Chapter 466: Chapter 387: I Deserve to Die

A blood-red Array enveloped the entirety of Water and Fire City.

The temperature within Water and Fire City was rising relentlessly.

"Ghostflame?"

"It’s Ghostflame!"

"What’s happening? How can there be Ghostflame at this time of year?!"

"Where’s the rain? Where is the Xuanpo Rain?"

The Ghostflame erupting from the ground surged ever higher.

If any Cultivator below the Golden Core Realm was touched by the Ghostflame, the fire would instantly engulf their entire body, burning both form and spirit to ashes.

Cultivators at the Golden Core Realm and above could resist it, but it required a massive amount of Spiritual Power. Once their Spiritual Power was depleted, they too would die here.

Unless one had reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

But the problem was, in the Zhao Kingdom army led by Li Mu, how many Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators could there possibly be?

Some soldiers searched for water to douse the flames on their bodies, but ordinary water couldn’t extinguish the fire at all. In fact, it acted like fuel, making the flames burn even more fiercely.

At the same time, a colossal, blood-red Array appeared in the sky above Water and Fire City. Hundreds of thousands of souls, imprisoned by the Array, wailed ceaselessly as they dissipated, ultimately becoming fuel for the Array.

"Bai Qi!"

Li Mu’s brow furrowed, and he tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand.

How could he not understand what was happening?

Although he didn’t know what kind of Array Bai Qi had used, he knew Bai Qi had sacrificed the entire city’s population to set it up, luring out the Ghostflame ahead of its time!

"General! This Array is exceptionally strange. It has fused with the whole of Water and Fire City, making it impossible to detect before it was activated."

In this moment of crisis, a Jade Realm Array Master traveling with the army explained to Li Mu, his words sounding like an attempt to shirk responsibility.

"What’s the use of saying that now?!" Li Mu suppressed the anger rising in his heart. "Is there a solution?"

"It’s the simplest principle in the world: to enter is to die, to exit is to live. We just entered through the north gate, so the north gate has become the gate of death; we can’t get out that way. Therefore, the South City Gate of Water and Fire City must be the gate of life. We can escape from there!"

"Relay my command! The entire army is to charge toward the South City Gate! Break through the South City Gate and you will live!"

Li Mu gave the order decisively.

Soon, Li Mu’s command spread throughout the entire army.

After all, the men under Li Mu’s command were the elite soldiers of the Zhao Kingdom.

Upon receiving the order, they quickly regained their composure and, led by their various commanders, charged toward the South City Gate.

But Li Mu also knew there would surely be an ambush at the South City Gate. Bai Qi wouldn’t be foolish enough to let them escape so easily.

Sure enough, as soon as Li Mu’s army exited the city gate, they were met with an encircling attack from Bai Qi’s forces.

Bai Qi’s army was intent on blockading the city gate. The longer the Zhao Kingdom soldiers remained inside Water and Fire City, the more of them would burn to death!

"Bai Qi! You used seven hundred thousand innocent civilians as a blood sacrifice! Do you have any humanity left in your heart?! Do you truly not fear heavenly retribution?!"

Li Mu was incensed, not just because he had fallen into an ambush, but because seven hundred thousand Zhao Kingdom civilians had been sacrificed in such a manner!

"Heavenly retribution?" Bai Qi, seated on his horse, said coldly, "Victory for the king, defeat for the bandit! Everything I have done is for the supremacy of the Qin Kingdom!"

"Kill them! Block the city gate!" Bai Qi’s voice echoed across his army.

The battle at the South City Gate of Water and Fire City grew increasingly fierce.

Although Li Mu personally led the charge to carve out a bloody path, after two hours, less than half of his soldiers had managed to leave Water and Fire City. The majority were still trapped inside!

Listening to the endless wails of the Zhao Kingdom soldiers inside the city,

Li Mu’s heart burned with anxiety.

He knew that this time, he was likely facing a true defeat.

’If I lose,’ he thought, ’Bai Qi will be able to advance unopposed. General Pang will be attacked from both sides, and the Zhao Kingdom will be in grave danger.’

The Upper Three Realms Royal Family Tributors in Li Mu’s army saw that the situation was lost. Realizing the cause was hopeless, they no longer wished to engage in Magical Combat with the Upper Three Realms Cultivators in Bai Qi’s army.

Just as these Tributors were about to abandon Li Mu and flee, lightning suddenly flashed and thunder roared across the sky.

Bai Qi focused his senses and looked up at the sky above Water and Fire City.

Dark clouds gathered relentlessly, and after a final bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, a torrential downpour began.

This rain was entirely composed of Xuanpo Water.

The raindrops fell upon the soldiers of the Zhao Kingdom.

The temperature in Water and Fire City dropped rapidly, and the flames throughout the city were gradually extinguished.

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted from within the city, and the ground for fifty li around Water and Fire City shook violently!

The Array covering the sky above Water and Fire City dissipated.

In the four directions around Water and Fire City, the White Demon Sect Cultivators responsible for powering the Array all had their souls obliterated.

The Sect Leader of the White Demon Sect also coughed up a mouthful of blood, suffering severe injuries.

Seeing the Array had spun completely out of control, he hastily flew to Bai Qi’s side.

At the same time, outside of Water and Fire City, the temperature in the surrounding area began to rise relentlessly.

The Ghostflame even began to erupt outside the city, spreading outwards to burn everything in its path, including the Qin Kingdom’s army!

"What is going on?!"

Bai Qi stared coldly at the White Demon Sect’s Sect Leader beside him, looking as if he were about to lop off his head with a single sword strike.

"General, I don’t know either!"

The Sect Leader of the White Demon Sect had a look of utter confusion on his face.

"We were controlling the Ghostflame with the Array just fine, but suddenly, the Ghostflame surged like a river breaking its dam and destroyed the Array! The Ghostflame is now completely out of control!

Only Water and Fire City itself, located directly above the Xuanpo Lake, can be spared from this disaster.

General, please order a retreat quickly! This Ghostflame is spreading too fast!

If this continues, I’m afraid our entire army will be annihilated!"

"..."

Listening to the words of the White Demon Sect’s Sect Leader, Bai Qi looked coldly at the heavy rain over Water and Fire City, then at the Ghostflame spreading outside the walls.

The Zhao Kingdom’s soldiers had already retreated back into Water and Fire City and sealed the gates, while the Qin Kingdom’s soldiers were being turned to ash one by one.

After three breaths, Bai Qi let out a heavy sigh and said to his Vice General, "Yu Sheng, you are in command of the army. Take what’s left of our forces and rendezvous with Prince Zhenbei..."

"General, what about you?" Yu Sheng asked.

"Today’s defeat is entirely my fault. Before I left, I signed a military pledge, promising Prince Zhenbei that I would hold Water and Fire City. In the Qin Kingdom, a military order is as unshakeable as a mountain. Now that the city has fallen, what face do I have to return?" Bai Qi said slowly.

"General!" Vice General Yu Sheng tried to persuade him further.

"Go!" Bai Qi stared coldly at Yu Sheng. "That is a military order!"

Yu Sheng’s lips trembled. In the end, he could only give a deep, cupped-fist salute, turn his horse around, and lead the army in retreat.

Bai Qi dismounted, looking at the black warhorse that had accompanied him through countless battles. "You go too. There’s no need for you to die here with me."

With that, Bai Qi slapped the horse’s rump hard, and the black warhorse galloped off into the distance.

Standing on the hillside, Bai Qi watched the flames gradually creeping toward him.

His expression was incomparably calm, but his heart was filled with bitter reluctance.

"What sin have I committed against Heaven to deserve this fate?"

Bai Qi looked up to the heavens, questioning the sky itself!

He had been so close!

Just a little closer, and he could have crushed Li Mu, destroyed the Zhao Kingdom, and achieved supreme dominance!

But a moment later, Bai Qi lowered his head, looked at the longsword in his hand, and seemed to speak to himself:

"My death is just.

In the past, during the battle for the Nanshan Kingdom, when Kong Quan led hundreds of thousands to surrender, I deceived them and buried them all alive.

Today, for the sake of my grand ambition, I have made a blood sacrifice of seven hundred thousand innocents.

Yes, that is reason enough to die!"

"Frost King, for the grace you have shown in recognizing my worth, I, Qi, will repay you in the next life!"

As his words fell, Bai Qi drew his sword across his neck.

A spray of blood blossomed.

He took his own life.

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