His Highness the Ninth Prince Is a Heavenly Deity!
On the first night after Xuan Tian Ming arrived in the South, he did not give the enemy any time to breathe. Leading the 115 thousand troops from the capital, he launched an attack on Gu Shu’s first city, Sha Ping City.
The 300 thousand troops that had originally been stationed in the South were never part of his plans. At present, the ninth prince did not even turn his attention toward them. Bringing his own troops, he did not say anything and rushed straight toward Sha Ping City. He did not even set up a council meeting first, nor did he even dismount his horse. After arriving in the South, he headed straight in the direction of Sha Ping City for a while until night fell. Waving the flag, everyone charged forward.
As for Gu Shu’s city defenses that the eighth prince had considered the best, adding in a coalition army, there were more than 500 thousand soldiers stationed in Sha Ping City. For some reason, when the ninth prince’s army attacked, they crumbled like tofu. It was broken through without any resistance. Not even the 300 thousand troops of the Southern Army reacted. All of a sudden, they heard a loud sound, and Sha Ping City’s walls fell. The enemy army at the top began to fall down.
Not only was Gu Shu’s army in a panic, but even the 300 thousand troops of the Southern Army were startled. Nobody knew what sort of method the ninth prince had used and could actually take over Sha Ping City in a single blow. They could even see Gu Shu and the coalition army fleeing in retreat. It was as though the ninth prince was a prince of hell. Anyone that got close to him would die.
Some people had seen things a bit more clearly and found that the sudden and loud sound came from something that had been thrown by the ninth prince’s army. They could not clearly say what it was, but they only knew that the thing would explode upon hitting Sha Ping City’s walls. Not only did it cause a loud sound, but it was quite damaging too. Following this loud sound, a hole would appear in the city wall. With many explosions, the wall fell. There was not even a need to break through the city’s gate. They could just directly create a new gate.
Xuan Tian Ming’s army entered Sha Ping City after using this sort of method to break down the city’s walls. After this, there were no other people that threw those things. Instead, they used a new thing. Some people carried strange weapons and began to shoot forward. They also caused a very loud sound, but nothing exploded. Instead, the enemy army that did not have time to escape ended up riddled with bloody holes. Those that were struck by this hidden weapon immediately died. In an instant, Sha Ping City was filled with a sea of blood.
This large battle did not just frighten away Gu Shu’s army. It also allowed Xuan Tian Ming’s army to take over Sha Ping City. It also scared the Southern Army of 300 thousand witless. It allowed them to see the might of the ninth prince of hell. As for the citizens of Lan Zhou, who were nearby, they did not sleep for the entire night. From the sound of the first explosion, everyone got up. They came out of their rooms and turned to look South.
But they could not see anything. Lan Zhou, as a border city, had an extremely tall city wall, and it completely blocked everything out. But that sort of exploding sound was completely foreign to them. It was as though the earth was also thundering, trembling again and again. Some people were afraid, fearing that the earth dragon was rolling over*, but they also felt that this was not the case because the earth would only tremble when the sounds occurred. To Lan Zhou City, it did not pose an actual threat.
Very quickly, the guards stationed at the gates received the first bit of news. Of course, this news came from their own eyes. They stood on their own walls and watched. Although there was a large stretch of land between Sha Ping City and Lan Zhou City, they could still faintly see a bit of fire, as well as the 100 thousand troops fighting in close quarters. When Sha Ping City’s walls fell, the dust that rose seemed to be able to traverse that stretch of land and directly enter Lan Zhou. This made it so the people had no choice but to cover their faces.
Some people had clearly seen everything, and they saw Sha Ping City fall to ruin. They did not dare believe it and ran down from the city wall. Stumbling along the way, they headed toward the prefect’s manor. But along the way, the streets were filled with citizens. They were stopped by the citizens and had no choice but to tell them everything.
The citizens passed along this information quickly. Very quickly, everyone knew that the ninth prince had taken the initiative to launch an attack on Gu Shu on his first night in the South. Also, with very fierce methods, he managed to take over Sha Ping City. This had accomplished something that the eighth prince had never managed to do in his years in the South.
The people recalled the rumors of the god of war. A few years earlier, Gu Mo had been going through a change in dynasties, and they had used their strength to oppose Da Shun. The ninth prince had led his troops to suppress them. Not only had he destroyed Gu Mo’s strength, but he had also propped up a ruler that could be considered like family. It was such that Gu Mo became the most obedient of the four countries surrounding Da Shun. That time, the ninth prince had been called a god of war, but the South was far away. They did not have too many feelings about it.
But now, the god of war ninth prince had come to the South and ignited Sha Ping City. The people were a bit dazed, as someone said: “Could it be that His Highness the ninth prince really is a deity descended from the heavens? Otherwise, he came to the South from the capital, which would leave the troops and horses tired from the long journey, yet how could they begin their attack without even resting? If he was not a deity, who could do it?”
“That’s right! Did you not hear this soldier say it? Sha Ping City’s walls had fallen. We have lived in Lan Zhou for such a long time. We all know just how tall and strong Sha Ping City’s walls are! Yet he actually knocked it over?”
“It wasn’t knocked over. It was exploded using some very loud sound!” Someone corrected him, “That was heavenly lightning. It’s heavenly lightning that only a deity could use! Heavenly lightning is thunderous. Not to mention some small place like Sha Ping City, but even the entire world would shake with it!”
The people could not agree with this simple explanation more, thus they all kneeled facing the South and repeatedly cried out: “The ninth prince is a deity descended from the heavens! Long live the ninth prince!”
The person that had wanted to go and report to Lord Ji Ling Tian in the prefect’s manor had also become infected by the atmosphere, forgetting what he was meaning to do. He also kneeled and repeatedly kowtowed. He was even more moved than the other citizens because he had personally seen the collapse of Sha Ping City. He had personally seen the ninth prince’s divine fight. Not to mention these people feeling like the ninth prince was a deity, but he also felt that this was the case!
For a while, practically everyone in Lan Zhou City was kowtowing in the direction of where Xuan Tian Ming was located. This included the soldiers standing guard atop the city walls. They could not control their emotions and kneeled. They were truly too moved. Gu Shu had been ready to cause trouble for many years. They had tried to break through the South a few times to cause trouble in Da Shun. Because the eighth prince had been stationed here, they were fought back. He was also in charge of the disorderly areas in the South. But those took many years to suppress. How could it possibly compare to the ninth prince breaking through a city in a single night?
Compared to Xuan Tian Ming, the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, who had been viewed as a god of battle, was truly too weak. He could not compete with the ninth prince in any aspect. The difference in battle strength was not just a few levels. It was the difference between heaven and earth. If they viewed the eighth prince as a general and the ninth prince as a deity, he would be a heavenly deity in the eyes of all! A god of war!
Moreover, some had clearly seen that the ninth prince had only brought 100 thousand troops from the capital to the battle, not even bringing the 300 thousand troops of the Southern Army. As for the 300 thousand, they did not have any awareness, just watching from behind. Not a single person mentioned going forward to help out. They even held their heads and hid when they heard the thundering explosions. In an instant, the people felt a great amount of disdain for the 300 thousand troops. They even felt disdain for the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo.
“Aren’t they troops trained by the eighth prince? Why is there such a difference compared to the ninth prince’s troops?”
“How can the troops of mortals be compared to the troops of deities? Either way, we just need to fully support the ninth prince. The Emperor sent the ninth prince over. It’s clear that he no longer trusts the eighth prince. He has been stationed in the South for so many years, but we have not seen him go to battle. Instead, our taxes have been increased a few times. That sort of general leaving sooner is a good thing for us.”
Xuan Tian Ming still did not know it, but his strength had already caused a huge stir for the people of Lan Zhou City. He was even more ignorant that he had captured the hearts of nearly everyone in the city in just an instant. At this time, he was still leading his people in chasing down Gu Shu’s defeated army. They chased until they were ten li South of Sha Ping City before stopping. He did not continue to charge forward. Gu Shu’s second city, Jue Ping City, could faintly be seen. He did not continue to charge forward, instead, waving his hand and returning to Sha Ping City. He also set up a camp to the South of Sha Ping City. At the same time, he ordered his soldiers to immediately take care of repairing Sha Ping City.
Inside Lan Zhou City, Feng Jin Yuan’s calves trembled endlessly. He was on the verge of being unable to stay standing, as he repeatedly muttered: “It’s over. It’s over. The ninth prince of hell has come. It’s really over for the South!”
The people kneeling outside heard these words and angrily asked: “What are you saying? His Highness the ninth prince coming to the South brings us hope. What do you mean it’s over? What do your words mean?”
Feng Jin Yuan was also feeling angry, angrily shouting: “You don’t know shit!” He then flicked his sleeve and returned inside the residence while enduring the shaking legs.
Fu Ya, however, stood at the entrance of the residence and looked South with the citizens. Although she did not kneel, the emotions in her eyes were extremely complicated. At various times there were shock, confusion, joy and sorrow. The repeated cries of long live the ninth prince left her feeling as though her soul was also booming. It was as though the thundering sounds from outside the city did not just shake the ground in the South. It had also shaken her heart.
Feng Jin Yuan shouted at her: “What are you doing still standing there?”
Only then did Fu Ya come back to her senses; however, she still did not move, only replying: “I will watch a little while longer.” She then ignored Feng Jin Yuan and focused only on the South. She was actually a bit expectant to hear a few more of those exploding sounds to allow her to experience it some more.
Unfortunately, once the booming sound stopped, news came from the city gates: “The ninth prince has already captured Sha Ping City. Gu Shu’s army has fled, and Sha Ping City now belongs to Da Shun!”
The people cheered! But to the people in the Feng residence, those cheers were ear-piercing. Even Yao shi hid in her blankets, not wanting to hear a single thing.
Xuan Tian Ming brought the army and gave up on the chase, returning inside Sha Ping City. Because Qian Li was stationed in Qian Zhou, he did not come with them. For the time being, the army did not have a deputy general. There were the leaders of the Divine Intent Army, Xi Fang and He Gan that were assisting Xuan Tian Ming in handling the army’s matters, and nobody brought up any objections.
Some soldiers were happy from the fighting. Seeing that they were not chasing any further, they loudly asked: “General, why aren’t we chasing?”
Xuan Tian Ming shook his head but did not respond. Instead, it was Xi Fang that said: “Why not take a look at the current time? If we continue chasing, the sun will come up. When the sun comes up tomorrow, you’ll understand why we didn’t continue chasing. At that time, just try not to cry!”
*TN: They were afraid of an earthquake