Chapter 31: Western Alliance!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~~~!!!
Scorching waves of fire rippled slowly. The instant the woman appeared, another figure silently materialized beside Xu Nian'an.
The Peerless Tang Sect's Saintess?
How many Saintesses could the Peerless Tang Sect have? There were only Ma Xiaotao and Tang Ya.
When it came to fire and the Phoenix Martial Soul, wasn't Ma Xiaotao the only one who fit?
The funny thing was, she seemed to be Ma Hongjun's descendant.
According to the lore, the current Ma Xiaotao seemed to have forgotten she was Ma Xiaotao. She only knew herself as the Holy Spirit Cult's Saintess.
"Elder Long is fine."
Seeing Long Xiaoyao appear beside him, Xu Nian'an smiled.
After hearing Xu Nian'an's words, Long Xiaoyao gave him a deep look, then vanished in an instant.
"I heard your flames are powerful?"
Ma Xiaotao didn't reply. She simply nodded silently.
Seeing this, Xu Nian'an smiled.
"Do me a favor."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Storage Ring on Xu Nian'an's right hand began to shimmer.
If you were wondering where the Storage Ring had come from, the answer was simple: he already had a Level 9 Soul Engineer and a legion of fifty Level 7 Soul Engineers. How hard could it be to make a Storage Soul Tool?
After a flash of light, a red crystal jade box appeared in Xu Nian'an's hand.
The instant the red crystal jade box appeared, Ma Xiaotao frowned. She stepped forward and gently took it in both hands.
"Your Majesty, it's dangerous."
Crack~!!!
The jade box slowly opened. The next instant, an intensely powerful flame surged out.
Many Immortal Herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well would rapidly lose and release their energy once separated from their roots and the soil that nourished them.
To that, Xu Nian'an could only say: why not pull them up by the roots and bring some soil along?
"Help me refine it!"
After speaking, Xu Nian'an immediately sat cross-legged on the ground. The next instant, a surge of immensely powerful Soul Power lifted the Immortal Herb.
It drew it toward him.
Powerful fire elements erupted at once.
"Careful!"
Ma Xiaotao was shocked when she saw this.
The energy contained in this little plant was no trifling matter. If he wasn't a fire-type Soul Master, he could very well be seriously injured—or even devoured by its potent medicinal power.
Hum~!
Before Ma Xiaotao could do anything, a great sun slowly appeared behind Xu Nian'an.
"Don't hesitate. Hurry."
Xu Nian'an glanced at Ma Xiaotao, then bit into the Infernal Delicate Apricot.
Hum~!!!!
A violent surge of energy erupted, and a beam of light shot straight into the sky!
Feeling the restless energy surge inside his body, Xu Nian'an's face flushed an unusual red.
This feeling... Damn, how long had it been since he'd felt this?
Xu Nian'an suddenly felt scorching hot all over, his mouth dry and parched, his entire body itching.
Just as he was growing restless and unbearably itchy, a pair of soft, boneless hands touched him.
The next instant, the strange sensation inside him was slowly suppressed.
Xu Nian'an felt himself being held in a warm embrace.
Thump~!!
Thump~!!!
A series of muffled booms sounded inside his body as Xu Nian'an's Soul Power surged.
Before long, he reached Level 30.
Last time, the three-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring had raised Xu Nian'an's Soul Power to Level 28.
That was why Xu Nian'an's Soul Power could break through Level 30 so quickly.
"System, extract the five-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring!"
Hum~!!!
The next instant, a blood-red beam shot into the sky from the imperial camp in Xingyao City, dyeing half the heavens above the city red.
A gigantic blood-red Soul Ring slowly appeared and settled around Xu Nian'an and Ma Xiaotao.
Five life patterns glimmered on the blood-red Soul Ring.
···
Star Luo Empire.
Dawn was just breaking.
But the Star Luo Empire had already convened its morning court.
"Your Majesty, all our people in the Galloping Wolf Kingdom have already been forcibly driven out."
"I advise dividing our eight-hundred-thousand-strong army into two columns and sweeping through Galloping Wolf from Tianxing Province."
"That way, we can avoid clashing with Great Ming's main forces. When Heaven Dou sends in its troops, Great Ming will be under pressure to fight on three fronts."
With three fronts to fight on and the battle lines stretched so far, the newly established Great Ming Empire could easily suffer a total defeat.
It had to be said, this was an excellent strategy: hold the main front in place, then drive a wedge through the secondary front.
As long as the early stages went well, the longer things dragged on, the more certain Great Ming Empire's defeat would be!
On the throne,
the Star Luo Empire's Emperor, Dai Haochen, wore a dark expression.
Against an empire that had only just risen from a kingdom, they still had to use a pincer strategy? What did that mean?
"Is my vast Star Luo Empire really inferior to Great Ming, which rose from a tiny little country?"
Crash~!!!
At once, a large section of the court fell to their knees.
"Y-Your Majesty, I only did this to prevent most of Star Luo's forces from suff—"
Before the minister could finish, Dai Haochen fixed him with a cold stare.
"Silence!"
"No matter what, we have a combined force of eight hundred thousand against their seven hundred thousand. The advantage lies with the Star Luo Empire!"
"Would our mighty Star Luo Empire really fear a puny Great Ming, an empire that hasn't even existed for a month?"
Footsteps thundered in haste just then, echoing throughout the hall.
"Urgent dispatch!"
"Urgent dispatch!"
"Your Majesty, an urgent battle report from the Tiger Roar Defense Line!"
The hall fell silent at once.
Dai Haochen's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Bring it here!"
At Dai Haochen's words, the messenger shook his head, his face heavy with grief.
"The situation was urgent, so nothing was written down. It was... it was General Zhu Ke's oral report!"
Dai Haochen furrowed his brows.
"Speak!"
···
"Your Majesty, the Tiger Roar Defense Line's barracks were attacked last night by strange weapons from the Great Ming Empire. Large numbers of our soldiers were blown to ashes in their sleep.
"After three volleys, our casualties were devastating. Great Ming's Dragon Armor Army and hundreds of thousands of cavalry then launched a surprise attack. Although, under my command, the army quickly regrouped, the tide of defeat was already impossible to stop. The Tiger Roar Defense Line has now fallen, with casualties nearing two hundred thousand!"
At this news, Dai Haochen's face went pale.
Two hundred thousand... In an instant, their advantage in combined forces had vanished.
Strange weapons? Could they be the ones they used while attacking the Galloping Wolf Kingdom? Damn it!
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, I believe we should move the capital!"
"That's right! The Great God Lake Defense Line is only a hundred-odd kilometers from Star Luo City. By the time they reach it, it'll be too late. We'll have to live right under their noses!"
Hearing the voices all around him, Dai Haochen was in turmoil.
Move the capital?
What kind of joke was this? If he really moved the capital, it would be a disgrace—a disgrace that he and the Star Luo Empire would never live down.
Less than a week into the war, and they'd already be fighting to defend their capital? Was this a game?
"Silence!"
"I will never move the capital! We still have the Great God Lake Defense Line, we still have so many kingdoms, and we still have our ally, the Heaven Dou Empire!"
"Right! Send an order to Heaven Dou at once. Tell them to send troops and stop Great Ming!"
By the time this news reached the Heaven Dou Empire, several days had already passed.
The Heaven Dou Empire had already thrown away five hundred thousand troops. The rest were guarding the capital and couldn't be spared.
With no choice, Heaven Dou—unwilling to contribute but afraid the Star Luo Empire would simply withdraw and abandon the fight—could only pressure its little brothers, the remaining kingdoms, to send troops.
Unfortunately, they immediately met with opposition.
The one leading the charge was the Hagendas Kingdom.
When the letter was delivered to Emperor Xue Ye, he was instantly furious.
The only thing written on the cover was: Western Alliance.
After receiving Xu Nian'an's plan, Hagendas had wasted no time contacting the neighboring kingdoms. It had also hinted, both openly and covertly, to Great Ming that they wanted a chance to break free from Heaven Dou's control.
In particular, after Hagendas claimed that Great Ming had slaughtered five hundred thousand Heaven Dou troops, the kingdoms felt things were looking more and more promising—more and more worth a shot.
Then, after watching Xu Nian'an declare war on the two great empires and several kingdoms under the Star Luo Empire, they immediately announced the formation of the United Nations!