Dragon's Soul: An End's Beginning

by Tony Tran

  Moments after taking the small brown pellets, Yuying and Ling were back on their feet staring at Lu Lingqi. “A strong adversary she will be.” Ling murmured while Yuying stood by her side with the exact same thought.

  “Brother when is our wedding? You promised right?” Lu Lingqi said as she pressed herself onto Zhang’s arm.

  At a loss for words in the current situation, Zhang couldn’t do anything but give in and say, “After everything is settled and after my parents agreed.”

  While Lu Lingqi continued pressing against Zhang, Guan Yu and his men walked up towards her with Guo Meiyan and her two daughters in tow.

  “My lady, what shall we do with these three?” Guan Yu asked.

  “Ah yes. For their crimes I’ll grant them a fate worse than death. I shall grant them an unending life filled with torment. Follow me and drag those three along.” Lu Lingqi said as she let go of Zhang’s arm and walked off.

  “Sima Yi have the men comb through the city one last time and make sure not even a single soldier from the Heavenly Sword Army is left alive. After searching have everyone set up camp atop the city walls after bringing the ballistae back up.” Zhang ordered.

  Out of curiosity Zhang and the three beauties decided to follow Lu Lingqi and the soldiers of the Green Clover Army to see what they were up to. Zhang had of course stationed a few of his men to watch over the giant Twin Headed Mirage Viper. The corpse was a treasure and could be very useful to him.

  After following Lu Lingqi into a cemetery, in the back of the provincial lord’s mansion, Zhang watched as Guo Meiyan and her two daughters were brought in front of a large tombstone.

  “For the sins you’ve committed I’ll have you pay.” Lu Lingqi said as three long needles appeared in her hands.

  It seemed as if Guo Meiyan’s two daughters had something to say but only unrecognizable grunts could be heard because they had been gagged before entering the cemetery. Moments later Lu Lingqi drove a needle into each of them.

  Afterwards, the, mother and daughters, trio’s skin turned brown and their hair turned green. An odd texture was seen as their brown skin soon resembled the bark of a tree. Soon enough, their feet became roots and crawled to the ground as their arms became long branches that stretched outwards. When Lu Lingqi mentioned immortality, she meant she would turn them into trees that would watch over her mother's grave for all eternity.

  “Despite being turned into trees you’ll still be conscious. Forever watching, but never allowed to meddle.” Lu Lingqi said as she got on her knees and kowtowed to the tombstone in front of her.

  “Mother I have avenged you.” She cried as tears streamed down her face.

  ====================================================================

  After the battle, per Lu Lingqi’s orders, the forty thousand remnants of the Green Clover Army under Guan Yu’s command turned in their green banners for black ones. An estimated total of roughly sixty thousand other soldiers apart of the Green Clover Army were currently scattered across the province under the banner of different generals and if Zhang agreed to Lu Lingqi’s condition of marrying her, then all of those generals would become a part of his army too.

  Instantly, after they were integrated into Zhang’s army the former soldiers of the Green Clover Army, still clad in green armor, went to each and every home inside Green Clover City to reassure the civilians that everything was safe now. Once the civilians saw the familiar green armors and the kind demeanor of the soldiers, they were quickly instilled with a sense of ease.

  Currently, under Zhang's command were two hundred forty thousand soldiers. Originally, without accounting the fifty thousand men under Lu Xun and Gan Ning’s command, Zhang’s army totaled two hundred fifty thousand.

  But during the siege of Green Clover City fifty thousand of Zhang’s men were killed. The ballistae atop the walls had decimated a huge portion of the fifty thousand that were lost. Thankfully, the forty thousand men under Guan Yu’s command were able to fill in a portion of his losses. Once the rest of the soldiers of the Green Clover Army were gathered, then Zhang’s army would number three hundred thousand in the Green Clover Province.

  After Zhang had taken account of his army, Zhang began to skin the carcass of the Twin Headed Mirage Viper. Zhang completely skinned the huge carcass and collect every single scale into this interspatial ring. He then tore off two large fangs from each of the Mirage Viper’s head to be made into swords. Lu Lingqi had claimed the snake’s venom sacks for herself the instant Zhang cut open the skin, so after the fangs and skin was gone only a huge amount of bone and meat was left which Zhang distributed among his men.

  The flesh of a tier eight demonic beast would be very beneficial to regular cultivators, let alone his soldiers, and having the large amount of meat meant that rations would not have to be bought for a while. This then meant that more money could be spent in weapons, armor, and horses for the entire army.

  Another thing was... after witnessing and feeling firsthand the effectiveness of the ballistae, Zhang ordered smaller versions to be created and be placed atop the chariots that he designed.

  Sadly, he opted to use regular iron for the bolt tips instead of the mithril that had been used up until now. A large portion of the ballistae’s deadly force was due to the mithril bolts but using it on the scale that Zhang was hoping to be made was illogical due to its availability and its price.

  =========================================

  Today Zhang and the now group of four beauties were currently meeting the city’s best weapon and armor maker.

  “My lord it will take roughly a month for me to make the set of armor and four battle dresses your ordered.” An elderly man in an apron said as he bowed to Zhang.

  “Thank you, please take this as a down payment.” Zhang said to the elderly man as he placed a bag of gold coins into the store counter in front of him. Zhang ordered a set of armor for himself and a battle dress set for Ling, Ai, Yuying and even Lu Lingqi.

  True to his promise, Zhang decided that he would marry her too. Earlier he had said that he wished for his parent’s approval but that of course was to make things not so awkward. But of course, who would turn down a beauty such as her? If a world class beauty walked up to someone and offered them a kingdom along with one hundred thousand soldiers who wouldn't agree to her offer?

  Zhang found that if he sent a bit of essence into the scales of the Mirage Viper he could make them change to different colors depending on the amount he sent in.

  Theoretically, if he could figure out how much essence he needed to send, it would be possible to make the scales turn invisible. Meaning, the new armor would be extremely useful in the future.

  “My lord! My lord!” A voice rang out from the outside of the weapon and armor store.

  Not long after a soldier ran in with panic on his face.

  “What's wrong? Talk?” Zhang asked as he grabbed the panicking soldier.

  “My lord an injured soldier wearing our standard white armor just rode into the city! Before he fainted he said he that Lord Jian Wei is in trouble and is requesting reinforcements.” The soldier said hurriedly.

  “What!? Take me to him!” Zhang commanded.

  “Follow me my lord.” The soldier replied hurriedly.

  Upon returning to the provincial lord’s mansion, Zhang was led to a small room where a young man was lying face down on a bed as an elderly doctor was removing an arrow embedded in his shoulder.

  “What's his condition?” Zhang asked the doctor.

  “My lord it doesn't look like he will make it, this man lost too much blood.” The elderly doctor said.

  “I got this.” Zhang said as a small jade bottle appeared in his hand.

  “My last bottle of phoenix blood.” Zhang thought as he poured the red liquid into the soldier's mouth.

  The instant the red liquid dripped into the throat of the young soldier, his eyes opened wide and became full of life.

  “M-my lord!” The soldi
er said.

  “Tell me! What happen to foster father!” Zhang commanded as he held the soldier's shoulders.

  “W-we were ambush, and elder Qian Long along with his soldiers defected to the enemy forcing us to retreat into the Beast's Gorge.” The soldier recalled.

  “What about Lu Xun and Gan Ning! I sent them to secretly follow the army and assist with fifty thousand men if anything happened.” Zhang said.

  “Yes, if not for General Lu Xun and General Gan Ning attacking the enemy from the rear then perhaps we would have been wiped out.” The soldier said.

  “Then what is the situation now?”

  “After General Lu Xun and General Gan Ning aided us, Lord Jian Wei was able to keep the enemy from entering the gorge. But right now our army is trapped inside.” ….

  “Send orders! I want every available soldier to prepare to march! We are heading to Aurora to aid Lord Jian Wei and annihilate those dogs from the Heavenly Sword Army!” Zhang yelled.

  Chapter 80: Beast’s Gorge

  Tonight, the moon was shrouded by thick curtains of clouds as thousands of soldiers in purple armor stood guard at the entrance to the Beast’s Gorge. Hundreds of torches had been lit to ensure that not even a mouse could leave the gorge unnoticed.

  “Strategist Qian Long in place of our lord, I welcome you to the Heavenly Sword Army.” An elderly man dressed in purple armor said with a smile.

  “No need to be so formal with me General Tong Zhao. I will be the one in your care.” Qian Long replied respectfully.

  “Hahaha actually, I think that after you help our lord take the Aurora Province and kill Jian Wei, your merits will place you above me. Then I'll be the one to be under your care.” General Tong Zhao laughed.

  “But might I ask, why aren't we moving in to take Jian Wei’s head nor are we attacking Aurora City? We have been camped here for weeks already and the men are getting restless.” General Tong Zhao asked, puzzled.

  “That's simple general, if we move into the gorge, then there is a chance that we might be ambushed. Despite being cornered inside the gorge; you can't look down on the soldiers of Aurora. They will fight until the last man standing if we charge in now. So we must simply wait until they are out of food and water. That is the best time to move in. Since there is only one way in and out of the gorge they can’t leave as long as we stay here. As for why we aren't attacking Aurora City, that is simple: if we attack now, even if we conquer the city, as long as Jian Wei is alive we will never have complete control of the province.” Qian Long stated.

  “Then I'll leave everything in your hands strategist Qian Long.” General Tong Zhao said.

  As the two men talked, yells could be heard from outside of their tent.

  “Fire! There's a fire!” Someone yelled.

  “Bring water quickly! Extinguish the fire.” Another voice rang out.

  Exiting the commander's tent, Qian Long and Tong Zhao saw that a part of the wooden fence that was erected to block off the entrance into the gorge had been lit ablaze.

  In the distance, the jingling of bells rang about as a group of men made their way back into the gorge.

  “Boss you sure we shouldn’t grab a few of those bastards and skin them alive?” A man with dozens of scars on his shirtless chest said.

  “Ahaha tomorrow we will be paying those bastards another visit. Next time we will skin a few of them and hang them up for their friends to see.” Gan Ning laughed as he ran through the night.

  After making their way through the foliage and deep into the gorge, Gan Ning stopped in front of large trees marked with large Xs on their trunk.

  “You guys remember where we set those traps right? If not, follow behind me and watch where you step.” Gan Ning said cautiously as he took out a small cylindrical wooden tube and opened it. Inside the tube were tiny red embers that soon turned into a small fire. Gan Ning took an ember to kindle a flame, then he broke a branch of a dead tree and made a torch out of it after wrapping some cloth on the branch.

  If one now looked closely, they'd be able to see dozens of vines arranged on the ground. Those were trip wires that Gan Ning and his men had attached to large logs that were hoisted up into the forest canopy.

  As they carefully crossed the forest: Gan Ning recalled where the pitfalls were dug, where the trip wires were tied and the other traps that they had set.

  Soon enough, they made it into a clearing where the gorge opened up. There were thousands of tents erected but not a single campfire was lit.

  Suddenly hundreds of soldiers in white or black armor appeared from the underbrush of the forest with spears ready to kill.

  “Boss you’re back.” A few men greeted.

  They were Gan Ning’s men integrated with the soldiers who were under Lu Xun and Jian Wei’s command.

  “Boss, Lord Jian Wei and General Lu Xun are waiting for you in the commander's tent.” One of Gan Ning’s men said.

  “I'll head over there right now, go back to your positions and show everyone else how we do things.” Gan Ning said as he headed to the commander’s tent.

  Ever since Gan Ning and Lu Xun met up with Jian Wei’s forces they delegate Gan Ning in-charge of the camp's security. As a former fugitive, he had many ways to make sure that the enemy could not enter the gorge nor capture himself or Jian Wei.

  “Lord Jian Wei I've returned.” Gan Ning said in a respectful tone. After having been given a second chance and a high pay he didn't want to screw things up.

  “How did things go?” Jian Wei asked. After the ambush, nearly half of his army had been killed and another quarter of it was left injured. Had it not been for Lu Xun and Gan Ning who secretly followed and protected him then perhaps Jian Wei would already be dead. They had left the civilians and prisoners under their care in New Leaf City and secretly followed Jian Wei.

  “Everything went well my lord. Over the next few nights I will continuously instill a sense of fear into those bastards. Either they will be too afraid to attack or will be lured in and be wiped out by the traps we set.

  “Good, the sooner we can leave this place the better. Elder Qian Long had caused us to lost half of our rations so we can't stay here for too long.” Jian Wei said as creases appeared on his brow when he mentioned Qian Long’s name.

  “I beg to differ my lord. I've been in a situation like this before. Before our rations ran out, if our men can hunt animals or find edible vegetation in the forest, then surviving is still possible.” Gan Ning said.

  The next day, squads of soldiers were sent out to hunt animals and to look for any source of food. Water was abundant in the gorge due to natural rivers that streamed out from underneath the earth making it so there we no need to search for water.

  But of course, hunting and living off the resources within the gorge could only support an army that numbered over one hundred thousand for not so long. Sooner or later, the gorge wouldn’t be able to support the consumption of the army anymore and they would have to try to break out since there was only one way out of the gorge.

  ==================================

  A few weeks had passed since Zhang gained complete control of the Green Clover Province and was currently leading a force of two hundred thousand soldiers towards the Aurora Province.

  He had left Guan Yu and ninety thousands of the original Green Clover Army behind to safeguard the province and the four beauties. Zhang had deemed the trip to Aurora would be too dangerous so he had left four future wives in the Green Clover Province under the care of Guan Yu.

  “My lord the best course of action is to head directly to the Beast’s Gorge and attack the Heavenly Sword Army from the rear. If we are able to contact our forces inside the gorge, then we can launch a two directional assault and caught them in the middle.” Sima Yi said while riding his horse next to Zhang who was riding atop his fiery black steed.

  “Too bad the mobile ballistae are not operational yet. If we had those and the chariots I had commissioned, then victory would be more certai
n.” Zhang replied.

  “My lord if you want certainty then perhaps we should see if we can send a word to Aurora City and have the one hundred thousand men garrisoned in the city join us.” Sima Yi suggested.

  “Then I will head directly to the gorge while you take ten thousand men and head to Aurora City. Once you are there, present them this pendant and they'll listen to your commands. However, if you run into any problems that prevent you from entering the city, then retreat and meet with me at the Beast’s Gorge.” Zhang said while looking at Sima Yi.

  “My lord! Our scouts have spotted people traveling in a carriage not too far behind us.” A soldier said as he rode up toward Zhang and Sima Yi.