Divine Manifestation

A gale sent the banner bearing the words "Great Virtuous Teacher" snapping in the wind. On the carriage, Zhang Jiao's expression remained unchanged, while Tian Feng stood behind him, rising onto his toes to survey the chaotic battlefield.

"Great Virtuous Teacher, He Yi's forces need support. The cavalry has been held back; we must send another army," Tian Feng said.

Zhang Jiao nodded and gave an order. The yellow banner waved, and the central army sent two thousand armored Yellow Turban Warriors forward to support He Yi.

As soon as these two thousand fresh troops entered the battle, they quickly steadied the line, which had been retreating step by step. They even pushed the Han Army back, but the Han Army soon dispatched a reserve force to reinforce its ranks and drive forward again.

The two sides fought back and forth around a low wall of corpses, flesh and blood flying everywhere.

Just then, a horn sounded from the Han Army's center. The command flags waved, and the Han Army on the right flank let out a tremendous cheer of "Victory!" before advancing through the clouds of dust.

"Those are Dong Zhuo's troops. Dong Zhuo is exceptionally strong, alert, and strategic." Tian Feng pressed his lips together, looking tense. "His men often fight the Qiang People and Xianbei People, so they're quite elite and hard to deal with."

He was afraid Zhang Jiao might not have heard of Dong Zhuo's reputation and would therefore underestimate him, so he offered a warning.

In truth, how could Zhang Jiao underestimate Dong Zhuo? Any commander trusted by Huangfu Song to lead a flank alone must have extraordinary ability.

He ordered Huang Shao to lead his troops forward and engage Dong Zhuo's forces, ensuring Dong Zhuo had no chance to strike at the central army.

Huang Shao took the order and led several thousand Yellow Turbans to block Dong Zhuo. As soon as they clashed, Tian Feng keenly sensed something was amiss.

He exclaimed in delight, "Dong Zhuo's troops should be stronger than Cao Cao's, but now they seem to be avoiding battle!

"I understand. In the end, Dong Zhuo can't bear to risk his core troops from Liang Province. Great Virtuous Teacher, look—the soldiers at the very front of his formation are clearly less elite than Fu Xie's men. They must be Commandery Soldiers drafted into service, while his Liang Province army is held behind them, only loosing arrows from time to time."

At Tian Feng's reminder, Zhang Jiao noticed it too. A thought immediately arose in his mind: Even without the descent of Holy Venerable Huang Tian, if my Great Peace Sect of Huang Tian is defeated, the Han Court will still collapse before many years have passed...

In this great battle that would decide the fate of the Han Empire, Dong Zhuo dared to harbor selfish designs and drag his feet in secret. It was easy to imagine that every warlord with any strength in the land was watching to see how things unfolded.

Once they were certain the Han Court lacked the strength to subdue the land, they would surely carve out territories for themselves, and the realm would fall into a warlord free-for-all.

Tian Feng had noticed Dong Zhuo dragging his feet, and Huangfu Song, a veteran commander, had naturally noticed too. But he was helpless to do anything about it. After all, Dong Zhuo had indeed sent out his troops to fight. He had merely placed the Commandery Soldiers at the very front to face the enemy.

If Huangfu Song accused Dong Zhuo on those grounds, Dong Zhuo could easily explain that he was using the Commandery Soldiers to wear down the Yellow Turbans, and would lead his elite Liang Province army to crush them once they were exhausted.

Huangfu Song gave a cold snort, his displeasure with Dong Zhuo rising. He thought to himself, Another wolf with wild ambitions. If I get the chance, I'll kill him!

He surveyed the situation. Cao Cao's forces had the advantage on the left flank, scattering the Yellow Turban cavalry and inflicting heavy casualties. On the right flank, Dong Zhuo's forces were entangled with the enemy, locked in a fierce "stalemate." Fu Xie's troops were fighting the bloodiest battle at the front, with Han soldiers and Yellow Turbans falling forever with every passing moment, but they still held the advantage.

Aside from the unmoving central army, the Han Army had already seized the upper hand across the battlefield. All they had to do was wait for the enemy to collapse on any one of the three fronts, and they could win a crushing victory—or commit the central army and smash the Yellow Turbans in one blow.

For once, Huangfu Song found himself hesitating.

If he had encountered this situation before, he would have committed the entire central army, save for the reserves he had to keep back, and crushed the enemy. But now, he didn't dare act so rashly.

Because...

"Holy Venerable Huang Tian!" he murmured.

Faced with such an unfavorable situation, Zhang Jiao remained utterly calm. Even the Yellow Turban soldiers, who had been fighting and retreating without pause, had not broken. Huangfu Song could only attribute it all to the Immortal Gods said to walk the earth.

Lu Zhi saw the hesitation in Huangfu Song's heart but said nothing. If he were commander of all the armies, he would not know what to do either—whether or not to commit the entire central army. So he kept silent and fixed his gaze on the towering walls of Guangzong City.

He believed that if anything earthshaking happened on the battlefield, it would surely have something to do with the "Sovereign Yellow Absolute God," who remained within Guangzong City!

After considering the matter for a while, Huangfu Song finally made his decision. "We must seize this opportunity before it's gone. A commander must be decisive!"

He suddenly drew the precious sword at his waist and shouted, "The central army advances!"

Drums thundered with even greater force. Under the gaze of countless people, the Han Army's great central banner slowly moved forward. Tremendous cheers rose from several Han Army formations, and their morale soared!

Tian Feng tensed abruptly. He knew the decisive moment had come!

The fate of Great Han now depended on which side emerged victorious from the clash to come!

He turned to look at Zhang Jiao. Zhang Jiao's face was still as calm as a lake, but his breathing had gradually deepened, and his aged eyes gleamed sharply.

"Advance!" He drew a deep breath and issued the order.

Banners fluttered, and orderlies galloped through the ranks. The Yellow Turban central army was like a sleeping machine suddenly roused to life, slowly beginning to move.

The soldiers gave their weapons one last wipe. At their commanders' orders, they advanced step by step. Every man wore a blank expression, daring neither to glance back nor look around, his gaze fixed on the back of the man ahead as his heart pounded wildly.

Whoosh—

A goshawk glided across the azure sky, stretching its wings at ease. Then it lowered its head and gazed in confusion at the vast plain, where two raging rivers had crashed violently together!

Boom—!

The terrifying roar of tens of thousands of collisions erupted across the plain. Shields smashed against shields; blades struck iron-bound wooden shields with a splintering crack; spears plunged into flesh with a dull, wet thud; and countless soldiers let out shrill death cries as they fell.

In an instant, the battlefield turned several times more brutal. Everyone's eyes turned bloodshot, their minds fevered. The air reeked of blood so foul it made one want to vomit, of cold rusted iron, and of the stench of sweat mingled with blood...

Amid such a cruel, blood-soaked battlefield, Tian Feng's face paled slightly. The great melee between the two armies had lasted less than half a quarter of an hour, yet the Yellow Turban line was slowly retreating. His heart jolted.

Meanwhile, Huangfu Song, directing the Han Army's charge, grew ever more excited. A glorious, resounding victory was within reach. He was about to earn an immortal achievement, turning the tide when all seemed lost and propping up a collapsing edifice!

The vast realm would finally be pacified by his hand. He would become the savior of the Han Empire!

But before he could enjoy his triumph for long, an immense roar of prayers and cheers suddenly erupted from the walls of Guangzong City.

"What's that..." Huangfu Song's expression changed dramatically as he looked up at the city walls.

"The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise! In the year of Jiazi, good fortune shall reign beneath Heaven!!!"

Amid a surging roar like the ocean, a young man appeared atop the city gate tower. He wore a blue-green jade hairpin and a Cloud Pattern Daoist Robe. His gaze was clear, yet seemed to hold a trace of detachment. He slightly raised his right hand and tapped the empty air with a slender finger. Brilliant golden spiritual light burst from his fingertip.

Rumble!

A succession of thunderous booms rose from beneath the earth...