Chapter 1158: Where Was the Bright Moon at That Time
In early summer, the most magnificent and tumultuous battle between the human race and the demon race took place here.
Saint domain powerhouses from both sides kept appearing. The demon race suffered heavy casualties, and the human race also paid a great price.
Never again after that battle had so many saint domain powerhouses appeared on the battlefield at the same time.
At the base of Nuorilang Peak, there was a great formation. The demon army had launched a surprise attack through this place, then completely withdrew.
Mao Qiuyu and Master Siyuan, the most skilled in divine arts, personally confirmed that the formation could no longer be used.
Afterward, many human army units passed through this valley to the north without any problems.
No one could have imagined that when the demon army retreated, they hadn’t all withdrawn.
During the clash between Wang Po and the Demon Marshal, the battlefield was in chaos. Two thousand wolf cavalry took advantage of the confusion to hide in the peaks of the western foothills.
The peaks of the western foothills had more contact with the water clouds drifting from the Western Sea. Over millions of years of erosion, many caves of various sizes had formed inside.
These wolf cavalry hid in the deepest parts of the stone caves, evading the sharp eyes of the red eagles and the divine sense of human scouts.
Of course, this was also because General He Ming, in order to break through the demon race’s second line of defense, demanded the entire army move forward quickly, leading to an insufficiently thorough cleanup of the battlefield.
The human army continuously passed through the valley, heading to the northern highlands to continue the war. These two thousand wolf cavalry hid in the mountain caves, never showing themselves. When hungry, they ate dried meat; when thirsty, they chewed snow from the peaks, enduring an exceptionally harsh existence.
If they hadn’t been prepared in advance, they would have starved to death long ago.
Even so, after hiding for so many days, the wolf cavalry still suffered many losses. The number of wounded and sick grew increasingly numerous.
Wolf cavalry confirmed to be too severely injured to recover were executed immediately. The sick had their weapons and armor removed and were left in the caves to await recovery or death.
In the end, twelve hundred wolf cavalry survived.
They were gaunt and exhausted, but at the same time resolute and fearless. Their eyes emitted a faint green glow, like true wolves.
The long period of hiding was extremely difficult to endure, but the hardest part was the temptation.
Human grain transport teams often passed through the grasslands below the mountains. The defensive strength of those transport teams wasn’t too great, and no one would expect demons to still be hiding in the mountains. If the wolf cavalry charged down, they could easily crush the enemy and seize the grain.
But they knew that enduring such hardship for so many days wasn’t for the sake of robbing an ordinary grain transport team. It was to deliver the heaviest blow to the human army at the most critical moment of the war.
The logic was clear, but for these ferocious wolf cavalry to resist such temptation, their leader truly had to be extraordinary.
His orders were also extraordinary.
“Burn all their grain to ashes, and let us die in the final charge.”
There was no fear in the demon cavalry’s eyes, only excitement and fervor. No sound was made; even the bloodthirsty giant wolves only breathed a little more heavily.
This was also a military order, maintained for many days, to the point where some cavalrymen wondered if they could still speak.
Twelve hundred wolf cavalry rode down the mountain.
The leader’s gaze followed them downward, finally settling on the distant grassland, where a grain transport team stretched for over ten miles.
Relevant intelligence had been confirmed: the number of human cavalry, the number of strong warriors, and most importantly… the amount of grain.
He knew that Snow Old City had already begun its counterattack, aiming to divert the human race’s attention and pin down their main cavalry force beneath the city walls.
Everything was to create conditions for him to burn the grain of this transport team.
If he succeeded, the demon army outside Snow Old City would retreat into the city as quickly as possible.
The more than two hundred thousand tribal warriors outside the city would be mercilessly abandoned.
In his view, those low-level demons, with their low intelligence and little difference from beasts, could die in any number without consequence.
After all, those low-level demons lacked loyalty and weren’t brave in battle, especially when not under the influence of drugs.
If the drugs he’d brought back from the Eternal Life Sect had been sufficient in quantity, why would this war have been so difficult?
At that point, unless the human army was willing to use the flesh of those low-level demons as food, they would have to retreat before winter arrived.
Based on his understanding of the human race, this hypocritical and sentimental species would never do such a thing.
Thus, Snow Old City would gain half a year.
Half a year was enough time for many things to happen.
Moreover, the human race’s momentum would suffer a severe setback.
He truly understood the human race.
He believed that when the time came, the internal problems of the human race would gradually surface.
Therefore.
This was the final battle.
Watching the convoy on the grassland, he thought silently.
If we win, we can still exist.
If we lose, we will cease to exist.
……
……
This young leader was named Gao Huan, over a thousand years old.
Seven hundred years ago, he had already become the chief elder of the demon race’s Council of Elders.
He was the youngest chief elder in recorded demon history.
But on the very day he became chief elder, he was imprisoned in the abyss by that powerful Demon Lord.
He was confined in the abyss for seven hundred years.
Only this year was he released by the new Demon Lord.
His face was pale and gaunt, but he was still alive, and like seven hundred years ago, he appeared youthful.
Trails of dust appeared on the grassland.
The demon wolf cavalry launched their attack on the grain transport team.
From a great distance, the sounds of battle couldn’t reach the peak. It was still quiet here.
Watching the scene on the grassland, he began to sing a song.
The song used one of the most ancient languages of the demon race, desolate and pure, repeating endlessly. Its meaning was simple:
“Where was the bright moon at that time? It once shone upon the colorful clouds returning.”
The song gradually faded. When it finally stopped, it clearly hadn’t reached its true end.
Looking at the distant plains, a hint of solemnity appeared on his youthful face. A fierce killing intent arose in his clean, pure eyes.
Innocent yet cruel—that described him.
The demon wolf cavalry’s attack didn’t go as smoothly as imagined. They soon encountered obstacles, even difficulties.
At first, the human grain transport team hadn’t expected so many wolf cavalry in Nuorilang Peak. Under the surprise attack, they became somewhat flustered, but this chaos quickly subsided. The convoy, stretching for dozens of miles, rapidly split into over a dozen segments. The wagons connected end to end as fast as possible, forming circular wagon forts. Several thousand cavalry divided into three groups, coordinating with the wagon forts to resist the wolf cavalry’s assault. Everything proceeded with great order, calm and steady.
That the human army possessed such quality didn’t surprise Gao Huan. Although it was completely different from the armies he’d seen in Luoyang back then, if the human army couldn’t even do this, how could they have forced the divine race’s army to retreat step by step on the battlefield, even besieging Snow Old City itself?
What truly alerted him was the composure the human army displayed throughout the process—even a victorious army found it hard to cultivate such a demeanor, especially when suddenly ambushed by over a thousand demon wolf cavalry. This composure seemed more like prior preparation.
The demon wolf cavalry madly attacked the grain transport team with a spirit of no return. The defensive line formed by several thousand human cavalry immediately appeared somewhat thin, soon teetering on the brink, and then was breached in the northwest direction. The battlefield situation entered the bloodiest phase of attack and defense.
A heavy black battle-axe silently arced through the sky, cleaving a grain wagon in half while also severing a laborer’s head. Over a dozen holy light crossbow bolts flew swiftly from the gaps in the wagon fort, all striking a tall demon soldier’s chest, igniting sacred flames that burned him into a caramel-like remnant. The entire process was utterly silent.
Death occurred every moment. Blood of different colors, carrying the same will, continuously splashed between heaven and earth. In a very short time, over three hundred demon wolf cavalry fell on the grassland, never to rise again. An even greater number of human cavalry and transport team officials also stopped breathing.
Such a tragic battlefield scene didn’t cause any change in Gao Huan’s expression.
Standing on the western mountain cliff, watching the scene on the grassland, he waited quietly. His youthful face showed no emotion.
To him, whether the human soldiers or the demon wolf cavalry who had hidden with him for so many days, they were all ants.
He appeared young, but in truth, he was already very old.
Not to mention that he had endured over seven hundred years in the treacherous world at the bottom of the abyss. His demon body had begun to decay from the innermost core and could no longer sustain itself for long.
In other words, the number of times he could strike with full force was limited. So he had to determine who was the most worthy target for his attack.
At this moment, he was observing, trying to find the commander of the human army and those strong warriors hidden in the wagons who still refused to show themselves.
Time passed slowly. The sun gradually set westward. The shadows cast by the peaks on the grassland slowly spread, about to engulf the creatures locked in fierce battle.
The defenses of the human grain transport team broke down one after another. Many grain wagons were set ablaze. From a distance, they looked like scattered sparks, though they were quickly extinguished. The most dangerous was the first circular wagon fort in the far north, about to be breached head-on by the demon wolf cavalry. Officials and laborers were escaping under the cavalry’s cover, seemingly preparing to abandon it.
But the demon wolf cavalry had also reached their limit. Having charged with the resolve to die, they had attacked madly for so long and finally broken through one wagon fort. Yet the enemy still had over a dozen more. More critically, too many comrades and brothers had fallen on the grassland. The wolf cavalry’s numbers had dwindled to less than half.
On the battlefield, when both sides could barely hold on, change often occurred—a necessity of the situation and will. Today was no exception.
The sky was cloudless, a brilliant blue, now tinged slightly red by the setting sun. Suddenly, a white line appeared within it.
That white line was perfectly straight, one end on the western mountain cliff, the other on the grassland.
A great wind howled, stirring the wild grass and the gravel among it, turning cold along with the atmosphere.
Thousands of raindrops suddenly fell from the sky, landing on the faces of people in a certain wagon fort. They were slightly cool, but their taste was so faint it left one bewildered.
On the tent roof, a youth had appeared, no one knew when.
His clothes were somewhat dirty, but the fabric was extremely luxurious. Over them, he wore a soft armor woven from the tail spines of a Jian beast. Apart from that, there were no other decorations. Yet the gem set in the center of his helmet, incomparably bright, couldn’t overshadow the radiance emanating from his youthful face.
“A saint domain powerhouse!”
Shocked and despairing cries rang out.
……
……
(Mr. Huang Yi, rest in peace.)