Chapter 2152 - The Alliance Gathers! (1/2)
“You’ve come.”
Li Heng looked at Wang Chong and nodded, his entire body relaxing.
“Are you ready?”
“Your Majesty, please give the order!” Wang Chong respectfully replied.
Clang!
Li Heng became focused, and he pulled out the Son of Heaven’s Sword and pointed it at the sky.
“The skies have turned yellow, and a rebel leads the other countries in an assault. We, as the Emperor of the Great Tang, upholding the will of the Sage Emperor, appoint the King of Foreign Lands as the Supreme Marshal of the Nine Provinces to lead the army against the enemy.
“All Protector-Generals, Great Generals, and officials must heed the orders of Wang Chong! Those who disobey will be executed!
“Wang Chong, receive the decree!”
Clang! The Son of Heaven’s Sword suddenly turned around in Li Heng’s hand and thrust into the ground.
The drilling ground trembled as it made impact.
Wang Chong lowered his head and loudly declared, “The subject, Wang Chong, accepts the decree!”
A pillar of energy erupted from Wang Chong’s body and soared into the air.
Rumble!
The heavens once more went through a momentous shift, and in the eyes of countless astrologers, a large star in the region of the Central Plains suddenly began to move northward, away from the Emperor Star. It exuded a somber energy like a sharp sword, and it was aimed toward the northeast.
“Sacred Lord White Tiger! Sacred Lord White Tiger is leaving the capital!”
“A war is stirring! This is an omen for a coming slaughter! The last time the White Tiger Star moved, Arabia was vanquished and millions of people were killed. Now that the White Tiger is moving again, who knows how many people will die?”
“The serpents bite at the dragon, attacking the Great Tang. This has provoked the White Tiger, and once it has begun to move, there is no going back!”
“Calamity! Calamity is coming!”
Numerous astrologers across the realm sensed this development.
“Wang Chong, it’s all up to you.”
After finishing the appointment, Li Heng looked at Wang Chong, his energy fading and his imperial aura dissipating.
Country first and family later. Now that imperial matters were done, they could once more treat each other like friends.
“Be at ease. I will never permit enemy soldiers to invade the Nine Provinces. Those who offend the Great Tang will be punished no matter how far away they are! I will not let them get away unscathed!” Wang Chong sternly said, a harsh light in his eyes.
Just how powerful was the Great Tang now? It had defeated Ü-Tsang, vanquished Arabia, and killed millions, but even this was not enough to cow the other countries!
Was it because their ambitions were too great, or was it because the Great Tang had been too soft? Regardless, he would correct this ‘mistake’!
Whoosh!
A moment later, Wang Chong mounted his horse and pulled out his sword.
“All soldiers, move out!”
Rumble! The earth swayed as the tens of thousands of soldiers gathered at the drilling ground began to make their way to the northeast.
The invasion of all the other countries had not only provoked the rage of Wang Chong and the Imperial Court, but also the fury of the people of the realm.
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
“Kiiill!”
With these infuriated roars, the war machine of the Great Tang began to spin at one hundred times its previous speed. According to the plan, the newly recruited soldiers swiftly replenished the ranks of the protectorate armies. Other than a small portion that was moved to Wushang’s City of Steel in the northwest, nearly ninety percent of the army began to march toward the north.
The Divine Martial Army, the Mo Saber Unit, the Wushang Cavalry… all of the Great Tang’s elite forces, along with Bahram’s Aswaran Cataphracts, began to march toward the northeast.
Countless people within the capital watched as the army marched northward, the mood grim and oppressive.
“Grandpa, we’re going to win this war, right?” a child of only four or five asked his grandfather.
“Of course! Definitely!” the old man soothed, but his brow was tinged with worry.
This was no longer just a question of Youzhou. Goguryeo, the Xi, the Khitans, the Eastern Turks, the Ü-Tsang Empire… almost all of the empires bordering the Great Tang had joined in on this war.
The Great Tang had been through a war and a change in sovereigns. The new Emperor was recently enthroned, and the country’s situation was not yet stable. It was an extremely bad situation for the Great Tang.
“King of Foreign Lands, it all depends on you!”
Countless people in the crowd looked toward that massive banner, the same kind of hope in their eyes.
No matter what sort of peril the Great Tang faced, it would not be so easily shaken. This was a firm conviction that the people of the Great Tang had developed over countless years.
Winds would herald a coming storm!
The stench of war had reached maximum saturation, and fighting could break out at any time.