“Huh? You wanna retreat? Do you really think I’ll let you?”

Hou Jingshu gave Lì Liàng a cold glare. The man looked raring and ready to continue their battle. He was grinning from ear to ear as he cracked his knuckles like he wanted to keep going. However…

“You’ve been so caught up in our fight that you haven’t noticed the state of your forces, have you?”

“Eh?”

It wasn’t until Hou Jingshu pointed it out that Lì Liàng finally took a look at the battlefield. Corpses littered the ground, blood had dyed the plains crimson, but there were far more injured than their were dead. Men and women lie on the ground, moaning in pain. A few were missing limbs. Most, however, seemed to simply be comatose from bloodloss.

Cultivators were much harder to kill than normal humans. Their bodies were far more durable than a normal persons, and they could survive a lot more gruesome injuries. If a normal human were cut in half, they would pass out from blood loss after 15 seconds and die within 20 minutes. A cultivator would not only be able to survive being cut in half for well over a day, but they wouldn’t pass out from blood loss. Most cultivators could also control their body’s blood flow to prevent themselves from bleeding out. The surest way to kill a cultivator was either to remove their head or destroy their heart.

There were many more cultivators alive than there dead. However, that was in and of itself a problem. These men and women would need medical attention to recover their fighting capabilities, and that would require both time and resources. They would also have to receive medical attention quickly. Sure, being gravely injured might not mean death, but there were other issues to consider. Cultivators who suffered severe injuries could gain a sequelae that harmed their cultivation or even lose their desire to cultivate all together. They were still human, after all, and few were the humans who could endure such pain.

“I see. You are correct. It looks like this battle is over.” Lì Liàng furrowed his brow. “I could kill you where you stand… but that would take too long, and it looks like I don’t have the time.”

Even as he spoke, Hua Xue and Yu Chenguang were traveling over to her. Xao Wen, Duo Long, and Fēng Yi were already retreating. He was the only one who had yet to leave.

“This isn’t the end, girl.” Lì Liàng pointed at her and grinned. “I will come knocking on your capital’s doorstep soon enough. Wait for me. Our battle is far from finished.”

“Hmph. If you want to consign yourself to death, then be my guest.” Hou Jingshu snorted. “Come after me and see where it leads you.”

“Gya ha ha ha ha! I really do like your spunk! Well, until next time!”

Lì Liàng walked away as Hua Xue landed next to Hou Jingshu. Yu Chenguang appeared a few seconds later.

“We should collect our injured and retreat,” said Yu Chenguang.

Hou Jingshu nodded. “I’ll leave gathering the injured to you. Let’s also collect our dead. I’d like to give them a proper burial.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

While war had not broken out on the Xaio Continent in many centuries, everyone still understood and followed wartime etiquette. One of those was that, when the battle was over, neither side would attack the other as they gathered their injured and the bodies of the deceased. Yu Chenguang led their forces to gather their members, both alive and dead. He directed the men and women who were still capable of walking to help. Hou Jingshu also aided with gathering the injured.

The sun was setting by the time they made it to camp. First aid stations had already been setup in preparation for the battle’s conclusion. Hou Jingshu had stocked up on Blood Replenishing and Advanced Healing Pills. Immediately after they arrived, she ordered her medical staff to begin healing patients, starting with those who had the gravest injuries. While her soldiers were being healed, she gathered all the clan heads who had followed her into battle and began a meeting to discuss their next move.

They stood around a foldout table with a map in the center. The setting sun outside had little affect on them. A lamp sat on the map, illuminating the faces of everyone present.

“We’ve accomplished our objective. Their supply lines have been disrupted. It will take them several weeks to recover from the supplies they just lost, which means we’ve given ourselves some extra time to prepare our defenses,” Hou Jingshu said.

“What is our next move?” asked an old man with long white hair, a long beard, and dressed in white robes. He looked like a hermit, but he was a peak Asura Realm cultivator. His name was Mihong Kai, and he was the head of the Mihong Family, which ruled the province their battle had just taken place in. Their province was between the Hong Clan’s and Shang Imperial City.

“We’re heading back to Shang Imperial City,” Hou Jingshu began, placing her hands on the table and leaning forward. “We’ll use the time we gained to evacuate our people north and prepare a strong line of defense. While we hold them off inside the city, we’ll send out people periodically to continue attacking their supply lines. It’ll be hard for them to defend their supplies and attack us. If we can hold out long enough, they’ll eventually have no choice but to give up.”

Her plans didn’t end there, of course, but she didn’t trust everyone present enough to reveal all of her plans. Many of them hinged on her enemies not finding out about them. Secrets only remained secrets if no one found out about them, and the more people who knew, the greater the chances of her secrets getting out became.

With luck, Mei Xilan will soon make contact with the Water-Moon Pavilion and negotiate a treaty with them.

Her plan to defeat the Ming Province hinged on Mei Xilan successfully brokering a deal with the only pavilion who decided not to attack her kingdom. If she could make them take over the Ming Province and completely cut off the trade route to the Shang Kingdom, the other three pavilions would become mere shells of their former selves. Even if they returned, they would never again have the strength to attack her kingdom.

All she could do was pray that woman would succeed.

***

Their dead and injured had been gathered. There were more injured than dead, but that meant they needed to expend more resources to keep their forces a live. Duo Long didn’t know if that was better or worse. On the one hand, they couldn’t afford to lose too many cultivators. That would weaken them. On the other, using up resources would cost them since it took time for supplies to reach them.

Duo Long sat at a low table alongside his sect’s ancestor, Fēng Y, along with Xao Wen and Lì Liàng of the Martial God Pavilion. They were inside the command tent, which was large enough to fit more than a dozen people comfortable. The low table they sat at was in the center. Cushions had been placed underneath them so they could sit comfortably.

He glared at Lì Liàng.

“What were you doing?! You are more than strong enough to kill some little girl! Why didn’t you just finish that blasted child off?! If you had done that, our forces would not be in the state they are right now!”

“You’ve got guts, talking to me like that. Do you think I won’t kill you just because you’re the Wind-Lightning Pavilions sect master?” asked Lì Liàng, cracking his knuckles.

“Now, now, you two. We should not fight amongst ourselves,” said Fēng Yi. “Duo Long does have a point, but Lì Liàng can hardly be blamed. Hou Jingshu is much stronger than we gave her credit for, and her magical beast is also quite strong. Killing them will not be easy even for someone at the Deva Realm.”

Maybe if Lì Liàng would have been able to kill them if he was at the peak of the Deva Realm, but he was not. He had only recently stepped into Deva Realm. Among the ancestors of the Ming Province’s pavilions, he was the weakest.

“That girly was incredibly powerful, too.” Lì Liàng rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “Even before she broke through, she had the strength to stand up to me. Granted, she relied on that armor of hers to block my attacks, but her prowess in battle was nothing to scoff at. Fighting her was like battling an angry dragon. I wonder what sort of cultivation method she uses.”

“That hardly matters right now,” Duo Long said. “We need to discuss what our next step should be.”

“What do mean? We should obviously press forward. We might have gotten our noses bloody during that battle, but we’re not the only one’s who suffered,” said Xao Wen, arms crossed.

“If only things were so simple,” Fēng Yi muttered. “Our forces suffered far more than the Shang Kingdom’s. I should have expected this. We might be strong, but those underneath us are not. Many of our members are only at the Anima Realm. Meanwhile, the Shang Kingdom’s army is made up entirely of Asura Realm cultivators.”

“Perhaps it was a mistake sending Huo Yi to defend our supply line,” said Duo Long.

Fēng Yi opened his mouth to say something, but someone stepped in. It was a young man dressed in the robes of the Wind-Lightning Pavilion. Duo Long recognized Shao Yimu, their spy whom they had tasked with infiltrating the Shang Kingdom.

“Sect Master, I just received a report from Huo Yi. Several people attacked their forces at Zhiong Pass and were successfully repelled. Their leader was also killed in action.”

“Good. Thank you for delivering this news, Shao Yimu. Your next task will be to meet up with Prince Hou Gun,” Fēng Yi said. Shao Yimu bowed and left the tent. Fēng Yi turned to Duo Long, who had the good sense to look away. “This is why I had Huo Yi guard Zhiong Pass. I knew the Shang Kingdom would send forces to attack our supply lines. Even if their forces are technically superior to ours, we have several Deva Realm and Human Limit Realm cultivators, while all they have are Human Limit Realm cultivators. The only one we need worry about among their forces is Hua Xue, and her cultivation seems to be sealed, from what I can see. She can only bring her full strength to bare for brief moments.”

Hua Xue was a bigger threat than he let on. That woman had defeated Yi Fu, who had the same cultivation as him. He suspected that she was already above the Deva Realm. He did not know which realm she was at, but it was clear to him that the only reason they had escaped with their lives was because the woman could not bring her full strength out. That was why he suspected her power was sealed.

We will have to kill her before she can recover her full strength, but that will be easier said than done.

“We should remain here for a few days to let our forces heal, and then we will press onto the Shang Kingdom’s capital,” said Lì Liàng.

“I believe that is the best we can do in these circumstances,” agreed Fēng Yi.

“How long will it take for our forces to recover?” asked Xao Wen.

“A week or two at most.” Fēng Yi did some quick mental calculations in his head. “We might also want to wait for our supplies to get here before moving on. We have enough food for our forces for now, but our stock will deplete over the course of this week.”

Their supplies should have already passed Zhiong Pass and entered the Shang Kingdom. They had supplies shipped before even ordering Huo Yi to guard the pass. No one wanted their supplies getting caught up in a battle and potentially destroyed, and yet, just as those words passed his lips, someone else rushed into the tent. He was dressed in the robes of a Burning Flame Pavilion disciple. Sweat ran down his brow as he gasped.

“What is the meaning of barging in here like this?” asked Lì Liàng.

“I… I bring dire news! Our supply caravan was attacked by Shang Kingdom soldiers! M-most of our forces were killed and our supplies were taken!”

A tense silence reigned in the command tent. Fēng Yi looked at those around them. Duo Long’s eyes were wide, Xao Wen was pursing his lips, and Lì Liàng… was smiling. What the hell was he so happy about? Fēng Yi could never understand that battle maniac.

“It seems we’ve been deceived,” said Fēng Yi. He sighed. “That princess is more cunning than I thought. She kept us occupied and had several forces attack us at Zhiong Pass, but both attacks were just decoys. Her real attack was on our supply caravan.”

“What should we do now?” asked Duo Long.

“There’s no choice. We will press forward. Our supply caravan might be in trouble, but the Zhou Kingdom is having a much easier time. We’ll simply have them give us supplies after we reach the capital,” Fēng Yi said. Though he did not like relying on another kingdom for aid, they were still allies, so Emperor Cì Shā was obligated to help them.

But I do not like this. We will owe the Zhou Kingdom a favor, which will put us at a disadvantage when negotiating for control over the Shang Kingdom’s resources.

Fēng Yi could only shake his head. Hou Jingshu had bloodied them good. They might have technically forced her to retreat, but she was the one who had come out on top.