The Blood Sun Human Emperor sat on the imperial throne, his expression extremely grim. A mere fledgling who had just inherited the Human Emperor's position had publicly toyed with him. He recalled a few months ago, when he was in his prime, aiming to use the Human Emperor's Canon to execute the Great Han. Now, he had fallen into an abyss, not only losing the dignity befitting a ruler of an empire but also the crucial position of Hall Master of the Human Emperor Hall.
With the Centennial Holy War imminent, this was his chance to forge renown for the human territory of the Southwest Region. Years later, his lifelong fame would be etched in the annals of the Human Emperor Hall. Now, it had all dissolved into a mirage.
Marquis Lie Feng stood before the hall, daring not to speak, his gaze fixed on the grim-faced Blood Sun Human Emperor, unmoving.
"Marquis Lie Feng!"
Suddenly, the Blood Sun Human Emperor raised his head, his face devoid of any change, his tone icy. "Convey this Emperor's imperial decree!"
"Marquis Lie Feng shall be the commander, with three generals at the first level of the Heaven Merging Realm as his deputies. Effective immediately, lead an army of one million and march westward, annihilating the Great Han's Vermillion Bird Legion within a month!"
The soldiers currently engaged in the Heavenly Origin Imperial Dynasty's campaign already constituted more than half of the Blood Sun Imperial Dynasty's strength. Now, he had deployed nearly all the forces available to the court.
With Marquis Lie Feng overseeing, and three generals at the first level of the Heaven Merging Realm assisting, even if they could not destroy the Vermillion Bird Legion led by General Zhang Liao, they could at least intercept all the Great Han soldiers before the crucial western military stronghold—Blood Mountain Pass—thus buying sufficient time for the troops on the Heavenly Origin Imperial Dynasty's battlefield to retreat. Sudan Novel Network.
The army was deeply entrenched in the Heavenly Origin Imperial Dynasty's battlefield; a gradual withdrawal was his current path to victory.
...
In a city along the western coast of the Blood Sun Imperial Dynasty, the Vermillion Bird Legion, led by Zhang Liao, was temporarily stationed.
The Vermillion Bird Legion was currently the most powerful of Yang Hao's six legions. Aside from the strategist Chen Gong, the cultivation of the remaining generals, even the weakest Liao Hua and Gao Shun, had broken through to the first level of the Heavenly Martial Realm upon entering the Blood Sun Imperial Dynasty, aided by their own training and Myriad Venerable Pills.
Lu Kang, at a mid-tier level, possessed the strength of the third level of the Heavenly Martial Realm.
The Vermillion Bird Legion was the current mightiest among the Great Han's six legions, boasting three experts in the Heaven Merging Realm. Both Xu Chu and Gan Ning were at the second level of the Heaven Merging Realm. Zhang Liao, one of the Great Han's top combatants, resided at the sixth level of the Heaven Merging Realm.
Excluding the known strengths of the Ten Great Imperial Dynasties, Zhang Liao was already at the pinnacle. Even the strongest in the Sacred Origin Imperial Dynasty, the two imperial dynasties for which the Great Han possessed the most detailed information, had their strongest individuals at no more than the fourth level of the Heaven Merging Realm.
Standing in the void, gazing down, the city where the Vermillion Bird Legion was stationed was entirely covered in crimson. Especially the banners embroidered with the Vermillion Bird divine beast, which radiated wisps of Southern Bright Fire, resembling countless intensely bright burning suns, illuminating all directions of the city.
"Hah!"
"Hah!"
"Hah!"
The void instantly thundered. Approximately five hundred thousand soldiers of the Vermillion Bird Legion, all clad in crimson Vermillion Bird Legion armor, their faces solemn, holding golden spears, stood in formation!
The roars of hundreds of thousands of troops surged like thunder, rolling through the sky, and reverberating above the nine heavens!
Streams of blood-volent energy erupted from the soldiers' bodies, a dense aura of killing intent permeating the air. Tens of thousands of these killing intents intertwined, like viscous, crimson blood. The hundreds of thousands of soldiers were like hellish warriors, conquering the nine heavens and ten earths.
"Rumble!!"
"Stomp, stomp, stomp!!"
A cloud of dust billowed amidst the army. Liao Hua, clad in crimson armor, held his three-pointed blade, a pair of iron-blooded banners slung across his back. One was blank, the other depicted a Vermillion Bird soaring through the nine heavens, engulfed in blazing flames; the third bore the character "Liao"!
Liao Hua, the vanguard general of the Great Han's Vermillion Bird Legion, was at the first level of the Heavenly Martial Realm!
"Where is the Vanguard Battalion!"
"Where is the Vanguard Battalion!"
"Where is the Vanguard Battalion!"
...
"Here!"
"Here!"
"Here!"
The hundred thousand strong Vanguard Battalion of the Vermillion Bird Legion roared to the heavens in defiance, like blood dragons shooting towards the nine heavens, bombarding the firmament.
"By order of the Vermillion Bird Legion Commander, the army shall march! Vanguard Battalion, advance and clear the path!"
Liao Hua raised the Vermillion Bird Legion's banner, its might shaking all directions!
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
...
Led by Liao Hua, the Vanguard Battalion of the Vermillion Bird Legion was the first to exit the city, advancing towards the Blood Sun Imperial Dynasty's western city military first stronghold—Blood Mountain Pass!
Not long after the Vanguard Battalion departed, the twenty thousand strong central army mobilized. Within the central army, the Formidable Array Battalion and the Eight Hundred Valiant Guards were positioned at the center, with Zhang Liao, Lu Kang, Xu Chu, and Chen Gong located in the midst of the army.
Behind the central army was the rear guard of the Vermillion Bird Legion, carrying an endless stream of provisions, food, and cultivation resources. Gan Ning, one of the three Heaven Merging Realm experts of the Vermillion Bird Legion, known for his courage and wisdom, unlike the brute force of Xu Chu, was appointed by Zhang Liao as the commander of the rear guard, responsible for protecting the Vermillion Bird Legion's rear.
...
At this moment, on the city walls of the Blood Sun Imperial Dynasty's western city military first stronghold—Blood Mountain Pass—countless soldiers of the Blood Sun Imperial Dynasty stood with grim faces, their legs uncontrollably trembling and weakening.
The names of Zhang Liao and Xu Chu had long echoed throughout the territories of the Ten Great Imperial Dynasties. Now, within the stronghold, let alone Heaven Merging Realm experts, even top Heavenly Martial Realm experts had been transferred to the front lines of the Heavenly Origin Imperial Dynasty a few days prior.
Currently, the stronghold—within the Blood Sun Imperial Dynasty—was indeed an army without great generals!
"Report!"
"Reporting to the general, an urgent dispatch has arrived from the imperial city. The Human Emperor has ordered Marquis Lie Feng and three generals of the Heaven Merging Realm to lead troops and rapidly reinforce Blood Mountain Pass. We implore the general to fear no danger and fight to the death, defending the western city military first stronghold—Blood Mountain Pass!"
A soldier, holding a yellow scroll, spoke with a solemn and powerful tone!
"Your subordinate, respectfully obeys the Human Emperor's command!"
The commander of Blood Mountain Pass—Zhou Yu—showed a hint of joy on his face, yet his brow remained heavy with sorrow. He had to shout the slogans and pledge loyalty, but that Vermillion Bird Legion, possessing two experts in the Heaven Merging Realm, even if faced by Qin Nan, the Great General of the Northern Cold Imperial Dynasty, Bai Zhanhou, the Hundred Battles Marquis of the Heavenly Origin Imperial Dynasty, Xiong Feng, the Grand General of the Great Cloud Imperial Dynasty, and Ying Ji, the Ancestral Clan Master of the Sacred Origin Imperial Dynasty—four individuals at the second level of the Heaven Merging Realm—were no match for the Great Han's Commander Zhang Liao. Four against one, and he had managed to slay two of them.
And he, a mere seventh-level Heavenly Martial Realm cultivator, how could he possibly withstand the Great Han's might!
He scanned the horizon, where a faint crimson glow emanated. He knew the Great Han's Vermillion Bird Legion was advancing towards Blood Mountain Pass!
He took a deep breath, feigning composure. He could panic, but he could not show it. Once he began to falter, the tens of thousands of soldiers in Blood Mountain Pass would lose their morale and become utterly useless in combat.
Fight!
"All officers and soldiers, the Human Emperor has specifically ordered Marquis Lie Feng to reinforce Blood Mountain Pass. We must not fail to live up to the Human Emperor's grace. This battle shall be fought with our lives!"
"Battle to the death against the Great Han!"
...