Martial Cultivator

Autumn left the High Priest’s residence and returned to the capital city.

Walking through that desolate royal city, Autumn thought of many things. In the end, she returned once more to the Parasol Palace. She glanced at that parasol tree, then stepped into the palace halls and came before the woman lying in the room. Looking at her mother consort, the expression on Autumn’s face was no longer that unchanging indifference, but instead became exceedingly gentle.

In front of her mother consort, Autumn was no longer some princess of the demon race, nor the most outstanding young figure of this generation. She was only a daughter.

A daughter who longed for her mother consort to open her eyes and look at her once more.

Autumn’s eyes grew slightly moist. She reached out and placed her hand over her mother consort’s hand. She opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, she said nothing, only quietly watching her.

After an unknown amount of time, Autumn finally stood up and left.

Outside the Parasol Palace, the Demon Emperor slowly appeared. Autumn looked at her royal father and said softly, “Greetings, Royal Father.”

The Demon Emperor glanced at Autumn and said with approval, “Not bad. You are now only a single step away from surpassing Nepenthe. After a hundred years, this Demon Domain will be yours.”

This was not the first time the Demon Emperor had hinted to Autumn. In the Demon Domain, she was his successor, but to state it so plainly and directly like today was the first.

Autumn said calmly, “May Royal Father reign for countless ages. The Demon Domain still cannot do without Royal Father. With Royal Father here, there will be no problems.”

The Demon Emperor looked at Autumn and smiled. “Even if We do not die, it does not mean We must sit on this throne forever. At this stage, moving forward and pursuing that supreme realm is what We truly wish to do.”

“Of course, before that, We will first crush the human race and make Chen Che suffer utter defeat before Us.”

The Demon Emperor looked at Autumn and said, “After that, We will have no more desires.”

At that time, the great undertaking would be complete, and there would be nothing left worth clinging to.

Autumn said, “Royal Father, I wish to go to the front lines, to the desolate north.”

The Demon Emperor did not seem surprised. He only smiled and said, “Very well. With you there, We will feel much more at ease. However, although you have reached such a realm, you are still not familiar with commanding armies in war. Do not involve yourself too deeply in military decisions.”

Autumn nodded. She naturally understood that commanding thousands upon thousands of troops was different from relying on one’s own strength, and so she did not argue.

“Although you have reached such a realm, you must still be cautious in all matters. On the human side, it is not impossible that they may attempt an assassination against you. Do not be overly fixated, he may become the bait used to lure you.”

The Demon Emperor looked at Autumn. In the past, he would not have mentioned such a matter at all. But his daughter had failed to gain the upper hand in several encounters with that young martial artist, so he had reason to suspect that the young man had become a lingering disease in her heart.

Autumn only said calmly, “When I meet him, he will only die at my hands.”

The Demon Emperor said nothing. He merely stared at Autumn with a pair of eyes, somewhat displeased.

“Royal Father, rest assured. I know when to advance and when to retreat.”

Autumn clasped her fists, then turned and left.

The Demon Emperor watched Autumn’s back view, not withdrawing his gaze for a long time.

He remained where he was, waiting for another person to arrive here.

The demon race’s High Priest arrived unannounced and cupped his hands in salute to the Demon Emperor. “Your Majesty.”

The Demon Emperor glanced at him and went straight to the point. “You’ve met her. What did you talk about?”

In the capital city, what could possibly escape the Demon Emperor’s eyes? If there was something he wished to know, how could he not know it?

The High Priest remained silent.

The Demon Emperor did not press further, merely waiting for an answer.

The place was quiet, so quiet that the High Priest could hear his own heartbeat.

“Your Majesty, the foremost matter right now is the war with Great Liang. Aside from that, everything else can be set aside for later.”

The High Priest spoke, yet did not give the answer the Demon Emperor wanted.

The Demon Emperor said indifferently, “And what if We insist on knowing?”

The High Priest raised his head and smiled. “Your Majesty is the sovereign of the demon race. If you wish to know, then you will surely know.”

......

......

Autumn headed south at great speed, following the Onan River all the way down. She saw numerous demon armies gathering, all moving toward the south.

Just from the forces she had personally seen, their numbers already far exceeded those that had participated in past great wars. From this alone, Autumn understood that this time, the demon race’s plan to mobilize the strength of their entire race for a southern campaign was no falsehood.

In the history of the demon race, this was the first time.

Continuing south, Autumn soon found the vanguard army’s camp. A total of two hundred thousand troops were stationed deep in the desolate north. Advancing another thousand li or so would bring them into contact with the foremost passes of the human race.

Inside the main tent, the commanding general Liu Xiang was studying the terrain on a sand table while waiting for reports from the scouts, not in a hurry to break camp and advance further.

It had to be said that this demon general conducted his campaign in an orderly manner. Each time they broke camp, they advanced only about a thousand miles before setting up camp again, and along the way, they left troops behind to ensure the supply lines remained open.

In earlier years, demon armies had rampaged freely across the desolate north. Moreover, at the beginning, Great Liang had mostly chosen to defend their cities rather than take the initiative to attack, so the demon race had not needed to consider such matters. But as time passed, the frontier army of Great Liang did not simply remain on the defensive. Many times, they would send out cavalry to cut off supplies and logistics.

It was from that time onward that the demon race became far more cautious with each southern campaign, no longer acting as recklessly as before.

Liu Xiang pointed to a certain spot on the sand table and said calmly, “If nothing unexpected occurs, this general intends to first attack Cold Pass, then eliminate all of Great Liang’s passes before the Northern Frontier Great Wall one by one. After that, we will wait for the main forces to assemble and launch a joint assault on the city.”

Cold Pass was not the most important stronghold along Great Liang’s northern defensive line, but it was relatively weaker. Taking it would not require too much effort.

And once Cold Pass was captured, the terrain could be used as a springboard to continue advancing south.

For the demon race, this was indeed a position from which they could both attack and defend.

The other demon generals all nodded. Choosing to attack Cold Pass at this moment was indeed a very steady and prudent decision.

Regardless of success or failure, the impact would not be too great. Beyond Cold Pass lay an open grassland. Even if they encountered an ambush from Great Liang, they would still have a high chance of withdrawing safely, rather than allowing Great Liang to form a pocket and trap them all outside Liang Pass.

Seeing that no one raised any objections, Liu Xiang continued, “Send the Giant Elephant clan as the vanguard. Once they reach outside Cold Pass, they are to attack the city directly and not give them any chance to catch their breath, lest they-”

“Your Highness, the Princess?!”

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