A strategic border town of Golden City fell into the enemy's hand, and an area of thousands of miles was directly pushed by the enemy. The flame of war had set the prairie afire.
How many years have Golden City had a war at their own territory? How many years have people of Golden City not witnessed any war? After indulging in a life of luxury for many years, who remembered how their ancestors cut their way through thistles and thorns?
When the flame of war burned, Golden City was caught off guard. Flaming Valley actually struck the spot where it was least prepared, so it was completely without resistance. The gold-clad main force army was placed at the frontier, thus had no time to turn around. But their mobile forces sent to meet the enemy were repeatedly defeated.
The surprise attack force of Flaming Valley was very powerful, truly unstoppable. They repeatedly ripped through the territory of Golden City, which shook the whole country and the morale on the front line. After being repeatedly defeated in battles, almost in the blink of an eye, the stalemate situation between Golden City and Flaming Valley broke, tilting towards Flaming Valley.
At the same time, everywhere within Golden City territory became jittery, and the high class of Golden City became panic-stricken.
The horror did not come from the Flaming Valley force that mysteriously appeared and disappeared within the territory, but from the aloof and remote Golden City Master. Even people far outside the main city could feel the astonishing murderous aura, which was nerve-wracking.
The consecutive defeat in battles had made the supreme king impatient with his men.
...
Golden City, high in the clouds above the misty capital.
Sitting on the throne overlooking the kneeling ministers under the ten thousands of stone steps, the king's cold eyes caused the ministers to feel brambles and thorns in their backs.
The king did not need to speak to frighten his people, but on the other hand, being scared witless, they had to break the silence. For kings do not need useless ministers, and at this time, what they needed the most was to prove their worth, which was done by the leading general.
"The suddenly appearing troops of Flaming Valley is indeed beyond expectation, but after several engagements, their losses are also heavy and their situation completely exposed. At present, their total amount of troops in our territory is less than a thousand, and most of them are wounded. The more deadly thing is their supply shortage, so they could only fight to keep the war. Moreover, they also haven't acclimatized with the climate in our Golden City territory, thus they have to have a large amount of supply to maintain their fighting strength, which causes them not able to stop even for a moment. Not to mention that they seem to lurk in the dark, but in our country, a barbarian army wanting to completely hide is easier said than done. As long as we bide our time, we will be able to lure them to expose their flaws. Our military forces are still far superior to that of Flaming Valley, when the time comes…"
"Bid our time?"
On the stone steps, the man on the throne coldly interrupted the rattle of his subordinate.
"...Yes." Facing the eyes of the king, the general tried hard to suppress his trembling body and said, "The enemy is the crack troops of Flaming Valley and has the help from the fire spirit. They have a strange ability. Although our military is good at battling in an open and aboveboard way, it is simply impossible for us to guard their sneak attack… unless, the area is demarcated by scorched earth policy and then we use our main army to besiege them. With this, it will not take long for us to push them into desperation."
As soon as the general's voice fell, a skylight descended and a golden beam of light fell on the general's head like a heavenly punishment. The leader of Golden City's one million soldiers unexpectedly could not stop it and just screamed. Subsequently, all the bones in his body crackled and blood gushed out from his seven orifices; he was completely suppressed.
"What a joke."
The ice cold voice of the master of Golden City reverberated under the stone steps.
"Using scorched earth policy on my prosperous Golden City just to deal with a group of lowly ants? That's just Flaming Valley, if the other three forces also come, would the entire Golden City territory need to be scorched too? One fire spirit has made you panic-stricken that you forget all the tactics? How could you resist if the four spirits come together? You want me to offer my head to sue for peace? It's a joke to keep mediocre people like you in that position."
While speaking, the golden beam of light became even more blazing. The suppressed general could not even scream. Although he was skilled, it was nothing compared to the king. And beside him, although all the officials and ministers have extraordinary skills, none of them dared and had the ability to rescue him.
However, when the general thought that he would die, a powerful palm appeared in their field of vision. Like the dark cloud that blotted out the sun, it blocked that golden beam, which also lifted the king's repression force.
"Enough."
Along with that faint sound, the golden beam of light, which was the repression sent by the king, was held up by one person with one hand that it could not fall even for an inch.
Everyone present knew him as one of the gold element blood spirits named Jianglu. He had the supernatural power that could topple the mountains and overturn the seas. Besides the invincible Golden City king, everyone was not his opponent.
"The enemy is the king of battle array. Whether fighting alone or a series of fighting, he is the strongest. It is impossible for your gold clad army to defeat them alone. The enemies are lions and fierce tiger, while your men are just sheep and white rabbit. Even if they are hounded to death, it would still be of no use."
While speaking, he still supported the golden beam with his one hand. Although his voice was steady, the bones all over his body from head to toe crackled, and the white stone slab below his feet also silently cracked. Obviously, the supreme king was not lenient towards this blood spirit that had offended him.
However, Jianglu was without a haste. "If you want to fight against such an elite, the only way is to dispatch another elite. Your gold clad soldier is not strong enough, but don't you have other cards in your hand? The question is, how much longer do you want to wait?"
The five spirits power struggle in this world had its pattern. The blood spirit represented the pinnacle of individual combat power, while the masters of blood spirit possessed huge power. Golden City was the strongest force in this world. If placed on the battlefield, its million army was enough to steamroll any blood spirit. However, on the other hand, if the blood spirit didn't directly confront them, even the million soldiers were useless.
Golden City also had the strongest blood spirit, Qiong Hua's team. Without anyone's help, they could launch a surprise attack on the leader of Harmony River and Eternal Tree. Although the team had suffered heavy blows, their strength remained the first. As long as they were put to good use, there was no enemy that they could not deal with.
The problem was, how long would Golden City still keep this strongest trump card close at hand?
"Very well, since you're bent on seeking battle, I will give you the opportunity."
While speaking, the golden beam of light dissipated, and the giant force suddenly disappeared, which caused Jianglu to involuntarily stagger several steps in a rather embarrassing posture. However, he had a pleased look on his face. "So, you agree to unseal the king of gold spirit?"
With the lead disciple of Royal Soldier Sect as the enemy, Jianglu was actually quite uncertain. He could lead his team to surprise attack Zhan Ziye, Zhou Mumu, and even Wang Lu, but he could never surprise Xiang Liang. The opponent was a genuine war genius. Although Jianglu had learned all about the path of war in Shengjing Sect, in the opponent's eyes, it was but a child's game.
As for risking it all with his strength… against the lead disciple of Royal Soldier Sect? This joke was a bit not amusing.
In Jianglu's view, in terms of strength, Xiang Liang was even more stronger than Wang Lu. Amongst the five spirits power struggle, the one who could truly win against Xiang Liang was only Qiong Hua.
Only Shengjing Sect's lead disciple had the absolute power to suppress everyone. With Qiong Hua's current power, once it was fully released, it could sweep all the enemies in this realm. Even if all the other lead disciples joined hands, there would not be too much of a chance. The hateful thing was that, as designed of this immortal dream land, Qiong Hua was immediately sealed once she entered this world. By sacrificing half of the blood marks, the king of the Golden City firmly suppressed Qiong Hua in the Limitless Hall without the slightest bit of gap.
No one knew why the supreme master of this realm harbored hostility towards the blood spirit, but with this unfavorable start, Shengjing Sect people could only insist to be the vanguard. It took them half a month before Golden City finally accepted the other members of Shengjing Sect team. Although Qiong Hua was sealed, at least Jianglu and the others were free to make their move.
And at this time, whether it was Xiang Liang, Zhan Ziye, Zhou Mumu or Wang Lu… all had completed their own arrangement.
The absolute advantage was completely reversed. However, when Jianglu thought that Shengjing Sect could finally be released of their burden to fully display their ability, the master of Golden City once again disappointed him.
"No king of gold spirit, only you guys."
Jianglu's smile immediately froze. "You…"
"Since you're confident that you can overcome that fire spirit, then go. I'll give you ten days. After ten days, I want you to come to see me with the head of the fire spirit."
Jianglu looked at the jade-gold throne hidden in the hazy light on that ten thousand stone steps in disbelief. What was this supreme king thinking? First, he wanted to kill his official, then he wanted to force his blood spirit to die!
Was it because he really couldn't accept to be affronted even the slightest bit? Or was it Golden City's supreme status that let him get carried away? Or…no matter what, Jianglu absolutely did not want to throw away his life just because of words!
The master of Golden City coldly said, "If you can't, you will never see the king of gold spirit again."
"What?"
"I still have half of the blood marks. If I use them all, the Limitless Hall will never be unsealed."
—
"Will never be unsealed? Did he say so?"
Inside the Limitless Hall, with a slight surprise, Qiong Hue raised her head.
"Yes, that's what that bastard said… Damn it, how could we encounter such a thing!"
Jianglu was boiling in anger, but he had no way to vent. His huge muscles were tight, so much that even his personal soft armor of high-rank magical treasure was almost cracked by him.
However, Qiong Hua just lightly laughed. "Isn't that good?"
"Good? Senior Sister, what are you talking about?"
Qiong Hua said, "He gave us a problem, so let us solve it. He wants you to defeat the fire spirit within ten days, then just do it."
Jianglu wryly smiled. "Senior Sister, don't make fun of me. If I have that ability, why would I need to be worried?"
Qiong Hua said, "Your strength is indeed not enough to contend against Xiang Liang, but what if you add the king of Harmony River?"
"The king of Harmony River? That strange fellow?" Thinking back on the day when he launched the raid, Jianglu still couldn't help but shiver. That blood mark divine spear had almost become his nightmare… In the five spirits power struggle, the blood spirit masters were usually not good at individual campaign. However, A Ye was actually a king who liked to pick a fight, a one on one fight to boot. Even without his blood mark divine spear, he was no less inferior than him. If they could help each other, it would be like a tiger that has grown wings.
"But, those three forces have already made their alliance against us, how could they help us fight Flaming Valley?"
Qiong Hua once again smiled. However, this time, the smile under that peerless face made Jianglu felt somewhat cold.
"If Flaming Valley actively provokes Harmony River, with that person's temper, he will not just sit idly by."
"Senior Sister, although Flaming Valley people are less resourceful, they shouldn't be stupid enough to provoke another war while in an all out fight against Golden City, right?"
Qiong Hua still kept her smile. "Was it their own initiative to go in an all out war against Golden City?"
Jianglu was stunned and immediately realized. "Senior Sister, do you mean…"
"Since Zhan Ziye can urge the tiger to swallow the wolf, why can't we imitate him?"
"This…"
"In your last surprise attack, you managed to seriously injure Sacred Leaf of Eternal Tree. I think this should be a godsend for the Flaming Valley. Wood generates fire. If they have the power of the wood spirit, then Flaming Valley can truly contend with the strength of Golden City."
"Senior Sister…"
"The military tactic of Royal Soldier Sect is really unpredictable, which can be seen by their crack troops that wreak havoc in Golden City territory. Under his command, it's not unusual for Flaming Valley to do anything," Qiong Hua said, looked up and quietly watched Jianglu.
"The only problem, Junior Brother Jianglu, is that, in these years, the Elders want you to cultivate shrewdness, that you must not easily get angry. I don't know whether… you can still send out fire spell?"