Chapter 787: Reasons for fighting

Before the battle, late at night.

Zhang Xu was clad in the finest armor from head to toe, and the long spear in his hand had been replaced with the strongest Spiritual Artifact he could wield.

There was only a faint Great Fire beside him. All the soldiers of the Vanguard Camp had eaten and drunk their fill, but no one had touched alcohol.

“Brothers, have you all received your pensions?” Zhang Xu asked the numerous soldiers.

The soldiers nodded.

“And the rewards for your children and wives, have they been distributed?” he asked again.

“Three hundred gold, one hundred mu of land, and hereditary clerical positions have all been sent back,” a soldier replied.

“You dare call such a tiny position hereditary? I thought you had been ennobled!” Zhang Xu cursed with a laugh.

The soldiers also chuckled. Although they knew it was nothing to the Great Powers, it could indeed be passed down through generations. They had experienced it themselves; in many places, there were old officials who had been entrenched for years, their local connections deeply intertwined, almost forming a Family.

Although it wasn't presentable, calling it hereditary was not a problem at all.

After the laughter, Zhang Xu looked at the thousand-plus men before him and continued, “Then you know, right? Whether it’s the newly bestowed land or the positions that can be passed down through generations, they all depend on one premise.”

“That is… Great Deer Kingdom still exists.”

This made the numerous soldiers fall silent.

“Only if this Country remains, will our land and positions remain. If it is broken through by the Dao, everyone has seen what happened to Song Kingdom,” Zhang Xu pointed outside.

What happened to Song Kingdom?

It was clear at a glance.

No one was left alive, not a single survivor.

The Dao had no mercy whatsoever. To the Dao, this was like slaughtering chickens and dogs. Only a few ‘people’ who had found their own Dao could be looked upon favorably, and such people were unlikely to join the Dao.

Those with such resolve mostly held their own convictions, facing death fearlessly for them, and would never easily compromise for the sake of survival.

Just as mentioned before.

The people recognized by the Dao would not easily surrender.

And those who surrendered easily were generally looked down upon by the Dao.

However, if there were like-minded individuals, the Dao would gladly accept them, considering them a part of itself, and together strive to build a world for humanity.

It was just that this struggle… was a disaster for people like Zhang Xu.

Zhang Xu’s motivational speech wasn’t too long, but everyone understood what he was saying.

Zhang Xu chewed on a piece of dried meat, while other soldiers also ate various provisions, all of which were the best military supplies, normally unavailable.

Looking at them, Zhang Xu admonished, “Last meal, don’t eat too much, or you won’t be able to run fast.”

The soldiers nodded repeatedly, but their mouths didn't stop moving.

After everything was done, everyone donned their armor. Their weapons and armor were unprecedentedly refined; they had never received such good treatment before.

“Everyone, prepare,” Zhang Xu said, then ordered the flag officer to raise the military flag.

The moment the military flag was raised, the Aura of the entire army changed dramatically!

Following the flag's guidance, everyone's Qi became connected, and a collective soldier’s Qi Spiritual Artifact rose—the culmination of all the Vanguard Camp soldiers.

That Spiritual Artifact was a faceless figure, without a countenance, but fully armored and holding a long spear, dressed as the most ordinary vanguard soldier.

“It’s midnight, move out!” Zhang Xu commanded.

The Vanguard Camp immediately moved out!

At the same time, sixteen other armies also charged forth!

Seventeen armies in total. The number of soldiers in these armies varied, some with only a few thousand, others with tens of thousands, but together they numbered hundreds of thousands.

The night was unexpectedly dark. The light emitted by the Spiritual Artifact illuminated some areas, but beyond that, only pitch blackness could be seen.

However, it wouldn't be dark for long.

In the sky above, the Heavenly Palace formations patrolling at low altitude in the gale layer detected the activity and immediately activated!

Everyone could clearly see many shimmering Spiritual Artifacts streaking across the sky.

These spherical ‘Heavenly Palaces’ strode through the lightning-filled gale layer, and some scouts with good eyesight could even vaguely see multi-segmented talismans hanging from them, clanging together.

The lightning in the gale layer collided with these Heavenly Palaces, creating clanging noises that intertwined with the roaring thunder, rising and falling.

Then came a flash of light.

The flash appeared suddenly, vanished quickly, almost simultaneously with the next flash.

Yes, the next one, because… what followed were countless flashes, one after another, one after another. All these lights connected, almost turning the sky into daylight!

Each flash of light was the culprit that had previously created the cross-country lava lake.

This was the impression the numerous soldiers received in the fleeting lightning.

The dark night and the bright flashes intertwined, forming a black and white image.

The lightning flickered, the light was intensely dazzling, and coupled with the heavy shadows, everything appeared blurry.

After the thunder and lightning, the night sky cleared, the earth burned, and light smoke curled upwards. Through the smoke, the tiny, needle-like Heavenly Palaces began to turn white. These spheres… seemed to be affected by something, plummeting into the sky, falling with the white light they emitted, turning into meteors.

The Seventh Rankers made their move.

Hundreds of Seventh Rankers moved, their Spiritual Artifacts rising one by one, intercepting the Heavenly Palaces!

A large number of Heavenly Palaces were directly shot down, accompanied by lightning, thunder, and various magical techniques, making the sky look like a painting.

The painting depicted various magical techniques, Spiritual Artifacts, thunder, Heavenly Palaces, and falling white light.

If time were to freeze at this moment, it would undoubtedly be an exquisite work of art.

Unfortunately, time would not stand still.

The light from the Heavenly Palaces began to fall to the ground.

Although ninety-nine percent had been intercepted, the scattered ones still broke through the interception net and hit the ground.

The entire plain in the direction of Song Kingdom's charge was swept by white light, Qi bursting forth, and the whole earth seemed to be burning—innumerable tiny tongues of Great Fire spewed from the vast mountainside, swaying and writhing with intermittent, weakening lightning, illuminating the rapidly moving clouds in the sky.

Great Fire, accompanied by meteors and falling Heavenly Palaces, erupted in bursts of impact, occasionally raising plumes of smoke that swept across the horizon, obscuring the shadows of the Spiritual Artifacts in the sky.

Zhang Xu led the army in a charge. He was already trying his best to observe everything around him, but the overly dazzling battlefield environment made it impossible for him to see anything clearer. He couldn't even find where the enemy was, nor could he discern what his enemies were doing.

He could only see that the falling Heavenly Palaces in the sky seemed to be deliberately controlling their landing points, constantly obstructing their vision.

The night seemed to grow even deeper, even the burning Great Fire nearby was invisible. Although the firelight danced magnificently in the sky, forming splendid patterns with those Spiritual Artifacts, at this critical juncture, there was no time for appreciation. They could only bury their heads, dodging the explosions and falling Heavenly Palaces around them, moving as quickly as possible towards their objective.

Three thousand li!

Their strategic objective was three thousand li away!

Therefore, they couldn't stop for a moment!

The air was filled with a strong smell of burning, and the Aura of death began to pervade the battlefield.

But this was just the beginning.

According to Zhang Xu's estimation, their marching speed, under forced march conditions, could reach about four hundred li per day.

This meant it would take them at least seven days and a bit more to reach their destination.

Three thousand li, a distance that would be instantaneous for a Great Power, was so difficult for them to traverse.

However… precisely because it was difficult for them to traverse, they could complete it.

Because, upon closer inspection, one could discover that beyond the Seventh Rankers intercepting the Heavenly Palaces, and beyond the gale layer, there was another battlefield!

Through the narrow gaps in the gale and dark clouds, through the vision-obscuring storm, reaching higher into the sky, beneath the dome, the view suddenly opened up, allowing easy distant views of Great Deer Kingdom's houses, and with careful attention, even the charred pine forest on the battlefield could be seen.

If one didn't look down, but looked up, one could see many bright spots in the pitch-black night sky.

These lights were colorful and confusing. A dark, gloomy night sky had many brilliant flames, as if the night sky had been burned with several holes.

Vaguely, one could see ruins, debris, and a large number of burning, exploding magical techniques. Faintly visible lights highlighted three centers, but they were not very clear.

But what was even more mysterious was… although it was extremely high in the sky, between those three centers, there were winding stretches of plains.

It was a vast, dark plain, occasionally dotted with flickering lights and swirling smoke. They seemed to be fighting on this land floating in the sky, but it was impossible to see what it was.

But this was only the perspective of the Seventh Rankers.

If the observation range were expanded, one could see that beyond the gale layer, a more magnificent Spiritual Artifact stood outside the sky! This Spiritual Artifact was so large it could encompass everything around it; it was the true form of the ‘Black Plain’.

And all the battles took place on the Black Plain.

That ‘Black Plain’ was a Spiritual Artifact that could strengthen allies and suppress enemies. Within the Black Plain, there were two other centers, where two other Fifth Rankers were engaged in extremely fierce combat! But this kind of combat was invisible even to Seventh Rankers; only by sensing the Qi could one feel the overwhelming pressure from the Fifth Rankers!

From top to bottom, from Fifth Rankers to Ninth Rankers, people of every echelon had their own battlefield.

And the smaller the area, the easier it was to become a Breakthrough point.

This was also why Shaman God Mountain considered the seventeen armies below an opportunity.

However… it wasn't entirely like that.

Ninth Rankers, Eighth Rankers, Seventh Rankers, and even Sixth Rankers, a total of over a million people received the same command. Shaman God Mountain arranged various different forces for the Breakthrough. They all bore the same responsibility: to activate the Grand Ritual nodes and fully initiate the Grand Ritual.

This was a war between humans and witches, not a minor skirmish.

However, Zhang Xu did not know the full scope of the battlefield, nor anything else.

He only knew one thing now.

That was to use all his strength to break out of this area, reach the strategic objective, and complete the mission.

“Junwei! There are people ahead!” the scout roared, transmitting the information with a magical technique.

“Who are they? Can you confirm?” Zhang Xu was calm and did not shout.

“They have a military flag, it’s the Dao!” the scout confirmed after checking.

“So fast? Weren’t they still in Zhennan Prefecture? They’ve already been deployed? How terrifying… Prepare for battle!” Zhang Xu immediately waved his hand.

The army quickly obeyed the command, and various troop types began to line up.

Various military flags and Spiritual Artifacts were released in advance, suppressing their power. Ranged firepower and close-quarters combat were already prepared.

And on the Dao side, they had also discovered this army closest to them.

The Dao army immediately deployed its formation. As soon as the military flag was raised, their soldier Qi stood tall and blazing.

With just one glance, Zhang Xu immediately realized…

They were not opponents.

It was impossible to be opponents!

On the Dao side, flames erupted from spear tips, thunder shook the swift horses, and set after set of standardized Spiritual Artifacts were so widespread that it was absurd, clearly being used as consumables.

Even storage bags were distributed one per person, and the various Spiritual Artifacts stored within them were counted by the warehouse, perfectly fine for self-detonation for fun.

Zhang Xu and his men had already upgraded their equipment significantly, and their gear was formidable, but compared to the Dao, both in quantity and quality, they were a step behind.

However, if it were only an advantage in equipment, Zhang Xu felt he could still put up a fight.

He had fought enemies with good equipment before. No matter how good the equipment, it ultimately needed people to use it, and to be honest, it couldn't be that much better, because the cultivation limit already determined the equipment's limit. If cultivation wasn't sufficient, even excellent equipment couldn't be used, as activating Spiritual Artifacts consumed a lot of energy and magical power.

To unleash the power of a Spiritual Artifact, one needed to match its nature, and there was a limit to how many Spiritual Artifacts a person could ‘synchronize’ with. More were useless, and more couldn't be used.

And simply using them for self-detonation was not only wasteful, but the power might not even be great. Spiritual Artifacts were not created for self-detonation; the activation power of many Spiritual Artifacts was far greater than self-detonation.

It was like a bullet; a bullet fired successfully would certainly have more power than being smashed with a hammer on the spot.

Therefore, equipment advantage could be overcome.

But… what could not be overcome was the quality of the enemy.

In terms of cultivation, everyone was roughly similar, mainly Eighth Rank officers and Ninth Rank soldiers.

However, their military formation was strict, and their morale was high.

Judging by the intensity of their soldier Qi, their collective strength far surpassed Zhang Xu's soldiers. Although both sides had similar cultivation, the power displayed by their military formation was exactly double Zhang Xu's!

Where did this double gap come from!? Was his loss that great?

Then, the speed at which they deployed their military formation was seventy percent faster than his.

Colliding head-on with an opponent of this caliber would likely result in instant death.

Then a different approach was needed.

“Disperse!” Zhang Xu signaled.

His subordinate soldiers immediately scattered, their formation completely broken, yet their soldier Qi did not disperse!