Northern Expedition! Northern Expedition!

Chapter Forty-One

Aperture Opening Realm!

Those three words seemed to possess a magical power. As Chen Qing broke through, the whirlpool of spiritual energy and Killing Intent he had stirred gradually subsided. The majestic aura around him, deep as an abyss and steadfast as a mountain, blending into the surroundings, made Old Niu, Sun Quezi, and the others who had rushed over upon hearing the news stop involuntarily outside the camp gates. Awe rose in their hearts, and none dared approach rashly.

It was the natural oppression brought about by a difference in the level of life itself.

Chen Qing slowly opened his eyes. The dark-red vortex within his pupils had vanished, leaving them as deep as ancient wells, though now and then, a chilling gleam still flashed within them. He felt the power surging through him like a great river, faintly resonating with heaven and earth, as well as the Fierce Tiger Domain within a fifteen-meter radius, as obedient to his will as an arm or finger and containing the true intent of slaughter and extinction. An unprecedented sense of control welled up within him.

"General... y-you broke through?" Old Niu's voice trembled, filled with both excitement and reverence.

Chen Qing gave a slight nod and swept his gaze across the crowd. "Clean up the battlefield. Imprison that severely injured Azure Wolf Death Warrior and keep a strict watch over him."

"Yes!" everyone answered in thunderous unison, their gazes toward Chen Qing growing even more fervent. Even the Royal Court's Azure Wolf Death Warriors had been defeated and captured. The general's strength was already unfathomable!

Before long, the camp had been cleared. The Azure Wolf Death Warrior, one arm crippled and grievously wounded to the point of death, was secretly imprisoned. This man was of enormous value. Whether interrogating him for Royal Court intelligence or studying the annihilating Killing Intent he cultivated, both would greatly benefit Chen Qing.

The news of Chen Qing breaking through to the Aperture Opening Realm and crushing the Azure Wolf Death Warrior squad could not be concealed, nor was there any need to conceal it. Like a hurricane sweeping across the Northern Frontier, it spread through the borderlands and reached the Imperial Capital faster than ever before.

The Northern Frontier's defensive line erupted completely!

"Aperture Opening Realm! General Zhenbei has broken through to the Aperture Opening Realm!"

"Even the Azure Wolf Death Warriors were defeated by the general! Heavens!"

"Northern Expedition! Northern Expedition! Flatten the Northern Mang Royal Court!"

The soldiers' morale soared to its peak. Countless petitions for battle flew like snowflakes toward the command tent and Chen Qing's desk. Everyone realized that an unprecedented opportunity had arrived!

Imperial Capital, Yujing City.

This time, even the Emperor of Great Yan, who had always sat upon the dragon throne with his joy and anger hidden from sight, could not help but suddenly rise when he received the battle report. Undisguised shock appeared on his face, along with... a trace of wariness.

"Aperture Opening Realm... an Aperture Opening Realm at barely twenty..." the Emperor murmured, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrest of the dragon throne. "Chen Qing... this boy truly is a Fiend Star sent down by heaven."

Below him, the civil and military officials were silent as cicadas in winter. Many faces shifted as different thoughts churned within them. Chen Qing had risen too quickly—so quickly that it made people uneasy. Especially with that Killing Intent that orthodox tradition could not tolerate; now that he had broken through to the Aperture Opening Realm, his power and threat had already exceeded many people's control.

"Your Majesty," the Minister of War stepped forth, his voice dry, "General Chen's achievements tower over all, and his breakthrough to the Aperture Opening Realm is truly a great blessing for the nation. However, the Northern Mang Royal Court has been established for centuries and possesses deep foundations. Moreover, the shaman National Preceptor stands guard there, and he may have entered the middle or even late stage of the Aperture Opening Realm many years ago... Would launching a northern expedition now be... too hasty?"

"Too hasty?" the Emperor snorted coldly. "Must we wait until Northern Mang catches its breath and marches south again? Chen Qing has already broken through and carries the momentum of a great victory. The morale is there to be used! Convey My decree!"

His gaze swept over the entire court, his voice resolute and decisive. "Bestow upon Chen Qing the title of Great General of the Northern Expedition. He shall command all military and civil affairs of the Northern Frontier. Grant him the battle-axe, ceremonial axe, banners, and command plaques, allowing him to act as circumstances dictate! Order him to immediately reorganize the army, march north, and strike straight at the Northern Mang Royal Court! I shall await news of his triumphant return in Yujing!"

Great General of the Northern Expedition! Command of the Northern Frontier's military and civil affairs! Authority to act as circumstances dictated!

This was practically handing all power over the Northern Frontier into Chen Qing's hands! It showed both the Emperor's determination and his complicated, inexpressible attitude toward Chen Qing—he wished to wield his sharp edge, yet had no choice but to grant him boundless authority.

The imperial decree was dispatched once more by an eight-hundred-li urgent courier.

The Northern Frontier. The Black Tiger Camp had been renamed the Northern Expeditionary Army's main camp.

Inside the command tent, Chen Qing received the Emperor's decree and the battle-axes, banners, and command plaques symbolizing supreme authority. His expression remained calm, without much excitement. To him, power was merely a tool.

He casually set the decree aside, his gaze settling on the enormous map of the Northern Frontier hanging before him. At last, his finger landed on the region representing the heart of Northern Mang's power.

"Pass the order to the three armies." His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable decisiveness as it echoed through the command tent. "In three days, we shall swear our oaths and march north. The point of our blades—will be the Northern Mang Royal Court!"

"Northern Expedition!"

"Northern Expedition!"

"Northern Expedition!"

Outside the tent, tens of thousands of Northern Expeditionary Army soldiers let out earth-shaking roars. Killing Intent shot into the heavens, and their fighting spirit arced like a rainbow!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Upon the drill grounds, fifty thousand elite soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army stood in solemn formation, their armor gleaming with martial might and their weapons standing like a forest. A fierce and domineering Killing Intent from the army formation shot straight into the sky. These fifty thousand were the bravest and fiercest warriors Chen Qing had selected from the entire Northern Frontier defensive line, with the five thousand veteran soldiers of the Black Tiger Camp still forming the core.

Chen Qing stood atop the command platform, clad in pitch-black armor, his cloak snapping in the wind. He said nothing more, merely slowly drawing the ring-pommel saber at his waist.

The blade was dark red, its Killing Intent restrained, yet it possessed an innate majesty that made hearts tremble.

The blade's edge pointed toward the north.

"Move out."

There was no impassioned proclamation, only two simple words.

Yet those two words were like a fuse lit beneath a barrel of gunpowder!

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

All fifty thousand troops roared in unison, the soundwaves like a tsunami sweeping across the wilderness! Iron hooves thundered, the earth shook, and a black torrent surged northward like furious waves after a dike burst—toward their fated enemy!

The Northern Expedition had officially begun!

Chen Qing rode at the head of the army. The aura of the Aperture Opening Realm faintly connected with the Killing Intent of the entire formation, giving the marching force a fierce momentum that could shatter anything in its path and nothing could stop.

Along the way, every Northern Mang sentry post and stronghold fled at the mere sight of them, not daring to meet their edge. Without spilling a drop of blood, the Northern Expeditionary Army advanced hundreds of li into Northern Mang's heartland.

When the news reached the Northern Mang Royal Court, the entire people were shaken!

Left Virtuous King Wuwei's face was ashen. He knew that the final battle had become unavoidable. On one hand, he frantically reinforced the Royal Court's defenses; on the other, he once again sent the most urgent plea for aid to the Sacred Mountain forbidden ground.

Deep within the Sacred Mountain forbidden ground, atop the frozen altar, the Northern Mang National Preceptor, who had long sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, slowly opened them. His eyes no longer held their usual depth. Instead, two clusters of ghostly blue flames burned within them.

Before him stood nine Azure Wolf Death Warriors, their auras even deeper and colder than those of the previous three.

"Aperture Opening Realm... Baleful Tiger..." The National Preceptor's voice carried ancient vicissitudes and icy killing intent. "As expected, the enemy ordained by fate—the heir of the Black Tiger..."

He slowly rose to his feet. The nine totem stone pillars surrounding the altar simultaneously lit up with dim light.

"Awaken... the 'Wolf God Guard.'"

The nine Azure Wolf Death Warriors shuddered as one. Fervor and resolve appeared in their eyes as they answered in unison:

"We obey the National Preceptor's decree!"

The Northern Mang Royal Court's final reserve was about to awaken.

Meanwhile, the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Chen Qing continued advancing unwaveringly toward the Royal Court.

The forces representing the strongest power on both sides were rapidly closing in on the point of their final collision with an inevitability that could not be avoided.

The fate of the Northern Frontier, and even the balance of the entire realm, would be completely rewritten in this battle.