sent quite puzzled. After all, they knew that the current emperor was someone who valued his reputation and favored close-knit relationships with powerful ministers; such a self-abasing act was not in...The Prime Succession Consort 411. The Final Battle at Feihong Pass

411. The Final Battle at Feihong Pass

A grand battle on the city gate should have attracted countless martial arts enthusiasts to watch, but at Feihong Pass now, no one had time for that. Neither the Xiling soldiers eager to enter the pass nor the Mos family soldiers fighting desperately were in a mood to watch this battle. All their minds and eyes were fixed on one goal: the enemy.

The city gate finally collapsed under the heavy wooden battering rams, and the Mos family soldiers used their bodies as shields at the entrance, battling with the enemies. On the city walls and streets, everywhere could be seen soldiers from both sides fighting fiercely. The imminent death of Prince Zhen Nan or the coexistence of Lady Ning and her troops in defending Ding Wang had greatly boosted morale on both sides. No one was willing to give an inch; they fought bloody battles.

No one knew how long this bloody battle lasted, but everyone, including Ye Li, almost covered in blood and exhausted, finally heard the hoofbeats from afar outside the pass. Feng Zhiyao's spirit lifted sharply, suddenly springing up and shouting loudly: "Black Cloud Cavalry is here! His Highness has returned!" Immediately, all surviving soldiers were invigorated. Especially after hearing the approaching hoofbeats, a wave of uncontrollable joy surged in everyone’s hearts. Their lord had finally returned; reinforcements were finally here. They…had finally held Feihong Pass!

The arrival of the Black Cloud Cavalry immediately reduced the pressure on the gate guards. The Xiling army outside the city was thrown into chaos by this sudden change, and the Black Cloud Cavalry seized the opportunity to charge in, successfully entering the city. At the forefront of the cavalry, a rider in white armor with silver hair commanded sternly: "Close both front and back gates!"

Although Feihong Pass was called a pass, there was still a small city inside it. However, this city wasn’t large and mostly housed soldiers stationed here; only very few ordinary citizens lived there. Due to the imminent battle, civilians had already withdrawn to safer areas, leaving almost exclusively Mos family soldiers in the city now. Closing the gates meant that Xiling soldiers outside couldn't enter while those who were already inside would be trapped.

"A Li..."

"A Li..." Mo Xiuyao galloped through the streets on horseback, sweeping aside several poorly-timed Xiling soldiers trying to ambush him with a whip. He finally caught sight of that slender figure at a street corner. Her originally white clothes were now stained with blood; even from afar, he could see traces of blood on her fair face. In an instant, Mo Xiuyao felt as if his heart was being torn apart by a vicious blow.

"Xiuyao" Hearing Mo Xiuyao's voice, Ye Li’s mind briefly went blank. She didn’t know how many people she had killed that day; her whole body exuded an intense smell of blood. Suddenly hearing Mo Xiuyao’s voice made her feel as if it were a dream.

"Be careful!" Han Mingyue shouted, throwing his long sword at the Xiling soldier sneaking up to attack Ye Li from behind. Simultaneously, Mo Xiuyao leapt off his horse and landed lightly before Ye Li, pulling her into his arms.

"Xiuyao" Ye Li was stunned for a moment, recognizing who had embraced her.

"Agri." Mo Xiuyao tightly held the person in his arms, for the first time feeling an overwhelming sense of fear. He, Mo Xiuyao, was never wrong in his calculations; he could manipulate everyone under his control. But this time, he truly miscalculated. He couldn't even imagine what he would do if something happened to Ye Li.

Mo Xiuyao held Ye Li with one hand and waved the whip in his other hand, sending powerful energy like poisonous arrows everywhere around them; no soldiers from Xiling within a ten-zhang radius could escape. The distant soldiers were also intimidated by Prince Ding's reputation and did not dare approach.

Han Mingyue pulled her sword back from one of the fallen soldiers and walked over, saying, "You finally returned." Mo Xiuyao nodded; this was the first time in all these years that he looked at Han Mingyue so solemnly. He said seriously, "Thank you." Like Ye Li, Han Mingyue's whole body was covered with blood, his once refined and elegant appearance completely gone. Moreover, there were many injuries on him, clearly indicating that Han Mingyue had been protecting Ye Li all this time.

Han Mingyue smiled calmly; despite the traces of enemy blood still on his face, warmth shone in his eyes along with the former glory of the famous Moon Prince who once shook the world.

Han Mingyue knew that after this battle, their years-long estrangement could finally be put to an end. Han Mingyue understood Mo Xiuyao's personality well; he would never hate him but would forever ignore him and pretend they had never been friends or brothers. When he finally broke free from his infatuation and realized what he had lost for this hopeless love, it was too late.

When Mo Xiuyao returned, there was quite a commotion; soon Feng Zhirao and others rushed over as well. Not even greeting each other, Feng Zhirao hurriedly asked, "How many men did you bring back !" Mo Xiuyao replied, "Thirty thousand."

Feng Zhirao's face turned extremely ugly; with hundreds of thousands of Xiling soldiers, thirty thousand was useless!

Mo Xiuyao calmly said, "Don't worry; Leng Huai will arrive soon with reinforcements. As long as we delay the Xiling troops and keep them away from Feihong Pass and the small city."

In their current situation, there was no need for further discussion. Feng Zhirao turned around without another word, saying, "Understood, but I don't know how much time we can buy. If someone breaks through…"

Mo Xiuyao frowned and said, "Every state has garrisons; even though they are small in number, they're enough to hold off a few scattered enemies."

Ye Li calmly stated, "I've ordered all the civilians within one hundred li of Feihong Pass to evacuate if necessary."

Hearing this, everyone was relieved. No one else thought of this solution except for Ye Li. Although evacuating every civilian would be difficult, with Prince Ding's prestige and Princess Ding's direct order, at least eighty percent of them would comply. With the most worrying problem solved, everyone felt reassured. Feng Zhirao smiled and said, "Then let's focus on blocking the Xiling army; we will definitely hold out until General Leng arrives! Your Highness and Her Highness, I bid farewell!" As long as there were no major casualties among civilians, even if some houses and crops were destroyed, it wouldn't be a significant loss for Mo’s forces. Although they had been fighting year after year in the past few years, their careful planning and development meant that the northwest hadn't suffered any fundamental damage.

"I will take my leave!" They all said in unison and turned to head towards their respective battlefields.

"Oh right, Ray Zhen Ting and Ling Guzhu are still on the city wall," Ye Li suddenly remembered. However, she wasn't sure how long this fierce battle had lasted. If Ray Zhen Ting hadn’t reappeared at all, then either he had been killed in battle or they both perished together.

Mos Yao did not worry about Ling Tiehan who was tricked into helping them. After all, Ling Tiehan wanted revenge on Ray Zhen Ting anyway; Mos Yao merely provided him with an opportunity to do so while saving his own subordinates as a side benefit. Although by chance he had saved Ye Li, if something happened to Ling Tiehan, Mos Yao wouldn’t feel any remorse.

Mos Yao took off the cloak from his shoulders and draped it over Ye Li’s body. "Ye Li, go change your clothes first," he said softly. Frowning at him, she turned towards the city wall.

The battle on top of the city wall was still ongoing; Ray Zhen Ting's reversal martial arts technique indeed proved to be amazing. With his current level of cultivation, even an uninjured Ray Zhen Ting would have difficulty defeating Ling Tiehan. However, when Ye Li and others arrived, it was instead Ling Tiehan who looked like he had been battered all over. But as a man who dedicated his life to martial arts, Ling Tiehan was tenacious; despite being injured from head to toe, there was no intention of stopping.

When Mo Xiu Yao and the others walked up onto the city wall, Ray Zhen Ting was the first to fly back.

"Mo Xiu Yao, it’s you again," said Ray Zhen Ting with narrowed eyes as he stared at Mos Yao. His originally deep and bleak eyes might have been bloodshot due to this fierce battle or because his plan had fallen through when Mo Xiu Yao returned earlier than expected.

Mos Yao raised an eyebrow; only Ye Li, who was holding his hand, understood that the calmness he displayed was not what he really felt inside. Smirking, Mos Yao said, "Of course it’s this king. It’s rather strange that you… are still not dead yet."

Ray Zhen Ting sneered and replied, “You’re not dead either, so how can I be” He then disregarded Ling Tiehan on the side and flew towards Mo Xiu Yao with his long sword pointed directly at Ye Li beside him. Mos Yao’s expression changed; he sent Ye Li to hide behind Han Mingyue with a palm strike, unsheathed his Fenmie Sword with a swooshing sound, and struck fiercely in Ray Zhen Ting's direction.

"Ray Zhen Ting, this king will make your death look ugly!" Mo Xiu Yao said coldly. In an instant, the two of them started to fight; Ray Zhen Ting was equally unyielding and responded with a smile: "Who knows who would die looking uglier"

It couldn’t be denied that even people like Han Mingyue and Ling Tiehan were extremely wary of the miraculous effects of reversal martial arts techniques. After his battle with Ling Tiehan, Ray Zhen Ting seemed to have expended little energy; he was still as quick as lightning when fighting Mo Xiu Yao. This made Mos Yao feel nostalgic about how it felt to fight against Ray Zhen Ting back then, more than a decade ago, the first time they had crossed swords in the world of martial arts. Back then his skills were slightly inferior to those of Ray Zhen Ting. However, Mo Xiu Yao was now at his prime, whereas Ray Zhen Ting had started to age. Mos Yao was confident that his current cultivation level surpassed that of Ray Zhen Ting's; yet even so, he felt a sense of pressure when engaging in combat with him.

Seeing this situation, Ling Tiehan immediately joined the battle. In such circumstances, there was no question of using their numbers to intimidate or bully someone. Since Ray Zhen Ting had used reversal martial arts techniques and was certain to die anyway, it wouldn’t make sense for others at the scene to accompany him in death. More importantly, Mo Xiu Yao would definitely not back down now. If that were so, Ling Tiehan wouldn't mind fighting two against one.

With the two elite fighters suppressing him, Lei Zhenting finally began to fall behind. Even so, Ling Tiehan and Mo Xiuyao were also left with numerous injuries. The battle continued from daybreak until nightfall. Ye Li and Han Mingyue could not join in but dared not leave either. They watched helplessly as the three fought.

When the situation became most tense, Han Mingyue finally let out a long cry and burst into laughter. Standing by his side, Ye Li also smiled faintly. Watching the final battle of the top three martial artists in the world, Han Mingyue actually broke through to a new realm, allowing his stagnant martial arts skills to improve significantly over these years. In another few years, it was likely that he would take up one of the four spots amongst the top martial artists in the country.

Even at nightfall, Feihong Pass remained brightly lit. Every street and alley of this small town saw soldiers fighting fiercely, filling the air with a pungent smell of blood. On the rear city wall, Commander Yuan Pei led a few officers to hold their ground on the battlements. Below them was a gate no wider than one-third the size of Feihong Pass's main entrance, but behind this gate lay half of the northwest region. Exhausted as they were, all soldiers held tightly onto their weapons and repeatedly hacked at enemies rushing in. Behind them was the land and people they had to protect; there was nowhere else for them to retreat. They could only kill every enemy that entered the city gate.

Another wave of Western Province troops rushed forward after passing through several streets where Mo Family Army soldiers were laying ambushes. Commander Yuan Pei looked grim and shouted loudly, "Bowmen, shoot!" Arrows flew like a sudden rainstorm. A group of enemies fell down but soon more would charge in again. Soldiers guarding the gate rushed out to engage the enemy who had broken through the barrage of arrows.

Just as everyone thought that this kind of situation could never end, heavy hoofbeats were finally heard from afar. The sound was so loud that it made the ground tremble; a thousand strong cavalry was galloping in their direction. Everyone knew who these reinforcements would be. The faces of Mo Family Army soldiers lit up again, "The reinforcements are here!"

"The reinforcements have arrived! Brothers, follow me and kill them all! Block those Western Province troops!"

Voices of the Mo Family Army soldiers echoed throughout the small city. The battle between both sides grew more intense.

Cold Huai led over a million troops into Feihong Pass. The hundreds of thousands of troops from Western Province quickly retreated in disarray. Their morale had already fallen after being besieged for an entire day by just tens of thousands of Mo Family Army soldiers, causing many casualties and injuries. Now that there was a sudden addition of another million troops, even the strongest-willed soldiers would not be able to hold out any longer. By dawn, the battle in the small city had already come to an end. The Western Province soldiers were either dead or surrendered. When Cold Huai reached the rear gate with his troops, he just managed to catch Commander Yuan Pei who was about to collapse.

Commander Yuan Pei was over seventy years old. One day and night of fighting had already left young people exhausted; how much more so for this elderly man Seeing Cold Huai, Commander Yuan Pei also breathed a sigh of relief. If they were just slightly later, he would not have been able to hold on any longer. "Cold… General…"

Cold Huai said apologetically, "Commander Yuan, it's our fault… we arrived late. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's fine as long as reinforcements are here…" Commander Yuan Pei repeated.

Then his vision went dark and he fainted. Cold Huai quickly caught him, "Commander Yuan! Doctor!"

Feng San was heading over just then, and rushed in upon hearing Cold Huai's voice. After checking Commander Yuan’s pulse, Feng San let out a sigh of relief, saying, "It's nothing serious; he probably just collapsed from exhaustion. Let someone take him back now. I’ll have Doctor Shen examine him later.

Seeing that Yuan Pei was fine, Leng Huai finally let out a sigh of relief. Yuan Pei could be considered the oldest general in existence within Mo’s army. If anything happened to him here, it would undoubtedly be a significant loss for Mo’s army.

Leng Huai sent people to escort Yuan Pei back to his residence and then ordered the newly arrived soldiers to search every street and alleyway for any remaining Western Capital troops that had escaped detection. By the time he had finished with all these arrangements, it was already dawn. The two of them finally let out a sigh of relief. They glanced at each other, and Feng Zhirao suddenly called out, "The Prince and Princess are still on top of the city wall!" If Mo Xiuyao had already dealt with Lei Zhenting, he would certainly appear alongside Ye Li to take charge of the situation. The reason they hadn’t seen them yet was undoubtedly because the battle at the battlements hadn’t concluded.

As the two hurried towards the city walls in front of Feihong Pass, Qin Feng and the others had already arrived there. Although everyone was covered with numerous injuries and looked completely dispirited as they leaned or sat on the battlements, their expressions seemed incredibly relaxed. Without thinking twice, Feng Zhirao shrugged his shoulders and walked over to where Qin Feng was leaning against a stairway on the lower part of the city wall. After this battle, there would be quite some time before they had to fight again, so why shouldn’t they feel at ease As a soldier, not having an opportunity in their lifetime to go onto the battlefield might be a tragedy. But for a country, if it spent its entire life in war, then it would be better off being defeated sooner.

Seeing Feng Zhirao and Leng Huai appear one after another, Lei Zhenting finally understood that he had lost again to Mo’s army. His attacks became increasingly ferocious. However, after a day and night of intense fighting, the toll on Lei Zhenting was far greater than on Ling Tiehan and Mo Xiuyao. Even if the Reversal Technique was powerful enough to ensure his invincibility for twenty-four hours, he would still sustain injuries in this combined attack from two top-notch masters like Ling Tiehan and Mo Xiuyao. As a human being, even with all life force expended beforehand, there were limits. Hence, after several intense attacks, both Mo Xiuyao and Ling Tiehan clearly felt the changes in Lei Zhenting.

They exchanged glances before Ling Tiehan’s sword slashed through the air like a rainbow towards Lei Zhenting's chest. Behind them, Mo Xiuyao took to the skies, thrusting his sword downward at Lei Zhenting’s head.

Lei Zhenting sneered and leaped aside to dodge the sword thrust from above by Mo Xiuyao, grabbing Ling Tiehan’s sword with one hand. He then followed the direction of Ling Tiehan's attack, delivering a palm strike towards Ling Tiehan's chest.

Moxiuyao waited for this moment; the original upward thrust to his head was just a feint. With such an important point as the top of the head, unless Lei Zhenting couldn’t move at all, how could he let someone easily stab there Mo Xiuyao turned his sword, and the Burning Sword slashed across with a cold glow before instantly penetrating Lei Zhenting's right shoulder. The palm strike towards Ling Tiehan was interrupted by this attack; Ling Tiehan twisted his sword to extract it from Lei Zhenting’s hand and then crouched low, swinging his sword left and right in tandem with Mo Xiuyao to chop at Lei Zhenting’s legs.

Lei Zhenting quickly leaped aside due to the pain caused by Mo Xiuyao's sword. He dodged the subsequent two strikes from both Mo Xiuyao and Ling Tiehan, but his left leg was grazed by Ling Tiehan's sword, leaving a bloody trail.

Only when Lei Zhenting had retreated to the edge of the city wall did he stop his retreat; he lowered his head to look at his injured right shoulder with a frown. This injury wasn’t life-threatening, but his right shoulder had only recently been wounded by Ye Li's spear, and it hadn't fully healed yet. Now, after Mo Xiuyao’s sword strike, his condition was even worse off. Moreover, the Reversal Technique couldn't completely nullify pain; countless injuries and pains accumulated on his body, further diminishing his strength.

Moxiuyao and Ling Tiehan didn’t rush him either; they each grasped their swords tightly with indifferent expressions as they watched Lei Zhenting. With Lei Zhenting’s character at this juncture, he would definitely no longer flee; the only concern was whether or not he might try to take someone else down with him when he died.

Lei Zhenting said calmly, "To battle Prince Ding and Pavilion Master Yan, I haven't wasted my life."

Ling Tiehan remained calm but didn’t speak; Mo Xiuyao coldly smiled and replied, “I’ve never intended to fight you. What I want is for you to die, so that I can live.”

Ley Zhen霆 was taken aback for a moment, unable to resist laughing loudly. "Haha... the Prince of Ding is indeed worthy of his title! Mo Liufang did well in raising such a son as you, Mo Xiuyao! If Ling Tiehan weren't here today, it would definitely be you who dies at my hand!" In this world, people's hearts are most unpredictable. But Mo Xiuyao was able to accurately predict human nature. Thus, even a master like Ling Tiehan could be manipulated by him. Perhaps Ye Li was right; the Prince of Ding’s household had nearly been destroyed due to treacherous and malicious people in the past. After much reflection, Mo Xiuyao had managed to comprehend all the desires and ambitions hidden within human hearts. That's why he lost to this man.

Mo Xiuyao didn’t care about Lei Zhen霆’s mockery; with a calm demeanor, he said, "If Grandmaster Ling weren't here, you wouldn’t be dying today. I naturally have other ways of making you die."

Lei Zhen霆 burst out laughing again, leaving everyone present looking at each other in confusion and not understanding what was so funny. Perhaps even Lei Zhen霆 himself didn’t know why he was laughing. After finishing his laughter, Lei Zhen霆 stood up and pointed the long sword in his hand towards Mo Xiuyao: "Good! Very good… I’ll see how you can make me die!"

A cold smile formed at Mo Xiuyao’s lips, “I want you to live a life worse than death.”

The atmosphere on the city wall once again tensed up. Everyone couldn’t help but hold their breaths and stare intently at the three people facing off against each other. The final showdown between these three highest martial arts achievers in this world would soon be decided. It also meant that the ultimate victor of this prolonged contest for supremacy was about to emerge, even though many already knew who the eventual winner would be.

—— Extra ——

I almost thought Lei Zhen霆 had fallen in love with Mo Liufang at the end!

Feng Qing's recommendation: A new serial novel by my friend, the witty girl named Poor Mouth Missy called 'Famous Doctor Noblewoman', which is a single-pairing story written by an author who usually writes multiple pairing stories.

Everyone knows that Li Jia’s second young master of Wanyue County, the richest family in town, looks as handsome as Pan An and attracts countless women to pursue him.

Su Lianyi, a plump woman with thick layers of fat, was the most disgusting among them. As a result, she ended up being beaten to death by the servants of the Li Family.

After opening her eyes again, Su Lianyi’s soul had switched places with that of a 31-year-old leftover single woman doctor from modern times. Before she could even feel grateful for her rebirth, she had to face various issues—fat lady Love-struck fool Hillbilly ruffians How could these words be associated with her!

Was this the divine punishment for an old maiden—the forced marriage of a cheap husband who has decent build but that face…enerations. Please think carefully, Your Majesty." Several imperial consorts followed behind the queen mother; though they were not favored usually, these virtuous ladies from scholarly families also...