Chapter 144: Hear Me Out

Roar!

An array of angry shouts erupted across the battlefield.

Lan Zhen’s single strike shook the Tiger-Headed Monster King backward, boosting the morale of the Vermilion Bird Army while simultaneously enraging the demonic army.

Both sides began a desperate, do-or-die slaughter as various spell arts filled the heavens and covered the earth.

However, the demonic army had, after all, deployed a mid-tier battle formation. Once their cultivation realms surged, their overall strength nearly surpassed the Vermilion Bird Army by a full tier.

No matter how high the morale of the Vermilion Bird Army was, it could not alter their disadvantageous position.

Many soldiers broke their limits and fought fiercely, only to fall one after another into pools of blood, torn apart by ferocious beasts and trampled beneath their feet.

Even the aerial battlefield began to lose its advantage, gradually being pushed back by the flying monsters.

Deprived of the fire-support from the immortal spirit cannons aboard the Vermilion Bird skyships in the air, the ground battlefield was instantly plunged from bad to worse.

The Vermilion Bird Army, originally evenly matched, was suddenly beaten back step by step.

"I am not resigned to this!"

A soldier coughed up blood, roaring at the top of his lungs before a beastly claw pierced straight through his chest, killing him instantly on the spot.

"Vice-Commander Lan, how are we supposed to fight this battle?"

"How can we even fight anymore?"

"We are not afraid of death; what we fear is that if we fall here, the Southern Heavenly Continent will be lost. Where will the loved ones we are fighting desperately to protect go?"

Many people questioned the heavens, their eyes filled with utter unwillingness, and even more so, with despair and bewilderment.

There was a time when none of them ever imagined they would one day be defeated by the demon race in such a manner, defeated so thoroughly.

The first defense line was gone.

The second defense line was gone.

Were they now about to lose the final third defense line as well?

"Everyone, there is still a chance in this battle."

At that moment, Lan Zhen swept across the sky and shouted in a deep, booming voice that resonated powerfully across the surrounding area.

Countless soldiers raised their heads in unison to look at Lan Zhen.

"Those not afraid of death, follow me to break through the encirclement! Charge into the rear of the demon army and shatter their demonic arts!"

Lan Zhen roared with thunderous force, simultaneously swooping down toward the ground, his long spear pointing directly at the demonic army.

Boom!

The spear transformed into a phantom image, sweeping horizontally forward.

Dozens of demonic beasts were instantly torn into pieces, exploding one after another.

Charge into the rear of the demonic army?

Shatter their demonic arts?

Hearing this, many were momentarily stunned. Were they certain that charging in was not just marching to their deaths?

"Those in the Third Battalion who aren't afraid of death, follow me!"

At that moment, the commander of the Third Battalion raised his arms and shouted, directly leading a large mass of men to charge forward right behind Lan Zhen.

"Ninth Battalion, advance!" The commander of the Ninth Battalion also dashed out, and the soldiers behind him followed without a moment's hesitation.

"Eighteenth Battalion, kill!"

"Twentieth Battalion..."

"Twenty-fifth Battalion..."

"Thirty-sixth Battalion..."

"Forty-ninth Battalion..."

Soon, dozens of battalion commanders stepped forward.

The vast majority of them had previously held private meetings with Lan Zhen to discuss this very matter and had agreed to his plan.

To a large extent, they played a leading role, driving the other battalion commanders who had not attended the meeting. Clinging to an indomitable and fearless conviction, along with unconditional trust in their comrades, they did not overthink it and chose to follow without hesitation.

For a time, the battlefield descended into chaos.

Over half of the Vermilion Bird Army converged toward Lan Zhen's direction, concentrating their forces to launch an all-out assault on a specific sector of the demonic army.

The demon race reacted extremely swiftly as well. Under the orders of numerous Divinity Separation stage lords, countless demonic beasts swarmed over like a tide, as if trying to prevent the Vermilion Bird Army from breaking through.

Yet, this scene, viewed from the aerial battlefield by Qin Wurong, appeared utterly bizarre.

Because of Xu Zhe's previous performance, Qin Wurong had grown shaken regarding Lan Zhen's earlier plan.

Therefore, when Lan Zhen ordered the various battalions to follow him in breaking through the demonic army, Qin Wurong chose not to comply.

Even so, she constantly kept her attention fixed on the condition of the ground battlefield.

The demonic army looked as though they had been provoked, swarming madly to stop Lan Zhen.

Yet Lan Zhen did not display any overwhelmingly powerful techniques, and the number of demonic beasts dying beneath his spear was not particularly high.

The crucial point was that while those demonic beasts looked frantic, they somehow lacked a sense of genuine urgency, exuding a strong, jarring sense of discord.

"No, the demon race is deliberately letting them in."

Soon, Qin Wurong perceived the hidden catch.

The demons only looked like they wanted to stop them, but they were not employing ultimate speed to block the way at all; they lacked that reckless, death-defying frenzy from their previous clashes.

If one ignored the frantic roars and ferocious expressions of the demons and looked down from the sky, the entire spectacle resembled a demonic army intentionally clearing the way for Lan Zhen and the Vermilion Bird Army to enter their rear.

This was clearly a case of luring the enemy into a trap.

"Vice-Commander Lan, it's a trap! Fall back immediately!" Qin Wurong shouted aloud on the spot, simultaneously using voice-transmission.

However, Lan Zhen completely ignored her, continuing to lead the army as they rapidly drilled straight toward the central zone of the demonic army.

Qin Wurong’s heart skipped a beat, her face turning pale.

She vaguely sensed what was happening, yet she found it hard to believe.

How could Vice-Commander Lan do such a thing?

"Commander Qin, what is going on?"

At that moment, Jiang Zhiying and the others gathered around Qin Wurong. Having heard her shouting at Lan Zhen, they asked anxiously. ...The Vermilion Bird Army... is finished!" Qin Wurong said with a trembling voice, as if she could already foresee the fate of the Vermilion Bird Army on the ground.

Although she was reluctant to lean toward such suspicions, Lan Zhen's behavior was simply too bizarre.

He had clearly heard her voice-transmission, yet he chose to ignore it, not even asking why she thought it was a trap.

More importantly, many of the Divinity Separation stage demon lords in the rear already wore ferocious smiles on their faces.

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiying and the others changed expression drastically, lowering their gaze to look at the ground battlefield.

More than half of the Vermilion Bird Army, under Lan Zhen's leadership, had already blasted a gap through the demonic army and smoothly plunged straight into... the encirclement of the demonic army!

Indeed, the very instant the Vermilion Bird Army charged in, the gap in the demonic army—which had appeared to be blown open—was suddenly plugged up by a massive horde of beasts swarming from all directions.

This major fraction of the Vermilion Bird Army was completely surrounded in the center by the densely packed demonic forces.

Lan Zhen, who had charged at the very front, did not stop, continuing onward instead.

The numerous soldiers in the rear had not yet noticed anything amiss and continued to press forward closely behind.

The next moment, however, those Divinity Separation stage demon lords at the front suddenly shifted their massive physical bodies, clearing a path.

Lan Zhen passed right by several demon lords completely unhindered.

Immediately afterward, those demon lords rapidly closed ranks again, blocking the escape route, and stared at the massed Vermilion Bird troops before them with mocking expressions.

"Stop!"

The few battalion commanders who had charged at the very front experienced a drastic change in complexion and instantly raised their arms to roar.

Upon hearing this, countless soldiers in the rear slowed their pace and came to a halt, wearing looks of sheer bewilderment.

Why did they suddenly stop?

What should they do next?

Wait, where was Vice-Commander Lan?

How did the one issuing orders become a mere battalion commander?

Many began to sense that something was wrong. Sweeping their gazes around, they only now discovered that their massive contingent of troops had been completely sealed off and surrounded by the demonic army without a single leak.

"We're... surrounded?"

"What is going on here?"

"Didn't Vice-Commander Lan say we were breaking through to shatter their demonic arts?"

"Where is Vice-Commander Lan?"

The crowd began to stir in agitation.

"Vice-Commander Lan!"

At that moment, a battalion commander at the front roared with a trembling voice.

The voice was deafening, echoing across the vicinity.

Yet Lan Zhen had vanished without a trace, offering no response whatsoever.

"Have you betrayed us?" That battalion commander closed his eyes in utter despair and grief, roaring in furious rage.

As soon as those words fell, the complexions of the numerous soldiers in the rear changed drastically, leaving them dumbfounded.

Vice-Commander Lan had betrayed them?

How could this be possible?

Many found it hard to believe, unable even to process the reality that the heroic vice-commander who had previously led them to successive victories against the demons had actually turned traitor.

Outside the encirclement of the demonic army, the remaining small fraction of the Vermilion Bird Army was also completely stunned.

Vice-Commander Lan betrayed them?

He had led the vast majority of the Vermilion Bird Army's main force straight into the tiger's mouth, delivering them into the encirclement of the demonic army?

"Humans, accept reality."

At that moment, the tiger-headed monster king in the sky, who had previously been blasted away, returned out of nowhere, hovering in mid-air and looking down upon everyone.

"The first two times you were defeated, yet you managed to escape. This time, let's see where you can possibly run!"

As the Tiger-Headed Monster King's voice faded,

a deafening roar thundered within the minds of everyone in the Vermilion Bird Army, finally cementing a single, brutal truth.

Vice-Commander Lan really had betrayed them!

A profound sense of despair and fury flooded the entire field.

"Everyone, lend me your ears!"

A clear, pleasant voice suddenly rang out.

The sound unexpectedly came from deep within the encirclement of the demonic army.

All eyes turned toward the source of the voice.

A young man clad in red armor, with bright eyes, white teeth, and an otherworldly demeanor, walked out from the midst of the Vermilion Bird Army with a faint smile on his face.

"Old Demon Xu... Ah, Heaven's Chosen Xu!"

"Heaven's Chosen Xu is inside as well?"

"He actually fell for the trick and got surrounded too!"

Many recognized him and cried out in shock.

High above on the Vermilion Bird skyship, Qin Wurong, Jiang Zhiying, and the others also turned pale.

Xu Zhe had actually been surrounded as well?

Qin Wurong instantly felt as though her last shred of hope had been thoroughly extinguished.

She had originally thought that Xu Zhe might somehow create a miracle, reversing this desperate deadlock to achieve the victory against the odds he had spoken of earlier.

Yet now that even Xu Zhe was surrounded by the demonic army and struggling to protect himself, how could he possibly turn defeat into victory?

Not only Qin Wurong, but the other battalion commanders also sighed repeatedly.

The situation was too despairing.

"Everyone, listen to me. Vice-Commander Lan has not betrayed us. He is actually a double agent, making the demons think they are luring the enemy into a trap, but in reality, we are charging into the tiger's den—bah, no! In reality, we are wolves entering a flock of sheep, and the demon race is inviting a wolf into their house to bring about their own destruction!"

Xu Zhe shouted at the top of his lungs.

Yet the crowd listened in total bewilderment.

A double agent?

The demons were inviting a wolf into their house?

We are the wolves?

Are you certain about that?

"Vermilion Bird Army, hear my command!"

Suddenly, Xu Zhe raised a Vermilion Bird Token in his hand. A blazing red light, akin to roaring flames, soared into the sky and transformed into a Vermilion Bird totem.

"We have successfully penetrated the heartland of the demonic army! Comrades on the outside, quickly coordinate with us from within and without to slaughter the demons!"

Swish!

As his voice fell, Xu Zhe flicked several streaks of light from his storage ring, which transformed into three jade disks.

On the disks, densely packed runes suddenly swirled, blooming with dazzling brilliance.

Boom!

The void trembled as vast spiritual energy was instantly sucked completely dry.

Three invisible waves of energy emerged, rippling outward in expanding circles through the air and sweeping directly through the body of every single Vermilion Bird Army soldier.

The first wave of energy swept through.

Every single member of the Vermilion Bird Army felt their physical bodies vibrate as they were enveloped in a golden glow, their injuries healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The second wave of energy swept through.

Everyone felt a warm current well up from thin air within their dantian energy centers, as if they possessed an inexhaustible reservoir of strength. Vast spiritual energy filled their entire bodies in an endless stream.

The third wave of energy swept through.

Everyone's cultivation realm surged violently, instantly climbing by a full tier—matching the demon race.

......