Zhan Long

Chapter 803 - Ancient Hidden Technique

Pearl walked her battle horse onto a mound so that all of the soldiers could see her. I quickly followed behind with my Zhen Yue Blade in hand and my Dragon Reservoir Sword on my back. The General of the South badge was absorbed by the system and it reappeared on my arm sleeve. Just the presence of the badge was enough to command respect from the NPCs behind me. The military rule in the empire was very structured and any actions that could be construed as a rebellion against higher authority could result in a beheading. Their anxiety around me was well within predictions.

……

Pearl raised her pale hand and shouted, “Soldiers of the Magic Flame Army and the Star Rifle Army, my father has seen your courage and bravery in the Battle of the Sea of No Return and bears the loss of your two commanders deep in his heart. However, the Hybrid Demon threat has not been eliminated and the borders of Tian Ling City become more and more dangerous by the day. We cannot expend all of our efforts on the dead for we must make preparations to defend against an invasion at any moment and protect our homeland. Today, my father has decreed that the Magic Flame Army and the Star Rifle Army shall be assigned under the flag of the Royal Army!”

Her announcement created an uproar among the soldiers. The Magic Flame Army and the Star Rifle Army were both individual standing armies within the army. Being told all of a sudden that their units were essentially disbanded and restructured under a different flag was a dishonor that nobody would be willing to accept. Every military man had his dignity and pride in the unit he served and being drafted to another unit would create waves in a man’s heart. This was something I had been considering previously. I was also a military man after all and that dignity and pride was even more important than my own life.

Among the crowd, a lieutenant walked forward and said, “Your highness, we…. it's not that we aren’t willing to follow his majesty’s order. However…. however, the Magic Flame Army still has 15,000 strong men. Why can’t we remain independent? We… we will restore our former glory, I promise you that! Please, your highness, could you speak on our behalf to his majesty? I beg of you!”

As soon as he finished, the lieutenant fell to his knees. All of the people behind him followed suit. My heart sank. It looks like incorporating these two armies may have sounded easy, but earning their respect and service would be a far more difficult task.

Even if Pearl was a woman of strategy, she seemed to be caught in a hard decision. She nonetheless was a young princess, not even the age of twenty. How could she predict every possibility? She had most likely never imagined a scenario like this to happen. And so Pearl looked over at me. Finally she introduced me in a loud voice: “The man beside me is the commander of the Royal Army. The new General of the South, Li Xiao Yao. In the future, he will be your commander. If you have any grievances, tell him!”

I was at a loss. Finally, I said, “Lieutenant, please stand up, you are a military man of the empire!”

The lieutenant hesitantly stood up. I could see markings of blood all over his face. With his broken sword in hand, he said, “Commander Li Xiao Yao, your achievements with the Royal Army are truly impressive and I respect your bravery, however…. I am incompetent, I truly cannot watch the Magic Flame Army disappear like this. If Commander Jupiter knew of this, he would be rolling in his grave. The Magic Flame Army is his life’s work. Soldiers of the Magic Flame Army, do you agree?”

All of the men shouted in agreement. Looks like while the lieutenant was not very high ranked in the army, he commanded a lot of respect among the men.

Without reason, I could feel frustration building in my heart. Getting these men to follow me was too difficult a task.

I slid off my horse and stood before the soldiers. I looked at the wounded men and knelt on one knee. “Ka Cha!” My Zhen Yue Blade crushed a rock and I buried the blade deep into the center. That one move was enough to shock all 30,000 of the empire’s soldiers. The lieutenant was terrified, “Commander, you… you’ve put us in a hard place! Hurry, please stand up. We cannot accept this kind of ceremony!”

I looked up at him and said, “I am not kneeling before you, I am kneeling before the dead of the Magic Flame and the Star Rifle Armies. I, Li Xiao Yao, vow that from this day forth, the Magic Flame Army and the Star Rifle Army’s flags will never disappear. The Royal Army will create a Magic Flame Camp and a Star Rifle Camp under my command. I cannot promise you anything else, but at the very least, I will lead you to victory! I will lead everyone here to take on new territories and do everything within my power to bring you back alive to your families!”

Right then, I could feel everyone’s mood shift. To a military man, among the honor and pride of a victorious campaign, coming home to their families was one of the most important creeds. I was, after all, a military man. This was a concept I understood deep in my soul.

Right then, the lieutenant also knelt before me. He looked at me in the eyes and said, “My lord commander, I… I do not deserve the respect you have given me. From this day forward, the Magic Flame Army will put its life on the line for the empire and follow my lord!”

All of the men knelt in unison. With that, the Magic Flame Army and the Star Rifle Army were successfully incorporated into the Royal Army!

……

“He he…”

Pearl hid a smile and gave me a congratulatory glance. She whispered, “You little b*st*rd… you’ve got quite a few tricks up your sleeve!”

I smiled back and lowered my voice, “If I didn’t have this much skill, how could I turn the Royal Army into the number one unit in the world?”

Pearl stiffened. Clearly she knew that I had the skill to turn the Royal Army into a strong unit, but never would she have imagined me to be that ambitious. But I wasn’t sure of anything else more than I was of this. However, in order to become the strongest army in the world, we needed over a hundred thousand men. Only then would we dare to compete for number one. Nonetheless, I had faith that I would succeed!

After the Battle of the Sea of No Return, most of the 30,000 soldiers in the Royal Army were new and our numbers were too small. We had lost over half of them to the Demons. And now I was given the opportunity to incorporate 100,000 elite soldiers into my army. If I had them before, I knew that my losses would’ve been tremendously less: I probably would have been able keep my losses under 20,000 and have pushed back the Fishmen troops and Yasha Army.

“Pa!”

I pulled out my Zhen Yue Blade out of the stone and looked at everyone squarely in the face, including Han Yuan, Xiao Lie, Long Xing, and Xia Ye. Finally, I turned to face Pearl and said, “Your Highness, could these lieutenants please be promoted? Their current ranking is too low and they won’t have much space to give orders in the future.”

Pearl grinned and pulled out a scroll from her breast plate, “I’ve already asked for this command for you yesterday. Han Yuan, Xiao Lie, Long Xing, Xia Ye, will you please stand forward!”

The four lieutenants generals behind me all knelt to the ground. Pearl continued, “Han Yuan will be promoted to High Dragon General, and Xiao Lie to Honored General, both of the 6th Tier, or positions that have the power to command ten thousand men. Long Xing and Xia Ye will both be promoted as Deputy Generals of the 5th Tier, both esteemed positions. Please, receive the command!”

……”

The four generals were nearly weeping in gratitude. Han Yuan rubbed his eyes and acted as though he were wiping away a tear, “I’ve finally been promoted….”

I nearly choked on my laugher. That acting was too transparent and I couldn’t help but call him out, “Han Yuan, be more serious and accept the scroll!”

“Yes sir!”

……

The four generals were now promoted to fairly high positions. After all, they had received the orders in front of all the soldiers. I stepped forward and announced my next order, “Now, I will give my first command. The Royal Army will now be split into four separate camps. The Barbarian Blade and Shield unit will be the core of our foot soldiers, under the command of Han Yuan. Meanwhile, the elite cavalrymen from each army will be transferred into one core Cavalry Unit under the command of Xiao Lie. The Magic Flame Army will now be known as the Magic Flame Unit, under the command of Long Xing, while the Star Rifle Army will now be known as the Star Rifle Unit, under the command of Xia Ye. In the next few days, the Moon Blade Forest will be cleared to create space for our next campgrounds. Everything from recruitment, horse buying, and training must be completed to the utmost satisfaction within a month’s time!”

Everyone listened closely to the order. All 30,000 men from the Magic Flame Unit and the Star Rifle Unit knelt before me simultaneously, accepting the order. The four commanders each went to their respective units and began preparations for the new campgrounds. Now that the Royal Army camped outside the city, it would soon become one of the greatest armies in charge of protecting the capital. This was a special privilege that no other army had.

After a long period of managing errands and delegating tasks, I had finally settled the matters with the Royal Army.

I urged my horse towards Dragon City to find Frost. It was time for me to rise to the next class advancement. Would I be the first person in Tian Ling City to advance to the 6th class?

……

My Flying Scythe Horse dashed across the landscape and we arrived at Dragon City within twenty or so minutes. Dragon City was filled with steelsmiths and laborers, working to fix the broken city wall. Last time when BOSS Ignaus led an invasion against Dragon City, Frost’s presence managed to keep the demons at bay, but the damage to the city was immensemassive.

I was able to locate Frost after asking several soldiers. With my Zhen Yue Blade in hand, I walked towards the Commander’s Hall. When I pushed open the great doors, I saw that Frost was hard at work behind a desk, signing a stack of papers. I could see from her face that she had worked all night. Frost was a warrior, trained in the art of battle. Undoubtedly, she would rather be having a much better time on the field than in this office.

She looked up when I walked in and her tired expression immediately brightened with a smile. She leapt up and ran over, giving me a hug. I was speechless and smiled back, “Frost, what is it?”

……”

Frost blushed as she stepped away from me and said, “I just…. I’m just so happy to see you now. I heard about your battle at Deer Lake. Great job in killing Kehl. To be honest, I never would’ve imagined that you’d grow so strong to the point where you’d be able to kill a Giant like him. Looks like my student has reached new heights….”

I studied her face and saw that a bandage was wrapped around her shoulder. There was even some blood seeping through it. Looks like the battle in Dragon City must have been a dangerous situation, or else Frost would not act so intimate. She was the Lady of Dragon City, and the only marquis that held down the Ice Ridge territories. Furthermore, she was the reincarnation of a God, and all of these titles and statuses made it difficult for her to be intimate with anyone.

……

“Why have you come to visit me this time?” She smiled at me.

I waved my hand and said, “I was thinking that I could be considered truly strong now, and would like you to help me rise another tier. Am I worthy?”

Frost grinned. She then reached out and gave my chest a tap. Power funneled out from her fingertips into my body and she smiled, “Looks like you have grown. Alright then, give me 200,000 in Gold and I’ll raise your tier. I’ll even throw in an Ancient Hidden Technique!”

“Ancient Hidden Technique?”

My heart pumped and I immediately handed the money, “Let’s do this!”