Chapter 1140 – Bird Mountain Bright (1/2)
Chapter 1140 – Bird Mountain Bright1
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Xu Yourong silently gazed at the small bottle in her hand.
She still had a few of these bottles, some in her sleeve and some in the Tong Bow.
Countless eyes rested on her hands, their gazes fervent, nervous, or uneasy.
They had all guessed truly. This small bottle contained the legendary Cinnabar Pills.
This was the most important reason all the generals were urgently imploring Xu Yourong to return to the capital.
”These pills are Chen Changsheng's, and what's his is mine.”
Xu Yourong looked at the kneeling cavalrymen and said, ”I know that many amongst you are unconvinced, but do not let me know, because that will make me unhappy.”
The cavalrymen went stiff, but they had understood something from her calm tone.
Unspoken words were important information that could be heard without being spoken.
She was replying to the entire world.
If she was not happy, perhaps this entire world would no longer have the Cinnabar Pill.
The cavalrymen bowed with the most respectful of postures and then left with the fastest of speeds to relay her words to the rest of the plains.
The South Stream Temple disciple looked hesitantly at her.
Wouldn't it be better to go back?
Xu Yourong's body and spirit were formidable, but even so, she was still rather tired.
But she would not leave.
Only here could she see the changes on the battlefield as they happened, get the most authentic understanding of the situation.
And it was only in this way that the people in the capital could get the most authentic understanding of the situation.
The situation was very complicated. The selection of commander-in-chief for this expedition had already served as a warning sign.
Xu Shiji, who had been pushed forward by many people, immediately shut himself up in his estate upon receiving a letter from her, firmly refusing with the excuse of illness.
Peng Shihai and the other Divine Generals who had learned from Chen Guansong currently held half the power in the Great Zhou Army, but choosing the commander-in-chief from one of them was certain to incur fierce opposition from the Western Army, represented by Xue He. The approval of the Li Palace would also have been very difficult to obtain.
And the candidates heavily favored by the Orthodoxy found it impossible to obtain the support of the ministers of the court and the princes of the Chen clan.
After racking their brains, everyone ended up casting their gazes to a long-forgotten place: the Divine General of the East's estate.
Xu Shiji seemed like the candidate most acceptable to all sides.
But the Xu Estate soon received a letter from Holy Maiden Peak, causing its gates to slam shut and Xu Shiji to plead illness.
Everyone understood this to be the Holy Maiden, so they naturally had no means to force the issue.
The person finally chosen as commander-in-chief was extremely surprising.
When the Imperial Court's decree was circulated throughout the empire, many people felt like they had never even heard the name.
Divine General He Ming, the former commander of the black-armored cavalry, was an incredibly inconspicuous character. One could even call him utterly obscure.
But he had sufficient qualifications and though he was a disciple of Chen Guansong, he was not at all close with Peng Shihai and the other generals from Star Seizer Academy. Moreover, in the battle of the Orthodox Academy ten years ago, he had led the black-armored heavy cavalry until he was stopped on the edge of the collapsed Mount Mo. His performance then had been very mature and steady, gaining the admiration of both the Emperor and the Pope.
To put it in other words, the most important reason for his assignment as commander-in-chief was that the various factions could accept him and he himself did not belong to any faction.
The problem was that this meant that he was neither Chen Changsheng's man nor the emperor's.
Even the most mature and steady of individuals might start having other thoughts once they began to wield great authority.
On the bitter fields of war, ambition would often grow alongside courage.
Thus, Xu Yourong would not leave this place.
……
……
The shadow of death finally left the plains.
Perhaps the demons had run out of that medicine that could stimulate one's hidden potential and wipe away one's fear of death, or perhaps Xuelao City finally found it hard to endure the vast number of deaths suffered by the low-class demons. But in short, on one early summer day, the human armies ceased to see those red-eyed, beast-like demon soldiers charging toward them.
As the demon armies retreated, a battle would occur here and there. It was obvious that these demon soldiers had not taken the medicine. Although they were still rather dumb, they no longer dared to charge straight into a rain of crossbow bolts, and they were certainly no longer fearless of death.
The plains were covered in different hues of blood, and when this blood dried, it would leave massive patches of color. From a distance, it looked like some sort of painting.
He Ming gazed at that painting on the plains. He recalled the words of that bishop invited by Chen Guansong from the Li Palace when they were studying demon culture and history.
”The demons are just this sort of strange species. The lower-class demons are not much different from birds or beasts, but the high-class demons possess an unimaginable appreciation for art. And these two are not completely isolated from each other. In fact, they exist closely with each other, influencing each other. Thus, in the paintings of Xuelao City, one would often see seemingly crude large patches of color…”
If the dukes and nobles of Xuelao City could drive around the lower-class demons like they were beasts and monsters, this war might become even crueler. If the demi-humans had still been the slaves of the demons, there would have been no chance of winning this war.