Chapter 571: Vow of Alliance
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"No...impossible!"
Cao Qiu lowered his head and stared incredulously at the two swords embedded in his chest.
His own sword had been destroyed in the clash of the three swords. The two divine swords had thrust themselves into his body and were eroding his insides.
"Cough cough…"
He struggled and spit out a few mouthfuls of visceral blood. Suddenly, he thought he could see a human figure and immediately understood.
"This...is not...your power! You will face retribution for utilising these unorthodox objects. You will never...attain the highest level of sword dao..."
After Cao Qiu had spat out his curse, his eyes closed forever.
Once the Sword Sage, one of the most famous swordsmen in the world, Cao Qiu now lay dead on the floor. Nevertheless, he had faced his end bravely.
"The highest level of sword dao? Pooh!"
Hei Zhong spat in indignance. He was a barbarian and had never intended to devote his life to sword dao. The more reactive the divine sword was, the happier he would be.
Ge Nie, however, stared pensively at the sword of water, which radiated a blue chill from its blade.
Not too far away, Mo Ge peeked out from the ground and looked at this scene with horror.
'Impossible...Cao Qiu is one of the foremost swordsmen of his generation and yet he couldn't match the sword moves of these two servants?'
At this point, he no longer dared to push through with the assassination attempt and left immediately.
The Five Elements Escape Technique was his speciality and was a definite lifesaver in situations like these. Without Cao Qiu to drag him down, he shot away from the army camp to the outside world at the speed of lightning.
"Kaboom!"
Suddenly, Mo Ge felt a violent tremor. It was like a dragon had flipped on its back.
A strong sense of danger assailed Mo Ge's senses and cause him to shudder.
All at once, the fluid soil layers around him had turned into steel plates. He could feel the pressure closing onto him from all directions, making him feel like an insect trapped in amber.
'Impossible... how could my Five Elements Escape Technique fail me? '
Although he could not move his mouth, he let out an internal scream.
Unfortunately, no one would ever answer his question.
Mo Ge was trapped in the darkness. He could no longer gauge the passage of time, nor see and hear anything from the outside world. He could not even move his hands and feet.
This was the kind of torture that was more than capable of driving a person insane.
Mo Ge would never get the chance to ask for mercy.
"Step! Step!"
Fang Yuan stamped his feet on the ground.
"That's another bug dealt with...even after hundreds and thousands of years, no one would ever know that there is a person buried here. Indeed, no matter how good you are at something, take burrowing for example, accidents do happen!"
It was Fang Yuan who had intervened by activating the swords to save the life of Prince Pan.
Hei Zhong and Ge Nie were a long way from being able to tap on the power of the swords of water and fire, much less face Cao Qiu in a fight.
"This was supposed to be a close shave for Prince Pan, Nevertheless, thanks to assistance from the War God Chi, there was no doubt that he would have survived that!"
Fang Yuan looked at the dark energy of destiny gathering within the Shang army camp. It was taking the shape of a flying bird with a body that shimmered like the stars.
"The aura of the Shang army is skyrocketing. The Dongyi coalition is in trouble!"
Fang Yuan nodded quietly as he observed the scene. Suddenly, he looked towards the northwest.
Fang Yuan learnt a lot from just one look with his Fiery Golden Eyes.
"Prince Pan must defeat the Dongyi tribes quickly and regain his strength. Otherwise... the imperial capital will be plunged into a crisis! Chaos would reign!"
...
Western Zhou.
The Marquis of Western Zhou was ruddy-faced and in high spirits. The sword formed from the penta-coloured rock hung from his waist as he received the feudal lords who had come forth to offer their congratulations.
Ever since he had acquired the god-given sword and armour while the phoenix appeared over Qi Mountain, the Marquis had launched a successful propaganda campaign to spread the word about his miraculous encounter throughout the neighbouring states.
Now, the Marquis planned to convince the feudal states to join his anti-Shang cause by invoking the heavenly will.
The feudal lords sat on a high tower and watched the military procession take place below. Many of these lords grew uncomfortable as the chariots and soldiers moved past them.
After all, the Marquis of Western Zhou had spared no expenses in putting up this show as a display of strength.
Western Zhou's military strength could only be matched by the Shang Dynasty's. The other feudal lords shuddered to think about what might happen to their territories if they did not agree to an alliance with Western Zhou.
"My lords, do you think my soldiers are strong?"
The Marquis drained his wine vessel and asked suddenly.
"They are!"
The feudal lords feared his wrath and could only agree.
"What about my weapons? Are they sharp?"
"They are…"
Some of the feudal lords had already guessed at the Marquis's intentions and they felt a chill in their bones.
Sure enough, the Marquis stood up and unsheathed his sword in the next moment.
"The Shang Dynasty has become immoral, with the Shang King persisting in his cruel and lustful ways. The Shang King has also been oppressing the feudal lords and the populace have suffered under his rule for a long time. Now, the Western Zhou state has received the heavenly mandate and possesses a powerful army. The time has come for us to crusade against tyranny. My lords, will you join me in my fight against the despotic Shang Dynasty?"
The Marquis had placed all his cards on the table!
At that moment, nearly all of the feudal lords were regretting their decision to accept the Marquis's invitation. They had all wanted to see the sword made out of the penta-coloured rock for themselves.
Some of the feudal lords were trembling as they looked at the heavily armed soldiers around them.
"Yes!"
One of the feudal lords stepped out and bowed down to the Marquis.
"I, Earl Lu, pledge my allegiance to the Marquis of Western Zhou!"
"Please rise, Earl Lu!"
The Marquis helped Earl Lu to his feet cheerfully.
"Earl Lu, I am comforted to know that you are a defender of justice! Please take your seat and we shall proceed with the war rally later on!"
'Damn it...Earl Lu was obviously in cahoots with the Marquis all along…'
The Lu state barely had an army. Their tiny force of 300 chariots and 5000 soldiers only served to make up the numbers in the coalition.
The other feudal lords had realised that Earl Lu was an accomplice of the Marquis.
Still, many of the feudal lords saw no other way out for themselves and fell to their knees before the Marquis.
"Yes!"
"Haha…"
The Marquis burst into laughter.
"I would like to invite all of you to join me in making a vow of allegiance to the anti-Shang cause. Please pass your military tallies to your aides. My men will escort them back to their respective states safely."
Suddenly, a dark-skinned and skinny feudal lord made a run for it with his sword in hand.
"It's Earl Qi!"
The feudal lords let out a collective gasp.
Surrounded by his personal guards, Earl Qi moved quickly towards the exit. It looked like he was going to escape.
'Earl Qi was said to have learnt his swordplay techniques from the Sword Sage. Cao Qiu was even claimed to have said that Earl Qi was qualified to become his heir. He certainly looks the part…'
A commotion erupted among the feudal lords.
The Marquis of Western Zhou simply stood by and observed blankly.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Just as Earl Qi and his men broke out of the encirclement, an ear-splitting shriek rang out from the heavens.
A purple ray of light with a colourful tail descended from the skies.
In a flash, it extended its claws and swooped in for the kill.
Earl Qi screamed as he was crushed into the ground.
"Is this...a phoenix?"
The feudal lords kept their mouths shut upon witnessing the death of Earl Qi.
"That's right...Western Zhou has received the heavenly mandate and will rule over the world in the near future. We even have the protection of the Purple Phoenix. Who would dare to stand in our way?"
The Marquis chuckled.
"What do you all think, my lords?"
"We pay our respects to the leader of the alliance!"
The feudal lords were struck dumb by the sight of the large Five Elements Purple Phoenix and they fell to their knees.
"Great! However, we have no place for spies in our alliance!"
The Marquis turned his attention to three specific men and bellowed.
"Zou, Wei, Qu...the three of you barons have always been close to the Shang Dynasty. The Shang King has even enfeoffed the three of you among the western feudal states so that you can all serve as his spies, am I right?"
"Li, you are making groundless accusations!"
The barons were minor feudal lords and were enraged by the Marquis's words.
"You forget that I am well-versed in the art of divination and am the founder of the Yi Dao. How could I be unaware of your activities?"
The Marquis went on unblinkingly.
"Drag them away and kill them!"
"Yes, my lord!"
A group of soldiers rushed forward and took the three barons away together with their aides. A moment later, the other feudal lords heard a few ghastly sounds. The soldiers reappeared with freshly decapitated heads.
Many of the feudal lords felt nauseous upon seeing the companions that they had been talking to a while ago become reduced to bloody heads.
"The Western Zhou state will overthrow the Shang Dynasty so as to enforce heaven's will. We do not have designs on the other feudal states. My lords, you can divide the lands of Qi, Zou, Wei and Qu among yourselves! Western Zhou will not take these lands!"
The Marquis calmed down. He knew that he had managed to cow the feudal lords.
"Really?"
A few of the feudal lords became bright-eyed when they learnt about the chance to expand their territories.
"Of course, we will include this in the vow after we form our alliance!"
The Marquis agreed readily.
He did not care for minor benefits like these. What the Western Zhou state wanted was to become the provider of these benefits!
After all, only the King had the authority to commission the feudal lords and task them with keeping the borderlands safe.
"Yes!"
The feudal lords included some who feared the military power of Western Zhou, some who were deeply respectful of heaven's will and others who craved for more land and people. They shared looks among themselves before agreeing to the Marquis's proposal.
"Haha...men! Set up the altar so that we can pay our respects to the heavens! After the vow of alliance, we will plan our attack on the despotic Shang Dynasty!"
The Marquis was overjoyed at how everything had turned out. He walked over to the altar with the feudal lords and offered three animals as sacrifice. After that, the Marquis drew blood from a cow's ear and emptied a drop of blood each into the cups of the feudal lords.
The person who had taken the knife to the cow was the leader of the alliance.
"We pay our respects to the leader of the alliance!"
The feudal lords drained the cups of blood wine and bowed to the Marquis on their knees.
"Good!"
The Marquis raised his sword.
"Activate your people and declare war on the Shang Dynasty. The Shang capital will be empty considering how most the Shang army has marched off in the southward direction. We might be able to conquer it while the capital city is defenceless!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The feudal lords nodded their heads. One of the reasons they had submitted so quickly to Western Zhou was the apparent decline of the Shang Dynasty.
At that moment, high up above the altar to the heavens, the clouds shifted about in a brilliant display of colours. This was a good omen and many of the feudal lords were left in awe at the sight. The Marquis was pleased. His resolve to set off for war had been strengthened!