novelraw Chapter 99 : Double Pressure
Chapter 99 : Double Pressure
Chapter 99: Double Pressure
City of Sunlight, Kingdom of Yutian’s Royal Palace.
Zanpu slowly opened his half-closed eyes.
His gaze swept across the hall—Grand Preceptor Sangjie Jiacuo stood with furrowed brows, and the generals of the Myriad Phenomena Realm below all wore grave expressions.
Zanpu’s brows, too, furrowed unconsciously as his dignified voice shattered the silence.
「That woman calling herself a “Divine Envoy”, Lilian, what sort of fiend is she? Why has she not yet been captured and executed as a warning to others?」
His sharp gaze swept downward, the tone in his voice allowing no room for doubt.
The Military Chief who oversaw intelligence and extermination efforts broke into a cold sweat at once.
He forced himself forward, bowed, and replied with a trembling voice that betrayed his unease.
「Your Majesty, we… we have dispatched multiple elite forces to encircle and eliminate the woman, but———」
His throat moved, swallowing with difficulty, as if the words to come weighed a thousand catties.
Zanpu’s eyes turned cold. 「But what? Speak!」
The Military Chief dared not raise his head. His voice dropped even lower. 「But… the troops we sent either vanished without a trace—most likely slain—or else…」
He drew a deep breath and forced out the rest through clenched teeth.
「Or else they turned traitor entirely, defecting to that witch’s side and preaching her so-called “Divine Miracles”.」
A collective gasp echoed through the hall. The air itself seemed to freeze, leaving only Zanpu’s heavy, repressed breathing—like a wounded lion’s growl.
The forces sent to suppress the heretic had not only failed, but had become her tools instead?
A humiliation beyond measure.
Zanpu restrained the fury churning within him and turned his gaze to Grand Preceptor Sangjie Jiacuo, who stood like an unshakable boulder beside him.
「Grand Preceptor, the foundation of my Kingdom of Sunlight lies in faith. Tell me, has the faith of our believers—toward the Kingdom itself—wavered?」
「Your Majesty, be at ease. The glory of the Kingdom of Sunlight still shines upon the hearts of the faithful. Their devotion to the Kingdom remains steadfast as stone—unchanged.」
Zanpu’s taut nerves eased slightly.
Yet, he immediately asked the question that had weighed heaviest upon his mind.
「And their faith… in me?」
All eyes turned to the Grand Preceptor.
Sangjie Jiacuo was silent for a moment before replying, his voice calm yet carrying a subtle heaviness.
「According to covert observations by temples across the land, the people’s reverence toward Your Majesty has declined… by perhaps half a percent.」
「Half a percent?」
Zanpu abruptly rose from his throne. A wave of Golden Body pressure swept through the hall, causing the candles to flicker violently.
「How long has it been? That witch has only appeared for a few short weeks! How could the foundation of faith waver so quickly?」
Sangjie Jiacuo met Zanpu’s wrathful gaze with unfathomable calm.
「Your Majesty, quell your anger. Faith is like sand—subtle shifts must be watched with care. Yet, before us hangs a sharper blade already poised above our gates.」
At the Grand Preceptor’s words, silence fell.
For Jiang Zhaoming had arrived.
The iron hooves of Anxi were about to tread upon the soil of Yutian.
Cold winds swept across the Western Prefectures as time quietly slipped into year’s end.
After a full month of arduous marching, the vast Anxi Army under Jiang Zhaoming’s command finally reached the northern borders of the Kingdom of Yutian.
The delay had not been due to sloth, but to the immense breadth of the Western Prefecture’s lands—far beyond imagination.
The four counties Jiang Zhaoming had recently reclaimed—Shule, Jinpu, Qiemo, and Huanghai—together spanned a territory exceeding the eastern prefectures of Anxi by over thirty percent.
The vast deserts and treacherous terrain had greatly slowed the advance of hundreds of thousands of troops.
Banners fluttered, armor gleamed.
Jiang Zhaoming reined in his steed atop a high ridge. The Dragon Steed beneath him snorted streams of white mist.
His deep gaze pierced the wilderness, fixing upon the silhouette of the heavily fortified border city of Yutian.
A thought flickered, and an unseen link of spiritual energy spanned the distance, connecting him briefly with Lilian, far within the heart of Yutian.
Moments later, the connection faded.
A faint knowing curve appeared on Jiang Zhaoming’s lips.
The seeds of “Divine Miracles” sown by Lilian were sprouting—the ripples of faith had begun to spread. But it was far from enough.
Merely shaking the faith of Zanpu and the Grand Preceptor would not suffice for Jiang Zhaoming to reclaim Yutian.
He knew well the foundations of faith in Yutian ran deep and tangled.
The true weavers of influence were not the masses, but those entrenched vines—the upper and middle classes of nobles and priests.
The common believers of Yutian were fervent, easily stirred, yet their scattered strength was like loose sand.
Only those who controlled speech and guided belief could twist that fervor into a rope strong enough to uphold—or strangle—the throne of divine authority.
Lilian’s role was to loosen that seemingly unbreakable cornerstone of faith, to let a shadow fall upon the radiance of the Kingdom of Sunlight in the hearts of some believers.
And Jiang Zhaoming’s task—was to bring the blade to the throats of those clinging vines.
Only through internal and external assault—twofold pressure—could they completely dismantle Yutian’s deep-rooted dominion over this land and its people.
「Attack the city!」
Jiang Zhaoming swung his arm. His voice was not loud, yet it carried the sharpness of a blade severing fate.
The command spread through the ranks like wildfire.
War drums thundered, horns blared.
The iron hooves of the Anxi Army, laden with crushing will, charged against the northern defenses of Yutian.
Flames of war erupted across the northern plains and hills of Yutian, spreading southward at frightening speed.
City after city fell beneath the relentless assault of the Anxi Army.
News of this formidable force, sprouting wings, swiftly reached the prosperous inner cities of Yutian.
The reports painted a shocking image of the Anxi Army:
Their discipline was iron; orders were obeyed without fail. In battle, they were fearless and unyielding.
They routed Yutian’s forces, leaving them in complete disarray.
Even more astonishing, the Prince of Anxi enforced strict military laws—prohibiting looting, assault, or any form of misconduct.
Upon entering a city, not only did they refrain from harming civilians, but they swiftly took over defense, restoring order and stability.
As for the local nobles and wealthy merchants who had not openly rebelled—
The Anxi Army did not strike them down.
Only those loyal to Yutian’s royal court, or those families devoted to the City of Sunlight, suffered the army’s thunderous, merciless wrath.
Amid the flames of war, ordinary citizens’ lives were barely disturbed.
On the contrary, after occupying cities, the Anxi Army opened their granaries to aid refugees, distributing food and maintaining peace.
This act fell upon the frozen tundra of blind faith like a sliver of warm sunlight—
Stirring within the fearful hearts of Yutian’s commoners a quiet, indescribable sense of admiration toward this army from Great Zhou.