Volume 2 - Chapter 75: All Are Haotian Army
"Will... will he die?"
Li Wushuang looked at Li Hao, who had drawn the attention of the three demon kings and led them away. She gently covered her mouth, finding it hard to imagine that this carefree and nonchalant youth would make such a sacrifice.
...
No one responded.
It was Li Qingling and Li Xueyun's first time seeing Li Hao, and they were deeply moved. The rumors could not compare to witnessing it firsthand. They immediately thought of the many ancestors of the Li family who had gone to battle and sacrificed their lives, as well as their older brothers and others.
Yet, in contrast, most of them had started families and left behind descendants.
With wives by their sides and children around their knees, they had tasted some of life's happiness.
The one that hurt the most was Xiao Jiu. Just before his wedding at the age of nineteen, he sacrificed himself to save Cangzhou, becoming a lasting sorrow in the hearts of all the Li family members.
But this boy before them now... he was only fifteen years old!
Only fifteen springs had passed since he came into this world!
How much joy had he experienced? How much suffering had he endured?
No one knew.
People only saw his dazzling brilliance, but no one glimpsed the scars behind it.
Li Xuanli clenched his fists tightly. Only when he saw Li Hao’s figure disappear into the distance, attracting the three demon kings away, did he finally roar in anger:
"Activate the array! Kill the demons!"
His voice was hoarse.
A seasoned warrior, his eyes were now bloodshot and rimmed with veins.
Hearing Li Xuanli's words, the others snapped out of their daze and let out thunderous cries. The array's nodes were closed one by one, leaving half of it intact to prevent the demon kings from returning and attacking.
Within these nodes, the Governor of Liang Province ordered the commanders from all sides to lead their soldiers out of the city and into battle.
While the young Haotian Major General drew the three demon kings away, this was the best moment to decimate the demon horde. Otherwise, when the demon kings returned to join the horde, the entire Liang Province would be lost in an instant.
"My disciple, watch closely. Your master has rested enough."
Daoist Qianji stepped out of the formation and charged toward the demon horde.
With no demon kings present, he stood unmatched among the demon horde.
Li Qingling and Li Xueyun quickly left the formation, rushing to Li Hongzhuang, who was caught in the depths of the demon horde.
Li Hongzhuang had seen Li Hao leading the three demon kings away, but she had no time to react. Though her heart ached, she knew she couldn’t help him. The only thing she could do was release her rage upon the nearby Three Immortals Demons.
Strangely, her battle flag had mysteriously fallen and was lost earlier. Yet, when Li Hao’s terrifying fist crashed into the demon horde, she found the flag during the brief moment when the three Three Immortals demons beside her were shocked and frozen.
Now, wielding the power of the battle flag, she drove back the surrounding Three Immortals demons. Several of them were even killed outright by the sword energy released from the flag!
With a single battle flag, she could take the life of one Three Immortals demon.
Only demons with special defensive skills could escape such fate.
With Li Qingling and Li Xueyun joining her, Li Hongzhuang felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. She handed them four battle flags, two for each, and together they pressed into the demon horde with renewed strength.
Meanwhile, Li Xuanli temporarily handed over command of the battlefield to the Governor of Liang Province.
The governor was also in the Three Immortals Realm, and his battlefield experience was no less than Li Xuanli’s. Li Xuanli himself, however, charged toward the area where Li Tiangang had previously fallen.
The demon horde had surrounded this place, enclosing Li Tiangang’s fall.
Li Xuanli swiftly cut his way through, sweeping away numerous demons with a single sword stroke, and saw a glow of crimson flame—a Sacred Heart Talisman—shielding Li Tiangang.
He sighed in relief. Seeing Li Tiangang’s shattered armor and bloodied, broken body, he felt a pang of sorrow. He turned and slaughtered the nearby demons.
As the Sacred Heart Talisman’s power faded, he cleared a path, grabbed Li Tiangang, and swiftly retreated toward the city.
“Don’t even think about escaping!”
Two flood dragons surged from the demon horde, racing toward them.
Li Xuanli, seething with fury, prepared to strike when a fierce sound whistled from nearby—a battle flag speeding toward them.
The two flood dragons spotted the flag, startled, and hurriedly dodged. But when it neared, the flag suddenly released a tear of sword energy.
With a piercing sound, one of the flood dragons was decapitated!
Blood sprayed in torrents as its dragon soul burst free from its flesh, fleeing in terror.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Li Hongzhuang shouted and pursued.
Relieved, Li Xuanli took the chance to swiftly carry Li Tiangang back.
Other generals arrived to engage the pursuing large demons, and a fierce battle broke out.
Li Xuanli returned to the city walls with Li Tiangang. The medics waiting there rushed over to tend to his wounds.
Li Tiangang, barely conscious and hovering between sleep and wakefulness, slowly recovered clarity under the medics’ care.
Being in the Dao Heart Realm, he had a healing ability stronger than that of the Three Immortals stage, and with the aid of numerous sacred medicines, his body began visibly recovering.
The moment he regained full consciousness, he gasped as if waking from a nightmare. Sounds of battle and roars echoed around him, along with the blaring war horns, jolting him back to reality.
"Where are the demon kings? Where is Hao’er?!"
He quickly scanned the battlefield, seeing flames and smoke billowing everywhere, soldiers spilling out of the city to engage in brutal combat with the demons.
But amidst the fighting, he didn’t see those monstrous figures.
"Hao’er..."
Hearing his question, Li Xuanli’s face grew pained, his heart aching as he answered:
"Hao’er is gone. He lured the three demon kings away!"
Li Tiangang’s pupils contracted, his heart sinking as if gripped by an iron fist. In anguish, he said:
“Why didn’t he enter the formation? With its defenses, he could have held them off, at least until reinforcements arrived…”
Li Xuanli, seeing the reddened eyes of his comrade, understood that his fury stemmed from fear rather than blame for Li Hao.
He said hoarsely, “The Candlefire Demon’s power is overwhelming. If I saw correctly, he’s developed a Dao Domain. If Hao’er had entered the formation, the demon could have established his Dao Domain right outside it… rendering the formation defenseless!”
“Dao Domain…”
Li Tiangang’s voice broke, his throat raw, and he stared at Li Xuanli.
He knew what a Dao Domain meant.
It was the power of terrifying monsters—the top tier among demon kings!
"He… he..."
Li Tiangang’s lips trembled, blood pounding in his head, leaving him cold all over.
Seeing Li Xuanli’s red-rimmed eyes, Li Tiangang finally understood that he might never see that boy again.
"Impossible... impossible..."
He murmured, chest heaving. He couldn’t believe the boy would die.
Li Xuanli looked at his devastated expression, feeling even more miserable. He thought, if only that boy hadn’t come to Tianmen Pass, maybe he wouldn’t have met this fate.
Yet, seeing Li Tiangang in such pain, he knew the agony of losing a son was unbearable, and he said no more.
Moreover, if Li Hao hadn’t been at Tianmen Pass, this second line of defense would have been overrun by now!
All of Liang Province would have been destroyed in the demon horde’s assault.
Great Yu's reinforcements would have been too late, as these demons came prepared, sparing no effort in declaring war on Great Yu. Liang Province was only the beginning.
During the battle of Cangzhou, the demons had merely lurked in the shadows, using external forces from Great Yu’s allied nations to create chaos. But now, they dared to reveal themselves openly!
Li Xuanli pulled his thoughts back, watching the fierce demon horde before him. Countless soldiers fell, and he took a deep breath, turning to the Governor of Liang Province:
"Quickly, change all battle flags to Haotian Flags!"
“Bring out all blank flags from the stores and inscribe Haotian’s name!”
The governor of Liang Province was momentarily stunned but quickly understood.
The Haotian Flag already held great power over the demons. Carrying it into battle would greatly reduce casualties.
“Hurry!”
The governor roared, passing down the order:
"All battalions, raise the Haotian Banner!!"
Hearing his command, elders from noble families gathered their troops and quickly replaced their own flags with the Haotian Flag.
Some veterans hesitated; if they raised the Haotian Flag, to whom would the credit for this battle go?
Who would receive merit for the demons they killed?
...
Life’s most inscrutable aspects:
Fame, gain and loss, honor, and death!
Some fight to the death; others calculate fame. Some shiver in fear, unable to face death even when it looms over them.
Some find courage in desperate straits, while others wail and cower, never struggling—a matter of proportion.
Most noble armies replaced their flags with Haotian Flags and entered the battlefield.
As countless Haotian Flags fluttered on the battlefield, the demon horde noticeably recoiled, avoiding them like the tide. The battalions wielding Haotian Flags became sharp blades piercing the horde. Even the large demons within hesitated, unnerved by the sight of the flags.
Meanwhile, those who had not replaced their flags faced a concentrated assault from the demon horde, suffering devastating casualties and near annihilation.
Li Xuanli and the Governor of Liang Province observed the battlefield’s swift turnaround with astonishment and joy. Li Hao’s fearsome reputation among the demons was undeniable!
Most importantly, the sword array within the Haotian Flags was formidable, instilling fear even in the bloodthirsty demons.
Li Tiangang also noticed the battlefield, seeing the many raised banners, each inscribed with the characters for Haotian.
He felt disoriented and dazed.
At that moment, he finally realized that the carefree youth in the courtyard—the boy he had once deemed frivolous and unimpressive—had changed, becoming unrecognizable.
The demeanor of an ordinary noble son he once disdained had transformed. Now, on the battlefield, he saw not a boy but an invincible war god.
The youth who had faced ten demon kings with his bare fists, who had annihilated a million demons with a single blow, was no longer the Li Hao he once knew.
In just one year, Li Hao had become a hundredfold more brilliant than he had ever been in the Li family.
...
Wherever the flags waved, the demon horde scattered.
His renown even surpassed that of the Yuan Battalion established by their ancestors!
The sight of the demons’ terror filled his heart with both awe and sorrow.