Chapter 874 Broken Sword

Fan Li reached out and plucked the "little red flower" from his chest.

There was blood, and the arrow tip had a barb design, which also tore off a piece of flesh, but this little injury was no different to Fan Li than a child cutting their finger while sharpening a pencil.

From the Demon King's standpoint, Fan Li didn't care about merit or promotion, and getting rich was even more meaningless. What he wanted was the joy and satisfaction of improving his strength.

After withdrawing from Shangjing City, he thought they would be attacked by the Qian army, and was even prepared for a desperate battle. But they waited until the army crossed the Bian River and traveled a long distance north before they saw the main force of the Qian Kingdom's Imperial Guards returning to Shangjing from afar.

The scouts of the two armies began to skirmish.

The Yan army wanted to retreat after the battle, so they didn't actively approach.

The main force of the Imperial Guards, without other armies, was ordered to return to the capital as soon as possible to recover the devastated capital, so naturally they wouldn't cause any trouble.

For a time, they were both a little too...polite.

It was a bit like,

Yan army: Oh, you're back? I just went there and was about to leave.

Qian army: Oh, you're leaving? Okay, come back and play next time.

Chen Yang keenly captured the reason for this "politeness." They should have been besieged by the angry Qian people along the Bian River, but they weren't. That clearly meant that someone had helped them bear this treatment.

So... it was...

After figuring this out, Chen Yang was almost going crazy!

This made Fan Li a little surprised. Who exactly was the Prince of Pingxi's master?

The Demon King was a bit "out of touch with the world." Although there might be a possibility that he would die if his master died, he had never tried it.

Most importantly, wasn't he still alive?

When they rushed back, if the master hadn't died and had escaped, that was lucky.

When they rushed back, if the master was dead and his head was being circulated among the Qian people, and he looked at himself, still alive! That was...a surprise!

But for Chen Yang,

He was already "guilty." This expedition was to wash away his sins and make amends. To a certain extent, he was bound to the Prince of Pingxi.

And once he was alive, but the Prince of Pingxi was gone...

With the Prince of Pingxi's prestige in the army, and most importantly, the relationship between the Prince of Pingxi and His Majesty, Chen Yang could clearly foresee his end. He would be heavily rewarded,

And then,

Slowly played to death.

In fact, whether it was reason or emotion, or utilitarianism or sentiment, Chen Yang could not sit idly by and watch the Prince of Pingxi have an accident.

After that, the main force of the Yan army, led by Chen Yang, began to quickly retreat to prepare to meet the Prince of Pingxi.

Then, they met him.

Yes, at this time, Chen Yang didn't know that the Prince of Pingxi himself wasn't here. He deliberately didn't compete with General Fan for credit, but instead arranged troops to clean up the aftermath.

So,

While Fan Li was sulking, thinking that all his previous preparations, performances, and well-grasped details had been wasted,

Chen Yang had already directed the troops to form an array against Bai Li Jian.

Not just surrounded, but arrayed.

Archers and crossbowmen pressed down in the middle, shieldmen pressed forward, spearmen protected them, and two cavalry units, each with a hundred riders, began to patrol.

Because they were facing only one person, it was meaningless to invest too many troops. The central circle was fighting, and a large area around it could only watch the excitement.

However, this "one person's" identity was completely different.

Conquering Shangjing destroyed the Qian people's political foundation.

Killing Bai Li Jian would strike at the entire Jianghu (martial world) of the Qian people, and incidentally, would suppress the confidence of the Qian people.

For a long time, Bai Li Jian had been the "totem" of the Qian people; otherwise, why would his entry into Shangjing in white have caused such a sensation back then?

The Sword Saint intended to take action himself, at least to provide support.

But the messenger brought Chen Yang's military order:

"Please rest, Sword Saint!"

This meant that he didn't need to intervene. Of course, it wasn't that Chen Yang was overbearing and stubborn, but because if the Sword Saint joined the battle, and the two peak swordsmen fought each other, the surrounding soldiers wouldn't know how to cooperate and support them at all. It would be better for him to do things steadily himself.

It wasn't that he didn't cherish the lives of the soldiers, but that he didn't know what the Sword Saint's current state was. After all, he had seen the scene where the Sword Saint was "repelled" by Bai Li Jian earlier, and he didn't have time to think about it and ask.

Therefore, the Sword Saint stood far away, holding Longyuan;

He watched Bai Li Jian being surrounded, watching the Yan army complete the formation in a way that targeted Bai Li Jian.

It could be said that if the Qian army didn't also launch a miraculous descent from the heavens next, then Bai Li Jian was actually already dead.

He couldn't escape, even if he wasn't here, he couldn't escape.

Once, the Sword Saint heard Zheng Fan sigh, saying it was good. There were indeed strong people in this world, but there were no great powers that could move mountains and seas. No matter how high your martial arts were, you were still afraid of kitchen knives. No matter how high you stood, I could fill it with human lives and smooth you out.

And now, Bai Li Jian was being "smoothed out."

Swordsmen are like porcelain, fragile.

Peak swordsmen are top-quality products. Now, they are like being surrounded by a group of blue bricks, about to be smashed.

The Sword Saint didn't mean to belittle the Yan army and exalt Bai Li Jian,

But he couldn't help but have this kind of analogy.

The world rumored that Yu Huaping had once broken through a thousand riders with a single sword in front of Xuehai Pass, but in fact there weren't a thousand riders, because who would count at that time?

Saying he broke through a thousand riders was also because saying he broke through ten thousand riders was too exaggerated.

And at that time, the wild barbarian cavalry were just rats fleeing, especially after he killed Ge Limu, the morale of the army had actually collapsed, which gave him that opportunity at that time.

But the problem was,

Bai Li Jian didn't have this kind of treatment.

More importantly, he had already consumed too much, especially that sword, he sacrificed his lifespan.

When the archers and crossbowmen began to suppress and the shieldmen began to press forward, Bai Li Jian had no choice but to start defending.

Then,

His sword cut through the Yan army's shields, tore apart the Yan army's armor, and he resolutely chose close combat, hoping to place himself among the enemy crowd to seek protection.

Blood splattered continuously, and screams continued to come.

In any case,

He was still Bai Li Jian.

However, his "martial bravery" and "unstoppable momentum" didn't give him the situation he wanted.

Because what Chen Yang had arranged was originally the vanguard of an army, who usually ate the best, drank the best, and were respected by their comrades in the army. At critical moments, they were the daredevil troops who could be the first to rush into battle and climb the city.

They were originally used to consume their own lives. Their armor and weapons were nothing more than firewood used to eliminate the other party's energy.

And the most awkward thing about swordsmen was that they did have unparalleled sword energy, but they couldn't rely on their physique to withstand damage like martial artists.

And no matter what kind of strong person, their own energy couldn't last continuously. They always needed to take a breath, leaving an opportunity for the exchange of old and new forces.

Bai Li Jian didn't have it.

When he swept away the eight armored soldiers in front of him with another sword,

He himself also revealed an opening.

The Sword Saint watched from the side and could clearly see that Bai Li Jian didn't know how to fight in a chaotic army.

He himself didn't understand it before, but after having the experience of going on expeditions with Zheng Fan, he slowly understood it.

Killing people and injuring people are different concepts.

The position of the injury also has a big difference.

Sometimes, you don't even need to pursue armor-piercing. You just need to simply use sword energy to open a blood flower in a position that the other party's armor can't protect, which is enough to make the enemy in front of you lose the ability to fight again in a short period of time.

This is a bill that must be carefully calculated.

Unfortunately, Bai Li Jian couldn't calculate it, because he had always avoided this situation.

Finally,

When eight spears pressed down on him, he blocked them with a sword and swept away an open space with sword energy again.

But at this moment, the shieldmen pressed up, restricting his space with shields, and the axemen took the opportunity to stab in from the gaps in the shields.

"Roar!"

A roar like a wild beast came from Bai Li Jian's mouth. Blood, mixed with sword energy, completely shook away the surrounding restraints.

Shields, weapons, and even people were all overturned.

Bai Li Jian's hair was disheveled, and his eyes were filled with turbidity. His aura was chaotic beyond description.

This was a very suffocating battle. If he was facing a group of Jianghu (martial world) people, even if he was besieged, he could still do it with ease.

Even a bandit village of hundreds of people could be destroyed by Bai Li Jian alone under the cover of night.

But unfortunately, he was facing an army that wasn't afraid of death, and it was still an elite army!

Even the Sword Saint, if he fell into the same situation, could kill more people than Bai Li Jian and last longer, but it wouldn't change the final result.

And when Bai Li Jian hadn't had time to recover his energy, the cavalry charged in.

Bai Li Jian forcibly stood up, grabbed a horse lance with one hand, and then slashed a knight away with a sword. Immediately afterwards, he turned around and kicked another knight off his horse.

The Sword Saint's fingertips moved slightly, and he shook his head slightly.

There was no need for this. He could have dodged, but he insisted on fighting head-on.

After the cavalry charged over, it would take some time to turn around and charge back. This time could have been used.

The Sword Saint couldn't help but judge in his heart.

Sure enough,

After overturning four knights in a row,

The fifth knight took the opportunity to charge in, and the horse lance directly pierced Bai Li Jian, who was still in mid-air.

"Ah!"

The warhorse, along with the knight, gave the horse lance an extremely terrifying impact. Bai Li Jian was strung in mid-air.

The knight pressed down on his arm, resting the horse lance on the ground.

The nearby armored soldiers immediately advanced, not giving Bai Li Jian another chance to counterattack.

However,

At this moment,

A golden spot appeared in the center of Bai Li Jian's eyebrows, and blood flowed from his eyes.

Suddenly,

A burst of sword energy rose again.

The knight in front of him, along with his horse, was split in half.

The sweeping sword energy forced back the armored soldiers who were trying to approach again.

After doing all this,

Bai Li Jian turned his head and locked his eyes directly on the Sword Saint, who was standing outside the military formation.

The Sword Saint's eyes were as deep as water.

Bai Li Jian was laughing with his mouth open. His originally handsome face was very ferocious at this time, and his white teeth were covered in blood.

His fingers began to fly quickly on the sword in his hand, seemingly engraving something. The sword seemed to have a spirit and actively absorbed a lot of Bai Li Jian's blood.

The Sword Saint had said before that Bai Li Jian was following a path similar to that of a demon beast, so he naturally had some abilities that ordinary swordsmen didn't possess.

However, the Sword Saint could understand what he was doing.

He was,

Writing a will.

Ordinary people's wills are written on paper, while swordsmen's wills are written on swords.

The sword maker once said that the reason why a sword is a famous sword is because good materials and good patterns are the foundation. The real famous sword lies in the swordsman's nurture. Just like people wearing jade, it is said that jade nourishes people, but in fact, people are also nourishing jade.

Famous swords have spirits, and the spirit is given by their masters.

The Sword Saint also had a sword, inherited from his master, but unfortunately, that sword broke during a martial arts competition. Later, the Sword Saint found a sword maker and exchanged a promise for him to personally forge Longyuan for him.

Later, when he was old and when he left, this Longyuan would also be passed down, probably to the sword maid.

Bai Li Jian managed to get this opening.

While the surrounding armored soldiers hadn't rushed over again,

He quickly wrote a blood letter on the sword and threw the sword towards the Sword Saint's location.

The sword whistled.

When it came to the Sword Saint, the Sword Saint pointed his finger and stopped it.

Bai Li Jian laughed loudly.

He was actually not a good person.

He was greedy for life and afraid of death, and he didn't have much sense of national righteousness. He was really bad at being a person. Not to mention that he couldn't give people a spring breeze, but the more you understood him, the more you felt that he was petty.

But in any case, as a fellow practitioner who once stood on the same stage, as a swordsman, facing his last request, the Sword Saint, who was also a swordsman, would agree to pass this sword on.

Bai Li Jian didn't say that he wanted to give this sword to his sister or return it to the Bai Li family. Even though the Bai Li family had a tradition of hiding swords in the sword mound for future generations, Bai Li Jian knew better that he wasn't qualified to make any conditions at this time.

He would be satisfied if it could be passed down and find another swordsman.

The Sword Saint took the sword behind him, closed his eyes, and nodded slightly.

Then,

Eight spears stabbed over horizontally,

Clamping Bai Li Jian's torso.

Bai Li Jian, who had already sent out his sword, actually didn't have the ability to continue fighting.

But,

When he was lifted up by the spears, and armored soldiers around him were preparing to throw ropes,

He shook his head.

The young master of the Bai Li family had a very smooth life.

In a trance,

He seemed to see the shock and joy of the family elders when he showed his swordsman talent when he was young.

In the Bai Li family's sword mound, he refused to inherit a sword from a family predecessor, but instead sought another sword that didn't belong to the Bai Li family. He said that he would become the number one swordsman in the family's history, so there was no need to inherit anyone's sword intent from his ancestors.

How arrogant, he could even despise his ancestors.

Back then, when he entered Shangjing in white clothes on a small boat, although it was to seek dragon energy to seek a breakthrough in swordsmanship, he still felt comfortable in his heart when he looked at the city-wide storm he had stirred up.

He had lived a glorious life.

It's just that,

The last picture in his mind,

Was back then under Shangjing City,

If that day,

He and his sister hadn't turned around and left,

But had risked everything to kill that Zheng guy;

Would,

Everything have changed?

No,

It wouldn't have changed.

Because he was still afraid of death, and he couldn't change this problem.

When the ropes were about to be put on his body,

Bai Li Jian condensed the last bit of sword energy at his fingertips,

He didn't sweep it towards the armored soldiers below, but instead, he directly stabbed it into his chest.

In an instant,

His meridians were completely broken!

The young master of the Bai Li family was afraid of death, but when it really came to this kind of situation, facing the Yan people who wanted to capture him alive, he still had the courage to end it himself.

It wasn't heroism, but he understood that being captured alive would be worse than death.

So,

He died.

His body was put in shackles and then pressed down by a group of strong armored soldiers. After someone checked and confirmed that he was dead, the people around him breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

But even so, the people who were pressing on his torso still didn't dare to let go.

"Lord, Bai Li Jian has been executed!"

Chen Yang nodded when he heard the words.

Not being able to capture him alive was a pity, but his gains from entering Qian this time were too many and too great, and this little regret wasn't anything at all.

On the other side,

After Bai Li Jian committed suicide,

The sword that had just been taken behind the Sword Saint trembled slightly.

Famous swords have spirits, and the spirit is crying.

Even Longyuan trembled slightly at this time, making some kind of response.

Not for his person, not for his experience,

But for,

That unique sword energy that once appeared on the top of the mountain.

Earl Yishan, Chen Yang, personally came to the Sword Saint and asked very politely:

"Sword Saint, Bai Li Jian's body..."

Chen Yang meant that, according to custom, he had to cut off his head.

Because Bai Li Jian himself had a great symbolic meaning, and his head was worth being sent to Yanjing to become a sacrifice for the emperor to boast about in the ancestral temple.

Of course, if the Prince of Pingxi was interested in collecting it, he could also do so.

It's just that,

Destroying the body of a dead peak swordsman in front of the Sword Saint made Chen Yang feel a little uneasy, so he came to ask.

The sky and the earth were big, but in Earl Yishan's eyes, the Prince of Pingxi was actually bigger than the emperor of Yanjing, and he knew better how much the Sword Saint weighed in front of the Prince of Pingxi.

It has to be said that Earl Yishan, who had confronted the imperial envoy in the most stupid way in the Sushan camp, had finally learned how to be a person after experiencing this series of events.

The Sword Saint understood what he meant,

Said;

"Do as you please."

"This..."

Chen Yang didn't understand whether the Sword Saint was telling the truth or saying the opposite.

The Sword Saint raised Bai Li Jian's sword,

Tapping the sword lightly,

Forcibly suppressing the sword spirit that was agitated by Bai Li Jian's death with his own sword intent;

Said:

"I have already collected his body for him."

"Okay, I understand."

The Sword Saint stood by the river with two swords,

After blowing in the wind for a while,

He looked back,

And happened to see the Yan army soldiers cutting off Bai Li Jian's head.

The Jianghu swordsman, the imperial army;

The Sword Saint frowned slightly, but he wasn't angry about this. At this time, he suddenly wanted to go home, back to his own small courtyard, and feed the chickens.

Suddenly,

The swordsman suddenly remembered something,

And reached out and patted his forehead,

"What am I thinking about,

I almost forgot,

That Zheng guy, hasn't been picked up yet!"

————

Don't wait tonight, and then, please ask for a monthly ticket!