Chapter 1414: Broken Blade, Severed Edge
"Why remember each other's faces? On the battlefield, the situation changes in an instant. Wouldn't it be easier to recognize the enemy by listening to their voices or identifying their clothing?" A young cultivator from Yan Kang asked with doubt.
The scar-faced veteran looked at his still-immature face and chuckled, "It's not for distinguishing friend from foe on the battlefield. It's for after the battle."
He didn't elaborate.
But Qin Mu understood the meaning behind his words. Comrades remembered each other's faces so that after the battle, when cleaning up the battlefield, they could find the bodies.
Saying this out loud would be too horrifying, which was why the veteran hadn't explained further.
The war in the Southern Border had already become urgent. New recruits like them would normally need three to five months of training to get familiar with each other before being sent to the battlefield.
However, Fire Heavenly Venerate's forces occupied the Southern Lands, and their offensive was too fierce, causing a shortage of troops in the Southern Border. Many university scholars had enlisted. The front lines suffered heavy losses, and these scholars had no time to train before being thrown into battle.
Compared to the Southern Heavens under Fire Heavenly Venerate's rule, Yan Kang still had too few cultivators and gods. They had to use one soldier as if he were ten.
Flags fluttered in the sky. Soldiers rose one after another, looking up at the banners. The clashing of armor had just ceased, and now, except for the sound of the great flags flying in the wind, all other noise had vanished.
After a moment, the first drumbeat sounded. One by one, warships rose into the air, bronze beasts at their bottoms spewing trails of flames. Flying chariots raced across the ground, and the noise instantly became tumultuous.
Those flying chariots sprinted a hundred zhang across the ground before their wheels gradually left the earth. Chariot after chariot soared into the sky. The cultivators on the flying chariots were full of spirit, with sword pellets and blade pellets of various sizes placed before each of them.
"Don't move yet. That's not our infantry's signal," the scar-faced veteran said nervously.
His gaze was still fixed on the main force in the air. Tens of thousands of warships and flying chariots moved slowly through the sky, but opposite them, the Southern Heavens' army surged forward like a tide.
The human cultivators and gods of the Southern Heavens, along with the demigod cultivators and gods, were divided into two camps. The humans charged at the front, with the demigod army behind them.
Those demigods were tall and powerful, naturally possessing various extraordinary phenomena. At the front of the army were the Southern Heavens' warships—larger and more numerous, forged entirely from divine metal, with prows shaped like Vermilion Birds or Nine-Headed Phoenixes.
Those were the old-style warships of the Heavenly Court.
The Southern Heavens' army had no flying chariots.
When the two armies were still three hundred li apart, the northern Yan Kang army opened fire first. On the warships, true essence cannons gathered energy, and beams of light shot through the sky, painting trails of magnificent radiance that suddenly darkened the battlefield!
The light from the cannon fire was so bright that the sun in the sky lost its luster, and other places immediately fell into darkness.
Behind them, restless stirrings spread through the infantry.
Suddenly, the infantry's drumbeats sounded. The vanguard had already begun to move. As the drumbeats grew denser, the cultivators of the vanguard started sprinting, charging forward ten steps with each drumbeat!
This restlessness quickly spread to the unit where Qin Mu and the others were stationed. The veteran shouted, "Don't run around randomly! Don't crowd into places with too many people! Spread out as much as possible! Remember, don't stray too far from our squad—thirty zhang, at most thirty zhang!"
They began to run.
Ahead, warships trailing flames fell from the sky, crashing to the ground and erupting into massive fireballs. Then the shockwaves and blasts surged outward in all directions!
The front-line warships and vessels had already made close contact. Although the Southern Heavens' large warships had a shorter firing range than Yan Kang's, they were forged from divine metal and were lavishly built. One by one, they withstood the cannon fire. Though many were shot down, they charged into their own firing range and opened fire!
The Southern Border was still dim. The ships of both sides turned and raced through the air, weaving up and down. Yan Kang's warships had slightly thinner hulls and weren't as extravagantly built, so many were also shot down.
At that moment, flying chariots darted out from behind the warships, weaving and racing forward, charging into the battlefield. They nimbly dodged the cannon fire from the enemy's large warships and rushed toward the enemy camp.
Suddenly, a vast divine consciousness burst forth: "Flying swords, wash the ground!"
Qin Mu and the others, still running at the rear, looked up to see millions of flying swords pouring down from those flying chariots. The slanted sword light fell like a torrential rain, washing over a hundred li of ground in an instant!
On the Southern Heavens' warships, gods rose up one after another, charging at those flying chariots. Yan Kang's divine beings also flew forward to intercept. Divine abilities from the gods in the sky fell from time to time, and wherever they landed, chaos ensued—men and horses overturned.
Facing gods, the cultivators' strength was still too weak, too insignificant. They could only rely on luck.
The infantry on both sides continued to sprint. Now, the infantry still hadn't entered the stage of direct engagement, but the ground was already littered with corpses.
Beside Qin Mu, someone suddenly tripped over a body on the battlefield. Qin Mu was about to stop, but he saw that person swallowed by the torrent of cultivators.
"Watch out for stray swords!" the scar-faced veteran shouted loudly.
Whoosh—
A beam of sword light shot from ahead, flying past them. Someone behind couldn't dodge in time and was pierced through, their body flying high into the air.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The sword lights gradually grew denser. Ahead, they had reached the battlefield. Qin Mu's squad was still relatively intact, except for that young scholar who had fallen behind and was nowhere to be seen. Nine people charged forward with all their might, when suddenly, it was as if they had crashed into a dense forest of flesh and blood—enemies were everywhere!
"Get fired up! Kill forward!" the veteran shouted.
One by one, the cultivators activated their sword pellets. The pellets clanged as they disassembled into individual flying swords. The veteran shouted, "Control the distance between each other! The effective range of sword techniques is fifteen zhang! Don't exceed that distance!"
They charged forward. Qin Mu had only a single blade in his hand, but his footwork was extremely fast, moving like the wind and lightning. With each swing of his blade, he was clean and efficient. Whether breaking enemy formations or countering enemy abilities, it was all effortless.
The veteran saw him wielding the blade by hand and was momentarily stunned: "A master of the combat technique school."
He shouted, "Don't be afraid of the enemy! Those little bastards from the Southern Heavens can't match us in sword techniques or abilities! Our sword techniques and abilities were developed by two generations of National Masters! The sword techniques and abilities you've learned are the best of the best!"
The battlefield grew darker. The enemies became more numerous. Qin Mu advanced and retreated with his blade, moving left and right, covering fifteen zhang in every direction. Within those fifteen zhang, there was no enemy but him.
He could even support the others in his squad, helping them kill powerful foes.
They fought their way through the encirclement, still like a sail cutting through the wind, leading more Yan Kang cultivators forward.
Flags waved in the sky. The Yan Kang general commanding this war zone saw the sharp spearhead momentum of their squad and immediately waved the flag, dispatching several flying chariots for aerial support.
The flying chariots roared in, and countless sword beams shot through the enemies surging in from all directions.
Qin Mu and the others pressed forward with all their might. The pressure grew heavier and heavier. They had killed countless enemies. Suddenly, they felt the pressure lighten. They looked around and were both surprised and delighted to find that they had actually broken through the encirclement, cutting the enemy in half!
Behind them were countless Yan Kang cultivators, following them out of the encirclement, slicing through the Southern Heavens' human army.
The Southern Heavens' army, cut apart by them, had already fallen into chaos. The chaos spread like a plague. As long as the enemy army was cut into several pieces, they could form a pincer and encircle them.
"Look ahead!"
Suddenly, a young cultivator trembled as he spoke: "What is that ahead..."
Everyone looked up, their smiles mixed with blood freezing on their faces. They saw countless demigods forming an army that stretched for a thousand li. Huge ancient beasts appeared among their ranks, making no sound at all.
Those golden armor dazzled the eyes. These Southern Heavens demigods were far more powerful than the human army they had just faced.
Around Qin Mu and the others, more and more Yan Kang cultivators broke through the enemy lines and arrived nearby. Gradually, the numbers grew, but everyone fell silent, frozen in place, not daring to charge forward.
They were intimidated.
"Bring out the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon!"
Suddenly, a deep voice came from the demigod camp opposite. Two giant beasts roared, straining their thick legs to pull a massive divine chariot toward the front. On the chariot was a giant pagoda, nine stories high, radiating flames.
The Southern Emperor Divine Weapon.
The Northern Emperor Divine Weapon was the Five Thunder Pot, and the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon was the Flame Fire Pagoda.
This pagoda was refined from the Southern Emperor's ancestral land, a nine-tiered sacred flame altar, collecting all the world's flames. Before the Yan Kang Calamity, a Southern Emperor Divine Weapon had fallen into Yan Kang's hands.
When the power of this divine weapon erupted, the flames could spread for ten thousand li or more. It could melt everything.
"Retreat!" someone trembled as they spoke.
At that moment, no signal to retreat came. Instead, the drumbeats grew more intense, the rhythm faster and faster. Yet none of the Yan Kang cultivators stepped forward.
Facing the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon, everyone was afraid.
The drumbeats grew more urgent.
In Qin Mu's squad, everyone's eyes fell on the scar-faced veteran, looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to give the order to retreat.
If he ran, everyone would run.
The veteran looked at their hopeful gazes, then suddenly grinned. The scar on his face made it look ferocious. He chuckled darkly, "Brothers, behind us is Yan Kang."
"Behind us is our damn Yan Kang! Behind you are your wives, your children, your parents—the parents who raised you!"
"Follow me! Fuck them! We can't let them reach our homeland!"
He charged forward. Ahead, countless spirit weapons flew toward him. The veteran roared, struggling to block them as he pressed on.
Sssss.
Dozens of spirit weapons pierced his body, yet he still fought forward.
Splash—
Countless spirit weapons engulfed him.
The spirit weapons withdrew. On the battlefield, there was nothing left of him—not even bones.
Silence fell all around.
No one dared to take another step forward.
The giant beasts pulled the Flame Fire Pagoda toward them. The soldiers in front of and behind Qin Mu were all retreating.
Suddenly, someone charged forward again, but was immediately engulfed by countless spirit weapons.
Then another charged forward. Before he fell, more than a dozen others rushed forward, trying to block the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon.
Batch after batch fell, but still, people kept charging forward.
"The people of Yan Kang have never lost their bloodlust!"
A flame surged in Qin Mu's heart. He raised his blade and roared, stepping forward. His pace gradually quickened. Behind him, the remaining seven members of his squad charged forward with him, their voices rising one after another: "Behind us is Yan Kang!"
"Behind us are our parents, our wives and children!"
"We can't let the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon set foot in Yan Kang, not even half a step!"
"Our corpses will be unclimbable peaks, blocking the enemy before the mountains!"
More Yan Kang soldiers surged forward, their shouts shaking the sky. Opposite them, the Southern Heavens' demigod army moved like a whirlwind, attacking them at their leisure. Qin Mu swung his iron blade, blocking countless spirit weapons flying at him, but comrades fell one by one around him.
Yet others immediately filled the positions of those who had fallen, pressing forward with him.
"Behind us is Yan Kang!"
He charged forward with all his might. His comrades and brothers shielded him from blades, blocked enemy attacks, and fell one by one on the path of battle.
He forgot that he was a Heavenly Venerate. He forgot that he possessed the power to reshape heaven and earth. He forgot the abilities he had learned. He forgot the cultivation sealed within his body.
He had only one blade, but around him were countless comrades.
Countless people protected him, supported him, and charged with him toward the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon!
People fell continuously, and others continuously filled their places. But the numbers grew smaller and smaller. Finally, they broke through the encirclement and arrived before the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon.
Qin Mu pushed off the ground with both feet, leaping into the air. His body soared over the two giant beasts, and the iron blade in his hand slashed fiercely at the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon!
"Let him go." A demigod general suddenly stopped the surrounding demigods, sneering coldly.
Clang.
Qin Mu's iron blade struck the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon. The blade broke, shattering into countless fragments.
His body fell, and only the hilt remained in his hand.
Qin Mu looked around blankly. Around him were his comrades, guarding him in a tight circle. Outside were countless demigods, sneering at them.
"Behind us is Yan Kang!" His comrades still shouted loudly, stepping forward one after another, trying to cleave open this world-destroying weapon.
The demigods watched them coldly, not making a move.
"Behind us is Yan Kang..."
Qin Mu gripped the broken blade tightly. This was a blade of protection, a blade of slaughter on the battlefield. It carried great karma, great evil, but also great goodness.
"Enough. Kill them." The demigod general spoke indifferently.
Suddenly, Qin Mu raised the broken blade and roared in fury. His muscles bulged, and a terrifying blade light instantly swept across the battlefield!
The broken blade in his hand had no edge, but it possessed a terrifying radiance. From this ordinary iron blade surged divine light—dazzling divine light.
Countless spirit weapons trembled in the blade light and blade aura, whistling as they flew up. Even those demigods, those powerful cultivators, could no longer control their spirit weapons.
Their spirit weapons seemed to be on a pilgrimage, bowing to the spirit, bowing to the Great Dao.
The power of the spirit weapons surged, gathered, and flowed toward that broken blade.
That was the spirit of the blade, the Great Dao of the blade, the responsibility and burden of the blade!
"Behind us is Yan Kang!"
Qin Mu brought down the blade light.
Crack.
A crack appeared on the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon. The crack grew larger and larger.
A broken blade, a severed edge, a mortal—had cleaved open the Southern Emperor Divine Weapon.
——A four-thousand-word chapter, written a thousand words extra. Please support with monthly votes!