Chapter 1906: All Things Align

The roaring sound of the sea nests was like a death conch calling from the bottomless abyss. Low, lingering, lost.

Ao Huangzhong’s gaze swept over the downcast generals gathered around the sea nests. His face was expressionless, and he simply said, “The war is not over.”

Ao Huangzhong still didn't have a clear understanding of Jiang Wang's military capabilities. He always felt they were too unpredictable, tentatively classifying them as a kind of elusive chess style, difficult to distinguish between real and unreal.

However, the title of the youngest military merit marquis in the Great Qi Empire and even in the entire current human race was a solid and tangible honor. The death of Yu Guangyuan, an absolute prodigy of the world, was an even more significant annotation.

Many sea race prodigies, including Ao Huangzhong, always felt that with Yu Guangyuan's madness that surpassed his ancestor's style, he would either go completely insane and become a terrifying existence that made the world's strong tremble, or at some moment when all eyes were on him, welcome a grand and vigorous death in a way difficult for ordinary people to imagine.

But in reality, Yu Guangyuan's death was surprisingly unremarkable.

On a perfectly normal day, he clashed with Jiang Wang and was then crushed. It was as calm as the small haze in front of a flying cloud warship, shattered before the ram, unable to even stir up much of a ripple.

Even the mad waves that should have been triggered by Yu Guangyuan's death went unnoticed. That blood king, famous for his violence, surprisingly did not turn the maze world upside down.

From this, the terror of Jiang Wang became even more apparent!

Ao Huangzhong's willingness to come and support Dingmao Realm naturally meant he had a desire to contend with Jiang Wang. But from the beginning, he set his strategy to avoid a direct confrontation, wear down his opponent's morale, and wait for an opportunity to strike.

He held a set of flag formations inherited from the human-dragon co-governance era called the "Qian Long Nine Illusions Great Teleportation Disk." The flag formation had a mother disk and nine child flags.

With the Qian Long Disk in hand, he could teleport to the locations of the nine illusions flags at will.

He crossed the boundary river alone, hid in the wilderness, and had his subordinates carry the nine illusions flags into the first sea nest. He hid so deeply to find the right opportunity to strike a heavy blow against Jiang Wang.

Although he was forced to act early because the protective nest great array couldn't hold, he wasn't overly bothered.

Because he truly regarded Jiang Wang as an opponent, and even the biggest challenge of this confusing world trip. If he could succeed easily, he would instead find it hard to believe.

He always put himself in the position of the challenger, preemptively accepting the possibility of failure.

Losing the five maze crystal mines without a fight was a price he considered and deemed acceptable. And he believed that this degree of victory would absolutely not satisfy Jiang Wang.

A prodigy is a prodigy, young and famous, how can he not be proud?

Jiang Wuan achieved great merit in the Qi-Xia battlefield and made a name for himself in the Heaven Prison world. Can he endure being stuck in this small Dingmao Realm, unable to even break a single sea nest?

Ao Huangzhong just wanted to use the six sea nests of Dingmao Realm to repeatedly wear down Jiang Wang's keen edge. Until he held on until Jiang Wang exposed a true, fatal flaw.

As the saying goes, one beat of energy, then decline three times.

The moment the human army's energy was exhausted would be the time for his Ao Huangzhong to show his prowess.

But if the flaw he expected never appeared, he would just bear it like this.

Yu Guangyuan, who had already glimpsed the opportunity to become a true king, was easily slaughtered. Under Jiang Wang's personal leadership, he could still preserve the living forces of the six sea nests, and he wouldn't be unable to explain himself upon his return.

Same Tianhai not existing, same rules in chaos.

In this bloody battlefield of the same realm, human and sea race prodigies danced together.

While the human army was still rotating for rest, the huge, ferocious sea nest was already drifting away, gone without a trace.

Although Fang Yuanxiu couldn't understand the scene before him, it didn't prevent him from both admiring and respecting Jiang Wang. He eagerly flattered, saying, "Marquis is truly like a god! This is your first time leading troops in the maze world, yet you've defeated the famous general Ao Huangzhong without a fight and forced submission. This is the strategy of a great general!"

Jiang Wang was terrible at flattering himself, but he was very picky about others' flattery. He waved his hand uninterestedly, "Stop wasting words here with me. Go to the mine cave and see how much maze crystal we can plunder."

Fang Yuanxiu said in surprise, "We're not occupying this place? Taking the mine cave as a base and requesting reinforcements, we can quickly rebuild a floating island."

When the fourth sea nest migrated, it must have taken away all the maze crystal that could be taken. Simply searching the mine cave would yield limited results. Guarding this golden goose could be considered a worthwhile endeavor.

"Ao Huangzhong is not dead, it still belongs to the undecided," Jiang Wang said. "Our military strength and time should not be wasted here."

Even having the victory hang in the balance and forcing Ao Huangzhong away without much loss, gaining a maze crystal mine cave for free, it was still difficult to feel satisfied.

With Yu Guangyuan as a sacrificial banner, personally leading the army, maneuvering and crushing in Dingmao Realm, all he sought was to thoroughly sweep this domain and personally establish a human camp.

But Ao Huangzhong was so cautious, almost directly destroying this goal. Even if you were brave enough to surpass three armies, your opponent simply displayed a sign of exemption from battle.

Even if you flirted to exhaustion, it would be useless against a blind man.

Jiang Wang did not pursue the migrating fourth sea nest but followed the inherent rhythm, leading his army step by step to the third, fifth, sixth, and second sea nests, setting up silence steles one by one, calling out names one by one.

Since Ao Huangzhong was prepared to suffer losses, then first let him realize this portion of the losses.

Although Jiang Wang did not plan to garrison any maze crystal mine caves, the benefits were very limited. But as long as it could cause losses to the enemy army, it was worth going.

Military strategy says, eating one bell of the enemy is equivalent to my twenty bells.

What is learned from books is ultimately superficial. In the process of marching, comparing with what is learned from military books, one can glimpse one in ten thousand of the sages' wisdom, and thus admire it more.

The human forces in Dingmao Realm had insufficient military strength and could only guard the current four floating islands. Even if the sea race forces abandoned more maze crystal mine caves, it would be fundamentally impossible to guard them.

Allocating more resources to build floating islands would be a waste. Rashly requesting more troops in the maze world, where a storm was brewing, would be even more unwise.

The military forces of the six sea nests in this realm were gathered together, completely undamaged. Jiang Wang knew that once he left, Dingmao Floating Island would likely face a fierce counterattack immediately.

But there was no other way.

Ao Huangzhong's turtle tactic was unsightly, yet flawless.

Unless he could smash this turtle shell with a ten-thousand-ton hammer, unfortunately, the strength gap between him and Ao Huangzhong was not that large.

Moreover, with the six sea nests gathered now, the military strength commanded by Ao Huangzhong probably already exceeded fifty thousand.

Even if they were primarily sea beast warriors, under the command of a famous general like Ao Huangzhong, Jiang Wang actually no longer had a sure victory. So he set up the silence stele outside the area where the six sea nests were gathered, and the army no longer moved.

After making several light attacks on the sea nests, all of which failed to lure out Ao Huangzhong, he understood in his heart that the limit of this expedition... was probably just here.

He had already decided to retreat.

Although he was the mighty Great Qi Wuan Marquis, personally leading the army to attack, yet unable to break a single sea nest and not daring to occupy a single maze crystal mine cave, he would inevitably face criticism.

This was the so-called burden of reputation.

But reputation had never been Jiang Wang's concern.

Seeing the art of war of a seasoned famous general, he had a clear understanding of his own military strategy level. In military formation deployment, he prioritized "always retaining a counterattack force and maintaining the possibility of retreat" as the key to the formation. Although his strategy also had the grand goal of clearing Dingmao Realm, in specific execution, preserving living forces remained the main priority.

Ao Huangzhong regarded him as a great enemy and was cautious everywhere. He was also very vigilant towards Ao Huangzhong. He would absolutely not take Ao Huangzhong's caution as weakness. How could a truly weak sea race general still dare to aid Dingmao Realm alone after Yu Guangyuan died in battle?

The six ferocious sea nests, connected to each other, formed an isolated fortress in Dingmao Realm. The blood energy of the sea race army almost evaporated into clouds.

Military experts had techniques for estimating troop numbers. With a glance, they could immediately know the specific number. The fluctuation of heaven and earth Yuan force and the waves of blood energy were important bases for judgment. Of course, these aspects were also often used to deceive opponents.

The Shimen military strategy naturally also included the Li clan's unique technique for estimating troop numbers.

Jiang Wang admitted that his learning was not refined. He had a judgment on the quantity of the army commanded by Ao Huangzhong, but he could not be certain of its truth.

He silently gazed at the blood energy for a while, sighing lightly in his heart. It was his first time commanding an army in combat. Although one could say there were no mistakes, it was hard to say there was merit. In a situation where he had an advantage in his own strength, not truly defeating an opponent like Ao Huangzhong, not truly establishing the situation in Dingmao Realm, ultimately left some regret.

But these regrets were cut off in an instant.

The Shimen military strategy said: One man's hatred cannot move three armies. Now, one man's regret is even less likely to be the reason for three armies.

Then he gave a light order: "Pass down my order to the three armies--"

Fang Yuanxiu, as his personal guard and flag officer, stood properly awaiting orders.

Suddenly, a scout came to report, interrupting Jiang Wang's command: "Reporting to the Marquis! Zhuo Qingru from the Three Punishments Palace and Zhu Biqiong from the Fishing Sea Tower claim they are outside the array and wish to see you!"

Jiang Wang raised his eyebrows: "Is their identity confirmed?"

The scout said: "There should be no mistake. We have a cultivator from the Fishing Sea Tower in our army who recognizes Miss Zhu."

The military forces of the four floating islands in Dingmao Realm were all integrated by Jiang Wang, not just the Qi army. Jiang Wang also treated them equally. "Please invite them in quickly!" Jiang Wang said urgently.

Fang Yuanxiu saw his marquis's eyebrows relax, unable to hide his joy. He secretly pondered in his heart, who was this joy specifically for?

As the personal guard commander, he should worry before the marquis.

The true transmission of the Three Punishments Palace, the true transmission of the Fishing Sea Tower, who was more outstanding compared to Miss Ye, and who held a heavier weight in the marquis's heart?

At that time in the demon world, Miss Ye asked many questions, biting down on the fact that the marquis never visited brothels, especially hated red sleeves adding fragrance, and strongly upheld the marquis's trust. If this Miss Zhuo and Miss Zhu also asked something, what attitude should he take? That one from the Three Punishments Palace should not be easy to fool...

Jiang Wang was completely unaware of the wonderful inner world of his loyal and reliable personal guard commander. His joy was naturally from the bottom of his heart.

It wasn't entirely about meeting old friends.

Now he was stopping his troops here, unable to advance and unwilling to retreat. Zhu Biqiong was a notable force in the outer tower realm, and Zhuo Qingru was even a strong practitioner from the legalist holy land who had reached the God realm.

Meeting them at this time was like a pillow for a sleepy person. It was the perfect time to smash Ao Huangzhong's turtle shell!

If not for the fact that a commander cannot move lightly, bearing the heavy responsibility of three armies, and must be extremely cautious, he would have already flown out of the array to personally welcome the strong support. Before long, Zhu Biqiong, wearing a Fishing Sea Tower Dao robe, and Zhuo Qingru, wearing an ordinary long gown, came side by side and stepped onto the warship. They were not women with exceptionally outstanding appearances, but each had an extraordinary temperament that made them stand out from the world.

Jiang Wang enthusiastically welcomed them: "Daoist friend Zhu! Daoist friend Zhuo! How did we meet here?"

Zhuo Qingru's eyes looked into the distance, appearing to be observing the sea race army, but in reality, she was seriously sizing up Jiang Wang and Zhu Biqiong with her peripheral vision. She casually said: "I set out from Huai Island, rode a Fishing Dragon Boat to the maze world. It just so happened that Daoist friend Zhu also wanted to come, so I traveled with her, and by the way... took a look at the maze world. As for the route, she chose it, as Daoist friend Zhu said."

Legalist secret techniques were extraordinary. Jiang Wang knew the weight of her gaze early on and did not detect Zhuo Qingru's concern. He only smiled and looked at Zhu Biqiong.

Zhu Biqiong's face was calm instead. She said lightly: "Senior Sister Zhuo bears the hope of the legalist school and is traveling the world. I then brought her to experience the sea race prodigies. It wasn't a deliberate choice of route, it just happened that we came to this realm, just happened to see Wuan Marquis's banner, and then boldly came to visit--"

She finally looked into Jiang Wang's eyes: "I wonder if it was too bold?"

Finding a specific target in the maze world was not easy. First, the rules were chaotic, and directions were nonexistent. Second, strong enemies were frequent, and disturbances were hard to end. Jiang Wang himself had even missed the deadline and been blamed, how could he not know?

And it could be considered great luck!

"Of course not!" Jiang Wang laughed loudly: "I'm hoping for strong support, I've been hoping through the autumn water! Come, come, come--"

He actively waved his hand, letting Zhuo Qingru and Zhu Biqiong walk to the bow of the ship with him. He pointed to the shadow in the distance, his voice excited: "See that shadow? The six sea nests of Dingmao Realm are connected together at this time, commanded by the famous general Ao Huangzhong. I want to break through but cannot!"

He said sincerely: "To be honest, before the two of you arrived, I was already preparing to retreat!"

Zhuo Qingru turned around slightly in surprise. At this moment, she was truly paying attention to the war situation: "You forced Ao Huangzhong to even abandon five mine caves and use six sea nests to huddle together and defend?"

The maze world was also a key battlefield that the Three Punishments Palace was watching.

The legalist True Person Xu Wuming had only been stationed in Tianjing Country for recent years. As a true transmission of the Judi Palace, she was naturally not completely ignorant of the situation in the maze world.

Precisely because she was very clear about what kind of existence Ao Huangzhong was, she was surprised by the current war situation.

Compared to Ao Huangzhong, a sea race separated by a maze world, she had a better understanding of Jiang Wang. She knew that Jiang Wang had humble origins and was not known for his military strategy. Although this person had achieved great military merit in the Qi-Xia battlefield, when leading troops in combat, he actually relied entirely on Chongxuan Sheng.

With only one Wuan Marquis and one Champion Marquis, the twin prides side by side were too dazzling, making many people overlook the brilliance of Chongxuan Sheng, the successor of Bo Wang Marquis.

If discussing military strategy, Chongxuan Sheng was truly gifted! Now Jiang Wang, relying solely on military strategy, could actually suppress Ao Huangzhong?

Zhuo Qingru couldn't help but distrust the intelligence network of the Three Punishments Palace.

Jiang Wang said seriously: "I am strong in personal bravery, my military strategy is far inferior to Ao Huangzhong. It was not I who forced him to this, but he was unwilling to give me half an opportunity."

He did not hide the fact that he wanted to borrow Zhuo Qingru's power to attack the sea race, but he also absolutely did not exaggerate the situation and absolutely did not let the other party make a misjudgment.

A strong attack on a sea nest where Ao Huangzhong was stationed was absolutely not an easy task.

He needed to inform them of the difficulty, inform them of the danger, then express his request, and let the other party make a decision.

"Attacking the sea race is the great righteousness of the human race," Zhu Biqiong already said: "If Wuan Marquis has any requests, Zhu will comply."

Zhuo Qingru glanced at her, thinking to herself that the first sentence was actually unnecessary. She pondered for a moment, then asked: "Zhuo does not understand military strategy, but she knows that attacking cities is the lowest tactic, often requiring soldiers to fill the passes with their lives... How much certainty does Wuan Marquis have?"

Jiang Wang said calmly: "Without the two of you, I have no certainty at all. It is truly a situation where I have nothing else to bet. The two of you are worth ten thousand Jun. If you join my army, what is difficult about breaking the pass?"

He pressed his hand on his sword, raised his head and eyebrows, showing a rare heroic posture: "At this time, the silence stele is completely sealed, Ao Huangzhong does not know the situation inside and out. It is the perfect time to sweep away the sea race in this realm!"

"I am now considering... how to keep Ao Huangzhong here!"

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