Chapter 1026: Victory at First Battle (I)

Li Hao took a deep breath. The ancients within his borders were his most pressing concern. There were at least seven ancient cities to his rear. Battle Heaven was fine out of the eight and Director General Zhao represented his family’s city, but the enemy might be in control for one of the remaining six—such as the city of the Zhengs.

Once war broke out, his side would be in grave trouble if dozens or even one hundred core origin replicas hit him from behind. This was why Silver Moon province was a very difficult place to preserve.

“I know my limits!” The young man didn’t say anything else.

Director General Zhao took a long look at him, but didn’t protest further either. If worst came to worst, he’d just visit all of the ancient cities again and ask for more replica reinforcements.

“Then we’re settled with the arrangements,” Li Hao concluded. “We need to hurry with our preparations as the enemy is almost here. We’re out of time!”

“Understood, sir!” People ran off with their orders. The meeting was over.

“What about the regular troops?” murmured Huang Yu as he stepped forward. There were a lot of those—more than three million once all of the volunteers from the northern provinces arrived. Were they to just dump the people outside Silver City’s walls?

What if the soldiers ran off after the fighting started?

Li Hao contemplated silently for a moment before looking at Huang Yu. “We can put them behind our forces, but having them fight a losing battle is out of the question. One that we’re winning, however... Three million troops with one hundred people killing one person means that they’ll be able to take some enemies down, but they can only be put into skirmishes that we’re certain to win! Once the tide seems to be turning...”

The young man fell silent. “If it looks like we’ll lose and need to retreat, have them bring up the rear,” he transmitted. “They’ll be cannon fodder!”

Huang Yu’s eyes widened, yet he nodded without a word. These people were useful when everything was going in their favor, but once the going got tough... Forget it. it would be good enough if they didn’t barge around randomly and scatter the military formations.

“In addition, bring out all of our supernatural cannons. Let ‘em rip!”

“We’ll do that.”

“Good.” Li Hao nodded and left. Manager Yu wanted to follow him, but he waved her off.

The young man ignored what else might be going through everyone’s minds and disappeared after he left the Inspectorate. Director General Zhao wanted to catch up to him for a further discussion, but couldn’t see a single trace of the young man.

Where would Li Hao by himself go at a time like this? Ash Mountain?

Surely not, that was too dangerous!

......

The void oscillated as Li Hao vanished from Silver City. He was unafraid of Great Li! The only factor he was concerned about was the ancient powerhouses. Would they give him a fatal blow at a critical moment?

Thus, he needed to figure out a way to defuse that possibility. It would have to take more ancient heavyweights to take out their own. Of those, there were very few that he truly trusted enough for a vital task such as this. There was also a dearth of those capable enough to handle the matter.

The only candidate that presented itself was the dean of education. Zhang An was so strong that he couldn’t be moved too far from his ruins. Therefore, what Li Hao had in mind was to have the dean temporarily relinquish his physical body.

As for whether or not Zhang An would agree... it was fine if he didn’t. Li Hao was ready with a backup plan and would bring back the imperial guard’s primary body if the dean refused. A true peak Apex and the imperial palace projection might be able to resolve some difficulties for him.

Li Hao sped through the void at an extremely fast speed. He wanted to accomplish this without anyone knowing, just in case someone spied on his plans.

It was very difficult for him to be fully assured about the eight main cities. As good as Battle Heaven was and as clear as their lines of communication were, General Pagoda and the old turtle plainly didn’t wish to outright participate in battle. Otherwise, they would’ve made some different choices when the young man passed by Battle Heaven.

They said that they stood on the side of justice.

Who was justice?

They might have their own standards of judgment in mind. Li Hao didn’t like to put others in an awkward situation. Since those two might have their own thoughts and worries in mind, he wouldn’t force them to express anything. He would rather travel a bit further to request help from Zhang An or the imperial guard.

Night had fallen. Great Li’s army had crossed the final mountain in the range and reached where the four major monster spirits used to live.

War was at hand!

......

Fog wreathed Ash Mountain when the sky brightened.

Earthturner Sword and Yuan Shuo arrived during the night. The army moved out, appearing as if a current of water at the foot of Ash Mountain.

Monster spirits circled in the air. Those from Ash Mountain and those under the golden eagle also hovered in the air. There were intermittent clashes; casualties arose before the two armies encountered each other.

Trees shook on the outskirts of the mountain and agonized cries could be faintly heard. Scouts on both sides had encountered each other and occasionally engaged in quick scuffles. Pained yelps echoed on the wind from time to time—this confrontation had come about in a hurried fashion. Neither side was fully ready and no one knew what their enemy was capable of.

The first official hostility in one hundred years occurred amidst the trees.

......

Inside the mountain forest.

Wu Chao of the Silver City Demon Hunters threaded through the mountain forest like a wraith. A sharp blade dangled from his fingers as he plunged it into neck after neck, ripping it through their windpipes.

In this last patch of jungle separating the two sides, fierce battle commenced between combatants. Fresh blood spurted out as Wu Chao’s heart pounded from the high speed of his travel.

What durable skin the enemy had!

Elite scouts from both sides battled soundlessly around him. Only mournful keening emitted in the last moments of life could be heard, spurring all parties to greater efforts.

Scouts scoped out the lay of the land before armies met in battle. Even though this was often unnecessary during this time of supernaturals, both sides had powerhouses with them and were disrupting the void. The usual abilities of peering through the void were ineffective.

Since both sides didn’t know the other’s capabilities, their battle strategy turned into probing maneuvers for the first engagement.

Wu Chao raced through the void; his eyes suddenly widened when a sharp crack broke through the air. An arrow with a dark light flashed across him. It broke through the void emitting a similar sound to his supernatural abilities!

A clear mark appeared on his armor when the arrow grazed it. Wu Chao’s organs shook and he fought the urge to vomit blood. There were archers in the field!

This type of soldier was very rare in Silver Moon and all of Skystar Dynasty. The soldier designation was canceled after guns were invented. So their enemy possessed archers! How many were there?

Various thoughts flickered through Wu Chao’s mind as he jumped upward and dodged all of the projectiles coming at him. He raced for a certain spot in the darkness. The archer was shooting from there.

......

At the same time.

A large army started cutting through the jungle. They pushed through the dense growth and advanced in a slow fashion, pausing to regroup. The Great Li king wasn’t in a hurry to descend from the mountain.

Occasional shrieks appeared from the jungle ahead, but no one paid it any attention. The Great Li king wasn’t a brainless brute as the legends painted him out to be. He didn’t give the order for the soldiers to trample straight ahead.

In the central army’s encampment.

The king sat cross-legged on the ground instead of a throne. The tent flaps were open for a view into the distance. He seemed to see Silver City on the horizon.

“Advance slowly and gradually rip their defense line apart.” He smiled faintly. “That will also give our soldiers time to acclimate to Skystar’s battlefield.”

Li Hao had not immediately gone into an all-out charge, but chose to probe his enemy one step at a time. The Great Li king didn’t mind entertaining the young man.

His orders were swiftly passed on and the main priest also peered into the distance.

“My king, Skystar is a tough bone to gnaw on. Since we have been exposed, we can ignore the concept that speed is of the essence. On the contrary, we can proceed slowly and wait for news from the other three directions. So long as Skystar’s strength is bogged down, Li Hao’s side will collapse without even being attacked.”

Time was on their side, it was Li Hao who should be worried. Great Li wouldn’t be the only one out of the four divine nations to take action. They were just faster and more efficient.

The king inclined his head and didn’t say anything; he silently waited for results. It had been a long time since their last visit to the central plains, so they didn’t know how strong Skystar Dynasty was now. Although intelligence reports had made their way into his hands, he’d never confirmed them for himself.

Wails and shrieks sounded without end from the jungle ahead. After an indeterminate period of time, a partially armored general raced back with a report.

“My king, the vanguard has fought the enemy for two hours in the jungle. Skystar’s army is not weak and does not suffer from low morale as rumored to be. We have lost 197 people, as have they lost approximately the same amount. Our strength is well-matched to each other and they do not show signs of defeat!”

The Skystar Army was rumored to be decayed, corrupt, and unable to stand up to a single blow from opponents. One Great Li cultivator could apparently fight ten peers of the same cultivation level. Some powerhouses who’d visited Skystar even ran their mouths that so long as Great Li sent out more than one thousand soldiers, they could hunt down and play with one hundred thousand Skystar troops as they would.

But upon meeting in the jungle, Great Li did not firmly occupy the upper hand as they expected to.

“You guys are trash!” shouted a muscular man next to the king. Killing intent wafted from his body. “The Skystar Army has long rotted away, how can we suffer the same level of casualties?? My king, permit me to go in and slaughter them!”

“This is just a test,” frowned the king. “Do they not have powerhouses? Is there room for you to throw your weight around like that?”

His soft rebuke immediately made the man fall silent.