A Day's Truce

Through Xue Ye, Di Hong also learned that the reason he had been chosen to lead the army this time was entirely due to the machinations of Xue Yu's faction. They hoped to use this war to weaken Xue Ye's influence.

They wanted Xue Ye to lose—preferably suffer a crushing defeat.

Everyone knew that the Star Luo Empire would not wage a full-scale national war against them. This conflict would last only a few months at most; once the Star Luo Empire had seized enough benefits, it would withdraw its troops immediately.

That was why the Second Prince's faction had urged Xue Yu to persuade the emperor to appoint Xue Ye as commander. They wanted Xue Ye to lose, even to suffer a disastrous defeat, so long as the entire army was not wiped out.

Xue Ye's talent for cultivation was average, and he had no ability to contend with powerful Spirit Masters. The battlefield was dangerous—who knew whether some accident might happen? If Xue Ye died on the battlefield, that would be even better. Xue Yu could take the throne directly, without even needing to fight for it.

However, the Old Emperor clearly had not become completely muddle-headed. Apart from ten thousand Royal Knights, this expedition also included over a hundred Spirit Masters and one Spirit Master at the Soul Saint level. With them present, Xue Ye's safety could be fully guaranteed.

Di Hong had not expected the Royal Family's internal struggle to have reached such a point in barely a year.

The princes fought over the succession, yet it was the soldiers who suffered.

A few days later, the two hundred thousand-strong army arrived at Jialing Pass.

Looking up at the hundred-meter-high walls before him, Di Hong was filled with emotion.

"What an imposing pass."

Di Yang said, "Jialing Pass lies at the strategic heart of the Tianling Mountain Range. Built against the mountains, its walls are tall and thick, easy to defend and difficult to attack. There is also a moat dozens of meters wide outside it. This pass is a strategic prize that military forces must fight over."

"But taking Jialing Pass is easier said than done. Even if all four hundred thousand troops of the Star Luo Empire died here, they still would not be able to capture it."

Although Jialing Pass was highly defensible, everyone knew that the Star Luo Empire would not stubbornly throw itself against it. Their army was currently camped a hundred li away, while the armies of the Balak Kingdom and Hagendas Kingdom were only fifty li from them.

The two sides were still very close to one another.

The wind swept over the Lima Plain, carrying dust along with it. Mixed into the sand and grit was the smell of blood.

Standing atop the walls of Jialing Pass, Di Hong gazed into the distance at the boundless Lima Plain.

"Ah..." Di Hong closed his eyes and felt the wind brush across his face. Nothing could be seen from Jialing Pass now, but several decades later, an earth-shaking battle would erupt around this pass.

Spirit Hall—by then, it should have been called the Spirit Hall Empire—and the Heaven Dou Empire would clash here with armies numbering in the millions. Three gods, or perhaps four, would even wage a divine battle here.

Blood would flow into rivers.

The result of that divine battle would be one dead and one crippled. Qian Renxue's godhood would shatter, while Bibi Dong would lose her life outright.

But for now, the ones fighting here were the Two Great Empires, though they were not fighting over Jialing Pass.

There were not many defenders stationed at Jialing Pass at present, only a little over thirty thousand. However, there were many wounded soldiers, all sent back from the front lines.

Not long after resting at Jialing Pass, the army immediately headed for the front to join the forces of the two kingdoms. The closer they came to the front, the stronger the smell of blood became.

According to the latest news, the two kingdoms had fought the Star Luo Empire yesterday. The Star Luo Empire had defeated their forces, and the armies of the two kingdoms could now only defend passively, not daring to take the initiative.

Xue Ye did not head directly to the military camp. Instead, he took more than a dozen cavalrymen to observe the area closest to the battlefield and assess the situation. Di Yang and Di Hong followed him to the battlefield as well.

When they reached a hillside, Xue Ye pulled on the reins and came to a stop.

Smoke drifted across the plain in the distance. Corpses lay everywhere, and blood had nearly dyed that stretch of land red.

Di Hong frowned slightly at the sight, clearly uncomfortable. It was his first time witnessing such a horrific scene. Blood, corpses, severed limbs, and broken arms covered the entire battlefield—soldiers of the Star Luo Empire, as well as those of the Balak Kingdom and Hagendas Kingdom.

"What a brutal sight."

"War is like this." Xue Ye sighed, then raised his riding whip and pointed into the distance.

"Do you see that? That is the Star Luo Empire's military camp."

From where they stood, they could see rows upon rows of encampments rising in the distance, stretching on without end.

Then Xue Ye pointed in another direction.

"That way lies Yelin City. If we attack from there, we can strike the flank of the Star Luo army directly or harass their supply lines."

"We can send additional Spirit Masters there."

"However, their supply lines will surely be guarded by Spirit Masters as well. Launching an attack would not be easy," Di Hong said.

Xue Ye nodded slightly. "That's right."

After watching for a while, the group turned around and left.

The news of Xue Ye's arrival quickly reached the Star Luo Empire's military camp.

Inside the main tent of the Star Luo camp.

Dai Yutian sat in the seat of honor. He was somewhat younger than Xue Ye, appearing youthful and vigorous, with golden hair and sharp eyes.

As he looked at the sand table before him, his mind raced.

"The Heaven Dou Empire's reinforcements have arrived. Xue Ye is leading them."

"An Imperial Crown Prince has come, huh?" Xu Zhong, seated first on his left, sneered.

Dai Yutian gave a cold snort, his tone filled with disdain. "I hope this swan does not get eaten by a fierce tiger like me."

A soldier entered the main tent.

"Report! An envoy from the Heaven Dou Empire has arrived outside. He says Xue Ye has sent a letter for His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Oh?" Dai Yutian was somewhat surprised.

"A letter for me?"

"Hand it over."

He wanted to see what exactly the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire had to say to him.

The soldier respectfully handed the letter to Dai Yutian.

After opening it and reading for a while, Dai Yutian smiled.

"What did Xue Ye say in the letter?" Xu Zhong asked curiously. The other generals were curious as well.

Dai Yutian handed the letter to Xu Zhong.

"Xue Ye hopes for a one-day truce so both sides can collect the bodies of the soldiers who died in battle."

After reading it, Xu Zhong passed the letter to the general beside him.

"Your Highness, should we agree?"

"Agree to it. After all, many of our soldiers died on the battlefield as well."

After rising and stretching his neck, Dai Yutian left the main tent. During this day of truce, he needed to carefully plan how to fight the next battle. With Heaven Dou's reinforcements coming, it was already impossible to completely crush them unless Heaven itself lent a hand.

They were fighting deep within enemy territory, so they had to proceed with caution. The slightest carelessness could result in a devastating blow.

The next day, soldiers from both sides arrived at the battlefield to collect the bodies of the fallen and clear the field. Neither side carried weapons, though many soldiers stood ready some distance away in case either side went back on its word.

The moment the soldiers from both sides met, the atmosphere became tense. Shoving and jostling broke out from time to time. If not for the truce, they would likely have started fighting long ago.

The cleanup of the battlefield continued from morning until dusk.

As the sun set, the soldiers on the battlefield returned to their respective camps.

Watching corpse after corpse being hauled back on carts, everyone, including Di Hong, was overcome with mixed emotions.

After a simple ceremony, Xue Ye ordered that they be sent back to Jialing Pass.