This was not simply a congregation of black clouds. This black dragon contained the Dragon Qi that they had stolen from the capital, and also the Dragon Qi that came from Youzhou being the future den of the dragon. Their fusion had brought forth this black dragon.
Even though it was pitch-black, Gao Shang did not care. There was no strict difference between a black dragon and a true dragon.
This was because when the true dragon dominated the realm, only the black dragon had a chance of overturning the dynasty, clearing out the old and bringing in the new.
And once the black dragon devoured the true dragon, it would transform into the true dragon!
The difference between success and failure had never been a matter of destiny!
Gao Shang waved his sleeve and firmly ordered, “Pass on my order! Prepare to activate the formation!”
The manifestation of the black dragon was an extremely rare opportunity. If they missed out on this day, they could put aside any thought of strengthening Youzhou.
“Yes!”
Below Gao Shang, a Youzhou horseman swiftly mounted his horse and rode into the distance.
A few moments later, the lands of Youzhou began to tremble. On the borders of Youzhou, to the south, east, west, and north, black streams of energy shot into the air and connected to the savage black dragon.
Each pillar of black energy was created through the work of seven or eight black-robed sorcerers who were performing a ritualistic dance.
In their center was either a large handled cauldron, or a copper cauldron, or the sculpture of a monster, or a copper goblet… Though these items were in different shapes and sizes, they all shared one thing in common. They were all pitch-black.
Gao Shang had gathered these black-robed sorcerers and collected these strange, black ritual tools to create this formation.
As the formation was set into motion, the black ritual tools resonated with the black dragon in the sky and finally produced a subtle change.
Bang!
After a moment that seemed to drag on for an eternity, the black dragon finished absorbing the fortune of the world, and the event that Gao Shang had long anticipated finally took place.
Boom! The giant black dragon opened its maw and spewed out a black torrent of energy riddled with lightning. With thunderous speed, the black torrent crashed into the Andong Protectorate headquarters.
The world fell silent.
A moment later, as if the earth had sundered apart, a massive shockwave of energy swept out from the Andong Protectorate headquarters.
The formless black energy suddenly became like dense ocean waves!
“Ah!”
The black energy passed through a Youzhou soldier standing guard on the wall. His body went stiff, and his helmet exploded, his hair scattering apart as he raised his head and howled like a wolf.
Crackclack! A moment later, the Youzhou soldier’s body cracked and groaned. He had originally been at the first tier of the True Martial realm, but a moment later, he broke into Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4… in the end, he went all the way Tier 7 of the True Martial realm.
Such progress was truly flabbergasting.
And the same transformation happened to all the other Youzhou soldiers.
All the way from the lowly soldiers to the generals, all the soldiers of Youzhou were strengthened by the black dragon, growing stronger at an astonishing pace.
Atop the roof of the Andong Protectorate headquarters, Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi were flabbergasted by the sight.
Although Gao Shang had said that this was what would happen, none of them had imagined that the Black Dragon Formation would have such a huge effect.
Youzhou had an army of six hundred thousand soldiers!
At the minimum, the soldiers received a boost of two to three tiers, with some even growing stronger by six or seven tiers.
Even Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi, who already had extremely high levels of cultivation and had not expected much of a boost from the black dragon, felt themselves getting significantly stronger.
And this was only the beginning! Crack! As if the heavens themselves had split open, a massive vortex appeared next to the black dragon. A moment later, another black pillar of energy crashed down, further strengthening the Youzhou army.
On the roof, An Yaluoshan was taken aback by this sight, but as he came to understand what it was, he heartily laughed.
The Power of the World!
At this crucial moment, the familiar Power of the World had once more appeared to strengthen his army.
At this moment, even the world was helping him!
“Wang Chong, do you see it? Do you see it? The entire world stands on my side, so why are you still trying to fight me?”
An Yaluoshan spread out his arms and laughed, his eyes bright.
“Your Excellency, get ready!”
Gao Shang’s voice rang out.
Surprised, An Yaluoshan followed Gao Shang’s gaze and looked up. High in the sky, the black dragon’s crimson eyes had erupted with a light countless times brighter than the sun, and that enormous dragon head was looking straight at him.
“This is—”
Before An Yaluoshan could react, the black dragon’s eyes unleashed two beams of light that fused together into a thick, red lightning bolt that flashed through space and slammed into An Yaluoshan.
At the same time, another black pillar of energy descended on An Yaluoshan.
“Ah!”
An Yaluoshan’s clothes blew apart as he let out a cry that could alarm the heavens. But unlike the others, An Yaluoshan’s cry contained no pain, only boundless ecstasy.
Chapter 2150 - The War Stirs; the Countries Declare War!
Chapter 2150: The War Stirs; the Countries Declare War!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The baptism of the black dragon’s crimson eyes and the pillar of black energy caused An Yaluoshan to rapidly grow stronger.
In just a few moments, a spatial passage opened up above An Yaluoshan’s head, golden Subtle realm energy surging down like a waterfall.
The Subtle realm!
It took only a few seconds for An Yaluoshan to break into the Subtle realm.
Unlike the Subtle realm strength that he had only managed to reach through the World Armor, An Yaluoshan had truly grown strong enough to break through the threshold.
This was a qualitative evolution.
“Hahaha! Wonderful…”
An Yaluoshan heartily laughed as he felt the boundless energy inside him.
He had never felt such powerful energy before. More importantly, he was continuing to get stronger and stronger.
A moment later, another ‘dragon breath’ spewed out, and An Yaluoshan’s body crackled with lightning. The energy descending from the heavens condensed into a slender black dragon that coiled around An Yaluoshan, bolstering his domineering aura and endowing him with the faint aura of a sovereign.
Those around him had yet to sense it, but on the ground, Gao Shang, who had been observing An Yaluoshan this entire time, gave a slight nod of approval.
Success! Starting from now, the fates of these two are finally one. The black dragon is His Excellency and His Excellency is the black dragon! Gao Shang thought to himself.
Although An Yaluoshan had possessed the destiny of the black dragon before, the connection between the two of them had not been sturdy. If something had happened to Youzhou or some second rebellious faction had appeared, the black dragon might have moved to another person.
But when that crimson energy descended on An Yaluoshan, everything became set in stone.
The black dragon could only be An Yaluoshan.
And An Yaluoshan was now fated to be the True Dragon Son of Heaven, the master of the Central Plains!
Bang!
After some time, An Yaluoshan suddenly punched, sending out a black torrent of energy suffused with golden light. It traveled several thousand feet, disto
rting space wherever it went, even creating a long, black spatial fissure.
This majestic energy was far beyond the Great General level and could leave any expert frightened.
An Yaluoshan, wearing the World Armor, radiated a vast sea of astonishing energy.
“Wang Chong, I’ll definitely repay my humiliations to you by one hundred times. This time, you won’t have a single chance. I’ll tear apart your fortress, your Great Tang, and Li Heng into pieces!”
An Yaluoshan brazenly laughed, his body exuding excitement.
Gao Shang immediately went up to An Yaluoshan’s side, raised his robe, and got down on his knees.
“Master, now is the moment!”
Cui Qianyou, Tian Qianzhen, and Tian Chengsi immediately understood what was going on, excitedly coming forward and prostrating.
“Master, today is the day for your grand aspiration to be fulfilled!”
“Master, let’s begin the war!”
Rumble!
As if they had heard these calls, all the six-hundred-thousand-some soldiers of Youzhou got down on their knees and called out in unison.
“Master!”
“Master!”
“Master!”
A great roar swept through the world.
An Yaluoshan was their master, and just as the sky could not have two suns, a man could not have two masters. From the moment these people had decided to call An Yaluoshan their master, his intentions had been exposed.
Now, they no longer needed to hide their ambitions.
The world fell silent.
Standing atop the Andong Protectorate headquarters, An Yaluoshan looked down at all the tens of thousands of kneeling soldiers, as well as the Yeluohe standing atop the distant mountains, and he felt his soldiers and his subordinates blazing with energy.
Whoosh!
An Yaluoshan let out a long sigh, but deep down, his ambition swept through him like a wildfire, no longer able to be suppressed.
Clang!
Above the Andong Protectorate headquarters, there was a cold flash of light. A moment later, An Yaluoshan pulled out his sword and pointed it upward.
“All soldiers, hear my order! The fortune of the Great Tang is spent, and today, we execute Wang Chong and cut down the tyrant! We fight!!!” An Yaluoshan roared.
Like oil had been spilled on a flame, the six hundred thousand Youzhou cavalry immediately erupted in a frenzy.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Excited bellows resounded through the world.
With pride swelling in his heart, An Yaluoshan heartily laughed.
All his subordinates were gathered, and an army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers waited at his command. With such a majestic momentum, was there anything he could not do?
“Move out!”
With this order, all of Youzhou began to shake and sway, hundreds of thousands of cavalry rumbling toward the alliance’s gathering point.
Meanwhile, in the Goguryeo Empire…
Yeon Gaesomun, six black sabers on his back, stood atop the walls of Hwando.
Although Goguryeo was a small country compared to the Great Tang, and Yeon Gaesomun was no True Dragon, Son of Heaven, Yeon Gaesomun was still a sovereign and possessed a faint sliver of Dragon Qi. When the world fell into turmoil and the heavens shifted, Yeon Gaesomun had sensed the weakening of the Central Plains Dragon Qi and the surge of Dragon Qi in Youzhou.
This waning and waxing was a sign to Yeon Gaesomun.
“This day has finally come!”
Yeon Gaesomun’s body erupted with energy as he snapped his fingers, instantly obliterating An Yaluoshan’s letter, sending countless bits of paper drifting down from the walls like snow.
Below the walls, a sea of Goguryeon soldiers stood like statues, their cold armor radiating killing intent amidst the biting winds.
All of them were awaiting Yeon Gaesomun’s order.
Clang!
With a clang, Goguryeo Emperor Yeon Gaesomun pulled out his sword and pointed it at the Central Plains, releasing the voice he had suppressed for several decades.
“Pass on my order! I, Yeon Gaesomun, Emperor of Goguryeo, formally declare war against the Great Tang!”
“Fight!”
“Fight!”
“Fight!”
Beneath the walls of Hwando, one million Goguryeon soldiers raised their weapons and roared.
Bongbongbong!
War drums boomed and armor clattered as the Goguryeo’s million-man army began to move out!
……
In a tent in the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, a muscular figure got down on one knee and loudly said, “Khagan, Goguryeo has sent the signal!”
“Hahaha, is that so? Yeon Gaesomun, you’re truly an impatient one!”
Ozmish Khagan, wearing a cape of white fox fur, brazenly laughed as he slowly stood up from his throne. As he did, his body erupted with energy.
Ozmish Khagan’s eyes quickly turned to a Turkic man in front of him.
“Tiechi Bileli, I must trouble you this time!”
“This general will go!”
Tiechi Bileli bowed, and his right fist thumped against his left breast. His eyes turned steely as he stood up.
Lifting the tent flap, Tiechi Bileli walked out of the tent.
“Great General!”
Outside, two of the Khagan’s personal guards bowed to Tiechi Bileli.
But Tiechi Bileli cared little about them.
Tiechi Bileli surveyed the world outside the tent.
From the summit, he could see that the world of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate had been turned into a world of ice and snow. And amidst the whiteness were countless Eastern Turkic cavalry, a vast army that extended to the horizon.
At this moment, all the cavalry looked up toward him.
Nearby, the other Great Generals looked toward him, waiting for his order.
Tiechi Bileli’s eyes flashed as he spoke two words.
“Move out!”
Boom!
A moment later, the silent world suddenly came to life. Banners unfurled and warhorses neighed as the vast army of Eastern Turkic cavalry surged toward Youzhou.
At the same time, the Xi and Khitans also began to move out.
The Xi and Khitans were simply two great tribes, so they could not compare to the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and Goguryeo. But the fact that they were able to survive amidst the clashing countries of the northeast was proof enough of their strength. Although they were not great in number, their ferocity could match or exceed that of the other countries.
“Kill!”
In a snow-covered hall sat King Kuge, his face covered with a thick beard, part of which had been gathered into two braids that drooped down from the corners of his lips.
With a swing of his hand, he flourished his Khitan saber and roared.
At his side, a foreign woman of great charm suddenly rode forward upon a horse, capturing everyone’s attention.
Chapter 2151 - Li Heng Appoints a General!
Chapter 2151: Li Heng Appoints a General!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The woman had a graceful bearing and wore a golden crown atop her black hair. Despite the raging snowstorm, she wore only a layer of dark blue gauze, with her smooth abdomen and navel exposed to the elements, yet she did not seem to feel the cold. A snowflake-shaped, ice-blue ornament had been attached to her navel, and as it swayed with her body, it radiated charm and grace.
Through the dark blue gauze, one could see those sources of countless fantasies, tightly bound in snow-white cloth.
On her face, she wore a golden veil, her phoenix eyes peeking out. As they looked around, they carried with them a soul-seizing power, but also a sharp and vicious energy.
This was the Queen of the Xi!
Everyone knew that the warriors of the Xi tribe were fierce warriors who did not
fear death. But very few people knew that the leader of the Xi was such a young and beautiful woman.
In the northeast, very few people had ever seen the Xi Queen, but with the cold wave imminent, the Queen of the Xi had finally appeared.
The Xi and Khitans were extremely close to each other, so the two great tribes had decided to bring their strongest warriors together first before heading out.
Ding!
Atop her horse, the Queen of the Xi raised a violet-gold scepter. A moment later…
Rumble!
The earth rumbled, and as the Khitan King and Xi Queen gave their orders, the tens of thousands of Khitan and Xi warriors transformed into a flood of steel that swept toward Youzhou.
As the forces of the alliance gathered, they built up a momentum that could make the entire world pale.
As the alliance gathered, the heavens fell into turmoil.
Meanwhile, on the Tibetan Plateau…
The once-lush pastures that had been a fairyland for the Tibetan shepherds were now sealed in snow, the ground covered in a thick white carpet.
Beneath the snow, the grass had long ago wilted. Without pastures, the fates of the shepherds became obvious.
“Imperial Minister, there’s no taking back a loosed arrow. Have you made your decision?”
In front of the imposing royal palace, Namri Songtian worriedly glanced at Imperial Minister Dalon Trinling.
The letter from the countries of the northeast had arrived some time ago, and Ü-Tsang had already sensed the changing of the Dragon Qi in the Central Plains.
Fight, or not fight?
Ü-Tsang had to make its decision today.
The Western Turks had already sided with the Great Tang, ruining Ü-Tsang’s plans to join with the alliance army.
A natural barrier had appeared between Ü-Tsang and the other countries, and the situation was extremely grim. If the alliance failed to win, Ü-Tsang would be annihilated.
It was not that man’s style to spare Ü-Tsang. Ü-Tsang’s fate rested entirely on Dalon Trinling.
Dalon Trinling said nothing.
He sat motionless on his highland steed for a very long time.
Even with his dazzling intellect, Dalon Trinling was hesitant, his mind grappling with this enormous decision.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1297
