Chapter 44: The Barbarian Lord
In the capital of the Barbarian Nation – the Divine City.
Inside the New Moon Temple, one of the four great divine temples.
A stunningly beautiful woman with purple hair knelt in the center of a formation. Twelve moon wheels revolved around her body, streams of moonlight cascading onto her purple robe, exuding an air of elegance and nobility.
“Puff!”
Suddenly, a mouthful of fresh blood stained the formation red, and all twelve moon wheels shattered.
The purple-haired woman’s pupils constricted sharply as she called out anxiously: “I must see His Eminence! Quickly!”
In the Divine City – the Golden Temple.
A towering divine statue stood erect, endless golden divine aura pouring down from its hands, illuminating the entire Golden Temple.
Below, the throne representing eternity clung tightly to the statue.
On the throne sat an old man with white hair and beard, curled up clutching a holy sword. His cloudy eyes opened forcefully as if sensing something.
“Greetings, Your Eminence!”
The once invincible war god had ultimately succumbed to the ravages of time. The purple-haired woman knelt before the eternal throne, her heart filled with a touch of melancholy.
“Zi Yue, you… are injured.”
After a long while, the Barbarian Lord rolled his throat and uttered a few words with difficulty.
His already muddled mind began to ponder – who could have injured Zi Yue, the High Priestess of the New Moon Temple?
“Your Eminence, Zi Yue, has something important to report. It’s about you.”
Zi Yue’s voice interrupted the Barbarian Lord’s thoughts.
“How much longer… can I live?” the Barbarian Lord asked with furrowed brows.
Sweat beaded on Zi Yue’s forehead as she lowered her head and replied, “Your Eminence, less than two days! Possibly by tomorrow night!”
Boom!
The terrifying aura that erupted from that withered body made Zi Yue’s chest tighten, nearly causing her to cough up another mouthful of blood that would have defiled the temple.
“Why?!”
The Barbarian Lord, supporting himself with the holy sword, slowly sat up straight on his throne. His eagle-like eyes were filled with a chilling, murderous intent.
“Seven days ago, you reported that I still had a year left! You dare deceive me?!”
“Zi Yue wouldn’t dare! I beg Your Eminence to calm your anger!” Zi Yue prostrated herself on the gleaming floor.
“Bang!”
The scabbard hit the ground heavily, and the Barbarian Lord bulged his eyes and screamed miserably “Calm my anger? Then tell me why!”
Zi Yue’s entire body was already drenched in cold sweat. She had only divined His Eminence’s time of death, not the cause.
The cause of His Eminence’s death was shrouded in a hazy gray mist, as if deliberately concealed.
The cause of death…
Sudden illness? A prince’s rebellion? Assassination? Or something else?
“Your Eminence will die by an assassin’s hand!”
Zi Yue blurted out almost instinctively.
In the end, she gambled everything on her sixth sense!
“Hahahaha!!!” The Barbarian Lord, propping himself up with the sword, laughed maniacally.
“Zi Yue, you say an assassin will come to kill me?”
What a joke!
An enormous joke!
This is the Divine City!
Even if the legendary Sword Saint (Divine Wandering realm) or Magic Saint were to come personally, they couldn’t kill him!
He is the ruler of the Barbarian Kingdom! He is the son of God!
He, like “God”, is an eternal and immortal being!
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
At this point, even if it were false, she had to affirm it as truth!
“Inform my unfilial children that there will be a family banquet tomorrow night. They must all attend!”
The violent aura surrounding the Barbarian Lord dissipated, and he leaned back, once again becoming that frail old man.
“Yes, Your Eminence! Zi Yue will go notify the princes at once.”
“Mm.”
With a deep acknowledgment, Zi Yue carefully retreated from the Golden Temple.
After a moment of silence in the vast Golden Temple, a mysterious figure in a black robe, face unseen, emerged from behind the divine statue.
“Your Eminence,” the mysterious person called softly and respectfully.
“What’s the progress on the immortality elixir?” the Barbarian Lord asked coldly after coughing dryly a few times.
“Your Eminence, we still lack one catalyst.”
“What catalyst?”
“We need the heart and eyes of a person with the divine pupil.”
“Cough, cough, have you found such a person?”
The mysterious person replied with some apology: “Your Eminence, we have found one, but unfortunately, that person with the divine pupil is in the Qing Dynasty.”
“My people were stopped at the border by the Qing Dynasty’s Martial Guard Division. We cannot bring that person to Your Eminence in a short time.”
The Barbarian Lord understood the mysterious person’s meaning, his eyes gleaming coldly: “Marching south still requires time to prepare.”
“Moreover, didn’t you just hear? My life will come to an end in less than two days!” The Barbarian Lord’s tone was full of sarcasm.
“Please rest assured, Your Eminence. Divination is meant to foresee the unknown, and the future is always full of uncertainties. Mere assassins are not worth worrying about.”
“With Your Eminence fully prepared, and my accompaniment, we will surely turn misfortune into fortune for Your Eminence.”
“Hehe, assassins…”
The Barbarian Lord glanced sideways and asked, “Which of my unfilial children do you think sent the assassins?”
“I dare not speculate!” The mysterious person bowed.
“You may leave.”
“Yes.”
――――――
By the shore of Lake Bei.
Six magnificent horses drank greedily from the lake. After galloping for hundreds of miles under the scorching sun, even the finest steeds would be exhausted.
“Captain, look over there.”
Xuanwu pointed towards the end of the grassland, where a faint black line could be seen, like a trail of moving ants.
“That’s the Barbarians’ supply convoy. They’re moving large amounts of weapons and food southward. Without a doubt, they’re preparing to march south.”
“Roughly how many people?” Shen Yian frowned.
“About 3,000 people. The line stretches for miles. A small portion are Barbarian soldiers, the rest are mostly conscripted civilians.”
Shen Yian shook his head: “Too many people. It’s easy to alert them.”
He didn’t want to lose the melon while picking up sesame seeds.
Although they were all top experts, there were only six of them.
Even if they were to kill 3,000 pigs, it would take quite a while.
After resting for a while, Shen Yian looked at the six magnificent horses that had finished eating and drinking and were now playing in the water. He stood up and said: “Alright, let’s continue our journey. We’ll try to reach the next city before nightfall.”
Xuanwu gazed at the Barbarian supply convoy, feeling a bit of regret.
If they could launch a surprise attack on this Barbarian supply convoy, it would definitely be a great achievement.
Suddenly, he was somewhat glad they didn’t bring the Zhuque kid. With that boy’s fiery temperament, he probably would have rushed in already.
“Hya!”
The six mounted their horses and continued on their way.
The setting sun and evening breeze complemented the curling smoke from chimneys, and the aroma of food throughout the city stimulated their taste buds.
“Why are there food stalls everywhere here?”
It was Xuanwu’s first time in a city deep in Barbarian territory, and he was a bit stunned by all the street food stalls.
“Because this is the City of Cuisine – Jia Lan,” Shen Yian replied, looking at the map in his hand.
“We’ll rest here for the night. We’ll set out early tomorrow morning, and we should reach the Divine City around this time tomorrow.”
E Lai shyly extended his finger and gently poked Shen Yian’s shoulder.
“Hmm?”
E Lai didn’t speak the Barbarian language and was hesitant to speak up on such a crowded street, so he just pointed at his mouth.
Shen Yian understood immediately. He took out a bag full of Barbarian Nation copper coins and handed it to Bai Shi: “Bai Shi, buy whatever E Lai wants to eat.”
In Naluote, they left the city right after stealing the horses.
In Jia Lan, since they would be staying overnight, it was better to keep a low profile.
“Yes, Captain.”
“Um… Captain…” Xuanwu coughed dryly twice. The aroma wafting through the city really made him want to try these exotic delicacies too, but he lacked the funds.
“How much do you want to borrow this time?” Shen Yian raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.
Xuanwu’s face fell. Why did it become “borrowing” when it came to him?
Shen Yian took out a noticeably smaller money bag and handed it to Xuanwu: “This is worth fifty taels of silver.”
“Shen Jun, record it.”
Shen Jun nodded and immediately took out a small notebook to record it.
“Thank… you… Captain…”
Xuanwu accepted the money bag, his smile more painful than crying.