The Barbarians' Appetite

Atop the Tongtian Tower, on its highest floor. Amidst the drifting sea of mist and clouds, a tall, graceful figure appeared and vanished by turns. In the frigid wind of the high heavens, her intricate, plain white skirt fluttered and billowed. Tianyuan gazed toward the Northern Border, a strange luster shimmering within her deep golden eyes. As the vapor churned, a figure ascended the stairs to the tower's summit, kneeling reverently behind the woman. "Pavilion Master." He was a man of middle years, though his hair and beard were already streaked with white. Had the elders of the great sects been present, they would have recognized this man as Taishi Ran, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Emptiness Sect, a premier power of the Southern Xinjiang. Tianyuan cast a detached glance at him. Without bidding him rise, a cool, crisp voice issued from her lips. "How goes it?" Taishi Ran remained half-kneeling in formal deference, letting out a low chuckle. "A few of my old acquaintances sent word. They are preparing to make their move, likely within the next few days." Tianyuan withdrew her gaze and looked far into the distance toward the north, as though she could vaguely perceive the scene unfolding there. "It has already begun." Taishi Ran's pupils contracted slightly, and he lowered his head even deeper. "The Pavilion Master's divine powers truly encompass heaven and earth, allowing you to gaze across ten thousand li into the Northern Border." At that, he paused, then asked with slight hesitation, "Are we truly not going to take part in this matter? Perhaps we could completely shatter the schemes of Li Yaoxuan and Xu Yinhe." Tianyuan's veil fluttered softly, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face devoid of emotion. "The future is no longer discernible. Neither of those two is a simple figure. Our emergence into the world has already earned us universal hostility across the realm. Rash involvement will only invite fire upon ourselves. We need only watch and wait. "Furthermore, that drop of ink has been gone from Di'an City for more than a month. If he has gone to the Northern Border, such an upheaval might just purge this drop of ink from the clear water." Hearing this, Taishi Ran fell silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "Yet the Saintess..." Before he could finish, Tianyuan cast a profound, emotionless gaze filled with divine majesty upon him. Seeing this, Taishi Ran lowered his head and held his tongue. *** The Northern Border. Beifeng City stood upon a vital strategic passage, a heavily fortified frontier stronghold erected across the plains where two towering mountain ranges met. Like a colossal beast crouching between heaven and earth, it firmly choked off the sole southward path for any massive barbarian invasion. Yet at this very moment, an upheaval rocked this thousand-year-old bastion. When the sudden assault came and fiery smoke billowed over the southern portion of the city, most of the garrison atop the soaring walls could only stare blankly at the flames erupting beneath the city gate. Stunned. Baffled. Still, most stationed in Beifeng City were battle-hardened veterans of the border. After a momentary daze, shouts empowered by Source Qi rippled across the southern ramparts. "Stop daydreaming, you bastards! Get your asses moving and ready the siege engines!" "City Defense Bureau, go check the damage to the wall!" "Send word to the Feather Forest Guards—the barbarians might be attacking!" "Zhou Ziwu, shut the fucking gate!" "Commander Tang, more than half the supply convoy hasn't entered yet, and we still have brothers outside doing inspections—" "Fuck your mother, I ordered you to shut it! If you don't drop that gate right now, I'll march over and hack you to pieces!" "Activate the formations! Activate the formations!" Under the command of junior officers, organized by ten-man squads, detachment after detachment was deployed. Defensive weaponry was loaded, localized formation runes flared to life, and alarm bells tolled continuously! At several gate tunnels, the heavy portcullises crashed straight down. Merchants and freight demonic beasts that failed to flee in time were instantly crushed into pulpy paste, while the convoys, wagons, and mounts outside the gate descended into total chaos. Curses, pleas for mercy, and frantic shouts trying to pull rank to gain entry filled the air. Yet all of these cries were selectively ignored by the defenders—or at least by the veterans who had survived a hundred battles. Having weathered the initial blast, the southern wall rapidly transitioned into full combat readiness. While the rank-and-file soldiers prepared for war, a figure swept through the air from within the city, descending swiftly upon the southern gate tower. A man past fifty, clad in the vice general's armor of the Feather Forest Guards. Touching down atop the wall, the middle-aged officer knitted his brows tight as he stared toward the southern horizon. All that met his eyes was a vast expanse of swirling white snow and mist, yet amid the drifting flakes, three massive dark shadows could be seen creeping slowly toward Beifeng City. After gazing in silence for several breaths, a grim expression settled across his face. Just then, the whistle of breaking wind sounded as another figure hurried over, landing beside the vice general. The newcomer possessed a distinctly scholarly air and wore the standard military uniform of a commandant. Upon seeing the vice general, the scholarly young officer immediately offered a brief salute. "Vice General Cang." The middle-aged officer glanced over. "Commander Yuan. Where are the others?" "I was coordinating the incoming supplies at the southern market today, so I was nearby and arrived quickly. The others should still be on their way," Yuan Hao explained briefly before asking directly, "Vice General Cang, what is the situation with the wall?" Vice General Cang fell silent for a heartbeat. "Just now... a cart transporting Source Crystals exploded." "A Source Crystal explosion?" Yuan Hao froze for a moment, then cursed in fury, "Damn it all! Transporting Source Crystals on an ordinary cart... Which brilliant genius came up with such a brainless stunt?!" Vice General Cang shook his head. "Unknown. It was blown to smithereens, and there hasn't been time to investigate." Yuan Hao exhaled a puff of white vapor, stepped forward, and glanced toward where the flames were rising. "Fuck... How bad is the damage?" Vice General Cang's expression grew solemn. "The wall itself didn't suffer much, only a few formation runes were damaged. But that cart detonated right inside the gate tunnel. The Triumph Gate won't be closing anytime soon." Hearing that, Yuan Hao's heart sank. The Triumph Gate was a major portal on the southern wall with immense throughput capacity. If it couldn't be shut... The city's garrison was currently depleted, as the vast majority of redeployed forces had already marched north to suppress the barbarians. If the barbarians struck now, the city could very well fall. Raising his eyes toward the distance, Yuan Hao saw that the three massive shadows—nearly as tall as the walls of Beifeng City itself—had already crept to within twenty li south of the city, standing in distant confrontation. Seeing this, Yuan Hao's pupils constricted. "That's..." A glow born of circulating cultivation arts flickered in Vice General Cang's eyes. "Ice Beast Colossi." "Ice Beast Colossi?!" Yuan Hao thought for a second, then stood dumbfounded. "Why would the barbarian main force suddenly appear in the south?!" Such immense scale meant an astronomical consumption of resources. Nourishing such behemoths of war amid the barren wilds of the northern snowfields carried an extraordinary cost. In other words, these things were the barbarians' ultimate trump card, their bottom dollar. For such an asset to emerge south of the city meant this assault was no mere feint. The next instant, a hint of murderous intent crept into Yuan Hao's tone as he cast a sharp glance toward several massive military encampments within the city. "The barbarians couldn't have tampered with one of our Great Yan's carts... Vice General Cang, this is blatant treason." Vice General Cang remained unmoved, merely saying, "No matter how foolish the northern sects are, they wouldn't commit such idiocy. Someone else must be behind this. Our urgent priority right now is to hold Beifeng City." As the two spoke, a graceful figure in fiery red robes drifted down from above. Seeing who had arrived, Vice General Cang froze for a fraction of a second before hurriedly dropping to his knees, his voice trembling slightly. "Your Highness, were you not traveling in secret? Why have you suddenly..." "Shut up." A gaze so frigid it could kill swept over the pair as Li Qingyan spoke in an icy tone, "If I do not step forward, who will unite the forces within Beifeng City today?" "..." Snow and wind whistled bleakly across the ramparts, leaving behind total silence. To eradicate the barbarians, almost all the elites of Beifeng City had deployed north, only to be marooned in the snowfields by the catastrophic blizzards. The only forces Beifeng City could directly command were the ten thousand Black Scale Army soldiers under Yuan Hao and the replenished Feather Forest Guards who had withdrawn to the rear. At best, they numbered no more than thirty thousand. While the elite forces of the various sects were holed up around Houting County, they had each left behind a few detachments to guard their home bases. Combined, the troops of the sects and noble clans amounted to roughly a hundred thousand men. Yet if no one with sufficient unifying authority stepped forward to take command, the situation would almost certainly devolve into what happened during the previous siege of Beifeng. Passing the buck, preserving their own strength, with no one willing to fight the hard battles or defend against the barbarians' primary thrust. This abrupt turn of events forced Li Qingyan to reveal herself. Li Qingyan's crimson eyes ignited with inner fire as she fixed her gaze on the massive, mountain-like silhouettes in the distance, exhaling a plume of white mist. "Cang Liping, with such a massive barbarian force circling around to the south of Beifeng, what in heaven's name have you been doing all these days?" Cang Liping parted his lips, but in the end said nothing, lowering his head. "Your subordinate is incompetent and willingly accepts punishment under military law." Li Qingyan clenched her fists, a surge of murderous intent flashing through her eyes, but she ultimately let out a sigh. "Stand up. We are in dire need of men right now. How am I supposed to execute you?" "..." Sensing the atmosphere ease slightly, Yuan Hao, who was likewise kneeling nearby, chimed in at an opportune moment. "Princess Wuyuan, we cannot place all the blame on Commander Cang for the barbarian forces circling to the south. They likely slipped through the mountain forests flanking Mount Xingyuan." Li Qingyan cast a frigid look at Yuan Hao, showing no leniency on account of his Black Scale Army uniform. Her voice remained chilling. "I can understand that the blizzard disaster makes these barbarians feel like fish in water. I can also understand barbarians taking mountain paths. But tell me this: how could targets as colossal as those Ice Beast Colossi suddenly appear south of Beifeng City?" Taking a deep breath, Li Qingyan exhaled a cloud of white vapor onto the wall. "Cang Liping, while waiting outside the city today, I saw it with my own eyes. The aerial scouts flew out at the seventh quarter of the Mao hour and returned by the first quarter of the Chen hour. "Two quarters of an hour... Can they thoroughly sweep an area a hundred li around in that time?! "Vice General Cang, tell me: which officer was put in charge of the scouts around Beifeng City?" "..." Hearing this, Vice General Cang instantly realized she intended to execute someone to establish her authority. He hurriedly whispered, "Your Highness, in such heavy snow, if the aerial scouts venture any deeper, they could easily lose their bearings and never return." "Cang Liping, do you truly think I wouldn't dare execute you?!" Li Qingyan's voice turned razor-sharp. "When I taught you to treat your soldiers like your own children, it was not so you would coddle them like precious treasures! This is dereliction of duty! Do you truly not understand what it would mean if Beifeng City falls?!" Vice General Cang's frame trembled slightly, and with utmost respect, he uttered a name... *** Beifeng City, Lou Ji's private chamber. The relaxed atmosphere of their earlier banter had vanished without a trace. Xu Yuan sat quietly on Lou Ji's bed, looking much like a decorative mascot. Beside him, Lou Ji held the Heavenly Communication Crystal Xu Yuan had just handed her, contacting various disparate individuals right in front of him. Two quarters of an hour later, Lou Ji dispelled her technique and casually tucked the Heavenly Communication Crystal into her Sumeru ring. Seeing this, the corner of Xu Yuan's mouth twitched, though he didn't ask for it back. He knew that asking for it right now meant he almost certainly wouldn't get it anyway. Dropping down beside him, Lou Ji let out a faint sigh. "Changtian... if the situation turns sour, you come with me straight back to the Imperial Capital." Hearing this, Xu Yuan's brow knitted slightly. "From what I overheard of your communications, isn't the situation still within controllable bounds?" Lou Ji looked into Xu Yuan's eyes, her own filled with a complex expression. "Changtian, this incident bears striking similarities to the Nine Lotuses Sect Rebellion from seventeen years ago." "The Nine Lotuses Sect Rebellion..." Xu Yuan murmured. "The incident that stemmed from establishing the Tian'an Martial Hall?" Lou Ji nodded, a solemn stillness washing over her glamorous face. "The sects must have obtained certain intelligence. They intend to retaliate against the decisions made by the Emperor and your father—just as they did seventeen years ago against the Emperor and your mother. Back then, the Emperor led the expedition in person, only to be betrayed and framed. Though he ultimately achieved his objective, you already know the tragic outcome." Xu Yuan parted his lips, unable to speak. A lesson. A lesson delivered to the Emperor by the colossal interest group known as the sects. And this event could actually be mentioned in the same breath as that one? After a long silence, Xu Yuan glanced out the window. "Sister, what happened outside?" Lou Ji crossed her legs, revealing a pale, shapely expanse of thigh through the slit of her skirt, and murmured, "Spies blew up the Triumph Gate on the south wall in the name of our Tian'an Chamber of Commerce." "What?" Xu Yuan was momentarily stunned. Lou Ji raised a hand, rubbing her brow between her thumb and forefinger. "Don't look at me like that. There are capable people among the sects as well. If I can plant spies in their ranks, naturally they can do the same to us." "Have the spies been ferreted out?" "A few candidates, but nothing confirmed yet." "What about the barbarians?" Xu Yuan asked after a brief pause of contemplation. "The spies sabotaged the wall, presumably to coordinate with a barbarian siege, right?" Lou Ji shot Xu Yuan a strange look and asked in return, "Why do I feel like you're not panicked at all, Changtian?" Xu Yuan gave a wry chuckle and spread his hands. "Panicking serves no purpose right now. Besides, the barbarians haven't breached the city yet, have they? Even if the sects want to replicate what happened a dozen years ago, the two princes inside the city should be their primary targets. I'm just a fop—hardly worth mobilizing on such a grand scale." Lou Ji gave Xu Yuan an intricate look, then whispered, "Well, the barbarian army has appeared south of the city." Hearing this confirmation, Xu Yuan murmured softly as he pondered, "The south? These barbarians took the mountain routes?" Beifeng City was wedged right into the plains between two mountain ranges. To circle around to the south, they had to traverse mountain forests and sheer precipices—places where the slightest misstep would plunge a man to a pulpy death, and where heavy siege engines were nearly impossible to transport. Thinking through this, Xu Yuan mapped out a rough layout of the Northern Border's current board in his mind. From north to south: Barbarian harassment forces. The Mount Dali region: Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng. The Houting County line: the northern sects' three hundred thousand elites. Beifeng City: Li Qingyan. The barbarian main force. "..." Once this outline took shape, Xu Yuan turned toward Lou Ji with a look of disbelief in his eyes. "Sister... "Is this Barbarian Heterodox King... "trying to swallow all seven hundred thousand of Great Yan's northern elite troops whole?"