Mainland Martial Arts

Beads of sweat streamed down his forehead as he endured the excruciating pain of a body on the verge of collapse. The air around him seemed to be warped by the powerful aura emanating from him, and time seemed to have stood still at that moment. Suddenly, a blinding light burst from him, followed by a deafening roar, like a massive bomb exploding.

The overwhelming force of the impact rippled like a surging wave, sweeping wildly in all directions. Soldiers on the city walls were thrown high and thrown down without resistance. Nearby buildings collapsed under the destructive force, leaving dust billowing through the air. The scene was utterly devastating, as if the world had come to an end. The Grandmaster vanished forever in the explosion, leaving behind only endless shock and desolation.

The fire in half of the city was extinguished in an instant. The soldiers on the city wall suffered heavy losses, and many people were blown away directly, with screams coming one after another.

"Damn it!" A marshal angrily pounded the city wall.

The thick smoke gradually dissipated, and the remaining grandmasters took the opportunity to escape from the city, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The seriously injured saint was spitting blood and had a broken left hand. He was moving extremely fast, and the two old men behind him were chasing him closely.

"Don't chase them. If you continue, you will go deep into the enemy's position. Then other saints will appear and we will be in trouble." One of the old men said.

"Damn it, they just got away like that." Another old man gritted his teeth unwillingly.

They turned and flew back to the City of Light, hanging in mid-air.

"Listen everyone, the battle is won!" The old man's voice spread throughout the city.

Suddenly, everyone in the city cheered and their joy was beyond words.

The two old men then disappeared, and the six marshals climbed onto the city wall.

"Thank you for your hard work!" the marshal said loudly, "But don't let your guard down. Be prepared for enemy counterattacks and surprise attacks."

The soldiers nodded one after another with serious expressions.

The City of Light was practically a ruin, with all houses destroyed and only the city walls still standing. A huge crater appeared in the center of the city, the mark left by the enemy's self-explosion.

In a corner, a young soldier leaned against a rubbled wall, his body covered in blood and dust. His eyes were a little dazed, as if he was still immersed in the battle just now.

"We won..." he muttered to himself, a relieved smile on his face.

Not far away, a general looked at the ruins and felt a strong sense of mission in his heart.

Atop the walls of the City of Light, Lin Feng and Xu Tian dragged themselves forward with heavy steps. The setting sun cast long shadows over them. Surrounding them were many wounded soldiers, their groans of pain mingling together, a chorus of indictments of this brutal war. Those lying on the ground, breathless, silently spoke of the war's ruthlessness and brutality.

Lin Feng's gaze drifted between the wounded and the dead, his brow furrowed as he fell into deep thought. He was not a kind man, having fought on this bloody battlefield for years, his hands stained with blood. Yet, at this moment, looking upon these dead, an indescribable complex of emotions welled up within him. He had once single-mindedly sought to rule the entire continent and end the endless division and war, but now he began to doubt whether this path of conquest had led to nothing but brutal slaughter.

As far as the eye could see, the entire City of Light was utterly silent. Not a single enemy or civilian remained alive. Even though the enemy had surrendered, they still couldn't escape slaughter. Lin Feng's heart was filled with desolation; he simply couldn't comprehend it all. Xu Tian stood silently beside him, fully aware of Lin Feng's current state of mind, yet he felt equally powerless.

Xu Tian took a deep breath and said to Lin Feng, "I'll go ask the Grand Marshal." Lin Feng nodded silently. He also wanted to know the reason.

Xu Tian arrived at the Grand Marshal's tent, where he sat in a tiger-skin chair, his face grim. He asked directly, "Marshal, why do we continue to slaughter the enemy even after they've surrendered, even sparing the civilians?"

The Grand Marshal narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of coldness in his gaze. "In order to unify the entire continent, complete unification is necessary. If we leave these civilians behind, they will inevitably harbor thoughts of resistance and division in the future. Even if we are unified now, there will be a day when we will split again. Only by directly nipping these seeds of division in the bud can we truly achieve permanent unification."

Xu Tian's face turned grim. He couldn't accept such an excuse. He retorted, "But this is killing innocent people and trampling on life!"

The Grand Marshal sneered, "War is inherently cruel. How can there be so much morality and justice? Everything we do is for a greater goal."

Xu Tian turned and left silently, his steps heavy. When he returned to Lin Feng and repeated the Grand Marshal's words to him, Lin Feng's face became even gloomier.

"What kind of reason is this? Can we wantonly deprive others of their lives for the so-called unification?" Lin Feng clenched his fists, with flames of anger flashing in his eyes.

Xu Tian sighed helplessly: "We seem unable to change all this. In their eyes, we are just pawns executing orders."

Lin Feng gazed into the distance, his mind racing. He seemed to see countless families shattered by the war, countless lives lost in an instant. He began to reflect on the goal he had always pursued. Was the path to unification really paved with the blood of so many innocent people?

"No, this is not the result I want." Lin Feng murmured in a low voice, "If the battle continues like this, there will only be endless killing, and this continent will only fall into deeper pain."

Xu Tian looked at Lin Feng and saw a complex mixture of determination and confusion in his eyes. "Then what should we do?" Xu Tian asked softly.

Lin Feng was silent for a long time before he slowly spoke: "I don't know, but we can no longer blindly follow orders like this. We must have our own thoughts and our own judgment."

In the days that followed, Lin Feng and Xu Tian paid more attention to the soldiers' feelings. They saw the fear and confusion in the eyes of those young soldiers, and they felt more and more guilty.

"We can't let these ordinary people die in vain again." Lin Feng said to Xu Tian.

Xu Tian nodded: "But what can we do?"

After hearing this, Lin Feng couldn't help but fall silent. Yes, what could they do now? Disobeying military orders meant certain death, but not disobeying meant continuing the brutal slaughter, which put them in a dilemma.