Bai Chenxiang, wounded, staggered back to Cangmang City.
A guard recognized her. "It's Miss Bai—she's hurt!"
She landed on the wall, set down the girl, and said weakly but urgently, "Quick, tell Marshal Tianheng there's been a change—send troops immediately!"
A guard rushed to report and fetched a healer for Bai Chenxiang.
Soon, Yu Tianheng and others arrived. Seeing her injuries, he asked, "What happened? Why are you hurt so badly?"
"I'm fine. Tianheng, there's no time for details. Ross City has been massacred—Ge Long's forces killed all able-bodied men, burned the city, and I was wounded by Ge Long. He said he'd rather kill his own people than let them become ours. You must send troops to save the survivors!" Bai Chenxiang urged.
The girl she'd rescued began to cry again. "Wuwu, my parents are dead, and so are all our neighbors—they're all bad people…"
Moved, Zhu Zhuqing lifted the girl. "It's okay, you're safe now. I'll protect you."
Yu Tianheng was about to explode with rage, when other scouts returned.
"Report: Piaoling City has been massacred—only women and children left; the city is burned."
"Report: Qingyuan City has been massacred…"
One report after another—five cities in a day, all their able-bodied slaughtered.
"Bastards!" Yu Tianheng's fury awakened the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, his eyes red. "Pass my order—advance to those five cities. Kill every last one of those animal soldiers! Blood for blood!"
"Wait, Tianheng," Zhu Zhuqing stopped him. "It's too late for those five cities. Send small detachments to rescue survivors, but our main force must go elsewhere."
"What do you mean? Let those butchers go unpunished?" Tianheng demanded.
"Calm down. We're still sixteen cities from Binghai City. Ge Long's goal isn't just these five cities—the remaining eleven are also targets. The five are lost; the enemy is gone. Our priority is to save as many as we can in the remaining cities," Zhu Zhuqing advised.
She, as a member of the Star Luo royal family, was more familiar with such tactics.
"She's right," said Yu Yuanzhen. "Tianheng, I've told you many times—calm down, or you'll never be a true leader. Tianlin made you commander—don't let him down."
"Yes, I was wrong. Thank you, Zhuqing." Tianheng calmed down. "Relay my order: split our forces into six. Zhu Zhuqing, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Yu Feng, and Oslo will each take a force to five cities for rescue. I'll lead the main force in support. Saving lives comes first; if the enemy retreats, don't pursue. Once a city is saved, move to the next. Understood?"
"Yes!" came the reply, and the army moved out.
Tianheng was quick: Zhu Zhuqing's force reached Zhengyang City as the massacre was halfway through. Furious, she counterattacked, but the enemy scattered, avoiding a pitched battle. With limited forces, Zhu Zhuqing didn't pursue too far, focusing on rescue.
The same happened in the other cities—Oslo, Shi Mo, and Yu Feng all succeeded in saving cities with no massacres.
But Shi Mo arrived too late to his city—the massacre was done, and Ge Long's main force was retreating. Shi Mo, honest and kind, was enraged, fighting Ge Long with all his might. Both being defensive soul masters, neither could defeat the other. Ge Long, harried, retreated to Binghai City.
Thus, the massacre ended. Of sixteen cities, six had their able-bodied slaughtered and everything burned.
Though these were small cities, over 600,000 died. Tianlin had struggled for years to limit the casualties of war, only for Xue Beng's order to undo much of his efforts.
…
In a dark valley, the Evil Sword Immortal and Bibi Dong were healing. The surges of resentment and hatred from the massacres drew energy to them.
"Heh, the taste of souls filled with despair and resentment is wonderful. Especially anger—my favorite. With this, we'll recover much faster," the Evil Sword Immortal smiled. This was his true goal—like the original, he could use negative emotions for healing and cultivation.
The despair and rage of the unjustly slain were like the finest celestial herbs.
Yu Tianheng, reading the casualty report, was furious, but knew he was powerless to avenge them now.
To prevent the Heaven Dou army from returning, he had to split his forces to guard the sixteen cities, especially the six massacred ones, full of the old and weak, who needed protection and care.
His remaining army was stretched thin. All of Heaven Dou's forces had concentrated in Binghai City, which had been fortified into a nearly impregnable fortress. With the Clear Sky Sect present, Tianheng's army had no chance of taking it.
He had several talisman charms left by Tianlin, but those were only for field battles. Using them to attack the city would destroy not only the walls but also the civilians inside.
Unless they could lure Xue Beng out…
"Lure Xue Beng out? Maybe…" Zhu Zhuqing pondered. As a Star Luo royal, she knew something of strategy. Perhaps this catastrophe could be turned into an opportunity to pacify Heaven Dou.
Yu Tianheng sent a report to Ning Fengzhi, confessing his failure and asking for help.
Ning Fengzhi, normally calm, flew into a rage over the cruelty. "Xue Beng, I underestimated your ruthlessness—just to slow our army, you resorted to this!"
Gu Rong also read the report and sighed, "Is this what it means to be an emperor? This cruelty is the only thing Xue Beng surpasses our Xiao Tian in. He's lucky Xiao Tian and Old Sword are in seclusion to become gods, or either would come kill him immediately, even ignoring the Evil Sword Immortal."
"Uncle Bone, send word to Gu Ran—have him conquer Star Luo as quickly as possible, then bring his army to reinforce Tianheng. Tianheng's forces are too scattered to take Heaven Dou," Ning Fengzhi ordered.
"And since Heaven Dou has shown no mercy, neither shall we. Xiao Tian and the others may not be able to fight now, and the talismans are few, but we still have one powerful force left. The time for doubt has passed—let Xue Beng be the first to taste the combined might of the land's two greatest powers!"