Chapter 574 - Sobbing Ghost Mountain
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
"Ah Jian, come over here!" Ling Tian instructed.
Ling Jian took a few steps forward seriously and stood behind Ling Tian silently. He remained an arm's length behind Ling Tian and looked toward the horizon with Ling Tian.
"Stand up here. What do you see? What do you think?" Ling Tian placed his hands behind his back and did not turn around. His words were calm as though he was having a casual conversation with Ling Jian.
Ling Jian's gaze was like a sword as he took in the sights of the surrounding thousand miles with the strong winds crashing onto his face. Ling Jian suddenly felt a wave of heroism in his heart! Although he did not say a single thing, Ling Tian could still feel the agitation of his most loyal subordinate.
"This is the highest spot in the surrounding few hundred miles!" Ling Tian smiled calmly, "Looking out from here, everything within the surrounding thousand miles is captured in your vision and is all beneath your feet!"
"If an ordinary person stands on this point, he will exclaim about how beautiful the creation of God is. He may even feel reverence or fear and will subconsciously worship the heavens and earth! If someone who yearns to stand at the peak of the martial way stands here, he will feel a sense of loneliness. Especially someone who is at Justice's level. If he were to stand here, he would only feel endless loneliness. A loneliness which is born from extreme arrogance. Thus, if he is standing here, he would think about me. He would wonder when I will be able to attain the same heights that he has achieved so that I can fight a battle with him."
Ling Tian chuckled and said those words with certainty. He then said, "But when I am standing up here, I am thinking about how the millions of living beings are all beneath my feet! Did you know?! I must definitely rule over the world in this lifetime of mine! I have never felt loneliness in my heart but only pride and arrogance!" Ling Tian looked at Ling Jian and smiled while shaking his head, "You will never understand just what I am thinking about in my heart."
Ling Jian indeed couldn't understand what Ling Tian was thinking about, for no other reason except that Ling Tian's thoughts had already exceeded the thinking of this world. Ling Jian only knew that his young noble's usually calm eyes had actually turned red from excitement!
At this moment, Ling Tian was truly agitated in his heart! He had the urge to cry out loudly to the millions of living beings beneath his feet, I am from China! I am from China! I am from China!!!
I do not belong to this world of yours! But I will definitely conquer you! I will conquer the whole world!
Who dares to defy me?!
Taking a deep breath, Ling Tian suppressed the agitation in his heart and finally regained his cool. Although his expression had not changed at all, his mood went from being calm to agitation, and then back to being calm.
Letting out a long breath, Ling Tian looked at Ling Jian warmly and said, "Ah Jian, remember my current position. When we are both at the true peak of the world, your position would be right behind me and only a single step away! You aren't allowed to be any farther away than that!"
Ling Jian's pale face suddenly turned red.
Ling Tian looked at Ling Jian with a smile. "However, such a position cannot be occupied by someone who only knows how to kill. I wish that you will stand at this position forever. Do you understand? Are you willing to stand here forever?"
Even with the winds blowing ferociously at the peak, a droplet of sweat could be seen on Ling Jian's nose. Ling Jian nodded his head solemnly and said, "It is Ling Jian's honor to be able to stand behind Young Noble! I will stand at this position!"
Ling Tian chuckled, "Do you know? In terms of realm, Justice and I aren't too far apart from each other. The only thing that I am lacking is the accumulation over time. However, I will not feel lonely standing here because I have you behind me. Thus, I will not experience such loneliness."
"Such loneliness is the greatest torture to people like us!" Ling Tian looked at Ling Jian and said seriously, "I do not wish to experience such loneliness. Thus, you must work hard to not make me feel lonely. Do you understand?"
Ling Jian's usually frosty expression finally defrosted and he felt a sourness in his throat.
Ling Tian watched the clouds float by him in a daze. The clouds seemed to pass through his body as though he was currently in the Heavenly Palace and he was reminded of a song:
The earth is beneath my feet,
Power is in my hands,
Who dares to go against me?
Who is the one who conquered the six empires?
Who is the one who united the world?
Whose battle exploits soared to the heavens?
High up above,
Gentleman, take a look,
Our territory is as beautiful as the painting;
Ascending the mountain and stepping on fog,
Pointing to the heavens and scolding,
Who else deserves praise but me?
In the beginning,
I am here,
Seizing the carefreeness of all ages,
Stone inscriptions,
Recording history,
Spreading how I ruled over the world!
…
The song that belonged to his memory replayed over and over again in Ling Tian's heart. The sound of horses galloping and the majestic music. The heroism that shot to the heavens was exceptionally tyrannical!
Ling Tian clenched his teeth and a sharp glow shot out from his eyes!
Let me seize the carefreeness of all ages in this world! Let the people of future generations spread my legend of ruling over the world!
******
Eastern Zhao had fallen into complete chaos!
After DongFang JingLei unexpectedly seized the position of DongFang Family Head, he cleared up all his opposition with thunder-like methods. Just when everyone thought that DongFang JingLei would remain low profile for a while to bide his time and rebuild his forces, DongFang JingLei's actions dumbfounded everyone.
He actually gathered all of his DongFang Family's troops to stage an open rebellion! In the eyes of everyone, this was akin to DongFang JingLei seeking death!
However, there was something even more exaggerated than this! The number one merchant of Eastern Zhao, Wu SanSan, who had never joined in political affairs had chosen to support DongFang JingLei with the risk of going bankrupt. The combined strength of these two individuals was definitely not as simple as 1+1=2. As though a reactive chemical reaction was ignited, these two individuals chased the Eastern Zhao Emperor DongFang MingRi out of the capital!
Following that, both parties launched an all-out war! With the many generations of accumulation of the DongFang Family and the immense wealth of Young Noble SanSan, their momentum was like a gigantic snowball rolling down a hill. The first few cities that responded were the few surrounding cities. All the generals that belonged to the DongFang Family raised their flags and left for the capital. Such a situation extended throughout the Eastern Zhao Empire and in a short three days, fighting broke out throughout the cities between the two factions. During these short few days, Eastern Zhao fell into complete chaos.
Three days later, the might of a family naturally could not be compared to the might of an empire. Young Noble SanSan was the first to go missing and DongFang JingLei was chased out of the capital. However, the powers that belonged to the DongFang Family were like an undying bug that refused to die. They plundered and killed along the way like a bunch of locusts, bringing chaos wherever they went.
General Shen RuHu from Sky Bearing had suddenly made his move. He first sent out 30,000 elites towards the direction where DongFang JingLei was fleeing towards. He must definitely follow Young Noble Ling Tian's arrangement and receive DongFang JingLei's troops.
The Eastern Zhao's action had ignited the whole world!
Just when Eastern Zhao broke out into chaos, it was as though all the powers in the world had agreed on a time…
After remaining silent for a month, General Ling Xiao's army also moved out like a tsunami rolling forward! They raised their flags and launched their assault towards Gold Jade City of Southern Zheng! The generals of all the armies along the way mysteriously died and were utterly defeated.
General Ling Xiao's army did not suffer from any obstruction along the way and naturally did not suffer too big of a loss. In just a mere four days, General Ling Xiao's army killed its way to Gold Jade City and surrounded the city gates of Southern Zheng completely. Without a moment of delay, General Ling Xiao began their siege of the city!
He did not even give Southern Zheng a chance to negotiate! They obviously wanted to wipe out Southern Zheng completely! Surrender? Sure. However, you must surrender immediately and we will not accept any form of negotiations. If you want to surrender, you better let down the drawbridge and admit your defeat. If you want to send someone to negotiate with me? I am sorry, we will kill anyone you send!
Even though the battle was currently at a stalemate, it was already looking like it was in the favor of General Ling.
At the same moment, the 150,000 strong army of the Xiao Family also launched their assault at Southern Zheng. If the Ling Family didn't make a move, they would not make a move either. Now that the Ling Family was about to attack Gold Jade City, if the Xiao Family still didn't make their move, they would have to watch Southern Zheng fall into the hands of the Ling Family. At such a moment, the Xiao Family would naturally not miss the opportunity to fish in troubled waters!
Even if they couldn't fight Ling Xiao's army face on, they had to dig out some benefits! They must definitely have a share of the big slice of cake called Southern Zheng!
Naturally, the Xiao Family that was stationed by Eastern Zhao came from afar under the guise of aiding their alliance mate. But the moment chaos broke out in Eastern Zhao, the Xiao Family revealed their true ambitions and transformed into bandits who committed all kinds of atrocities. They only had a single motive: to snatch a portion of the huge cake called Eastern Zhao, the largest portion!
Naturally, the one with the largest action was Xiao FengYang's army. With a single command, they killed their way to Sky Bearing's Sobbing Ghost Mountain. At the same time, he sent out a 20,000 man army along the northeast route to launch a pincer attack with the Eastern Zhao army against Shen RuHu! In truth, the purpose of the army was to work together with the Xiao Family's army in Eastern Zhao to obtain the biggest benefit!
The moment the battle at the Sobbing Ghost Mountain began, Second Master Xiao who was a military strategist expert felt something wrong!
This was the instinct of a brilliant military strategist!
Originally, Xiao FengYan only intended to feign an attack to coordinate with Meng RuoYun's ambush on the Ling Family. Naturally, if he received any favorable news, he would immediately turn this bogus attack of his into reality and make adjustments to his plans on the spot.
Battles had sprung up all around and flaming beacons would shoot towards the sky every day. If Meng RuoYun succeeded in his ambush, then Second Master Xiao would make use of this opportunity to swallow Southern Zheng, Sky Bearing and Eastern Zhao!
With the person who he was the most wary of being chased by Justice, this was the best opportunity for Xiao FengYang!
However, Xiao FengYang didn't know that he wasn't the only person who thought of such a crazy idea. There was another individual who had already begun making arrangements. Both their plans were equally crazy but the latter's plans had even included Xiao FengYang.
The mountain pass that should have been easily within his grasp was heavily guarded by the Ling Family's army. It was completely out of Xiao FengYang's expectations and completely contrary to his original plan!
According to Xiao FengYang's plan, the soldiers guarding the mountain pass should be the close aides of Imperial Tutor Wang and were naturally the Xiao Family's spies. Before launching his attack, Xiao FengYang had already sent out an order to Imperial Tutor Wang, ordering him to feign defeat and retreat all the way. The Xiao Family's army would then chase after their defeated troops and make use of the opportunity to seize Sky Bearing. It was also because he received a letter of assurance from the guards within the pass that he would lead his army to assault the pass confidently.
This should have been a plan without a flaw but he had actually faced obstruction at the very beginning. There should have only been only slight resistance from the Ling army but his Xiao army was now facing intense resistance with signs of the Ling army counterattacking.
Just when Xiao FengYang's army swaggered their way to the entrance of the pass confidently, they were greeted by an appetizer from the Ling army. A volley of arrows was sent towards them and the Xiao army who was caught off guard did not have a chance to react. Leaving behind almost a thousand corpses, the Xiao army retreated like wailing ghosts! This sudden change angered Second Master Xiao to the point he accidentally pulled out three strands of his beard!
Preposterous!
Can this be considered putting up a slight resistance and feigning defeat? All the soldiers of the Ling Family looked as though they would rather perish with the enemy than take one step of retreat. They looked as though they were afraid that they weren't slashing hard enough and afraid that their enemy wasn't dead!
This… just what was going on?
Did something go wrong? Why do I feel so uneasy? Just what went wrong with my perfect plan?!
At this moment, Xiao FengYang's head was in a complete mess.
Eighteen years ago, the Xiao Family had already secretly arranged for the Wang Family to enter Sky Bearing. After the Wang Family rose up the ranks in Sky Bearing, the Xiao Family had begun arranging this matter. Knowing that the Xiao Family would definitely enter Sky Bearing from here, Wang ZhiHong had arranged for his close confidantes to be stationed here. In order to prevent his deeds from being exposed, he would minimize the number of confidantes stationed. After so many years, he did not dare to reveal any traces of his plotting. In fact, it was also the information that the Wang Family provided that allowed Xiao FengYang to uproot the spies of the Ling Family.
However, the moment the battle broke out, these people had actually fought them to the death!
Xiao FengYang just could not understand what was going on.
But no matter what, their army had already launched their attack and an arrow that was sent out could not be retrieved. At the same time, the sacrifice of the few thousand people who had already died could not be in vain. On top of that, a few generals who were meticulously nurtured by the Xiao Family had also perished under the gates of the mountain pass. How could they not take revenge for such a vengeance?
As such, the battle between both parties became more and more intense.
After a full day of battle, there weren't many who could even stand up straight on the city wall. However, the Ling Family's attack was still like a raging storm and in a short day, the 150,000 man army of the Xiao Family had lost over 7,000 men.
The number of injured soldiers was almost half of the 150,000 men Xiao army! Not to mention feigning defeat, even if they were to fight in an all-out battle, such losses were unacceptable to the Xiao Family! Xiao FengYang hated the guards of the mountain pass to the bone!
Upon seeing that the mountain pass was about to be captured, Xiao FengYang gave a strict order: The general in charge of guarding the mountain pass must be caught alive! Second Master Xiao will not allow him to die! This person had killed so many of his Xiao Family's soldiers. How could such a vengeance be settled with a simple death?
I will let you suffer a fate worse than death! I want to let you know how extravagant a thought death can be!
Second Master Xiao face was filled with malevolence and hatred had filled his heart!
There were a few hundred men of the Xiao Family who had climbed up the city gates and were about to seize the mountain pass! The Ling Family no longer had the ability to retaliate and their battle merit was already within their grasp. However, the Xiao Family had already paid a huge price in this battle!
Originally, their plan didn't require sacrificing a single soldier to complete but it had transformed into a complete head-on battle!
Even with victory near their grasp, none of the Xiao Family members could feel the slightest bit of joy!
However…
Even this short moment for them to catch their breath was extremely rare!
Countless numbers of Ling Family reinforcements suddenly swarmed over as though they had dropped down from the sky. The reinforcements were like a swarm of hornets and charged at the Sobbing Ghost Mountain Pass. In just a single exchange, they sacrificed thousands of soldiers to block the momentum of the Xiao Family. They then used their own bodies to fill up the gaps in the city wall which was destroyed by the Xiao army and squeezed the Xiao army off the city wall.
That's right: squeezed! Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say 'knocked'! The soldiers of the Ling Family seemed to have gone crazy and using their bodies as a weapon they charged at the incoming blades and arrows. Wave after wave, it was as though none of them feared death and their blood sprayed on the city walls like the rain. Almost every single inch of land was filled with a couple of corpses from both parties!
At this moment, human life seemed so fragile! It seemed so worthless!
The first wave of reinforcements from the Ling Family was almost completely wiped out in an instant! After that, an endless swarm of Ling Family soldiers charged over without stopping and pounced into the bloody battlefield without the slightest bit of hesitation. They were like children who had not seen their family for a long time diving into the warm embrace of their mother. They did not hesitate the slightest and did not show a single sign of hesitation!
Without a command or leader, the place where blood was the thickest, shrieks the loudest, and corpses the most would be the place where they attacked!
Without any apprehensions!
Stepping on the corpses of their own comrades, they charged forward with their eyes bloodshot! Charging forward to their deaths! Right after they charged forward, the previously living troops had turned into corpses quickly. Following that, the other guards stepped on the bodies of comrades without even blinking their eyes and died. Another wave then charged forward…
Around the soldiers, they could only see blood splattering everywhere and limbs flying in all directions. They could not even hear what their comrades were screaming or what their enemies were roaring. All of their eyes were bloodied red and filled with intense killing intent!
They were all filled with the resolution to perish with the enemy!
From afar, countless Ling Family reinforcements swarmed over from all directions and charged up the mountain pass. Even if it was a land of death, they had to charge into it. Outside the mountain pass, the Xiao Family's soldiers also continued to pounce forward without fear.
The armies of both parties were charging forward without retreat and their eyes were bloodshot with enmity. All of them charged forward as though their only motive was to kill or be killed! Behind the backs of the soldiers, a mountain of corpses was left behind. The corpses were all dismembered without a single complete corpse and their eyes were still wide open with a crazed killing intent! However, not a single tinge of reluctance could be seen in their eyes!
In the heart of these hot-blooded men, apart from their enemy and killing, nothing else was in their hearts. Their elderly parents at home, their gentle wife and adorable children… at this moment, perhaps they had flashed by the hearts of these soldiers, or perhaps they didn't. However, everyone knew that if their enemy invaded their home, their parents, wife, and children would be worse than widows and orphans!
Men! Their brutal nature that belonged to the battlefield was completely ignited!
Kill! For their kin!
Kill! For Sky Bearing!
Kill! For glory!
Kill! For… the sake of killing!
….
This was no longer a mountain pass!
This place had turned into a millstone that ground up the lives of thousands of soldiers!
The sun set and the moon rose!
In a short day and night, at least 40,000 soldiers were sacrificed in this narrow path! The Xiao Family had lost at least 25,000 soldiers and the Ling Family had lost more than 10,000 soldiers!
The miserable battle made everyone's soul tremble whenever they recalled this event! Every soldier who witnessed the miserable battle before their eyes shed off their cowardice with only their bestial nature left behind!
Humans had already forgotten about their animal nature and it was hidden within the depths of their instinct!
The strong eating the weak! It's either your death or mine!
The massacre of the battlefield and bloody flesh flying around. The crazed warriors all shared the same soul. Regardless of whether they belonged to the Ling or Xiao Family, they only had a single thought: Kill!
This life or death battle was completely out of Xiao FengYang's expectations. At this moment, it was impossible to stop it!
The Xiao Family had already sacrificed 25,000 soldiers and this figure was still growing. At every minute, this number was growing but not a single soldier was able to enter the narrow mountain pass! What kind of a humiliation was this? This pent-up humiliation and anger from being lied to exploded forth from the lungs of the Xiao Family in the form of a maniacal roar. Without even receiving Xiao FengYang's orders, they had all charged forward with their eyes reddened!
The Xiao Family refused to give up their advancement and the Ling Family would never give up the mountain pass! As such, the battlefield became more and more miserable, crazier and crazier! The number of casualties soared by the minute!
This mountain pass that was destroyed by the Xiao Family completely was actually even more majestic than before its destruction! The countless corpses that were piled into the city walls had filled up the broken city walls! Looking at it from afar, it looked like a waterfall of blood that gradually formed a flowing stream! That is if this place can still be called a wall.
It was truly a barrier of meat!
It was truly a barrier of lost life!
Currently, the soldiers from both armies were completely stepping on corpses as they battled! There wasn't a single person who could still step on the earth beneath them! From their feet to the earth, there would be at least a distance of three to four corpses!
As the battle continued and soldiers stepped onto their comrades, countless sounds of bones breaking could be heard. However, the soldiers who were in battle didn't notice any of those sounds and continued to wave their blades crazily until they collapsed onto the ground and became a pile of bones for their comrades to step on.
Every single soldier in the battle had already turned crazy! If they had a blade in their hands, they would use a blade. If their blade broke, they would use their fists, shoulders, legs, knees, head, or even their teeth…
Wang Han and four other Blood Iron Warriors each took a single direction and their eyes were also reddened from killing. After a day and night of roaring out commands, their throats were burning as though a blazing hot knife were stabbed into their throats. They could no longer let out a single sound and they could only give their commands by waving their hands.
This action didn't need any explaining and was easily understood. Everyone could also easily understand the simple meaning of that action: Charge! Kill!
Their usually robust inner qi had already been reduced to a mere trickle a day ago. Currently, they were only relying on their physical abilities to command and do battle. Each and every one of them had blood spraying out of them at a different part of their body. Be it the blood of their enemy or their own blood, there would be blood spraying on them at every moment. It may be their enemy's blood trickling down their body now and their own heads being cleaved off the next moment!
Wang Han had two arrows embedded in him and he did not even have the time to pull them out. The iron sword in his hand had already turned into a bloodied sword. This treasured sword in his hand that would not be stained with blood had already been dyed completely red after consuming blood for a whole day and night. After a full day and night, even Wang Han himself wasn't sure just how many people he had killed! He only knew that there was an endless wave of people charging at him before collapsing before his blade. He did not know anything else and only knew that as long as he was still standing, he would continue battling! He would never stop battling! Wang Han's blade had actually twisted from the intense battle!
Even his blade which had been tempered with Black Iron had actually twisted from killing! This unbreakable weapon was actually unable to endure the crazy battle until the very end! The friction from the blade grinding against bodies was like the heat from the furnace! When slashing into the flesh of the enemy, a brief wave of heat would be emanated! However, no one noticed this oddity and it was impossible for anyone to notice!
Raising his head up, Wang Han continued his slaughter as though he did not know what fatigue was. Every exchange he had with the enemy, a couple of enemy troops would fall and his body would be inflicted with a few more injuries!
There was no longer anyone to stop the battle and everyone was in a state of crazed killing intent. The only thing that they could differentiate was the difference between enemy and comrade. The only way to make them stop right now would be death!
As long as they still had a single breath, they would not stop their killing!
Never ending reinforcements continued to arrive in perhaps a ten man squad, a hundred man squad or even a thousand man squad. They charged over hurriedly and dived into the battle hurriedly before rushing to their deaths hurriedly!
There were far too many people who had dove into battle without even leaving behind a final word! In just a couple of breaths, living human beings were transformed into piles of mush on the ground!
Meng LiGe sending out his order with the highest authority of the Ling Family Courtyard had achieved the greatest effect! All of the Ling Family soldiers in the surrounding were like bees who had smelled honey and swarmed over endlessly!
The battlefield was already out of anyone's control. It was already out of the so-called military command. This narrow region had completely turned into a region of slaughter and death!
The initial battle cries and loud roars had completely disappeared. Apart from the mourning shrieks of the dead and the sound of blades diving into the human flesh, there wasn't another sound that could be heard. Every single ounce of strength they had was channeled into their blades and transferred into their enemies' bodies!
Regardless of which party the mountain pass lands in the hands of, it wouldn't be able to serve its original purpose any longer! This place probably couldn't even be compared to a wasteland!
The ground had gradually been soaked by the blood and turned into a mud made of clay and the bloodied flesh of the soldiers. It was then trampled on by the soldiers and ground into dust before becoming a part of the earth!
As the reinforcements of the Ling Family increased, they also gradually gained the upper hand of the battle and victory had finally leaned towards the Ling Family. Regardless of how indignant or furious the Xiao Family soldiers were, they were forced out of the mountain pass!
Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say that all of the Xiao Family soldiers who had charged into the mountain pass had perished and the Ling Family's soldiers had charged out of the mountain pass!