Chapter 1168: Ways of Fighting (III)

Li Hao expanded the Battle Heaven Army as soon as he took command. The Eleventh Division had existed before, but it lacked personnel. There was only Li Hao among its ranks. No, there was Hong Yitang as well. Southern Fist had also been part of the roster, but his spot had been cancelled after his death.

At present, there was only Li Hao and Hong Yitang among the Eleventh Division of the Battle Heaven Army. The rest were not officially recognized. But today, the division’s strength soared with the addition of the Skystar Army. While they weren’t as numerous as the other ten-thousand strong divisions, these new recruits were the elites of the Skystar Army!

These one thousand soldiers might not be any weaker than a complete division of ten thousand troops.

A magnificent power flared from Li Hao’s body, alongside currents of life force, blood qi, Immortal level strength, Saint level strength, and core origin. They unfurled through Battle Heaven!

“There are many soldiers here that are just lingering obsessions in broken suits of armor. Your battle strength is much diminished. I cannot resurrect everyone at present—I can only choose the company and troop leaders. When we seize more bodies, core origin, and Immortal power from killing strong foes, I will do everything I can to resurrect all of our comrades!”

Silver and Bronze Armors suddenly felt flesh and blood grow within their empty armor! Vast quantities of Immortal strength poured into them—there were even dao meridians forming!

These dao meridians did not connect to the Hao Cosmos; Li Hao was not in a rush to achieve that for them. There was an inherent difficulty to that task, but this was good preparation for the future. These officers were receiving bodies that combined old and new. They could traverse the Hao Cosmos at any moment if they wished to and fully become a body of the new age.

The powerhouses that’d been conversing with Li Hao also sensed the change in their people. No one said anything, what could they say? Were they to stop Li Hao from resurrecting everyone? Wouldn’t that turn them into Battle Heaven’s sinners?

Metallic thuds echoed through the city as heavyweights thumped their chests with great excitement.

“The commander is unparalleled!” they bellowed.

Li Hao smiled within his visor. One could never have too many soldiers. When he gave them sufficient benefits, pointed them in the direction of their enemies, and gave them opportunities to distinguish and demonstrate the spirit of New Martial... It was actually much easier to recruit them to his banner than others.

He, on the other hand, was presenting another’s efforts as his own. The recent death of a Saint provided sufficient flesh and blood, as well as power, for a lot of people to revitalize. No matter how disgruntled the Eighth Division leader might be, he could do nothing about it.

Technically speaking, Yang Wei had a say in whether to preserve the corpse of a traitor or utilize it to revive comrades. He might have some words for Li Hao had the young man employed Wu Peng’s body to resurrect someone else.

But now...

Yang Wei looked at Li Hao with resignation and an inexplicable mix of emotions. What could he say now?

He couldn’t say anything or even reveal anything to anyone! He would be sowing dissent between the soldiers and ranking officers then!

Hmph, the kid’s a bad guy!

Yang Wei was highly dissatisfied at Li Hao becoming the commander, but there didn’t seem to be anything he could do about that.

“The Eighth Division leader still lacks a body at present, is that so?” asked Li Hao.

“I will not recover it!” harrumphed Yang Wei.

“Does that mean you are purposefully refraining from joining the battle against the enemy?” Li Hao asked softly. “Well, that’s alright I suppose...”

“Are you saying that I’m afraid to do battle?!”

“Not at all. But if you don’t resurrect, that will immensely decrease your strength. An Apex is the equivalent of first level Sun and Moon. I have too many Suns and Moons beneath my command...”

“You...”

“Are you going to revitalize?”

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

“I will!” Yang Wei’s armor shook from indignation. There didn’t seem to be a way to refuse; he was mired in a swamp and unable to extract himself!

Li Hao smiled and materialized a hunk of flesh and blood. “Director General Wang’s original body exploded just now. But don’t worry, this was made from the Immortal power of some plant spirits. It didn’t belong to that one. The Eighth Division leader does not need to look upon it with discomfort.”

“Hmph!”

“You are showing disrespect for your superiors,” Li Hao remarked. “Should soldiers conduct themselves in such a manner?”

“Yes, sir!” bellowed a highly suffering Eighth Division leader.

“That’s more like it!” Li Hao nodded slightly. “The duty of soldiers is to obey! Anything else is additional that the officers will take care of. The Eighth Division leader would do well to remember that and just follow orders!”

“Understood, sir!” The suffering inflicted on the Eighth Division leader intensified. There was nothing he could do when faced with this young officer but force out agreement through grit teeth.

“Very good,” Li Hao nodded again. “The Eighth and Ninth Division leaders should recover further! We’ve already wasted a lot of time and can waste no more. I hope that everyone will recover full battle strength as soon as possible!

“Also, the other plant spirits of Battle Heaven apart from General Pagoda are hereby assigned to the plant spirit division! If we take out the thirteen plant spirits that have been transplanted elsewhere, as well as General Pagoda, that leaves twenty-two of the Immortal level.

“Combined with those already under my command, that makes for forty-eight plant spirits. Fourteen Apexes, thirty-four Immortals. They will be led by division leader Redwood Mountain for now and Imperial Guard as the vice division leader...”

General Pagoda started and stopped with a response.

You’ve reassigned all of my descendants, just like that? And made sure to strip me out from the chain of command? Is this appropriate?

“General Pagoda is a Saint and has important matters to attend to,” Li Hao explained. “You do not have the bandwidth for mundane errands, so we can have Redwood Mountain and Imperial Guard handle it! What do you think, general?”

What else can I think?

“Then it shall be as the commander says!” the plant spirit responded softly.

“General Pagoda is righteous!” Li Hao smiled. “If we are victorious in our campaign, we will surely have enormous gains. I will prioritize reviving all of the Battle Heaven Army first!” He turned to Capsize Sea. “Sea Pacification Envoy, you will be in charge of all monster spirits.

“However, we do not have many of them at present. There are quite a few at Ash Mountain, but they are all weak. There are also some monster spirits that have occupied other mountains in Silver Moon. Once I am finished with the tasks at hand, I will form a monster spirit army!”

“So long as the commander has the desire to do so,” Capsize Sea responded offhandedly as it wasn’t too concerned. “All shall be as the commander wishes.”

“Then... everyone should cultivate well and return to peak form as soon as possible!” Li Hao sent out various storage rings. “These contain energy stones and Water of Life. I would request that the various seniors recover as much as you can. One bit more of battle strength is one bit more of hope!”

The group quickly dispersed, each with their own storage ring in hand. Li Hao grinned beneath his visor. What a wonderful day this had been!

He’d unwittingly seized a lot of control in the vast city of Battle Heaven. It wasn’t complete control, but what was the rush?

His heart hadn’t completely blackened! If it had, the city would be entirely his if he tricked the two guardians to their deaths.

There was no need to do so. He usurped authority not for the sake of control, but out of a desire to not have these New Martial denizens hesitate again and again. Each time they dithered resulted in enormous losses to him.

Since they wouldn’t take neither the carrot nor the stick by itself, then he would shove both down their throats!

Li Hao disappeared after resolving his most pressing issues. He wanted to enter the Hao Cosmos and make some preparations. Capsize Sea had said that he could turn the dao universe into a maze—it was an excellent suggestion. Anyone who entered at the moment had a clear view of the entire place. In that case, he would bend his back to it and move things around a bit.

He could also make use of this opportunity to open all thirty-six of his sword dao meridians.

......

As Battle Heaven returned to quiet.

Barren Dynasty.

Some desolate beasts repeatedly urged the Barren king to attack the Eastern continent. They couldn’t wait to occupy the east!

Outside Barren territory, the vanished city of the Lius quietly moved underground. Most ancient cities were silent these days and unable to be activated. Galewind of the Lius, however, had shifted its location with none the wiser.

Inside the city.

Red Dust sat in the city lord manor, sunk in deep thought with his chin propped on his hand.

Barren Dynasty...

Their plan to revitalize the world through killing people was dead in the water thanks to Li Hao. The plan to revitalize the Forbidden Sea was no longer viable thanks to Ying Hongyue. The man had done something that stilled the ripples within the sea. Overthrowing Barren Dynasty was the only chance Red Dust had to stabilize the world again.

If he could think of this course of action, so could Li Hao.

He’d underestimated Li Hao before and allowed the young man to soundlessly advance on Boundless. All of his plans were ruined with the ancient city’s fall and he could no longer afford to underestimate the young man.

What if he learns of our intentions as well... will he appear in Barren Dynasty?

Various thoughts flashed through Red Dust’s mind. He couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Since when did he ever imagine that someone of the modern age would ruin his plans again and again?

He raised his head at the sky and sighed. The exalted emperor of Red Moon had become a sharp blade hanging over his head. Forcing his way into the world wouldn’t be so troublesome otherwise.

He was like the Li Hao of old in this moment, feeling the world bear down on him from all sides. Walking around outside would loosen the seal and permit the Red Moon exalted emperor to break free.

If he didn’t walk out, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to Li Hao’s side. The young man was preventing the arrival of the second awakening. This did not fit Red Dust’s interests.

Li Hao thinks that I will overturn Barren Dynasty... The Barren king might think so as well...

He’d sent a feeble replica to the king before. The latter had not agreed to his proposal, which was to be expected.

Li Hao... the Barren king...

Numerous possibilities filtered through Red Dust’s mind and he smiled.

What if... Barren Dynasty extends its reach?

He might not require the revitalization of the world if he wished to emerge from the ruins. The extension of chaos would also suit his needs. Chaos isolated itself from the world, he might be able to walk freely in it.

However, chaos would also erode heavenly will at the same time and cause the seal to weaken. But if he kept it within manageable parameters, he might be able to walk around outside again.

Does the Tranquil Star in the eastern continent have something to do with me?

The idea resurfaced. What a pity that he hadn’t been able to meet anyone of the Xus last time. That obstructed him from locating Tranquil Star. He hadn’t known where the family had gone either.

Tranquil Star... Perhaps the ruin did have something to do with him, given its name. He could go for a look if Barren Dynasty crept into the east.