Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 749 - 744 Gathering 2

Chapter 749: Chapter 744 Gathering 2

Hanzhong

Righteous Army camp.

Hanzhong government office.

Sun Guotao, dressed in yellow military attire, paced back and forth in his office, his expression slightly agitated.

"Report!!"

Soon, a messenger was brought in.

"Commander, the Imperial Court’s army of 120,000 men has arrived at Liucheng!"

"Understood, everyone leave."

Sun Guotao waved his hand, his face solemn.

"Yes!"

The door closed.

There was no one left in the office, and his expression instantly darkened. His eyes were filled with fatigue, resentment, pain, and struggle.

"Could it be that the fate of our Great Xia people has truly run out...?"

From a young age, he had resolved to revitalize the entire nation, starting from a cook and rising to the commander of an army. He thought the time was right and quickly called to arms, leading a revolutionary uprising.

He espoused the name of the National Salvation Army.

Overnight, he uprooted the oppressive foreign powers in the city, who bullied the citizens and ruled as they pleased.

He fiercely avenged the city’s populace.

This greatly boosted the morale of the citizens, and many eagerly joined the army.

However, there was a significant lack of military supplies.

He sent envoys overnight in an attempt to persuade nearby warlords to join forces and overthrow the Imperial Court, but they were all sent back with their ears cut off.

Foreign warships arrived swiftly at the harbors, bombarding continuously throughout the night.

The army suffered many casualties, and ammunition was nearly depleted.

The city was in a state of panic, and the morale of the army was subtly beginning to waver. It was almost at the point of being besieged on all sides, desperate and without escape.

Only then did Sun Guotao realize that it was not for lack of public support, but because the timing and circumstances were inappropriate and immature.

The surrounding warlords, none of whom truly wished to save the country and the people, were only interested in seizing territories for their own ambitions. He had naively thought to persuade them.

At this thought, he suddenly gave a bitter laugh.

"Perhaps... my death might awaken other truly patriotic warriors... It could be considered as my final contribution to Great Xia..."

"Report!"

More military intelligence came in soon after.

"Speak!"

Sun Guotao perked up and asked with a deep voice.

The messenger saluted quickly and said,

"The Imperial Court’s army, in combination with the fleets of the Su, Ka, and Annu nations, has begun indiscriminate clearance of all religious sites along the coastline. The bombardment disregarded the masses and has already caused thousands of casualties."

"Damn it!"

Sun Guotao suddenly stood up, his face full of fury.

"It must be those Christian devotees pushing for it!"

"Leave."

He waved his hand to dismiss the messenger.

The office was instantly quiet, with no other noise to disturb.

At this point, the revolutionary army was completely under siege, facing tremendous pressure.

The entire revolutionary force numbered only fifty thousand people, a figure bolstered by civilian volunteers. Yet, they were facing a severe shortage of arms.

This number was barely enough to fill the gaps between the teeth of the heavily armed foreign and Imperial Court armies.

Sun Guotao’s brows were tightly furrowed, his heart heavy, already contemplating a noble sacrifice.

"Why should the general worry?"

Suddenly, a soft and cool female voice echoed in the office.

"Who’s there!"

Sun Guotao was startled. The area around him was heavily guarded, with sentries every ten steps and guards every five, and the vicinity mostly open ground; it was practically impossible for anyone to sneak in.

"Someone!!"

He shouted loudly.

But there was no response from outside, and even the trusted aides at the door were nowhere to be found.

Sun Guotao took a few steps and quickly pressed himself against the wall, hiding behind a bookcase, and drew his pistol in caution.

"The general need not fear."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a young woman appeared in front of the open window.

Dressed in a Taoist robe, carrying a longsword on her back, she looked ethereal and seemingly beyond this world.

"Who are you!?"

Sun Guotao was stirred, asking in a deep voice.

"Why have you come to see me?"

The female Taoist had beautiful features, but her eyes subtly hinted at sharpness.

"I am a third-generation disciple of the Lake Mountain Sect, you may address me as Taoist Wang. I am here to assist the general."

"Assist me?"

Sun Guotao immediately frowned.

Now, the entire Hanzhong knew of his setbacks with the Righteous Army, like eggs under a cover, in a desperate situation.

This female Taoist still dared to say she came to assist him?

"Who exactly are you?"

But since she had come at this time, perhaps she had some confidence.

In a desperate situation, no one wants to die, although he had already resigned himself to martyring for his country, but at this moment, Sun Guotao still harbored a glimmer of hope.

Lake Mountain Sect, it seemed to be the name of a sect, but facing the Imperial Court and foreign armies, what could a sect do? A few gunfire solves everything.

Could they really go up and chop down the enemy soldiers one by one with swords?

"So, this Taoist Wang... how do you and the sect you represent intend to help me? If you truly can offer assistance, I, Sun Guotao, on behalf of the entire Righteous Army and even the common people of Hanzhong, would definitely remember your great favor and repay it in the future!"

Although his heart was filled with doubt, he did not want to miss any possibility.

Wang Kongyan was the envoy who came on this mission, and at these words, she also gave a slight smile.

"These foreigners and the Imperial Court’s troops, they dared to violate the foundation of Great Xia’s destiny! They burned down twelve mountains, attempting to annihilate our Taoist Sect.

Thus, they also alarmed the Venerable True Monarchs who were meditating in seclusion in the mountains.

Therefore, our Lake Mountain Sect has entered the world this time to resolve this matter."

"Taoist Sect? So, are you the Taoist Sect or the Lake Mountain Sect?" Sun Guotao squinted his eyes, somewhat confused.

"Our Lake Mountain Sect is the leader of the Taoist Sect, the strongest in the world!"

Wang Kongyan suddenly spoke with a firm tone, answering decisively.

"Among the destroyed mountains was one governed by our Lake Mountain Sect. These mortals are audacious beyond belief, daring to offend a True Monarch, thus we were dispatched to thoroughly resolve this matter."

Sun Guotao found it somewhat laughable.

He had indeed seen masters of the Martial World before, but even the strongest among them could only withstand a dozen or so firearms.

If they encountered elite sharpshooters, probably two or three would end up dead.

And yet these cultivators were actually coming down from the mountains to confront the combined forces of the Imperial Court and the foreigners.

Hearing this, the trace of hope in his heart quickly dimmed.

"Taoist Priest, you might not be aware of the power of these firearms..."

"General, no need to worry. The True Monarch has already dispatched my senior sister to personally go to the outskirts of the city to confront the hundred and twenty thousand corrupt troops."

"What?!"

Sun Guotao’s heart skipped a beat.

"May I ask, how many troops did your senior sister bring..."

He suddenly became excited, could it be that the Lake Mountain Sect had gathered a significant additional military force that could temporarily help him withstand the Imperial army?

However, Wang Kongyan looked at him strangely.

"Of course, it’s just my senior sister alone."

"Alone?!"

Sun Guotao’s mouth fell open, completely failing to understand the meaning of this.

*******************

Outside Hanzhong, the sea breeze blew.

The vast plain mixed with a lot of gravel created an unusual flat terrain.

Lu Li clad in armor, stood quietly in the sea wind, watching a large mass of red soldiers approaching from a distance.

A large flag with the character "宋" was rapidly approaching in her direction with the troops.

Hiss...

She slowly drew out the dual swords from her waist, slowly walking towards the army, her speed gradually increasing, faster and faster.

"Who goes there!"

The sentries on the outskirts of the army immediately spotted her approach and shouted sternly.

These were only the vanguard of the Imperial army, even just the sentries of the vanguard.

Hisss!!

Lu Li, expressionless, like a whirlwind, rushed into the military formation in an instant, raising a swath of severed limbs and bodies in a moment.

Screams, shouts of alarm, and the panicked neighing of horses.

Bang bang bang!

Ragged gunfire sounded but was utterly unable to capture Lu Li’s swiftly moving figure. In almost the blink of an eye, everyone lost track of Lu Li’s whereabouts.

The scene was almost a one-sided slaughter.

*****************

The docks.

Zhao Wumian stood with his hands behind his back on a crude wooden bridge, gazing far off at the white iron ship approaching.

"A chunk of iron actually floats on the water without relying on Spiritual Energy, the wisdom of mortals is indeed unimaginable," he exclaimed.

The entire dock was deserted, only he stood alone on the wooden bridge, very conspicuous.

From afar, he saw something gleaming on the ship shining in his direction.

"It’s time to complete the task Taoist Lord assigned."

He drew a green, shining, slender Treasured Sword from his back and began walking step by step toward the warship.

Thwack.

His boots stepped directly onto the sea surface without any sign of sinking.

Step by step, he walked towards the warship, the blade faintly emitting a pale green light.

Boom!!

The warship fired its cannons.

*********************

Lin Xin rode a boat directly to a small island near Xianzhou City.

The people operating the boat were his own subordinates.

"Is this the place?" Lin Xin looked at the dark island, a faint sensation surging from his heart, clearly related to what he was searching for.

"Yes, my lord."

The boat’s owner stood next to Lin Xin, an elderly middle-aged man, currently looking respectfully ahead,

"We are very close to the place we previously visited," the man explained.

Lin Xin nodded.

These days, he had been busy searching for the world’s strange places, attempting to find the Boundary Stone or the whereabouts of the world’s origin.

But the Spiritual Energy of this world was even lower than that of the last small world, so much so that he couldn’t even use the Spirit Talisman for detection.

All expenses had to be covered by the Spirit Jade he carried.

He didn’t want to waste time here, so he directly established a passageway, and a continuous flow of Taoist soldiers were emerging from it. They were occupying the woods outside of Xianzhou City, hidden within.

Everyone was restrained by him, addressing him as Taoist Lord, which was a unified title in the Ghost Realm.

Now, as he looked at the island, the sky was getting dark, and there seemed to be no sound of anything from the island, slightly quiet.

"Hmm?"

His spiritual sense swept out, and Lin Xin suddenly let out a light exclamation.

There were faint traces of foreign energy on the island.

"It’s not Spiritual Energy, nor is it any type of energy recorded in Green Lake Mountain..."

He was shocked.