NOVEL WEB Chapter 137: Concealing One’s Tracks
As Jiang Yuan withdrew his right hand from the chest of the enemy's main general and looked around, he immediately noticed that the battlefield had become a one-sided affair.
Lowering his gaze, Jiang Yuan looked at the Soul King from the Northern Yue Kingdom before him. The eyes could no longer close, and the lifeless face was frozen with fear and unwillingness.
In addition to this, there was an unmistakable sense of indignation that could not be waved away.
Jiang Yuan knew that this indignation was not directed at himself as an opponent.
If positions were reversed, Jiang Yuan reflected, perhaps his own feelings of grievous anger would be even more intense!
"Duang——!"
A massive clang of metal resounded. Li Zhishu, clad in the "Thousand Scale Armor" and wielding the "Coiling Dragon Staff," had just sent an enemy soldier flying who had been fleeing in panic, striding swiftly towards Jiang Yuan.
"General! The timing is now——!"
With Li Zhishu's urgent reminder, Jiang Yuan's arm trembled as he lifted the rapidly chilling body of the Soul King. Channeling his soul power to his throat, he employed the fourth technique from the "Animal Martial Soul: Xingyi Fist Formation," executing the Tiger's Roar method and bellowing across the battlefield:
"The enemy commander is dead, all troops attack——!!!"
"Roar——!"
Jiang Yuan's words, coupled with the limp body hoisted high, instantly boosted the morale of the 5,000-strong army of the Waterwood Duchy. Their weapons swung with renewed vigor.
Conversely, the Northern Yue Kingdom’s forces, already caught off guard by an ambush, fell into further disarray, fleeing in greater panic.
Simultaneously, 17 miles away by another river bend, within a formation of 3,000 straw and branch effigies, Ling Yi suddenly opened his eyes.
Spreading his fingers, he pressed them against the Blue Silver Grass beneath him, feeling the barely perceptible tremors as they traveled through his palm to the ground. Instantly, he sprang up.
From his chest, Ling Yi retrieved a fire starter. After lighting the torches planted in front of him one by one, he tossed them around like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.
“Boom——”
In an instant, vibrant orange flames roared to life, enveloping the entire formation of 3,000 effigies.
Just before the blaze could spread, Ling Yi took a few quick strides and leapt away, executing a perfect arc as he plunged into the nearby Qu Yue River.
Approximately five to six minutes later, a squad of cavalry galloped to within tens of meters of the fierce blaze, reining in their horses. The leader gazed at the raging flames, his expression shifting from green to white in response.
“General...?” A personal guard beside him leaned in, speaking in a low voice, clearly intending to inquire further.
Before the other person could continue speaking, purple soul power surged on the leader's body. The skin not covered by the helmet and armor sprouted fine purple scales.
At the same time, five soul rings appeared around him: three yellow, one purple, one black. They hovered and pulsated rhythmically.
In the next second, the third deep yellow soul ring with a hint of purple flashed with light.
Third Soul Skill: Hurricane Arrow Rain—!
Suddenly, dozens to hundreds of wind-blue short arrows appeared in mid-air. With a powerful swing of the leader's arm, they charged relentlessly into the raging flames.
The wind fanned the flames higher into the sky. However, before that, a brief gap formed in the orange-red blaze, revealing a sight within.
What lay within were charred humanoid figures.
In a fleeting glance, amidst the blackened shapes, one could still see faint traces of white, resembling bone.
Despite still having many doubts and speculations in his mind, the leader pursed his lips, tugged on the reins with a cold expression, turned his horse, and decisively commanded, “Go—!”
……
Two days later, in a valley more than three hundred miles south of the Xingluo Empire border line.
Ling Yi handed out maps and letters to a group of thirty or forty men dressed in plain coarse clothes.
Once distribution was complete, Ling Yi surveyed the group, meeting their confused and uncertain gazes. He raised his right hand.
As all eyes followed his gesture, he opened his fingers wide, rotating his wrist to sketch a few invisible circles in the air, finally pinching his thumb and middle finger together.
"Snap—!"
A crisp sound rang out, not loud, but it held a strangely memorable quality that struck deep into the memory, making it unforgettable.
"Gentlemen," Ling Yi’s magnetic voice was calm as he spoke, "from today, you are no longer people of the Shui Mu Principality. You are now wanderers, devastated by war, driven from your homes along the borders of two great empires."
"Go, seek refuge within the Xingluo Empire."
"There is nothing left for you in the Shui Mu Principality. You lack familial ties there. I hope you will find a place to call home in the Xingluo Empire."
"The City of Metal, 'Gengxin City,' houses the Iron Forge Guild. If you wish, you can try becoming a blacksmith. Even without soul power, as long as you’re willing to learn, you might become an intermediate or even an advanced blacksmith!"
With Ling Yi's words, the confusion in the eyes of the strong men faded, replaced by determination.
Without saying more, the men, varying in height but all possessing a certain initial fierceness, stepped into the valley, each leading dozens of others similarly clad in coarse cloth.
First, he approached Ling Yi, bowed respectfully, then with a look of unease and trepidation, he walked one step at a time towards the exit of the valley.
The mountain path, stretching about seven or eight miles, branched out into four to five different trails, each leading in different directions.
On a hill about a hundred meters high, Ling Yi stood quietly observing the backs fading into the distance along their respective paths, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
...
The Quyue River, located along the borderline of the two great empires, emerges from the Moring Range, one of the tributary ranges of the Tianling Mountains. It meanders eastward for over eight hundred miles, passing through three cities—Faer City, Noding City, and Kelo City.
Seventy miles southwest of Faer City, after the army of the Shuimu Principality defeated the forces of Beiyue, they found some temporary peace and retreated to this location to regroup.
When Ling Yi disembarked on a desolate swamp by the Quyue River, he didn’t immediately choose a direction to continue. Instead, he crouched down, placing his palm on the ground to communicate through soul power with the mass of "Blue Silver Grass".
After confirming no human aura was detectable within over ten miles, Ling Yi stood up and, following the setting sun in the western sky, headed northeast.
Every so often, Ling Yi would pause, using the blanket of "Blue Silver Grass" to once again sense the surroundings.
It must be said that during the earlier stalemate and tug-of-war, Ling Yi followed the main army, planting patches of "Blue Silver Grass" seeds along the way, which now provided an excellent medium for his ‘vanishing without a trace’.
Without this preparation, he wouldn't have been confident of leading three thousand soldiers across heavily fortified war lines, directly reaching positions one to two hundred miles behind enemy lines.
(End of Chapter)
