The world is like a prison, my body is holy

The night is long, and it seems like dawn will never break.

On the Longyou Road, a hundred or so miles west of Qinzhou Prefecture (present-day Tianshui, Gansu), a single fire flickered precariously in the vast snowy night.

A group of Western Army soldiers, fully armored and armed, guarded a small campfire, passing around a jug of turbid wine to keep warm.

"Tsk..."

The old soldier, his face full of wrinkles, grinned with his sloping front teeth and exhaled a satisfied breath of alcohol: "If only I had a couple more snacks to go with my drinks, I wouldn't trade this life for a golden nest!"

The burly, fierce soldiers sitting around the campfire silently passed around the wine jug, ignoring his banter.

The old soldier took in everyone's reactions, then smiled at one of them: "Stone, don't you always say your family's Fenjiu is delicious? This time I'm not going back, so don't forget to sprinkle two ounces of Fenjiu on my grave later, and let me have a taste..."

The fierce soldiers sitting around the campfire couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Just having your words, Old Liu, is enough!"

"Every time they say they can't go back, every time a fight breaks out they run away faster than a rabbit!"

"Of course! I saw it last time. That old coffin-head was dragging his gun ahead, and the constable was chasing after him on horseback, his face pale with worry, but he couldn't catch up with that old coffin-head!"

"Hahaha……"

Hearing the veteran's habitual reverse jinx, the fierce soldiers around the campfire seemed much more relaxed...

"Young people are honest and straightforward!"

The veteran, seemingly unable to withstand the teasing of his juniors, retorted angrily, "How can you call a retreat an escape? Was I the only one retreating?"

"Hahaha……"

The soldiers laughed even louder, their laughter breaking the oppressive atmosphere around the campfire.

The young soldier nicknamed Stone chuckled and teased, "Don't worry, Old Liu, as long as I get back, I'll have plenty of Fenjiu on the first and fifteenth of the month!"

"Come on, you convict, you think you can go back? Go back where? By the time you get back, your lover's grandson will be crawling all over the place!"

"Jealousy? You virgin who's never tasted meat, you're clearly just jealous that I have a lover..."

"Hahaha……"

The soldiers burst into laughter again, filling the lonely beacon tower with a joyful atmosphere.

The old soldier grinned as he watched the young men brag, secretly taking a few more swigs of turbid wine from his flask.

"You old coward, you're taking more than your share again!"

"Beat that brother-in-law up!"

"beat!"

The old soldier hurriedly rolled on the ground, begging for mercy: "Heroes, spare my life! These old bones of mine can't withstand your sandbag-like fists..."

"I'll let you off easily, but give us back our wine!"

"Just before nightfall, I spotted that old coward lurking under the wall, secretly burying something. He must be hiding some old cellar. Hand it over, and we'll spare your life!"

"You damned thieving convicts, I'll fight you to the death!"

The old soldier rose up and tumbled into a heap with the loudest-shouting stone, rolling around on the ground.

The soldiers cheered and encouraged the two men, shouting nonsensical things like "steal his heart" and "steal his peaches."

After a short while, the group of soldiers stopped making a fuss. The old soldier sat up, pulled a food bag from his crotch, and poured out a large oil paper package.

However, under the watchful eyes of a group of soldiers who held their breath, they peeled off the layers of oil paper, revealing a fist-sized lump of finely chopped braised beef.

He reluctantly grabbed the largest piece and stuffed it into his mouth, but didn't want to chew it. He just sipped it and sucked hard, saying, "Eat up, my ancestors!"

"You old coward, why didn't you bring out such a good thing sooner!"

"No wonder you mentioned snacks to go with your drinks!"

The soldiers swarmed forward, grabbing handfuls of braised beef bits with their dirty hands and stuffing them into their mouths, chewing them like large chunks of beef shank.

Chewing as he gripped the pistol beside him, even the youngest member, Stone, had his eyes redden with emotion…

The old soldier sighed silently as he got up, stretched out his large, thin hand, and rubbed Stone's head haphazardly.

Then he grabbed the hemp-backed bow leaning against him, nocked an arrow, swept it across the campfire, turned around, stepped onto the wall, drew the bow to its fullest extent, and released it into the sky.

The rockets flickered faintly, tracing a smooth arc in the air as they slowly descended, illuminating in an instant the figures clad in black and red armor, their flesh rotting and bones exposed, stumbling forward, dragging swords and spears... as far as the eye could see.

"Clang."

A long spear fell to the ground with a piercing sound.

The soldier, his face flushed, slowly bent down, picked up his pistol, and forced a smile through gritted teeth: "You old coward, you were right this time. From now on, you can only have a drink on the first and fifteenth of the month..."

The old soldier turned to look at the stone.

The other soldiers also turned to look at the stone.

With tears blurring his vision, Stone roared, his face contorted, "What the hell are you looking at? Kill these bastards!"

The old soldier grinned, revealing a set of splayed front teeth, and slapped the stone's head until it tilted to the side.

The other soldiers chuckled and slapped Shang Shi's head repeatedly.

"Kid, remember this: your Uncle Liu's real name is Liu Dezhu. He toasts me on the first and fifteenth of the month, so don't toast the wrong one!"

"And me, my full name is Yang Ergou!"

"Damn it, no wonder you son of a bitch refused to tell me your name... Stone, my name is Zhao Guiyi, remember that!"

"My name is Qi Dahai!"

"Carpenter Zhang..."

Stone struggled free from the giant hands, his face streaked with tears and snot, and roared, "What are you doing? If we're going to die, we'll die together; if we're going to leave, we'll leave together. I'm not going to be a deserter!"

The old soldier chuckled and said, "What do you mean 'die'? Don't you want to go back and see your sweetheart?"

"Men, stop whining like women and get back to report this!"

"Get out of here, don't delay the brothers from doing their business!"

Stone cried out in despair, "Isn't there a signal fire? Why do we have to go back and report it?"

The old soldier kicked him in the butt: "What do you know, kid? What can you see in the middle of the night?"

A group of soldiers hurriedly pushed him off the beacon tower, then silently passed him the wine jug, and he drank the last sip of wine of his life.

"Farewell, ancestors, in the underworld!"

"You old coward, you'd better slow down this time, or we won't be able to catch you..."

Just then, the tidal wave of corpses had already spread to the foot of the beacon tower, like a wave crashing against a reef, the spray instantly reaching the beacon tower...

Shi Tou, who had just run a mile, heard a loud "bang" from behind.

He turned around abruptly and saw that the beacon tower had transformed into a giant torch...

He screamed and cried out in a hoarse voice, tears streaming down his face, looking up at the night sky, and desperately running towards the fortified village behind him.

The night is long, and it seems like dawn will never break.

……

The morning light is faint.

Wang Wen led over 40,000 demon troops from the five great water palaces to Qin Prefecture, the front line of the Western Army. After Ao Hei, the water god of the Yangtze River, voluntarily joined his Demon-Slaying General's Mansion, there were no fewer named and powerful demons who wanted to join his Demon-Slaying General's Mansion.

However, among the demon kings and ghost kings, only one in ten has no blood debts. Even if Wang Wen wanted to strengthen his main fighting force, he couldn't just gather all sorts of trash into his own yard.

Secondly, Wang Wen did not want his territory to be filled with demons and monsters, so he consciously supported the four demon kings in eliminating the demons and monsters who had established themselves in his territory, and incorporating and reorganizing the demon armies under their command.

This is what has created the current grand spectacle of five major water palaces and 40,000 demon troops!
It is worth mentioning that the 40,000 demon troops of today are no longer the same 6,000 demon troops that the three great water palaces had when they launched their northern expedition against the Yellow River.

Those six thousand demon soldiers back then couldn't even follow the most basic rules of discipline. They were opportunistic and would defect at the slightest provocation. Calling them a demon army was an understatement; they were nothing more than a complete rabble.

The 40,000 demon troops in the five great water palaces are the brave and obedient demons carefully selected from their respective territories by the five demon kings. They have been rigorously trained into an army with a clear organizational structure, complete and strict equipment, strict discipline, and a certain degree of resilience. They can be called a true demon army!

Those good-natured demons who failed the selection process from the demon armies of the five great water palaces were either assigned to various supervisory offices under the jurisdiction of the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion, becoming similar to military dogs or police dogs; or they were assigned to local government offices under the jurisdiction of the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion, becoming similar to excavators, tractors, towing boats, or large trucks.

In the past two years, most of the monsters seen by the people under Wang Wenzhi's rule have been "excavators" and "plowing machines".

Wang Wen was able to preserve the vitality of the people under his jurisdiction despite years of drought, and those "tillers" and "large trucks" played an indispensable role in this!

Therefore, nothing in God's creation is useless. Even a pair of underwear or a piece of toilet paper has its value; the key is how you use them...

……

After arriving in Qinzhou Prefecture, Wang Wen left his more than 40,000 demon troops at the Wei River and entered the western army camp of Qinzhou Prefecture alone, where he found Zhong Shizhong, the deputy envoy of the Longyou Circuit.

After presenting the Western Army's tiger tally and a personal letter from his brother Zhong Shidao, Wang Wen successfully gained command of the Western Army.

"You mean to say that the ones who first attacked my Western Army's fortress were a group of blond-haired, blue-eyed barbarians who could use sorcery!"

Wang Wen stood before the sand table, frowning as he asked, "After you led your troops in a strategic retreat, those who relentlessly pursued you became the corpses of my Western Army soldiers transformed into ghosts?"

He felt a sense of familiarity with this method of operation, but he couldn't quite place where that familiarity came from, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it for the time being.

"The General's summary is very accurate..."

Standing opposite Wang Wen, Zhong Shizhong said in a deep voice, "That's right. Last night, those demons captured three of my Western Army's fortresses and slaughtered over ten thousand of my soldiers... This humble general is incompetent and has caused the deaths of the entire army!"

Unlike his brother's scholarly general style, Zhong Shizhong was a pure warrior. His tall and strong physique, dark and rough skin, and calloused hands all indicated that he was a fierce general who could ride into battle and charge into the fray.

But at this moment, as this fierce general recounted the unprecedented setbacks his Western Army had suffered in recent days, his eyes were filled with bewilderment, sorrow, and helplessness.

To put it bluntly, I was completely stunned and still haven't recovered...

If even the commander-in-chief is like this, one can imagine how low the morale must be.

In fact, the fact that the Western Army has not yet been completely routed and is still putting up a relentless and determined fight for every inch of ground has already shocked Wang Wen.

"This is no longer a war you can handle!"

After pondering for a moment, Wang Wen said, "Immediately order a full retreat to the south of Qinzhou for rest and reorganization. The western front will be handed over to the 40,000 demon troops I brought from Huainan!"

Zhong Shizhong suddenly looked up and stared at him in astonishment.

Looking at his grief-stricken eyes, Wang Wen couldn't bear it and added, "The bravery and loyalty of our Western Army soldiers are beyond doubt, and they are worthy of being role models for the world!"

"But this is a war with unequal fighting strength. The gap in fighting strength between my Western Army soldiers and those barbarians is no longer something that can be made up for by numbers and strategies. Continuing to invest troops will only increase casualties... and is meaningless."

"Before I left, I requested His Majesty to immediately allocate provisions and funds to rush to the Northwest to bolster the army and aid the people. You should withdraw first, preserve your strength and rest well. After I have annihilated the invading territory, I will need you to march west to Qin Prefecture, recover the lost land, and bring back the remains of my Western Army heroes."

He paused, then emphasized, "This is a military order!"

Zhong Shizhong's eyes were bloodshot and his lips trembled slightly. After several breaths, he suddenly turned his face, clasped his hands, and said, "This subordinate obeys the order!"

Wang Wen breathed a slight sigh of relief and asked in a deep voice, "Where has the Hu people's military strength reached?"

Zhong Shizhong rubbed his face vigorously, pointed to the small arrow tower with the words "Shandan" stuck in it on the sand table, and said: "At the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), we received a report that Shandan Village has fallen. Judging from the time and distance, the Hu army should have already reached the outside of Weiyuan Village."

Wang Wen stared at the sand table: "How far is Weiyuan Village from Qinzhou Prefecture?"

Without hesitation, Zhong Shizhong replied, "Less than 140 li!"

"So close..."

Wang Wen glanced at him and thought to himself, 'Is he prepared to perish with Qin Prefecture? No wonder the endless stream of people migrating south I saw when I entered the city earlier…'

"Immediately order all troops to retreat, and prepare eight hundred banners for me. I will go and relieve the siege of Weiyuan Village first, and then come back to get them."

Before he could finish speaking, he had already transformed into a streak of light and dashed out of the hall. The words "Your order" stuck in the throat of Master Zhong, and he couldn't even utter them.

He could only think to himself, 'This General Wang is indeed a swift and decisive valiant commander!'

……

"Weiyuan Village".

A pair of deep-set gray eyes gazed at the red banner with black characters fluttering in the wind on the horizon. He looked down at the parchment map unfolded in his hand. A withered, gray hand, with its knuckles revealing skeletal bones, measured the distance from Weiyuan Village to Qinzhou Prefecture on the parchment. He spoke in a hoarse, foreign accent, "Wells, it's only 80 li from here to what the natives call 'Qinzhou.' We'll be able to split our forces soon."

The speaker had a deathly pale complexion, sparse and mottled hair, and wore a wide black robe with mysterious patterns outlined in gold thread. He rode a terrifying warhorse with its four hooves burning with dark red flames, its eyes bloodshot, and its body covered in black scales.

"Don't be careless, Hoffman. I have a feeling that this dimension is not as simple as it appears!"

Beside the man in black robes, a terrifying figure with dull, gray hair like aged straw, eyes burning with two cold flames, and clad in a magnificent purple robe covered in mysterious runes, sat astride a tall, white skeletal goat with a richly decorated saddle and hooves engulfed in bluish-purple flames. The figure slowly moved forward: “A plane that can survive for so long in the chaos of dimensional ascension shouldn’t possess such insignificant power… You know, these Easterners love to disguise themselves as pigs, waiting for lions to approach before devouring them whole!”

Surrounding the two were a large number of grotesque undead creatures.

Behind the two men were a large number of mercenaries with messy armor and blond hair and blue eyes.

"You've been terrified by those blasphemers in the wizarding world, my friend."

The man in black robes spoke leisurely in a hoarse yet rhythmic tone: "This place is far from the prime plane, just an insignificant lower plane. Look at this terrible elemental concentration, it's even thinner than the sewage ditch under my castle. What kind of powerful beings can be born here?"

"I hope so, my friend..."

The man in purple robes responded softly, his tone conveying a sense of relief.

Before the two could finish speaking, a dazzling flash of fire, like debris from a comet streaking across the sky, pierced the heavens and hurtled straight toward them.

Before the flames even arrived, a massive, furious, and overwhelming pressure, like a natural disaster, swept over them, almost making their hearts, which had already stopped beating, start beating again.

"Oh, Lord of the Dead!"

"Damn Wells, haven't you forgotten the 'Great Prophecy' yet?"

The two of them groaned in unison.

"Boom."

The flames crashed heavily into the undead army in front of them, and the surging flames swept over the undead creatures within a radius of several miles like a tidal wave, instantly creating a huge open space in the center of the densely packed undead.

As the flames dissipated, Wang Wen was revealed, holding his silver spear upside down and riding a black unicorn. His face was as dark and gloomy as the sky before a thunderstorm.

He scanned the undead creatures formed from the corpses of the Western Army soldiers around him, his eyes surging with a raging rage that suppressed his disbelief.

"It really is you filthy bastards..."

He raised his silver spear, his crimson gaze piercing through the layers of undead creatures, and "saw" two lewd necromancers.

The next second, all the corpses around him suddenly exploded, and a pale green cloud rose seven or eight feet high.

However, the man and the Qilin stood firmly in the center of the explosion, like rocks in a raging storm.

Even Wang Wen's neatly combed hair was not messy at all...

He tilted his head slightly, and the black Qilin, carrying him, suddenly transformed into a streak of fire as swift as lightning, rushing into the layers upon layers of undead creatures. Wherever it passed, bursts of lightning and thunder poured out like a dam bursting open, reaping thousands of undead creatures per second, cutting down layers upon layers of undead creatures in large swaths.

[Merit +1008611]

[Virtue +666] (End of Chapter)