Chapter 48 : The Dynasty’s Sigh · Guanning Iron Cavalry
Chapter 48: The Dynasty’s Sigh · Guanning Iron Cavalry
In the end, Jiang Zhaoming still compromised.
He once again came to his most beloved River of Fortune.
Activating his Qi-Observing Eye Art, Jiang Zhaoming’s gaze fell upon the flowing river.
As streams of information drifted past before him, his sight soon focused on a single place.
It was the same deep-water section of the River of Fortune that had repeatedly caused him to “capsize”.
The first time, he had almost been overturned by the Life Fate · Imperial Authority; the second, he had failed to decide what he wanted to reel up.
This time, he intended to challenge his limits.
【Remaining Fortune: Purple *1, Blue *9, Green *7, White *7】
Reattaching the purple bait to his fishing rod, Jiang Zhaoming once again looked into the depths of the River of Fortune through the Qi-Observing Eye Art.
Before, he couldn’t see the other blessings below whenever those purple giant fish bit the hook.
Now, with the Qi-Observing Eye Art, he could finally see them—there was no reason to fail again.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Zhaoming locked onto his target, then cast the baited hook into the river.
As soon as the purple bait entered the water, all other surrounding fortunes and blessings scattered like startled birds and beasts.
Then Jiang Zhaoming clearly saw that once the bait sank, the closest purple giant fish immediately lifted their heads and surged toward it.
These colossal creatures rammed into each other as they advanced, colliding again and again with the nearby purple giants.
A total of five purple giant fish charged forward, but the smallest and thinnest one, the one with the faintest hue, was quickly knocked aside.
Only four giant fish remained, which immediately began to crash into one another.
Even the small white fish caught in the shockwaves of their clashes directly dissolved into white vapor.
Soon another giant fish was squeezed away, leaving only three in contention.
These three were of similar size and shade—each seemed fiercely competitive.
But as they drew closer to the bait, the last one realized it could not catch up and ultimately gave up.
Thus, Jiang Zhaoming’s gaze fell upon the two remaining giant fish, one ahead and one behind, both charging toward the bait.
【Divine Artifact · Rock Dragon Egg】: A biological egg from a magical plane. When the incubation conditions are met, it can hatch into a young Rock Dragon.
【Divine Artifact · Guanning Iron Cavalry Barracks】: A summoned military encampment from the Wuming Plane. It contains thirty thousand First-Layer Blood Refining Realm iron cavalry, eight hundred Fifth-Layer Blood Refining Realm elite warriors, three early-stage Divine Power Realm generals, and one late-stage Divine Power Realm general.
“This time, I can’t let them bite the wrong hook.”
Jiang Zhaoming stared intently at these two fortunes, feeling quite tempted by both.
One was a summoning item for the cavalry barracks he needed.
The other—no need to say more—it was a creature with “dragon” in its name. If successfully hatched, its potential would be limitless.
“Dragon egg… what a pity. I don’t know any method to hatch dragon eggs, nor do I have the time to wait for you to grow up.”
Just as the Rock Dragon Egg’s fortune-fish opened its mouth to bite the hook, Jiang Zhaoming suddenly flicked his rod.
The bait narrowly slipped past the Rock Dragon Egg’s mouth and went straight toward the fortune of the Guanning Iron Cavalry Barracks, which was one body length behind.
The fortune that took the shape of the Guanning Iron Cavalry Barracks didn’t hesitate—it opened wide and swallowed the purple bait whole, immediately engaging in a fierce struggle with Jiang Zhaoming.
On the other side, the Rock Dragon Egg’s fortune-fish, angered by having its prey snatched away, didn’t leave.
Instead, it swam under the Guanning Iron Cavalry’s fortune and rammed it heavily.
The struck Guanning Iron Cavalry fish staggered upward, allowing Jiang Zhaoming to pull it dozens of meters closer.
Before he could celebrate, the Rock Dragon-shaped fish launched several fierce assaults against the Guanning Iron Cavalry fish.
Unprepared for such interference, Jiang Zhaoming was caught off guard—the Guanning Iron Cavalry fish was driven out of the water.
The moment it left the river’s surface, it turned into a streak of purple light, then condensed into a card that landed in Jiang Zhaoming’s hand.
Jiang Zhaoming looked back toward the River of Fortune and saw the Rock Dragon Egg’s fortune-fish trembling angrily before sinking into the depths.
“What’s this?”
Jiang Zhaoming was filled with confusion. These purple fortunes actually had emotions?
But with his bait gone, he couldn’t investigate further—he would have to wait until he gathered more fortune next time.
Soon, all of Jiang Zhaoming’s attention fell upon the Guanning Iron Cavalry Barracks Summoning Card.
There was no other reason—this blessing was simply too powerful!
Thirty thousand Blood Refining Realm cavalry alone was already astounding, yet it even included four Divine Power Realm generals—one of whom was late-stage!
It could be said that the appearance of this fortune had already sealed the outcome of the war against the Blue Wolf Army.
Next, he began to ponder how best to make the Guanning Iron Cavalry appear.
After all, the Guanning Iron Cavalry’s configuration was far more extravagant than that of the Queshe Army or the Black-Armored Army.
Moreover, the Guanning Iron Cavalry possessed a weapon type no other army in Great Zhou had—firearms.
That made Jiang Zhaoming’s task of covering it up even harder.
“How should I make their appearance reasonable?”
For the next few days, Jiang Zhaoming deliberated over how to justify their arrival.
In the end, he decided to place the Guanning Iron Cavalry Barracks in the far northwest of Cangbei County, near an open plain bordering the Thirteen Western Counties.
That region lay six thousand li from Loulan, meaning it would take the cavalry a while to arrive.
But for the sake of secrecy, it was his only choice.
When the Guanning Iron Cavalry arrived, he could say they were remnants of Great Zhou west of Anxi, who, upon hearing that the Prince of Anxi was crusading against rebels, came to pledge allegiance.
That would also explain their firearms.
The western lands were vast and chaotic—it was perfectly believable that they had learned the technology from Western nations.
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, and Jiang Zhaoming finally relaxed.
He began to connect to the generals of the Guanning Iron Cavalry through his mind.
He was quite curious about who these four summoned generals would be.
Before long, in response to Jiang Zhaoming’s summons, a calm voice echoed in his mind.
“Your subordinate Zhao Shuijiao greets His Majesty!”
Before Jiang Zhaoming could reply, more voices followed one after another.
“Your subordinate Zhu Mei greets His Majesty!”
“Your subordinate Zhang Hongmo greets His Majesty!”
“Your subordinate Xu Fuzou greets His Majesty!”
Hearing these four names of the Guanning Iron Cavalry generals, Jiang Zhaoming’s heart filled with delight.
The Guanning Iron Cavalry’s composition was complex—among them were both loyal patriots who sacrificed themselves for the country and traitors who had rebelled.
Fortunately, those summoned under Zhao Shuijiao’s leadership this time were all from the loyal faction.
Without much small talk, Jiang Zhaoming immediately ordered the Guanning Iron Cavalry to march toward Loulan County for support.
After assessing their strength, Jiang Zhaoming couldn’t help but feel ecstatic.
The Guanning Iron Cavalry’s combat power seemed even greater than he had imagined.
Although this world’s warriors cultivated the power of blood and qi, before reaching the Divine Power Realm, most were only stronger or weaker in vitality and endurance.
They might jump higher or have tougher skin and flesh—but the fortunate thing was—
The three-barrel guns of the Guanning Iron Cavalry could kill Blood Refining Realm warriors.
Now, with all his armies already arrayed in position, Jiang Zhaoming was simply waiting for the Guanning Iron Cavalry’s arrival to bring this battle to its conclusion.