C14 Marching to War

than and Li Yizhu stood facing each other like two fighting roosters, eyes locked with deep, burning hatred.

Everyone stared in shock. Queen Fei’e could not hold back her confusion. “Zhu Lang… do you know each other?”

Li Yizhu’s face was cold and empty. In his mind, he saw his father’s strange death, the Tiger Clan’s bloody massacre, and heard the ghosts calling for revenge. He never imagined that in this bizarre female-ruled kingdom, the first person he would meet was his sworn enemy—the unlucky boy with unnatural, godlike power.

Ethan’s face was also stone-like. He saw Icy, Officer Eric, and all the blood on Li Yizhu’s hands. He wanted to kill him on the spot. But Li Yizhu was still someone from his old world. And Ethan could feel that his enemy had grown far stronger than before.

Neither man answered the queen.

“What is wrong with you two? What happened between you?” Fei’e pressed.

“Ethan. Long time no see. You’re weaker than before. How did you get here? I’m lost. Let’s finish this—where it all began.” Li Yizhu sighed deeply.

“You’ve grown much stronger. I’m also looking for a way home. This will end between us.” Ethan knew he was not as powerful as he’d been during the Tiger Clan ritual, when he’d felt one with heaven and earth. Li Yizhu was right. They had to settle their score where Icy died.

Fei’e quickly cut in. “How did you two meet?”

“We’re from the same village. Your queen consort stole my swan and ate it,” Ethan said, mocking Li Yizhu for marrying a middle-aged woman.

“Yes! I stole his swan—but he killed all my geese!” Li Yizhu shot back.

The ministers burst out laughing. They thought the two men were fighting over small farm animals. Even the queen chuckled as she stepped forward.

“So you’re from the same village! No wonder you’re both extraordinary. After the war, I must visit your blessed home. It’s just a few swans—I’ll send you each a cart. I thought you had a vendetta over murder or betrayal!”

Fei’e found the whole thing childish. Men were simply less mature than women. She had rescued Li Yizhu during a hunt: a blood-covered man had appeared out of nowhere, with a unique grace no man in her kingdom possessed. Now she understood—his entire village was special.

At the words “murder or betrayal,” Ethan and Li Yizhu flinched. They stared at each other again, then both sighed heavily.

“I heard you’re leading men into battle. So few soldiers. You’ll die.”

“Isn’t that what you want? A real man fights on the battlefield.” Ethan knew his duty. He had promised the queen, and he could not die—not when his enemy was still alive. For the first time, he truly wanted to live.

“You are not allowed to die. I’m going with you. Only I can kill you. We must return, and we must finish this.”

“Relax. I won’t die before you do. But can you even fight?” Ethan challenged.

The queen quickly stepped between them. “Lord Li, you don’t have to go. Ethan will manage. You are the face of men in this kingdom—I can’t risk you.”

“Fei’e, I know you care for me. But I am a man. I was born with a duty I cannot escape. I must go. I cannot let this boy die by anyone else’s hand. Our grudge is too deep. Now that I’ve found him again, I won’t let him disappear.” Li Yizhu’s voice was firm.

The queen fell silent. She realized the queen consort joining the army would inspire the whole nation. She still hated to let him go, for the danger was beyond measure.

Ethan couldn’t believe he was going to war alongside his worst enemy. Life was truly full of cruel jokes.

After drinking the farewell wine with Queen Fei’e, Ethan and Li Yizhu parted ways with Leng Bing. Nearly the entire city turned out to send them off. Everyone knew this war would decide the fate of the Moon Rabbit Kingdom—they had to win, no matter the cost.

Stories about Ethan had spread like wildfire:

He could shoot the legs off a mosquito in mid-air.

He could outrun leopards in the mountains.

He defeated the kingdom’s greatest warrior in one move.

He was a god sent from heaven to save them.

If he had been born a woman, his power would be limitless.

He could move mountains, empty seas, and turn grass into soldiers.

The people cheered for their divine hero as he rode away.

Ethan looked at his 10,000 male soldiers and almost cried. They were thin, weak, and even wore makeup. The female soldiers, by contrast, were tall, strong, and fearless. What a twisted system. He now understood how rulers could brainwash an entire people.

Worst of all, he was stuck with his mortal enemy.

“Dammit. I come to a women’s kingdom and can’t even enjoy the girls—I’m stuck running around with a man. He’s definitely afraid I’ll escape.”

Ethan didn’t understand why Li Yizhu had grown so powerful, while he could not regain the godlike strength from the Tiger Clan ritual. Still, Li Yizhu was the only person who felt familiar. Even if he was an enemy, he acted like a real man.

Ethan also couldn’t believe Li Yizhu had married a middle-aged woman. The guy must be crazy.

As they marched, Li Yizhu stuck to Ethan like a shadow.

“Ethan, what are you even doing here? How did you arrive? This women’s world is no place for men like us.” Li Yizhu acted just like he had in the hospital—no trace of the cruel Tiger Clan heir.

Ethan was annoyed at being pulled from his thoughts. “Lord Queen Consort, watch your image. You’re the mascot of men here.”

“Mascot? Please. Men in this country have no dignity at all. The rules here are worse than ancient slavery. Women can kidnap men. One woman can have many husbands. But men must stay loyal till death. You haven’t been snatched yet? You’re the most desirable man in the kingdom.”

Li Yizhu had barely spoken since arriving. Seeing Ethan—even as an enemy—made him feel alive. He didn’t care about Ethan’s insults.

“Snatched? No. But I have been harassed!” Ethan laughed. The two men shared a rare moment of unity. Under their laughter, each secretly planned to kill the other when they returned home.

Li Yizhu talked nonstop. He told Ethan that Master Zhang—the red-robed Tiger Clan shaman—had used Tiger Dance to teleport him here, and had transferred all his hundred years of power to Li Yizhu before dying.

“Master Zhang? The red-robed man? He’s still alive?” Ethan asked.

“Dead. You punched through his heart. He saved me with the last of his power. Otherwise, I would never have ended up here. Our Tiger Dance holds divine power. He was the strongest in the clan—even those Dragon Clan elders couldn’t beat him. If you hadn’t ruined everything… my father would still be alive… my clan would still be alive…”

Li Yizhu’s voice turned furious. He glared at Ethan with pure hatred.

“Your damn clan killed the woman I loved! I didn’t mean to crush your father! I was trying to kill myself! He ruined my death! Then I tried to live, and your people dragged me back into hell! I can’t live, I can’t die! You killed Eric! You sacrificed Icy like an animal!” Ethan shouted back, equally enraged.

The two men stared daggers at each other. Their eyes could have killed. The soldiers watched in terror—their two commanders were about to brawl in the face of invasion.

“The Tiger Clan has our own culture! Our own traditions! We’ve lived this way for thousands of years! You call us evil? I killed Eric—so what? How many people have you killed? You’re the real murderer! What did my father ever do to you? What did my clan ever do to you?!” Li Yizhu screamed.

“I… I… What about Icy?! She was innocent!” Ethan froze. He had lost count of how many deaths had followed him since he jumped off that building.

“Icy’s father was Tiger Clan! He offered her as a sacrifice! It was her highest honor! Blame her family! I had a normal life! You killed my father, destroyed everything! I wanted peace! You forced me into hatred!” Li Yizhu was almost sobbing.

“I… I have no father!” Ethan whispered. His eyes filled with tears. “I’m an orphan… I had no one. Kids called me a bastard every day. I didn’t even have a father to be killed.”

Li Yizhu’s eyes also filled with tears. His whole life had been destroyed by this boy. But he had never thought Ethan was an orphan—alone, abandoned, broken enough to suicide.

The two men stood facing each other, tears streaming down their faces, saying nothing.

The soldiers watched from a distance, completely confused. Some even whispered that they were still fighting over swans.

The autumn wind blew cold across the yellowed fields. The army stood frozen.

Finally, Ethan and Li Yizhu calmed down. They both knew this was not the time to settle their feud. The Turtle Army was at the gates. They had to repel the enemy and find their way home first.

Ethan ordered the army to set up camp. He sent dozens of scouts to gather enemy information. One careless mistake could destroy the entire kingdom.

Li Yizhu also calmed and stopped following Ethan. He began carefully studying the terrain. As the queen consort, he felt some loyalty to the Moon Rabbit Kingdom. He had lost his own home and clan; he didn’t want Fei’e to lose everything.

Scouts soon reported: a steep, narrow mountain lay ahead, with the enemy camped about fifty miles behind it. Ethan studied the map. The mountain was the only path to the Western Sea. They could easily be ambushed.

In the command tent, Li Yizhu gave Ethan a full breakdown of the terrain.

“Twenty miles ahead is Sunset Mountain. Only one narrow path passes through Sunset Canyon. The Western Turtle Army has about 400,000 soldiers—fewer than we expected. Between here and the mountain is a large swamp, now dry because of the dry season. To our left is the Sky River, which cuts through Sunset Mountain into the Western Sea.”

Ethan stared at the map, deep in thought. He had a vague plan but couldn’t quite grasp it.

“We’ll stay here tonight. It’s safe from ambush. We need a clear strategy. We’re badly outnumbered. Meet me here with all officers tomorrow.”

In his own tent, Ethan couldn’t sleep. His vague idea slipped further away. He sat and tried to practice the Ascending Dragon Art, but his mind was restless.

He thought of Dragon Five, his comrades, and the giant crab. If only he could eat crab again.

Then he remembered the crab pearl still inside him.

Panic rose.

His inner energy began to spin wildly. The crab pearl in his dantian burned hotter and hotter, as if trying to melt him from the inside. Ethan tried to scream but couldn’t make a sound. His body was completely frozen.

His lower abdomen felt like it would explode.

The Ascending Dragon energy and the crab pearl’s power clashed inside him. Black blood poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His head felt like it would split open.

He fought to merge the two forces.

Then the crab pearl exploded.

Everything went dark. Ethan thought he was dead.

But his Ascending Dragon Art began moving automatically. The two conflicting forces twisted into a vortex, then another, then dozens more.

Though he felt half-dead, his senses exploded to an unimaginable level.

He could hear soldiers snoring.

He could hear leaves rustling.

He could hear the river flowing, and even the fish swimming beneath the surface.

He could feel small animals running inside Sunset Mountain.

And he could sense thousands of men hiding in the forests on both sides of the canyon.

Enemy troops.

Blood soaked Ethan’s armor. A loud ringing exploded in his ears. Then everything went black.

When Ethan woke up, dawn was breaking. His face was crusted with dried blood. His armor had turned deep red.

But he felt no pain.

Everything looked different. He could see the spiritual energy in all things. And he could feel the thick, murderous aura coming from Sunset Mountain, clearer than ever.

“Damned heaven,” Ethan muttered. “Why can’t you just let me live? Why do you keep torturing me? If you hate me so much, just kill me!”

He changed his clothes and stretched. His speed and strength had increased many times over.

Every near-death torture gave him greater power.

He smiled bitterly. “Great. One slap, one sweet. Couldn’t you give the sweet first?”

He wasn’t going to break. He wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him fall.

Li Yizhu walked in to call him to the meeting. He froze, staring at Ethan.

Something was completely different about him. He could no longer feel Ethan’s power level at all. Before, it had been obvious. Now, he was like a bottomless ocean.

This boy had been hiding his true strength all along.

“It’s time for the meeting. I have a bad feeling about the path ahead. We must be careful.”

Ethan laughed loudly. “Don’t worry! Have you ever eaten roasted turtle? I’m about to treat you. Relax.”

A cruel, brilliant plan had already formed in his mind.

Ethan began singing at the top of his lungs:

“Give me a cup of forgetful water… give me a cup of forgetful water…”

His voice was so terrible it sounded like a dying wolf. Li Yizhu seriously considered stabbing himself on the spot.

The horrible singing echoed throughout the camp, grating on every soldier’s nerves.

Their invincible commander might be a god of war…

but he was also a god of musical destruction.