Undying Life

Chapter 290: Chapter 290: Eastern Marquis

Four months later, Zhongshan returned to Wushuang City!

Ten miles outside the south gate of Wushuang City, a giant red wolf, fifty meters tall, with eyes shining brightly, stood, emitting an aura that dominated all directions.

Standing on the head of the giant wolf was Zhongshan, dressed in a black robe, exuding an indomitable aura.

This huge fire wolf was the Zhihuo Wolf General, and as a Wolf General, it had its own pride. It only acknowledged Zhongshan, so only he could stand on its head. Ada and Nian Youyou could only fly beside it.

There was also Liushuifeng, who was appointed by Zhongshan as the new commander of the Wolf Cavalry. Although there were only wolves for now, without riders, they could be quickly assembled.

Behind Zhongshan, there was a vast expanse of fiery red, consisting of fifty thousand demon wolves, each at least ten meters tall, towering figures, with the lowest cultivation level being the late stage of the Natal Realm.

These fifty thousand demon wolves were the new troops Zhongshan had gathered over the past four months.

What was the role of cavalry?

In the battlefield, the role of cavalry was not to kill enemies but to quickly disperse the enemy's large army, breaking up the solid formations, leaving them vulnerable to the slaughter by their own forces.

Fifty thousand wolf cavalry could rival a million foot soldiers.

Zhongshan led the way, heading towards Wushuang City.

"Enemy attack~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

A seemingly "sharp-eyed" soldier of Wushuang City immediately shouted and quickly beat the alarm drum.

Suddenly, Wushuang City became tense, and various generals flew to the city walls, looking towards the so-called "enemy attack" from the south.

When they saw the person riding the wolf coming towards them, the generals all breathed a sigh of relief. It was okay, it was the Grand Marshal, the Grand Marshal was back.

"Dong, dong, dong..." The soldier who sounded the alarm was still beating the drum loudly.

Zhao Chuan stepped forward, snatched the drumstick from the soldier, and glared at him. The soldier looked depressed, not knowing what he had done wrong.

During Zhongshan's absence, Shui Wuheng temporarily managed Wushuang City. When they saw Zhongshan riding the wolf, like most of the generals, their eyes were full of surprise, admiration, and more of worship.

The Huajing Realm, the wolf ridden by the Grand Marshal, was a Huajing Realm fire wolf!

"Open the city gates~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"Yes~~~~~~~~~~~~~" The soldier below shouted loudly.

Then, the gates slowly opened.

"All generals, follow me out of the city to welcome the Grand Marshal!" Shui Wuheng said.

"Yes!" The generals on the city wall were excited.

Only Zhao Chuan frowned slightly. But he still followed the other generals to the south gate.

Below the city wall, the generals lined up in two rows, with Shui Wuheng and Zhao Chuan at the forefront.

"Greet the Grand Marshal's return!" The generals exclaimed excitedly.

"Ah, Wuheng, nothing major happened in Wushuang City during my absence, right?" Zhongshan asked.

"Grand Marshal, during your absence, His Majesty sent two imperial decrees. The messenger delivering the decree is currently waiting at the City Lord's Mansion." Shui Wuheng said immediately.

"Oh?" Zhongshan pondered slightly.

"Zhao Chuan!" Zhongshan ordered towards the other side.

"Here!" Zhao Chuan responded immediately.

"Meet the new commander of the Wolf Cavalry, Liu Wushuang. Now, take him and fifty thousand demon wolves to the Eighth Army Camp and treat them with the best hospitality," Zhongshan ordered.

"Yes!" Zhao Chuan responded loudly.

"Greetings, Commander Liu," Zhao Chuan said immediately.

Zhao Chuan knew the terror of the cavalry. His First Battalion of the Great Mystery Army had only a thousand tiger cavalry. Now, after the Grand Marshal's four-month absence, he had managed to gather fifty thousand wolf cavalry. How strong would the Grand Marshal be now?

Fifty thousand! And this Liu Wushuang had been appointed as the commander of the wolf cavalry, indicating that the wolves surely trusted him. Someone who could command the trust of fifty thousand demon wolves was definitely not a simple character.

"Greetings, Commander Zhao!" Liu Wushuang replied.

"Wushuang, take two days off first, I'll find you later!" Zhongshan turned to Liu Wushuang and said.

"Yes, Grand Marshal!" Liu Wushuang responded.

"Wuheng, take me to meet the imperial envoy," Zhongshan said.

"Yes!" Shui Wuheng replied.

Then, Shui Wuheng flew ahead, while Zhongshan was carried by the Zhihuo Wolf General. Ada and Nian Youyou followed closely behind, quickly flying towards the city.

When they reached near the City Lord's Mansion, Zhongshan jumped down from the Zhihuo Wolf General's head and said, "Zhihuo, thank you for your trouble. In the future, if there's no war, you can revert to human form."

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

After a burst of red smoke, Zhihuo Wolf General returned to its human form.

"Were you just trying to establish military authority?" Zhihuo Wolf General frowned.

"Yes, the commander is the soul of the army. If the soul is strong, the army is strong!" Zhongshan nodded, not refuting.

Zhihuo Wolf General nodded. Regardless, he had temporarily become Zhongshan's mount, but Zhongshan did not discriminate against him. Instead, he treated him with great respect. Being so understanding, Zhihuo naturally didn't have any objections.

Ada walked up and carried Zhongshan on a cloud, flying towards the floating island of the City Lord's Mansion.

In this way, at least on the surface, Zhongshan had three Huajing Realm powerhouses by his side. Now, Zhongshan's safety was definitely greatly enhanced.

Upon reaching the City Lord's Mansion, Zhongshan went straight to the central hall.

"Grand Marshal, you guys wait here, I'll go inform the imperial envoy!" Shui Wuheng said.

"Okay," Zhongshan nodded.

Soon, two eunuchs-like men approached. Each of them took out a golden imperial decree.

One of them looked at Zhongshan and said, "Zhongshan, accept the decree."

"Long live His Majesty!" Zhongshan bowed respectfully.

"In accordance with the heavenly mandate, His Majesty decrees that Zhongshan's articles are full of brilliance like the Jiang River! Acknowledging the heavens and the people, henceforth, His Majesty decrees that Zhongshan is the top scorer of the new imperial examination, ranking first on the Great Luo Golden List, becoming the champion scholar of the Great Luo Dynasty's new imperial examination! This is a decree!" the eunuch announced loudly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I accept the decree!" Zhongshan reached out and took the imperial decree from the eunuch.

The moment his finger touched the decree, countless golden qi surged from all directions towards Zhongshan's body.

Suddenly, Zhongshan's body became golden, with a look of being bathed in heavenly favor.

Zhongshan knew that this was the imperial fortune, the imperial fortune of the Great Luo Dynasty. From now on, he was the "soft body" of the heavens and the earth.

The soft body of the heavens and the earth meant triple the cultivation speed.

At the same time, in the sky above the ancient capital of the Great Luo Dynasty, amidst the countless manifestations of accumulated imperial fortune, suddenly, another blurry figure appeared.

At this moment, Zhongshan had already connected to the imperial fortune of the Great Luo Dynasty. Among the manifestations of imperial fortune in the ancient capital, there was now a place for Zhongshan.

Zhongshan was extremely excited. Triple cultivation speed, the soft body of the heavens and the earth. This was truly excellent!

"Zhongshan, accept the decree!" Another eunuch called out.

"Long live His Majesty!" Zhongshan respectfully bowed again.

"In accordance with the heavenly mandate, His Majesty decrees that Zhongshan, the top scorer of the new imperial examination, displayed outstanding talent. In his first battle at Wushuang City, he defeated twenty thousand troops and annihilated the hundred and fifty thousand Da Yu Army, achieving remarkable deeds and enhancing the might of our Great Luo Dynasty. Therefore, His Majesty bestows upon Zhongshan the title of 'Eastern Marquis' of the Great Luo Dynasty, with the authority to raise an army of five million to serve as the Grand Marshal of the East, leading the self-recruited army to swiftly pacify the twelve cities of the Da Yu Empire. This is a decree!" the eunuch announced loudly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I accept the decree!" Zhongshan immediately responded loudly.

As he accepted the decree, once again, a surge of golden light emanated from his body. At the same time, in the sky above the ancient capital of the Great Luo Dynasty, the blurry image of Zhongshan formed from accumulated imperial fortune moved forward for a while.

"Congratulations, Eastern Marquis!"

"Congratulations, Grand Marshal of the East!" the two eunuchs congratulated.

"Thank you, gentlemen, for your decree!" Zhongshan replied immediately.

"It's getting late. His Majesty has ordered us to return to the palace immediately after delivering the decree. Farewell!" one of the eunuchs said.

"I'll see you off!" Zhongshan said.

"No need! Farewell!" the eunuch replied.

Then, the two eunuchs hurriedly left the hall and quickly rushed towards the city gate.

"These eunuchs of the Great Luo Dynasty, their cultivation is at least at the Combined Period...," Zhihuo frowned and exclaimed on the side.

"Congratulations, sir!" Ada immediately said.

"Congratulations for what? The decree clearly states that you have to raise your own army, which means the Great Luo Dynasty won't send troops to support you. The next battles will depend on how you fight!" Nian Youyou interjected.

"Then let's recruit!" Zhongshan smiled.

"Recruit? Although you're given a quota of five million, but where will you get so many spirit stones to recruit soldiers?" Nian Youyou once again discouraged.

But Zhongshan didn't mind. Money? Isn't fighting a way to make money? Money will come as you fight!

"Sir, you are now the 'soft body' of the heavens and the earth," Ada sighed again.

"Yes, my bone structure... you know, cultivation is very slow. With the soft body, my cultivation speed will be faster in the future!" Zhongshan nodded.

This sentence from Zhongshan didn't mean much to Zhihuo Wolf General and Nian Youyou, but to Ada, it was chilling. Your speed is still slow?

"Wuheng!" Zhongshan called out to Shui Wuheng.

"Here!" Shui Wuheng immediately responded.

"Prepare accommodations for them. I'm going to rest. Tomorrow, bring me the map of the so-called 'Twelve Cities by the Sea,'" Zhongshan said.

"Yes," Shui Wuheng immediately replied.

Next, accommodations were prepared for Nian Youyou and Zhihuo. Ada had his own place.

But Zhongshan sat alone in the main hall, closed the doors, and sat at the commander's desk. He unfolded the two decrees and spread them out.

These were two decrees given to him. There was nothing surprising about them for Zhongshan, except for one thing that interested him—the seal on the two decrees.

Imperial Seal! The red seal stamped by the emperor.

"Commanded by Heaven, Longevity and Prosperity."

The inscription was the same as the one on his own Square Heaven Jade Seal, but these eight characters exuded an even more majestic aura. Just a glance at them gave off a sense of supreme heavenly authority, a grandeur that stretched across eternity.

Compared to these Square Heaven Jade Seals of the Great Luo Dynasty, the Square Heaven Jade Seal of the Da Yu Dynasty was far inferior.

However, Zhongshan wasn't in a hurry. Sooner or later, his Square Heaven Jade Seal would become even more powerful!

As for the soft body? The lowest level of the soft body provided triple cultivation speed. Now that he had been enfeoffed and was leading a large army with the faith of the army, coupled with the accumulated imperial fortune of the Da Yu Dynasty, his cultivation speed was now five times faster than before!