Chapter 266: Divine Troops
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Shangguan Hong had given up all the secrets and was held for many days before he was released. After he had fled, the hatred in his heart for Slave Huan became deeply rooted.
Gu Shenwei left with his unexpected gains. He had not found a way to utilize this information. However, the most important thing that he had to do now was to bring the over 1,000 swordsmen away from the Great Snow Mountain as quickly as possible.
News of the peace talks between the Great Snow Mountain and Shu-lik had not yet reached the frontlines. However, the troops of Shu-lik had received orders to lie low for now. The Great Snow Mountain had also been strictly following the orders left by the Dragon King before he had left the country. The two sides maintained a tense peace.
The situation remained this way from the time when Gu Shenwei went around the blockade and returned to the mountain pass via the small road. The threats from the outside had been resolved, but those from within remained.
Many things awaited the Dragon King's attention, and of them, a few were particularly pressing.
First of all, several nearby groups of bandits had come to join in the activity. They did not have clear motives. Some had a feud with the Golden Roc Fort or Shu-lik while others wanted to fish in troubled waters. Yet others wanted to find shelter in these times of trouble. These men offended the honest sensibilities of the Snow Mountain swordsmen, who promptly chased them away out of their own accord.
Secondly, there was a severe divide within the Great Snow Mountain. This division had nothing to do with the feud with the Five Peaks. All the swordsmen were debating about a single problem: whether they should leave the Great Snow Mountain.
The old chief of Luoshen Peak, Long Qinying, was one of the loyal supporters of the Dragon King. However, he did not want to leave, regardless of whether he was alive or dead. "I'm old," he had said. He was deeply apologetic towards the Dragon King who had rushed back under the night sky. "My arms can lift a sword, but my legs can barely move. The Great Snow Mountain is my home. I must die here."
There were many people who had the same mindset as Long Qinying. Most of them were old swordsmen. The Five Peaks of the Great Snow Mountain had only gathered about a thousand and two hundred people. These men comprised about a third of the people. The remaining younger swordsmen had not left their homes. They were all gripped in panic under the influence of their elders. "If we were to leave now, we might never be able to come back ever again." This was the thoughts of many of them.
Gu Shenwei had never thought that, at the most crucial juncture, their sentimentality for their own hometown would defeat their desire for revenge. He lived for revenge and would die for revenge. He could not understand what these swordsmen were thinking about.
Gu Shenwei did not express his thoughts on the first day. He gathered the other chiefs from the other four peaks. Everyone had discussed that, if they were to attack the Golden Roc Fort, then the number of their troops must exceed a thousand. Someone even suggested to forcibly abduct the Luoshen tribe.
Finally, there was a matter of the state that Gu Shenwei could not decide was big or small. However, it had been affecting many residents of the mountains extensively.
A few months ago, Gu Shenwei had snatched away a blacksmith by the name of Daga from the Shu-lik military camp. He had done it in order to forge even more weapons. Daga had wanted a hundred jin of Wushan refined iron while Xu Xiaoyi had sent a thousand jin.
Daga was originally a rather well-known blacksmith in Shu-lik. However, because he had killed someone by accident, he had been cast out of the country and sent to the borders. He continued his career in the military camp, and his fame grew due to his high standards of workmanship.
Daga's obsession with iron and fire and his standards would not pale in comparison with Chu Nanping's standards on swordcraft. He did not care about who he was manufacturing weapons for. He would not stop working as long as he had a furnace, anvil and other materials by his side.
Aside from a thousand jin of refined iron from Wushan, Daga had also asked for a long list of items. He had specifically requested for materials that he would have needed: charcoal from a certain country produced during a certain month, clear waters from a certain part of a certain river, stones from a certain hole and only the fats of a quencher. Also, he had chosen the wild bison produced from the Great Snow Mountain and had specified that it had to be male.
Xu Xiaoyi was stunned when he saw the list of items. However, he proved his capabilities with his own actions. After a month of hurrying to and fro, he had gathered all the materials that were required. Slowly, inch by inch, he entered the Great Snow Mountain via the small road.
The blacksmith Daga was satisfied. This was all that he had dreamed of and all his materials were laid out in front of him- not a single one was missing. He started murmuring the words, "Every book has its own beauty," every day dumbly like a nerd. It was as if a beautiful woman had appeared before him when he had least expected it. His heart was joyful beyond what words could describe.
He built a house in the hidden valley and led two disciples and several other helpers to produce weapons during the day and night. Very soon, his disciples and helpers had become acclimated to such tireless work. They took turns to help each other out.
Daga had not caught a single wink of sleep. He wished to witness the birth of his life's greatest masterpiece.
The first sword was scrapped. It could not even cut a burning piece of wood.
Daga threw it wordlessly into the furnace and immediately proceeded to the greater phase of his work: creating nine swords simultaneously.
"Nine," he murmured this number repeatedly. "This is my favorite number. It's a mysterious number. It's him. You will see it."
God knows who he had been talking to.
The two disciples were extremely afraid. The villagers from the mountains who had been sent over to help the weapons production talked in hushed tones among themselves. From bewilderment to panic, they gradually grew a form of respect towards the process.
"The blacksmith is divine!" These words quickly spread throughout the Great Snow Mountain at a speed that was faster than a galloping horse.
Also, because of a small incident that had occurred, the two disciples had come to believe that their master was certainly someone who had attained divine qualities.
Daga was a methodical blacksmith. He was extremely strict about where the various materials were being placed. Hammers, anvils and other tools had to be placed within reach. However, one day, one of his disciples had placed the hammer in the wrong place. Daga had reached out for it, and when he didn't find it, he turned around from his work and searched high and low all over the whole place. It was only after he had spent a long time before he had found the item.
From this episode, the two disciples discovered that their master had turned blind.
This incident had happened when Gu Shenwei was hurrying towards Shu-lik. Previously, he had only heard that the blacksmith's actions had become stranger and stranger. Upon arriving at the Great Snow Mountain, someone told him something weirder.
On a certain night, the valley where Daga had been working in suddenly emitted a red light. The light raged and spurted like a long tongue reaching for the heavens. On the second day, many claimed that they had witnessed this incredible phenomenon. However, their testimonies were wildly different; there were talks of gods, ghosts, and demons.
For the first time in several months, Daga walked out of the house and proclaimed that the production of the weapons had been completed. "The Dragon King will be the first person to see them." From then on, he sat at the doorstep. He didn't eat; he only occasionally drank, with a mysterious smile on his face.
More and more residents from the mountains became moved by this phenomenon. A gradually number of residents joined the team that was guarding the door. This was because there were rumors of people who wanted to steal these nine magical weapons. These swords and blades have become a big part of the Great Snow Mountain. They became a sacred part.
This incident happened three days ago. Gu Shenwei had many things to resolve, however, this incident had been placed first. Already, there had been many men and women of different ages guarding the valley to wait for the Dragon King to examine the weapons.
This was a ceremony that was hastily organized. The five tribal chiefs had already invited three warlocks from the deepest reaches of the mountains. They had offered sacrifices to the Empyrean after the Dragon King's return. There were nine horses, nine cows, nine sheep. Their blood spilled on the snow that had not changed for years. Some were spread on the Dragon King's naked body. Their flesh were cleanly burnt while their organs were buried under the ground after a careful examination.
The warlocks announced that, after dawn the next day, they would deliver the prophecies that were crucial to the Great Snow Mountain. Before that, the Dragon King would receive the nine divine weapons.
Gu Shenwei could hardly touch his food all day long. The dried blood on his body also remained uncleaned, and he tossed and turned in bed the whole night. He was unable to sleep, so instead, he sat up in his tent and waited for dawn to arrive. There was no metal weapon beside him. At the same time, the villagers of the mountains were drinking wine as they wildly celebrated around the fire.
Gu Shenwei did not think about whether this practice was credible or not. His position as the Dragon King of the Great Snow Mountain was, to a large degree, due to the villagers' fear and respect toward the Giant Red-crowned Roc. He had to follow the customs of the locals.
The Golden Roc Fort did not believe in any faith. Hence, they were amassing their troops at this very moment, in preparation for a great battle with the Great Snow Mountain. That was all. Gu Shenwei did not want to keep thinking about this issue.
In the later half of the night, five assassins secretly crept into the tent in the hopes of assassinating the unarmed Dragon King. However, they were ambushed. Four of them were killed while the final man was taken alive.
Gu Shenwei's suspicions were useful. The more than ten assassins had hidden inside the tent. They could not bring weapons so they were holding wooden sticks and oxen bones. Even so, the assassins tried to flee when they discovered the ambush. This made them die even sooner.
The five assassins came from the bandit gang that they supported. The swordsmen who learned about the killing flew into a rage. Before Gu Shenwei had given out his orders, they had massacred almost half of the bandits who had come from foreign places. Those who were still alive had been tied up to await the Dragon King's judgment.
Following which, the five chiefs took turns to visit the Dragon King, explaining to him the process of the ceremony and things to take note of.
In the early hours of the morning, there had already been over a thousand people gathered within and outside the blacksmith's valley. Villagers from distant mountains had also arrived one after another. Everyone had felt that this must be the most important day of the Great Snow Mountain in many years.
The viscous blood of the sheep and cattle formed a thick cake over the snow, which created a visage of scorched earth. Gu Shenwei was extremely uncomfortable. However, he felt compelled to hold his head high and his back straight. He took solemn steps out of the tent and walked, while naked, towards a peak in the vicinity of the blacksmith's valley. Over ten thousand mountain villagers followed behind him.
The peak of the mountain was still covered with a thick layer of snow. Three warlocks had started to wait at this spot since last night.
The first ray of sunlight lit the mountain peak and the warlocks prophesied in unison. "The weapons given by the gods will cut the weapons of mortals. The villagers of the Great Snow Mountain can leave their homeland. The heavens are above. This order cannot be violated."
Each of the five peaks tribes chose a virgin and cleaned the blood stains on the Dragon King's body with snow. Afterward, the five chiefs placed a black robe over the Dragon King's body together.
Following which, the team was led by the blind blacksmith Daga and his disciples. The eight elite swordsmen carried a large bucket and walked through the thick crowd. They walked up to the mountain peak with the bucket which was filled with the fat of wild bison and urine. The nine swords were buried inside.
Gu Shenwei reached his hands into the wooden barrel and took out a sword from inside. He said loudly: "The Luoshen sword is thick and heavy."
The Luoshen tribe's chief held out his own sword.
Gu Shenwei swung the sword downward with force. The sword in the Luoshen chief's hands sharply broke. The crowds on the hillside who looked on cheered in unison.
"The Danduo sword is big and sturdy."
"The Daxue sword is broad and wide."
"The Xiaoxue sword is refined and experienced."
"The Huagai sword is sharp and precise."
Gu Shenwei examined the sword of every single tribal chief. Cries of adulation came from the hillside which grew louder. Even the elderly, women and children had felt the calling of the gods. Their spirits were heavily bolstered and they became determined to join the Dragon King in his fight against the Golden Roc Fort.
"The Five Peaks Saber." Gu Shenwei raised the sixth military weapon. Its design was exactly the same as that of the Golden Roc Fort's saber. "Drink the blood of the enemy."
The swordsmen pushed the lone captured assassin through the crowds. He landed before the Dragon King.
The assassin had become greatly disoriented by the wild crowd. He knelt down obediently. He did not feel any pain at all when the saber pierced through his heart.
The saber pierced deeply through him. It went in him so deeply that not a single inch of the blade was left hanging out of him. The whole body of the saber was soaked with fresh blood.
Gu Shenwei pulled out the Five Peaks Saber and planted it into the snow. With both hands, he reached deep into the wooden barrel and took out two knives which both had the same handles. "The left and right protective knives will only protect the virtuous."
The last handle was a sword that was not more than three feet long and not more than three inches wide. Gu Shenwei lifted it up high. His heart, which had usually been closed, now seemed to be infected by a certain strength that entered his body. This magnified his voice to be ten times louder for no apparent reason at all.
"The Dragon King sword will taste its master's blood first." He then made a small cut on his forearm.
The five chiefs took the lead. More than 10,000 villagers of the Great Snow Mountain knelt down in rows. This was their custom of paying respect to the gods.
Gu Shenwei breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had not wasted too much time.