The battle between Wu Piwu and the Giant Pig Demon had escalated to a level beyond what mere mortals could participate in.
Since the two sides began their conflict, all the Jin people and Song people had fled.
The Jin people retreated to the other three Jin camps, while most of the Song people escaped back to Bianliang City.
Wu Piwu had never considered these Jin people.
With his current strength, he would dare to charge into a thousand troops and ten thousand horses, and as long as it wasn't a situation like the modified Three Kingdoms, taking the head of a general amidst the chaos of battle was as easy as reaching into his pocket.
However, he did not expect that at this moment, the Jin forces would come together.
This was absolutely related to the bone spurs hidden within the Giant Pig Demon!
This thought cast a shadow over Wu Piwu's heart.
The Giant Pig Demon was already extremely formidable; without the title of a mere man, he would not stand a chance against it.
Not to mention, just the protective shield that emerged from the surface of the Giant Pig Demon’s body with each attack might be something he could not break through with sheer brute force alone.
At this moment, he had exhausted all his strength, even using his trump card, the Demonization, just to barely glimpse a hint of victory.
Yet, he still could not kill the Giant Pig Demon.
Even if he destroyed its brain and smashed its pig head, its healing would not cease.
He wanted to bring it into Bianliang City to see if the methods left by Chu Minghao would be effective, treating a dead horse as a live horse doctor.
But now, with the Jin people coming to cause trouble again, he truly had no way to think.
As he watched the Jin cavalry brigade about to break through, suddenly, a drumbeat faintly echoed from a distance.
Upon hearing the drumbeat, Wu Piwu, who had originally planned to push the Demonization further and then unleash a frenzied slaughter, suddenly raised his head.
This was not enough; he immediately jumped back onto the Giant Pig Demon, dodging the curved spears in pursuit while gazing further into the distance.
Then he saw...
Song soldiers!
There were actually Song soldiers!?
At this time, with Bianliang breached, the two emperors captured, and the shame of Jingkang upon them, there were still Song soldiers daring to strike outside Bianliang City, engaging in battle with the Jin people!?
Could it be...
Da Song!?
Wu Piwu was dumbfounded, but a surge of anger rose within him.
That anger, which had been accumulating and suppressing since he returned to this dream world, had not fully dissipated even after killing Zhao Ji, suddenly faded by more than half at this moment.
Rewinding time half an hour.
When Wu Piwu strode towards Bianliang, Zong Ze also separated from Zhao Gou.
However, he did not say he was returning to Bianliang but instead told Zhao Gou that he would go to the surrounding military towns to rally troops to protect Zhao Gou.
He left with fewer than ten riders, so Zhao Gou generously approved his request.
Once he was away from Zhao Gou, Zong Ze immediately dispatched five riders to pursue Wu Piwu back to Bianliang while he took the remaining five riders to the military town closest to Bianliang that had not yet been swept away by the Jin army.
As cavalry, and with Zong Ze selecting ten reconnaissance riders from the border troops of Da Song, they were familiar with the terrain and had enough understanding of the area.
While Wu Piwu was gathering information within Bianliang City, they arrived around Bianliang, cautiously avoiding the Jin army's sentries and scouts.
They then witnessed Wu Piwu charging into the Jin army camp.
Although they did not know what happened inside, they saw Wu Piwu engaged in fierce combat with the Giant Pig Demon.
During the battle, the Jin army camp was destroyed, and a large number of Jin and Song soldiers began to flee.
This left the five reconnaissance riders incredibly excited.
They could hardly imagine that someone could match that terrifying Giant Pig Demon; it was not even about defeating it, merely matching it was an extravagant wish they had never dared to think of.
Seeing this, aside from two reconnaissance riders who stayed hidden to continue observing, the other three went to the three locations Zong Ze mentioned to spread the news of what had happened in Bianliang to the surrounding areas.
In fact, contrary to Wu Piwu's belief that the Song Dynasty had completely failed, it had only been ten days since Bianliang fell.
The Jin people were still engaged in localized street battles, slaughtering and plundering, while there were still over ten sizable armies or military stations around Bianliang.
Although these armies and military stations were not large, either being guerrilla forces, scattered troops, or small checkpoints, they were still resisting the Jin army and had not given up.
It was hard to leave their homeland, hard to part with their loved ones!
Even if the emperor was a spineless turtle, there were still valiant Han people!
Whether they were fueled by unquenched blood or seeking revenge, they were all trying to come to Bianliang, attempting to rescue the two emperors and restore the capital!
However, their numbers were far fewer than the Jin army, lacking organization and logistics, and at this time, they were mostly targets for slaughter by the Jin army.
When the main camp outside Bianliang was attacked, the fleeing Jin soldiers spread the news of the attack.
Although the frontline Jin soldiers were still unaware, their reinforcements were cut off.
Instead, with Zong Ze's return and the reconnaissance riders spreading the news to various military points, a strange atmosphere began to fill the chests of these hot-blooded Han men.
Their land was occupied, their country was lost, their capital was breached, their wives and daughters were humiliated, their parents were killed...
No need for words, no need for loud shouts, not even needing rewards or money, a team of remnants stepped out from their hiding spots and strongholds.
A group of cavalry gathered together, raising their long spears towards the sky, and tattered flags were held high...
These were the defeated soldiers of history, driven and hunted by the Jin army, escaping to the south, needing to endure repeated disappointments before encountering that cross-eyed general, and only then could they dream of returning to Bianliang and striking at the Yellow Dragon...
But at this moment, after a mere man had killed the emperor and faced the northern giant demon, they suddenly had a peculiar hope.
Zong Ze stood behind the army, his excitement causing his beard to seem to stand on end.
He shouted hoarsely, “Charge, charge, charge! Hold back the Jin army!”
Without his call, even though his shout was insignificant on this battlefield, all those returning to the vicinity of Bianliang could see the enormous wild boar demon lying sideways on the ground like a small mountain.
Nearly ten meters high and eighteen or nineteen meters long, this colossal creature was the only wild boar demon in this world.
And now, that wild boar demon, which had once swept through the north invincibly and had broken through the Song Dynasty's borders to Bianliang in just a few months, was now lying on the ground.
They could not see Wu Piwu's location, but they firmly believed that the immortal, or that immortal disciple, was certainly slaying demons and fighting to the death against that wild boar demon.
“Riding the sword on the wind, exterminating demons between heaven and earth!”
This was the voice that had resounded throughout Bianliang months ago.
All the people of Bianliang, as well as the surrounding Song people, knew that an immortal had descended to the mortal realm and had made an agreement with the officials, while several immortal disciples remained in Da Song.
They had even driven away the evil cultists of the Zhege Caisheng.
Those immortal disciples were slaying demons!
Every Song soldier gripped their iron spears tightly, their eyes shining as they looked at the Jin people, who were facing away from them and advancing towards the wild boar demon.
They did not even need orders; they formed ranks and marched forward.
Zong Ze's blood seemed to boil; he looked at the distant Bianliang City, shrouded in smoke and fire, his eyes filled with both rage and tears.
He pushed aside the soldiers in front of the war drum, seized a large hammer, and regardless of his sixty-plus years of age, he gathered his strength and began to beat the drum.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
There were fathers and sons holding spears side by side, wounded soldiers shooting crossbows from afar, cavalry charging in waves, and Song people with bamboo poles, hoes, and sickles, their faces filled with fear, following closely behind.
In Bianliang City, defeated soldiers also emerged, recklessly charging forward against the terrifying Jin people, even if it was just to slow their advance by half a second...
A young general, with dark skin and one eye larger than the other, shouted and challenged, refusing to retreat even unto death...
Wu Piwu stood atop the Giant Pig Demon, laughing heartily, enduring his injuries just to enjoy the spectacle.
He shattered the incoming curved spears and smashed the Giant Pig Demon’s head again with an arm turned to bone.
Suddenly, he laughed towards the sky, the indescribable anger within him finally dissipating without a trace at this moment.
At the same time, a chilling, blood-like aura rose from him.
I...
Am not a hero!
I...
Am not so noble as to fight for my country and people!
I...
Am just a humble man struggling to survive!
But!
I am very glad to fight alongside these people who are fighting to the death for their homeland, their loved ones, and themselves at this moment!!
This is my intention!
When a humble man is enraged, blood spills five steps!
Close at hand, every man is an enemy of the state!
“Go!”
Wu Piwu dragged the Giant Pig Demon and strode towards Bianliang.
He felt an immense sense of relief, even though he was covered in wounds, even though breathing felt like torture.
Yet, the qi within him seemed to find a backbone, gathering at his dantian and then exploding throughout his body, greatly increasing his speed in dragging the Giant Pig Demon, while the healing of his wounds also accelerated.
At this moment, Jin cavalry charged towards him, and Wu Piwu moved forward amidst their onslaught, killing hundreds in ten steps.
His heart did not stop, dragging the path cleared by the Giant Pig Demon, which was now littered with corpses.
Wu Piwu had dozens of arrows embedded in his back, one of his eyes was blinded by a fierce half-demon Jin general, his belly was slashed open by a giant sickle, and one of his thighs was pierced by a long spear.
He no longer knew how many Jin people he had killed, nor did he remember how many times he had smashed the Giant Pig Demon’s head.
At this point, the speed of his healing had slowed significantly; over ninety percent of his qi and blood had been consumed, but the Jin soldiers were now very sparse.
Instead, behind the Giant Pig Demon, hundreds of Song people were using their horses and bodies to support, drag, and pull.
The Giant Pig Demon’s head had already entered through the northern gate of Bianliang, and whether it was a last flicker of light or something else, the Giant Pig Demon regained a bit of its wits from the pitch blackness.
It howled and roared, “Immortal, spare me! I have swallowed and spat for over three hundred years, cautiously, and now I am to perish. Spare me this once, and I will become your disciple, serving you as my master...”
Wu Piwu felt a certain aura gathering at the palace training grounds; he turned to the Giant Pig Demon and said, “Give it to me!”
The Giant Pig Demon was taken aback and immediately asked eagerly, “What shall I give to the immortal!?”
“Give me your life!”
In the next moment, Wu Piwu roared in anger, unleashing his final strength to lift the Giant Pig Demon’s head and body entirely, leaping forward.
The entire Giant Pig Demon thus entered Bianliang City.
In an instant, the world was filled with black and white, and a light as vast as the sun flickered, enveloping the Giant Pig Demon.
In the blink of an eye, the world returned to normal, the Giant Pig Demon’s body was shattered to pieces, its internal mycelium dissipating into black mist, while its enormous pig head remained the most intact, its two pig eyes wide open, staring at Wu Piwu.
It was dead beyond resurrection.
Wu Piwu stumbled and fell to the ground.
He struggled to stand up from the ground but suddenly found himself surrounded by people, each standing ten meters away.
He looked up, knowing that his appearance must be terrifying, perhaps even mutated due to the state of Demonization and his body healing.
Yet, as he looked up, he saw no one displaying fear or hostility.
Whether they were remnants, generals, common folk, or women just barely clothed, they all silently gazed at him.
Among them, Wu Piwu saw Zong Ze, the cross-eyed young general, and even Zhao Fobao.
Finally, he looked around and spotted an old man in a corner, with two children beside him, one boy and one girl, standing obediently next to him.
The entire scene was silent; everyone quietly looked at Wu Piwu, and Wu Piwu silently looked back at them.
Then, one person clasped their fists, two bowed, three bent at the waist, and four knelt...
Surrounding Wu Piwu in a circle, overlapping layers of people, regardless of age or gender, all used their gestures of respect to face Wu Piwu.
Wu Piwu had only one arm still resembling a human, the other was just bone, but he still laughed heartily and returned the gesture.
“Strange man Wu Piwu.”
“Salutations!”
(End of Chapter)