Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1087 – Three Divisions of Cavalry on the March

At the black-clothed girl’s gaze, He Ming suddenly calmed down. He was so relieved that he even smiled.

But his right hand was still raised in the air, ready at any time to clench into a fist and order the two thousand black-armored heavy cavalry to attack.

The girl moved her gaze to the still-disorderly cavalry. She seemed to think of something, her brows knitting together.

In a gust of wind, she vanished.

The rest of the wind once more took up the dust rising from Mount Mo and sent it drifting toward the cavalry.

The dust was scattered in the wind, making no shape or form.

Countless milky white rays of light suddenly pierced out, making the dust seem like white gauze.

These rays of divine Qi came from the bows and arrows in the hands of the cavalry.

It was not the divine ballistae concealed in the middle of the cavalry that was their most frightening weapon, but these Sacred Light arrows.

Had the black-clothed girl sensed the Sacred Light arrows and chosen to retreat?

A deputy general came up to He Ming. As he looked toward the direction in which the girl had vanished, he placed his hand on his sword and said, “Quite the fast reaction.”

There was a clear unwillingness in this comment.

The black-clothed girl had appeared too suddenly and landed too quickly. Neither the true experts within the heavy cavalry nor the array masters had time to react.

In the deputy general’s view, if the girl had been just a little slow in leaving or if a similar situation occurred, the black-armored cavalry would definitely have a chance to hold her.

Even though the girl had displayed such terrifying destructive powers.

He Ming gazed silently in the direction the girl vanished.

He did not agree with the deputy general.

The black-armored cavalry had crisscrossed the world and never once tasted failure. They naturally had ways to deal with experts. He was even confident that they could contend with an expert of the Divine Domain for a time. The problem was, if he guessed correctly, that girl just now was not an ordinary expert, but a dragon…

“What? That was a dragon?”

Divine General He Ming’s words were so shocking that the deputy general and the surrounding officers found it hard to speak.

He Ming said with a slightly bitter voice, “Yes, and it should be a Black Frost Dragon.”

The deputy general was even more stunned, and then speechless as he subconsciously grabbed his hair.

If the girl in black really was such a being, then she had not retreated out of fear, but because she was going easy…

Yes, one could have guessed this the moment she landed on the summit of Mount Mo and not launched an assault directly on the cavalry. If she had let the cavalry first enter Mount Mo before she began her assault, this plus the innate pressure she placed on the Dragonhorses would have made the black-armored heavy cavalry suffer almost unbearable casualties, even if they were not completely destroyed.

Since ancient times, the bane of the black-armored cavalry had never been those Divine experts who rode on clouds and remained untouched by the world, but dragons.

It was said that a thousand years ago, when Emperor Taizong was building up the black-armored cavalry, he had developed and even trained them in methods specifically for dealing powerful dragons.

Later on, the agreement sworn on the starry skies meant that dragons no longer stepped forth onto the continent and the world gradually forgot the terror of these high-level beings. The black-armored heavy cavalry had also reached its fourth generation, and those once-practiced methods had long been forgotten on some ancient pile of paper within the Ministry of the Army.

An officer came to his senses and asked, “A dragon dares to come to the continent? Is she not afraid of being executed by the Divine experts?”

“The current experts of the Divine all have different thoughts. How could they come with a united will to carry out that agreement?”

Divine General He Ming added, “And when both sides reached that agreement, they forgot about her existence, so her name isn’t there.”

The deputy general asked, “Just who is that black-clothed girl?”

“All of you probably already know. She is the dragon envoy of His Holiness the Pope.”

After a pause, He Ming added, “She is also that taboo of the Imperial Palace.”

Now that the Tianhai Divine Empress had returned to the sea of stars, many of her secrets were gradually being revealed under the sunlight, and this naturally included the legend of the Black Dragon.

The uneven bulges of the plains seemed like frozen waves of wheat. The black-armored cavalry stood amongst them, not making a single sound.

Suddenly, He Ming made a self-mocking smile, but his eyes turned hard as he ordered, “Establish the Peerless Turbid Wave Array.”

The black-armored cavalry which was famed for its discipline seemed rather strange at this moment.

The officers looked at him with strange gazes instead of immediately issuing the order.

Because Divine General He Ming had said ‘Peerless Turbid Wave Array’.

This array was renowned for being sturdy and steadfast and was ideal for protecting against attacks while resting and reorganizing.

With Mount Mo destroyed and the morale of the troops wavering, Divine General He Ming’s plan was very reasonable.

But the Peerless Turbid Wave Array moved… very slowly.

If they used this array and moved forward, they probably wouldn’t even reach the Mausoleum of Books by dusk. What meaning would there be then?

The deputy general looked at Divine General He Ming and wanted to object, but he suddenly thought of something and paled, withdrawing his words.

……

……

The entire capital could feel the collapse of Mount Mo.

The houses lining the Luo River swayed but did not collapse. Dust rose up between the ground and roof beams, causing the entire world to be caked in dust.

The complicated figures carved on the stone pillars became somewhat blurry. The room with all sorts of plum blossoms planted in it, on the other hand, had been covered in dust ages ago.

The maple trees standing outside the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education had lost many branches. They now lay scattered on the streets, but a careful observer would see signs of an array in the mess.

The maple branches and the array hidden within them blocked the black-clothed cavalry belonging to the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education outside.

The three cardinals of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education and its priests had entered the Green Leaf World for the Grand Examination, which was currently being carried by the black-clothed girl.

Right now, the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education had no strength to resist the Li Palace’s will.

In the shortest period of time, the Li Palace cavalry completed their occupation of this famous building.

The cavalry of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education standing outside the forest somewhat helplessly and gratefully put down their weapons.

……

……

The Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education was the headquarters of the Orthodoxy’s conservative faction, its direct subordinates the famous Six Ivies. However, the only one that truly needed taking care of today was the Heavenly Dao Academy.

At the same time, the Heavenly Dao Academy was also the most troublesome of places.

Its reputation and relationship with Mao Qiuyu meant that the Li Palace could not use force.

Linghai Zhiwang slightly leaned forward, staring in loathing at the stubborn faces of the teachers and students within the Heavenly Dao Academy.

That he had been regarded highly by both the Pope and the Tianhai Divine Empress at the same time was because he had never been naive, even when he was a youth.

What he hated most in his life was naivete, hot blood, and passion, but he knew that these were very troublesome traits, because they all pointed straight to the word ‘sacrifice’.

He naturally didn’t care if these teachers and students of the Heavenly Dao Academy became a pile of corpses.

But this would affect the Pope’s prestige and would certainly affect Mao Qiuyu’s relationship with the Li Palace.

It was clear that Zhuang Zhihuan clearly understood these things, so even though he had learned about what had happened in the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education, he was still not willing to surrender.

He hoped that these young and idealistic students willing to sacrifice themselves could help him last until good news came from the Mausoleum of Books.

Linghai Zhiwang glanced at the old Daoist at his side and asked, “You’re the vice principal, so why won’t the students listen to you?”

This old Daoist was Daoist Shuxin. He sighed and did not answer.

Back when Mao Qiuyu was in seclusion within the Li Palace, guarded by his disciple Zhuang Zhihuan, the Heavenly Dao Academy had been under the management of Daoist Shuxin.

Linghai Zhiwang, who had made this suggestion, had hoped that Daoist Shuxin could use this period of time to strengthen his control over the Heavenly Dao Academy in preparation for this day.

Zhuang Zhihuan’s prestige in the Heavenly Dao Academy had been higher than he had imagined.

The curses from the young students grew louder and louder.

Linghai Zhiwang’s complexion darkened as he said, “Count down from five. Prepare to kill.”

Daoist Shuxin was stunned by these words and implored, “Absolutely not!”

Linghai Zhiwang ignored him.

With a metal clattering, the Orthodoxy cavalry slowly took out their swords, which glimmered with Sacred Light.

The black enforcers of the Hall of Heavenly Judgment silently infiltrated the Heavenly Dao Academy like several dozen ghosts.