<h4>Chapter 374: The Imperial Expedition</h4>
Yin Moon Empire, Jinling City, Imperial Court
"Your Majesty, the Great Zhen Dynasty has appeared brazenly. It''s happening too quickly!" Minister Du Xiu eximed.
"Too quickly?" Six Paths'' expression darkened slightly.
"Yes! Besides the sudden rise of the Ming Dynasty to unprecedented strength, the two armies of the Great Zhen Dynasty are sweeping everything before them like a torrential flood. They''re advancing non-stop, as if they''re not fighting a war, but...," Du Xiu furrowed his brows.
"But what?" Six Paths inquired.
"They''re racing. It''s as if they''repeting in a running race. Their speed in capturing cities is like that of a forced march. They just keep charging forward relentlessly. Wherever they go, enemy forces copse like ant colonies under a flood, unable to withstand the onught. Their speed... it''s beyond words. Themanders of these two armies are unparalleled in their military prowess, something rarely seen in the world!" Du Xiu marveled.
"Unparalleled?" Six Paths frowned.
"Yes, theirmanding talent is so exceptional that it''s once in a millennium to find even one suchmander, yet the Great Zhen Dynasty has found two, both fully subdued. The Great Zhen Dynasty is approaching with unstoppable momentum!" Du Xiu sighed.
"Two armies? I see it as three armies!" Six Paths furrowed his brow.
"Report!!!" A loud shout echoed from outside the hall.
Immediately, a soldier rushed into the hall and knelt before the throne. "Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty has formally dered its allegiance to the Great Zhen Dynasty. Henceforth, there is no more Ming Dynasty, only the Great Zhen Dynasty!"
After delivering his report, the soldier promptly exited the hall.
"Do you see? The third army has now emerged!" Six Paths sneered coldly.
"The Great Zhen Dynasty has been nning this for a long time. With three armies, each led by exceptionalmanders, Your Majesty, we are truly facing a tough battle," Du Xiu said with a bitter smile.
"Have themanders of these three armies been identified?" Six Paths asked.
"Later reports confirmed them as themanders of the Great Zhen Dynasty''s First Corps and Second Corps. Since the Ming Dynasty has joined the Great Zhen Dynasty, themander of the third army under the ''Yi'' g is also clear: Yi Yan,mander of the Great Zhen Dynasty''s Third Corps!" Du Xiu exined.
"Yi Yan? Could it be the immensely powerful Yi Yan from the Divine Land? It''s impossible. He''s the Grand Commander of the Imperial Capital, why would hee to a small dynasty? Perhaps it''s a case of homonyms," Six Paths pondered, shaking his head.
"Your Majesty, it seems that our true opponents are not the three major dynasties but this Great Zhen Dynasty. Soon, we may face a decisive battle," Du Xiu suggested after some thought.
"Indeed. What do you all think we should do?" Six Paths turned to the ministers.
"Your Majesty, we should temporarily ignore the three armies of the Great Zhen Dynasty and focus on capturing as many cities as we can. We should also recruit the armies of the three major dynasties to resist the Great Zhen Dynasty together," one minister proposed.
"No, Your Majesty!" Du Xiu immediately objected.
"Oh?" Six Paths looked at Du Xiu.
"Your Majesty, if we recruit the armies of the three major dynasties while the Great Zhen Dynasty is also recruiting them, they are currently weak. If we only gain a little benefit from them, but for the Great Zhen Dynasty, it will be eating meat. Now, the Great Zhen Dynasty is strong, but it''s not as strong as our dynasty. If they growrger, it will be toote for us to overthrow them!" Du Xiu urgently exined.
"Minister Du has a point. They are just a small dynasty. How can theypare with our dynasty?" the earlier minister argued.
"Your Majesty, in the past, our Yin Moon Empire was also just a small dynasty. We cannot afford to becent!" Du Xiu insisted.
Six Paths nced at everyone, his brow slightly furrowed, before he dered, "Inform the First Corps, Second Corps, and Third Corps to halt their advance on surrounding cities and focus all efforts on encircling the Great Zhen Dynasty''s armies."
"Indeed!" the ministers immediately responded—
Da Lou Kingdom, Xuanjing, Changsheng Hall
Zhongshan donned a set of War Dragon robes, looking at the white little wolf before him. The wolf nudged Zhongshan''s leg unhappily.
"It''s alright, Xianxian. Don''t me yourself. I know your grandfather won''te. If he didn''te, then so be it. It doesn''t matter. We will still unify Tiang Ind," Zhongshan chuckled, patting Xianxian''s head.
"Woo woo woo," Xianxian whimpered, still somewhat upset.
"Alright, we should go," Zhongshan said. The little wolf wagged its tail and followed Zhongshan out of Changsheng Hall.
Outside Changsheng Hall stood Bao''er, Qianyou, Wei Taizhong, Haomeili, and numerous officials. In the distance were tens of thousands of Imperial Guards, each a top member of the Da Lou Kingdom''s military.
"Long live our Emperor, long live, long live!"
Except for Haomeili''s disdainful look, everyone else shouted with fervor.
"Lu Jianping——"
"Here!" Lu Jianping responded promptly.
"Prepare to depart——" Zhongshan ordered.
"Yes!" Lu Jianping replied immediately.
Then, Lu Jianping waved his hand, and the vastnd where tens of thousands of Imperial Guards were fighting slowly ascended into the air.
This was a huge floating indpletely forged from bronze by Lu Jianping himself, inscribed with formations. It could carry people and float in the sky. Under the propulsion of the formations, it could even fly, much like the ''Divine Ship'' of the ancient Xuan King.
Apanied by Zhongshan were Xianxian, Bao''er, Qianyou, Haomeili, and Lu Jianping as they soared onto the massive triangr floating ind.
On the triangr floating ind, the Imperial Guards were all excited, standing straight.
Wei Taizhong stayed behind, bowing with other ministers simultaneously, "May Your Majesty have victory and reign for ten thousand years!"
On the bronze battle ind, shaped like a triangle, with several pces on it, at one corner was ced a Nine Dragons Emperor Throne, facing squarely towards the front outside.
Zhongshan flew to the Nine Dragons Emperor Throne and slowly sat down. The others stood around Zhongshan, while Xianxian curiously ran around the surroundings.
"Depart——" Zhongshan gave the order.
"Yes!" Lu Jianping immediately responded. Then, the bronze battle ind elerated slowly towards the north, swiftly departing.
Da Lou Kingdom, Zhongshan''s Imperial Expedition, officially entered the northern battlefield——
Yin Yue Dynasty, Imperial Court
"Hahaha, what audacity!" Liu Dao sneered in frustration.
"Your Majesty, does Da Lou Kingdom really not want to live? Are they not going to fight? Our dynasty has deployed three army corps, and they only have Wei Yinn facing us? Is she the only one opposing our three army corps? Meanwhile, Yi Yan and Lin Xiao are still seizing other cities. Hubris leads to defeat!" a minister quickly chimed in.
"Your Majesty, the situation is worse than imagined," Du Xiu frowned.
"Duke Du, what do you mean? Their arrogance and conceit, isn''t that advantageous for our dynasty? What''s there to fear?" the earlier minister asked.
"They cannot be unaware of our dynasty''s strength. With the shifts in our three army corps'' routes, how could they not know? Wei Yinn has been unstoppable in her path, that is undeniable. But would such amander make such a basic mistake? Even if she did, did Lin Xiao and Yi Yan also make the same mistake simultaneously?" Du Xiu furrowed his brow.
"Spread mymand!" Liu Dao suddenly spoke up.
The ministers immediately stopped talking.
"The First Legion, the Second Legion, the Third Legion, charge with full force, sparing no cost, and annihte the army led by Wei Yinn," Liu Dao ordered.
"Yes!" the ministers promptly responded—
<strong>Tiang Ind, amidst the east-west traversing forests and mountains, where arge number of wolves raced madly. At this moment, wolves were everywhere, escorting a bronze battle ind in the sky.</strong>
Wherever Zhongshan passed, everything went smoothly. From time to time, scouts flew up to the bronze battle ind to report on the frontline situation to Zhongshan. Continuous reports of victories came from the frontline: the three major dynasties had all beenpletely defeated.
Yi Yan had captured thirty cities, Lin Xiao had seized eighteen fortresses, and after securing twelve fortresses, Yinn began to reorganize her troops, preparing to face the army of the Yin Yue Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, where are we heading?" Lu Jianping asked.
"Due north, to the frontline. The battlefield of Yinn!" Zhongshan replied.
"Yes!" Lu Jianping immediately responded.
"Inform Lin Xiao and Yi Yan''s armies. As long as they have enough manpower, our objective is to swiftly crush the Yin Yue Dynasty. Those remote cities can be ignored for now. Once the Yin Yue Dynasty falls, Tiang Ind will belong entirely to the Da Lou Kingdom. Quickly gather our forces and join Yinn''s left and right wings. Prepare to march towards the city of Jinling!" Zhongshan ordered.
"Yes!" Lu Jianping responded ahead.
At this moment, Haomeili emerged from a pce behind.
"They sure have quite the momentum!" Haomeili remarked.
"War should be like this," Zhongshan nodded.
"How about this, let me help you deal with that Yin Yue Dynasty? Just watch me wipe them out!" Haomeili stared at Zhongshan and smiled.
Turning his head, Zhongshan looked at Haomeili. He never doubted her abilities. Although she had just entered the Golden Core stage, Haomeili''s abilities were extraordinary. One could almost say she was invincible! If she chose to oppose someone, she could even knock down stars from the sky to crush her opponents.
"No, just watch is enough! Thank you for your kind offer," Zhongshan immediately shook his head and declined.
"Why?" Haomeili narrowed her eyes, clearly displeased, as if her carefully crafted n had been interrupted by Zhongshan.
"Your help would be too costly, and I can''t afford it!" Zhongshan said very directly.
Zhongshan knew that Haomeili must have her own demands for following him. What was she seeking? The Dragon Pce couldn''t do it, her master, the Poison Emperor, couldn''t do it, and even her own body, the Ten Thousand Evils Body, couldn''t achieve it. How enormous must her difficulties be? It was better to refuse early.