Green Mountain
Chapter 334 - 274, Exhausted

Chapter 334: 274, Exhausted

Wang Gui clutched his waist and lay on the ground, like a river shrimp just pulled from the water. He curled up, stretched out, curled up again, stretched out—all to no avail, as the piercing pain refused to relent.

He cursed incessantly, "You wretch, I’ll kill you for sure!"

At this moment, Zhang Xia was lying flat on the roof near the edge of the eaves, gazing downward. She saw dozens of Heavenly Strategy Army armored soldiers with blades clenched between their teeth, climbing up one by one in a queue. "Not good! They’re about to reach the third floor!"

Wang Gui, hearing her warning, could no longer afford to dwell on his pain. He shoved the table and chairs back together and climbed upward, barely managing to squeeze into the roof’s fracture just before the Heavenly Strategy Army could reach them.

On the rooftop, Wang Gui lay by the opening and hurled obscenities, "That damned wretch around Chen Ji..."

Zhang Xia snapped angrily, "Shut up! Do you want the Heavenly Strategy Army to discover we’re hiding here?"

With that, she leaned close to the crack and peeked inside. The table and chairs were still stacked together.

If anyone entered the room, they’d immediately think someone was hiding up above.

Clenching her teeth, Zhang Xia slowly shifted her body downward to try and knock the chair off the table, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t reach it.

Qi Zhenzhuo crouched beside her and said, "I’ll do it!"

Zhang Xia stepped aside to make room. Qi Zhenzhuo pried off a roof tile and hurled it at the chair. The chair dropped to the ground with a crash.

Qi Zhenzhuo was about to speak, but Zhang Xia yanked his collar and dragged him back. "Quiet!"

The next moment, a Heavenly Strategy Army armored soldier leaned out from the window of Room A with cautious eyes, scanning the interior of the room. Upon hearing the sounds of combat between Chen Ji and others, he immediately climbed inside, brandishing his blade as he charged into the hallway.

He didn’t glance up at the crack in the ceiling.

Behind him, one armored soldier after another streamed into the room like an endless tide.

Zhang Xia gazed with concern toward Guyuan City. Chen Ji was delaying them, giving her group precious time—but how much longer could this time hold out?

Within the city, raging flames consumed the air. More than half of the buildings in the city had been burned to the ground by the Heavenly Strategy Army, like a chessboard where the black pieces had taken over half the field.

In the distance, the Iron Cavalry of the Jing Dynasty Heavenly Strategy Army surged like a black torrent, weaving back and forth under the banners’ command, forcing the border army into ceaseless retreat.

On the Xuwei Lane front, borderline soldiers and Yulin Army troops hauled bricks and soil to erect defensive barriers, trying to stop the Iron Cavalry’s reckless advance.

But the Iron Cavalry didn’t push forward blindly. Upon charging within a dozen steps of the defenses, they drew their bows and unleashed a volley of arrows, cutting down a swath of border soldiers as easily as mowing grass.

The bamboo armor of the border soldiers proved incapable of stopping the iron arrows of the Heavenly Strategy Army!

The border soldiers returned fire, but their bows fell short by ten steps in range compared to those of the Heavenly Strategy Army. The enemy exploited this gap relentlessly, keeping their horses moving within that deadly margin.

When archers clashed, a ten-step range difference might as well be an unbreachable chasm.

Further away, the vibrating hum of bowstrings sounded again. Li Xuan hid behind the remnants of a dirt house, gasping for breath. The Guyuan Border Army’s weapons looked pitiful in comparison to those of the Imperial Three Camps; forget firearms, they didn’t even have a proper hard bow!

Frustration burning in his chest, he turned to the border soldiers hiding alongside him and asked bitterly, "How did you win that battle at Quwu Mountain back in the 25th year of Jianing? Any secret weapons? Any tactics?"

A border army veteran spat on the ground and cast him a sideways glance. "Lord Jing, must be dreaming! Battlegrounds don’t have fancy tricks—just bodies to throw on the line!"

"Bodies..." Li Xuan inhaled deeply, a suppressed surge of determination suddenly rising within him. He crept silently onto the rooftop, making his way toward the spot where the Heavenly Strategy Army’s Iron Cavalry rained down their arrows.

...

...

Dragon Gate Inn.

Chen Ji was breathing heavily, carrying his Whale Blade as he traversed the circular hallway.

Above him, Wu Yun leaped from beam to beam, moving in unison with him—a man and a cat, one above, one below, inseparable.

As Chen Ji passed Room B, a Heavenly Strategy Army armored soldier suddenly lunged out of the doorway, slashing his blade toward Chen Ji’s face.

Chen Ji stepped back, avoiding the blade’s edge, then crouched down, reversing his grip to thrust upward. His blade pierced through the armored soldier’s jaw and into his skull.

Retracting his weapon, Chen Ji continued forward. Outside Room C, another Heavenly Strategy Army armored soldier emerged, blade raised. But before he could strike, Chen Ji made a fluid swipe, his Whale Blade slicing clean through the man’s neck, blood splattering across the hallway wall.

His stamina waning, Chen Ji focused on killing each enemy in a single blow without risking prolonged combat.

Yet the armored soldiers climbing up grew in number. From every room, Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers burst forth endlessly, like playing a futile game of whack-a-mole.

Chen Ji could only fight as he retreated, but the inn’s octagonal layout with its circular hallway meant he kept retreating back to where he started—surrounded on all sides by enemies.

He halted and bent his body slightly.

From the tip of his Whale Blade, a drop of blood gathered before falling onto the wooden floor with a quiet plonk.

One drop, then another.

Chen Ji slowly lifted his Whale Blade, gazing coldly ahead at the dense mass of armored soldiers before him. He turned around, his eyes equally cold as he took in the crowd behind him. Countless soldiers trapped him in the hallway.

He stepped forward, and the soldiers moved forward with him. He stepped back, and the soldiers followed.

From behind the crowd came the heavy sound of approaching footsteps—the armored soldier wielding a Heavy Sword had arrived on the third floor. "Your blade is slowing down. Your legs are heavy. Will you surrender?"

Looking around him, Chen Ji gripped the hilt of his Whale Blade tightly, sweat dripping down his forehead. "I won’t."

A cold laugh came from the crowd behind, "Seems those Southern officials on the rooftop were quick to escape, leaving no one to care about you. Is it worth serving men like that?"

Chen Ji replied calmly, "And you, mere nameless coward, hiding behind others to speak?"

The voice fell silent for a moment, before issuing a cold command, "Kill him."

In an instant, the Heavenly Strategy Army armored soldiers surged toward Chen Ji en masse. Raising his Whale Blade, Chen Ji could no longer afford precision strikes; he was reduced to frantically defending himself.

As he fought off the attackers before him, an impossibly fast blade came slashing down from behind, carving a long, deep wound into his back that exposed the bone beneath.

Blood poured from the wound, the agonizing pain driving deep into his marrow.

Chen Ji turned to counterattack, but his assailant darted back into the mass of soldiers, waiting for another opportunity to strike. Pressing onward, Chen Ji forced the black-clad soldiers to retreat step by step, but in the span of mere seconds, another wound appeared on his back.

The next moment, a Jing Dynasty official hidden in the crowd swung his blade again. Just as the weapon was about to find its mark, a sudden flash of light like a bolt of lightning sliced downward from the beam above, severing the official’s arm in a single stroke.

With a clang, the detached arm and blade fell to the floor together.

The Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers instinctively raised their heads, spotting a black cat leaping down from the beam and landing gracefully on Chen Ji’s shoulder, staring icily at everyone present.

In the dim hallway, surrounded by enemies, stood a man, a cat, and a blade.

Chen Ji panted heavily, "Didn’t I tell you to stay hidden?"

Wu Yun let out a meow, "Hide any longer, and you’ll die."

A confused voice came from the crowd, "What kind of Official Gateway is this? Move aside!"

The soldiers behind Chen Ji parted like waves, revealing the towering figure of a soldier wielding the Heavy Sword, who brought the weapon crashing down like a landslide.

Suddenly, a shadow darted out from Room E.

The towering soldier froze upon seeing the figure—a Taotie, using its sheep-headed horns to hold back the Heavy Sword!

Xiao Man rushed into the hallway, her gaze falling on Chen Ji’s bloody, mangled back. "Master, you..."

"Mandala Seal and a Taotie," the soldier said as he slowly withdrew his Heavy Sword. "Where did you acquire our Northern Official’s Gateway?"

Xiao Man scowled angrily, "None of your damn business!"

The towering soldier sneered, "Kill them both."