The Regressor of Mount Hua
Chapter 391. Zhuges Strategy (2)

Chapter 391. Zhuge's Strategy (2)

Nangong Shanxu understood better than anyone the threat that Blessed Existence posed.

That’s why it makes no sense for him to be this careless.

He recalled his grandfather’s face.

The justification that had nearly destroyed the Murim Alliance and its leader, Nangong Weiwu, had been the accusation that they had turned a blind eye to the Black Shadow Division’s existence. But it was always the Dark Heavens Association’s strategist who had truly orchestrated everything from behind the scenes.

That man didn’t rely on martial strength. He relied only on cunning to make half the factions of the Central Plains dance in the palm of his hand.

“Jingchu Shitai...”

Nangong Shanxu turned to look at Jingchu Shitai.

“Yes, I know. This leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth, too.”

Despite being the one who had ordered his people to pursue the enemy, the expression on Jingchu Shitai's face looked like someone who couldn't finish cleaning up after answering nature’s call.

The wrinkles on her face deepened as heavy thoughts came and went.

“What are you doing?!”

The leader of the pursuit party, who was from the Qingcheng Sect, shouted at Jingchu Shitai during their speedy pursuit.

“Jingchu Shitai! Now is not the time to doubt yourself!”

The leader, Qingcheng’s Sword Guest, Bai Gongzi, raised her voice.

“Victory is right in front of us! We are about to finish them off for good! We cannot afford to miss this opportunity!”

“You’re correct, Senior Sister!”

Emei Sect’s nun quickly agreed with Bai Gongzi.

“...” Jingchu Shitai briefly furrowed her brow. “We’re speeding up!”

“Whaaaaaaaaah!”

Their roars shook the ground. The morale of the alliance forces soared.

About an hour into the clash...

Out of ten thousand alliance forces warriors, one thousand five hundred had died. But at the same time, the number of the Dark Heavens’ army had been reduced from seven thousand to five thousand.

Despite starting with a numerical advantage and seizing the initiative early, the alliance’s casualties were greater than expected.

This outcome was to be expected, considering that the Evil Valley lacked experts and only had Second-Class and Third-Class martial artists.

The Dark Heavens Association, on the other hand, had the upper hand in terms of average martial prowess.

The alliance forces couldn’t land a decisive blow.

Still, in terms of morale and the number of injured, the alliance held a clear advantage.

The army of eight thousand five hundred began chasing down the remaining five thousand enemy troops.

***

Even the people of the murim were human. They couldn’t fight endlessly without rest. Their stamina and their qi had limits.

Whether it was the pursuers or the pursued, both sides soon tired themselves out.

“The enemy has stopped running.”

“Yes. They must be taking a break.”

Relieved sighs escaped from the higher-ups in the Southern alliance forces. They didn’t bother hiding their own exhaustion either.

“The distance between our troops and the enemy camp is about four li.[1]I’ve stationed scouts at around two li away from the enemy to keep an eye on them, so it should be fine for us to relax and rest for now. However, please be ready to depart at a moment’s notice. Although, I believe we won’t be moving for a while.”

“Understood.”

The alliance forces might have boasted eight thousand five hundred combatants, but by the time they stopped to rest, the conditions of the gravely injured worsened.

In the end, around three hundred more people lost their lives, and another two hundred became incapable of joining the battle. It seemed they had stopped being tense.

Thanks to the local physicians and those from the Benevolence Clinic, treating the injured posed no issue. As for medical supplies, the Four Poisons Gate took care of those.

Rumble!

As the afternoon slipped into early evening, dark clouds gathered overhead.

The scorching sun, which had baked the land all day, disappeared behind cover of thick clouds. Afternoons in summer should have lasted for a while, yet today, the clouds blanketed the land in darkness.

Drop...

Pitter... patter...

Rumble... craaack!

What started as a light drizzle turned into a heavy downpour. Maybe because the summer hadn’t ended yet, the dampness clung to their skin, making them feel sticky and uncomfortable.

Rumble!

The weather was turning even more ominous. As if the dead were voicing their resentment from the netherworld, thunderclaps noisily went off in the skies above.

Whether it was the Dark Heavens Southern Army or the alliance forces, neither side moved from their spots. They established their own temporary encampments and quickly set up tents to recover their strength.

A day passed by without the distance between the two camps decreasing.

The last light of evening vanished. With no moon in sight, darkness covered the land. As dawn broke, the alliance forces experts finished circulating their qi and adjusting their conditions.

It wasn’t until midday that signs of movement came from the enemy’s camp.

“We’re setting off!”

The eight thousand combatants of the Southern alliance forces put their tents away and resumed their pursuit.

Whoooosh!

“The wind has picked up today.”

It seemed the rainy season had arrived. The dark clouds above remained even after a full day had passed.

The rain itself wasn’t heavy, just stiff breezes carrying some raindrops. But it also meant the pursuit had to slow down.

However, the same applied to the Dark Heavens Association’s army up ahead, and the distance between the two camps neither widened nor decreased.

Every step they took was accompanied by wet, muddy noises. The field of tea leaves had long been swallowed up by the mud by now.

“Wait, isn’t this direction...?” Min Xiao muttered after recalling something vague.

“We’re about to engage the advance party of the Dark Heavens Association army!”

However, Min Xiao's thoughts were interrupted by the loud yell coming from the scout.

“How? When did we get so close?”

Min Xiao's eyes widened in disbelief.

“What do you mean, how? The enemy obviously lost their fighting spirit with their defeat so close. And they must be exhausted, too,” Miao Zhidan replied as if everything was so obvious to him. “This is great! Let’s go! Let’s finish them off once and for all!”

Whaaaaaah!

Miao Zhidan roared gallantly, confident in his impending victory.

The left flank of the army pushed forward faster.

“Let’s get Hefei back!”

Bai Gongzi also roared, unwilling to lose. The other Righteous faction murim martial artists rode on the momentum and picked up speed.

With the left and right flanks surging ahead, the center had no choice but to push forward to keep pace.

Maintaining formation at arm’s length, the two armies marched onward. As thick raindrops poured down, the pursuit resumed once more.

“Dammit!” Min Xiao suddenly cried out as something came to mind. “All of you, stop advancing! There’s a trap up ahead!”

The urgency in Four Poisons Gate Master's voice was unmistakable. Many heard his warning and slowed down, but many others did not. Especially those from the Miao Family Sword Gate, who led the charge and showed no intention of stopping.

“Let’s cut their heads off and get our hands on what we want!”

Unlike the Righteous faction martial artists, those from the Evil faction were far more open about their desires. After all, if they had more restraint, they wouldn’t have joined the Evil faction in the first place.

Now, with the enemy just ahead, they couldn’t hold themselves back any longer.

Their mouths watered as they thought about how cutting off the enemies’ heads would bring them honor, glory, material wealth, and even beautiful women.

After rushing over a series of winding hills, they descended from the tallest peak in the area. But as they reached the bottom, they were met with raucous laughter.

“Hahahaha!”

The sound wiped the smiles off their faces. Even their blood, which moments ago burned with excitement, turned cold.

It wasn’t because of the rain. No, it was because of what awaited them below!

“D-damn, to think we’ve only noticed it this late!”

The Southern alliance forces departed from the Mount Jiuhua. Meanwhile, the Dark Heavens Association’s army departed from Anqing.

The two armies’ first clash happened in the middle point of the two places, but the subsequent battlefields gradually shifted toward Anqing.

The alliance forces fiercely pushed the enemy back, while the Dark Heavens Association kept retreating.

Dammit! We’ve let all those continuous victories get to our heads! If we don’t stop and keep heading west from Mount Jiuhua we would reach... The Yangtze River!

Indeed, they were right by the Yangtze River!

“It’s... we've fallen for the River to One's Back trap!”

The River to One's Back concept usually referred to a trap where a river or an ocean had surrounded the rear of an army, making it impossible for them to retreat. Usually, such an arrangement would put the retreating army at a disadvantage, but such a concept didn’t apply to the Dark Heavens Association.

Why? Because the ruler of the Yangtze River was their ally, after all!

“Blinded by your base desires, you chased after us like dogs in heat and willingly walked into our trap! How laughable!”

The leader of the Red Forest scoffed derisively while leading eight gigantic vessels on the rough waters of the Yangtze River.

“The Stockade Boss of the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest!”

“Hong Xialang!”

Her crimson curly hair, her coldly flickering irises contained within those predator-like eyes, and a burn scar extending from her brow down to her cheekbone were all rare facial features, so that woman was unmistakably the Stockade Boss of the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest!

“D-dammit!” Miao Zhidan panicked at the sight of the pirate aboard the ship’s deck. “R-retreat! Now!”

Even at a glance, he could tell there were more than a thousand enemies present.

Even if they weren’t fighting on the water, even if the enemy reinforcement was just a gang of river bandits, their arrival would still complicate everything. The right move now was to retreat, even if no one liked it.

Unfortunately...

“Kuu-aaaahk!”

“Aaahk!”

The Dark Heavens Association’s counterattack didn’t stop there.

“Why? Why are you doing this?”

“Traitors!”

“Aaaahk!”

Mutiny erupted throughout the alliance forces, whether it was in the flanks or the center.

“You bastard! How could you do this?!”

“Hahaha! What can I do when the Dark Heavens promised me a Peak realm cultivation technique? Don’t think too badly of me.”

“I... I needed money, senior brother. Please forgive me.”

“This murim of ours must change!”

“Betraying and getting betrayed! Yes! Didn’t we join the Evil Valley to serve our own interests?”

“Don’t you worry, I’ll take very good care of your wife back home! Ku-hahaha!”

Betrayers revealed themselves one after another. And it wasn’t merely a few, either. At least a thousand martial artists in the alliance forces’ camp swung and thrust their weapons at their former allies to block their path of retreat.

More than half the forces were caught at the rear, making escape almost impossible.

It all happened too fast for many to react.

“Did you really think you wouldn’t have traitors in your midst anymore?” Liu Shao smirked icily. “If so, how disappointing!”

The Dark Heavens Association had greatly increased its combat force with the promise of various secret manuals and spiritual medicine. Lured by these items, many willingly knocked on the Dark Heavens’ door. However, not all did that. For certain individuals, it was the Dark Heavens Association that had approached them first.

For an event like today, the Dark Heavens Association worked with their supposed enemies to exchange information and patiently waited for a chance to stab the unaware people in the back.

“L-Lady Tactician!” Jin Ba, still at the center, turned desperately toward Zhuge Xiuluan. His face begged her to do something about the current situation.

“...”

Zhuge Xiuluan remained expressionless, only her eyes blinking.

After what felt like a long silence, her lips finally parted. “It seems we’ve finished filtering out the traitors now, so there’s no need to keep up appearances.”

“...!”

The key members of the alliance forces smiled brightly.

“Nice work, Lady Tactician!”

Miao Zhidan wiped away the water that could have been his sweat or rain from his face.

“As expected, you anticipated this all along...”

“Fuu... Fu-hahahaha!”

Miao Zhidan’s words were drowned by Liu Shao's mocking laughter.

“To think you’d be this stupid! You truly are a pathetic disappointment, oh the so-called Tactician Phoenix!”

The Present Darkness's voice was filled with ridicule.

“It sounds like you genuinely believed you had seen through our plan! And that you would use my trap against me!”

Anxiety crept into the relieved faces of the alliance members.

Liu Shao laughed louder, but it vanished the moment later.

“Hainan Sword Sect will not be joining you today!”

“...!”

Zhuge Xiuluan’s eyes grew wider.

“It seems the Righteous Alliance tried its best to hide the Sword God Zhou Xuchuan’s trip to Hainan, but did you really think our Blessed Existence would not figure it out? What an idiot you are. We’ve already considered that possibility!”

Liu Shao and Blessed Existence’s plan was to wipe out the alliance forces by having the Dark Heavens’ army join with the Sixteen Stockade of the Red Forest. So, they ordered their spies and traitors to make appropriate preparations, then deliberately set up a close game of cat-and-mouse.

Considering the nature of the Evil faction martial artists, who were infamous for being short-fused, the Dark Heavens Association was confident of luring its enemy here by dangling a juicy bait before their eyes.

“We’ve already sent our people across the southern and eastern river basins. Hainan Sword Sect will never reach you in time. Maybe they’ll arrive... after we’ve finished wiping you all out!”

A vile smirk spread across Liu Shao's lips.

“What’s the matter? Are you too stunned to talk?”

The stunned expressions around him made his spine tingle with pleasure. The sight of all these high-and-mighty bastards realizing that they were merely frogs in a well was ecstasy in itself.

“Yes... I am stunned,” Zhuge Xiuluan replied. “Because...”

She slowly raised her hand. Then, a fan gripped in her slender fingers spread open like the wings of a peacock.

“I didn’t expect you to fall for our plan so perfectly, you see?”

“What?” Liu Shao's expression stiffened.

“Welcome to getting trapped with a river to your back,” said Zhuge Xiuluan.

Just before Liu Shao could call her bluff...

ROOOOOAAAAAR!

The Absolute Master, who had been keeping silent until this moment, the Domination God Monarch suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar!

That roar couldn’t have belonged to a man, but a beast. It was reminiscent of the Lion Roar technique.

“Kuh-wuuuk!”

Liu Shao frowned deeply and hurriedly covered his ears. As befitting a strategist, he forced his eyes open to not miss even a hint of information. And through his half-open eyelids, he saw the Tactician Phoenix’s lips move softly to form silent words.

She said,

Have you seen an Imoogi and mermen?

RUMBLE, KA-BOOM!

That was when the bandit ship at the rear exploded into pieces.

Waves surged. Rain slashed through the wind. And through the chaos emerged a beast that resembled a dragon, with azure-skinned mermen riding its back.

A trap had been laid. Another trap atop it.

But the true trap... was letting the enemy think they had control.

1. One li is about 393 meters. ☜