A Chaotic World

Chapter 228: Victory at the Second Battlefront

"What is going on here?" General Longming was completely dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed.

Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined that there would be a day like this, when a mere Essence Condensation realm youngster would just strut up to their main camp and dismantle their defensive formations.

What's more, he did it so quickly that it almost seemed like it was no big deal at all!

Battles cries jolted him from his daze, and rage finally kicked in after the initial shock. General Longming clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails cut into his own flesh.

Nanlu Tianzi!!!!!

Time and time again, this youngster's name kept resurfacing, dealing blow after blow to his army.

Just why did Nanlu Tianzi have to appear here at the Second Battlefront where he was in charge?!

No, that was not it.

He had heard that back at the northern battlefields, there was another Essence Condensation realm martial artist who had easily defeated ten of their elites in a row, suffering no injuries whatsoever in the process.

Of course, that was nothing as compared to this Nanlu Tianzi, but that was still a feat worth mentioning.

Nurturing monsters like this one after another without their knowledge the Scarlet Moon Kingdom had truly hidden its cards well!

***

Lu Tianzi retreated immediately after successfully wrecking the formation node.

The very instant when he backed away, a loud explosion occurred at the spot where he had been standing just a moment ago, sending up a cloud of dust and creating a huge crater that was almost ten metres deep.

Seeing this, the corner of Lu Tianzi's mouth could not help but twitch wildly in disbelief.

This was the combined attack of multiple Origin Core realm martial artists of the Dragon Cauldron Army, all done in a bid to stop him from meddling with the defensive formations.

Thankfully, Lu Tianzi had retreated in the nick of time.

Otherwise, he might even have died if he was struck by something like that!

The next moment saw everyone shocked into inaction by the ebbing of the defensive formations.

This included the Origin Core realm martial artists who had struck against Lu Tianzi as well, effectively giving him the time needed to back away safely, rejoining the ranks of the Scarlet Moon Army behind him.

With that, the enemy Origin Core realm martial artists could forget about continuing to chase after him.

And then came General Mojian's order to resume pursuit.

Cheers of triumph and roars of vengeance, all of them mixed together as the Scarlet Moon Army charged forth once more, heading straight towards the defenceless main camp of the Dragon Cauldron Army.

To martial artists, as long as it was without the protection of defensive formations, the wooden fences were nothing but ornaments that could be torn down with a single strike!

"Retreat!" General Longming finally gave the order after a deep struggle in his heart.

By passing down this order, he knew fully well that he was effectively giving up on their main camp, giving up on their position in the Second Battlefront.

But there was no helping it.

With the collapse of the defensive formations, the safety provided by the main camp had become non existent. If they chose to stay and fight, the result would not only be the same as before, but the casualties incurred during the earlier retreat awould also be rendered completely meaningless!

Even if they would be able to take down some of their enemies in the process, their losses would surely not be worth the outcome.

Faced with a difficult situation, General Longming had chosen to make the rational decision.

"General Longming!" his more loyal subordinates called out in shock. "We can still fight!"

"There is no point to it anymore. Retreat before it is too late," General Longming let out a deep sigh.

"But General!"

"Shut up and retreat! Or are you guys trying to defy my orders right now?" General Longming frowned, glaring at his subordinates in frustration.

Of course, he was not truly angry at them. He understood that his subordinates were only trying to fight for his sake.

More than that, he was angered by his own miscalculations that had led to the current situation.

In the end, he had lost.

The reason for his loss a mere Essence Condensation realm martial artist.

If he told this to his superiors, just what would they think of him?

Perhaps they might even think that he was screwing with them?

In any case, there was no longer any doubt.

This Nanlu Tianzi was a person that they definitely had to get rid of at all costs.

As long as he remained alive, the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom would have to risk facing an extreme powerhouse in the future, one who might even be able to shake the very foundations of their millennia of existence!

Even if it meant dragging his reputation through the mud, he definitely had to inform the higher ups of this matter!

The soldiers of the Scarlet Moon Army charged forward like a flood, running over the insignificant defences of the enemy main camp.

Their enemies hurriedly retreated, not given any time to pick up the items that were left behind.

There were even soldiers who were still in the recovery tents, but they were mercilessly abandoned by their comrades, left to fend for themselves.

Of course, that was just a figure of speech.

In reality, there was no longer anything they could do. Abandoned by their comrades, their fates now lay solely in the hands of the Scarlet Moon Army.

This time, General Mojian decided not to continue the pursuit.

They had already successfully taken over the enemy main camp, so there was no longer a need to chase any further.

Watching as the last of the Dragon Cauldron Army soldiers disappeared into the woods, General Mojian finally felt a sense of mixed emotions wash over him.

Among the five separate battlefronts of the central battlefields, his Second Battlefront was the first to clinch a decisive victory!

In his heart were joy, excitement, and relief.

Joy and excitement for the hard earned victory, and relief for the very same reason.

The battle might have seemed like a walk in the park for him since all he had to do was give instructions, but General Mojian had actually been under an enormous amount of psychological pressure all the while.

Throughout the chase, the possibility of a trap had constantly been at the back of his mind, forcing him to remain on full alert state at all times. This had inevitably taken a toll on his energy level, causing exhaustion to set in.

Now that things had ended smoothly, it was only natural for him to feel relieved.

Even so, it was not time to rest just yet.

"Victory to Scarlet Moon Kingdom!" General Mojian's voice resounded clearly through the camp.

Raising his fist to the heavens, his imposing figure cut a valiant sight in the sky, drawing admiration and awe from the many soldiers below. Even Origin Core realm martial artists could not help but feel inspired.

"Victory to Scarlet Moon Kingdom!"

"Victory to Scarlet Moon Kingdom!"

"Victory to Scarlet Moon Kingdom!"

Morale surged as the soldiers raised their weapons, all of them chanting in excitement.

In the midst of the cheers, General Mojian descended from the skies, followed by the many other Origin Core realm martial artists.

Those on the ground hurriedly cleared the way for them to land.

By the time General Mojian's feet touched the ground, he was already standing right in front of Lu Tianzi.

"Nanlu Tianzi, you have done exceptionally well this time," General Mojian patted the latter on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I will not let your contributions go unrewarded!"

"Thank you for your kind words, General," Lu Tianzi clasped his fists in return.

At this moment, all eyes were on him, burning his every detail into their memories.

No matter who it was, even for those who had not known much about him prior to this, all of them now understood that this top ranker of the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet was truly deserving of his reputation.

Or maybe even his stellar reputation was not enough to do him justice!

Of course, not everyone was happy to see this, but those people knew better than to let their feelings show at such a juncture.

"Mm," General Mojian nodded in satisfaction before turning around to address the crowds. "Everyone here listen up! Today, all of you have fought hard. But I'm sure all of us can agree that it is Nanlu Tianzi's actions that had gotten us the complete victory! What I want to say here is that no one should think that just because you are only one person, your contributions won't matter. Nanlu Tianzi is the best proof that no matter what cultivation level you are at, anyone can contribute significantly to the overall picture! And it is because of all of your contributions today that allowed us to clinch this hard earned victory! Victory to Scarlet Moon Kingdom!"

"Victory to Scarlet Moon Kingdom!"

"Victory to Scarlet Moon Kingdom!"

With the soldiers riled up by General Mojian, the cheers sounded out once again. This time round, General Mojian allowed it to continue for quite a while before finally issuing orders for the cleanup.

They might have obtained the victory, but there were still tons of things that had to be done.

For one, the camp had to be inspected carefully, making sure that there were no traps or ambushes that remained.

The enemy soldiers in the recovery tents had to be dealt with appropriately, be it getting information out of them or simply getting rid of them.

And then there were the countless corpses from the battle before. Valuables and other precious resources had to be stripped from their corpses.

On top of that, there were many other different duties. Even so, the soldiers did them with a spring in their steps, looking nothing like people who had just finished fighting a battle.

After all, the adrenaline from the victory was still present in their hearts, and they could not help but be in a good mood.

For the next few days, they would finally be able to rest with a peace of mind!

***

"Such a thing actually happened?" Marshal Xianming revealed a rare look of astonishment. "Are you sure about this?"

"I saw it with my own eyes, it cannot be wrong." General Mojian's voice sounded out from Marshal Xianming's communication ring.

"Is that so? That's a real surprise then," Marshal Xianming rubbed his chin in contemplation. "In any case, thank you for the hard work. You must be tired, go rest for now."

"Yes, Marshal."

Marshal Xianming leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the map laid out in front of him.

This was a map detailing the entire region encompassed by the central battlefields. In comparison, the Second Battlefront that General Mojian had been put in charge of was just one small portion of it.

"Nanlu Tianzi?" Marshal Xianming's lips curled up in amusement as he thought back to after the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, when he had personally led the group of promising youngsters into the Lifebrand Courtyard.

At that time, the Lifebrand Ancient Tree had shown signs of resonance, signalling that at least one of the youngsters had managed to glean some attainments in one of the high tier world laws.

All along, Marshal Xianming had believed that it was the wood element affiliatied Beimu Fei who had done so, and had placed special attention on tracking her progress. But now, he was starting to think that he had been wrong.

"Could it be that it was Nanlu Tianzi instead?"

***

After the Scarlet Moon Army claimed victory in the Second Battlefront, the news spread like wildfire, and the forces in the other battlefronts quickly got wind of it as well.

It was like music to the ears of the Scarlet Moon Army Generals, but to those of the Dragon Cauldron Army, this news was like a bolt of thunder that shook their very souls.

With the collapse of their position in the Second Battlefront, it had effectively opened up the other battlefronts for a flanking attack by the Scarlet Moon Army.

Those of the First and Third Battlefronts, especially, were no longer able to act without constantly scouting in the direction of the Second Battlefront. Now, they not only had to watch out for the enemies in front of them, they also had to be on the lookout for an attack from the side.

This placed a huge burden on their men, in terms of both mentally and physically.

Because to that, it was inevitable that they would no longer be able to perform as well against their respective opponents, resulting in a series of battles that brought about heavy losses.

Seeing that the situation was slowly turning for the worst, the Dragon Cauldron Army main camp finally passed down instructions to the remaining four battlefronts of the central battlefields.

Fall back.

Instead of stubbornly holding onto their current positions, they chose to abandon the other four battlefronts simultaneously, reconvening at a strategic location further back.

This was without a doubt a huge success for the Scarlet Moon Army, and they spent a full day celebrating upon receiving the news.

However, not everyone was in the mood for celebrations.

In a huge fortress that stood atop a small mountain, a group of demons were gathered together in a large meeting room.

The atmosphere was solemn, and the man standing in front was glaring at the rest with rage apparent in his eyes. The man had a head full of white hair and a relatively short stature, but his body was well defined under the battle robe that he was wearing.

This was none other than Marshal Shengding, the overall commander-in-chief for the Dragon Cauldron Army!

"You bunch of trash!" Marshal Shengding slammed his fist against the wall. "How did you end up losing this badly? Are your brains made of worms?"

Silence.

No one dared to retort against a raging Marshal Shengding.

"In the end, what more do you have to say for yourself?" Marshal Shengding turned to General Longming, his tone becoming as cold as ice.

"I have nothing else to add to my earlier report," General Longming hung his head low in shame.

"Your earlier report?" Marshal Shengding felt the corner of his mouth twitch wildly. "Are you still insisting on sticking with that ridiculous story?"

"Please calm down, Marshal." a young man spoke up to ease the tension in the room.

"I'm sorry, Wenqin. Perhaps I got a little carried away due to their incompetence," Marshal Shengding's tone softened significantly when replying to this young man. "Did His Majesty say anything about this?"

"He did," Longshao Wenqin nodded nonchalantly. "But he did not comment on the current state of the war. All he told me was that for the rest of the war, I am to join the battles."

Hearing that, Marshal Shengding's eyes opened wide in surprise. "His Majesty actually asked you, his personal disciple, to participate in the war?"

"That's right," Longshao Wenqin let out a helpless shrug. "In fact, the reason for that is precisely because of General Longming's report. His Majesty has ordered me to personally take care of this Nanlu Tianzi, making sure that he would never trouble us again."