Chapter 777: War Logic in the World of Deities

Chapter 777: The Logic of War in the Age of Gods

Though on the whole, Zhao Changhe was likely a pawn in her, Ye Wuming’s, game.

Yet in this matter alone, she, Ye Wuming, was instead one of Zhao Changhe’s pieces, willingly and even devotedly playing her role as a chess piece, leveraging her stance against the Nine Nether.

Whenever the blind woman thought of this, a strange, indescribable feeling washed over her—as if she could see a man striding toward her through wind, frost, snow, and rain, trying to drag her down from her lofty perch in the clouds and press her beneath his throne.

Xia Longyuan and the others had failed to do so, but he was doing it now.

Yet even knowing his intentions, and that among them were even more sordid parts, the blind woman still chose to be his chess piece this time, watching his performance with eager anticipation, hoping he wouldn’t falter.

This feeling was truly bizarre.

On Zhao Changhe’s side, the time for the final battle was also nearly upon them. This was indeed not a protracted war; though its scale had set the world ablaze, whether victory or defeat, whichever side’s battlefront, it would end swiftly.

To speak of multiple threads, by now, Huangfu Qing and Zhao Changhe had been marching for many days. With light cavalry driving straight in, they had already rounded the eastern desert grassland corridor and entered the northern desert plains.

Zhao Changhe dared not use his overlooking eye to sense from afar, and on the other side, Tiemuer and Bo’e likewise dared not recklessly extend their divine senses. Now, neither side had a clear grasp of the other’s movements. Yet this paradoxically gave Zhao Changhe’s side an advantage. The eagle-handlers sent by Sisi could already see the shadow of mountains in the distance—the holy mountain of the grasslands had revealed a corner.

As for Tiemuer’s eagles on the other side… they were nearly all roasted.

Even the Eternal Heaven God, with his cultivation surpassing everyone by a level, could have seen Zhao Changhe’s side while remaining unseen himself. But Zhao Changhe, Zhuque, and Yue Hongling had never felt the sensation of being spied upon, indicating that even the Eternal Heaven God had not probed with his divine sense.

According to messages relayed by Sanniang through the Four Symbols Sect’s secret arts, the Eternal Heaven God was only using a weaker split soul to contain her—judging from this, the only conclusion was that his injuries from before had yet to heal, and he feared repeating the fiasco of the overseas battle, thus not daring to descend upon their group, which boasted several Domain masters.

That was right; the very reason everyone insisted on the northern expedition was precisely this.

In theory, Tiemuer was now blind, completely unable to track the movements of their army.

“But this is a misdirection.” As early as days ago, while still galloping across the grasslands, Huangfu Qing had already given Zhao Changhe this verdict: “That day, Tiemuer’s clash with you was a deliberate misdirection.”

“This is their home turf. Even the grassland tribes have withdrawn, and all water sources have been poisoned. They must have laid traps here. The Eternal Heaven God, by nature, should be a god of nature, akin to our Five Elements. Every water source we seek, every blade of grass, could be his eyes and ears. That means they have always known our situation.”

In these days, Huangfu Qing had increasingly shown her capability and judgment as a commander, and Zhao Changhe agreed with her assessment.

This kind of seven-injury fist tactic from Tiemuer was also extremely taxing on their army. After marching for so long, aside from the initial two southern desert tribes they had wiped out, they saw nothing but vast emptiness everywhere, not even a speck of dog shit, driving people mad with oppression.

Xue Canghai had been about to explode these days. He had thought leaving the frontier would mean intense, high-stakes battles, but instead, they were just sightseeing. Day after day, they admired the vast sky and endless plains—beautiful at first, but after over ten days, it was maddening.

Sightseeing alone would have been bearable, but there was no food, no water.

Though there were storage boxes, the ordinary soldiers didn’t know about them. A few high-ranking officers knew, but the commander-in-chief strictly forbade their use, even forbade mentioning them.

So everyone relied on the dry rations and water skins they had brought when setting out, plus the food plundered from the first few southern desert tribes they had wiped out. By now, it was all gone. Tens of thousands of troops surviving on wild horses, deer, and wolf packs they occasionally encountered on the grasslands—was that a life for humans?

Water was especially dire. It wasn’t that they had none at all—all water sources were poisoned, but it was spring, and rain fell on the grasslands from time to time. They had tragically resorted to collecting rainwater to drink. In the past, rain was the most hated thing during marches; now, they prayed for it.

After more than ten days like this, the army’s morale couldn’t compare to when they first left the frontier. Everyone looked listless. Commander-in-chief Huangfu Qing remained unmoved, only enforcing discipline with military law.

Fortunately, the lands they had passed were all grasslands, so the horses could graze directly; otherwise, they might not have made it this far. But even so, horses couldn’t survive on wild grass alone—that was no way to raise warhorses!

Still, with such vast grasslands, Tiemuer’s orders couldn’t reach every corner. Occasionally, they still encountered small tribes that hadn’t fled, and the Han army would loot them clean, relying almost entirely on that to improve their lot. But even that wasn’t enough for the entire army. Everyone shared pitifully, taking turns. The ideal of “living off the enemy” was far from reality.

How the western army was solving its supply problems was unknown—perhaps they had transported grain when leaving the frontier. In any case, it couldn’t be as miserable as the eastern army. Was this woman, commanding for the first time, really fit to lead?

Not only the soldiers complained, but many officers were also seething with resentment. Some secretly came to Zhao Changhe to complain several times. Zhao Changhe only asked one question to shut them up: “What can we do? Can we conjure food? This is Tiemuer’s strategy of mutual destruction; we have to see who can endure longer.”

That was easy to say, but on Tiemuer’s side, the impact would only mean this year’s nomadic herds were doomed. At least they still had food now—we were nearly starving to death, weren’t we?

“Don’t worry. At this marching pace, we’re almost at their sacred mountain…”

“But they might not defend that mountain. If they abandon it and leave, we’ll all starve there. Are we supposed to hunt tigers like His Majesty did back in Beimang?”

“That was your Emperor’s doing, not mine, thank you.”

“…”

Zhao Changhe could only soothe them: “Don’t worry. For believers, the temple is important… They won’t casually abandon the temple and leave us with an empty target.”

“The Eternal Heaven faith isn’t like that. They won’t leave us such a clear point to strike. The temple really isn’t that important to them!”

“Then what do you want to do?”

The officers looked at each other. What else? Withdraw? Not possible.

Truly, a hasty northern expedition—this war probably shouldn’t have been fought at all.

Wait, weren’t there storage boxes? Were they lying? Did they not exist?

“Commander! Commander!” A scout rode back from the front, reporting with wild joy from afar: “Commander, we’ve found another cluster of small tribes!”

The soldiers nearby perked up at the news. Huangfu Qing didn’t hesitate, waving her hand: “Go!”

Xue Canghai was the first to howl, brandishing his blade and charging out with the troops. The distant tribe seemed to notice and fled for their lives, the Han army in hot pursuit.

This was a rare chance to improve their lot recently, and many had come specifically to hunt these small tribes. No one thought much of it.

But the herders from the Batu tribe, serving as guides, were worried: “Commander, by chasing these scattered tribes, we’ve unknowingly led the army off the planned route, veering westward. That shouldn’t have happened…”

Huangfu Qing nodded. “It’s fine. I have it under control. We don’t necessarily have to strike straight at the temple—that might not mean much. If heading west lets us find the enemy’s main force, it could be good…”

Before she finished, Sisi’s eagle-handler rushed over: “Commander, our eagles have spotted a large population of people and livestock in the distance, likely a major tribal gathering!”

This time, Huangfu Qing and Zhao Changhe exchanged glances. Even the more cautious officers among the surrounding generals showed surprise.

A large number of livestock meant it wasn’t an army—it was a tribe, a big one.

Tiemuer had withdrawn all the tribes, but he couldn’t have crammed them all into one place. No location could support such a massive population; they must have been divided into several super-large tribal settlements in different areas.

Had they stumbled upon one of these major settlements by chasing other scattered tribes?

This was the first truly meaningful target.

If they broke this big tribe, they could even claim that the basic strategy of this expedition—“striking the Hu so they can’t go south”—was already accomplished. The results would be worthy of being called “clearing the nest and sweeping the lair.”

Huangfu Qing said solemnly, “Scout again. Check for any movements from the northern Hu main force.”

The eagle-handler replied, “Within hundreds of li, there are no troop movements… though there are soldiers guarding the tribe, which is normal.”

Zhuque remained unmoved: “Wait for Xue Canghai’s unit to return.”

Soon, Xue Canghai, having finished chasing the small tribe, returned gleefully: “Commander, we saw the outline of a big tribe over there. Also, our scouts have checked the surroundings—aside from the tribe’s direction, there’s no sign of any military presence anywhere else.”

“How many soldiers in the tribe?”

“We didn’t dare get close. Not sure.”

Zhuque asked the eagle-handler, “What did you see?”

Eagles couldn’t tell ordinary herders from soldiers, so the handler could only shake his head.

Xue Canghai said, “Commander, no matter how many soldiers they have, we can’t just bypass a big tribe and pretend not to see it. This battle is inevitable, or morale will collapse.”

Zhuque remained silent.

Xue Canghai wiped his beloved Blood God Blade with a cloth, glancing sidelong at Huangfu Qing, then at Zhao Changhe, as if wanting to speak but stopping.

Forget it. He had been beaten too badly by this woman in the capital a few days ago, settling personal scores under the guise of official business. Better not say anything.

But even if he said nothing, the mockery in his eyes was obvious. This big tribe, stumbled upon while chasing others, was clearly a stroke of luck. The northern Hu main force? It was near the sacred mountain. They had deviated from that path entirely—this wasn’t even the same route. If she was still suspicious and hesitant, how could she be Zhuque?

Huangfu Qing was silent for a moment, then asked the scout in a low voice, “What’s the geography around here?”

The scout replied, “To the north, there’s a barren mountain, quite large, but nowhere to hide people.”

Huangfu Qing nodded. “Don’t charge straight at the tribe from this path. It might be a trap. The entire army will take a detour, circling around from the northern barren mountain, moving along the mountain.”

Xue Canghai’s eyes lit up: “Commander, you mean…”

Huangfu Qing took a deep breath: "Full army assault, of course! Tonight we feast upon this very land!"

"Rumble!" The thunder of hooves shattered the air amidst the ecstasy of the three armies, leaving even the earth with a distinct tremor.

High upon the barren mountain, Bo'e coldly watched the scene of the Han army charging madly toward his position like wild beasts, a sliver of a smile touching the corner of his mouth.

"Huangfu Qing counts as cautious, but it is meaningless." Bo'e turned toward the shamans beside him with a soft laugh: "When it comes to war, she is still far too green, like a maiden fresh out of her secluded chambers."

The shamans all laughed: "The Venerable God's illusions of presence and absence have played with them for over ten days; by now, anyone would only think they were pursuing a chance encounter... Now that they have finally laid eyes on a gathered tribe, even if she wanted to endure, that lot with Xue Canghai could never restrain themselves."

Another shaman remarked: "They cannot be blamed either. They fancy themselves in control of the skies with their eagles, believing we cannot see what they are up to. In truth, every single one of their movements is within our grasp, while they remain utterly blind to what we are doing. With the descent of the gods, the paradigm of war has long ceased to be that of yesteryears. It is laughable that despite clearly having three of the Imperial Realm within their army, they have yet to wake to this fact."

"The chasm between the first and second tiers of the Imperial Realm is not a whit smaller than the gap between the Secret Treasury and the Profound Pass. Back then, Xia Longyuan held such high deterrence because he was of the second tier, and in its late stage at that. Zhao Changher, Huangfu Qing, and Yue Hongling are nowhere near qualified for such status."

As they spoke, Huangfu Qing had already led the vanguard to the foot of the mountain, where the silhouette of a tribe far to the west could faintly be seen emerging at the end of the horizon.

Huangfu Qing suddenly raised her hand to halt the great army, narrowing her eyes as she gazed for a long while: "Slow the advance for now. Let the scouts first explore this mountain."

Bo'e laughed under his breath: "Cautious as ever. Let us depart."

There was absolutely nothing upon the mountain... the true trap lay within that distant "tribe." That far-off settlement spanned a vast expanse of at least a hundred thousand souls, yet in reality, there was not a single herder among them; they were all elites. Placing a herd of cattle and sheep there was merely to deceive the eyes of the falcons, waiting for them to dive headlong into what they presumed to be a chance encounter.

Once the Han army rashly charged into this so-called "great tribe," they would immediately find themselves submerged in a boundless ocean of the steppe's elite forces.

Furthermore, they had not moved a single tribe along the way at all; the so-called strategy of self-inflicted wounds simply did not exist.

That was the working of a page from the Heavenly Book of the Immortal Heavenly God—the interplay of presence and absence, reality and illusion, truth and phantom. Everything seen along the journey was false; in truth, countless tribes along the route had watched with wide eyes as the Han army marched right beneath their noses, analyzing water that had never been poisoned in the first place.

They then tossed out a few pawns, continuously luring them to give chase, guiding them all the way into the predetermined trap. And in fact, at this very moment, the tribes along the way had already coalesced into an army, trailing far behind the Han forces, prepared to deliver a fatal pincer strike.

Actually, this was not the main force either, numbering only a few tens of thousands. To deal with a light cavalry, so long as they were lured into a trap, the main force was not required. After Temur clashed with Zhao Changher and delivered the misdirection, he had already led his men westward; the true main force remained on Huangfu Yongxian's side.

Every single judgment made by Zhao Changher's faction seemed entirely erroneous, not a single one correct. This battle seemed already decided before a single blow was struck.

Of course, they could not afford carelessness... Bo'e still enacted the ultimate lure.

"Rumble!" A sky full of terrifying thunder crashed down, cleaving toward the entirety of the Han army.

"Clang!" Zhao Changher's Dragon-Sparrow saber cleared its sheath, sweeping across the thousand-strong host.

A half-moon blade aura, countless times vaster than in his earlier years, swept outward, thoroughly dissolving the thunderbolts.

Bo'e's voice of "shock and fury" carried over: "Should you not be striking straight for the temple? Why have you veered off to this place!"

Zhao Changher replied with a booming laugh: "This is the destiny of the protagonist. The Grand Shaman has not had it easy; we haven't even arrived, yet you are already on high alert. Just how many tribes have you distracted yourself to protect?"

Following his words, Yue Hongling likewise unsheathed her long sword, pursuing the direction of Bo'e's voice: "Why doesn't the Grand Shaman show himself, so we may resume our battle of Chang'an?"

Zhao Changher similarly left the formation with her to pursue Bo'e. The Vermilion Bird did not move, continuing to lead the great army, seemingly about to charge straight into the distant tribe that had lost the protection of the Grand Shaman.

"Clang!" The couple finally caught up to the figure fleeting through midair. The figure drew an axe, parrying the onslaught of both individuals simultaneously. A wildly tempestuous force surged forth, causing the young couple to unexpectedly turn a somersault together in midair, halting their forms in sheer astonishment as they looked upward.

The newcomer was bare-chested, tall and majestic, with a coarse and resolute countenance, his bronze skin seeming to possess a certain divine luster. A golden band bound his forehead, his eyes burning bright, the majesty and pressure in his gaze mirroring the first time Zhao Changher had encountered Jiuyou in the dark alleys of Chang'an.

This peculiar pressure, this peculiar sense of divinity... this was absolutely not Bo'e.

This was the true form of the Immortal Heavenly God, their first meeting.

Zhao Changher lost his color in shock: "It is you... where is Bo'e?"

A sliver of a mocking smile appeared on the coarse features of the Immortal Heavenly God: "He is naturally leading the hosts to spread the dragnet, waiting for the Vermilion Bird Sage to step right into it."

Zhao Changher looked as if he were about to turn back to the army, but the Immortal Heavenly God paused his axe, and the surrounding wild thunder formed a celestial cage, trapping both Zhao and Yue within: "You had best stay."

Zhao Changher took a deep breath: "Your wounds have healed?"

"I have indeed not recovered, which is your opportunity for the Northern Expedition." The Immortal Heavenly God smiled mockingly: "But within my domain, my strength will only be greater than when I am at my peak outside. Even Xia Longyuan dared not ride out to strike my Sacred Mountain, yet you dare?"

Zhao Changher's expression gradually grew calm: "Which is to say, your Excellency's so-called assignment of a weaker clone to pin down Third Sister was still a misdirection, luring us into this present death trap."

"Correct." The Immortal Heavenly God spoke blandly: "Watching you rush madly down the path to death all this way, my feelings were rather complex. To be honest, I do not enjoy employing schemes, but it cannot be helped that you yourselves courted death so heavily; it is truly laughable to the extreme. In that case... leave your lives behind."

"Clang!" The giant axe swung out, and Zhao Changher and Yue Hongling combined their blade and sword, together parrying this single strike.

Subsequently, as if unable to withstand the second-tier Imperial Realm force of their opponent, the bodies of both individuals leaned backward.

Yet the smile of the Immortal Heavenly God grew somewhat stiff: "This force is..."

A phantom image of the Taiji diagram materialized beneath their feet without warning, assisting Zhao and Yue like a millstone in grinding away the violently peerless might of the Immortal Heavenly God. Not only that, it seemed to render the Immortal Heavenly God somewhat incapable of moving his feet, as though he had sunk into some deep mire.

At the same exact time, the form of what appeared to be a common soldier within the army shot out like a shooting star, wind and thunder roaring wildly as he struck directly at the back of the Immortal Heavenly God.

Li Shentong!

Zhao Changher, who had been pressed backward, slowly pushed his blade forward to level the position of the axe, letting out a low, soft laugh: "Your Excellency possesses the Heavenly Book of Reality and Illusion; I cheated and learned of this long ago... Since we knew, care to guess, your Excellency, how much of our journey here was spent playing along with you? Take right now, for instance—do you guess we left the army to pursue you, or did we want to drag your Excellency out into the open?"