How to Fight the Next Battle
Looking at the situation on the battlefield, Xiao Chenglie dared not fight any longer and immediately ordered, "Sound the retreat! Withdraw!"
The gongs rang out loudly in the camp, and the Government Army, as if granted a pardon, carried the corpses and dragged their weapons, retreating in a chaotic retreat back to their camp.
With the south gate withdrawing its troops, the other three gates also received the news.
The sound of gongs rang out from the east, west, and north, and the attacking Government Army gradually withdrew.
The siege ended abruptly by noon.
The morale of the Yuxi Prefecture was greatly boosted.
The new recruits who joined the uprising were seeing such a large-scale battle for the first time, and they had been quite apprehensive. But now, seeing the Government Army being driven back and the city walls littered with corpses, they all straightened their backs.
The most different were the disaster victims who had received Shen Jingchuan's kindness.
It was this celestial master who sprinkled rice from the sky, saving the lives of their entire family.
Later, they entered Yuxi Prefecture and joined the rebellion. Many of them were on the city wall and in the ranks.
Today, they witnessed with their own eyes that the immortal master descended from the sky on a black horse and killed all the immortal masters on the Government Army's side.
This gave these people even more confidence; with a celestial master protecting them, their rebellion was sure to succeed.
Long ago, someone in the city had already carved a statue of the Black Horse Immortal Venerable.
The statue, dressed in black and wielding a sword, rides a winged black horse; it is his appearance in heaven.
Before the war even began, some disaster victims who had received his kindness brought statues of the Black Horse Immortal Venerable to their homes to worship.
After the battle, the immortal master manifested his power again, chopping down all the immortal masters of the Government Army, and even more people did the same.
Every household invited the statue of the Black Horse Immortal Venerable into their main room, burning incense and kowtowing to pray for blessings every day.
Xiao Chenglie rallied his defeated troops and retreated back to his camp.
He sat alone on the large chair in the commander's tent, the scene from just moments ago still flashing before his eyes.
A young man dressed in black rode a winged winged horse, hovering above him, looking down at him with disdain in his eyes.
A chill ran down his spine, and he knew in his heart that this battle was going to be difficult.
Before long, the generals and staff under his command entered the tent one by one, dejected. They had all witnessed the scene in the sky.
Everyone looked at each other, no one uttering a sound; the tent was so quiet you could hear someone breathing.
Seeing that things were getting out of hand, an aide stepped forward and whispered, "General, everyone's here."
Xiao Chenglie seemed to have just come to his senses, raised his head, and glanced at everyone.
"Okay. Everyone has seen what happened today."
"The two royal immortal masters who came with us both died at the hands of the opposing immortal masters."
He sighed, "Tell me, what's the next step in this battle?"
A general stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, this humble general... dares to say a few words."
Xiao Chenglie waved his hand and said, "Speak."
The general said, "Just now, the two immortal masters clashed. The opponent was too fast; almost in the blink of an eye, our immortal master was defeated."
"General, you weren't nearby, but I saw it clearly. The officers and soldiers below all wore expressions of fear. These battles from now on won't be easy."
No sooner had he finished speaking than another general stepped forward.
"Yes, Commander, you need to make a decision quickly."
"Our morale is low, and most importantly, we can't afford to drag out the siege—our supplies are running low."
The first aide to speak then spoke again.
"General, in my opinion, the biggest problem right now isn't how to fight, nor is it morale or supplies."
Xiao Chenglie looked up at him and said, "Then what do you say it is?"
The advisor said, "General, what do you think? Will this immortal master on a flying horse who intervened today interfere in our battles again? That's the most crucial question."
"If he attacks again, how can we fight? Especially since he might specifically target us, the generals leading the troops."
The first general to speak nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes. If we have to fight a battle while also having to guard against attacks from the sky, and those attacks are fatal in a single blow, General, how can we possibly fight such a war?"
Xiao Chenglie sighed and said, "I've thought of these things too, which is why I asked you all to come and discuss them."
"So let's talk about it first. Do you think this immortal master will intervene again?"
At this moment, another aide stepped forward.
"General, I've thought about it, and in my opinion, he won't make another move."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent froze, and all eyes turned to him.
Xiao Chenglie leaned forward slightly and said, "Oh? Tell me about it."
The advisor remained calm and said, "General, consider what he said today. He means that he will only intervene again if we send another immortal master to interfere."
The implication was that as long as we didn't seek out the immortal master again, he wouldn't interfere, and both sides could rely on their own abilities to prove themselves on the battlefield.
Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent lowered their heads and pondered it, increasingly convinced that it made perfect sense.
Xiao Chenglie nodded slowly and said, "What you said makes sense."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered with all that talking to me today; he could have just attacked. I know my own limitations; if he really wanted to, I wouldn't even be able to withstand a single move."
He gave a bitter laugh, "I'm ashamed. In all my years of leading troops, this is the first time I've felt fear from the bottom of my heart."
Upon seeing this, the first general clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "General, you need not belittle yourself."
"This isn't the first time I've followed you on military campaigns; we remember your past glory. We're not afraid to die."
"What's truly agonizing is knowing you're going to die, but not knowing what to do; that's the most agonizing thing."
Xiao Chenglie remained silent for a moment, then waved his hand.
"Alright, everyone's tired today. Go back and rest, and think things through and discuss how to proceed next."
"Don't panic too much. I also think that immortal master won't make a move easily again."
"Let's meet again tomorrow morning. That's all for now."
The generals then rose one by one, each leaving the command tent with heavy hearts.
On the Rebel Army side, Hu Tieniu returned to the government office.
Lin Shan, Lin Yue, Zhou Tong, and a group of generals also arrived and sat down in two separate rooms.
The moment his bottom touched the stool, Lin Yue couldn't hold back any longer.
"This is the second time I've seen immortal masters battle."
"The first time was right in front of my house; that's when I knew my brother-in-law was something special."
"I've seen something amazing again today. Last time it was on the ground, this time it's flying all the way up in the sky."
He clicked his tongue in amazement, "That was so cool!" I thought to myself, "The way those immortal masters fight is really different from ours. Just one or two moves, so fast I didn't even see it, and it was over."
Zhou Tong also sighed in admiration, saying, "Young Master Shen is truly amazing. When I first met him, I had no idea he possessed such abilities."
Hu Tieniu waved his hand, interrupting the crowd.
"Alright, enough with the pleasantries. A win is a win; just remember it."
He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the assembled generals, before changing the subject.
"Let's all get our minds back on track. Let's discuss how to fight this next battle."