Chapter Thirty-Two: The Agony of Losing a Brother
Murong Leopard was in front of the demon camp, issuing a challenge, when suddenly the gates swung open and a towering demon general, leading a squad of demon soldiers, charged out.
The demon general stood more than nine feet tall, his face a dark iron blue, with a leopard’s head and pointed ears jutting upward, his visage covered in lumps and bumps.
At the sight of Murong Leopard, he let out a series of bizarre cries. “Well, well, brat, you’re still alive? You must be blessed with luck. Since you’ve come knocking today, I won’t let you escape again!”
With that, he brandished twin cleavers and lunged ferociously at Murong Leopard.
Murong Leopard felt his scalp crawl at the sight of this old monster, thinking, “How unlucky am I, to call out and summon the fierce Meng Beast!”
Yet, born with a fearless spirit, he cursed back, “You damned thing, do you think your grandpa’s afraid of you?!”
Rather than retreat, he advanced, swinging his iron staff to meet the attack.
A cacophony of clashing metal rang out—
“Ping!”
“Ping!”
“Pang!”
“Pang!”
...
The sound of metal striking metal echoed, pain flaring in Murong Leopard’s hands, his arms numb and aching.
He cursed aloud, “Old monster, you’re vicious! But I’ll fight you to the end!”
He charged forward, sweeping his iron staff toward Meng Beast’s mount.
One man fighting with reckless abandon, holding back a hundred foes!
For a moment, Murong Leopard’s desperate attacks stunned Meng Beast, throwing him into confusion and forcing him to retreat again and again.
But Meng Beast, having faced Murong Leopard several times before, knew his true capabilities. Seeing Murong Leopard fight so desperately, Meng Beast grew angry. “You little bastard, since you’re so eager to die, I won’t keep you alive!”
He shook his arms, and instantly a dozen more appeared, each wielding axes, halberds, hooks, forks, spears, and short clubs, all aimed at Murong Leopard!
No matter how Murong Leopard fought, he couldn’t withstand so many weapons at once.
He found himself trapped, unable to advance a single inch!
Furious, he cursed, “You damn—”
Before he could finish, “thief,” there was a cry—
“Aiya!”
His left arm was slashed, blood spraying!
His left hand fell limp instantly!
Wang Erbao saw this and shouted, “Murong... Murong... Murong Leopard, hang in there! Brother’s coming to help you!”
He ran toward the fight.
Before he could get close, Meng Beast hooked Murong Leopard’s iron staff tightly with his paired halberds.
Now, the sensible thing would be for Murong Leopard to throw the staff and run!
But his stubborn strength kicked in—nothing could drag him away.
He shouted, “Let go!” and kept trying to snatch back the staff.
In that instant, he left himself wide open, exposing his whole body to the enemy.
Meng Beast grinned, cursing, “Die!”
He raised his twin cleavers and brought them down on Murong Leopard’s head.
A flash of silver, a spray of blood!
In a blink, Murong Leopard’s head was severed, his corpse still clinging to the iron staff!
Wang Erbao saw this and cried out in agony, his heart shattered.
He shouted, “Old... Old... Old monster, you... you... you owe me... my brother’s life!”
From a distance, he raised his wooden pillar and smashed it down hard!
Meng Beast hurriedly met the blow with his cleaver!
A thunderous clang, like lightning splitting the sky!
The sound rattled eardrums!
Meng Beast cried out, feeling his arms numb and hands burning.
Unable to grip his weapon, his hand slipped—
A curse, and the cleaver flew away, vanishing!
Wang Erbao, seeing his attack succeed, wasted no time, swinging the wooden pillar again and again!
Meng Beast dared not meet the blows head-on, dodging each one.
---
After a short time, Meng Beast spotted a weakness.
Wang Erbao’s wooden pillar was far too large and heavy, unwieldy and hard to maneuver. Its power was undeniable, but it lacked speed and agility.
Meng Beast thought, “So this is all you’ve got, kid? Last time you scared me half to death, but today I’ll settle the score!”
While thinking, he spun his weapons faster and surged forward.
As the saying goes: “In martial arts, speed is everything!”
Meng Beast’s dozen or so weapons whirled like little windmills, attacking simultaneously with incredible speed!
Suddenly, Wang Erbao could defend up top but not below; guard the left but not the right. He was overwhelmed, forced to retreat again and again!
Meng Beast was secretly pleased. He withdrew his weapons and watched Wang Erbao’s desperate struggle with a grin.
Wang Erbao still brandished his wooden pillar, defending left and right, until finally he noticed the opponent had stopped attacking.
Meng Beast bellowed, “Brat, do you yield?!”
Wang Erbao shook his head and gritted his teeth. “No... no... no! So what if I don’t?!”
Meng Beast flew into a rage, cursing, “Kind words can’t persuade the damned! Don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
He attacked again with his array of weapons!
At once, Wang Erbao was enveloped in flashes of blades and shadows of swords!
Soon, there was a series of sounds—
“Puchi!”
“Puchi!”
“Puchi!”
“Aiya!”
“Aiya!”
“Aiya!”
...
The air was filled with splattering blood and anguished cries!
Wang Erbao’s body was riddled with a dozen wounds.
With a thunderous crash, his massive form and wooden pillar slammed to the ground, sending dust flying high!
The soldiers behind him cried out, “General!” tears streaming down their faces.
Meng Beast saw these soldiers and secretly admired them, thinking, “Truly trained by Murong Yan and Ye Feng—though their general has fallen, the soldiers remain calm! With them, the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons may never claim victory!”
Despite his thoughts, Meng Beast did not retreat.
He waved his twin axes, shouting, “Children, charge!”
He squeezed his legs around his iron mount and led the attack on the rebel soldiers!
Among the rebels, someone shouted, “Loose arrows!”
Instantly, a volley of arrows was released.
The demon soldiers in front fell in droves.
The rest halted, afraid to advance!
Meng Beast ignored them, wielding his many weapons to deflect the arrows, pressing forward!
“Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!” someone urged, and even more arrows flew!
Meng Beast remained unconcerned, quickening his swings and knocking aside each arrow.
He drew ever closer to the rebel soldiers.
Some dropped their bows and drew swords and spears, preparing for close combat!
Once Meng Beast closed in, the rebels lost the protection of their arrow formation and faced the demon soldiers' blades and spears—slaughter was inevitable!
At this critical moment, there came a sudden sound—
“Whoosh!...”
“Whoosh!...”
“Whoosh!...”
“Whoosh!...”
“Whoosh!...”
“Whoosh!...”
Six fierce gusts of wind, standing out amid the rain of arrows!
Six arrows, fired from two separate directions!
Meng Beast looked toward the source and saw two identical Ye Fengs, standing in the distance and shooting arrows at him.
There was no time to think. Hearing the wind approach, Meng Beast shuddered, quickly ducking low to the saddle.
But he was still too slow—his upper body evaded, but his lower body did not.
“Puchi!”
An arrow struck his ankle bone, sinking half an inch deep.
He screamed in agony—
“Aiya!”
---
He wheeled his mount and fled!
Ye Feng did not pursue, but ordered the soldiers to retrieve the bodies of Murong Leopard and Wang Erbao, covering their retreat.
Here, readers may ask: Why did Ye Feng arrive so late? If he’d come an hour earlier, perhaps Murong Leopard and Wang Erbao would not have died in vain!
In truth, Ye Feng had only discovered their absence during a morning inspection.
Puzzled, he eventually deduced they’d slipped out to confront Meng Beast.
He checked at the city gate and found it true, so he rushed after them.
But he was still too late, recovering only their corpses.
Back in Black Earth City, Ye Feng dared not tell Murong Yan of her brother’s death, informing only the other generals.
When Murong Yan convened and found Murong Leopard and Wang Erbao missing, she pressed for answers and learned the truth.
Upon hearing of her brother’s tragic death, Murong Yan fainted on the spot.
It was only after repeated calls that she revived.
She rushed to the memorial, gazing upon her brother one last time.
Seeing him decapitated, her face turned pale, and sorrow overwhelmed her, causing her to faint again.
Ye Feng hurriedly summoned the military physician.
With acupuncture, Murong Yan regained consciousness, wailing in grief!
Ye Feng tried to comfort her, but Murong Yan could not stem her sorrow.
And so, Murong Yan wept before the memorial for a full day and night.
Her eyes were red and swollen, her face haggard.
On the second day, she no longer cried, but sat in a daze.
Ye Feng feared for her mental state, calling her repeatedly, but she did not respond.
At last, Murong Yan stood with a sudden slap on the table.
She shouted in anger, “Generals!”
“We are here!” they answered in unison.
Murong Yan gritted her teeth and ordered, “Gather your troops, we march out and face Meng Beast in battle!”
The generals, filled with rage, eager to tear Meng Beast apart and drink his blood, did not hesitate—saluting, they replied, “As you command!”
They turned and left to prepare their forces.
Ye Feng, in a panic, rushed to the door and blocked their way.
He called out, “Wait! You must not act rashly—think carefully before proceeding!”
But no one listened, all burning with righteous fury.
“Ye Vanguard, step aside!” they cried.
Li Yiqing, eyes red with anger, rolled up his sleeves, ready to confront Ye Feng.
He shouted, “Ye... Ye... Ye Feng! Are you... are you going to let us... let us avenge our brother, or not?! Whoever stands in my way today... becomes my enemy, and I’ll fight them to the death!”
His speech stammered with emotion, barely able to breathe.
Murong Yan stepped forward, her face ashen, and said coldly, “Ye Feng, who is the marshal here—you or me?!”
Ye Feng was stunned, unable to respond at first, finally stammering, “Of course, you are the marshal!”
Murong Yan’s face flashed with anger. “If so, does my word not carry weight?”
Ye Feng quickly saluted, bowing. “I wouldn’t dare, Marshal. Your words are law, I wouldn’t defy you! But…”
He tried to continue, but Murong Yan raised her hand to cut him off. “Enough. My mind is made up!”
She waved to the other generals. “Go now and gather your troops. We march out to meet the enemy!”
Seeing he could not dissuade them, Ye Feng’s face flushed with anxiety.
He knelt with a thud, hands clasped, pleading, “Marshal, you mustn’t! The enemy is strong, our forces are weak—we must not fight head-on! If we march out now, we’ll fall right into their trap!”
Murong Yan was moved by his words.
Xu Zhihui, standing nearby, fanned the flames, “Junior sister, Murong died so tragically!”
He squeezed out a few tears.
Seeing Xu Zhihui cry, Murong Yan was overcome again. She steeled herself, wiped away her tears, and said bleakly, “Ye Vanguard, leave it be. If I don’t avenge this, I swear I am not human! I will not return until Meng Beast is slain!”
She donned her armor at once. “Everyone, I’ll go ahead and wait for you in the training grounds.”
She strode out the gate.
The generals saw Murong Yan leave and hurried to their camps to prepare.
Ye Feng saw that this grim battle was unavoidable, sweat pouring down his face, thinking, “Yan, how can you be so stubborn?! Can’t you listen just once?!”
Knowing Murong Yan faced grave danger in this campaign, Ye Feng paced anxiously, like an ant on a hot skillet.
Unable to persuade, he could only make his own preparations to protect the rebel army and Murong Yan, or at least minimize their losses.
With this in mind, Ye Feng hurried to his camp, arranging his troops to support Murong Yan.
How Ye Feng will command and turn the tide—read on in the next chapter!
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