On the nineteenth day of the twelfth month, everyone had assembled in Stone City within Immortal Cave, while the light snow continued to fall.
But that hardly mattered. Above the snow line, the mountain was always covered in snow, yet the road to Heavenly Lake remained clear... the Demon-Suppressing Guard had repaired and maintained it repeatedly, even clearing snow and sweeping it, whether for this day or not... that did not mean the road was easy, however. In fact, even a healthy Orthodox Meridian or Extraordinary Meridian cultivator needed two days to reach Heavenly Lake from Immortal Cave.
Considering the complicated composition of the dragon-slaying force, they might well need longer.
Besides, although rumors had long been flying throughout the Northern Lands, when the White-Stepping Cavalry and some of the military experts spending the winter there were assembled and told they were going up the mountain to slay a dragon, it still unsettled everyone... it would have been strange if it had not!
This was truly, genuinely slaying a dragon!
Still, the Exorcising the Dragon Gang had risen through warfare, and the White-Stepping Cavalry possessed military acumen of their own. With over twenty experienced chiefs, including Xu Shiren, Wang Shuyong, and Reckless Diamond, added to the ranks, Zhang Xing leading in person, and the extraordinary fighting strength of one Great Grandmaster and five Grandmasters accompanying them, together with the unusual nature of their assembly point, all these factors finally kept everyone outwardly steady.
By then, the ballistae had all been transported... neither the Exorcising the Dragon Gang nor the Demon-Suppressing Guard had done it. Yin Tianqi had personally arranged for locals to handle the task. Team after team of hunters, gatherers, Heavenly Lake worshippers, and traveling buyers had dismantled fifteen ballistae and carried them up in batches over several days