Chapter 673: Broke the Rules? Then Let It Be Broken

Chapter 673: Breaking the Rules? Then Let Them Be Broken

The Wang family, including the desolate calamity behind them, had never imagined that Zhao Changhe would be so shameless.

How had battles been fought in the past? Cui Wenjing and Wang Daoning, with great tacit understanding and dignity, would chat by the water far from the battlefield, and only after their conversation ended would they fight alone. Regardless of victory or defeat, they would not easily meddle in the battle there.

Back then, when the battle at Yanmen was so fierce, Tiemuer did not rush to lead the charge and scale the city walls. While his main fear was that Xia Longyuan might descend from the sky if he was trapped in a siege, at least half the reason was that he could not bear to lose face.

For a Heavenly List expert to go and slaughter a group of soldiers who hadn't even opened the Xuan Pass would be laughed at by the world. Even if you took the city, you would lose all face. Unless it was a matter of life and death, few would do such a thing.

But Zhao Changhe not only set aside his pride, after shooting and killing Cao Boping, he even gleefully brandished his large broadsword and charged straight into the water village. After cutting down men and horses, he didn't stop but rode straight to the rear city of Juancheng, where he also led the charge to scale the walls.

The defending general of Juancheng surrendered directly, without even putting up a fight.

The desolate calamity had originally imagined that each side would hold their headquarters, mutually restraining each other, while the generals below fought their own battles. This war would take at least half a year to slowly grind its way to Langya, and perhaps even the riverbank alone could drag on for half a year. Yet in just one morning, from the riverbank to the rear city of Juancheng, everything changed hands, establishing a crucial foothold on the eastern bank of the Yellow River.

Securing a foothold on the opposite bank was a serious strategic shift. No matter who faced this situation, they would have to gather all their forces and counterattack fiercely, determined to take back this stronghold.

But at this moment, Wang Daozhong expressed his helplessness.

In this kind of official civil war, both sides were essentially composed of Great Xia soldiers and generals. The biggest problem was that it was very easy to accept surrenders. Once the situation turned unfavorable, some would flee and desert, while others would surrender on the spot and be directly incorporated. The enemy not only wouldn't kill the surrendered, but could even use them immediately by simply changing the flag.

In Juancheng, from the city lord to the defending generals, many still held official positions in the court, with records. What Cui Yuanyong did was merely suspend them from duty but keep them employed—yes, still employed, without even needing to imprison them. Key positions were replaced with trusted members of the Cui family, and some soldiers and generals with strong Wang family marks were purged, turning them directly into Han soldiers, with even the communication codes being universal.

The riverbank water village was originally heavily defended, but now part of it had fled, and the remaining majority had become Han soldiers. Cui Yuanyong's stationing in Juancheng was less about consolidating the strategic position and more about digesting the new troops and reorganizing the army. Juancheng, in order to support the water village, also had plenty of provisions, and Cui Yuanyong's mouth was practically grinning from ear to ear.

Wang Daozhong suddenly realized that, although his side originally had more troops, overnight the situation had reversed.

In fact, the same had happened in the Battle of Puyang. Once Puyang was breached, the rear was an open plain, with no suspense.

And it wasn't over yet. In the south, Wan Dongliu was attacking like a madman, and they were very close to the Langya headquarters. In less than two days, they could directly reach Langya. That was why Wang Daoning had wanted to eliminate this threat first. He had thought that with Wan Tianxiong laid low, Jianghuai would surely be in chaos, and few of the Cao Gang's arrogant soldiers and generals would truly accept a mere young deputy leader.

But then Zhao Changhe inexplicably returned from the sea, and Xuanwu sat in Jianghuai to support Wan Dongliu. Wan Tianxiong's fall did not affect Wan Dongliu's ability to take over the entire power structure at all. This time, it became a matter of avenging his father, and the force of the attack was far greater than when Wan Tianxiong himself was in charge—it was like thrusting with a spiked club.

Dividing troops to fend off the maddened Wan Dongliu, how could they have the strength to concentrate on retaking the riverbank stronghold? They could only watch helplessly as Zhao Changhe and Cui Yuanyong digested their gains, powerless to do anything.

If this continued, in less than ten days, it would become the Battle of Langya Defense. The considerable depth of the Qilu region seemed to vanish into thin air.

Wang Daozhong, frantic, sought out the desolate calamity: "Great God, we cannot sit here and wait. Once we are surrounded and isolated, the battle will be lost!"

The desolate calamity opened his eyes from his cultivation. He too felt somewhat helpless. He had been injured by Zhao Changhe a few days ago and had not yet fully recovered. In just three or four days, the enemy had already crossed the river.

"Don't worry. These past few days, I have been pondering the battle with Zhao Changhe. His true strength is not that great; it all relies on the power of his divine weapon. The power of a divine weapon is ultimately not his own. I now know how to deal with him. Even if we truly fight to the point of defending Langya, I can ensure he comes but never returns."

Wang Daozhong was very frustrated: "If we set the battlefield at Langya during a defensive battle, Langya will be destroyed in the process. What meaning would that have?"

The desolate calamity said, "Even if I distract Zhao Changhe now, can you withstand the two-pronged attack from Cui Yuanyong and Wan Dongliu?"

"I cannot," Wang Daozhong replied bluntly.

"So..." The desolate calamity revealed a sinister smile. "Since Zhao Changhe personally attacks ordinary soldiers and generals, why must my target be Zhao Changhe? Zhao Changhe rose from the grass and thickets, his time too short to understand why the Heavenly List experts would not easily descend into ordinary battles, let alone gods and demons... Because if you do it, others will do it too. Those who break the rules must bear the consequences of breaking them."

Wang Daozhong's eyes lit up: "Great God, you mean..."

"If I go to the western front, I can only be mutually restrained with Zhao Changhe. But I can go to the southern front... The Cao Gang's hundred thousand men are nothing but a hundred thousand ants in my eyes. I will help you break them. How about that?"

Wang Daozhong was overjoyed: "If that is the case, Langya is safe!"

The desolate calamity smiled and vanished in an instant.

...

At this moment, Wan Dongliu had already broken through Tancheng, and ahead lay Lanling, the last line of defense south of Langya. His march north from Xuzhou had been too close.

He was not in a hurry to continue north to Lanling, temporarily stationing in Tancheng to rest and reorganize.

After all, he needed to wait a bit for the western front's battle and join forces with Cui Yuanyong before proceeding. Otherwise, they risked being defeated one by one. In fact, they were not far apart; as long as Cui Yuanyong's advance was not hindered, after breaking two more cities and crossing Weishan Lake, they would meet.

Even so, the distance between them still posed a great risk of being defeated separately. If they were suddenly attacked, Cui Yuanyong would not be able to provide timely support. Wan Dongliu did his utmost to strengthen the city's defenses, not daring to sleep even at night, personally patrolling.

Night fell.

Wan Dongliu stood on the city wall, gazing at the moon. There was no snow tonight; the moon was bright and the stars sparse.

It was almost the twelfth month, but strangely, the closer they got to Langya, the more he felt a hint of dry heat. Yet the weather was still bitterly cold. This dryness was less about heat and more about a lack of moisture, an extreme aridity that even prevented snow.

In the age of gods and demons, many common sense things had diverged from past understanding. Wan Dongliu knew how dangerous this war was, because the opponents they faced were no longer human.

When the gap in strength was too great, numbers lost their meaning. Even with a million troops, they could not stop the collapse of Mount Tai.

With one arrow, Zhao Changhe had rendered the natural barrier of the Yellow River meaningless. Would the enemy foolishly come to duel Zhao Changhe alone?

It was very likely they would come here. Wan Dongliu had a vague suspicion of this.

But he did not retreat. Whether it was his father's vengeance or his childhood faith, he could not allow himself to retreat in the face of battle.

The city wall suddenly began to tremble faintly, as if there was an earthquake. The surrounding deputy generals were all startled: "Young master, it seems like an earthquake! Quickly, get off the wall and go to an open area..."

"You go ahead." Wan Dongliu smiled faintly, slowly pulling a dark blue mask from his bosom and putting it on his face.

The generals: "?"

Wan Dongliu looked up at the moon and said calmly: "Under the Night Emperor, the Twenty-Eight Mansions, Zhenshui Yin, pays respects to Lord Huangyang."

The air twisted, and the desolate calamity suddenly appeared in the void, somewhat surprised: "You don't think I will spare you out of respect for the Night Emperor, do you?"

Wan Dongliu smiled: "No."

"Then what is the meaning of this?"

"Now that the Holy Religion rules the world, we no longer need to hide. The mask can slightly enhance my strength and defense."

The desolate calamity seemed to hear the funniest joke in the world: "You... want to fight me?"

"Although I might not even withstand a single blow, it's better than waiting to die."

"Have you never thought of surrendering?"

"No." Wan Dongliu said calmly: "Of course, this mask has another meaning."

"What?"

"As a believer of the Night Emperor, I want to see if the honored god will come to save me, and whether faith in gods and demons has any meaning."

"Ha... hahahaha!" The desolate calamity laughed heartily: "Then there's no need to test it. Your Night Emperor died long ago, hahahaha!"

Wan Dongliu said calmly: "I don't think a demon god who can't even defeat the Azure Dragon has the right to know whether the Night Emperor is alive or dead. I suspect you didn't even have the qualifications to meet the Night Emperor back then."

The desolate calamity's smile twisted into a snarl: "Then ask Him yourself in the underworld!"

"Boom!" The city wall suddenly collapsed, and Wan Dongliu fell to the ground below. Above him, countless stones from the wall crashed down, as if to bury him alive.

Wan Dongliu twisted and dodged left and right, narrowly avoiding the falling rocks. The desolate calamity descended from the air, blocking the moonlight.

His withered hand was about to strike down: "Die, ant."

Before the words faded, the desolate calamity's heart suddenly leaped. Before he could even strike that palm, he swept it fiercely to the side.

A golden arrow had silently arrived, precisely deflected by that sweep.

"Zhao Changhe!"

The desolate calamity spun around. Under the full moon, Zhao Changhe, riding a flying horse, raised his blade and slashed down wildly: "I knew it! You lot have no more ambition than this!"

Beneath his mask, Wan Dongliu's face showed a fanatical expression, as did the other followers of the Four Symbols Sect behind him, and the Cao Gang soldiers who had been proselytized by the sect. Their eyes were filled with fervent light.

In fact, Zhao Changhe's arrival was quite normal. The desolate calamity thought he would come to attack Wan Dongliu, and Wan Dongliu also had a premonition that he would likely be attacked. Zhao Changhe had always been clever; it was normal for him to anticipate this. But that didn't mean it was truly a manifestation of the Night Emperor.

Yet this was truly inspiring. Wan Dongliu didn't even consider whether Zhao Changhe might lose. Without hesitation, he led his men sprinting into the city, shouting: "The Lanling army must be on its way to take over the city's defenses! Follow me, everyone! Let's catch them off guard!"