Chapter 419: Emergence of a New Force
= Two Weeks Ago =
While Miaomiao was in the herb plane, the other forces had to deal with the setback and the consequences of war.
Yuan Shaoqing, Zhang Ren, Liu Xuande, and their allies withdrew their troops from Siren City. However, Zhang Liao and Qu Yi remained behind, staying as prisoners of war and being imprisoned in Huangjin Monastery.
The Yuan Clan's lord couldn't keep calm. He kept groaning and spitting as if he was frustrated from the humiliating defeat.
The investment was in vain! He had spent so many essence cores to hire many experts, but more than half of them didn't make it back.
Secondly, this crushing defeat damaged his reputation. He had more soldiers, more cultivators, and more nascent soul experts. He even had several 8th-stage cultivators and Huang Hansheng as helpers.
Yet, he failed!
Yuan Shaoqing didn't feel like he had lost since everything was Ling Tianlong and Uriel's fault. He could have won the war game had Uriel never shown up.
'I need to ask Yuan Hua and Kishin Douji for help. They are dao gods, so they should be able to kill that stupid deity. Once Mao Miaomiao's backer is dead, that immortal will definitely rush back here and kill that brat.'
As Yuan Shaoqing was in deep thought, Yan Liang and Wen Chou whispered to their lord as they wondered about another force, which never come to help them.
"My lord, do you know what happened to Wei Huang and Xu Lanying's forces? They never showed up when we wanted their help."
Yuan Shaoqing remembered the demon gangs. He gritted his teeth as he also blamed them for his defeat.
"Wen Chou, Yan Liang, scout the north and search for Wei Huang's army! Drag that motherfucker to our city! We'll teach that moron a lesson not to double-cross us."
"Understood!"
Wen Chou and Yan Liang flew north, heading toward the Red River to look for Wei Huang Army.
…
While Yuan Shaoqing was busy thinking of what to do next, his allies, mercenaries, and followers began sneaking away from the army in groups. Some deserters even stole war supplies with them as they didn't feel like returning home with empty hands.
As the morale of Yuan Shaoqing's men was low, soldiers, cultivators, and servants of the clan lord neglected their duties. Some of them even assisted the deserters and embezzled a portion of army supplies for themselves.
Yuan Shaoqing didn't notice the desertion at first. But after an hour, someone ran into a problem and fled back to the army, making a huge commotion among the troops.
Yan Liang and Wen Chou also returned with a piece of bad news. Both men reported in a loud voice to warn their lord.
"MY LORD!! THIS IS URGENT!! THE WEI ARMY HAS BETRAYED US!!"
Yuan Shaoqing frowned and glared at both 8th-stage cultivators, "They backstab us? How? And why didn't you destroy their army? Aren't the strongest fighters on their side only nascent soul realm demons? Is your cultivation base just for show?"
Wen Chou bit his lower lips while he clenched his stomach. He slowly pulled his hand out, revealing the broken armor and tattered robe underneath. Yan Liang's expression was also distorted as he glanced at the chipped parts of his scale armor.
Both men were slightly injured, and it hinted the gravity of the situation. After all, only monsters, such as Miaomiao or fellow 8th-stage cultivators, could injure or kill them!
They were showing Yuan Shaoqing that the strength of their opponents was on par with an 8th-stage cultivator or even stronger!
Wen Chou took a deep breath and reported the shocking discovery, "My lord. Wei Cao took over the helm of the Wei Huang Army. He has become an 8th-stage Oni Lord."
Hearing that one of Wei Huang's guys got stronger, Yuan Shaoqing peered at both men, "And you're saying you can't kill one 8th-stage demon? There's two of you, and you're saying that you're weaker than him?"
"That's not the problem!" Wen Chou was frustrated as Yuan Shaoqing hadn't heard everything, three of Kishin Douji's vessels from the Holy Land are here! They have two 8th-stage Onis and their leader was as strong as Huang Hansheng! We have to run for our lives or we would have been dead!"
"Huh!?"
Yuan Shaoqing widened his eyes in shock, "That's impossible! I never heard of any strong demon on the Holy Land Continent!? Are you sure they're from that place!?"
"We're positive!" Wen Chou nodded.
Yan Liang also reported another piece of grave news, "My lord, that's not all. The thing is… The Emperor of Blood Orcs were there, too!"
"WHAT!!!?"
"A-A-And… The Emperor's underlings are using THOSE fire-breathing rods!!"
BANG
BANG
BANG
As Yan Liang and Wen Chou had been busy reporting their intel, gunshot sound echoed from the north and the northwest.
At a distance, crimson giant orcs and a hundred 3-meter-tall Onis had been holding anti-material rifles. Some of them also carried a minigun, which should have been used as a mounted weapon on a modern vehicle.
"Those weapons… How!?" Yuan Shaoqing recognized them as he had just bought some of them from Brocell, the mysterious arms dealer."
BANG
BANG
BANG
Hails of bullets pinned and ended the lives of a thousand human cultivators. Some of the stray bullets even grazed Yuan Shaoqing and his two men.
As Yuan Shaoqing, Wen Chou, and Yan Liang were scared of those deadly weapons, they fled east, jetting away from the airspace to save their skins.
Meanwhile, the followers of Yuan Shaoqing were in chaos. Without a leader to tell them what to do, they ran amok, fleeing in every direction.
As such, they became easy targets for the raiding orcs and onis of Wei Cao. The flying monsters scattered, hunting the humans down one after another.
…
= 30 Kilometers Northeast of Chicken Ann City =
*COUGH*
Xu Lanying coughed several mouthfuls of blood while her hands pressed on her right chest, trying to stop the bleeding while flying at a low altitude, fleeing from the son of Wei Huang.
The other surviving succubi scattered toward the northwest, the west, and the southwest, fleeing from the chasing platoon of crimson orcs and their 8th-stage leaders.
As for Wei Huang, the father of the assassin's leader, he died fighting the pursuing orcs. Currently, his dead body was brought to his son while the captured combat succubi were being violated by the lustful orcs.
A few hours ago, Wei Huang and Xu Lanying's units had been ambushed by Wei Cao and his new allies while they were preparing to visit Siren City and integrate their forces with them.
Both Xu Lanying and Wei Huang thought that they would be the ones ambushing Yuan Shaoqing's retreating forces. However, the traitorous son of Wei Huang suddenly opened a portal and allowed Blood Orcs from Holy Land to enter this continent. Then, a massacre ensued.
The newcomers also brought three of Kishin Douji's vessels along with them. The 9th-stage Oni showed up and immediately worked together with Wei Cao, killing his father's supporters. Two other 8th-stage Onis led the orc and oni forces to hunt down everyone nearby.
Xu Lanying's units were immediately targeted by the horny orcs and the Oni Lord. After a brief fight, her goons deserted Xu Lanying as they were afraid of those crimson orcs, who suddenly became invulnerable to the succubi's brainwashing power. Moreover, no sane demon would be willing to oppose a 9th-stage demon, who came from the Holy Land Continent.
Xu Lanying was vexed and anxious. She had always known that Wei Cao was reckless and braindead. However, she had never thought that the guy would have betrayed them for the sake of his petty ambition.
'Wei Cao, you idiot! Is your father a stranger to you? You can kill your father for the sake of a promise from a dubious lord? Just… WHY!?'
The succubus queen grumbled as she continued to flee toward Chicken Ann City, hoping to ask the city lord for help.
Despite being critically injured, Xu Lanying dragged her sorry body to Chicken Ann City in one piece. Upon arrival to the city, she rushed to the sentry officers in front of the gate.
Without any shame, she cried and acted like a helpless woman. She also hid her Qi and Essence, pretending to be a commoner.
"Sir, please save me! A bandit is trying to kill me."
The sentry guards instantly fell in love with Xu Lanying. They gathered around and escorted her to the army infirmary. Then, they began treating the wounds.
Xu Lanying allowed the local physicians and the guards to tend her wounds. Although some of them took advantage of her by touching a weird place, she allowed them to do so to gain their favor.
The plan worked – The guards hid her whereabouts, not telling anyone that a woman had been resting in their infirmary. In addition, no pursuer entered Chicken Ann City to search for her whereabouts. Instead, the horny orcs went after the other succubi outside the city.
As she was resting and recuperating from the grave wounds, one of the guards started to have a weird idea. He kept glancing at her chest and her hips.
"Lady, are you married?"
Xu Lanying coyly smiled, "No, I'm single."
"Then, would you consider marrying me? I'm a 3rd-stage cultivator, and I'm the chief sentry guard of Chicken Ann City's east gate. I earn a salary of ten refined stones a year. I can make you a cultivator, too, so you can maintain your youthful body for a hundred years!"
Xu Lanying giggled as she found the pickup lines hilarious. Despite being a lot stronger than the man, she nodded.
"If you promise that you'll protect me until you die, I'll consider it."
"R-Really?"
"For now, I can't accept your proposal. Look at my wounds, you idiot."
"O-Oh. Right. Ahaha."
The guard excused himself while his face reddened to the ears. Fortunately, he was too innocent to lay his hands on her. Otherwise, Xu Lanying would have drained his essence dry.
Seeing the shy man walking away, Xu Lanying sighed. She closed her eyes, thinking of her daughter, Xu Xiuying.
'Xu Xiuying should have been broken by now. I wonder if Mao Miaomiao will take me in if I offer my body to him.'
Xu Lanying had no place to go anymore as the Oni and the orcs had taken over the demon army. Therefore, Mao Miaomiao's Siren City was the only choice she had.
As Xu Lanying had been resting, a gang of three men entered the infirmary and occupied two of the beds nearby. Fortunately, a thick curtain covered her bed, so nobody had noticed her presence yet.
Guan Yunchang lied on one of the beds while Liu Xuande took another one. As for Zhang Yide, he picked a chair and sat down.
"What now, Xuande?" Guan Yunchang rested his forearm on his forehead, having a headache.
"What now? It's more like, what the fuck is wrong with Mao Miaomiao's social network!? Why the fuck did that deity help him!?"
Xu Lanying's ears perked up, finding the conversation interesting. She hid her presence and eavesdropped on them.
Liu Xuande kept complaining, "Mao Miaomiao must be a vessel of a dao god, and that deity is definitely working for the same master! They must have been working together from the start to trap that immortal!"
Guan Yunchang closed his eyes and ignored the complaints. As for Zhang Yide, he brought out a spirit wine from his spatial ring and began drinking, "Brother, I think Mao Miaomiao is definitely the threat to your ambition. You can't possibly conquer the continent when he's around."
"Then, what should I do?"
"Should we consult with Jian Meng and Jian Yong? Should we ask for their help?"
"We'll have to pay a hefty price for those money-grubber's services again. Our fund is running low."
"At least, tell them to finish the job first and pay only half of the agreed wage. Send them to assassinate Mao Miaomiao. If they fail, you don't have to pay them. We can save a lot of money this way."
"You know, Yide. Sometimes, you are a genius! But why the fuck were you always stupid when it comes to mathematics, governance, and literature?"
"Who cares about poems when we are cultivators!? And forget those mumbo-jumbo symbols! I don't calculate!"
Xu Lanying almost couldn't resist laughing. These trios were too silly, funny, and idiotic that they made her day.
Because of her bright mood, the three experts sensed her presence. Zhang Yide immediately jumped up and opened the curtain. Then, he pointed his serpent spear at Xu Lanying's neck.
"Who the fuck are you!?"
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