400 Shortcu (1/2)

Tremendous changes had taken place in the Western Region.

In less than a year, the Shu-lik in the west had lost more than half their territory. The capital was occupied and the royal family had fled to an unknown destination. They had essentially lost the ability to fight.

Golden Roc Fort and Norland worked to advance towards the East, and defeated two small countries in succession. They were approaching the sphere of influence of Central Plain in the Western Regions. A larger war would break out soon.

The four countries including Xiaoyao Lake surrendered one after another and became the vassals of Golden Roc Fort. In order to show their loyalty, they took turns asking to meet, demonstrating their willingness to abdicate the throne and become marquis'.

Shangguan Fa, who had been dreaming of getting the real, kingly title, became reserved and refused all the requests of abdication, but everyone knew that the ”Supreme King”, a name only known in jianghu, would turn into one of the Kings in the Western Region. It was just a matter of time.

Golden Roc Fort had almost removed all their troublesome neighbours, leaving only the unimpressive Stone Kingdom.

The country was still standing, which was beyond the expectations of many people.

It was a small country in the easternmost part of Xiaoyao Lake with small land area and sparsely populated. Compared with other countries, such as Xiaoyao Lake, it belonged to the weak, not to mention the Western Region .

However, facing the continuous siege, it had stood for eight months. It was even more tenacious than the much larger Shu-lik.

There were many reasons why Stone Kingdom could maintain independence, the most important being the indifference of Supreme King towards it. The most important enemy of Golden Roc Fort and Norland was the Central Plains. Therefore, the main force was in the East and it was difficult to depatch the troops to fight in the South.

The coalition forces, which were composed of Kang, Sha, Hui and An Kingdom, seiged the capital of Stone Kingdom, but the result was disappointing. Although the casualties were heavy, they did not manage to breach the city wall.

A few months later, the battle of Shu-lik came to an end. Finally, the Supreme King paid attention to this small southern country, and he was very surprised that it had not been conquered.

However, Golden Roc Fort had been preparing the battle with the Central Plains, and still had no spare power to depatch soliders to the South, so the Supreme King sent a general and dozens of killers to command the four countries to fight.

Under the request of the new general, the countries recruited men who were the appropriate age. The army that seiged the capital gradually increased from 2,000 to nearly 5,000 people.

The new general was still not satisfied with that. However, they could not get one more solider from Golden Roc Fort and those four countries, so they had to cast their nets in the tribes in Wushan.

The tribes in Wushan did not intend to be involved in disputes in the Western Regions. Some were delicate about it while others were more straightforward. They all refused to depatch troops.

The refined iron in Wushan was an important strategic material. Golden Roc Fort had been quietly placing people in the area, ordering them to provoke a big battle between the mine thieves and the locals. When the two sides could not defeat each other and asked Golden Roc Fort for help, they would naturally send troops to join the war of seiging the Stone Kingdom, and even have time to take part in the decisive battle against the Central Plains.

The plan was close to successful, but suddenly there was strange news that the Dragon King had resurrected and led a main force to Wushan from the wilderness. There were not many people who believed it. When the army really arrived, the spies of Golden Roc Fort suddenly became harried.

Finally, a machetemen who had been lurking in Wushan for many years came up with a ”wonderful idea”: they couldn't fight against the Dragon King in public, but they could ”help” him to defeat the tribal coalition forces to gain trust. After that, they would lead him to the depths of Wushan, which could consume the strength of the army of the Great Snowmountain, or present an opportunity to assassinate the Dragon King, which was a great achievement.

The machetemen was very clever, but he had ignored one point. His plots were very effective for the mine thieves and the locals in Wushan, but were not worth mentioning to the Dragon King.

It was from this macheteman's mouth that Gu Shenwei learned of the changes in the Western Region.

The Stone Kingdom had not surrendered, which was another gift that God gave to the army of the Great Snowmountain. Gu Shenwei was glad that he had chosen Zhong Heng as the Prime Minister of Stone Kingdom.

However, the present situation was still very critical. Wushan was long and vast, but there was only one passageway into and out of Xiaoyao Lake, located in the north and connected with the An Kingdom, and the passage was narrow and tortuous. Once closed, 10,000 troops would be trapped in the mountains and unable to return to the Western Region.

Gu Shenwei made a series of decisions.

Long Fanyun, the chief of Canopy Peak, led 500 selected vanguards. Guided by several locals, they set off immediately, aiming to get out of the mountain as soon as possible.

Tuo Nengya, the old machetemen, led their machetemen and two thousand soldiers to follow Long Fanyun.

With Long Xiaoshi, the chief of Danduo Peak, leading the main force, they steadily opened up a safe route to ensure the connection with the Land of Fragrance.

The tribes in Wushan still had conflict with the mine thieves, but they did not hold a deep hatred against Golden Roc Fort. Therefore, Gu Shenwei allowed them to leave, leaving only few volunteers to act as hostages and guides.

After finishing everything, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus set off with light pack and walked in the forefront. They were ready to fight against the killers of Golden Roc Fort who were rushing out of the mountain.

Their leader was Ha Chilie. Because Dragon King had rescued the tribal coalition forces, he was very glad to have the chance to return this favor.

The road was rough. It was pointless to use horses, so they chose to walk on foot. Ha Chilie knew terrain of Wushan well, and he chose a shortcut. Although it was more difficult to walk, this would save a lot of time.

Gu Shenwei was very anxious to walk nonstop, which was so hard even according to the standards of killers in Golden Roc Fort. In the first three days, Ha Chi wanted to compete with killers and persisted without a word. However, on the fourth day, he could not stand it. He almost walked off the cliff several times in a daze, but was dragged back to safety by Dragon King.

”Dragon King... I know your ability. But your guard is a woman... she is so amazing.” When they finally stopped, Ha Chilie admired Maid Lotus with sincerity. The most admirable person was Maid Lotus, but not the Dragon King, because the Dragon King should be this person.

Ha Chilie did not know the name of Maid Lotus, but he had seen her fight against those five spies on the hillside. Besides, having walked with her for a few days, he admired her even more in his heart, ”We can't find women like you in Wushan, hehe...”