Chapter 415: After Offending Xiang Liang, You Still Want to Go?
Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy
The raging flame oppressed the sun, the earth was bloody, and the clouds of fire were like sharp knives, which stretched upward from the horizon and hung overhead.
Within the borders of Golden City was a piece of somber and chilly area. The ambush troops of Flaming Valley had stirred the most powerful country in the region to not have any peaceful day. The panic of war had spread, and it was unstoppable.
At this time, nine days were left before the deadline set by the master of Golden City for Jianglu.
One day ago, gold spirit Jianglu in front of the master of Golden City received an ultimatum to take down fire spirit Xiang Liang within ten days. Now, although only a day has passed, Flaming Valley remained rampant, yet not only there was no sign of Jianglu making his move, his whereabouts was even unknown. Time was precious, so people couldn't help but guess, what exactly did he want to do?
Golden City master had said that if Xiang Liang hasn't been dealt with by the tenth day, he would never unseal the king of golden spirit, which absolutely was not just a threat. At the same time, the ministers who disappointed him would never have a good end. Although Shengjing Sect team led by Jianglu was powerful, it was still difficult for them to withstand the wrath of Golden City Master.
So, what would Jianglu do in the face of such a hopeless situation?
Before long, on the second day, the answer was announced.
The sky trembled in Misty Capital and the earth cracked. Dust and silt sprinkled down from this floating-in-mid-air capital and blotted out the sun as if there was a storm. The furious king disdainfully looked at all living things.
"What did you say?"
Below the white jade stone steps, a courtier was kneeling, trembling in fear. The fear had blurred his consciousness, however, the majesty of the king drove him to follow the command, to repeat what he just said.
"Gold Spirit Jianglu has defected to Flaming Valley, and the king of Flaming Valley granted him the title of flaming spirit!"
—
"Golden City master is muddlehead and tyrannical, obstinate and self-opinionated. He coerced the gold spirits under him with ultimatum, and immediately there's no hope for the seal of the king of gold spirit to be lifted. Therefore, under such rage, I defected to the other side… Ha, Senior Sister Qiong Hua, you asked me whether I still have the fire in me after many years of cultivating shrewdness and subtlety? Are you satisfied now with my answer?"
Under violent anger, any aggressive behavior was not uncommon. However, only the shrewd, those who could be free from the bondage of emotion and objectively see the situation, could make a sane judgment. The ten days ultimatum by the master of Golden City was an impossible task for Jianglu, so the intention of the king of Golden City was abundantly clear.
Even if Jianglu had such a great skill that he managed to fulfill the ten days ultimatum, Golden City master could always find a trickier problem that would force the gold spirits, step by step, into a dead end. Therefore, there was only a road left before Jianglu—break free from the control of the master of Golden City and jump ship. And Flaming Valley was exactly the force of his choice—not long ago, he led a surprise attack towards Eternal Tree and Harmony River, so the road of alliance with those two forces was already broken.
With this kind of defection background, the king of Flaming Valley would not have too much of a doubt, let alone the fact that Flaming Valley people have always been simple and direct. Xiang Liang's army had penetrated deep into the enemy territory, so there was a shortage of resourceful people in the rear that could be used. Furthermore, Jianglu even offered to cast away his reputation.
"Senior Brother Zhan Ziye has Ten Thousand Methods Comprehension so his pair of amazing eyes could see through all kinds of spells under the heaven. As such, how could I conceal from his eyes if I fake the spell trace of Flaming Valley and let him think it was the attack from Flaming Valley? Let alone I, Jianglu, have always been honest in dealing with people. Subsequently, my action to start fire within the Eternal Tree is exactly that of a flaming red guardian, replacement guaranteed if not genuine. Therefore, even if Senior Brother Zhan Ziye's eyes rise several levels higher, he could not possibly see the second probability."
"Then, relying on a surprise attack, I made Shaman thoroughly injured and robbed the essence of the Eternal Tree, which I then used to ignite the celestial raging fire in Flaming Valley, thus further consolidating my position within Flaming Valley. Hehe, this had also further drawn Eternal Tree and Harmony River into the battle, killing two birds with one stone… Senior Sister Qiong Hua, your script is truly admirable."
In Flaming Valley, Jianglu had changed his clothes into a flaming hide, and his sturdy muscles were red hot like hardened lava. And behind him quietly stood a group of rebellious Flaming Valley elites. In their previous surprise attack, Jianglu took the lead and won their respect with his unsurpassed valor and boldness.
"Then just wait and see, Junior Brothers and Sisters."
With that, feeling funny and other mixed emotions at the same time, he lowered his head and sighed lightly.
"I hope the master of Golden City is a man of his word and that the ten days agreement… is still valid."
—
Within the territory of Golden City, another fortress had fallen.
Because the Flaming Valley Soldiers were wreaking havoc within the territory, all the soldiers within the territory were on high alert. A day ago, there was an intelligence report that showed the crack troops of Flaming Valley was roaming about in a certain place. By chance coincidence, there was a corps nearby who risked their lives to delay them for a day so that Flaming Valley troops were not able to return hiding in time. Immediately, the Flaming Valley troops were besieged by the main army of Golden City. The military strength of Flaming Valley was astonishing that the gold clad army needed the support from the army on their periphery to strengthen their encirclement. Therefore, many forts mobilized and sent out their troops just to be safe.
Then, in one night, Flaming Valley broke through the encirclement and went straight toward Golden Hollow Fort. Because the main force was dispatched out, Flaming Valley troops had easily captured it, killed the troops that guard it, looted the supplies, and fled.
Golden City was the richest in the world and had powerful strength, so one fortress was insignificant. However, the terrifying thing was that, after gaining the supplies from the fort, the initially exhausted Flaming Valley troops became lively once again.
No, it was even more terrifying than before. The barrenness of Flaming Valley was such that they couldn't even have proper weapons. But now, after obtaining the luxurious arms of Golden City, they were like a tiger that has grown wings.
However, after this battle, their commander Xiang Liang intended to lead his army to withdraw.
Indeed, right now, the troops' morale was in an all time high, and with the support of the looted equipment, their strength had almost double. In the territory of Golden City, there was basically no army that could face them directly. Thus, if they continued their guerilla fight, unless Golden City conducted a large scale scorched earth tactic, or dispatched their real powerful elite troops, they could do nothing against this crack troops of Flaming Valley.
However, as the lead disciple of Royal Soldier Sect, how could Xiang Liang be that short sighted? Compared to leading an elite army to complete a special task, his true value was to command the Flaming Valley's tens of thousands of troops to devour everything.
This special guerilla warfare was a necessary procedure for him to truly prove his worth. The king of Flaming Valley had transferred the military authority to him, but the Elders of Flaming Valley still have some doubts. Thus, Xiang Liang wanted to use the miraculous victory to dispel their doubts.
As of now, Xiang Liang's success was already enough to shut anyone's mouth. The next thing for him to do was to return to Flaming Valley, raise his strength to the peak, and then...
"There's no then, you're not going anywhere!"
In a remote mountain valley, a strange voice that shouldn't exist appeared next to the commander's camp.
For such a sudden attack, even the personal guards of the king of Flaming Valley would find it hard to maintain their calm. However, the barbarian warriors under Xiang Liang were like Xiang Liang himself, indifferent like a block of stone, not in the least bit concerned towards the voice.
For a group of puppet warriors whose souls have been hooked, they would not be fazed even if the sky fell down. As for Xiang Liang himself, he had the psychological quality of steel. In the instant he heard the sound, he wanted to clear everything and made a response.
"It's good that you came."
As he said that, he flicked his fingers forward, and a few sword-like streams of air flew forward.
Although it was a small spell, it showed Xiang Liang's high spirit fighting intent. In the face of a challenge, disciples of Royal Soldier Sect were bound to march forward!
Even if hearing this sudden sound meant that his whereabouts has already been locked and the opponent would soon launch an unprecedented surprise attack, he still remained unperturbed.
The opponent knew how formidable Xiang Liang was, yet the former still wanted to make a move. Clearly, the opponent relied on the principle of the other side was in the light and they themselves were in the dark, thus the situation was very disadvantageous.
But Xiang Liang was without the slightest fear, instead he was secretly elated—the opponent actually came knocking at his door! For those who were addicted to fighting, this was like a pie that fell from the sky!
Even if the pie was very hot...
Although the invisible weapons were sent out through the flicking of fingers, they thrust into the dense woods in the valley. It was just that, these weapons were not timely because they bounced off of a powerful force. From the void, two Shengjing Sect people's figure appeared. One male and another one was female. The two of them were holding an opened treasure chest, from which came out a round shield that blocked the spells sent by Xiang Liang.
After a few banging sounds, the round shield was torn apart, and the invisible weapons also fell apart. One side launched their move, forced by the situation, while the other side was fully prepared. Thus, in this exchange, the strength disparity was obviously without a doubt.
"Attack!"
Holding the treasure chest, Wangyue Luanyu did not shake. With a cold voice, she shouted out her command. At the same time, in this serene mountain valley, the continuous sounds of weapons cutting off the flesh echoed out.
The sound was monotonous, but exactly because it was monotonous that it was terrifying. Because the souls of the barbarian warriors have been hooked by Xiang Liang, even if they suffered the most painful pain, they would not waste their strength on the pitiful wail, but instead while fiercely fighting, they would instinctively roar. But now, this monotonous sound could only be explained by one thing: it was a one-sided massacre.
At the same time, Xiang Liang, as the commander of the army, had a way to clearly see the overall situation. Therefore, he knew very well that his elite troops were declining at such a high rate. Facing this sneak attack force, these elite barbarians warriors actually seemed to collapse at the first blow.
However, Xiang Liang grew more excited instead.
There were only two forces within the territory of Golden City that could possibly slaughter these elite barbarians: the personal guards of the master of Golden City or the Shengjing Sect team.
However, the personal guards of the master of Golden City never left the Misty Capital, thus this time, the force that appeared must be Shengjing Sect team. At the same time, the smell of Shengjing Sect team in the air also let him strengthen his judgment.
"Shengjing team, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
In the five spirits power struggle, the strength of the gold spirit, which was the entire Shengjing Sect team, was so strong that it made blood boil. Their overall strength was even comparable to the sum of the remaining four. However, as fierce as this team was, most of its strength came from their team leader, the unrivaled Qiong Hua. Thus, without Qiong Hua, the power of this team was greatly reduced.
At present, it was no secret that Qiong Hua was imprisoned by the master of Gold City. And in addition to Qiong Hua, Xiang Liang didn't care who the current team leader was.
Therefore, it was good indeed that Shengjing Sect team had come.
Come but don't think about leaving! After this battle, none of you can leave!