The last night. It was a sleepless period of contemplation for the soldiers. Scroll after scroll, they spent the night burying their last wishes beneath that one tree in front of the army camp in hopes that one day their surviving comrades would find it after the battle.
Just like that, the five thousand strong forbidden army marched forth, resolved and without regrets, with Ning Chen at their head. As for the teen, a look of guilt couldn"t help but flash across his face as he stared at the palace maid, Qing Ning, beside him.
"Don"t think too much about this choice, it"s a path I chose for myself and has nothing to do with anyone else." She calmly said.
Hearing that, Ning Chen sighed quietly in his heart; she shouldn"t even need to come here at all.
For the first time ever, he couldn"t help but feel how powerless he was, powerless before the t.i.tan known as absolute strength. In front of that overpowering colossus, all the schemes and machinations were for naught.
However, that didn"t mean that he was going to sit idly by either. Having reincarnated twice as a person, he intended to drag this false Buddha of theirs into the void using all the knowledge he gained thus far, even if it meant dying in the process.
With that in mind, Ning Chen turned around to face his companion, "Sister Qing Ning, does the Head Abbot of West Doya possess some kind of weakness, or something similar to a weakness?"
"Hmmm, according to rumors, those who possess the Diamond Body would grow heavier by the day. If there was something they were deficient in, that would be their speed. However, no matter slow the head abbot was, he"s still a Third Calamity expert, he won"t be any slower than a Houtian." She answered after pausing for a while.
Hearing that, Ning Chen narrowed his eyes slightly before answering, "If the both of you were to engage in a fight, how long would you be able to stall him if you focused on evasion entirely?"
"I haven"t fought with him before so I can"t say for sure. However, I might just be able to survive ten blows or so. What are you planning?"
"Nothing, just asking." He shook his head and replied.
Ten blows, it wasn"t much but it was enough. What he needed now was a window of opportunity. Against such an overpowering opponent like the head abbot, he needed someone who was able to fight him while holding his own.
Even if he couldn"t do so himself, Qing Ning performing that task would achieve the same results as well.
Continuing down this path, it didn"t take long before they came upon a giant river at which point one of the heads of the forbidden guards walked up and said, "Sir Marquis, that"s Nan Li River ahead of us. Once we cross it, it"s only a stone"s throw away from the buddhist nation and those monks."
The river waters flowed rapidly. However, the river itself wasn"t particularly wide and had dams built along the way. Not only that, there were bridges built at set intervals to service the common folk. In order to construct this bit of convenience, it cost a great deal then for Grand Xia.
Splitting into teams, the forbidden guards slowly proceeded across the bridges with Ning Chen following closely from behind the contingent. As he did so, his eyes narrowed but said nothing more while he continued walking.
Another thirty li later, the sight of a majestic city slowly loomed over the horizon. Gu Lan City, what was once the territory of Grand Xia had now changed owners.
Because the common folk of Grand Xia didn"t believe in Buddhism, the majority of them became refugees the moment the flames of war scorched their homes. Truly, it had to be said how tragic this sorry sight was, for the once-invincible Grand Xia to fall to the level where it couldn"t even protect its own citizenry.
Today, Gu Lan City had turned into a hallowed ground for the buddhist nation with flocks of faithful rushing to the city in order to worship their buddha. The head abbot of Western Doya, otherwise known as the Mortal Buddha, was the supreme deity of their nation and naturally had a throng of worshippers.
Over the past few days, the ten thousand or so buddhist disciples were mostly concerned with recuperating from their previous battle. Unlike the Mortal Buddha, they were still flesh and bone. Given that this was still the mortal realm, this buddha, even with all his holy might, still had to concern himself with the needs of his disciples.
His body was tireless and didn"t require sleep but that didn"t mean his ordinary disciples were capable of such feats as well. After the continuous string of battles they went through, even the formidable disciples of the buddhist nation had begun to suffer casualties and required time to recuperate.
Standing high above on a vantage point, Ning Chen gazed at the distant Gu Lan City. While there had to be at least three hundred li separating the two of them, his height advantage allowed him to get a clear view of the city in spite of that.
At the same time, the five thousand or so forbidden guards and their heads turned their eyes to their marquis commander. For the days and weeks ahead, they would have to fight off these buddhist disciples and prevent their march northward. However, no matter how they thought about this mission, it truly sounded too difficult to accomplish.
Even so, the person that stood before them was their marquis commander, one of the smartest commanders in the world. Had it not been for the Lady Strategist of the Mongols, he would undoubtedly be the smartest. Such a brilliant personage would definitely have a plan in mind.
Around the outskirts of the city, the sprawling farm fields were beginning to sprout as if welcoming the advent of spring. The blossoming of spring, what was once the most glorious of moments was now nothing but a desolate contrast to the harsh realities of war and the departure of the ma.s.ses.
Throughout the day, Ning Chen continued standing atop his vantage point, silently observing such a desolate sight till night finally fell at which point he stepped down.
Seeing that, the two heads couldn"t help but exchange a glance with each other. Even now, they weren"t able to discern what this marquis of theirs was thinking.
Returning to his tent, Ning Chen immediately picked up a brush and wrote two letters. One was to be sent to the Imperial City via a messenger hawk. The other letter however, was handed over to one of the heads along with the Ink Sword.
Staring intensely at the man, Ning Chen said, in the gravest of tones: "This letter has to be handed over personally to the Man King. The Ink Sword will act as my token. Make haste and return immediately upon delivering it."
"Understood." Receiving the letter and sword, the man immediately sped off into the distance, not daring to delay this vital mission even for a second.
With that settled, Ning Chen spent the rest of his time in the tent mulling over every possible detail in his scenario. No matter what, the situation now brooked no mistake whatsoever on his part.
As for Qing Ning, she busied herself with looking after little Ming Yue. Given the time they had together, little Ming Yue was already accustomed to this ponderous habit of his.
The only matter that irked her somewhat was that she had to constantly guard the secret of her gender around Qing Ning. In order to prevent the palace maid from discovering anything, she avoided any sort of bodily contact.
Unlike normal martial pract.i.tioners, the Xiantian had powers beyond that of the Houtian. Had it not been for the True Qi Ning Chen infused into her body prior to this, her gender would have probably been found out by now.
"Exactly what are you thinking about? It has already been a day and I still haven"t seen you say a word." Asked Qing Ning as she walked up to the teen.
Pausing for a second, Ning Chen gave her a thoughtful look before answering as honestly as possible, "I plan on seeking pa.s.sage through the Man Dynasty in order to reach the buddhist nation."
Given their present strength, a direct defense was basically impossible. Given that, they might as well make use of the fact that the head abbot was absent in order to raze the foundations of the buddhist nation itself. With that much damage, there was no way he would fail in dragging those d*mned monks back to defend their homeland.
Hearing that, Qing Ning frowned slightly. It was a good plan but there was still one giant hole in it.
"What about this location?"
That was the matter that concerned her the most. Should they leave, the buddhist disciples would be able to march north directly. At that point, who would be able to stop them?
"We will harness the waters of Nan Li and drown this area. I"ve inspected the terrain already, the northern side is on a slightly elevated plain compared to the south. As long as we blow up several of the dams on this side, the river waters should immediately spill over and flood this area."
"Because of their Diamond Body, the buddhist disciples possess a heavier body than most martial pract.i.tioners. Once the rushing waters wash over the waters, the ground would become muddy and swampy. At that point, while the old monk might be able to traverse the terrain because of his Xiantian cultivation, his disciples, on the other hand, won"t be able to." Ning Chen calmly explained.
According to his calculations, given the strength of the sun, it would another half a month for the muddy waters to dry up if they were to flood it now, and that was the fastest estimate he had.
Even if that old monk managed to find a different solution and push their invasion forward by several days, Ning Chen and his army would already be in the buddhist nation.
As long as they were able to draw away that old monk and his four dharmapalas, the pressure on the remaining forbidden guards would reduce drastically. At that point, they should be able to hold the line for the last few days before the reinforcements arrive.
It was a pity however that the farmlands had to be sacrificed in the process. After being flooded, this area would basically be destroyed. Given the situation however, now was no longer to time to be bothered about such matters.
"How many do you plan on bringing along with you?"
"A thousand."
"Isn"t that too little?"
"It"s enough." Ning Chen answered. More than anyone else, he knew that this trip to the buddhist nation was more a disaster than a blessing for those who went. At the end of the mission, it wouldn"t surprise him in the least if none of them made it back alive. Bringing along more troops would merely increase the death count. Besides, the head abbot wasn"t an opponent numbers had an effect on.
At the break of dawn, the head of the forbidden guards arrived in the Man Dynasty"s palace. After presenting the Ink Sword, it didn"t take long before he was granted an audience with the Man King.
Handing over Ning Chen"s letter, he promptly moved to the side and quietly awaited a response.
Peering at the letter in his hands, the Man King"s rugged and imposing face underwent a mult.i.tude of changes as he digested the words within. Truly, this kid"s audacity was extraordinary; to think he even thought of infiltrating the buddhist nation.
Lending him pa.s.sage wasn"t too much of an issue, however, he couldn"t let the kid off so easily either.
"Return and pa.s.s on these words to your Marquis Zhiming, as payment for pa.s.sage, we want a city. It so happens that Saint"s Abode has caught our fancy." Declared the Man King, taking this opportunity to take a lion"s bite out of Grand Xia.
Hearing that, the head of the forbidden guards couldn"t help but gasp silently, this Man King was truly a greedy one.
"I have to report this to Sir Marquis first, farewell for now." The head wrapped his fists in salute before turning around to leave.
"Take a messenger hawk with you, I"m sure your Sir Marquis will have a lot to discuss with us." The Man King smiled thinly as he reminded the man.
Nodding his head, the head of the forbidden guards turned around to leave once more.
Half a day later, the man returned to the forbidden army"s camp in front of Nan Li River. Upon meeting Ning Chen, he reported the Man King"s offer, word for word.
"You may take a rest for now." Ning Chen dismissed the man with a wave of his hands.
These terms from the Man King were nothing but nonsense. There was no way he would accept them nor did he have the authority to do so. Ceding territory was a taboo within the court and even Zhang Sun would hesitate before tabling such a proposition.
However, negotiations wasn"t something you accomplished in merely one sitting. With that in mind, another letter was sent out a while later back to the Man Dynasty via a messenger hawk.
The contents of this letter was simple, direct even. From start to finish, there was only one message to be gleaned: nap time is over, time to wake up from your dreams.
Furthermore, right at the very end, Ning Chen intentionally hinted that should their negotiations fail, he would seriously consider making a personal trip to the Man palace.
Seeing that last line, the Man King"s mood immediately soured. He knew the kid was blackmailing him right now.
In this world, the last person he wanted to see was Ning Chen, especially not within the Man palace. That was because the moment Ning Chen arrived, Ah Man would most likely leave with the boy.
Given how old his daughter was, her eyes had already begun to turn outwards. With regards to that, he was powerless to change it.
Soon, the reply letter of the Man King arrived in the hands of Ning Chen. Within it, the king severely chided the teen for his shameless behavior before finally tabling forth another set of terms which was noticeably tamer. He wanted tariff immunities for ten years for the merchants of the Man Dynasty.
At the same time Ning Chen received this letter, the reply from Zhang Sun arrived as well. Within it, she only left him a four words: proceed at your discretion.
This was her way of handing over authority to him. On such military expeditions, it was impossible for the commander to seek permission every single time. Thus, those four words Zhang Sun left him could be said to be the biggest support he received thus far.
As for the Man King"s terms, they weren"t particularly hard to swallow. Thus, after a brief moment of consideration, he replied to that letter. Given how pressed for time they were, he truly didn"t wish to waste too much time on this matter.
A short while after his messenger hawk left, it returned once more with a golden token attached to it.
Retrieving the long-awaited token, Ning Chen abruptly rose to his feet and left his tent. Now that all the preparations were completed, it was finally time for them to make their move.