Chapter 206: Earth-Flipping Hammer
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“Bastard, a bunch of bastards without foresight!”
In Qingzhou General Mansion, Li Yuan violently hit the table, “Pa-pa-pa!” The tea set on the table was sent flying.
“His Excellency, they are just a bunch of flunkies who don’t have foresight. There’s no point in getting angry with them!”
“No need to get angry with them?!” Li Yuan squinted. His face revealed some cruelty, “The Northern Yuan has threatened our Central Plains for tens of thousands of years. Now that it is time to conquer them in one sweep and establish merit that will last forever, this group of bastards actually talk about being compassionate. They are even worse than pigs and dogs!”
“A bunch of dogs who merely want to carry favor!” Mu Yuqing stroked his beard lightly, “The divine ruler now has ambition and wants to be the unprecedented ruler. Obviously, he wouldn’t miss out on this chance to become famous for years to come. If this war can bring down the Northern Yuan and absorb the whole prairie into our Great Jin, just based on this earth-shaking merit, it is enough to overshadow the works of all the previous emperors. The emperor will not let go of this chance!”
Mu Yuqing was Li Yuan’s leading strategist, he was also the smartest man around. He had an accurate grasp on issues. Everyone including Li Yuan was extremely convinced by him.
“I understand what you mean. They are trying to carry favor. However, I’m extremely displeased with these fellas. On the surface they look like a gentleman and they keep talking about big principles here and there yet, we are fighting till our deaths on the frontlines, and they are criticizing us behind our backs saying that our killings are too excessive and that we have no kindness. One day I’ll kidnap some of them and bring them to the Northern Yuan. I wonder if they will still be compassionate then?!”
“Let them say what they will, we do our own work!” Mu Yuqing smiled. He didn’t reply to Li Yuan’s fits of anger. “Now Yunzhou has already started fighting. Our Qingzhou is Yunzhou’s backup. All the precautions must be in place. Even though Governor Ma’s army forces are not many, but with his strength, holding on till the Jin imperial army reaches is an extremely easy matter!”
“Before the imperial army marches in, we must first solve the problem of grain and fodder. Before the army moves, the army and horses must go ahead. That’s the most basic principle!” Li Yuan’s temper seemed to have receded a little. He raised his gaze and landed on Junior Leopard, “Zhou Bao, a few days ago you mentioned to me that you wish to go to Northern Yuan?!”
“Yes, Your Excellency. To go to Northern Yuan to kill the prairie master of martial arts will be extremely beneficial to my progress in martial arts cultivation,” Junior Leopard said.
“Then you’ll have to wait a while!” Li Yuan smiled, “Soon there’ll be a batch of rations going to Yunzhou Danyang County for handover. I have news that someone may lay their hands on this batch of rations. Hence, I plan to send half of the personal guard camp to escort it. You are my camp’s number one expert, and also the personal guard camp’s Vice Commander so, this time you can’t escape. However, you need not worry. As long as this handover is smooth, I’ll let you go. However, if something crops up, Zhou Bao, I don’t think that you should come back either!”
Junior Leopard’s heart trembled. His body stood erect and he said loudly, “Yes Sir!”
“All right, go back and get ready. We’re leaving in three days!!”
…
…
The rations move before the army!
Due to this being a real war of annihilation, under the pressure of the situation, the people who held the attitude of benevolence and forgiveness were a minority. The Jin imperial court on all levels attached great importance to the war and was passionate about it. Soldiers from all over the country kept pouring in marching toward the border between Great Jin and the North Yuan.
Some of these countless officers and soldiers were headed to Yunzhou while others were headed to other places. In the north, the borders between Jin and Northern Yuan spanned for thousands of miles. There were numerous states intersecting in-between. Yunzhou was chosen by the Northern Yuan as the main battlefield because of its flat land making it easy for the cavalry to attack. Apart from this main battlefield, in other provinces, Great Jin didn’t dare to drop its guard. Afterall the Northern Yuan was experiencing total annihilation, God knew how crazy they could get.
It was precisely because of the times that one had to be more careful.
If because of a small mistake they allowed the Northern Yuan to turn the tide around, this merit that would last forever would become a joke for centuries to come.
“Now Jin’s advantage is overwhelming. It isn’t something that can be changed by a person or a few people. Even the three Grandmasters are unable to do anything in this situation. Great Jin only needs to use its strength openly and steadily pressurize the Northern Yuan and at the same time use Jin’s own experts to curb the Northern Yuan’s experts. Then, things will be solved in a matter of time. At most, it’ll take half a year, and the Northern Yuan that dominated the prairie for tens of thousands of years will no longer exist.”
On the way back, Junior Leopard thought about it carefully. His heart unconsciously felt funny. Unknowingly, he had delved into the most important historical event that ever happened. It was a pity that although now he had some strength, it wasn’t at a standard where it could influence the tide of events. The best solution was to go with the flow and let himself embroil in the greatest wheel of history and move forward.
“Hehe, to escort the rations, that isn’t bad, I can put my hammers in the carriage. The horse should be able to move?!” Junior Leopard calculated in his heart.
This new weapon of his caused him a big headache. It really was too heavy.
When wielding the black hammer, he was unable to ride the horse. Furthermore, holding a hammer that was close to 2000 pounds, the Lightness Skill couldn’t be exerted well. Although Junior Leopard was now a Bone-Forging Realm expert, and his strength and body were much stronger than an ordinary Bone-Forging Realm expert, there was still a limit to it. To exert the Yanfu Inner Strength while carrying the black hammer to ride like the wind was only a beautiful dream.
Just like when he was the Jiang City Navy Commander, when he reached the camp, Junior Leopard abdicated all his responsibilities and handed the matter over to his subordinates to deal with it. He went back to his own room to rest.
“Three days to transport the rations. There’s news that someone wants to make a move on these rations. Looks like trouble abounds!” Junior Leopard sighed in his heart, “From how I see it, I should diligently practice during this 3 days lest I meet a real expert and my strength is not sufficient. I’ll be handled according to military regulations. That’ll be shameful!”
Although he had a new weapon and he had extreme confidence in himself, confidence was a subjective notion. It was a good thing to have confidence in oneself, but blind confidence was stupid. Junior Leopard wasn’t a fool. He knew what he was capable of and what he was not.
Since Li Yuan said that there was news that someone wanted to make a move on these rations, then there definitely would be someone. As for who was making a move on it, no one knew.
Now the enemy was in the dark while they were in the light.
That was the most dangerous position to be in.
“Fortunately I still have my bluff!” Junior Leopard’s sleeves folded slightly. 49 Demon Devil Needles flew out and floated around him. After such a long time, Junior Leopard had complete mastery over these needles.
It could be said that Junior Leopard and the needles already had a bloodline connection and merged into one. These Demon Devil Needles already became a part of his body. The needles moved according to his will and there wasn’t the slightest bit of resistance.
49 black needles were floating in front of Junior Leopard, following his will to form different kinds of pictures and change into different positions. One moment it would form a circle, another moment it would line up, and other moments it would form a straight line. It moved according to his will without exception.
“Hu–!” Junior Leopard’s sleeves rolled up. 49 Demon Devil Needles disappeared. Junior Leopard sat on the chair and seemed to be thinking about something.
“With my control over the Demon Devil Needles, it is no problem to form a formation with it. However, it is unknown what kind of power it’ll have!”
Back then, when he was carefully studying the usage of the needles on the scroll, there was a formation recorded on it. The entire formation was formed from the 49 needles. It was said that the power was tremendous. As to its extent, he had never tried it before.
Even though his heart had yearned for it since time in memorial, his control over the needles was still imperfect. There wasn’t a feeling of connection with the bloodline. Hence, even though he could control these 49 needles into a formation, he wasn’t able to control the details of it and would spoil the plans instead but now it was different.
Now, the needles had already merged with his bloodline. Even the minutest details could be controlled freely by him.
“It is time to practice this formation. 3 days is sufficient time to do so. It can greatly increase my fighting power. If I meet any special circumstances, there wouldn’t be too many bluffs revealed!”
…
…
3 days passed in a flash. When Junior Leopard had practiced till he had complete mastery over the Demon Devil Needles than the day to set off arrived. Due to the fact that Junior Leopard had abdicated his responsibility and didn’t even look at the carriages carrying the rations when he carried his black hammer and entered into the camp, he drew a breath of cool air.
“Si—, oh my god, so many carts?!”
Indeed, there were many carts!
The entire camp was filled to the brim. In each cart, the small ones were pulled by 4 strong bulls, while the big ones were pulled by over 10 bulls.
As for the carriages that were pulled by horses, they were few in number. Horses were good for their speed and strength, however, in terms of endurance, they couldn’t be compared to the bulls. The most important thing was that these bulls were not only a brute force to pull the carts, but after they were transported to the front, they were also one of the sources of rations.
Looking at this camp, there were hundreds of carriages, meaning there were thousands of bulls. It was enough food for tens of thousands of troops for a period of time.
“This is only the first batch, and also the most important batch!” At Junior Leopard’s side, Li Yuan looked at these rations with a sigh. “There are a total of 682 carts. All are yours to handle. Apart from half of the personal guard camp, I’ve even given you 3000 troops. Are you satisfied?”
“Satisfied, of course, I’m satisfied. His Excellency has thought it through very well!” Junior Leopard nodded, “However, His Excellency, I heard you mention that there may be someone making a move on these rations. May I know who is it exactly?”
“This is only a piece of gossip. It may be connected to the Northern Yuan. Now that they are in a dire situation, anything can happen. To send an expert to infiltrate and rob these rations is a possibility!”
“Rob this batch of rations?!” Junior Leopard felt somewhat incredulous. “Even if they are able to rob this amount of rations, they will be unable to transport it out!”
“They will possibly burn it on the spot. In this manner, it’ll disrupt the morale of our troops!” Li Yuan said, “Hence, you must be careful. The opponent having failed once can always retreat, however, you can’t. You must protect the safety of these rations. Hence I assigned to you half of the personal guard camp and 3000 soldiers. Furthermore, the provinces along the way will help you. Those fellows that have ill intentions may be able to infiltrate but their numbers won’t be great. Your troops are enough!”
“This I understand!” Junior Leopard raised his head and looked at the camp full of rations. His heart felt heavy.
A cart followed the next, pulling a cart full of rations and traveling on the spacious official roads. Surrounding it were 3000 well-armed soldiers. A dense murderous intent was in the air.
Junior Leopard rode a big horse and walked in the forefront of the team. A big saber was tied around his waist. Those who knew him understood that the saber was just for looks. His real methods were not in the saber.
At the side of his horse was a Silver Wolf. This Silver Wolf was big and fearsome. Although its body size was not comparable to the big horse that was carefully selected, it was not much different from the bulls that were pulling the carts. Hence it attracted a lot of gazes along the way.
It was already 5 days. They had left Qingzhou 5 days ago. They were still very far away from their destination, Yunzhou Danyang County. If Junior Leopard was alone on a fast horse, with the fastest speed, at most he would only need 2 days but now they had to transport this much rations, it greatly delayed their traveling speed. Of course, they had ample time. They were given one month.
Anyway, the imperial court’s army hadn’t finished gathering. Even if they had gathered, it would still take some time to reach Yunzhou. Hence, a month’s time was not considered too long.
With these 3000 soldiers that were filled with a dense murderous intent, adding on to the cooperation of the various government houses along the way, this trip was extremely smooth. There wasn’t any person without eyes to come and touch his tiger backside.
One should not touch the buttock of a tiger, especially at this moment. Even though there were a few bandits with significant influence along the way, they didn’t have the guts to touch the tiger’s buttock.
“Your Excellency, following this official road for another day and we will reach the Maojiang Prefecture!”
When on route, a fast horse caught up from behind and carefully evaded Little Du and loudly said:
“Maojiang Prefecture?!” Junior Leopard’s eyes flickered, “Is it to say that we are reaching Maojiang soon?!”
“Yes, Your Excellency, Maojiang is in front!”
“Have you sent scouts to go ahead?!”
“We already sent them in the morning. They should be back soon!”
“Good!” Junior Leopard’s face had no expression as he nodded. His facial expression became solemn.
Maojiang Prefecture was situated within Qing Province’s borders. It was remote and it got its name from a river there.
This Maojiang was just like Zhonghejun City’s Luojiang. On the river there were a lot of water bandits. Compared to Luojiang, its terrain was much more complicated because it was much more remote compared to Zhonghejun City.
The most important thing was Maojiang was situated in the western north. Its terrain was high in the west and low in the east, the difference was extremely great. The river flow was rushing. Only those fishermen who were born on the side of Maojiang could safely navigate it. Without such a technical skill, it was impossible to make a living off this river.
This was also the most difficult task that Junior Leopard faced this time around. Ever since he had news that someone might be making a move on these rations, Junior Leopard had all the dangerous points on this route analysed. At last he came to a conclusion that Maojiang was the best place for the enemy to take action.
Due to the rushing flow of the river, there wasn’t much produce, furthermore there were water bandits, hence this riverside didn’t have many residents. It was extremely desolate.
Ordinarily speaking, from Qing Province to Yunzhou Danyang County, people were not willing to choose this route as they would have to go through the place where the river flow was the strongest. However, Junior Leopard had no choice. In the entire Maojiang, only this place had a bridge. The other places needed ships to cross the river. This wasn’t Junior Leopard’s previous life where there were enormous ships that could solve the problem. There were only little boats on the river. With so much rations, to transport it using the litttle boats would take an enormous amount of time.
What’s more, using one boat after another to ferry things would easily cause problems. All that people needed to do was tamper with the bottom of the boats. Although Junior Leopard’s martial arts was high, he didn’t have many limbs. He couldn’t look after so many boats on the water.
What if they did a roundabout around Maojiang? Then it would be far. A month’s time wouldn’t be enough. Hence his only chance was to cross the bridge in Maojiang. Long before he set off, he already dispatched half of the personal guard camp over there and under the cooperation of the Maojiang Prefecture, they built two barracks on the sides of the bridge.
Yes, two barracks!
Junior Leopard didn’t wish to give his opponents any chance, nor did they have the chance. Two barracks were established and were just by the sides of the bridge. There were Garrison soldiers from the Maojiang Prefecture camping at each side. On the river, there was the Maojiang Navy. Basically, they could ensure the safety of the bridge before they arrived.
No matter who it was that wanted to take a hit on this batch of rations, after seeing the forces at the riverside, they would have to seriously reconsider.
“Let’s hope that they are not so foolish as to knock onto my gun!” Junior Leopard thought in his heart. His heart felt somewhat reassured. They were within the borders of Great Jin. Even if Northern Yuan sent people to infiltrate, their forces wouldn’t be too many. They wouldn’t be able to stir up any storm.
Just as he was thinking, the sound of a horse’s hooves was heard in front of him, and a swift horse came running.
“Your Excellency, it is our scout!”
“Bring him over!”
“Yes!” That man patted the horse to receive the scout that was coming from the other direction and led him to the front of Junior Leopard.
“What is the situation at Maojiang? Are there any abnormalities?!”
” Your Excellency, there are no strange signs. The barracks are very safe on both sides. The Maojiang Prefecture had already locked down 300 miles of the place. There aren’t any outsiders that can come close. His Excellency can pass through with ease.”
“Very good, let’s hope that I can pass through with ease!” Junior Leopard smiled and slapped his horse to go forward.
After traveling for a period, there was the sound of rushing water from the side. At first it was very slight, but it became louder and louder. Looking at the big camp by the riverside, the sound of flowing water was just like thunder.
“Why is the sound of the water so loud?!” Junior Leopard frowned. Although he had long heard that the river flew rapidly in Maojiang, he was surprised that this river was actually able to produce such a loud sound.
“Your Excellency, from west to east, there are many rocks between this 10 miles of river, and the drop height is nearly 200 feet, hence the sound of the water is a bit loud!” A soldier who was familiar with the terrain explained.
Junior Leopard nodded and didn’t say anything. He only hurried the horse. The carts and bulls behind him followed and slowly moved towards the direction of the barrack.
At the same time, there were a few riders appearing from within the camp. They were the soldiers from the personal guard camp who he had sent out beforehand.
Two horses galloped to the front of Junior Leopard. The riders got off the horses, “Paying our respects to His Excellency!”
“We’re all brothers from the same family, don’t be so courteous!” Junior Leopard smiled. He got off the horse to help the two of them up, “How is it, is the situation good?!”
“Everything is normal!” One of the personal guards said, “His Excellency please don’t worry. There are so many of us. I don’t believe that there’ll be someone who will dare to mess with us—!”
“Growl—!”
His words hadn’t finished, and Little Du in the front of Junior Leopard’s horse suddenly raised its head and growled in a low voice.
Junior Leopard’s expression changed drastically. Little Du and he had a spiritual connection, hence when Little Du discovered an abnormality, his heart also moved. A dangerous feeling surfaced in his heart.
His body stood erect. His eyes had a sharp glint. He coldly roared, “Who is trying to sneak around? Come out!”
“Hua la la—!”
Following Junior Leopard’s cold roar, the soldiers in the surroundings all drew their weapons, the chilling light shining in all directions.
It was dead silence.
Apart from the river flow that was like thunder and the sound of wind blowing, there wasn’t anyone else emitting any form of sound.
After a short while, there still wasn’t any movement. Those soldiers who drew their weapons and were silently waiting all revealed strange expressions. They looked at Junior Leopard and thought that he must be blind.
“You are indeed very powerful. The spirit in your whole body is completely covered. If it wasn’t for Little Du I’ll really not be able to find you!” After waiting for a while and seeing nobody speaking, the corner of Junior Leopard’s lips curled into a cold smile. He said loudly and raised his hands and grabbed towards the carriage behind him.
The surrounding air stilled. Within the carriage, a black figure slowly rose up. It was Junior Leopard’s new weapon, the black metal hammer.
The 2000 pound black hammer floated in midair and slowly flew towards Junior Leopard. Even if its speed was not fast and its body size was not exaggeratedly big, just based on its weight, it was able to give off a pressurizing feeling.
“Since you don’t wish to reveal yourself, then I don’t mind getting you out!” The black hammer flew to Junior Leopard’s hands and he firmly grabbed it.
“Hu–!”
After Junior Leopard held onto the black hammer, his wrist slightly moved and stirred up a ferocious wind.
“Hu, pi-li-pa-la—!” The clothes moved with the wind and kept producing sounds.
When the wind disappeared, Junior Leopard’s body also disappeared, then he was dozens of feet high up in the air. The black hammer was lifted high, carrying a spirit of ruling the earth with it. It went towards the direction of an open field and smashed towards it.
“Flipping Sky Three Hammers, Earth-flipping Hammer!”