Translator: AnubisTL
Maple Country, Taiwen Year Twelve, Midsummer.
A majestic Azure Eagle soared from the eastern grasslands, circling several times above Wangyuan City before returning to the grasslands.
For several years, the Maple Country border had remained remarkably peaceful. The frequent raids by Grassland Marauders for grain and supplies, which had plagued the region in the past, had become a distant memory.
The Wu Li Army stationed at the border had also enjoyed a rare period of tranquility.
But such peace could not last forever. In the midsummer of that year, Maple Country faced its most terrifying calamity in over two centuries of its existence!
Amidst the ever-present yellow sand of the borderlands, Wangyuan City stood as the most crucial fortress pass. Built between two mountain ranges, it was an impregnable natural barrier.
In this desolate and impoverished region, Wangyuan City stood like a solitary fortress, silent and unyielding.
Inside a watchtower outside the city, two soldiers on duty sat cross-legged, sipping wine and smiling as they discussed their future.
"Da Zhuang, in a few years you'll be leaving the army. Have you thought about what you'll do afterward?"
Da Zhuang, a soldier with a simple, honest smile, replied, "I'll use my pay to buy a cow and go back home to farm."
The older Veteran chimed in with a chuckle. "Heh heh, you young recruits who joined in the last few years are really lucky. You've come at a rare good time. Those Grassland Marauders from the Bandong Grasslands have been as quiet as the dead for years now."
"If this were a few years ago, we wouldn't dare bring wine to the guard post like this!"
"Hahahaha, enough talk! Let's drink to that!"
With a crisp clink of glasses, the two men drained their cups of wine.
Before they could even pick up a side dish, the ground began to tremble faintly. The tremors grew increasingly violent, as if an earthquake had struck. Only then did they finally realize what was happening.
The Old Soldier immediately stood up, his gaze fixed on the distant eastern horizon.
He saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life!
Thousands upon thousands of Grassland Cavalry surged across the eastern horizon, kicking up a massive cloud of dust that blotted out the sky.
The earth trembled under the thunderous hooves of these tens of thousands of horsemen, their momentum so overwhelming they seemed like demons unleashed from the depths of hell!
"Th-this..."
Da Zhuang, who had just risen to his feet, was utterly stunned by the sight. He stammered incoherently, unable to form a single coherent sentence. He even wondered if he was still drunk.
But the older Veteran, seasoned by years of experience, reacted first. He frantically pounded the warning bell atop the watchtower.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The urgent clanging of the bell echoed wildly across the desolate desert, transforming into a mournful dirge.
"Da Zhuang, hurry! Light the beacon fire!"
Before his words had even faded, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, an arrow pierced the Veteran's throat, spraying blood like a fountain.
Da Zhuang, drenched in the Veteran's blood, stood frozen in shock. Only belatedly did he light the beacon fire, his face locked in a dazed expression—a sign of terror pushed to its absolute limit.
"Hahaha, Gurinye, this divine archer of your tribe is truly remarkable! To hit that lookout from such a distance!" The one-eyed chieftain, Tuwa Ha'er, laughed unrestrainedly, his praise unreserved.
"It's nothing much!" another subjugated chieftain replied humbly from his horse.
Tuwa Ha'er waved his hand, roaring with laughter. "Wangyuan City lies just ahead! Warriors of the grasslands, follow me and seize this city!"
"Once Wangyuan City falls, the flat heartland of Maple Country behind it will be ours to ride across as we please!"
As his words fell, tens of thousands of Grassland Cavalry, a vast and imposing force, surged forward like a flood.
The lookout post, like a lone boat tossed on a raging sea, was swallowed by the waves in an instant.
The furious tide continued to surge forward, building into a tsunami that crashed violently against the fortified walls of Wangyuan City.
In the late summer of the twelfth year of the Taiwen Emperor's reign, Wangyuan City fell. Maple Country officially plunged into war and chaos.
The Wu Li Army in the city fought desperately, but against the overwhelming force of the Grassland Marauders, who outnumbered them several times over, even their Chiliarch, an Inner Strength Martial Artist, could only watch helplessly.
General Lu Guanghong, commander of the Wu Li Army, charged into battle wielding his Black Tortoise Spear.
In that moment, the Grandmaster-level expert wielding this Peerless Divine Weapon demonstrated what true peak combat prowess meant in the mortal realm.
He charged alone, single-handedly breaking through the vast enemy formation, carving a path through the dense ranks.
But the Grassland Marauders were too numerous, swarming like locusts, impossible to kill or drive back.
Even a Divine Intent Realm Martial Artist would have been overwhelmed by such a terrifying force.
"Kill!"
Knowing his situation was hopeless, the Grandmaster roared in despair and continued to fight, spear in hand.
In his final moments, he managed to kill over a hundred elite Grassland Cavalrymen.
Finally, his body was pierced by several spears, fatal wounds that even a Grandmaster could not survive.
Surrounded by the crowd, Tuwa Ha'er's face was a mixture of shock and lingering fear. He stared at General of the Wu Li Army, who was now only a dozen meters away, his back drenched in cold sweat.
"Don't behead him. Give him a proper burial!" Tuwa Ha'er exhaled deeply. In the end, he was dead.
With General Lu Guanghong's death, Wangyuan City had completely fallen!
News of Wangyuan City's fall finally reached the Imperial Capital Shengtian through an urgent military report.
Disaster had struck!
The entire Imperial Capital—no, the entire Maple Country—was thrown into chaos.
Tens of thousands of Grassland Marauders on horseback had breached Wangyuan City's defenses and were now advancing eastward in a massive wave of conquest!
Upon receiving the emergency military report, the Taiwen Emperor nearly fainted.
"Impossible! Wangyuan City is one of the most heavily fortified cities in the realm, and General Lu's martial prowess is unmatched! How could he have died, and the city fallen?!"
"Guards! Drag this traitor who dared to spread false military intelligence out and—"
In the end, the Taiwen Emperor couldn't bring himself to utter the words "behead him for public display."
"Your Majesty, the most urgent matter now is to mobilize our troops and prepare for the Grassland Cavalry's attack!"
A minister stepped forward to advise.
"Yes, gather our forces and crush these horse bandits! Wipe them out completely!" The Taiwen Emperor trembled, nearly losing his ability to think clearly.
The Wu Li Army stationed in Wangyuan City was the Maple Country's bedrock. If even such a stronghold fell, the Maple Country might have no army left to fight!
As summer drew to a close, troops from all directions rushed to reinforce Wangyuan City. But the Grassland Cavalry, once they entered the Maple Country's heartland, were like dragons in the sea—unstoppable. They stormed through city after city, their sights set on the Imperial Capital Shengtian!
However, as they occupied more and more cities, their advance finally slowed.
With the arrival of autumn, over half of the Maple Country's northern territory, divided by the Small Jade Ridge, had fallen.
The court employed various tactics to stall the Grassland tribes' advance, even recruiting powerful civilian Martial Artists to assassinate Tuwa Ha'er. But none succeeded, only making Tuwa Ha'er more vigilant.
The good news was that the Grassland Marauders' advance had slowed.
The bad news was that their momentum remained unstoppable, and their target was clear: Imperial Capital Shengtian.
Panic gripped Shengtian City, as its inhabitants experienced the terror of war for the first time.
Consequently, many civilians from Qingzhou, Liang Province, and the northern provinces of Maple Country began fleeing south.
But this southward migration was destined to be arduous.
The massive mountain range, Small Jade Ridge, stretching from east to west like a natural chasm, blocked the path of most refugees.
Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous blacksmith shop in Shengtian...
"Ah, these troubled times," Li Qing sighed, deeply shocked by the sudden turn of events in Maple Country.
In recent days, his shop had sold out of all its ordinary weapons, and many people had even placed advance orders for more.
This was a clear sign of the dire situation, with most people adopting a pessimistic outlook.
"Judging by the current situation, Shengtian might not be a safe place to stay for long. We need to prepare as soon as possible."
Li Qing had no ties in Shengtian City except for Master Gu's family, whom he needed to arrange for properly.
After some thought, Li Qing decided to first transfer his Tiger Bone Nourishing Wine and Five Poisons Blood-Activating Wine from his shop to the World of Eternal Night.
The Five Poisons Blood-Activating Wine had already finished brewing and no longer needed to be buried in the soil to undergo the seasonal cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter to refine its toxins. It could now be stored in the World of Eternal Night.
In addition, he prepared to transfer a considerable amount of wealth and other valuables to the World of Eternal Night as well.
It seemed the World of Eternal Night had become a convenient storage space.
Once he finished these preparations, Li Qing immediately sought out Commander Qian Hong of the Maple Guard.
Commander Qian Hong, clad in a vibrant red robe, wore a persistent frown etched between her brows.
"Master Li, you wouldn't have come to see me at a time like this just to spar, would you?" Qian Hong asked with a wry smile.
(End of the Chapter)
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