The Undying Immortal System

Chapter 474 – Life 120, Age 41, Martial Grandmaster Peak

After several months of travel, I reunited with Kan and YuLong on the outskirts of Black Eagle City. From the furtive glances their people kept casting in the city’s general direction, it was obvious they were eager to launch a direct assault. However, before revealing ourselves, I wanted to gather information about the city and the surrounding powers while we could still move unnoticed. So, after sending everyone else to my inner world, Kan, YuLong, and I approached the city gates alone.

As we neared, a guard raised his hand to stop us, while a scribe sat off to the side, brush at the ready.

“Name and purpose of visit?” asked the guard in a dull monotone.

“The Nine Dragon Mercenary Corps,” I replied. This was the name I had used when submitting bounties during our journey. “We’re here to collect on the bandits we cleared out of the eastern mountains.”

The guard looked ready to ask another question, so I stepped forward as though trying to look past him into the city. As I did, I slipped a hefty pouch of gold into his hand.

“If you could recommend a good inn—one where we might find a little fun—I’d appreciate it,” I said, giving the man a knowing smile.

The guard let out a grunt as my pouch vanished into his storage bag. “The Stone Nest. Western quarter, near the canal. Just don’t let your fun cause us any problems, you hear?”

I cupped my fists in thanks, then led my two companions past him and through the gates of Black Eagle City.

Considering that the Nine Rivers Domain was at war with the Heroes Domain, Black Eagle City’s security felt unusually lax. It was clear that neither the guards nor the local Lord believed the war had anything to do with them. As a result, I was able to walk through the city and use my soul to probe its defenses without drawing so much as a second glance.

This gave me a solid understanding of what we were up against, and if all of the nearby cities were so poorly defended, taking enough land to build a kingdom would be far easier than I had expected. I wasn’t willing to take anything for granted, though, so Kan, YuLong, and I spent several long hours moving between inns and taprooms, quietly gathering information.

We learned a few details that would assist with our future expansion, but the most interesting information came from the merchant quarter, where a caravan had just returned from the front.

“I’m serious,” said a portly, balding man in finely embroidered robes. “If no one had told me those cities were sitting in the middle of an invasion, I’d never have guessed it. They’re richer than half the imperial capitals I’ve seen. The fields are packed with top-quality herbs, and the refiners are churning out so many powerful weapons that our armies can’t absorb them all. Once I unload everything, I’ll be up dozens of spirit stones, and that’s from just one trip.”

The thin man across from him gave a contemptuous snort and shook his head. “Conquered cities are never stable, and spirit stones are only useful if you survive to enjoy them. I’m not about to risk being strung up by a bunch of disgruntled peasants just to squeeze out a little extra profit.”

The larger man let out a deep chuckle. “That’s the thing, Brother Tong. Those cities are stable. The idiots from the Heroes Domain keep trying to reclaim them, but as soon as their armies are gone, the commoners rise up, cast out their new Rulers, and open the gates for our soldiers. The only way you’re getting strung up is if you start badmouthing the Demon Lord.”

When I first heard this, I had a hard time believing it. This so-called Demon Lord had somehow won the willing support of several cities. Was this really the Jon I knew? The Jon who had only ever seemed to care about provoking others into challenging him? Had being allowed to fight turned him into a completely different person?

To be fair, even in the Palace of the Herb Sovereign, Jon had managed to win the loyalty of several capable subordinates. Was that all this was? Had he simply found a few talented allies and left the ruling to them while he focused on the war?

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Without visiting the front myself, I couldn’t know for certain. However, listening to these merchants made me feel a growing pressure. A reckless Jon who was simply invading for the thrill of battle would not have been difficult to deal with. But a Jon who was building a prosperous, loyal empire was a far more dangerous prospect.

Still, this was the hand the Earthly Dao had dealt me, so all I could do was play it out.

After gathering all the information I could, I regrouped with Kan and YuLong, and together, we headed to the center of Black Eagle City to begin our conquest.

An average city in the Nine Rivers Domain could produce one Peak Lord every 30 to 40 years. Since each of these Lords had a 400-year lifespan, most cities had a reserve of five or six Lords that they could call on in times of emergency. An exceptionally prosperous city might have several times this number.

Black Eagle City had three: the current City Lord, the Patriarch of the Yongle Clan, and the Old Ancestor of the Yongle Clan. Originally, there had been two others, but when Li’s disciple reached Martial Lord, they were called to the front to support the war effort.

One or two extra Lords wouldn’t have made much of a difference, but only having three targets to deal with simplified matters. Kan went after the City Lord, I targeted the Yongle Patriarch, and YuLong took on their Old Ancestor.

Once everyone was ready, I reached into my inner world and pulled out all of the Disciples, Masters, and Grandmasters who had been waiting for this exact moment.

The central square of Black Eagle City instantly became a sea of cultivators. Then, that sea burst apart, with groups swarming toward the Yongle compound, the City Lord’s Manor, and the guard barracks.

A withered figure appeared on the roof of the Yongle compound.

“How dare—”

Before he could finish, I leapt toward him with a surge of qi and brought my guandao down in a powerful arc.

Having lived for many years, the old man was no stranger to battle. As my blade came down, he reacted with impressive speed, sweeping out a wave of earth qi that tore part of the rooftop free and raised it up to catch the haft of my guandao. At the same time, he sent another surge of qi through the shattered stone, launching several jagged fragments toward my chest.

Unfortunately for him, he had badly underestimated both the quality of my weapon and armor. The stone shards bounced harmlessly off my refined robes, and my guandao smashed through the stone barrier with barely a pause, its descending arc losing none of its force.

The old man’s eyes widened in shock, but he didn’t freeze. He immediately launched himself backward and focused his mind on trapping me in a will-lock.

If I had wanted to test myself, I could have let the fight continue. However, I had a city to conquer, and wasting time on this old man would only introduce unnecessary variables. So, I immediately broke his lock and sent a thread of qi into my weapon, activating one of its formations and creating a long talon that extended the reach of my strike by more than a dozen meters.

Before the old man could react, the talon ripped a deep wound across his chest, and a follow-up strike ended his life.

At nearly that exact same moment, Kan and YuLong killed the other two Lords, and our troops secured each of the key strategic locations around the city. Less than a minute later, the city gates slammed shut, and the defensive formation flared to life. However, it was not the city’s defenders who had done this. It was our people who had activated the formation to ensure that no one could escape and alert the nearby settlements.

With any luck, we would be able to take down a few more cities before anyone could react.

Throughout the entire operation, the only challenge was ensuring that we remained within the rules of war. Disciples could only fight Disciples, and Masters could only fight Masters. In the tight, crowded streets of Black Eagle City, it was all too easy to target the wrong opponent. So, as we advanced through the city and eliminated all resistance, we had to carefully identify each enemy before striking.

Even so, the city was ours within the hour, and we soon began planning our next conquest.

Over the next week, we conquered four more cities, one in each cardinal direction, with Black Eagle City at the center. We might have been able to do more, but word of our actions had already begun spreading through merchant caravans, putting the surrounding cities on high alert.

This was a little disappointing, but we still needed time to digest everything we had already taken, and five cities were more than enough to begin building a powerful Rank 4 army.

So, while our troops pulled back and Kan began the process of having our people acknowledged as the cities’ rightful Rulers, I focused on upgrading our defenses. I went from city to city, dismantling weak sections of their defenses and reinforcing the core formation nodes so that not even a Peak Lord would be able to damage them.

By the time I finished, these cities had become iron nails driven deep into the heart of the Nine Rivers Domain. All that remained was to see how the “Demon Lord” would respond.