Flames of War Sweep Across

When the first vanguard legion charged into the Blue Sea, the second wave of reinforcements had already arrived at the Three Rivers Khanate. This reinforcement force also numbered one million. Rather than lingering in the Three Rivers Khanate under the Liao domain's climate, they pushed on in a single breath to the New City at the snow mountain pass, rested there for several days, and then continued their march north. Wei Yuan oversaw the snow mountain pass in person, renaming the place Tianyu Pass and commencing the construction of a new fortress city. Erecting a pass here would fully secure the vast territory of the Three Rivers Khanate to the rear while providing an advance base from which to command the surrounding several thousand li. Just as the survey of the fortress terrain was completed and foundation work began, a report from Chuhe was delivered to Wei Yuan. Over the past few months, Chuhe had traversed every corner of the Three Rivers Khanate, identifying every piece of spirit land suitable for transformation. He planned to build ninety-seven agricultural workshops across three phases, which together could sustain two hundred million Liao people, one million Liao horses, and tens of millions of large livestock. The one million Liao horses referred to top-grade, pureblood warhorses that were carnivorous—completely different from ordinary herding horses. After reading it over, Wei Yuan made a broad sweep of his brush, approving all the land at once. He compressed the schedule from three phases into two, greatly accelerating the pace so that sixty workshops would be built in the very first batch. As for the allocation and requisition of the spirit lands, Wei Yuan entrusted it all to Batu, giving him a strict deadline of one month to see it done. Early that morning, Batu stepped out of his grand tent and glanced up at the dim, reddish sun, knowing that another blizzard might well be brewing today. Just then, two monks flew over from the distance. Batu's heart gave a sudden thump, and he quickly pasted on a smile, hurrying out to greet them. These two were personal disciples of an Arhat, responsible for communications throughout the realm. The orders they bore came straight from Qingming, making them akin to imperial commissioners. When the two monks arrived before him, Batu knelt down. The monk on the left produced a map and said, "By order of the Realm Lord, you are commanded to requisition all spirit lands marked on this map within one month. There must be no error!" "I receive the decree!" Batu took the map. Upon unrolling it, he inwardly groaned. Several of his sons crowded around to look and were instantly aghast. "Th-this requisitions every single piece of spirit land! How are we supposed to cultivate then?" Batu drew a deep breath and said, "Qingming produces an abundance of cultivation pills. For those of us risking our lives for Qingming, the Realm Lord will not abandon us. Without spirit lands, cultivating with pills is just the same. Developing pills suited for our Liao Clan may take a bit of time, but we just need to endure these few years. Right now, this major task must be handled first!" "But doesn't this set us against the entire Liao populace?" Batu shook his head. "No, only against the nobles of the other tribes. If I am not mistaken, the Realm Lord suddenly demanding so much spirit land is likely to build agricultural workshops, just like the one in the south." "To feed those pariahs again?! Then what are we supposed to eat?" Batu checked his fuming son, whose eyes burned with fury. "Do not say such things! As long as we follow the Realm Lord, there will always be a bite for us to eat. Now get to work! Each of you take charge of ten plots! The faster, the better!" The youngest son stepped forward and said, "Something like this is bound to run into resistance. What if someone refuses to hand over the land even on pain of death?" A flicker of murderous intent flashed in Batu's eyes. "This order came directly through the Arhat Guru; it is supreme. Take my personal guard with you. Whoever refuses to yield their land, kill them on the spot and cast their entire family into slavery! "We have no other choice. If we handle this poorly, someone will replace us at once. Didn't you see north of the snow mountains? How haughty that figure was back then, yet wasn't he killed just like that? Right now, that territory barely has a few Dharma Idols left. "That is the fate of opposing the Realm Lord." A moment later, Batu rallied all his personal guards. Led by his sons, they set out in different directions to begin requisitioning the land. In merely a single day, dozens of Liao lives were taken. A few days later, several small tribes openly rebelled. Batu dispatched his own direct forces to suppress them while simultaneously requesting aid from Wei Yuan. With a casual wave of his hand, Wei Yuan assigned one thousand heavy templates to assist. Rushing back and forth over thousands of li, they directly wiped out those rebellious small tribes. The Dharma Idol high cultivators within those tribes were virtually all chopped into minced meat by hundreds of flying swords in their very first clash. Meanwhile, their retaliatory attacks were completely absorbed by hundreds of templates dedicated to defense, without suffering so much as a scratch. Once the resistance was suppressed, the tribal chieftains' entire clans were exterminated according to the law. The statutes established by Wei Yuan were exceptionally harsh on nobility and remarkably lenient toward commoners. When commoners rebelled, only the ringleaders were executed, while followers performed labor to expiate their crimes. But when nobles rebelled, their entire clans were put to death, along with anyone implicated. The intent behind this statute was plain for all to see: to purge and replace every troublesome noble. As for those who did not make trouble, there were plenty of ways to force them until they did. With the great war underway and the direction clear, Wei Yuan wasted no more time. He directly commanded the vanguard legions to sweep into the Blue Sea oasis. The Liao Clan customarily followed water and grass, and the oasis contained multiple cities that were relatively scattered. Once the herding season arrived, large numbers of herders would depart for distant pastures, often returning only years later when a batch of livestock reached maturity. The traditional impression was that the Liao were dispersed and exceptionally mobile. But after securing the Three Rivers Khanate, Qingming conducted an in-depth study of the Liao Clan—from their bloodline to their living habits—and discovered that their high mobility was actually an illusion. When the Liao migrated, they had to dismantle all their tents and provisions and load them onto wagons. Moreover, migration seasons had strict limitations: it could not be during the pregnancy of female livestock, nor could calves and lambs migrate if they were too young, or they would surely perish along the way. Just dismantling their belongings and packing the wagons took half a month. Then the heavy wagons moved at a crawl; infantry could easily catch up to them without needing cavalry. Thus, once Wei Yuan made up his mind, he immediately launched a full-scale assault, giving the Liao no time to evacuate. The army broke through Liao interception attempts in succession, reaching the shores of the Blue Sea in merely half a month. Flames of war raged across every corner of the Blue Sea oasis. All the Liao fell into panic and despair; vast numbers of Liao people seized weapons and leaped onto warhorses, but they could find nowhere for large forces to rally. Everywhere in the sky were Qingming flying boats. Each boat could survey a vast area; the moment a gathering of Liao was spotted, troops would immediately descend to scatter and destroy them. In just a few days, the oasis's Liao forces were battered into utter disarray. In truth, the Liao still possessed substantial military strength and numerous high-stage cultivators, retaining a clear numerical advantage. However, with Wei Yuan stationing flying boats in the skies to surveil the entire oasis, mobile units were dispatched to strike at the first sign of movement, while the main force systematically pushed through city by city. In this way, the Liao were effectively fractured into dozens of isolated pockets, unable to communicate or reinforce one another. Naturally, the Liao were unwilling to accept this fate. In a certain settlement, inside a rather dilapidated tent, several Liao dressed as commoners were plotting in secret. Inside the tent was a faint humming, like tiny insects buzzing about. In reality, it was the sound produced by the flying boat high above. One of the Liao lifted the tent flap, poked his head out, and looked around. Seeing the night was deep and no one was stirring, he looked up at the sky. Set against the moonlight, a dark silhouette was drifting slowly, gradually blotting out the moon. This was a Qingming flying boat—gigantic, sturdy, ferocious, and ubiquitous. The immense, sky-obscuring oppression made every Liao who saw it feel suffocated. Flames of rage welled in the Liao man's eyes as he pulled back into the tent. Inside, an elderly Liao said, "Those flying boats are flying lower and lower. This is our chance! Jiaha is the only middle Dharma Idol among us, so he will deliver the final strike. Tuobuyuan is the strongest, so he will be responsible for the initial launch. The rest of us will intercept attacks from the flying boat for Jiaha and escort him to its side. "I am old, so I will block the flying boat's main cannon." "Elder!" The elderly Liao waved his hand. "A flying boat of this scale is something I have seen only once in my entire life. If we can bring it down, those natives might find the loss unbearable and be forced to withdraw. If not for the catastrophe at hand and all our adult warriors being sent north, how could those natives have ever pushed all the way here!" "They defiled the sacred waters of the Blue Sea! These natives refused to remain proper livestock, betrayed us in ancient times, and now launch sneak attacks amidst the chaos! Once the Old Ancestor awakens, we must beg him to slaughter every last native!" The old man cut him off. "Say no more. The flying boat is already directly overhead. Strike!" The group emerged from the tent. Just as they stepped into an open clearing, a brilliant beam of light suddenly beamed down from the sky, illuminating their surroundings as bright as day!