Chapter 307: Heaven Will Not Abandon You and Me

He looked down, and a thought identical to He Chunhua's flashed through his mind:"How did this kid get up here?"However, the strange bird had limited strength. It was already struggling to fly in the pouring rain, its wings soaked. Carrying two men was a strain it could barely manage by gritting its teeth. Now, with another strong, vigorous man appearing, how could it possibly cope?Though it flapped its wings frantically, it still tilted precariously, plummeting towards the floodwaters.

Dong Rui was scared out of his wits. To make matters worse, both men had huddled together under the bird's belly, making it impossible for him to attack. All he could do was shout helplessly, "Let go! You two, let go!"Every time he encountered this father-son duo, he seemed to have the worst luck.What a curse!He Lingchuan's voice came clearly from under the bird's belly: "Back to land, or we all die!"He had even resorted to a life-saving trick like "Li Dai Tao Jiang"; what he had earlier tucked into his father's belt was the Ghost Cicada Slough. If he fell into the flood again, it would be a dead end.Dong Rui didn't dare to argue further. He twisted the strange bird's head towards the land, ordering it to fly back.However, it truly couldn't withstand the heavy weight of three men. As it got closer to land, it flew lower and lower. He Lingchuan felt a chill on the top of his foot as the water rose above his ankles.He looked around, but all he saw was a vast expanse of water. Where was any high ground? Where was the riverbank?Where was any army?Only surging torrents remained.

He Chunhua, startled, instinctively struggled upward. He Lingchuan cried out, "Don't move!"But it was too late. The strange bird was already exhausted and couldn't withstand his thrashing. With a squawk, it unwillingly dropped into the water.The violent waves showed no mercy, immediately pushing them down.Being able to swim was useless. He Chunhua swallowed several mouthfuls of water, unable to see. In his panic, his hand seemed to brush against something.A drowning man will instinctively grasp anything.It was a small tree growing at the edge of the rocky ground, half its branches submerged and thrashing wildly in the current.Fortunately, its roots were sturdy enough to support He Chunhua.With one hand, he was still gripping his son's trouser leg.Looking up, Dong Rui was clutching the strange bird, and one of the bird's claws was still hooked onto He Lingchuan. The three were hopelessly entangled."Chuan'er, grab... grab me..." He Chunhua wanted to say "grab my hand," but He Lingchuan was being battered by the powerful current, unable even to bend his waist.The combined weight of the three men and the bird, plus the immense force of the water, now bore down entirely on He Chunhua.Even with some cultivation still in him, he felt his arms ready to split in two after barely two seconds and could barely hold on.Worse still, the small tree began to loosen.He Lingchuan raised his arm and shot a sleeve dart towards the small tree's trunk, intending to pull himself back using its attached rope.Unexpectedly, a huge wave crashed over them at that precise moment, its fierce force directly deflecting the dart.What terrible luck!The problem was that the grappling hook and sleeve dart were one unit; he couldn't fire a second shot!The Yuren on the bank finally noticed their predicament. Wu Shaoyi rushed over, shouting, "Ropes! Get some ropes!"But it was too late.Another wave came, carrying with it a wild bull. The enormous body of the bull directly struck Dong Rui.The force of the impact instantly made his eyes go wide with shock.These wild bulls had not escaped the flood's grasp either. No matter how good they were at swimming normally, they could only await death now.With a tearing sound, He Lingchuan's trouser leg ripped.The flood instantly swept the two men, the bird, and the bull about fifteen to twenty meters away. He Chunhua was left holding only a piece of torn cloth."Chuan'er..." He Chunhua was in disbelief.The Yuren on the bank threw ropes and pulled the branches of the small tree upward, finally rescuing He Chunhua.At that moment, a vast flow of endlessly drifting branches, rocks, and mud swept down from upstream, passing over the exact spot where He Chunhua had been.That mighty spectacle could only be described by an old saying:"Countless falling leaves rustle down."No one could survive such an indiscriminate attack; no one.And He Chunhua had been only moments, mere breaths, from losing his life too.He stood on the bank, soaked to the bone, water dripping from him, but his heart felt empty.His son was gone.Around him, urgent whistles and shouts continued—The battle was not yet over!

Wu Shaoyi, seeing his pale face and vacant gaze, could only comfort him: "My Lord, please control your grief! We should retreat!"Anyone swept into such a flood, unless one were a celestial being, couldn't possibly survive.What kind of celestial magic had Nian Zanli used to unleash this "Flood the Yuren Army" tactic?However, at this moment, Nian Zanli had his own troubles:"This great flood... it wouldn't stop!"Seeing the Yuren army completely drenched, his objective achieved, he intended to close the bottle and recall the water.However, no matter how many times he chanted the incantation to close the bottle, the water flowing out showed no sign of stopping; it continued to gush violently!And it relentlessly absorbed his true energy, vitality, and spirit, as greedy as a giant elephant that hadn't drunk water in three days."Damn it, stop! Stop! Stop!"The bottle wouldn't obey him.Only then did he recall Hong Chenglüe's earlier warning:Although the Green Jade Bottle was merely a high-quality replica of the ancient Cloud Water Treasure Bottle, its temper was significant, no less than the original.But Nian Zanli had thought "temper" meant it was finicky. This thing absorbed his essence without any reservation. If he hadn't cultivated for many years, with deep and robust true energy, he might have been sucked into a weightless husk of a man by now.Only now did he truly understand Hong Chenglüe's words: a mortal trying to control this bottle simply couldn't make it obey his will!In desperation, he had no choice but to point the mouth of the Green Jade Bottle at the main channel of the Han River.However, the Han River, after a period of low tide, had already swollen. Now, with the addition of the vast amount of water from the Green Jade Bottle, it resulted in a double flood effect, directly escalating the next two waves to even greater heights.Especially the first wave, whose crest was a full four zhang (thirteen meters) high!At this point, the southern bank of the Han River was already thoroughly inundated. The flood found a clear path here and relentlessly surged south, sweeping away everything in its path.Nian Zanli watched helplessly as the earthen bank was directly demolished by the four-zhang-high flood peak. Soldiers who had just narrowly escaped and climbed onto it, whether they were Xunzhou people or Yuren soldiers, were simultaneously swept into the water.There were countless black dots in the murky water.Each black dot represented a living person struggling desperately.Each black dot also represented a life fleeting in an instant.As the waves churned, these black dots were forced beneath the surface...And the flood continued to erode the earthen bank. The running speed of the living people on the bank was simply not as fast as the rate at which the riverbank collapsed!Nian Zanli watched, his heart aching as if cut by a knife.Those were his soldiers, the army he had painstakingly built over many years, the generals he had promoted. Now, more than half of them were swept away by the great flood in an instant.But he still had to firmly grip the bottle, not daring to let go.He didn't know how many times he had chanted the incantation, his mouth numb from the repetition, when the bottle suddenly stopped.No more water came out.Nian Zanli staggered back two steps, his hands unable to drop for a moment.He tried to issue an order, but when he opened his mouth, a gush of fresh blood spurted out.Rage welled up in his chest.His personal guards rushed over to support him: "General! General!"He seemed to hear Nian Zanli muttering, "Hong Chenglüe, you bastard, you tricked me!"After repeating this several times, Nian Zanli finally panted, "Chase! Chase the Yuren army! Don't let Zhao Pan escape!"Even if he won this round, it was a pyrrhic victory, essentially a huge loss.Since that was the case, he had to at least achieve the objective of crossing the river.At this thought, he suddenly remembered Hong Chenglüe's promise when he had offered the advice:He guaranteed that the Xunzhou soldiers would be able to cross the river and reach the bank."Damn it!"Controlling the Green Jade Bottle had already exhausted him. Now, consumed by rage, he actually fainted.

The surviving soldiers from both armies were now regrouping on the bank. Just moments before, due to the tight timeline, Nian Zanli had unleashed the colossal flood before all his own men had reached high ground. Then, unable to control the water, he had ended up flooding his own army too.Both sides had suffered heavy casualties.Zhao Pan, though he had escaped due to pursuing the Xunzhou army, now gathered his remaining troops for a rough count. Only thirty percent of his men were left!One flood had swallowed nearly thirty thousand of his elite soldiers.Assembly calls were sounding from both sides, but Zhao Pan's heart felt as though it had sunk to the bottom of the Han River.He had lost.The two- or three-month stalemate on the northern battlefield of Xiazhou had ended with his defeat.He had failed to fulfill his king's trust!Just then, He Chunhua rushed towards him, the Xiazhou army already assembled behind him. Seeing Zhao Pan's distraught appearance, He Chunhua grabbed his collar and shouted, "Pull yourself together! You haven't lost! This battle isn't over yet!"Zhao Pan had intended to swat his hand away, but he froze at these words. "What?"He Chunhua's face was distorted, covered in water and mud, a lock of hair sticking to his nose. He bore no resemblance to his usual refined and composed self.But the light in his eyes was either eerie or frantic."General Zhao, you're letting appearances deceive you!" He Chunhua instead told Zhao Pan. "Think about what your mission is: to defend the north against Nian Zanli! Look, look over there at him!"It was dark, the rain was heavy, and the troops were in chaos. Zhao Pan hadn't been able to see the full picture moments ago. Now, following He Chunhua's direction, he saw nothing but a vast, churning expanse of water.That's right. Nian Zanli's main army had just climbed to high ground, but the waves were even higher, utterly submerging that high ground as well."His men were also swept away! His situation is not much better than yours!" He Chunhua's face was flushed. "Moreover, he used such an earth-shattering divine ability; do you think he paid no price for it, that fool? Such a divine ability is not something a mortal should ever use!"One can only wield a divine ability proportionate to one's own power. To attempt something beyond your level inevitably comes with a price."General Zhao, Heaven is not abandoning us!"These few sentences were like lightning, instantly illuminating Zhao Pan's understanding.Yes, his mission was to defend against the enemy in the north. As long as he stopped the Xunzhou soldiers from advancing south, he would have completed his mission.His own army had suffered heavy losses, but how much better off was Nian Zanli?This muddled battle was a brutal exchange, a costly and bloody one, but he hadn't lost yet!He asked He Chunhua, "What about your men?""I still have two thousand; they're all yours!""Good!" Zhao Pan wiped the water from his face, ordered the assembly of his elites, quickly gathered eight hundred men, and with the Xiazhou army as the core, they actually charged towards Nian Zanli's remnants.At this moment, whoever recovered first gained the advantage. The sight of Zhao Pan's banners and the sound of his war drums terrified the Xunzhou soldiers who had just escaped the water, scattering them. Conversely, the Yuren soldiers, seeing their side's strength, quickly rallied and joined the pursuit.Along the way, the number of recovered soldiers actually grew.Something seemed to be wrong with Nian Zanli's side; his army fled west along the river, their main banner even fallen, looking particularly disoriented.

Meanwhile, Hong Chenglüe and his group had retreated to a safe forested area, from where they overlooked the battle below.Wu Qing stood beside him, letting out a long sigh: "Neither side benefited from this."The outcome of this battle was truly unexpected.Hong Chenglüe raised his head and looked eastward, a faint smile finally appearing on his face. "It seems I can return to Beijia ahead of schedule."He tightly clutched the comb in his hand.