A Grim Situation
A Grim Situation
"It's not that I want 'this'. However, I had received intelligence while I was on the road. We don't know the reason for the Mystic Beast's uprising yet. But, we know that the scale of their uprising is extremely huge. In fact, it has the potential to cause unimaginable damage! It is reported that Heavenly Punishment's kings are extremely enraged, and have ordered all the level-four-plus Mystic Beasts to participate in this war."
Jun Wuyi smiled and looked up at Dongfang Wenqing, "Your Dongfang Family had made a baffling vow. It seems that half of that oath has already been fulfilled!"
"The Heavenly Punishment beasts have come out. But, couldn't people interpret our oath in a different manner, and say that it would only be fulfilled when the Heavenly Punishment beasts are dead? So, why would you say that half of our oath is already fulfilled?" Dongfang Wenqing was quite happy a moment ago, but he suddenly asked in a doubtful manner.
"That's because it has been confirmed that this uprising has been instigated by the Third and the Fourth Mystic Beast Kings. The mysterious and strongest Mystic Beast King has yet to participate!" Jun Wuyi took a deep breath before he continued, "This is the latest information I've received. However, I believe that many strong Mystic experts will arrive at Heavenly Punishment because of the war. And then, the strongest Mystic Beast King would have to arrive in order to support the other Mystic Beast Kings. I'm convinced of this. Therefore, there's only one thing remaining as far as the Dongfang Family's oath is concerned. And, that is—the collapse of that snow covered peak…"
"So, that's how it is."
Jun Moxie's mind was set into motion—[I don't know how that mountain peak looks… But, I will go and have a look when I have free time…]
"Moreover, the Shen Ci Empire and the Yu Tang Empire have also sent armies to assist after they looked at the increase in the scale of the conflict. In fact, even the King of the Prairie has sent ten thousand elite cavalry from his side. This is the reliable intelligence that I've gathered so far. I also infer that the Three Empires will be a hindrance to each other during the course of this war since they harbor mutual sentiments of deep-seeded hatred. I've also come to know that the Xiao Family's second elder—Xiao Buyu—will be leading the Silver Blizzard City's troops. Moreover, these troops will mostly consist of Xiao Family's members. Our Jun Family has a deep and long-standing feud with the Xiao Family. Also, Xiao Han is my arch enemy, and we have irreconcilable hatred between us. Hence, I'm sure that something or the other will happen!
"In addition, our Jun Family and the Xue Hun Manor also have ill feelings towards each other. So, we must guard against that as well!" Jun Wuyi spoke everything in one breath. Then, he spat and spoke, "The situation is grim. It's very grim. It's bad enough to make me dispirited."
"And, then there's the Eight Great Masters… the greatest Master Yun Biechen hasn't arrived. However, the third Great Master, Han Fengxue; the Heavenly Great Master Mo Wen Tian; the Great Blue Master, Meng Hongchen have already arrived," Jun Wuyi spoke in a heavy tone. But, his eyes were burning with an incomparably intense flame.
Jun Wuyi was looking forward to witnessing the elegant bearings of those Great Masters from a close range.
"Perhaps there's one person you may not be aware of…" Dongfang Wenqing spoke up, "The one who was robbed of his place by the Eighth Great Master Solitary Eagle—Feng Juanyun. He's also on the road. And, perhaps… may have already arrived there."
"Feng Juanyun…" Jun Moxie was silently sitting to the side and slightly raised his eyebrows at that name. [This shouldn't have made a breakthrough and become powerful enough to defeat the Solitary Eagle, right?]
"Many other powerful families—aside from the Silver Blizzard City and the Xue Hun Manor—have also sent their people. The most famous amongst them are—the Baili Family, Duanmu Family, Beigong Family, the Wenren Family, Sikong Family, and Zuoqiu Family, the Diwu Family, the Ouyang Family and also… the Dongfang Family; basically, the nine great families are getting together at Heavenly Punishment! These families haven't sent out many people, but the men they have sent are powerful. Especially the Duanmu family; even their chief—Duanmu Chaofan—will participate in this war!"
"Duanmu Chaofan? Like…'Chaofan' for 'fried rice'?" Jun Moxie suddenly spoke up, "This name is quite memorable and profound!"
Dongfang Wenqing laughed and explained, "The Duanmu Family's head is named Duanmu Chaofan; Chaofan for 'extraordinary'. However, he stutters a bit. So, whenever he pronounces his name… he elongates it since he thinks very greatly of himself. However, the more he elongated the name… the more others hear it resemble 'Chaofan' word's 'fried rice' variant. Therefore, people have been calling him Chaofan word's fried rice version since the first meeting of the 'Nine Great Families'. In fact, his true name has almost been forgotten…"
"Oh okay!" Jun Moxie said solemnly, "So, this guy is basically slow-witted. He should be called 'Slow-witted Chaofan'. It would sound far more appropriate!"
"Ha ha…" everyone burst out laughing. Then, Dongfang Wenqing continued to speak.
"In addition, the Golden Flood Castle, the Seven Dragons Mountain, the Soul Severing Palace and Clear Sky City have also sent a few of their people. Moreover, there are countless powerful nomadic experts who will add to the numbers." Dongfang Wenqing gave a strenuous smile and continued, "This secret information was divulged to us by Li Juetian before we left. However, I don't know of any newer events that may have occurred since then."
Jun Wuyi's frown became increasingly deeper as he heard those illustrious names. The presence of such strong reinforcements only meant that the Mystic Beast's uprising was becoming more and more intense.
"Damn! There are so many!" Jun Moxie couldn't help but whistle. Then, he continued to speak, "They can easily trample all over Heavenly Punishment if such strength is being assembled. Then, each person can grab a Mystic Beast, and take it home as a 'pet'. What's the point of going to such a war? These people will just have their fill and stay idle!"
"Do you even know what you're saying?!" four mouths roared these words in unison as the eight eyeballs glared at that rude brat.
"You brat! Your experience is too shallow to know of the dangers! The Heavenly Punishment forest spreads over tens of thousands of kilometers. And, there are multitudes of Mystic Beasts living in it! There are at least ten million of them living there… by a conservative count! And that too, these are only the level four or higher Mystic beasts we're talking about! The gathered experts won't be able to compete with the full strength of Heavenly Punishment's beasts. This truth isn't pleasant to hear, but the mere saliva of all those Mystic Beasts is enough to drown these so-called 'experts'!"
Dongfang Wenqing was very angry at his nephew's ignorance. So, he went ahead and dealt with that illiterate.
"You must also realize that you would require an extremely huge space to encounter all of them at once. Ten million Mystic Beasts… wouldn't they be squeezed to death even in the prairie? … Let alone inside these mountains!"
Young Master Jun gave a disdainful look and shook his head, "There are many strong people here and there are many strong people there. A small battle starts when these people start to fight. A military campaign constituted several such battles. And, many campaigns constitute what we call a war. And after many wars… eventually comes—peace. Wow…"
Dongfang Wenqing became enraged after he heard this. So, Jun Wuyi had no choice but to hurry up and assuage the situation. However, he had deep creases on his forehead, "There's so much trouble because there are so many people. It wouldn't have been very difficult if it were only the three Great Empires, the Xue Hun Manor, the Silver Blizzard City and the troops from the Prairie's King. After all, these entities are aware of the general situation. They understand the military restrictions. So, there will be space for mediation if conflict arises. But, so many other forces are also coming together. So, there's bound to be deep-rooted enmities and long-standing gratitude and grudges in all this entanglement. And, it would be hard to say how many people would be there… and how many of them are wise… Who can say that a few recklessly spoken words won't give rise to a large-scale conflict between two families? And, who doesn't have three or six friends behind them? Moreover, the Mystic experts who hail from the general society don't maintain order like a disciplined army."
"This problem is a genuine headache," Dongfang Wenqing and the other two nodded in unison.
"We must have a unified command since so many people are participating. There must be a single commander-in-chief in such a situation. Otherwise, won't we just be providing 'rations' to the Mystic Beasts if everyone decides to fight as they please and charge like a swarm of bees?" Jun Moxie added. The four elders were quite appreciative of the first part of Jun Moxie's words. However, they rolled their eyes when the second part about providing 'rations' to Mystic beasts was spoken.
"This is an evident admission. However, the commander-in-chief must be one who isn't occupying that post in name alone. Moreover, he will have to do a very thankless job. Some conflicts may even get triggered between officers who occupy insignificant posts. After all, there are forces from three Empires, and there will be generals from the Prairie as well. Several of them won't bow down because they will be there representing their respective countries!
"However, this problem is comparatively easier to resolve. The soldiers will obey the commander-in-chief because they are accustomed and in-understanding of military duties. That isn't a big problem. The real problem is the huge number of powerful experts from around the world. They're all undisciplined. Moreover, they aren't accustomed to military restrictions. Not only will they not accept each other… but also any large-scale military command. Each powerful expert will have their own prestige. So, they won't bow down to an ordinary general. This is the allied forces' greatest problem!"
Jun Wuyi frowned deeply, "I've commanded battles for half of my life. And, I've never seen such an amazing assembly of warriors in the past. In fact, even the combined strength of my previous commands wouldn't come close to this. Yet, I've never seen so less hope of victory in the past. In fact, this is the first time that I don't even see an opportunity for victory.
"And, our opponents are the Mystic beasts! They have an unimaginably strict hierarchy of ranks. Moreover, the Mystic Beast Kings are personally controlling them in this war. So, the Mystic Beasts would do exactly as they bid. They will attack at one whistle, and retreat at the next.
"Everything points to disaster." Jun Wuyi and Dongfang Wenqing looked at each other's expressions. They looked at each other's eyes, and read these words there as well.
"We've come this far. Don't tell me that you wish to back away now? We'll see how things progress at every step. It's good to save people. But, what's the point of saving someone if you end-up taking their place? I'm fine because I believe that we have enough people to safeguard our own security. As for the fate of others… are we going to get any money out of saving them?" Jun Moxie smiled heartlessly.
Jun Moxie was the most confident amongst everyone when it came to this 'Mystic Beast uprising' expedition. Jun Moxie could easily ensure that his army wouldn't suffer any harm if the armies were divided into different groups. Moreover, he could ensure the defeats of the others…
[This really won't do! Let's just go and pretend that this matter is already over…]
[Why are these guys making such miserable faces?]