Volume Two: The Weapon Codex Chapter 150: No One Is a Winner

Outside Hangu Pass of the Qin Dynasty, twenty miles deep into the desolate wasteland, the frontier soldiers from the Southern Wilderness were stationed. Eight banners were hoisted high, with the character "Qin" in gold on a black background fluttering in the wind. The three hundred thousand Blue-Feathered Troops of the Great Qin were arrayed in battle formation, facing the enemy far across the other side of the dust.

The Great Desolate Royal Court and the Tie Dynasty had fought for hundreds of years. Ever since the dynasty changed and became the Qin Dynasty, the border had grown restless. Launching an attack on Hangu Pass at this moment was the best possible opportunity.

Three hundred thousand red-tasseled iron cavalry blocked the northward-blowing gale. The elite cavalry clad in heavy armor were the trump card that the Great Desolate Royal Court had hidden for over a decade. Although the Great Desolate was vast in territory, its survival environment was harsh and sparsely populated. These three hundred thousand iron cavalry constituted almost all the elites of the Royal Court.

The people of the Great Desolate were adept at horsemanship and were born brave and formidable knights. In this open and flat terrain spanning dozens of miles, this was precisely the stage for them to showcase their prowess.

General Qi Chonghai, with a golden saber slung around his waist, sat steadily in his saddle. In front of the formation, he squinted through the dust and wind, straining to gaze into the distance, attempting to get a clear view of the enemy's full array.

The greatest reliance for this trip was the Qi family bringing numerous martial arts experts from the eighteen sects to provide reinforcement, taking this opportunity to properly spar with the martial heroes of the Qin Dynasty.

Regarded as barbarians in the eyes of the people of the Nine Provinces, they had always been the most unyielding. One could not judge superiority based on different origins; true competence could only be witnessed under fists and kicks. The arrival of the Great Desolate heroes had not been leaked in advance, so Qi Chonghai was full of confidence, aiming to pierce through the enemy's defense line in a single strike.

Without even pitching camp, the red-tasseled iron cavalry formed a wild goose array and pushed right to the very front line of the battlefield.

Qi Chonghai drew his golden saber, raised it high above his head, and shouted with bloody ferocity, "Where the long blades point! Invincible! Kill!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Iron hooves thundered, curved sabers waved, red tassels fluttered, and flying sand blotted out the sky. The five thousand vanguard troops charged from the north. Like a wild goose spreading its long wings, carrying the long-pent-up murderous intent of the Great Desolate, they flew toward the Qin army in an instant.

The shield-bearing infantry guarding the topmost front erected human-height heavy shields, while the spearmen behind them braced their hook-sickle spears, quietly awaiting the charging iron cavalry. Atop the watchtower of the main camp stood General Xun Sanman, the Grand General Suppressing the South. With a stern expression, he silently gazed at the junction of the two armies.

Iron hooves raised high trampled onto the heavy shields. The shield-bearing infantrymen were all burly men with broad backs and thick waists; squatting down with all the strength in their arms, they actually intercepted the charging cavalry mid-air. The hook-sickle spears immediately thrust upward, easily disemboweling the warhorses.

The curved sabers produced in the Great Desolate were longer and sharper than the steel sabers of the Qin Dynasty. Wielding sabers from horseback could easily inflict casualties on the infantry. The cavalry charge could not be blocked by a single layer of shield infantry. After the vanguard successively fell, they simultaneously paved the way for those who followed.

On the pitch-black, boundless battlefield, the sounds of slaughter rose endlessly. Xun Sanman could not hear a single word of the whispers exchanged by the generals beside him.

After the Qin Emperor ascended the throne, he invited the Xun family to step out of seclusion and take official posts to guard the realm of the Nine Provinces. Xun Sanman, only twenty-two years old, hastily assumed the post of Grand General Suppressing the South, and up to the present day, it had been a mere two months and odd days.

Noticing that he was somewhat nervous, Gao Yingkui, the Imperial Censor who had hurried from Central Province, comforted him from the side, "Sanman, with the likes of us here, there is no need to panic. How the three hundred thousand Blue-Feathered Troops guarded Hangu Pass a hundred years ago, they will guard Hangu Pass just the same today."

What Xun Sanman was vigilant about were the individuals in unusual attire mixed within the iron cavalry. These people charged along with the cavalry, but viewed from the heights of the watchtower, the surrounding iron cavalry were actually protecting them, intending to deliver them directly into the Qin army's formation.

"Look at those people. They are going to such lengths to send them in—what is their intention?" Xun Sanman asked in bewilderment.

Before Gao Yingkui could reply, smoke and dust suddenly surged in the vanguard formation of the Blue-Feathered Troops. The ground shattered inch by inch as hundreds of pythons, exceeding a zhang in diameter and about ten zhang in length, burrowed out from beneath the earth, completely wrecking the formation.

Upon closer inspection, these pythons possessed wooden bodies and were not living creatures; those operating them were none other than the riders who wore no heavy armor.

Gao Yingkui smiled and said, "Among the sects of the Great Desolate, the ones most proficient in this art are none other than the Qi family. It seems the one leading the enemy troops is indeed Qi Chonghai!"

The two armies had played chess against each other for many years and knew each other quite well. The Qi family of the Great Desolate was unique in the martial world for their ingenious mechanism arts. The various mechanisms they manufactured could accomplish what ordinary people could not, and could even be driven to fight the enemy. Rumors had it that the most powerful mechanism arts of the Qi family could even rival the Heavenly Sun Realm.

The Blue-Feathered Troops were the main force guarding Hangu Pass, named after the pale blue marks left on the shoulders of their armor during forging. The pythons' damage to the formation was extremely limited. Under the command of the centurions, they were quickly ignited by fire arrows from the rear, which instead formed a wall of fire that severed the formation of the iron cavalry.

Suddenly, the sound of violent collisions came from the direction of the eastern formation. Five or six heavy-armored soldiers were tossed high into the air, and a cold-iron spear swept across a five-pace radius, breaking open a gap like a withered tree snapping, charging alone toward deeper positions.

"State your name, intruder! Cui Jing of the Southern Wilderness takes no nameless ghosts under his blade!" Among the Blue-Feathered Troops, a warrior stepped out from the ranks, brandishing the nine-ring saber in his hand to block the iron spear.

"Wang Fu of Earth Mound, the very one coming to take your dog's life!"

The two men had no accord in speech and instantly engaged in battle. Their cultivation levels were closely matched, and only by fighting a life-and-death struggle could one preserve their life on this battlefield.

Similar scenes appeared everywhere across the battlefield. During this period, the Southern Wilderness had not only been sharpening its weapons and horses but had also taken the opportunity to gather many righteous men to jointly defend this homeland.

Xue Cangfeng was also among them. Having not seen him for many days, he had just broken through to the tenth realm. The opponent he faced happened to be a junior of the Qi family, around whom several wooden eagles flew as he looked at Xue Cangfeng with some apprehension.

This Qi family youth was merely in his teens, yet he stared at Xue Cangfeng with venom etched across his face, which made Xue Cangfeng feel a pang of heartache. War in itself was a mistake. Over the years, the Great Desolate did not attack, and Hangu Pass would not send troops to provoke them. However, coveting the fertile resources of the Nine Provinces, the Great Desolate kept the wars raging year after year.

Now, even the younger generation had come to the battlefield carrying unfounded hatred, confronting Xue Cangfeng and even speaking wild words, "Old thief! How much is capturing you worth?"

Xue Cangfeng said helplessly, "Child, at your age, you shouldn't be lingering here! Turn back and hurry home, and I will spare your life."

"Enough idle talk! Hand over your life!" The Qi family youth urged the wooden eagles forward. The eagles spat flying needles from their mouths, and their wings, sharp as blades, swooped down upon Xue Cangfeng.

A flash of cold light gleamed in Xue Cangfeng's hand, and flying needles and shattered wood chips fluttered across the sky. A thin line of blood appeared on the youth's throat. He wanted to say something more, but he was already choked and unable to utter a single word.

The banner-and-flag mountain was adept at using formations. Thirty-six formation flags commanded several thousand soldiers in Xue Cangfeng's vicinity, forging this place into an impregnable stronghold. Regardless of whether iron cavalry or martial heroes came, with a flick of Xue Cangfeng's formation flags, they were completely swallowed up.

Qi Chonghai noticed the developments here, as the progress of the battle somewhat exceeded his expectations. The battle, which initially involved a thousand martial heroes, remained in such a stalemate. Cavalry were the least suited for protracted warfare; if this stalemate continued, within half an hour, the Great Desolate would undoubtedly suffer total defeat.

Understanding the commanding general's thoughts, a young general in a green robe stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Uncle, please allow me to go and meet him, and watch me break that iron-wall formation."

"Baishun, can you break that formation? I'll give you five thousand men, will that suffice?" Qi Chonghai asked with a hint of skepticism.

This nephew of his had read military books avidly since childhood and was proficient in troop deployment and battle formations. Bringing him along this time was originally intended as an opportunity for him to gain experience, not to have him enter the battle.

Yet due to the emergency, the formation laid down by Xue Cangfeng stood like a stubborn boulder, firmly blocking the army's path, prompting him to let Qi Baishun try his hand at the front of the formation.

"Press the central army forward and protect the military strategist in breaking the formation!" Qi Chonghai urged his horse forward, pushing the central army camp along with it to assist Qi Baishun in breaking the formation through sheer momentum.

From the watchtower of the Qin camp, the situation was crystal clear. If this dragging-out continued, victory would inevitably belong to the Blue-Feathered Troops. Xun Sanman's expression softened slightly, and with a breath of relief, he said, "To dare use cavalry to charge my formation—once blocked, the entire game is lost!"

The generals echoed his sentiments in unison. All of them were seasoned veterans of many battles; how could they not know the state of the situation? Within an hour, victory and defeat would surely be decided.

Only Gao Yingkui remained unresponsive. The opponent was the mechanism-proficient Qi family, and those ingenious artifacts had yet to show themselves at all, which worried him endlessly.

This time, Hangu Pass had emptied its entire forces, leaving only a few thousand old and weak soldiers behind to guard the gates. Even with a fast rider sent back to the capital to deliver a message, it would still take a few days for reinforcements to arrive. As long as this battle was won, the crisis could be resolved.

The same applied to the Great Desolate. The mechanisms brought by the Qi family were quietly bypassing the defense line, heading toward the rear of the Qin army's camp, led by a woman named Qi Yan, preparing to launch a surprise attack on the back of the camp.

The soldiers fighting at the front lines were entirely unaware; all they could see was the endless smoke of battle. After slaying several enemy generals, Xue Cangfeng was also somewhat panting and retreated to the core of the formation to rest and regroup.

"Can the one opposite see me? Qi Baishun of the Qi family comes to seek your guidance!" Hearing a voice suddenly ring out from a high vantage point opposite, Xue Cangfeng looked up to see a young general in a green robe standing atop a newly erected bamboo tower, waving his arms and shouting.

Qi Baishun drew two command flags from his waist, waving them with his left and rear hands. The surrounding five thousand soldiers shifted their positions constantly in accordance with the flags, presenting a spear-charge formation that precisely countered Xue Cangfeng's current iron-wall formation.

"The Qin army's iron-wall formation is merely child's play! Watch how my spears easily shatter it!"

Hearing this, Xue Cangfeng knew the opponent had come to test formations, so he too waved his command flags. The iron-wall formation rotated clockwise and transformed into a completely different appearance in the blink of an eye. He also shouted aloud, "Young General, do you recognize this formation?"

"It's just a Heaven-Earth-Man Trinity formation! What's so difficult about that!" Qi Baishun deployed a six-sided hexagonal formation, a battle array he had created himself by gathering the strengths of a hundred schools, capable of transforming through this array to break all thirteen chapters of military strategy.

Although Xue Cangfeng did not recognize this formation, he could perceive the sharpness of the formation. He waved his command flags once more, scattering the formation into sixteen rotating petals that crushed forward.

The Banner-and-Flag Plum Blossom Formation, a grand array named after the Banner-and-Flag Mountain, originated from a founding elder. After being honed by Xue Cangfeng in his hands for more than ten years, it had gained several more variations.

The two formations collided without any flashy maneuvers. The hexagonal formation transformed infinitely in Qi Baishun's hands, while the plum blossom formation collapsed almost upon contact. This boy could not be left alive; given time, he would undoubtedly become a scourge to the Southern Wilderness!