Chapter 1313: Ambush
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Emperor Xia had seven children—five princes and two princesses.
Xia Qingyuan was the only princess before Yao Xi came to the royal palace, and she had been the youngest.
The brothers shared an amicable relations.h.i.+p with their little sister. The brothers doted on Xia Qingyuan, especially the eldest, who doted on her the most when they were young.
Xia Qingyuan grew up being showered with love all the time. Even though the princes might have had a somewhat strained relations.h.i.+p with each other, she was never caught in their squabbles.
When Ye Futian asked her who Xia Kun was closest to, she naturally had the answer—Xia Rong, the eldest prince.
Back then, Xia Rong was not in the royal palace. But Xia Kun had been present.
Both brothers shared the same ideal—they were warhawks, and incredibly talented in cultivation.
What those two brothers did put Ye Futian’s life in jeopardy, so much so that he almost died.
And they were doing it through the hands of Emperor Li’s Realm.
One could only imagine how complicated she felt at that moment.
All that time, she’d resented what her eldest brother had done and how he ignored her concerns. She was unable to forgive him.
However, if Ye Futian intended to settle the score with her brother, she wondered what she would do.
Those two occasions had been brutal for Ye Futian. While the actions were not specifically directed against him, the ones closest to him had suffered the consequences. Long Ling’er and the Imperial Advisor of Dali were almost killed.
She and her brother still had blood ties despite what happened, but not Ye Futian.
After watching him all these years, she knew how he would treat enemies who went out to harm those closest to him.
“We’ll talk about this at a later date, princess.” Ye Futian knew that Xia Qingyuan was going through a hard time. He could relate. Everyone had their own stance in terms of sentiment, and the world did not revolve around him.
The other princes had little care for him. From there perspectives, it would have been completely normal for them to act against him to achieve their own objectives.
But all of that could be tabled for the time being. The most important thing at the moment was the war with Emperor Li’s Realm and the rescue of the Imperial Advisor. Everything else had to wait.
…
Mighty ones from Emperor Xia’s Realm charged from the western region of the Dali Dynasty’s territory. The armies fanned out as they entered Dali, with each keeping a certain distance away from the rest. A Holiness of Nirvana led every army.
Doing so guaranteed that if anything unforeseen were to happen, there would always be a Holiness of Nirvana present, ensuring flexibility by enabling those people to provide reinforcements across the region at the greatest speed possible.
Even though the elite forces had the absolute advantage, they were nonetheless on enemy turf.
The Dali Dynasty had the home advantage, and the possibility of being ambushed as the armies moved deeper into the territory was very high. As such, they did not charge straight in without planning and fanned out instead, doing everything to ensure that they went at the same pace.
The demonic beasts could sense what was happening, which was convenient. Information was constantly being updated and streamlined. That was why such strategies were formulated in the first place.
They were sending in ma.s.sive forces after all, and it would have been ridiculous if they were to do it without proper planning.
Every single army had detailed maps of Dali Dynasty. They were all given their missions and moved simultaneously.
A group of swordsmen rode their swords towards the western region. Their aura was incredibly strong. The ones leading the charge were none other than the Swordmaster of Lihen and Yaya. They brought the mighty ones from the Sword Clan of Lihen deep into enemy territory. They consisted of an independent army and were also the smallest among all deployed.
But then again, the Swordmaster of Lihen and Yaya were more than enough to take on the ma.s.sive armies themselves.
“We’re almost at Daoli Mountain,” the Swordmaster of Lihen said. All faces became even more serious. They were bursting with sword wills, yet remained cautious.
Daoli Mountain was the camp where the western army of Dali Dynasty was stationed. It had also once been the second largest holy land for cultivation in Dali Dynasty.
King Tiandao was in charge there.
However, he had once spent time at the frontlines fighting against the Army of Tian. So he had not always been at Daoli Mountain.
Clouds in the sky turned as the swords zipped past. A group of people went down at blitzing speeds.
People below sensed terrifying sword wills coming from above and looked up. All of them shuddered deep down.
Yaya waved her hands about and conjured a huge sword matrix in the sky. She gestured and the sword matrix fired at the tall, majestic halls right before them.
The might of that sword matrix was not all that powerful. The attack was only meant for probing.
From what they were able to sense, Daoli Mountain seemed rather empty.
Boom, boom, boom! Swords rained on Daoli Mountain and the palaces and halls collapsed one after another. Yet no one emerged.
That was supposed to be where the western army was stationed. It was extensively huge, yet it appeared to be empty.
“No one is here.” The Swordmaster of Lihen turned a bolt of dazzling light from his sword on Daoli Mountain.
The tall, majestic buildings remained, yet the place was truly rendered empty.
Not only was everyone gone, but it was also presumed that they took all cultivation resources with them as well.
King Tiandao really was something. He ditched his base of operations just like that.
But then again, in a situation where they knew the forces of Emperor Xia’s Realm were going to hit Dali, Daoli Mountain would have definitely been the first to get hit. King Tiandao had obviously abandoned the base and left a sh.e.l.l of a city behind to prevent them from getting wiped out.
Cutting off certain parts to keep the whole alive had been a wise move.
But then again, where would the mighty ones of Daoli Mountain have gone?
The imperial city?
There was also the possibility that they were scattered right below Daoli Mountain, or they were hiding in plain sight.
“We shall cease moving forward for now. Send word to the other armies,” the Swordmaster of Lihen told a flying demonic beast at his side, which was enthralled by Ye Futian. The demonic beast relayed the news to Ye Futian after receiving its orders.
Ye Futian, who was far away at Emperor Xia’s Palace, felt the news was unexpected, but he was not all that surprised. It was within reason.
He relayed the news to all other armies invading Dali and took out a map, sending out the next set of orders.
Besides having his own mission, the other reason why he stayed behind was that he was the one in charge of the entire operation.
He could control demonic beasts, and only he would have been able to see what was going on with all armies.
He had to know the locations of all armies at all times, and what predicament they had gotten themselves into.
The mighty ones led by the Swordmaster of Lihen were still at Daoli Mountain. That demonic beast then said in human speech, “Swordmaster, please depart. Now that you’re deep inside Dali’s territory, the enemies are hidden and eyes are everywhere. Chances of ambush are very high.”
“Yeah.” The Swordmaster of Lihen nodded. “Let’s go.”
The group then continued riding their swords and headed into deeper parts.
Several hours later, the Swordmaster of Lihen raised his hand. His sword stopped moving and everyone else followed suit.
Huge stone pillars were found below and mystical auras permeated the place.
“Matrixes,” Yaya said. “Possibly illusory ones, which are meant for concealing auras.”
Voom! The Swordmaster of Lihen waved his hand and countless beams of swords shot through the air, raining down upon the stone pillars. Rumbles began within mere moments. Devastating powers were felt and terrifying dragon roars seemed to have been heard.
The huge stone pillars crumbled and the matrix of illusions seemed to have crumbled as well.
A terrifying aura was felt and countless dragon specters suddenly filled the sky. Someone was then seen shot to the air.
At the same time, many mighty ones rose from that area. They all had terrifying auras about them.
The ma.s.sive group of mighty ones was an army of saints, laying low and waiting to ambush them.
Furthermore, two more extremely terrifying auras were sensed as well.
“King Tiandao, Prince Regent,” the demonic beast said after seeing both of them. Two of the most powerful figures below the emperor appeared at the same time. They were also likely the most powerful of saints in all of Dali.
Not only that, the people they brought were far more powerful than those mighty ones behind the Swordmaster of Lihen. It was obvious that they had a good grasp of the make-up of the army when the Swordmaster of Lihen had stopped at Daoli Mountain, and they went on to set up an ambush.
The enemy army seemed to have laid down a matrix. Thousands of true dragons roared in the sky.
“Get into formation.” The Swordmaster of Lihen said. His sword aura permeated the sky within an instant and enveloped him. The mighty ones from the Sword Clan of Lihen drew their swords and prepared to fight.
Terrifying storms of the sword art of Lihen appeared all around them within an instant, with the Swordmaster of Lihen in the center.
Those swords whipped about furiously, seemingly without order. They formed a huge net of swords at the same time, tearing up the s.p.a.ce around them.
True dragons roared as they charged. They were immediately cut into countless pieces as soon as they came near the net of swords.
Yaya was positioned in her sword matrix and diagrams of sword matrixes appeared around her. She devoured the aura of the sword arts all around her in a frenzy, imbuing those powers within the diagrams.
At the same time, the army that was closest to the Swordmaster of Lihen’s was led by two Holiness of Nirvanas. One of them brought a group and headed out for reinforcement as quickly as possible.
Back at Emperor Xia’s Palace, Xia Qingyuan, Yan Yuan, and the others looked at Ye Futian.
“The fighting has begun?”
“Yeah.” Ye Futian nodded. “King Tiandao and the Prince Regent appeared at the same place at the same time, intending to surround the swordmaster and his people. But they are defending with sword matrixes. The enemy stands no chance.”
“Does that mean the Dali Dynasty army is setting up an ambush in the city?” Yan Yuan asked.
“Most likely. Looks like it’s our time to head out.” Ye Futian then looked at Yan Yuan and said, “Elder brother, Feixue, wait for my news.”
Yan Yuan and Feixue nodded seriously. Ye Futian, Xia Qingyuan and the others headed out, leading a group of mighty ones for the teleportation matrix.
Not long after, terrifying light emanated from the portal. Ye Futian and the others disappeared from the royal palace.
The place they were heading to was not within Dali Dynasty’s territory. They headed out to the realm that the three imperial realms had fought over long ago—the Empty Realm. Empty Realm was home to a pa.s.sage connecting all three imperial realms.
The realm that contained powerful resources was still a chaotic place at present.