Chapter 554
Chapter 554
Big Dummy trampled the Dao brothers and continued to advance westward, pushing on until he was a mile or two from the border. Finally, with the tree tucked under his arm, Big Dummy charged madly toward the State of Yue's border. Along the way, he saw the heavy cavalry of Chu scattering in all directions. He was a bit bewildered.
‘Should I hit them too?’
Seeing his hesitation, the fleeing Chu heavy cavalrymen scattered even faster.
‘Damn it. The State of Yue is too much. Where in the world did they find these monsters? The two thousand we just fought were incredible enough, but this giant one seems even more terrifying. If he swings that tree like a weapon, one hit would turn not just a man but his warhorse into mincemeat.’
* * *
Meanwhile, the battle between Go Duhwan and Hoyeon Ya was reaching its conclusion. Suddenly, their fight came to an abrupt halt. Hoyeon Ya spoke.
“I have lost.”
The onlookers were stunned.
‘He lost? Why didn't we see anything?’
They truly hadn't seen anything, because Hoyeon Ya was destined to be defeated in three more moves. In a duel between supreme masters, seizing the momentum was everything. Even if the final blow had not yet landed, they could foresee the outcome.
“Hoyeon Ya!”
“Go Iljin!”
“I look forward to meeting again, should fate allow it!”
“I, too, look forward to it!”
The two returned to their respective camps. It was a pity the circumstances were not right for them to immediately become sworn brothers.
In the three battles of this border showdown, the State of Yue had achieved a complete victory.
* * *
Was it all over? It would be a shame for such a magnificent battle, the likes of which might be seen only once a century, to end just like that. The envoys from the various nations felt almost intoxicated.
“Magnificent!”
“Magnificent!”
“Magnificent!”
The spectating envoys from every nation could no longer contain themselves, waving their arms and shouting. The State of Yue might well become their enemy in the future, but this was a world that revered heroes. The battle displayed by Yue's new army was so truly incredible that it sent shivers down their spines, leaving them breathless. This was a true miracle army, an elite force of the highest caliber. After the envoys from the various nations roared their approval, the thousands of Imperial Guards on Yue's side began to wave their arms and cheer as well.
“The State of Yue is valiant! Magnificent!”
“A complete victory!”
“Long live the King! Long live the King!”
Some might point out that the term 'Long Live' should not be used carelessly, reserved only for the Emperor. However, that restriction only came about in the later periods of China's feudal dynasties; in the early days, it could be used more freely. One need only look to the Sui Dynasty, where a fierce general’s name meant 'Ten Thousand Years'.
Ning Zheng, in full military attire, walked to the base of the grandstand built for the decisive battle, bowed, and spoke.
“Fortunately, I have not failed my mission.”
At that moment, the Prince of Yan from the Great Yan Dynasty appeared on the grandstand and announced in a clear, resonant voice:
“I hereby declare to the world that the decisive battle at the border between the states of Chu and Yue has officially concluded, and the State of Yue is victorious.”
“Long live! Long live! Long live!”
On the Yue side, whether they were officials, Imperial Guards, or Zhong Yao's western army, all waved their arms and cheered in unison. Regardless of their individual positions, this victory belonged to the entire State of Yue.
Ning Zheng raised the royal banner of Yue high and slowly ascended the grandstand. According to custom, the king of the victorious side had to wave the royal banner from the grandstand. Afterward, that banner would be permanently planted on the stand to commemorate the victory.
But could the King of Yue, so gravely ill, even wave the banner? The flagpole and banner together weighed over a hundred pounds. Walking onto the platform, Ning Zheng knelt on one knee and presented the royal banner to King Ning Yuanxian of Yue. Everyone was taken aback by the sight.
‘Ning Zheng, are you trying to humiliate your father now? Won't this put him in an awkward position? You know he's too sick to lift the banner.’
Sure enough, all eyes turned to King Ning Yuanxian. Huddled under a thick, cotton-padded cloak, his body bent, his hair graying, he looked old and frail as he sat listlessly on the platform. Everyone, including the Prince of Yan and the King of Chu, watched Ning Yuanxian in dead silence. Many even had a look of schadenfreude in their eyes.
But then!
“Hah!”
Ning Yuanxian let out a powerful shout, a sound like a clap of thunder that made everyone jump in shock. Was that the cry of a frail man? He straightened his body and with a mighty shake, the cotton-padded cloak flew off, and the plain linen clothes he wore underneath were torn away, revealing his magnificent royal robes. It was a majestic robe of black, embroidered with a golden dragon. The hat on his head was blasted away by the surge of his internal energy, and his graying hair came undone, whipping about in the air.
In an instant, Ning Yuanxian transformed as if by magic. Did he look old? Did he look sick? The wrinkles on his face vanished without a trace, and his once-dull eyes became incomparably sharp in a flash. His face instantly grew taut, transforming into a visage of imposing dignity. His graying hair only served to accentuate his commanding and majestic presence. Looking at him now, who would say he was a man over fifty? He looked forty at most.
Then, with one hand, Ning Yuanxian effortlessly took the royal banner, which weighed over a hundred pounds, and lifted it high. The heavy banner seemed as light as a feather in his hand.
“Hahahahaha!”
The King of Yue let out a hearty laugh. His voice seemed to pierce the clouds and shatter walls, ringing in everyone's ears.
‘A man who suffered a stroke? Don't make me laugh!’
“Ning Zheng, you have done well. You have truly not disappointed me.”
Hearing those words, tears streamed from Ning Zheng's eyes, and he pressed his forehead to the ground. He had never in his life heard his father speak to him with such a pleased expression. King Ning Yuanxian's gaze turned to the two thousand men of the new army.
“You are all my pride, and the pride of the State of Yue! You are our nation's most elite army! I hereby bestow upon you the title of Yue's finest army: the Nirvana Army!”
From this day forward, this army had an official title: the magnificent Nirvana Army.
“From today, the Nirvana Army will shake the world. Today is but a small victory; I am confident there is no battle the Nirvana Army cannot win!”
Ning Yuanxian's voice echoed in everyone's ears. Not only was he full of vigor, but his internal energy was also astonishing. In an instant, the more than ten thousand soldiers of Yue knelt in unison.
“Your Majesty, long live! Long live! Long live!”
The only ones who did not kneel were the Nirvana Army under Ning Zheng and Shen Lang. It was not out of arrogance, but simply because they had not been given the order.
‘Good, good! My elite army must be different from the rest. Hahahaha!’
* * *
The Yue officials who had accompanied the army to the battle were all dumbfounded by the situation.
‘So the King wasn't sick after all? He never had a stroke!’
But even more shocked than them was the King of Chu. The defeat in the battle was like a sharp knife plunging into his heart. Who could have known that Yue's mere two thousand new soldiers would not only defeat his two thousand elite troops but also rout three thousand heavy cavalry?
‘Has a new era dawned? Is a new kind of army, different from all that has come before, about to be born? From this day on, will heavy cavalry no longer be the most elite force?’
When Chu's heavy cavalry was defeated and scattered in all directions, the King of Chu felt as if he had been struck by lightning. In an instant, he lost all sensation and froze completely. He didn't even feel pain at that moment. When a person suffers such a devastating blow, they become numb to the outside world. He had thought this battle was a guaranteed victory, a one hundred percent certainty, but the result was an incredibly shameful and humiliating defeat. Five thousand of Chu's elite troops had failed to defeat two thousand of Yue's new army—what greater humiliation could there be? And then, as if by magic, Ning Yuanxian had transformed from a sickly figure into a man of imposing and heaven-piercing presence. The King of Chu froze even more solidly.
“Ning Yuanxian. You deceived me? You were never sick?”
The King of Chu shot to his feet, pointed at the King of Yue, and roared in anger. Ning Yuanxian laughed loudly and replied.
“Brother King, what are you saying? I truly was sick. And quite gravely so!”
Hearing this, everyone screamed one thing inwardly.
‘Sick my ass! King of Yue, you should have been an actor.’
The world was a strange place. When he denied being sick, everyone believed he was. Now that he claimed he was, everyone thought he had been faking it.
The King of Chu looked at Ning Yuanxian, then at Shen Lang. Deep in his heart, he felt he had been used and conspired against.
‘Vicious Ning Yuanxian, vicious Shen Lang. You proposed this border battle just to toy with me and plot against me. The two of you, king and subject, conspired to make a monkey out of me, the great King of Chu.’
As the King of Chu was lost in thought, Ning Yuanxian spoke.
“Prince of Yan, and esteemed envoys from every nation. Does the matter of fulfilling the contract not remain?”
The Prince of Yan from the Great Yan Dynasty was also thunderstruck, and he looked at Ning Yuanxian with a hint of reproach.
‘Ning Yuanxian, you are not only my kin but my closest friend. And yet you deceived me as well. This must be a scheme from that Shen Lang, mustn't it? How vicious! This is no different from slapping the King of Chu across the face.’
At this moment, the Prince of Yan's heart was filled with pity for the King of Chu. His situation was truly pathetic. Losing five thousand elite soldiers was a minor matter in comparison; what was worse was that his reputation had been utterly shattered, and Ning Yuanxian was now trampling on it to showcase his own military prowess and might. However, as the highest authority and judge of the day, he had to do his duty.
“This border battle is indeed valid, and I declare that both parties must fulfill the terms of the contract! The two nations shall move the border markers!”
Just like that, so quickly, the contract was being executed. Thousands of Yue's Imperial Guards moved out in an orderly fashion and pulled up all the border markers. Even more brutally, they immediately smashed all the existing markers of Chu. Then, the Imperial Guards mounted their horses, advanced twenty *li*, and planted the border markers of the State of Yue. Of course, the border between Chu and Yue spanned hundreds of *li*, so placing all the new markers would take a month or two. Today's moving of the markers was merely a symbolic act.
“The army of Chu will withdraw completely!”
The Prince of Yan issued the command. It was perhaps the cruelest order, for the loser of the battle had to cede twenty *li* of territory and twenty-three fortresses. The army that had escorted the King of Chu numbered over ten thousand, and the ground they stood on, once their own territory, had now become the territory of Yue. Naturally, the enemy army had to withdraw from that land entirely. Not only that, but all troops garrisoned in the twenty-three fortresses within that twenty-*li* range also had to pull out. Fortunately, this was the border region between the two nations, filled only with garrisons and fortresses, and no civilians lived here. Had there been common people, it would have been an even greater headache. They would have had to either cede the people living on that land as well or relocate them all. The King of Chu's heart ached as if it were being sliced by a knife.