by Tony Tran
Since the ring had already been bounded by Zhang’s blood and there was no way anyone present in the fortress could take it from him, Lord Tian Lan did not develop any insidious ideas.
Even if Lord Tian Lan had developed ill intentions and wished to steal the Sky Fortress, while possessing enough power it to overpower Zhang, he still wouldn't be able to take the fortress away from Zhang.
This was because the entire Sky Fortress was under Zhang’s control, and it was obvious that a fortress that was the size of a mountain and could magically fly would of course, have hidden defense mechanisms.
“To think that there would be a Sky Fortress in the warring states region.” Yuying said as she laid beside Zhang and the other beauties atop a large bed prepared for them.
“So, this isn't the only one?” Ling asked, somewhat intrigued.
“Of course, the world is vast and there are plenty of things out there. Although this Sky Fortress may seem mystical and awe-inspiring to some, to others it may appear simple and boring.” Yuying said.
“Although I have to admit I have only seen a small number of these things in the Underworld and none of them could be compared to this one, I'm sure that in the world of the living where they would be more practical, there are bound to be ones that we couldn't even compare this one to. If not within the Wulin continent, then perhaps elsewhere.” She also said.
“Also since essence cores are more abundant in the world of the living, more sky forts could be built.” Yuying added.
“Essence cores?” Ai asked.
“Essence cores are basically essence stones; however, they are thousands of times larger and over time have developed the ability to produce essence and replenish themselves.” Yuying explained.
“If not for essence cores and the various inscriptions inscribed in the tower then the amount of essence m needed to make this entire mountain fly would be way out of our league. Then there's powering the water in the underground water springs that are also probably generated thanks to the essence cores.”
Since the Underworld under the complete control of the Yama and did not have any large bodies of water, there was plenty of land and no real need for Sky Fortresses.
On the other hand, the world of the living was mostly covered in water and littered with countless opposing forces so, a Sky Fortress would certainly have more uses.
After some more talking and some quality time within the bedchamber, Zhang and the beauties went to sleep so, they could wake up early in the morning to relocate their soldiers.
With the Sky Fortress within their control, the need to travel by foot was thus eliminated and their armies would be able to travel many times faster.
Thus, the following day, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were picked up by the Sky Fortress. Using magically powered platforms that descended down from the Sky Fortress all of Zhang’s soldiers were lifted into dozens of hangers.
These hangers lined the bottom area of the Sky Fortress that had been hidden deep beneath the earth's surface.
Although the fact that the mountain that the Azure Tower was built on was a part of the Sky Fortress meant that all of the work Zhang’s men placed into constructing the five forts were in vain, there was not a hint of complaint as everyone made their way on board.
Once the Sky Fortress was activated a second time by Zhang, ten smaller azure colored towers rose upward from the ground while five towers pierced out from the underside of the fortress.
Simply said the Sky Fortress resembled a massive island covered with stone buildings that levitated in the air with eleven dazzling azure colored towers in a circular formation rising toward the sky while five inverted towers gazed down at the ground.
Of course, depending on Zhang’s will, the architecture of the Sky Fortress can be rearranged.
“Have our ballistae units’ position at the hangers.” Zhang said as he told one of his soldiers to relay his commands. With the ballistae, currently being the strongest weapons available to Zhang’s army, if they are positioned in the Sky Fortress’s hanger along with thousands of archers, then Zhang’s forces could rain down death from above onto their enemies.
“Now should we continue south or head northward to help out allies?” Ling asked her husband since their army is now extremely mobile so, turning back and helping ally forces was now possible.
“We should continue south, if we manage to occupy the provinces at the southern tip then we can sandwich the other provinces from two sides.” Zhang replied to Ling.
With a goal in mind and their soldiers all aboard the Sky Fortress, Zhang began to navigate southward once more, at faster speeds than before.
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As the Sky Fortress flew for two days and two nights it exited the borders of the Azure Rain Province and entered into the Twisted Bog Province.
What would have normally taken months If Zhang’s forces had traveled by foot due to being forced to cross through a vast swamp filled with obstacles only took two days thanks to the Sky Fortress.
Normally crossing through swamps would have caused an army the size of Zhang’s to suffer countless casualties. But thankfully they were blessed with the gift of air travel and did not have to overcome the swamp full of dangers that had awaited them.
As the Sky Fortress flew through the Twisted Bog Province, countless black flags with the image of a golden dragon fluttered in the wind.
Ignoring the various villages and cities to save the strength of his soldiers, Zhang had the Sky Fortress head directly toward Twisted Bog City.
Since the Sky Fortress was traveling through the sky, no messengers who traveled by foot were able to reach Twisted Bog City before Zhang arrived. That is to say that they saw the Sky Fortress at all, if the sky was covered by clouds then there was no way for those on the ground to even spot the Sky Fortress due to how high it flew above the ground.
“We have arrived at our destination! All forces prepare to attack or disembark!” Zhang’s voice echoed throughout the Sky Fortress it began to descend upon Twisted Bog City.
“Citizens of Twisted Bog City, in the name of his highness, Prince Zhou Zhang, surrender or prepare for battle.” A voice sounded out from the sky and echoed down throughout the city below.
As the fortress came into view the soldiers of Twisted Bog City scrambled to assemble while the civilians fell into panic. There were even some who fell to their knees and began to kowtow as they thought the heavens were punishing them.
Since walls were no longer an issue and a siege was not needed, with the number of soldiers at Zhang’s command it was only a matter of time before the city fell.
Without the need to use their ballistae or arrows, Zhang’s soldiers were lowered directly into the provincial lord’s mansion where they were able to quickly overwhelm the defending soldiers and capture the province's lord.
“We have arrived at our destination! All forces prepare to attack or disembark!” Zhang’s voice echoed throughout the Sky Fortress it began to descend upon Twisted Bog City.
“Citizens of Twisted Bog City, in the name of his highness, Prince Zhou Zhang, surrender or prepare for battle.” A voice sounded out from the sky and echoed down throughout the city below.
As the fortress came into view the soldiers of Twisted Bog City scrambled to assemble while the civilians fell into panic. There were even some who fell to their knees and began to kowtow as they thought the heavens were punishing them.
Since walls were no longer an issue and a siege was not needed, with the number of soldiers at Zhang’s command it was only a matter of time before the city fell.
Without the need to use their ballistae or arrows, Zhang’s soldiers were lowered directly into the provincial lord’s mansion where they were able to quickly overwhelm the defending soldiers and capture the province's lord.
Chapter 69: The Skies
As Zhang’s soldiers disembarked from the Sky Fortress, hundreds of Wraith Spiders began to lower themselves
down also. Much to the disbelief of the city’s defenders, the city walls, and provincial lord’s mansion were quickly occupied before a proper defense could even be established.
By the time, Zhang and the beauties landed on the ground, the province’s lord was bound in chains and the provincial lord’s mansion was completely captured. In fact, most of the city had already been captured also and only small pockets of resistance remained.
“Damn thieves!” The lord of the Twisted Bog Province said as he spat toward the ground in front of where Zhang and the beauties stood.
“Insolence!” One of Zhang’s soldiers said as the back of his hand smashed into the face of the province’s lord.
“Stand down.” Zhang said toward the soldier.
“Yes, my lord.” The soldier said as he stepped back to allow Zhang to speak.
“Lord Chu Zhihao, I presume.” Zhang said as he recalled the names of the dozens of provincial lords in the Southern Region.
“Do what you wish to me, I have no need for small talk.” Lord Chu Zhihao said spitefully.
“Cut their ropes.” Zhang said with a smile disregarding the way Lord Chi Zhihao was acting.
“Alright I’ll skip the small talk and get straight to the point, for the most part, the occupation of the city had mostly been bloodless and since I would like to avoid killing people unless necessary, so, how about pledging your allegiance and then ordering the rest of the province to stand down.” Zhang said as he squatted down toward so, he was at eye-level with Lord Chi Zhihao.
“Over my dead body!” Chi Zhihao roared as he lunged toward Zhang. However, in an instant, he was restrained by two soldiers clad in black armor.
“Detain him and have his second in command brought here…” Zhang said with a sigh.
“Sometimes there are people who just can’t be convinced or bribed…” Zhang thought as his soldiers took Chi Zhihao to a platform that would take them up to the Sky Fortress.
“What about them? My lord.” One of Zhang’s soldiers asked as he pointed toward Chi Zhihao’s family members.
“Take them up and give them some lodgings… They will be allowed to leave once the province is under our complete control.” Zhang said.
Since convincing Chi Zhihao to surrender didn’t seem to be an option, Zhang decided to move on to his second in command. If that did not work then he could move onto the third in command and so, on. Once a fairly influential person within the province joined Zhang then establishing control of the rest of the province would be easy.
After establishing control and restructuring the province by replacing key officials with people who are loyal to him, Zhang would allow the provincial lord and his family to be set free, with a sum of money so, they could live the rest of their lives worry free. By then even if they wanted to oppose him they would be powerless to do so. Then again Yuying could fiddle with their minds a bit, but Zhang decided only to do that under extreme circumstances.
Before long the man deemed to be the Twisted Bog Province’s second in command was brought in front of Zhang.
Unlike his master, the provincial lord’s second in command was fairly easy to persuade and readily joined Zhang in exchange for becoming the province’s new lord.
Soon enough, dozens of messengers departed from the city and told the various city lords and government officials that the province was now under the rule of Aurora.
Since time was of the essence, after Yuying did some mind probing and after fifty thousand soldiers were stationed within the city, the Sky Fortress flew onward to its next target.
Flying day and night, the fortress soon reached its next target after only roughly five days of travel. Much like what happened in the Twisted Bog Province, Zhang’s soldiers descended from the skies and quickly took control of the city in a but a few hours.
This time, however, the lord of the province willingly surrendered in the hopes of retaining his position as a provincial lord. After using the Sky Fortress to capture another province, Zhang decided, this time, his forces would maintain their position and let news of what had happened spread to other cities before moving forward.
Although this may become a doubled edged sword, in the long run, Zhang decided that it would serve to hasten the conclusion of the war. Once the other provinces learn of the Sky Fortress, they would either surrender knowing there was no chance of countering the forces or Aurora or make preparations to attempt to attack the fortress.
“My lord, what if information about this fortress reaches the ears of one of the large kingdoms or worst yet one of the two empires. If they send level ten mages or saints, then our soldiers would be slaughtered and we would have no way to stop them from taking the fortress.” Guan Yu said to Zhang when he decided to halt their advance.
“If it’s only a saint or two, with my current level of cultivation coupled with the defenses of the fortress, I’m confident we can hold them off.” Zhang said as he recalled the various defensive spell formations and inscriptions that the fortress had.
“If needed, I can ask father to loan us a few helpers.” Yuying said as she traced the jade pendant that hung from her waist. This, of course, was the pendant given to her on her wedding day and had the power to activate the Samsara Gate which would allow people to travel to and from the Underworld.
Of course, under normal circumstances, she would never think of using it to ask her father for help nor would he lend her any if dire situations came up then the Yama would be forced to act to save his beloved daughter.
So, without much fear of having the fortress stolen from them by stronger cultivators, after roughly two weeks Zhang was one the move once again.
Soon after whenever he arrived at the capital of a province and whenever the people within the capital of a province saw Zhang approaching, countless white flags would be raised into the sky.
“When one domino falls many others fall with it.” Ling would occasionally say as the number of cities and provinces that surrendered to them increased.
Of course, there were provinces that chose to try to resist and had catapults and ballistae bolts fired toward the Sky Fortress, however, their weapons either failed to reach or were not strong enough to leave even a scratch on one of the five towers that stuck out at the bottom of the fortress.
For the most part, the conquest of the Southern Region was no longer a daunting task, rather it became a fairly easy objective as Zhang’s island in the sky flew through the region pretty much unhindered.
This was until they found themselves in a particular province referred to as the Golden Peak Province. This province was made up entirely of mountains and possessed very little flat land, with its cities being built on the side of mountains or within cast caverns that opened up on the face of steep cliffs.
Although the geographic positions of this province’s cities would prove to be an issue for Zhang, there was even a bigger problem at hand. The Golden Peak Army, although small when compared to the armies of the other provinces, possessed a very unique army amidst their ranks.
This army comprised of no more than one hundred and fifty thousand men but possessed more than enough power to perhaps defeat every other army in the Warring States Region combined. With that being said if one were to add up all of the armies within the Warring States Region then there would be well over a few million soldiers.
However, contrary to what one may think when imagining an army that could defeat all of the other armies in the Warring States Region combined, the Golden Wing Army did not possess any soldiers over the seventh rank of cultivation and their general was only a middle-aged man who had barely reached the eighth rank.
But they did possess something that no other province did, an army of flying demonic beasts. Everyone within the Golden Wing Army was paired with a level seven demonic beast called Golden Winged Eagles, hence the name of their army and partially the name of the province itself. These eagles were as large as horses and possessed razor sharp talons that could rip through steel
like it was tofu.
With large high level flying demonic beasts on their side, the Golden Wing Army could easily wipe out any landlocked army or naval fleet within the Warring States Region who opposed them, however even with such enough power to sweep across the land, the lords of the Golden Peak Province have never set foot out of their lands nor have they entered into direct conflict with any other province.
Of course, information about the Golden Wing Army was only known by a few southern provinces that bordered the Golden Peak Province and had basically become like a myth everywhere else, it was not until the Sky Fortress was surrounded did Zhang know of this impressive army.