Firmament Sword

The internal conflict within the Yan Army had a far deeper and greater impact than Xu Luo and his team had anticipated.

The Yan Kingdom’s Grand General, Wu Xiaxian, received a letter of appeal from the Cao Kingdom’s Emperor, Cao Tianxiong. He immediately dispatched 50,000 soldiers toward the Cao Kingdom’s Imperial Capital to help the Emperor secure his throne.

Of course, the Cao Kingdom paid a heavy price for this.

At the same time, Wu Xiaxian submitted a detailed report of the conflict, along with his own letter of apology.

What the other generals found strange was that Wu Xiaxian’s report was completely different from the support he had shown Mo Yun the day before. The wording almost completely condemned Mo Yun, characterizing the entire incident as a provocation initiated by her remnants. It stated they had senselessly slaughtered 3,000 men from the grain convoy, an unforgivable crime...

Although it was unclear what had happened, many were happy to see this change. The Mo Family’s influence in the military was not significant.

Mo Yun’s previous forceful interference in military affairs had already drawn the ire of many. Now that she was in trouble, they could hardly stop themselves from applauding.

As for what made Wu Xiaxian change his mind? Was that really important?

Wu Xiaxian was well aware that if he did not perform exceptionally in the upcoming battles, what awaited him would be the cold and merciless counterattack from the Mo Family, who possessed an incredibly deep foundation in the Great Yan Kingdom’s imperial court.

Even though the Mo Family had already announced Mo Yun’s expulsion, their blood still flowed through her veins.

”When two paths narrow, the brave one wins. This is nothing more than a fight to the death!” Wu Xiaxian, clad in Bright Armor, mounted his horse with his saber in hand and personally led the grand army to charge the Cangqiong Kingdom’s forces!

He would fight!

He would use battle to wash away his shame!

He would use battle to secure his position!

After a standoff lasting several months, the grand armies of the Cangqiong Kingdom and the Great Yan Kingdom finally clashed head-on!

...

”Boss, see that? These Great Yan Kingdom grain convoys have gotten smart! Every one of them is on high alert. Dammit, they’re not going to be easy to hit!” Liang Ziyi said, scratching his head in frustration as he watched the distant convoy approach.

Over three thousand flatbed horse-drawn carts, laden with mountain-like piles of supplies, stretched for more than fifty li from front to back. The escorting army numbered at least five or six thousand!

With just the twelve of them, trying to sabotage a convoy like this... they probably wouldn’t even cause a ripple.

The enemy wouldn’t even need to send out experts like a Great Sword Master. Just a few dozen archers shooting at them would be enough to turn them all into porcupines!

”Big Brother, Sui Yan’s preparations should be complete by now, right?” Xu Luo didn’t answer Liang Ziyi, instead turning to ask Huangfu Chongzhi beside him.

”They should be, but those mechanisms... will they really work?” Huangfu Chongzhi frowned slightly and said in a low voice, ”After all, the enemy has so many people, and they have Reconnoitre scouting the path ahead. Even if the mechanisms are effective, they can only hold the enemy back for a moment, not for long.”

”Yeah, Boss, I don’t think those mechanisms are very reliable either...” Liang Ziyi grumbled from the side.

With too few people, it was impossible to repeat a ploy like the one they used against Mo Yun’s remnants. So, Xu Luo and his team had settled on the idea of sabotaging the grain route.

The Great Yan Empire’s grain route was an ancient road in the Cao Kingdom that had existed for many years and was very well-hidden.

If not for the map from Cao Tianyi, Xu Luo’s group would never have found this place.

Their greatest advantage now was that they hadn’t been exposed. The Yan Army believed that Cao Tianyi was currently desperate to seize power and had neither the energy nor the courage to cause trouble for them.

So, although the Yan Army had increased their vigilance and sent more men, they were still underestimating their enemy at their core.

The place they had chosen was an extremely treacherous valley with a narrow road, only wide enough for a single horse cart to pass.

Moreover, this section of the valley was very long and narrow, stretching for seventy to eighty li.

On both sides of the valley, even at the lowest points, the cliffs were over a hundred meters high.

Therefore, this was also the section of the road where the Yan Army was most vigilant. A constant stream of Reconnoitre came to investigate, making it a fool’s hope for Xu Luo’s team to set up anything on a large scale.

Fortunately, they had Sui Yan, an expert in Mechanical Skill, who took a few people to quietly descend and set up the mechanisms.

As for how effective they would be, even Xu Luo had no idea.

”Sui Yan’s ability to set up mechanisms is quite good. I hope he succeeds,” Xu Luo said softly.

They had previously considered throwing stones down to block the enemy’s grain convoy, but with only a dozen or so people and a very long enemy convoy, it was impractical. Besides, even with more people, you could only pull something like that off once, at most!

What Xu Luo and his team hoped for most was that Sui Yan’s mechanisms could, in one go... completely seal off this valley!

When that happened, even if the enemy tried to clear it, it would take them at least ten days to half a month!

In the end, Xu Luo made the final decision: have Sui Yan use his Mechanical Skill to set a trap in One-Line Heaven, completely sever the Yan Army Grain Dao, and crush the Yan Army grain convoy!

Now that the two sides had officially clashed on the front lines, if this operation succeeded, it would inevitably affect the Yan Army’s morale.

Just then, Ling Luoxi ran up, panting, and said to Xu Luo, ”Boss, Sui Yan is all set up over there. It’s our turn now!”

Hearing this, Xu Luo, Liang Ziyi, Huangfu Haoran, and the others stood up and exchanged glances.

”It all comes down to this!” Xu Luo said in a deep voice. He activated his Shaking Light Step and charged directly toward the cliff face.

”Damn, the boss’s Lightweight Skill has gotten even better!” Liang Ziyi muttered, watching with an envious expression as Xu Luo moved across the cliff face as if flying.

Immediately after, on the opposite cliff, Li Hong and the others also began to move.

...

This time, the Grain Transport Officer was one of Wu Xiaxian’s trusted confidants, a man whose strength had already reached the level of a Tier Six Great Sword Master.

There were also ten Martial Artists at the Great Sword Master Realm holding the formation.

But Li Ming still felt a faint sense of unease. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there were other factors hidden within the previous conflict between Mo Yun’s remnants and the grain convoy.

Unfortunately, Mo Yun and her remnants had disappeared within the Cao Kingdom’s borders. It was impossible to investigate the matter thoroughly, let alone find anyone to corroborate the story.

Although Cao Tianyi was currently attacking the Cao Kingdom’s Imperial Capital and shouldn’t have the spare manpower to send here for sabotage, who could say for sure with these things?

Heaven knew if Cao Tianyi, worried about being retaliated against by the Great Yan Kingdom after taking the throne, might secretly send a small force to cause trouble...

The possibility was actually quite high!

Over the years, Li Ming’s greatest asset wasn’t that he had become a Tier Six Great Sword Master at thirty-eight, but rather his extreme caution!

This trait had saved his life on several occasions, and it was precisely because of this personality that Wu Xiaxian considered him a trusted confidant.

Caution meant stability.

A tedious job like transporting grain and supplies was not something an impatient person could handle.

Take the previous Grain and Grass Officer who died in the internal conflict, for example. Although the incident had been officially characterized with all blame pushed onto Mo Yun’s remnants...

...Li Ming and the others privately believed that if that Grain and Grass Officer hadn’t been so arrogant and domineering, the fight would never have broken out in the first place!

Wu Xiaxian thought so too. That’s why, after that incident, he replaced many of the hot-tempered Grain and Grass Officers, transferring them to the front lines.

And he had transferred someone steady and cautious like Li Ming to transport the grain.

This wasn’t the first time Li Ming had traveled through this long, narrow gorge. Every time he passed through, he felt a sense of trepidation.

The high cliffs on both sides gave off an immense sense of pressure, as if they could collapse at any moment.

But in reality, Li Ming knew this gorge had existed for countless years. It had endured millennia of wind and rain and still remained unchanged.

This meant that the stones on the gorge’s cliffs would not fall easily.

’But what if... what if someone is up on the mountains causing trouble?’ Li Ming thought. Just as he was about to enter the gorge, he reined in his horse and said in a deep voice, ”Reconnoitre, go investigate one more time! Report back only after you are certain there are no risks!”

Several Reconnoitre exchanged glances, all looking somewhat displeased.

They were the ones who had worked the hardest on this entire journey! They had no idea what had gotten into Li Ming. A mission that originally required only one reconnaissance run became two or even three under him. A mission that needed two runs became five or six!

Including this time, this would be their seventh time scouting this sparsely wooded gorge!

But alas, rank has its privileges. Although the few Reconnoitre were unhappy, they still acknowledged the order with a ”yes” and proceeded toward both sides of the gorge.

Li Ming naturally saw the resentment in the eyes of the few Reconnoitre, but he didn’t care. As long as nothing went wrong on the road, he could heavily reward them with some silver after the mission was over, and all their resentment would vanish.

After all, no one argues with money.

”Pass the order down! Everyone else, rest where you are and remain on high alert!” Li Ming ordered the men at his side.

The military order was passed down through the ranks.

Xu Luo, hidden in a recess in the cliff, watched the grain convoy halt in the distance. He thought to himself: ’This enemy commander is really cautious. How many times has he sent out Reconnoitre on this trip?’

’Too bad that no matter how cunning as a fox you are, you’ll still fall into my hands!’ After seeing the mechanisms Sui Yan had set up, Xu Luo’s confidence had grown immensely.

These mechanisms were all part of a chain reaction. As long as one was triggered, it would naturally set off all the others.

The Martial Soul Squad had a total of twelve members, with six on each side of the gorge. They were positioned at the entrance, middle, and exit of the gorge, respectively.

When the time comes and these mechanisms are activated, the entire gorge will be completely sealed off!

Thinking this, Xu Luo couldn’t help but admire that fellow Sui Yan. He was usually quiet, silently engrossed in studying Mechanical Technique. Who would have thought it would be so useful at a critical moment!

”It seems no field of study in this world is simple; each has its own unique strengths,” Xu Luo murmured to himself. He then thought: ’During those years when I couldn’t cultivate, all those books on military strategy I read—haven’t they been put to full use in this war?’

Xu Luo chuckled softly, picked up the Shui Lan in his hand, and casually carved a sentence into the recessed cliff wall where he was hiding: There is no useless knowledge in this world, only useless people.—Xu Luo.

’If we succeed this time, the entire Yan Army’s grain route will be blocked for at least ten-odd days. And for two sides that have already engaged in battle, ten-odd days is more than enough time to decide many things!’

Xu Luo thought.