Slave Empire [Complete] - 12

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Volume 5, Chapter 73: Fierce Battle on Land
and Water. Fifteen miles east of Shunhe Town lies a small town called Xinchang. Eighty thousand Japanese troops, centered on Xinchang Town, guarded the only official road leading to Donggang. The continuous mountains on both sides of the road were rugged and difficult to traverse in many places, unsuitable for large-scale troop movements. The Japanese army only deployed a small number of troops and ninjas to lie in ambush and hold positions in various locations. According to Qiu Denghui, the Free Army consistently favored night raids, and the Japanese ninjas were also masters of night combat and mountain ambushes. For several days, the Free Army indeed continuously sent martial arts masters to scout the Japanese army's situation at night, but all attempts were thwarted by the ninjas. Both sides suffered losses, and neither gained a significant advantage.
This time, however, Hua Yinghong did not employ the night raid tactic—know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. He had carefully studied the Japanese army, including the tactics and strengths and weaknesses of the mysterious Japanese ninjas. The Japanese are generally about three inches shorter than the Hualong people, and their ninjas, in particular, are adept at concealing themselves and their presence in various environments, making them no less skilled than the special forces soldiers trained by Hua Yinghong and Batian, who have mastered the Mind Concentration Technique and the Heaven and Earth Technique. Using night combat tactics would be like attacking their strengths with their own weaknesses. Therefore, Hua Yinghong launched a direct attack at noon, demonstrating the Free Army's formidable siege capabilities to those who doubted their frontal fighting abilities! Another major reason for Hua Yinghong's confidence was that the Free Army possessed two secret weapons—
one of which was the Divine Crossbow. Although this new weapon had already been developed, it was not widely known because it had only been used a few times by special forces soldiers, and only about fifty were used during the attack on "Heavenly Gate." Furthermore, Hua Yinghong had issued a gag order and implemented extremely strict secrecy measures. After its expansion, the weapons battalion worked tirelessly for nearly two months. Hua Yinghong personally visited the battalion and discussed the matter with Lu Shenggong. They changed the original method of production, which required extremely high individual skill and involved one person making one crossbow, to training a large number of specialized personnel to make only one or two standardized parts. This was done using modern assembly line methods, assembling the crossbows into finished products.
The assembly line method greatly reduced the demands on individual craftsmen and significantly increased the production efficiency of the Shenji crossbows. On average, the section of the weapons battalion dedicated to producing Shenji crossbows could produce up to 500 crossbows per day! In the past two months, the Free Army had gradually increased its stock to 25,000 crossbows! Hua Yinghong allocated 5,000 of these to Batian's Special Forces, and the remaining 20,000 to the Navy and the four regular divisions. Selected soldiers were formed into the Shenji Battalion, with the order: "The crossbow is our life, the crossbow is our death!"
Lu Shenggong, true to his reputation as a master of weaponry, applied his knowledge to other areas, extending the assembly line production method to the weapons battalion's production areas for various weapons, greatly improving the efficiency of arms production—otherwise, with the Free Army's repeated large-scale expansion, even with some spoils, where would they get so many different kinds of weapons and armor to equip themselves! This, in turn, brought smiles to the faces of mine owners and workshop owners involved in iron ore mining, iron smelting, and steelmaking—to stimulate a rapid increase in the production capacity of such military supplies, the Free Army raised the purchase price by more than 30% compared to the previous market price!
Another secret weapon, however, was inspired by a few words from Miao Youlan—since the beginning of October, there had been occasional light rain, and the weather had turned cold. On the second day of the lunar new year, Hua Yinghong casually asked Miao Youlan about the thousands of mountain tribesmen and elders in the Alang Mountains who were unwilling to relocate, whether they had received winter supplies, to show his concern. Miao Youlan immediately replied, "The cotton-padded clothes and other supplies have been distributed, and there is demonic dragon blood in the mountains, which can be burned to keep warm."
"Dragonic dragon blood?" Hua Yinghong was extremely surprised to hear this. These past few days, no matter how busy he was, he had made the most of his usual love of reading, searching high and low for books about the Hua Long Continent, the Japanese Nation, and even the Ouba and Meisi Continents, but he had never heard of "demonic dragon blood." "Dragon" was merely an ancient legend on the Hua Long Continent; in reality, no one had ever truly seen one.
After Miao Youlan's explanation, Hua Yinghong understood: In the Alang Mountains, sixty miles south of Yingchou Ridge, there was a small lake several miles in circumference. The lake water was as black as ink, viscous like paste, constantly seeping from the ground. Such lake water was obviously undrinkable, but strangely, it could be burned, and the fire could not be extinguished by water, only emitting an unpleasant odor. Winters in the mountains were bitterly cold, and the mountain people often used it as fuel. Because of its color and flammable properties, the Gaoshan people called it "Dragon's Blood," comparing it to the blood of a legendary dragon.
Hua Yinghong immediately knew that "Dragon's Blood" must be something like petroleum, and he was overjoyed! He was worried about the lack of weapons of mass destruction. Even with their powerful crossbows, the Free Army still suffered heavy losses in their battles against the Japanese. The vegetable oil cans used as incendiary bombs in the Battle of Jubao Ferry were limited in their effectiveness, and the fire was still insufficient. If there was enough crude oil, he could use his knowledge of traditional oil refining methods to produce a large number of incendiary bombs for combat in a short time!
Hua Yinghong, along with Miao Youlan and Lu Shenggong, made a special trip to the "Dragon's Blood Lake" in the Alang Mountains, where they saw the "treasure trove" that the Gaoshan people knew but never saw—the "Dragon's Blood Lake," spanning five miles, was located between several mountain peaks, with black crude oil quietly flowing in its waters. A rough measurement showed that the deepest point was almost three zhang (approximately 10 meters), and the lakeside was also about half a zhang (approximately 2.5 meters) deep! In Hua Yinghong's view, the Gaoshan people were simply blind to the value of a treasure, begging for food while holding a golden rice bowl!
Hua Yinghong immediately approved and launched Project 102, dispatching a reserve regiment of the Free Army to guard all strategic locations, preventing unauthorized personnel from approaching. This regiment was subsequently named "Unit 102," and its personnel were all transferred to regular military organization, outside the Free Army's structure, specifically tasked with guarding this treasure trove, and directly obeying only Hua Yinghong's orders!
The weapons battalion dispatched a large number of men to build dozens of rudimentary oil refining furnaces in the valleys near "Dragon Blood Lake" according to Hua Yinghong's design—
within the current technological level, Hua Yinghong designed steel ladle furnaces approximately half a zhang in diameter and one and a half zhang long: two round holes about one chi in diameter on the top of the furnace for adding crude oil. Stone pillars were erected beside the round holes, with a steel pipe about two zhang long extending from the top of the pillars, leading to a stone pool and a huge iron pot beside the furnace. After the crude oil was separated at high temperatures in the steel furnace, the diesel oil flowing out through the condenser was highly refined, containing many impurities but sufficient for making incendiary bombs, and named "Dragon's Blood." Because this oil could burn at room temperature and was prone to combustion and explosion, Hua Yinghong placed extremely high demands on its production, storage, and transportation. It wasn't
until Lu Shenggong and his team worked tirelessly for several days that they finally solved the problems of production, storage, transportation, and the design of incendiary bombs for combat, and gradually equipped the Haitianqing Navy and various participating divisions. By October 20th, a total of 40,000 incendiary bombs had been produced, and only after the last batch arrived at Shunhe Town on the 22nd did Hua Yinghong decide to launch the war.
During these days, the Japanese army added 80,000 troops, bringing their total land force to 200,000. Togo Hachiro also showed signs of restlessness, adding 40,000 troops to Xinchang Town, bringing the total to 120,000. Another 40,000 troops were stationed in Xiaoyuan Town, 20 li away from Donggang City, to provide support. Hua Yinghong left Qin Zhong's reserve Second Division to guard important cities and passes such as Keelung, Beigang, Riyue, Lingbao Town, and Lingbao Pass, maintaining strict vigilance. Although the situation on the mainland was in a stalemate, and the Free Army had few internal or external troubles, Hua Yinghong was unwilling to leave the country vulnerable and expose its weaknesses to the enemy's blade. Who knew if the Qiu family's navy, which had suddenly set sail from Tenglong Port on the other side, would suddenly appear on the sea off Beigang?
Apart from the Hai Tianqing Navy and Pang Yi's Fourth Division, which was taking over Donggang City, Hua Yinghong only had Ye Zhiqiu, Lin Zhi, and Liu Litao's three regular divisions and Zhang Qunfeng's reserve division at his disposal, plus Ba Tian's Special Forces Brigade, totaling 170,000 men. In addition, there were 6,000 Yulong Army soldiers who wanted to fight alongside them. The advantage in troop strength was not significant—Feng Yanran had insisted on bringing in the female soldier regiment as well, but Hua Yinghong did not want to deploy the female soldiers to the battlefield unless absolutely necessary, using them only as reserves and medical teams.
A white cloud drifted across the sky, and the sunlight was not dazzling. A bright firework, which Hua Yinghong had been waiting for, rose from the southeast side of Xinchang Town, flashing and disappearing in an instant. Unless one looked very closely, it would be completely unnoticed. Hua Yinghong breathed a sigh of relief, and amidst the anxious gazes of his generals, finally gave the order: "Send the order! Operation Yangwei begins!"
Nearly a thousand large catapults, already set up, launched the new, dark, approximately 1.2-foot-diameter "Demon Dragon Blood Bullets" towards the hilltops and positions blocking the official road held by the Japanese army, some four hundred paces away. Three thousand carefully selected "Sun-Shooting Archers," prepared beforehand, drew their bows and fired three thousand rockets, which, in the air about a hundred paces away, struck the "Demon Dragon Blood Bullets." Each "Demon Dragon Blood Bullet," carrying two or three rockets, flew rapidly towards the Japanese positions!
Originally, the Japanese soldiers, who had been shouting in their Japanese language as the Free Army set up large catapults four hundred paces away but couldn't hit their own positions no matter what they did, suddenly stopped and began to exclaim in surprise! Those large catapults could launch stones weighing tens or even hundreds of pounds over a hundred paces; launching the "Dragon Blood Bullets," weighing only a dozen pounds, with the powerful boost from the "Sun-Shooting Arrows," would easily launch them five hundred paces!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A series of explosions rang out as the "Dragon Blood Bullets" exploded on and above the Japanese positions. The sky was filled with flammable diesel fuel, which was called "Dragon Blood," and flames rose up. The shouts in Japanese language resumed, shaking the heavens, but this time they were no longer mocking, but screams of agony! ...

Thirty miles southeast of Donggang City, on the sea. Under flag signals, Qiu Su led three Yulong naval fleets of 150 warships, ignoring the Japanese warships attempting to seize the high tide position on the left. They shifted into a pincer formation. On the left, "Mad Tiger" Ling Ye led 50 warships like arrows piercing the Japanese formation; on the right, 50 warships expanded to the right flank; and in the center, 50 warships slowed their approach. If Ling Ye's left flank pierced the Japanese formation and swept to the right, the outcome would be decided.
As for the Japanese on the left, even if they seized the high tide position, Qiu Su needed not worry—he had full confidence in the naval capabilities of Hai Tianqing's Free Army. Hai Tianqing was already well-known in the Yulong Navy, and his connection with Qiu Shuiliu due to Su Xiaoxiao was also known. When fighting alongside the Japanese, Hai Tianqing would not stand idly by! Even if the Jade Dragon Navy is surrounded by the Japanese army, Hai Tianqing's Free Navy will launch a fierce attack on the Japanese forces upstream, severely damaging or even annihilating them—this was the pre-arranged joint operation plan.
Seeing the vanguard of the left flank closing to within 150 paces of the Japanese, Ling Ye's new flagship, the "Mad Tiger," raised its flag signal: "Prepare for battle!"
The Japanese flag signals changed, their flanks spreading out further, but the central formation suddenly became thicker, clearly intending to withstand the Jade Dragon Navy's left-wing attack before the right flank counter-encircled them and attacked downstream!
120 paces, 100 paces… The Jade Dragon Navy attacked with the tide, their ships moving at incredible speed, quickly entering the range of the large catapults. "Turn right, launch!" Ling Ye's flag signals changed, issuing the attack command!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!…" Fifty Jade Dragon warships turned sideways in unison, quickly facing the Japanese on their port sides, and twelve large catapults launched pre-prepared square stones, each weighing over 100 pounds, towards their respective targets! Dozens of archers also fired ignited rockets at the Japanese warships!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." The Jade Dragon Navy, having dominated the seas for many years, possessed extremely rich experience in naval warfare. The catapults' launching angles were calculated with remarkable precision. Despite the turbulent waves and the movement of the warships, each of the thirty-odd Japanese warships in front of them was struck by at least several large rocks in the first volley. Bodies weighing over a hundred jun (a unit of weight) were hurled dozens of feet high before raining down from the sky—the force was astonishing! Several Japanese soldiers on the warships, unable to dodge in time, were killed or wounded. Several large holes were punched through the thick iron decks. The warships hit on the sides were even more unfortunate, their hulls riddled with holes, allowing waves to surge in, rendering them essentially immobile!
The rockets fired by the Jade Dragon Navy all landed on the sails of the Japanese ships, "Bang! Bang!" and burned. Although the sails had been fireproofed, if too many rockets accumulated on them, they would eventually catch fire...
"Turn to left and straighten, launch!" Ling Ye was quite satisfied with the first round of attacks. With the change of flag signals, the Jade Dragon Navy changed direction with the tide and switched to attacking from the starboard side! Loading large catapults with stones takes a lot of time. Using alternating attacks on both sides, plus launching catapults from the bow and stern while turning, can minimize the interval between launches. However, this tactic requires a high level of ship handling skills and naval personnel. Apart from the well-trained Jade Dragon Navy with its superior warships, few could do it.
As the Japanese warships advanced another twenty paces, hundreds of large stones were simultaneously launched from their ships, flying towards the left flank of the Jade Dragon Navy led by Ling Ye… On a small hill near Xinchang Town

, in Volume 5, Chapter 74 of the Changing Storms
, Togo Hachiro, Akito, and a group of high-ranking Japanese generals, observing the battle from the Japanese army's temporary command post, were all pale with shock at the intense fighting—the Free Army's catapults were not launching stones, but rather dark spheres filled with an unknown liquid. Once hit by these rockets, they would explode upon reaching or landing on the Japanese positions, turning the Japanese forward lines into a sea of fire that burned relentlessly, unquenchable by water! In less than half an hour, over ten thousand Japanese soldiers had been burned alive!
The Japanese army's large catapults were too far away to retaliate. They barely managed to switch to smaller stone projectiles, which they launched from their higher ground into the Free Army's positions, but the effect was minimal! They could only watch helplessly as the fire continued to spread to various Japanese positions. Even the Japanese soldiers who were surrounded by flames, supported by their fearless Bushido spirit, could not withstand the torment of being burned by the fire. Their heart-wrenching screams were unbearable to hear!
Under the blazing sun, the battlefield had become a living hell!
"Waa baa ga! &*^^%&..." Seeing that his side could only be attacked and could not fight back, Togo Hachiro was furious and roared a series of incoherent screams. With the support of the current Emperor of Wa, who was also his nephew, Kurosawa Hideyoshi, he led his army through countless battles, subjugating all six daimyo of Shikoku Island and making them his vassals. He then mobilized the entire island's resources to build a thousand warships, train a navy of 160,000 men, and an army of 280,000 men in seven major divisions, becoming one of the six most powerful daimyo in Wa and hailed as one of Wa's greatest generals. He had never suffered such a great loss before!
The Wa-Nu archipelago, where the Wa people established their kingdom, is mountainous and prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, resulting in scarce resources. Supporting a population of 50 million was already extremely difficult. Furthermore, the strong reproductive capacity of Wa women and the country's pervasive promiscuity were causing the population to grow rapidly, and in a few years, it would likely become overcrowded. In recent years, Wa had relied on sending troops disguised as ronin (masterless samurai) to plunder the coastal areas of the New Song Kingdom and the Great Liang Kingdom, and on trading with unscrupulous merchants from the Hua Long Continent for food and supplies to support such a large population. Furthermore, being situated in the vast and boundless Devil's Sea, the Japanese constantly harbored a sense of insecurity, akin to that of an island nation. Their yearning for the Hualong mainland and the bountiful Zhenbao Island was deeply ingrained in their very being!
Shikoku Island, where Togo Hachiro resided, and its surrounding islets were extremely impoverished. The immense pressure from its nearly five million inhabitants forced him to seek alternative solutions. Under the pressure of his nephew, the Japanese Emperor, he dared not easily launch a military campaign against other daimyo, and thus set his sights on Zhenbao Island. The island was guarded by the Zhenbao Division of the Yulong Army and the Qiusu Naval Brigade, which garrisoned Donggang City. Togo Hachiro dared not launch a large-scale attack, instead sending a small force disguised as ronin to establish a forward base in the Diaoyu Islands, harassing the coast of Zhenbao Island from time to time, waiting for an opportunity to strike—because if the Qiu family sent reinforcements from the mainland, given the strength of the Quanzhou Navy and the Yulong Army, coupled with the Hualong people's inherent animosity towards the Japanese, Togo Hachiro had no real chance of victory.
Having finally seized the opportunity presented by the chaos caused by the Free Army and the Demonic Cult, and the fact that the Qiu family's Jade Dragon Army was severely damaged and preoccupied with its own problems, Togo Hachiro led his army to attack the island. Unexpectedly, Qiu Shuibo led the Jade Dragon Army back to the mainland, and the Demonic Cult proved to be ineffective. Soon, the Japanese army was facing the Free Army head-on. Previously, Togo Hachiro had not taken the Free Army, which had only risen to power in two months, very seriously, but now he realized he had made a huge mistake!
"Denghui-kun, the Free Army only uses firearms for long-range attacks. Our army can only take the hits and cannot retaliate. What should we do?" Togo Hachiro then remembered that there was a mixed-race advisor, Qiu Denghui, present. He humbly sought advice and his words became even more polite.
"Lord Togo," Qiu Denghui said, "there are only two options now: one is to immediately find a way to retreat back to the country, hoping the navy can win and there will still be a way out; the other is to quickly launch an attack, get close to the Free Army for close combat, and crush them with our army's strong close-combat capabilities and indomitable Bushido spirit. It's all or nothing." Qiu Denghui still wanted to do his part, and the two options he offered were indeed the best choices under the current circumstances. If they could only be attacked without being able to retaliate, casualties would gradually increase, and if this continued, morale would be greatly affected, making it impossible to fight!
"Retreat back home? That's impossible. How could the Imperial Japanese Army retreat without a fight? Issue the order! Charge at the Free Army! Order the garrison at Xiaoyuan Town to come and reinforce us. Let's fight to the death! God protect us, the Imperial Army will surely win!" Togo Hachiro still insisted that as long as the Japanese army could avoid the fireballs and engage in close combat, they could defeat the Free Army, which had only been formed for two months. After all, with the swordsmanship and martial arts skills of the Japanese soldiers, they could even fight the most elite Jade Dragon Army to a standstill...
"God protect us, the Imperial Army will surely win!" More than 100,000 Japanese soldiers shouted and yelled in Japanese, charging through the raging fires that covered the mountains and fields. Their momentum was quite impressive!
"Brainless Japanese devils!" Hua Yinghong stood on high ground, fully aware of the battlefield situation, and cursed disdainfully. In preparation for battle these past few days, I've read a lot of information about the Japanese invaders. The Japanese devils of this world are just as depraved and shameless as a certain race in that world, their actions towards the Hua Long Continent and its people are outrageous. I've heard a great deal from the refugees who fled from the small town near Donggang to Shunhe Town. Even if I wiped out the entire Japanese army before me, Hua Yinghong wouldn't even flinch—as for the advice from "Sword Saint" Hou Mubai to refrain from killing and lest it harm the harmony of heaven, Hua Yinghong dismissed it: Are those Japanese devils even human?
The Japanese army, forced to leave their advantageous terrain, is now charging towards the positions set up by the Free Army, exactly what Hua Yinghong wanted! If Togo Hachiro decisively led his troops to retreat, the large catapults would be difficult and time-consuming to move, and the Free Army, without the long-range attack of the "Dragon Blood Bullets," would inevitably suffer heavy casualties in the pursuit and mobile warfare—that's not the outcome Hua Yinghong wanted to see—every Free Army soldier's life is precious. Free Army soldiers will certainly die in battle, but they must achieve the greatest results with the least cost, and die with value!
"Divine Machine Battalion, prepare! Sun-Shooting Archers, prepare!" Ba Tian's special forces are carrying out special missions, but with the three regular divisions they currently control, they are equipped with 12,000 new-style Divine Machine Crossbows, plus nearly 20,000 Sun-Shooting Archers who have practiced the Sun-Shooting Technique, the strongest of whom can unleash extremely powerful attacks at 120 paces. Further afield, there are also "Dragon Blood Bullets" launched by catapults. This three-tiered defense is enough to wipe out the Japanese army before they even get close to the Free Army's main camp!
This is an unfair battle, or rather a massacre, between the most advanced war concept known to date—long-range attacks and the most advanced war weapons—the Divine Machine Crossbow, "Dragon Blood Bullets," and Sun-Shooting Arrows—and the Japanese army, which is still in the backward stage of fighting based on martial arts and formations.
The catapults have prepared "Dragon Blood Bullets" but have not fired them again, remaining poised for action. The Japanese soldiers, who had charged within 120 paces of the Free Army's front line, were the first to be attacked by the Sun-Shooting Archers. More than 6,000 arrows, imbued with true energy and accompanied by strange whistles, flew through the air!
"Wah! Wah! Wah! —*%￥￥%%# Wah!..." Large numbers of the Japanese soldiers at the front line fell like straw being cut down! Japan was poor in resources, and Shikoku Island was particularly lacking in steel and metal. Most of the Japanese soldiers used specially made rattan shields for protection and wore soft armor, which was not a problem against common projectile and free-falling arrows. However, the Free Army archers used the "Sun-Shooting Arrow Technique," and the arrows were almost straight, imbued with a small amount of mastered blazing sun true energy. The penetrating power was more than twice that of projectile arrows. Their momentum was unstoppable, penetrating the Japanese soldiers' rattan shields and then their soft armor, killing or wounding them!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..." Seizing the opportunity, thousands of large catapults once again launched the "Dragon Blood Bullets." The three thousand Sun-Shooting Archers, who were prepared, used fire arrows to hit and set the bullets ablaze. This time, the fire was concentrated on the rear of the Japanese army, creating a sea of fire and cutting off the retreat of a large number of Japanese soldiers. This trapped sixty to seventy thousand Japanese soldiers in an encirclement about three miles wide and one mile in length!
The Japanese army had been deeply poisoned by the "Bushido" code, and their fearlessness was probably even greater than that of the Jade Dragon Army. Despite being in a perilous situation, they did not flinch and continued to charge with deafening screams!
Qiu Siming, the commander of the Yulong Army of Shunhe Town, who was invited to stand beside Hua Yinghong to watch the battle, also changed his expression drastically—not because he was shocked by the Japanese army's frenzied attack, but because he was horrified by the Free Army's powerful offensive. Under the attack of the "Dragon Blood Bullets" that exploded and caused fires and emitted a foul odor, and the attack of more than 10,000 archers, countless Japanese soldiers were burned or shot to death. Even the Japanese soldiers who could charge within seventy paces were shot down by the crossbow bolts fired continuously by the "Divine Machine Battalion" soldiers from strange weapons that resembled crossbows but were not crossbows. No one could get within thirty paces!
When the rain of arrows was too dense, even the effectiveness of steel shields would be reduced. Any military shield can only protect the most vital parts of the body. When the Sun-Shooting Arrows, which were infused with true energy, struck the few dozen or so steel shields of the Japanese army, one or two could still be blocked, but several more would make the Japanese holding shields weak or even knock them away. The result would be certain death!
Since the start of the battle, aside from a few hundred casualties caused by small stones thrown by the Japanese army and the occasional powerful arrows fired during their attacks, the Free Army has suffered almost no losses. This is not a war, but a one-sided massacre! Just like the Jade Dragon Army's massacre of the unarmed mountain tribesmen. Although the Japanese army had swords, knives, and shields, and many of their warriors possessed extremely high martial arts skills, they still could not escape the Free Army's dense rain of arrows. In a large-scale battle involving hundreds of thousands of people, even the strongest individual martial arts skills are but a drop in the ocean.
What if the Jade Dragon Army were the ones in the encirclement? Qiu Siming couldn't help but shudder: What I have seen and heard today must be reported truthfully to my superiors. Unless absolutely necessary, it is best not to antagonize the Free Army...
The weather wasn't hot, but large beads of sweat kept streaming down Togo Hachiro's face! Not only that, he was drenched in sweat from head to toe! Tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers seemed to have encountered demons emerging from hell, slaughtered like chickens by the Free Army. In just over a quarter of an hour after their initial charge, thirty to forty thousand Japanese soldiers lay dead on the ground. Outside the circle of fire, only about thirty thousand of his own troops remained, and within the encirclement, only about thirty thousand remained!
"Togo-kun! Order a retreat immediately! Preserving our strength is paramount!" Qiu Denghui urged hastily.
"Retreat!" Togo Hachiro, worthy of being one of Japan's most renowned generals, acted decisively and immediately sounded the retreat. He was already considering how to escape back to Shikoku Island, and how to deal with potential attacks from other daimyo after losing so many troops…
Togo Hachiro was thinking too much and too far ahead, because urgent news was about to arrive—"Report! Ten thousand Free Army soldiers have broken through our army and ninja defenses in the mountains and are advancing directly towards Koin Town!" "
Report! The Free Army in Donggang City has launched an attack on the Takemiya Division's positions!"
"What!" Togo Hachiro's expression changed drastically again! Xinchang Town controls the only official road from Shunhe Town to Donggang City. In addition, there is only a narrow path leading to the southern mountainous area. Togo Hachiro sent 3,000 Japanese soldiers and more than 2,000 highly skilled ninjas who are best at mountain ambush warfare to guard the area. Among them, there are hundreds of middle and high-ranking ninjas who are capable of fighting against Hua Long's sixth-rank and above masters, and several holy ninjas who can fight against Hua Long's holy-rank masters. It should be foolproof. How could it be so easily breached?
"Order the Itagaki Division to immediately return to Xiaoyuan Town! Order the Takemiya Division to hold the outskirts of Donggang City, fight to the last man to ensure the safety of Jinlan Bay! Order Jinlan Bay to prepare for a full retreat! Urgent order to the navy to prepare for escort!..." The Free Army's ambition was enormous, and its plan to annihilate the Japanese army was now blatantly obvious. Togo Hachiro reacted immediately and made the fastest possible response—
the Itagaki Division was the Japanese division stationed in Xiaoyuan Town to provide support. Its commander, Itagaki Masaki, was a steady and reliable strategist, especially skilled in defense. Togo Hachiro had ordered it to garrison Xiaoyuan Town so that in case of defeat at Xinchang, there would be a second line of defense as a retreat route. The Itagaki Division had just been urgently dispatched to reinforce, and now most of it was only five miles from Xinchang Town, leaving only three thousand men to defend Xiaoyuan Town. If the Free Army captured it, their retreat would be cut off, and they might be completely annihilated. Hopefully, it was still in time!
Outside Donggang City, only a division led by Takemiya Taro remained. Judging by the Free Army's offensive capabilities at Xinchang, it seemed likely that Takemiya's division wouldn't be able to withstand them. If Jinlan Bay, where the Japanese army landed south of Donggang, were captured, even holding Xiaoyuan Town would likely result in total annihilation sooner or later—the terrifying nature of the Free Army and that "Son of Freedom" Hua Yinghong made Togo Hachiro feel as if he were holding a block of ice, a chill running through his entire body.
"Retreat! Retreat!" Amidst the resounding beat of war drums and the battle cries of "Drive out the Japanese devils, display our might!", the Free Army launched a counter-offensive against the encircled Japanese forces. The remaining Japanese troops were doomed sooner or later; if they didn't retreat now, it would be too late!

Volume 5, Chapter 75: Displaying Might at Sea.
Xue Qianqian and Ba Tian stood side-by-side on the city wall of Xiaoyuan Town facing Xinchang Town, watching the Japanese army's Banheng Division, which was returning to defend Xiaoyuan Town, kicking up clouds of dust, their faces expressionless. Along the town's walls, stretching for over a mile, stood the remaining six hundred-plus martial arts masters from Peach Blossom Palace, the Military Intelligence Bureau, the Ship Guild, and various forces from Zhenbao Island, who had fought fiercely against the Japanese army and ninjas in the mountains before capturing Xiaoyuan Town, along with over nine thousand soldiers from the Special Forces.
No one spoke; the atmosphere was eerily silent. However, apart from Xue Qianqian and a few others with extremely high cultivation levels, everyone's eyes seemed to be blazing with anger!
Xue Qianqian and Ba Tian, acting on Hua Yinghong's secret orders, led a large number of experts and special forces to break through from the southern mountainous area of Xinchang Town to capture Xiaoyuan Town and cut off the retreat route of the Japanese army. In the previous nightly battles with the Japanese ninjas, the experts from Peach Blossom Palace and the Military Intelligence Bureau responsible for nighttime intelligence gathering were put on the defensive by the ninjas' elusive stealth techniques, suffering heavy losses. Hua Yinghong specially sent Xue Qianqian to personally lead experts to oversee the operation. He originally wanted to send Miao Youlan as well, but the two women insisted on keeping Miao Youlan by Hua Yinghong's side for safety, citing the unpredictable nature of ninja assassination techniques.
After these days of spiritual and physical cultivation with Hua Yinghong, Xue Qianqian and Miao Youlan's progress after entering the Innate Saint-level realm was incredibly rapid. Ordinary Saint-level experts would probably not be a match for the two women. Many Japanese martial arts originated from the Hua Long Continent, but because their techniques were mostly incomplete, their cultivation took a unique and unorthodox approach, carving out a path that was incredibly strange and unpredictable.
The southern mountain ranges were endless, making it impossible for a large army to pass through, but in terms of treacherousness, they couldn't compare to the mountains the special forces had traversed during their surprise attack on "Heavenly Gate." Xue Qianqian and a group of experts led the way, followed by the special forces, choosing not the existing narrow paths, but directly traversing the Poyang Mountains. With Xue Qianqian's unparalleled divine sense, a Saint-level expert, she thoroughly searched the area, detecting and eliminating any ninjas lurking within a radius of twenty feet.
While the ninjas' stealth and escape techniques were formidable, Xue Qianqian and the special forces, trained in the "Concentration Technique," could always detect them from a relatively safe distance. With the powerful firepower of the Divine Crossbow and Sun-Shooting Arrows, the trouble caused by a small number of ninjas was negligible.
Just as they were about to leave the mountains, Ba Tian finally sent out a specially made firework signal—the very signal that Hua Yinghong had been waiting for so long, yet had not yet given the order to attack! If the main battlefield had started too early, and the Special Forces had failed to arrive in time to seize Xiaoyuan Town, this crucial choke point, the Japanese army would have escaped—which was not the outcome Hua Yinghong desired.
The three thousand Japanese soldiers and two thousand ninjas guarding the mountains saw the signal from Ba Tian and the others, realizing that the Free Army's Special Forces were about to break through the mountains, and hurriedly gave chase. Unexpectedly, Xue Qianqian and Ba Tian cleverly used the terrain to set up an ambush, surrounding the impatient ninjas and most of the Japanese soldiers in a valley. Under the attack of two thousand Sun-Shooting Archers and five thousand Divine Crossbowmen, they were wiped out in no time! However, the few Saint Ninjas, hundreds of Chunin and Jonin, and Japanese army experts, relying on their martial arts skills, charged into the Special Forces' ranks, causing casualties among dozens of Free Army experts and hundreds of soldiers. If it weren't for Xue Qianqian and the several experts from Peach Blossom Palace displaying their extraordinary prowess, the Special Forces would have suffered even greater casualties!
From the moment they left the mountains and headed straight for Xiaoyuan Town, the entire route was filled with wilderness, and the horrific scenes they witnessed enraged Xue Qianqian and the others. Everywhere in the desolate fields lay the gruesome corpses of Hualong people; some bodies were hacked to pieces… some female corpses had their genitals mangled, clearly indicating they had been raped and murdered… Even worse, in one small village along the way, hundreds of people were gathered in an open area and slaughtered, even the bodies of several infants only a few months old were hung from trees…
Only then did Xue Qianqian, Batian, and the others truly understand why Hua Yinghong had given the order to “show no mercy and exterminate all” the Japanese army before they set out! Filled with rage, a force of nearly ten thousand men marched at breakneck speed to Xiaoyuan Town, where they launched a massacre against the three thousand Japanese soldiers of the Banheng Division who remained behind. The town's walls, over three zhang high, were rendered useless by the onslaught of these experts. Xue Qianqian unleashed her full power, frantically absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Each strike unleashed dozens of peach blossoms infused with true energy, blasting dozens of Japanese soldiers open, their deaths gruesome!
Against the Japanese soldiers who had committed such heinous crimes, Xue Qianqian disregarded the "unspoken rules" of Saint-level experts on the Hua Long Continent, slaughtering them without restraint. At least three hundred of the three thousand Japanese soldiers died at her hands! The rest were naturally surrounded and slaughtered by the other experts and special forces!
The battle to capture Xiaoyuan Town lasted less than a quarter of an hour! At this time, the Banheng Division, returning to reinforce, was still several miles away.
"Prepare for battle!" Gazing at the dust raised by the Banheng Division's thirty thousand-strong army, Ba Tian gave the order in a deep voice.
The special forces soldiers re-inspected the crossbows and other weaponry, as well as the makeshift traps and ambushes, awaiting the impending brutal battle! —To use just over nine thousand men to hold off tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of Japanese soldiers who were cornered and would fight to the death to escape was indeed a mad plan! Only "Son of Freedom" Hua Yinghong would dare to use such a bold tactic. Although Hua Yinghong had ordered that if things went wrong, the Japanese soldiers could be let go after suffering heavy casualties, with other plans in place to annihilate them… at this moment, everyone, including Xue Qianqian and Batian, had secretly resolved: even if they all died in battle, they would not let a single Japanese soldier escape!
The flames of hatred had already been ignited. The atrocities committed by the Japanese can only be repaid with blood and lives…

On the sea, water columns soared into the sky, rockets flew in all directions, and billowing smoke rose from burning sails…
The left flank of the Jade Dragon Navy, led by "Mad Tiger" Ling Ye, had sunk over sixty Japanese warships and penetrated directly into the Japanese main force. However, they themselves were under attack from nearly a hundred Japanese warships that had seized the upper reaches of the water, with catapults and rockets firing, and launching suicidal assault boats. They had already lost over ten warships. Some skilled Japanese soldiers had already boarded the Jade Dragon Navy's warships for boarding action, making the entire situation extremely unfavorable for the Jade Dragon Navy!
Why hasn't the Free Army launched an attack yet? Looking around, Ling Ye saw Hai Tianqing's Free Navy fleet of 150 warships advancing in a triangular formation, still about 200 paces away from the Japanese army at the upper water level, not yet within range of the large catapults. Ling Ye was just wondering if Hai Tianqing was deliberately waiting for the Jade Dragon Navy to suffer heavy losses before making his move—
when suddenly Hai Tianqing's flagship, the "Tianqing," signaled. The first 50 Free Navy warships quickly turned to starboard, facing the Japanese army from port, just like the Jade Dragon Navy had done earlier. Hundreds of dark, round objects were launched by the large catapults, caught up and ignited by about a hundred rockets in the air, tracing long trails as they fell directly towards the Japanese warships 200 paces away—
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!..." The accuracy of the Free Army's catapults was no less than that of the Jade Dragon Navy. More than thirty Japanese warships were hit by a dozen or so spherical objects. The ships were immediately covered with exploding black liquid and burst into flames. Even the ones that landed in the water near the ship's side exploded and caught fire. The burning Japanese warships were filled with screams of agony...
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!—" Countless Demonic Dragon Blood Bullets flew towards the Japanese warships. The Japanese were immediately surrounded by raging flames and screamed in agony!
"What is this thing?" This scene was witnessed by "Mad Tiger" Ling Ye. The Free Army's attack method, which could be launched from two hundred paces away, and the effect it achieved, had overturned his understanding of traditional naval warfare, leaving him dumbfounded!
"If the Jade Dragon Navy had been attacked..." Ling Ye's first thought was almost exactly the same as Qiu Siming's when he first saw the "Demonic Dragon Blood Bullets".
Recalling a top-secret order issued by the family head Qiu Haoyu, Ling Ye broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly ordered a set of top-secret flag signals, not to command the battle, but to report what he had just seen to Qiu Su's flag ship...
Soon, several "Thousand-Mile Shadows" flew up from Qiu Su's flag ship and headed towards Baiyang County on the Hualong Continent!
Hai Tianqing smiled knowingly on his flag ship. He noticed Ling Ye's flag signals and the "Thousand-Mile Shadow" flying from Qiu Su's ship, confirming a pre-battle speculation he'd secretly discussed with Hua Yinghong: after the "gentleman's agreement" was fulfilled, the Qiu family might not truly be willing to abandon Zhenbao Island. The sudden departure and disappearance of the Tenglong Port navy, if not targeting the Liang army, meant they had designs on Zhenbao Island!
In Qiu Haoyu's or Qiu Shuibo's calculations: a major battle between the Free Army and the almost equal number of Japanese troops, even if victorious, would leave them severely weakened. That would be the Qiu family's opportunity to reclaim Zhenbao Island and clean up the mess. Qiu Shuibo's addition of the clause "Expel the Japanese and uphold our divine might" to the "gentleman's agreement" certainly reflects a nationalistic sentiment of hostility towards the Japanese, but it doesn't rule out the possibility of a hidden motive to push the Free Army and the Japanese to a mutually destructive war!
—A strategic retreat, how brilliant Qiu Shuibo is! Unfortunately for him, he encountered Hua Yinghong, the "Son of Freedom"...
Just now, he used the "Dragon Blood Bomb" to launch a long-range attack on the Japanese army as a show of force. In Xinchang Town, Hua Yinghong specially invited Qiu Siming to watch the battle. In fact, it was all to demonstrate the Free Army's powerful combat strength to the Qiu family. Whether in naval or land battles, as long as war breaks out again, the Qiu family will never gain any advantage from the Free Army!
"To appear incapable when capable, and to appear capable when incapable." Given the Free Army's current strength, and the unknown extent of the losses suffered in annihilating the Japanese army, a full-scale war with the Qiu family would not be a good thing. Therefore, Hua Yinghong did not want to turn against the Qiu family at this time. Why not subdue the enemy without fighting?
He believed that under the deterrence of the "Dragon Blood Bomb," the Qiu family would not dare to act rashly!
"Turn to left, attack on the starboard side!" Hai Tianqing issued the order—he also carried out Hua Yinghong's order to "show no mercy and exterminate the Japanese army" without any compromise. He dared not and would not doubt the authority of this "Son of Freedom" in the slightest. Everything about him had become wonderful because of this amazing young man. Moreover, after this battle, he would be able to see Xiao Xiao, whom he had been thinking about day and night—all of this was a miracle that occurred after meeting Hua Yinghong!
Without the powerful prestige of the Free Army and without Hua Yinghong's strategic planning, even if he knew that Xiao Xiao was still alive, it would be more difficult than climbing to heaven to rescue Xiao Xiao from Qiu Shuiliu's hands with his own strength!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Dozens more Japanese warships were damaged and caught fire under the attack of "Dragon Blood Bullets", and the pressure on the left flank of the Jade Dragon Navy led by "Mad Tiger" Ling Ye was greatly reduced! The
Jade Dragon Navy's central formation and the right formation responsible for the encirclement had also engaged the Japanese army. The warships of both sides clashed, and fierce boarding battles had already broken out on more warships. Although the Jade Dragon Navy held the upper hand, the Japanese warships were far more numerous and fearless, launching numerous suicide assault boats laden with incendiary devices to surround and fiercely attack the Jade Dragon warships. The Jade Dragon Navy, concerned for the lives of its soldiers, dared not use catapults and rockets to attack the warships engaged in boarding action. Meanwhile, the Japanese warships on the outer flanks, disregarding the lives of both sides in the intertwined battle, indiscriminately attacked with catapults and rockets, causing heavy casualties among the Jade Dragon Navy's soldiers and making it difficult to completely defeat the Japanese navy for the time being.
"Report! Deputy Division Commander Zuo Zhenyun reports that approximately two hundred Japanese warships are attacking from the rear, at a distance of five li!" The "Deputy Division Commander Yun" mentioned by the messenger was Yun Shalang, originally a reserve regimental commander, who had risen to the position of deputy division commander after the expansion of the navy. He was calm and decisive, and highly regarded by Hai Tianqing and Hua Yinghong.
"Come on! Let my Free Navy fight a glorious and satisfying battle, let those Japanese devils see our might, and let our might be displayed!" Hai Tianqing said confidently.
The Japanese army, based on an island nation, had no shortage of naval experts; they wouldn't keep a backup plan, and now they finally revealed it—Hai Tianqing had left most of his forces in a triangular formation in the rear, a preparation for this.
The naval battle, later known as the "Great Battle of Yangwei," was now truly reaching its climax!

Volume 5, Chapter 76: A Bloody Battle
Outside the South Gate of Donggang City.
"Ah! Waaah! %?#￥**%￥..." A raging fire erupted on the defensive positions of the Japanese army's Takemiya Division. Catapults spewed flames and black smoke over ten feet high. The Japanese soldiers operating the catapults and fighting to the death desperately tried to remove their burning armor and clothing, rolling and howling on the ground...
Pang Yi's 4th Free Army Division launched a long-range attack on the Japanese catapult positions with "Dragon Blood Bullets," quickly burning the positions to the ground... Under the cover of four thousand "Sun-Shooting Archers" and four thousand "Divine Crossbowmen," twenty thousand Free Army shield-wielders and spearmen advanced from both flanks, attempting to annihilate the remaining twenty thousand or so men of the Takemiya Division. Takemiya Taro launched several counterattacks, including a surprise attack with hundreds of highly skilled Chunin and Genin, but they were all killed by Sun-Shooting Arrows and Divine Crossbowmen, or by Free Army experts and masters from various factions within Donggang City!
Pang Yi's Fourth Division's main force wasn't composed of Free Army soldiers, but rather mostly former members of the Bright Army who had surrendered. These Bright Army members, with their strong martial arts skills, underwent several days of training after being reorganized by the Free Army. Although they were slightly uncomfortable with the Free Army's iron discipline, the equality and brotherhood among the Free Army soldiers allowed them to experience what a true army was like—
they could, after passing examinations, effortlessly acquire the corresponding levels of the Heaven and Earth Technique, the Void-Breaking Technique, or the Blazing Sun Technique based on their martial arts skills… They could learn the unique "Sun-Shooting Archery" of the Gaoshan tribe and the "Nine Strikes of Wind" taught by "Flower of Freedom" Feng Yanran, and receive the same military pay as Free Army soldiers… All these policies, without discrimination, coupled with the exemplary role of the Peach Blossom Palace, which was also part of the Holy Religion, made the former Bright Army members wholeheartedly identify with the Free Army, eager to fight a great and decisive battle!
The battle to eliminate the Wugong Division and seize Jinlan Bay to completely cut off the Japanese army's retreat was extremely important, as it was related to whether the Japanese army could be completely annihilated in the end. Hua Yinghong wanted Ye Zhiqiu's First Division to take on the important task, but Pang Yi could not resist the collective plea of the original Bright Army followers and took the initiative to propose to Hua Yinghong that the Fourth Division be transferred to Donggang to eliminate the Wugong Division and seize Jinlan Bay. Considering the morale and spirit of the original Bright Army followers, Hua Yinghong agreed to let the Fourth Division shoulder some heavy responsibilities, only requiring that "the fighting be spectacular and the casualties minimized."
The Fourth Division indeed fought spectacularly—before even engaging in battle, the Japanese Takemiya Division had its catapult positions destroyed by the Free Army's catapults using "Dragon Blood Bullets" from a distance, and nearly 10,000 people were burned to death. When Takemiya Taro organized a counterattack, thousands more were wiped out by the Divine Crossbowmen and Sun-Shooting Archers. The Fourth Division itself only suffered a few hundred casualties from the Japanese catapults and arrows, as well as from close-quarters damage caused by ninja raids. The two flanks were almost completely encircled, and once the encirclement was complete and the pocket was sealed, the Japanese army, no matter how fierce, would only be annihilated!
On the right flank of the 4th Division, 20,000 Donggang citizens' self-defense force, honed through over a month of bloody battles against the Japanese army, marched southwards towards Jinlan Bay, a dozen miles away, with a regiment of Free Army soldiers led by Regiment Commander Li Tianhao. The force, totaling 30,000 men, surged through the breached lines of the Wugong Division. Once Jinlan Bay was captured, the Japanese army, including Togo Hachiro, would have no chance of escaping the Free Army's inescapable net! ********
**** Xiaoyuan Town. "…Ziya Geji#￥%?#!…" With the Japanese commander issuing repeated orders to charge, a tidal wave of Japanese soldiers launched a frenzied attack on Xiaoyuan Town! Countless Japanese corpses piled up in the open area within a hundred paces of the town's western wall. Each frenzied Japanese attack was repelled by the Special Forces. Under the combined assault of nearly two thousand archers and nearly five thousand crossbowmen, the Japanese could only inflict casualties on the Batian Special Forces through long-range catapult attacks. Even though more than two thousand highly skilled Chunin and Jonin used their amazing agility and superb power to deflect the rain of arrows after expending a lot of true energy, only four or five hundred of the strongest Jonin and Chunin were still able to get close to the city wall. They barely managed to leap onto the city wall, but were immediately slaughtered without mercy by Xue Qianqian and many other experts!

—Especially Xue Qianqian, every move she made was accompanied by the faint sounds of wind and thunder. Nearby experts could sense the massive influx of heaven and earth energy into her incomparably graceful body, enveloping her in a dazzling halo of holiness. Her peerless beauty, like that of a celestial being, was tinged with a chilling murderous aura. The pure white peach blossoms flicked from her slender fingers were deadly, and countless ninjas had died at her hands! The murderous aura of the "Peach Blossom Fairy" in her rage led to another nickname for her, "Deadly Fairy," becoming widely known after this battle...
Togo Hachiro and Akito looked at the city walls of Xiaoyuan Town from afar, their hearts filled with endless fear—once they passed Xiaoyuan Town, the Japanese army could head southeast to Jinlan Bay. The flat road of only twenty miles or so was enough for them to quickly board a ship and escape. Although the Free Army in Xiaoyuan Town numbered less than ten thousand, their resistance was ridiculously strong, preventing the Japanese army from advancing even a fraction of an inch.
The Free Army had spread weeds across a vast area fifty to one hundred paces outside the city walls, concealing flammable materials like black grease and vegetable oil hastily collected within the town. The Banheng Division, eager to capture Xiaoyuan Town and open the main road, launched a dense charge, only to have thousands instantly burned to death by fire arrows suddenly ignited by the Sun-Shooting Archers. After finally extinguishing the fire with sand, the Banheng Division's subsequent charge, under the seemingly incessant barrage of Sun-Shooting Arrows and crossbow bolts, was tantamount to suicide!
At this point, the Banheng Division was reduced to just over ten thousand men. Togo Hachiro left over ten thousand to hold Xinchang Town as a rearguard, fleeing east with less than thirty thousand men. If these forty thousand men couldn't capture Xiaoyuan Town, they would be annihilated!
"May the gods protect us, the Imperial Army will surely win! Kill!" Togo Hachiro rallied the Japanese troops, shouting laughable slogans in Japanese, and launched another suicidal charge!
"Report! The Takemiya Division is completely surrounded!"
"Report! The majority of the Free Army has broken through the Xinchang Town defense line and is rapidly pursuing us!"
Faintly, the sound of hooves could be heard from the direction of Xinchang Town...
"Togo-kun, why not retreat to the south? Beyond these mountains lies the sea." Qiu Denghui, intimately familiar with the terrain of Zhenbao Island, pointed out a path to survival. However, this path was only traversable by highly skilled martial artists. With over a hundred thousand Free Army troops in pursuit, Qiu Denghui essentially wanted Togo Hachiro to abandon the vast majority of the Japanese troops and flee.
"No! As a daimyo, how can I abandon my men and flee alone!" Togo Hachiro displayed a certain samurai spirit. He was surrounded by a large number of skilled guards, including twenty Saint Ninjas who were capable of contending with Innate Saint-level experts from the Hua Long Continent. They were about to send them to attack the city walls.
"Lord Togo!" Qiu Denghui said urgently, "There is a saying in Hua Long: 'Where there's life, there's hope.' As long as we retain our daimyo status, we will have a chance to make a comeback."
"Please go first, daimyo. We will cover your retreat!" The Japanese generals knelt down in unison. The terrifying aspect of the Bushido spirit lies in this—all retainers and generals consider dying for their lord or daimyo an honor!
"Alright!" Togo Hachiro didn't really want to die. There were still millions of subjects on Shikoku Island, and a powerful force protecting the island. As long as they could escape back, they would naturally have a chance to make a comeback. That was merely a show to win people's hearts. Even if he sent his elite guards and holy ninjas up, they could only hold out a little longer and kill a few more people under the Free Army's dense rain of arrows. It wouldn't help the overall situation. So, he pretended to be reluctant and said, "Quickly order the naval fleet stationed at Jinlan Bay to set sail immediately and wait at the coast ten miles to the south!"
Escorted by nearly a thousand of the most elite Japanese soldiers and ninjas, Togo Hachiro, accompanied by the beautiful Kitaba... Xing and the mixed-race Qiu Denghui abandoned a large number of Japanese soldiers to cover their retreat and fled rapidly towards the southern mountains.
Even after fleeing more than ten miles, Togo Hachiro and the others could still faintly hear the resounding shouts of "Those who offend the majesty of Hualong, though far away, shall be punished! Those who offend the majesty of Hualong, though far away, shall be punished!"

The fierce naval battle continued—
the Jade Dragon Navy, led by Qiu Su and Ling Ye, gradually gained the upper hand in the ensuing battle with more than two hundred Japanese warships. One by one, Japanese warships were sunk or set ablaze. At this point, the situation had changed to the Jade Dragon Navy having only more than one hundred warships left, while the Japanese army only had about one hundred warships to continue fighting the Jade Dragon Navy.
The long-range attacks from Hai Tianqing's triangular formation caused most of the more than one hundred Japanese warships flanking Ling Ye's left flank to catch fire, rendering them basically incapable of fighting. Apart from a few ships being hit by large rocks and having several rockets nailed to their sails, the Japanese Navy suffered basically no losses!
After Hai Tianqing gave the order, the rear guard of the Free Army Navy, led by Yun Shalang, formed a long, single-line formation and advanced against the tide towards the two hundred Japanese warships on the upper water level. They began attacking with "Dragon Blood Bullets" from two hundred paces away. Although attacking against the tide made the ships unstable and the accuracy slightly worse, the concentrated attack of the first wave of over a thousand "Dragon Blood Bullets" still caused more than forty Japanese warships in the front line to catch fire. The acrid black smoke spread across the entire sea with the wind...
The Japanese navy repeated their old trick, taking advantage of the upper water level to launch six or seven hundred suicide assault boats filled with flammable materials such as sulfur and dry grass. They went down with the tide and swarmed towards the Free Army's fleet like a bee.
The hundred Free Army warships, led by Yun Shalang, fought and retreated, always maintaining a distance of about two hundred paces, and continued to attack with "Dragon Blood Bullets". Simultaneously, a large amount of refined "Dragon Blood," about three hundred paces wide, was poured onto the sea. As a large number of Japanese assault boats sped into the area where the "Dragon Blood" floated, the Sun-Shooting Archers immediately ignited the sea with rockets and "Dragon Blood Bullets"—in
a sea of fire, tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers piloting hundreds of assault boats were turned into human torches. Those who jumped into the sea, forced to surface for air, ultimately could not escape the fate of being burned to death!
When the Cloud Sand Waves receded to a position close to the front line of the Sea Sky Blue, the Free Army Navy changed its flag signals, and 150 warships, including the front line of the Sea Sky Blue, suddenly turned their rudders and moved laterally to both sides. The sea of fire formed by the burning Dragon Blood, along with the remaining hundred or so Japanese warships on the upper level, surged towards the Jade Dragon Navy and the Japanese Navy, who were engaged in fierce combat, with the tide!
Behind the Japanese army at the upper reaches of the water, the Qiu family's naval division of two hundred warships, which had vanished without a trace in Tenglong Port, suddenly reappeared, completely surrounding the Japanese navy in a small area of sea!
This situation seemed to be a perfect collaboration between the Jade Dragon Navy and the Free Navy, with the two sides repeatedly changing roles of "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind." However, Hai Tianqing knew in his heart that if it weren't for prior preparation and the powerful deterrent effect of the "Dragon Blood Bullet," the Free Navy's hard-earned strength would have been exhausted after the battle with the Japanese navy, resulting in mutual destruction, and would have been sent to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish by the Jade Dragon Navy of Tenglong Port!
Fortunately, the Qiu family's shrewdness and foresight could not outmaneuver the cautiousness of "Son of Freedom" Hua Yinghong, and there was also a seemingly divinely bestowed stroke of luck—the appearance of the "Dragon Blood Bullet," coupled with the Sun-Shooting Arrow Technique, at least ensured that the Free Navy, despite being outnumbered, was no less powerful than the Tenglong Navy!
In this way, the Yulong Navy would never dare to easily attack the Free Army Navy!
Seeing that defeat was inevitable, the Japanese Navy charged south with all its might, and finally more than thirty warships broke through the encirclement and sped towards Jinlan Bay!
"Those who offend the might of Hualong, though far away, shall be punished! Those who offend the might of Hualong, though far away, shall be punished!" Initially, the Free Army Navy shouted victory slogans on Hua Yinghong's orders during the pursuit. Gradually, the passionate national pride made the soldiers of the Yulong Navy also shout them... The remaining Japanese Navy fled in panic like stray dogs!
"Those who offend the might of Hualong, though far away, shall be punished!" Upon hearing these words, General Qiu Su was filled with emotion. The Jade Dragon Navy had been stationed at Treasure Island for many years, but due to concerns that the Great Liang Navy might take advantage of the chaos, they dared not even send a large force to eliminate the Japanese ronin from the Diaoyu Islands. This resulted in many Hualong people being captured by Japanese ronin, their fates unknown—a lifelong regret for the Jade Dragon Navy. This time, in alliance with the Free Army, they annihilated and sank over five hundred Japanese warships and killed no fewer than seventy thousand Japanese naval personnel. Even if they couldn't achieve lasting fame, they could at least give an account to the people of Hualong!
With a change of flag signals, the Jade Dragon Navy rearmed, rescued the drowning soldiers, and sailed towards the South China Sea Prefecture of the Hualong Continent… From this moment on, Treasure Island truly no longer belonged to the Jade Dragon Kingdom, nor to the Qiu family!
******** ****
Jinlan Bay.
The 6,000 Japanese soldiers stationed at the temporary landing point had just received Togo Hachiro's order to use firecrackers when Li Tianhao's Free Army regiment arrived swiftly. They hurriedly boarded over fifty transport ships and set sail to meet Togo Hachiro.
In the makeshift barracks on the beach, the supplies originally intended for 200,000 Japanese soldiers were piled high and countless, now generously left to the Free Army as spoils of war… Even if it belonged to the Japanese, the Free Alliance, struggling with financial difficulties, would readily accept it…
**** ********
Outside Donggang City.
With the last line of defense breached, the Free Army launched a final encirclement and annihilation of the Japanese army's Takemiya Division...
Seeing that all was lost, Takemiya Taro, before the Free Army could reach him, knelt facing northeast towards the Japanese mainland, his chest and belly exposed, and drew his sharp Japanese sword, plunging it into his abdomen with a "whoosh!"—"Ugh!" Enduring the intense pain, Takemiya Taro forcefully pulled the sword from left to right—blood and intestines gushed out...
"Crazy Japanese bastards!" Pang Yi shook his head and sighed upon seeing the corpse left behind after Takemiya Taro's seppuku!

Volume 5, Chapter 77: The Emperor's Majesty Spreads Far and Wide in Xiaoyuan
Town.
Hua Yinghong and Miao Youlan, looking at the scene of corpses strewn everywhere, rivers of blood, and hellish demeanor, no longer found it terrifying—since the battle began in Xinchang Town, they had long been accustomed to the various gruesome sights of the short-statured Japanese bastards lying dead on the ground, and were no longer surprised.
The news from various places brought Hua Yinghong some relief—aside from the somewhat unexpected escape of Togo Hachiro and nearly a thousand skilled fighters from the mountains, the battles proceeded as planned, with even greater results than anticipated.
The five divisions of the Japanese army invading Zhenbao Island, numbering 200,000 men, were completely annihilated, while the Free Army suffered only 23,000 casualties. Most of these casualties were caused by Japanese fighters, ninjas, catapults, and arrows in close combat, but the actual number of deaths was much lower. The force numbered 12,000. Of these, over 3,000 were killed in action by the special forces, who had blocked the Japanese army's retreat like nails, while over 3,000 died in Pang Yi's division and over 3,000 in the reserve division. Several other large divisions each suffered hundreds of casualties. Feng Yanran's female soldiers did not participate in the battle, but she led a hundred of her personal guards with Chang Shengqiu's cavalry to be the first to pursue the enemy to Xiaoyuan Town, displaying great prowess. Her "Nine Strike of Fengran" spear added thousands of Japanese soldiers to the ranks, fortunately with only minor injuries and no fatalities.
For a battle that annihilated 200,000 Japanese troops, this loss was actually a staggering record. However, Hua Yinghong was still heartbroken and demanded that the bodies of every fallen soldier be properly collected, their names recorded, and that a monument erected in their honor, along with a grand funeral—including the hundreds of soldiers from Qiu Siming's Jade Dragon Army who died in battle.
As for the nearly 200,000 corpses of the Japanese army, Hua Yinghong ordered a secluded valley ten miles outside the new town to be found. All the corpses were thrown in, and a large amount of lime was poured in to prevent plague. Then, the valley was covered with soil, almost completely filling it! Months later, the valley was overgrown with grass, and local people spread rumors that the grass contained the filthy blood of the Japanese, so much so that even horses wouldn't eat it—but that's another story.
Hai Tianqing also quickly brought good news: apart from a dozen or so warships damaged by falling rocks or having their sails burned by rockets requiring repair, and over 500 soldiers killed or wounded, the Free Army navy suffered basically no major losses. Only about fifty Japanese warships escaped. The Qiu family's Tenglong navy indeed appeared, but under the threat of the "Dragon Blood Bullet," they had no choice but to participate in the battle. After their victory, they left with the Donggang navy according to a "gentleman's agreement"... The naval battle and the Qiu family's conspiracy, which Hua Yinghong had been most worried about, also had a satisfactory outcome.
"Those who offend the might of Hualong, though far away, shall be punished!" Hua Yinghong recalled reading the famous words of General Ma Yuan, the "Hualong Chronicles: Biography of Ma Yuan," a few days ago, and felt a surge of emotion. Back then, Ma Yuan led his army to garrison the Ganlan Fortress in what is now the Golden Dragon Kingdom. With the covert support of the powerful and influential Norma Empire, which dominated the European continent, three thousand Norma cavalrymen disguised themselves as bandits, harassing the border people of Hualong and spying on the Han Empire's reaction. General Ma Yuan's attempts at negotiation failed, and in a fit of rage, he personally led five thousand iron cavalry, pursuing them for six hundred li, until they were a hundred li from Norma City, the Norma capital. There, he annihilated all three thousand "bandits," and before the Norma army could react, he shouted, "Those who offend the might of Hualong, though far away, shall be punished!" The five thousand iron cavalrymen retreated completely. Later, the Norma Empire split and fought a civil war, and throughout Ma Yuan's life, the Europeans dared not venture even a step into the Ganlan Fortress!
Hua Yinghong deeply admired the legacy of his predecessors. Despite today's resounding victory in "Operation Triumph," the Free Army, constrained by the current situation, is unable to pursue and kill the fleeing Japanese pirates. Several groups of Japanese ronin, large and small, remain active along the coasts of the New Song Kingdom and the Great Liang Kingdom, ravaging the people of Hualong. The campaign against the Japanese remains uncertain—and at this
very moment, Hua Yinghong has already resolved to one day annihilate them. "Sister Qian, you're exhausted from the long battle, please rest well!" When Hua Yinghong arrived at Xiaoyuan Town, Xue Qianqian had already led a group of experts and special forces to relentlessly pursue and kill Togo Hachiro, and was only now returning. From the special forces members, Hua Yinghong knew that this celestial beauty was truly enraged; even now, her face was still flushed with anger, her fury undiminished. He quickly and gently comforted her, holding Xue Qianqian's jade-like hand and channeling a wisp of pure primordial energy into it.
"Brother Hong, I'm fine." Xue Qianqian felt a surge of sweetness at her lover's thoughtfulness, her jade-like face softening. "It's a pity that the Japanese leader got away."
"Brother! That battle was truly exhilarating!" Ba Tian had also participated in the pursuit, his left arm now wrapped in a strip of cloth, a minor injury. Despite his formidable external martial arts and the rapid advancement in his skills after practicing the Heaven and Earth and Breaking Void Techniques, he was still slashed on the arm by a Japanese ninja with a Japanese sword, demonstrating the intensity of the battle. This perfectly suited Ba Tian's warlike nature—he was the kind of person who would get itchy if he didn't fight for half a day! However, precisely because of this, everyone in the Special Forces loved real combat training, their skills improved rapidly, and their combat strength was unmatched in the entire army.
"Second brother, this battle deserves the Special Forces' greatest credit. Go and get some treatment." Hua Yinghong knew Ba Tian's upright character well and quickly ordered him to rest.
"Brother, the credit truly belongs to sister-in-law and all the masters. Sister-in-law's martial arts are truly impressive... Ouch! Sister-in-law, don't hit me, I'm leaving..." Ba Tian suddenly clutched his waist and fled like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on!
"Let's see if you dare to be so cheeky again!" Xue Qianqian smiled, exuding charm. Although her close relationship with Hua Yinghong was common knowledge, Ba Tian's constant use of "sister-in-law" in front of everyone still made her blush. With a flick of her other finger, which wasn't being held by Hua Yinghong, a peach blossom-like object flew out and struck Ba Tian's waist.
Xue Qianqian possessed incredible skill! Although she hadn't used much force, Ba Tian was in considerable pain. Intending to be funny, he cried out and ran away quickly.
A roar of laughter erupted from the crowd. A resounding victory, especially the massacre of the utterly detestable Japanese, filled everyone with extraordinary joy… As
darkness fell, dark clouds gathered, and suddenly a torrential downpour began, as if to wash away the endless bloodshed…

The glorious results of the “Battle of Triumph” quickly spread throughout the entire Hua Long Continent. Not only the neighboring Jade Dragon Kingdom and Great Liang Kingdom, but also the distant New Song Kingdom, Later Tang Empire, and Golden Dragon Kingdom, were all discussing this unprecedented victory against the Japanese.
The Free Army, which had emerged seemingly out of nowhere and risen to prominence in just two months, and all news about Treasure Island, were also widely circulated, intentionally or unintentionally, throughout the Hua Long Continent. Even those with ulterior motives on the distant Oba Continent and Meisi Continent began to learn of the Free Army and Treasure Island…
“Those who offend the might of Hua Long, though far away, shall be punished!” After this battle, this resounding call once again inspired the passionate men and women of the Hua Long Continent. Hua Yinghong's meticulously planned, unseen propaganda campaign began to yield even better results than expected—
on the Hua Long Continent, heroes and commoners alike, yearning for the Two Divine Techniques and for freedom and equality, began secretly making their way to Treasure Island through various channels…
In contrast, the larger-scale wars and standoffs between the grasslands, Jinlong, Later Tang, Daliang, and other factions and the Yulong Kingdom began to seem somewhat uninteresting to many Hualong people. In many places, spontaneously or under the guidance of certain individuals, similar secret discussions arose: what exactly had the power struggles between these nations brought to the Hualong people?
Especially after the various forces that had tasted the benefits of Zhenbao Island, as well as the civilians who had moved there earlier, reported back to the Hualong continent about the "paradise on earth" and its various policies and news, many people with ulterior motives secretly began to make new calculations and plans...

Wa Nu Kingdom, Kyoto, Wa Imperial Palace.
Emperor Kurosawa Hideyoshi sat with his legs spread wide on the throne, his imposing figure clad in a loose imperial robe. A beautiful woman with a curvaceous figure, dressed in a thin gauze robe, and with skin as white as jade, knelt before the throne. Her rosy, sensual lips gently licked and sucked at Kurosawa Hideyoshi's dark, charcoal-like member, her pink tongue, glistening with fragrant saliva, occasionally… This devoted service gave Kurosawa Hideyoshi a strange pleasure…
Kurosawa Hideyoshi was nineteen years old, with slightly dark skin and a tall stature, not at all like a pure-blooded Japanese. Nine out of ten of his features clearly resembled those of a Japanese mixed with black people. Almost all Japanese people knew that Kurosawa Hideyoshi was the product of Empress Dowager Togo Michi's illicit affair with a black slave, but Kurosawa Hideyoshi was, after all, the sole heir of the previous Japanese emperor—Emperor Haruhito—and had the full support of the most powerful general, General Koizumi, and the daimyo of Shikoku Island, his own uncle, Togo Hachiro. No one dared to question his lineage or legitimacy. Perhaps some have questioned it, but those doubts have long since vanished, leaving only the bones buried deep underground!
This beautiful woman with skin as white as jade was named Togo Sayuki, the daughter of Togo Hachiro, the daimyo of Shikoku Island. Tall and with a pure and innocent appearance, she was over 170 centimeters tall. Rumor has it that Togo Sayuki was born after a passionate night with Matsushima Naoko at the residence of Togo Hachiro, the American envoy to Japan from the continent of Misrata, when Togo Hachiro and his wife Matsushima Naoko were visiting Kyoto. Judging from her appearance and figure alone, one can tell that the rumors are not unfounded. Togo Hachiro's ability to gain the support of Kurosawa Hideyoshi and unify Shikoku Island owes a great deal to Togo Sayuki's flattery and indulgence of her cousin's extreme pleasures.
Kurosawa Hideyoshi patted Sayuki's smooth, white buttocks a few times, expressing his extreme satisfaction. Just as he was about to rise and indulge in sensual pleasure with Sayuki on the throne, a voice suddenly came from outside the palace gate: "Your Majesty, General Koizumi and the Empress Dowager request Your Majesty to come to the Empress Dowager's palace. They have urgent matters to discuss!"
"Damn it!" Kurosawa Hideyoshi muttered under his breath, somewhat dissatisfied. Reluctantly pulling away from Togo Sayuki's lips, he said, "My beauty, I'll be right back... You all serve the princess well." After giving instructions to the few black servants standing beside him, Kurosawa Hideyoshi put down his imperial robes and headed towards the Empress Dowager's palace.
Several black slaves surrounded her, one of them wildly inserting his member into Togo Sayuki's already soaked vulva... causing her to let out a soft moan. Another black slave moved to the front... rendering her speechless...

"Hideyoshi, your uncle's attack on Treasure Island has failed. The expedition to Hualong will probably have to be postponed." In the entire country of Japan, only the Shogun Koizumi Junro dared to address the Emperor by his name so directly.
The Emperor was the nominal supreme ruler of Japan, but the real power of the entire country was in the hands of the Shogun. Apart from his personal guard of 160,000 men, Emperor Kurosawa Hideyoshi could not mobilize a single soldier without the Shogun's seal and orders.
Koizumi Junro was fifty years old this year, a typical traditional Japanese man, short and thin, with a gaunt face. His small eyes often flashed with a cunning light, changing every moment, making it impossible to guess his true thoughts.
When Kurosawa Hideyoshi was five years old, the frail Emperor Haruhito of Japan was drained dry by Togo Yoshichi, dying on her belly. The shameless and lewd Togo Yoshichi, seeking self-preservation, turned to Shogun Koizumi Junro for help. Koizumi Junro, in turn, needed the Empress Dowager's help to legitimately control Japan's military and political power, and thus, they conspired to commit adultery… Kurosawa Hideyoshi called Koizumi Junro "Uncle-father" from a young age, but in reality, he grew up under his protection without real power.
According to Japanese custom, before the Emperor turned twenty, the Empress Dowager and the Shogun would act as regents. Once the Emperor turned twenty and proved his ability to govern the country, after the coronation ceremony, the Shogun would return power to the Emperor—a system learned from the Chinese. Kurosawa Hideyoshi would be twenty years old in a year. Koizumi's condition for relinquishing power was that Hideyoshi lead a large army to expand Japan's territory, occupying some lands on the Hualong Continent, thus increasing the living space for the Japanese—who knows, the Japanese archipelago might one day be sunk to the bottom of the sea by a volcano or earthquake. While Koizumi's condition was somewhat harsh, clearly showing his unwillingness to relinquish power, it had its reasons. Moreover, there was precedent: the previous Japanese emperor, Haruhito, had conquered the Korean Islands in the north before successfully ascending the throne.
"When will we land?" Kurosawa Hideyoshi asked, somewhat displeased, but dared not show it. He did want to lead a large army to attack the Hualong Continent, establish merit, and then seize real power—being a puppet emperor was unpleasant. "
We can only send troops after the Togo daimyo has stabilized the situation on Shikoku Island," Koizumi said calmly. Besides Togo Hachiro, Japan had five other extremely powerful daimyo. If a large army were rashly dispatched to attack the Hua Long Continent, without the support and pressure of the royal family and the General's Mansion, the defenseless Shikoku Island would likely become the source of internal strife in Japan!
"Yes, Hideyoshi, your uncle has lost over 200,000 troops. We cannot act rashly now." The Empress Dowager Togo Michi, who looked no more than twenty years old and was incredibly charming, also spoke up.
"Hideyoshi will follow the arrangements of the Empress Dowager and my uncle." Despite his dissatisfaction with the sudden disruption of his plans, Kurosawa Hideyoshi still obediently chose to comply.
No one on the Hua Long Continent could have imagined that the Free Army's crushing defeat of Togo Hachiro's Japanese army would actually postpone a major war that was about to erupt...

Volume 5, Chapter 78: The Fairy Enters
the World, Southeast of Treasure Island, Devil's Sea, Penglai Island.
The Tang Dynasty poet once wrote, "Suddenly I heard of a fairy mountain overseas, a mountain in the misty void," referring to Penglai Island. According to historical records of the Tang Dynasty, about three days southeast of Treasure Island, in the Devil's Sea, some curious alchemists saw islands appearing in the sky. These islands dispersed as vapor, then coalesced into form, ethereal and unpredictable, hence the name "Penglai Immortal Island."
However, the Devil's Sea is perpetually treacherous, ravaged by hurricanes, making it difficult even for immortals to cross. Although the people of Hualong had heard of the island, few knew of any who had actually visited it. In fact, "Penglai Immortal Island" is a real place, the location of the "Sword Inquiry Pavilion," a great holy site in the martial arts world. The islands seen by the alchemists were merely mirages. The
"Lingbo Fairy," with her flowing ribbons, stood gracefully on a precipice, facing east. Behind them, about ten feet away, stands a sheer cliff fifty feet high, inscribed with two lines of large characters: "Walking freely on the verdant cliffs and jade pavilions, soaring through the azure seas and immortal rafts." This seems to proclaim that the cliff is the gateway to a celestial realm; if one can decipher its mysteries, one can become a celestial being, transcending the three realms and the five elements. The eight characters on the left were carved ten years ago by the sword god Guan Shanyue with his Dragon Roar Blade. The sword's force penetrates the stone ten feet, the strokes vigorous and powerful, executed in one continuous stroke, without any hesitation, brimming with boundless power and beauty. The eight characters on the right, however, were left by the sword god Lang Qingyun Yanyu Sword. The sword's force also penetrates the stone ten feet, but the strokes are elegant and graceful, full of a lingering
, leisurely feel. Above these two lines of large characters is the horizontal inscription "Penglai in the Human World," written by Ling Hanyan, the "Fairy of the Misty Clouds," the teacher of Shui Xinyue. Although the sword's force also penetrates the stone ten feet, identical to the inscription, the strokes are delicate and beautiful, clearly the work of a woman.
Penglai Pavilion sits atop the towering cliffs of Dan Cliff Mountain. Whenever sea mist surges in, layer upon layer enveloping the mountainside, the pavilion appears and disappears amidst the clouds. At sunrise, the sun appears as a long, horizontal line, like a square or spindle, its color a deep red, like cinnabar. Then, it blazes like fire, with crimson curtains floating around it, an indescribable sight. After a long while, the crimson wheel emerges, its shape becoming round. Its light scatters, reaching several feet above the sea in the blink of an eye, as large as a mirror, as white as the moon. When the wind is calm and the waves are still, climbing the pavilion to gaze upon the boundless sea, where the sky and sea merge into one, the ripples still, a sight that soothes the soul.
Shui Xinyue practiced her sword here every day, but never drew it. Her Ruyi Heart Sword practice prioritized cultivating the mind and comprehending the Dao. The skill level depicted in the twenty characters on the stone wall was still quite different from her current mastery of the Ruyi Heart Sword. The Ruyi Heart Sword emphasized cultivating the mind, and through daily study of the stone wall, learning from the Demon Sea, the sunrise, and the heavens and earth, her skill and level continued to improve.
"Senior Sister Xia, is something important happening?" A slight noise came from twenty feet away. Shui Xinyue didn't need to turn around to know it was her fellow student, Fang Fengxia. When she practiced her sword, no one would disturb her unless there was something urgent. The
person who came was indeed Fang Fengxia, who was always dressed in red. She had a face like a crescent moon, bright eyes and white teeth, waist-length hair, a tall and slender figure, and graceful curves. Although she didn't possess the overwhelming ethereal beauty of Shui Xinyue, she was still stunningly beautiful, otherworldly, and a rare beauty in the mortal world.
"Master requests that Junior Sister visit the Misty Cloud Cottage." Fang Fengxia felt a mixture of love, respect, and envy for her junior sister—among the twelve disciples who all cultivated the "Ruyi Heart Sword," only Shui Xinyue had achieved mastery first, her skill reaching an unfathomable level. While the others were also exceptionally talented, they always lagged far behind. Of Ling Hanyan's twelve disciples, half male and half female, only Shui Xinyue was allowed to travel the Hua Long Continent as a successor of the Sword
Inquiry Pavilion and to represent the Pavilion in visiting various powerful forces. Shui Xinyue earned her position as a successor entirely through her own strength, not because of any special favor from her master, Ling Hanyan. Over a year ago, in the competition for the Sword Inquiry successor qualification, none of the other eleven disciples could withstand a hundred moves from Shui Xinyue!
"I'll take my leave first. Thank you, Senior Sister Xia, for conveying this message." As soon as she finished speaking, Shui Xinyue's graceful figure was already dozens of feet away. "Junior Sister, wait for me!" Fang Fengxia smiled wryly and chased after her. She still wanted Shui Xinyue to plead with their master, "Fairy of the Misty Clouds" Ling Hanyan, to take her to see the Hua Long Continent this time. She had never left the Immortal Island before, nor had she ever seen what the Hua Long Continent looked like—even the most beautiful fairyland would become tiresome.
In a single leap, Fang Fengxia floated more than twenty feet away, her aura clearly that of a master who had reached the Innate Saint Rank. As disciples of the Sword Inquiry Pavilion, even though they weren't the successors of the Sword Inquiry lineage, none of them were weak!
"Yanyun Xiaozhu" was actually a small bamboo building halfway up the mountain. Its name was personally inscribed by Ling Hanyan ten years ago. Perhaps because it was always shrouded in mist and clouds, Fairy Lingbo Shui Xinyue only learned of its deeper meaning when she returned to the island a few days ago.
In front of the small bamboo house, a middle-aged man was using his sword as a knife, like a bamboo craftsman, to whittle the branches and leaves of a green bamboo into strips suitable for weaving bamboo utensils. Beside him, on an exquisitely crafted yet extremely simple bamboo chair, a woman in plain clothes reclined comfortably, watching the man's simple yet natural movements with a smile and great interest.
"Master, Great Hero Lang!" Shui Xinyue landed two zhang away from them and called out respectfully.
The middle-aged man didn't turn his head, saying, "Xinyue's Ruyi Heart Sword has greatly improved; I'm afraid that in a while, I won't be her match either." If Hua Yinghong were here, he would definitely recognize this middle-aged man as none other than the "Sword God" Lang Qingyun, who had vanished without a trace on Lonely Star Island! At this moment, the world-renowned Misty Rain Sword in his hands had become a bamboo-splitting knife—truly remarkable that this peerless master could conceive of and create such a thing!
"Master Lang is too kind. Even in ten years, Xin Yue will not reach the level of skill Master Lang has now," Shui Xin Yue said calmly. She focused intently on cultivating the "Ruyi Heart Sword," remaining unmoved by praise or blame. Except for the occasional moments when she was alone with her master, Ling Hanyan, showing a touch of childlike innocence, she maintained the same composed demeanor even before emperors, generals, and peerless masters.
"The will of Heaven is unpredictable, and opportunities are fickle. There is nothing impossible in this world, nor is there anything certain to be achieved. Before meeting Hua Yinghong, did Xin Yue ever consider the extraordinary feat of reaching the ninth rank in just one month?" Lang Qingyun said, subtly offering guidance.
"Xin Yue is enlightened," Shui Xin Yue replied. She recalled returning to Penglai Island and being surprised to see the "Sword God" Lang Qingyun residing in the "Smoke and Cloud Cottage." It was only when Hua Yinghong, who had widely disseminated the "Heaven and Earth Technique," was mentioned that she learned from Lang Qingyun that the ordinary-looking young man with eyes brimming with wisdom had only acquired the Heaven and Earth Technique a month prior, and had no prior martial arts foundation! This was completely unexpected for Shui Xinyue—with her keen eyesight, she could naturally see that Hua Yinghong had already reached the peak of the ninth rank, only one step away from becoming a master of the Innate Saint rank. She had thought he was at least a disciple of the Sword God Lang Qingyun, who had been secretly training him for several years!
Shui Xinyue, at the age of sixteen, had already mastered the "Ruyi Heart Sword" and reached the Innate Saint rank, four years earlier than her master, the "Fairy of the Misty Clouds" Ling Hanyan, who had achieved mastery at the age of twenty. She was considered the most talented
and insightful genius in the "Sword Inquiry Pavilion" for the past century. However, it still took her six years to reach the ninth rank from practicing the "Ruyi Sword Manual"! Considering the extraordinary speed of that young man's martial arts improvement and his invincible achievements, Shui Xinyue knew that Lang Qingyun's words, "Heaven's will is unpredictable, and opportunities are fickle. There is nothing that cannot be done, nor anything that is certain to be done," were not without reason. She might not understand it now, but she would eventually. The awe and disdain for top-tier masters like Guan Shanyue, Lang Qingyun, Ling Hanyan, and Yan Nanfei that had always been felt towards them had diminished considerably.
"Qingyun, your successor is indeed excellent, and my Yue'er is no less so." Ling Hanyan's jade-like face was always shrouded in a faint, ethereal aura, making her appearance completely invisible to those lacking sufficient skill. It was rumored that only the "God of the Blade" Guan Shanyue, the "God of the Sword" Lang Qingyun, and the "God of the Spear" Yan Nanfei had ever seen her true face. Ten years ago, during their joint efforts to suppress the war on the continent, all three top-tier masters developed feelings for Ling Hanyan, leaving her torn between them. However, Shui Xinyue knew that ten years ago, Ling Hanyan named her small building "Yanyun Xiaozhu" (Smoke and Cloud Cottage), and now her joint cultivation with Lang Qingyun indicated that her heart had already belonged to him; she had simply wasted ten years due to the delicate relationship between the three masters. After Guan Shanyue flew away, Lang Qingyun naturally reunited with Ling Hanyan, a perfect match of a divine couple!
"Moon, the continent is likely to undergo another great upheaval. I wish to send you on another journey. Entering the mortal world is also a form of cultivation. I hope you will do your utmost to stop the war, preserve the vitality of the Hua Long Continent, and reduce the suffering of the people from displacement and the pain of being pierced by swords." Ling Hanyan briefly recounted a series of major events that had occurred since Shui Xinyue's return to the island, including the grassland allied forces' attack on Longxi City, the Qiu family's "gentleman's agreement" with the Free Army, the Battle of Qingyuan, and the Battle of Yangwei. Even the Sword God Lang Qingyun, with his cultivation level, was quite surprised and stopped what he was doing.
The Sword Inquiry Pavilion naturally possessed unique intelligence channels to grasp the situation on the Hua Long Continent. Almost every major event that occurred on the Hua Long Continent was transmitted to Penglai Immortal Island at the fastest speed and in the most secretive way.
"The Demon General Pang Deyan's invasion of Yulong with hundreds of thousands of grassland troops is surely for the sake of electing the Demon Sect leader a year from now," Lang Qingyun interjected after a moment of contemplation. "The struggle for hegemony on the Hualong Continent is inevitable; who will win is still unknown. In times of prosperity, the people suffer; in times of ruin, the people suffer!"
"In times of prosperity, the people suffer; in times of ruin, the people suffer!" Ling Hanyan and Shui Xinyue carefully considered Lang Qingyun's words, feeling that they had captured the essence of the rise and fall of the world.
"I never imagined Qingyun's understanding of the world's affairs was so profound. If he had harbored such ambitions back then, wouldn't he have become an emperor with a single call to arms?" Ling Hanyan's beautiful eyes flickered, a hint of mockery in her voice.
If Lang Qingyun had intended to contend for supremacy back then, with the full support of Ling Hanyan and the "Sword Inquiry Pavilion," he might very well have become the next Liu Suifeng.
"It's just picking up the scraps of flattery." Lang Qingyun recalled his conversation with Hua Yinghong on Lonely Star Island that day, discussing the grand scheme of things with various kings vying for power. Hua Yinghong's words had been so striking that they had impressed him and Guan Shanyue. Hua Yinghong had received the Heaven and Earth Technique and the Void-Breaking Technique, but his intention was not simply for the two gods to pass on these techniques to future generations. He said, "These words are truly a profound statement from Brother Hua. Hanyan, you should know that I have no interest in matters of state and military affairs. Even if I have the will to rebuild Hualong, I lack the talent to stabilize the country and bring peace to the nation.
" "It's Hua Yinghong again!" Shui Xinyue couldn't help but feel a renewed interest in this young man who repeatedly surprised everyone. Although she had asked three questions by the shores of Sun Lake because she saw the extraordinary nature of the leader from the Free Alliance's policies, and Hua Yinghong's answers to the "three questions" had indeed impressed her, she was still somewhat surprised that someone could earn such high praise from the "Sword God" Lang Qingyun.
"Yue'er, pack your bags quickly and set off. It would be best to go to the Great Liang Kingdom first. The two major legions of the Great Liang army are trapped, leaving the country vulnerable; although the Japanese army suffered a crushing defeat, it has not been fundamentally damaged, and something big is likely to happen soon. We should try our best to reduce the suffering of the people. The struggle for hegemony on the Hua Long Continent is not yet clear, so we should maintain a fair stance. The 'Sword Inquiry Order' must not be issued lightly. As for other matters, you can decide them yourselves." Ling Hanyan's actions undoubtedly reaffirmed Shui Xinyue's transcendent status as a representative of the Sword Inquiry Pavilion.
"Master, may Senior Sister Xia come along?" Shui Xinyue and Fang Fengxia had been fellow disciples for many years and grew up together. How could she not know her senior sister's thoughts? So she spoke up on her behalf.
"Alright! Xia'er, be careful in everything you do, listen to Yue'er's advice, and don't let the worldly elders and senior brothers laugh at you." Ling Hanyan said calmly. Each generation of Wenjian Pavilion has twelve disciples personally taught by its leader: six men and six women. The male disciples cultivate in the world, each pursuing their own profession, serving as the eyes and ears and the backbone of Wenjian Pavilion's strength on land; the female disciples reside on Penglai Island, devoting themselves to cultivation. They meet every two years to test their cultivation. Shui Xinyue was able to land in Hualong as a successor of Wenjian Pavilion by surpassing her fellow disciples in skill a year ago.
"Thank you, Master! I'll go prepare my luggage now!" A red-clad figure responded from fifteen feet away and disappeared into the distance. Although Fang Fengxia was hiding in the distance, she could not escape the spiritual senses of Ling Hanyan and the others.
"Xinyue, take this. If you encounter a Japanese man named Yagyu Seiyun, do not resist him. Show him this and say that you are an old friend from Dongting Lake, and that you will meet him on Lonely Star Island next Mid-Autumn Festival." Lang Qingyun casually sliced off a piece of green bamboo with his sword and threw it into Shui Xinyue's hand. It was a smooth, jade-like ring! Only twice the size of a copper coin, it would not be unsightly if used as an ornament.
"Is it that person?" Ling Hanyan asked with a hint of worry in her voice.
"Brother Hua's bloodlust is too strong; perhaps it will provoke that person to make a move this time, but who knows? This is just a precaution for Xinyue," Lang Qingyun said.
Shui Xinyue didn't know who "Liu Sheng Jingyun" was. But just now, in the blink of an eye, Shui Xinyue clearly saw that Lang Qingyun's casual sword strike was actually composed of countless swords, and the subtlety of his true energy usage was already a masterpiece of swordsmanship. Knowing that with the abilities of a sword god, he would not do anything meaningless, she treasured it like a priceless gem...
The return of the Sword Inquiry successor, "Lingbo Fairy" Shui Xinyue, to the world means that the world will once again be in turmoil!

Volume 5, Chapter 79: The Storm Changes Again .
Under Qingyuan City, at the Qiu Clan's Jade Dragon Army camp.
Qiu Haoyu carefully read through the several secret letters from Qiu Su, Qiu Siming, and Qiu Haohan, the commander of the Tenglong Navy, three times, scrutinizing each word and sentence. He couldn't help but sigh deeply.
The abundant resources of Zhenbao Island meant that when Qiu Haoran ordered Qiu Shuibo to make a "gentleman's agreement" with the Free Army, he was still reluctant. Forced by the situation, even though it was a necessary step, it also concealed a strategy of strategic retreat—the "gentleman's agreement" only stipulated that the Free Army would escort the Qiu family's Jade Dragon Army off the island, without mentioning anything afterward.
After Qiu Shuibo decisively turned the tide of the battle in Baiyang County, Zhenbao Island became a direct confrontation between the Free Army and the Japanese army east of Shunhe Town. The Japanese army was formidable in both strength and numbers. Qiu Haoyu estimated that even if the Free Army won, it would require a full-scale effort and several days of work, and they would certainly suffer heavy losses. If Qiu Haohan's Tenglong Navy could annihilate both navies while they are exhausted in the battle, seize control of the seas, and then retake Beigang City with the 80,000 troops secretly mobilized from Qingyuan City and Tenglong Port, and even occupy Keelung City in the central and eastern regions, the Free Army would be utterly destroyed!
However, the powerful long-range attack capability of the "Dragon Blood Bullet," the powerful close-combat capability of the Divine Crossbow, the ferocity of the Sun-Shooting Arrow, and the fact that the Free Army Navy, with no warships lost and only 20,000 casualties in the army, managed to wipe out more than 200,000 Japanese troops, not only ruined Qiu Haohan's plans, but also made him thankful that he had not provoked the Free Army, such a terrible enemy. If the angered Free Army had landed in Baiyang County and joined forces with Long Feiyang's Liang Army to attack the Qiu family from both sides... even with Qiu Haohan's experience of weathering many storms, the thought of this possibility made him break out in a cold sweat!
"Issue the order! Secretly report to the Jade Dragon King: effective immediately, the Qiu family will withdraw from Tianshui and Dongguan prefectures, transferring control to the Sima family." According to the secret agreement between Qiu Haoyu and Jade Dragon King Sima Yuan, the Sima family would send two main divisions to assist the Qiu family in attacking Long Feiyang's Liang army, and support the Qiu family in expanding its reserve army and occupying Liang's Nanhai and Yunyuan prefectures. In return, the Qiu family would transfer control of Tianshui and Dongguan prefectures to the Sima family after the event, granting them the long-desired access to the sea.
Now, Qiu Haoyu is eagerly transferring control of the two prefectures to the Sima family ahead of schedule. Whether this is due to concentrating forces to attack the Liang army and seize the two prefectures early, or if there is another motive, it is naturally impossible for anyone other than himself to know.
"Secretly order Qiu Shuiling to escort Su Xiaoxiao..." Regarding Su Xiaoxiao, Qiu Haoyu would not break his promise because of a weak woman. After the siege of Baiyang City was lifted, Qiu Haoyu had already dispatched Qiu Shuiling, the daughter of his second brother Qiu Haocang, with a group of family experts to Tenglong Port, ready to be transported to Zhenbao Island at any time. However, as the situation changed, Qiu Haoyu gave Qiu Shuiling another secret mission…

On the first day of the eleventh month of the Hualong calendar, the once peaceful Hualong continent was suddenly engulfed in a raging storm, the winds of change shifted again, and war broke out everywhere!
To everyone's surprise, the first to provoke the war were not the armies that were in a stalemate, but the two sides that had previously been on friendly terms—the Later Tang Empire and the Great Liang Kingdom!
Long Feiyang's worries became a reality: after Long Feiyang's Western Legion and Eastern Navy Legion were trapped in Qingyuan Prefecture and Shunde City and were clearly at a disadvantage, Emperor Liu Piaoxu of the Later Tang Empire broke his verbal alliance with the Zhu family of the Great Liang Kingdom. The South Lake Legion, which had once been controlled by the Feng family and was now in the hands of the Liu family, sent four divisions of 160,000 men south overnight, with 80,000 elite cavalry crossing the border into the East Sea Prefecture of the Great Liang Kingdom.
After the regular army of the Long clan of Daliang was transferred away, Haifeng and Lufeng prefectures, which bordered the Nanhu prefecture of Later Tang, were each garrisoned by only a newly formed reserve division, which was not yet assembled or prepared for battle. Both prefectures were captured in one fell swoop! Only Baise prefecture, located by the sea and guarded by a regular and reserve division of the Long clan, remained unconquered in the entire Donghai prefecture! Subsequently, the main infantry force of the Nanhu army of Later Tang successively entered Haifeng and Lufeng prefectures, their advance reaching only four hundred li east of the capital of Daliang, Yajing!
On the same night, the Baoding army of Later Tang, stationed in Baoding prefecture north of the Mount Everest Mountains, with four divisions totaling 160,000 men, launched a surprise attack on Baohe prefecture of Beiyuan prefecture of Daliang, which bordered it. At the cost of 20,000 casualties, they annihilated the 4th Division and reserve division of the Northern Army of Daliang, which garrisoned Baohe city and nearby towns, totaling 80,000 men! After being surrounded and attacked, more than 50,000 Daliang troops surrendered!
The entire Daliang kingdom was shaken! On one hand, Zhu Wen, the King of Liang, issued a proclamation condemning the Later Tang Empire's treacherous actions and calling on the Jinlong Kingdom and the New Song Kingdom to join forces against it. On the other hand, he mobilized 200,000 troops—the First and Second Divisions of the Northern Plains Army, their directly subordinate divisions, and two newly formed reserve divisions—to Baohe City, attempting to recapture it. As for the Third Division of Zhonghe Prefecture, which was liaising with the New Song Kingdom, it dared not act rashly. One reserve division held firm, fearing the New Song Kingdom might further exploit the situation, making a comeback impossible. Simultaneously, 200,000 troops of the Central Army stationed in Shunchang Prefecture of the Central Commandery were urgently dispatched to Haifeng and Lufeng Prefectures of the Donghai Commandery, joining forces with the remaining Donghai Army Corps of Baise Prefecture—one regular division and one reserve division—to attack the invading Southern Lake Army of the Later Tang Empire.
At this moment, Zhu Wen, the King of Liang, most regretted not heeding Long Feiyang's advice to prepare for the invasion of this powerful neighbor, the Later Tang.
The Great Liang Kingdom is located in the southeast of the Hua Long Continent, encompassing Yunyuan Commandery, Nanhai Commandery, Donghai Commandery, Central Commandery, Wuyi Commandery, and Beiyuan Commandery. West of the Yulong River lie Yunyuan and Nanhai Commanderies, while on the east bank is Donghai Commandery, bordering the Later Tang Empire's Nanhu Commandery. Further east are Central Commandery and Wuyi Commandery. The Everest Mountains, stretching for thousands of miles, run from north to south, separating the Great Liang Kingdom's Beiyuan Commandery from the Later Tang Empire's Nanhu Commandery. The Lishui River, originating from the Everest Mountains, meanders eastward before turning north, flowing through the Great Liang Kingdom's Beiyuan, Central, and Wuyi Commanderies, the New Song Kingdom's Heshuo Commandery, and the Later Tang Empire's Baoding, Beifang, and Lianyun Commanderies. Beiyuan Commandery lies north of the Lishui River, bordering the Later Tang to the north and facing the New Song across the river to the east. The Great Liang's Central and Wuyi Commanderies lie south of the Lishui River, facing the sea to the south. Wuyi Commandery borders the New Song Kingdom to the northeast and faces the Wo Nu Nu Islands across the sea to the east.
Before attacking Qiu's Baiyang County, the Great Liang army had 200,000 men each in the Western Army Corps, Eastern Navy Corps, Northern Plains Army Corps, Central Army Corps, and Wuyi Army Corps. In addition, there were 200,000 Royal Guards, 40,000 Imperial Guards and Forbidden Army, 80,000 men in the Quanzhou Port Navy, and 40,000 men each in the Wuyi and Northern Plains Navys, totaling 1.24 million regular troops nationwide. Furthermore, there was the Jinyiwei, a secret service directly controlled by Zhu Wen, the King of Great Liang, making them a well-trained and well-supplied force. Therefore, Zhu Wen, the King of Great Liang, was full of ambition and agreed to let Long Feiyang take advantage of the internal strife and weakened forces of the Qiu family on Zhenbao Island to first seize Baiyang County, then plot against the Ding family's Jianghan County, and finally crush the Sima family, laying a strong foundation for his conquest of the world.
After the Qiu family and the Free Army reached a "gentleman's agreement," Long Feiyang's two major army corps were trapped. Long Feiyang urgently advised the nation to be on high alert to prevent a national crisis, but Zhu Wen remained unconcerned. Previously, the establishment of thirteen reserve divisions in six prefectures of Nanhai Commandery, six prefectures of Yunyuan Commandery, three prefectures of Donghai Commandery, and four prefectures of Beiyuan Commandery had already cost tens of millions of gold coins, causing him considerable distress. If eight more reserve divisions were to be established in eight prefectures of Wuyi Commandery and Zhongyang Commandery—regions that seemed unnecessary at the moment—the national treasury would likely be completely emptied. This was unbearable for Zhu Wen, who aspired to conquer the world but was also somewhat greedy for wealth. It wasn't
until the Later Tang Empire, with whom he had previously maintained friendly relations, suddenly launched an attack that Zhu Wen realized: even a million-plus troops were still insufficient. The Later Tang Empire occupied two prefectures and eight commanderies, boasting the largest population among all nations and being the most prosperous. Its eight commanderies alone had eight regular army corps totaling 1.6 million men. Adding the Imperial Guard Corps, the Imperial Bodyguard Corps, and 60,000 Imperial Guards, as well as one division each from the Jiangyin, Nanhu, Dongting, and Lianyun navies, the total regular army reached 2.22 million! Only the wealth of the Later Tang Empire could provide the population and resources to support such a massive army!
Although the Later Tang Dynasty faced pressure from multiple borders or being separated from the Jinlong, Yulong, Daliang, and Xin Song kingdoms, and also had to guard against attacks from the Aegean Sea in the north by the Oba and Meisi continents, it was still the most powerful. If the Later Tang Empire were to launch a full-scale attack on any country, it's likely none could withstand it! Zhu Wen, the King of Daliang, had always valued good relations with the Later Tang Empire, even making a verbal pact before attacking the Qiu family. The Later Tang, in turn, sent its southwestern army across the river to contain the Ding family, but unexpectedly, it suddenly changed its mind and attacked the Zhu family.
Despite his regret, Zhu Wen spared no expense, immediately ordering a nationwide state of high alert, summoning retired soldiers and civilians to form eight reserve divisions in the Central and Wuyi counties, and adding another reserve division in Quanzhou, a key town at the mouth of the Yulong River, subjecting them to rigorous training. However, newly formed armies would need time to reach combat readiness. Zhu Wen could only hope that the Wa (Japanese) Kingdom, recently severely damaged by the Free Army, would not take advantage of the situation to attack in the near future!
News of the war between the Later Tang Empire and the Great Liang Kingdom spread like wildfire throughout the Hua Long Continent, causing a sensation no less than the Free Army's annihilation of the Japanese invaders on Zhenbao Island a few days earlier—the most powerful empire had finally revealed its sharp claws, even though the prey it had pounced on was far beyond everyone's expectations!
"It's time!" In the Jade Dragon Palace, King Sima Yuan of the Jade Dragon Kingdom finally let out a long sigh of relief. A series of ingenious plans, large in scale and costly in the dark, which had kept many ministers in the dark, had finally achieved their intended purpose—
"It's time!" Minister of War Sima Cheng echoed. He had contributed significantly to the current situation.
"Indeed, it's time!" Only one person in the entire Jade Dragon Kingdom dared to speak to King Sima Yuan and Protectorate General Sima Cheng on such an almost equal footing: the Jade Dragon's Chief Spy—"The Frost Blade Saint"—Li Xinghai!

On the second day of the tenth month, as if testing the nerves of the leaders and personnel of various forces on the Hua Long Continent, an event even more shocking to the continent than the Tang Empire's attack on the Liang Kingdom the previous day occurred again—
the Golden Dragon Army and the Jade Dragon Army, who had been facing off at Changyin City in Jiujiang Prefecture, unexpectedly turned hostility into friendship, as if the Golden Dragon Army had not started the war, and as if the casualties between the two navies and the standoff were all a charade. Overnight, two hundred warships of the Golden Dragon Army's navy in Jiujiang Prefecture, carrying forty thousand Golden Dragon soldiers, and the Jade Dragon Navy, which had been replenished and expanded to four hundred warships and eighty thousand soldiers after retreating to Binjiang Prefecture, quietly sailed more than six hundred miles downstream and launched a surprise attack at dawn, annihilating all two hundred warships and forty thousand soldiers of the Later Tang Jiangyin Navy who were protecting the Jade Dragon River outside Zijiang Town!
Due to the overwhelming numerical and waterway superiority of the Jinlong and Yulong allied forces, coupled with the surprise attack, many of the Later Tang naval warships sank into the river and became artificial reefs before they could even raise their sails and set sail, or were burned to ashes by the raging flames! Each of the two allied forces only lost twenty warships and four thousand soldiers!
The Jinlong army's southern legion, which had been confronting the Yulong army at Changling City in Jiujiang Prefecture, landed in Jiangling Prefecture in the southwest of the Later Tang Empire overnight, transported by nearly a thousand transport ships. They marched rapidly and suddenly captured Jiangling Prefecture, which was defended by only one regular division and local garrison of the Later Tang army, annihilating all forty thousand Later Tang soldiers! The Jade Dragon Central Army, which was also locked in a stalemate with the Golden Dragon Army at Changyin City, boarded over a thousand transport ships and sailed downstream with the naval coalition. The Third Division occupied the virtually undefended Jiangyin City, while the other three divisions sailed downstream with the victorious navy, heading straight for the Nanhu County of the Later Tang Empire, which was also extremely depleted of troops after attacking the Great Liang Kingdom!
The Jade Dragon spies, who had almost disappeared before and had not retaliated even when the Free Army killed He Zongshi and An Rushan, disciples of "Frost Blade Saint" Li Xinghai, played a crucial role in this operation, which was called the "largest and most successful sneak attack"—the large-scale movement of hundreds of thousands of troops could not have gone unnoticed, and the Blood-Clad Guards of the Later Tang Empire were not to be underestimated. However, under the secret orders of "Frost Blade Saint" Li Xinghai, tens of thousands of top-ranking spies from across the country were secretly mobilized. This included the remaining seven elders of the "Dragon Twelve Elders" and the even more mysterious "Jade Group" experts, who all participated in the cleanup of the hundreds of miles along the Yulong River from Yulong Jiujiang Port to Hou Tang Jiangyin Port. Anyone who detected the combined forces of the Golden Dragon Army and the Jade Dragon Army was killed without exception! Including over a thousand Later Tang scouts, over two thousand Blood-Clad Guards experts, and many innocent fishermen, corpses littered the banks and the heart of the Jade Dragon River…
News reached Treasure Island through multiple channels, including Peach Blossom Palace, the Nangong Family, and the Restoration Society. Hua Yinghong stood before the map of the Hualong Continent for three full hours before finally sighing softly, “Such a grand and ingenious scheme is simply unbelievable. I’m afraid the landing plan will have to be brought forward…”

Volume 5, Chapter 80: A Shocking Scheme. The stalemate
on the Hualong Continent took a sharp turn for the worse: a single decision by the Later Tang Empire had far-reaching consequences. In the announcements issued by the Golden Dragon Army and the Jade Dragon Army, they claimed to have been invited by the Great Liang Army and to have joined forces out of disdain for the Later Tang Empire's treachery. However, it was clear to everyone that the Great Liang Kingdom, and especially the Later Tang Empire, had fallen into the trap set by the Jade Dragon King Sima Yuan and the Golden Dragon King Liu Cao, these two sworn brothers! Of course, the close cooperation of the Qiu family, the unexpected rise of the Free Army, and the opportune moment when the Demonic Cult's uprising led to the fall of Keelung City... all sorts of schemes and coincidences came together to make this dramatic turn of events so realistic that even Hua Yinghong had to admire its "grand scale"—from
the moment the Free Army occupied Jubao Town and Xigang, and severely damaged the Jade Dragon Army of Zhenbao Island, Sima Yuan and Qiu Haoyu reached a secret agreement. In his secret letters to Qiu Haoran, Qiu Shuibo, and Qiu Shuiyun, Qiu Haoyu planned for Qiu Shuibo to pretend that the war on Zhenbao Island was not going well, while secretly preserving and strengthening his strength, ultimately inducing Long Feiyang to launch a large-scale attack on Baiyang City, and then Qiu Shuibo would sign a "gentleman's agreement" with the Free Army, quietly returning to the mainland to attack the Nanhai County and Yunyuan County, which the Qiu family had long coveted.
Of course, such a large-scale military expansion by the Qiu family required the tacit approval of the Jade Dragon King and the non-interference of the Jade Dragon spies. Qiu Haoyu, through his second brother Qiu Haocang in Jade Dragon City, offered the tempting condition of transferring control of Tianshui Prefecture and Dongguan Prefecture to the Sima family, which greatly appealed to the Jade Dragon King Sima Yuan. Moreover, the performance of Qiu Shuiyun in the dragon bed and the influence of her pillow talk should not be underestimated...
Choosing Qiu Shuibo as the executor of the plan was actually the result of Qiu Haoyu's long-term observation: Qiu Shuibo was calm and composed, unassuming, shrewd, and decisive, making him the best candidate to carry out the plan. On the other hand, Qiu Shuiba was too straightforward and bold, and Qiu Shuiliu was too clever and quick-witted. If they were to deal with the cunning Hua Yinghong, Qiu Shuiba's rigidity would make him easily broken, and Qiu Shuiliu's cleverness would make him unable to suffer any loss, making them unsuitable for the heavy responsibility. In his mind, the position of family heir had already secretly leaned towards Qiu Shuibo: just look at how Qiu Haoyu immediately granted him absolute military and political power in the newly occupied area after Qiu Shuibo's successful surprise attack on the three prefectures of Daliang and his ability to turn the tide of the war!
As for the even grander plan of Jade Dragon King Sima Yuan, it was conceived after being inspired by Qiu Haoyu, and gradually perfected after repeated secret discussions with "Duke Protector of the Nation" Sima Cheng and Jade Dragon's secret agent leader "Frost Blade Saint" Li Xinghai—
before the Free Army caused any major trouble on Zhenbao Island, Jade Dragon King Sima Yuan was already planning a major event, which was how to create a crisis to strengthen the army controlled by the Sima family! Although the Jade Dragon Kingdom nominally boasts an army of over a million, more than half a million are actually controlled by the three major families and do not submit to the direct command of the Sima clan. This means that the Jade Dragon King, Sima Yuan, wields far less real power than he appears, unlike the Golden Dragon King Liu Cao or the Great Liang King Zhu Wen, who have substantial control over their armies. At least for the Jade Dragon King, appointing or dismissing a high-ranking military officer under the control of the three families is extremely difficult.
In contrast, the subordinates of the Golden Dragon King Liu Cao and the Great Liang King Zhu Wen dare not allow such blatantly powerful families to exist. Every time the Sima clan attempts to expand its military, it faces not only interference from other states threatening an arms race, but also demands from within the Jade Dragon Kingdom itself that for every division the Sima clan expands, the three families must correspondingly expand their own divisions. This prevents Sima Yuan from acting rashly—because such expansion would ultimately result in the three families combining their strength to far surpass that of the Sima clan!
Qiu Haoyu, the head of the Qiu family, proposed a move that perfectly suited Sima Yuan's needs: it would not only create a sense of crisis throughout Yulong, allowing him to massively expand his army without facing criticism from other nations, but also allow each family to expand its military based on its own strength—the Sima family, with its control over the three most populous and economically developed prefectures, its claim to the central authority of the kingdom, and the vast wealth generated by tributes from the Baiyi Kingdoms, would naturally expand faster and more extensively than the other three families. On the surface, the Sima family only expanded its central army and the Imperial Guard by eight reserve divisions, but in reality, it expanded by a total of sixteen reserve divisions across the three prefectures and twelve counties under its control, with eight being openly operated and eight covertly.
The crisis and precarious situation triggered by the treasure situation were all deliberately created by Sima Yuan. At least, the Golden Dragon Army's preemptive strike, the actual annihilation of two of Sima Yuan's naval fleets, and the subsequent small-scale skirmishes during the standoff were all pre-arranged battles. Of course, the actual number of casualties was certainly less than what was reported in the battle reports. The leaders of each country were not fools. If the Golden Dragon Army hadn't acted first and genuinely caused casualties among the "Double Dragons," the Later Tang Empire and the Great Liang Kingdom would certainly not have been able to dispel their vigilance. After all, Sima Yuan and Liu Cao were fellow disciples, and the Golden Dragon Kingdom and the Jade Dragon Kingdom had been helping each other for many years! However, this time, under the joint scheme of Liu Cao and Sima Yuan, the Later Tang Empire and the Great Liang Kingdom were still deceived by the ruthless and insidious plot of these two fellow disciples, falling into a huge trap!
With the Western Army Corps of the Great Liang Kingdom, led by Long Feiyang, and the Qiu Family Legion of the Eastern Navy Corps trapped in Qingyuan Prefecture and Shunde Prefecture, the Great Liang Kingdom was severely weakened. Donghai Commandery had only one regular division, practically undefended. At this juncture, the most powerful Later Tang Empire had two choices: First, to aid the Great Liang Kingdom in a full-scale war against the Yulong Kingdom. However, facing the largely unscathed strength of the Sima clan and the fully realized potential of the Qiu Family, along with the Ding family of Jianghan Commandery preparing for war and harboring countless hidden forces, even a victory for the Later Tang Empire would result in enormous losses, making it a losing proposition. Second, to take advantage of the Great Liang Kingdom's weakness and launch a major offensive, ideally annihilating it in one fell swoop. After consolidating the occupied territory and further expanding its power, the Later Tang Empire would likely have the upper hand even if the remaining three kingdoms joined forces.
It was precisely because Sima Yuan and Liu Cao understood the personalities and psychology of Emperor Liu Piaoxu of the Later Tang Dynasty and Zhu Wen, the King of Daliang, that they orchestrated this astonishing scheme. Emperor Liu Piaoxu, believing that the Golden Dragon Army and the Jade Dragon Army had truly turned against each other and would no longer join forces against the Later Tang army, launched a surprise attack on Daliang. However, just one day later, the combined attack of the Golden Dragon and Jade Dragon armies quickly caused the Later Tang Empire to suffer heavy losses, a self-inflicted wound
. The timing of the attack by the Jade Dragon and Golden Dragon kingdoms was perfect: if it were too early, before the Later Tang army attacked Daliang, the combined strength and army of the Later Tang would result in mutual destruction; if it were too late, the Later Tang army would have withdrawn its southwestern army from Zijiang Town to the north bank of the river, making a surprise attack extremely difficult. After annihilating the Later Tang's Jiangyin navy, the four divisions of the Later Tang southwestern army would be firmly trapped in the narrow area along Zijiang Town, facing off against Ding's army—this was the ideal outcome!
The Golden Dragon and Jade Dragon armies, having successfully launched a night raid, did not stop there. The very next day, before the Later Tang Empire's central government could react, the Southern Army of the Golden Dragon Kingdom, after capturing Jiangling Prefecture, advanced northward for over two hundred li with its cavalry as the vanguard. They occupied most of the sparsely populated southwestern prefecture of Later Tang, which was only defended by local garrisons. Only one prefecture in Hubei, bordering the Central Prefecture of Later Tang to the north and Dongting Lake to the southeast, remained in Later Tang control—
the Northwest Prefecture of Later Tang, stretching from the Aegean Sea in the north to Jiangling Prefecture in the south, comprised four prefectures: Zhenhai, Baotai, Huayang, and Dingzhou. The Northwest Army, originally stationed in the Northwest Prefecture, had already deployed three divisions of 120,000 men to Dingzhou Prefecture, adjacent to the Southwest Prefecture, before the Golden Dragon Army's offensive, to prepare for a possible surprise attack. However, they dared not enter the Southwest Prefecture to intercept them, as the Northwest Prefecture was also under attack by the Golden Dragon Army! —The 160,000-strong Northeast Army of the Golden Dragon Kingdom, stationed in Wanghai County, crossed the border. One division of 40,000 men was used to tie down the directly subordinate divisions stationed in Huayang Prefecture, the seat of the Later Tang Dynasty's northwestern prefecture. The other three divisions entered Zhenhai Prefecture, bordering the Aegean Sea to the north, and besieged the prefectural capital, Zhenhai City!
Among the five kingdoms of Hualong, the Golden Dragon Kingdom had the smallest population, the poorest, and the smallest total military force. Nationally, it had only a little over 30 million people and five main combat legions totaling 800,000 men. Even adding the navy at Anqing Port in Jiang'an County, the Imperial Guard stationed in the capital, and the 40,000 Imperial Guards, its total military strength was only one million men.
However, the Golden Dragon Kingdom's geographical location was unique: to the southwest lay the vast Sahara Desert, to the south a thousand-mile-long grassland, and to the north the Xing'an Mountains, stretching over three thousand miles. From the Sahara in the west to Zhenhai Prefecture of the Later Tang Empire in the east, the kingdom was completely isolated from the Aegean Sea. Only to the east, Wanghai County bordered the three prefectures of the Later Tang's Northwest Commandery, and Jiang'an County bordered Dingzhou Prefecture of the Northwest Commandery and Jiangling Prefecture of the Southwest Commandery of the Later Tang. It faced the Western Liang County and Luolan County of the Jade Dragon Kingdom across the river.
The Golden Dragon Kingdom was arid and sparsely populated, possessing eight commanderies and thousands of miles of land, yet it frequently suffered from food shortages and poverty. The name "Wanghai County" reflected its desire to have a coveted sea outlet, like the Later Tang Empire, to gain immense wealth through overseas trade with the continents of Ouba and Meisi. Of course, occupying the fertile lands of Dongting Lake in the Later Tang Empire was even more desirable!
Having understood the unique geographical location and situation of the Golden Dragon Kingdom, it's not hard to understand the real reason why King Liu Cao of the Golden Dragon Kingdom cooperated so closely with King Sima Yuan of the Jade Dragon Kingdom to plot against the Later Tang Empire—as for whether their bond of learning from the same master and helping each other carried such weight, only the genius knows!
However, it is precisely because of the Golden Dragon Kingdom's unique geographical location that the Golden Dragon Army possesses a special combat advantage—except for the Ganlan Fortress and Ganlan County at the westernmost tip, which require a large army to be stationed to prevent the Oba people from crossing the desert to attack, and to guard against the northward advance of the grassland allied forces from the south, the rest of the Golden Dragon Kingdom's forces can be used for mobile warfare without any worries about the rear! And the 300,000 Golden Dragon cavalry, raised on horseback in the vast northwest, are no less powerful than the grassland cavalry in the open plains!
After successfully launching a surprise attack on the Later Tang Empire, Liu Cao, the Golden Dragon King, immediately ordered the Northeast Army to seize Zhenhai Prefecture. He himself led 40,000 Imperial Guards, all cavalry, eastward to join the Central Army, which had been secretly assembling in Xing'an Prefecture near Wanghai Prefecture. Only his only son, Liu Shan, led the Imperial Guards to remain in the capital, Shengjing. Liu Cao, the Golden Dragon King, personally led the campaign, deploying 520,000 men from the Golden Dragon Army's three major legions and navy, along with a large reserve force, in a joint attack with the Jade Dragon Army against the Later Tang Empire. Judging from his actions, his ambitions were far more than just a prefecture or county.
It is said that Shui Xinyue, the successor of the Sword Inquiry lineage and the "Lingbo Fairy," has been traveling the continent for a year, and even though she traveled thousands of miles, she visited Liu Cao, the Golden Dragon King, in Shengjing. Could this be without reason?
Later Tang Nanhu Prefecture. With the support of the Shuanglong naval alliance, the three major divisions of the Yulong Army's central corps sailed over 300 li downstream from Jiangyin City, landing ahead of the two divisions of the Zhufeng Army hastily arriving from Zhufeng County of the Later Tang Empire. They occupied Yanbo Prefecture, a fertile land of fish and rice on the shores of Dongting Lake in Nanhu County, with almost no losses. The 120,000-strong Yulong army, supported by 500 allied naval warships and 100,000 naval soldiers, firmly established itself!
The other two divisions of the Zhufeng Army, which had already advanced south along the foot of Mount Zhufeng into Nanhu County, preparing to reinforce Donghai County of Daliang, had to immediately turn back north to the Yanbo Prefecture line to resist the Shuanglong alliance's offensive; otherwise, even Zhufeng County would be threatened!
In this series of astonishing schemes later known as the "Shuanglong Ingenious Plan," the Yulong Sima clan, the Qiu clan, and the Liu clan of the Jinlong Kingdom were undoubtedly the biggest winners, while the Zhu clan of the Daliang Kingdom and the Liu clan of the Later Tang Empire were the biggest losers!
Throughout the process, the rising Free Army on Zhenbao Island was, to some extent, a pawn used by the Sima and Qiu families. However, this pawn proved too powerful, managing to control at least the entire rich island while playing both sides. Its population grew rapidly, and its military strength increased with each battle. Who would ultimately prevail remained to be seen!
The Later Tang Empire, the most powerful force on the Hualong Continent, even with a temporary miscalculation, was by no means a pushover—a tiger may appear weak when it's dozing, but a tiger is still a tiger, and when it awakens, it remains the king of beasts!
The wheels of war on the Hualong Continent rolled faster and faster, stirring up increasingly turbulent winds…

Volume 5, Chapter 81: The Situation Is Pressing Down.
Zhenbao Island, outside Sun and Moon City. Special Forces Camp.
On the vast training ground covering thousands of acres, special forces soldiers were everywhere. All sorts of strange and unusual training methods from the "Hua Zi Training Manual" could be found here. In the chaotic battle zone, each squad of ten had to do everything they could to defend against various sneak attacks and assaults from all directions. Sometimes, those who were "killed" by specially made wooden arrows would groan in pain even as they "died" on the ground. Although the arrowheads were blunt, the wooden arrows shot using the "Sun-Shooting Arrow Technique" were still too much for even the physically strong special forces soldiers to bear!
"Sweep through the army!" Ba Tian unleashed the most effective move among the "Three Styles of Breaking the Sky" for dealing with encirclement, forcefully knocking the three special forces regimental commanders, Gu Tianfang, Qu Qingbo, and Zeng Guozhong, who were attacking him together, several feet away. He shouted:
"Bring on three more, it'll be more fun when it's really going to fight! Your martial arts have deteriorated! If you don't train properly, I'll send you to the reserve division to enjoy yourselves!" As November approached, the weather grew colder and colder. Ba Tian, caught up in the excitement of fighting with his three regimental commanders, simply threw off his shirt, revealing his bare torso and radiating heat.
"Wait! Boss Ba, it's not that we've regressed, it's that your progress is too abnormal!" Gu Tianfang hurriedly waved his hand.
Most of the special forces team members were young men in their twenties, all older than Ba Tian, but Ba Tian, citing Hua Yinghong's statement that "whoever has the hardest fist in the Special Forces is the boss," had fought his way through the Special Forces without a single opponent, becoming the undisputed leader.
Since being injured in the battle against the Japanese army, Ba Tian's skills had improved again, and he was facing a breakthrough. Hua Yinghong, fearing that Ba Tian might encounter another expert during the next mission, used a day's worth of effort to help Ba Tian break through his bottleneck with Hunyuan True Qi, advancing him to the level of an eighth-grade expert. Ba Tian's formidable external martial arts naturally improved accordingly, making him difficult to harm with ordinary swords and blades. Coupled with the extremely domineering "Three Forms of Breaking the Heavens," he might even be able to fight against a ninth-grade expert.
After Ba Tian's relentless daily training, supplemented by Hua Yinghong's unique dynamic training method, and with each special forces member being a carefully selected elite, their progress in cultivating the Heaven and Earth Technique and the Void-Breaking Technique was naturally rapid. Veterans like Gu Tianfang, Qu Qingbo, and Zeng Guozhong, who were among the first to establish the special forces, progressed by leaps and bounds, with many already reaching the sixth-rank master level. Even the least skilled new recruits in the special forces are now at the third-rank level.
The special forces' outstanding performance in the battle against the Japanese invaders earned them a five-gold-coin bonus from Hua Yinghong—but this was nothing to the special forces members. Hua Yinghong's order to award the special forces the title of "Iron Army" and a specially made bronze Freedom Medal to each member was the honor they were most proud of.
Joining the "Iron Army"—the special forces—has become the most desired goal for every Free Army soldier, including those in the reserve divisions. News of the selection and replacement of special forces members lost in the battle against the Japanese invaders spread, and various master regiments even organized special martial arts competitions. If Hua Yinghong hadn't urgently ordered that officers of squad leader rank and above not be selected, some battalion commanders would probably have abandoned their positions to participate in the selection!
Since the special forces were established, they had always undertaken the most dangerous and difficult missions, and their combat achievements were the most outstanding. For the Free Army soldiers at this time, nothing was more desirable than joining such a unit.
Special forces members were not afraid of hardship or fatigue, and they feared nothing but Ba Tian saying, "If you don't train hard, I'll send you to the reserve division to enjoy yourselves!"—it was more effective than an imperial edict!
"Boss Ba! The corps commander has given an order!" The messenger shouted from dozens of feet away, and in a few leaps, he was in front of Ba Tian, handing him a warrant. As expected of special forces members, even messengers practiced their lightness skills.
"Read it!" Ba Tian was barely literate, yet Hua Yinghong required every Free Army soldier to learn to read. Unless in an emergency, orders were never to be read aloud by messengers, causing Ba Tian immense headaches. He was forced to attend cram schools to at least learn a few characters. However, he never missed an opportunity to slack off.
"Boss Ba! Boss's boss specifically instructed that only you can read this order. If you can't understand it, you'll be transferred to the Second Reserve Division as its commander! Anyone who dares to read it or help you will go with you to the Reserve Division. Boss's boss has spoken, and I dare not disobey." The messenger was a principled man with a touch of humor.
"Boss's boss" was naturally Hua Yinghong. Ba Tian might not respect anyone else, but he dared not disobey this elder brother. If Hua Yinghong hadn't changed his fate, he would probably still be a laborer in a slave camp, far from his current prestige.
"Heavens! Big Brother is too ruthless!" Ba Tian knew Hua Yinghong meant well. Being illiterate not only hindered his ability to lead troops in battle, but also made it extremely difficult to cultivate advanced techniques and improve his skills. After starting to cultivate the eighth technique of the Heaven and Earth Technique, although Ba Tian forced himself to memorize it under Hua Yinghong's personal instruction and explanation, he was still completely confused about many parts. Unable to ask anyone for help, he realized the importance of literacy. In private, he actually worked quite hard, though he couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Second Brother, tonight at Hai Shi (9-11 PM), headquarters meeting." Ba Tian unwrapped the lacquered seal and recognized the characters. "A meeting?" Ba Tian was initially puzzled, but then it dawned on him—Hua Yinghong knew that Ba Tian was not used to holding meetings, and apart from battle deployments, he was never allowed to participate in important military and political matters. Could it be—
"Stop standing there, get back to your training!" Looking at the onlookers who dared not watch due to military discipline, Ba Tian used the authority of a captain to shout: "Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime. Have you forgotten the legion commander's instructions?"
Gu Tianfang, Qu Qingbo, and Zeng Guozhong exchanged glances. They were all extremely intelligent people and had already guessed eight or nine parts of the truth...

November 4th, night, Sun and Moon City.
The Free Legion's headquarters was located in the former headquarters of the Second Regiment of the Jade Dragon Army's Treasure Division. Designed and renovated by Lu Shenggong himself, and with six lines of defense personally arranged by Hua Yinghong, it had become impregnable. Hua Yinghong had sent the most powerful Peach Blossom Fairy, Xue Qianqian, to secretly infiltrate from various directions for several nights. Even with her unfathomable Saint-level skills, she could only silently evade the outer three lines of defense, each time being discovered at the fourth line of defense, two hundred feet from the core of the headquarters.
Even attempting a forced breakthrough without harming anyone, Xue Qianqian could only be stopped and besieged at the fifth line of defense, composed of secret experts from the Peach Blossom Palace and the Nangong Family, remaining fifty feet away from the final line of defense formed by Fang Shiling and eighteen guards.
Protecting Hua Yinghong's safety is a shared goal of the entire Free Army, including all forces closely cooperating with it. However, this also places immense pressure on this "Son of Freedom," who has repeatedly created miracles and whose prominence has begun to overshadow He Jiguang, the current top general of Hualong. Wherever he goes, he is under tight security. Even a brief, intimate conversation with a civilian makes the head of his guard, Fang Shiling, feel nervous.
At the insistence of Liu Yufei, Miao Youlan, and others, Hua Yinghong, who originally didn't want a personal guard, couldn't refuse. He selected three thousand loyal, reliable, and highly skilled men from various legions of the Free Army, including the Special Operations Brigade, to form the "Freedom Iron Guard." This guard consisted of six hundred crossbowmen, six hundred archers, six hundred swordsmen, six hundred lance cavalry, and six hundred swordsmen, dedicated to protecting Hua Yinghong's safety. In Hua Yinghong's exaggerated words, "These three thousand men could probably hold their own against half of the Jade Dragon Division. Using them to protect one person is a huge waste!"—the strength of the "Freedom Iron Guard" was evident.
As for Liu Yufei, Miao Youlan, Liu Ju, and other female relatives, they were protected by three thousand "Iron-Blooded Fire Phoenix Guards" selected by Liu Lan from the female soldiers' regiment. These beautiful "Iron-Blooded Fire Phoenix Guards" also consisted of six hundred crossbowmen, six hundred archers, six hundred swordsmen, six hundred lance cavalry, and six hundred swordsmen.
Although the female soldiers had only practiced the Heaven and Earth Technique, the Void-Breaking Technique, the Startling Wind and Weeping Rain Sword Technique, the Nine Strike of the Wind, and the Sun-Shooting Heart Method for less than two months, under Hua Yinghong's unique training methods and the tutelage of "Flower of Freedom" Feng Yanran, coupled with their indomitable spirit, their two months of training was equivalent to two years for an ordinary person. Those with high talent and comprehension had already reached the fifth rank. "Peach Blossom Fairy" Xue Qianqian also selected hundreds of experts from the female disciples of Peach Blossom Palace to join them, making the "Iron-Blooded Fire Phoenix Guard" a force to be reckoned with.
After the "Battle of Triumph" to expel the Japanese invaders, the Free Army was reorganized again: Zhang Qunfeng and Qin Zhong's reserve divisions were converted into the fifth and sixth regular divisions, Feng Yanran's female soldier regiment was expanded into the "Fire Phoenix" reserve division, and Mu Shanzhu and Li Tianhao respectively formed the first and second reserve divisions. Yun Shalang, as the division commander, established a naval reserve division. However, the construction and modification of warships were time-consuming. With the major shipyards working at full speed, only the Hai Tianqing regular division was equipped with two hundred warships; Yun Shalang's reserve division only received thirty warships for training.
The Free Army expanded rapidly again. Externally, news from various channels indicated that major powers on the Hua Long Continent were frantically expanding their armies in preparation for war. Internally, the conditions and foundation for this large-scale expansion were already in place—
financially, Hua Yinghong's "selling out the future" policies, such as the "Land Law" and the "Golden Industry Law," had achieved tremendous success—due to the large influx of people fleeing to Zhenbao Island, this "paradise on earth," because of the chaos on the Hua Long Continent.
According to statistics from the Population Management Office of the Household Registration Department, the total population of Zhenbao Island had reached 3.2 million by the end of October! The influx of over one million people brought enormous demands for land, housing, transportation, consumption, and investment. Furthermore, the astonishing profits generated by the shipping guilds, the Nangong family, and the Chamber of Commerce on Zhenbao Island prompted some wealthy families and clans from the mainland to transfer their wealth in various forms.
Liu Ju, the head of the Household Registration Department, was exhausted but in high spirits—the department earned five million gold coins from land auctions alone; another two million from mining auctions; and the island's tax revenue in October reached a staggering 1.2 million gold coins! Meanwhile, the "China Gold Exchange," with a share capital of five million gold coins, saw its two million shares held by the Household Registration Department, and the remaining two million four hundred thousand gold coins, were completely subscribed by partners such as the shipping guilds, the Chamber of Commerce, the Nangong family, and the Peach Blossom Palace, as well as over a dozen wealthy local clans on Zhenbao Island.
Within half a month of its opening, the "China Gold Exchange" had attracted ten million gold coins in deposits at an annual interest rate of 10%, and after the Free Army easily annihilated the Japanese, long queues formed to deposit money.
The first president of the "China Gold Bank," Gong Wang, also known as Nan Gong Wang, made his first and largest loan of four million gold coins to the Household Registration Department. Therefore, Liu Ju no longer complained about the series of costly demands from Hua Yinghong, including expanding the army, increasing military pay, doubling the salaries of internal affairs personnel, building two new armorys, constructing a military academy, building an academy, and repairing roads.
Large expenditures and large revenues—the advanced economic and financial theories Hua Yinghong instilled in Liu Ju, based on millennia of experience, had already been proven in the dramatic changes in the national treasury. Although the expenditures were astronomical, and the Household Registration Department had a deficit of two hundred thousand gold coins last month, Liu Ju predicted that at this rate, a surplus would be achieved by November—provided the Free Army did not suffer defeat, because all the current miracles were built on the myth of the Free Army's invincibility, creating a "paradise on earth" during the war!
"Gentlemen! The next topic will be a crucial decision that will determine the fate of the Free Army!" After introducing the important matters concerning political and military affairs, Hua Yinghong, with a tone that was sure to shock, began the most crucial issue...
Of those attending the meeting, only Liu Lan represented the Internal Affairs Department, while the Military Affairs Department was represented by fifteen people, including Hua Yinghong, Hai Tianqing, Ji Wumou, Ba Tian, Ye Zhi Qiu, Lin Zhi, Liu Litao, Pang Yi, Zhang Qunfeng, Qin Zhong, Mu Shanzhu, Li Tianhao, Yun Shalang, and Feng Yanran. The Free Alliance's supreme leader, Alliance Leader Liu Yufei, and Vice Alliance Leader Miao Youlan, along with the Director of the Internal Affairs Department, Lü Jingwei, had other important matters to attend to and had secretly left Zhenbao Island a few days prior.
This seemingly ordinary night's secret meeting was what would later be recorded in history as the "114 Meeting," also known as the "Fifteen-Person Meeting"!

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