Chapter 768: Merits and Rewards
After all those fierce battles, the situation in this war was close to an all-out collapse. Flames were raging in every part of the city, and many experts had taken to the air while ordinary soldiers fought to their deaths on the ground. The two warbeasts had reached the walls and were promptly held up by Liu Daoming—but anyone could see that the man wasn’t going to last long against these giant creatures.
Having killed the three-man team and eradicated puppet warriors in the hundreds, it could be said that Qianye’s contributions made up the most important segment of the battle. Otherwise, this group could’ve easily fought against a marquis-level expert. Yet, he could not reverse the flow of the entire battle or fight against the dense, locust-like tide of soldiers.
Qianye decisively changed directions and ran toward the noble district. With Su Dingqian overseeing that place, the flames of war hadn’t yet spread here. It was only a matter of time, though, judging from the situation of the battle. Su Dingqian couldn’t actually attack due to the threat of the other party’s divine champion. Under such circumstances, Qianye had to return to Nighteye and Zhuji—he couldn’t put their safety in the hands of another.
Arriving outside of the small courtyard, Qianye could sense an unfamiliar aura inside. Who would come to visit at such a time? Could something unexpected have happened?
“Bang!” Qianye crashed right through the gates and rushed into the courtyard.
In the compound, Nighteye was quietly reading a book. One had to wonder how tough a job it was to stay calm and read amidst the continuous rumble of cannons and guns.
Relieved after seeing Nighteye unharmed, Qianye glanced about in search of this unfamiliar aura. It wasn’t him being paranoid—this faintly discernible aura filled his heart with apprehension and even his blood core was trembling slightly. It was as if he had encountered a powerful enemy.
“What are you looking for?” Nighteye asked, putting down her book.
“I can sense another aura here. Did someone come here just now?”
“No, it’s only me and Zhuji here, the little girl is sleeping inside.”
Qianye was speechless; Zhuji was actually still sleeping under such circumstances. The flames of war had almost burned the skies, yet the two here were either reading or sleeping. What a tranquil and relaxed life!
Despite Nighteye saying there was no one here, Qianye still searched through every corner of the courtyard, but in the end, his efforts were in vain. That aura had vanished completely without leaving a single trace behind.
“Afraid of me hiding a man?” Nighteye smiled spuriously.
“Of course not.” Qianye quickly described the unfamiliar aura to her.
After pondering for a while, Nighteye said, “According to ancient records, every vampire bloodline has a position in the River of Blood. The closer one is to the first drop of blood, the greater his power and suppression on the lower bloodlines. Your bloodline isn’t below mine and is probably at the primogenitor level, so theoretically, only those of primogenitor blood can make you feel a sense of danger. But there are only a handful of primos in the entire race. Discounting the useless ones with insufficient bloodline awakening, there’s only me and Edward.”
“Perhaps there are other primos?”
Nighteye shook her head. “Impossible. The appearance of a primo is an important matter for the vampire race as a whole. There are numerous ceremonies required to stabilize the primo bloodline, and one of them is calling out to the River of Blood. Whenever this rite is performed, all primos and characters above the duke level will sense it. So, it’s impossible for there to be an unknown primo.”
The explanation was fairly reasonable, but as nothing in the world was absolute, Qianye couldn’t quite dispel his concern about this aura. Nonetheless, this wasn’t the time to linger on this matter. “Collect your things and wake Zhuji up, prepare to retreat.”
“The battle hasn’t ended, has it?”
“It won’t be long now. The outcome cannot be changed, Su Dingqian will issue the order very soon.”
His words hadn’t even trailed off when the City Lord’s voice echoed over Port City. “The enemy momentum is too strong. Today, we shall retreat temporarily. The city guard will open up a path, and all guest experts will follow. This seat will personally serve as the rearguard! Brother Liu, leave those two beasts to me.”
Liu Daoming was mired in an arduous battle. After hearing the call, he launched a series of attacks before flying back into Port City. The enemies in the city were instantly routed with his assistance, and the city guard came together for a westward breakthrough.
The independent experts grouped up to break the siege, including Qianye and Nighteye. Little Zhuji was on Nighteye’s back with her eyes half-closed and about to fall asleep at any moment.
After a night of arduous battles, the three forces had also suffered grievous losses and had little intention of overrunning the retreating defenders. They quickly recalled their forces after a few kilometers of chase.
Su Dingqian was edging back slowly in the air. One man and one sword—he had remained to guard the army’s rear during its retreat. Seeing that their own divine champion wasn’t making an appearance, none of the enemy soldiers would charge to their deaths.
This retreat lasted one day and night, all the way until they had reached a small city two hundred kilometers away. Those who had retreated with Su Dingqian consisted of a thousand-some city guards, all of them at rank-three or above. The weaker ones couldn’t keep up with the pace of retreat. As for the tens of thousands of civilians, they could only remain in Port City and await their upcoming fate. Normally, the occupants of a city would take civilians in for their own use and not slaughter them wantonly. There was quite a bit of menial work involved in collecting the Earth Dragon’s products, and they would need to rely on the civilians for them.
While they were resting, Su Dingqian assembled all the independent experts.
After everyone had arrived, the city lord cleared his throat. “Everyone, our temporary retreat is only a plan of convenience because the enemy momentum was too strong during this battle. What does a momentary loss of a territory and city count for? As long as the city guard remains loyal, everyone here is willing to help, and this Su remains standing, taking the city back is only a matter of time.”
The group became spirited after hearing these words. Qianye secretly praised the flexibility of Su Dingqian. While trying to recruit people, he had pushed himself to the last place and referred to himself as “this Su” instead of “this seat”. All these arrogant and obstinate experts were delighted to see how humble this divine champion was.
Su Dingqian spoke once more, “The enemy appears strong, but they are far from unified inside and full of contradictions. How can their alliance last long? The Spider Emperor and Wolf King are enemies, to begin with, and the friction between them is constant. As for the Moonlight Demons, everyone knows their reputation. Who would dare to cooperate with them sincerely? This Su believes that their party will soon collapse and disperse.”
Everyone had confidence in the reasonable analysis. A burly man in the crowd asked, “City Lord Su, why would they risk life and limb to take Port City? As I see it, the gains won’t make up for the losses!”
This question was somewhat on point, and it immediately caught Qianye’s full attention. These losses couldn’t be recouped even if they occupied the city for half a decade. It was obvious that those armored puppets weren’t easy to raise, yet close to a thousand of them were lost today. Perhaps there was some incredible secret in Port City enticing the enemy to attack so frantically.
Su Dingqian replied frankly, “The Earth Dragon, of course, what other reason can there be?”
“The Earth Dragon’s products are in the market every year, are they really enough to cover the losses?”
Su Dingqian smiled. “Everyone here is a life and death comrade, so this Su will speak openly. What I see is that the Spider Emperor, Mask, and Wolf King are all after the Earth Dragon’s blood.”
“Earth Dragon’s blood!” A series of gasps echoed in the room, but many others wore expressions of puzzlement. This Earth Dragon’s blood sounded like an incredible treasure, but no one knew what it looked like or what uses it had.
This reaction was within the city lord’s expectations. He stroked his short beard and said with a smile, “I think none of you know what the Earth Dragon’s blood actually is, or even what the Earth Dragon looks like.”
“Yes, could it be that City Lord Su has seen the Earth Dragon before? Why don’t you tell us in detail and broaden our horizons?” Everyone was enthusiastic.
Su Dingqian laughed. “The information about the Earth Dragon was actually spread by yours truly, but even I have no idea what the Earth Dragon looks like.”
Everyone was astonished. “Ah, how come you don’t know?
Su Dingqian sighed. “It’s quite an embarrassment. This Su has tried to investigate the Earth Dragon’s location some years ago, but it was too dangerous an endeavor. With my cultivation, even approaching the dragon involved many dangers. Hence, I decided to back off and never dared to set foot there again. Many years have passed, and this Su’s cultivation has made some progress, but I still can’t drum up the courage to go under the ground again.”
Everyone glanced at one another. Who would’ve thought even someone of Su Dingqian’s strength wasn’t able to see the Earth Dragon. Even if everyone here were to double in cultivation, they would never return from an encounter with the colossus.
Another person probed, “Then City Lord, who do you think can see the Earth Dragon’s true face?”
Su Dingqian pondered for a moment. “Only a heavenly monarch!”
Even the greediest of people discarded all untoward thoughts at this point. They also realized that Su Dingqian spreading news about the Earth Dragon’s blood wasn’t out of good intentions. Most likely, he was pushing the enemy toward the Earth Dragon and getting someone else to do the dirty work. This was an overt plot—but how many dukes and divine champions at their bottlenecks could resist the temptation?
Perhaps the Spider Emperor’s group had prepared their own methods, but the three of them together still couldn’t match a heavenly monarch. It was likely that they would suffer quite a bit after entering the earth.
After concluding this topic, Su Dingqian said, “The battle of Port City has come to an end and everyone here has contributed greatly to it. I announced back then that I was willing to open my treasury to repay everyone. Men, bring them up!”
Several people entered the room with several large crates and opened them one after the other, filling the room with the glow and energy of treasures.
Everyone here was knowledgeable enough to judge the treasures’ value and were soon filled with desire.