Chapter 2015: Defeat

**Chapter 1996: Crushing Defeat**

The Nether Emperor's low voice echoed in everyone's minds: "Chongwu, you are a good general, but this is not a battle you can participate in. Like all the Flashgold magnates, you are merely cannon fodder for Qingyang."

He pointed his halberd tip at Chongwu and Jindu Guizai: "Didn't you want to challenge me to a duel earlier? Come, I'll grant your dying wish!"

Chongwu gritted his teeth, drew the twin axes from his waist, and charged forward first. Without needing to turn his head, he knew the Pixia people were intimidated by the Nether Emperor and had lost their will to fight. This battle to defy fate and turn the tide was ultimately lost.

The Nether Emperor, enveloped in a faint black fire, gave the Black Armor Army only one command: "Kill!"

Throughout Mian City, everyone who saw or heard the Black Armor Army's reinforcements felt a surge of morale and renewed strength. New fire oil had also arrived, and the soldiers on the city walls fired flaming arrows and flints at the enemy below. There was also a special "fire cake" which, when filled with fire oil, ignited, and thrown at the enemy, would explode. The fire oil was ferocious; water only made the flames hotter, causing considerable casualties.

On his side, Tushan Fang was fighting the insect demon with extreme difficulty, accumulating new injuries on top of old ones. Several times he narrowly escaped danger, barely blocking attacks with his shield and medicinal wine. In the blink of an eye, his wine ran out, and his shield broke.

Fortunately, three Black Armor Army comrades also rushed onto the city wall, each firing an arrow at the insect demon's side. The insect demon was large, and though it dodged two, one still found its mark. Ropes were attached to the arrow fletchings, and the three pulled hard, trying to drag the insect demon back. To their surprise, they pulled nothing but air; the arrow and rope came back to them. After the arrow was pulled out, the wound on the insect demon's body healed rapidly before their eyes. "Damn it, this thing isn't afraid of injury. How can we deal with it? What is its vital point?"

A Black Armor Army soldier suddenly pointed and exclaimed, "Brother Shan, look out!" Just then, a tiny figure appeared from nowhere, hovering above the combatants. It was another strange creature, at first glance resembling a bat, but with an unusually sharp mouth and a tail. Its small, dark red eyes immediately suggested ill intent. What kind of bat could hover in mid-air?

Tushan Fang secretly cursed his bad luck. One insect demon was already difficult to handle; another one could truly take his life.

The Black Armor Army soldiers were about to raise their crossbows and shoot an arrow at it too, when the small monster suddenly flapped its wings and became a blur. It moved with a "whoosh," too fast for the eye to follow. It did attack, but its target was not Tushan Fang, but the giant insect demon. It plunged into the demon's embrace like a swallow returning to its nest, then—it passed right through its heart!

The insect demon turned to seize it, but the small monster flew back into the air and hovered again. Only then did everyone notice it was holding a golden-green bee in its mouth, slightly larger than others of its kind. Tushan Fang had not seen it during the previous fight. It turned out this creature was hidden inside the giant insect demon's body. Before the insect demon could get close, the small monster, in front of everyone, opened its mouth and tore off the green bee's head. The insect demon's movements ceased abruptly. It could no longer maintain its form and collapsed into a pile of insect corpses. The bat-like creature didn't stay idle either, swooping towards the enemy soldiers on the city wall and killing three or four in a flash. Seeing this, how could anyone not understand that this creature was an ally?

Outside the city, the clamor was exceptional. The Black Armor Army was steadily approaching the city gate, constricting the enemy forces' space. The latter found themselves in an awkward situation; they couldn't break into Mian City anytime soon, while the Black Armor Army's vanguard was closing in ahead of them.

Tushan Fang shouted, "Charge out and link up with the reinforcements!" He then quickly leaped down the city wall and led the city's army towards the sally port of the barbican, charging from the inside out. The enemy forces inside the barbican had no will to fight. Hearing that the Black Armor Army had arrived, they desperately tried to retreat—anyone who retreated too late would be trapped inside, like a turtle in a jar. Just a few dozen breaths later, the barbican, previously a scene of fierce struggle, fell silent. The enemy forces streamed out of Mian City's main gate, retreating towards the mountains. Calling it a "retreat" wasn't quite accurate; only the two armies Guo Baiyu had stationed there as a backbone could withdraw in an orderly fashion. The others were virtually in a complete rout, their posture as unsightly as possible.

The Mian City defenders charged out of the city gate, successfully joined forces with the Black Armor Army, and pursued the enemy. As they pursued, the besieging enemy forces were routed, abandoning their armor and weapons; they either died or fled. Guo Baiyu's main army, having retreated early, was still frantically fleeing ahead.

Wanqiliang had initially predicted that his forces would pursue them for at most a few dozen li, until Guo Baiyu entered Huan City. However, battles often held surprises. When he was only halfway through the pursuit, a bird demon scout suddenly reported: "A third army has appeared ahead, and Guo Baiyu is being ambushed!"

Wanqiliang was greatly surprised, then overjoyed. Who else could be lying in ambush for Guo Baiyu ahead? Only Nanrong He. He truly had patience; after Guo Baiyu seized Falling Phoenix Pool, he acted as if nothing had happened. Guo Baiyu launched attacks on cities everywhere, and he never reacted. Over time, Guo Baiyu had come to disregard his threat. That this man would immediately return the favor after his forces helped Nanrong He reclaim Falling Phoenix Pool greatly exceeded Wanqiliang's expectations.

Logically, letting Guo Baiyu escape back to Huan City would have been most beneficial to Nanrong He. After all, if Guo Baiyu was defeated or died, only the Nanrong family and the Dragon God Army would remain in this area, and they would eventually have to decide who was superior. Regardless of Nanrong He's calculations, the current situation was most advantageous for the Black Armor Army.

They rushed forward and indeed caught up with Guo Baiyu's army, which was locked in a fierce, unresolved battle with the third party at a crossroads. One side desperately tried to break through, while the other fought with all its might to block the path. When the Black Armor Army arrived on the battlefield, they launched a pincer attack with the third army, causing blood to flow like a river! No matter how resilient Guo Baiyu's army was, it couldn't withstand being attacked from front and back, with no hope of escape. In the end, some died, some fled, and some surrendered. Guo Baiyu himself, leading a few hundred men, fought his way through the bloody encirclement, almost succeeding, but then he ran head-on into the Ghost Ape... Before his bitter end, what he resented most was not the Black Armor Army, but Nanrong He. If not for that scoundrel suddenly appearing to block his path, he would have successfully escaped back to Huan City, and then holding the city for another month or two would have been no problem at all.

After the battle ended, Wanqiliang finally greeted the leader of the third army. This man was tall and imposing, with a dignified appearance—it was Nanrong He, the current head of the Nanrong family.

"Patriarch Nanrong, your noble righteousness is commendable. Would you be willing to dismount and speak with Wanqiliang in detail?" Nanrong He let out a scoff. "Where is the Dragon God?" "The Dragon God is omnipresent." At this flattering, almost mystical reply, Nanrong He burst into laughter. "Speak plainly! If you can convey a message, tell the Dragon God I wish to speak with him properly—in person!" With that, he lightly nudged his horse's flanks with his legs and led his army away first. Wanqiliang felt sand in his mouth and spat on the ground. This fellow was so arrogant he looked down on him?

The army counted the prisoners, then came to report: "General, the divine descent body was not found."