Chapter 26: Three Hundred Years' Number One General

“The Red General?” The He father and son exchanged glances. “The Red General died before Zhong Shengguang?”

“Zhong Shengguang had many fierce generals under him, but if you were to ask who was the foremost on the battlefield, it would undoubtedly be the Red General.” Recalling the famous generals of old, Sun Fuping seemed lost in thought. “For the next twenty years, the mighty ‘Iron Army’ of Panlong City was almost entirely built by him. The last will and testament of a Panlong citizen I obtained mentioned that he was a divine strategist, dominating the battlefield and taking most of the pressure off Zhong Shengguang.”

“Indeed, did you know that after twelve years of defending the city, Zhong Shengguang was riddled with injuries and could barely continue? As the saying goes, ‘generals die in a hundred battles’; a will of iron alone is not enough, one also needs a body of iron.”

“I’ve heard of that. It’s said that the Red General once led a few dozen men on a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines. Unexpectedly, they ran head-on into two thousand Xianyou enemies, so dozens fought against two thousand. Most of his followers were killed, but the Red General fought with increasing ferocity, actually turning the tables and sending the enemy fleeing in disarray. He set a legendary record of pursuing two thousand men with just a few. I wonder if he entered some kind of ‘Overlord Body’ state…” This term made everyone frown, and He Lingchuan quickly cleared his throat. “Anyway, reinforcements eventually arrived, and Panlong City won a great victory. There are so many legends about the Red General in Blackwater City that I couldn’t finish telling you in three days and three nights.”

That was an exaggeration, but people loved such dramatic and inspiring stories.

“That was the Battle of Black Pine Pass.” Sun Fuping nodded. “Do you know which year that happened?”

“Not quite sure.” He Chunhua pondered. “It seems it was after Xiluo and Xianyou’s negotiations broke down and Panlong City was besieged again?”

“It was the autumn of the same year that the state of Xianyou restarted war against Xiluo, the Panlong Wilderness once again became an enclave, and Panlong City became isolated!” Sun Fuping said slowly. “The wording in the will is also very interesting, describing the Red General as ‘emerging out of nowhere,’ resisting enemy tides from all directions, and stabilizing the morale of the Panlong army!”

As Sun Fuping spoke, He Lingchuan responded, dutifully acting as an attentive listener: “Yes. How could such an unparalleled formidable man, a savior of Panlong City, have had no presence before, only to ‘emerge out of nowhere’ at this point?”

He, like the people of Blackwater City, was very familiar with the legends of the Red General. But legends were just legends, and with historical records largely missing, who would truly bother to scrutinize the details of events from over a century ago?

Nian Songyu interjected, “The Grand Marshal, after reviewing historical materials, believes that Zhong Shengguang’s divine offering came first, followed by the Red General’s sudden appearance, and these two events must be connected.”

He Chunhua: “So, besides the Great Square Pot, the divine assistance was actually embodied in the Red General?”

To bestow two types of aid at once, this deity was truly generous.

“At least he was a very important part of it,” Sun Fuping continued. “The personal guard’s will also mentioned that the Red General left Panlong City twice: once to Xiluo, and once, surprisingly, to the state of Xianyou! The guard regretted not having gone with him, as he would have had the chance to be stationed in his homeland instead of being buried in the wilderness.”

The He father and son were greatly astonished: “The Red General actually returned to Xiluo?”

“Didn’t they say Panlong City was besieged and became an isolated city?” He Lingchuan clicked his tongue. “He could even go to Xianyou… Hmm, what did he do in Xianyou?”

“That’s unclear,” Nian Songyu shrugged. “When he went, when he returned, or what exactly he did — none of our information mentions it.”

“Even if he was the greatest general in three hundred years, his actions were beyond imagination. Perhaps he was an incredibly powerful sorcerer, augmented by the good fortune of the entire Panlong Wilderness.” Sun Fuping let out a long breath. “However, I’m more inclined to believe that the Red General was no longer human, but a demigod!”

“A demigod?” He Chunhua gasped. “You mean, a divine descent!”

“Precisely, a divine descent!”

The normally calm and steady Governor He was now both surprised and bewildered, but he quickly composed himself:

“There have only been three documented cases of divine descent throughout history.” However, given the Red General’s overly brilliant military achievements, attributing them to a deity seemed more acceptable. “It’s said that the requirements for a divine descent are extremely stringent; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so few recorded instances.”

He Lingchuan immediately searched his original self’s memories for the term “divine descent,” but after a long search, he only found a vague impression. It was said that deities existed three feet above one’s head, but in reality, deities existed outside this realm and could not directly descend into it.

Although their true forms could not come, under extremely limited conditions, they could act by possessing a human body through a “divine descent,” which was considered an indirect entry into the mortal world.

Those who underwent a “divine descent” were also called demigods.

“Indeed, deities usually do not interfere in human affairs, but there are always exceptions,” Sun Fuping said. “In the spring of the thirty-second year of Panlong City’s defense, Xianyou and Baling gathered five vassal states to jointly dispatch troops. They also requested six hundred demon soldiers from the northern demon kingdom, launching an unprecedented attack on Panlong City. It is said that the battle was so fierce it ‘leveled mountains,’ with the entire Yin Dou Mountain on the north side being flattened.”

“In that campaign, all six hundred demon soldiers, along with their two leading demon generals, were killed. Of the five Grand Masters dispatched by the seven nations, three died and one was gravely wounded. The casualties among the ordinary soldiers were beyond mention; it’s said that in the five years following this great battle, eighty percent of Xianyou’s fertile land lay ‘empty,’ as there weren’t enough young and strong men to cultivate it.”

Nian Songyu sighed, “Even Xianyou, the victorious attacking side, couldn’t bear such losses. Internal strife erupted in Xianyou just a few years after the Battle of Panlong City concluded, causing it to split into several smaller states, and the warfare continues to this day.”

“The will mentions that the Red General fell in that epochal battle. Three days after his death, Panlong City fell, and Zhong Shengguang committed suicide.”

“I see,” He Chunhua couldn’t help but sigh. “What a pity.”

It was a pity that hundreds of thousands of loyal bones were buried in the Panlong Wilderness, yet they ultimately failed to defy fate.

“More than just a pity, it’s terrifying,” He Lingchuan also sighed. “The army that seven nations almost couldn’t defeat has now become the valiant spirits we must contend with. By the way, no matter how powerful the Great Gale Army was, its success couldn’t be separated from the Great Square Pot’s contribution. Yet, Panlong City was eventually conquered. Did the Great Square Pot fail?”

“That’s unknown,” Sun Fuping spread his hands. “There are no records anywhere. It’s already difficult enough for us to deduce the above information from the limited resources we have; these are just glimpses, seeing only a small part of the whole. The full truth, I’m afraid, may never be known.”

Nian Songyu stood up and stretched. “Let’s get some rest. From tomorrow onwards, we might not get any peaceful sleep.”

The meeting concluded.

The He father and son shared a small hut.

The hut was tiny, barely fitting two small beds. When the two grown men lay down, their legs could barely stretch out.

However, the bedding was surprisingly dry and clean. He Lingchuan speculated this was due to the extreme dryness of the desert. There was some sand on the ground, but no annoying small creatures.