Star Gate

Chapter 512: Heading Out to Sea (III)

On their last mission, the Demon Hunters ran several days straight while they followed Li Hao. They were familiar with their leader’s style by now and didn’t say anything. The Demon Hunters resembled an army as they moved out. Although their movements weren’t as crisp as the Battle Heaven Army, they were a close match for the Silver Moon Guards.

The four supernatural additions moved with Liu Long. They counted as outside personnel. Fifty-five people soon vanished in the darkness.

They weren’t too far from the shore, so when they reached it moments later, Li Hao waved a wraith-like ship onto the sea. Its design was peculiar as there seemed to be wings on either side of it.

It was a ship that could fly!

The crowd regarded it curiously. What was that? When they saw Li Hao board the ship, they followed suit. It wasn’t that big, but they found that the internal hold was much bigger than it appeared to be.

Li Hao didn’t say anything. He entered the cockpit and shoved a few mysterious power stones into an indentation. The young man poked around the console and landed a map onto the display screen.

“We’ll follow this route until we reach the intersection of the Moon and North Seas. Our presence will be concealed and the entire journey should be roughly fifteen hundred kilometers. You’re an origin weapon, so you won’t be too slow, will you?”

There was no response from the ship. Li Hao didn’t mind and looked out at the sea through the cockpit. The waters were pitch black at night. Regular ships moving through the waters at night easily ran into trouble if there weren’t lights around. But for origin weapons, all that mattered if there was sufficient energy.

The Vast Sun Ship that could fly shot soundlessly over the water surface like an arrow loosed from a bow. It vanished into the distant sea.

......

Li Hao’s departure was startlingly quiet. Not even the supernaturals at the base realized that they were gone. Clad in black armor, the martial masters had avoided the surveillance cameras when they noiselessly threaded through the artificial forest. The base was as quiet as before after they left, awaiting the next sunrise.

Everyone thought that Li Hao would stay in place at the barracks on the first day after Hou Xiaochen’s departure. Surely the young man would spend a few quiet days at the base. No one foresaw that he would run off with his team the first night.

The little black ship moved over the waves like a shadow. Not even those monitoring the sections it traveled through discovered anything!

......

At the same time, Hou Xiaochen’s convoy hadn’t traveled too far. They didn’t stop for the entire day, traveling at an even pace to depart Near River. It moved through the night to head for the North Sea province. It would be afternoon or even evening of the next day before they crossed the North Sea.

As Hou Xiaochen was still close to the northern provinces, Big Beard and his pirates didn’t dare come too close to Silver Moon yet. They would only venture near when Hou Xiaochen had completely departed from the premises and disappeared from the vicinity of the North Sea.

On this night, Big Beard and his men were as if wild horses freed from their halters. They raided a small town along the coast and didn’t raise much of a fuss because they slaughtered almost everyone who lived there.

......

The convoy of cars continued to trundle along the roads.

Inside the lead car, Hou Xiaochen opened his eyes and looked to the sides. They were entering the North Sea province, but this area was even more desolate than Silver Moon. One could see some corpses by the side of the road.

“We’re close to the North Sea province,” Manager Yu said softly. “The three northern provinces have been a complete mess during this time, but we have the Silver Moon Guards with us, so those people won’t dare run afoul of us.”

Hou Xiaochen inclined his head, his gaze trained on the sides of the road. The road itself was pitted and marked with potholes. Faint sounds of crying could be heard on the wind. They were very far away, but his hearing was keen and he still heard them. It was October—the days in the North Sea province were starting to cool down.

“The pirates are running wild and the rebels are equally rampant. The armies of the three northern provinces are starting to rage out of control. The three provinces have teetered on the edge of disintegration after the General of Northern Pacification died. No one can take over his command. An era of chaos is upon us!” Hou Xiaochen murmured. Manager Yu nodded, but didn’t say anything. “Do you think I’m behind Kou Long’s death?”

The woman didn’t say anything. Who knew?

“If I did it, do you think I did the right or wrong thing after seeing the unrest that has developed in the rioting three provinces after Kou Long died?”

“You naturally have your reasons for doing so, director...” Manager Yu began.

“No, you are human and have your own thoughts. Don’t just parrot what others say!” Hou Xiaochen cut her off calmly. “People should have their own ideals, dreams, and thoughts! You are Yu Luocha and also Yu Fuyao. My thoughts are not your thoughts. Thus, what do you think?”

“As tyrannical as Kou Long was when he suppressed the three provinces,” Manager Yu began with a frown. “One has to say that the people of those provinces could still eke out a meager living because of him. Now that he’s gone, the provinces are completely out of control. This is just the beginning. If they cannot be pacified, swathes of people will soon start dying! The winter season is upon us and winters in the north are too cold. Once snow seals off the cities and ice seals off the North Sea, we’ll have bodies littered everywhere we see!

“There are more than three hundred million citizens in the prosperous three northern provinces and more than one hundred cities. The unrest has now swept through one third of that area. Even if only one thousand people die in each city, that still adds up to an enormous sum.”

“So Kou Long should not have died, is it?” Hou Xiaochen nodded. “At least not right now.”

“But there was also reason for him to die...” Manager Yu fell in step with his line of reasoning still. “He’s killed at will in these years of ruling over the three provinces. Discipline is a mess among his men and they often kill good, honest people to claim accomplishments...”

“None of that’s important!” Hou Xiaochen shook his head. “The important thing is, he shouldn’t have died at this time. If he was supposed to die, then there should’ve been someone to take over command of the three armies. We shouldn’t have this situation of people milling about uncertainly. Killing Kou Long has caused the three provinces to rage completely out of control!”

Manager Yu blinked. What did the director mean by this?

“Everyone thinks that Huang Yu and I killed him,” Hou Xiaochen suddenly said after momentary silence. “We couldn’t be bothered to argue. Truth be told, we did visit the provinces on that day, but not to kill him. We came to protect him.”

“Hmm?”

“The royal family sent a killer.”

“Huh?” Manager Yu’s jaw dropped with incomprehension.

Hou Xiaochen sighed and shook his head with dejection. He leaned back in his seat, his face inscrutable. After a long moment, he suddenly said, “And I know who it was that came! The Steppe Prince!”

There were nine princes and thirty-six dukes among the royal family. While the Xus were a dukedom, they were not of the royal family. The royal dukes were all members of the royal family.

The Steppe King...

Manager Yu gave it some thought before her eyes widened with surprise. “The one who established the Skystar Guards?”

“Yes.” Hou Xiaochen grinned. “My old boss! Huang Yu and I fought him together and we... lost.”

Yu Luocha’s expression shifted drastically. Lost?? That was impossible. She’d always thought that, while Hou Xiaochen wasn’t invincible, no one was able to match him in this current state unless it was someone like Earthturner Sword who’d unsealed himself. And for him to lose while working with Huang Yu... that was impossible!

“Don’t look at me like that, it’s to be expected.” Hou Xiaochen smiled. “He was the one who established the Skystar Guards, making him the preeminent martial master back in the day. With the royal family having bided its time all these years, he should’ve seen a corresponding increase in his strength.”

“But... that shouldn’t have happened!” Manager Yu said blankly. Kou Long was a royally appointed general! He was a staunch supporter of the royal family in the north, were they crazy to kill him?! The royal family lacked power to begin with, and now they killed their own general. What was this, if not madness?

Who would believe this?? Manager Yu didn’t; no one else would.

“Indeed, have they gone mad? Who would believe that?” Hou Xiaochen said calmly. “But we... do! How else is the royal family supposed to rearrange their banners and drums and descend upon the world if the world is not in need of them again? How else are they to make known their might and help the dynasty again? Kou Long’s death and the disturbance of the three provinces is proof that the nine ministries are impotent!

“They assassinate an important general for the sheer purpose of seizing power and restricting the royal family. No matter how many die in the three provinces, the responsibility falls on my head and in the nine ministries’ hands. If the royal family can quell the rebellions, that will earn them the people’s deepest gratitude...

“The people are sometimes blind followers who only see what’s in front of them. They don’t think too far ahead. That cannot be helped as if everyone was a sage, the world would not be what it is.

“They only see that their previously passable lives have become a sheer hell with Kou Long’s passing. Ai!”

He shook his head with a sigh. Everyone thought him omnipotent, so who would’ve guessed that he’d suffered several major losses in a row.

“The royal family... is crazy!” Manager Yu breathed in shock.

“Crazy? No, just confident and with too much ambition,” Hou Xiaochen laughed. “With Kou Long’s death, they are the pitiful victim in many people’s eyes. Sympathy throughout the land will pour in after their staunchest supporter has been killed. The royal family has already abdicated, yet they are still being backed into a corner!

“The Steppe Prince loses nothing by this. The three northern provinces weren’t important to begin with, so why not use them to strive for a chance for the royal family to return to its throne?”

“Then that battle...” Manager Yu’s brows were tightly furrowed.

“The prince was injured, but we couldn’t kill him,” Hou Xiaochen mentioned with regret. “It would’ve been the greatest news had he died. What does Kou Long matter? Killing the Steppe King and letting the general know that the prince was there to kill him... He would absolutely turn on the royal family after that! The nine ministries would also be on high alert and allow them to fight amongst each other in Skystar City. That would bring true peace throughout the land!

“What a pity... we failed.”