Chapter 183 Sacrificial Lamb

"An elimination contest?" General Mingli Yongsheng pondered deeply.

No matter how hard he thought about it, General Mingli Yongsheng could only think of two possible reasons for the other party to suggest such a thing.

The first possibility would be because the other side had an overwhelmingly powerful martial artist at the Essence Condensation realm. Relying on this expert, they could easily obtain victory.

But even so, was it possible for anyone to be able to beat ten other Peak Essence Condensation realm martial artists in consecutive battles?

Unlikely.

On top of that, someone like that must command great honour and prestige within their faction.

The moment such a person fell in battle, or even if he just backed down from fighting the next battle, morale would plummet. And in war, morale was definitely more important than the combat capability of any individual, especially if it was only someone at the Essence Condensation realm!

The second possibility would be because the other side wanted to bait him into revealing any exceptionally strong Essence Condensation realm martial artists on his side. That way, they would be sending out weaker members as sacrifices in exchange for information.

The chances of this happening were much lower. And even if it really was the case, General Mingli Yongsheng was not worried at all.

After all, what use was a bit of information on some Essence Condensation realm martial artists when placed against the grand scale of the war?

Before the might of a true Origin Core realm martial artist, combat capability at the Essence Condensation realm was simply too insignificant.

In the end, the benefits to accepting the contest certainly far outweighed the costs!

"What's wrong?" General Nanbai Zhaoyu probed after seeing how General Mingli Yongsheng had paused to reconsider. "Having cold feet? I thought you just said that the people of Dragon Cauldron Kingdom are no cowards? Is that all talk?"

"There is no need for you to make such meaningless taunts. I accept your terms!" General Mingli Yongsheng announced.

"Hahaha! Very well!" General Nanbai Zhaoyu laughed. "Then this shall be an elimination contest where each side sends out ten Essence Condensation realm martial artists and twenty Essence Building realm martial artists. The Essence Condensation realm martial artists will take turns fighting in one on one battles, and the winner of each battle can choose to either continue fighting the next person or to step out of the contest altogether. As for the losers, they have to die! At the end, the side with the most Essence Condensation realm martial artists left alive shall be the victor! The losing side will have all twenty Essence Building realm martial artists executed on the spot! And if my side loses, we will immediately leave this spot!"

"You will not just leave this spot, but scram out of the territory of my Dragon Cauldron Kingdom and return to where you came from!" General Mingli Yongsheng harrumphed in displeasure.

"I have no problem with that," General Nanbai Zhaoyu grinned. "I swear that I will adhere to the terms of the agreement. I call upon Heaven's Will as our witness! Should I break the oath, I shall be swallowed by the earth, never to rise again!"

"I swear that I will adhere to the terms of the agreement. I call upon Heaven's Will as our witness! Should I break the oath, I shall be swallowed by the earth, never to rise again!" General Mingli Yongsheng repeated.

Both of them bit their tongue and spat out a drop of blood.

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With a flick of their fingers, the two generals sent the drop of blood flying towards each other.

An invisible force carried this drop of blood the entire way without losing momentum, quickly drawing close to each other. After which, the two drops of blood spun around each other at high speed, as though it was undergoing some form of profound information exchange.

Without warning, the two drops of blood were suddenly repelled from each other, sent back to where they came from and finally re-entering the generals through the glabella.

That signalled the completion of the Heaven's Oath!

"Hahaha!" General Nanbai Zhaoyu was clearly pleased. "I would have to invite General Mingli Yongsheng to send out the participants from your side then!"

Clearly uninterested in General Mingli Yongsheng's reply, General Nanbai Zhaoyu immediately turned around to face the entire Shadowfront Regiment.

Faced with the general's stare, countless Essence Condensation realm martial artists immediately stepped forward.

"I volunteer to participate in this battle. I swear that I will bring glory to the Scarlet Moon Kingdom!"

"I volunteer as well!"

"Me too!"

This was a rare chance to prove their worth in front of the entire Shadowfront Regiment!

Most people who were confident in their combat strength would be unwilling to let such a golden opportunity pass by!

General Nanbai Zhaoyu nodded in satisfaction upon seeing the eagerness of these martial artists. However, he could also see that not a single Essence Building realm martial artist had stepped forward.

That was to be expected as well.

After all, who would be willing to gamble their lives on the outcome of others' battles?

"Nanlu Tianzi," General Nanbai Zhaoyu turned towards the youngster.

"I am here, General!" Lu Tianzi stepped forward when his name was called.

"Are you confident in beating ten Peak Essence Condensation realm martial artists by yourself?" General Nanbai Zhaoyu asked directly.

With that, everyone in the Shadowfront Regiment immediately turned their attention towards Lu Tianzi, causing him to let out a wry smile.

Lu Tianzi had his suspicions from the start. And just as he had expected, General Nanbai Zhaoyu was intending for him to win it for their side.

However, what was the point of this?

Even if they won this contest perfectly, all that would change was that ten of the other party's Essence Condensation realm martial artists would perish in battle.

As for the twenty Essence Building realm martial artists, they were not even worthy of mention.

Lu Tianzi simply could not see how this would allow them to take down the seemingly impregnable Drakesin Town.

Still, as a mere squad leader, it was not his place to question General Nanbai Zhaoyu's decisions.

Or at least, he was not supposed to do so officially.

With his current status in the Scarlet Moon Kingdom, Lu Tianzi was confident that as long as he secretly asked General Nanbai Zhaoyu, the latter would be more than willing to clear his doubts.

Of course, now was not the time to do so.

"I dare not promise anything without first seeing the strength of the other side," Lu Tianzi answered indifferently.

His words seemed humble on the surface, but when read on a deeper level, it could also mean that unless the other side fielded extremely strong experts, he could possibly do as General Nanbai Zhaoyu had requested – beating ten Peak Essence Condensation realm martial artists in a row!

That's right.

This was the top ranker in the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, the one who was said to have matched an Origin Core realm martial artist in a frontal exchange!

This was the pride of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom!

"This…"

Those who had stepped out to volunteer themselves earlier could only look at each other in a depressed manner, their cheeks getting increasingly hot.

With his earlier statement, General Nanbai Zhaoyu had already made his stance very clear.

He wanted Nanlu Tianzi to beat all ten opponents by himself!

Should that really happen, even if they were selected as the other nine participants, they would only be made a laughingstock, known for leeching onto Nanlu Tianzi's prowess to achieve victory!

At this point, all of them were starting to regret having stepped forward so eagerly just now.

On the other hand…

"I volunteer to put my life on the line for this contest!" an Essence Building realm martial artist stepped forward.

"I volunteer as well! It is my honour to lay down my life for the future of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom!"

"I am willing to participate!"

Essence Building realm martial artists stepped forward one after another, quickly surpassing the required number of twenty.

Their eyes were filled with confidence and hope, completely unlike people who were about to face a life or death situation.

This was born not of their confidence in General Nanbai Zhaoyu's decision making, but of Lu Tianzi's almost legendary combat prowess!

"Good!" General Nanbai Zhaoyu nodded before proceeding to point out the ones who would be participating.

Rumble-!

The heavy gate of Drakesin Town was pulled open to reveal a group of thirty, ten at the Essence Condensation realm and twenty at the Essence Building realm.

Opening of the gates when the enemy was this close had only been done because of the Heaven's Oath sworn by the commanding officers of both sides earlier.

Otherwise, General Mingli Yongsheng would never have allowed something like this that would jeopardise the defence of the town.

While the Essence Building realm martial artists looked nervous, the Essence Condensation realm martial artists had expressions that were full of confidence.

Their eyes sparkled with resolve, and each step they took was firm.

General Mingli Yongsheng might not have sent out the strongest of his subordinates, but these were still members of the elite party. Every single one o was at Peak Essence Condensation realm, and each of them wielded combat prowess that was not to be underestimated!

The group walked over to the mid point of the slope, where the group from the Shadowfront Regiment was already waiting.

General Nanbai Zhaoyu watched with interest from afar.

But what interested him was not the imposing aura emanated by the group.

What he was truly interested in was something that most people would find completely irrelevant – the attire donned by this group of thirty.

General Nanbai Zhaoyu was no youngling who was new to the world. In fact, he had been around for the past thousand years.

Over time, he had naturally gathered much information about the neighbouring Dragon Cauldron Kingdom, and knew for a fact that General Mingli Yongsheng was not based at Drakesin Town.

His appearance here could only mean two things.

He was either here on a personal trip, or had been sent here to defend the town.

It would not be too big of a problem if it was the former, but if it were the latter, things could get tricky for the Shadowfront Regiment.

Thus, one of the reasons why he suggested this contest was to gather more information on this matter.

In a situation where the participants could easily lose their lives, most martial artists would be hesitant to participate, especially when the contest was proposed by the other party to begin with.

After all, their situation was unlike that of the Shadowfront Regiment.

As long as they remained holed up within the town walls, there was little chance that the opponent would be able to defeat them.

Despite that, General Mingli Yongsheng had agreed to the contest.

Even if it was well calculated on his part, it was not his life that had to be placed on the line!

For the participants in the contest, they had to be extremely loyal to General Mingli Yongsheng for them to heed his call. Otherwise, if they had been forcefully sent out, their morale would be extremely low.

Thus, he would have no choice but to select the bulk of the participants from among his own subordinates.

That was, if he had his subordinates with him.

As expected, when the the group of thirty appeared from within the Drakesin Town, most of them were dressed in combat attire that were similar in make.

This was common for soldiers who belonged to the same faction, and that was similarly the case for General Nanbai Zhaoyu's subordinates from the Shadowfront Fortress.

On top of that, the fact that their eyes were filled with resolve rather than despondence also told a lot about whether they had volunteered or had been forced to participate.

Once he confirmed that, General Nanbai Zhaoyu sighed inwardly.

It seemed like the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom had begun to make its move, and was preparing to stop their advance here.

However, had they truly made sufficient preparations?

That would be his job to find out!

"I am the first participant from Drakesin Town, Mingquan Ting!" one of the Essence Condensation realm martial artists shouted with absolute confidence. "Which of you will be the unlucky one to face me?"

"Please show me your guidance," Lu Tianzi stepped out, immediately causing his opponent to narrow his eyes.

"What is your cultivation level?" Mingquan Ting asked warily.

"Advanced Essence Condensation realm," Lu Tianzi drove the Slaughter Essence within his inner world, casually striking out at a rock on the ground.

Bang-!

The rock was shattered into pieces, but Mingquan Ting was far from impressed. In fact, the expression on his face was one of ridicule after he managed to confirm Lu Tianzi's cultivation level.

"Advanced Essence Condensation realm?" Mingquan Ting had to hold in his laughter. "Are you a sacrificial lamb to gain information for your comrades? How pitiful! But you don't have to worry. As long as you don't resist too much, I will bestow upon you a quick and painless death!"

Those of the Drakesin Town laughed, thinking that they had been worried over nothing. But right at this moment, General Mingli Yongsheng's cautionary voice sounded out in their heads.

"Stay focused!"

Unlike his subordinates, General Mingli Yongsheng had long noticed the looks of schadenfreude on those from the Shadowfront Regiment, causing warning alarms to blare within his mind.

Even so, he had no idea what the other party had in store. So all he could do for now was to warn his subordinates, making sure they stay alert and prepare for anything that could be happening next.

As for this sacrificial lamb, he was nothing but a distraction to the actual event, the calm before the storm!