It was noon and the sun was scorching.
Zhou Zheng finally woke up from his coma. He struggled to prop up his hands and half-sat up, and asked anxiously: "What happened? Why did I sleep here? Did those people from Yingzhou lose?"
Li Wai was originally sitting beside him to regulate his breathing. When he heard Zhou Zheng's voice, he immediately stood up and went forward to support him: "Don't move, you are seriously injured."
Zhou Zheng grabbed Li Wai's hand and said, "The Yingzhou people lost?"
Li Wai sighed and said slowly: "The people from Yingzhou have retreated."
"We retreated, but we didn't lose." Zhou Zheng let go of his hand and came back to his senses. There was a bit of despair in his eyes. "What are the casualties on both sides?"
Li Wai helped Zhou Zheng lie down and replied, "The Spear Saint King died in the battle, the Lord of Jimo City and the Lord of Mo City were both seriously injured, and Master has also come, but he is now exhausted and can no longer fight. Many other sect leaders and elders were also injured, and as for the ordinary disciples of each sect, three hundred people died."
"Three hundred people!" Zhou Zheng was shocked and started coughing. "Three hundred people! Three hundred people! What about the people from Yingzhou?"
"The people of Yingzhou lost two of the leaders of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gangs, Lü Tianbao and Lü Tianku. The alien formation was broken, which eliminated a hidden danger. The two protectors of Yingzhou, Lü Song and Lü Gui, were also killed in the battle. Several people from the remaining Thirty-Six Heavenly Gangs were killed, and the rest were slightly injured and have returned to Yingzhou." Li Wai tried hard to describe their battle in a more successful way, but the more he spoke, the smaller his voice became.
Zhou Zheng still managed to stand up, walked to the side of the tent, opened the curtain and walked out. The battlefield outside was still being taken care of. Disciples from various factions were about to collect the corpses on the ground and were trying hard to find people who were still alive. However, whether it was the Yingzhou stranger at the beginning or Lu Song who went crazy later, their killing methods were extremely brutal. It was not easy to see a complete corpse, let alone find survivors. A sad atmosphere filled the camp, and even faint crying could be heard, but perhaps because they were afraid of affecting everyone's morale, the crying was very restrained, but the more restrained, the stronger the feeling of sadness.
"According to what you said, the strongest fighters among us are only Sect Master Feng, Patriarch Dongfang and you. But Yingzhou still has three honorable envoys, Lu Xuanshui, and the group of Tiangang. Although they have retreated, we have been defeated." Zhou Zheng said slowly.
Li Wai walked up to his side and looked up at the distant Yingzhou in the mist. "Our martial arts were not as good as the Weilong Alliance led by Senior Su Han. We originally wanted to rely on the offensive formation you deduced to find a chance, but now..."
"Someone is coming." Zhou Zheng turned his head and looked into the distance.
All I saw were flags being erected high, with either the name of the sect directly written on them or the family emblem painted on them. There were so many people coming, and from the sound of horse hooves, it sounded like there were thousands of people coming.
“Wanfa Sect, Qiandaoliu, Qingxia Sect, Black Dragon Gang… These sects came at the perfect time!” Li Wai cursed in a low voice.
Zhou Zheng shook his head: "Although these sects have some reputation in the martial arts world, they are still far behind Daze Mansion and the Four Great Sects of Jiangnan. If these big sects suffer a huge setback this time, it will be their time to rise. Naturally, they will not choose to live and die with them. It is rare for them to come here at this time."
"If you want to become a big sect, you must have the responsibility of a big sect." Dongfang Yunqi had walked to their tents at some point. He looked at the sects in the distance with disdain, "It sounds like a joke to want to rely on the weakness of others to achieve your own rise."
Zhou Zheng sighed and said, "What Patriarch Dongfang said is very true, but it is obvious that some people do not think so."
Not far away, the soldiers and horses stopped. Several people dismounted and walked towards Zhou Zheng and his group. Leading them was an old man in a gray robe, with white hair and beard, looking quite majestic.
"He is Xuanyuan Luoxia, the leader of Wanfa Sect." Dongfang Yunwo said, "He is good at martial arts and is the strongest among the generations of Wanfa Sect. However, he is petty and likes to take advantage of his age and talk nonsense."
Zhou Zheng shook his head: "Here comes with bad intentions."
Xuanyuan Luoxia walked in front of them with a solemn look. He first glanced at the battlefield, then set his eyes on Zhou Zheng and others. Finally, he stepped forward and grasped Zhou Zheng's hand, his tone full of forced sadness: "We are late! You youngsters have suffered."
"That's not true, old sir. It's really hard to predict that people from Yingzhou would suddenly attack us." Zhou Zheng said casually.
Dongfang Yun snorted coldly at the side: "In the past, Mr. Rusheng was a guest of Wanfamen. The leader of the Xuanyuan Sect, your master, Elder Shanxu, regarded Mr. Rusheng as a close friend, and the two of them called each other brothers. So according to seniority, the two gentlemen are your peers, not juniors."
"What's the point of worrying about this!" Xuanyuan Luoxia let go of his hand, waved his hand and pointed at the battlefield, "Now that we have been defeated and lost the initiative, how can we talk to the people of Yingzhou next?"
Zhou Zheng frowned slightly, and Li Wai had already taken out the ruler on his waist, directly hitting Xuanyuan's falling hand down: "It is rude to point your finger at the dead!"
"You!" Xuanyuan Luoxia originally saw that the two gentlemen were quite respectful to him, and wanted to put on airs and give them a few words of admonition, but he didn't expect to be scolded by Li Wai as soon as he opened his mouth.
"There is no point in arguing about war without participants. There is nothing to discuss between us and the people of Yingzhou except fighting. Could it be that Mr. Xuanyuan and the other leaders came here in response to the call of Lu Xuanshui of Yingzhou, and want to serve him as their leader?" Zhou Zheng's eyes revealed some anger.
Xuanyuan Luo put away his hand and coughed softly: "Of course not. It's just that we have lost this battle. As the leader of this alliance, the Academy suffered heavy casualties, and the Lu family, a traitor, appeared in the four major families. So for the next confrontation with the Yingzhou people, I think we should choose a new leader!"
"Hahahahahahaha." Li Wai laughed loudly.
"What are you laughing at?" Xuanyuan Luoxia asked angrily.
"Because it's funny, I laughed." Li Wai replied.
"Everyone, there are people coming from the sea." An elderly female Taoist priest behind Xuanyuan suddenly said.
Everyone turned their heads and saw a little boy floating on the sea with a reed under his feet. The boy held a scroll in his hand. When he saw everyone looking at him, he said in a loud voice: "Three days later, Yingzhou will be in the south, and the Honorable Lord Lu Xuanshui will be on the shore. If you want to welcome him, we will go north together. If you want to resist him, I will send you west. One hour before the Honorable Lord comes on the shore, I will come here to ask you for your answer for the last time. You still have three days to consider it."