Martial Cultivator

The demon army broke camp and marched south.

The mighty army of a million demons, having finally captured all those passes, once again began its advance south, drawing closer to the Northern Frontier Great Wall.

The reason that female demon lord who commanded the vast demon army finally made her decision at this moment was because a royal decree had arrived from the north.

That decree had not come from the demon race's royal city, but from even farther north, beyond the Demon Sea, from that land of death.

As for how Demon Lord Redsleeve knew the decree had come from there, the reason was simple. The decree of the Demon Emperor had been written upon a block of ice. That block of ice was so tough that even ordinary cultivators were incapable of damaging it.

The Demon Emperor had merely written a single brief sentence upon it before casually tossing it southward.

Only after several days did the decree "slowly" arrive at the southern demon encampment.

At the time, the commanders within the main tent were still arguing over when they should march south. In truth, there should not have been any argument at all, because most of the demon commanders had originally supported advancing south as soon as possible.

But after that young martial artist had calmly walked through the demon camp, quite a few commanders had begun to waver. They naturally knew that their Demon Emperor was likewise a peerless expert, and that if he acted personally, he could certainly stop that young martial artist, Chen Chao. The problem was, with his exalted status, would His Majesty personally come to the front lines of the battlefield?

Compared with the uncertainty on their own side, that young martial artist would almost certainly appear atop the southern city wall.

After all, the words he had spoken on the Northern Frontier had long since spread throughout the Demon Domain.

Perhaps because the two sides stood upon opposite banks of the same river, they could only ever be enemies, but even as enemies, it did not diminish the demon race's respect for that young martial artist.

The human race had been suppressed by the demon race for so many years that many of the so-called outstanding talents of humanity had been little more than jokes in the eyes of the demons.

But in these short dozen or so years, the human race had truly produced two extraordinary figures. Furthermore, those two extraordinary figures were actually uncle and nephew.

In any case, because of that young martial artist's existence, some demon commanders had already begun to lose their absolute confidence that they could defeat the human race without fail. Thus, during the previous discussions over when to march south, some people had begun to waver.

How were they supposed to deal with that young martial artist?

If that young Lord Warden Commander of Great Liang appeared on the battlefield and His Majesty did not personally come, how were they supposed to deal with him?

It was a question that no one raised aloud, yet one that everyone silently pondered.

Therefore, amid those arguments, the commanders hoped that the female demon lord could provide a solution to this problem, which was why they argued over it again and again. As for those commanders who came from the Southern Frontier, they were absolutely loyal to Demon Lord Redsleeve. In truth, they did not think much about such matters. Their thinking was very simple: whatever Demon Lord Redsleeve ordered them to do, they would do.

But just as their arguments became increasingly heated, that decree drifted into the main tent.

In an instant, the entire tent fell silent.

Everyone sensed that aura, that faint, unassuming aura. Yet it was precisely that faint aura that made everyone instinctively want to submit.

This was true royal majesty, entirely unrelated to cultivation realm.

Demon Lord Redsleeve merely glanced at the "ice edict," then extended a snow-white finger and flicked it lightly. At that very moment, the decree which would likely have been regarded as incomparably sacred by the vast majority of the demon race began to shatter, finally breaking into fragments of ice that scattered across the ground.

The commanders looked at one another, saying nothing.

In the entire Demon Domain, she was probably the only one who could treat the Demon Emperor's will so casually.

The reason lay not merely in the fact that Demon Lord Redsleeve was the true ruler of the entire Southern Frontier.

After a moment of silence, Demon Lord Redsleeve, who had given no answer these past few days, finally spoke softly, "Break camp and march south."

"The Red Wolf Clan, one hundred thousand cavalry, advance through the Western Pass to Moon Viewing Terrace. "When the time comes, do not attack the city. Simply watch. If Great Liang's defenders at Moon Viewing Terrace attempt to leave, attack immediately. There is no need to launch a full assault, small-scale harassment will suffice."

"The White Bear Clan and the White Elephant Clan, two hundred thousand infantry, cross the Central Dew Plains and attack Lone Wind Pass."

"The Iron Eagle Clan will patrol the skies above the entire Northern Frontier Great Wall. Relay all intelligence immediately. There must be no delays."

"The Green Snake Clan..."

"The White Flood Dragon Clan..."

After that decree arrived in the main tent, Demon Lord Redsleeve finally issued her first orders for the assault on the Great Wall. There were no shortage of important passes along the Northern Frontier Great Wall. In the past, the demon race's offensives had been little more than skirmishes, but this time was different. Since they had resolved to march south, things naturally would not be the same as before.

"As for the rest... we'll pay that General's Office a visit."

Both the demon race and the human race understood that the most important place along the Northern Frontier Great Wall had always been the General's Office. The Northern Frontier Army's strongest cultivators were there, and so too were its most elite soldiers.

The General's Office absolutely could not fall. That was Great Liang's bottom line.

Because once the General's Office fell, Great Liang would lose its spirit.

Even if the situation afterward was not truly beyond saving, by that point morale would have completely collapsed.

So no matter what, the General's Office could not be allowed to fall.

Demon Lord Redsleeve naturally understood this as well, which was why she arranged her forces in this manner, concentrating her main army toward the General's Manor, forcing the entire Great Liang border army to choose this place as the site of the decisive battle.

The two sides would wage a great battle here.

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled charmingly. "I also want to know. After all these years, have we failed to march south because we lacked the ability, or simply because we never thought about doing so."

The commanders said nothing, remaining silent.

"Oh, actually, I'm also very interested in seeing how that little girl will deal with this."

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled. Perhaps the thought of matching wits against a woman barely in her twenties felt refreshingly novel to her.

......

......

"In my opinion, the moment she makes her move, it will be like thunder descending with overwhelming force. There will be no probing attacks."

Inside the main hall of the General's Office, a group of Northern Frontier generals with distinguished military records were all holding their breath as they looked at the enormous sand table in the center, as well as the few people standing beside it.

Northern Frontier Great General Ning Ping, Xie Nandu, who as a woman had become the deputy general of the General's Office, cavalry commander Li Changling, and Gao Xuan, likewise young and with boundless promise, now serving as a lieutenant general of the General's Manor.

Pointing at several locations on the sand table, Xie Nandu explained her analysis.

"So will she concentrate her forces in one place, or launch a full-front assault?"

Gao Xuan spoke softly, but quickly answered his own question.

"There will definitely be troops deployed across multiple locations to pin down our reinforcements, while she chooses one main battlefield and uses overwhelming forces to break through there. At the same time, she'll want to shatter our morale. And that main battlefield... will be the General's Office!"

Gao Xuan pointed at the General's Office on the sand table, his expression solemn. The General's Office existed on the sand table, beneath their feet, and in the hearts of every soldier on the Northern Frontier.

Xie Nandu did not refute him. Her judgment was the same as Gao Xuan's.

The intelligence gathered over these past days all proved that Demon Lord Redsleeve was absolutely not the sort to proceed timidly and cautiously. Though she was a woman, in truth she was no different from a man.

Indeed, in terms of breadth of spirit, she far surpassed most men.

"Since a battle is inevitable anyway, is she planning to settle everything in a single campaign?"

Gao Xuan looked at Xie Nandu in confusion. Logically speaking, with the Northern Frontier Great Wall being so formidable, capturing it in a single offensive would not be easy.

No matter how one looked at it, it should become a prolonged war of attrition.

Xie Nandu was silent for a moment before saying softly, "Every member of their race can join the war, but every one of our soldiers who dies is one fewer we have."