Chapter 13: Submerged Seven Armies_1

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Submerged Seven Armies_1Amidst Pang Juan’s unease, the battle dragged on into its third day. As dawn broke, a light rain began to fall, the crystal-clear raindrops like tens of thousands of threads descending from the sky onto the Anyi Pass region. In the mountain forests, a hazy mist lingered, shifting into a myriad of illusions. With the naked eye, one could only see a hundred *zhang* into the distance. On the ground, rainwater mingled with blood, pooling together like liquid rubies. "What’s the situation?" That day, Qin Wudao did not dispatch troops. Seated in his commander’s chair, listening to the patter of rain outside, he asked in a deep voice. "Your Highness," a soldier caked in mud reported with deep respect from within the command tent. His voice held a note of awe. "Everything is prepared. We only await Your Highness’s order to withdraw!" From observing the dam’s construction to the river’s diversion, he had faintly guessed Qin Wudao’s plan. The thought that they could flood Anyi Pass and drown millions of Wei soldiers thrilled him to the core. "Understood. Go back and tell Jia Xu to await my command!" Qin Wudao nodded, the corners of his mouth curling into a cruel and frenzied smile. "The Wei soldiers are truly pitiful for having encountered Your Highness." Wang Jian, seated to the side, said with a smile, yet his tone held not a shred of pity, only undisguised schadenfreude. He wouldn’t feel any pity if several million died, much less if all the people of Wei Country perished. Have not enough citizens of Qin Country perished at the hands of the Six Countries these past years? "Haha, this is just the first step of our revenge!" Qin Wudao gave a cold sneer, slowly rose to his feet, and commanded in a grim voice. Upon hearing this, the trusted aide outside the tent immediately went to relay the order. Amidst the misty rain, numerous scarecrows clad in armor were set up. They were so lifelike that it was difficult to tell if they were real or fake. Over a million Qin soldiers marched out of their tents. Carrying nothing but their armor and weapons, they used the cover of the mist to rapidly evacuate the camp. In less than four hours, the camp was deserted. More than ten *li* away in the mountains stood a large dam, holding back countless tons of river water. It was like a sealed water dragon, constantly churning and on the verge of breaking its seal. Two hundred thousand Qin soldiers stood by, their expressions stern. Six hours later, a soldier arrived on flying mount, delivering Qin Wudao’s order. "Release the water!" Jia Xu soared into the air. His hands formed a seal, and he condensed a terrifying attack that struck the dam. Instantly, a crack appeared on the solid structure. It spread in all directions, growing denser and more numerous, and river water began to seep out. "PULL!" The soldiers stationed on the hilltops bent down, grabbed the chains beneath them, and pulled with all their might, snapping the iron pillars embedded in the dam. With that, the already precarious dam collapsed with a violent crash. Countless tons of river water surged forth like an uncaged dragon escaping the abyss. It roared downwards, carrying mud and rocks, blanketing everything and emitting a tremendous sound, as if to devour the world. Atop Anyi Pass, Pang Juan heard the sound carrying from the distance. His spirit jolted. What’s that noise? The ominous feeling in his heart intensified. RUMBLE... The roar of the rushing water grew deafening. The earth also began to tremble, giving people the sensation of an earth dragon turning over, of the heavens collapsing and the earth sundering. "Everyone, look..." a Wei soldier screamed in horror, his finger pointing forward. His face was ashen, and his entire body trembled as if he had seen something utterly terrifying. "It’s a flood!" "The flood is coming! Everyone, run!" The Wei soldiers on duty on the city walls also spotted the surging floodwaters and cried out in panic. Faced with waves dozens of *zhang* high, anyone would feel insignificant and utterly desperate. The majority of the Wei soldiers used their movement techniques to flee in disarray. As for the remaining ones, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to run; they were simply frozen in terror. It was as if they could hear the sinister laughter of approaching death. "Great General, the flood is upon us! What do we do now?" Several dozen generals flew to Pang Juan’s side. Watching the rapidly approaching flood, their brows furrowed as they anxiously inquired. Having reached the Beyond the Shore Realm, they could fly. With their formidable strength, they did not fear the flood itself. So that’s why the Qin army’s offensive rhythm was so erratic! They planned to use a flood to destroy Anyi Pass! Damn it, how did I not think of this... Pang Juan did not answer his subordinate’s question but stared fixedly at the flood. All the confusion in his heart was dispelled. He understood. But it was too late. Beneath the deluge, the ordinary soldiers at Anyi Pass had no chance of escape. The thought that millions of Wei soldiers would be drowned because of his oversight filled Pang Juan’s heart with boundless regret, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. It’s over... Everything is over... With Anyi Pass destroyed, Great Qin’s iron cavalry will drive straight in, directly threatening Ye City. At that time, Great Wei’s foundation, built over more than a hundred thousand years, will be lost, and I, Pang Juan, will become Great Wei’s foremost sinner... Pang Juan seemed to age decades in an instant. His back, once straight, now stooped, and he nearly collapsed, only held up by his subordinates. "Great General, victory and defeat are common in war! The flood is coming; we must leave quickly! Only by living can we have a chance to turn things around!" one of the generals urged, his heart pounding at the sound of the roaring water. "You all leave!" Pang Juan shook his head. He straightened his body and gazed at the torrential flood, his expression one of profound shame. "This defeat is entirely my fault for being careless. I failed to deduce the enemy’s true intentions. I have no face to meet the people of Great Wei or His Majesty!" "With the flood arriving, I have decided to use my own body to buy more people time to escape. This will be my atonement!" BOOM! A powerful aura erupted from Pang Juan’s body, wreathed in a blood-red glow as his vital essence blood began to burn. The intense heat generated instantly vaporized the falling raindrops. "Great General, don’t..." A few generals tried to stop him. Attempting to stop a flood with human strength was courting death. Never mind a Transcendent Realm martial artist; even a Heaven Realm expert could not possibly achieve it. "Run quickly! After this flood, Great Qin will certainly invade. Plead with His Majesty on my behalf; for the sake of my past meritorious service, ask him not to bring trouble to my family!" Pang Juan waved his right hand, conjuring a fierce gust of wind that swept the generals away. Then, his face a mask of grim determination, he flew towards the flood. He knew very well that death was his inescapable fate. Even if he survived the flood, he would be sent to the guillotine, and his family might even be implicated. But if he died in battle, the Emperor of Wei, out of consideration for a dead man, might spare his family. "BLOCK!" Sёarch* The nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Standing before Anyi Pass, Pang Juan roared. The full power of his Peak Transcendent Realm cultivation erupted, forming an energy shield that temporarily held back the flood. High up in the Void, Wei Daoyi watched Pang Juan choose his path to death, a hint of regret in his voice. "This lad is not bad, it’s just a pity..." "Defeat has its price. Let’s go, it’s no longer safe here!" Wei Youqing said coldly, then vanished into the sky. With their Heaven Realm strength, they could have temporarily held back the flood, allowing more ordinary soldiers to escape. However, neither of them did so. In their eyes, these ordinary soldiers were like ants; their deaths were inconsequential.