After the Saint Realm experts of the Nine Clans withdrew, the lower levelled cultivators also received a retreat order. None of the Five Academies Alliance members gave pursuit. An entire day of battle had passed, they were all exhausted. They were happy that the enemies left, why would they start chasing after them.
With the Nine Clans forces retreating, several jubilant cries started to echo out from the people on the ground and soon, the entire army was raising their weapons up in the air in celebration. Seeing the situation play out like this, the various Saint Realm cultivators heaved a heavy sigh of relief. They were exhausted as well and a smile formed on their lips as they realized that the battle was over. They had won! A middle aged man with a sturdy build, dressed in fiery red armour stepped flew towards Curo and his squad.
He stopped in front of Mo Hao and cupped his hands, “The timely arrival of fellow cultivators truly tipped the scales in this battle.” He then shook his head as he sighed lightly, “If you had arrived a bit later, we would have been hard pressed to survive this ordeal.” Hearing this, the surrounding cultivators, who were all dressed in the same armour nodded their heads towards Mo Hao. Mo Hao held a neutral expression as he said, “Captain Ji was the one that rushed us here in time, if you wish to thank someone, you should thank Captain Ji.”
Hearing this, the man was startled. He then scanned the four other people and frowned. When his eyes landed on Curo, he frowned even harder as some thought entered his head. He then turned towards Curo and said, “I presume you are Captain Ji?” Curo nodded his head. The man then cupped his hands and said, “I thank Captain Ji for providing timely assistance.” Curo waved it off and asked with slightly narrowed eyes, “Where are the other Squads?” The man’s face grew bitter as he said, “You are the only Squad that came as reinforcements.” Curo frowned as he crossed his hands on his chest and said, “From what I know, at least fifteen Squads were closer to the Burning Heavens Citadel than our Squad was. We rushed over from over 50 000 kilo meters away.”
Hearing this, the man could only bitterly smile and say, “There were several Squads that arrived nearby but seeing the situation they decided to leave hurriedly.” Hearing this, Curo asked with a dark face, “May I ask, did you recognize any Squads led by my Hidden Dragon Academy?” The man thought for a moment before answering uncertainly, “I seem to recall one or two.” Hearing this, Curo’s face slightly turned red. It was obvious from a glance that he was angry. The man then said, “How about we continue this conversation inside?”Curo nodded his head and followed the man inside the citadel.
Several Saint Realm experts of the Citadel stayed to guard, while the rest of them were sent to recuperate. Curo followed the man into a room that had a huge table in the middle of it. On the walls, on one side was the Insignia of the Nirvana Phoenix Academy and on the other side, there was the Insignia of the Five Academies Alliance. On the table, there was a 3D replica of the Citadel and the surrounding 5 kilo meters.
The man then sat down at the Lords seat and gestured for Curo to sit down on his right. Curo nodded his head and sat down on his right as a servant brought them a cup of tea. After taking a sip, Curo’s eyes turned serious as he asked, “Did you recognize the leaders of the Squads from the Hidden Dragon Academy?” The man also turned serious as he nodded his head and said, “The Squad Leaders were Jiang Fu and Lin Chengtian. They observed the situation for a few minutes and then left with bitter faces. It was obvious that they didn’t want to take part in this battle.”
Hearing this, Curo nodded his head and fished out a paper talisman. He then stood up and threw it to the ground after injecting some Qi into it. The Talisman burned up and revealed an illusory figure. Curo then cupped his hands and said, “Instructor Sheng.” Hearing this, the figure turned to Curo and asked, “What happened for you to contact me?”
Curo then said with a grim face, “The Burning Heavens Citadel sent out a request for reinforcements earlier today. After rushing here for half a days worth of time, we discovered that we were the only Squad to offer assistance in this battle.” Hearing this, Instructors Sheng’s brows furrowed as he asked, “Were there any of our Academies Roaming Dragon Squads involved?” Curo nodded his head and said, “Leader Jiang Fu and Leader Lin Chengtian were spotted by the Burning Heavens Citadels Commander In Charge to observe for a few minutes, then withdraw with bitter face. From the Commander’s words, they suffered no injuries to their Squad.” Hearing this, Instructor Sheng said coldly, “Thank you for reporting this matter, I will personally deal with them. I suggest the Commander also contacts the other Academies for an explanation.” Hearing this, Curo nodded his head and the illusory figure slowly dissipated. Seeing this, the Commander’s eyes were wide as he asked, “Isn’t this a bit extreme?”
Curo then turned to the man with cold eyes and said, “We were lucky this time that the lower levelled cultivators didn’t notice them. If they had and saw them fleeing the moment they arrived, what would be left of the troops morale?” Hearing this, the man was silent as he could only agree with Curo’s words. While skill mattered amongst the Saints, Morale was the biggest factor amongst the lower levelled cultivators. If the morale plummeted, then the forces would lose all will to battle and be slaughtered or run away.
Curo then added coldly, “Yes, this time, we were lucky. Our Squad managed to make a difference. By helping one person kill their opponent, two were free to help out others, this released a domino effect that forced the Nine Clans forces to retreat.” Hearing this, the man could only sigh. He too was someone well versed in the art of war. In addition, he had been fighting since the beginning, he knew how important the morale was for the troops. If anyone was taken by despair, it would result in a chain reaction that would lead to their downfall. Curo then said, “I was appointed as the Deputy for the Roaming Dragon Division. All of the Roaming Squads from the Hidden Dragon Academy are under the direct orders from the Roaming Dragon Division.”
He then took a breath and looked out the window as he continued, “This act of arriving and fleeing without even fighting is equal to desertion. Luckily, only Saints saw them and were able to keep their morale, however, the fight would have been long lost before we arrived if the lower levelled cultivators had seen them.” The man could do nothing but agree to Curo’s words. This was war. They had their orders to come and assist them, to Roaming Squads, this wasn’t a debatable order but a strict and direct one. Had they been too far away, then there was nothing they could do. However, there were several squads that were close enough to arrive in the beginning of the battle. However, they decided to not do that. If that wasn’t desertion, then what was.
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Curo then told the man, “My Squad will remain here for the next few days. If they attack again, we will help fight them.” Hearing this, the man nodded in appreciation as he summoned a servant to prepare rooms for the five. Curo then asked the man, “Do you have news of the situation elsewhere?” The man then sighed as he said, “Ever since the first battle, there have been countless small skirmishes between the Nine Clans and the Five Academies. However, today, they launched their first large scale attack.” Curo listened intently as the man continued, “However, even we weren’t expecting there to be so many Saint Realm cultivators. From this, it seems like they are starting to make their moves now.”
Curo nodded his head and added, “The Burning Heavens Citadel is one of the outer most Citadels. This is as close to the front line’s as it gets. If we lose this supply base, the Roaming Squads will be crippled by quite a bit.” The man nodded his head as he agreed with Curo, “Once this Citadel is lost, this World can be considered so as well. The next closest World is a week away if one didn’t use the Transportation Arrays.” Curo nodded his head as he asked, “Would you mind if I put in a request for reinforcements here from the Hidden Dragon Academy?”
The man frowned when he heard this but Curo immediately clarified, “It isn’t that you lack in leadership or strength but rather, this is a very important strategic location for us. To lose it just because it wasn’t fortified enough….” As his words trailed off here, the man could only sigh as well. He then said, “If a Formations Expert were to come here and set down a Transportation Array, it would already be good enough. We have suffered many injuries and casualties during this battle, so to turn away reinforcements would be a fools decision.” Hearing this, Curo smiled.
He was afraid that the man would be stubborn on this matter and persist that he could handle it. The man then said looking at the ceiling, “Recognize your own weakness, we are at war. No matter what, I can’t doom my entire army because of my own pride.” Hearing this, Curo cupped his hands towards the man. He had earned Curo’s respect.
The matter of ones pride and seeing the bigger picture often butted heads. Although the people knew there was a lot at stake, they refused to accept help from outside. However, this matter concerned the entire Realm, there was no room for the Commander’s pride and he knew it. Curo and the man had finished their cups of tea, so Curo withdrew two cups and a flask of wine.
As he filled them, he asked, “What is your out take on this war?” The man accepted the cup and hesitation appeared in the man’s eyes as he stayed silent. Curo sighed and said, “This matter will be between us and nothing will leave this room.” The man gave Curo a long glance before he sighed, “At this point, it is far too early to say. Both sides are still at the probing stages and we have no way of swinging the battle either way as of now.”
Curo nodded his head as he took a sip of wine and said, “In my opinion, the Nine Clans actually hold the advantage at the moment. They are far more united than we are.” Hearing this, the man furrowed his brows for a moment before sighing. He knew extremely well what Curo was implying at with his sentence. The man then said, “We have more experts but we lack the unity. They have less experts but stronger unity. This creates a delicate equilibrium. However, if our Five Academies were to stand more united….” As his words trailed off, Curo nodded his head.
Curo then finished the sentence, “We would have an overwhelming advantage. However, there is still too much bad blood between the Academies and the Alumni.” Hearing this, the man could do nothing but sigh. The man then asked, “What are you planning on doing after you leave here?” Curo took a sip of wine and said, “First off, we will return to the Hidden Dragon Academy to rest up and exchange our merits for useful Artefacts, pills and so on. Then, the plan is to head deeper into the Nine Ancient Clans territory and disrupt their major bases of operation.”
He took a breath before he explained more clearly, “Sabotage their supply transfers, eliminate Bounty Board threats and so on.” Hearing this, the man gave a long look at Curo and asked something that had been on his mind for too long now, “Why were you chosen to be Squad Leader?” When Curo heard this question, he bitterly smiled. All of the Roaming Dragon Squads were compromised of a Heavenly Saint Leader and four Earthly Saint members. Their Squad was the only anomaly with two Heavenly Saints, and two Earthly Saints being lead by an Early Saint.
Curo then said with a bitter tone, “Because I am Number One on the Nine Ancient Clans Bounty Board. I am the both indirect and direct reason this whole war started. The higher ups thought that if I were to just hide away under the Sovereigns protection, it would bring down the morale of the Five Academies Forces.” When the Commander heard this, he sighed and looked at Curo with a tinge of pity in his eyes. He then raised his cup and said, “Seems like you and me both have it hard.” Curo gave a weak smile as he also raised his cup. However, just as they were about to take a sip, they felt a Qi Ripple. Their eyes turned serious as the both flew out of the hall and into the air. Suddenly, the Commander’s voice boomed out when they saw the situation, “Men and women of the Burning Heavens Citadel to arms!”
When this shout echoed out, the various rallying bells were rung as the soldiers immediately got dressed and appeared on the walls. When they saw what was in front of them, they all paled. In the distance, a large army was waiting, no smaller than the army that had arrived in the morning. However, in front of them, there were several beasts that had a cultivation varying from the Qi Gathering Stages to the Early Saint Realms. Curo’s face was dark as he took out his Identity Token and inscribed a message into it.
The message read, “Every Roaming Dragon Squad that gets this message is to immediately come to the Burning Heavens Citadel. Those who don’t will be executed according to the Rules of the Roaming Dragon Division.” When the various Squads in the vicinity received this message, they paled. This message was a direct order from the Deputy of the Roaming Dragon Division and it clearly said, anyone who ignored this order will be executed without exception.
The Commander then rose to the skies and by doing so, over two hundred Saints rose to the air behind him. They were visibly exhausted however, none of them had any intention of backing down from this fight. The several men glanced at Curo and his Squad as well and seeing that they were also standing their ground and seemed to be fighting alongside them, they were gratified.
Curo’s and his Squads strength had left a deep impression on them during the earlier battle. “Seems like you half dead bastards still have some strength in you. Don’t worry, I will beat it out of you soon enough.” As the laughter echoed out in the night sky, Curo’s and every Saint’s expression darkened.
The Commander then grit his teeth as he muttered, “A Sovereign….”