Chapter 29: Peacemaker!
Above Great Ming Square, golden wisps of gas slowly gathered.
Before long, golden dragon scales, a sharp dragon claw, mighty whiskers, imposing dragon horns, and a massive dragon body gradually took shape!
"Two Emperors and eight kings—how do I compare to them?"
Boom~!
Roar!!!!!
The next instant, a beam of light shot straight toward Xu Nian'an at the center of the square.
Crack~!!!
With a crisp snap, it was as if a barrier had broken open somewhere inside Xu Nian'an's body.
Soul Power surged wildly within him.
[Level 20!]
Whoosh~ whoosh~ whoosh!!!
At Xu Nian'an's words, the Great Ming Army across the square sprang into action.
The bright Sun and Moon banners snapped in the gale.
The next instant, deafening replies rang out!
"His talents match the Two Emperors, his achievements surpass the Eight Kings!"
"His talents match the Two Emperors, his achievements surpass the Eight Kings!"
"His talents match the Two Emperors, his achievements surpass the Eight Kings!"
···
The deafening cries lingered for a long time.
Whenever Xu Nian'an needed a response, the Great Ming Army's roar was the best answer.
The Two Emperors Xu Nian'an spoke of were Dai Haochen, the emperor of the Star Luo Empire, and Xue Ye, the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire.
At the dawn of the Warring States era, the two great empires had secretly accumulated strength. After generations of effort, they began to conquer and seize territory. It had to be said that Dai Haochen and Xue Ye were both formidable rulers, expanding the territories of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire to unprecedented proportions.
But all of that had been built on the strength accumulated by countless generations of their empires.
And Xu Nian'an?
He had started with a group of eunuchs and could barely even manage to ascend the throne. He hadn't even gotten a system starter pack.
There had been rebellions and hostile factions aplenty. Less than a day after his coronation, two hundred thousand elite troops had marched on the capital, while traitors lurked beyond its walls.
Xu Nian'an had even once reduced the territory of the entire Great Ming Empire to barely a thousand li.
From north to south, it stretched like a straight line, plunging right into the heart of the Star Luo Empire.
"Gulp... Wh-what in the world is that?"
"Th-that's a dragon Soul Beast, isn't it? Why... why isn't it attacking him?"
"Could he really be the True Dragon Emperor?"
"To be able to say such things—and to take a tiny kingdom on the brink of extinction, prop it up single-handedly when it was tottering on the edge of collapse, build it into an empire, and hold back the Heaven Dou invasion—I have to say, this emperor may look young, but he's powerful. He's a rare and formidable ruler on this continent..."
The envoys of the two great empires stared, their eyes wide and filled with terror.
The people from the Heaven Dou Empire's delegation were especially on edge, alarm bells ringing in their minds.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on completing the main quest: The Empire's First Battle. Slay 500,000 enemies and receive the following rewards...] [Rewards: a 500,000-year Soul Ring (adaptive), a Soul Engineer Legion of fifty Soul Saints, and the nation's ultimate weapon, the Level 9 Soul Tool Little Girl! (Peacemaker)]
As the system notifications suddenly rang out in his mind, Xu Nian'an's eyes lit up.
A Soul Engineer Legion of fifty Soul Saints.
That was easy enough to understand: an army of Soul Engineers made up of fifty Soul Saints.
But what was this Little Girl...?
[Nation's ultimate weapon, Level 9 Soul Tool Little Girl: Her homeland is invaded, her home destroyed, her father and elder brother fall one after another. She sheds tears of grief and kindles the flame of hope!] (Peacemaker: Damage radius of one city; inflicts additional curse damage.)
Peacemaker?
You called that a Peacemaker???
Wasn't this more like a Peace-er?
Even in Xu Nian'an's previous life, this would have been an absolutely top-tier weapon of mass destruction.
A weapon like this in the hands of a madman was simply... too awesome!
[Ding! Main quest triggered: Lead the expedition in person, defend your territory, defeat the invaders, and spread your renown across the continent!]
At last, it had come to this.
Whoosh~!!!
Xu Nian'an slowly raised his head, a flicker of resolve in his eyes.
He had dealt Heaven Dou a painful blow once. Now they definitely didn't have enough troops left to stop him.
So this time, it was the Star Luo Empire's turn.
Eight hundred thousand. It was no small number, but most of them were surely just there to fill the ranks.
Militia, for instance. When commoners took up swords and spears and stood on the front lines, they counted as soldiers too. But their combat strength was... negligible.
At a time like this, protecting one's country and fighting in a war were a citizen's duty. Some people in the empire were paid, while others had to provide everything themselves—not just money, but even their own weapons and armor.
"Today, I solemnly declare!"
"War against the Heaven Dou Empire!"
"War against the Star Luo Empire!"
"War against the Hadrian Kingdom!"
"War against the Gilikris Kingdom!"
····
Xu Nian'an named five or six countries in one breath and declared war on them all.
Most were vassal powers of the Star Luo Empire.
Even if he didn't declare war now, he would have to fight them sooner or later. He might as well do it all at once.
Where did Xu Nian'an get the confidence?
After all, he was taking on two empires at once.
The answer was the Peacemaker.
If he couldn't win, one shot from it would surely silence the entire world and leave countless people trembling in fear.
No one would know whether Xu Nian'an had a second one, and no one would dare test it.
Besides, even without using the Peacemaker, Xu Nian'an wasn't necessarily going to lose against the Star Luo Empire.
Xu Nian'an's voice rang out like thunder, echoing across Great Ming Square and making the envoys of the two great empires tremble to their very cores.
"How dare he!"
"How dare he?"
"Madman! He's a complete madman!"
···
Xu Nian'an paid them no mind and turned to leave.
"Make the preparations. This time, I'll personally lead the expedition!"
Thump~!
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
Inside Ming Emperor Hall, everyone dropped to their knees the instant they heard the news.
Xu Nian'an looked at Xu Yi, who stood at the head of the group.
"Give me one reason."
At Xu Nian'an's words, Xu Yi answered without hesitation.
"The front lines are far too dangerous. Great Ming still needs Your Majesty to lead it. You must not let anything happen to yourself."
"The Son of Heaven guards the gates of the realm. A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall, Your Majesty!"
"This battle against Star Luo—I am willing to go!"
Xu Nian'an waved a hand.
"You have something more important to do for me."
"I'm giving you a hundred thousand Dragon Guards. Guard Great Ming's northern border for one month."
"Xu Yi!"
Xu Yi's face first showed worry, then reluctance, and at last the resignation of a man who could not defy the emperor's command.
"Your servant is here!"
"Guard Great Ming's northern border for one month. If the border is breached or invaded within that month, you'll be Great Ming's sinner!"
"But if it's breached on the thirty-second day, after that month has passed, then you'll be Great Ming's hero."
"When I return, I'll reward you!"
Night fell.
In the Great Ming Imperial Palace, a blood-red pillar of light shot into the heavens, dyeing half the sky over Ming City crimson.
Roar~! Roar~! Roar!!!
Before Xu Nian'an, a Dragon-Pattern Longsword spun incessantly as a blood-red Soul Ring slowly descended around him.
On closer inspection, the crimson Soul Ring bore three life runes.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
"Great Worship."
As several figures emerged from the darkness and rushed toward the palace, just as they were about to enter Ming Emperor Hall to see what was happening, a tall figure stepped in front of them.
"His Majesty is cultivating. Get out!!!"
In the Douluo Calendar, 2625, early July.
On the very day the Star Luo Empire declared war on Great Ming, it sent troops to attack the Galloping Wolf territory.
Following Xu Nian'an's earlier instructions, the Galloping Wolf garrison had abandoned some of its territory.
After seeing its initial success, the Star Luo Empire grew greedy. It split its eight hundred thousand troops into two forces and attacked Xingyao City.
It planned to cut off Great Ming's communications and supply lines by taking Xingyao City, which lay beside Star Luo Province, then reclaim all of the southern territories and seize victory.
Unfortunately, back when Xu Nian'an had ordered it, Xu Yi and the people there had spent a long time building Xingyao City into a formidable fortress. The city was solid, and its people fought to the death. The Star Luo Empire could not take it despite repeated attacks and failed to achieve any significant gains.
July 3.
Xu Nian'an arrived on the battlefield with three hundred thousand Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, one hundred thousand elite soldiers, fifty thousand Dragon Guards, the Holy Spirit Cult, and the Soul Engineer Legion.
In an instant, with the force of a thunderbolt, he reclaimed all the territory in the Galloping Wolf region and marched straight for Star Luo Province.
The Star Luo Empire's eight hundred thousand troops turned back to defend.
They also established the Tiger Roar Defense Line in Tiger Roar Forest, not far from Xingyao City.
"You can just call off the fighting and retreat whenever you feel like it?"
On the other side of the Tiger Roar Defense Line, fifty rows of fixed-mounted Soul Cannons stood ready.
"Sorry, times have changed!"
"Fire!!!"