I Make the Decisions in My Territory
On the Eastern Kingdom’s side, Princess Gouyu made straight for the capital after spending one day in the Jiang Han territory. She sent an order to the dukes at the same time for them to combine all their armies and convene at the southwestern border.
The entire Eastern Kingdom sank into a panic the instant the order to the dukes went out. Everyone knew that the Darkmoon Kingdom was located at the southwestern border of the kingdom.
The Darkmoon Kingdom had always been a sworn enemy of the Eastern Kingdom, and the relationship between the two was famously acrimonious amongst the alliance of the sixteen kingdoms.
The two countries would wage a war against each other almost every ten or twenty years.
It’d either be a pitched full out battle or small skirmishes.
Hate and discord had been passed down through the generations for these two countries, and had reached the point of no possible reconciliation unless one side fell. Whether monarch or citizens, the two sides would grit their teeth with bone-deep hatred whenever the other country was mentioned.
Originally, although the Eastern Kingdom had been a bit weaker, it had never been so weak as to lose power and shame itself over the hundreds of years.
However, at this moment in time, after the two great powers of the royal family and the Long family had clashed with each other, the country’s strength had been depleted by nearly one half.
This was precisely when the Eastern Kingdom was at its weakest.
The Darkmoon Kingdom taking advantage of this opening to swoop in was akin to robbing an owner when his house was on fire.
Even small tradesmen and porters would be able to grasp the truth of this. The current Eastern Kingdom truly had no ability to hold their ground against the Darkmoon Kingdom.
The most important thing was that the strongest and most mysterious Jiang family of the kingdom seemed to have turned down the royal family’s rewards. This was to say that the kingdom’s sole strong fighting force, the Jiang family, would very likely refuse to fight on the kingdom’s behalf.
This despairing news spread out across the entire kingdom in waves.
However, at this moment, Princess Gouyu’s charisma was brought to the fore.
She issued orders and simultaneously proclaimed to the land that the Eastern Kingdom had long since been prepared for the Darkmoon Kingdom’s invasion, and that the elite troops of the kingdom had already been deployed to the southwestern border. They were on the alert and ready for combat.
As for the family that everyone followed with interest in the kingdom, the Jiang family would be fighting for the kingdom and wouldn’t let the dirty iron hooves of the Darkmoon Kingdom set even half a step onto Eastern Kingdom territory.
One had to say, this kind of news was most invigorating at this time.
The entire Eastern Kingdom was astir. People were filled with joy and heartened when they heard that the Jiang family would protect the kingdom’s frontiers.
The Jiang family hadn’t been too extraordinary before, but they had managed to turn the tide against the Long family’s rebellion in order to help the royal family solely based on their own power.
They had annihilated the Long family, exterminated their associates, and awed an army of a million strong.
After the embellishments and rumors of a few months, all of these legends had caused the Jiang family to completely replace the Long family’s position and cement themselves as the true pillar of the kingdom.
When everyone learned that the Jiang family would still fight for this kingdom, a jubilant atmosphere prevailed throughout the country.
As for Jiang Chen, he kept his low profile as usual.
When he knew that the Darkmoon Kingdom was about to invade, Jiang Chen had once again contacted Mang Qi and asked him to send out a large flock of Swordbirds, as a provision in case of unexpected need.
It was a good thing that the Swordbird army within the Boundless Catacombs were as numerous as the hairs on an ox. The large army that Jiang Chen had brought last time had deployed only one tenth of its numbers.
Mang Qi sent out another large army, giving Jiang Chen a bit more reassurance.
He also knew that the Darkmoon Kingdom would’ve surely paid attention to the intelligence that he could compel the Swordbird Army.
That they still dared to boldly invade despite knowing so proved that they had some sort of plan in place for the battle capabilities of the Swordbird army.
This battle would possibly not be easy.
A shrill bird cry came from the air as a beam of gold light landed. It was a Goldwing Swordbird.
“Young duke.” A man jumped down from the back of the Goldwing Swordbird. It was the captain of his personal guard, Xue Tong.
“Any news? What have you investigated?” Jiang Chen asked.
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