Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 771 - 771 0481 I Can Ensure Success in Leading the

Chapter 771: Chapter 0481: I Can Ensure Success in Leading the Charge_2 Chapter 771: Chapter 0481: I Can Ensure Success in Leading the Charge_2 The Imperial court mobilized a massive number of troops in Red Sand City, surpassing the number of the Northern Expedition Army. The troops were led by Gao Shen, a seasoned war veteran with a lot of battlefield experience. Gao Shen joined the army at 16 and now at the age of 50, he has been through hundreds of battles, experiencing life and death on many occasions. In addition to this, Gao Shen firmly supports the Crown Prince: the daughter of a relative who is not yet at the age of mourning was the Prince’s concubine, and this relationship had significantly advanced Gao Shen’s military career.

Gao Shen advocated for a proactive attack on Wangdu County, only the formidable powers of Qi Tian and others made him hesitate. After all, the emergence of Qi Tian had greatly changed the warfare situation of the Great Zhao Nation. Prior to Qi Tian, cultivators did participate in mundane wars, but never as deeply as Qi Tian. Not to mention Qi Tian’s ambition to overthrow a Crown Prince, which was a major event that could seriously change the country’s situation, such things were strenuously avoided by previous cultivators.

If it had been anyone else, Gao Shen wouldn’t have concerned himself with the attitudes of the cultivators accompanying the army, but with Qi Tian, Gao Shen dared not to take the risk.

Since a proactive strike was not a viable option, Gao Shen had only one plan left: to reinforce the defenses of Red Sand City as much as possible. The city’s defensive moat was deepened and broadened, the walls were reinforced and heightened, and all kinds of city defense tools were being produced as if money was no object. Furthermore, after obtaining the Crown Prince’s consent, Gao Shen recruited many cultivators to boost the strength of their forces, promising them high rewards and additional benefits after they helped defeat the Northern Expedition Army.

In addition, the Crown Prince used his connections to invite several Gold Core Realm experts to assist them in the war, offering incentives even they couldn’t refuse. The Four Seas Bank’s Wu Shenglian was one of the people who were sent over by the high-level directors of the bank after they received the news.

The Four Seas Bank hadn’t finalized their decision about joining the war just yet. They had been waiting for the Northern Expedition Army to officially attack Red Sand City before making a decision, but they didn’t expect to clash with Qi Tian over a few million taels of silver, an encounter in which Four Seas Bank suffered a major loss.

However, only the Four Seas Bank had clashed with Qi Tian beforehand. The other Gold Core Realm experts, who were attracted by the Crown Prince’s generous terms, were thrilled when they learned about the Northern Expedition Army officially assaulting Red Sand City. They were excited for their time to shine. The Crown Prince himself pledged that if they could kill Qi Tian and Prince Zhao in this war, the worst-case scenario was they would become the fourth National Master of Great Zhao. If their merits were remarkable, the Crown Prince would try to reduce the other three National Masters and honor the meritorious person as the sole National Master of Great Zhao once he ascended the throne.

Despite Great Zhao appearing poor, the truth of the matter was that it was rich in resources due to its vast territory and abundance of raw materials. If the cultivation resources produced each year were focused on one place, the quantity and variety would be impressive. These resources might seem scarce if distributed among the royal family and the three National Master Mansions, but if granted to one faction, it would be enough for the cultivation of a Gold Core Realm expert.

Everyone wanted to monopolize these resources for cultivation, especially considering the intense and brutal competition outside the Great Zhao Nation. While the competition within Great Zhao seemed to be intense with the internal struggles among the three National Masters and the royal family, it was practically a child’s play compared to the outside competition. If they could seize the cultivation resources of Great Zhao, they could focus on cultivation without risking their lives competing with other cultivators from outside.

These Gold Core Realm experts, who were enticed by the benefits, got really excited upon hearing the news of the Northern Expedition Army’s attack on Red Sand City. They released their Gold Core Realm aura one by one, declaring to the world that after today, the reign of Great Zhao will change.

Initially, only one Gold Core Realm expert released their aura, but soon, not to be outdone, the rest followed suit. For a moment, Red Sand City seemed to have ignited more than a dozen furnaces with the strong aura of these experts engulfing the soldiers and civilians, suffocating them with pressure.

Seeing the Gold Core Realm experts acting recklessly and causing unrest, providing aid to the enemy inadvertently, Gao Shen felt frustrated. Under the intimidation of these Gold Core Realm experts, the soldiers in charge of defending the city were drastically affected. They trembled uncontrollably, scared out of their wits, and even failed to execute the most basic battle maneuvers. Relying on them to defend the city was tantamount to seeking death.

Out of options, Gao Shen had to yell at the top of his lungs, “Respected ancestors of the Gold Core Realm, please withdraw your divine power. As of now, Qi Tian and Prince Zhao are just outside the Red Sand City. Whosoever brings their heads will make a great contribution. In the future glory, wealth, and honor shall fall upon him. Respected ancestors, what are you still hesitating for? Sallie forth!”

Gao Shen’s bewitchment was very useful; a Gold Core Realm powerhouse immediately could not resist the temptation to kill Qi Tian and Prince Zhao. Rising from his hiding spot like a shooting star, he crossed over the walls and moat of Red Sand City and arrived above the Northern Expedition Army. He shouted loudly, “Where are Qi Tian and Prince Zhao? Come quickly to meet your death.”

Qi Tian had prepared for this early on. After deciding to commence the Northern Expedition the day before, he had sent messages to Gao Jinmei, Jin Jin, and Wang Youjun, asking them to rush back from abroad. Now, several Gold Core Realm powerhouses were gathered by Qi Tian’s side.

After the first Gold Core Realm powerhouse came out to challenge them, Qi Tian immediately saw that this challenger was all bark and no bite. Even though he was at the second level of the Gold Core Realm, his Spirit Qi was not concentrated enough. Using the Heavenly Dao Engine’s sensitivity to Spirit Qi, he looked at his Gold Core and found that his Gold Core was somewhat weak up to now.

Qi Tian had a grasp of the situation and asked, “Who among you will confront the enemy?”

Gao Jinmei immediately replied, “Why not let me do it? If I make a move, we can start off on the right foot and boost morale.”

Qi Tian nodded, and with a bowing of her fist, Gao Jinmei turned and rushed off at top speed, heading straight for the challenging Gold Core Realm powerhouse.

Gao Shen had already informed the Gold Core Realm powerhouses who had come to help him about what he knew concerning Qi Tian’s side. Among them, Gao Jinmei was the dangerous individual he had specifically emphasized for these allied Gold Core Realm powerhouses to be aware of.

The challenging Gold Core Realm powerhouse immediately saw Gao Jinmei and hastily set up layers of defense behind him. He thought that as long as he could block Gao Jinmei’s first attack, he could turn the tables and eliminate Gao Jinmei.

However, this challenging Gold Core powerhouse quickly realized he had made two unforgivable mistakes—one was overestimating his defense, and the other was underestimating Gao Jinmei’s speed and attack power.

Before he could set up all of his defenses, Gao Jinmei had already arrived. She repeatedly swung her dagger, with each strike hitting his defensive weak points. Each defense that he thought was solid disintegrated in the blink of an eye, becoming ineffective.

The challenging Gold Core Realm powerhouse was scared to death. He realized Gao Jinmei’s power, and instead of fighting to the death with her, he was petrified and turned to run, hoping to flee back to Red Sand City before Gao Jinmei could break through all his defenses.

But how would Gao Jinmei give him this chance at this moment? Gao Jinmei was an experienced female assassin who had executed many assassination missions. She had seen all kinds of assassination targets, and a person in such a panicked and disoriented state as this was not the first she had met and would not be the last.