The Demon Lords-Chapter 601 - 95 National Book_1

"Bring out Little Dog to see us!"

"Yes, quickly call out Little Dog! Let him come out to meet us brothers!"

Two men, clad in armor with purple stripes across the chest, stood in the military encampment, yelling furiously. Surrounding them was a crowd of wild people.

At this moment, within the wild people's encampment, the wails of men and the horrifying screams of women were incessant. This ethnic group, expelled from Jin land and forced to endure centuries of hardship in the snowy plains, was now unleashing all its accumulated brutality and repressed anger upon the Jin people, whom they had once viewed as vastly superior.

Delicious and rich food.

Exquisite gold, silver, and jade.

Strong, durable armor.

Beautiful women, so delicate it seemed water could be squeezed from their skin.

HAH!

These were all things most wild people wouldn't encounter in ten lifetimes, yet now they were laid out before them, free for them to enjoy.

Oh, the stars! It was almost like a dream!

"Those two, are they from the Situ Family?"

Two figures sat on a distant haystack. One was Sang Hu, a string of human skulls adorning his neck. The one who spoke was a one-eyed man named Geremu. He possessed skin more delicate than other wild people; were it not for his missing eye, he might have passed for a Jin scholar. In truth, he was of Jin lineage. His grandfather had fled into the snowy plains after committing a crime, and his family had since served a wild people tribe, managing their affairs. Later, when the Wild People King mobilized his troops, Geremu was among the first to respond. His military achievements were remarkable. The Wild People King, generous in some respects, did not discriminate against him due to his Jin blood, appointing him to the position of Ten Thousand Households Chief. Under his command was a large contingent of defeated Jin soldiers, captured and enslaved—a fitting command for this "Jin man."

Sang Hu nodded, gestured towards the two men still cursing vehemently, and said, "Indeed. One is Situ Yi, the other Situ Jiong. They are of the Situ Family—oh, no, they are the elder brothers of Situ Lei, the Emperor of Cheng State."

Geremu lowered his head, nibbling on a stalk of grass, and whispered, "I heard the King was once a slave to their family?"

"Yes, there's nothing to be ashamed of," Sang Hu replied. "Geremu, that Jin aura of yours is still a bit too strong. This fact won't make us despise the King; on the contrary, it will make us admire the King's greatness and nobility even more."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Heh."

"Why have those two come looking for the King now?"

"Because the King previously promised them that as long as our Holy Tribe could pass the borders, he would support one of them to ascend the throne, becoming the co-ruler of the snowy plains and Jin land. Without their help, we couldn't have won several consecutive victories in the snowy plains from the very beginning. If not for their collaboration from both within and without, Snow Sea Pass wouldn't have been so easily breached by us. Those two put in a great deal of effort to help our Holy Tribe cross the borders."

"Those two are truly brainless," Geremu lamented. Times had changed. Back when the wild people were mere wandering souls in the snowy plains, they naturally had to grovel before them, and the Situs could command them as they pleased. But now, the wild people had breached the borders, and half of Cheng State's territory was lost. Yet these two still dared to act so arrogantly, shouting the King's name in the military camp.

"Don't be fooled by how jubilantly and arrogantly they're shouting now," Sang Hu said. "In truth, they're more terrified than anyone. Their current bluster is merely a facade to hide their inner fear and cowardice. Besides, they still have some use. Certain Situ Family generals and garrisons in various cities need to be contacted and swayed by them. It would be best if they could persuade them to surrender."

"What a hassle."

"Geremu, how come you seem more like one of the Holy Tribe than we are?"

"I have long believed in the stars."

"Heh, you know that's not what I meant. Actually, if Situ Lei had died at Snow Sea Pass, the King truly intended to help one of these two Situ Family princes ascend the throne. Our foundation is still in the snowy plains."

Hearing this, Geremu suddenly grumbled, "Why should it be!"

"What 'why' are you referring to?"

"I don't want to go back. My family used to live here. Now that I've returned, I've never considered going back to the snowy plains. It's much more comfortable here than the snowy plains."

"Who could disagree? But you must understand, if you try to devour a whole sheep in one go, your belly will burst. We must proceed step by step. For now, we will first relocate the people, artisans, women, and children of the Situ Family from Cheng State to the snowy plains. Let their children, when they grow up, speak only the language of our Holy Tribe and become warriors of our Holy Tribe! Let their women bear offspring for our Holy Tribe, nurturing a larger population! Let their artisans forge more tools and weapons for our Holy Tribe! Let their men herd livestock for us and build our cities! It's not that we don't want to live here permanently, Geremu. You were once a Jin person; this was once your home. But you must know that in the distant past, this place was once the homeland of our Holy Tribe. We've returned. It feels like a dream, which is why we're so desperate to grasp something tangible. We're afraid this dream will suddenly end, and we'll be left with nothing at all."

Geremu took a deep breath and asked, "Is it because of... the Yan people?"

Cheng State's most elite and battle-hardened army had been annihilated north of Snow Sea Pass. Now, Cheng State was left with hardly any defense. Their troops, stationed year-round on the southern border with Chu State, were cut off and unable to return as reinforcements. Situ Lei had fled, gravely wounded. If he were to die, Cheng State's complete collapse would only be a matter of time. The sole variable, perhaps, was the nation to Cheng State's west, called "Yan State." They had once dispatched an expeditionary force that crossed the Skybreak Mountain Range to invade the snowy plains. And now, if Cheng State were to completely crumble, the wild people would have to directly confront Yan State's reaction. This time, there would be no Skybreak Mountain Range to serve as a buffer.

Sang Hu nodded heavily and said, "That's why the King has slowed his offensive. To you, it might seem like he's giving Cheng State a chance to breathe, but isn't it also giving us one?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Are the Yan people truly that fearsome?"

"They're not to be trifled with."

A voice came from behind them. A'lai, an iron mask on his face and a leg of lamb in hand, leaped onto the haystack.

Sang Hu turned, glanced at A'lai, and chuckled, "You rascal, you nearly didn't make it back."

"It's because I ran fast! I was *this close* to being caught by the Yan people. There's a short fellow in the Yan army—just a little bit more, really, just a tiny bit more, and that runt would have grabbed me. I was just lucky I ran into a demonic beast in the mountains; that's how I managed to escape."

Geremu turned to A'lai and asked, "Are the Yan people truly that fearsome?"

"For now, if we can avoid provoking them, we should. Wait until our warriors have more armor, until our army grows larger, and until more tribes in the snowy plains submit to us. Only then will we have the confidence to truly wage war against the Yan people."

"A'lai, you've been terrified by the Yan people," Geremu teased.

"No, these are the King's own words. Surely you don't think the King is a coward? In this world, no one wishes to defeat Yan State more than he does. That way, we can force the Yan people to submit and send their Commandery Princess over for a marriage alliance. That is the King's dream."

At that moment, amidst the cursing and shouting of the two Situ Family princes, a man in wolf skin emerged from deep within the camp. As he passed, all the wild people around him knelt in prostration.

This man, however, ran straight to the two Situ Family princes, and with a THUD, knelt and shouted, "Honored Grandfathers, Little Dog has come to pay his respects to you."

...

Ying City, the ancestral home of the Situ Family, was renamed Ying Capital City after the founding of the Dacheng State.

Outside the city, royalist forces from various regions were gradually arriving. Some still displayed their banners distinctly, but most already presented a scene of utter disarray.

The Situ Family had originally established their state in great haste, and the suspicion of Situ Lei's patricide still loomed large. Consequently, some internal factions within the Situ Family hadn't truly been consolidated.

All of this could have been purged through a war against the wild people. For a newly established nation, securing a major victory in a foreign war had always been the most effective means of stabilizing public sentiment and consolidating the new monarch's authority.

However, all these plans had gone awry.

The Situ Family's elite forces were annihilated at Snow Sea Pass, and the wild people had breached the borders. Dacheng State, established less than a year ago, was already teetering on the brink of collapse.

And now, many eyes were fixed on the imperial palace.

Situ Lei had not died at Snow Sea Pass; he had returned alive. But everyone knew, even the commoners of Ying Capital City knew, that Situ Lei had returned with grievous injuries.

If the founding monarch of this already fractured new nation were to perish at this juncture, what would possibly hold the country together?

In the bedchamber, Situ Lei was covered with a blanket. Two charcoal braziers burned in the room. The weather had long since warmed, yet Situ Lei's body shivered relentlessly with cold. His lips were pale, his eye sockets sunken. Though not truly old, he now appeared as if his life force was utterly depleted, like an oil lamp about to go out.

Before his bed, Sun Youdao, the Prime Minister of Dacheng State, was drafting a state dispatch.

Upon finishing the last stroke, Sun Youdao lifted the document, blew gently on the ink, then looked at the monarch on the bed and said, "Your Majesty, it is ready."

Situ Lei's gaze shifted to the eunuch who had been attending him by the bedside. Understanding, the eunuch produced the great seal.

Just as he was about to stamp the document, Sun Youdao suddenly took a step back, fell to his knees, and cried out, "Your Majesty! If Your Majesty recuperates and reorganizes our forces, there is still hope of defeating the wild people and reclaiming our lands!"

Situ Lei looked at his Prime Minister.

His lips parted, and in an extremely hoarse voice, he said, "To admit defeat only after you've lost everything—that earns no one's respect."

"Your Majesty!"

"To admit defeat while you still have some assets, some capital remaining—that, at least, shows some backbone."

"I implore Your Majesty to reconsider!"

"Youdao."

"Your servant is here, Your Majesty."

"Add one more sentence. Add one more sentence."

Sun Youdao quickly wiped his tears, unrolled the scroll again, and picked up his brush.

"Zhen... No, I, Situ Lei, seek no position as sovereign, no fiefdoms, no inherited privileges for my descendants, no future for the Situ Family. Today, I offer this shattered realm with but a single request:

I implore Yan... I implore His Majesty, the Great Emperor, to swiftly dispatch a grand army to expel the wild people and restore tranquility to the citizens of Three Jin."