Chapter 1098: The Demons Retreat

When Commander Bai of the Reserve Battalion heard the news, he nearly coughed up blood and died on the spot.

Had he known earlier, even if someone offered him ten times the amount in elemental crystals, he would never have allowed that troublemaker Yan Chuchu to join his battalion!

You expect me to take the Reserve Battalion onto the battlefield? What kind of joke is that?

To make matters worse, Chuchu still had the gall to grin proudly and say, "This is a golden chance to earn merit. I fought hard to get this opportunity for you. You don't have to thank me too much!"

Thank you? Thank your grandpa!

It was not that Commander Bai feared death. The problem was that with this group of Women's Battalion soldiers under his command, what real use could they be?

Still, the order from above had already been given, and he could only obey. He had long since prepared himself to die on the battlefield, bleeding out alongside his men.

Under forced march, the Reserve Battalion soon reached the final stronghold on the Blackwater Plains.

The site was a place where battle had raged for five days and nights. Corpses lay everywhere, weapons drifted in pools of blood, and the stench of death was so thick it was enough to turn one's stomach.

The moment Miss Chuchu caught the smell, all of her earlier bold words nearly flew out of her mind.

Is this what war is?

So many have to die?

By the time they arrived, the demon army and the human army were already fully engaged. Along the Blackwater River, every stretch of land had become a battlefield.

Battle cries, manic laughter, furious roars...

The field was in chaos. Formations had broken. Order had collapsed. The human army was scattered, each soldier fighting alone, devoured piece by piece by enemies that outnumbered them several times over.

Commander Bai drew a deep breath. The brutal scene only stoked the fire in his chest. He ripped his blade free and shouted across the battlefield, "Soldiers, hear my command! Your task is to save as many of the wounded as possible. Do not clash head-on with the demons!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Women's Battalion roared in unison. Commander Bai lifted his sword and charged straight at a demon king.

That demon king had already slaughtered countless humans, his hands drenched in blood.

"

Ugh...

"

The stench hit Yan Chuchu hard, leaving her weak and unsteady. She could barely stand, let alone fight.

"What is this? Weren't you full of confidence back in the command tent?"

Lin Xian'er patted her back lightly, her tone steady. "Weren't you the one insisting you had to fight on the frontlines?"

"How was I supposed to know so many people would die? Heavens, there is blood everywhere, bodies everywhere, severed arms and legs. This is nothing like the drills I saw before!"

Yan Chuchu inhaled deeply again and again. Only after several breaths did the suffocating stench become barely tolerable.

In truth, she was not the only one shaken. Nearly thirty percent of the Women's Battalion froze when faced with the mountains of corpses. None of them had ever seen such carnage.

"Since we are here, we must fulfill our duty."

Tuoba Yan raised the Tiance Mirror, her brows furrowed. "If you do not wish to become one of these corpses, then give everything you have. Kill the enemy before you!"

With that, Tuoba Yan charged forward. Lin Xian'er gave Chuchu an encouraging glance before following. With Tuoba Yan's strength, only the most powerful demon kings, those with extraordinary spiritual force, could threaten her.

As for ordinary demon kings, once trapped in her Tianheng illusion technique, they could fall under her counterattack.

Tuoba Yan brought down foes while Lin Xian'er focused on rescuing the wounded. Together, their coordination was flawless.

"

Hmph!

If you two can do it, so can I!"

Yan Chuchu had always been stubborn. Seeing other women from the Reserve Battalion rushing into the fray, she bit her lip and threw herself into battle with sword in hand.

Her cultivation was not bad. Ordinary demon soldiers could not even come within three zhang of her before she struck them down as easily as slicing melons.

As the Southern Army commander-in-chief's beloved daughter, she naturally carried a sacred artifact as her sword, along with a host of magical treasures. With her strength, even a low-tier demon king was not beyond her ability to face.

"Reinforcements?"

Jiang Xiaofan and several of his guards had fought until they were nearly numb. At the sound of the human army's battle horn, a flicker of hope lit in his eyes.

"Reinforcements are here!"

Jiang Xiaofan shouted with all his might. His cry spread across the battlefield, answered by voices on the verge of frenzy.

Reinforcements!

No one knew how many had come or how strong they were, but the mere sight of them lifted the hearts of those still fighting desperately.

At once, the human army's morale surged. Soldiers fought with the strength of ten men, catching the demons off guard.

Yet such a situation could not last.

The so-called reinforcements numbered only one thousand, and they were Reserve Battalion soldiers with little real combat training. Their presence did almost nothing to shift the tide.

The demon army quickly realized that the reinforcements posed no real threat. They regrouped, and within half an hour the human forces were once again crushed.

Casualties mounted without end.

Out of the original two hundred thousand soldiers of the Tianfeng Battalion, fewer than twenty thousand remained alive!

Most of those survivors were the elite Black-Armored Cavalry, which allowed them to hold out for the time being. But exhausted as they were, there was no saving the final stronghold on the Blackwater Plains.

The name of the Tianfeng Battalion would be erased from history before the day ended!

...

At Tianmang Fortress.

"What? The demons have retreated?"

From the commander's seat, Yuan Tiangang's eyes widened in disbelief as reports poured in from multiple battlefields that the demon armies were withdrawing.

"Yes, sir! At Tiger Sun Pass, at Falling Rock Gorge, at Phoenix Perch Ravine, and at Wind-Burial Plains, the demon forces have begun retreating in succession. The reason is unknown!"

The messenger's voice rang with excitement.

"Why would the demons suddenly retreat?"

Yuan Tiangang's brows furrowed. Suspicion clouded his mind. The human defenses were crumbling on all fronts. The demon's onslaught was overwhelming, their momentum seemingly unstoppable. So why would they retreat now? This had to be some kind of trick.

"Adviser Sun, what is your view?"

He turned to the strategist beside him, Adviser Sun Boce.

"Since the retreat occurred at multiple battlefields almost at the same time, I do not believe it is a trap," Sun Boce replied. "It seems more likely that there has been unrest among the demon leadership. From what I know, most of the forces attacking Tianmang Fortress belonged to clans under the Qiongqi Demon Emperor. Many of them were forced and never wished to fight the humans at all."

"Imagine this. If something unexpected happened among the demon high command, leaving them unable to manage the frontlines, then this so-called demon coalition would naturally collapse and disband. After all, they are not truly soldiers bound by duty."

"

Mhm

." Yuan Tiangang nodded slowly. Sun Boce's reasoning made sense.

If Ling Feng had been present, he would have marveled at Sun Boce's brilliance. With nothing but speculation, the strategist had almost perfectly deduced the real cause behind the demons' retreat.

"

Hahaha!

If that is the case, then our army may finally catch its breath. These past few days every front has been pressed to the limit. This has been the hardest battle I have faced since I took command of Tianmang Fortress!"

Yuan Tiangang let out a long breath. Just then, a general rushed into the command tent, his voice urgent.

"Commander-in-chief! Terrible news! Miss Chuchu has slipped into the Tianfeng Battalion and gone with them to the Blackwater Plains battlefield!"

"What? The Blackwater Plains?"

Yuan Tiangang leapt to his feet.

That reckless girl! How could she have run there?

"Pass my order at once! Muster two hundred thousand men... no, forget it. I will personally lead the army to the front!"

He slammed his hand on the table and stormed out of the tent. Inwardly he prayed,

Silly girl, you better be okay... You have to be okay!