Astral Apostle

534 A Chaotic World Rising (1)

In the past, the Dragon King Stronghold occupied Huyang. Although it looked like a rebellion, they were still a group of Green Forest outlaws and bandits in name.

Now, Chen Feng had publicly announced his rebellion, causing the world to be shocked and the Imperial Court to turn furious.

In the more than 180 years since Great Xia was established, there had been many riots. However, very few people had really shouted the slogan of an uprising. They were basically quickly suppressed.

As for Chen Feng, he was the only person who had openly rebelled all these years. The nature of his identity immediately changed. He was no longer a chief bandit, but a group of rebels.

This action caused a huge commotion, stirring up the hearts of the people. In the eyes of some people, this was a sign that the Great Xia Dynasty, which represented the orthodox lineage of the country, was beginning to lose control of the people.

Some people were worried and felt that the world had begun to sink into turmoil. If the Imperial Court could quickly exterminate Chen Feng this time, the world would eventually settle down and become stable once again. If the Imperial Court suffered heavy losses or was even defeated, the outcome would probably be a retaliation from all over. Chaos would soon arrive.

Ever since Chen Feng appeared, his results had been brilliant. It was really difficult for anyone to have confidence in the Imperial Court’s extermination of the bandits.

If Great Xia lost, there would definitely be those who had the intention to chase them down!

In the midst of the turmoil in the world, the nobles everywhere had no choice but to make preparations early. They spent their family’s wealth and secretly recruited troops to seek protection.

No matter how rich the family business was, without the protection of weapons, it would still become someone else’s granary.

Some ambitious people also began to have different thoughts when they saw the changes in the world.

If Chen Feng could rebel, so could they.

However, before the dust settled on the Imperial Court’s expedition, the ambitious people did not dare to rashly follow suit. They only watched silently and made preparations.

…

Huyang, Dragon King Stronghold, meeting hall.

The leaders were gathered and discussing how to face the Imperial Court’s army.

There was no way out. Everyone was full of fighting spirit and kept actively giving suggestions.

Zhou Jing sat at the head of the table and browsed the interface idly as he listened to everyone’s discussion.

Not long ago, when he openly rebelled, many messages appeared on the interface. He had already confirmed it many times over the past few days.

[Triggered achievement [Rebelling against the Court]!]

[Obtained 6,000 Astral Points, 10 Information State Particles]

[Triggered achievement [Leader of Ten Thousand Army]!]

[Obtained 5,000 Astral Points, [Aptitude Enhancement – Command (Medium)] x1]

[Triggered achievement [Ten Thousand Enemies]!]

[Obtained 4,000 Astral Points, [Aptitude Enhancement – Comprehensive (Small)] x1]

[Life objective [Inciting a Rebellion] has been completed.]

[Obtained 50 Information State Particles]

[Life objective [Justice on behalf of the heavens] has been completed.]

[Acquired 40 Information State Particles]

[Current Apostle Permanence Progress: 567/240]

This time, he directly completed two life objectives. Coupled with the [Gathering the Mountains] that he had long completed, he had already completed three of the five objectives.

“Chen Feng only has two life objectives left. It’s relatively simple to become a powerful faction that has its own territory. As long as I defeat the Imperial Court’s army and officially take down Huyang, I should reach the standard. As for the most difficult goal, I have to take it slow. I wonder if I can do it…”

Zhou Jing looked at the interface and pondered to himself.

The connection to the main world would probably happen in the next year or two. After the Explorers descended, the situation would change, and it was difficult to say how it would develop. The goal of [Treading the Bones of the Duke in the Sky Street] was too cruel, and he could not be sure if the Explorers would interfere. At that time, he would have to act according to the situation.

He shook his head and closed the interface.

At this moment, everyone’s discussion came to an end. The leaders looked at Zhou Jing.

“Chief, what do you think?” Du Ying asked.

Zhou Jing composed himself and said in a deep voice,

“Now that the Imperial Court’s army has yet to arrive, in addition to building fortifications, we also need to replenish our supplies. Since we’ve already caused trouble, there’s no need to worry about the Imperial Court’s reaction. Before the enemy arrives, I’ll personally lead the troops to attack the state capitals in Huyang and plunder the official warehouses and weapons warehouses to strengthen the army. At the same time, I’ll distribute some rations to help the people.”

“With Chief taking action, this plan is feasible.”

Du Ying nodded and had no objections.

Most of the soldiers in Huyang had long been killed, and they basically did not have the strength to fight. The Dragon King Stronghold had never attacked the state capitals before, but it was only because it was not time yet. They actually treated these cities as theirs.

Now that they had openly rebelled, these fat sheep naturally had to be slaughtered.

With a fierce general like Chen Feng leading the three armies, it was easy to break through the state capital. There might not even be any officials who dared to resist. They could completely take advantage of the time difference and develop before the Imperial Court’s bandit suppression army arrived.

Zhou Jing continued with his plans,

“The Imperial Court’s army has the advantage in numbers and elite weapons, but in my eyes, there’s nothing to be afraid of. After we defeat the enemy, we’ll occupy Huyang and use it as a foundation to sit and defend. I’ll personally lead a portion of the troops to the surrounding areas to attack the state capitals and sweep through the world.”

His strategy was very simple. First, he would officially take down Huyang as his base and let the main force of bandits develop themselves further. Then, he would adopt the fighting style of a rebel band and lead his troops to fight in the outside world for a long time.

It was very risky for ordinary people to be roving bandits. As long as they hit a wall, it was easy for them to collapse. However, this kind of combat style could fully unleash their advantage.

His extraordinary and powerful martial strength could ensure that he could defeat everything along the way. It would be easy for him to attack the state capital. He could be the most threatening bandit and make everyone in the world feel frightened at the thought of his name… After all, Chen Feng’s final goal was to get rid of the aristocratic families in the world. He needed to move around to get rid of his targets and could not stay in one place.

There were many drawbacks to such a fighting style, and it was not conducive to vying for supremacy in the world. However, Chen Feng’s route was not to fight for supremacy. Even if the heroes rose together, his position in the chaotic world was different from others. He might be the only “lone army” that did not accept the support of any nobles.

Therefore, he had to leave a way out and have a self-sufficient base. He had to arrange for a large group to guard Huyang’s main camp and run this place like an iron bucket.

This way, even if he did not preside over Huyang, others would not be able to easily take it down. Moreover, he would personally lead the bandit troops outside to form a restraining force. It was difficult to break through on his side as well.

…

In the next few days, the Dragon King Stronghold sent troops everywhere to attack the various state capitals of Huyang. They did not encounter any decent resistance at all.

Many officials had long been on guard against this day. When they heard that the Dragon King Stronghold was attacking, they immediately grabbed their mistresses and fled without another word.

The soldiers guarding the city had no fighting spirit at all. Most of them directly opened the door and surrendered.

Without much effort, the Dragon King Stronghold took down one city after another.

Zhou Jing specially ordered the troops not to offend and harass the people. The effect was obvious.

After all, most of the people in the Dragon King Stronghold were from Huyang, so they naturally restrained themselves.

Moreover, he was different from ordinary stronghold chiefs. His shocking martial strength translated to an extremely high prestige. His status was extremely stable, almost like a pillar of faith. He had extraordinary control over the soldiers under him, and no one dared to easily disobey his orders.

Although it was not to the extent that he did not offend the citizens at all, at most, he could be considered to be living in harmony with them. However, in this era where bandits were people who cared little about the law, it was already rare.

In addition, the Dragon King Stronghold was quite popular in Huyang not only because they did not invade the people, but even opened an official warehouse to provide relief and distributed their wealth to the people. Therefore, every time they broke through the state capital, many people would cheer and welcome them, as though inviting a victorious army back home.

After destroying many capitals in a row, the Dragon King Stronghold plundered the government’s reserves and transported a large number of supplies back to the mountain. Then, they stopped attacking the state capitals and solemnly organized their troops.

Not long after, the Imperial Court’s army that was 400,000 strong advanced from several directions and stepped into Huyang.

For a moment, the army pressed down on the border like thick dark clouds that enveloped the sky above the lake.

…

On a certain mountain.

An old man with white hair and linen clothes stood by the cliff and looked at the unpredictable clouds in the sky.

Behind him were two burly young men. One was wearing a white robe, and the other was wearing a black robe. They were both heroic and extraordinary.

“Master, why did you call us here?”

The white-robed man asked.

Without turning his head, the old man calmly spoke,

“Zhong’er, Di’er, you’ve been learning from me since you were young for 13 years. Usually, you’ve been shouting that you want to go down the mountain. Now that Chen Feng has risked the world’s condemnation and rebelled, it will definitely cause chaos. This is the time for you to make contributions. You can graduate now. Be it assisting a wise ruler or vying for the world, just follow your hearts.”

Hearing this, the expressions of the two young men changed slightly.

The white-robed young man looked worried, while the black-robed young man’s eyes flashed with eagerness.

The old man did not turn around to look at their expressions. He only looked up at the clouds and sighed softly,

“Once a hero of an era draws his sword, it’s another ten-year calamity for the common people…”