Chen Xia let Princess Chang wait for him for three days.
On the first day, he rested well at home, tossing and turning in bed.
On the second day, he tidied up his house inside and out, went fishing at the town entrance for a while, then slowly sauntered back home.
On the third day, in the evening, Chen Xia found the three grandmasters of the martial arts sects, asked clearly about the location of the border war, then set off on his journey.
With just one step, he instantly appeared a thousand kilometers away, approaching the border at an abnormally terrifying speed.
If someone could see from the sky, they would find Chen Xia's figure flickering almost all over the Great Song territory, occasionally stopping to watch the lively quarrels in other people's homes.
Inside the border city, a soldier came to report:
"General, the barbarians have launched another offensive, a hundred thousand iron cavalry are charging towards the city walls."
The woman wearing heavy armor and sitting in the main seat frowned with distress. "Tell the soldiers to prepare their bows and arrows, defend the city walls, don't leave the city, just shoot down the barbarians like this."
"Yes." Upon hearing the order, the soldier was about to withdraw.
"Also, tell the martial arts masters in the city to be alert, defend the city, don't let the barbarian masters take advantage of any gaps."
The soldier acknowledged again and quickly strode out of the tent.
The woman pinched the bridge of her nose and anxiously asked the general beside her, "Has the immortal not arrived yet?"
The general on the left quickly replied, "The soldiers defending the rear city have not heard any news, the immortal should probably not have arrived yet."
The woman nodded. Helplessly, she said, "Hopefully that's the case. Among the barbarians there is an invincible warrior who singlehandedly routed three thousand soldiers last time, almost reaching the point of turning the tide of battle alone."
The general quickly replied, "That barbarian is valiant, but we also have martial arts masters on the battlefield who should be able to stop him."
The woman shook her head, the disappointment clear between her brows and eyes as she replied.
"I asked Zuo Feiyang, he said that even if he joined forces with the old monk, they would still be inferior to this barbarian warrior, and it would be difficult to win. If they fought desperately, it was very likely that this barbarian would take their lives."
The general was stunned for a moment, incredulous as he asked, "This barbarian warrior is truly so invincible?"
The woman sighed, "Six years ago, when this barbarian warrior first emerged, he routed three thousand soldiers and made a name for himself. After that, wherever he went on the battlefield, he was invincible. If not for Zuo Feiyang and other martial arts masters blocking him, the city would have long been broken through by him."
The general was stunned for a moment, nodded dumbly, "It seems now that only by inviting the immortal can he be stopped."
"Not necessarily." The woman's expression became solemn as she denied this claim, her tone becoming serious as she continued.
"I suspect the barbarians have colluded with the foreign qi cultivators."
"Qi cultivators?" The general was stunned for a moment, frowning as he asked, "Didn't the qi cultivators close themselves off on an island a hundred years ago and declare they would not interfere with the world?"
"You believed them just like that?" The woman retorted, then continued, "Many of the barbarians' means seem to involve qi cultivators manipulating things, especially during the siege six years ago when the weather was unusually hot. The grain and fodder in the city spontaneously combusted, with fires raging hundreds of meters, chaos before the battle even began, giving the barbarians an opportunity."
As the woman said this, the general also felt that the great fire that day was too strange. Although it was spontaneous combustion, it didn't seem so.
"I'm worried that the barbarian warrior has allied with the foreign qi cultivators. He was already mighty to begin with. If he also has the various magics of the foreign qi cultivators, I'm afraid he won't even fear the immortal by then."
The general frowned, arguing, "But this immortal has the divine powers to shatter rivers and crumble mountains with a flick of his finger. If he really makes a move, how could the barbarian warrior possibly beat him?"
The woman nodded worriedly, "Hopefully that's the case."
Having said that, she didn't continue the topic. She walked out, heading to the city wall to oversee the battle.
Before even getting close, she could already see the abundant flames on the city wall. The soldiers stood side by side, solemnly gazing down at the city.
The general in charge of the defense was not far away, ready to issue orders at any time to deal with the barbarians besieging the city.
The woman approached and asked the general, "What's the situation now?"
The general quickly replied, "Sir, the barbarian iron cavalry are circling a thousand kilometers away and have not hurriedly attacked the city. Our bows and arrows cannot reach them, so we can only continue to defend the city."
"Mm." The woman nodded, frowning as she looked at the barbarians below the city, vaguely able to see the iron cavalry circling and observing in the distance of a thousand kilometers, not charging.
For the defenders, this was not a good thing. The iron cavalry could circle around and rest, with less pressure and no need to be anxious. Resting and resupplying was also more convenient.
But the defenders could not do the same. They needed to vigilantly defend the city. As soon as the barbarian iron cavalry made any move, the defending soldiers would have to become alert again.
In the long run, the defenders would inevitably become absent-minded and muddled.
The woman sighed. Facing this tactic, the only good approach was to stubbornly defend, nothing else.
As long as the soldiers had strong enough willpower, they could defend the city.
It was just that the iron cavalry showed no intention of attacking, only dragging it out. Occasionally, a squad of cavalry would suddenly charge to the front, but they didn't wait for the soldiers to shoot arrows before laughing and running back again.
Teasing, this was naked teasing.
But what could the defending soldiers do? They could only listen silently to the mocking laughter of the barbarian cavalry.
Until the sky lightened slightly at dawn.
The defending soldiers were somewhat exhausted and needed to be replaced by others to garrison.
Suddenly, heavy hoofbeats sounded from outside the city, seemingly shaking the very earth. A hundred thousand iron cavalry charged together without the slightest restraint.
The defending soldiers hurriedly became alert, bending their bows and nocking their arrows, preparing to shoot the barbarians.
Ahead of the iron cavalry, a figure rushed out extremely quickly without the slightest pause, charging and killing towards the forefront of the soldiers. Where his feet trod, deep footprints could be seen. With a casual leap, it spanned dozens of meters.
"It's that barbarian warrior, Tie Mu Wu!"
The soldiers cried out in alarm, ordering the soldiers to quickly shoot arrows.
A huge rain of arrows covered the cavalry, also trying to shoot Tie Mu Wu dead.
Tie Mu Wu waved his hand forward and directly snapped dozens of arrows in front of him, continuing to charge and kill towards the city.
A thousand kilometers, no more than five breaths.
Tie Mu Wu was about to step onto the city wall. The soldiers' expressions were panicked. Asking them to fight ordinary people was fine, but facing a demigod like Tie Mu Wu, how could they match up?
With Tie Mu Wu alone, he could kill all the soldiers on the wall!
Fortunately, before Tie Mu Wu reached the top of the wall, a sword swept out from the city, slashing him down beneath the wall, then a figure extremely quickly followed up and engaged him in battle below the city.
In an instant, another elderly monk in the city, wearing a crimson kasaya, leapt out and shouted towards the ground below:
"Little friend Feiyang, let me lend you a hand!"
Below the city wall was an intense confrontation between two top masters and the barbarian warrior, the qi released exploding the surrounding dozens of meters. Even the charging iron cavalry didn't dare approach the surroundings.
The two sides were now engaged in a spectacular battle.
Chen Xia was still halfway there, watching two women fight. The plot here was not simple. It took him over three hours to get it straight.
It had to be said, even TV dramas didn't have such intricate twists and turns in their plots.
Every time Chen Xia thought it was about to end, it turned out to only be the beginning of another story.
Just these two women, they alone opened up at least 80% of the gossip in this town.
Only now had Chen Xia finished listening, and he couldn't help but sigh, "Captivating!"
He looked up at the sky and felt it was about time. The sounds of the siege at the border city hundreds of kilometers away had already reached his ears.
Chen Xia did not drag his feet. With one step, his figure instantly disappeared as he rushed towards the border city.
The situation at the border city was not optimistic. The iron cavalry attacked madly, ferociously ramming the city gates.
The city gates were precarious, already showing damage.
The intense confrontation between the two top masters and the barbarian warrior was also not encouraging. They were now at a disadvantage.
This barbarian warrior seemed to have endless stamina, attacking with big, open moves, completely unrestrained. His body also had a vast protective true qi, making it difficult for Zuo Feiyang and the old monk to injure him.
Meanwhile, Zuo Feiyang and the old monk were already low on inner power, unable to withstand the barbarian warrior's full powered attacks.
"Phew." Zuo Feiyang let out a breath. Just as he was about to catch his breath, Tie Mu Wu gave him no chance at all, directly sending a punch at his face.
Zuo Feiyang blocked with his sword, his figure shifting slightly to try and neutralize it, but was battered by the punch, the ringing of the sword abrupt as his body couldn't withstand the subsequent pressure, flying back and rolling twice before barely standing up.
His sword-wielding hand was trembling as he looked at Tie Mu Wu before him, saying incredulously,
"You've improved again?!"
Tie Mu Wu spoke in broken Song language, sneering as he replied, "Martial arts are meant to progress upwards. You two trash remained stagnant, so you naturally have to be eliminated."
Just as Zuo Feiyang was about to retort, Tie Mu Wu smashed the ground beneath his feet. His figure instantly arrived in front of Zuo Feiyang, his huge body enveloping Zuo Feiyang as he raised a fist up high. The qi swirling around the fist created a vacuum, pounding down towards Zuo Feiyang!
The old monk wanted to come help, but was restricted by the suddenly rolling mud beneath his feet. He widened his eyes in shock, crying out,
"Qi cultivator!"
Boom!
The fist landed.
Zuo Feiyang's body was like a damaged, snapped kite, flying back to hit the city wall. His right arm was broken and even his sword was lost somewhere.
If it was a stalemate before, then it had now become a decisive situation.
The barbarians had the advantage.
The woman stood at the highest point on the wall, bitterly watching the scene below the wall. She helplessly shook her head, grieving,
"After defending for six years, is today the end?"
"You should retreat for now. We still have backup defense lines. Leave this place to us." A general persuaded.
The woman shook her head with a bitter laugh. "Retreat to where? Six years ago, we had already retreated a hundred miles. If we retreat again now, we can only retreat to the capital."
"I don't have the face to see the people of the Great Song. Just let me perish with the city."
"Sir..." The general grievingly shouted, but couldn't find any words. He simply strode out of the tent, determined to go out and fight the enemies with his sword!
The holes battered in the city gates grew larger and larger.
The savage laughter of the barbarians could already be heard through the holes, extremely grating.
The iron cavalry held enormous spears, continuously battering the city gates, tearing open gashes with each strike.
And when the gashes began to widen, they could no longer be contained.
The soldiers inside the city stood at the inner gates, weapons in hand, preparing to clash and kill after the barbarian iron cavalry breached the walls.
They would likely die.
But no one cared, only wishing to defend the city.
As the barbarians' massive spears hammered the gates, they could not withstand the relentless blows, crying out as they collapsed downwards with a tremendous crash.
The sole barrier was gone.
The barbarian iron cavalry appeared before them, with hideously fierce faces.
When the last muffled boom of the gates falling rang out.
A figure suddenly emerged between the two armies, lazily waving a hand and casually saying.
"Go back."