Chapter 34

At this moment, no one dared to approach the control panel, and no one dared to rashly inject talent into it. The backlash from the magical array just now was something no one could withstand. That kind of direct attack on the inner divine palace caused all the scholars present to be seriously injured. Who would dare to try again?

The examiners all lay on the ground, looking at everything in shock.

"It seems to have calmed down..."

County Magistrate Qi saw that the control panel had calmed down and was no longer so wildly unstable.

He mustered his courage to go forward and check. He found that the Illusionary Spirit Array was still running, but due to the energy depletion of the Yin Mountain Stone, it had to shut down most of its functions, even preventing the examiners from observing.

Fortunately, the progress of the illusion could still be seen. County Magistrate Qi looked closely, his mouth twitching and his eyelids jumping wildly!

The most crucial fifth chapter of "Chang Wu," "Campaign," had been forcibly skipped. All the candidates had not even entered the war phase and were directly following King Xuan of Zhou's army back to the capital in victory!

"Who can tell me what exactly happened?"

County Magistrate Qi was furious, growling softly, but no one could answer him.

Wen Zhangyuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, staggered over, and whispered, "Magistrate Qi, the Ministry of Rites' inspectors can reconstruct the entire illusion process. I believe they will certainly uncover the truth. Please be discreet, sir."

County Magistrate Qi remained silent. He stared at the control panel for a while, then slumped to the ground, signaling all the injured to recover on their own.

He had already made up his mind. Once the exam was over, he would immediately control Yue Heng and ask him what had happened!

...

Inside the illusion, the three thousand candidates were in an uproar, completely unaware of the sudden change. Rumors quickly spread, and gossip abounded.

"I just rushed out and didn't even touch a single hair of the enemy, and we're already back in the capital in victory?"

"Is this a joke! Apart from the skirmish with a few soldiers of Xu during the seizure of the Huai shore yesterday, we candidates didn't put in any effort. Now we're directly returning to the capital, and the exam is over. How will the re-exam scores be evaluated?"

"Who remembers that bell sound? It was so mournful and chilling, making me lose the will to fight. Where did it come from?"

"Who cares where it came from! I was ranked outside the top hundred in the spring exam. If I don't do anything in the re-exam, I'll definitely be eliminated! I want to stay in Xu and slaughter the demon beasts. Who wants to join me?"

"Join me! There's a chance to get a spot if we stay, but we'll definitely lose to those who passed the initial exam if we don't!"

For a moment, everyone was agitated, and more and more candidates volunteered to stay in Xu to kill demon beasts for credit, gradually showing signs of rebellion.

Only the parties involved, Yue Heng and Wen Xin Yue, knew what had happened, but they did not rebel.

At this moment, Yue Heng was following the main force of the royal army retreating towards Haojing.

Wen Xin Yue was hiding, afraid to see him. The words "holding your hand, growing old with you" were enough to make her blush. Her cheeks turned red, her eyes darted away, and she quickly withdrew her hand like a frightened deer, turning and running away without a trace.

"Chang Wu is a war poem, and Ji Gu is an anti-war poem. It turns out that the two poems can indeed conflict! My original intention was to disrupt the situation and take advantage of the chaos, but I didn't expect such an outcome. It's truly unexpected!"

Yue Heng was certain that it was the "Ji Gu" from the Book of Songs that had forcibly advanced the "Chang Wu" illusion. This anti-war poem had skipped the fifth act, which had the highest casualties, and directly entered the sixth act, the triumphant return.

"King Xuan's plans were all correct, and Xu from top to bottom surrendered. Xu's king and all the officials knelt and sent envoys to pay homage. King Xuan led the army back to Haojing."

In the sixth act, the historian summarized the war. King Xuan's plans were flawless, and Xu surrendered from top to bottom. Xu's king and all the officials knelt and sent envoys to pay homage. King Xuan led the army back to Haojing.

"The problem is, once we return, the exam will be over. Where is my achievement? The spring exam gave me a special admission, but I scored zero in the re-exam. Oh, maybe I have the achievement of winning the literary duel, but that won't ensure my total score is first! This is related to the duration of the star induction, and I can't let it go! Miss Wen, where did you go?"

Yue Heng looked around but still couldn't find Wen Xin Yue. All around were the soldiers of King Xuan's army, and he couldn't ask them. Asking the NPC soldiers would be pointless.

Many candidates had defected from King Xuan's army, which was unexpected. These people received no punishment, and the Xuan army even allowed them to take their weapons, armor, and supplies, as if encouraging them!

Yue Heng did not stay to join the demon beast hunting force because he thought it was futile. He had just seen Wen Xin Yue appear and hurriedly greeted her with a smile, but received a cold response.

"Miss Wen, where have you been? I've been looking for you..."

"I found out that King Xu Hui is being guarded by the Royal Father's Tiger Guard and is imprisoned in a war chariot as the head of a surrendered nation. How do you plan to act?"

"This..."

Yue Heng was surprised by Wen Xin Yue's information and quickly entered a thinking state, rubbing his chin.

"As long as we haven't entered Haojing, we still have a chance to kill the leader. But the Tiger Guard's defense is tight, and we may not find an opportunity. Miss Wen, I also want to know if my rivals, Kuang Qing, Kuang Yun, Shi Gongzi, and Song Gongzi, really stayed in Xu to hunt demon beasts. Is the head of the demon beast king who colluded with Xu of equal status to King Xu Hui? Has the Zhou army announced the death of the demon beast king? Who has the highest achievement among all the candidates now?"

Yue Heng asked multiple questions in a row, but Wen Xin Yue remained silent. After he finished, she turned and walked away, disappearing into the Zhou army again, likely to gather more information.

"Strange woman... Could it be that the poem 'Ji Gu' caused this?"

Yue Heng stared at Wen Xin Yue's back, lost in thought. The most touching part of the poem "Ji Gu" was the line "holding your hand, growing old with you." Life is unpredictable, and few can withstand the test of time and remain together.

Compared to grand love vows, "growing old with you" is much more sincere and genuine. This is the most sincere and understandable love vow in the world.

"Ah, Miss, I only did it because I had to 'be in the situation' to stabilize my 'heart path.' Otherwise, I couldn't have connected 'Ji Gu' with 'Chang Wu.' Please don't misunderstand..."

Yue Heng whispered to himself, but he vaguely guessed that Wen Xin Yue's strange behavior was likely influenced by that line. Women in the Central Yuan world might have a different understanding of war and love.

"Let's finish the re-exam of 'Chang Wu' first, and then we'll talk about feelings!" Yue Heng quickly put the matter aside and began to think about how to take King Xu Hui's head and how to kill this prisoner in the heavily guarded Tiger Guard.

The royal army was about to cross the Bi Mountains, the first natural barrier of Xu. Most of the demon beasts that colluded with Xu came from the deep mountains of Bi.

The Tiger Guard and King Xuan's personal guard were connected, surrounded by the main force of the Royal Father's army. The defensive capability of over ten thousand people made Yue Heng shake his head. At this scale, even a sneak attack would be impossible.

Suddenly, the horn sounded, and the entire army entered a state of emergency. Yue Heng quickly observed the flags and listened to the horn.

"The Royal Father's right flank infantry camp is advancing!"

Under the command of the centurion, Yue Heng's camp rushed to the right front, where a few demon beasts were reported to have appeared. They needed to climb a small hill and clear out all the threatening demon beasts.

"Hmm, as expected, the sixth act won't end until King Xu Hui is dead. We can't avoid a fight!"

Yue Heng held his sword and shield, following the squad leader. From the formation, he was on the right side, the second row, at the edge of the entire infantry camp. Strategically, he was cannon fodder!

Being cannon fodder had its advantages. This was the best time to leave the formation. Yue Heng roared with the other soldiers, fearlessly climbing the hill and rushing into the dense forest, while his eyes scanned for a chance to escape.

Roar!

Dozens of tiger and leopard demon beasts appeared in the forest, protected by a few bear demons. They clashed with the vanguard camp at the edge of the forest, and a fierce battle ensued.

Excluding the two thousand candidates who had defected, and the other forces that were either guarding the rear or leading the way, King Xuan's main force still had over ten thousand people. Yue Heng's vanguard infantry camp, which originally had five squads, now had about four hundred people left. Dealing with thirty to forty demon beasts was not a problem.

Warriors could fight alone, craftsmen could operate various weapons from the crowd, and scholars could try to kill as many enemies as possible while staying alive.

Yue Heng was seeing the demon beasts of the Central Yuan world for the first time. These tiger, leopard, and bear demons were similar to ordinary beasts but were enhanced versions. Each demon beast was distinguished by different colors and patterns, representing different levels of strength and abilities. Newcomers shouldn't challenge bear demons unless they were warriors with enhanced strength or scholars with sharp weapons.

Bang!

Yue Heng's left shield blocked a leopard demon's claw, and he felt a powerful force that pushed him back three steps. Unexpectedly, a stone on the ground tripped him, and he rolled in the tall grass. The leopard demon was about to pounce again.

A red whip wrapped around his waist, and he felt like he was flying, being pulled out of the danger zone. It was Wen Xin Yue's whip that saved him.

Before he could say thank you, Wen Xin Yue said anxiously, "A large number of demon beasts are attacking the main force. The candidates who defected have returned, and I saw Kuang Yun near the Tiger Guard!"

Yue Heng was startled and immediately thought of a possibility. He looked towards the forest, where the bear demons were wreaking havoc, pushing back the soldiers in large numbers. Occasionally, they would grab a soldier and tear them apart with their immense strength, turning them into a mist of blood.

Other soldiers were being attacked by snake demons in the grass and surrounded by fast tiger and leopard demons. The entire right vanguard infantry camp of over four hundred people was now stuck in front of the forest.

He quickly pulled Wen Xin Yue to the top of the small hill and saw that in other areas, demon beasts were also engaging the Royal Father's main force, either in front of the forest, by the stream, or at the foot of the mountain, forming small battle groups.

Looking at the main force, King Xuan seemed overly excited, disregarding his own safety, and continuously dispatching troops to chase the demon beasts.

However, the demon beasts that appeared were mostly tiger and leopard demons, which the Zhou soldiers couldn't catch. The entire main force was stretched out, and the ten thousand-strong army was dispatched to chase the fast leopard and wolf demons, leaving the internal defense forces increasingly thin!

Yue Heng instantly understood and called out in alarm. This was a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain, a trap!