T/N: The t.i.tle of the last chapter – 绝处 [jué chù] – meaning Destroyed homeland, when combined with the t.i.tle of this chapter [逢生 – féng shēng] will make up the phrase 绝处逢生 [jué chù féng shēng] which means “to be s.n.a.t.c.hed from the jaw of death”, “to come back from death’s door”
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…turned out that not only did his G.o.dd.a.m.n life was not ‘thin’, but it was also as tough as a c.o.c.kroach, still alive even after being ruined to this point.
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In the next moment, all Heavy Armors moved.
The ruined walls rumbled in the unbelievable sound of footsteps, a group of black iron armors soaked in the thick snow-white steam that could not disperse in the wind headed towards the enemy’s sea of artillery fire like water against the sea current.
The first batch of Heavy Armor resembled a blade that could block everything, sweeping through like a fierce whirlwind, pushing directly into the enemy’s line. Heads, bodies, and limbs were exploding into pieces, but strong fire could not burn black iron. As long as the golden box itself did not burst, most of the corpses could still remain upright. The corpses of the officers and soldiers inside were dead, but the mechanical gears were still rotating, as if their souls had not yet dissipated, continuing to rush forward.
When it became difficult to carry on, there would be someone following behind to open the golden box at the back of the black armor and ignite the lead hidden in it.
The officers and men under the iron masks did not differentiate from each other, thousands are united as one. Seasoned commanders were the same as the newly recruited little soldiers in the Northern Camp. They either slayed the enemy’s heads with a Wind Slasher in hands, were under the enemy’s artillery, or exploded into a purple firework anonymously.
Li Feng stood on the Red Kite with his arms crossed. He suddenly said to Tan Hong Fei who was ordered to stand on the side, “Where is A Min?”
Tan Hong Fei was suddenly called, he was stunned for a moment then responded, “His Highness Jun w.a.n.g had went up to the city wall.”
The hot wind blew away the anger on Li Feng’s face. Standing amidst this devastation, he gradually calmed down. He threw the Shang Fang sword in his hand to Tan Hong Fei: “Pa.s.s on my verbal decree; the national calamity is at hand, the Crown Prince is too young to bear this heavy responsibility. I am inept and incompetent, buried this nation and its people here, unworthy of the ancestors. I want to pa.s.s the throne to Yan Bei w.a.n.g — it is already too late to make a written decree, you can take this to A Min and escort him away.”
Tan Hong Fei: “…”
He grabbed the heavy sword in a hurry, took a glimpse of the ruler’s face, sweeping his eyes over the greyed temples of Emperor Long An.
Li Feng waved his hand indifferently.
Chang Geng went up to the wall with his longbow, taking over the aerial battlefield.
Tan Hong Fei landed beside Chang Geng in the roar of baihong, carrying with him the Shang Fang sword as if it was a hot potato: “Your Highness!”
Chang Geng knew what he was going to say as soon as he saw him at the corners of his eyes.
Tan Hong Fei: “Your Highness, the Emperor said…”
A wounded soldier with only one leg left came up: “Your Highness, the rockets are all out!”
“If the rockets are all out, change to iron arrows. When the arrows are all out, mount the ownerless Wind Slashers. No need to panic.” Chang Geng did not even blink, he speaks bluntly, “We will stay and defend until the wall collapses to pieces — General Tan, you return that thing and tell Li Feng, I do not owe him anything, I do not want to become a lonesome monarch losing their country in his stead.”
“Moreover, he is now a battle flag, the two armies are confronting each other. The flag cannot be lacking, the brothers sacrificing themselves are all relying on this flag. Keep a close eye on him, do not let him die easily.”
At this moment, at least for General Tan, even ten Li Feng was not as helpful as one Chang Geng, thus he tossed back the Emperor’s instruction to the man himself. He made a long whistle and stood guard closely to the Emperor’s Red Kite together with several other Black Eagles.
The Heavy Armors under the wall used human flesh to break a blood-soaked path. The roaring explosives and the powerful baihong arrows would be rendered useless. The ground became a deadly battlefield, the Western Army was momentarily at a loss and had to place their efforts in aggravating aerial attack.
Countless Wind Slashers that had lost their owners were mounted on the large baihong bow. After Yan Bei w.a.n.g gave the order, the legendary divine weapons praised by the people were fired off without hesitation like iron arrows, the turning and revolving white blades resembling a dandelion, weaving the wind inside then slashing it to pieces, carrying the names of the deceased, surging forward the ma.s.s amount of Western Eagles.
Chang Geng wiped the dust-covered Qian Li Yan gla.s.s with his fingers, then clipped them on his clear cut and straight nose bridge, he ordered: “Mount the second batch of Wind Slashers!”
A young soldier beside him was acting as a self-proclaimed personal guard. After hearing his order, using the teenage voice that had not yet changed, he shouted: “Mount the arrows!—”
He then turned to Chang Geng and asked in a low voice: “Your Highness, what if the Wind Slashers ran out? Shall we throw stones under the city?”
Chang Geng glanced at him, as if with a smile, he said, “Although all the ammunition has been exhausted, thanks to Great Liang’s Emperor’s acc.u.mulation over the years, there are still some Ziliujun left inside. If we truly cannot defend the city, then learn from General Han Qi. Splash Ziliujin down the wall, burning the capital altogether, the foreigners can’t even dream of taking anything from us.”
The young soldier shivered from his careless remark.
Chang Geng: “How old are you?”
The young soldier was taken by surprise for a moment and said: “…Eight – Eighteen. ”
Chang Geng laughed: “Don’t use this trick with me.”
The young soldier scratched his head: “…Fifteen. ”
Some poor families with too many children, when unable to support them all, they would send half of the children to the army to eat military salary. In fear that they would refuse to take them in if they were too young, the families would lie about their ages.
“Fifteen.” Chang Geng whispered, “When I was in my fifteenth year, I followed Marshal Gu to Jiangnan to investigate Wei w.a.n.g’s rebellion, I did not know anything. You are better than I am.”
At that moment, a group of Eagle Armors in the distance took off at the Pope’s command.
A Western Eagle held a large explosive, shooting it directly into the city. The large explosives that should be supported by the iron arm of the chariot had a great recoil power, thus as the artillery was shot out, the person holding the explosive on the other end would be repelled to death immediately.
This group of Western Eagles resembled a daring suicidal troop, shooting heavy explosives inside and outside the city wall like rainfall. In the blink of an eye, the city wall immediately collapsed by a half.
The Red Kites were shaken by the waves. w.a.n.g Guo who was hugging tightly to the mast, calling for his ancestors, was pushed aside by a panting Zhang Feng Han.
“Your Majesty!” Master Feng Han had already taken off his formal attire, holding a fish bubble in his hand. The fish bubble was filled with Ziliujin inside, the shade of deep purple seemingly turning black. He almost famell over due to the trembling of the Kite. A guard beside him was frightened to death, hurrying forward to catch the dangerous object.
Master Feng Han: “Your Majesty, the ammunition is now empty. This old subject had followed His Highness Yan Bei w.a.n.g’s order, transporting all the Ziliujin we have left to the city gate. The subordinates had been instructed to place them…”
“Your Majesty be careful!”
“Protect the Emperor!”
Artillery flew towards them, interrupting Master Feng Han’s words, grazing past Li Feng’s Red Kite. Its corner exploded immediately. It groaned, then leaned to the side.
Another artillery relentlessly pursued after, crashing into the belly of the Red Kite. The Kite lost control under severe damage. Li Feng’s pupil shrank into needle-like dots in the midst of the crowd’s shouting.
Tan Hong Fei roared loudly, his wings suddenly opened, as if they could cover the sky.
In that moment, he grasped hold of the artillery, the Eagle Armor was accelerated to the fastest speed. The high temperature and the impact instantly shot the old Black Iron Camp’s subordinate who had carried grievances about the old case of twenty years ago, together with the large explosive, becoming a firework that would never return.
…But fortunately, he did not dishonor his mission.
At last, the Wind Slashers that had claimed the lives of countless foreigners on the city wall was all out. Chang Geng looked back at the capital city with not much sentimental attachment, a feeling of pity arose inside him — for the Marquis’s manor could not be seen from this distance.
Then he raised the longbow, dipped the tip of the iron arrow in ignition oil, and fired at the enemy in the air. The arrow was lit on fire as the oiled tip traveled at high speed, surging like a meteor — this was a signal.
Master Feng Han pulled up his sleeve: “Red Kites get ready!”
In addition to the Kite Li Feng was on, the last dozen Red Kites in the capital took off, resembling a group of dancers dressed in red, wearing beautiful makeup, moving with light steps onto a mountain of blades, a sea of flame carrying Ziliujin, colliding with the Western Eagle Armors coming to find death in the air.
The sky turned grey.
On the wall, Chang Geng was the first to be caught up in the midst. A meager Light Armor that temporarily hung on his body could not withstand the force surging down. He could feel a strong knock against his chest. His eyes darkened, he coughs up a mouthful of blood, instantly losing consciousness.
The little soldier who had just given orders in his stead shouted and rushed over in an attempt to protect him with his own body.
The wall finally collapsed completely.
Chang Geng did not know how long he had fainted, it had taken him a long time to gradually be able to regain consciousness. He found that his leg was stuck between two broken gears, but the young soldier who protected him just now only had a pair of arms left, severed at the shoulders. His body was gone, becoming a cloak of blood on Chang Geng.
Chang Geng gritted his teeth, feeling that the ache all over him was still tolerable. It was far less painful than an attack of the Bone of Impurity.
Perhaps his ears were already injured, voices far and near could not be heard clearly, very chaotic, very blurred.
Chang Geng thought, “When Zi Xi didn’t take medicine, was his surrounding also became like this? It is quite peaceful.”
The wall already collapsed, did the city break down?
Is Li Feng still alive?
Yes, and Gu Yun…
When Chang Geng thought of Gu Yun, he dared not go on any further, for fear that those two words could take away all his courage. He cut off this thought neatly, curled up his body, fumbled at the joint of the armor on his legs, pried off the eight locks one by one, and dragged himself out.
There was still one iron arrow behind him. The longbow had not yet been crushed, he could kill one more man.
As long as this breath remained…
Just before Chang Geng pulled his leg out and managed to stand up, a sudden shadow flashed in front of him.
Chang Geng dodged, subconsciously leaned back and instinctively moved the bow in his hand.
A small wooden bird fell down in front of him, split in two by the iron bow, a ma.s.s of sea grain paper fell out of its belly.
Chang Geng was stunned.
After, the ever so calm Yan Bei w.a.n.g suddenly trembled all over. The light paper was laying on the ground, but even after raising his hand twice, he could not manage to pick it up. His five fingers were trembling too much that it was almost impossible to close them. Only then did he realize the iron guards on his arms had already fallen off, the joints of two fingers were dislocated and no longer listened to his command.
He could vaguely hear someone shouting ‘the reinforcements are here’, this should have been the good news everyone had been looking forward to for a long time.
However, Chang Geng’s heart did not have time to brew much joy. After the shock had pa.s.sed, there was the rise of an indescribable fear.
Because only when he was determined to die could he temporarily set aside the fact that Gu Yun might have already been incarnated as molten iron.
The path to the afterlife already planned out was suddenly full of obstacles, separated him on this side. Chang Geng was momentarily in a state of being stunned.
“Big brother!” He vaguely heard a call, and the next moment, a Light Cavalry flew to him. It was Ge Chen, whom he had not seen for a long time.
Ge Chen dismounted, supporting the incredibly miserable Chang Geng, explaining in a stutter: “Brother, when, when – when I received your letter, I happened to be with General Shen, but it was in the Southern Frontier at that time…”
Chang Geng did not listen to even half of his word, interrupting him in madness: “Where is Zi Xi?”
His voice was so faint that Ge Chen momentarily could not catch it: “What?”
Chang Geng forcefully pushed him aside, struggling to stand up, heading towards the direction of the outside of the city without care. There was no telling what had injured his back, there was a large stain of blood, running along his clothing and dripped down, but he himself seemed to not be aware of it at all.
Ge Chen: “Big – big brother? Your Highness!”
Chang Geng turned deaf ears, Ge Chen could see a stray arrow coming towards Chang Geng, yet the man did not dodge. He quickly rushed up in a panic and pulled him out of the way. However, after two steps, Chang Geng’s eyes were dyed red as if they could bleed.
Ge Chen shuddered, thinking to himself: “Not good, did something happened to the Marquis?”
Ge Chen had always been decisive since he was young. Using his hand, he struck Chang Geng at the neck and knocked him unconscious.
On this day, the ever-stable imperial city experienced the bloodiest battle in history. The Son of Heaven used himself as a flag, the general died in the flame. All of them had reached their limits. At last, when the wall collapsed, the reinforcements arrived.
The experience and composition of these support forces were very complicated. Shen Yi, the governor of the Southwest, was in command. General Zhong, who had been retired for many years, came forward to fight in his stead. There was also a handful of Jiangnan Navy mixed in — it was the remnants that Yao Zhong Ze gathered after the defeat at the Eastern Sea.
Recognizing that their opportunity had been lost, the Western Army was forced to retreat.
Nearly 40 percent of the imperial officers were buried under the collapsed wall. Li Feng’s Red Kite had completely lost control. Shen Yi had no Eagle in his hands, he had to warily shoot steel ropes onto the railings with baihong arrows. Mobilizing dozen of Heavy Armors, working their best until midnight, only then did they manage to safely pull Emperor Long An who was suspended in mid-air to land.
Almost all of the Northern Camp, together with its commander, had perished in this battle.
Gu Yun was dug out from the bottom of a Western chariot, several of his ribs were broken. At first, no one dared to move him, for as soon as they did, blood would start gushing out.
At last, General Zhong came to see him personally and dropped a sentence, “He is not going to die so easily. If he does, I’ll pay for it.” Only then did he send several military doctors to fix him on the wooden stretcher and carried him away.
The whole palace gathered several thousand years old ginsengs, intermittently sustaining his life for three days. He had almost reunited with the Old Marquis several times. At last, Chen Qing Xu had come back from numerous mountains and rivers from outside the border.
She ran to death several horses, and after arriving in the capital, she did not sleep or rest for an entire day. At last, she was able to recover the Marquis of Order from the hands of the h.e.l.l King.
Gu Yun woke up at dusk for the first time. His eyelids could only vaguely feel the light coming through the window lattice. He had not yet been able to open his eyes, yet the sharp pain had already come.
He was not dead, but Gu Yun was not very happy. First, he was startled: Has the capital been lost? Where am I now?
As he struggled wildly in confusion, someone grasped his hand.
The person seemed to know of his worries, he leaned in his ear and said: “The reinforcements had arrived. It’s alright… the capital is alright.”
The familiar scent of tranquilizers wrapped around him, Gu Yun’s consciousness could only be sustained for a moment, he then fell into unconsciousness again.
It took Gu Yun several days to fully wake up. The effect of the medicine was long gone, he was once again a blind and deaf who could not see nor hear clearly.
Gu Yun struggled to blink, seeing a blurred figure beside the bed. He could tell it was Chang Geng by the scent.
His mind was full of turmoil, and a lot of questions poured in one after another without care: How many people were left in the Northern Camp? Where did the reinforcements come from? Whose forces were they? Where did the Western Army retreat to? What happened to the Emperor?
Chang Geng carefully dipped a little water to feed him. Gu Yun instinctively raised his hand to search around. There was no telling which wound he had moved, his entire body hurt enough to the point of almost fainting.
“Alright, alright,” Chang Geng said in his ear, “General Shen is back, Teacher is keeping guard. You should worry less, have some rest.”
Gu Yun: “…”
He took a deep breath and calmed down, feeling pain in all organs.
Before, with nothing to do, the Marquis of Order would love to pity himself with Shen Yi, how three generations of Gu family were not fated to have a long life. He always felt that his ‘ill and sick body’ was destined for ‘a tragic end for beauties’, turned out that not only did his G.o.dd.a.m.n life was not ‘thin’, but it was also as tough as a c.o.c.kroach, still alive even after being ruined to this point.
Gu Yun opened his mouth, wanting to call ‘Chang Geng’. Unexpectedly, after suffering severe injuries and being unconscious for several days, his throat could not make a sound.
Suddenly, his face was touched by something. Gu Yun felt a hand holding his chin, a finger with a layer of callous gently swept over his lips. There was an indescribable feeling of affection that lingered.
Chang Geng was sitting beside the bed. If Gu Yun could see it clearly, he would find that right now, Chang Geng had only half his clothes draped carelessly on his body, his hair was scattered, his shoulders, neck, arms and even his head were covered with needles, becoming a gentle hedgehog.
He sat stiffly like a log at the bedside, even turning his head took great effort. All emotions on his face were sealed with needles. Could not cry and could not laugh, with no choice, he remained expressionless, becoming a handsome full-sized wooden statue.
Despite this, he still had red in his eyes.
Over the past few days, Chang Geng’s Bone of Impurity had attacked several times. Chen Qing Xu had to apply needles to forcibly seal off the toxin and made him into a straw doll.
The doll whispered in the soft tone his half-deaf ears could not hear, “If this happened once more, I will truly turn mad, Zi Xi, ah.”
Gu Yun: “…”
Although he did not hear what Chang Geng said, the touch on his lips reminded him of what happened on the city wall. For a moment, Gu Yun just wanted to howl — who could have thought that he would be able to stay alive to face this matter?
Thus, from his neck down, General Gu stiffened into a tall and upright rod.