Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1836 - 1829: Late Arrival

Chapter 1836: Chapter 1829: Late Arrival

He looked back at the cliff, that fifty-meter-high precipice, knowing as a cultivator, jumping down might not necessarily be fatal.

But the problem was, the bottom of the cliff wasn’t absolutely safe either; Yipa cavalry were still roving below, and having exhausted his magic leaping down, he’d almost have no magic left to escape. Without magic, he was no match for the Yipa cavalry.

In the throes of despair, he gazed toward the horizon, surprisingly spotting dense black silhouettes familiar to him on the ridge—that was the Dongsheng army’s air fleet.

"General, reinforcements are here, we’ve held on!" An officer saw the scene, too, and shouted excitedly.

"They’ve finally come, but... isn’t it too late?"

Jiuyun Shuang pondered, an inexplicable feeling of exhaustion sweeping over him, and in that instant, he released the True Qi protecting his body, rendered momentarily dazed.

Just then, a blast came from the enemy ranks, and Jiuyun Shuang felt a sharp pain in his stomach, reaching out to touch it, only to find his palm covered in blood.

"General!!"

The officer beside him immediately noticed his condition, cried out sorrowfully, and supported him, preventing him from collapsing.

"Main vein damaged, cannot continue circulating True Qi..."

Jiuyun Shuang, enduring intense pain, clutched his abdomen and slowly sat down, slightly lucky; the shot hadn’t directly hit his Qitian, but broke his abdominal main vein.

The attacking Yipa soldiers followed suit, using fire guns left by Dongsheng officers against Jiuyun Shuang and others holding ground, their first shot hitting their chief commander.

Misfortune followed misfortune; just as Jiuyun Shuang sat down, two arrows struck his chest—two crossbow bolts pierced through his armor into his flesh.

"General!"

Seeing this, the officer was horrified, promptly using his back to shield against incoming arrows.

Yet the enemy’s arrows were endless, turning the officer into a human pincushion. In his last moment of life, the officer used his body to barricade all incoming arrows, preventing Jiuyun Shuang from being hit further.

Having been shot up close with a firearm and two powerful crossbow bolts, even the strongest armor couldn’t provide defense. Soon, Jiuyun Shuang’s wounds continuously gushed with blood.

The armor quality from the East Continent was overall inferior to that of the Western Continent, as they hadn’t mastered Defense Runes imprinting technology. Objectively speaking, due to cultivation practitioners’ existence, cultivators didn’t particularly concern themselves with armor defense capabilities.

Under the repeated shootings by the Yipa army, the surviving Dongsheng officers were all turned into human pincushions, solely Jiuyun Shuang preserved by his subordinates blocking the arrows, temporarily keeping him alive.

But his condition was dire; his body had three fatal injuries, and due to weakness, he couldn’t suppress the continuously flowing blood, teetering on the brink of shock.

As the last Dongsheng Imperial forces were completely defeated, these vengeance-driven Yipa soldiers seemed to have achieved their goal, now falling into rare bewilderment.

Distantly, the Dongsheng army ferociously charged forth; having fulfilled revenge, the Yipa soldiers looked at each other, unsure whether they should fight to the bitter end or choose to surrender.

On the ground, reinforcements from the Dongsheng Empire also charged furiously forth, a Northern Province cavalry contingent numbering over a thousand.

These men, whether by weaponry or equipment, were superior to the Yipa army, so upon seeing them charge, the surrounding Yipa cavalry immediately, instinctively began turning to run in the opposite direction.

This exposure of fear swiftly evolved into uncontrollable mass retreat; the Yipa cavalry below the mountain turned around en masse and fled. Those on the mountain, sensing tip danger, scrambled down the hill furiously, hoping to mount their steeds and bolt.

In moments of vengeance, they were resolute warriors, yet upon goal’s achievement, they quickly revealed their human weaknesses, facing charging enemies without a shred of resistance thought.

The Kunzhou fleet in the sky reached the hilltop first, starting to deploy soldiers downwards. The Northern Province cavalry below neared the foot of the mountain, chasing and hunting the fleeing Yipa cavalry.

The first Dongsheng soldiers landed on the small hill, facing the sight of a mountain full of bodies, with a pungent stench of blood in the air, involuntarily drawing sharp breaths.

Atop the mountain now stood no one, casting eyes across, corpses were strewn from the mountaintop down to its base.

Even if occasionally finding individuals still breathing, they were mostly Yipa soldiers. For such ones, Dongsheng soldiers searching had no mercy, directly stabbing them death.

The more they searched, the more terrified they became, for judging by this brutal carnage, their general likely fared poorly.

A groan echoed from the cliff’s edge; several Dongsheng soldiers hurriedly went to investigate, finally discovering Jiuyun Shuang, shielded with dying efforts by his subordinates, suddenly jubilant, excitedly shouting, "Found him, found the General!"

Upon hearing these soldiers, nearby Dongsheng troops crowded around. Soldiers seeing Jiuyun Shuang’s injuries instantly became flustered, hastily removing his armor, tying cloth strips onto his wounds to stave off excessive blood loss.

After a while, Yungui descended from Kunzhou, reaching the mountaintop.

His feet landed, rudely shoving aside soldiers trying to support him, rushing ahead to Jiuyun Shuang. Seeing Jiuyun Shuang’s dire state, his eyes reddened, squatting instantaneously to tightly grip Jiuyun Shuang’s hand.

Feeling the warmth of the touch, Jiuyun Shuang slowly opened his weary eyelids. Seeing Yungui, a faint appreciative smile appeared on his pale face, "You’re here..."

"Subordinate dereliction led to General’s peril, beg General grant me death penalty," Yungui uttered between sobs, tears streaming down his face.

"Were you dead, who’d return to report victorious commands to the capital?" Jiuyun Shuang slowly responded.

"General..."

Yungui was already beyond speech, beset with tears.

"I likely can’t return," Jiuyun Shuang closed his eyes, lips pale and quietly murmuring. Then, he gazed at Yungui, passionately saying, "I ride winds with Ziyan, news of our triumph eastward along with Yungui... brother, I plead..."

"Big Brother..."

Yungui whimpered, finally changing his address.

"Grieve not for me; today’s all wrongs rest upon me alone; Yungui just proceed to report success to the capital..."

"It’s my incompetence, failed to deploy guards for your protection..."

"Had I not persisted, how could I have separated from the main force? Alas, vengeance in cycles, one’s sown evil ultimately borne oneself..."

Just as they spoke, urgent hoof-beats sounded, a tall, dark silhouette sprang onto mountaintop—that was Jiuyun Shuang’s second brother, Jiuyun Ke.

He recklessly galloped to the summit, nearly tumbling dismount seeing Jiuyun Shuang in severe condition.

Jiuyun Ke pressed a hand against his saber, brusquely kicking aside obstructing corpses, rushing towards Jiuyun Shuang and others, his tight armor clinking with metallic friction.

A little over a meter from Jiuyun Shuang, he staggered and fell, crawling hurriedly to him, grabbing Yungui’s collar furiously scolding, "How dare you return! Had it not been for you..."

"Second Brother!!!"

Jiuyun Shuang seemed to summon his last breath, voicing to halt Jiuyun Ke’s actions, then glared at him, breathlessly angrily saying, "Yungui is the Imperial Court’s marching commander; don’t disrespect an official!"

Hearing his voice, Jiuyun Ke tearfully shoved Yungui away, then gently cradled Jiuyun Shuang, stroking his face, inwardly grieving immensely.

"Little Four, Second Brother’s late, failed to protect you. Don’t worry, Second Brother won’t let you succumb, immediately healing you..."

Jiuyun Ke said, intending to use energy for healing.

"No need, Second Brother," Jiuyun Shuang closed his eyes, feebly denying his actions, "My major vein’s hurt, True Qi couldn’t return to Qitian; plus excessive bleeding, already a spent-force. Were it not persistence, I’d likely have long followed the soldiers..."

"What?," hearing this, Jiuyun Ke felt his head buzz, as if exploding, "Impossible, it can’t be, you won’t suffer, father’s en route already; father possesses immense skill, he can surely preserve you..."