Chapter 167: War! The War for the Continuation of the Race
Chapter 167: Chapter 167: War! The War for the Continuation of the Race
"Of course..." Li Hao was about to continue, but the people who had passed out drunk began to stir, waking up one by one.
So Li Hao stopped herself. "I’ll wait for you here tomorrow."
After she spoke, she glanced at her drunken father. "Hmph. All you know how to do is drink."
Then she left, taking the servants who had cleared the table with her.
"Sss..." Mr. Langhao rubbed his head. Literary Energy flowed through his body, and instantly, his oil-stained beard and wine-splattered clothes were pristine again.
Mr. Langhao chuckled and shook his head, his eyes once again clear. "Haha, my apologies, Younger Brother Zhu. You’ve seen me make a fool of myself."
"My Jianshui City has been in a precarious position for a long time. We’ve fought through the nights just to hold on, constantly worried about a counterattack from the Demon Beasts. After speaking with you today, Younger Brother Zhu, I felt that pressure lift, so I had a few too many drinks."
As he spoke, Mr. Langhao instinctively reached for his cup, only to find that the cups and dishes had all been cleared away. He laughed.
"I was about to propose another toast, but it seems my daughter has already had the table cleared."
"There’s no need for that, Brother Langhao," Zhu Ge said with a smile. "Some refreshing tea will be just fine."
As soon as he finished speaking, servants entered and promptly replaced everyone’s cups with teacups, pouring for each person in turn.
The others were all at least at the Second Realm, so their abilities were naturally formidable. The effects of the alcohol vanished in an instant.
Everyone at the table looked perfectly composed, showing no sign that they had just been drunk moments before.
Zhu Ge saw this and knew that now was the time to truly get down to business.
He started, "Brother Langhao, speaking of Demon Beasts, what exactly is the situation in Yuan Yang City?"
"I heard before that the Yuan Yang City Lord was gravely wounded by the Red River Dragon Python and the Plague God Sparrow, which is what caused the flames of war to spread throughout our Red River Prefecture."
"How are the Yuan Yang City Lord’s injuries? And are the Plague God Sparrow and the Red River Dragon Python still on the rampage?"
Some time had passed since Zhu Ge first heard about the Yuan Yang City Lord’s grave injuries.
In the time since, so many things had happened that even Liu Jianjian couldn’t glean any information about the situation in Yuan Yang City, not even through eavesdropping.
"The situation there... is dire," Mr. Langhao said, shaking his head. "Aside from the City Lords, every single Third Realm Cultivator in the entire Red River Prefecture has been summoned by the Hongmi Immortal."
"Oh, right, the Hongmi Immortal is the title of the Yuan Yang City Lord. His Spirit Plant Technique is masterful, but he isn’t particularly skilled in the art of combat."
"Then, the Plague God Sparrow surrounded Yuan Yang City with a terrifying plague, trapping everyone inside. We can’t get in, they can’t get out. We have no way of knowing what’s happening in there now."
’The Plague God Sparrow...’
Zhu Ge’s eyes narrowed, but he felt no hint of helplessness. "So, you’re saying the Plague God Sparrow and the Red River Dragon Python are both still lingering around Yuan Yang City?"
"That’s right," Mr. Langhao confirmed with a nod.
Zhu Ge said thoughtfully, "So, of the Thirteen Cities of Red River Prefecture, only the Prefecture City, Yuan Yang, is completely cut off. But... what about the others?"
Mr. Langhao stroked his beard and let out a long sigh, turning to the man beside him. "Commander Feng, you tell him."
A burly, compactly dressed man beside him sighed. "My Lord, of the thirteen cities, not counting Yuan Yang City, six have already become Ghostly Lands. It’s rumored that another four are on the brink of collapse. Only our Jianshui City and Mengzi City have not fallen."
Thirteen cities. With Yuan Yang City gone, that left twelve.
Among those, Jianshui and Mengzi were safe. But six of the others had already fallen, leaving only four still holding out.
’I didn’t realize the situation elsewhere had deteriorated so badly.’
Hearing this, Zhu Ge spoke bluntly. "To be frank, I returned to the city for one reason."
He scanned the room, meeting each person’s eyes.
Everyone seemed to sense what was coming.
"Please, speak freely," Mr. Langhao said with an encouraging smile.
Zhu Ge uttered a single word:
"War!"
The moment the word left his mouth, a chilling, murderous aura filled the air.
War!
What Zhu Ge wanted was war!
No matter which families he visited or who he sought out, Zhu Ge’s ultimate goal was war!
Mr. Langhao listened and then slowly nodded.
Commander Feng’s expression flickered, and he seemed to be in strong agreement with Zhu Ge.
The others at the table reacted one by one as well.
"War... War. Yes, a war is what we need!"
"It’s a shame. This old man’s ambition was ground down long ago, but hearing Young Master Zhu speak today, I feel a spark of that old fire in my heart again."
"I have no wife and no children, only the disciples of my Martial Arts Hall. I’m sure they would be willing to enlist as soldiers."
"We are willing to lend you our strength!"
The people present represented the leading powers of Jianshui City.
Moreover, they were all trusted confidants of the Jianshui City Lord; otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought them here.
In contrast, a place like the Shihu Pavilion, which Zhu Ge had visited earlier, was likely just a local branch opened by some outside power.
That’s why its Pavilion Master wasn’t present.
But this was enough.
Zhu Ge could purchase many things from places like the Shihu Pavilion; those were simple monetary transactions.
However, the work of forming battle arrays, managing troops, commanding, and handling logistics—all that required others to take charge.
Zhu Ge could only play a part; he couldn’t delude himself into thinking he could do it all alone.
However, deep down, Zhu Ge knew the most likely reason why everything was proceeding so smoothly.
True Monarch Minmian!
’There aren’t that many fools in the world.’
’Zhu Ge had appeared out of nowhere. He was powerful and had just suddenly emerged in Red River Prefecture without any prior reputation.’
’And not long after, True Monarch Minmian had purged Nanyue Mianhuang with his sword.’
’How could there be so many coincidences in the world?’
’So anyone with a brain would guess that Zhu Ge might be a pawn of the True Monarch, representing his interests.’
’After all, he’d even subjugated a Third Realm Sword and Axe Mantis. It was impossible that he didn’t have someone powerful backing him!’
To be fair, Zhu Ge could only vaguely guess what they were thinking.
But in a way, they weren’t wrong.
Or rather, their reasoning was wrong, but their conclusion was right.
Zhu Ge did have a connection to True Monarch Minmian.
His subjugation of the Sword and Axe Mantis was thanks to the Fungus God Destruction Array and the *Demon Hunting Divine Technique* given to him by the True Monarch of the Lantern.
It was just that his relationship with True Monarch Minmian wasn’t what these people imagined.
In the eyes of the Jianshui City Lord and the others, Zhu Ge was a man with no master and no reputation who had popped up out of nowhere. They probably assumed True Monarch Minmian was his master.
But what was the reality?
’Zhu Ge was True Monarch Minmian’s sworn older brother.’
So now, they all assumed that starting this war was True Monarch Minmian’s idea.
Only Zhu Ge knew the truth.
This war wasn’t for anyone’s benefit, nor was it at True Monarch Minmian’s behest.
In Zhu Ge’s heart, this was a war for the very survival of his people!
"Younger Brother Zhu, what is your plan for this war?" the Jianshui City Lord asked.
Zhu Ge stated the first step of his plan without a moment’s hesitation. "Step one: recruit more soldiers!"
"Recruit more soldiers?" Commander Feng sighed. "But Young Master Zhu, many of the city’s able-bodied young men have already enlisted. I’m afraid..."
Zhu Ge waved a hand, his voice firm.
"No. We’ll recruit from the villages!"