Chapter 108, The Final Battle

Translator: StarReader

 

“The lives of a few Daoists are nowhere near enough to make up for the bitterness of losing Han Pingshan and the lives of six hundred disciples from the Heaven Falcon Group.”

 

The fleeting, ethereal sound ceased, plunging the reed marsh into utter silence.

 

Caw!

 

A murder of crows startled into flight.

 

Whale Gang leader Liu Hong and White Lotus Society’s Mao Ziyuan, upon their mounts, abruptly turned around at the sound, only to witness that within the myriad soldiers stationed on the reed clusters a half-mile away, over a dozen heads were sent flying in a spray of blood.

 

The numerous pirates surrounding them were splashed with scalding blood, all with bewildered expressions, uncertain when Han Ya had stealthily concealed himself amongst them, tumbling to the ground in terror with screams.

 

A Grandmaster assassin, leisurely strolling amongst these three thousand pirates, beheaded over a dozen people, as if plucking something from the ground.

 

The pirates’ army instantly descended into chaos, gripped by fear.

 

Though the number of deaths was small, the fact that someone amongst them was freely dispensing death was utterly terrifying, a constant source of anxiety.

 

Even forming a defensive formation, they could not defend against this sudden hunt.

 

If they were on an open plain, it would at least be easy to see enemies approaching; they would feel a degree of reassurance.

 

However, this three-thousand-pirate alliance had already entered this over five-mile dense reed marsh, and within their field of vision, there were only reeds and a few pirates, unable to see the situation in the distance.

 

A crow’s cawing later, over a dozen heads would fly, plummeting to the ground, the cries of terror echoing for miles around.

 

Cawing had reached a point where it instilled fear in the pirates.

 

“That bastard!”

 

Liu Hong pinched his iron folding fan, his face turning green with rage, his body trembling.

 

He could have fought a few moves against Han Ya himself, holding him back.

 

But he targeted his subordinates, freely creating terror amongst the pirates and breaking the high morale they’d just earned.

 

What was most troubling was that Han Ya’s movements were too swift, his concealment skills incredible. He’d kill and vanish, making it impossible to trace his whereabouts.

 

“Han Ya, even if you’re a skilled killer, how many people can you kill? A thousand, and that’s your limit! You can’t change the outcome of this battle. You avoid confronting me now, and eventually your True Qi will be exhausted. Once your True Qi is depleted, you won’t even have the qualifications to fight me!”

 

Daoist Han Shan stared at the Northern Swamp, his voice cold.

 

“Han Ya!”

 

“He’s the Wu Region Grandmaster assassin, Han Ya!”

 

The pirates’ captains and subordinates were enveloped in an aura of fear, their previously high morale almost entirely lost.

 

Daoist Han Shan wasn’t afraid of this Grandmaster assassin, even risking the lives of these pirates to vent his frustration on Han Ya.

 

But they were afraid!

 

They only had one life, and who would want to suddenly have their head fall just like that?

 

Daoist Han Shan waited a moment, still not receiving a response from Han Ya.

 

He instantly erupted in fury, slapping his horse’s flank, his voluminous robes rising like a golden eagle, displaying unparalleled lightness and skill above the reeds, relentlessly pursuing the pirates’ army, intent on hunting the assassin down.

 

However.

 

He still only saw the shadows of Han Ya, not a trace of the person himself!

 

The Han Ya was the Wu Region’s most formidable assassin; his concealment techniques were beyond comprehension.

 

Amidst this massive army of pirates, panic spread amongst them. The reeds within a radius of a hundred paces swayed violently, shrieks of terror echoing, their auras chaotic, almost perfectly masking Han Ya’s presence and scent.

 

In a mere moment, over two hundred pirates had already fallen, from captains to the most insignificant of henchmen; none escaped death.

 

Daoist Han Shan pursued for a while but to no avail, his face turning an icy blue with frustration.

 

Han Ya knew he could not match him and therefore made no attempt to engage.

 

If this continued, this army of pirates wouldn’t even manage to traverse these mere hundred paces of reeds, destined to be swallowed by ubiquitous fear, their morale utterly crushed, forcing them to retreat back to Misty Peak.

 

Daoist Han Shan ceased his pursuit, his toes touching a tall reed, his frigid gaze sweeping across a radius of several hundred paces, searching for any movement.

 

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a fleeting shadow flickering amongst the reeds.

 

Daoist Han Shan immediately launched himself into the air, swiftly ascending, simultaneously pinching a fire talisman and flinging it out, “Go!”

 

A fiery talisman exploded above the reeds, transforming into a scorching fireball, plummeting downwards to detonate, engulfing an area of dozens of paces.

 

A company of over a hundred pirates was engulfed by this fiery projectile from above, shrieking in terror, their flesh burned beyond recognition, the cries of the dying utterly heart-wrenching.

 

The flames were ferociously intense, searing into flesh and bone, eliciting screams and writhing.

 

Some of the pirates nearby attempted to extinguish the blaze and rescue them, but as soon as they touched the flames, they too burst into fire, suffering burns. Pirates with substantial True Qi reserves managed to withstand a portion of the fiery onslaught.

 

The surrounding pirates recoiled in fear, scrambling away, watching as over a hundred pirates perished in the flames. No one dared to attempt a rescue.

 

Daoist Han Shan descended near the fireball’s epicenter, his impassive face sweeping over each charred corpse, trying to discern if any Han Ya remains were among them.

 

But they were all too burned and distorted to identify.

 

A three-foot-long, dark-azure saber lay on the ground, likely Han Ya’s prized sword, but it too had been scorched almost beyond recognition, and it was unknown whether Han Ya had perished in the flames or not.

 

Within the vast army of pirates of Northern Swamp, a wave of terror and panic rippled through, eventually subsiding.

 

“Daoist, is Han Ya dead?”

 

Whale Gang leader Liu Hong, along with Li Biao and White Lotus Society leader Mao Ziyuan, led numerous pirates and White Lotus Society lieutenants to the scene, witnessing the remains of over a hundred pirates completely obliterated by the inferno.

 

“Let’s go. Even if he lived, he’s likely grievously wounded and no longer a threat. Now we’re going to meet with Magistrate Zhao Juzhen.”

 

Daoist Han Shan stated coldly.

 

Liu Hong and Mao Ziyuan gazed at Daoist Han Shan’s inscrutable back, feeling a deep chill of dread.

 

It was unfortunate that this terrifying, powerful fire talisman was only in the Daoist’s possession, and he didn’t sell it. And these were merely the methods he had displayed; they had no idea how many other formidable abilities he kept concealed.

 

…

 

Five miles of Northern Swamp teemed with agitated reeds, as the pirates’ army had already arrived.

 

Zhao Juzhen, the governor, Li Shuo, the leader, and the Medicine King Sun Baihong led a force of eight thousand soldiers and martial group disciples, forming a back-to-the-lake formation awaiting, holding their breath and focusing their minds, and watching for any movement from the direction of the reeds.

 

Yet, a full half-hour passed without the appearance of the pirates’ ten-thousand-strong army.

 

They heard muffled screams of terror echoing from within the reeds.

 

Soon after, a tremendous roar reverberated, and a pillar of flame erupted skyward, seemingly immolating many people alive. The acrid stench of burning permeated even the lakeshore.

 

Finally, they saw the reeds stir, and a blood-soaked figure in a black robe and bamboo hat staggered out.

 

The allied forces’ disciples were visibly shaken.

 

The figure in black robes and a bamboo hat was, undeniably, Han Ya, the long-absent leader of the Heaven Falcon Group.

 

He approached the formation, coughing up blood, and knelt on one knee before Zhao Juzhen, saying, “Governor, I’ve done my best! The demon sorcery of Han Mountain and its devil talismans are truly astonishing, beyond the power of mortal men to contend with.”

 

A pall of fear fell over the soldiers and martial disciples.

 

Even the Heaven Falcon Group Grandmaster, Han Ya, had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Daoist Han Shan, bearing marks of being burned, and escaped quickly, or he would have been burned to death.

 

Devil talisman!

 

Again, a devil talisman!

 

Li Shuo and Sun Baihong exchanged glances, both showing surprise. They had no idea how many more devil talismans the Han Mountain demon sorcerer possessed.

 

“Grandmaster! It is not your fault. It is this governor’s miscalculation, believing the words of this sorcerer, and thus allowing the wolf into the fold!

 

‘Had I known, I would never have planned this battle, leading to the army being trapped on this island in the Vastest Lake!”

 

Zhao Juzhen quickly stepped forward to help Han Ya up, his face etched with despair.

 

Li Shuo hastily spoke, his voice grave, “Governor, do not lose heart! Though my eight thousand disciples are trapped in a hopeless situation, it is precisely in such dire straits that one finds resurgence. The entire army will fight with their backs to the water, emulating the heroic feats of Xiang Yu, the war god of the Qin dynasty. Even if our army is annihilated, we must cripple the pirates’ main force. When the next wave of reinforcements from the court arrives, the pressure will be lessened.”

 

Zhao Juzhen nodded slightly, setting aside his sorrow, and ordered the entire army to prepare for the final battle.

 

The officers and disciples of the allied forces, whether seasoned experts or lower-ranking third-rate underlings, all wore expressions of anguish, summoning their final reserves of courage to prepare for a desperate counterattack.

 

The front ranks consisted of elite armored soldiers wielding shields, followed by the martial disciples, with archers in the rear capable of covering a distance of a hundred zhang. They stood in tight formation.

 

…

 

Finally, the pirates’ army emerged from the Northern Swamp, swarming out to reach the lakeshore.

 

Daoist Han Shan, Liu Hong, and Mao Ziyuan—the three leaders—personally led the Whale Gang pirates, the White Lotus Society, and the Han Mountain Daoist Temple armies.

 

They were only six hundred meters from the Allied forces led by Zhao Juzhen.

 

Daoist Han Shan’s face was impassive. The fewest people followed him, only dozens of second-rate expert Daoists from the Han Mountain Daoist Temple.

 

But no one dared to show the slightest disrespect. Both in the official martial allied army and in the pirates’ alliance, he was the undisputed commander, standing squarely in the center of the main force.

 

To his left stood Scholar Liu Hong, with an iron fan sweeping across his face. Behind him was Vice Leader Li Biao, along with numerous demoralized pirate captains and nearly ten thousand pirates.

 

Perhaps it was the terror they had just experienced within the Northern Swamp that had dampened their morale.

 

To his right stood the White Lotus Society’s Mao Ziyuan, holding a whisk, looking dignified and majestic, followed by three thousand elite disciples of the White Lotus Society.

 

The White Lotus Society disciples all wore robes embroidered with white lotus flowers. The higher their status, the more lotus flowers adorned their garments.

 

At the forefront of the White Lotus Society’s ranks stood roughly twenty to thirty White Lotus thugs, each radiating a yellow glow as if clad in golden armor, impervious to blades and arrows.

 

“Well, Governor Zhao, General Li Shuo, weren’t you all quite the runners? Fleeing from Misty Peak to this Northern Swamp, what’s stopped you now? Hurry and leap into the lake to escape, swimming all the way back to Gusu City!”

 

Liu Hong, astride a spirited steed, shook a wrought iron folding fan in his hand. Seeing the lineup of the allied forces led by Zhao Juzhen, Li Shuo, and Sun Baihong appearing well-prepared, he revealed a mocking smile.

 

Zhao Juzhen, however, did not glance at Liu Hong, the infamous head of the Whale Gang pirates. He reined in his horse, stopping a distance of thirty meters away, and called out loudly to Daoist Han Shan with a pained expression, “Daoist Han Shan, as the master of Han Mountain Daoist Temple, a transcendent, and the leader of the Wu Region martial white path, you are a living deity in the people’s hearts.

 

“Why do you aid tyranny and join forces with the Whale Gang and the White Lotus Society?

 

“What do you seek?

 

“If you change your course and help me suppress the Whale Gang pirates and the White Lotus Society, I can petition the court to confer upon you the title of Han Mountain Daoist Immortal, to be worshipped by the million people of the Wu Region, and enjoy endless, boundless wealth and honor! Please, Daoist, speak. What do you desire? The court can grant it to you!”