Chapter 565: Drafted
The Outerverse was indeed very chaotic, and wars were constantly breaking out in various weaves in the eastern region. It was common for Enlighters to act on their own, and they were pillaging all of the resources in the Outerverse. There were also many areas that were still isolated by energy barriers, much like what had happened to the Astral River. The weaves in the western part of the Outerverse weren’t even connected to the network anymore.
Among the eastern weaves, Frostwave Weave and Grandtop Weave were the most peaceful. Even if wars did occasionally break out in those weaves, they were all incited by the Great Yu Empire and typically didn’t last longer than two months.
For two months, things were peaceful for Lu Yin, and he spent most of his time busily dealing with politics. Even with his four ministries, there were still many affairs that ended up needing his attention, which made him want to escape.
Wendy Yushan had completely fled the scene. She wasn’t even on Zenyu Star now.
During this period, the Lu Ministry of Administration and Lu Office of Defense had enjoyed a substantial increase in the number of their workers, but the Lu Staff and the Lu Ministry of Defense still only had the same few people as Lu Yin could not randomly recruit people into those ministries.
There were also still only three people in the Imperial Cabinet—Garope, Hill Auna, and Gavin.
Under such peaceful circ.u.mstances, one request for aid created quite a stir in the surrounding weaves.
At this time, the Outerverse had been isolated for eight months. At that time, Ironblood Weave requested that all seventy-two weaves of the Outerverse send reinforcements to help defend against the invasion from the Astral Beast Domain.
It was supposed to be all seventy two weaves, but in reality, only the eastern weaves were able to receive the message. And naturally, Frostwave Weave was among them.
Lu Yin looked up in shock. “Ironblood Weave?”
En Ya gazed at him solemnly. “Ironblood Weave is the Human Domain’s first line of defense against the Astral Beast Domain’s invasion. It’s similar to the border warfront in the Innerverse"s Erudite Flowzone. The main difference is that the border in Erudite Flowzone is just a border, as it has the Astral River to block it. However, there are no natural barriers protecting Ironblood Weave. The entire weave is a battlefield, and there are no civilians there. The weave only contains soldiers, cultivators and the families of the soldiers.”
It was Lu Yin’s first time hearing about this weave. He stood up and moved to study the screen that En Ya was using. “Tell me more about it.”
En Ya tapped a finger against the northeastern portion of the star chart shown on the screen. “This is Ironblood Weave. It has a bit of an overlap with both the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain. The majority of that overlap is blocked by the Astral River, which also serves as a border warfront. However, this overlapping region has two paths that lead to areas without any obstruction. Once the astral beasts get past Ironblood Weave, they will be able to run amok through the entire Outerverse.”
“Ironblood Weave is very small, and it is only made up of about twenty or so filaments. They have nine strongholds, and the one at the forefront is Ironblood Fort. It is embroiled in endless battle, all-year round. Even if the Human Domain and Astral Beast Domain have a temporary truce, that place is still a battlefield. It’s simply a blackhole of death.”
“Every year, the Outerverse is responsible for supplying Ironblood Weave with resources. The Great Yu Empire also annually sends large amounts of resources to a certain location, which is actually Ironblood Weave. This support is an order from the Hall of Honor, though many experts within Ironblood Weave come from the Innerverse. Every stronghold is reinforced by an Enlighter as well as a certain number of s.p.a.ce-exploring powerhouses. Despite the number of cultivators there, it’s quite common for there to be casualties among the Enlighters and countless s.p.a.ce-exploring powerhouses, and the deaths of the normal cultivators are impossible to calculate.”
…
En Ya spent about half an hour introducing Lu Yin to Ironblood Weave and giving him a moderate understanding of the situation there. He summarized the situation with, “Since the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, the number of reinforcements that Ironblood Weave have received naturally can’t keep up with the casualties. Thus, they’ve requested aid at this point in time. Once us humans are routed from Ironblood Weave, the entire Outerverse will be exposed to the fangs of the Astral Beast Domain, correct?”
En Ya agreed. “Yes, that’s right. In the past, Commander Shui made a suggestion to the Hall of Honor that they should increase the number of experts in Ironblood Weave. Unfortunately, they did not accept his advice.”
Lu Yin had heard many times that the Hall of Honor was the Human Domain’s highest authority as well as its strongest power. They had the power to rule and judge the recognized powers of the Human Domain, and they could directly influence any ent.i.ty such as an empire, sect, or clan.
Every year, a certain amount of resources were shipped from the Great Yu Empire to an unknown location under the Hall of Honor’s order. Even after Undying Yushan died and his distant relatives had started squabbling for power, this shipment had never changed or been delayed. When Sigmund Mathers had been suspected of colluding with the Neohuman Alliance, Undying Yushan had not had the authority to pardon him since the sentence had been delivered by the Hall of Honor.
The Hall of Honor was in charge of the entire Human Domain.
The Hall of Honor also issued Honor Points, and Lu Yin had taken advantage of his Honor Points to gain access to a great deal of information that was inaccessible to the average person. This showed the power of the Hall of Honor.
Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had been the supreme commander at the border warfront, but he was now imprisoned by the order of the Hall of Honor. It could be said that they had the authority and power to judge any powerhouse.
“Your Majesty, there’s one other distinct possibility that would explain why Ironblood Weave is so desperate for aid.” En Ya’s face turned serious as she explained her thoughts. “The Astral Beast Domain has not been divided.”
Lu Yin’s gaze changed. “Are you saying that the entire Astral Beast Domain might still be connected?”
En Ya nodded. “Us humans’ Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated. Meanwhile, the Astral Beast Domain still has access to Ironblood Weave and can use it as a path to seize control of the Human Domain’s Outerverse while the Innerverse is unable to intervene in any manner. This is probably the real reason why Ironblood Weave is requesting reinforcements, but not many people would know about this since this news cannot be allowed to spread as that would incite widespread panic throughout the Outerverse.”
Lu Yin was already panicking; their opponent was the entire Astral Beast Domain! It had mainly been with the Innerverse’s support that they had managed to hold back the Astral Beast Domain’s invasion in the past. However, now that the Outerverse was alone, how could it possibly stop the Astral Beast Domai’s invasion?
“Seventh Bro, this woman’s right. Our Astral Beast Domain is divided into regions, but they aren’t separated in spirit. Of course, there’re a few places that are locally isolated, but those places are too small to have much of an impact. With my understanding of the Celestial Beast Empire, the Outerverse is finished. This place will definitely be the target of a ma.s.sive invasion from the Astral Beast Domain!” the Ghost Monkey cackled.
Lu Yin frowned. Only by uniting the Innerverse and the Outerverse, as well as the Neoverse’s strength, had the Human Domain been able to stand up to the Astral Beast Domain. The Outerverse alone would not have the strength to stop the invasion. Lu Yin started experiencing a real panic attack at this point.
At this moment, Lu Yin’s gadget beeped with a notification. This time, it was a message that could not be rejected. When Astral-10 had been exiled to the Outerverse and when Wendy Yushan had been appointed as the Youth Council Representative for the Great Yu Empire, this type of notification had similarly been sent out.
‘With my position as an elder of the Hall of Honor, I, Lohar, order Northcastle Weave, Vastdearth Weave, Grandtop Weave, Frostwave Weave, Lars Weave, Darkmist Weave, Bard Weave… All of the above weaves are ordered to send three Hunters, ten Cruisers, one hundred Explorers, and a fleet of 100,000 soldiers to support Ironblood Weave. As each weave’s location is different, the deadline for arriving will be sent as a separate notice. Weaves that do not send any aid will be convicted in the name of the Hall of Honor.’
This was the first message that Lu Yin received, and a second message quickly followed it.
‘Frostwave Weave must send three Hunters, ten Cruisers, one hundred Explorers, and a fleet with 100,000 soldiers to Ironblood Weave.’
Right after the second message, a third one was also received.
‘To the Great Yu Empire’s Royal Regent, Lu Yin: In the name of the Hall of Honor, you have been drafted to Ironblood Weave’s Seasons Fort to a.s.sist Commander Liu Qiuyu in fulfilling his responsibilities to defend the fort. You are to report to the stronghold within five days. Anyone who deliberately delays or declines the draft will be judged in the name of the Hall of Honor.’
Lu Yin received these three messages in just a few short moments, but not a single one of them could be ignored or rejected. He was completely stunned, and he could sense the urgency of the situation in Ironblood Weave, as even he had been ordered to fight. He was just a Limiteer, and each weave was required to send experts as reinforcements. It seemed like Ironblood Weave could no longer withstand the Astral Beasts attack and that a catastrophe was about to sweep through the entire Outerverse.
At this point, Wendy Yushan sent a message, which Lu Yin glanced at. ‘To the Great Yu Empire’s Fifth Princess, Wendy Yushan, ranked eighteenth in the Top 100 Rankings: In the name of the Hall of Honor, you have been drafted to Ironblood Weave’s Yellowsoil Fort to a.s.sist Commander Elder Shuang in fulfilling his responsibilities to defend the fort. You are to report to the stronghold within five days. Anyone who deliberately delays or declines the draft will be judged in the name of the Hall of Honor.’
“You’re going to Ironblood Weave too?” Lu Yin connected a call with Wendy to ask her.
Wendy Yushan acknowledged and then asked, “How about you?”
Lu Yin smiled bitterly. “Me too.”
Wendy Yushan fell silent before saying, “It seems that the situation there is truly desperate. Hurry up and confirm the draft. You also need to make arrangements for the people and resources that will be sent to Ironblood Weave. We need to head over there.”
Lu Yin acknowledged her suggestion and closed his gadget. He looked at En Ya. “Will there be danger in Ironblood Weave?”
En Ya was bewildered by his question. “It’s a battlefield, a blackhole of death! Even Enlighters can die there. Of course there’s danger!”
Lu Yin quickly corrected himself. “That’s not what I meant. I have no complaints if I die on the battlefield, but if I meet a human enemy, will they try to get revenge on me during the battles there?”
He could not help worry about this point since he would not be close to Wendy Yushan. If they ran into Nightqueen Qiuyu or other similar powerhouses, they would need to be mentally prepared. Even he had been drafted to the battlefield, so he doubted that the elder from the Hall of Honor would let off Enlighters like Nightqueen Qiuyu.
En Ya responded solemnly, “Rest a.s.sured. No matter what grudges might exist outside there, as soon as anyone enters Ironblood Weave’s battlefield, all enmity must be set aside. Your gadget will directly connect to Ironblood Weave’s battle system, which will constantly monitor you. If someone attempts to take revenge against a fellow human being, the Hall of Honor will directly act, and they cannot be swayed. Over countless years, no one has ever dared to try to settle their personal vendettas on Ironblood Weave’s battlefield. If someone tries to, even if they’re the Nightking clan or Sword Sect’s direct heir, they will still be immediately killed since these are the regulations that have been set in place by the Hall of Honor.”
At that moment, Lu Yin relaxed, as such a situation would be much better. Given his and Wendy’s strength, neither of them would be killed on the battlefield before they had a chance to react, as that was something that even Enlighters struggled to accomplish. Since everyone was constantly being monitored, the battlefield would act as a deterrence to the Enlighters.
“Can we request to transfer to a different fort?” Lu Yin asked.
En Ya shook her head. “Unless they’re an Enlighter, the average person won’t be qualified to apply for such a thing. Of course, as soon as you enter Ironblood Weave, you’ll be able to use the battle system search. Soldiers are awarded Ironblood Points based on their battle achievements, and the higher your points are, the greater your status in Ironblood Weave. This is actually wholly unrelated to your cultivation. These are also the rules of Ironblood Weave that everyone has to follow.”
No one thought that such a thing would happen, and Lu Yin was now caught in a dilemma: who should he take to Ironblood Weave? Three Hunters, ten Cruisers, and a hundred Explorers was not a small number of powerhouses.
Cruisers were still alright, as more than ten Cruisers had joined the Great Yu Empire during this period, and there were certainly more than enough Explorers to fill the quota. Lu Yin was mainly considering which Hunters to bring.
The entire Great Yu Empire had only three Hunters: Huo Qingshan, the Blind Monk, and Xueshan Auna. He could not take all of them, but he wouldn’t be able to fill the quota if he didn’t.
“Summon Huan Sha,” Lu Yin ordered.
?