Chapter 506: Grievous News (part 1)
The slaughter intensified. Though the Holytides advanced with deadly momentum, the golden net of Sea-Sealing County bolstered the troops, and the countless magical devices thrummed, providing cover for the orderly retreat of the battalions.
Large numbers of cultivators gathered in the war puppets and then rushed out to provide further support. There were both large puppets and small ones. The smaller varieties were sometimes only a few dozen meters tall, while the larger ones could reach a height of 3,000 meters. All contained a variety of spell formations, and were crewed by cultivators of all types and kinds. In some cases, the crew had less than a hundred people, but in most cases, thousands. The latter were the variety that had been fighting the grim reapers. The cultivators in them linked their cultivation base with the puppet itself, allowing them to unleash battle prowess similar to the Spirit Trove level. Looking around the battlefield as a whole, there were tens of thousands of puppets both large and small.
Because of that, the human battalions maintained order as they fell back and went through the golden net into safety.
Meanwhile, Emperor Redspirit faced off with Palace Lord Kong.
“Kong Liangxiu,” the emperor said in a voice that thrummed with heavenly might, “the scope of the conflict surpasses your little county here. The Nightshades are already at war with you humans, and that’s why your Imperial Region is powerless to help you. You can’t afford to delay things any longer, and you have no backup on the way.
“All the major species in Revered Ancient are waiting to see how this war will fare. The slightest decline in human strength will result in them uniting to wipe you out of existence. You must realize all of that, don’t you?
“The imperial dynasty of one of the most paramount species in Revered Ancient, the Firemoon Darkheaven people, will soon carry out the grand tradition they’ve maintained for the past 400,000 years. The Great Hunt of Species. The ancient treaty will expire soon, and there isn’t a single species that wants to be the prey in the Great Hunt. Since humans have no domain treasure it’s obvious you’ll be the sacrificial gift. That way, the other species can rest at ease for the next 100,000 years. [1]
“Therefore... the outcome here is inevitable. You’re out of time. I’ll give you one single chance to surrender to my Holytide army. That’s the only chance you have to save Sea-Sealing County.”
The words spoken by Emperor Redspirit weren’t just for Palace Lord Kong to hear. They echoed across the entire battlefield and through the golden net. All the humans heard them. Just as the emperor intended. Everyone who heard the words were shaken. The speech had some mysterious power within it that caused feelings of despair to rise unbidden in the hearts of the listeners.
When Palace Lord Kong spoke, his voice was as cool and collected as always. It didn’t tremble in the least bit, making him seem like a boulder that stood in place no matter how the sea smashed it with waves. “It’s interesting you would resort to such ridiculous words in an attempt to erode the fighting spirit of Sea-Sealing County. I guess you must be getting really nervous, Emperor Redspirit.”
As his voice echoed out, the effects of Emperor Redspirit’s words faded from the hearts of the human cultivators.
Then Palace Lord Kong strode forward, reached out, and grabbed the scintillating Emperor’s Sword. As he did, it changed shape, becoming a long spear that he hefted. He charged toward Emperor Redspirit. They clashed, sending wild colors pulsing out left and right. As they fought, they rose higher and higher into the air until it wasn’t possible to see them. That said, the rumbling booms of their fight shook everything below.
The battle continued.
After the human battalions had all fallen back behind the golden net, the county capital’s taboo treasures were unleashed. They manifested as spirit automatons on the golden net, which began to advance in resistance of the Holytide assault. Unfortunately, Sea-Sealing County was only one county, and it couldn’t possibly measure up to the entire Holytide Region. That was why the conflict had been fairly one-sided so far. Though they were only facing the lone Redspirit Dynasty, they still weren’t a match. They could only hold the line as best they could, and hope that reinforcements would eventually come from the imperial capital.
***
Time passed, slowly but surely. Soon, seven days had passed. The battle continued as it had up to this point. Whether it was night or day, rumbling booms echoed out, and deadly fighting went on.
Palace Lord Kong had not returned. However, thanks to the deputy palace lords and the swordsage grand elders from the various prefectures, things remained orderly. On numerous occasions, it seemed like the lines would collapse, but in the end, they held.
The construction work on the fifth line of defense, which was 5,000 kilometers back, was halfway complete.
Xu Qing joined the fighting on multiple occasions. As he got familiar with the situation on the battlefield, and the tactics of the various battalions, he slaughtered many enemies. That said, he suffered his fair share of injuries. The violet crystal was always there to heal him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of mental exhaustion that continued to build up in him. It seemed to almost close up his throat, making him even more silent than ever.
On a few occasions, he ran into Holytide Spirit Trove cultivators. Thankfully, he never strayed too far into the fighting, and was always able to escape them. On one occasion, he received a very serious injury.
Eventually, he joined up with Kong Xianglong’s squad of several hundred cultivators. Sir Mountain-River was there. Using one of the war puppets, they were able to wade deep into the fighting.
Because of the relentless assault of the Holytide forces, the troops of Sea-Sealing County as a whole got no opportunities for rest. Nerves grew taut. Only by rotating forces within the battalions were any of the cultivators able to get any rest. It was currently just such a moment.
Kong Xianglong lay on the ground staring blankly up into the sky. It was the same with Sir Mountain-River. Normally speaking, Sir Mountain-River wasn’t a big drinker. But now he leaned back against the battered war puppet, gulping alcohol and rubbing his slowly growing beard stubble. He was young, yet right now he looked incomparably old.
Xu Qing had heard that three days after Duskspirit died, about half a month ago... Wang Chen was killed in combat. He had been providing backup for Sir Mountain-River. In one of the lulls in the fighting, Kong Xianglong and Sir Mountain-River went out to look for his corpse on the bloody sludge of the battlefield. They never found it. [2]
Xu Qing looked off into the distance. It was evening. Red light occasionally flared, and deafening booms rang out constantly. Specifically, he was looking toward another part of the western front, where the battalion from Emperor-Receiving Prefecture was garrisoned.
The Captain was there, as was Sir Bloodsmelter.
I hope they’re safe.
It wasn’t possible to send a message via transmission jade slip, as communications were locked down on the battlefield. Only messages relating to the war itself were allowed.
Stifling pressure. Taciturn silence. That was the general state of affairs in war. Any periods of rest were very short.
When orders came down to start fighting again, Kong Xianglong wordlessly got back up and returned to his spot on the war puppet. The puppet itself was splattered with blood and had taken a lot of damage already. This was the seventh puppet their squad had gone through in the past seven days. Sir Mountain-River carefully put away his flagon of alcohol and also returned to the puppet. Xu Qing did the same, along with all the other cultivators in the squad. Back at his spot, he sat down cross-legged and sent his cultivation base out. A tremor passed through the puppet, and then it pulsed with mighty pressure as it lumbered toward the field of battle. As it moved, chunks of bloody flesh slipped out of its joints and fell to the ground. Some came from the crew, but most was the flesh of Holytide cultivators. The flesh that fell to the ground was left behind, to be trampled by other puppets that followed behind them.
Xu Qing was responsible for the war puppet’s left hand, which gave him command of incredibly destructive force.
From his spot, Xu Qing was able to see the outside through a screen. As they neared the battlefield, he unconsciously maintained the same expression as everyone else; wooden and numb.
Upon passing the pile of scrap puppets, Xu Qing looked over and didn’t see any living person there. He thought back to the crippled old man who had told him to ‘come back alive.’ The old man’s corpse was leaned up against one of the scrap puppets, greenish-black from advanced spread of mutagen.
Xu Qing had seen many corpses like that back in South Phoenix. On a battlefield full of millions upon millions of people, a single death wouldn’t be noted by anyone other than the squad they had been a member of, or perhaps by the records division. Such deaths were inconsequential.
The puppet eventually charged through the golden net, joining tens of thousands of other puppets to race toward the enemy.
Time passed.
On the evening of the tenth day, Palace Lord Kong returned. His presence boosted morale; it was possible to see a gleam in the eyes of the Sea-Sealing County cultivators. After the palace lord returned, the Holytide forces chose to fall back for a short time. Another rest period began. Squads from both sides did their best to recover the corpses of their comrades. Although that resulted in occasional friction and even fighting, for the most part, both sides would look for the quickest opportunity to back down.
Xu Qing received a summons from Palace Lord Kong and left Kong Xianglong’s squad.
Back in the command tent, Xu Qing noted that the palace lord didn’t have any visible injuries. In fact, the flame of his life force seemed to burn with more intensity, and he had an even stronger baleful aura than before. It didn’t make sense. How could the palace lord have possibly fought such an extended battle with Emperor Redspirit without ending up hurt?
After a moment of hesitation, Xu Qing finally related the results of his investigation in Daybreak Prefecture. Taking Palace Lord Kong’s command medallion, he offered it forward with both hands.
Palace Lord Kong took it, looked at it, and then tossed it back to Xu Qing. “There are two of these command medallions. You can keep that one. It might keep you safe later on. Even after the new governor arrives, and the authority of that medallion is taken away... it will still allow you to activate the capital’s taboo treasure one time.”
Xu Qing looked at the old palace lord and felt deeply moved. “Palace Lord—”
“Xu Qing,” Palace Lord Kong interrupted, “do you have a handle on the battlefield now?”
Inside, Palace Lord Kong was sighing. He really liked Xu Qing, and had originally planned to mentor him as a successor. But then war came along and changed everything. There wasn’t enough time.
Xu Qing bowed his head and quietly answered, “I think I have a rough handle on it.”
Palace Lord Kong looked out of the tent and calmly said, “In that case, going forward, I want you to continue serving as my secretary-general. Record the following information.”
“Yes, sir,” Xu Qing said, taking out a jade slip.
“Notify the Sixth Battalion as well as the Seventh Battalion that they’re to fall back 5,000 kilometers to the garrisons on the fifth line of defense.
“Notify the battalions from Emperor-Receiving Prefecture and Injustice Prefecture to fall back 19,000 kilometers to the garrison in the Rainvast Mountains.
“Notify the Fourth and Fifth Battalions to retreat 35,000 kilometers to the garrison on the border of Rainfield Prefecture.
“Notify the Corrections Division to scatter into Tidefall Prefecture and hunt down every last Black Guard cultivator that’s there. I want all roads in Rainfield Prefecture purged.
“Notify Rainfield Prefecture that they’re to immediately activate their large-scale teleportation portal!
“Secretly notify the First Battalion to make haste to Rainfield and Enlightenment Prefectures to inspect the current state of the earthflame there, and to accelerate the evacuation of the mortals in those prefectures.”
Upon hearing the last order, Xu Qing looked up at the palace lord. “Palace Lord, this will leave the fourth line of defense manned solely by the Swordsage Palace and the Second and Third Battalions.”
Palace Lord Kong closed his eyes. “Send out the orders!”
Xu Qing bowed his head and backed away. At the mouth of the tent, he hesitated, then quietly said, “Palace Lord, in case you’re not aware... Big Bro Kong is in very low spirits....”
Palace Lord Kong didn’t say anything.
Xu Qing waited for a moment, then quietly left.
After he was gone, Palace Lord Kong opened his eyes. When he did, the flame of his life force that gleamed in his eyes went dim. A moment later, it flared back to life, though it came with a price: blood leaked out of the corners of his mouth.
Outside the command tent, Xu Qing encountered Kong Xianglong.
Kong Xianglong caught his eye and nodded. Palace Lord Kong called to Kong Xianglong, and he hurried into the tent.
Seeing Kong Xianglong look so desolate caused Xu Qing to sigh in his heart. Taking a moment to settle his thoughts, he started organizing the various commands to send out.
1. The Firemoon Darkheaven people were previously mentioned in chapter 401. ?
2. RIP Wang Chen. He last appeared in chapter 475, and his last speaking role was in chapter 458. He was introduced in chapter 397. ?
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