The Demon Lords-Chapter 701 - 145: Glaring Eyes_1

Liang Cheng's timing in leading the two hundred riders to charge was perfect. However, this was also a stroke of luck, as initially, Liang Cheng hadn't planned to rush in and rescue the Sword Saint.

Most of the time, Demon Lords acted based on two primary motivations: one was vested interest, and the other, personal whim or fascination.

Saving their lord and ensuring his safety wasn't merely a matter of self-interest. There was a high probability that if their lord met with an accident, all seven of them would collectively perish.

As for the Sword Saint, Liang Cheng hadn't expected him to so recklessly charge headfirst into a thousand wild people. Not only Liang Cheng, but even General Zheng, who had just reached the city gate and finally had a chance to look back, was startled.

He had hoped the Sword Saint would help him kill Geremu. From the perspective of defending Snow Sea, eliminating the only general among the wild people skilled in siege warfare would significantly ease the upcoming defense. Moreover, although Geremu was a traitor, he was, in fact, the actual commander of these various wild people armies. Decapitating the enemy's commander-in-chief before the battle began would undoubtedly deal a massive blow to their morale.

It was precisely due to these considerations that Zheng Fan had planned to use the Sword Saint to assassinate the enemy general.

However, in reality, many things don't unfold according to pre-designed scripts. For instance, Geremu, seemingly recognizing the Sword Saint, turned and fled before even getting close. Zheng Fan hadn't anticipated this at all; he hadn't even presented his ceremonial sash.

As for the Sword Saint subsequently drawing his sword while he himself galloped back to the city, that was all part of the plan. However, Zheng Fan had assumed the Sword Saint would merely make an attempt: kill if possible, retreat if not. Zheng Fan believed the Sword Saint thought so too.

Yet, General Zheng truly hadn't expected the Sword Saint to be so headstrong!

Damn it! You're the Sword Saint! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get you on my side? And you're risking it all for a mere traitor? For General Zheng, this was an absolutely terrible trade, a loss that would make his ancestors weep. Even if, hypothetically, he lost everything and had to resort to opening a "New Dragon Gate Inn," having a Sword Saint in residence would make all the difference in the world.

Zheng Fan could only sigh, a headache blooming, and concede that the Sword Saint had truly lost his composure. Once someone got riled up like this, not even eight horses could drag them back. Besides, he was the Sword Saint; if he was determined to do something, who could genuinely stop him? The old head of the Situ Family, though never enthroned, was practically an emperor and had killed people on a whim.

Liang Cheng had no intention of rescuing the Sword Saint. As a general, he couldn't have failed to study the impact of this world's powerful Martial Cultivators on warfare. Faced with a charge of two thousand cavalry, the Sword Saint was, after all, just a swordsman, not a Martial Cultivator with a robust physique like Shatuo Queshi or Tian Wujing. It seemed highly likely he was done for. Regardless of whether the Sword Saint could kill Geremu, from Liang Cheng's perspective, he was almost certainly not coming back.

Given this assessment, he couldn't just lead his two hundred riders to charge in for a rescue; doing so would very likely mean sacrificing himself and his cavalry. Moreover, after those two thousand enemy cavalry had moved out, the wild people's main camp began dispatching even more troops.

However, Liang Cheng didn't decisively order his men back to the city after ensuring his lord's retreat. Instead, he commanded the troop to slow their pace. No matter what, the man was the Sword Saint, and he had risked his own life to assassinate the enemy commander for the sake of Snow Sea. One couldn't just use him and then discard him. At the very least, a gesture of attempting a rescue had to be made. On the battlefield, abandoning a fellow soldier to die dealt a severe blow to morale. This wasn't hypocrisy, nor was it ruthlessness; it was merely the composure a de facto commander should exhibit.

However, what Liang Cheng hadn't anticipated was that the Sword Saint would actually achieve a breakthrough and then unleash a devastating slaughter with his Longyuan sword! Liang Cheng didn't know exactly how powerful strength beyond the Third Rank was, as there was no reference point or measurable standard. But the sheer imposing presence and terrifying killing power instantly unsettled him.

The Sword Saint... there's still a chance to save him! And correspondingly, the enemy's commander must have been killed.

Liang Cheng made an instant decision, raising his hand and signaling a full-speed charge!

Rescuing a corpse for a proper burial held no interest for Liang Cheng. But if he could save a Sword Saint who was still breathing, that was absolutely worth it!

The Sword Saint's slaughter had already eliminated more than half of the two thousand wild people cavalry that had initially surrounded him. Generally, in the age of cold weapons, when an army's casualties exceeded twenty percent, it was typically on the verge of collapse. Naturally, special circumstances and truly elite forces were exceptions. The wild people cavalry had held on for so long due to their faith in the stars, the presence of a senior guide, and the sheer fact that it was many against one. But after being decimated by the Sword Saint single-handedly, they were already on the brink of a mental breakdown.

At this moment, the enemy's reinforcements were still some distance away. Furthermore, the remaining wild people cavalry had lost any semblance of a formation. After all, no military strategist from any dynasty would have designed a formation for so many to deal with a single individual.

Thus, the two hundred cavalry led by Liang Cheng pierced through like a sharp dagger at precisely the right moment.

The wild people cavalry were instantly dispersed—yes, dispersed. For them, it was perhaps more like a release. In their state of utter exhaustion and near surrender, it was as if someone had finally offered them an honorable way out. They could no longer psychologically bear facing that one man. Now that several hundred enemy cavalry were charging at them, retreating in disarray seemed perfectly justifiable.

Liang Cheng, leading the charge, cut down a wild people rider blocking his path and reached the Sword Saint's side. Without slowing his horse, he leaned sideways and scooped up the Sword Saint. Upon lifting him, Liang Cheng immediately felt the Sword Saint was much lighter. Liang Cheng, who had consumed 'blood food' in the past, knew this was because too much of the Sword Saint's blood had been expended.

Placing the Sword Saint in front of him on the saddle, Liang Cheng used his own body as a shield and wheeled his horse around.

"Sword..." the Sword Saint managed weakly.

Liang Cheng took a deep breath, turned his horse again, and used his saber to flick the Longyuan sword, which was embedded in the ground, into the air. Catching it with his left hand, he bellowed, "Rearguard, cover the retreat!"

"Yes, Commander!"

"Acknowledged!"

Wild people cavalry were already pouring out of their main camp and were about to bear down on them. In this dire situation, Liang Cheng immediately issued a command: half his force, a hundred riders, were to act as a suicide squad and launch a desperate charge against the pursuing wild people cavalry. This wasn't considered abandoning his comrades, because he had issued the order unequivocally. In the ethos of the army, there was a world of difference between willingly volunteering to cover a retreat for comrades and being abandoned by them. Most commanders understood this principle, but not all troops possessed the conviction to selflessly sacrifice themselves to buy their fellow soldiers a chance at survival.

The remaining cavalry followed Liang Cheng, charging towards the Snow Sea Pass gate.

The hundred riders of the suicide squad did indeed manage to delay the pursuing wild people cavalry. However, the enemy's numbers were overwhelming, and they soon caught up.

Previously, when the Sword Saint had plunged directly into the wild people cavalry, they hadn't been able to use their bows. Furthermore, after the Sword Saint forcibly broke through his limits, he had slaughtered the wild people until they were mentally shattered. Even though Hasi had pointed out the Sword Saint's current immobility, the wild people's minds had become numb, capable only of mindlessly charging and hacking.

Now, however, the pursuing wild people cavalry hadn't experienced the same 'spiritual torment' as their kinsmen. They decisively drew their bows and loosed a volley of arrows.

Liang Cheng hunched over, shielding the Sword Saint beneath him. Around them, riders were periodically struck by arrows and fell from their horses. Three arrows hit Liang Cheng's back. One lacked force and glanced off his armor. The other two, with considerable power, pierced his armor. However, as a Zombie, Liang Cheng's body was exceptionally resilient, and injuries of this degree were still within tolerable limits.

At this moment, the Shengle Army soldiers on the city walls began to return fire with their bows.

Xue Three, without hesitation, ordered, "Artillery Car, fire!"

The Artillery Car was a siege engine designed to hurl stones, either to inflict casualties within a city or to breach its walls. Both besiegers and defenders relied on such weaponry. Xue Three had made some improvements to the Artillery Cars of this era, significantly enhancing their firing accuracy and range. The principle behind them wasn't complex, at least not for Xue Three; it was essentially the 'Huihui Cannon' (trebuchet) from his original world. In ancient times in that world, the Mongols had used this very weapon to conquer Xiangyang City.

However, due to the tight schedule, Xue Three and his men had only managed to construct five Artillery Cars. Nevertheless, when five massive stones rained down from above, coupled with a shower of arrows from the city walls, the pursuing wild people cavalry were thrown into disarray. They suffered heavy casualties, and their pursuit was effectively halted.

Thus, Liang Cheng managed to lead the remaining few dozen riders into the city. The city gates were immediately shut, and soldiers below quickly reinforced them with barricades.

General Zheng hurried down from the city tower and rushed to Liang Cheng. Although two arrows still protruded from Liang Cheng's back, Zheng Fan was confident he was fine. Even if the arrows were poisoned, it would be nothing more than an itch to a Zombie like Liang Cheng.

Zheng Fan was worried about the Sword Saint. He personally reached out and, with the help of two nearby soldiers, carefully lifted the Sword Saint from the warhorse.

The Sword Saint's eyes fluttered open a fraction. He looked at Zheng Fan, then closed them again, seemingly at death's door. Indeed, the aura he exuded was one of utter depletion, like a lamp whose oil had run dry; it wasn't even a flicker of life before death.

Forcibly breaking through his limits and then slaughtering a thousand cavalry—such a monumental feat had come at a devastating cost.

Zheng Fan said immediately, "Don't worry. That young widow... I'll take care of her for you. When we get back, I'll marry her as my concubine."

The Sword Saint's closed eyes snapped wide open!