"Hmm?"
Just as Yuan Fei and the others wore expressions of indignation, a terrifying aura suddenly approached from the center of the distant city, quickly arriving above them.
The newcomer wore blue-black official robes, his expression arrogant. A trace of mockery was faintly visible on his pale face.
He was actually a Divine Emperor expert as well, at the second-grade realm.
"Commander Zhang!"
Yuan Fei and the others bowed, but the coldness in their eyes was completely unconcealed.
"General Yuan, why do you always boost others' morale and diminish our own? Our Northern Frontier has a million elite troops; this city alone holds a hundred thousand elite soldiers. Why should we fear a mere Great Xia?"
Zhang Liao sneered, his expression full of cunning.
He was sent here precisely to suppress these unruly Northern Frontier soldiers.
The more of them died, the more they would understand the Emperor's vast grace.
As for Great Xia, a mere declining, usurping dynasty—what was there to fear?
"Besides, if Great Xia takes the initiative to attack and we retreat, wouldn't that damage our Great Zhou's national prestige! I, the Commander, will personally take charge, resist the enemy dynasty. You all will serve as my deputy generals and follow me out of the city to meet the enemy!"
"We… obey the order!"
Yuan Fei and the others sighed. Military orders were like mountains; they had no choice but to comply.
Moreover, since Zhang Liao had taken the initiative to request battle, any further hesitation from them would inevitably affect army morale.
The Northern Frontier had reached a dead end.
Boom!
A great army marched out from Tiance City, a hundred thousand strong, majestic and imposing.
Although the cultivation of these ordinary soldiers was mostly at the Taihe and Xuling levels.
Gathered together, they still caused the void to tremble and the heavens and earth to change color.
The two armies faced off beneath the hundred-zhang city wall.
The commanders of both sides stood before their troops, glaring coldly at each other.
But now, what puzzled the Great Zhou generals was that the person standing before the Great Xia army wasn't Grand Tutor Qiao Yunli, but a handsome young man in white robes.
The young man wore a starry robe that radiated dazzling divine light.
Although the aura around him was only at the Divine General level… he inexplicably carried a cold arrogance that seemed to look down upon all living beings.
And Qiao Yunli, Li Kuo, and the other Great Xia Divine Emperors all stood respectfully three feet behind him, clearly regarding him as their leader.
"Who is that young man?"
Zhang Liao frowned slightly, turning to look at Yuan Fei as he asked in a deep voice.
"I don't know!"
"Hmph! Great Xia actually insults our court to such an extent, sending a mere Divine General as commander? Simply… seeking death! In this battle, whoever can behead that young man, I will surely report to the court and seek merits for them!"
Zhang Liao shouted lightly, but inexplicably… seeing the young man's black eyes fixed on him, he felt an indescribable panic.
"Is that person Zhang Liao?"
At the front of the Great Xia army, Ling Xiao stood calmly, his expression ever serene.
So these were Ning Tiance's supporters.
Unfortunately, over ten years of depression and unfulfilled ambitions had caused this once-invincible, iron-blooded army to lose its former majesty.
Especially the person standing at the front of the army; he looked like a vile villain, completely out of place with the other generals.
"Correct, Lord! That person is the military commander Zhang Liao, sent by Great Zhou to the Northern Frontier to replace Ning Tiance! It's said this person is the Empress's younger brother, a second-grade Divine Emperor. He is cowardly and cunning; he has never personally participated in the Northern Frontier battles all these years."
Li Kuo reported softly, but Ling Xiao just smiled and nodded.
The Empress's younger brother? Killing him should be enough to provoke the Zhou Emperor's fury, right?
"Today, our goal is not to capture the city, but only to kill this Zhang Liao."
After speaking, Ling Xiao waved his hand abruptly. Behind him, the army surged forward. Qiao Yunli and the others transformed into vanguards, charging furiously towards Zhang Liao.
"Hmph! Well met! You… hold off Qiao Yunli and the others! I'll find an opportunity to kill the enemy commander!"
Zhang Liao shouted coldly, but instead of advancing, he retreated, actually hiding behind everyone.
"Hmph."
Yuan Fei and the others spat lightly, spiritual light surging around them as they transformed into an iron-blooded momentum, charging straight towards Qiao Yunli and the others.
Boom!
Vast spiritual might transformed into thunder and violent winds.
A storm was brewing; the entire world grew inexplicably gloomy.
"Young Master… we…"
Ye Qingchan stood beside Ling Xiao, her beautiful eyes filled with some shock.
Especially the moment the two armies collided, the bloodthirsty aura filling heaven and earth made the young girl's heart turn cold, panic surging in her eyes.
"If you dislike it, you can return to the Domain World first."
Ling Xiao turned his head, his gaze gentle.
But Ye Qingchan just shook her head with a smile, the last trace of struggle in her eyes gradually fading.
Last time, when the Young Master slaughtered three thousand Yuan Yue disciples, she only watched from the side.
Now that she finally had a chance to fight alongside him, how could she easily retreat?
Moreover, the Young Master's actions were to rescue Ning Tiance; it could be called a righteous cause.
If she wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, who in this world couldn't they kill?
"Let's go! Let's go meet that Commander Zhang Liao."
Ling Xiao grinned, stepped forward, and a dragon shadow instantly followed beneath his feet, transforming in an instant into a hundred-zhang length.
"Roar!"
A piercing roar shook heaven and earth.
The two armies, locked in battle, all turned to look in fear.
Although the warhorses in the army mostly contained demonic bloodlines, faced with a true dragon now, their legs instantly went soft, and they collapsed to the ground.
Above, a demonic dragon phantom coiled. Standing right at its head was the white-robed young man with his hands behind his back, like a deity of the Ninth Heaven, arrogant, cold, and peerless.
"Although these people are all Ning Tiance's confidants, if we don't kill them, I'm afraid it will be difficult to make the Zhou Emperor fear us."
Ling Xiao murmured to himself, the black blade in his hand suddenly erupting with overwhelming ferocious light.
With a single slash, eight principles evolved.
Heaven and earth seemed to fall silent at this moment.
A hundred-zhang blade ray, like a galactic river from beyond the heavens, fell, instantly descending towards the Great Zhou soldiers.
"No!!"
Yuan Fei and the others were furious, but they were held back by Qiao Yunli alone. They could only watch helplessly as the blade ray pierced through the void, slicing thousands of soldiers into mincemeat.
A thick bloody scent rolled like tidal waves. Beneath Tiance City, blood flowed in rivers, severed limbs scattered everywhere.
But now, Ling Xiao's eyes remained calm, even containing a trace of joy.
He could feel that faint fluctuation within the Primordial Demon Blade growing clearer.
Clearly, after slaughtering countless living beings, this ancient blade that had slain immortals and buddhas in the past was slowly awakening.
In one part of the battlefield, Ye Qingchan gently waved her jade hands, frost seeming to spread around her.
In just half a breath, the area within a hundred zhang turned into a frozen, lifeless domain. The Great Zhou soldiers who couldn't react in time were instantly frozen into ice sculptures, shattering at the slightest touch.
At the rear of the crowd, Zhang Liao, watching the figure approaching on the dragon, had long since turned pale.
Although he was a Divine Emperor, his realm and cultivation were forcibly enhanced by pills, and his actual combat power was extremely low.
Especially now, seeing Ling Xiao wield his blade and slaughter ten thousand people destroyed his will to fight completely. He only wanted to quickly recall the troops, return to the city, and huddle in a desperate defense.
"Recall the troops!!! Recall the troops!!!"
Clang! Clang!
The sound of gongs signaling retreat echoed for a thousand miles. Yuan Fei and the others felt their hearts darken, but in the end, they didn't dare to stay. They turned and rushed towards the city.
What surprised everyone was that although Qiao Yunli and the others pursued victoriously, they didn't continue the slaughter. Instead, they directly bypassed the soldiers and headed straight for Zhang Liao.
"Protect our Commander!!!"
Yuan Fei roared angrily, forming hand seals with both hands.
Beneath the city wall, the earth suddenly crumbled. Hundred-zhang divine trees shot straight into the clouds, blocking Qiao Yunli's path.
Vast divine might swept across heaven and earth, suppressing all directions.
And now, Zhang Liao had already fled to the city wall, turning back to look with fearful eyes.
"Damn it, have these Great Xia people gone mad? They actually want to kill me, the Commander?!"
"Commander, rest assured. General Yuan Fei's Divine Wood Heavenly Prison is extremely powerful. I've never seen anyone able to break it."
A Northern Frontier general beside him bowed and said with a smile.
But!!
The moment his words fell, the hundred-zhang demonic dragon in the distance suddenly opened its bloody maw wide and fiercely bit down towards the thousand-zhang divine trees.