Chapter 557: Too Clever for One’s Own Good, Powerless and Out of the Game |
Simply relying on pits and fire could not stop his 150,000-strong army, Cai Qiuhu knew this very well. At the same time, he had previously assumed, not without reason, that whoever was advising the rebels from behind would also understand that.
If they knew they couldn’t stop them, why go to such lengths?
Someone was advising the rebels, so the pits and fires were only the opening moves. When the main force arrived, there would definitely be follow-up tricks.
Slowing the army’s pace; sending five thousand elite troops ahead to scout; dispatching a dozen or so Sun Manifestation cultivators to recon the valley entrance — such careful measures all came from a single thought in Cai Qiuhu’s mind.
He always felt that anyone bold enough to come block a 150,000-strong Caiqiu army couldn’t be acting alone; they must have some backup.
But now, as water surged in from the east, the gullies outside the valley mouth were quickly filling, and the rebel forces to the north were rapidly collapsing. From the six or seven ten-thousands just moments ago, they were down to fewer than fifty thousand — utterly devoid of fighting will.
Seeing all this, how could he not react?
This rebel group had no trump cards at all; all their earlier tricks had been smoke and mirrors, nothing more than time-wasting.
The rebels’ greatest reliance was the torrent of water now sweeping in from the east.
Yet he could not find a single Sun Manifestation cultivator among the rebels. The front liners wore plain clothing, the typical dress of Evergreen Valley, indistinguishable from one another.
This only confirmed that the rebels had no powerful backers.
Ugh...
Anger forced reverse-flowing blood up into Cai Qiuhu’s skull, and his fist squeezed out blood.
“Drive back the rebels with me. He Yang, hold the water back. Get our brothers out of the pits first. The main army will quicken pace behind; use stones to fill the pits as soon as possible.”
Though enraged, Cai Qiuhu immediately issued orders.
The rebels numbered fewer than fifty thousand. He had dozens of Sun Manifestation subordinates who could hold for a while; He Yang was his general and possessed a water-manipulation trick that could stall them; the gullies outside the valley mouth were not enormous — even if the eastern waters filled the pits, stones could still pack them up.
Now the only real worry was the 100,000 Xia troops behind them.
“Damn it, I was paranoid and overly cautious earlier, I failed to discern the rebels’ true capabilities in time, and wasted a full fifteen minutes. The Xia army will arrive in less than forty-five minutes, time is running out!”
Initially the Xia army had been over twenty kilometers behind and needed about half an hour to catch up. But because he had made his troops slow down, the gap had closed, and now they would arrive in only about forty-five minutes.
Cai Qiuhu realized he’d been toyed with and fury surged. He drew his great blade at his waist, leaped forward, and charged straight for the rebel front ranks.
A Tribulation Body Realm cultivator was a class above Sun Manifestation. Against Sun Manifestation fighters, it was an overwhelming mismatch. Not to mention the rebels were mostly Digging Realm; even Warmth Realm fighters were only three or four thousand in the front rows.
Boom...
His massive blade, swept with fiery tribulation qi, cleaved into the rebel front. The air was instantly sucked out; the savage blade turned hundreds of rebels into paste along its path. Those in close rear or flank were shredded by the blade’s force, and even if anyone survived, their skin membranes and flesh had been mostly dissolved, their bones snapped inch by inch — their remaining lives would be ruined.
Five-Element tribulation qi, a harrowing body — this is what Tribulation Body Realm meant. Even before tens of thousands of enemies, their edge was unimpaired.
After Cai Qiuhu’s strike, the rebels were stunned.
Worse, it wasn’t just Cai Qiuhu. Dozens of Sun Manifestation under his command pounced like starving wolves, their weapons slashing with massive force. Though their might did not compare to Cai Qiuhu’s, their dozens-of-meters-long arcs still wrought apocalyptic destruction for this weak rebel host.
“Don’t retreat! Hold them! There are fewer than a hundred of them. They have limits. Push them toward the gullies’ edges. If we block the Caiqiu army, we still have hope!”
“You’ve already revolted. What’s the point in running now? If the Caiqiu army bursts out of the valley, it’s a dead end for us. Hold on, the allied external armies will be here soon. Once their army arrives, Caiqiu will be defeated!”
“How many years has Evergreen Valley suffered under Caiqiu oppression? At last we have a chance to rise. What are you afraid of? If we must die, then die to buy a future for our children. Dying here will be worth it!”
...
Cai Qiuhu led his powerful men into a savage offensive; their momentum was cataclysmic. How could a band of laborers-turned-rebels resist? The Warmth Realm fighters in the front fell by the hundreds, the rear ranks panicked and started falling back in all directions.
Their collapse was instantaneous — now truly manifest.
As the rout began, a dozen high, hoarse shouts rose within the rebel ranks, desperate attempts to stop the collapse.
To some extent, it worked.
“Right — retreating is death. If Evergreen Valley doesn’t change hands today, we’re all doomed. Do you think the officials in Qinghua City will spare us?”
“Where to go? The Qinghua troops crushing us are right behind. Retreating only hastens our death. If we stall until the allied external army arrives, then maybe we live.”
“We’ll die either way. Stop them now, brothers — charge!”
“No need to fight those elites. We only need to block the Caiqiu troops in the pits. The allied troops are right behind them, they’ll be here soon.”
“Charge!”
...
Hearing the cries, the rebels’ eyes flashed with fire. Recalling the valley’s centuries of suffering, one after another they charged to the flanks.
Anger aside, when life and death are on the line, no one plays dumb. They knew they could not jointly defeat Cai Qiuhu and the other experts, but if they wrapped around and blocked the troops trying to come out of the pits, they might succeed.
“Damn it, split and stop them!”
Although Cai Qiuhu had cut down two or three hundred men, he did not continue slaughtering. Seeing the rebels slipping around the sides, he immediately ordered his dozens of Sun Manifestation men to split to the flanks to stop them, buying time for the five thousand elite troops in the pits to break out.
Still, the rebels’ only advantage — sheer numbers — began to show.
Dozens of Sun Manifestation were terrifying, essentially invincible within the rebel mass. Even when blades struck, their skin membranes could often hold.
But the problem was their number — utterly insufficient.
There were only about forty of them. Against a few thousand rebels, they could hold, but against over ten thousand, it became difficult. And the rebel numbers far exceeded ten thousand.
Tens of thousands of laborer-rebels roared and surged to the flanks, ignoring the core of Cai Qiuhu’s experts and focusing on stopping the five thousand elites in the pits. For a time, they actually did manage to block them.
Gurgle gurgle...
At the eastern inlet of the pit, a middle-aged man in white brocade held his hands up to the leading edge of the water. Faint blue light flickered across his palms. When the torrent touched that blue light, it froze, no longer flowing westward.
But the middle-aged man’s face was flushed, his hands trembling violently. As more water poured in from behind, he strained further; the blue glow on his palms dimmed. He had clearly reached his limit.
“Faster! I can only hold this for at most a quarter hour!”
Water is probably the deadliest thing in the Ice Abyss. He Yang’s water-control trick was one of Caiqiu’s secret weapons, but it was not omnipotent — too powerful a current would overwhelm him. The current the rebels had diverted was clearly beyond his control now.
Cai Qiuhu and his Sun Manifestation men stiffened when they heard He Yang’s voice, their killing intensified as they tried to speed up getting the troops out of the pits.
A quarter hour — they had to get the pit troops out and have the main army arrive. Filling the pit with stones before it flooded was a completely different matter from after it filled with water.
The pit outside the valley mouth ran over a hundred meters east-west, thirty meters wide, and a staggering five meters deep. Once flooded, it wouldn’t be easy to fill, much less open even a single exit.
“Kill them, scatter them all — quickly!”
Time kept slipping away, and Cai Qiuhu grew ever more anxious. He’d already abandoned his plan to seize the rebel leaders; from the moment they left the valley mouth he’d wasted a full quarter hour. The Xia army would arrive in less than half an hour now.
Heart burning, Cai Qiuhu’s strikes grew more merciless. Seeing the rebels still throwing themselves forward, he forcibly tamped down his fury and tried to calm his voice as he shouted:
“I am the Little Fang Bo of Caiqiu, Cai Qiuhu. I promise: any rebel who withdraws immediately will face no reprisals from Caiqiu afterward!”
Cai Qiuhu finally yielded to the rebels.
He had to. If the Xia army arrived, there would be no salvation.
Notably, his concession had an appreciable effect.
Those who had been fighting like mad suddenly sobered at his words; especially those in the rear who hadn’t yet crossed over, they turned and looked up at the sky-standing Cai Qiuhu with glints of hope in their eyes.
“Is that just a temporary trick? Do you really believe the Little Fang Bo’s lies? Once the Caiqiu army leaves the valley, no more worries — they’ll raise the slaughter knives. The Qinghua City troops are less than twenty kilometers away. Retreating now is a road to death. Only when our Xia army arrives will you have a sliver of hope!”
However, a voice from high overhead instantly snuffed that flicker of hope.
“For over a hundred years Evergreen Valley has been weak. Keep following Caiqiu and you only become servants for the city’s officials and nobles, their slaughtered lambs. My feudal Fang Bo says: if Evergreen Valley joins Great Xia, first we’ll abolish the six-tier household system; second, people will be free to relocate and may enter Xia City to make a living; third, everyone can become Xia citizens, and all resource zones inside Great Xia will be open to you freely. Just hold on a little longer, Evergreen Valley’s good days are coming. What are you hesitating for?”
Above the rebels, a young general in golden armor spoke loudly. Handsome and imposing, he radiated a sharp air. A giant broadsword hung from his waist, and his arrival immediately drew everyone’s gaze.
Department Head Yu Wen had finally come!
Among the rebels, Xiang Liang, who had been blending in with the crowd, exhaled in relief. His taut expression eased noticeably.
Yu Wen’s appearance meant the Xia army was near.
The time he had so carefully bought had played its part.
“Yu Wen — so it’s Great Xia stirring trouble in Evergreen Valley. I’ll kill you!”
Cai Qiuhu had witnessed the Southern Foothills campaign and was well acquainted with Yu Wen. As soon as Yu Wen appeared, Cai Qiuhu focused his senses on the valley, and sensing the Xia army had not yet arrived, he could not hold back. He leaped skyward, heading straight for Yu Wen.
If Yu Wen were hiding inside the rebel mass, he’d be harder to reach. But he brazenly hovered over the rebels, a perfect target Cai Qiuhu could not miss.
Yu Wen was one of Great Xia’s four route marshals and Department Head of the Military Department — his status in Great Xia needed no elaboration. Yet he was only Sun Manifestation. If Cai Qiuhu could cut him down here, it would be a small debt reclaimed from Great Xia.
With Tribulation Body cultivation, facing tens of thousands of rebels was dazzling, so Cai Qiuhu could not afford everything. But now that his target was Yu Wen, his strikes became ferocious.
Tribulation qi swirled around his long blade, drawing a streak of flame across the sky. In an instant it rushed near Yu Wen’s face. Cai Qiuhu did not hesitate; he brought the blade down, aiming straight for Yu Wen’s crown.
Whoosh...
The hundred-meter-length blade, laced with fiery tribulation qi, lit the night sky at the valley mouth like a molten fissure. The savage momentum made the rebel host below hold their breath, their pupils full of terror.
Meanwhile, the five thousand elite troops who had already broken out of the gully and the Caiqiu main army finally arriving behind them were jubilant, just waiting for their Little Fang Bo to sever Great Xia’s commander midair.
Clang...
“Little Fang Bo, stop wasting time here. Go see Linchu County! If you delay, your father or uncle might be killed by Chu Longteng!”
Cai Qiuhu’s downward blade collided fiercely with a narrow long knife, and an invisible shockwave exploded midair, instantly sweeping away the molten trail the tribulation qi had produced.
Staring at the black-clad figure blocking him, Cai Qiuhu’s expression froze; his pupils filled with confusion and horror.
“Xia Hong... you—weren’t you severely injured by my father Uncle? How could you—”
Yu Wen had already been blasted a hundred meters back by the shockwave. Looking toward Xia Hong and Cai Qiuhu’s crossed blades, his eyes were filled with astonishment and shock.
He had been hovering behind the Caiqiu army previously and had not shown himself because he feared the Tribulation Body cultivators in Caiqiu would attack him.
His caution had been well-founded. Although Cai Qianshan had departed, he’d left Cai Qiuhu behind — if any trick had been attempted back in the Bone-Erosion Path, Yu Wen might have died gruesomely.
Yet now he dared to show himself openly for a reason.
The earlier southern exit battle and the lord who fought Cai Qianshan hadn’t truly been seriously injured — it had all been staged, something Yu Wen had only just discovered.
Not only would Great Xia unify the Southern Foothills, but this time Great Xia might even extend its hand into Mo'ao Chuan!
That thought flashed in Yu Wen’s mind. When he looked again at Xia Hong confronting Cai Qiuhu, reverence rose in his pupils and fervor surfaced on his face.
Xia Hong, however, was unaware of Yu Wen’s inner thoughts. He regarded Cai Qiuhu with a faintly teasing gaze and said calmly:
“If I hadn’t pretended to be gravely wounded, how could Cai Qianshan have safely taken troops to Linchu County? Little Fang Bo, Evergreen Valley can’t be defended. Linchu County will probably fall too...”
He paused, and seeing Cai Qiuhu’s face darken, he added fuel to the fire in his tone:
“Your Caiqiu is already out of the game!”
Out of the game.
The Mo'ao Chuan power struggle no longer had Caiqiu in it!
Cai Qiuhu immediately grasped the meaning behind Xia Hong’s words. His pupils flushed scarlet, anger flared, and he went mad with rage.
“Arrogant!”