73: Pacification of the West

The moment the city gate was breached, the army in the rear immediately began to charge!

“Boom!”

Elite soldiers and fierce generals erupted with 100% enthusiasm at this moment, and soon they directly rushed into the city and took down some key positions. The fighting on the city walls also quickly ended, because no one could stop the attacks of the Adamantine Giant Ape.

From the beginning of the siege to its end, it took no more than two quarters of an hour, and most of that time was spent on the road.

After the city fell, the enemy’s Battle Intent completely collapsed. Except for a few high-ranking generals and captains, the rest of the soldiers either surrendered or fled.

After taking this city, Zhao Changkong immediately sealed off the entire city, then ordered the soldiers to suppress order within the city, forbidding indiscriminate killing and destruction.

Following this, matters such as collecting captives, inventorying gains, and rebuilding city gates were handled by the logistical officials accompanying the army. What they needed to do was to immediately proceed to the next city, striving to capture the most cities in the shortest possible time!

In just a few days, almost half of King Ming’s cities were breached or surrendered. The speed was simply unbelievable.

A few days after the war broke out, the relevant news finally spread throughout the world. Both King Ming and King Li felt a fear originating from the depths of their Souls.

King Wu’s power was well-known, but why did King Xuan’s elite troops, who were not very strong originally, become so formidable after submitting to King Wu?

Of course, the most terrifying thing was the terrifying speed at which King Wu’s army captured cities and fortresses. Other armies were simply as slow as snails in comparison!

Fast, it was simply too fast!

In reality, what they didn’t know was that Gu Chang’s current strategy was to be fast; the faster he was, the easier it would be to secure victory.

Because all of the soldiers under him were elite troops, each person could carry nearly ten days of supplies and march quickly. Coupled with the efficient operation of logistics, his army’s speed was extremely high.

Furthermore, the Adamantine Giant Ape’s massive size was a natural counter to cities, so most cities simply couldn’t withstand many blows in front of it.

If King Ming was willing to arrange Refining Spirit Experts, he could certainly hinder Gu Chang’s army’s offensive.

However, did he really dare to do that?

Due to Gu Chang’s deterrent power, he didn’t even dare to show his face publicly now, so how could he abandon his protective talisman?

At the same time, because Gu Chang ordered his soldiers not to kill too much, they hardly harmed the common people in the cities, which greatly reduced management costs.

All these reasons combined made his army’s offensive both fast and fierce!

Half a month later, King Wu’s army, sweeping all before them, finally arrived at King Ming’s core territory, and at this time, Gu Chang also appeared.

“The development of King Ming’s territory is not much better than King Xuan’s back then. Plus, in the past two years, he has spent a large amount of resources on cultivating Refining Spirit Experts, so his military preparedness is also not very good.”

“However, from today onwards, King Ming will become history!”

Gu Chang gazed at the massive prefectural city before him and spoke a few words to the strategists and generals beside him.

“Yes! King Ming, this false king, is an mediocre person by nature, and naturally should not possess this territory.”

“That’s right, King Ming is just one of many rebel kings.”

“Once we pacify King Li’s land next, the world will be peaceful!”

“…”

Hearing Gu Chang’s words, these people immediately echoed him. With victory already secured, everyone appeared self-satisfied.

“Very good! As usual, persuade them to surrender. Tell King Ming that I am not unforgiving; as long as he opens the city gates and surrenders, I will still let him live.”

Gu Chang thought for a moment and then said this. Although taking this city would not be very difficult for him.

However, it would naturally be best to take it peacefully, as fewer deaths would mean less expense.

“As you command!”

Zhao Changkong immediately accepted the order upon hearing this, so he immediately went to the base of the city wall and began to persuade them to surrender.

After hearing the surrender plea, the enemy army fell into a silence, and then they saw the city gates wide open, with King Ming slowly walking out, surrounded by his subordinates.

The rest was easy to discuss; the other party was willing to surrender as a price to preserve his wealth.

Gu Chang thought about it and still left him some assets; the rest, of course, were directly confiscated. Being able to keep his family safe was already Gu Chang’s benevolence.

“Yes! This sinner is willing to surrender!”

After hearing Gu Chang’s conditions, King Ming opened his mouth, wanting to struggle a bit, but in the end, the words that came to his lips turned into this sentence.

“Very good!”

“Lead the army into the city, proceed as usual, rectify order, and do not disturb the populace!”

King Ming’s surrender meant that his other territories also submitted, which saved Gu Chang a lot of trouble, so he immediately gave the order.

Soon, the army entered the city, which meant that King Ming’s forces were completely taken over by Gu Chang. Overthrowing a faction in just half a month, such an unheard-of event shook the world.

After taking King Ming’s territory, Gu Chang did not immediately order an attack on King Li’s territory, but instead chose to rest and recuperate, govern the populace, and reorganize military preparations.

This time, relying on a lightning-fast strategy, he took King Ming’s territory, and the result was, of course, excellent.

However, it also came at a considerable cost. There were many casualties among the Shenwu Troop, and even two generals were lost. Other supplies such as provisions and fodder were also consumed significantly.

It was not easy to replenish these things in a short period, so a thorough reorganization was necessary.

“Next, you will focus your main efforts on governing King Ming’s territory. King Li in the north can be temporarily ignored.”

“If he dares to attack, we will defend. If he does not attack, then we only need to be on guard. When the time is right, we will naturally be able to take him down easily!”

After this war was completely over, Gu Chang immediately set the direction for future development.

“Yes! Your Majesty’s vision is far-reaching, and it should be so!”

“Now the advantage is with us, not the enemy. As long as we digest King Ming’s forces, then King Li will be nothing but a skeleton in a tomb.”

“He is probably already terrified now, too busy defending to even think about attacking us?”

“…”

The others all agreed with Gu Chang’s words. This great victory indeed made their reputation spread far and wide.

With their Aura at its peak, King Li’s army probably wouldn’t dare to confront their might head-on.

Just like that, two months quickly passed, and the territory that originally belonged to King Ming was swiftly brought under Gu Chang’s control.

King Li’s army in the north was indeed mobilized, but not for an attack. Instead, they concentrated their forces in a few key cities and passes for defense.

It was simple: after the previous battles, everyone understood that facing King Wu’s army, dividing forces everywhere was meaningless.

Only by concentrating all superior forces could they contend with King Wu’s army, and even then, no one knew how much confidence they had in the end.

Gu Chang was not concerned about these things; he remained busy with his own affairs.

After the Reincarnation ended, Gu Chang continued to draw talismans and Cultivate as usual, occasionally going out for a stroll, and even slowly getting to know a few slightly more familiar Cultivators.

“The food at this Immortal Ascension Restaurant tastes wonderful!”

“Indeed, this table alone costs two Spirit Stones. We usually can’t afford to come here.”

“Spirit Cuisine also has wonderful uses for our Cultivation, and there’s no worry of pill toxins either. It can be said to have endless benefits.”

“…”

At a restaurant named Immortal Ascension Restaurant, Gu Chang and three others pooled money for a table of Spirit Cuisine. They ate and chatted, feeling utterly content.

Of course, Gu Chang befriended them not just to satisfy his culinary desires.

“Come, come, come, this Cold Spring Bamboo Wine of mine is no ordinary wine. Today, all you Fellow Daoists must savor it well!”

A white-haired Cultivator held a large yellow-skinned gourd and spoke to everyone.

“Hey! You old Daoist finally decided to bring it out. In the past, trying to get a cup of wine from you was as hard as ascending to heaven!”

This old Daoist’s name was Zhao Wuchang, and he was known by the nickname Hanjiao Zi. He was a Cultivator specializing in brewing Spirit Wine.

“Go, go, go, it’s good enough that you get to drink some. I usually rely on it to make a living!”

Hanjiao Zi Zhao Wuchang immediately laughed and cursed, then poured each person a cup of Cold Spring Bamboo Wine.

The wine’s aroma permeated the air, and after it was poured, a layer of frost covered the wine glass, making people marvel at the sight.

“Phew~ It’s icy and crisp, with a sweet aftertaste and abundant Spiritual Qi. As expected of Cold Spring Bamboo Wine, it’s truly extraordinary!”

Gu Chang took a sip and immediately felt his whole body cool down a bit. This taste was much more refreshing than the iced cola he drank in his previous life!

“Hahaha, this is my specialty, how could it not taste wonderful!”

Hearing Gu Chang’s evaluation, Hanjiao Zi immediately burst into hearty laughter.

“Zhao Daoyou, you may not know, but this wine is a Medium Grade Tier 1 good. Just a few cups like this probably cost one Spirit Stone.”

Another Cultivator named Han Zhi beside him proactively explained to Gu Chang.

“Hiss~ No wonder, no wonder!”

Gu Chang understood upon hearing him say this that the wine’s value was indeed very high.

“Come, come, come, continue eating! Otherwise, it won’t taste good when it gets cold.”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

They ate and chatted. These few people were only at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining, but their information was much more well-informed than Gu Chang, who was a lone wolf.

Soon, they spoke of some recent news.

“…The Cloud Firmament Palace was truly enraged this time, but they still haven’t found the culprit. Some even suspect that Demonic Path Cultivators are secretly behind it.”

Before long, they brought up something related to Gu Chang.