novelWar Cries, Song and Dance
| ← Ch.1184 | Ch.1186 → |
Translator: Aran
The Western Regions of the Dark Realm had vast uninhabited expanses of White Mountains and black water, pervaded by miasma and occupied by dark beasts. Dangerous places were scattered throughout, such that the environment was perilous to the extreme.
At its westernmost parts was the Great Wall, a miraculous city wall of the formation martial way which was built in the distant past. It ran along the westernmost borders of the Dark Realm, spanning thirty million kilometers. Like a range of lofty mountains, it was nearly as high as the sky, reaching into the clouds while separating the Dark Realm from the Chaotic Region.
Every inch of the Great Wall was an inch of blood.
Since ancient times, it had been guarded by the penal battalions.
It could be said that the Great Wall was the living space of the Sinners. For generations, they were born here, grew up here, battled here, and were buried here. Their only purpose for coming to this world was to atone for a sin which they had to bear from the moment they were born, and their only purpose for living on was to fight.
This time, the breakout of war was very hasty.
The defense zone of the Unmoving City of Darkness had previously descended into extreme chaos because of the inexplicable disappearance of the Emperor of Darkness, and because its defense force was not stable, it became the zone worst hit by the disturbance of Invaders.
However, following the birth of a new Emperor of Darkness in recent years, the Unmoving City of Darkness became increasingly unified day by day while this zone became impregnable, certainly one of only a handful of such zones among the Sinner tribe. This was why the entire Great Wall defense area was shocked when news that the Unmoving City of Darkness defense zone had been breached by Invaders spread.
The four Great Wall chief commanders who represented the will and dignity of Royal City were shocked and enraged.
After news spread, a series of orders were issued. The first consideration was not how to mobilize all military strength to work together in driving the Invaders out from within the borders of the Great Wall, but to disallow other penal battalions from participating in the battle instead. At the same time, there was a temporary order saying that the Unmoving City of Darkness had to rely on its own strength in killing all of the Invaders.
The battle had already been going on for half a month.
It had been exactly eight days since the contemporary Emperor of the Unmoving City of Darkness had gone missing. On that day, someone among the four chief commanders issued an order, causing the Emperor of Darkness to have no choice but to personally take action. In the end, he ran into a much-changed situation of internal disorder and ambush, and eventually vanished among the battlefield.
At present, the Unmoving City of Darkness had poured in a lot of military strength to fight to the death with the Invaders. The area several thousands kilometers around the breach had become a massive blood pool and corpse mountain, where the smell of blood shot into the sky and even the clouds were dyed in blood red.
War cries could be heard without end.
"Adviser, there's no news from the fifth and sixth camps of the frontlines. Please send reinforcements."
"Adviser, the left army has been engaged in fierce battle for ten days, and has lost more than half of its strength while many more are injured. Please allow them to withdraw and undergo repair. They will be crushed alive if they still don't withdraw."
"Adviser, only three of the ten backline camps remain, while the ten commander-level dragon knights have already died in battle. There's only one person left that can fill in."
"Adviser, Invaders have poured in ceaselessly, such that their numbers have increased by ten times. Because of their ferocious offensive, the 18th defense line is unable to cope already..."
Bad news came in succession.
Wang Jianru was dressed in military uniform and plated in blood armor, while her face was concealed by a bloodstained mask, and so no outsider knew her true identity. Standing tall at the bow of the army's flagship, she looked downward with her beautiful eyes that contained traces of agitation, anger, and worry.
Below her, the sound of war cries shook the world.
Like a giant meat grinder, the vast expanse of a thousand kilometers in circumference was constantly devouring the destiny of beings. Though the breakout of war had not reached a month, at least one hundred thousand Sinners from the Unmoving City of Darkness had already been inserted into this meat grinder, dying terribly on the battlefield.
Among the front, middle, back, left, and right battalions in the Unmoving City of Darkness, the middle battalion had already lost more than half of its strength and been rendered ineffective by the time the Emperor of Darkness was surprise attacked, while the right battalion was led by an elder who had all along been unfriendly with and secretly opposed the Emperor of Darkness, and he was thus unwilling to enter the battle. The front, back, and left battalions were led by the Emperor of Darkness, and, having fought fiercely up to this day, had also suffered extremely terrible losses.
As time passed, the final battalion in the Unmoving City of Darkness was on the verge of collapse, and could not be sustained for too much longer.
"Horrible, to think that some nobles had actually assisted the Invaders this time. Who would've thought that they'd do something so crazy to dispose of my Emperor... Otherwise, the Unmoving City of Darkness wouldn't have fallen into such passivity."
There was resentment in Wang Jianru's heart.
As shrewd as she was, she felt like she was making bricks without straw, and was unable to hold on much longer.
"Why is the elder's reinforcements still not here?" She looked at a messenger official to the side and frowned, asking, "Wasn't it said that the troops were already on the way? Half a day has passed, enough time for them to crawl their way to the battlefield even. Why are they still nowhere to be seen?"
"This... I'll send someone to hasten them at once, " the official hurriedly replied, looking embarrassed.
A while later.
"Adviser, the chief commander of the right army has replied, saying that their battleships don't have enough energy resources and armor, and so it was difficult to form an army. They're now rushing here, and they say..." The returning official's expression became increasingly embarrassed and angry. After a brief hesitation, he continued, "They have requested that you allocate pay and provisions for their troops first, and would definitely get here as soon as they have replenished."
These were all excuses.
The right army had not joined the battle but was making all kinds of excuses to request more military pay and provisions, hoping to shirk their responsibilities despite already getting ten times more of those things than they usually got. Even a fool could tell that they were clearly seeking to make use of this opportunity to coerce and extort more military resources.
At the same time, Elder Shen Lingzhi was seeking to assist the Invaders and thereby deplete the battalions loyal to the Emperor of Darkness, and was clearly delaying things on purpose.
"Hoho, they can't raise a battalion despite having ten times more provisions than usual. Is this a battalion of gluttons?" Wang Jianru sneered, finally losing all patience, and no longer counted on the strength from the elder's faction."It looks like Shen Lingzhi has resolved to betray my Emperor. Dispatch my order that there will be no provisions, while the right army has two hours... No, one hour to get to the battlefield. If they are late, they will definitely be in deep trouble when the Emperor returns."
The anger in her heart had already reached its limits.
She had held out a glimmer of expectation toward Elder Shen Lingzhi at first, hoping that he could forget about the inner contest for power and profit and fight against a common enemy while there were Invaders from outside. This venerated elder had fallen into degeneration and did not have a sense of honor or shame, losing any moral quality that he once had.
"I obey your command."
The official left to send word at once.
As Wang Jianru listened carefully to the war cries, her gaze involuntarily turned toward the distant east. She had dispatched Lingyun to Royal City to seek reinforcements not only because she had a glimmer of expectation toward the Guardian camp, but also because she had some hope for that person.
It had been some time since that fellow had entered Royal City. Although she had little communication with him and did not know how he was progressing in Royal City, she felt that, given his ability and charisma, he should already have gained a certain status, and could probably persuade the army headquarters to dispatch troops... In any case, that fellow was always able to cause a surprise.
A faint, gentle smile flashed momentarily at the corner of her lips.
Her eyes subsequently became as piercing as burning flames.
...
A hundred kilometers outside the battlefield.
A large dragon-shaped battleship was drifting leisurely in the void. Most of the armored soldiers on the deck had an expression of anger and shame on their faces. As they looked at the raging and bloody battlefield in the distance, they itched to charge forth and attack the enemy immediately.
On the purgatory-like battlefield were their fellow officers whom they used to drink, sing, and train together with. They had vowed on a day of sweat and scorching sun that they would kill enemies, bleed, and die together. Yet, on this day, they were prevented from joining the battlefield by the elder, and could only watch on as their comrades bled and died...
Only a few high-status and noble officers had a listless expression on their faces while laughing casually, as if the war cries from the distant battlefield were just music to go with their drink.
They were the trusted subordinates of Elder Shen Lingzhi, drawn over by the power and wealth offered them by the latter. They had committed themselves to following him, and had secretly betrayed the Emperor of Darkness Song Xiaojun a long time ago. As they had already lost the honor and martial heart of a martialist from the Unmoving City of Darkness, they did not feel the least bit anxious.
Behind this large battleship were at least five hundred battleships drifting in the void and waiting quietly.
Songs played using a sizhu could be heard from the VIP cabin on the large battleship.
Shen Lingzhi was entertaining guests.
Eight female dancers of graceful bearing, wearing thin white gauze dresses, were gyrating their bodies while appearing and disappearing from concealed positions in a highly seductive manner, with their bare white feet, which nails were colored in nutmeg polish, stepping on the cloud carpet. Their skill in song and dance were unmatched. Wreathed by a white mist, they each brought to mind the Moon Fairy, all cold and noble, making anyone who watched them feel as if in paradise.
"Haha, I've long heard that the elder has eight female singers of absolute beauty. They are called the [Eight Fairies of the Moon Palace], possessing supreme beauty and skill. Having seen them today, they're indeed top-notch in the human world." The speaker was a pot-bellied officer, wearing a set of divine armor that only the king-level nobles in the Guardian camp were qualified to wear. His squinted eyes were gazing at the eyes of the female singers in the middle of the place, in the same manner as a rabbit staring at a newly-grown carrot, itching to swallow the whole of it in one mouthful.
"You're flattering, Deputy Commander Xie. If you like, these eight singers shall be yours from now onward." Shen Lingzhi generously offered.
"Uh, that's too generous of you..." Deputy Commander Xie was taken slightly aback but became delighted at once."Alright, I shan't decline then."
"Haha, it's my honor that you accept them." Shen Lingzhi revealed a joyful look, albeit he did not quite feel the same way inwardly.
After a pause, Shen Lingzhi opportunistically added, "In accordance with your instructions, I've already ordered the right army not to move and provide reinforcement. At present, that bloodstained adviser from god-knows-where is probably already out of resources. It's funny speaking of it. Such a character has never appeared before in the Unmoving City of Darkness, yet this person suddenly popped up at this time and somehow gained the deep trust of the Emperor of Darkness, acquiring a status even higher than the trusted Wang Jianru back then. Her methods and strength are extremely terrifying. If not for her actions, the Unmoving City of Darkness would not have been able to hold up a long time ago... When this matter is over, I hope that you would be able to say a few good words in front of the four top commanders on my behalf. As long as I become the Emperor of the Unmoving City of Darkness, I'll definitely not decline any instructions you have for me in the future."
"Haha, don't worry, this matter has been decided already. That bitch Song Xiaojun is probably a bag of bones by this time. After her trusted lackeys have died in battle, the Unmoving City of Darkness will definitely become yours. When the four commanders jointly submits a statement to Royal City, the next Emperor of the city will definitely be you." Deputy Commander Xie felt emboldened, having just accepted the female singers from Shen Lingzhi.
For a time, it was all completely merry in the VIP cabin.
The endless song and dance drowned out the miserable noise of the war cries from a hundred kilometers away.
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