Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 180 Conquest of a Nation (Part 2)

On the banks of the Ju River, the four major states gathered seventeen brigades, with eight thousand armored soldiers arrayed in formation, resembling an iron wall that blotted out the sky.

Seventeen battalions of armored soldiers gathered together, their divine blood, originating from the ancestral god, surging. Eight thousand men trod on the banks of the Ju River, causing the sand and gravel on the riverbed to slip away. The turbid river water slapped against the rocks on the shore, producing a dull roar.

The next moment, a sharp horn pierced the fog, followed by the thunderous sound of war drums from various states.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The drumbeats rolled across the wasteland like thunder, making the armored soldiers' helmets hum.

"Attack Xu! Attack Xu!"

It is unknown who first shouted, but the sound wave followed closely behind, like a tide, sweeping over both banks of the Ju River.

The black armor of the Southern Yan soldiers gleamed with a cold, iron-blue light under the sun. The infantrymen of the E Kingdom stood like a forest of spears, while the chariots of the Qi and Yin Kingdoms were arrayed in formation, their banners obscuring the sun and their spears and halberds raised high, making them all the more menacing and terrifying.

The blood and energy of eight thousand armored soldiers converged into an invisible heat wave, rising upwards and turning the morning mist on the horizon yellow, even tinging the rising sun with a layer of blood.

Ji Shi stood on the chariot, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze sweeping over the forest of armored soldiers, his heart filled with heroic passion.

He turned to look at Ebo Ji'an, and saw that the blood-stained armor on the other party rose and fell with her breath, like dancing flames. The envoys from the two kingdoms of Qi and Yin were driving closer in their carriages.

"Everyone!"

Ji Shi raised his arms and shouted in a booming voice, "Today, the four clans of the Ji family have gathered here, not to invade, but to seek justice!"

“That brat Lü Shang has betrayed his promises, stolen the country and destroyed the state. If such evil deeds are not punished, how can the Ji clan stand in the world?”

He drew his bronze sword from his waist, pointing the tip directly towards Xuchang, and roared, "Today we will attack Xuchang and jointly punish injustice!"

"Let us unite against injustice! Let us unite against injustice!"

Eight thousand armored soldiers roared in unison, their shouts causing the banners to flutter wildly and the spears and halberds to tremble.

Such a large-scale operation and such a grand gesture naturally alarmed the State of Xu, which borders the Ju River.

Xu State, Xu Capital
Inside the palace, Lü Shang looked down at the cloth on the table. The scout's report was still damp with the scent of the Ju River, and the words still trembled between the lines.

Seventeen battalions of armored soldiers—this was the largest military mobilization by the Ji clan vassal states in nearly twenty years.

"Your Majesty, the allied forces of the four nations have crossed the south bank of the Ju River and are less than two hundred li from Xuchang."

Gongzi Chong, Baili Ming, and the others had solemn expressions. Clearly, the overwhelming force of the 17th Brigade of the four countries was putting them under immense pressure.

After all, the Great Wilderness Mountain and Sea Kingdom is different from the human dynasties of the Yama world. The people of the Mountain and Sea Kingdom all have divine blood, and the most outstanding ones are all human gods. It can be said that the Mountain and Sea Kingdom is almost half a divine kingdom.

If these eight thousand armored soldiers were placed in the world of Jambudvipa, they would be considered eight thousand heavenly soldiers. Although they might be the lowest ranks among the heavenly soldiers, they were still different from ordinary people.

Faced with the ministers' advice, Lü Shang said in a low voice, "I didn't expect their reaction to be so strong."

"The 17th Brigade, the 17th Brigade's strength is indeed beyond what Xu Guo can currently withstand."

Lu Shang slowly raised his head and said softly, "I wonder if any of these four kingdoms have generals capable of leading troops. Eight thousand armored soldiers are indeed an invincible force."

"However, without a general in command, no matter how many soldiers there are, they are just a disorganized mess and nothing to fear."

As he spoke, deep within Lü Shang's pupils, a figure with a human head, red hair, and a snake's body stood amidst the raging waves.

Its serpentine scales gleamed with a cold light like the chilling depths of the Northern Sea, and its long, crimson hair danced, each strand wrapped with liquid, chaotic energy.

As Lü Shang's cultivation deepened, the figure of Gonggong became increasingly solid, awaiting a momentous event.

The candlelight flickered in the hall. Seeing Lü Shang's unusual expression, the prince stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Does Your Majesty have a plan to repel the enemy?"

"Although the soldiers of my Xu Kingdom are capable of fighting, the combined might of the seventeen brigades from the four kingdoms is truly formidable," he said, but before he could finish, Baili Ming gestured for him to be quiet with his eyes.

All the nobles in the hall stared at Lü Shang, whose eyes gleamed like ice breaking in a cold pool, while a smile played on his lips, clearly indicating his confidence.

Just as the nobles were about to speak again, a palace servant hurriedly entered the hall, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the envoys from the four kingdoms of Nan Yan, E, Qi and Yin have arrived outside the palace. They are all dressed in mourning clothes and their carriages are carrying proclamations 'denouncing injustice'."

Lü Shang understood and said, "They've come quite quickly. I thought they would wait until their iron hooves trampled under the walls of Xuchang before raising their flags, but they've arrived now."

"Let them in,"

"Yes," the palace attendant replied, bowing and withdrawing.

After a while, when the envoys from the four kingdoms filed in, Lü Shang sized them up.

The leading envoy from Southern Yan, Prince Ju, was dressed in mourning clothes made of hemp, with an unsharpened bronze sword hanging at his waist—a ritual performed on behalf of the monarch to bring a guilty verdict.

"Humph,"

After he stepped into the main hall, he snorted coldly and threw the bamboo slips containing the proclamation at Lü Shang's feet. The bamboo slips scattered, revealing the two characters "unjust" in vermilion ink.

"Xu Boshang, do you know your crime?"

Gongzi Ju raised his head and took the lead, pointing at Lü Shang angrily and saying: "Tongqiu is a vassal state of the Ji clan. You have arbitrarily destroyed its country, relocated its people, and stolen its scriptures. This is a great offense against the world."

"My lord orders you to immediately return the 1,700 households of people in Tongqiu, return the national treasury, and personally go to the ancestral temple of Southern Yan to apologize, or else,"

Lü Shang asked, "Otherwise what?"

Gongzi Ju said loudly, "Otherwise, don't blame us, the Ji clan, for destroying your state, ruining your ancestral temples, and annihilating your kingdom."

Prince Wu, the envoy from E, drew his sword and said, “Xu Boshang, the five armies of soldiers from E are already arrayed on the west bank of the Ju River. If you continue to be stubborn, the day we raze the walls of Xudu will be the day your Lü clan’s ancestral temple is overthrown.”

Upon hearing this, all the ministers of Xu were horrified. Prince Chong, sword in hand, stepped forward and roared, "How dare you, you scoundrel, insult my lord!"

Just as Gongzi Chong was about to step forward to fight for his life, Baili Ming secretly grabbed his sleeve. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the old minister quietly shaking his head, signaling him to wait and see.

The other noble families also showed anger, coldly watching the envoys from the four countries.

Only Lü Shang remained seated, his hand lightly stroking the edge of the bamboo slips on the table, when he suddenly chuckled softly.

The laughter, which at first flowed like water under ice, gradually turned into a torrent that shook the entire palace.

He bent down to pick up the proclamation that Gongzi Ju had thrown at him. As the bronze scabbard lifted the bamboo slip, the two cinnabar characters "unjust" were reflected in his pupils, like two dying flames of blood.

Lü Shang turned to look at the envoys from the four kingdoms and said, word by word, "To destroy my ancestral temples?"

"You dare to talk about destroying my ancestral temple?"

"What do you rely on? Eight thousand armored soldiers and the blood of seventeen brigades? In my eyes, they are nothing but eight thousand ants and seventeen piles of withered bones. With this, you dare to say you will overthrow my ancestral temple?"

Upon hearing this, Gongzi Ju was so angry that he laughed instead, saying, "How dare you speak so arrogantly!"

"Let's go! A gentleman doesn't argue with a brat. When our allied forces crush Xuchang, we will surely tear out this madman's heart and bleed him to offer as a sacrifice to our flags!"

The envoys from the other three kingdoms followed behind, speaking sternly.

"That's fine,"

Gongsun Ju picked up the proclamation from the ground, the bamboo slips creaking in his palm, and said, "Let's go back now, and hope that Lord Xu won't regret it."

(End of this chapter)