Age of Heroes, ten consecutive guarantees.

Chapter 917: Hearing the gongs and drums outside the capital city gate, bidding farewell at the Lantern Festival (-word chapter)

The war has begun.

It started quietly.

It came before everyone noticed it, and by the time people realized it, the flames of war had already begun to burn fiercely, stretching and spreading...

Daxia is a powerful country in the world and theoretically is not afraid of war.

However, the countries in this world have too superficial an understanding of war. The foundation of their civilization development does not come from protracted wars, but from the gifts of heroic bloodlines and the knowledge and technology from other worlds.

They themselves did not have a deep enough understanding of war, but they had to face an almost undefeatable enemy.

The target of the war that Daxia has to face is not a country, but the history of the entire world, the endless shadows that are coming like a tide, the Taiyin Demon Realm that is constantly swarming with large numbers of demons and strange monsters, and the Tai Sui who has killed the first person in a thousand years.

This is a war with no end in sight.

Even at the beginning of the war, when morale was high, all the soldiers and those who came to join the army believed that it would not be difficult to repel the attack from the Shadow World this time, because they had always been the victorious side for the past thousand years.

But this naive idea will be immediately abandoned after just one look at the front line.

Because the battlefield is cruel.

Even the battle-hardened Rock Army had never suffered such devastating losses, let alone experienced such a terrifying battlefield.

The people guarding the border had fought and killed themselves in the countless dark tides that emerged from the shadows, but those were just tides, and what appeared now were clearly tsunamis.

For ordinary soldiers, the sheer numbers are despairing, but as long as Fengsheng takes action, everything will be fine.

But even if Feng Sheng takes action, it does not mean that it is absolutely safe... Because of the existence of Tai Sui, he will not directly participate in the destruction of the battle line, but will focus on hunting down Feng Sheng.

Once a single or even two canonized saints show up to provide assistance, they will immediately be targeted by Tai Sui.

In just less than a month, three canonized saints were seriously injured one after another, and even Honglu, the third among the top ten, was almost dead.

In this regard, even Chen Buren, a military saint who had commanded troops for many years, had to adopt a contraction strategy and compress the front line.

The saints are the most scarce fighting force, but they cannot be allowed to travel alone, so they must form a team of three to act together.

This resulted in the defensible defense line being severely compressed.

At the same time, a large number of demons were causing destruction in the rear, causing panic among the people.

The Yama Division's day and night wandering gods, the Black and White Impermanence, and the judges were simply too busy to handle it... Without the black evil archers who acted in secret, even the Yama Division had not expected that the spread of the demon species would be so rapid. They did not care about exposing their identities at all, but were hatching new demon species at a very fast speed, transforming more people into fallen demons in order to create more chaos and panic.

Since the war began, in just one month, Daxia has declined visibly.

The original territory could not be maintained. As the front line continued to shrink, large areas became sinking zones and were swallowed by the shadow.

Many cities even became ghost towns, and large numbers of people had to migrate to central cities for refuge.

But Daxia is a big country with a population of nearly one billion. How could these actions be easy?

At present, only one or two provinces have been lost. The south is still safe, but the area north of the Yellow River has completely become a military control area. All the people and civilians in the Yanyun area have migrated to the south in large numbers because it is destined to become a battlefield.

If the north cannot be defended, then if even a large city in the central and southern parts, where the largest populations are concentrated, falls, the casualties will be in the tens of millions.

Fortunately, the war has not yet reached here.

If the demons are in the central or even southern part, Daxia will definitely send people to help, which will lead to a longer battle line.

But in this war, the two sides have different goals.

In the eyes of the Destroyers, the key to destroying Daxia lies in the capital. As long as they capture the capital, kill all the saints, and wipe out all the living forces, the remaining central and southern parts will be nothing but a devastating massacre.

If one wanted to bleed Da Xia, the best way would naturally be to attack the central and southern parts… But neither Tai Sui nor the outer gods had enough patience, their goal was still to capture the capital, and they needed to do this within a year.

This is the margin that only the advantaged party has. Owning the Taiyin Demon Realm means having almost infinite military forces that can be drawn from the Shadow Realm, and being able to change strategic goals at any time.

One can imagine the difficulties and situation that Daxia is facing today.

What is even more difficult is that other countries are actually watching.

Even if Rome wanted to provide assistance, it was powerless and had no way of coming across the ocean. Not to mention the surrounding small vassal states, the few countries with national strength had no intention of joining the war and even tried to do some sneaky things.

In this situation, it would be an understatement to say that it is a crisis.

So what if it is the most powerful country in the world?

The opponent it faces is not a country or a civilization at all, and does not even have an entity.

The military camp was brightly lit.

Chen Bu Ren stood in front of the military sand table, unable to hide his fatigue. His complexion was not good, not only because of fatigue, but also because he was attacked by Tai Sui a few days ago. Although he survived, he was also left with hidden injuries.

It was all thanks to Master Huanglong who pulled him back from the brink of death.

He took a sip of wine…Originally, drinking was not allowed in the military camp, but he drank to relieve the pain.

When I was drunk, I read the sword with the light on, and I dreamed about the horn-blowing camp...

Chen couldn't bear to look at the red battlefield. There was confusion in his eyes, as well as a sense of disappointment as if he didn't know where the road ahead lay.

As a military saint, he was said to be a master in commanding troops. Ever since he took the top position in the military, the only thing on his mind was how to recapture the subsidence area and recover the country. He had been preparing for this for a very long time.

Chen couldn't bear to be without servants, a wife and offspring, so after sending his adoptive parents away he had no ties and never embarked on a military career.

I have come into this life just for this one thing, and now I am only one step away from completing it, with only the last tough challenge left to tackle, the Taiyin Demon Realm.

He thought that it would only take another three years to conquer this place, so that Daxia could truly become a prosperous country where all nations would come to pay tribute!
That was the unprecedented feat he vowed to accomplish for the person in the Zhonghu courtyard.

But once Rahu died, all the achievements he had made in the past were burned to ashes and ceased to exist.

Not only did he lose all the territories he had recovered in the past, he even failed to hold on to half of Yanyun.

The front line is less than a thousand miles away from the capital.

Chen couldn't bear to feel the deep mockery of fate. He sighed and was angry, but it was all meaningless.

He tried his best but couldn't find a solution.

The Military Sage also knew that the most crucial point was that no one could control Tai Sui… Once Luo Hou died, Tai Sui would be invincible in the world.

For now he can only try his best to maintain the front line.

But if this continues, the battle line will be pushed to the gates of the capital in five months at most!
This is the calculation result after filling in the number of human lives.

Within a month, the casualty rate of the Panyan Army reached a horrific level, and the entire country was mobilizing people to join the army.

The first batch of extraordinary people from universities across the country have also arrived at the front line.

Alas... the Patriotic War, this will wipe out an entire generation.

Just as Chen couldn't bear to think about how to delay more time, the tent was pushed open and a figure rushed in, disrupting his thinking, and slammed heavily on the table. The sound was fierce and harsh.

The person who came in was Hua Jianlei. Only Fengsheng would ignore Chen Buren’s military rules. She slapped a piece of paper heavily and said, “You know this?”

Chen couldn't bear to look down at the white letter paper. There was only a line of bright red font on it, as if it was written in blood.

"——Hand over Baiyujing and the war can be extended for three years."

Chen couldn't help but shudder: "Where did this come from?"

"front……"

"where?"

"It's everywhere." Hua Jianlei breathed heavily: "It's everywhere!"

Chen couldn't bear it and suddenly grabbed the white paper in his hand, and the paper turned into pieces: "Shameless!"

"Tai Sui knows that Bai Yujing is the only one who has a chance to kill him, so he uses this method to force Bai Yu to come out and fight him to the death in advance through propaganda warfare!" Hua Jianlei said hatefully, "Damn dog, he even resorted to overt and covert schemes!"

She glanced around and said, "Let the military committee do some ideological work for everyone and make the pros and cons clear to everyone!"

Chen couldn't help but said, "This won't be the last time. It may just be the first wave. The front line is the military camp. We can still hold it, but what about the rear?"

The flowers shed tears in silence.

The common people are not aware of this. Even if they were aware, who can guarantee that there aren’t any idiots among the hundreds of millions of people?

If some people really believed that handing over Bai Yu would lead to a three-year ceasefire or forcing him to fight would lead to a three-year ceasefire, it would easily trigger widespread public opinion. This kind of internal friction would be a drain on the national strength of today's Daxia.

When everyone is united and determined, once such internal friction occurs, the so-called unity of effort becomes a joke.

Regardless of whether this strategy can really force Bai Yu out, the moment it caused controversy, the strategy had already taken effect.

Although it will not cause widespread adverse effects at present, it is like a seed planted in advance, which will cause large-scale necrosis once it is spoken.

If the front line continues to retreat and the bad news continues, who can guarantee that it will not cause even worse impacts?
Rather...

The Daxia side had no way to deal with it.

It would be fine if they could stabilize the front and win the battle, but the current trend of consecutive defeats is not convincing at all.

When humans are in despair, they will grasp at any glimmer of hope at all costs, even if that hope is false, a trap, or a bait.

When she thought of this, Hua Jianlei felt a chill in her heart.

She wanted to be angry, but before she got angry, she felt powerless and weak.

As a martial saint, an existence superior to billions of people, she possesses the force to split mountains and seas, but she cannot resist the disaster of destroying a country, nor can she resist the evil in people's hearts.

Those are things that are beyond human reach.

Not even a saint can do that.

Hua Jianlei said dejectedly: "What should we do?"

"Block the news..."

“Can it be blocked?”

"What I mean is, don't let Bai Yujing know the news." Chen Bu Ren said in a deep voice: "Then, try to delay the time as much as possible."

……

At the front line of the military camp, more people saw this white propaganda paper.

A young man who had just retreated from the front line looked silently at the paper in his hand with a somewhat confused look.

"This paper says..."

"What is there to say? This is nonsense!" The team leader next to him tore up the paper and said angrily, "What a bunch of filthy things, half-human dogs, they are actually trying to attack my mind!"

The soldier next to him lowered his head to eat the canned food, chewing slowly and whispering: "Let Bai Yujing come forward by name. Even the incarnation of the Demon Ancestor knows that after Luohou's death, if anyone still threatens him, it will be Bai Yujing."

He squinted at the people around him and said, "You don't really believe what's written on this piece of paper, do you? Just think about it and you'll know... If Bai Yujing dies, the battle line will only collapse faster."

Everyone in the barracks was silent.

Someone in the corner said abruptly, "I understand that, but... I don't want to think about it too long. We have only been at the front for ten days, and so many people have died. After today, one-third of the team is gone."

"I'm a junior. Before I came here, I thought it was an honor to serve my country, but after I came here, I found that I was still afraid of death... I haven't heard from my brother since yesterday. He was assigned to the Xianzhen Camp. Now I don't know what to do. I don't know if I can go back alive, and I don't know how to tell my parents."

"I want to write a suicide note, but my hands are shaking..."

He crumpled the paper in his hand, held his head with both hands, and sat slumped on the bed, his eyes full of bloodshot. He asked in a low voice: "What else can I do? I know I shouldn't believe it, but whether I believe it or not...what difference does it make? Can we win this war?"

No one around spoke, and a feeling of despair spread in the silence.

The most terrifying thing is that there is no end in sight to the war, and no hope of victory. Everyone comes here with the belief of defending their country, but if there is not even the slightest chance of winning, who would be willing to die in such a meaningless way?
Originally, this was a statement that shook the military's morale and could be punished according to military law.

But the captain sighed and said, "Forget what you said just now... We are fighting here for our country. Please don't say these words again... Otherwise, you will be swallowed by despair before you die in the Shadow Tide."

……

Just a few pieces of white paper cannot shake Daxia's will to resist and military morale.

It will not reveal any bad consequences for the time being, but will only leave some traces and plant one or two seeds.

That's the case for now.

But just as Chen Buren and Hua Jianlei had already expected, the battle situation continued to deteriorate and the defense line continued to shrink.

As time goes by, the number of casualties continues to accumulate and increase.

Many people couldn't even bring back their bodies.

Each life is forever frozen at that age and no longer grows older.

The worsening war situation, the shrinking of the northern battlefield, and the continued fall of Yanyun are further exacerbating the anxiety of the people across the country. Even those in the safe south are always affected by the war situation in the north.

Although wartime controls were in place and Daxia officials controlled the channels of public opinion, it did not mean that all information was blocked.

Especially in this world where supernatural powers exist, there are many channels for the circulation of information.

In addition, some people with ulterior motives are secretly fanning the flames.

Two and a half months after the war began...

Large pieces of printed paper appeared in the sky above several cities, and the papers filled with words were scattered in the downtown areas like snowflakes.

At the same time, another article suddenly spread across the entire Internet at an extremely fast speed. Before the relevant departments reacted and imposed controls and bans, it had already spread like a plague.

The title of the article is "Why Are There No Saints on the Battlefield?"

The specific content did not directly target certain people, but targeted the canonization group. The article made a lot of accusations, reversed right and wrong, spread rumors, and used the style of the Spring and Autumn Annals, saying that there were so many casualties on the front line, but the canonization refused to go to the battlefield, and watched many soldiers die in battle, while they themselves hid in the rear because of fear of death; the noble families and wealthy families all lived in the rear and enjoyed themselves, and did not send their disciples to fight on the front line, and still enjoyed their wealth and glory, while innocent people died in vain; there has been no results since the beginning of the war, only the number of casualties has continued to soar, which is simply due to the incompetence of the Ministry of War...

At the end, one question was left.

——Why has Bai Yujing never left the capital since the war began?

This article was obviously written by Tai Sui. He did not express any opinions, but simply questioned, questioned and questioned again, stirring up all the conflicts that could be stirred up.

They instigated class contradictions and hatred within humanity, and then used the issue to play on the selfishness of human nature, calling for the problem of inequality rather than scarcity, and cried out the innocence of the soldiers who died in the war. They also came up with a conspiracy, saying that the front line was not unwinnable, but that it was because the canonized saints refused to fight that they suffered repeated defeats and the war situation was deteriorating... They tried to drag the canonization of saints into the quagmire, thereby impacting the official authority and stirring up internal contradictions.

After reading this article.

Miu Tianji sighed: "It's really well written... Damn, I can't think of a more evil plan than this."

Everyone may be rational, but the masses are not rational; if everyone sits down and talks it out, they may all express understanding, but if put together, they will be swept away by the wave of public opinion and become a mob.

So the masses are emotional...their eyes may not be sharp, but they can only see the parts that others want them to see.

However, this wave of rhythm was suppressed in less than two days.

The mastermind behind the incident was also caught. It was a small media company with only a few dozen people, but it caused panic among tens of millions of people.

At the arrest scene, it was confirmed that this person was not a fallen demon, but a human being.

When he was arrested, he did not express any regret, but instead sneered at the camera and said, "Time will prove that I am right."

But he had no chance. He was dragged away and shot on the same day, and the relevant personnel were also sentenced to life imprisonment.

The news of the arrest was disclosed to deter other fence-sitters and lackeys.

Human nature is not all noble and great. There are Adventists in all three bodies.

Faced with the threat of genocide and the temptation of demons, there are always people who will bow their heads and accept the "Ark Ticket" handed over by Tai Sui. They believe that as long as they accept the demon seeds and become fallen demons, they can change their identities and life forms and live on.

Moreover, this infiltration did not start recently, but started a long time ago. Tai Sui has planted a large number of hidden players, some of whom have not fallen into demonic bodies at all, but are willing to serve the other party in exchange for the right to live.

This type of people are the most terrifying. They look no different from humans, but it is impossible to tell whether they have been bribed long ago. Moreover, once they get on the pirate ship, there is no chance of turning back. The impact will be far more far-reaching than that of ordinary fallen demons, and may even give rise to a pathological psychological phenomenon called convert fanaticism.

then……

A more intense public opinion offensive began.

Since the first article, it seems that similar opinions are generated in new places every week.

And the rhetoric has become more intense.

From the initial doubts, it turned into accusations and even insults, denouncing the canonization of inaction and incompetence.

You don't need to think before you curse someone.

There is no need to express emotions.

There is no cost at all to oppose a thing.

It's like it's easy to tear down a house, but it's dozens of times more difficult to build it up.

Therefore, as a person with sound thinking, before speaking on a matter, you should consider whether you really understand it and whether you have the corresponding solution. If you just vent your emotions and give advice on everything, questioning all the people who have put forward opinions but not giving your own opinions, then you are a pure nitpicker or a ridiculous kid.

But the happiness of argumentative people is beyond the imagination of most people. However, they are not aware of this and think it is happy to give advice and feel comfortable to criticize everyone.

Therefore, accusations and insults will immediately trigger emotional points and spread in a rampant manner.

Even a few rational voices would be quickly drowned out by the tide of abuse.

Over the past few months, people's emotions have been pent up and suppressed for too long. They need a window to vent. Whoever is singled out as a target at this time is bound to suffer.

The consequence of the outburst of public opinion is the generation of confrontational behavior and rebellious thoughts.

This naturally created divisions within Daxia.

Even the conscription work was affected to some extent.

The speed of refuting rumors cannot keep up with the speed of public opinion outbreak.

The authorities are also trying to clarify, but they can't stop the proliferation of rumors. Because the fundamental problem is not public opinion, nor the reactionary elements planted by Tai Sui, but the continuous defeat of the war.

Without victory, the people's pent-up dissatisfaction will have nowhere to vent, which will eventually backfire.

The successive defeats on the front lines and the shrinking of the battle lines made the military extremely anxious.

Four months after the war began.

Yanyun fell completely.

The whole country is sad.

It was originally just mourning, but this emotion was exploited again.

Sadness turns to anger, which turns to accusations and abuse.

These angry emotions and surging public opinion eventually formed a huge boomerang.

It clearly hit the "White Elm" which was once a role model promoted by the government.

Because Bai Yu never showed up, nor did he leave the capital, it was as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth.

Various Baiyu jokes began to circulate on the Internet.

For example, the world famous painting "Bai Yujing in the Capital";

For example, some of Bai Yu's past deeds and words were taken out of context and compared with the current situation to make ridicule;
For example, they ran to the gate of Nanling No. 3 Middle School and used a loud speaker to curse people, or even threw paint on the photo wall of "excellent graduates"...

All these irrational behaviors received a lot of likes.

The front line was full of life and death, and the lives filled the trenches;
There was a lot of curses from the rear, and public opinion forced Feng Sheng to go to the front line to die.

This world is so magical.

The whole of Daxia was a scene of chaos and disorder.

I am afraid that only when the demons break through the northern war zone and come to the south one day, these people will be shocked to find that the truth they believed in was all false. It is not that someone is slacking off or that the saints are afraid to show up, but that the difficulty of this war is unimaginable.

But if that day really comes, no one will care about the truth.

This means that the country will be destroyed and bones will be left everywhere.

……

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month, winter in the capital.

The weather is cold and frost has formed on the windows.

In the courtyard, Su Ruoli exhaled a breath of cold mist, looked at the paper in his hand, and read: "This Bai Yujing really deserves to die. He sought fame and reputation, and was touted as the number one of the younger generation, but he was afraid of death and hid in the capital and refused to fight. I'm afraid that few of his achievements are real. He is just a puppet promoted by the authorities. He is not that good. How can anyone achieve so many achievements in three years? It's all a false scam. Now this lie can no longer be maintained."

"Stop reading!" Su Ruo couldn't listen any longer. She whispered, "I don't want to listen."

Tao Rusu started cursing loudly, and in a few words he attacked all the female family members of the writers who wrote these disgusting articles, and launched a crazy AoE attack with a radius of 18 generations of their ancestors.

Perhaps it was because her curse was too harsh, even Mu Yaoxi beside her couldn't help but slap her ears, trying to pour out the dirty words from her ears.

"I really want to curse back." Tao Rusu said indignantly.

"Didn't you scold me?"

"I'm not talking about at home, I'm talking about outside!"

"Outside, you'll get yelled back as soon as you open your mouth." Su Ruo shook her head and said, "And the more we refute, the more we'll be treated as incompetent and furious."

"Yes." Amamiya Mahiru agreed: "Now, it's useless to say anything. The opinions of the people are not important. The outcome of this war depends on only two people."

"What Tai Sui did actually proves how much he fears wood." Su Ruoli threw the paper into the trash can.

Mu Yaoxi said calmly: "But I will remember all these remarks. When this matter is over, I will slowly settle the reputation loss he suffered."

"That's a must."

The girls were talking and laughing happily.

A man walked past the gate of the yard and knocked on the door.

It’s Ao Xuanyue.

She was dressed in military uniform and glanced at the girls who were talking and laughing. She envied their relaxed attitude.

"You guys aren't nervous at all... Yanyun has already fallen, and the enemy is about to reach the gates of the capital."

"Will the enemy not come if I'm nervous?" Tao Rusu stretched lazily, "Besides, we still have to live our lives."

All the girls present had fought in the battlefield, guarded strongholds, and had been injured to varying degrees.

They are not sitting back and enjoying the good life, but in order to ensure the safety of the capital, they will regularly rotate back home in groups of three.

After several months of baptism of war, their temperaments have changed slightly and become more mature.

Today, everyone gathered in the yard, which was the first time in several months.

Because Yanyun was completely captured.

There is no need to stick to it.

The defense line has reached thirty miles outside the capital.

It cannot be said to be the end of one's rope, but this is already the true meaning of the emperor guarding the country's borders.

No one knows how long the capital can hold out.

But I know that I can never retreat from now on.

If we continue to retreat, we will have to retreat all the way back to Jiangnan.

Therefore, everyone has different psychological expectations on how to defend the capital and how long they can defend it.

Whether it is the civilians, the military, the staff of the Ten Departments of Daxia, the senior leadership team, or the canonized saints... everyone is under a lot of pressure.

The human heart is shallow and complex.

Even Ao Xuanyue felt the pressure, let alone others.

She knew Bai Yu much better than anyone else. She had watched him rise to the position of a genius step by step. She should have had enough confidence in this young man and believed that he could defeat the powerful enemy that even Luohou could not defeat.

She could only force herself to believe, otherwise she would not have been able to hold on until now.

But the women in front of me are different. They can talk and laugh not because the pressure they bear is less than others, but because they have hope in their hearts.

They believed in Bai Yu from the bottom of their hearts, and as long as he was there, the sky would not fall.

Ao Xuanyue originally thought that this trust would eventually be completely eroded as the situation worsened.

But at this time, the battle line had already reached the front of the capital, but they were still the same as before, not showing any signs of nervousness, but instead were talking and laughing.

So she felt very envious.

"Xuan Yue, now that you are here, don't leave." Su Ruo immediately grabbed her good friend's wrist and said, "Come on, let's make dumplings together."

"It's not dumplings, it's Yuanxiao." Su Ruoli corrected.

"It's all the same."

"Oh, yes, today is the Lantern Festival..." Ao Xuanyue suddenly realized that since entering the battlefield, it is difficult to have free time for the festival.

"Hurry up and wrap it. I'm waiting to eat it." Tao Rusu looked like he was not going to do it.

"Let me teach you. Yuanxiao is very simple."

Amemiya Mahiru had already prepared the materials.

The women sat around the table, chatting about everyday things while starting to make Yuanxiao.

On cold winter days, the courtyard here is a little warmer.

……

Zhonghu Courtyard.

Miu Tianji stopped several people outside the yard.

He glanced at the newcomers calmly, raised his hand to stop them, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, don't rush in."

The visitor glanced at Miu Tianji and said unhappily, "Old man, what do you mean by this?"

"Nothing special, just asking what you guys want."

"We are all here, what else could we be here for?" An old man with a white beard asked calmly, "Is your eyesight so poor?"

"Don't you old guys all cherish your reputation?" Miu Tianji asked bluntly, "Before you go in and disturb the adults, I'll make it clear - do you really intend to fight to the death here, or are you just going through the motions?"

Several people had different expressions.

One of them glared at him and said, "If the capital is destroyed, Daxia will be destroyed. How could we come here to gain fame? If we lose our country, what's the point of keeping this reputation?"

Miu Tianji sneered, "Why didn't you come earlier? If you had reported here three months in advance, I can be sure that the battle line would not reach the capital in another month."

Another person said: "It's useless to say this now. We have also wasted a lot of time."

"If you want to report, go to the military camp, or just find a place to stay on the city wall." Miao Tianji waved his hand directly: "Don't come here to find trouble."

Several people looked at each other and left.

Miu Tianji stood at the gate of the yard, and his domineering demeanor calmed down.

"Are they all gone?" A low voice came from the courtyard behind, and it sounded like a seriously ill patient gasping for breath.

"It's okay, no one will come in." Miao Tianji comforted him, "Don't worry, I'll guard the door."

“I should still meet them.”

"We can't meet at this time. If you are so weak, it will shake the mentality of these people... They are not peerless. If they really can't hold on, they may be the first to escape, so we can't gamble."

Da Xia in the courtyard no longer insisted. After a moment, she asked in a low voice: "Where is the little guy?"

"Not awake yet."

"It seems that we need to find a time to transfer him out."

"Can……"

"It's okay. I'm mentally prepared."

The woman in the courtyard caught a fallen leaf and said in a gentle and calm voice: "I can die, Daxia can perish, if I have to burn myself to continue civilization, I will also happily go to the fire... But the child should stay, he is the fire we want to leave for this world's civilization, as long as he is here, everything can start over again."

Outside the door, Miu Tianji bent down deeply, lowered his head, and remained silent, his voice as soft as ice flowing down a spring.

……

At the same time, at the gate of Beijing.

Many people are leaving the city and heading south with their families.

Vehicles are flowing and the highway is blocked.

Most of those who left were young people, while the elderly were reluctant to leave.

Having lived in the capital for their entire lives, how could they bear to leave just like that? Even if the capital were to be destroyed, they would rather die at home.

Three miles outside the city.

"Okay, let's just send it here." A young woman held the young man's hand and said softly, "If we send it any further, we will reach the south."

The young man held the woman's hand, remained silent for a long time, and asked: "Did I make you wait too long? Even in the end, I just hurriedly got the marriage certificate with you. I know I am very selfish, even if you scold me a few words."

The unremarkable woman looked calmly at the man in front of her and reached out to pinch his nose.

"When have you ever listened to me? It's been like this since I was little... When I was little, I hoped you would study hard, but you spent all day wielding swords; when you went to school, I hoped you would find a class to attend, but you went out to make a living; later, I hoped you would come back to see me, but you were gone for ten years; then, I almost forgot about you, but you became famous all over the world; then, I hoped you wouldn't come to find me again, but you still found me; I hoped you wouldn't say you loved me, but you still said it."

The woman sighed: "What else can I do except marry you?"

The young man was embarrassed and apologized in a low voice.

The ordinary girl continued, "However, I don't regret meeting you. It's just that I'm too ordinary, so I often feel uneasy and scared... When I was a child, I was afraid that you would fight all day and get hurt; when I went to school, I was afraid that you would be illiterate and not study well; later, I was afraid that you would forget me; then I was afraid that I would forget you; then, I was afraid to see you again... If you lose something without ever having it, it might not be so sad."

She reached out her hand and gently hugged the man, her voice calm but with unshakable affection and strength.

"But now I'm not afraid anymore, Ren Nanbei. I'm not afraid of being your wife, nor am I afraid of being a widow to you."

Ren Nanbei hugged the woman tightly... They were actually seven or eight years apart in age, but his wife had a baby face and looked younger. It was more like an sister-brother relationship than a childhood sweetheart.

In the past, Ren Nanbei was always worried that the other party would not accept it, and was also worried about other people's opinions, but now he can let it go.

He buried his head in the other person's hair, took a deep breath, and from then on he had endless courage to face an ending that might be tragic or brutal.

……

In the capital city.

An elderly couple opened the door and walked into a new courtyard.

Shang Ming'e's eyes lit up: "Wow, it's so spacious? It's my favorite courtyard house. How much did you pay for it?"

"It's not that much." Su Haoran said with a smile: "You have long said that you want a house closer to the children, and I have been looking for one for a long time. It just so happens that the housing prices in Beijing have dropped a lot recently, so I bought one."

"Let's move."

"Now?"

"Move now!" Shang Ming'e said with a smile, "The sooner the better."

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you." Father Su nodded, his eyes calm and his expression indifferent.

They will not leave the capital.

It’s not that I can’t bear to leave here, but my children are all in Beijing. As parents, why would they leave?

No matter where or when, the family should be reunited.

……

Martial Saint Pavilion.

Hua Jianlei lit a stick of incense, placed it in front of the spirit tablet in the Wusheng Pavilion, and watched the incense burn.

In just a few months, she was the only one left out of the four Martial Saints in the Martial Saint Pavilion.

Huo Qiu Shui and Yan Wuji died one after another, Ying Sheng was seriously injured and dying...but she was the one who escaped death.

In the empty Martial Saint Pavilion, there were not even a few disciples to be seen, as they had all gone to the front lines.

Today is the Lantern Festival. After a temporary call, we found that among the ten true disciples and inner disciples, only three or four are alive.

The number of spirit tablets became larger and larger, and many people's bodies were not brought back. Only a few relics were left, which could barely be used as a cenotaph.

After everyone had burned incense and left, in the empty mourning hall, the Flower Saint, who always gave people a lively and cheerful feeling, suddenly covered his heart, mouth and nose, and burst into tears.

……

That night.

Thirty miles outside the capital.

In a field of wild grass, Tai Sui stood on a commanding height and looked towards the direction of the capital city, which was brightly lit and colorful.

Even if they retreated to a corner of the capital, they could not conceal the prosperity of this place. Even if only one in ten people were left, it was still the capital of Daxia.

It took him four months to fight his way here.

But he was neither hurried nor slow...he even deliberately slowed down the progress a little.

He knew that there were at least a dozen canonized saints gathered in the capital, and it would not be easy to take it down.

But no amount of canonization can stop the process of destruction.

Luohou can guard the human world alone for a thousand years.

Without Luohu, China is in such a state of disarray.

However, Bai Yujing, who was regarded as his lifelong enemy, has been missing till now, and he may not be in that city.

At this time, Tai Sui was quite absent-minded. He did not have any lofty ambitions. Instead, he looked towards the direction of the capital city, feeling a little desolate and lonely.

A war without an opponent is nothing but a massacre.

"That's all..."

Tai Sui raised his hand, and the demons under his command received the order and temporarily stopped their day and night advances.

The night battle and siege of the city were supposed to begin in three hours at most.

Tai Sui called a halt to the night battle and asked the vanguard to wait for the follow-up army.

"I'll let you have a good Lantern Festival tonight."

"I will send you to the underground for a reunion tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)