Chapter 488: Invasion of the Army (One)
After a day and a half worth of traveling, the million strong army from the Gesun Kingdom and the Qinhuang Kingdom had finally arrived at the stronghold of the Andreas Kingdom. Visible from about twenty kilometers away, a large group of people could be seen gathered on top of the stronghold walls. Several banners with the symbol of the Andreas Kingdom could be seen floating in the wind overhead.
Seeing the situation right in front of them, Ming Dong rode toward Jian Chen and pointed at the sight, “Brother, do you think that the people of the Andreas Kingdom think we are here to fight them?”
Jian Chen had long since understood the circumstances of the sight in front of them with his presence, and shook his head with a smile, “No, definitely not. They are in fact here to welcome us.”
“Welcome us?” Ming Dong was taken aback for a moment before covering up his emotions, “Haha, that makes sense. It seems that the might of the soldiers of the Qinhuang Kingdom is extraordinary enough to frighten even the Andreas Kingdom’s stronghold into welcoming us.”
“Haha, but of course. The Qinhuang Kingdom is one of the Eight Great Powers, their might is unquestionable. The Andreas Kingdom on the other hand isn’t even equal to our Gesun Kingdom. Just how could they not fear the Qinhuang Kingdom? This king believes that one of the people receiving us will be the king of the Andreas Kingdom.” The king of the Gesun Kingdom spoke with a great laugh and an expression that exuded pride.
Cheerfully, the group made their way toward the Andreas Kingdom’s stronghold in record speed. They were soon a hundred meters within receiving distance of the Andreas Kingdom.
The king of the Gesun Kingdom hadn’t been wrong with his guess. Among the group that came forward to receive them, around a hundred of them were the chancellors and armored generals of the king. At their head was an elderly man in his sixties with a crane hairstyle and dressed in a dragon robe; this man was the king of the Andreas Kingdom. Every single person looked exhausted — a clear indicator that they came scurrying from the imperial palace without stopping once to rest.
The king of the Andreas Kingdom strode forward with a grim expression before cupping his hand together in salute. “This one is the king of the Andreas Kingdom. I am here to personally receive the guests from the Qinhuang Kingdom into my Andreas Kingdom as honored guests.” With that, the king of the Andreas Kingdom looked over the entire group before looking straight at Jian Chen who was positioned at the very front of the group. In his heart, the king thought, “This must be an extremely important person from the Qinhuang Kingdom.” Straight away, the king stared at Jian Chen with a look of utter reverence.
The army of a million had finally begun to slow down their pace. Not too long after, the distance between them and the Andreas Kingdom became twenty meters apart.
Not a single person made a sound as Jian Chen muttered to himself. Then, he turned around to the king behind him, “Your Majesty, if you could make the negotiations with him.”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The king immediately smiled with a joyous expression. Jian Chen’s actions illustrated just how high of a status the king retained.
The king’s Class 3 Golden Lion mount slowly moved forward to meet with the king of the Andreas Kingdom.
Jian Chen’s actions had confirmed the Andreas Kingdom’s king’s own thoughts. This youth that was leading the entire group was definitely a very high and mighty person within the Qinhuang Kingdom.
The negotiations between the two kingdoms were completed quickly. Without any words of familiarity between the two kings, the king of the Gesun Kingdom immediately told the other king that the army would cross through the borders of the Andreas Kingdom in order to arrive at the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom. The king of the Andreas Kingdom had already guessed that would happen. He was pleased and immediately agreed with enthusiasm that made it seem as if this was what he had wanted since the very beginning.
Both kings made no notion to continue speaking with one another and returned to their respective groups. Soon, the army began to cross into the territory of the Andreas Kingdom.
Seeing the army ride past him, the king of the Andreas Kingdom couldn’t help but reveal an anxious look. Hurriedly running toward Jian Chen who was still close by, he cupped his hands respectfully, “Honorable… honorable master.” The king knew that Jian Chen represented the Qinhuang Kingdom and was undoubtedly higher in status than even the Imperial Advisors from the kingdom. With such a majestic person crossing his border, the king of the Andreas Kingdom saw this to be a once in a lifetime opportunity that could not be missed. He wished to worm his way into the good graces of Jian Chen so that the Andreas Kingdom would curry favor with the Qinhuang Kingdom as the Gesun Kingdom had done.
But his hopes were dashed when Jian Chen didn’t even spare him a glance. His mount continued to pick up speed, and in a flash, the sounds of the hooves trotting overtook the king’s words in volume before Jian Chen found himself riding behind the army.
Seeing the army of the Gesun and Qinhuang Kingdom mixed in with each other, the king of the Andreas Kingdom let out a long sigh in relief. There was only rejoicement in his heart. It was a good thing that the war with the Gesun Kingdom had come to a very quick conclusion. They quickly surrendered, compensated them for their actions, and neutralized any problems. If they had not, there would have been a possibility that this army, that was here today to deal with the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom, could have been here to deal with the Andreas Kingdom instead.
Despite the fact that the Andreas Kingdom had over ten million soldiers, their military might was far below that of an army belonging to one of the Eight Great Powers. Even an army of fifty million soldiers would barely be enough.
An army of ants could bite an elephant to death, but a single stomp from the elephant would kill many ants. If the ants wished to kill an elephant, who knows just how many ants would need to die. The price to be paid would be even higher for an especially fierce elephant.
The gates of the stronghold had long since been opened. Jian Chen rode his mount to the forefront, and led the army into the Andreas Kingdom’s territory with the ear-shattering sound of his mount stampeding ahead to the south where the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom was located.
At that current moment, within the imperial palace of the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom, the king was sitting in his garden along with an elder that wore a crane hairstyle.
Suddenly, a soldier came running in at a panicked pace. Kneeling on the ground, he spoke, “A report for your Majesty. One of ours spies has just sent us some extremely confidential information.”
The king’s eyes continued to stare at the chessboard in front of him without shifting his gaze, “Hand it over!”
The soldier handed over the letter in his hand to the king’s hand without hesitation. Unfurling the letter, the king took out a single white parchment from within.
Half a moment later, the king’s face rapidly grew pale as the hands that were holding the letter began to tremble. With a dispirited mutter, he wondered aloud, “How… how could this be?”
Taking note of the king’s expression, the crane hairstyled elder hesitated for a moment before asking curiously, “Your Majesty, what has happened for you to lose spirit like this?”
The king’s face had gone through several shades of pale before he finally responded, “Something terrible has happened. The relationship between the Gesun and the Qinhuang Kingdom was even closer than we had imagined. As we speak, the Qinhuang Kingdom has already dispatched half a million soldiers with another half a million soldiers from the Gesun Kingdom to march to our Heavenly Eagle Kingdom.”
“What!” The seated elder cried out in shock before shaking his head violently in denial. “That can’t be. That just cannot be. The distance between the two kingdoms has to be at least a million kilometers apart. It would take the army at least half a year in order to travel to the Gesun Kingdom. Just how could they have gotten here that fast, did they already have that many soldiers stationed here ahead of time?”
“I would think that the report is true rather than not. Although I may exaggerate, the Qinhuang Kingdom is one of the Eight Great Powers — the strongest one at that. Aside from the Three Great Empires, we do not know if they have any special methods for moving their troops. No, this is no small matter. The life of the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom is at stake here. I will go ask Georgient to investigate and see if the Qinhuang Kingdom is truly joining in on this matter.” The king of the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom ignored the chessboard in front of him and immediately ran from the garden.
Within the territory of the Andreas Kingdom, the combined armies of the Gesun and Qinhuang Kingdom had already traveled for two hours. They had already passed through the central area of the Andreas Kingdom and weren’t that far from the border now.
The army would take a break in an expansive clearing to eat their rations. They occupied over ten kilometers in circumference, and the Gesun Kingdom had even sent a hundred small squadrons to head into the nearest cities within twenty kilometers in order to purchase some food to replenish the energy of the Gesun Kingdom’s soldiers.
Each soldier from the Eastern Deity Swords had a Space Belt that contained a large amount of drinking water and rations that could keep them going for half a year without worry. The Gesun Kingdom wasn’t as rich as the Qinhuang Kingdom was, so they could not afford to fit everyone with a Space Belt. Thus, the rations were limited for the Gesun Kingdom.
After the army had rested for about two hours, they moved out once again. In a flash, they crossed the border of the Andreas Kingdom and moved into a wasteland that didn’t even have an inch of grass growing.
At that moment, Jian Chen’s eyes glinted as he looked up to the sky. There was only a blanket of white clouds in the sky where sunlight was incapable of shining through. Aside from this pale spot, there was nothing else.
Each of the Heaven Saint Masters by Jian Chen had felt the same sensation as well. Turning their heads to the sky, their previously impassive faces now revealed terrifying glints in their eyes.
Jian Chen revealed a cold smile as he spoke, “Men from the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom. It appears that they have come to scout our strength. Xiao Tian, invite them over.”
“Yes!” Xiao Tian replied before shooting into the sky like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, he had disappeared into the white patch of clouds.
“Boom!”
In the next moment, a muffled explosion could be heard from the sky as a wave of energy washed all over the world. All of the nearby clouds were scattered apart as a result, causing the blaze that had started in the sky to dye the ground beneath in red light.
After the clouds had dispersed, the figures in the sky were noticeable to everyone. A single ray of blue and red the size of ants could be seen floating high in the sky. Again and again, they would clash against each other with a loud explosion.
After several exchanges, the blue ray of light fell to the ground as the red glow of light pursued it relentlessly. Soon enough, the two rays of light grew even more distinct, revealing that they were humans all along.
The person in blue stabilized himself halfway through the fall when suddenly, he accelerated toward the army below him.
In an instant, another ten bursts of Qi could be felt coming from the army. The ten or so Heaven Saint Masters by Jian Chen’s side began to display their own presence before suddenly soaring into the sky to defend the army beneath them. Although the Eastern Deity Swords were extremely strong, if a Heaven Saint Master were to attack them, even the elite division of soldiers would be reduced to tofu due to the differences in strength.