Martial Cultivator

It is said that some people, in moments of utter despair, see what they most long to see in their hearts. The cavalry army that Xie Jingshan saw now left him for a moment unable to tell whether it was a figment of his hope or a real cavalry unit rushing to rescue him.

At the same time Xie Jingshan saw this cavalry, the demon race's main general on the other side also noticed it. Seeing another three to four thousand riders arriving, he showed not the slightest worry, instead remaining seated calmly on his mount, waiting to see what would happen.

Xie Jingshan's excitement and his renewed despair were separated only by a brief instant. As he watched the cavalry approach, he soon noticed another cavalry unit of demons charging from a distance.

It turned out this ambush was not only aimed at him alone; even the reinforcements coming to save him were part of the demon army's plan, intended to be trapped.

Xie Jingshan shut his eyes in anguish, realizing he had absolutely no chance of survival this time. Yet he could not bring himself to surrender to fate. He had always longed to witness a grander battlefield, to fight an even greater battle. And yet, he never imagined that he would actually die like this.

But it was too late, there was nothing he could do.

Xie Jingshan said in a low voice, "If I die, on the account that I'm a clan member of yours, you must avenge me no matter what, right?"

No matter what his past opinions of Xie Nandu had been, now the one in whom he could place hope was that younger sister.

Having said this, Xie Jingshan tightened his grip on his spear and charged into the demon army.

......

The snowstorm was heavy, the ground covered in thick snow, so much so that even the sound of hooves was hard to hear. Yet when a cavalry unit reached Gao Xuan's main camp, he quickly became aware of the situation.

The command tent was lifted open, letting in the wind and snow. Following it was a young scout, covered in snow, who knelt on one knee, pain etched across his face: "General, the two cavalry units of General Xie and General Liu have been ambushed by the demon army and have been completely destroyed!"

Gao Xuan frowned at this news and then looked at the sand map before him. Xie Jingshan and Liu Xie had been positioned closest to each other. If either one encountered trouble, the other would quickly notice and rush to aid, this had been Gao Xuan's reasoning for placing them there.

But how could he have known that the demons were banking on that they had such intentions. Both cavalry units had been completely swallowed by the enemy.

"The demon army's style has never been like this, why would they suddenly change? Could they have suddenly seen the light?"

The demon race had always been stronger than the human race. In their previous encounters, they rarely used stratagems. Yet even so, they could rely on their overwhelming strength to win. But judging from the progress of this latest great battle, the demons had apparently learned the tactics of layered advancement and ambushes designed to lure the enemy deep.

The young deputy general looked at Gao Xuan, worry filling his eyes. "It seems the situation is very troublesome."

When your already powerful enemy becomes even stronger, it is only natural to feel concerned.

Gao Xuan sat back down, silent for a long while. He had long prepared plans for this great battle, but now it seemed those plans would likely need to be revised.

He said, "We cannot keep looking at them with our old perspective. Compared to us, they are not so different. Brains are not something only we can have."

"The problem is, they have been brainless for so many years. How come they suddenly have brains now?"

The young deputy general had hit the key point. No one suddenly develops brains. Usually, there were only two possibilities: the first was that they always had brains but didn't use them; the second was that they still didn't had brains, but now they had some people among them who did.

Gao Xuan said, "The demons are like cultivators: many of them don't like to manage things and focus solely on cultivation. Among such people, there may be some with brains."

The young deputy general opened his mouth to speak, but Gao Xuan shook his head and continued, "Perhaps it's not that complicated. It's just that now they want to play seriously with us."

Hearing this, the young deputy general was taken aback. The war between the demons and humans had not started with Great Liang, it had begun long, long ago. From that time on, the demons had always held the dominant position in the war, even once forcing humans to cede three thousand miles of the desolate north. Yet in Gao Xuan's words, the demons of that time were just playing around.

If they were just playing back then, why are they taking things seriously now?

The young deputy general was full of questions but could not imagine an answer.

Gao Xuan said seriously, "Perhaps this time, they want to completely conquer us."

This great battle would naturally not be the most brutal, but it was only the opening of the curtain. Yet when someone pulled back the curtain with such seriousness, it was something worth paying attention to.

The young deputy general didn't know what to say and could only feel anxious.

Gao Xuan sighed. As the commanding general, he bore the greatest pressure of all.

He looked at the distribution of the armies on the sand table, thinking about whether he should overturn the current deployment and start over.

After all, the situation now was clearly different from before.

But just as he hesitated, the tent flap opened again, and another scout, head covered in snow, walked in.

Gao Xuan immediately recognized the newcomer, as this was one of the scouts he had specifically instructed to keep an eye on Xie Nandu.

"Did something happen?"

Gao Xuan looked up at the scout, a strange mix of emotions in his eyes. Now that Xie Jingshan was dead and the demons had revealed something unusual, he was worried, and with this scout arriving, it was hard for him to accept if anything happened to Xie Nandu.

The scout glanced at Gao Xuan with a complicated expression, then carefully said, "General, General Xie has a letter for you."

Saying that, the scout took a letter from his chest and handed it over.

Gao Xuan took it and opened it, and his expression quickly grew serious. The letter contained Xie Nandu's predictions about what would happen on the battlefield, including the note that Xie Jingshan would be the first target of the enemy.

A prophecy fulfilled.

Gao Xuan held the letter, his expression peculiar. He had underestimated Xie Nandu.

"General, what does it say?"

The deputy asked, curious as well.

Gao Xuan handed the letter to the deputy without saying a word.

After reading it, the deputy frowned and asked, "What does she mean by this?"

Gao Xuan smiled bitterly and said, "Don't you understand?"

The deputy was completely confused.

Gao Xuan spoke to himself, "She's trying to tell us that when it comes to the battlefield situation, our view is not as clear as hers. So whatever she decides to do next will definitely be the right choice."

The deputy frowned again. "But she only has three thousand men. How can she get information faster than we do?"

Yes. No matter what, Xie Nandu's means of obtaining intelligence should not be better than theirs, so why could she so clearly understand the movements on the battlefield?

Gao Xuan couldn't quite comprehend it. This was not the Divine Capital, not the academy, it was the Northern Frontier Army, and Xie Nandu had only been here a short while. It was hard to say she had any real foundation.

"She definitely can't obtain more intelligence than we can. Even what we know, she might not know. Yet, she has deduced the entire battlefield situation from those fragments of information."

Gao Xuan sighed. "She really is naturally suited to commanding troops in battle."

The young deputy general had no words.

Gao Xuan said, "From now on, everything we receive here must be relayed to her. She... if necessary... can act at her discretion."

The weight of the words "act at her discretion" was something everyone present fully understood.

From initial worry to now granting authority, Gao Xuan had begun to gradually trust Xie Nandu.

......

......

After the destruction of the cavalry led by Xie Jingshan, the battle of the desolate north between the humans and demons officially began in full. In the preceding days, skirmishes had occurred, but they were all small-scale. The true large-scale confrontation, with both sides arrayed, had yet to erupt.

However, in these days of engagements, Gao Xuan found his own strength somewhat insufficient. After consecutively annihilating several demon cavalry units, he organized a campaign to encircle a ten-thousand-strong demon cavalry force. He mobilized thirty thousand troops, but in the end only managed to wipe out over half of the enemy cavalry. He still could not fully pin them down, and had to watch helplessly as that demon cavalry withdrew from the battlefield.

This left Gao Xuan feeling frustrated.

As for Xie Nandu, after receiving Gao Xuan's permission, she did not immediately launch an attack as he had expected. Instead, she patiently kept watching the flow of intelligence.

It was as if a chessboard lay before her, with pieces being placed one after another, yet she never once placed her own move, waiting instead for the right opportunity.

Over at Yuan Ting there, he had already been unable to hold back for some time. But seeing the young woman before him remain motionless, he did not dare to ask aloud.

Xie Nandu suddenly said, "Do you know that in this war, there are two battlefields in total?"

Yuan Ting was startled, then nodded. "The great demons on their side will get involved, and our side also has experts who have entered the desolate north. No doubt they've already started clashing somewhere."

Xie Nandu said, "Two battlefields. Ours is considered the bottom line. Because if we collapse, it means the entire battlefield is lost. But if the other side collapses first, we will still lose. Do you know why?"

Yuan Ting gave a bitter smile. "If a great demon wishes to kill an army's main commander, without a powerful cultivator's protection, it's naturally an easy thing. Not everyone has the Great General's level of cultivation."

Xie Nandu nodded. "A bunch of dragons without a leader, that's the truth of it."

Yuan Ting said anxiously, "The demons have many powerhouses. Does General think that on our side, we stand no chance of victory?"

Xie Nandu shook her head. "I don't know about later. But this time, I am not worried in the least."

Yuan Ting opened his mouth to speak.

Xie Nandu said, "He's here."

Yuan Ting was completely puzzled.

Xie Nandu smiled. Under the heavens right now, it seemed that she alone could make that martial artist, already among the top three martial artists in the world, cast aside everything, simply to come and escort her.