Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Next to her was another servant, but unlike the first, this woman said nothing. She was standing completely still, moving not even the slightest. Her mouth was shut tightly, and her eyes were alert as they observed the distorted space.

  After more and more time, the ball seemed to become even more and more twisted before it cracked in the middle causing a large black hole to appear which sucked in everything around them. A storm suddenly appeared within the room, and everything apart from the young man seemed to be dragged towards the constantly expanding black hole. A howling sound suddenly appeared and the servants clothes started rustling around them. The woman who spoke previously had a fearful expression on her face, the other though looked the same as before.

  The young man kept observing the black hole until finally he lifted his hand and clenched his fist. Which caused the black hole diminished in size before it was completely removed by the young man.

  Seated still for some time, the young man finally lifted his head and looked at the servant behind him. “What did you say?” He asked curiously. His eyes gleamed with intelligence and amusement. He was not used to hearing his servants speak to him. As a matter of fact, it had been years since he last spoke with anyone and hearing this woman speak to him was a welcome change for once.

  “Lord, the beasts have entered the Siban Empire. They are going to take over the kingdom.”

  “Oh,” The young man said, his previously interested expression turned bored again. “I did expect them to move sometime soon, but not this soon.”

  “Lord, it is because of a young man known as Hui Yue. He enticed the beasts to war.” The woman said, her voice sounding quite hesitant as though she was worried if she should speak or not.

  “Oh,” The man said then after pondering for a moment he scratched his cheek. “It’s Hui Yue. I see. Well if it is him, then I have no interest in participating in this war. He is still far too weak to entertain me.”

  “Lord! This is the future of an entire empire! How can you leave it be just because of a single human?!” The servant finally forgot her calm and hesitation and exclaimed in shock. Moments after the young man opened his clenched hand and the black hole which vanished just seconds ago suddenly reappeared in front of them, the suction force now was even stronger than it had been before. As he saw it stabilize, he pointed it towards the maid and the force which previously had protected her vanished in an instant. As soon as the force protecting her vanished the suction force from the black hole instantly sucked in the maid. Without allowing her time to speak, the woman was dragged into the black hole. Her eyes were filled with fear as she vanished into the black hole.

  Sighing deeply, the young man rolled his head causing his neck to crack a few times. “Silly girl,” He laughed, “I have so few things which entertain me. How can I not value Lan Feng and his weak attempts at revenge?”

  Pondering for a few moments, he lifted his hand and waved forward the other servant. The woman who did not even blink when the other woman was swallowed up by the black hole.

  “Although I cannot go, there is no reason not to make it a little challenging for this young boy Hui Yue.” He said laughingly, “Send a company of Crusaders. Have them assist the Siban Empire, and make sure to tell them that it does not matter even if all the Crusaders die. They are just one company after all.”

  The servant bowed deeply and a with a mechanical voice she said, “As Master He commands.”

  “Don’t let anyone interrupt me,” He continued as he once more lifted his hands and within his palms a miniature orb once again appeared. The world around the orb started to twist and distort, constantly changing colors, its shapes never staying the same for more than a few seconds at a time. The servant was completely quiet, and stood still, she had not gone to give the order to anyone, but somehow the Crusaders were now moving within the castle. A whole company of Crusaders had gathered and slowly made their way out of the castle. As they left, they all rushed towards the Siban Empire’s capital. The group numbered a total of one thousand crusaders, and everywhere they went people shied away from the road. Because no one dared block their way, their trip was incredibly swift, and nothing stopped their advance.

  ….

  While the Crusaders were rushing towards the capital of the Siban Empire, Wan Qiao was flying in the skies. Her massive wingspan allowed for her to sweep across the lands. She saw every small part of the kingdom and everywhere she looked humans were migrating. Some were walking towards the capital while others were on the way towards the Taiyang Kingdom and the Yueliang Province. Everyone seemed to know about the coming war, and it appeared that many believed in their kingdom’s defenses. Though a few were certain that this would be the end of their empire, and they all headed towards other kingdoms.

  As Wan Qiao came closer to the capital, she found where their army was located. Her heart quivered with surprise and shock as she saw how the land littered with humans. It looked like a sea of humans rather than water. Everywhere she looked humans were moving around, and as she sized up the army, she quickly estimated that this army was more than four times bigger than the one the beasts brought with them. She finally understood why Hui Yue focused on training the experts in ways other than just allowing them to turn beastly and fight one on one, dueling with their opponents. Seeing that it was possible that four experts, although a lower rank, would be attacking each Kings or Emperors, it was entirely possible that they would be severely wounded or even killed. However, now that Hui Yue had trained the beasts, they were no longer such easy targets. Not to mention their whole mentality had changed. They were now ready to fight this massive army of humans; this army which seemed prepared for the beasts’ arrival.

  “Look! High in the sky! What is that?!” Suddenly Wan Qiao’s astonishing hearing started to catch up the cries of the humans within the army. Her sharp eyes saw how one human after another alerted the entire army. Soon the previously calm grounds were filled with armored humans, and their movements were astonishingly swift. Their training clearly far better than even the beast army’s training, and within what seemed like moments, the entire army was facing her. They were on guard and fully armed. Seeing this, Wan Qiao was quite astonished. She never expected that the army would be this swift, and she finally understood exactly what Hui Yue meant every time he spoke about the mentality of the army; that it was nothing like that of a cultivator.

  “Are they attacking?” She heard many humans ask the same question, but even though they were standing on guard, ready to welcome her with their weapons should she land on the ground, she paid them no mind and kept flying above. She watched them and lazily flapped her wings a few times.

  Suddenly she felt danger approaching, and moments after a three-meter long arrow was shot her way. She looked down and saw an oversized crossbow and the humans loading another arrow on it getting ready to shoot again. Seeing how swift these arrows were, Wan Qiao could instantly tell that if it had been a lower ranked expert, then it was likely to have at least injured them. Knowing that they were up against this kind of technology, Wan Qiao felt a bit nervous. She swore that she would tell Hui Yue everything later so that he could prepare the beasts properly.

  With a final glance at the army below her, Wan Qiao turned around and slowly made her way back towards the location where she left Hui Yue. It was now time to return to Hui Yue’s side. Knowing how numerous the enemy’s army was, and seeing the various weapons they had, Wan Qiao knew that Hui Yue had been correct in his assessment. When he said that although they were stronger, the humans had to be taken seriously. Although they were weaker, they had the benefits of numbers, and they seemed to be well prepared. They had a large amount of advanced weaponry, both for individual soldiers and also large machines that would definitely cause more problems for their army later on. This was truly a fight to the death, and the war was not going to be as one-sided as Wan Qiao had thought.

  Chapter 261 - Machines of War

  * * *

  Ch
apter 261: Machines of War

  While the Crusaders rushed towards the capital of the Siban Empire to assist them in the coming war, Wan Qiao was rushing back to meet up with Hui Yue. The leader who was not just wasting time doing nothing.

  Although his greatest strength was the fact that his army was composed of highly skilled cultivators, Hui Yue knew very well that strength alone could be overcome by tactics and machinery. Looking at the forest where they were currently located, Hui Yue contemplated for some time before he stood up and started examining the wood in front of him.

  Although this forest was fairly small, only big enough to conceal his army, the trees were clearly ancient. Their trunks were thick, and the wood was strong. Creating war machines from these trees would make them very sturdy, and Hui Yue went through the entire forest examining the trees. If Wan Qiao returned with no information about the army using massive machinery then Hui Yue, in turn, would not bother creating machines of his own. But if she returned with news of devastating weaponry or machinery then he too would use his knowledge to create some machines of his own within this small forest; he would take advantage of these centuries old trees that were given to him.

  “It is not like we are in a rush to meet the other army,” Hui Yue mumbled to himself as a smile appeared on his lips. He knew that Wan Qiao was incapable of truly acting stealthily so he also assumed that her investigation would be carried out from the sky, and knowing that she did not try to conceal herself, the enemy army would definitely notice her. This would put them on high alert, and make them ready to receive an attack at any moment. At the same time, it ensured that Hui Yue would not be traveling from their location anytime soon. This in itself should give Hui Yue the time he needed to create the machinery he was thinking about.

  After a few days, it was a certainty that the army would send out scouts of their own. These scouts would be flying on magical beasts, and although they would be far from flying at Wan Qiao’s speed, they should still be able to find Hui Yue and his army within a few days. This set the limit that they could stay within the small forest for about week or so. Contemplating, he wondered if he should start making the machinery already or if he should wait for Wan Qiao’s return. If the opponents truly were without war machinery then it would be serious overkill, but, although the beasts were clueless when it came to war, it was obvious that an empire would never be as weak as a kingdom filled with beasts.

  “You seem to be in deep thought,” A chuckling voice sounded from above as a shadow jumped down from the treetops. Hui Yue had not sensed anyone above and instantly knew that whoever it was, the person was definitely far stronger than him. He did not panic, nor did he fear that this person was someone sent after him because he instantly recognized the voice as Wan Qiao’s. Knowing that she returned, the young man felt his heart beating more rapidly than before. He felt elated and relaxed; it was as though this woman was someone who would always support him, and having her back made him feel like their army was whole again. Hui Yue relied on Wan Qiao’s abilities to tie up at least two, if not three, Saint ranked experts. This would allow him to use experts at other places.

  “So what did you see?” He finally asked with a smile on his face. But as the question left his lips, Wan Qiao’s expression turned sullen, and she started grinding her teeth slightly.

  “You were right to train our soldiers,” She said with a sigh after having thought r for some time, “Not only are they more than four times larger than us, they also happen to be in possession of some rather dreadful weapons which could prove dangerous to any expert below the Saint level. They have massive crossbows which can shoot at an astonishing speed and with such force that it could easily kill an Emperor.” Hearing this, Hui Yue could not help but frown. He had vastly underestimated the weaponry the other army had at their disposal, and he sighed once more as he started calling forth all the information he had about warfare and machinery of war from his mind.

  Weaponry such as guns and other items requiring explosives were not an option, so he turned to Roman warfare. Standing still for some time while he called forth all his knowledge, he then quickly removed a pen and some paper from a storage stone on which he started making the blueprints for various machinery.

  “Where are they located?” He asked absentminded as he drew one line after another on the paper. Wan Qiao, who was staring at the drawing which quickly took shape in front of her, had to hear the question twice before she started to answer, “They are stationed right outside the capital. There is a large flat plain, and the army is spread as far as I could see. I imagine they are using the tactics you already guessed, trying to overrun us with numbers.”

  Hui Yue nodded once more as he returned to the drawings. One had been finished, and another was being created. Time flowed by as Hui Yue created six different blueprints; blueprints he wanted to be created. If the army was outside the city wall, then he was certain that a portion of the army, most likely the strongest troops, were inside the walls. They should be ready to seal it shut and turn the battle into a siege of the city.

  “I need all the Saints here A.S.A.P.!” Hui Yue said with a low voice, but somehow all the Saints heard the words, and within moments all of them were standing next to the young man.

  “We need to create our own machinery of war,” He said seriously. “This forest which we are hiding within has the perfect trees to create such things, and although the humans will notice us, it is unavoidable. We need to build these machines well, but we are in a bit of a hurry. I need your help.” He continued, and then he brought forth the eight different blueprints he had and laid them down on a tree stump in front of them.

  “This war is not going to be as simple as I expected,” He said with a serious voice. “It will be split into two parts. The first will be the battle against the masses. Where we are likely to take heavy losses since they have far more experts than us. Although almost all are of a lower rank, they are ready to give their lives to take a King with them to the Netherworld.”

  “After that, it’ll turn into a siege of the city. We will try to siege the walls of their city and then take over the capital. This is where we will meet their strongest experts. We need to be prepared for it.”

  “I have created blueprints for certain weaponry that we need to construct as soon as possible. This is a ramp. It is used as a massive shield for the beasts as they inch closer to the wall, ensuring that the arrows do not rain down upon them. It is very simple to make, but I want them to be four meters by three meters!”

  “This is a catapult. We can use it before and during the siege. We will need ten catapults. Lord Pan, I expect you and your army to create them.” Hearing this, Lord Pan nodded his head and accepted the blueprints; his eyes were shining with interest as he looked it through.

  “This is a ballista!” Hui Yue continued, “Wan Qiao I need your army to create ten ballistae. We can also use these throughout the war. They are very important, and we will need ten of them.” Hearing this, Wan Qiao nodded her head with a serious expression, and she swiftly left, ready to give the orders to her guards.

  “This is a tower! This is crucial for the siege. Not all beasts are capable of flying to the walls, or jumping all the way up there, and they will be able to ascend the walls by using the tower. We will need four towers in total.” This was given to another expert who left as swiftly as the other two. Everyone so far was filled with excitement and astonishment. They had never heard about these weapons before, and after making them they were going to be even more assured of winning this war.

  Hui Yue did the same with a testudo, a gallery, an onager, and springalds. These were all weaponry created by the Roman army, and Hui Yue knew just how useful they had been. Creating these weapons would increase their chances of winning and within moments, the entire forest was filled with sounds of trees falling. Soldiers were following the blueprints, and the machines he ordered to be built were being assembled.

  It had been one day since Wan Qiao l
eft the capital flying at her maximum speed to return to Hui Yue, and the young man assumed that they would have a maximum of a week before the army sent out scouts of their own. As a matter of fact, Hui Yue did not mind if the machines were noticed as they would be exposed as soon as they moved towards the army, but he did want to be able to create them in peace. If they were to see them creating these weapons, it was likely that scouts would do their best to harass them during their work, or in other ways delay their building speed. This would annoy both the beasts and Hui Yue.

  While the entire army was busy building under the firm eye of all the Saints, Hui Yue was seated on a treestump creating small items that would probably be useful later on. These small items were anything from small smokescreen inscriptions to barbed wire that he neatly placed within other inscription rolls.