Chapter 677: Chapter 680: A Grain of Rice’s Light, Competing with the Bright Moon [4th Update]
If we lose, Xiuyuan Country will have no Sacrificial Spirit. If word spreads that a Three Stars nation lacks a Sacrificial Spirit, what will become of our national dignity? It would vanish completely.
Si’er was displeased. Do these people not wish to win?
"Your Majesty the Queen, why are you not pleased?" To her astonishment, someone among the civil and military officials stood up and asked this question, a fact Si’er found even more ridiculous.
"Let me ask you all, what is more important: state affairs or personal matters?" Si’er took a deep breath, giving them a chance to answer.
"State affairs, of course," the civil and military officials declared in unison.
"Good." Si’er nodded, then questioned further. "Then why do you focus solely on your personal grievances while disregarding the interests of the state?"
Her words struck like thunder, making the civil and military officials tremble. Those with a shred of conscience hung their heads in shame. They were tormented by their thoughts. How could we, as ministers, forget the great affairs of the kingdom over our own petty hatred? Is this not a betrayal of the kingdom itself?
However, a few other officials merely snorted, believing they had never done anything to neglect the state’s interests. The General of Martial Might and the Heaven-suppressing Marshal were especially incensed. Instead of feeling shame at Si’er’s words, they were filled with anger.
"Queen, are you looking down on me? Do you think I will lose?" the General of Martial Might said coldly.
The Heaven-suppressing Marshal had an even hotter temper and bellowed, "Queen, although I, the Marshal, have never fought in a war, I have studied military strategy thoroughly! Victory is assured. Their recommendation of us was truly for the good of the country."
"Really?" Si’er asked skeptically. If we lose, the Stone and Willow Clans will look down on us. How could they possibly agree to become our Sacrificial Spirits?
"Of course," the General of Martial Might and the Heaven-suppressing Marshal stated confidently.
Si’er turned her gaze toward Wu Tian.
Wu Tian nodded, indicating that they should proceed according to the officials’ wishes. Even if they were to lose, he, Wu Tian, possessed the power to turn the situation around.
Only then did Si’er’s heart finally settle.
The General of Martial Might and the Heaven-suppressing Grand Marshal now stood together. The Marshal was a student of Yuwen’s, holding a hereditary, uncontested position. The ancestral tablets worshipped in his home belonged to a long line of marshals from either the Jin Jian Country or the Heavenly King Country. In any case, there were no wars to be fought. The takeover by the Heavenly King Country had been a mere surprise attack. Thus, for him, being a marshal was laughably simple.
"This time, we must perform well," said the Heaven-suppressing Marshal. He was as fat as a pig, his thighs squeezed so tightly together he could hardly walk. He did little more than eat and drink all day. Yet, he was utterly fearless about the upcoming battle against the Stone and Willow Clans. After all, he had "trained" with the army before, where every soldier would roar, "The Marshal is mighty!"
"The Marshal is right," the General of Martial Might said, nodding in immediate agreement. "The Queen thinks only Wu Tian is formidable. Heh, this time, we must show some real strength and let her see what we’re made of."
"Indeed," the Heaven-suppressing Marshal nodded. "Will you go first, or shall I?"
The General of Martial Might certainly didn’t dare to steal the Marshal’s spotlight. "Naturally, the Marshal goes first," he said, not daring to contend for the honor.
"Which of you from the two clans is fighting? Come on out! I want to see you all fall, one by one, under this Marshal’s great saber!" Eager to show off, the Heaven-suppressing Grand Marshal snorted and immediately drew the weapon from his waist.
The moment the blade was unsheathed, Spiritual Power surged along its surface, revealing the vivid pattern of a greedy wolf. It was so lifelike it seemed a starved beast was opening its maw to roar, as the sound of a wolf’s howl echoed from the blade itself. At the same time, a baleful aura radiated across the field. This was the Greedy Wolf Saber, a Yellow Level high-grade Supreme Treasure.
It was an heirloom passed down from the very first Marshal, a man who had earned his rank through blood and sweat on the battlefield, his military merit genuine and hard-won. Now, the sight of the Greedy Wolf Saber unsheathed sent a wave of excitement through the civil and military officials standing behind Si’er. They couldn’t help but boast to her.
"Your Majesty, please look! This is the Greedy Wolf Saber!"
"When this saber is drawn, there is only victory, never defeat!"
"Yes, this saber is truly formidable!"
They wanted Si’er to understand that while they may have recommended the Heaven-suppressing Marshal for personal reasons, it was also because he was genuinely powerful.
"Rest assured, Queen! I will be victorious! Xiuyuan Country will command the submission of these Spirit Clans, and they will willingly become our Sacrificial Spirits!" The Heaven-suppressing Grand Marshal swelled with pride as he heard the officials discussing him. With the Greedy Wolf Saber in hand, he gazed at the Stone and Willow Clans with incredible arrogance. "Who are you sending up? Step forward! Beneath my Greedy Wolf Saber, there is only victory, never defeat!"
His eyes were filled with derision. How could the Stone and Willow Clans possibly defeat him? The expressions of the civil and military officials grew even more excited, their gazes toward the Spirit Clans becoming increasingly contemptuous.
"Heh heh heh." Suddenly, the Stone Clan Leader let out a loud, mocking laugh. "I myself will be fighting this time. And you are the Heaven-suppressing Grand Marshal, are you? The mere glow of a rice grain daring to shine so brightly? How absurd. How laughable."
"What did you say?" the Heaven-suppressing Grand Marshal roared in fury. This Stone Clan Leader dares to call me the mere glow of a rice grain? Has he lost his mind? I have the Greedy Wolf Saber in my hand! I should be the brilliant moon! The officials, too, flushed with anger, feeling the Stone Clan Leader was far too arrogant.
But at that moment, he made his move. He transformed into his original form: a ten-meter-tall gray boulder. Spiritual Energy surged from within him, his cultivation soaring directly to the Heavenly King Realm. His presence was majestic, his power overwhelming. The pressure was so immense that the Heaven-suppressing Grand Marshal felt the Greedy Wolf Saber in his hand begin to tremble with fear.
For the Spirit Clans, much like the Beast Clans, revealing their true form unleashed their greatest power. The ten-meter-tall boulder hovered in mid-air, exuding a boundless strength that anyone could feel.
At that moment, the entire field fell deathly silent.
The Heaven-suppressing Grand Marshal, who had been indescribably triumphant just moments before with his saber drawn, was now completely dumbfounded. The civil and military officials were also utterly speechless.
Spiritual Light swirled around the great boulder as a domineering voice emanated from it. "Yesterday, my cultivation broke through to the first rank of the Heavenly King Realm, a fact unknown to anyone. Today, I shall demonstrate it for you all! As the saying goes, in this domain, I alone am the honored one. I ask you, what sage dares challenge my supremacy?"
Heavenly King Realm?
Those three words crashed down like a thunderclap, causing most people present to shudder involuntarily.
Those in the Tongxuan Realm could manifest phenomena, but a master in the Heavenly King Realm could manipulate the very elements of heaven and earth. Typically, each being could influence only a single element. Those who could command multiple were the rare owners of a Divine Body. But regardless, the Heavenly King Realm was on a plane far beyond what anyone in the Tongxuan Realm could hope to challenge.
At that moment, Si’er and the others felt as if they had been struck by the Five Thunders Bombardment. Previously, the only one in this domain at the Heavenly King Realm was the old ancestor of the Dog Clan, the Great Heavenly King of Dogs. Who could have imagined that this Stone Clan Leader had also broken through to this level?
Though the Tongxuan Realm and the Heavenly King Realm were only one level apart, the disparity in power between them was as vast as the chasm between heaven and earth. Only someone possessing a Divine Body could hope to bridge such a gap, but Divine Bodies were incredibly rare.
The ten-meter-tall boulder, suspended in the air, seemed pleased by the astonished expressions on the faces of Si’er and the other humans. Its voice boomed once more, "If anyone from your Human Clan can defeat me today, I will become your Sacrificial Spirit. But if no one can, then from this day forward, the humans of this domain must pay annual tribute to my Stone Clan and appear before our court each year."
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