Lord of the Desert

Chapter 592 Manifesto
January 21st, the thirty-sixth year of Zhenghe.

Heavy snow followed the gray sky, with the continuous mountain range half-hidden in the background of the world.

Horse caravans from all directions moved like ants through the deep snow, converging on a shell called Snowman.

Dozens of riders thundered across the bluestone street with a rapid, thunderous sound of hooves.

Outside the Central Guard General's Mansion, Hong Fan nimbly dismounted, a trail of icy dust rising from his dark red cloak and whip.

“Hong Zhenshou”.

The guards respectfully greeted them and came forward to lead the horse.

Hong Fan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the yellow notice posted on the wooden wall outside the mansion.

The list contained a copy of the emperor's own proclamation for the northern expedition, written in regular script:
I have received the mandate from the First Emperor to rule the world and guard the borders.

The Northern Giant, savage and unruly by nature; relying on the protection of the mountain gods, he indulges in greed and violence. He repeatedly crosses the borders, plundering our people; he frequently crushes our defenses, slaughtering our border dwellers. Blood stains the wasteland, bones pile up on the frosty fields. Spring plows are wasted at the beacon towers, autumn harvests are lost in the dust of war. The entire land is filled with indignation, heaven and earth cannot tolerate him!

Today, the First Emperor of Qin manifested an omen, indicating the opportunity for pacification; the Mountain God established a covenant, setting forth a treaty for conquest.

With divine might awe-inspiring might, the royal army should rise up, donning armor and wielding sharp weapons, raising six armies in unison; driving the fierce warriors northward, gathering the dragon-like forces in the northern frontier. We are determined to crush their formidable formations, burn their lair, annihilate their stubborn foes, and restore our peace.

On the day the proclamation was issued, thunder and lightning struck. All my soldiers rallied with loyalty and courage. We wiped away the deep shame of the past ten years and brought peace to the lives of the people of Qinghe.

Let the world witness this sentiment!

The proclamation was dated the seventh day of the first month of the thirty-sixth year of Zhenghe. After being sealed with the imperial seal, it was first sent by Feilian from Shenjing to various prefectures and cities, and then, with the help of fast horses from all over the country, it spread to every pass and city in the nine provinces within a few days.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, these mere two hundred words were like a heavy hammer blow, knocking the heavy stone hanging in the hearts of the 100,000 people at the beacon tower to the ground; fear, sorrow, anger and other emotions flew up from under the stone, but were quickly filtered into silent action by the inherent coldness and barbarity of the northern frontier.

"This isn't the first time this dynasty has done this; the one we should be worried about is the Giant Spirit."

At that time, Yang Haorang made fun of Huan Chengji, and that night the two moved to the military camp and never returned home.

"Let's go."

Hong Fan glanced at the dim light behind the snow curtain and strode forward.

At this time, the General of the Central Guard's mansion was filled with hundreds of high-ranking military and political officials from the thirteen cities north of Hezhou Mountain, as well as dozens of military advisors dispatched by the imperial court. They would complete the unification of combat command and logistics systems within a few days.

Prior to that, Kou Fei was presiding over a core meeting limited to martial artists of the Yuan Magnet level and above.

Snowflakes drifted down outside the courtyard.

The innate spiritual energy was almost stagnant under the suppression of the celestial beings, cutting off any possibility of spying.

The heavy iron throne at the end of the palace has been removed, and sixteen high-backed chairs are arranged in a circle in front of the huge map of the Northern Frontier. Hong Fan sits at the lower left, with Gao Che, the number one expert of the Gao family of Lin Yuan City, known as "Shun Hua," on his left and Feng Manyun, who has not been seen for many years and is still stuck at the Yuan Magnetic Level, on his right.

"The battlefield spans 1,400 li from east to west, starting from Fengsui City in the west and ending at Hejian State in the east; the deepest part is the central line of Qingzhou, which extends 800 li from north to south, and the overall shape is a flat rhombus."

Kou Fei carried the map with one hand behind his back and swept it across the map with the other.

"Our people within this territory number over nine million, with seven hundred thousand valiant warriors wielding weapons; the overall combat strength of the Giant Spirits is similar to that of our people. The outcome of this battle will shift the border line by three hundred miles; the imperial court promises that if you all join forces to expand our territory, mountains, forests, lakes, and mines will all be your reward."

The voices faded away, and the hall returned to silence.

Hong Fan swept his gaze across the crowd and saw that each pair of eyes harbored a greedy desire for honor, wealth, and land. However, the owners of these eyes had all experienced life and death and achieved great success, and would not be swayed by mere luck.

"This battle was initiated in accordance with a divine decree. Although there was no divine punishment, there are some special taboos."

Kou Fei strode to a stop, his voice cold and hard.

"Firstly, as I just said, the battlefield and manpower are limited. The rear can replenish supplies, but no reinforcements are allowed. If you are thinking of sending people from outside the territory to help you fight, give up now, otherwise you will be harming them."

Hong Fan already knew this. He now had a wide circle of friends. Putting aside the Celestials, it wouldn't be difficult for him to hire a few Yuan Ci helpers, and there were many more people with deeper connections than him across the entire two states and one country.

But this is not allowed.

According to the estimates of the Martial Arts Academy, after two thousand years of reproduction and expansion, the extraordinary power of the human race is at least four times that of the giant spirits. If the mountain god does not set any restrictions, he can only watch as the human race suffers a crushing defeat due to its overwhelming size.

"Secondly, those with combat power above the Qi Realm are not allowed to fight outside the army. I know this is not the exclusive domain of martial artists—most of you here do not even have basic command abilities. The most suitable role for you in war is to swiftly penetrate behind enemy lines and wreak havoc—of course, I am no exception."

Kou Fei smiled slightly and met everyone's gaze with his piercing lion eyes.

"But this is the oracle's command."

"What kind of rules are these? In a war between two races, should we stop at nothing? Is this some kind of child's play?"

Sun Hanyue, the center-back, was short-tempered and became increasingly annoyed as he listened, and couldn't help but ask a question.

"Furthermore, the General just mentioned the rewards and punishments for victory and defeat, but he didn't say how victory or defeat would be determined. Does that mean we have to kill all the giants and stone slaves on the other side?!"

"You don't need to kill them all, but you must kill enough."

Kou Fei replied.

"Please enlighten me, General, what does it mean to have killed enough? How many is enough?"

Hong Fan took over the conversation.

Kou Fei saw that he looked calm and nodded slightly.

"You've all seen the torrents of spiritual energy beyond the clouds, haven't you?"

He suddenly asked a question.

Everyone remained silent—magnetic martial artists possess extremely refined body control, and remaining calm even when Mount Tai collapses before them is a fundamental skill—yet no one showed any surprise.

"Well, things have come to this point, so we have no choice but to be frank."

Kou Fei chuckled, then immediately straightened his face.

"Everyone knows that the Ancestral Dragon came from beyond the heavens, therefore there is another world beyond the heavens, and other living beings beyond the world. As you can see, the torrent of spiritual energy beyond the clouds is a great array jointly built by the Ancestral Dragon and the gods, its purpose being to conceal the traces of this world and avoid other dangers in the universe."

Although he had already guessed it, Hong Fan was still shocked and horrified upon hearing this.

It wasn't because of the confirmation of the existence of "extraterrestrial life," but because they realized that the invincible Ancestral Dragon was not only not at the pinnacle of power, but also clearly had an enemy that could not be matched.

Otherwise, why would He hide?
"The essential attribute of spiritual energy is chaos. It has power but cannot manifest itself. Only when driven by the true essence of a martial artist can it be temporarily ordered and reveal its violent power. Vitality is the natural combination of innate spiritual energy and acquired will in the existence of living beings. It is also the precursor of the true essence that we martial artists refine."

Kou Fei's voice was as steady as a machine's, devoid of any emotion.

"The great array above us is structured with spiritual energy and powered by life force. So when it is full, the war will end, and victory or defeat will be determined by the number of enemies killed at that time."

The hall was utterly silent; even breathing ceased, to the point that Hong Fan could hear the faint crackling of incense sticks burning.

"These words have come from my mouth and have been heard by you all; please do not spread them further."

Kou Fei added a sentence.

Huo Wei stared intently at the shrine statues on the side of the hall, half-hidden behind the wisps of smoke.

"So the life force of the gods' chosen clans, who have fought and battled for generations, is drawn into the great formation?"

He glanced at the impassive Huo Zhan and suddenly asked.

(End of this chapter)