Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 617 - 617 0404 Refusing the Opportunity_2

Chapter 617: Chapter 0404: Refusing the Opportunity_2 Chapter 617: Chapter 0404: Refusing the Opportunity_2 Liu Weizhen quickly corrected himself, “Mojiang Liu Weizhen greets Immortal Master Qi Tian. I wonder what brings Master to our Tongmen West Pass. Do you have any instructions for us?”

Qi Tian asked, “Where is Huang Zhiwei? I remember there should be a hundred-thousand-strong army here at Tongmen West Pass. Why are there only about ten thousand now?”

Liu Weizhen gave a bitter smile, “Over a month ago, we received an order from the Capital City stating that the hundred thousand elite soldiers and the commander of Tongmen West Pass would be transferred back to the Capital City. The ten-thousand-strong army you see now are the replacements that have arrived. They were previously untrained defense troops.”

“Was the order given by the Crown Prince?” Qi Tian uncomfortably questioned.

Liu Weizhen honestly replied, “The order was given by the Ministry of War. As for whether the Crown Prince played a part in it, Mojang I do not know.”

“Absurd! Tongmen West Pass is the first line of defense against the Chi Di people. Sometimes even a hundred thousand soldiers are not enough. How could you withdraw all troops and send in a group of inexperienced defense troops? Can none of you understand this? This is chaotic order, dare you not defy it?” barked Qi Tian in anger.

Liu Weizhen kept his bitter smile, “This kind of military mobilization requires the Emperor’s decree and the Ministry of War’s orders in order to take effect. This time, we only had the Ministry of War’s orders. We initially did not plan to obey, but with the orders came several powerful cultivators. If we dared defy the orders, simply killing us off was within their capabilities. Mojiang had no choice but to comply.”

Qi Tian let out a cold grunt. There was no point criticizing the hundred-thousand border army of Tongmen West Pass in this matter, considering that the Ministry of War controlled the lifelines of the border armies. And with cultivators committing abuses alongside them, it was understandable that neither Huang Zhiwei nor Liu Weizhen dared to disobey.

“Do you know that the Chi Di people have gathered a hundred-thousand-strong army and are marching toward Tongmen West Pass?” Qi Tian asked.

Liu Weizhen repeatedly nodded, “Ever since the elite of Tongmen West Pass were transferred, Mojiang has been constantly worried that such a situation might occur. After the main army withdrew, I did my best to send out scouts into Chi Di land to gather information. Half a month ago, the Chi Di people began mobilizing their troops. I have sent over a dozen urgent military dispatches to the court, applying for reinforcements. But I have yet to receive any response, Master. Your arrival is like a miracle sent from heaven. On behalf of the ten-thousand guards here and the myriad citizens behind Tongmen West Pass, I kneel before you and beg for your help. Please save us.”

Having claimed earlier that he could not complete the full ceremony of greeting, Liu Weizhen now kneeled before Qi Tian with a thud.

The personal guards following Liu Weizhen also kneeled down one by one. Their faces were pale, frightened by the hundred-thousand-strong Chi Di army. Most of them were local city defense troops who have never experienced warfare before. Their combat capability was extremely weak, and they had no confidence in facing a hundred thousand troops.

Qi Tian let out a cold snort, “Stand up. Today, you’re in luck as I happen to have arrived in time to save you. However, I hope you can learn some lessons from this event, Liu Weizhen.”

Liu Weizhen hurriedly answered, “Mojiang understands. If a similar chaotic order is issued in the future, Mojiang will not obey.”

Qi Tian continued, “Not just that. From this incident, you should see clearly that these high-ranking officials in the court, especially the Crown Prince, have rotted from their roots. They disregard the safety of the borders and put countless soldiers and civilians in peril for their personal gains. How can such people still sit on the throne of the Crown Prince?”

Swallowing hard, Liu Weizhen kept his personal views to himself. He was neither a supporter of the Crown Prince nor a follower of Prince Zhao. Even so, he dared not openly criticize the Crown Prince. In contrast, Qi Tian regarded the Crown Prince as insignificant in his speech. Perhaps it was only a man like him who dared to remove the Crown Prince from office.

“Pass my order, let everyone prepare various city defense equipment immediately. Although we will assist you, we also need time. You all must hold on in the early stages.” Qi Tian wasn’t so arrogant to think that he and Gao Jinmei could wipe out the hundred thousand-strong army of the Chi Di in a short period of time – with a hundred thousand men, even if a single slap could kill hundreds, some time would be needed to kill all hundred thousand.

Qi Tian waited at Tongmen West Pass for less than half a day when the vanguard of the Chi Di arrived. After their arrival, they began to set up camp less than ten miles from Tongmen West Pass, paving the way for the army that was to follow.

Qi Tian beckoned to Liu Weizhen. “General Liu, send someone to deliver a message to the Chi Di. Tell them that I, Qi Tian, am stationed here, and I’m offering them a chance to turn back immediately and honestly return to their pastoral lives. Guarantee me that they will not offend Great Zhao for the next fifty years and I will overlook this attempt to batter down our gates. If they dare to disobey this command, they must suffer the consequences themselves.”

Liu Weizhen promptly nodded and arranged for a messenger to deliver Qi Tian’s command to the Chi Di’s camp.

Not long after, the messenger returned with both his ears cut off, blood gushing from his hands. Qi Tian’s demand for their withdrawal was bluntly refused by the Chi Di.

Qi Tian’s face darkened. He took out a healing pill and gave it to the messenger. Once he swallowed it, not only did the bleeding from his ears stop, but his severed ears also grew back. This kind of pill had miraculous effects on ordinary people like the messenger, but for cultivators, it was virtually useless.

The messenger hastily knelt to express his gratitude for Qi Tian’s life-saving grace. Qi Tian waved his hand to dismiss the messenger. Turning to Gao Jinmei, he said, “It seems we have to resort to your methods. We must wipe them all out.”

Gao Jinmei nodded and said, “The enemy hasn’t all arrived. Please wait a bit longer, master. I alone will be able to sweep them all up.”

Qi Tian ordered, “Take the senior leaders among the Chi Di’s army attacking our gates, all those of Commander rank and above, and capture them alive. I will execute them by hanging them outside Tongmen West Pass, as a warning to the Chi Di who come after. As for the rest, leave not one behind – kill them all.”

Gao Jinmei obeyed and left. Within the next day, the hundred thousand-strong force had basically all arrived, and the Chi Di impatiently sent out an exploratory force of five thousand to attack Tongmen West Pass.

Liu Weizhen led a ten-thousand-strong army to resist valiantly from Tongmen West Pass. The battle was very intense, forcing the defenders to pay an extreme price. Tongmen West Pass was almost captured by the Chi Di. If Liu Weizhen hadn’t desperately led his men in a counterattack, the Chi Di might have captured Tongmen West Pass with just five thousand men.

But the Chi Di only had one day of victory. Once Gao Jinmei was sure that no more Chi Di were coming, she made her move against their army. She used a few Fire Talismans to burn all of the Chi Di’s provisions to ashes. Using her strong Gold Core Third Level cultivation and power, she launched a broad-scale slaughter against the Chi Di army.

Just as Qi Tian said, one slap would end hundred of lives. But Gao Jinmei had other, more efficient means of slaughter. In just one night, she killed at least fifty thousand of the hundred-thousand strong Chi Di, including all the cultivators among them. None escaped her.

The surviving fifty thousand troops were terrified and fled from the camp, Running for their lives. Gao Jinmei singled out and captured the military leaders of the Chi Di, bringing the main perpetrators to Qi Tian.

At this point, the Chi Di leaders were completely terrified. They knelt before Qi Tian, begging for mercy.

Qi Tian, however, gave them no further chances. He had Liu Weizhen erect large poles outside Tongmen West Pass and had all the Chi Di leaders hung from them, exposing them to the elements. No one was allowed to retrieve their bodies.