Chapter 122 - 106: Purgatory Battlefield and Choice

Chapter 122: Chapter 106: Purgatory Battlefield and Choice

"If we absorb them, the struggle for the buffer zone should be resolved quickly."

Right now, the Celestial King Stronghold might not be much within Dayong, and it certainly couldn’t compare to the Imperial Guard, but in the buffer zone, it was already an extremely powerful force.

An army of one hundred thousand, all the territory beyond the three passes... whoever obtained it would instantly become one of the overlords of the buffer zone.

Then, the Seventh Prince continued, "The battle begins tomorrow. The army is bound to produce some elite soldiers. When the time comes, I hope the old general can recommend a few."

This was one of the biggest reasons he had come to the battlefield.

’To contend for the throne, you must have talented people, especially from the military.’

Xiao Heng nodded. "Isn’t this precisely His Majesty’s intention in sending the Seventh Prince here? Of course, I will not refuse."

Then, seeing that the Seventh Prince wanted to say more, he quickly added, "We have a battle to fight tomorrow. Your Highness should return for now."

’He knew that if the conversation continued, the Seventh Prince would probably try to recruit him.’

So, he gave the order to see him out.

The Seventh Prince wasn’t annoyed. He just chuckled and said, "Alright, I’ll take my leave then. You should get some rest, old sir."

With that, he walked out of the tent.

Just as he left the vicinity of Duke Zhenyuan’s command tent, a figure came up to greet him. If Lu Yuan had been there, he would have recognized the man as none other than Zhao Yu.

He had since joined the Imperial Guard and was now a Captain.

Although the battle on the Northern Border was a major defeat, he had followed the Marquis of Yundu and managed to scrape together some merits, which got him into the Imperial Guard upon his return.

He had basically climbed the Celestial Ladder. Now, having come to the Western Border to protect the Seventh Prince, he had already become the prince’s confidant.

After all, Zhao Yu’s father served as the General of Lingzhou, a post near the Imperial City, making him a valuable person for the Seventh Prince to win over.

"Your Highness, did the old duke agree?" Since Zhao Yu had already placed his bet on the Seventh Prince, he was naturally very hopeful that the prince could gain more supporters.

"Duke Zhenyuan? His ancestors were titans of the military. He’s as crafty as they come. How could he possibly pick a side so quickly? Although I revealed some of our hidden strength, I only managed to secure a bit of his help in return."

"’Let’s take it slow. There’s no rush. I have plenty of time,’ the Seventh Prince said with a smile."

Zhao Yu quickly said, "Your Highness is right. Shall we go see the Marquis of Mucheng now?"

"No, let’s not. The battle starts tomorrow, and it’s already late. It wouldn’t be appropriate to go looking for him now. Let’s go see Prince Polu’s son-in-law. Didn’t you say he has requested an audience many times?"

"He’s family to a Commandery Prince now, which makes him a relative of mine, in a way. I should show him the proper respect."

"He’ll be one of our own from now on."

"Your Highness is right," Zhao Yu said quickly.

Next, the Seventh Prince returned to his own tent, while Zhao Yu hurried to Zhang Zhe’s encampment, obviously to find him.

A night passed in the blink of an eye.

Just as dawn broke, the Border Army units that had been transferred from various regions began to assemble on the Stone Forest Plain.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, arranged in square formations of three thousand men each, appeared in dense ranks across the battlefield.

Mixed in with the Stone Forest, the dark, crushing mass of troops exerted immense pressure.

Behind the Border Army was the Imperial Guard.

Behind the Imperial Guard was the Commander’s Banner, with Xiao Heng standing beneath it, the Seventh Prince by his side.

Zhao Yu and, surprisingly, Zhang Zhe were also among them.

The latter’s eyes were shining, and he looked to be in high spirits.

After meeting the Seventh Prince last night, he had completely become the Prince’s man.

Having latched onto such a powerful patron, it was impossible for him not to be thrilled.

Therefore, even without a wink of sleep, he was still full of energy.

As for Lu Yuan, he was already leading his troops, standing ready on the Stone Forest Plain.

Clad in grim armor and holding his Crescent Saber, he stood his ground, his gaze fixed forward.

Behind him were three thousand soldiers.

There were at least a hundred formations like his on the Stone Forest Plain.

Zhou He was a little nervous. He whispered to Lu Yuan, "I hear the Xirong are fierce."

"How is your Military Array practice?" Lu Yuan asked in a low voice.

Zhou He nodded quickly. "We’ve all mastered it."

"Good. Don’t get scattered when the fighting starts," Lu Yuan said slowly.

Zhou He nodded. Though he had been on a battlefield before, this was his first time participating in a battle of this scale. In fact, it wasn’t just him.

Even someone like Zhou Hongling had probably never been in a battle like this.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Just as they were speaking, they saw an army like a tidal wave charging toward the Dayong forces from the distance.

Each soldier wore black armor covered in animal hides. Some had shaved heads, while others let their hair hang loose. They carried all sorts of weapons.

Before they even got close, you could smell the stench of blood wafting from them.

"Brother, those are the Xirong Wolf Soldiers! Be careful!" a shout came from Li Feng’s unit nearby.

Lu Yuan turned to look. Li Feng was holding a long spear, his troops already prepared for battle.

You could see that he was quite nervous as well.

The next moment, a shocking scene unfolded.

As the Xirong Wolf Soldiers neared the Dayong army, there were no superfluous words. The two forces simply slammed into each other.

From a distance, you couldn’t see the clash of their weapons at all—only a cloud of blood mist erupting into the air.

Thick and dense, it filled the air with a salty, metallic tang.

Then, several square formations of three thousand men were shattered by the impact, swallowed up by the Wolf Soldiers.

The Xirong Wolf Soldiers were a powerful force, second only to the Xirong’s Fengjia elite. Although they were a notch below the Dayong Imperial Guard, they were much stronger than the regular Border Army.