Chapter 388 He Is Here
The Glory Army consisted of 200,000 soldiers, who were all selected combatants equipped with magic star deployment armors.
The major reason why Lord Jin was the strongest among the Eight Lords was the 200,000 soldiers in the Glory Army.
This time, on the excuse of holding the wedding with political goals, Lord Jin intended to display his strength. For that reason, except for some troops stationed in some secret bases, the strength of the Glory Army was revealed without reservation before the guests. Chilling weapons and iron armors flooded the wedding place like boundless tides. Walking among the soldiers felt like weaving through a forest of swords and spears. The blood-curdling chill made the hair on people’s necks stand up.
Presumably, from that day on, great changes would occur and war alarms would be raised everywhere.
Because Lord Jin had decided to wage a war on the next day. His army would race straight down to Lin’an, attack the royal family, and hold the emperor hostage to control the rest of the lords. Then, he would solicit the support of the other seven lords or wipe them out, so that the Northern Song would be unified and he could announce him the new emperor.
Given the current mayhem in the other empires, the order on the Divine Land had begun to collapse. Therefore, before the order of that world completely fell apart, Lord Jin was determined to occupy part of the land.
That was his plan.
And in his plan, the wedding that caught great attention in the Northern Song was of great significance.
In the previous civil strife in the Northern Song, the Eight Lords sent out their troops with the slogan “Clean up Emperor’s cabinet, rid of the treacherous ministers”. As for who the treacherous ministers were, it did not matter at all. It was just an excuse for rebellion. It could refer to anyone around the emperor. Among the Eight Lords, except for one or two extremely grumpy and arrogant figures, the others were actually not opposed to each other. They even had established alliances in private.
After all, none of them was sure they could confront the entire Song Empire on their own.
So, they were in need of the strength of one another at that time. As to what would become of each of them, that depended on their own abilities.
Hence, in the camp of the Glory Army, the envoys dispatched by Lord Ning, Lord Yi, Lord Ying, and the other rebellious lords could be seen. Those were really important figures in the empire.
On that day, every corner of the camp of the Glory Army was decorated with red lanterns and red ribbons, which looked quite cheerful.
After completing a series of intricate rituals, Zhao Cheng, that was Lord Jin, appeared on the main podium. He was clad in a suit of s.h.i.+ning, scarlet armor, looking quite admirable. A sea of whoops and applause instantly sounded from all sides. The armored soldiers in the Glory Army raised their weapons over their heads. Reflected by the boundless sea of s.h.i.+ning blades, the sunlight became chilling to the marrow.
At that scene, Lord Jin was more than pleased.
That army was the force he had carefully trained in the last two decades, the capital that enabled him to conquer the world.
Two hundred generals riding large horses and wearing suits of silver armors were flanking the aisle, looking like tow lines of imposing dragons. The wind billowed their capes, making them look like flying phoenix. A distance away, rows of black flags were fluttering like black dragons, menacingly slithering in the air.
The a.s.sorted guests were all amazed by the scene.
At the VIP table nearest to the main podium, Xuan Chengzi, a young Taoist from Mount Qingcheng, attracted much attention.
That was because he was not only the representative of Mount Qingcheng who had attended the event on behalf of the number one Holy Clan in the Northern Song, but also was the direct disciple of Dao Ling, the Sage who currently took control of Mount Xuankong. Indeed, Xuan Chengzi’s status was quite prestigious.
Around Xuan Chengzi sat Huang Youlong, the Enigmatic Divine Dragon, who was the Chief Head of the Heavenly 36 Waterside Citadels, and the other 35 Heads of the number one faction located along rivers in the Northern Song.
Huang Youlong, the Enigmatic Divine Dragon, had never fallen out of the top five ranks of the martial ranking in the Northern Song. He had long been a Semi-Sage and made his name across the empire.
The other 35 Heads also had their unique skills, by dint of which they became notorious bandits in their territories.
Huang Youlong and his 35 fellows had control over more than half of the rivers and lakes within the Northern Song. Their power combined was enough to throw off a provincial government. They had submitted themselves to Lord Jin for a long time and earned his trust and respect.
Aside from them, the Heads, elders, Guardian of Rules, experts of 34 factions above the third grade, such as the Iron Spear Sect, the Landscape Gang, the First-rate Hall, the Wind and Thunder Hall, and the Heaven Heart Chamber, had all come here to watch the ceremony.
Lord Jin had been trying to expand his force for years. Other than the followers he had in the imperial court and the army solely at his command, he also had held the factions in Jianghu in high regard and kept roping them in with all kinds of means. Except for the Beggar Gang—the largest martial a.s.sociation in the Northern Song—that never cooperated with the government or the n.o.ble, at least half of the factions ranking within the top 100 in the Northern Song had formed an open or secret coalition with Lord Jin.
So, after receiving the notice from Lord Jin, all the gangs and factions sent representatives over to congratulate the broom.
The place was crammed with well-trained military men and excellent martial arts pract.i.tioners, which appeared to be quite astonis.h.i.+ng.
When the envoys of Lord Ning, Lord Yi, and the other lords saw the spectacle, they all put on the sour face, for they never knew Lord Jin had quietly grown so powerful. They found it hard to believe that many Jianghu forces they a.s.sumed to be isolated from the mundane world had already yielded to Lord Jin.
Some royal members, high-ranking officials, and warlords who had been sitting on the fence all felt a chill send down their spines. Because of the daunting strength Lord Jin had demonstrated, they started to consider whether they should really join in the league of Lord Jin. Given his power and strength, perhaps it was only a matter of time before he pulled off a revolt and unified the Northern Song.
As the parties exchanged stunned looks, the drums and trumpets sounded.
Flanked by Lord Jin’s swordswomen, Countess Huanzhu wrapped in a glamorous dress slowly arrived at one end of the aisle.
Her wedding dress was scarlet red and extremely exquisite. She was also wearing a gold crown and scarlet cape, so she looked like a ball of divine flames if viewed from a distance.
Countess Huanzhu was very famous in the entire Northern Song. That was not only because she often adopted unordinary demeanors and strange phrases, but also because she was peerlessly stunning, glaringly different from all the other girls. Some gossiping people once made a list of all the beautiful women in Lin’an, and Countess Huanzhu was unsurprisingly at the top ranking. People called her the number one beauty in the Northern Song. So, in that empire, she had numerous admirers.
Countless heroes and talents were madly in love with that resplendent royal member.
Some men who had been rejected by her once sighed in dismal that they wondered how breath-taking the number one beauty in the Northern Song would be when she put on that scarlet wedding dress someday.
But on that day, the long-antic.i.p.ated scene finally appeared in front of the guests.
Enveloped by the glow of the wedding dress and the gold crown, Countess Huanzhu’s complexion was fair as the most impeccable jade in existence. Her skin was as pure as jade and as clean as ice, her eyes twinkling like stars. She had the most refined facial feathers. Though she was void of expression at the time, she was emanating an air of cold elegance like the fairy living on the moon. Somehow, that made her even more appealing. The loose long dress had failed to cover her graceful curves. Surrounded by the swordswomen in red armor, she did look like the Fairy of Ninth Heaven that just descended on the earth.
At that scene, numerous people involuntarily stood there with bated breath.
She was beautiful!
Breathtakingly beautiful!
Although most of the guests knew clearly that Countess Huanzhu was forced into that marriage, in that instant, they could not help but feel the urge to rush over and rescue the gorgeous girl forsaken by fate. They felt they would have no regrets in their life if they could make the girl laugh once.
Despite that, the chilly sunlight reflected by the blades of the Glory Army kept them sober.
When they took another look of that G.o.ddess in a wedding dress, all they felt like doing was breathe a sigh of compa.s.sion.
The eyes of some heroes from Jianghu also revealed their amazement in that instant.
As to the Heads of the Heavenly 36 Waterside Citadels, except for Huang Youlong, the Enigmatic Divine Dragon who kept his eyes slightly shut, the other 35 Heads all had shock and envy written in their faces. Even Xuan Chengzi, the Taoists who had practiced the cla.s.sic Taoist asceticism in Mount Qingcheng, felt his jaw drop despite himself and his heart throb violently as he laid eyes on the bride.
At the main podium, Lord Jin’s mind also went blank the moment he caught the sight of w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu.
He was an ambitious man who aspired to triumph over all the other men and seize the world in his hands. To him, women were just entertainment. He had never really cared any woman. But curiously, in that flitting second, when he saw the girl who supposed to be a mere tool to him walk up the aisle toward him in the wedding dress while flanked by the swordswomen, he was intoxicated by her fluttering scarlet dress and long black hair. All of a sudden, he felt like treating her well.
Lord Jin had to admit that he already fell in love.
“Turns out that there is really such a fairy-like woman in the world!”
“She does have unsurpa.s.sed beauty!”
At that moment, all Lord Jin could think of was the somewhat ba.n.a.l description.
Abruptly, he cracked a complacent smile.
The number one beauty in the Northern Song was about to be his wife.
Slowly, he flung out his arms.
Countess Huanzhu was ushered onto the main podium.
Then, the swordswomen in red armors backed away.
Lord Jin marched to w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu, bearing his eyes into hers. With a broad smile, he said, “I know you are not doing this willingly. But, in this world, the strong prevails. Women have to rely on men. I must say I’m impressed by your courage. Yet, as you’ve made your choice, you shall not complain.”
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu said nothing in reply.
Her face showed no sign of terror or sorrow.
She looked rather serene.
Unnervingly serene.
Beaming, Lord Jin continued, “I’m also aware that you’re still waiting for someone to save you. However, that’s not gonna happen. How many of those who woo you, admire you have the nerve to break into the territory of my Glory Army to rescue you? Even if some people did try that, they would have been obliterated by the experts I stationed outside the camp. You won’t even be able to see any of them…”
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu, still, made no reply.
Her eyes had flitted over Lord Jin’s head and fixed at something outside the camp in a distance. She appeared to be waiting for somebody.
The master of the ceremony ascended the stage.
The wedding ceremony officially began.
All the musical instruments started singing.
Lord Jin reached out to grab w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu’s hand.
But the bride took a step back.
The guests in front of the stage all gasped.
A flash of wrath flitted across Lord Jin’s eyes.
Suddenly, w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu gave a bright smile. Everything around her was instantly eclipsed by her smiley face. Then, she slowly chanted, “The man I find favor in my eyes is the hero of the age. Someday, he will come riding colorful clouds in a suit of golden Sage armor to marry me…”
With that, she turned to Lord Jin and asked, “Do you believe that?”
Lord Jin answered, “That man is me. The whole Northern Song is mine. You are mine, too.”
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu chuckled, “You’re wrong. You are more of a loser… Well, the real hero of the age is here.” As she spoke, her gleaming eyes were set on somewhere in the east of the camp. A wonderful feeling stole over her. Although she had not really seen anyone trying to break in, the feeling told her real hero had arrived.
Lord Jin also subconsciously swiveled his eyes to the margin of the camp.
Yet, he saw no one other than his own men.
“What a bluff!” Irked, Lord Jin uttered, “Countess Huanzhu, I’ve been putting up with you for a long time. Don’t you…”
But his words were cut off by a howl.
“Urgent news…” An expert from the Glory Army darted to the ceremony field and shouted in panic, “Your Highness, someone is attacking the camp. We won’t be able to resist for long…” With that, his face suddenly stiffened, his feathers welling with despair. Next second, a ball of fire shot out from his mouth, which instantly burned him as well as his armor and weapon into ashes. That happened before he could let out a wail.
An uproar broke out from the audience.
The experts from a.s.sorted factions pounded the table and leaped to their feet.
Lord Jin looked thoroughly enraged.
Numerous people set their eyes beyond the military camp.