Chapter Eight Hundred and Ninety Five – An Unexpected Occurrence
The Nether Realm being so overt with their mobilizations meant that it gave the Mo Marshals Alliance time to move their battalions in response. All of the battalions of the Mo Marshal alliance were moved to the border between the Mo Marshals Alliance and Nether Realm. The other factions of Hundred Savage Realm didn’t take the opportunity to attack the Mo Marshals Alliance, but sent their battalions to help. Everyone knew that the Mo Marshal Alliance alone could not stop the army of the Nether King.
The presence of the Nether King’s army caused Hundred Savage Realm that had been filled with conflict to unite for the first time. Everyone had fought for many years and were familiar with each other. No one wanted to become the captives of the Nether King.
The Mo Marshals Alliance, the Heroes Alliance, and the Mo Shen Temple all sent their strongest battalions, gathering over three hundred thousand, to form the Hundred Savage Allied Army.
Beast Cry Jie, Desolate Jie, Sky Wood Jie, First Clear Jie¸ Eastern Snake Jie. These five jies were the gateways for Nether Realm to enter Hundred Savage Realm. Once the army of the Nether King broke the defense line of these five jie, there were more than seven paths to penetrate deep into Hundred Savage Realm. The five hundred thousand strong of the Nether King would be able to sweep Hundred Savage Realm.
This meant that the five jies defense line became the crucial location of the first battle.
The Mo Marshal Alliance led by Gongzi Xi was in charge of Sky Wood Jie, the Heroes Alliance was positioned at First Clear Jie and Eastern Snake Jie. The locations under the most pressure, Beast Cry Jie and Desolate Jie were being held by the strongest faction Mo Shen Temple.
Hundred Savage Realm had good commanders and elite battalions. The army of three hundred thousand gathered at the five jie. These five jie were also were located adjacent to each other and formed a horn. They had the advantage of being on home territory. Meaning the Hundred Savage Allied Army had the the impenetrable defense line of the five jie. The Nether King would not be able to defeat the five jie defense line unless he had an army of a million!
This would be an unprecedentedly large battle.
No one in Nether Realm had thought that Hundred Savage Realm would put aside their grudges and unite. While the Hundred Savage Allied Army had two hundred thousand fewer troops, they had the benefit of the defense line.
This meant that the difference in power between the two sides was not as large as imagined.
If they just attacked head on, the fatalities would be astounding.
An Mo and Liang Wei hadn’t expected that Hundred Savage Realm would unite and create an allied army.
The mood inside the large hall was low, they were discouraged. Everyone was experienced in battle. Seeing the Hundred Savage Allied Army appearing as though they would hold out until the end, their expressions turned grave.
This battle would be crueler than they imagined. There was not much technique to speak of in trench warfare like this. Bravery and decisiveness were most important, and this usually meant large numbers of fatalities.
Their enemies were not short-sighted people
Their army of five hundred thousand were being blocked at the border. This was like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone’s heads. However, they could not retreat. They had been so confident before, if they retreated now, wouldn’t they become a joke? Also, the blow to morale would be fatal.
“First set up camp.” Zuo Mo saw that no one had a solution and helped them out.
Everyone sighed in relief.
If King gave the order to attack now, they would most likely come back bloodied.
An Mo and Liang Wei stayed behind.
“This subordinate … …” An Mo’s face was full of shame. King had given him control of the entire situation at the start. He was filled with frustration at having ruined it.
Zuo Mo waved his hand and interrupted An Mo. He said coolly, “Right now, determining a solution is most important. What do you think?”
An Mo adjusted his emotions and said after a moment of thought, “Attacking head on is not plausible, the fatalities will be too high. We have investigated. The defense line is not very strong, but after constant preparation over the last few days, it is much stronger than before. More importantly, the battalions are large. Almost seventy percent of Hundred Savage’s battalions were conscripted.”
“This is not a bad thing. If we win this battle, then Hundred Savage Realm will be ours,” Zuo Mo said coldly. He glanced at Liang Wei. This person that Pu Yao had praised endlessly hadn’t shown much skill. He asked, “Liang Wei, what do you think?”
Liang Wei had been twisting his mind to ponder the problem. Hearing Zuo Mo ask, he shook his head and said, “I have not thought it through.”
Zuo Mo saw this and said, “Go back and think.”
After the two left, Zuo Mo frowned as well. He hadn’t thought that Hundred Savage Realm would actually unite.What Zuo Mo didn’t know was that it was because his reputation had been too stunning. The mirage of the battle at Nether King River had spread through Hundred Savage Realm. The power of a god-level made everyone feel fear and awe.
In terms of individual fame, Zuo Mo had surpassed Shi. Shi had united Nether Realm but people thought of him more as Nether King. Hundred Savage Realm had not been affected. However, this new Nether King, caused many of the people of Hundred Savage Realm to consider if the Nether King qualified to become the king of all mo.
It was because of Zuo Mo’s strong performance that the factions of Hundred Savage Realm were alarmed. All of them knew that there was only one result if they did not unite, Nether King would unite the mo. This was something that the Mo Shen Temple, the Mo Marshals Alliance, and the Heroes Alliance were not willing to see.
Nether King became the top enemy for all the factions of Hundred Savage Realm.
Zuo Mo did not have a solution.
At this time, Hundred Savage Realm’s rear was empty. If he had Gongsun Cha and Bie Han take the opportunity, they could cause Hundred Savage Allied Army to panic.
But only relying on the forces of half of Tian Huan, Gu Liang Dao, and Yang Yuan Hao was not enough to fight Kun Lun. The situation of the Four Realm mirrored Hundred Savage Realm. Mo Cloud Sea, Tian Huan, the four Minor Dhyana Sects, and Gu Liang Dao had allied together to fight Kun Lun..
Zuo Mo grimace.
However, he was not discouraged. There would be many solutions to any problem. Also, he had the initiative.
He had to think of a good solution.
Li Xian Er’s arrival was not known by many. The one that received her was Gongsun Cha.
Ten years had passed, but Gongsun Cha’s bashful smile was the same as before, the one of the neighbor’s boy. No one could connect him to that world-shocking invincible battle general.
Li Xian Er’s complexion was slightly fragile but her expression was calm. She bowed towards Gongsun Cha. “Greetings to Mister Gongsun Cha!”
Gongsun Cha politely returned the greeting. “Miss Li does not have to be so polite.”
Li Xian Er did not waste words and went directly to the main topic. “I have come to ask for aid from Mo Cloud Sea. If the lips are gone, the teeth will be left exposed to the cold. Mister Gongsun is unparalleled in your intelligence, you should see this more clearly than I do. No matter what Mo Cloud Sea demands, as long as my Tian Huan can achieve it, we will not refuse.”
She then took out a large jade box. The jade box was of fine quality and high grade.
“This is the peice of the shen device that Tian Huan obtained from Mister Zuo Mo in the past. We should have personally returned it to Mister Zuo Mo, the rightful owner. Now at this juncture, we can only give it to Mister Gongsun.”
“Many thanks, Miss Xian Er!” Gongsun Cha took the jade box and returned a bow gravely. A hint of admiration flashed through his eyes. He had to say that Li Xian Er was really wise. She was sincere and decisive. She knew that at this time she had no room to discuss conditions and so allowed Mo Cloud Sea to set the price.
Pity that Kun Lun didn’t give her any time to negotiate. Gongsun Cha saw it clearly. Regardless of whether Kun Lun would succeed this time, North Tian Huan would have a difficult time surviving.
Gongsun Cha nodded and said, “We only have one condition.”
Li Xian Er sighed in relief inside. As long as Mo Cloud Sea was willing to negotiate, that meant that they were willing to send aid. Li Xian Er didn’t care about the conditions now. The things that Tian Huan had left were pitifully few.
They would not be able to hold the half-realm of territory they had left. Rather than give it to Kun Lun, she would rather give it to Mo Cloud Sea.
She focused. “Please speak!”
“We have no ambitions in regards to Tian Huan’s lands.”
Li Xian Er was even more curious. They didn’t want territory, then what did they want? Tian Huan really had no wealth left.
“We want ten thousand managerial-level forgers and seal xiu,” Gongsun Cha said coolly.
Li Xian Er’s body shook. She hadn’t thought that Mo Cloud Sea would desire those forgers and seal xiu. In Tian Huan, any forgers and seal xiu that were on managerial level were skilled and experienced. They would be able to work independents. These people were the most valuable part of Tian Huan and the true wealth that Tian Huan had accumulated over the thousands of years.
Gongsun Cha saw Li Xian Er’s internal struggle. He did not fear that the other wouldn’t agree but he still spoke, “I heard that the forgers and seal xiu of Tian Huan have not forged for several years.”
Gongsun Cha’s words shattered Li Xian Er’s last mental block. Gongsun Cha was right. Due to the long war, the resources had been used up. Right now, Tian Huan lacked materials. Without materials, these forging experts didn’t have any solution. They could only work on repairing shen equipment.
If these forging experts joined, Mo Cloud Sea that was already famed for its forging would receive a great boost in their strength.
Mi Nan had led South Tian Huan to join Kun Lun. Many forgers and seal xiu had entered Kun Lun. It could be predicted that Kun Lun’s shen equipment level would increase greatly in the near future.
Lil’ Miss also saw this. In his view, Tian Huan was poor right now. They only had two treasures. One was these seal xiu skilled in forging, and the other were the two top battle generals, Mu Shuang and Gongye Xiao Rong.
Mu Shuang and Gongye Xiao Rong would not be able to be requested so Lil’ Miss targeted these forging experts. In Lil’ Miss’ view, Li Xian Er would agree. One was because she didn’t have any other choice, the other was because while these forgers were astoundingly valuable, in Tian Huan which lacked materials, they were not of use at all.
“I do not agree.”
Unexpectedly, Li Xian Er shook her head.
Gongsun Cha frowned and looked in surprise at Li Xian Er.
Li Xian Er seemed to have reached some conclusion.
“We will join Mo Cloud Sea!”
Astounding words.
Once Li Xian Er said this, she felt light. That invisible burden that had been weighing on her disappeared. Her face glowed with another kind of light.
When Gongsun Cha mentioned the seal xiu, Li Xian Er realized. Tian Huan was at the end of its path. Even if they managed to survive this time, a Tian Huan that lost their seal xiu wouldn’t be as strong as a normal faction, much less survive sitting between the two titans of Kun Lun and Mo Cloud Sea.
The Four Realms had reached the era of the titans. The weak Tian Huan was fated to die. Not just Tian Huan, the four Minor Dhyana Sects, and Gu Liang Dao were the same.
Rather than being forced to choose after their defeat, it would be better to join Mo Cloud Sea when they still had value. This way, aid was expected. With Mu Shuang and Gongye Xiao Rong as the supports in the future, the days of Tian Huan’s people would not be bad.
Once Li Xian Er thought through all this, she knew that this was the best chance. So she immediately decided.
Gongsun Cha was stunned.
Translator Ramblings: When you look too OP, people band together against you.