Chapter 306: The July Frozen River
The inner hall fell into silence for a while. Just like Dai Tianyu trusted the messenger, Dai Qianyuan also trusted him. As an emperor, he would never deceive himself with such matters.
After a long pause, Dai Qianyuan sighed deeply, his face serious.
"Whether it's by chance or human intervention, we don't have time to dwell on that now. I'll head to the Xilan River first. You all need to quickly gather more troops."
"Ancestor, I've already sent people to mobilize the guards from Dadajar and East Hamor, and all the Imperial Guard from Xing Luo City have been dispatched as well."
"Good. This is an urgent situation. I'll go ahead, but you should think of some countermeasures. These troops alone won't be enough."
"Yes, thank you, Ancestor."
Dai Tianyu and Zhu Xianwei both breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that the Ancestor had agreed to help. Their expressions softened, but the situation was still out of control, so they couldn't afford to relax.
They quickly sent for a few generals to be summoned to the grand hall.
"Relying only on the troops near Xing Luo City will definitely not be enough to resist the beast tide. You must depart immediately to mobilize troops from the Kingdom of Nili and the Duchy of Eureka and bring them back to Xing Luo City."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The two generals immediately set off toward the further subjugated countries, while Dai Tianyu remained deep in thought, his brow furrowed, his fingers tapping on the armrest of the throne, as if contemplating something.
The empress, clearly understanding what was troubling her husband, spoke gently to comfort him: "Your Majesty, those border cities can temporarily be taken back by Xue Qinghe. With his recent ascension to the throne and unstable position, he wouldn't dare to invade the Xing Luo Empire's borders easily. You should quickly recall the majority of the guarding forces from there."
"Otherwise, the fall of Xing Luo City would be far worse than the loss of just a few border cities."
Dai Tianyu naturally understood this logic, but it pained him to have to give up what he had just gained.
However, after listening to his wife's advice, Dai Tianyu gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement. He then instructed the remaining generals:
"You two will go to Ahakuwa and Fullerton to mobilize the guards from there and bring them back. Move quickly, understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The remaining generals all dispersed, leaving only Dai Tianyu and the empress in the grand hall.
"Now, it's time to do our part and leave the rest to fate. But I will not forgive whoever is responsible for starting this beast tide. Otherwise, they'll pay the price."
As Xing Luo's ancestor had said, Dai Tianyu confirmed that the beast tide was deliberately engineered. Otherwise, so many ten-thousand-year soul beasts could never gather together.
But as he thought about facing an enemy who could command such a large army of soul beasts, a chill ran down his spine. With such methods, what could he do? When had he offended such a powerful figure?
Ning Bei: You didn't offend me, but you offended my wife!
Meanwhile, Ning Bei headed west, scattering the fragrance of the pill for nearly a thousand kilometers along the way, until a river nearly a kilometer wide blocked his path.
"Hmm? There's such a wide river inland in Xing Luo?"
Ning Bei took out the map of Xing Luo from his pocket, and after scanning it, he quickly realized what this river was.
"Ah, this must be the Xilan River, the lifeblood of Xing Luo."
Looking at the gently flowing river, Ning Bei understood the origin of the river's name and, after thinking for a moment, deduced Dai Tianyu's intentions.
After so much time had passed, the beast tide news had certainly reached the enemy's ears. Yet, Ning Bei hadn't spotted any sign of an army along the way, which meant that the enemy had already determined that the beast tide could not be resisted by the army. They were likely relying on the natural barrier of the Xilan River to block the soul beast forces.
At this thought, a sly smile appeared on Ning Bei's face.
"Nice idea, but unfortunately for you, you ran into me. Don't bother next time."
With that, Ning Bei slowly approached the river, and with one hand, dipped it into the water.
"Ice Age!"
"Crack, crack!" As Ning Bei spoke, the Xilan River froze at an alarming speed. Within seconds, a 3-kilometer wide ice path stretched across the entire river, reaching the opposite bank.
Ning Bei stood up and clapped his hands with a look of smug satisfaction in his eyes.
"General Ning clears the way! When facing mountains, we open paths; when facing rivers, we build bridges. Everything's taken care of."
"Now, it's General Qiu´er's turn."
With that, Ning Bei bypassed Xing Luo City and headed toward the Tiandou border, wanting to see if the local defenders had received orders to retreat, and to notify Qian Renxue to prepare troops to break through Xing Luo.
The next day, Dai Tianyu's Third Elder, Dai Tianming, and Fourth Elder, Dai Tiange, who had gathered nearly 100,000 troops from Dadajar and the nearest cities to Xing Luo, rushed to their destination.
The two stood before the vast ice-covered surface, completely dumbfounded.
Dai Tiange glanced at his thin clothes and then looked up at the scorching July sun. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Third, it's summer, right? This... this..."
Dai Tiange's trembling finger reflected his unease. The Xilan River, which had never frozen even in the depths of winter, was now covered by thick ice in the scorching heat of summer.
Dai Tianming's face darkened as he ignored Dai Tiange's words. From the beginning, he had shared the same thoughts as the Xing Luo ancestor and Dai Tianyu, believing the beast tide was deliberately engineered. Seeing the clearly unreasonable ice surface only confirmed his belief.
"Damn it, someone managed to make such thorough preparations deep in Xing Luo."
Compared to Dai Tianming's sharp intellect, Dai Tiange was clearly not as quick-witted. After hearing his frustrated muttering, he looked at him in confusion.
"Third, what are you saying? I'm asking you why the Xilan River is frozen in the middle of summer."
"Shut up, of course, it's because someone did it on purpose! Do you think the heavens are so bored they want to mess with Xing Luo?"
"Huh?! Impossible! Who has such great power to start a beast tide with tens of thousands of soul beasts?"
Dai Tianming sighed in exasperation, not wanting to deal with the fool. He jumped onto the ice surface and tested its thickness. After a brief frown, he used his soul power to stomp his right foot down heavily on the ice.
"Boom!"
A dull thud echoed, but the thick ice layer didn't even budge. Dai Tianming's face became even more grim.
"Third, what are you doing? Are we playing with ice now?"
"Play with ice? You're not planning to take the beast tide head-on with your face, are you? Can you use your brain for once?"
Dai Tianming angrily shouted at the Fourth Elder, his heart sinking to the depths. With his 85th-level Soul Douluo cultivation, he couldn't even make a dent in the ice. The hidden strength of the enemy was becoming clear.
"Ah? Then... then let's break the ice quickly."
"Come on, you do it."
Dai Tianming pointed at the ice with annoyance. If it could be broken, would he need to tell him?
Hearing this, even Dai Tiange, who was slow to catch on, realized that something was wrong with the ice. Still unconvinced, he jumped onto the ice and mimicked Dai Tianming's actions, stomping his feet.
(END CHAPTER)
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