Chapter 182: Sudden Change
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Kill!"
Beneath the stage, nearly 10,000 Wu soldiers shouted in unison, bringing their morale to a peak.
Shortly after, another 5,000 cavalrymen from Yuan Country rode past, demonstrating the skill of horseback archery. Each of them was well built, and while the formation was a little messy, it was filled with a barbaric aura. That sort of sharpness that only those who had undergone many bloody battles could exude made the leaders of various countries' expressions change.
"My king has an order!"
Eighth Prince Ge Ri acted as though as there was no one around and carried on. "For today's conference, the leader will be my country! Otherwise..."
Although he didn't explicitly say it out, all of the countries had some idea of what he meant.
It was time for the south to react to this provocation!
"He he!"
Upon hearing this, the King of Wu Country did not move, but Wu Wudao laughed coldly, "If the Eighth Prince is willing to pledge that after becoming allies, you won't invade the southerners' lands, what's stopping us from recognising you as the alliance leader?"
Naturally, this condition was not something he could agree to.
If he did, it would just show his enemies that he was weak, which would, in turn, allow Yuan Country to understand what the actual situation was and they would just force their way down south with more fervour.
In reality, people of the Yuan Country were very ambitious. Hence no matter what they obtained from the conference, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy them, and they would just continue pillaging their way southwards. This was the common understanding of all countries.
At this point, all of them could only rely on the alliance to suppress these flames of arrogance and force the Yuan Country to know their place.
"The contingent inspection is over. Let the martial arts contest begin!"
As expected, the Eighth Prince did not make such a foolish pledge. Instead, he coldly snorted before changing the topic of conversation to something else.
If the contingent inspection was a representation of the strength of one's army's foundation, then the martial arts contest was a display of one's army's top-tier strength.
Especially if there were any disagreements between countries, they could be resolved through a contest.
However, at this point in time, the greatest problem on everyone's mind was the threat of Yuan Country's cavalrymen!
As a result, all of the kings were just gazing at each other in silence.
Under this shroud of noiselessness, it was the Xia Country's King that stood up first.
This man was not young, with a rather pale face but a very energetic voice. "I have few virtues and meager abilities, and since I ascended the throne, there have been countless natural disasters. Hence, I will at least help to secure the position of a virtuous man. Secluded Mountain Prefecture's Head, Fang Yuan, is here today. He is a man with great morals and the Secluded Mountain Prefecture belongs to him. I am willing to give him land to set up..."
"Wait!"
Wu Country's King interrupted loudly.
"Does Xia Country's King mean that he wants to give some land to Prefecture Head Fang and make him a king? Where would his land be?"
"Naturally it will be the Secluded Mountain Prefecture!"
Xie Lingyin rebutted.
"He he..."
Shaking his head, Wu Qiankun responded, "Unless my eyes are failing me, on the current maps, your country has already ceded the area of Secluded Mountain Prefecture to my country. The only way you can give him land to make him king is to take other people's land."
Once these words left his mouth, not only was Xie Lingyin enraged, but even Lan Xiaosheng felt a little anxious.
"You're right!"
A crisp voice echoed out, causing many people to look in that direction in disbelief. It was Fang Yuan!
"This Secluded Mountain Prefecture originally belonged to Xia Country! Only much later was it given to Wu Country!"
Fang Yuan spoke with great gusto, as though as he was very confident. " I then took it back from the hands of Wu Country after a great battle. Moreover, I also established a pact with Wu Country that they would not violate our borders for a hundred years, and there's a contract as proof. Since the ancient times, this has been the proper way to obtain a country!"
This so-called 'proper way to obtain a country' was essentially just one point: wielding absolute power!
When this was mentioned, a few members of the Wu Country were infuriated.
This was especially so for General Feilong and Wu Wudao. Their previous defeat could be said to be the greatest disgrace of their lives.
'This person must be insane. Does he not know that he has become a thorn in my side? This conference will where he dies!'
Wu Wudao plotted in his heart as he looked towards Eighth Prince.
Eighth Prince also looked over at the same time, and it was like he understood Wudao's intentions as he said, "You men of the south are so wishy-washy. For land, it naturally belongs to whoever occupies it, and if you want to reason at this conference, then do so through the martial arts contest!"
'In plain, doesn't it mean a fight to the death?'
Upon hearing this, Fang Yuan rolled his eyes secretly.
The only person representing the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was him, hence he had to fight.
When that time came, any means necessary could be used.
Regardless how devastating the Yuan Country was, they could only mount a single campaign towards the south. Eventually, they would have to return to the plains, and it would be the lower class families that would be broken up due to the battles.
However, if a spiritual knight of the Elemental Opening Realm appeared, all countries would be easily bullied by that individual.
The implications of which were very clear to those who knew of this possible situation.
If Fang Yuan hadn't broken through to the Meridian Opening Stage, he wouldn't have dared to enter this tiger's den with such confidence.
"Yes!"
Wu Qiankun was the first to agree.
The cause for his loss earlier was largely Fang Yuan, hence there was naturally more animosity towards him.
Even though they had a non-aggression pact with the Secluded Mountain Prefecture for 100 years, it didn't mean that he couldn't act against Fang Yuan himself.
"Master?"
Xie Lingyin appeared a little pale and crept closer to Fang Yuan. "Wu Country has many capable men. You can't go against them, so why don't you wait for an opportunity in the future!"
"There's no need for that!"
Fang Yuan waved her off.
Wasn't all the waiting he did just for this opportunity to give everyone a shock?
A person with the potential to advance to Elemental Opening Stage was a genius and had to be killed off early. However, for someone that had already advanced to that stage, he would be miles ahead of others, and they would have to bow down to him.
"You guys, who're coming to meet his or her death?"
Entering the arena, Fang Yuan stared down the people all around with a fierce aura emanating from him.
When General Feilong's and Wu Wudao's eyes met his, they could feel a chill run down their spine, as though as they had done something wrong.
The might of a person could suppress multiple generals!
The next strongest person in Yuan Country after Ge Ritu, Zhuoli Getu, licked his lips, and his blood seemed to start boiling.
"Since it's a matter of the secluded mountain, naturally the Wu Country will send someone!"
Just as Wu Qiankun was about to suggest General Feilong, he saw an expression of shock on Feilong's face, and he didn't feel very good inside while he said, "I'll have to trouble our Imperial Advisor!"
"Good!"
With a wave of his white sleeves, Wu Wudao entered the arena.
There was a death grudge between him and Fang Yuan as an Elemental Gathering Stage disciple of his was killed by Fang Yuan.
If he wasn't injured back then, he would have fought Fang Yuan to the death much earlier.
"Greetings, I am Wu Wudao!"
Wu Wudao took a step forward, and his aura was as grand as a tall mountain, "Secluded Mountain Prefecture Head, you killed my beloved disciple and occupied my country's land. I have to bring this to a conclusion today!"
"Exactly what I was thinking!"
Fang Yuan chucked, but inside he was contemplating whether to go all out from the start and use his martial arts to kill this old fogey in a few blows.
'One punch? That's a little too shocking right?'
'Two punches then, but it's still very shocking, three punches seem fine...'
'Heck it, why am I thinking so much, it's still better to kill him with one punch!'
If Wu Wudao could hear Fang Yuan's thoughts, he would probably have spat out a mouthful of blood there and then.
"Wooo woooo!!!"
However, just as Ge Litu was very excited to watch the fight, a deep horn sounded out from afar. It came gradually closer, bringing with it a smoke signal.
"What? It's the Grey Wolf Horn?"
Everyone was puzzled, and their mysterious gazes fell onto Ge Litu.
In that moment, Ge Litu felt as though as he had fallen into a pack of wolves.
"Let's go! Zhuoli Getu, go to escort the messenger. I'll coordinate the men!"
The Yuan Country had a system: whenever the Grey Wolf Horn was sounded, it meant that a sudden change had occurred in the country!
With this scene unfolding before them, even the Eighth Prince didn't have the mood to sit around, so he stood up and got ready to leave immediately.
"Wait! The ceremony isn't over yet..."
While Wu Qiankun put on a front, he secretly ordered General Feilong to mobilise the army, but still with a sheepish smile on his face. "Since Eighth Prince is here on behalf of your father, how could you leave in advance?"
"I'm not one of you! So why do I have to care about the rules of you southerners?"
The problems in his country were very pressing, almost as though as his eyebrows were on fire, hence Ge Ritu shouted rudely as such before striding off the stage.
Many elite sharpshooters followed closely behind, guarding him.
"Sigh…...It seems like there's really something important happening in Yuan Country!"
The King of Xia Country gazed upon the figures of the young prince and his entourage that faded away on the horizon, and suddenly suggested, "Why don't we postpone the conference for now?"
"But of course!"
"I support this move!"
The other kings were moved by this suggestion. All of them couldn't wait to leave, consolidate their men, and inquire about what had happened.
'What a pity... to let this kid escape!'
No matter how unwilling Wu Wudao was, he could only back down, returning to Wu Qiankin's side.
"However... "
Wu Qiankun nodded his head, "Fellow kings, please do not be in such a hurry to leave. This sudden change in the plains could be a good thing for us!"
"What a pity..."
No one knew that Fang yuan had the same idea as Wu Wudao, and at the same time, he was shocked by the recent developments.
What kind of catastrophe could have happened in the Yuan Country such that it caused the Eighth Prince to become so flustered?
...
That night, Fang Yuan and those in the higher echelons obtained a detailed report.
"Collapse of the country..."
After hearing this news, Xie Lingyin remained the calmest in the room, "Could it be that the old king's body was in a critical condition? That's why it was the Eighth Prince that came for the conference?"
"Impossible!"
In a moment, this thought was eliminated from her mind.
"If this was the case, then how could there have been this large a commotion. From the way that the Eighth Prince rushed back with his army, he was obviously not aware of what had happened. He was caught with his pants down!"
"Naturally!"
Fang Yuan agreed, "All princes of Yuan Country have their own subordinates and armies. Even if they were deemed to be backup kings, it would be a very dangerous time for them, not to mention if they were outside..."
"At this point, since the elite forces of our countries are here, if we muster a decisive blow, it could disrupt the leadership of the enemy..."
Lan Xiaosheng grabbed her fan, even breathing a little more roughly than before.
"That's not possible!"
This proposal might have been very tempting, but as quickly as Xie Lingyin's eyes lit up, they fizzled out as she looked outside the encampment.
All of the countries' armies were not only very far away, but also on guard. Obviously, their motives were not aligned.
"Even…...Even if all of our countries go into battle and wipe out the Yuan Country, there would still be other families in the plains that will rise up…...Once their forces are ready, they would still continue to head southwards."
Fang Yuan shook his head in frustration. This was the inevitable clash between the farming culture and nomad culture.
Farmers wanted to occupy the plains, and throughout history, unless there were industrial revolutions, they would either fail or become culturally assimilated without any other possible options available.
"Now I wonder what Wu Qiankun's reaction will be?"
Xie Lingyin's eyes lit up again, turning to face the encampment of the Wu Country.