A Crushing Defeat

The golden crow dipped westward, and the afterglow of the setting sun shrouded the scarred Azure Cloud Ridge.

This great battle had raged from dawn until nightfall. Corpses carpeted the ground, blood soaked every inch of earth, and the stench of gore in the air was thick enough to make one retch.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Li Xuancang stood with his spear in hand, gasping heavily.

Even with his astonishing physical body, such an intense battle had pushed him beyond endurance.

He alone had slain nearly a hundred Barbarians, including seven or eight Body Tempering Realm Barbarians. Among Squad Leaders, such military merit was unrivaled; even some Hundred-Man Commanders couldn't compare.

Of the three thousand Battle Soldiers, more than half had died, and every survivor was wounded.

Their weapons were chipped and blunted, while the arrows, rolling logs, and boulders had all been exhausted.

The soldiers still standing were supported solely by an unyielding will to fight to the death.

The defensive line had been ripped to pieces by the Barbarian army. Several mountain passes had fallen, and their retreat route could be cut off at any moment.

The five thousand men of the Conscripts' Camp had suffered even more horrifying losses. Only a little over a thousand remained, and they had already collapsed into utter disarray.

Though the Barbarian army had also lost more than half its forces, they continued launching attacks, while reinforcements kept streaming in without end.

"It's bad! Thousand-Man Commander Liu has fallen! The western pass has been breached!"

A desperate cry shattered the defenders' last psychological barrier.

With a Blood Condensation Realm Thousand-Man Commander slain, the riddled defensive line could no longer hold.

The Barbarian army and Demonic Beasts smashed through the line and began a wholesale slaughter. The soldiers suffered devastating casualties, and the rout could no longer be reversed.

The Barbarians and Demonic Beasts had been in league from the start. The Human Race had never stood a chance.

"Bang!"

Zhou Xingzhan was besieged by an Astral Qi Realm Barbarian expert and a snake demon. He was overwhelmed, barely able to protect himself.

He swept his gaze across the battlefield and knew the tide had turned beyond saving.

"The entire army, retreat! Abandon the passes! Break out eastward and head for Jade Sun City!"

Left with no choice, Zhou Xingzhan issued the order to break out.

If they continued defending, then once the Barbarian army closed in, the entire force would only be annihilated.

Only by breaking out could they preserve their last surviving strength.

The moment the order was given, the defenders, who had already been struggling to hold on, instantly fell into chaos.

"Retreat! Retreat, now!"

The soldiers no longer resisted. Throwing away their helmets and armor, they fled like rats with their heads in their hands.

One after another, they scrambled to be first, terrified of being left behind to cover the others' retreat, and fled in panic toward the only eastern breakout route.

"Don't let them escape!"

"Catch up! Kill them all! Leave not a single piece of armor behind!"

"Block them! Don't let a single one go!"

"..."

The Barbarian army clamped down hard on the Human Race's forces, blocking and pursuing them, refusing to let them escape easily.

"Xuancang, break out with me!"

Wang Xuanshan roared. The personal guards around him were doing everything they could to break through, yet they still couldn't shake off the Barbarians' entanglement.

"Yes, sir."

Li Xuancang hurried to Wang Xuanshan's side and joined the others in charging through the enemy.

"Trying to run? Not one of you will leave alive!"

The Barbarian cultivators roared as they pursued them madly, determined to wipe them out to the last man.

Defeat, flight, and slaughter filled the entirety of Azure Cloud Ridge.

"Pfft!"

Li Xuancang cut down a Barbarian cultivator, then his body swayed as he felt his qi and strength drain away.

He leaned on his long spear, blood streaming from wounds all over his body as he gasped heavily.

"Kill with me!"

Wang Xuanshan began fighting desperately as well, his entire body drenched in blood, like a savage ghost that had clawed its way out of hell.

There was no time for Li Xuancang to rest. He clung close behind Wang Xuanshan as they broke out.

"Pfft!"

"Aah!"

"Urgh!"

"..."

People kept falling along the breakout route, yet no one stopped moving.

"Roar!"

The roars of Demonic Beasts rang out, making their hair stand on end.

"The Demonic Beasts are coming! Run!"

The Demonic Beasts were far too savage. On the battlefield, they devoured Human Race soldiers alive and tore them apart raw. Everyone's hearts were filled with terror, and no one dared face them.

Li Xuancang gradually began to feel powerless. He had killed until he was numb, his body had reached its limit, and it no longer obeyed his commands.

"Good chance! Move!"

At last, they carved out a bloody path. Without time to rejoice, they unleashed their last scraps of strength and fled at top speed.

Only after they had fled the battlefield in one breath and shaken off their pursuers did they dare stop to rest.

"Huff, huff... I can't... I can't go on..."

Everyone was exhausted to the bone, collapsing to the ground and gasping for breath.

Li Xuancang was no exception. His entire body had gone limp, and he couldn't even hold his long spear.

After resting for the time it took an incense stick to burn, everyone finally recovered a little strength.

By then, other soldiers who had broken out began arriving one after another and joined up with Li Xuancang's group.

"The Barbarians are relentlessly pursuing us from behind. We need to go."

The crisis wasn't over yet. Wang Xuanshan didn't dare linger, leading several dozen battered survivors away.

As they fled, they were like dogs that had lost their homes, starving and bedraggled.

During their escape, Wang Xiaoniu stayed close at Li Xuancang's side.

"Squad Leader Li, I'll never forget the debt I owe you for saving my life."

Wang Xiaoniu was only an ordinary Battle Soldier. The only reason he had survived that brutal battle was because Li Xuancang had looked after him.

"My condolences."

The battlefield was cruel. Though Li Xuancang had been looking after both brothers, Wang Daniu had still died on the battlefield.

Wang Xiaoniu was covered in wounds as well. Li Xuancang had pulled him out from a pile of corpses.

Wang Xiaoniu's face was filled with grief. His own brother had died right before his eyes, yet he could do nothing.

"Brothers, hold on! We'll be safe once we reach Jade Sun City!"

Everyone was exhausted, their lamps nearly out of oil, supported only by their instinct to survive.

Wang Xuanshan encouraged them, giving them a thread of hope.

Several hours later, a city rose on the horizon and came into view.

"We're here! We've made it!"

"Wuwuwu, we survived!"

"Great! We're saved!"

"..."

Seeing the city so close at hand, many wept tears of joy. The instant their bodies relaxed, they collapsed to the ground unconscious.

They weren't the first to flee to Jade Sun City. Many routed soldiers had already arrived there.

"Quick, carry them into the city!"

The officials of Jade Sun City had long been prepared and had recruited some civilians to carry the unconscious into the city.

Li Xuancang entered the city with the others and arrived at a temporary settlement, where food was soon delivered.

When Li Xuancang saw the food before him, his eyes reddened.

He hadn't eaten for two days and two nights. He had long been so hungry his chest clung to his back, and now food was the only thing in his eyes.

His meal was quite good: two bowls of rice, three dishes, and even a small jar of wine. Meat and wine together made for an exceptionally lavish meal.

Li Xuancang wolfed everything down, leaving not a single drop behind.

"Burp!"

After eating, he let out a satisfied burp. Only then did he feel alive again, with much of his strength restored.

The officials had prepared food for every soldier, but even in these extraordinary times, distinctions of rank remained.

Battle Soldiers could eat rice, along with vegetables and a small amount of meat.

Those conscripts could only eat food made from rice mixed with coarse grain, along with simple boiled wild vegetables and not a trace of meat.

Even so, the conscripts were already deeply satisfied.

In ordinary times, they ate nothing but coarse grain. Being able to eat such a meal was already no small luxury.