Chapter 52 - Preparation of War

Hall of Harmony

Liu An’s dark hair was glowing and he radiated an aura of vigor.

After more than 20 years of governance, he was in quite an affluent state.

Several years ago, he managed to make a breakthrough and had reached the Perfected Saint level. Now, he was in the prime of his life.

“Your Majesty, you’re still so busy, even now.”

A nun wearing a yellow robe appeared in the palace.

It seemed the nun was in her early twenties.

She was slowly walking towards Liu An holding a Guqin in her arms.

“Elder sister, your strength has grown remarkably! Nobody here even sensed your arrival.”

“And yet, you discovered me!”

The nun was Liu Rui.

After more than 20 years of secluded cultivation, her appearance had not changed that much at all.

The palace maids who were the same age as her already looked old and shaky.

“One never goes to the temple for no reason. Elder sister, what’s the matter?”

“I guess I have found Zhao Seven,” Liu Rui said.

“Where is he?”

Liu An stood up abruptly when he heard her say that.

For him, Zhao Seven was a nightmare.

This was a guy who always hid in the shadows, and he could rival Liu An in terms of resourcefulness and talents.

He was never an easy opponent.

“Your Majesty, have you heard of the Dark Yin Sect?”

“Yes, I’ve heard of it a little bit. It’s an organization that can be found in the State of Qi and the State of Chen. Their presence has become a problem for these two states. What of them?”

“The Dark Yin Sect is the Black Dragon Gang. And it is even scarier than the Black Dragon Gang!”

“How are you so sure of the correlation between them?”

Liu An asked as he looked up at Liu Rui.

If what she said was true, this Dark Yin Sect would definitely be scarier than the Black Dragon Gang.

“Apart from Zhao Seven, who else in this world would know more about the Black Dragon Gang than me?”

“Right! Almost all the members of the Black Dragon Gang have been killed. The two of you are the only survivors.”

“Liu An, it’s not a good time to make light of this moment. If the Dark Yin Sect is the Black Dragon Gang, do you think Zhao Seven will leave us alone?”

“Do you mean you have found something else?”

Liu An asked as he stared at Liu Rui solemnly.

“The Dark Yin Sect has infiltrated all the states around our nation. And yet they ignore our nation.”

Liu Rui said as she furrowed her slender eyebrows.

According to what she knew about Zhao Seven, this issue would never be that simple.

Even 30 years ago, Zhao Seven was already a conniving guy.

After so many years and setbacks, Zhao Seven would definitely have more plans up his sleeve.

“I see. I will ask the Secret Police to investigate them.”

“Don’t do that! Your rash action will definitely alert them,”

Liu Rui said as she shook her head.

She didn’t believe the Secret Police could rival the Dark Yin Sect.

The Secret Police had already failed to gain the upper hand in the strife against the Black Dragon Gang 20 years ago.

It was highly possible that the agents of the Secret Police who were sent to investigate this issue would get killed. The Dark Yin Sect would also be alerted because of the investigation.

“Then, we need to make preparations in advance. We shall at least inform all the Warriors in our nation.”

A cave deep in the Luoshen Mountain.

It was a huge cave.

It so huge that there were many palaces built inside the cave itself.

At the center of an enormous palace, a young man in a black robe was sitting with his legs crossed.

Dozens of powerful experts were sitting on the left and right of his seat.

“My lord, all the branches have finished their preparation. Now, most sects on the South Continent are under our control.”

“Good! All branches shall continue their preparation for another half a year. Then, we will attack the State of Great Xia. I will turn the State of Great Xia into ruins. All citizens of this nation will be turned into mummies.”

“My lord, what is the reason for this invasion of the State of Great Xia?”

A tier three Perfected Person asked.

For experts like them, unprofitable tasks were unacceptable.

“Well, aside for the retaliation we will encounter, we will also get a lot of resources and nutrients. Most important of all, well… you’ll know when the time comes,”

Zhao Seven said with a smile.

That master had urged him for so many years.

It was time to show his strength.

Also, he wanted to see the appearance of that master.

The Demon Locking Well?

If Zhao Seven could occupy the Demon Locking Well, he could control and obtain more secrets from that master.

Even if Zhao Seven was not able to control that master, he could blackmail the master instead.

And if Zhao Seven’s blackmail was ineffective, then he could at least make a deal with that master.

He could conveniently destroy the State of Great Xia in this way too.

After the meeting ended, all the members of the Dark Yin Sect started to take action.

Half a year later, several million soldiers, led by countless experts, appeared on the border of the State of Great Xia.

“As expected, the Dark Yin Sect is about to attack us.”

In the Hall of Harmony, Liu An was both angry and worried.

He hadn’t expected that what Liu Rui predicted last year would actually come true.

The Dark Yin Sect really was the Black Dragon Gang.

On top of that, he didn’t expect that the Dark Yin Sect was about to attack the State of Great Xia when they had just confirmed it was the Black Dragon Gang.

The State of Great Xia couldn’t make any preparations in time.

“Your Majesty, we also have the opportunity to fight back. In the past two decades, the State of Great Xia has cultivated a lot of Warriors. Even ordinary persons don’t want to sit still waiting for death.”

“The Dark Yin Sect is not the Black Dragon Gang in those years,”

Liu An said thoughtfully.

Zhao Seven was not a fool. He would have learned and improved with the defeat of the Black Dragon Gang.

He must have been making preparations for this invasion for more than 20 years.

The Black Dragon Gang used to be extremely powerful. But Zhao Seven had maintained a low profile at that time.

“Eh…”

“Ask the armory to ready our secret weapons and troops. 25 years have passed. It’s time to surprise our enemies with them,”

Liu An stood up suddenly and spoke to a eunuch who worked in the Ceremony Directorate.

“As you wish, your Majesty!”

“Ask An Mu to eliminate all members of the Dark Yin Sect at all costs!”

Liu An smashed the paperweight on the table heavily.

Kerosene and gunpowder…

It was time to use them to welcome the enemies.

“Yes, your Majesty!”

“Also, tell Liu Rui that she has permission to do anything she wants without asking for my permission,”

Liu An said.

In the past 25 years, Princess Royal had cultivated many civilian experts for the State of Great Xia. She had also come up with a full set of methods to cope with the Black Dragon Gang.

She would make a heavy blow to the Dark Yin Sect if they had the guts to invade this nation.

After assigning the tasks, Liu An headed to the Shouning Palace alone.

The State of Great Xia had finally become a great power, and it was all because of his endeavors.

But this nation was still dogged with misfortunes and mishaps.

He knew how horrible the Black Dragon Gang could be.

And the Dark Yin Sect was even more powerful than the Black Dragon Gang.

“What else should I do?”

He walked into the hall and touched the books on the bookshelf.

These books were left here by Eunuch Li.

Prince Yu, who was his Ninth Uncle, had also left several books about the formations here.

In the last few years, he had always found solutions in these books whenever he encountered difficulties.

There were also some novels here.

When Liu An was bored, he would read these novels to kill time and attain some knowledge.

He started to run his fingers across those books.

When the Dark Yin Sect was mobilizing its troops, the reaction of the State of Great Xia was also very fast.

When An Mu got the orders of army mobilization, he was already well-prepared.

He didn’t sit idly on the borderline in these years.

Apart from training troops, he had also constructed many fortifications and beacon towers.

He set up many barriers at those strategically important sections.

And those barriers were connected by a lot of tunnels and Underground Palaces.

These fortifications were built by Warriors captured from those big families and the Black Dragon Gang.

Around one million Warriors had been working around the clock in the construction of those fortifications for over 20 years.

Now, the State of Great Xia’s border defense had been strengthened significantly.

Those fortifications were almost impenetrable unless they were attacked by powerful Warriors.

In addition, An Mu had also established countless ordnance factories.

Besides the armories, he also set up many secret bases which were totally isolated from the outside world.

“General Sun, how is the improvement of the gunpowder?”

“Sir, after the addition of the pig fat, it is much more destructive than before.”

“Great! With the help of these secret weapons, we can eliminate all invaders,”

An Mu said confidently.