Chapter 192: The Mo Family’s Ding Ding
Chapter 192: Chapter 192: The Mo Family’s Ding Ding
’To prevent your fellow Demon Race from bleeding and sacrificing themselves?’
’Are you fucking kidding me?’
Zhu Ge was nearly stunned, but it took him only a moment to realize the Wind-Split Purple Eagle was putting on a show for the other members of the Demon Race!
"No, Wind-Split Purple Eagle!" an old boar cried, tears streaming down its face. "How can you bow your proud head!"
"I’m willing to fight to the death!" a Bear Demon roared, its eyes bloodshot.
A nearby ape hurriedly dragged it away. "No, you can’t! You can’t fight to the death, or the Wind-Split Purple Eagle’s surrender will have been for nothing!"
The assembled demons watched the scene, trying to process what was happening.
"Uh, what are they doing?"
"I don’t know."
"Ow! Why’d you hit me?"
"Shut up! If you don’t talk, no one will think you’re just some dumb beast. You’re a Mouse Demon, aren’t you? You’re supposed to be quick-witted."
"Right, right, right! Let’s run! Run!"
"Flee! The Wind-Split Purple Eagle has been defeated!"
The demons scattered.
The battle had come and gone in a flash.
In just an hour, they were all gone.
The Wind-Split Purple Eagle also flapped its wings and flew away, but not before giving Zhu Ge one last, inscrutable look.
Zhu Ge met its gaze and let it go.
In that single glance, a mutual understanding was born between them.
’What a pair of actors we are!’
’There’s no doubt about it now, the Wind-Split Purple Eagle is on my side.’
He glanced again at the surrounding forest.
The Demon Beast tide retreated even faster than it had arrived.
In less than fifteen minutes, the Demon Beasts that had covered the mountains and plains vanished completely, leaving behind nothing but a field of corpses and bloodstains.
The Demon Beasts that had been hesitating whether to flee saw the Wind-Split Purple Eagle take flight and bolted faster than rabbits.
On the battlefield, only the Soldiers of the Six Paths Palace were left.
Zhu Ge stood his ground, watching the Wind-Split Purple Eagle’s silhouette vanish into the clouds atop the mountain peak, a slight smile playing on his lips.
’He might be an actor...’
’But he’s a smart one.’
"Master, that eagle..." Liu Jianjian sidled up to him, a look of confusion on her face. "It just left? Aren’t you going to bring it under your control?"
"What else would I do?" Zhu Ge replied, stowing his Purgatory Star Rod. "It can’t beat me. But at the very least, by leaving it be, the situation in Eagle City won’t get too dire."
"But it clearly had so many followers..." Liu Jianjian mumbled.
"And what use are those followers?" Zhu Ge chuckled.
"It couldn’t beat me. If its followers charged, they’d just be throwing their lives away. Rather than sacrificing them for nothing, it’s better to make a dignified retreat. That’s called assessing the situation."
"Besides, it’s an actor! It never wanted to fight in the first place. This was the perfect opportunity to remove itself from the conflict. Even if the Plague God Sparrow comes asking, it’ll have a ready excuse."
"I see..." Liu Jianjian nodded, though she only seemed to half-understand.
Zhu Ge didn’t explain further, instead turning to face the troops behind him.
There were over six hundred of them, all bathed in blood, but every single one stood ramrod straight.
The initial fear and confusion in their eyes were gone, replaced by the relief of having survived and a newfound resolve.
"Tally the casualties and clean up the battlefield," Zhu Ge commanded. "Treat the wounded here, and bury our fallen where they lie."
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Tieshan, Ma San Dao, Li Qingquan, and the others set the Soldiers to work.
An hour later, the battlefield was clear.
Zhao Tieshan came to report. "Palace Master Zhu, of those who remain, sixty-seven are severely wounded, and over two hundred have minor injuries."
Zhu Ge nodded.
They had set out with twenty-four hundred men, and now fewer than six hundred were fit to fight.
But these remaining six hundred were all fine men.
"Move out," Zhu Ge said, mounting his horse. "Eagle City is just ahead."
The six hundred-odd men slowly made their way toward Eagle City.
Eagle City was built against Eagle Mountain, a city built both into the mountainside and deep underground.
The entire city was like an Underground City, with only a single, large mechanical gate visible on the surface.
A woman in cyan armor stood at the city gate to greet them.
She looked to be in her twenties, with a slender face. Her dark hair was tied in a high ponytail, secured with a silver hairpin. She had a clean, sharp look, her gaze as steady as a boulder, and her features held a heroic air.
’Third Realm, Mo Family Mechanical Dao?’
Zhu Ge was quite surprised by this.
’This City Lord looks rather young. I wonder if she’s like True Monarch Minmian—appearing young but actually a monster hundreds of years old.’
"I am Ding Ding, City Lord of Eagle City." The woman performed a fist-and-palm salute. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly to every person present. "Might I ask if you are Zhu Ge, Master of the Six Paths Palace?"
Zhu Ge wasn’t at all surprised that Ding Ding knew his name.
After the siege of Jianshui City was broken, his name must have become widely known.
And considering the lengthy battle he had just fought nearby, it made sense that Ding Ding would come out to greet him personally.
Zhu Ge dismounted and returned the salute. "I am. City Lord Ding, it’s an honor to meet you."
"You’re too kind, Palace Master Zhu," Ding Ding said, stepping aside to clear a path. "Please, all of you, enter the city."
The mechanical gate behind Ding Ding was a uniform silvery-white, looking from a distance as if it were forged from silver. It was composed of interlocking cubes and rectangular blocks of various sizes, giving it a mysterious and arcane appearance.
CLICK-CLACK—
The individual metal blocks began to whir and click, turning like gears, and in an instant, they retracted to reveal a pitch-black opening.
’Another Array, I’d guess.’
Zhu Ge didn’t stand on ceremony, leading his troops through the opening in single file.
Once inside, the scenery changed. Every few steps stood a silver metal statue.
There were wolves, tigers, eagles, and bears, each in a different pose, all startlingly lifelike.
"Is this all pewter?" Zhu Ge asked curiously.
Ding Ding, who had entered with Zhu Ge, smiled and said:
"Correct. My Eagle City sits atop rich deposits of iron and tin ore, which is why we have several Mo Family Engineering Institutes. That, coupled with the fact that the Wind-Split Purple Eagle and I have an understanding not to interfere with one another, is how we’ve been able to hold the city."
"I see," Zhu Ge nodded.
’This Ding Ding is refreshingly direct,’ Zhu Ge thought. ’She didn’t try to hide her relationship with the Wind-Split Purple Eagle at all.’
He gave the pewter statues a few more glances, marveling inwardly.
’In truth, the Wind-Split Purple Eagle wouldn’t have stood a chance even if it had attacked. The auras of two of these statues are obscure and powerful. They must be more than just Second Realm puppets.’
"Those are Mechanical Puppets," Ding Ding explained, noticing Zhu Ge’s focus on the statues.
"The Mo Family’s Mechanical Dao uses metal, stone, earth, and wood as materials, with a ’mechanical heart’ as the core. The resulting puppets can defend a city or attack our enemies. These are all my creations."
"City Lord Ding, you are truly amazing," Zhu Ge said with genuine admiration.
Ding Ding shook her head. "Palace Master Zhu, you are the one who is truly amazing. Setting out from Jianshui City and making my Eagle City your first stop... you must be aiming to slay the Demon Race and liberate the cities, correct?"
"Though I am a City Lord, and I worry for the other cities of Red River Prefecture, I lack the courage to venture out myself. Seeing you today, I feel ashamed of my own inadequacy."
Ding Ding shook her head with a sigh, freely admitting she didn’t dare leave the city’s defenses.
But Zhu Ge knew that for Ding Ding to even have such concerns was a good sign.
"There’s no need to worry, City Lord Ding. I will liberate the cities of Red River Prefecture one by one," Zhu Ge said earnestly. "But I need to strengthen my forces."
Zhu Ge glanced back at his troops.
His ranks were a mix of Second Realm, First Realm, and ordinary men.
Hearing this, Ding Ding’s expression turned solemn. "I will do everything in my power to aid you, Palace Master Zhu!"
"I only hope that you can quickly deliver the Human Race of Red River Prefecture from their suffering!"