Chapter 143 - The Attack of Five Demons
The Golden City of the Jin Kingdom...
Gao Xianzhi was sitting in the main hall of the duke"s mansion, looking at the battle reports one after another. A bunch of subordinates was busily working on one side respectfully.
After a long time, Gao Xianzhi finally took a light break and drank a cup of tea, gazing at the team of scribes working around him.
At this moment, one of the older scribes looked to Gao Xianzhi. "Commander, currently our army"s morale is like a rainbow. So, why are we not following up an attack after the victory?"
"Our Gu Mansion Army"s aim is to take the world, not attack the world! The first battle is to win, to break their spirits, to shock and awe the four kingdoms. After all, our army is limited, we should not advance rashly with greed. Otherwise, we will be trapped in a quagmire. It would lead us suffer defeat when victory is within our reach!" Gao Xianzhi explained.
"Yes, dir!"
"Furthermore, our barracks are also unstable, many of the generals are still unwilling to submit to us!" Gao Xianzhi looked at that old scribe.
"Indeed, they are different from us, they were hastily appointed and sent to battle. We, on the other hand, had been following Commander for a few decades. At first, when Mansion Lord joined the immortal sect, we believed we would not see Mansion Lord again, but who would have thought that Mansion Lord would return!" A smile appeared on the old scribe"s face as he spoke.
"Immortal sect!? Ha, it"s just the cultivation of immortality, nothing more, nothing less. Back in the day, you used to follow me. This time, I will bring you to cultivate with me together!" Gao Xianzhi spoke, a smile on his face.
The busy group of scribes and officials stopped everything they were doing and looked up.
"Mansion Lord, what do you mean? Is Mister Gu preparing to..." the previous old scribe blurted out in surprise.
"No need to make a fuss, the Mansion Lord"s is preparing to establish a kingdom, this is his intention. Furthermore, the Mansion Lord is broad-minded and generous. When a man attains dao, even his hen and dogs will become immortal! You have worked hard, you have earned this opportunity. Immortal pills and cultivation exercises will very soon be granted to you in the future. How much you can get, everything will depend on your hard work!" Gao Xianzhi stated calmly.
"Really? We will also have the opportunity?" the old scribe burst out excitedly.
"Mansion Lord is in charge of five executives, they should all be receiving pills sent by the Mansion Lord. Although they will not prolong life, at least they will make sure that you won"t get sick, and it will strengthen your cultivation as well! In the future, everyone will be rewarded according to their merits!" Gao Xianzhi explained.
The team of scribes looked shocked.
"You can spread this information. Also let those people who are still unwilling to accept us, know that the Mansion Lord has pointed out the road, and it"s the most correct road. Those who are still being careful and pondering should choose their paths well!" Gao Xianzhi said in a deep voice.
"Commander, rest a.s.sured, we will surely work hard!" Everyone immediately became excited again.
"The new recruits are a motley crowd, some are good, some are bad. I just took over, and from the detailed reports of various military disciples, there are some who are ruining my Gu Mansion"s reputation. They should be dealt with in accordance with the military code!" Gao Xianzhi went on calmly.
"Yes, sir!" one of the officials responsible for the supervision responded right away.
Tiger Cage Pa.s.s, Gu Mansion, inside the Soaring Heaven PaG.o.da...
Gu Hai was sitting before a desk, looking at the battle reports from everywhere, side by side with Gu Qin.
"Father, a report just came from the Cai Kingdom. King Cai has surrendered, hoping Father will treat him kindly and generously!" Gu Qin solemnly reported.
"Cai Kingdom? Is that the kingdom that was once affiliated with the Song Jia Sect? It seems they are scared of me, they actually opted to surrender without a shred of hesitation!" Gu Hai stopped reading the battle reports and broke into laughter as he picked up the cup of tea.
"Father, what do you think?"
"Grant him a fiefdom of a hundred li and confer him the t.i.tle of a Baron. As for his treasury and property, he can keep one percent of it. I, Gu Hai, promise him his royal family will be safe, and they will be my people in the future, provided that they cooperate with my Gu Mansion to fully take in the Cai Kingdom!" Gu Hai calmly stated.
"Yes! In addition, reports from Manager Tang and Manager Li came in; it seems the Jin Kingdom royal family and Lu Kingdom royal family cannot hold for too long, they are nearly ready to surrender!" Gu Qin reported in a serious manner.
"King Jin? King Lu? Ha, let the two managers give him some pressure, I don"t want it to drag on for too long. In addition, let Gao Xianzhi deliberately show a bit of prowess as a warning, give King Jin and King Lu a bit of reminder!" Gu Hai commanded in a calm and poised manner.
"Yes, I will send the letter later!
"Father, the only one now resisting is the Zhao Kingdom. With the Peony Clan backing the Zhao Kingdom, they are taking a firm stance!" Gu Qin said worriedly.
"Zhao Kingdom? Then, let Gao Xianzhi use the Zhao Kingdom to train the troops. After the Jin and Lu Kingdom has willingly surrendered, order Gao Xianzhi to attack the Zhao Kingdom with full force!" Gu Hai ordered in a deep voice.
"Yes!"
"Tell Gao Xianzhi to restrain the entire army with military discipline, they are not allowed to disturb the common folk. After all, they will my Gu Mansion"s subjects in the future!" Gu Hai ordered solemnly.
"Father, don"t worry; before Gao Xianzhi left, I explained this to him!" Gu Hai a.s.sured his father. "Father, when are you preparing to found the kingdom?" Gu Qin asked with a sliver of antic.i.p.ation.
"Let"s talk about it in the future, it"s not time yet!" Gu Hai replied, shaking his head.
Gu Qin sighed but nodded, bewildered.
"How is the recruiting going on Chen Tianshan"s side?"
"Fifty cultivators have willingly entered our Gu Mansion, however, all of them are in the early Xiantian Stage. All of them are cultivators who are having a hard time in the Thousand Islands Seas. Since our Gu Mansion is giving out spirit stones as a salary, they have found a place to settle, that"s all!"
Gu Hai took a sip of tea before replying with a smile, "It"s still better than nothing!"
"Father, do you really not care about the Peony Clan?"
"The news of the dragon vein hidden at the Peony Clan has already spread everywhere, more and more cultivators are heading there. What good would it do me to care about it? First, we should concentrate on taking over this mortal domain, that would be the proper course of action!" Gu Hai said, shaking his head.
"Okay!" Gu Qin said with a resigned and bitter smile.
Meanwhile, on a mountain peak far away from the Gu Mansion...
Gao Liusheng of Divine Battalion, with five men wearing straw hats, gazed together at the Gu Mansion covered in white clouds.
"28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array!?" one of the straw hat wearing man marveled in a deep voice.
"Gao Liusheng, you are not thinking of asking us to charge into the array and kill Gu Hai, are you?"
"Eastern Thief King, Luo Tiange suffered defeat under this very grand array. We may be in the Nascent Soul Stage, but we have just entered it. You asking us to charge into the array is no different than asking us to court death!"
"The treasures you promised us indeed moved our hearts, but we need to be alive to be tempted!"...
The five men in straw hats looked at Gao Liusheng.
A smile appeared on Gao Liusheng"s face as he replied to them, "Demon Kings, I think, it should be clearer to you than it"s to me as to how difficult it is for beasts to cultivate, how difficult it is for you to reach the Nascent Soul Stage! Without losing something, you can"t gain something! These five treasure of mine are gifts from Commander. Indeed, this is risky, but without the risk, these good things would not have fallen into your lap, would they?"
The five men wearing straw hats sank into silence before one of them broke the silence, shaking his head, "But that"s the 28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array, we indeed don"t dare to touch it!"
"Gu Hai is inside. If you don"t go and kill him, you aren"t getting my treasures!" Gao Liusheng stated firmly.
The five demon kings sank into silence once again.
"Of course, it"s not necessary to rush into the array to deal with Gu Hai, isn"t it?" Gao Liusheng broke into laughter as he said.
"Oh?"
"You can draw Gu Hai out of the array. Gu Hai is just an Xiantian cultivator, while you five demon kings are in the Nascent Soul Stage. Not to mention, you can change forms. Can you still not deal with Gu Hai?" proposed the smiling Gao Liusheng.
The five demon kings looked at one another...
Inside the Gu Mansion...
While Gu Hai was chatting with Gu Qin, a sudden uproar came from outside.
"Ah, monsters, monsters!"
"Monsters are eating people!"
"My Lord, save me!"
"Evil Beast, you dare to mess with Gu Mansion!"
"Fire the arrows!"
Suddenly, the area outside the array was thrown into chaos as thunderous rumbles accompanied by cries rang out endlessly.
"Hmm?" Gu Hai narrowed his eyes as he stood up and made his way towards the entrance of the Soaring Heaven PaG.o.da.
The Soaring Heaven PaG.o.da was the core of 28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array. Standing here, Gu Hai could clearly see everything happening inside and outside the grand array.
No sooner had he arrived at the top when Gu Hai noticed that the small town where Gu Mansion was located was in chaos. Chen Tianshan and Shangguan Hen, leading a team of ex-convicts, brandis.h.i.+ng their swords and sabers, dealing with the five colossal figures that had suddenly appeared.
Of the five giant beasts, two were giant leopards, two were giant wolves, and one was a giant bear. Each of them were ten zhang tall and their bodies were surrounded by an extremely sinister air. Again and again, raging blasts spread from the five giant monsters, giving rise to a storm everywhere that sent the citizens of this small town tumbling to the ground.
The five colossal monsters let out roars as they destroyed the buildings before opening their jaws and inhaling. Immediately after, the helpless citizens were sucked into their jaws, where they painfully struggled for a bit before they were chewed and then swallowed.
"Fire the arrows, fire away!" Chen Tianshan furiously commanded the ex-convicted.
The group of Gu Hai"s subordinates quickly fired aura arrows at the five giant beasts, only to be completely blocked by the aura lingering around the five beasts.
"Nascent Soul Stage!?" Gu Hai"s face fell at once.
The five giant beasts roared in anger before pouncing at the group of Gu Hai"s subordinates.
At the sight of oncoming beasts, the ex-convicts quickly fled in different directions while firing arrows in conjunction. However, the five ferocious beasts were simply too fierce. Under their terrifying destructive force, half of the small town had already been ravaged in the blink of an eye. Many of the suffering citizens broke into shouts and cries in shock and anger.
"Evil Beasts!" Suddenly, Gu Hai shouted in anger, his voice spread through the grand array, reverberating across the small town like a thunderclap.
"My Lord, my Lord, save us!" All the citizens made ran towards the array, furious and horrified.
The five beasts seemed to be intentionally avoiding the grand array. Intercepting the citizens, they continued with their b.l.o.o.d.y ma.s.sacre.
"Father, these monsters are specifically aiming at you! They want to draw you out of the array!" Gu Qin voiced his opinion, perturbed.
"Gu Qin, man the grand array and work together with me!" Gu Hai said in a deep voice.
"Father, you can"t go out!" Gu Qin said, worried.
Nonetheless, Gu Hai swished out of the grand array in the blink of an eye. Just as he jumped out, a b.l.o.o.d.y saber suddenly appeared in Gu Hai"s hand. Right then, a sanguinary force filled his entire body!"
"Gu Hai has come out!"
"Hahaha!"
The five ferocious beasts suddenly burst into laughter. They stopped preying on the citizens and flocked to Gu Hai with their b.l.o.o.d.y jaws wide open.
In their opinion, Gu Hai was just a Xiantian cultivator. No matter how strong he was, his strength had a limit!
Of the five charging demon beasts, a leopard demon was at the forefront. Racing across the ground, he pounced at Gu Hai, his body surrounded by a sinister aura.
"Are you looking for death?" Gu Hai swung the b.l.o.o.d.y saber as his eyes widened in anger.
Just as the b.l.o.o.d.y saber was swung, half of the sky was dyed red in the blink of an eye, as if a b.l.o.o.d.y rainbow was being drawn across the heavens.
Gooseb.u.mps exploded all over that attacking leopard demon"s body. However, it was already too late, its claws were already in motion.
BOOM!
With a deafening thunderclap, an endless b.l.o.o.d.y glow dazzled everyone"s eyes. However, the subsequent scene shocked everyone.
The "tiny" Gu Hai wasn"t smacked to death. On the contrary, the huge leopard demon was sent flying. The aura protecting its body had collapsed. There was a great gaping wound extending from its chest to its belly as a huge quant.i.ty of blood rained down from the sky.
"Impossible!" The wounded leopard demon stared at Gu Hai in shock and horror as it spewed out blood.
"What?" The other giant monsters also halted their advance, staring at Gu Hai in surprise.
Gu Hai, still clutching the b.l.o.o.d.y saber, landed on the ground. A b.l.o.o.d.y red glow lingered around his body, and combined with the b.l.o.o.d.y qi circling around his body gave the impression that he was a devil who had just crawled out from a b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l. He looked incomparably malevolent!