The Demon Lords-Chapter 670 - 128: Life Needs a Sense of Ritual_2

This sensation of ten thousand horses thundering ahead triggered Zheng Fan's memory of his first battle in Qian State alongside Li Fusheng at the Green Willow Fortress.

However, at that time, he and his troops were merely an auxiliary part of the force. Now, he stood alone as a leader.

The Sword Saint appeared extraordinarily excited. To be honest, he had been suppressed for a long time. He had endured an unlucky year, failing at everything he attempted and leading every catastrophe.

At this moment, he had let go of all responsibilities and burdens. All he was responsible for was killing—killing with his sword.

This, perhaps, was the real joy of being a Sword Saint.

"How much farther is it? How much farther to Fengxin!" the Sword Saint asked Zheng Fan.

When the Sword Saint spoke, he didn't need to shout. He simply projected his voice with his energy, and Zheng Fan heard him clearly. However, Zheng Fan had to shout back because of the thunderous noise of the horse hooves around them.

"Are you a Jin, or am I? How can you ask me this!"

"I do not know," the Sword Saint answered bluntly.

Fengxin wasn't a prominent city—it was neither a military stronghold nor a name that resonated from past victories. It was only famous for its paper, which was highly favored by painters. Thus, the Sword Saint had never been there before.

If it wasn't for Situ Yi moving the capital of his puppet Cheng Dynasty to Fengxin, this small county might not have ever drawn attention in this great war. Such small county towns could often be pacified by a mere declaration once the general outcome of the war was settled.

However, the beauty of history is often this unpredictable; this small county town, known for its paper industry, would inevitably be heavily marked in the annals of history because of this.

"We will arrive by nightfall," Zheng Fan shouted.

This estimate was based on their current traveling speed. They aimed to arrive before news of their movements could reach their enemies. Before the messengers could alert their enemies of their arrival, their large army would already be at Fengxin's doorsteps. How could Fengxin react in time?

Furthermore, there were no complete post stations for them to send signals along the way, nor were there any beacon towers. The Situ Family's original beacon alarm system was primarily based along the Skybreak Mountain range to Snow Sea Pass. They had never anticipated that their own heartland would become the main battlefield of various disputes.

And this, in fact, was the terrifying aspect of cavalry in this era. In an age without telegraphs or telephones, the rapid mobility of cavalry was enough to make any defending commander tear his hair out.

The Sword Saint's face was slightly flushed. In a somewhat juvenile manner, he said to Zheng Fan, "My sword... can't help but thirst for blood!"

He was clearly a top-tier swordsman of the current age, and in Zheng Fan's view, certain aspects of the Sword Saint's character absolutely made Zheng Fan willing to consider him the world's number one sword.

It was just that the Sword Saint was rather tragic: first, he ruined his family, then his country, and then he himself was defeated. A triple defeat that nearly wiped out everything from the personal to the familial to the national level.

"I'll help you!" Zheng Fan shouted back.

The Sword Saint retorted, "You use a blade; what would you know about swords?"

This was the classic weapon snobbery: sword-wielders always looked down on blade-users.

Zheng Fan shouted, "I can help package it!"

"What? A coating?" the Sword Saint asked.

"....." Zheng Fan.

…

Despite maintaining a rhythm, every department of this marching army had distinct assignments. At this moment, the vanguard was Jin Shuke's troops, and within them, the Eldest Prince.

The speed of the Pixiu was indeed faster than that of a warhorse, and its stamina was also better. The Eldest Prince, at that time, was like a courier driving a Lamborghini to his shift at a dispatch station—he couldn't keep a low profile even if he wanted to.

However, he had always stayed in his lane. Since he was demoted by Lord Jingnan to serve as a captain here, he had always followed Jin Shuke's orders without stepping out of line.

「As dusk fell, the vanguard arrived on the outskirts of Fengxin City.」

Jin Shuke directly issued an order to his subordinates. "Listen carefully! Anyone you see from this point onward, whether soldier or civilian, is to be shot on sight!"

He needed his seven to eight hundred soldiers to quickly disperse and provide cover for the arrival of the main forces.

At this moment, there was no time to distinguish who was a soldier and who was a civilian. Even if there were civilians, who could assure they would not leak information?

The killing began. The Eldest Prince also drew his bow and nocked an arrow, joining the purge without any complaint.

「After the sun had completely set, Jin Shuke and the Eldest Prince moved a bit closer to the city.」

Fengxin was not a large city. Its walls were not high and seemed rather dilapidated, signifying that the city was not exactly a stronghold. Outside the city, there were several tents from which cheers, laughter, curses, and women's crying could be heard.

The military camps were haphazardly set up to the west and north of the city, while the south and east resembled refugee settlements with many displaced people gathered there.

"Heh."

Jin Shuke couldn't help but chuckle. Those who knew would understand that this was the current capital of a nation; those who didn't would think it was a bandit's den.

Actually, in the very beginning, Situ Yi did have some ambition. The seven imperial edicts issued when he first ascended the throne and established his state showed that although he had committed treason for glory, he wasn't entirely witless. He had genuinely thought about doing a proper job, establishing a new Dacheng State, and restoring the Situ Family's honor.

But the Battle of Wang River sold Situ Yi out completely. Jade Plate City was taken by the Chu people, and he could only 'relocate the capital' to this remote little town. So, by this point, he had completely given up on himself.