Chapter 205 |
"Stop spacing out! Keep moving!"
The Tiger-Chasing soldiers and cultivators were still trembling from surviving the disaster when Zhao Qi’s booming voice snapped them back to reality. Without hesitation, they followed their leader’s figure racing toward the opposite slope.
BOOM!
Another thunderous sound cracked the heavens. Countless black and red fireballs began raining down as soldiers craned their necks upward. Fear twisted their faces as their legs pumped faster.
The commander squinted at the approaching fireballs, sweat beading his brow. "We’re running out of—" His words died as he glanced at Zhao Qi. Despite the impending doom, the young man’s expression remained steady as still water – that same unshakable calm that had saved them during the Blood Feather Hall ambush when Hong Yao arrived just in time to rescue him and Liang Yi.
Panic kills faster than any blade during crises. Zhao Qi knew this better than most. While others scrambled, his mind worked with cold precision. Escaping the firestorm was impossible with a thousand troops in tow, but survival wasn’t about outrunning disaster – it was about outthinking it.
Years of study flashed through his mind: Ten Years’ worth of terrain maps, five recent battle reports, every scrap of intel on Eastern Wilderness cultivators. Preparation was the poor man’s cultivation level. His hand shot toward a vine-draped rock wall, golden light slicing through vegetation to reveal a thirty-foot boulder.
"Friends! Heave together!"
The Yang Family cultivators lunged forward first. Others followed despite their doubts, muscles straining against the massive stone as fireballs screamed toward earth.
"Into the cave! Now!"
They pushed the boulder further to widen the gap, allowing more soldiers to scramble inside. But the falling fireballs accelerated overhead, leaving less than three breaths of time.
"General, we’re out of time," Zhao Qi called out while darting into the cavern. Other cultivators hurried after him.
The commander made swift decision – though nearly third of his troops remained outside, he ordered the boulder rolled back to seal the entrance.
Boom!—
Boom!—
…
The violent impact of fire rain made entire mountain tremble. Soldiers who made it inside sighed with temporary relief, though their faces darkened when remembering those left behind.
Zhao Qi sat nearest to sealed entrance, mind still calculating strategies. After months witnessing constant death, such scenes no longer disturbed his inner peace.
This wasn’t heartlessness. He had always remembered Yang Lingqing and Old Yu’s teachings:
"A nobleman does not intervene."
…
"Choose actions wisely."
…
"Exhaust human efforts, then accept heaven’s will."
…
These principles steeled him against war’s cruel realities.
Hearing ragged breathing beside him, Zhao Qi rested hand on Chu Xuan’s shoulder. The Chu family cultivator, having lived twenty sheltered years, still tensed up despite months at war.
"Brother Chu, if death comes, I’ll face it first."
Chu Xuan forced bitter chuckle, anxious heart sinking like stone. "Only you, Brother Zhao… could call this comfort."
Xie Chuan and Liang Yi remained calm, having survived the Moonfall crisis, which gave them stronger mental fortitude than Chu Xuan. Among the four Yang Family members, Dai Wei stood out as Zhao Qi’s greatest surprise.
Though Yang Lingrui had instructed Zhao Qi to look after Dai Wei initially, he soon realized it was unnecessary. The boy adapted to battlefield rhythms far quicker than expected, soon carrying himself like a seasoned veteran. His composed demeanor mirrored Zhao Qi’s own. Combined with Dai Wei’s performance during the aptitude test, Zhao Qi concluded this unshakable calmness was innate. If the boy survived this baptism of blood and fire, the Yang Family would gain another formidable asset after the war.
The fire rain lasted fifteen full minutes before ceasing. The group waited until the large boulder’s residual heat faded before moving. They cracked it open just enough to check the outside temperature, only evacuating when certain ordinary soldiers could endure it.
Outside lay carbonized corpses of soldiers, many still clutching the boulder in death. Survivors averted their eyes, unable to bear the sight. Once Condensing Essence cultivators joined the war, ordinary soldiers became mere statistics in reports.
"Now’s not the time to mourn!" Zhao Qi shouted to the crowd. "The battle isn’t over. The Eastern Wilderness hasn’t sent reinforcements yet since their cultivators just withdrew. We must claim strategic ground now!"
"The dead won’t return, but we can finish what they started!"
"Master Zhao’s right!"
"How could we face our fallen comrades if we lose?"
Zhao Qi’s words reignited the Tiger-Chasing soldiers’ resolve. They raced back to the mountain pass where they’d first clashed with the Eastern Wilderness.
The Eastern Wilderness troops arrived shortly after, having seen the firestorm from afar. Assuming the Tiger-Chasing forces were wiped out or crippled, they approached carelessly. Prepared and striking first, the Tiger-Chasing side annihilated them effortlessly.
Following this victory, the Eastern Wilderness abandoned two nearby outposts. Zhao Qi and his comrades secured another triumph for the frontlines.
