one great army advancing south in full force, then things will be even more troublesome."

Gao Xuan froze for a moment before immediately understanding what she meant.

In warfare, truth and deception went hand in hand. If Demon Lord Redsleeve knowingly did exactly what everyone expected her not to do, then it meant she was not only a master of commanding armies, but had also reached an extraordinary level in her understanding of human nature.

Gao Xuan looked at Xie Nandu. He had a feeling that this woman was about to meet the most formidable opponent of her life.

Xie Nandu raised her head and glanced at Gao Xuan without saying anything.

The Northern Frontier's most difficult days had not yet arrived.

"Hang on."

One of the lieutenant generals suddenly stood up and looked at the assembled generals, every one of whom outranked him in both seniority and position. "Generals, you have forgotten something."

Ning Ping looked curiously at the relatively young lieutenant general and asked, "What is it?"

That lieutenant general looked at everyone present and said softly, "Now that the demons are marching south and are about to reach the Northern Frontier Great Wall, yes, everyone needs to worry and think carefully about how to respond. But those passes that can no longer be held, those passes that have already fallen, those soldiers who have already died in battle - the generals must speak of them. They must remember them."

Ning Ping froze, looking at the lieutenant general, unable to find the words.

While Gao Xuan said, "Many more people are about to die..."

Before Gao Xuan could finish speaking, Xie Nandu cut in, "That's right. Many more people are about to die, but those who die should all be remembered. They should all be spoken of. They didn't die for no reason. They died for those who are still alive, so they deserve to be remembered."

The lieutenant general grew somewhat emotional. He had been rather apprehensive before speaking, never expecting to receive such wholehearted agreement in the end.

Ning Ping nodded. "Exactly. Today we remember them. One day, when we are all dead, someone will remember us as well."

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