Chapter 636: Returned

The mist dispersed and Hua Qinglian emerged, drenched in blood. He left a crimson imprint behind with each step. His pace was slow, his movements as heavy as a mountain, yet the killing intent radiating from him was suffocating. It was like the very embodiment of death had descended upon the battlefield. It was utterly terrifying.

Howard and the others felt their hearts clench with fear. Instinctively, they stepped back. They were facing a Great Saint who had gone berserk in utter despair. His killing intent surging to the heavens. What if he managed to take another one of them down with him in a final, desperate exchange?

But their fear did not last long as Hua Qinglian suddenly staggered. The Nine-Lotus Lamp in his hand shattered, and his entire body fractured like a porcelain figurine. Pieces of his body scattered into the wind, drifting away like countless multicolored butterflies.

“He's dead,” Howard muttered, his voice hollow.

Great Xia was truly doomed. Their pillar-like leaders had fallen one by one. At that moment, the last Cloud Vortex Barrier collapsed.

Chu Yuncheng stepped out. He was missing an arm, his expression fierce as he hovered in midair. His aura was weak and unsteady, as if it could dissipate at any moment. But he was alive.

A mere glance at the remnants of the two other Cloud Vortex Barriers was enough for Chu Yuncheng to understand everything.

Inside the barrier, he had slain his former mentor, Cao Cao. But the cost had been enormous. He was like a flickering lamp, its oil nearly spent. He swayed unsteadily, barely able to stand in the air.

Facing over a dozen sworn enemies of Great Xia, a hint of pity flashed in Chu Yuncheng’s eyes. A group of humans were blindly serving Eden without even realizing they were being used. Truly, the foreign races were born fools. He raised his sword before his chest.

“Fight.”

Even knowing that death was certain, Chu Yuncheng refused to surrender. An intangible yet unwavering belief supported him, allowing him to step out from the Cloud Vortex Barrier.

Howard glanced at Hiddink. The latter sighed and said, “Leave him to me.”

Killing a spent, dying man wouldn’t take much time. Howard and the others were eager to press forward, storm the city, and begin the long-anticipated plunder.

At that moment, a sound rose from within Xiajing. It was a deep, resonant chant, like the murmurs of countless voices converging into a strange and solemn harmony. The sound echoed across the heavens and earth.

A shiver crawled down their spines. No one knew who had done it, but suddenly, every advertisement screen, every radio, and every loudspeaker across Xiajing began transmitting the same voice.

At the same time, tens of thousands of civilians, men, women, the elderly, and children, all without the strength to fight, stepped out onto the streets. They stood together, hands pressed in prayer, eyes closed, following the broadcast as they began to chant in unison.

Their prayer was strange yet resolute, “From the north, the war dispatch arrives, fierce steeds mount the high embankment. We charge deep into Xiongnu lands, turning only to strike at the Xianbei. To face the blade, life means little, how could one hesitate to die? If even parents must be left behind, what of wife and child? Our names are etched among the valiant, no thought shall be given to the self. We shall lay down our lives for our nation, and welcome death as if returning home.”

It was The Ballad of the White Horse. This poem was the very first one students encountered in their first national language class during their elementary school years in Great Xia’s compulsory education system. The hardships of the people in the Three Kingdoms era far surpassed the chaos and wars of the star beasts era.

This poem carried the people’s deepest yearning for courage and protection. It was said to be the favorite poem of the first-generation Saint, Taiyi. Naturally, it became the spiritual pillar of Great Xia’s military and the Dragon Group. It also held a unique status among the people.

Everyone’s voices merged into one, forming a strange resonance that stirred the hearts of those who heard it. The warriors still fighting on the battlefield roared in unison, as if shouting the verses could dispel their fear and numb their pain.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Xiajing, the only city in the world that had never fallen, was home to the elderly, the young, the sick, the disabled, and the weak, people whom the foreign races could never imagine existing in such numbers.

In any other country, such individuals would be seen as burdens. They would be considered useless, cast aside, or even expelled. Many Western intellectuals believed that a well-functioning nation or fortress city should never have more than five percent of its population as non-contributing individuals.

Yet here, on the streets of Xiajing, the number of these so-called useless people was beyond anything Howard and the others could have imagined. Their hearts trembled with shock.

Great Xia had poured immeasurable resources, energy, wealth, and manpower into protecting these people. Countless soldiers had sacrificed their lives, charging forward in tragic waves of death, all for the sake of defending such burdens?

Why?

They were shaken to their core. They could not understand. But then again... They didn’t need to.

“What a foolish, laughable, and pointless tradition. Do you really think a clumsy, archaic poem can change anything?” A cold sneer appeared on Kamil’s face.

“Animals always wail before they are slaughtered,” said Kegin of Bayer Federation indifferently. “But that does not change their fate. This time, we are the victors.”

“Yes.” Howard chuckled and said, “Let’s get started. The Divine Envoy wants to see nothing left alive. Wipe this city off the map.”

In the distance, the Divine Envoy was still reveling in the exhilarating pleasure of his new heart. He was completely immersed in ecstasy, as if floating beyond the mortal realm. He, too, heard the prayer chants resounding from within Xiajing. The sound annoyed him, but it also made him want to laugh.

“Hahaha! What good is praying?” He laughed, his voice booming like thunder as he tried to drown out the prayers filling the city. “Foolish Great Xia! One year from now, this day will mark the death anniversary of your entire civilization. I will—”

His voice abruptly cut off as astonishment spread across his face. At the very heart of the prayer, high above Xiajing, a massive silver-white halo had appeared. It shimmered into existence, like a rainbow emerging after a torrential summer storm, both slow and swift, dyeing the sky with its radiance.

“From the north, the war dispatch arrives, fierce steeds mount the high embankment. We charge deep into Xiongnu lands, turning only to strike at the Xianbei...”

As the city’s voices surged, the silver-white light grew clearer and brighter. A figure emerged from within the radiance. He was a tall, broad-shouldered young man with black hair and a commanding presence.

He stood as if he had traveled across boundless mountains, rivers, and time itself to arrive at his final destination. He paused slightly, his sharp gaze scanning the realm around him.

He held the hand of a young girl by his side, who was also looking curiously around. Before she even spoke, a bright smile spread across her face, revealing two charming dimples, making her appear all the more innocent and pure.

"Li Xiaofei!"

A sharp cry rang out from within the city. Tan Baiqu, who was holding Tan Zhenwei in her arms, instantly recognized the young man. She didn’t even think as she shouted his name. She didn’t even know why she called out to him.

He was merely an ordinary Saint, not even on the level of a Grand Commander. Even if he had returned, what could he possibly do? He wasn’t strong enough to turn the tide of battle and shift the fate of an entire city.

Yet she still shouted. A drowning person could not resist the desperate urge to reach for even a straw floating along.

At that moment, Li Xiaofei finished surveying the vast battlefield, and finally, he understood. Perhaps he was a little late, but there was still time. Figures began to emerge from behind him, one after another. They had returned!