NOVPUB
Chapter 1113: Letting Loose in All Out Battle! (I)
It was afternoon of the next day when the group returned to Silver City. The parley of five directions would commence at the Barren wastelands in three days. Based on the set time, that was the day after tomorrow.
Despite not knowing the situation at hand, Li Hao continuously picked up the pace as he traveled. He didn’t want to cause any delays. Earthflare had been an unexpected surprise. The young man had been prepared to practice his sword intent and force open more dao meridians before taking a risk.
The Red Moon powerhouse had been a great boon to his cause.
......
Silver City.
Reinforcements from all over arrived in a steady stream, exerting pressure on Great Li facing them on the other side of the plains.
Holding down the fort at the Great Li camp, head priest Jiang Li was very nervous as Li Hao’s people were gathering once more. He knew how strong the young man’s side was and Great Li was not Divine Nation. They did not have that many divine spirits to call upon for help.
In all of Great Li, he and the king were the only ones who could stand against Li Hao and those Silver Moon martial masters. Not even the leaders of the royal guards were up to the task.
Just as the priest fretted, he suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. Someone had returned—the Great Li king.
Outside the military camp.
The Great Li king drifted through the air, frowning slightly as he looked at Silver City. All communication had been suddenly cut off one day.
While Great Li hadn’t been able to directly transmit messages to Silver Moon before, it was feasible after they crossed Ash Mountain. But now, he was unable to contact anyone, including some intelligence networks that he’d built in private.
And yet, the billowing presence from the city indicated that the young man was in residence. The key was, Li Hao’s idiot replica had been killed by the powerhouse that called himself Red Dust. It would be troublesome if Li Hao decided to raise a fuss over that.
“My king!”
“Your Majesty!” People bowed when they saw their liege. The various tribes were very respectful and reverent of their formidable king. However, it’d been many days since they entered Silver Moon. While no large-scale battles had broken out after they made camp, battle never ceased and was ongoing...
And yet, the powerhouses on both sides didn’t seem to care.
Both Li Hao and the Great Li king ran off, then returned. They seemed to have reached an unknown agreement that greatly worried many.
......
Within the military camp.
The Great Li king’s return quickly brought the arrival of Jiang Li, as well as the leaders of the royal guard.
The king inclined his head at the priest. “Speak of the situation you encountered when you traveled with Li Hao to the west during this king’s absence.”
Jiang Li quickly summarized everything that’d taken place on the trip. The king frowned at what he heard. So Saint-level powerhouses were a potential occurrence now. That cultivation level exceeded the current limits of the world. Thankfully, they were still limited in what they could do in the world. They could not simply do as they wished. Perhaps there wouldn’t be much of an issue if he could block one blow from these Saints.
Divine Nation was hardly weak—they were very, very strong. Barren Dynasty possessed desolate beasts and the Watercloud empress dowager was another powerhouse. Her entire nation depended on her, which was rather surprising.
Li Hao had recruited some New Martial powerhouses, but he didn’t seem fully aligned with New Martial.
“How interesting,” smiled the Great Li king. “Thank goodness we haven’t become everyone’s target. Li Hao’s side is rather strong, more’s the pity...”
He shook his head with slight pity. Li Hao’s side was doomed to become a common enemy. Even he had only come to a temporary truce with the young man. Great Li could not possibly stand with Li Hao as the young man needed to face too much.
It was all very troublesome!
Not to mention, Li Hao’s side didn’t stand much of a chance of victory. Great Li was an independent dynasty, how would it easily draw closer to Li Hao? That would be truly courting death.
The Great Li king hadn’t minded Li Hao when the young man said he would bring the king along to attack an ancient city. Small ruins were possible at the moment, but the eight main cities were out of the question. They all had Saints in residence!
Li Hao had one on his side, but based on Jiang Li’s words, that one seemed to care more about New Martial. In this regard, the young man wouldn’t be able to threaten the main cities.
“Everyone will be gathered in the Barren wasteland in two days,” said the king when another thought struck him. “This locale is not too far away from Barren Dynasty, but it will still take half a day of travel. We leave for Barren tomorrow!”
“My king... are we going to the Barren wasteland?” Jiang Li blinked.
“Correct,” nodded the king. “The one we cooperate with has sent a replica. He calls himself Red Dust and is a horrifying individual. This king suspects that he is at least an Empyrean King, if not an exalted emperor! Just a replica imposed a lot of pressure. He also killed Li Hao’s replica.”
“What??” Jiang Li jerked with shock. “Ah...”
No wonder the atmosphere had been so tense lately. Li Hao’s side seemed ready to destroy something. Was pandemonium about to descend upon the world?
“There is no doubt that the young man will die,” sighed the Great Li king.
“My king...”
“Whether it’s me or anyone else, the two biggest threats to us at present are Li Hao and Divine Nation to the west. But there are certain drawbacks to Divine Nation and they are diametrically opposed to New Martial. Although Li Hao has not been able to recruit New Martial to his banner, he has reached a balance with them and certain factions—such as Battle Heaven—are willing to offer limited support.
“As that makes it, there is a greater threat from Li Hao’s side than Divine Nation. He will be able to partner with New Martial even after the second awakening, whereas Divine Nation can only maintain the status quo.
“Therefore, Li Hao must die despite having occupied the central region!” sighed the Great Li king. “Also, there is a universal need for the Skystar mine. We need it, the other three nations need it, and Red Dust’s faction... Li Hao has no choice but to be the general target.
“Of course, we should bide our time for the time being and wait for the meeting to be over. Let’s see if we can agree on certain conditions and how much each side is willing to invest, as well as what the final division of spoils are...”
“My king, Li Hao is hard to handle!” The frown had not left Jiang Li’s face all this time. “He may not be invincible in the outside world, but few are those who can keep him where they want him. Also, he still has Zhang An on his side. Although Zhang An is limited in the outside world, he is near invincible for the present moment. It will take a prodigious price from the powerful divine spirits of Divine Nation to kill him...”
“We can give it a try and sit down at the table first,” responded the Great Li king. “Not to mention, Red Dust’s side will surely have made their preparations. You seem... afraid of the young man?
“Are you afraid, head priest?” The king turned to Jiang Li with a slight frown. “Surely not. As strong as Li Hao is, it would be an over exaggeration to be afraid of him. It is true that he is not weak, but you may not necessarily lose to him if you utilize the bones of Initial Martial.”
Jiang Li didn’t have a response. While Li Hao’s side was terrifyingly strong, it wasn’t to the point of inducing despair in others. He’d even lost to Divine Nation when he challenged them. The second time didn’t count—Li Hao had well and truly lost to the Divine Nation queen the first time.
But given how jovial Li Hao’s group had been in defeat... Jiang Li once more felt that this was a faction that wouldn’t be easily defeated.
“My king, you don’t hold high hopes for Li Hao to stage a comeback either, do you?” asked the priest.
“He has no hope of reversing the situation so long as Zhang An is neutralized!” answered the Great Li king after thinking the matter over. “One of the main points in the parley is Zhang An. Any side that manages to curtail him will clear the way for the rest. Our joint forces will absolutely be able to defeat Li Hao and the Silver Moon martial masters!”
There was no doubt about that!
Li Hao was the strongest powerhouse of his side and he was weaker than the Divine Nation queen. The rest of the Silver Moon martial masters would find it difficult to escape from the other divine nation rulers and Skystar’s army was not worth mention. How would Li Hao be able to recover from such a loss?
The Great Li king couldn’t think of any other way in which Li Hao would be able to turn the situation around.
A berserk slaughter?
If the young man did that, that would start the second awakening. The first task on Red Dust’s agenda after emerging in the real world would be to kill Li Hao—that was inevitable. He was a descendant of the Li family!
Great Li and the other nations could come to certain compromises after the second awakening. Li Hao... was out of luck. He had reached the end of his road.
“Let’s not demonstrate any hostility for now,” said the king when his thoughts traveled here. “The army does not need to retreat yet. We can make our arrangements after the meeting concludes.”
Jiang Li wanted to speak on, but the Great Li king frowned and waved him off.
“Everyone else is dismissed, the head priest can stay.”
The rest quickly walked away.
“Does the head priest have more business at hand?” the king asked with a frown when the tent was clear.
“The king wanted to suppress the ancient cities before and commence a duel of modern powerhouses,” Jiang Li said slowly after contemplation. “Why... have you changed your mind and decided to ally with the rest to kill Li Hao?”
“This king has changed my actions to suit the times!” sighed the Great Li king. “If Great Li continues to tie itself to Li Hao’s ship, then we might be the first nation annihilated since our foundations do not run as deep as Li Hao’s! As strong as the Initial Martial gods are, there are restrictions on them now. Red Dust’s faction appears to be gentle, but Great Li might drown in a sea of blood and mountains of corpses if this king rejects them!”
The other side hadn’t commenced mass slaughter yet because it worked with the four nations and Li Hao had continuously held down the fort in the central region. Great Li wouldn’t be able to endure the consequences if they declined the offer. Who would rescue them once Red Dust descended to annihilate the nation?
No one!
Any side but Red Dust’s faction would refrain from brazenly killing anyone they saw. Red Dust wanted nothing more than a general massacre. In that case, all one could do with them for the moment was cooperate.
“But they’ll revitalize all the same if we execute Li Hao’s side!” frowned Jiang Li. “Red Dust’s ultimate goal in killing Li Hao and partnering with the four nations is to revitalize the world. Even if we do kill Li Hao, it is only a matter of time before these people emerge in the world. Based on current circumstances, whether it’s the slumbering main cities or others, no one can stand against them!”
Wouldn’t the situation be extremely difficult then?
