Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Tremendous changes had taken place in the Western Region.
In less than a year, the Shu-lik in the west had lost more than half their territory. The capital was occupied and the royal family had fled to an unknown destination. They had essentially lost the ability to fight.
Golden Roc Fort and Norland worked to advance towards the East, and defeated two small countries in succession. They were approaching the sphere of influence of Central Plain in the Western Regions. A larger war would break out soon.
The four countries including Xiaoyao Lake surrendered one after another and became the vassals of Golden Roc Fort. In order to show their loyalty, they took turns asking to meet, demonstrating their willingness to abdicate the throne and become marquis’.
Shangguan Fa, who had been dreaming of getting the real, kingly title, became reserved and refused all the requests of abdication, but everyone knew that the “Supreme King”, a name only known in jianghu, would turn into one of the Kings in the Western Region. It was just a matter of time.
Golden Roc Fort had almost removed all their troublesome neighbours, leaving only the unimpressive Stone Kingdom.
The country was still standing, which was beyond the expectations of many people.
It was a small country in the easternmost part of Xiaoyao Lake with small land area and sparsely populated. Compared with other countries, such as Xiaoyao Lake, it belonged to the weak, not to mention the Western Region .
However, facing the continuous siege, it had stood for eight months. It was even more tenacious than the much larger Shu-lik.
There were many reasons why Stone Kingdom could maintain independence, the most important being the indifference of Supreme King towards it. The most important enemy of Golden Roc Fort and Norland was the Central Plains. Therefore, the main force was in the East and it was difficult to depatch the troops to fight in the South.
The coalition forces, which were composed of Kang, Sha, Hui and An Kingdom, seiged the capital of Stone Kingdom, but the result was disappointing. Although the casualties were heavy, they did not manage to breach the city wall.
A few months later, the battle of Shu-lik came to an end. Finally, the Supreme King paid attention to this small southern country, and he was very surprised that it had not been conquered.
However, Golden Roc Fort had been preparing the battle with the Central Plains, and still had no spare power to depatch soliders to the South, so the Supreme King sent a general and dozens of killers to command the four countries to fight.
Under the request of the new general, the countries recruited men who were the appropriate age. The army that seiged the capital gradually increased from 2,000 to nearly 5,000 people.
The new general was still not satisfied with that. However, they could not get one more solider from Golden Roc Fort and those four countries, so they had to cast their nets in the tribes in Wushan.
The tribes in Wushan did not intend to be involved in disputes in the Western Regions. Some were delicate about it while others were more straightforward. They all refused to depatch troops.
The refined iron in Wushan was an important strategic material. Golden Roc Fort had been quietly placing people in the area, ordering them to provoke a big battle between the mine thieves and the locals. When the two sides could not defeat each other and asked Golden Roc Fort for help, they would naturally send troops to join the war of seiging the Stone Kingdom, and even have time to take part in the decisive battle against the Central Plains.
The plan was close to successful, but suddenly there was strange news that the Dragon King had resurrected and led a main force to Wushan from the wilderness. There were not many people who believed it. When the army really arrived, the spies of Golden Roc Fort suddenly became harried.
Finally, a machetemen who had been lurking in Wushan for many years came up with a “wonderful idea”: they couldn’t fight against the Dragon King in public, but they could “help” him to defeat the tribal coalition forces to gain trust. After that, they would lead him to the depths of Wushan, which could consume the strength of the army of the Great Snowmountain, or present an opportunity to assassinate the Dragon King, which was a great achievement.
The machetemen was very clever, but he had ignored one point. His plots were very effective for the mine thieves and the locals in Wushan, but were not worth mentioning to the Dragon King.
It was from this macheteman’s mouth that Gu Shenwei learned of the changes in the Western Region.
The Stone Kingdom had not surrendered, which was another gift that God gave to the army of the Great Snowmountain. Gu Shenwei was glad that he had chosen Zhong Heng as the Prime Minister of Stone Kingdom.
However, the present situation was still very critical. Wushan was long and vast, but there was only one passageway into and out of Xiaoyao Lake, located in the north and connected with the An Kingdom, and the passage was narrow and tortuous. Once closed, 10,000 troops would be trapped in the mountains and unable to return to the Western Region.
Gu Shenwei made a series of decisions.
Long Fanyun, the chief of Canopy Peak, led 500 selected vanguards. Guided by several locals, they set off immediately, aiming to get out of the mountain as soon as possible.
Tuo Nengya, the old machetemen, led their machetemen and two thousand soldiers to follow Long Fanyun.
With Long Xiaoshi, the chief of Danduo Peak, leading the main force, they steadily opened up a safe route to ensure the connection with the Land of Fragrance.
The tribes in Wushan still had conflict with the mine thieves, but they did not hold a deep hatred against Golden Roc Fort. Therefore, Gu Shenwei allowed them to leave, leaving only few volunteers to act as hostages and guides.
After finishing everything, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus set off with light pack and walked in the forefront. They were ready to fight against the killers of Golden Roc Fort who were rushing out of the mountain.
Their leader was Ha Chilie. Because Dragon King had rescued the tribal coalition forces, he was very glad to have the chance to return this favor.
The road was rough. It was pointless to use horses, so they chose to walk on foot. Ha Chilie knew terrain of Wushan well, and he chose a shortcut. Although it was more difficult to walk, this would save a lot of time.
Gu Shenwei was very anxious to walk nonstop, which was so hard even according to the standards of killers in Golden Roc Fort. In the first three days, Ha Chi wanted to compete with killers and persisted without a word. However, on the fourth day, he could not stand it. He almost walked off the cliff several times in a daze, but was dragged back to safety by Dragon King.
“Dragon King… I know your ability. But your guard is a woman… she is so amazing.” When they finally stopped, Ha Chilie admired Maid Lotus with sincerity. The most admirable person was Maid Lotus, but not the Dragon King, because the Dragon King should be this person.
Ha Chilie did not know the name of Maid Lotus, but he had seen her fight against those five spies on the hillside. Besides, having walked with her for a few days, he admired her even more in his heart, “We can’t find women like you in Wushan, hehe…”
He suddenly found that he had been staring at her all this time, so immediately turned his head and blushed, embarrassed.
Maid Lotus did not say anything, but she was not angry.
This was just a small episode on the road. After that, regardless of fatigue and drowsiness, they continued to move forward day and night. No one had mood and energy to say a word.
For fifteen days, they only took less than ten short breaks. Finally, after nearly a month, they arrived at their destination – the first checkpoint of the main road in Wushan.
Actually, it was not a checkpoint, but a stockaded village of the tribes. It was especially used to charge toll for the caravans that transported ores and provide accommodation and meals. The cost was not high, but was enough to feed the old and the young in the village.
When they arrived at the village, Gu Shenwei finally understood the “importance”of the road. This was a canyon with high cliffs on both sides. In the middle, only five or six people could walk side by side.
The canyon was more than 5,000 meters long, and the middle of the valley widened slightly. There were many natural or artificial caves on the wall, which were the homes of the tribe residents.
As long as they were willing, people in the village could use the stones to build a number of checkpoints along the canyon only in a few days, and mere hundreds of people could stop thousands of soldiers and horses.
Gu Shenwei could not think of any ways to break through this obstacle.
Thanks to the shortcut led by Ha Chilie, when they rushed to the village, they did not find killers.
In fact, news that the Dragon King and the army of the Great Snowmountain had entered Wushan was still spreading on the road by the three people who had been behind.
Everything in the village was as usual. Lines of vehicles were parked on the roadside. There were various kinds of ores on it, but mostly iron. They had to be smelted outside the mountains.
The village was small, and there were more businessmen and miners than the locals.
Ha Chilie’s attitude towards the Dragon King had undergone major changes from forced obedience to the voluntary loyalty. He knew that the matter was urgent. Because the power of Golden Roc Fort in this area was much larger than that of the Dragon King, he did not rest for a moment, but asked to see the chief immediately.
“The chief here is an old friend of my father and will listen to my advice.”
This was the most ideal plan. Dragon King and Maid Lotus could kill many people, but they had no way to occupy the entire village.
The chief was the fattest person Gu Shenwei had even seen. He was sitting on a soft cushion that was enough to accommodate three people, but had no room.
Compared with his body, his arms were as short and fleshy as a baby.
The chief was trying to open his arms to welcome the arrival of the old friend’s son, “My nephew, how long have you not come to see me? Have you been married? My little daughter has been waiting for you.”
Ha Chilie bowed deeply to the chief, “I am the guardian of Wushan and the owner of Gulping Wind Gorge. Please accept my best wishes. I have brought my father’s greetings and thanks for your years of care of Dongshan Mountain Tribe.”
In Wushan, people had their rules and traditions: When acquaintances met, they must give gifts. However, they were hurrying to leave and had not taken anything, so Ha Chilie offered his own treasured saber.
The chief accepted the gift and recognized that it was a rare weapon. Looking at the tired Ha Chilie who had walked for long time, and the proud man and woman behind him, he immediately understood that the great event was going to happen.
“Ha Chilie, why don’t you introduce your friends? Do you think I am not hospitable enough?”
Ha Chilie apologized to the chief, but delayed in revealing the identity of the Dragon King. The Wushan tribes had never been interested in the disputes outside the mountain, but the forces of Golden Roc Fort had infiltrated here. Moreover, it was still a big customer of their ores, so the good impression it got was far more than that of the Great Snowmountain.
If the Dragon King had a little popularity in Wushan, the Great Snowmountain was an entirely strange name.
After recounting the story of the spies of Golden Roc Fort instigating the mine thieves to sneakily attack the tribal coalition forces, Ha Chilie finally spoke the name of the Dragon King.
The chief was very surprised. Like many people who saw the Dragon King for the first time, he looked at Gu Shenwei up and down. It was hard to believe that this pale young man was the head of an army.
But he was more observant than most people. The Dragon King had some temperament in himself, which made him understand that this young man’s reputation was not hollow.
The chief tried to move his fat body and pay tribute to the Dragon King, “Welcome, to you and your army. The Gulping Wind Gorge was a trade route. As long as people follow the rules, no one will be blocked out of the valley. ”
Gu Shenwei nodded slightly. He knew what the “rules” were, “We will pay customs duties according to the number of people, which shouldn’t be less than 31.25 grams.”
The chief looked very satisfied and then unfolded his arms again, “The more friends, the better. You have been a friend of us since then. Come and bring good wine and dishes. I want to have a drink with my new friends until we are thoroughly drunk.”
Ha Chilie looked back happily at the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei had been carefully observing them and found no suspicious signs. The chief and his people seemed to be sincere, but the only person that surprised him was Maid Lotus.
She was as quiet as usual, but Gu Shenwei could feel a little tension from her. This was a signal that there was danger nearby.
