Chapter 777 (2): War in a World of Gods

Xue Canghai spoke again, his tone resolute. “Supreme commander, regardless of how many troops they have, we can’t just ignore this major settlement. If we back off now, the morale of the entire army will collapse.”

Vermillion Bird remained silent.

Xue Canghai wiped his cherished Blood God Saber with a cloth, then glanced at Huangfu Qing and Zhao Changhe, hesitating as if he wanted to say something.

Forget it. That woman used public authority for personal revenge and beat me senseless back in the capital. It’s better to keep my mouth shut.

But even if he stayed silent, the mockery in his eyes was obvious to all.

This major settlement was clearly a lucky find from chasing smaller groups. As for the main forces of the northern barbarians? Those were likely concentrated around the Sacred Mountain. They had veered off course. This was not even the right path. Yet here they were, still hesitating and second-guessing everything.

Huangfu Qing fell into brief contemplation before quietly asking the scouts, “What’s the terrain around the area?”

A scout responded, “Directly north, there’s a barren mountain. It’s fairly large, but there aren’t many places to hide troops.”

Huangfu Qing nodded. “We won’t attack the settlement head-on. Be cautious of possible traps. The entire army will reroute north, skirting around through the mountains and advancing along the terrain.”

Xue Canghai’s eyes lit up. “Supreme commander, you mean—”

Huangfu Qing took a deep breath. “Of course, the entire army will strike. Tonight, we feast here!”

Rumble!

The thunderous sound of hooves erupted as the three armies surged forward in a frenzy of excitement, shaking the very earth beneath them.

From a high vantage point in the barren mountains, Bo’e coldly observed the Han cavalry galloping toward their supposed target with unrestrained fervor. A faint smirk curled at the corner of his lips.

“Huangfu Qing is cautious, but it doesn’t matter.” Bo’e turned to the shamans beside him, chuckling. “When it comes to warfare, she’s still too inexperienced. She’s but a naive girl taking her first steps on the battlefield.”

The shamans laughed. “Your Excellence’s divine illusion has played them for nearly two weeks. By now, they all think this was nothing more than a lucky encounter after chasing scattered tribes... After so much hardship, finally seeing a major settlement? Even if Huangfu Qing wanted to hold back, brutes like Xue Canghai would never restrain themselves.”

Another shaman added, “You can’t even blame them. They think their birds give them complete aerial surveillance, believing we can’t see their movements. But in reality, we have been aware of their every step while they remain utterly blind to ours. This is no longer the old way of war. When the gods descend, the battlefield itself is transformed. It’s laughable that, despite having three Profound Control Realm experts in their ranks, they still haven’t realized the truth.”

“The gap between the first and second layers of the Profound Control Realm is no smaller than that between the Profound Mysteries Realm and the Profound Gate Realm. Back then, Xia Longyuan commanded such fear because he was at the second layer, and he was even in its later stages. As for Zhao Changhe, Huangfu Qing, and Yue Hongling? They are nowhere near that level.”

By now, Huangfu Qing’s forces had reached the foot of the mountain. In the far distance, just over the western horizon, the settlement they had been tracking finally came into view.

Suddenly, Huangfu Qing raised her hand, halting the advance. She narrowed her eyes, scanning the landscape for a long moment before giving a cold command, “Slow the pace. Send scouts to explore this mountain first.”

Bo’e let out a low chuckle. “Still cautious. No matter. We move.”

There was nothing in the mountains. The real trap was within the so-called “settlement.”

From a distance, the vast expanse of yurts and livestock appeared to house a solid twenty thousand households. But in reality, not a single herder dwelled there. Every last figure within the camp was a soldier, a carefully positioned elite force. The cattle and sheep had been deliberately placed to deceive the falcons into seeing what was not truly there.

They had been waiting. Waiting for the Han army to convince themselves they had stumbled upon a golden opportunity, so they would charge straight in.

And the moment they did, they would realize too late that they had walked into a vast ocean of the Grasslands’ elite warriors.

More than that, the poisoned well tactics they had imagined never truly existed.

It was all an illusion. This was the work of Tngri’s page of the Heavenly Tome. It granted him the ability to orchestrate a masterful play of existence and nonexistence, illusion and reality, truth and deception. Every empty stretch of land they had passed, every barren wasteland they had thought abandoned, had been a lie. In truth, countless tribes had watched them pass by in plain sight, observing as the Han army studied and then rejected water sources that had never been poisoned to begin with.

Then, at key moments, they had tossed out a few sacrificial pawns—a few minor, unimportant tribes that served as bait to lure them deeper, leading them straight into this preordained trap.

Even now, those supposedly vanished tribal forces had already regrouped into an army, shadowing the Han forces from behind. The moment the trap was sprung, they would strike from the rear, delivering the final, fatal pincer attack.

And yet... this was not even their true main force. Only a few tens of thousands had been stationed here, which was more than enough to crush a reckless light cavalry division once it was caught in the ambush. Timur himself had only clashed briefly with Zhao Changhe to create a diversion before leading his forces westward.

His true army remained where it mattered most, and that was with Huangfu Yongxian.

Zhao Changhe’s side had seemingly miscalculated everything; not a single judgment having been correct. It was as if the battle had already been decided before it even began.

But Bo’e was not careless. It was time for the final lure to be thrown into the pond.

Boom!

Thunder raged across the skies; wind and lightning cascaded down like divine punishment upon the entire Han army.

Clang!

Zhao Changhe’s Dragon Bird emerged from its scabbard, slicing through the storm.

A crescent-shaped saber light, far larger than anything he had ever unleashed in the past, tore through the air, shattering every bolt of lightning in its path.

Bo’e’s voice echoed with shock and anger, “You... How are you here?! Weren’t you heading for the temple?”

Zhao Changhe let out a hearty laugh. “This is what we call protagonist’s fortune! A great shaman like you must have quite the burden on his shoulders. We haven’t even reached our destination, yet you’re already alert and wary. Just how many tribes are you trying to protect at once?”

As he spoke, Yue Hongling unsheathed her long sword, her gaze locked in the direction of Bo’e’s voice. “Great shaman, why not show yourself? Shall we settle our unfinished battle from Chang’an?”

With that, she darted forward in pursuit, and Zhao Changhe followed close behind. Vermillion Bird, meanwhile, did not move. She continued leading the army forward, appearing as though she would charge straight for the settlement, now seemingly unguarded without the great shaman’s protection.

Clang!

In the skies above, Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling finally caught up to the fleeing figure. The figure turned midair, drawing a massive axe in a single motion and blocking both of their attacks at once. An explosion of brutal force surged outward, flipping the two midair. Both barely managed to stabilize themselves before staring up in shock.

The man before them was not Bo’e. He was bare-chested, his frame towering and imposing. His rugged features were carved like stone, exuding an aura of divine power. His bronzed skin shimmered with an ethereal radiance, and a golden headband crowned his forehead. His piercing eyes carried a weight of authority, and he emitted an oppressive presence eerily familiar to the one Zhao Changhe had felt when he first encountered Jiuyou in the dark alleys of Chang’an.

This strange pressure... This divine presence... This isn’t Bo’e. It’s Tngri!

It was their first encounter.

Zhao Changhe’s pupils shrank. “It’s you... Where is Bo’e?”

A mocking smile played on Tngri’s rugged face. “Why, he’s exactly where he needs to be, leading his warriors to ensnare Venerable Vermillion Bird.”

Zhao Changhe instinctively prepared to turn back, but the moment he moved, Tngri’s axe struck the air. A prison of lightning erupted around them, sealing both Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling inside. “How about you two stay right here?”

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath. “You’ve recovered?”

“Well, not quite. That’s why your northern campaign even stands a chance.” Tngri let out a derisive chuckle. “But you’re now on my home ground, and my power here surpasses anything you can imagine. Even Xia Longyuan never dared to challenge me upon my own Sacred Mountain, yet you two have the nerve to try?”

Zhao Changhe’s expression gradually calmed. “So that’s it... The supposed weaker soul fragment restraining Lady Three was yet another deception. It was just another trick to lure us into this death trap.”

“That is correct.” Tngri’s voice was calm, almost indifferent. “Watching you all rush headlong into your own demise... I must admit, my feelings are mixed. Truth be told, I don’t enjoy scheming. But you people insist on courting death. It’s honestly laughable. Now, with that being said, just leave your lives here.”

Boom!

His massive axe swung forward, a devastating strike aimed to cleave them in two.

Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling combined their saber and sword, intercepting the attack together. The moment their weapons clashed, their bodies bent under the sheer force of Tngri’s power—as expected, power at the second layer of the Profound Control Realm.

But then, Tngri’s smirk stiffened. “What the...”

Without warning, the phantom of a Taiji diagram materialized beneath their feet. Like a grinding millstone, it absorbed and dispersed Tngri’s violent, overwhelming strength, softening the force into nothingness.

Not only that, Tngri found his movements unnaturally sluggish, as if he had stepped into an invisible quagmire, his powerful frame subtly sinking.

At the same time, from within the army, a seemingly ordinary soldier shot forth like a streak of lightning. Wind and thunder howled and boomed in his wake, and his fist flew straight toward Tngri’s exposed back.

Li Shentong!

Still under the overwhelming pressure of Tngri’s power, still pushing back against the axe, Zhao Changhe let out a low chuckle.

“You possess the page of illusion and reality, I’ve known that from the start. And since I knew, then why don’t you take a guess: How much of our journey here was actually just us playing along with your game? For instance, right now, it’s possible that we chased you away from the army by sheer accident. It’s also possible that we actually wanted to drag you out here all along. Which one do you think it is?”