The giant flying boat slowly touched down in a major rear city, more than five hundred li away from the three towns under Wei Yuan's jurisdiction. Being close to the core area of the mountain gate, even an immortal's spells would be greatly diminished here, making it relatively safe.
Otherwise, had a priceless vessel like this appeared at a frontline garrison city, the Left Sage King might well have destroyed it regardless of the cost. Constructing such a giant flying boat cost over a hundred million immortal silver; Wei Yuan couldn't possibly afford to repay it.
Once the flying boat landed, hundreds of transport wagons were already waiting. In a single trip, the giant craft had delivered three hundred cannons, tens of thousands of cannonballs, and enough armor and weapons to equip a hundred thousand men.
Disembarking alongside the cargo were several hundred template Dao Foundation cultivators.
As soon as these template Dao Foundation cultivators arrived, led by disciples of the Hall of Heavenly Craft, they fanned out across the Northern Mountain Gate in search of resources. They quickly located what they needed and began constructing kilns to fire cement.
The Northern Mountain Gate's mineral deposits were not predominantly iron, but there were still a few small iron mines—enough to serve their needs.
Upon taking charge of the three towns, the first thing Wei Yuan did was replace the Dao soldiers' equipment, followed by fortifying the defenses, digging trenches with frantic zeal.
At this very moment, within Northern Liao's Dingyue Hall, the cavernous chamber stood empty save for the silver-haired woman seated in the high seat. The chairs lining both flanks were completely deserted.
At the hall entrance, that burly silhouette reappeared. He lingered by the doorway, refusing to step inside.
The silver-haired woman slowly lifted her head. "I'm truly surprised you've managed to stay alive until now."
"The immortals' calculations aren't always accurate. If they were, the world would need only immortals, and the rest of us wouldn't need to be alive."
"Where have you been all this time?"
"I went back deep into the great plains. My wife just bore me another daughter."
"Then what did you come back for?"
The Scourge of the North offered a self-deprecating chuckle. "If I didn't come back, you people would become my fatal tribulation."
The silver-haired woman said calmly, "The Thunder Wolf tribe has arrived. The war going forward will be different."
The Scourge of the North pointed toward the empty chairs in the hall. "It's completely deserted here. Why haven't you replaced them?"
The silver-haired woman replied flatly, "None of your business. Unless you want to take one of those seats."
"I'd rather die at the hands of the humans."
The silver-haired woman rose and walked out of the hall. "It's time for the council. To the Golden Tent."
Inside the golden military tent, this time the silver-haired woman could only sit to one side. On the other side was a massive brute a full head taller than ordinary Liao men, a wolf-head totem emblazoned on the chest of his leather robe.
Seated in the center was a sinister-looking Liao man. Though not particularly tall, everyone before him seemed to shrink by a head. He looked up at the Scourge of the North, who snapped to his feet instantly—completely against his own will.
"You refused my goodwill, took no part in the battle, and fled back into the depths of the plains without permission. Very good. You clearly have no regard for me at all," the sinister man said.
"According to tribal custom, when a child is born, the parents must stay by its side, or heaven will bring disaster."
The sinister man sneered. "What customs could a tiny tribe like yours have? Guards! Send men back to the great plains. Decimate the males in his tribe—behead one in ten. Then take one in three of the remainder and send them to the front lines. They will be the first into the breach in the next battle!"
The Scourge of the North's eyes flared with murderous rage, yet before an immortal's incarnation, he was utterly powerless to resist.
The Left Sage King's avatar paid the Scourge of the North no further heed, announcing instead, "This time, I have brought the finest craftsmen from the Western Sea of Sand—the Thunder Wolf tribe. They will provide weapons and armor no weaker than the humans'. The money I've spent on each warrior now far exceeds the value of their lives! If the upcoming battles end the same way as before, what use do I have for any of you!"
***
In the garrison city hall of the Palace of Grand Beginning, Wei Yuan studied the web-like network of defensive lines spread across the sand table, meticulously refining them.
Thanks to the calculations of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, the vulnerabilities in this intricate position spanning over a hundred li were patched one by one. With several times more cannons now emplaced in the garrison city, Wei Yuan was confident he could hold his ground.
Yet looking at the several hundred li of empty expanse between the two garrison cities, he had no good solution. Large columns of Liao iron cavalry could easily sweep south along these gaps, driving straight into vital rear sectors, advancing and retreating at will.
Ordinarily, the best counter would have been to channel the mountain gate's power to unleash large-scale Daoist extermination spells, or even have an immortal intervene directly.
However, the Liao Clan brought crushing martial qi with them, while the Northern Mountain Gate's power was already nearly depleted. As for Immortal Monarch Yanshi's immortal power, it was a resource that belonged to the entire Palace of Grand Beginning; it had to be deployed with utmost caution and kept in reserve, not squandered on an emotional impulse.
The Liao Clan differed from the Wu Clan as well. Towering and robust, with formidable bodies, they moved like the wind. A cannonball capable of blasting a dozen Wu Clan warriors off their feet might kill only two or three Liao horsemen if it landed in their ranks, inflicting only minor wounds on those at the periphery.
Against the Liao Clan, the fire guns were far less effective too; their lethality dropped off sharply beyond fifty zhang, leaving them to rely on flying sword guns for exchanges of fire. Fortunately, compared to traditional human bows and crossbows, the advantage of flying sword guns remained considerable: at least the soldiers wouldn't exhaust their Dao power after loosing fifty arrows. As long as they had ammunition, they could keep firing indefinitely.
Wei Yuan's current countermeasure against the Liao was simple: what he lacked in individual punch, he would make up for in volume. Throughout this brief lull in the fighting, he had been frantically hauling cannons and shells to the Northern Mountain Gate. Now, over a thousand cannons of varying sizes ringed the garrison city, bristling like the quills of a hedgehog.
Qingming's manufacturing capacity had reached terrifying proportions as well, producing over ten million jin of molten iron and steel daily, which just barely kept pace with the Northern Mountain Gate's consumption.
To evaluate the template cultivators' working efficiency, the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World had devised a metric dubbed 'average daily molten steel per capita.' Each template Dao Foundation cultivator had to smelt ten thousand jin of molten steel per day to meet standard. Otherwise, their Dao Foundation risked imperfection, requiring overtime to hone it.
At the same time, to facilitate horizontal comparisons, the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World benchmarked a standard False Sun Dao Foundation cultivator at a value of 1.0, assigning different weightings to other template Dao Foundations based on the potency of their divine abilities and the volume of their Dao power.
For instance, the Great Radiance Demon-Subduing Sword carried a weight of only 0.8; most independent Mortal Tier Dao Foundations were rated at 1.0, while potent Mortal Tier foundations were 1.3. In contrast, the Beast-Ruling Heavenly Heart was rated at only forty percent of a False Sun.
In Qingming, a weak Dao Foundation was not necessarily a bad thing. The weaker the template Dao Foundation, the lower the barrier to entry, causing the number of people capable of achieving it to skyrocket—not linearly, but exponentially. For Old Daoist Chuhe to intentionally make the Beast-Ruling Heavenly Heart so weak was something beyond ordinary capability.
With distinct weights assigned to each Dao Foundation, fair cross-comparisons became possible. The benchmark was the finished output produced by exhausting a standard unit of Dao power. Those exceeding the standard were rewarded; those falling short were deemed slackers and cheats, penalized with fines and overtime to consolidate their Dao Foundations.
As for disciplinary measures, some self-styled masterminds had even suggested putting up public notices to name and shame them. Wei Yuan, however, felt that chronic slackers cared little for their dignity anyway, making fines far more effective.
Once this evaluation system was implemented, output across Qingming surged. Combined with the flying boats provided by the Cui family, massive volumes of supplies flowed ceaselessly toward the Northern Mountain Gate.
Wei Yuan also began producing cement locally at the Northern Mountain Gate. As a result, the garrison city underwent small changes every few days and major transformations each month, gradually turning into a colossal, man-made hedgehog, every quill a cannon barrel.
In late summer and early autumn, the Liao Clan launched an all-out offensive once more. Three million Liao horsemen charged into the Northern Mountain Gate from every direction, igniting the flames of total war.
Right at this moment, the King of Zhao issued a proclamation across the realm, detailing seven grave crimes committed by the King of Jin.
The King of Zhao demanded that Western Jin cede two northern commanderies so he could station Zhao troops there to resist Northern Liao. The King of Jin refused on the spot, and war erupted abruptly.
The Tang dynasty dispatched officials to mediate, but they could not even get through the gates of either royal palace.
At this moment, Wei Yuan stood in the garrison city, looking up at the vault of heaven. The sky above his head had turned completely dusky yellow. The mountain gate's power was utterly spent, and the humans in this realm no longer had any natural domain enhancement.
Several columns of Liao cavalry had penetrated deep into the Northern Mountain Gate, circling far behind the garrison city to complete an encirclement. Wei Yuan was unmoved, focusing entirely on holding his garrison city. Formidable as Northern Liao appeared, the true crux of the war lay not here, but beyond the firmament.
So long as Immortal Monarch Yanshi could hold off the Left Sage King and the Little State Preceptor until the Scenery Command True Monarchs decided their contest, this battle would reach its conclusion. Before those supreme powers beyond the heavens settled the outcome, it was Wei Yuan's window of opportunity to perform.
This time, however, the Liao Clan's gear seemed noticeably superior, and their spell arrows had increased significantly. Who knew which tribe's elites had arrived?
Just then, a message suddenly flashed through the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World: Zhao had sent a two-hundred-thousand-strong army through the passes, striking straight for Hanyang Pass. Wei Yuan understood immediately: the King of Zhao intended to test his mettle.
Wei Yuan did not return to Qingming. Instead, he entered the Nether Cold Realm, walked into a newly built, tranquil courtyard, and tapped lightly on the door.
The door swung open, and Zhang Sheng stepped out. "What matter disturbs my quiet cultivation?"
"Zhao is attacking," Wei Yuan said. "I request Teacher to end your seclusion and preside over the situation."
Zhang Sheng nodded. "Naturally."
Wei Yuan offered a bow and was about to leave when Zhang Sheng suddenly added, "The north is perilous, and those alien immortal monarchs are bad news. You must take extreme care. Use karmic luck whenever you can—don't scrimp on it! With how we're developing, going forward we can have as much Great Fortune of Humanity as we desire."
Wei Yuan replied, "Don't worry, I won't die. Along the ten-thousand-year immortal path ahead, I'll be with you every step of the way."
"Smooth-talker. Be off with you!"
Wei Yuan nodded and withdrew from the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Standing atop the garrison city's main keep in deep thought, he waved a broad hand. Instantly, countless speckles of azure starlight appeared across the garrison city, drifting like stars onto the Dao soldiers. In the blink of an eye, every single one of the hundred and fifty thousand defending Dao soldiers was blessed with karmic luck.
High in the vault of heaven, someone let out a heavy snort. A gigantic hand, which had almost condensed into form among the clouds, pulled back once more.
Chapter 716