The Avalon Of Five Elements

Upon receiving the order to pitch camp, the God Wolf Division’s soldiers sighed a breath of relief. While their consecutive victories were gratifying, they felt extremely tired and needed to take a breather.

The God Wolf Division and the Silverfrost Blood Division’s officers were gathered at the leaders’ tent to discuss some official matters.

The God Wolf Division’s leader was Helian Tianxiao. He was about 30 years old, had deep set eyes, and his brown eyes were ice-cold and sharp, as if they could pierce one’s heart. The consecutive victories hadn’t improved his mood the slightest.

Ye Baiyi had gone all out against the Wall of North Sea, deploying four great god divisions and eight full blood divisions into battle. Ye Baiyi was still unconscious, and after much discussion, the officers decided that the God Spirit Division would oversee the Dawn Blood Division and the Dusk Blood Division. They would defend the camp at the rear while the other combat divisions would split into three groups and advance together.

The God Tiger Division would lead the Radiance Blood Division and the Bluster Blood Division in one direction.

The God Wolf Division would lead the Silverfrost Blood Division in a second direction.

The God Devil Division would lead the Birth Division and the Death Division in the last direction.

The destruction of their subordinate Ardent Flower Blood Division was a huge disgrace to the entirety of the God Wolf Division and because of this, the latter had been facing a huge amount of pressure. The first ever destruction of a blood combat division in the whole history of the God Nation had already pinned the God Wolf Division up on a pillar of shame.

In order to wash off this shame, they had to secure even greater achievements. As such, the God Wolf Division’s thirst for victory was the most intense out of the three military contingents.

Helian Tianxiao asked coldly, "Everyone present?"

After a headcount, his assistant reported, "Everyone is here."

Helian Tianxiao waved his hand. "Let’s watch a clip first."

The lights in the tent were dimmed. A person completely wrapped in bandage and wearing red crystals over his eyes appeared before the officers’ eyes, effectively catching their attention.

"… Therefore, I have two announcements to make. The first one is that, the Sword of Lightning will be going to the battlefield to fight alongside the Spear of Heavy Cloud. The second one is that we have decided to open up snow lava and the technology behind the of pagoda cannons to the public in order to put up a better fight against the Blood of God and to find like-minded comrades. We will form a brand- new Pagoda Cannon Alliance. We will provide free snow lava to the members of the Pagoda Cannon Alliance and will share with them our research on pagoda cannons. Our requirements are very simple. First, only those combat divisions that fight long-term on the front line will be provided with free snow lava. We feel that the combat divisions at the front line need the snow lava more urgently. Second, all combat divisions that wish to join the Pagoda Cannon Alliance will have to undergo our assessment and possess enough military experience as well as tenacious willpower…"

Upon hearing "pagoda cannon" everybody’s faces turned serious.

The clip wasn’t long and ended quickly. Soon, a discussion broke out in the tent.

"Who is he? He speaks authoritatively."

"I know him, he’s Ai Hui. I think he invented the pagoda cannon."

"Then we gotta be careful."

"The first Lightning Master; a big threat. Lightning is our bane."

Helian Tianxiao allowed the discussion to go on. He wasn’t a boss who could decide and act alone. While he felt anxious and impatient, the words "pagoda cannon", also evoked vigilance.

Not only him, but the officers and soldiers were discussing with very grave expressions on their faces.

Recent battles had been rather smooth-sailing, but the new weapon, the pagoda cannon, had dealt them significant injuries. Furthermore, they had an encounter with the Blue Flag Division a few days back, and it was precisely their pagoda cannons that had dealt the Silverfrost Blood Division a significant blow.

It was not until they had gained possession of a mirage bean pod recording of the battle between the Spear of Heavy Cloud and the Ardent Flower Blood Division that they started to gain a better understanding of the pagoda cannons. It was also from there that they started coming up with strategies to deal with them, resulting in an improvement of the battle situation.

The utilization of pagoda cannons by the combat divisions that they had encountered wasn’t at all comparable to those of the Spear of Heavy Cloud. The counter-strategy they had come up with crushed those combat divisions easily, and even the Blue Flag Division, whom the blood elementalists had found tricky to deal with, suffered heavy casualties.

Yet, they dared not regard Ai Hui’s declaration lightly.

The Spear of Heavy Cloud’s mastery of pagoda cannons was the highest thus far. A close analysis of the deathmatch with the Ardent Flower Blood Division had shaken up the blood elementalist officers. No other blood division would’ve been confident about securing victory.

When the discussion started to die down, Helian Tianxiao spoke up, "All right."

The camp quieted down immediately.

He scanned through his audience, causing them to shudder. Helian Tianxiao narrowed his eyes, saying, "Tell me, what are your thoughts?"

Someone stood out, commenting, "We will face a great threat if an alliance is formed. The Spear of Heavy Cloud’s pagoda cannons are much more destructive than those employed by other combat divisions such as the Blue Flag Division."

A crisp female voice sounded. "I don’t think we have to worry at all. Firstly, we have already found the loophole and flaw of the pagoda cannons. Actual combat has proven that our strategy is effective. Next, the alliance appears to be a good concept, but there are many practical problems, like the supply of snow lava. How is the Central Pine Valley going to supply such huge volumes of snow lava? Also, other than the Spear of Heavy Cloud, the Sky Edge, and the Infantry Divisions, there aren’t any other proper elementalist combat divisions. How is it going to be easy for Ai Hui to assemble a bunch of unorganized and scattered groups?"

The lady speaker had short hair, a decent appearance, and a cool demeanor. Her armor made her look tall, accentuating her delicate figure.

She was Song Xiaoqian, the division leader of the Silverfrost Blood Division. Able to command a combat division on her own, her abilities were naturally unquestionable.

Helian Tianxiao nodded his head slightly, a tinge of admiration flashing across his eyes. He said in a deep voice, "I’ll lay the plans out. We must defeat and capture Ai Hui, Shi Xueman, and the rest. With regard to the Ardent Flower Blood Division’s humiliation, we are going to repay it doubly. This is a mission we must accomplish! There’s no other way!"

His tone relaxed, and he said to Song Xiaoqian, "Continue."

A light flashed across her eyes as she added, "I have an idea. Why not her the sheep?"

"Herd the sheep?"

Song Xiaoqian played with her clothing fringe and smiled. "That’s right. Look, aren’t these so-called combat divisions like a flock of sheep? They’re just a group of mobs, so defeating them is of no use to us. Why not drive them toward the Spear of Heavy Cloud, the Sky Edge, and the Infantry Divisions? No matter how many big the mob, they are still just rabble. They would become dead weight for Shi Xueman and her compatriots, dead weight that they can’t get rid of even if they wanted to. When there are many people, there will be distractions and internal conflicts. Even if they fear Shi Xueman’s prestige, with slight external pressure they will reveal their true selves and thoroughly collapse. When that time comes, what use will Shi Xueman and her troop’s defensive line be?"

Helian Tianxiao immediately captured the ingenuity of it all, and his eyes lit up. "Great idea!"

He said decisively, "I’ll write a letter and send it to the other two god divisions!"

Newlight City.

An Chouchou fixed his gaze on the faraway Windy Resonant Pagoda and was in somewhat of a daze. His journey to the Central Pine Valley had impacted and shaken him up greatly. He even felt utterly defeated. Many people had been fooled by his amiable appearance and weren’t aware of his pride and arrogance.

In his eyes, Newlight City’s only enemy was Skyheart City.

Now, he knew he had been a frog in a well. What a joke.

All that he had seen and heard during this journey had completely shocked him. Even after returning to Newlight City, he was unable to overcome his mixed emotions. He was at a loss. What could Newlight City and the Central Pine Valley fight together for?

His unfocused gaze had ultimately fell upon the Windy Resonant Pagoda. Helpless, he realized that the only chance he had was Elder Yuchi.

If Elder Yuchi could become a Grandmaster, all problems could easily be solved, and Newlight City would have a better chance against Skyheart City.

But becoming a Grandmaster…

Even the most optimistic wouldn’t be able to pin much hope on it.

Tong Gui and Yu Jin came over together, and Tong Gui asked, "Are we really going to do this Mayor?"

An Chouchou regained his senses. Upon seeing both of them, his vision regained its clarity. "That’s right. It’s our only chance. The Pinwheel Sword is incomparably sharp, but its range of application is simply too small, so it’s not employable on a large scale, but the pagoda cannon is different. There are many more fire elementalists than swordsmen, and the former’s accumulation is more profound as well. In this case, they have much better prospects, and I think better of the pagoda cannon. We have quite a number of fire elementalists of our own, so that’s an advantage we can tap into."

Yu Jin spoke suddenly, "Then aren’t we going to be manipulated by Ai Hui?"

An Chouchou smiled bitterly. "Until Elder Yuchi exits from his seclusion, it remains a fact that we are in a weaker position."

Both Tong Gui and Yu Jin kept silent because they knew this was true. However, there was only a negligible chance for Elder Yuchi to become a Grandmaster. All of Newlight City was very pessimistic about this as well.

With a change of tone, An Chouchou added, "But the alliance with the Central Pine Valley isn’t a bad thing for us. Nominally, it sounds as though we are the weaker party, but the power of speech depends on the respective abilities of the combat divisions. As long as we master the pagoda cannon, we can quickly establish many pagoda cannon combat divisions. The Central Pine Valley’s greatest weakness is their lack of people, and it is a weakness that can’t be sorted out within a short period of time. Unlike the Spear of Heavy Cloud’s previous recruitment, there won’t be as many fire elementalists begging to be chosen anymore. This isn’t a problem for us at all. Instead, our elementalists are weaker on average, which does not impede the efficiency of pagoda cannon."

Tong Gui and Yu Jin nodded slightly. The best thing about the pagoda cannon wasn’t that its cannoneer was powerful, but that it demanded less from elementalists. This meant that it was easier to spread the mastery of pagoda cannons to more people.

An Chouchou’s tone became stern. "Set off today, head toward the front line, and join the Pagoda Cannon Alliance. Remember, it is most crucial to grasp the technique of the pagoda cannon first. Do not worry about other matters. Do not try to seize control or power. It will come naturally when we grow stronger. Plus, when there are more people, it won’t be as easy for Ai Hui to monopolize the production of the snow lava.

Tong Gui and Yujin responded at once, Yes!"

Both of them were highly convinced by An Chouchou’s wisdom. Newlight City was what it was because of him. Initially, they were worried that he wouldn’t be able to recover from that discouraging journey, but upon seeing him snap out of it, they were beyond glad.

A guard came forward to report, "Everything is in order and everyone is present Mayor."

An Chouchou told both of them, "I shall not send you two off. This journey is going to be dangerous. I would not be sending you guys out if this was not our only chance to overturn the situation. Come back alive, no matter what. Leave the rest to me."

After that, he bowed, turned around, and left with his head held high and chest puffed out.

Tong Gui and Yu Jin followed An Chouchou’s disappearing figure with their eyes.

Yu Jin commented, "I did not expect Ai Hui to be this capable."

Tong Gui sighed. "Yeah, he used to be somewhat famous, but still insignificant. Now, he’s the man of the moment, and we have to move according to his actions. What a difficult situation to be in."

Yu Jin looked at An Chouchou’s back. "He has a strong fighting spirit."

Looking pensively, Tong Gui said, "He probably met his match?"

Far away, An Chouchou said to all the reporters and their respective news villages in an energetic and steady voice, "Newlight City is the Central Pine Valley’s closest ally. The Central Pine Valley’s conduct serves as our model. I hereby announce that Newlight City is joining the Pagoda Cannon Alliance. We will send our two largest combat divisions to the front line to join the alliance. I’m also calling for the stronger combat divisions to also join the alliance…"