Chapter 1926: Good Days Countdown

Chapter 1907: Good Days Counting Down

Though there were many Kasha warriors nearby, none had time to intervene. In the Inverted Sea, Elder Sutra, aided by the Cave Infant King possessed by the Blood Demon, was able to eliminate two Celestial Demons. With its demonic immortal power, dealing with human warriors and cultivators was a devastating blow, a dimensional reduction attack.

After this scene unfolded, a deathly silence fell over the Kasha tribe. Previously, legends on the Glimmering Gold Plains claimed that the Dragon God had killed their revered Wondrously Pure Heaven. The Kasha tribe had not believed it, but this battle shattered their doubts. The Nine Nether Emperor himself had not even acted yet, and his demonic immortal was already so formidable! Facing such an enemy, what use was resistance?

So when the Nine Nether Emperor once again asked, "Death, or surrender?" both the soldiers and the tribespeople spontaneously knelt. The bravest warriors of the Kasha tribe could face powerful enemies without fear, but they could not but revere Death itself. Now, this Death was called the "Nine Nether Emperor." One knelt, then two, and soon, a sea of kneeling figures emerged. The situation was decided.

Of course, the Kasha tribe did not know that Sutra’s display of power came at a cost. After the battle, its cultivation could no longer be suppressed, and it slipped back into Mother Zhu's woven cocoon chamber to rest and recover. Nevertheless, this battle was awe-inspiring and highly fruitful. The Nine Nether Emperor's first public appearance, leading an army, had to be sharp, ruthless, and demonstrate swift, decisive tactics. A combination of might and grace is a strategy, but on the Glimmering Gold Plains, might must precede grace. Only after being subdued and struck with fear would they be worthy of receiving benevolence.

After the death of the Kasha chief, the Nine Nether Emperor appointed his cousin to take the chieftain's position. The Kasha tribe's fifteen thousand warriors were integrated into the Elite Vanguard, named the Kasha Legion, to follow the Nine Nether Emperor on his campaigns. The "Elite Vanguard" was a new system established by the Nine Nether Emperor, distinct from the core Black Armored Army. With this force, seven days later, the Nine Nether Emperor defeated and subdued the Longye tribe, gaining another nine thousand warriors. At the same time, the second Yángshàn army arrived and merged with the main force.

Having secured two major tribes, He Lingchuan's elite forces grew significantly, allowing him to turn his attention to the next target: Luodian. Longye bordered Luodian, and He Lingchuan had long understood Luodian's situation, knowing its defenses were currently weak. So, after three days of reorganization for his troops, he launched a fierce attack on Luodian. Luodian's territory was larger than the two tribes combined, and its population denser. To conquer it quickly, both troop division and strategy were required. With the assistance of the Three Corpse Worms and powerful demons, the Nine Nether Emperor's army gained the ability to defeat superior numbers.

The Kasha and Longye tribes had long been oppressed by Luodian, fearing and hating it. But under the Nine Nether Emperor's command, their former powerful enemy was easily defeated by their own hands. At this, both tribes felt a surge of pride and relief, as if being conquered by the Nine Nether Emperor was not so painful after all. People living on the Glimmering Gold Plains had grown accustomed to submitting to the strong.

In the latter half of the night, Qu Ruhai had a long talk with his royal brother. Their faith shattered, their isolated city besieged, and the vast army outside watching with predatory eyes. The King of Luodian understood perfectly well that even if he died to preserve his honor, it would do no good for his entire tribe. The beheaded Kasha chief was a clear precedent; his death was tragic, but did it change the fate of the Kasha tribe? It did not. On this land, submission to the strong was the ultimate fate of the weak. For the King of Luodian, this was the most agonizing night. By dawn, he emerged from the city alone and presented his royal staff. A peaceful transfer of power. Thus, Luodian perished, and the Nine Nether Emperor's territory expanded once more. This piece of the puzzle carried significant weight.

The fall of Luodian was the third thunderbolt to strike the Glimmering Gold Plains, following the demise of Wondrously Pure Heaven and the Dragon God's army sweeping across the land! Bai Tan was drinking water when he heard a personal guard rush in with a report. His hand trembled, soaking several scrolls. "How could this be possible!" Unlike any region the Dragon God's army had previously conquered, Luodian was a titan of Glimmering Gold, second only to the State of Yao in military might. The former State of Yao bordered Luodian and had suffered border conflicts and invasions from Luodian for many years. The former State of Yao's helplessness against Luodian underscored the latter's formidable nature. Yet, the Dragon God's army had quietly brought it down? And insiders even claimed the Dragon God took less than twenty days to conquer Luodian! In Glimmering Gold, the nation ranked second in military strength couldn't hold out for even a month against the Dragon God?

This news spread like wildfire, further fueled by Yángshàn's promotion, and became rampant across the Glimmering Gold Plains. Not only did commoners discuss it with relish and the Black Armored Army's morale soar, but various factions, large and small, grew deeply worried. If Luodian couldn't withstand the Black Armored Army, who were they? If the Dragon God's army came knocking, what should they do? Surrender immediately? Recently, many factions had already surrendered at the first sign of trouble, and their fates didn't seem so miserable.

Meanwhile, at Yaopo, Situ He received this news, and his heart remained unsettled for a long time. The Dragon God's army had now seized vast territories in both western and central Glimmering Gold, and although they had not yet encroached upon the allied forces, he knew in his heart—He Xiao was serious, and the allied forces' good days were likely already counting down.

He sent people to scout the Dragon God's occupied territories and received news that if local political and military leaders surrendered, whether actively or passively persuaded, public treasuries and granaries would be seized, and military guards would be taken over, leaving only a few personnel behind. However, most of their personal and family private property would be preserved. But there was another point: they could no longer remain in their original hometowns but had to relocate to areas designated by the Dragon God to restart their lives, which would be at least several hundreds of miles away. These terms were actually very generous for the weaker party surrendering. Everyone on the Glimmering Gold Plains knew that victors became kings and losers became bandits, and the vanquished often met a terrible end. For instance, after the State of Nie was destroyed, its ruler's internal organs were even removed, and he was made into a human-skin kite, floating in the sky for three days and three nights. Thus, once some cities were besieged, their governors and lords, seeing the Black Armored Army arrive and knowing they couldn't win, simply marched out to surrender. The Black Armored Army's resistance during marches and sieges was significantly reduced as a result. Upon hearing this news, Situ He stayed awake all night, his eyes open until dawn.

The Yao territory, directly adjacent to Luodian, was also among the first regions to receive this news. Soon, analyses of several battles from the Luodian campaign, along with battlefield details, were laid out on Qingyang and Bai Tan's desks.

"It seems He Xiao first cleared out the demon dens in the north, gathering a large number of demons, then attacked Kasha and Longye, and finally, leading the armies of the two tribes, captured Qu Ruhai alive..." Qingyang flipped through the battle reports, noting several frequently appearing words: disoriented soldiers, killing comrades, indistinguishable friend from foe, muddled minds.

"Luodian is different from the demons and those two tribes; it possesses primal energy, and it's not weak!" Qingyang mused, "What kind of divine ability or magic could cause soldiers on the battlefield to become widely disoriented and dazed?" Luodian's primal energy, especially when concentrated on its elites, was sufficient to weaken most divine abilities, and their resistance to mind-affecting or bewildering spells was particularly strong.