Martial Cultivator Chapter 284: North of the Great Liang (I)

Then he remembered that commanding officer, Song Lian, when he was in the Left Guard.

"Commander Song?"

The Great Liang Dynasty had always been at war with the demons in the North for a long time. But this time, perhaps since the Great Liang Emperor ascended to the throne, it has been the most brutal war. Even a martial artist like Song Lian have been mobilized to the North, showing the ferocity of the war. Surviving in such a war was indeed not an easy task.

Chen Chao had genuine feelings for Song Lian.

Lord Warden Commander glanced at Chen Chao and said casually, "Rest assured, the Warden Office hasn't received any news of his death in battle."

Chen Chao relaxed slightly. For some reason, he was thinking of that woman who made a living by doing laundry.

Lord Warden Commander looked to the north and lamented, "His Majesty still went to the North in the end."

Chen Chao's head jerked up.

The news about this matter had previously spread far and wide, saying that the Great Liang Emperor was determined to lead the expedition. It caused great concern among countless court officials in the entire Divine Capital.

There were even countless instances of court officials advising against it during countless court sessions.

But, if that Great Liang Emperor could be swayed by others' opinions, he would not have chosen to rise in rebellion back then.

"However, this matter is too far-reaching. Even His Majesty went to the Northern Frontier alone and didn't put up a great fanfare."

Chen Chao wanted to speak but swallowed the words back.

In the entire history of the Great Liang Dynasty, there was probably no emperor who had ever acted in such a manner.

As if seeing through Chen Chao's concerns, Lord Warden Commander said softly, "There's no need to worry. Someone like His Majesty, even if he goes to the North alone, what problems could there be?"

When the Lord Warden Commander spoke these words, Chen Chao saw many other emotions in the Lord Warden Commander eyes, emotions that he had never seen before.

It was very complicated.

The territory of the Great Liang Dynasty spanned more than ten thousand miles. From North to South, the Great Wall stretched across the land, dividing the North from the South. In the North, the demons had been entrenched for millions of years. In the entire South, extending all the way beyond the South Sea, the numerous overseas islands and those so-called immortal grottos, in theory, it all belonged to the Great Liang Dynasty.

However, the current Great Liang Dynasty's territory was smaller compared to the secular dynasties that came before it.

During humanity's humiliation back then, the entire thirty thousand miles of desolate north was lost to the demons. Countless people were treated as food for the demons, and the mainland declined to the extreme, almost wiping out the human race. Though they managed to preserve their lives later on, in the eyes of countless humans, they were merely eking out a meager existence. During the reign of the previous dynasty, that existence sitting on the throne almost bowed down to the demons, sending a large number of humans to the North every year to feed those demons.

It was only after the collapse of the dynasty and the world changed owners, the Great Liang's founding emperor ascended to the throne and established the Great Liang Emperor, that things began to change. The initial wars of the founding years were essentially due to the founding emperor cutting off the supply of humans to the demons. However, for this cause, more soldiers died in the North than the number of people sent to the demons.

At that time, countless people were considering whether it was worth it or not, but the founding emperor did not care about these things. He knew very well that if he did not persevere, the Great Liang Dynasty would become just the second dynasty that bowed down to others; another puppet. It was not something they wanted to do.

In the following generations, although the Great Liang emperors had different personalities, they were virtually unanimous in how they dealt with the demons, all the way until the previous dynasty's deposed emperor. He actually seemed to vaguely show a hint of compromise when facing the demons. If the Great Liang Emperor who was still a vassal prince at that time had not risen in rebellion, perhaps the efforts of the previous generations of emperors of the Great Liang Dynasty would have been in utter vain.

Hence, it was not without this reason that the Great Liang Emperor could sit firmly on the throne.

……

……

Presently, the Great Wall in the Northern Frontier was much taller than when it was first built. The overall construction materials used were not ordinary stones but hard ores mined from specific mines by the imperial court. These were continuously forged by officials from the Ministry of Works before being transported to the Northern Frontier to build the Great Wall.

If it were not for this, ordinary stones definitely would not be able to withstand more than a few attacks from the demons.

On each stone, the name, official position, and place of origin of the craftsman were meticulously carved. If any issues arose during the massive invasion by the demons, those responsible for forging the stones would definitely be killed without mercy.

Only with such measures could the Great Wall in the desolate north still stand tall over the vast plains after so many years.

Earlier in the day, the demons briefly attacked a section of the Great Wall in the northeastern part of this Great Wall that spanned several thousand miles. The general in charge of guarding this segment of the Great Wall was called Wan Shi. He came from a family with a long history in the military. For three generations, they had all served in the northern frontier army. By his generation, because he was considered rather talented, he awakened early and honed his skills here. In a short forty over years, he had already stepped into the Bitter Sea Realm, becoming a deputy general in the military, responsible for guarding this relatively unimportant section of the Great Wall.

After noticing the demons' attack on the city, Wan Shi quickly reacted and organized his soldiers on the city walls to shoot down many of the demons with powerful crossbows. Initially prepared for a fierce battle, Wan Shi suddenly noticed that after the demons finished probing, they retreated like the tide. Although somewhat puzzled, Wan Shi just reported the situation to the Great Wall and ordered the soldiers to remain vigilant.

After completing these tasks, Wan Shi sat down on the tower, wiped off some blood stains, and felt exhausted from the consecutive days of battles. He had long been completely worn out and was now relying solely on his strong willpower to keep going.

Not long after he sat down, his deputy approached with a concerned look and whispered, "General, why did the demons retreat so decisively today? Based on their personality, even if they knew there was little chance of success, they would likely still make some attempts; at least wasting half a day. It seems amiss today."

Wan Shi nodded, rubbing his shoulders, and lamented, "I also feel that something isn't right, but I have no idea what the demons are thinking. However, there has been no response from the main command post. I think they had anticipated this; perhaps they are planning a major operation."

Toward the end, Wan Shi's voice became much quieter, as if he was hiding something.

His deputy raised an eyebrow, becoming more alert, and said with a smile, "I just remembered that there was news earlier from the southeast about a cavalry force leaving the city, but I don't know their specific destination or who is leading them."

Such news was actually commonplace on the Great Wall every day. The less they knew about the details, the more significant it would be. For example, that cavalry force, it was said that one could feel the murderous intent when looking from afar. It was as thick as dense clouds, making people feel asphyxiated.

After fighting on the Great Wall for so long, it was only natural that they would be tainted with some murderous intent. But such an intense killing intent suggested that every member of that cavalry force was a seasoned veteran.

Such a lineup, such a composition, was not commonly seen in the Great Liang's northern frontier army.

Wan Shi smiled and said, "With the war reaching this point, the demons' strange behavior indicates that we are indeed carrying out a significant operation."

At this point, Wan Shi's expression suddenly became somewhat grim as he murmured, "It's just that the Great General's health seems to be getting increasingly worse lately."

Thinking of the additional white hair that had appeared at the temples of the Great General during his recent visit to boost morale, Wan Shi's expression turned somewhat ugly.

The Great General had been aging gradually over the years, but in the last two years, his declining health had become visible to the naked eye.

As the pillar of the Northern Frontier, as long as the Great General remained in the north, the morale of the troops would not falter.

No matter how bitter and difficult it was, it did not seem insurmountable.

But how long could such days last?

——