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Embrace the Dao from the Beginning (Web Novel) - Chapter 168: The Haotian Flag! (8th Update)
Chapter 168: The Haotian Flag! (8th Update)
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
The news of the troop withdrawal spread, and many soldiers who had been desperately resting and healing in their tents stumbled out in a daze.
Only when several lieutenants loudly and repeatedly announced did a semblance of life begin to emerge on their numb faces, followed by an outpouring of mournful wails and sobs.
Many soldiers held their heads and wept bitterly, while others ran straight to the mass graves, found their former comrades-in-arms, laughed and cried, and then scooped up a handful of the yellow earth in front of the graves to hide in their armor to take home.
“Reporting to the commander!”
“The entire Bloodsha Army of the Red Character Camp, which numbered one hundred thousand, is now down to nine thousand six hundred and twenty-three, all have regrouped!”
“Awaiting your orders!!”
A middle-aged lieutenant, a collateral member of the Li Family, came before Li Hongzhuang, his voice hoarse but resolute as he spoke.
His eyes, however, were already moist.
Li Hongzhuang’s face, as pale as the moon, trembled slightly, and her gaze swept over the vice general before her to the faces behind him—haggard, pale, yet filled with tears of hope.
Finally, her gaze settled on the distant mass graves.
The remaining ninety thousand had already been laid to rest here.
They were troops she had personally trained one by one!
The vast expanse of graves held not just ninety thousand, but also those from the battalions led by her third and sixth brothers, buried in this land as far as the eye could see.
Even the normally stoic Li Hongzhuang couldn’t help but feel her eyes reddening at this moment.
She controlled her emotions, took a deep breath, and shouted, “I hereby declare, the Bloodsha Army begins its journey home today!!”
The phrase “going home” lingered in the ears of nine thousand six hundred and thirty-two soldiers, tears swelling in their eyes.
“All of the Bloodsha Army, received!!”
The three lieutenants, along with all soldiers, roared in unison.
By all, they included the souls of the more than ninety thousand buried here, whose spirits they would bring home as well.
Finally, they could embark on the journey back home…
Amidst the excited and tearful voices, a lieutenant stepped forward, bowed to Li Hongzhuang, and then asked, “Commander, what about our reinforcements?”
“Reinforcements…”
Li Hongzhuang turned to Li Hao beside her and said, “He is here to replace you as reinforcements.”
The lieutenant looked at Li Hao, his body trembling.
Were they really being replaced by this child?
“Commander, this…”
“No more questions, go on, go home early. It’s hard to travel when it gets dark,” Li Hongzhuang said, her expression returning to stern and indifferent.
Seeing this, the lieutenant dared not say more. He nodded, took another look at Li Hao to imprint the young man’s appearance in his memory.
The conversation between the two was overheard by the other soldiers, who, after their initial excitement, were shocked. They were all retreating, and this place was being left to a child?
Many soldiers, anxious, cried out for an explanation; others said that if that was the case, they would stay as well.
But Li Hongzhuang just kept a cold face and did not respond. Under the shouting of several lieutenants, everyone was eventually sent away to gather their armor and equipment and then set off for home.
Li Hao silently watched as the soldiers passed by, smelling the dust on these veterans and the strong scent of blood.
The little white fox crouched at his feet, very well-behaved.
Ren Qianqian, on the other hand, held her sword and stood quietly behind Li Hao. The young girl, seeing the scars, the damaged armor, and the bent blades of these soldiers, felt her heart quake and tremble, her eyes reddening.
“Commander, aren’t you leaving?”
Another deputy looked at Li Hongzhuang and couldn’t help but ask.
Li Hongzhuang shook her head slightly, “You all go first, I’ll come later, no need to wait for me.”
She knew that if she said she would stay here, more than half of these soldiers would also want to stay with her, even if she tried to drive them away.
After all, they had fought side by side for years, how could they easily speak of abandonment.
Hearing these words, the deputy hesitated, then glanced at Li Hao, still unable to understand why someone who appeared to be a wealthy young master had been sent here as reinforcements, to guard this lonely wasteland city.
But without Li Hongzhuang’s explanation, they could not guess the reasons. Military orders were like mountains; they could only be executed.
As over nine thousand people left, the camp suddenly became tranquil and empty.
Only Li Hongzhuang, Li Hao, Ren Qianqian, and a little fox remained.
Li He’s whereabouts were unknown. He had told Li Hongzhuang privately that he would only take action in secret, and would only do so if Li Hao’s life was in danger, and not for anything else.
Li Hongzhuang had nothing to say to that.
She had learned of Li Hao and his seventh brother’s matters through Li He, but as she had not been directly involved, she didn’t know the specifics.
Her only thought was to defend this lonely city.
Besides explaining Li Hao’s situation, Li He also conveyed a message to her.
That was, with smoke and fire rising everywhere in Dayu, and demons causing chaos in various places, Emperor Yu was already considering temporarily abandoning and setting aside Heavenly Gate Pass.
They would reclaim it when Dayu regained its might in the future.
Thus, if this place were to fall, they would not blame anyone, and if there were any punishments to be made, Li Tian Gang would bear them.
Since Li Tian Gang had made great contributions in Northern Yan, at most he would receive a reprimand, have some of his salary docked; the so-called punishment was nothing more than a show for other officials.
In other words, this place had already become an area that was forsaken.
There would be no more reinforcements coming!
Li He had informed her that Li Hongzhuang could leave at any time and should not lose her life here.
But leaving?
Li Hongzhuang looked at the dark expanse of tombs, before her eyes were the scenes of her third brother and sixth brother who had once drunk and fought here, sacrificing their lives, and every inch of this territory was stained with the blood of their soldiers!
Emperor Yu wanted to abandon it, her seventh brother wanted to abandon it, but… she did not want to abandon it!!
Li Hongzhuang took a deep breath, reigned in her emotions, and walked into the camp.
Although those soldiers had left, some tents had not been completely taken down, and were left here to serve as a decoy, making the demons believe they had a larger force.
“Find any tent you like, the conditions here are poor. Ever since the city was breached, there have been no civilians here, they were all relocated more than a decade ago.”
Li Hongzhuang casually said to Li Hao, then walked straight into the camp.
Li Hao nodded, looked around, and then saw in the distance the uneven mounds of graves.
He led Ren Qianqian and the little white fox over, his gaze sweeping over, the names or unified titles engraved on wooden plaques.
The cold wind blew, giving Li Hao a bone-chilling sensation.
“Are these… all heroes who died in battle here?” Ren Qianqian’s pretty face paled; she covered her mouth slightly and said with a tremble.
With her own eyes, she saw not just a hundred thousand but countless tombs; the shock was indescribable.
The little white fox that liked to jump around everywhere was also motionless, sitting quietly at Li Hao’s feet, silently watching.
Li Hao fell into silence for a while.
He came here just to repay a debt of his own flesh and blood.
Once three years were up, the debt would be repaid.
However, looking at the numerous soldiers here, he suddenly felt that besides repaying the debt of flesh and blood, there might be another meaning to coming here.
During these three years, it seemed… he should do something else.
It’s a pity that his cultivation level is still too weak.
At the Celestial Master Realm, one could establish a sect within the realm, but in this perilous Frontier Pass, one could perish at any moment, and he still needed Feng’s secret protection.
Only by reaching the Three Immortal Realms would he have the power to protect himself.
“My cultivation is improving too slowly…” Li Hao’s eyes deepened.
Although entering the Heavenly Human Realm at fourteen was shockingly prodigious, for his current situation, it was still not enough.
He needed to become stronger and improve quicker!
Li Hao took a deep breath, left the graveyard, and came to the camp.
He searched the other tents but couldn’t find any food or drink. As he walked by, he saw the figure of Li Hongzhuang sitting on a small mound marked “Cangya City,” wiping her sword’s edge.
“Elder Hongzhuang.”
Li Hao called out and walked over.
Li Hongzhuang slightly raised her eyebrows and looked at the approaching youth, frowning, “You should call me aunt.”
“I’m no longer a member of the Li Family,” Li Hao said.
Li Hongzhuang thought of Li He’s words, her expression darkened slightly, and she asked, “Why has it turned out this way?”
Li Hao shook his head slightly, not wanting to bring it up, and asked, “It’s almost night, are you hungry? I’ll go find something to eat.”
“Night is approaching, and demons roam about. It’s best if you don’t leave on your own,” Li Hongzhuang said. She knew that Li He would protect Li Hao in the shadows, but she did not want Li Hao to recklessly brave danger.
Li Hao looked up to see the moon rising and the stars beginning to shine.
He smiled faintly, turned away from the small mound, and, leading Ren Qianqian and the little white fox, he aimlessly strolled through the camp, weaving in and out of the tents.
The tents were tidied up cleanly, but some broken armor and rotten smelly clothes were left behind. Li Hao found a cooking area, where he rummaged and found some cans of salt.
With a smile, he summoned his Divine Soul, roaming in all directions, and soon found a demon beast in the wilderness around the camp.
He bent down to pick up a broken blade fragment from the ground and tossed it like skipping a stone.
The shard flew out, piercing through the air instantly, appearing thirty li away, and with a thrust, it pierced accurately through the brain of the demon beast.
The beast’s body trembled twice and then lost its life.
Using the power of object manipulation, Li Hao drew its corpse over.
This was a demon beast weighing about three tons, resembling a pig or a lion with protruding tusks.
Li Hao took Ren Qianqian’s spare sword, used it as a butcher knife, and quickly processed the creature’s insides, then cut it into pieces.
“Qianqian, help with lighting a fire.”
“Okay.”
Over the days of their journey, Ren Qianqian had grown accustomed to assisting Li Hao. She nodded, found some firewood around, and soon started a bonfire.
Li Hao had already prepared the demon beast by then, selecting the best parts and using sharpened sticks or broken spears from the ground to skewer the meat and roast it over the fire.
With salt and seasonings, Li Hao kept the cooking simple, but as the sizzling fat from the roasting meat dripped down, a delicious fragrance wafted through the air.
While the demon meat was roasting, Li Hao went to a tent.
He examined the black and yellow patterned tent for a moment, packed it away, then used his sword to cut it, trimming it into several neat pieces of cloth.
He then made a brush from the demon beast’s fur and, using its blood as ink, began to paint on the cloth.
“What are you doing?”
Li Hongzhuang, lured by the scent, had walked down from the mound and silently approached the bonfire. She unexpectedly asked Li Hao, who was busying himself with his task.
Li Hao looked up at her, smiled, and said, “Your Bloodsha Army has withdrawn, along with the military flags. I’m crafting a new war banner.”
“Not all of my flags were taken; some were left here,” Li Hongzhuang said.
Li Hao smiled faintly, “Those are yours. This war banner is mine.”
“Oh?”
Li Hongzhuang looked puzzled.
By that time, Li Hao had also finished writing. He released his power, drying the blood on the cloth, then beckoned with his hand, extending his power to manipulate objects several li into the forest, cutting down several trees and drawing them forth.
The trees were quickly whittled into poles.
Li Hao wrapped them with excess cloth at one end, binding them there, and planted the other end into the ground, erecting them.
Thus, a makeshift war banner was created.
The cloth hung down, fluttering in the night wind.
Two large characters written in demon beast’s blood swayed and revealed themselves:
Haotian!
Li Hongzhuang stood there stunned for a while, then looked towards Li Hao, “Are you really of the Fifteen Li Realm?”
Li Hao shook his head slightly.
“I’m in the Heavenly Human Realm,” he said truthfully.
“?”
Li Hongzhuang’s pupils constricted slightly, and she froze on the spot.
Heavenly Human Realm?
Li He had not informed her of Li Hao’s cultivation, only of some incidents in the household.
She, spending most of her time at the Frontier Pass and largely cut off from the news within the realm, was busy guarding against demons every day, with little care for the affairs within the realm.
