A Chaotic World

Chapter 187: Arrival at the Central Battlefields

The strategy meeting went on for the entire morning, with Marshal Xianming carefully detailing their next course of actions.

Even though the warfront between the Scarlet Moon Kingdom and the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom was largely split into the northern, central, and southern battlefields, the fact was that the central battlefields took up far more resources than the other two combined.

The central battlefields alone was fought on five different fronts, each of them involving multiple regiments.

On the other hand, the northern battlefield only had the Shadowfront Regiment, while the southern battlefields did not differ by far.

From this alone, it was obvious that there was simply no comparing the central battlefields to the northern or southern ones!

In fact, apart from this main command camp, there were many other military camps that had been set up nearer to the five different battlefronts, positioned in such a way that they could better respond to any emergencies that arose.

Due to the sheer numbers, an extremely detailed battle plan was required to draw out the full potential of their forces. Thus, Marshal Xianming not only had to share the overall plan in his mind, but also had to assign each role to the specific regiments that best fit the task.

By the time he was done, hours had already passed.

Still, this was all necessary.

Even with such a massive army, as long as they were not acting in unison, the strength they could exhibit was nothing too amazing.

But when there was an overall plan, assigning order to their individual actions, the resulting might was not to be reckoned with!

Unfortunately, while the Scarlet Moon Army had brought such an overwhelming force to the central battlefields, it was not without good reason as well.

After all, the situation here was far more complex than that in other regions.

Despite having a far larger army gathered here, the area that they had to cover was even larger!

Not just that, but their enemies also had similar numbers in their ranks.

Over the past few weeks, there had already been numerous battles breaking out between the two sides, resulting in hundreds of casualties.

Of course, all of that had just been the result of mere probing strikes, and neither side had truly gone all out as of yet. According to the strategy meeting, this situation was going to continue for the coming week as well.

"Report!" a guard shouted in from outside the tent. "Sentries have spotted an incoming army, approaching from behind us!"

"That must be the reinforcements from the north," Marshal Xianming nodded. "It is good that we just happened to be done here as well. Well then, let me go welcome those who have been sent over by General Nanbai Zhaoyu. Meeting adjourned!"

"Allow me to accompany you, Marshal Xianming," Formation Master Beimu offered immediately.

"Sure, come along then." Marshal Xianming nodded, not finding this a surprise.

After all, word had already spread that the top ranker of the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet would be heading over from the northern battlefields.

As Nanlu Tianzi's teacher, it was nothing strange for Formation Master Beimu to wish to welcome him personally.

However, what he did not expect was that she was only the first one to volunteer, not the last. Following her lead, many others quickly volunteered to tag along as well.

Marshal Xianming was surprised for a moment upon seeing this, but quickly let out a meaningful smile.

How could he not know what these people were thinking about?

Rather than to welcome the reinforcements, it would probably be more accurate to say that all of them were intending to go welcome Nanlu Tianzi!

As the top ranker of the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, as long as nothing untoward happened to Nanlu Tianzi, he would very likely grow to become one of the top figures in the Scarlet Moon Kingdom.

Of course, they were thinking of matters that would probably occur only tens or hundreds of years in the future, but the earlier they started building this connection, the better the result would be!

For many of the Origin Core realm martial artists present, they were already nearing the end of their martial potential, and chances were low for them to advance any further.

Thus, most of them had started to invest their energy into planning for the future.

If they could just establish a good relationship with Nanlu Tianzi, when the latter finally grew strong enough to hold a position of authority in the future, things would also go much smoother for the juniors and descendents of their respective influences!

Even though Marshal Xianming understood their intentions, he had no reason to stop them.

"Hahaha, I am heartened to see everyone's hospitality towards our new comrades!" Marshal Xianming laughed. "Very well then, let us all go welcome them together!"

***

"Squad Leader Nanlu, look!" Juncheng pointed forward. "That must be the main command camp of the central battlefields!"

Tents stretched out before them, extending for as far as the eye could see. This formed a majestic sight that was in stark contrast to the wilderness that had surrounded them for days.

"Yeah, seems like we have finally arrived," Lu Tianzi nodded to his deputy.

Even though they had made haste during their journey, it had still taken them more than a week to travel here from Drakesin Town.

This week of travel had drained most of them both physically and psychologically, especially for the Essence Building realm martial artists.

But now they could finally look forward to a good night's rest!

"Straighten up! We are about to meet with the overall commanding officer of the Scarlet Moon Army!" Elder Mingxin's voice quickly kept their joyous moods in check.

The same instructions were sent down the other three battalions. After which, the four battalion commanders stepped forward to greet the group that had been standing at the entrance of the camp.

"Greetings, Marshal Xianming!" the four of them clasped their fists and bowed respectfully. "We have been sent here by General Nanbai Zhaoyu of the Shadowfront Regiment to support the central battlefields!"

"I have been told," Marshal Xianming smiled in acknowledgement. "It must have been tiring to travel all this way. Welcome to the central battlefields, and I hope to witness your brilliance in battle soon enough."

"We will not let you down!"

"Hahaha! That's good to hear!" Marshal Xianming laughed. "My aides will bring you to your respective tents. After you are settled in, follow my aide to look for me. I will be giving you your first instructions then."

"Yes, Marshal Xianming!" the four of them spoke in unison once more.

With that, Marshal Xianming promptly returned to his tent.

He was not a person without tact.

After he had said his piece, Marshal Xianming naturally knew that his presence would only prevent the others from acting as they wished, afraid of stepping out of line.

The rest would be able to feel more at ease only if he left, and that was exactly what he did.

This was the keen awareness of a superior, knowing exactly when to take his leave.

Indeed, right after Marshal Xianming left, the atmosphere softened significantly as everyone felt slightly more relaxed.

"Greetings," Formation Master Beimu was the first to step forward. "You must be Elder Mingxin of the Nine Suns Sect?"

"I am, indeed," Elder Mingxin nodded hesitantly. "I am sorry, may I know who?"

"I am Beimu Ting of the Beimu Clan," Formation Master Beimu smiled.

"Elder Mingxin," Lu Tianzi hurried forward at this moment. "This is Formation Master Beimu, the master of the Beimu Clan!"

"So it is Formation Master Beimu!" Elder Mingxin exclaimed, obviously taken aback by the revelation. "It is an honour to finally meet you in the flesh!"

Never in her life would she have expected that such a bigshot would take the initiative to greet her!

"The honour is mine as well," Formation Master Beimu was as graceful as ever, flashing a radiant smile towards Lu Tianzi in acknowledgement before turning back to Elder Mingxin. "You must be tired after your journey, let us talk while we walk. After all, Marshal Xianming is still awaiting your audience. This way, please."

"Yes, please!" Elder Mingxin nodded before following her into the camp.

Along with them, the other three battalion commanders stepped forward and started greeting the various experts in the welcome party as well.

However, they were annoyed to realise that most of these experts in the welcome party were not too interested in entertaining them, brushing them off with a few words of pleasantries.

Instead, these experts directed their attention towards a single individual, a mere squad leader.

Having experienced a few banquets that were all about networking, Lu Tianzi was starting to grow used to handling the attention as well.

He chatted with the many Origin Core realm martial artists in a manner that could be likened to a well practised performance, showing humility but not weakness, confidence but not arrogance.

This impressive display not only earned him the approval of these Origin Core realm seniors, but also the awe of his peers.

In comparison, poor Juncheng who had been standing by his side felt like he was about to suffocate from the psychological pressure!

Still, seeing how expertly Lu Tianzi was handling everything, Juncheng quickly found a newfound respect for his squad leader.

"With this many people crowding around him, I can't say hi to him if I even wanted to!" Beimu Fei grumbled to Nanlan Qianxue.

"Haha, he sure is a popular one, isn't he?" Nanlan Qianxue laughed.

Back when Beimu Fei visited Bluenight City for the Wild Melody Circus, they had gotten to know each other, albeit only on casual terms.

"One day, I will certainly become just as famous!" Nanqing Haowen voiced out his resolve.

"Yeah, sure," Beimu Fei shrugged, not bothering to hide her condescendence in her tone. "But even if you manage to do so by some form of miracle, it might not be a good thing either. After all, you would not only have to learn to handle the positive attention, but also the negative ones."

"Negative attention?" Nanqing Haowen turned to look at Beimu Fei in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"See? This just proves that you won't be able to handle it, you oblivious brat," Beimu Fei shook her head in disapproval.

At the same time, her gaze stretched past the various experts in the vicinity, until it finally landed on a young man who was standing silently by the side.

Sensing her attention directed towards him, Beiqian Ming confidently matched her gaze for a moment before turning to leave.

He was not the only one who left without speaking to Lu Tianzi either.

While there were many who wanted to establish good ties with Lu Tianzi, there were also those who had their reservations about chatting up a mere Essence Condensation realm martial artist.

To these people, asking them to take the initiative to speak to a brat like that was almost the same as asking them to put down their pride!

Why would they be willing to do so for someone who had yet to prove his worth to them?

"Welcome to the central battlefields," Fourth Prince Mosha spoke, his voice surprising everyone present, including Beimu Fei.

The indifferent Fourth Prince Mosha had actually decided to stay and greet Nanlu Tianzi?

Was it because of their encounter during the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet?

"Congratulations for breaking through to the Origin Core realm!" Lu Tianzi was shocked to see the other party's cultivation level initially, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Yes, I did." Fourth Prince Mosha answered.

Just when everyone was thinking that Fourth Prince Mosha's reply was a little cold, he continued after a short pause. "I will be waiting for you to enter the Origin Core realm. We can have our rematch then."

Everyone's eyes immediately lit up in surprise.

That was a challenge!

To think that the indifferent Fourth Prince Mosha would speak of such words to someone who was only at the Essence Condensation realm, it seemed that he was truly quite affected by the loss during the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet!

Hearing his words, Lu Tianzi could not help but let out a smirk. "You won't have to wait long."

"That I am certain as well," Fourth Prince Mosha's resolute tone in his reply took even Lu Tianzi by surprise.

At this point, Lu Tianzi could not help but give Fourth Prince Mosha a complete reassessment.

He did not know why, but Lu Tianzi had a feeling that out of everyone he had met so far, Fourth Prince Mosha could very well be the one who had the highest evaluation of him!

And if that was truly the case, then Fourth Prince Mosha's instincts as a martial artist could actually be far more fearsome than he had first imagined!