Chapter 722: Every Battle Ends in Slaughter

Gong Lince, who had scooped up a handful of the medicinal pills to inspect them, turned and asked, "What are these?"

Meng Shanming's wheelchair was pushed forward. He leaned over to look into the sack, took a handful himself, sniffed them, then let them spill back inside. "Master Dao's solution."

"Oh?" Gong Lince still seemed hesitant.

Meng Shanming had Zhang Hu summoned. He instructed him to distribute the cartload secretly among the various armies and carefully explained how the medicine was to be used.

Once Zhang Hu learned that this was the means for dealing with the enemy, he immediately went to carry out the order.

As for why the distribution had to be secret, a veteran of the battlefield like Zhang Hu understood the moment he heard it. How could they allow Chen Shaotong to learn of it and run away? Not a word could leak.

After listening from the side, Gong Lince felt considerably more at ease, but he still had questions. "What are these pills called? Where did Niu Youdao get them? Do they really work?"

"I don't know the answers to those questions either," Meng Shanming said. "Master Dao has never liked explaining the full story behind the things he does. If he keeps his mouth shut, I don't ask. But since he has sent the medicine here, then it must be useful. On that point, I have confidence in him."

Gong Lince raised his brows slightly.

What made him uncomfortable was Niu Youdao's invisible influence over Nanzhou. What made him uncomfortable was that everyone in Nanzhou, from top to bottom, trusted Niu Youdao to this degree.

Anyone with eyes could see that Niu Youdao had not forcibly bound Nanzhou to himself. Yet everyone throughout Nanzhou simply trusted him.

Tianyu Sect and Dachan Mountain were perfect examples. There was no need to discuss Tianyu Sect. Dachan Mountain's present situation was awkward enough. Its strength was clearly far greater than Niu Youdao's, yet everyone knew that the person who could truly make decisions behind Nanzhou was Niu Youdao. Dachan Mountain found itself in an embarrassing position and could do nothing about it.

At the very least, Dachan Mountain could not casually mobilize Nanzhou's troops. Shang Chaozong and the others would first insist on understanding why the troops were being moved.

For Niu Youdao, however, it was a matter of a single sentence. He could order troops moved without even giving a reason, and they would obey. Whether he bothered explaining afterward was another matter.

Put differently, the people and forces throughout Nanzhou did not trust other powers.

They trusted Niu Youdao.

The three major sects had once tried to sort out the logic behind this relationship, but it was difficult to understand. Most of the time Niu Youdao hid himself away and barely appeared at all. He hardly interfered in Nanzhou's civil or military affairs, leaving Shang Chaozong and the others free to govern Nanzhou however they wished.

Yet those who constantly wanted to stick a hand into things exhausted themselves, while the man who looked as though he managed nothing at all sat back and enjoyed the gains.

Afterward, Meng Shanming added, "Once preparations are complete, before the fighting begins, I would like the three major sects to perform a ritual among each army and steady military morale."

"A ritual?" Gong Lince did not understand. "What do you mean?"

Meng Shanming explained.

They could not reveal the secret before battle, lest they alert the enemy. But the Song army's previous method of summoning birds and beasts to attack had dealt too great a blow to Yan morale. To prevent panic before the battle, the three major sects needed to put on a mystical display and announce that they had found a method to counter it, thereby raising morale.

Otherwise, if every soldier was afraid to fight, how could they wage the battle at all?

Gong Lince understood and nodded. "Don't worry. We'll arrange it."

Meng Shanming said, "After the battle, the credit for breaking the Song army's secret art will naturally belong to the three major sects as well. Master Dao contributed, but he has no desire to claim the merit. I hope the three major sects will oblige him."

Naturally, Gong Lince would have been delighted for the three major sects to take the credit. It would let all of Yan see what they had accomplished. Still, he did not understand. "Such a great achievement would increase his weight in Yan even further if word spread. Would Niu Youdao truly be kind enough to give that up?"

"That is Master Dao's magnanimity," Meng Shanming said. "That is simply the kind of man he is. He dislikes publicity. The three major sects can take the credit without concern. Master Dao will not expose the truth afterward. I can guarantee that."

"Magnanimity?" Gong Lince sneered. "Did Niu Youdao tell you that himself? And you believe that kind of nonsense from him?"

As far as Gong Lince was concerned, how could Niu Youdao possibly do so much without seeking any benefit for himself?

Meng Shanming nodded, utterly certain. "I do."

In his view, Niu Youdao truly was that kind of man. The greater the impact of something, the more he wished no one knew he had anything to do with it.

They had known each other for many years, and Meng Shanming had confidence in Niu Youdao on that point. There was precedent too. Years ago, when Niu Youdao obtained that batch of warhorses, he had pushed the credit onto Tianyu Sect. This had happened more than once or twice. Niu Youdao was the sort of man who would prefer that no one knew he existed at all. Many of the times he came to the surface were because circumstances forced him to.

Put pleasantly, he kept a low profile.

Put less pleasantly, he was sinister and liked hiding behind the curtain.

Mockery surfaced on Gong Lince's face. "You really believe he does all that without seeking profit for himself?"

"I don't know whether he profits from it or not," Meng Shanming replied. "But he once said something to the Prince that I deeply agree with."

Gong Lince made a curious sound. "What did he say?"

Meng Shanming said, "Those skilled in war win no resounding glory."

"Those skilled in war win no resounding glory..." Gong Lince murmured the line to himself. After turning it over for a moment and tasting something of its meaning, his emotions became complicated.

Then he abruptly asked, "If Niu Youdao had been the one who told you to withdraw earlier, would you have withdrawn?"

Meng Shanming froze.

He almost wanted to ask in return: How could Niu Youdao ordering a withdrawal be the same as you ordering one?

If Niu Youdao told him to withdraw, there would certainly be some other reason. Otherwise, Niu Youdao would never lightly interfere with military affairs. The three major sects, on the other hand, wanted him to withdraw because of their own selfish concerns, disregarding the greater situation.

How could those two things be compared?

That was what he thought.

What he said aloud was, "No."

Only then did Gong Lince feel somewhat better. But suddenly he asked another question. "Niu Youdao is still in the prime of youth. Is there a suitable match for him in Nanzhou?"

Meng Shanming froze again. He had no idea why the subject had suddenly wandered this far. Was Gong Lince actually thinking of matchmaking for Niu Youdao?

Meng Shanming did not believe Niu Youdao would ever accept some arrangement by the three major sects with ulterior motives, so he tried to decline on his behalf. "Hongniang by Master Dao's side seems to be his intimate confidante."

Gong Lince scoffed. "What kind of suitable match is Hongniang? Any man can have her. She's no different from a brothel woman. She isn't worthy of Niu Youdao."

Meng Shanming hesitated. "Given Master Dao's breadth of mind, I doubt he would care about Hongniang's past."

Gong Lince chuckled but said nothing more. His brows lifted slightly, and a thoughtful gleam appeared in his shifting gaze.

He turned and walked away. Then he called over Yue Yuan, an Elder of Zijin Cave, and arranged for him to stage the performance Meng Shanming had requested to steady the army's morale.

Yue Yuan accepted the order and was just about to leave when Gong Lince called, "Wait."

Yue Yuan stopped. "Does Sect Leader have any other instructions?"

Gong Lince paced back and forth in thought for a while, then stopped in front of him. "Go through the sect and see whether there are any female disciples of exceptional talent and beauty."

Yue Yuan was puzzled. "For what purpose?"

"Find them first. We'll discuss the rest afterward."

"There is no need to search for that," Yue Yuan said. "The sect's outstanding disciples, or those with some status, naturally have no poor partners. The better and more highly placed the disciple, the more talented and beautiful the spouse is likely to be. And if some task needs to be entrusted to them, such people are reliable as well."

Gong Lince rolled his eyes and waved a hand. "I don't want anyone already married. I don't want anyone who has had a man. I want someone untouched, flawless as jade, the very best in both looks and character. Preferably her cultivation aptitude should be good as well."

Yue Yuan looked suspicious. "Sect Leader, aren't your requirements a little too high? Someone with conditions that good..." He made a small gesture, implying that any woman with qualities like those would long since have been claimed by someone with status inside the sect. How could one still be sitting around unspoken for?

It was not something pleasant to say aloud, so after gesturing, he tried asking instead, "Sect Leader, what exactly are you planning?"

Gong Lince frowned and gave him a cold sidelong look, plainly irritated by the endless questions.

"Uh..." Yue Yuan looked awkward and nodded. "I'll have someone check immediately and give Sect Leader an answer as soon as possible."

...

It was brutal.

The Yan army that had been constantly harried by the Song force quietly began to change its movements. Once they reached suitable terrain, the Yan formations suddenly shifted and closed directly around the Song army.

There were no tricks and no flourishes.

More than two million troops simply encircled the Song force and launched an all-out assault.

The Yan army had already suffered once. It actually dared surround and attack them again?

The Song army had never expected it.

Just as in their first clash, huge numbers of snakes, insects, rats, ants, birds, and beasts were summoned once more.

But this time the result was different.

The creatures treated the men of both armies alike. They did not attack the Yan soldiers.

Once the encirclement closed, the battle instantly became one-sided. Chen Shaotong's rabble was already weaker and badly outnumbered. Facing several times its number in elite troops, it had no power to resist. The rain of arrows pouring in from every direction was itself a massacre.

Battle cries shook the heavens.

There was not even anywhere to flee. There were simply too many Yan troops, and the Song force had been surrounded layer upon layer.

By the final stage of the bloody battle, Chen Shaotong stood beneath the great banner of his central command, using his sword as a support as he looked around with bloodshot eyes.

Large numbers of Yan cultivators had joined the encirclement, making escape nearly impossible. Even so, several cultivators seized Chen Shaotong and tried to pull him out with them.

Chen Shaotong swung his sword at their hands.

Startled, the cultivators grabbing him let go. One stamped his foot in desperation and shouted, "Great General, the situation cannot be saved! Go! If you don't leave now, it will be too late!"

"If I flee back alive, then I, Chen Shaotong, will confirm once and for all the reputation that I made my name by relying on a woman. I will never be able to hold my head up again in this life, and my children will be mocked for the rest of theirs. I cannot go back! From the moment I took the field, I could only win. I was never allowed to lose. Win, and I live. Lose, and there is only death!"

A fountain of hot blood burst from Chen Shaotong's neck.

He had cleanly swept the sword across his own throat.

"Great General..." The cultivators cried out in shock. He had acted too decisively. Even while keeping watch on the enemies around them, the sudden turn still caught them completely unprepared.

They simply could not understand how someone could value his own life so little.

The sword fell to the ground.

Amid battle cries that shook the sky, Chen Shaotong collapsed as well.

He truly had no desire to live. He had acted with such finality that he left no one even the chance to save him. He would rather die than survive in disgrace.

The cultivators snatched up his corpse and tried to break through the encirclement with it, but under such heavy attack the body became a burden.

They could not take it with them.

The great banner bearing the character "Chen" was hacked down amid the heavy stench of blood, and the thunderous cries of battle gradually faded.

Under such a massive encirclement, almost no one escaped. Only a handful of cultivators managed to carve out a bloody path and flee.

No surrendering soldiers were spared.

All were slaughtered, including the one hundred thousand civilian laborers accompanying the army.

A white horse ambled across the battlefield.

It was the white horse Luo Zhao had once given him.

Meng Shanming sat in the saddle, gripping it to steady himself, his expression blank as he rode through a field strewn with corpses and soaked in blood.

Every soldier watched him.

In their eyes, he seemed like a towering mountain. The blood-soaked killing aura that filled the entire battlefield seemed to gather upon him alone. Even Gong Lince, riding alongside him, felt oppressed by that inexplicable air of cold, iron resolve.

Wherever Meng Shanming passed, even the snakes, insects, rats, and ants on the ground scattered aside from more than a zhang away.

From the moment the Yan army invaded Song, every battle ended in slaughter.

Beneath the butcher's blade Meng Shanming had raised, no one was left alive.

[End of Chapter 722]