Chapter 923 Meat Grinder

“It would seem that Arcusstone has finally joined the Coalition,” observed Lu Chuan grimly.

“No matter,” Li Mu responded, nodding his head gently, “We’ll know if he’s friend or foe soon enough. We’ll meet him. There’s nothing to be afraid of just one lone man.”

“Very well,” agreed Lu Chuan.

He produced an authority pass in the form of a medallion and injected a sliver of his Mana into it. A ray of light shot out of the jade object and hit the magical force field that guarded the mountain, invoking multiple rings of ripples that spread in mid-air.

That was when the warriors of the Coalition all witnessed the unbelievable. The rippling waves of air that looked so real and corporeal stretched all the way from the sky like an invisible set of curtains that closed off the entire space of the Creed’s stronghold from the world outside, making the stronghold look like a splinter of an idyllic and heavenly realm of a utopia long lost from mankind.

In fact, no one in Molderad had ever seen anything like this before.

A sight arguably the workmanship of the gods.

Only after suffering the losses of thousands of warriors did the Coalition finally see with their own eyes the extent of the magical force field that secured the safety of the Creed of Divinity. Eldritch enchantments of this sort were not uncommon in Molderad; several of the militant orders who have joined the Coalition could replicate force fields and enchantments that could be used to guard or restrain objects or people. But no one had ever seen an enchantment of such size and magnitude before—one that could reach up into the skies unseen.

“This is proof enough that Li Zhiyuan is a demon from another world! How else could anyone do something like that!”

Abbess Retribution was not jealous at all to show her contempt for Li Mu.

“If you could persuade him to just surrender, Nie, then by all means. Maybe we could even spare his life,” growled a tall and hulking figure clad in a suit of black armor from atop his brass-hewn chariot.

Being a powerful warrior in his own right who had achieved Class XI many years ago, this person was the strongest warrior of the Western Wildernesses, known to many as simply the Champion.

All eyes were on Nie Renlong.

Nie Renlong nodded without a word. “I’ll do what I can,” he said.

Just up ahead, a transparent portal opened to admit him and there was Li Zhiyuan’s prized student, the Punisher of Evil Shen Jia, waiting for him. “This way please, sir,” he called.

Nie Renlong flew to the portal in a streak of light where he landed and stepped through it.

A few intrepid warriors thought of charging forward to see if they might have a chance of getting inside.

The Champion of the Western Wildernesses lifted his halberd and barred their way, “Anxious to get yourselves killed? Or else, wait for Grand Master Nie and see what happens.”

…

“How cruel is fate, my friend, that we have to meet in such a fashion.”

Nie Renlong said sheepishly as he peered at the broad and tall back of Li Mu, looking rather guilty and embarrassed to be here in the Creed’s main audience hall.

Li Mu spun on his heels and greeted his guest with a smile. “We are but mere specks in this vast Jianghu, my friend. Even I know that fate works in the most unimaginable ways. Are you here to negotiate my surrender?”

“You’re a unique and exemplary figure, Li,” Nie Renlong grinned bashfully, “Those rumors about you — they’re nothing but slander—lies spoken and spread to discredit you. But there really isn’t any need to pick a fight against the Great Five. Nothing good will come out of this… No one has ever triumphed in any conflict against the Great Five. The Creed of Divinity might be blessed with numerous rare talents, but your number is still scant against the horde that is the Coalition at the foot of this mountain at the moment. You are a genius, no doubt about that, my friend. But this is an order of illustrious history…”

Lu Chuan abruptly interjected, “The Creed of Divinity, in its entirety, is ready to stand side-by-side Brother Zhiyuan until the very end!”

Li Mu merely smiled at the statement and said nothing.

For most parts, Lu Chuan has always been a mild-mannered man with charisma that could make anyone gravitate toward him. Yet he could be strangely and irrationally irascible when it came to the wellbeing of Li Zhiyuan. Threatening Li Zhiyuan before him was tantamount to waving the proverbial red rag before his very eyes and he would immediately lose his cool.

Diffidently, Nie Renlong muttered, “Surely it’s better to make peace than make war…”

“Nie,” Li Mu chuckled wryly, “Do you seriously think that there is still a chance to make peace?”

The look that Li Mu gave him made whatever Nie Renlong wished to say got stuck halfway up his throat.

He could not forget that Li Zhiyuan had saved his life more than a decade ago. For years, he had been telling the whole world that what transpired back then was a duel that ended with a draw just for the sake of Arcusstone’s reputation and he knew full well how dishonorable a gesture it had been. Yet here he came as an envoy of the Great Five — an act which could have been as a further insult. Furthermore, he was only too aware of the fate that awaited Li Zhiyuan if he surrendered to the Great Five. The end would inevitably be a long and painful process before his death ever came.

“Those rumors about what you said… I’m sure those only just lay… If you could step out and explain, I’m sure…” Nie Renlong added feebly.

Li Mu cut him off, smiling, “Those were not lies. They did indeed come out of my own lips.”

“But that’s not the point…”

“And I did really come from another dimension.”

Nie Renlong did not know what to say.

“But are all beings who come from another dimension evil?”

Nie Renlong did not know how to respond.

“Do you have anything else, Nie?” Li Mu asked.

Nie Renlong exhaled a long breath that sounded more like a sigh. “I knew it. It would be impossible to try to convince you to surrender. So be it then. I’d best drop the subject lest I’ll only be ridiculing myself. Not that I ever expected any positive results after all. But know that I have to be here as one of the Great Five Grand Masters, I only hope you can understand that, my friend, and not blame me.”

“How could I? You’re here this time as a guest of the Creed of Divinity, Nie,” Li Mu responded, tacitly indicating that the next time they meet, it would be under different circumstances.

One of the acolytes came in bearing a tray of tea.

“Try this, Nie. It’s something I planted myself at the bamboo grove. It’s a vintage that you won’t find anywhere else. I call it ‘Maojian’. It’s sweet and refreshing once you take the first sip, then a tinge of bitterness would come momentarily before it is replaced by another wave of sweetness. Kinda reminds us of the Jianghu, no?”

“I wouldn’t dare, my friend. As an envoy of the Great Five, I’m ashamed to consume such a unique vintage of your own production,” Nie Renlong declined.

“Don’t worry,” Lu Chuan muttered quietly, “We do not have the custom of poisoning our guests.”

Nie Renlong was surprised by the answer, although he recollected himself quickly and tried to smile to defuse the awkwardness. “Nothing of the sort! Well, since you insist…” The Grand Master of Arcusstone lifted a cup and emptied its contents down his throat. “I know that I owe you a great deal, Li. But please understand this: the Great Five share such a bond where we triumph and fall as one. Coming here as an envoy is the last thing I would have chosen to do. I know it’s nothing short of dishonorable, but should the Great Five succeeds in storming into this place, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you.”

At least, he was beginning to show some nerve and backbone.

Even Lu Chuan couldn’t help feeling consoled and relieved.

The adage of “life in the Jianghu is never one’s life alone” wasn’t just for show, but instead, it illustrated a painful truth that only those who really had seen the real grotesqueries of the Jianghu could fully comprehend.

Lu Chuan could relate only all too well to the difficult quandaries and conundrums that one faced as a member of the Jianghu himself.

For one moment, what animosity and dislike he felt about Nie Renlong subsided just a little.

Jianghu, a life where merciless and treacherous challenges forever awaited their chance to swoop down when one was least expecting it.

“Heh, very well, Nie, I shall hold you to this promise when the moment comes,” Li Mu smiled. “I’d say that this meeting is over and we shouldn’t take up more of your time any longer. Accompany Grand Master Nie and see him out the door please, Shen Jia.”

…

There was no other way to put it: Nie Renlong’s attempt to negotiate a surrender had ended in an ignominious failure.

As soon as he made it back to the encampment of the Coalition, he led his men and retreated ten miles away and made camp there, refusing to see anyone on the pretense of being ashamed of his lack of success.

“Hmph, I bet he’s grown soft. He’s withdrawing away from the fight because of his friendship with Li Zhiyuan.”

Voices of dissent began to clamor with discontent towards the stance Nie Renlong had displayed.

But Nie Renlong just ignored them all.

With any chances for a peaceful surrender all but quashed, the Great Five began their assault. They launched a full-scale invasion with hundreds of thousands of champions and warriors marching up the Mount of Divinity from all sides. The last time such an impressive scene occur was most probably during the Great Crusade several centuries before.

In the first crusade by the Great Five years before against the Cult of the Orient, the Great Five had all the advantages which they successfully capitalized into a complete beatdown. Yet nothing the Great Five attempted this time could defeat the magical enchantment that now guarded the Creed of Divinity’s stronghold. They could do whatever they believed would work, but they would still hurt no fen nor leave the other side of the enchantment.

The invisible magical force field enveloping the Creed of Divinity stronghold inside was what defended the Creed against all manners of long-range bombardments.

Meanwhile, champions and warriors of the Coalition would find themselves lost and trapped inside the enchantments. At times, the enchantment would invoke hallucinations that could prompt two warriors to kill want another. Many however found themselves segregated into lots of different small numbers where the Creed of Divinity could then easily deal with them.

On the first day alone, the Coalition lost almost five thousand men, amongst them were two Class IXs, twenty-eight Class VIIIs, and several hundreds of Class VIs and VIIs.

In contrast, the Creed of Divinity lost not one man at all.

The integrity of the magical force field remained intact.

By the time a retreat was sounded, the faces of the Great Five Grand Masters looked absolutely lugubrious.

They expected a difficult fight, but certainly not one where they barely did any damage to the enemy while they were singlehandedly raking up all the losses.

Warriors and champions who were boasting about their prowess now hung their heads in shame and frustration.

“We press on. Inch by inch, I’m sure we’ll reach their stronghold one day. There’s no way that enchantment of this size could remain for long,” snarled the Champion of the Western Wildernesses.

With the advantage of numbers on their side, this seemed like a viable and possibly most moronic idea the Great Five could come up with.

The invasion would go on for more than an entire month.

Thousands of militant sects and orders pledged themselves to the Coalition had literally thrown themselves into attacking the magical force field but to no avail. All their endeavors to reduce and extinguish the force field’s strength had only just pushed the force field back by almost a measly ten meters, for the cost of more than thirty thousand lives into the meat grinder.

Such was a loss that no one could dare bear.

But it was more than that. This was also an insult.

News of the going invasion spread all over the continent, taking over the whole world by incomprehensible storm.

Another month passed. The Great Five came up with another plan: a multi-pronged assault to attack the force field from different directions. But it seemed to Li Mu like someone was giving guidance to the Grand Masters by instructing them on ways to slowly prob for weaknesses around the force field.

A half-year passed by swiftly.

The enchantment was forced back that the force field now encased only the stronghold and the mountain’s main peak alone.

The champions and warriors were all euphoric. Finally, after so long, their labors were beginning to bear fruit.

So long as they could defeat the enchantment, victory shall be at hand and the Creed of Divinity would be ripe pickings. The whole Coalition would storm up into the stronghold and sack the whole place, killing everyone inside, including the Aspect of Vengeance himself.

But what happened next left the whole Coalition stunned beyond speech.

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