Chapter 1 The Face of Fear

　　Uesugi Kagekatsu's face was completely twisted, and his hand holding the Ama-no-Sakaru Arrow quiver trembled violently, along with the blood draining from his face.

　　It was both terror and, even more so, fear!

　　A huge sense of crisis spread in his heart, so much so that he took seven or eight deep breaths, the sound so loud that it made the two false immortals turn their heads.

　　"Lord Uesugi, you seem very frightened."

　　"Yes! I am very frightened!"

　　Uesugi Kagekatsu's eyes were bloodshot, filled with red veins: "If this is true! Do you two know what this means! Tachibana Muneshige's death, the famous sword Raikiri changing hands, and even the loss of the divine position of Takemikazuchi."

　　"This means that the Ming are about to launch a full-scale counterattack against us. Those Leifa (thunder magic) masters...those Leifa masters!"

　　When attacking the Ming-held cities, the most difficult thing to deal with was the cultivators who used Leifa. Although the previous batch had been mostly killed, they had mobilized a large number of monsters to attack an important city fiercely, causing those Leifa masters to rush to their aid overnight, and finally Tachibana Muneshige killed them all in one fell swoop. After this incident, the Japanese army's position immediately advanced a large distance, directly reaching the Imjin River.

　　And Gaeseong was located in the eastern lower reaches of the Imjin River.

　　"How long has it been since Hwanghae Province was taken, how long has it been since the last batch of Leifa masters were wiped out! Only two months! Now the Ming must have sent new Leifa masters to reinforce them, which means that the gap on our front line will widen again."

　　"You two... perhaps I am no longer qualified to wield a divine artifact! I am not qualified to fight immortals of this level; going there would only be courting death. I am terrified, unable to draw my sword or pull my bow."

　　"I can hardly breathe."

　　Uesugi Kagekatsu's face was bloodless. One of the false immortals observed him for a long time before sighing, "The levels of immortals and those below immortals are completely different. Even the most powerful pure Yang cannot compete with a true immortal, or even compare with us."

　　"This terrifying scene is the level of Leifa honed to the extreme, capable of flattening mountains, turning the earth into scorched earth, and evaporating rivers. But Lord Uesugi need not fear. Our existence is to cooperate with these two divine artifacts at critical moments! His Majesty the Emperor sent us to serve, and we have long disregarded our own lives. Lord Uesugi, please overcome the fear in your heart, for you still have an important mission."

　　"As long as you set up the formation and open the path to the Yellow Springs, even immortals must avoid it as soon as possible. At that moment, the two of us will entangle with him and drag him into the land of the Yellow Springs!"

　　"And you, only by overcoming your fear can you draw this divine artifact in the cold air of the Yellow Springs! It will be the most important key to killing that immortal!"

　　Uesugi Kagekatsu slowly suppressed the fear rising in his heart. Suddenly, a voice came from the scorched mountains in the distance.

　　A fourteen-year-old samurai, without armor, came from the direction of Gaeseong in a disheveled state, covered in wounds, his clothes filled with blood and the stench of earth, and soaked rotten by the rain. He looked like a lonely ghost crawling out of hell, and his expression was even more terrified. Only when he saw Uesugi Kagekatsu not far away did his fear turn to joy, knowing that he had survived a disaster.

　　"Who! State your name!"

　　Uesugi Kagekatsu was very vigilant, fearing that the black-clothed Taoist from the reports had appeared. In an instant, he held up the divine artifact, nocked an arrow, and drew the bow. As long as the other party said one wrong word, he would kill this "vengeful ghost" in front of him with one blow.

　　"Is, is that Lord Uesugi! I am... Shimazu's third son, Tadatsune!"

　　Shimazu Tadatsune... Is he Shimazu Yoshihiro's third son?

　　Uesugi Kagekatsu's expression changed. A fourteen-year-old samurai was truly unafraid of death, actually running to the front line like Gaeseong....

　　That was one of the three capitals of Joseon! It seemed that Shimazu Yoshihiro's original intention was to have him earn military merits in Gaeseong. After all, Pyongyang was in the hands of the Ming army, Wangjing was in the hands of his own corps, and Gaeseong, although one of the three capitals, had many barrier cities in front of it. Moreover, the cities on the western and eastern coasts had already been captured. If it hadn't been for the sudden Haizhou attack, Gaeseong would not have been threatened.

　　But now....

　　What were the Ming thinking? Taking Gaeseong would also leave them vulnerable from both sides, wouldn't it? Because there was an immortal-level combatant, they were too excited and didn't even consider tactics?

　　Uesugi Kagekatsu's face was as heavy as water, and he was thinking about the Ming army's next actions and the whereabouts of the black-clothed immortal.

　　The young samurai Shimazu Tadatsune had little strength left. He had struggled to get here, and under the wary blades of the surrounding samurai, he collapsed with a thud. He knelt weakly in front of Uesugi Kagekatsu, supporting himself with his hands on the ground, panting heavily, the color completely drained from his face.

　　"I'm, I'm very sorry! Gaeseong has fallen. The black-clothed... black-clothed immortal, he's looking for people! Those Leifa masters who were chased by General Tachibana! And... and there's something important!"

　　"That Ming immortal can seize our divine positions!"

　　Uesugi Kagekatsu's face gradually became shocked. After the young samurai finished speaking intermittently, Uesugi Kagekatsu issued an order to retreat from here!

　　"The entire army heads south, retreating towards Byeokjegwan... no, retreating towards Wangjing!"

　　The young samurai, Shimazu Tadatsune, followed Uesugi Kagekatsu's team in retreat. Because he was injured, he walked at the back of the team. At this moment, a wisp of demonic light gradually appeared in the young samurai's eyes, and even his image seemed to flash between human and demon. His shadow flickered slightly, as if something was lurking within it.

　　.......

　　Gaeseong, Joseon. War aura condensed into heavy clouds, vaguely evolving into thousands of divine forms in the air.

　　Among the thousands of divine forms, there were five-colored lights lingering, like five large banners.

　　[Wufang Qi Shen (Five Direction Banner Gods).]

　　The Wufang Qi Shen were divine positions enshrined in the Ming army. The "Qidao Temple" was built behind the Grand Commandant's Office in the third year of Hongwu (reign of the Hongwu Emperor), which initially had only seven divine positions, but now has eight. The main deity enshrined was the "Junya Liudao Dashen (Military Tooth Six Banners Great God)", and sacrifices were held every year during the Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects) and Shuangjiang (Frost's Descent) solar terms.

　　And now in the Korean region, since the quality of soldiers was low, they could only be filled with divine positions and divine soldiers.

　　Qidao Dajiang (Banner Great General), Jingu Jiaochongpao zhi Shen (God of Drums, Gongs, Horns, Guns and Cannons), Gongnu Feiqiang Feishi zhi Shen (God of Bows, Crossbows, Flying Spears and Flying Stones).

　　"In other words, the city fiercely attacked by the Japanese army last time was Wonsan City in Gangwon Province. Shimazu Yoshihiro and the others all went to attack it, and the cultivators from various sects went to rescue them, and then disappeared?"

　　"Lord Yang Hao, everyone knows that you are not good at leading troops, but sending all the cultivators out to rescue was because you wanted to carry out a decapitation operation. As a result, you were beheaded instead. This strategic behavior has seriously affected the subsequent victory or defeat. No wonder you lost so quickly."

　　"You fought very well, don't fight next time."

　　In the Ming army camp in Pyongyang, Ji Xia heard where those missing Lei Xiu (thunder cultivators) had gone. This group of Lei Xiu were the batch of cultivators who had come to Korea to deliver equipment and provide support after the turmoil in the Forbidden City. The main force was from the Longhu Mountain. A dozen of them had lost contact all of a sudden. Without much thought, most of them were already dead. Even if the others weren't dead, they hadn't returned yet, so they were probably not far from death.

　　If he went back like this, even if Lao Zhang didn't say anything, the Wanli Emperor would definitely skin Yang Hao alive.

　　"No, no, no, hasn't Lord Yang already been skinned once? Just this spring, you, Lord Yang, and Li Rumai went out of the border to fight, and before you even saw the enemy, you lost ten generals and more than one hundred and sixty soldiers. His Majesty hasn't settled this account with you yet, has he?"

　　"Li Guang would have to call it amazing!"

　　As soon as Ji Xia finished mocking, someone immediately jumped out to mock him. The managing strategist Yang Hao, who was responsible for coordinating the Ming army's operations, had just glared at him, but when he saw that the speaker was Deng Zilong, the deputy commander of the navy, he immediately suppressed his anger.

　　It wasn't that he was afraid of this foul-mouthed old man, but mainly because this old man didn't have many years left to live. Even if he argued with him now and accidentally killed him, not only would the Ming army lose a general, but the Japanese would be overjoyed, and the old man would successfully stage a "touch porcelain" incident. The Wanli Emperor would at least give him a set of Tai Zu Chang Quan (Long Fist) combo on his forehead when he returned.

　　No matter what he did, he would be at a loss. He would just swallow this breath!

　　There was no need to argue with an old man who was about to kick the bucket. It wasn't worth it. No matter how much you mocked, he was still the managing strategist, his superior. If he told you to die, could you refuse? If he didn't let you go, it would just make him seem magnanimous.

　　The naval commander Chen Lin stepped forward to smooth things over, saying....

　　"It's not easy for anyone, let's understand each other. The dead cannot be brought back to life. It's useless to say these things. Now that everyone is here, Lord Yang is also getting old. Now we can only think positively. To take a step back, we must make up for our mistakes as soon as possible...."