Bab 8: Chapter 8: 3 Conquered Villages (Edited)
"Daddy, is that you?"
Looking at the tired little girl in his arms, she was called Zhang mei and had been abandoned in the nightmare forest. He felt guilty and angry as he looked at her sunken cheeks and felt how light she was. Kana had no right to abandon this child in the middle of nowhere, no matter the circumstances.
He knew he was being unreasonable. But her tired voice rang out in his head like a constant reminder of the fate that could've befell her if he hadn't been here.
Yan Zhong Yi was plagued by a slew of unanswered questions.
He asked her some questions while she was awake, and she answered them all. Her trust in him warmed his heart, but it also set off alarm bells in his mind. She had no recollection of what had happened before; she remembered being kidnapped by goblins and being imprisoned in the shed, but that was it.
It was early morning, and the soldiers were preparing to take over the other villages in one fell swoop. With the addition of this child, he almost called it quits, but he had been preparing for this moment for a long time. Waiting any longer would jeopardise the plans he had discussed with both Cheng brothers.
The soldiers' excitement was so intense that even Zhong Yi could feel his blood rushing slightly faster than usual, but he was the Emperor now, he had to radiate calmness and authority.
"Is the princess okay, Your Majesty?" General Cheng had entered the tent to find his majesty holding the little girl who looked like him but was frail and delicate.
"She's still alive," he remarked jokingly. When he heard silence, he looked up to see his general's shocked expression.
The general quickly recovered. "Your Majesty, the soldiers are excited to finish off the rest of the goblins. They believe the princess had been abducted by the goblins."
"Do you think I'd let the Goblins take my children, with my strength?" Zhong Yi raised an eyebrow at Cheng Jian Jun.
"Forgive me, Your majesty, I was only relaying their thoughts." He paused for a moment.
"Your majesty," He began. "Are you sure that the child is…"
"If I were you, I wouldn't finish that sentence." As the thought passed through Zhong Yi's head, his face darkened and his heart clenched painfully. He was aware that there were other ways to produce children, and he was certain that Kana would find a way to make this child his, but the idea that Zhong Mei wasn't his but rather another man's wasn't something he wanted to consider.
"Cheng Jian Jun, I want you to stay here and protect her!" With a glare at the General, Zhang Yi told him. The general was the one who devised the scheme to take the villages, and excluding him from them would soothe his anger.
"This mission is vital, Your majesty; I could be much more useful as a combatant than as a bodyguard!" General Cheng argued.
"You're the village's second-strongest Ghoul, and making you guard the princess will give me peace of mind." Cheng Jian Jun had figured it for what it was. His majesty was dissatisfied with him, and he was being punished as a result. He wished he had his brother's ability to read people so he wouldn't put his foot in his mouth in situations like this.
"You may depend on me, Your Majesty, to protect the princess with my life!" He gave a solemn reply.
"Keep your voice down! You'll startle her." Zhong Yi demanded. General Cheng silently chided himself once more.
"Feng Chen!" Called out Zhong Yi.
Feng Chen, a part of his shadow bodyguards appeared before him, kneeling down on one knee. "Gather the soldiers, we march in 10 minutes."
Feng Chen had vanished as soon as he finished his command.
It didn't take long for the soldiers to form in rows in front of their commander. He had left Zhong Mei with the general back in the tent, with most of his bodyguards with them.
He passed a glance over the soldier's excited faces and nodded. "Kill everyone and leave the players alive."
"For the empire!" The soldiers yelled back, but some appeared confused with the order being given.
"Leave the humans alive."
"Ah" expressions of understanding appeared on the soldier's face.
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They only jogged in one column. All 10 koukaku, 20 Berserkers, 15 Rangers and the 5 Ghost Ghouls marched in unison, led by the Sacred Ghoul Emperor.
Ghouls were essentially stage 2 cultivators due to their stage 1-5 bodies, while soldiers' cultivation had all reached stage 1-0. They can demonstrate power beyond their level by combining their physical and spiritual cultivation.
They arrived at the first village they planned on conquering.
The goblin village was revealed deep within the thicket of the trees. It was just a basic village, similar to Mina and Zhong Yi needed these villages to summon more ghouls.
From the scouts, they learned that the goblins numbered around 600 people, including 260 soldiers and seven goblin warriors.
After inspecting the small goblin fence around the village, Zhong Yi decided to give the soldiers combat experience for larger battles. Even though some of them had memories of being soldiers, the majority of them did not, and this would help them adjust to the fast-paced action that would accompany larger battles.
"Koukaku to the front!"
Zhong Yi stood there watching as the soldiers reacted quickly. 10 soldiers bolted from the formation and formed a row in front of the soldiers. He frowned as he saw his soldiers without weapons and only simple leather armour. He was well aware that the Ghouls were using their bodies as weapons and learning hand-to-hand combat as well as techniques from the general's previous life.
"Slow advance!" Commanded Yan Zhong Yi. "Rangers fire at will, shred them apart!!"
The rangers extended their kagune which resembled the feather-like wings of the ghosts, from their backs. The ranger's kagune allows them to fire a stream of spike-like missiles, whereas the ghost's kagune allows them to run faster and almost silently. They have the ability to alter the rate at which the projectiles are launched. The power of each projectile is proportional to its level of cultivation, which surprised Zhong Yi given how powerful it was.
The disadvantage is that they are not very precise, but who needs accuracy when they can fire a volley at their enemies that will shred them and pass on to their comrades?
The goblins had noticed enemy activity outside their village, but they couldn't do much because the projectiles would shred those out in the open. Zhong Yi wasn't surprised at the amount of damage the rangers were doing. Just the five of them were putting pressure on the goblins enough for them to hide behind their buildings.
The Ghouls in front extended their kagunes from their backs and let them encircle their arms. On their arms, large blood red diamond-shaped shields appear. At 190 cm in height, the shield was almost as big as the soldiers. They lined up in unison and formed a shield wall to block the view of the Ghoul army from the goblins.
The goblin chief walked out into the middle of the village's entrance. He stood out because of how he dressed in comparison to the others. The goblin chief wore a robe and a pointed hat on his head, and he wielded a wooden staff.
The ghouls were already aware of the goblin chief thanks to information shared by scouts dispatched during the days of preparation. It had come as a surprise to witness Spirit energy being used in such a way. He hadn't seen any other races use it in this way besides Elves. Naturally, he assumed that in the Heaven Awaken World, such things were commonplace, and that he was simply ignorant.
"Aim for the Goblin mage."
The five rangers' focus was drawn to the mage. The mage was surrounded by a shield that deflected the projectiles with difficulty. The goblins, encouraged by their chief's defence and the lack of harm done to him, dashed to the entrance where he was, jumping over the bodies of their comrades and charging at the red wall.
"Attack!!" The goblin chief shouted through gritted teeth. Sweat poured down its frightened face from the small projectiles that were constantly hitting it's hastily made barrier.
The number of goblins had dwindled to 150, and their goblin warriors were nowhere to be found. They smashed their heads against the wall, their rage fueling their charge at the death of their comrades. They were, however, unable to make any further progress with the wall. Smarter goblins considered moving around, but were easily struck down by the berserkers who had been waiting for them.
It was fun to watch the goblins try to crack the shield wall formation, but Zhong Yi quickly lost interest. "Break ranks!"
*30 minutes later*
The pungent odour of blood in the air made Zhong Yi desperate for something to drink. Thanks to the blood assimilation abilities, the ghouls discovered that they could absorb the spirit energy in creatures' blood.
The scholars were astounded by such a talent because it had never been seen before. They compared it to the early days of the empire, when Ghouls were surrounded on all sides by strong monsters but somehow managed to survive and thrive.
Ghouls were able to enter stage 1 thanks to their racial ability. General Cheng took the soldiers out on a regular basis to find monster dens to cultivate, but he normally left them alone after reducing their numbers.
"One drink before we march to the other villages." The soldiers were disciplined so that they wouldn't get carried away with small rewards while bigger ones were on the way.
Zhong Yi went to the village and repeated the conquering process.
[You have conquered Talen village. You have received 50 achievement points!]
"Wang Jun, Pick four Berserkers to accompany the summoned Ghouls to Mina village. After escorting them to the village, come back here and protect this one."
"Your Majesty." A tall Ghoul responded, his white hair and red eyes characteristic of ghouls.
He turned to the soldiers, who had blood streaming down the sides of their mouths and a look of unmasked excitement in their eyes. "In 5 minutes, we'll be marching!"
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[You have conquered Mouna village. You have received 50 achievement points!]
[You have conquered Tima village. You have received 50 achievement points!]
Talen was a regular grade, while the other two villages were blue. This meant they'd be able to summon 21-36 ghouls every day from the villages they'd already captured.
Yan Zhong Yi was pleased with the progress achieved so far. They could also extend their territories by conquering further until they had cleared the territory of monster beasts and goblin strays.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone