Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 1004 - 819 Calamity Befalls the Innocent_2

Chapter 1004: Chapter 819 Calamity Befalls the Innocent_2

"Regardless, the fact that Master Kunpeng’s monstrous sea army swept through the South Sea is hundredfold beneficial and not a single bit harmful to Your Majesty and the Jin Dynasty. However, the prerequisite is that we must be able to repel Master Kunpeng’s monstrous sea army."

For instance, after suffering severe losses, the merchants of Chuancheng in the South Sea will create a huge trade vacuum in Nanyang.

This will be favorable for the Jin Dynasty to cultivate its own sea merchants and aid them in combatting smuggling.

The shipyards in which Li Xuan has shares will also have business to do.

Master Zhongliu, who just happened to be present, also cupped his fist towards Li Xuan: "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Afterward, all of Nanyang will be within your grasp!"

He increasingly felt that Li Xuan was fated by heaven; otherwise, the current situation couldn’t be explained.

After a significant cold wave surged through this world, not only did it fail to severely damage Jin and Li Xuan, it turned into a weapon for Li Xuan to strike down his enemies.

Li Xuan, however, just chuckled and shook his head, "It’s too early to talk about these things, just as Qiluo said. If we can’t repel those deep-sea demons, there’s nothing to discuss."

He then stood up: "Shuying, go to the East Sea later and pass a message to my father-in-law. In three days, I will personally lead a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers of the Heavenly Court of Xuanhuang to set up defenses on Penglai Island. Ask him to quickly lead his entire army southward to join with my heavenly soldiers."

He estimated that the decisive battle with Master Kunpeng would be in the upcoming days.

Although Nanyang’s rice can be harvested thrice a year, due to continuous disasters and frequent typhoons in recent years, there’s also a lack of food storage, just like the scarcity of resources under the sea.

Even if that demon master could gather some food in Nanyang, it wouldn’t be enough to sustain his army for an extended campaign.

If he still wished for revenge, he would have to head north sooner rather than later, otherwise, with the appetite of the Heavenly Kunpeng and those big demons from the seabed, they would starve to death themselves.

At this moment, Li Xuan sensed a grand aura emerging within his Heavenly Court of Xuanhuang.

Simultaneously, the whole sky turned crimson.

Li Xuan immediately raised his eyebrows and looked up into the sky.

He knew this was an omen caused by Li Lexing’s breakthrough to the Extreme Heavenly Level.

A glimmer of anticipation appeared in Li Xuan’s eyes; he hoped that this ancestral elder would soon help him find the Book of Jinque.

Compared to the Master Kunpeng wreaking havoc in the South Sea, what he cared about even more was the divine treasure representing the Heavenly Law.

Because the latter was the foundation of his future reign and hegemony.

※※※※

Not coincidentally, at the same time in the depths of the Taihang Mountain Range, another person was also looking up at the sky, watching the crimson light.

He appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in purple and gold armor, with red hair, an indigo face, lips like a bird’s beak, and eyebrows colored like cinnabar tightly furrowed.

Just then, a white-haired and white-browed old man appeared behind the armored figure and prostrated himself.

"Your Majesty! All the monsters from the second level and above in the Demons of Taihang Mountain have already gathered here," he said.

The armored figure then turned his gaze from the sky.

But when he looked forward, his frown deepened: "Taihang Mountain stretches over four thousand miles, and in ancient times, it nurtured countless big demons. When I established a banner here to recruit troops, in just a moment, a million demon soldiers converged. And you are telling me this is all the Demons of Taihang Mountain have to offer?"

He certainly had reason to be dissatisfied, for although the valley before him was filled with demonic energy and swarmed with dark mists, the gathered monster species barely amounted to eighty thousand.

The armored figure glared at the white-browed elder with anger: "Do you realize that the heavenly sign just now was an omen of Promotion to Extreme Heaven? That Xuanhuang alone, with merely one of his cohorts, could sweep you away. Are you trying to deceive me?"

"Your Majesty, how could I dare to do such a thing?"

The white-browed elder let out a bitter laugh and prostrated himself on the ground, "The situation within the Taihang Mountains has long changed from before. Just the cities the human kingdom has established inside and outside the Taihang Mountains number over a hundred. We, the Demons of Taihang, have been repeatedly struck and now merely cling to survival."

He felt the killing intent and momentum of the armored man growing heavier and heavier, which made him tremble with fear, "Your Majesty, the demons inside Taihang Mountain truly number more than these, but they are unwilling to come."

The armored man, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but be astonished, "Why won’t they come? Do they dare to defy my orders?"

"Your Majesty commands Gouchen and is the shared sovereign of all the Demon Tribes; they have no reason to defy or not follow."

The white-browed elder answered, pressing his hands together in salute, "The problem is that the Jin people’s firearms are sharp and fearsome, and all the Demon Tribes deeply dread them. In April this year, the Shaofu Yu Jie personally led seventy thousand of Jingying’s Forbidden Army, in coordination with the Liudao Division, to sweep through the Taihang Mountain. They used muskets that could kill us from two hundred zhang away.

At that time, the Demon Lord Chuiyi of Taihang had also led an army of more than two hundred thousand to try and contend, but the Forbidden Army’s barrage of gunfire was relentless, crushing our demon forces from three hundred zhang away while still within the mountains. It’s worth noting that the Forbidden Army under the command of the Shaofu Yu Jie is not even the most elite troops of Jin, and yet Your Majesty orders us to march eastward into Zhili; the Demon Tribes simply do not have the courage for this."

The armored man couldn’t help but stand stunned, seemingly not expecting that the demons of the Taihang had fallen to such a state of disarray.

This was clearly a situation where they were struck by humans until their courage was lost, their fear of human soldiers greater than their respect for his imperial dignity.

"Furthermore," the white-browed elder stole a glance at the armored man, "after Shaofu Yu Jie cleared the Taihang Mountains, about one hundred twenty thousand demon beasts of our Taihang Demons were recruited by that Prince Fenyang of Great Jin."

The armored man was taken aback upon hearing this, his expression puzzled, "What does he want to recruit you demons for?"

Could this ambitious mortal truly be planning to form a demon army?

"He says he wants to take them to Meng Wu to build roads and mines, claiming that the Great Jin Dynasty intends to excavate two large mines in the northern region of Meng Wu, and also prepare to construct two pathways called ’railways.’ They need to split mountains and rocks, and build roads and bridges over there."

The white-browed elder glanced back at the demon army behind him, "So those with strong and powerful bodies, and those quick-witted among the demons in the Taihang Mountains, have all been recruited by Prince Fenyang."

Therefore, those gathered here, were mostly of poorer quality, with demon beasts renowned for their physical strength and vigor not exceeding a thousand.

The white-browed elder belonged to the ape tribe, but only a few from his tribe had followed him here.

"So it’s to do manual labor for the humans?"

The armored man looked at the white-browed elder incredulously, "Can you endure this?"

He wondered, were these the descendants of the once proud and defiant Demons of Taihang?

The white-browed elder sighed in response, "Your Majesty, natural disasters have been frequent these past two years, and there’s less and less to eat within the Taihang Mountains. Great Jin, on the other hand, has a powerful military and a throng of strong individuals; we really have no other options. County Prince Fenyang says he’s willing to offer money and grain, giving our Demon Tribe a chance to survive, but it requires us to work for him. Many of our type have been charmed by this and are, surprisingly, grateful."

The breathing of the armored man had grown heavier and heavier, and the stones beneath his feet were gradually turning to dust.

The body of the white-browed elder shivered, but his mind was thinking.

They couldn’t fill their stomachs nor win a fight, so what choice did they have?

It is said that the ones who were recruited are being well fed, with meat every day.

The work they’re asked to do is simple, just hauling stones, carrying sand, digging caves—tasks that come easily to their strong demon kind.

"It’s not just us from the Taihang Mountains; many Demons from Yin Mountain and Qinling have also been coerced into service, especially those of the cattle, horse, and bear demon types which are most sought after."

Yet, these were the mainstays of their demon army’s core forces in the past.

The armored man was silent for a long while before speaking again, "How many demons, ghosts, fierce demons, and evil spirits remain in Taihang Mountain now?"

"Between seventy and a hundred thousand," the white-browed elder answered without hesitation. "Fierce demons and evil spirits are born from the harsh energies of heaven and earth, but now, with Taihang Mountain’s north and south being peaceful and its people free from worries of food and clothes, the karma of the world was abruptly greatly reduced since last May. Many evil spirits simply dissipated in the wilds, and the rest remain among dense human populations. Does Your Majesty wish to summon them? However, that would take at least half a month—"

Before he had finished speaking, the armored man had already shot into the sky. He had grown a pair of massive thunder wings from his ribs, purple electricity covering dozens of miles of clouds, and then he disappeared into the eastern horizon in the blink of an eye.