The Battle's Aftermath
"Sect Leader Kang, Sect Leader Kang, spare my life!" Despite the cries of alarm from the person in front of him, Kang Dabao remained expressionless as he pierced the short blade through the monk's robe and plunged it into the chest of the old acquaintance before him.
Even after comforting him, Sima Fei showed no compassion. Even after breaking through the enemy lines, he did not allow Kang Dabao and the ravaged Pingrong County troops to rest for long, but instead insisted on following the other troops to search for the remaining enemy.
Kang Dabao's injuries had not yet healed. Not only were his skin, flesh, and bones in excruciating pain, but he also felt a burning sensation in his meridians whenever he used his spiritual power.
To survive the attack of that Heavenly Thunder Seed, one must pay a price.
A single Heavenly Thunder Seed Thunderbolt is worth as much as a top-grade flying sword, yet it still couldn't take the life of Sect Leader Kang Da. This Sect Leader Kang Da is truly "incredibly valuable."
"I've never encountered a regular customer in a place like this before." Kang Dabao thought with some emotion. He recognized the refined cultivator with a sorrowful expression on his face. He was a rare good person, and in his memory, the cultivator should have been practicing in Tanggu County.
A few years ago, when Sect Leader Kang Da was still a traveling merchant, he was once really short of money and didn't have enough change for a single spirit fragment. He just kindly said that he would settle the matter next time.
His wife is a good person too. She cooks delicious rice porridge, makes tasty pickled vegetables, and is happy to let outsiders eat some rice and vegetables.
He didn't talk much, loved to laugh, and had a refined and handsome appearance. Although he covered his full breasts up, they often made his clothes bulge, always drawing the attention of Sect Leader Kang Da.
I once heard the refined cultivator say that she fell ill after giving birth, and that it would be difficult to cure her without spending a lot of Spirit Stone. As a result, the couple's cultivation path was also very difficult, and the refined cultivator had to travel around to earn some Spirit Stone to bring home so that he could try his best to treat his wife's illness.
This worried the Sect Leader Kang Da, who was quite concerned when he heard about it, and he charged less for several subsequent transactions.
Kang Dabao had been a traveling merchant for decades and had endured countless scornful looks. Such acts of kindness were rare and left a lasting impression on him.
Even so, Kang Dabao dared not slow down any longer. He always felt that Xu, the general, was watching him from behind, probably looking for something wrong with him so he could take his anger out on him.
Feeling cold sweat trickling down his back, Kang Dabao straightened his face, gently twisted the short blade stuck in his chest, and pulled it back sharply.
A jet of blood spurted from the chest of the refined-looking monk. His face contorted in pain, blood bubbling from his mouth, and he stammered, unable to utter a coherent sentence.
Kang Dabao dared not listen at this moment. With a swift slash of his short blade, he cut open the neck of his old acquaintance, who breathed his last in the blink of an eye.
"Hmph!" Xu, carrying a string of severed heads, walked past Kang Dabao, glaring at him with displeasure. "This whole mess was caused by this scoundrel. Even if we bring back so many heads, I wonder if it will offset our crimes!"
If it weren't for Sima Fei's repeated and strict military orders forbidding his men from fighting and killing each other, it's hard to say whether General Xu would have already put down the head in his hand and sought out Sect Leader Kang Da for a fight.
At this moment, Kang Dabao ignored him, picked up the Storage Bag, shook off the remaining blood, and walked away silently.
This was the first time in Sect Leader Kang Da two lifetimes that he had been envied by a powerful figure, and he was somewhat unaccustomed to it.
Just as he finished putting away the Storage Bag, a loud noise came from the distant mountain peak. Kang Dabao turned around abruptly.
At this time, almost half a month had passed since Sima Fei broke the formation alone. Under the fierce attack of nearly four hundred state cultivators, the Second-Tier Upper-Grade Upper Origin Golden Dipper Formation, which had been passed down for hundreds of years and was being defended by the remaining disciples of the Five Aspects Sect, was finally about to give way. At this moment, the spiritual light shield was extremely dim.
Sima Fei, who looked like Celestial Person, and Acting Sima Gun beside him first jointly summoned a precious Formation-Breaking Pearl. Then, they used all their strength to cut the array's protective barrier into four pieces with a halberd and a sword, and then it completely collapsed.
In the blink of an eye, a vast expanse of golden light burst forth atop the distant mountain peaks, as beautiful as autumn leaves, drifting gracefully down from the summit.
Even after the great formation was broken, the disciples of the Five Aspects Sect did not all give up the fight.
To be honest, the disciples who grow up in this sect are incredibly loyal.
They huddled within the formations of key buildings within the Five Aspects Sect, relying solely on their advantageous location and unwavering spirit to continue their arduous struggle against the surging tide of enemies.
The sect leader's death, the broken formation, and the scattered disciples—none of these could make them bow their heads. Outsiders would find it hard to understand why these Five Aspects Sect disciples, already in dire straits, would persist.
Perhaps they still cherish the continuation of their sect's lineage; perhaps they still hope to be Liberation by Violence by the Two Instruments Sect; or perhaps they still hold onto the purest attachment to their sect.
However, none of that mattered anymore. Even though both Fei and Gun, the two Sima Jins, had expended considerable energy, they did not make another move.
However, the surviving disciples of the Five Aspects Sect, facing the relentless attacks of the state's bloodthirsty henchmen, though their will was commendable, could only hold out for half a day.
After the disciples of the Five Aspects Sect who resisted were crushed to dust by the state army, the sect's headquarters, which had a history of thousands of years, completely changed hands.
Such a good thing as dividing up the spoils was not something that the county and township soldiers, who came to help according to the state court's decree, would get to do.
Acting Sima Gun withdrew all the cultivators from the various counties who had previously attacked the battle, and led the elite force directly under the command of the Marquis of Earl of Nan'an to plunder the area.
Apart from a few others like Xu, who were selected to join the local militia.
Even now, the rest of their group were still clad in pristine armor, as if their immortal robes had kept the stench of blood that filled the battlefield completely smudged.
This made them seem out of place in the midst of the fierce battle, while also making the heavily wounded local militia pale in comparison.
"The Five Aspects Sect is gone." Sect Leader Kang Da didn't pay much attention to the elite group of otherworldly warriors. He watched as the towering archway of the Five Aspects Sect, which had stood for a thousand years, was smashed into dust by a pot-bellied cultivator with a giant hammer. His feelings were inexplicably complicated.
This was a legitimate sect recorded in the Golden Register of the Immortal Dynasty, yet it was wiped out in less than half a month after the arrival of the state army!
Hundreds of disciples, Foundation Establishment leader, and Second Tier magic array.
Another force far Chongming Sect has been reduced to ashes, causing Sect Leader Kang Da to feel a sense of shared sorrow for the fallen.
After killing another wave of the terrified cultivators who had fled after the rout, Kang Dabao, dragging his aching body, spent most of the day gathering the scattered troops together.
A few days passed quickly, and when the number of people was counted, only twelve or thirteen of the fifty people who had been brought out from Pingrong County were still alive.
After this great victory for the state, it was time to reward those who hadn't returned. Logically, those who hadn't returned wouldn't have chosen this time to desert.
None of the Luo Household members survived, and only the young cultivator from the Fellow Cultivators Association survived, though he had lost an arm.
He achieved his goal very well this time. When he returns, the elders who are now in charge of the Fellow Cultivators Association will probably reward him.
The Grass Witch Cult was completely wiped out this time, and even the leader, the deacon surnamed Cai, did not survive. After returning, how will they explain this to Sun Bingdou? Sect Leader Kang Da will probably have to spend some time explaining.
The leader of Hemu Dao, the unofficial brother-in-law of Tie Xishan, was also seriously injured, but at least he survived unharmed.
Han Lu and her husband died in battle; the Shao Brother and Sister' foundation was damaged and their Dao Path was destroyed; the eldest of the Two Sha of the Feng Household was seriously injured and had not yet recovered; the Second Feng Household Brother had his eyes shattered by a flying ice spike, which damaged his brain and made him seem to be frozen stupid. He can no longer speak clearly and can only grin and drool.
Only the least capable Qian Liu was hiding somewhere, escaped the calamity and was still standing unharmed in front of Sect Leader Kang Da.
"Most of the rest died outside," Sect Leader Kang Da murmured to himself.
This was thanks to the outstanding combat skills of those two Sima, who achieved a great victory and minimized the casualties in the pursuit of the enemy.
Otherwise, it's hard to say how many might survive.
Looking at the sparse group in front of him, Kang Dabao was just glad that he hadn't brought a Chongming Sect disciple with him.
Sima Fei's comforting words still seemed to echo in his ears, "Rest well, there's still plenty of fighting to come."