Chapter 00307: Floodwaters Overwhelm the Heavens
# Floodwaters Overwhelm the Heavens
Chapter 307
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 307: Floodwaters Overwhelm the Heavens
Some feelings came from the original body, or rather, from the resonance of the same bloodline.
They were usually suppressed by him, but at unexpected moments, they still surged forth.
Hong Chenglüe suppressed the turbulent blood surging in his chest, reined in the chaotic true energy within his body, casually slashed down a few enemies, and glanced over toward He Chunhua’s direction.
The figure of that despicable official was drowned out by the dense crowd, completely impossible to make out.
Actually, there was no need to look—he had full confidence in the power of that one slash.
At the very least, he had sliced through half of the official’s neck.
He was all too familiar with the sensation of a sharp blade cutting through throat and bone.
Just at that moment, the sound of the wind howled overhead.
The towering golden armored bronze figure moved again, delivering a punch aimed at his head—swift and fierce.
Hong Chenglüe barely avoided it by rolling on the ground.
When he got up, his eyes met He Lingchuan’s; blood dripped from He Lingchuan's mouth, his gaze cold and murderous.
He had even chipped the head off the golden bronze figure, so why was it still moving?
At this moment, the golden armored bronze figure bent down and picked up its head from the ground, reattaching it to its neck, then continued to chase after Hong Chenglüe.
No one else knew this, but this thing had four control centers: the main one was in the heart, and three auxiliary centers were located in the head and both knees.
The bronze figure looked like a human, so opponents usually aimed for the head and heart like fighting a real person—but that was useless.
Made of alloy, as long as none of the four control centers were completely destroyed, it could keep moving, albeit somewhat less agile.
At the same time, a rock wolf came out of nowhere, circling around to launch attacks from behind, aiming at Hong Chenglüe's lower body.
The wolf’s movements were extremely agile—if it missed, it would retreat immediately and wait for another chance.
Hong Chenglüe swung his blade twice, only managing to sever a few strands of wolf fur.
A wolf and a bronze figure, one nimble and light, the other heavy and sturdy, worked together surprisingly well.
Coupled with the surrounding encirclement of Yuan soldiers, Hong Chenglüe found himself in a tough battle.
Fortunately, nearly a hundred cavalry from Xunzhou rushed to his aid from behind, greatly easing his pressure.
Hong Chenglüe took that chance to glance at the battlefield situation.
Hmm, it was time.
Observing in all directions was a commander’s instinct.
Even while locked in fierce combat with He Lingchuan, he could keep an eye on the overall situation.
He picked up his spear, mounted his horse, and without looking back, charged westward.
The Xunzhou cavalry made all-out efforts to clear a path for him.
Because he did not belong to Nian Zanli’s command, his troops hadn't had their elemental powers stripped away, and all the members were elite soldiers, their fighting strength was formidable.
They managed to carve a bloody path through with sheer force.
At the same time, Hong Chenglüe pulled out a horn and blew a long, mournful, eerie blast.
The sound was like an owl’s cry, amplified tenfold—piercing and chilling.
Even the bloodthirsty soldiers couldn’t ignore it.
The Xunzhou army, which had already retreated westward, heard the horn and took off faster.
Zhao Pan, who was chasing after them, even noticed that the enemy's disciplinary troops were not killing the fleeing soldiers.
Instead, they were running even faster than the soldiers themselves...
To the west!
What was going on?
Once Hong Chenglüe finished blowing the horn, he roared like thunder: “General Nian, unleash the flood—now!”
He put his true energy into his voice, sending it far across the battlefield like a rolling wave.
Flood?
Wu Shaoyi, who had just reached He Chunhua’s side, suddenly looked up toward the riverbank behind the camp, feeling a chill down his spine.
That place was two zhang (~6.6 meters) higher than the main camp where everyone else was.
Behind the rocks, more than a dozen human shadows silently appeared—leaders among them was none other than Nian Zanli, the Xunzhou governor, who had not shown himself throughout the entire battle.
He was dressed in the common soldier's leather armor of the Yuan people, able to slip into the ranks unnoticed by lowering his head.
It was obvious he had slipped here with his entourage during the previous chaos.
Hearing Hong Chenglüe’s command, Nian Zanli stared hesitantly down at the riverbank below.
There were still seven or eight ships of the Xunzhou army that hadn’t landed.
On the slope, many soldiers were still rushing westward.
Together, there were at least two or three thousand men by the river and on the shore.
These were his own troops—people he saw every day, even greeted many by name.
Even though he was usually decisive and ruthless, at this moment, he felt a pang of reluctance.
Hong Chenglüe could sense Nian Zanli’s hesitation and shouted again: “Lord Nian, time waits for no one! If we fail, then we lose!”
The word “lose” shocked Nian Zanli deeply.
Indeed, they had already rushed to the south bank with no retreat left.
If they failed in this desperate battle, Nian Zanli would lose everything!
He halted his hesitation and silently recited an incantation.
Wu Shaoyi was already terrified and had sent men rushing toward Nian Zanli.
Seeing Hong Chenglüe retreating while blowing the horn, He Lingchuan immediately ordered: “Pursue! All of you, chase after Hong Chenglüe!”
No matter what tricks he might be planning, sticking close to him was the safest move.
You Youjun immediately led the Xiazhou troops in pursuit of Hong Chenglüe.
He charged toward the high ground, arrows rained down behind him, killing several scouts.
Fu Xin was running diagonally behind him, eyes flickering with an idea to take revenge on this opportunity.
But Hong Chenglüe seemed to have eyes at the back of his head; suddenly, he pointed his finger at Fu Xin: “Fu Xin, leave with some men for rear guard!”
Fu Xin was shocked, then furious that this lowlife had stolen his chance for vengeance first.
But this was a military order; resistance was impossible.
He slowed his horse, taking some men to cover the retreat.
A dozen soldiers obviously couldn’t take on hundreds or thousands, so Fu Xin found an opening and fled along another route, injured.
…
Elsewhere, He Lingchuan lowered his head toward He Chunhua.
Though surrounded by many soldiers, no one dared to touch him.
He was about to pry his father’s hand off his neck to check his injury, but suddenly furrowed his brow—
He noticed, to his shock, there was no blood between He Chunhua’s fingers.
He had personally witnessed the power of Hong Chenglüe’s slash—his father’s neck had been cut through at least halfway, which should have sent blood gushing like a spring.
But none was to be seen.
Not a single drop.
Meanwhile, not far away, a palace guard clutched his own neck and collapsed with a thud, foaming red at the mouth, a spray of neck blood bursting out.
But this was a battlefield where blades and arrows never spared; injuries happened every moment.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to He Chunhua, so even if someone noticed the unlucky soldier’s death, they only assumed it was a sneak attack by the Xunzhou soldiers without a second thought.
Suddenly, a white light gleamed from the Han River.
It sprouted wings and soared up, landing into Nian Zanli’s hands.
It looked like a bottle.
Nian Zanli then turned the bottle mouth downward, making a pouring motion.
Two flying arrows came in succession but were knocked aside by his bodyguards.
Then from the bottle’s mouth rushed forth a mighty torrent!
Nian Zanli stood on higher ground than the Yuan soldiers here.
Now, with the Green Spirit Bottle turned upside down, the great quantity of Han River water that had been absorbed for nearly half an hour surged forth like a stampede.
When the bottle sucked up water, it turned the Han River into a slow flow; when pouring out water, it could turn high ground into a riverbed!
The roaring river water burst down the slope with the momentum of ten thousand horses galloping.
Nian Zanli’s hands trembled slightly as he held the bottle, and he stepped back two paces, as if struggling to hold onto the bottle.
Wu Shaoyi shouted hoarsely: “Retreat! Fall back westward!”
Actually, no one needed telling.
Who in their right mind would want to die?
Seeing this sudden flood on land, the Yuan army yelled and ran with all their might westward, cursing inwardly at their parents for not giving them two more legs.
As the flood moved in earth-shaking power, the rock wolf tucked its tail and fled faster than any human.
Even the palace guards beside He Chunhua fled in panic.
Their lord was dead; naturally, they sought to save their own lives.
As for He Chunhua’s strange condition, the crowd quickly closed in again, and only a few could see clearly.
He Lingchuan formed a hand seal; the golden armored bronze figure shrank back to doll size and jumped into his pocket.
He then picked up He Chunhua, mounted the dark green horse, and galloped away.
No one noticed that He Chunhua’s eyelids twitched twice.
The only reason everyone still had the strength to flee was that the Yuan people’s camp formation provided precious time.
But this formation, which even cannon fire couldn’t break, staggered and nearly collapsed under the onslaught of the raging flood.
The faint green shield representing the formation flickered like a candle in the wind.
When the first wave of the flood truly arrived, the formation could no longer hold; it burst and vanished like a soap bubble.
The flood and the fleeing humans were now without any barrier, ruthlessly sweeping over everything.
He Lingchuan watched as the towering muddy waves mercilessly swallowed the desperate humans ahead—
Then it was his turn!
The waves rose three zhang high, slamming down upon him like a mountain.
The dark green beast was still fourteen or fifteen zhang from safety on the high rock—generally only two steps away, but now looking impossibly far.
What to do? No way to cross.
He Chunhua, having just regained consciousness, sat up in fright: “Ah…?”
How come as soon as he opened his eyes, he was falling into the river?
He Lingchuan suspected he was alive and immediately said, “Father, stand firm!”
This old man indeed concealed some life-saving method.
He Lingchuan slipped something into his father’s belt.
Stand firm?
Although He Chunhua’s back stiffened under the rushing flood, hearing this instinctively puzzled him.
Next moment, He Lingchuan grabbed his shoulder and hurled him like a sandbag toward the protruding high rock.
His strength was great, and with full true energy, He Chunhua was soaring through the air.
Looking back, he saw a giant wave crashing down, swallowing him and the horse whole with no sign afterward.
“Chuan’er!” He Chunhua’s heart grieved deeply.
That was his son—whom he’d seen grow up, shared thousands of days and nights with!
Just two zhang from landing, a sharp whistling sound came from above.
A monstrous bird swooped down, its claws like hooks, grabbing He Chunhua tightly.
Dong Rui!
This bastard had disappeared after being humiliated by He Lingchuan last time, apparently waiting for an opportunity to take revenge.
His method was simple—just throw He Chunhua back into the flood.
The monstrous bird spun midair, intending to drop He Chunhua down.
But He Chunhua was not stupid; with one hand he grabbed the bird’s claw, the other he used to slam the bird’s neck using his sword scabbard.
If he hit the right spot, the bird might fly back to land.
Dong Rui wouldn’t let him succeed so easily.
He muttered a short incantation and was about to cast a spell at him.
However, at this moment, a figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere beneath He Chunhua and the bird’s claws.
The person fell down but, fortunately, was alert enough to grab He Chunhua’s legs.
Then he further grabbed the other claw of the monster bird.
Clothes and armor were wet, face smeared with mud, branches tangled in hair.
But that face—He Chunhua knew it all too well.
“Chuan’er!”
His joy knew no bounds.
The monster bird suddenly faltered, Dong Rui leaned forward, and his prepared incantation faded away.
(End of Chapter)