Chapter 165: The Outbreak of War Between Song and Liao (Part V)

The imperial emissary's expression shifted, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at Song Jiang. "General Song, this is no joking matter! If you truly agree to this, once I report back to His Majesty, it will be announced across the entire realm!"

Song Jiang replied, "Emissary, such an act of absolute loyalty and patriotism is precisely what everyone on Mount Liang desires. How could it possibly be a joke? However, since Mount Liang is dispatching troops, our provisions and grain must be fully guaranteed. Furthermore, Mount Liang has its own distinct methods of warfare. Therefore, if the imperial court sends reinforcements, we ask that they submit to our arrangements. As a final condition, until every single person on Mount Liang has fallen in battle, we request that the imperial court refrain from sending anyone to direct our operations."

The emissary nodded, "I shall report every single one of General Song's requests to the Son of Heaven. However, I believe His Majesty will readily agree to them."

Song Jiang said, "In that case, I will immediately have someone escort the emissary down the mountain! After all, military matters brook no delay!"

After the emissary departed, Lu Junyi and the others came to see Song Jiang.

"Brother, do you think the imperial court will actually do as we requested?" Lu Junyi asked. Since the founding of the current dynasty, leaving aside whether there had ever been bandit armies that fought for the country after accepting amnesty, during any regular military campaign, when were civil officials not the ones in command, serving as military supervisors? Yet this time was indeed somewhat exceptional; with a full-scale war erupting between Song and Liao, since the imperial court was employing the forces of Mount Liang, perhaps they would truly place their trust in them.

Song Jiang gazed toward the north, where the capital of the Song Empire lay. "They will. I believe that our current Emperor wishes to defeat the Liao."

Before long, the imperial edict arrived. Not only did it agree to all three conditions proposed by Song Jiang, but it also made a solemn promise: as long as the Mount Liang forces could defeat the Liao army and conquer a city, Song Jiang and the others would be granted noble titles, while the rest would be rewarded according to their merits, proclaimed throughout the territories of the Great Song without a moment's delay!

This news spread across Mount Liang. This time, even those chieftains who had previously been less than satisfied with the imperial court's amnesty could no longer raise any objections. Even if they cared nothing for wealth and attached no importance to official ranks, they still cared about their reputation. If they truly achieved military merit, received titles, and had their names spread across the Great Song, they would at least be remembered in history.

The grand army set out, led by one hundred and eight flags bearing their titles, preceded by two enormous banners: one reading "Act on Behalf of Heaven," and the other "Loyally Defend the Country." Wherever the army passed, even ordinary commoners watched in awe and curiosity. The notorious bandits of Mount Liang, a band of outlaws whose fearsome reputation extended far and wide, had actually transformed into an righteous army fighting for the nation!

On the Song-Liao border, Liang Zhongshu sat in the grand encampment, reading the orders transmitted from above and the contents of the letter sent by his own father-in-law, and could not help but shudder. He never expected that what the mysterious man had said was actually true!

Just half a month ago, Sun Meng had made a special trip here for the sole purpose of reactivating Liang Zhongshu as a chess piece. It was for no other reason than to ensure that these imperial troops could properly coordinate with the forces of Mount Liang, for in his memories, the army of the Song Dynasty was truly nothing to write home about!

Liang Zhongshu summoned a guard. "You, go quickly and find out when the Mount Liang forces will arrive! Also, notify the outside and call the logistics officer to my quarters!" Although he did not understand why the Mount Liang forces could truly become the backbone of the Song-Liao war, he had no desire to gamble on whether that mysterious man could take his life.

At that very moment, Sun Meng had already arrived at Kokolaru's location.

"How long have these Liao forces been here?" Sun Meng asked, looking out at the Liao army encampment in the distance.

Originally, after Kokolaru had eliminated that single battalion of Liao troops, she thought no more Liao forces would arrive for a while. To her surprise, merely ten days later, the Liao army had surrounded the city. However, the moment they laid eyes on that earthen mound, their siege operations had abruptly halted.

"Five days," Kokolaru replied. "Many more arrived yesterday." She had originally intended to deal with this batch of Liao troops just as she had the previous ones, but when the time came to act, she discovered that the military aura of this Liao army forcibly suppressed the natural changes triggered by her magic.

"This must be one of the elite forces of the Liao army, and the general commanding them is no ordinary man," Li Qingmeng said. "Not long ago, the capital of Western Xia was breached and captured by the Liao army; the people over there are basically of no further use." Although she had withdrawn all the personnel of the Misty Palace, Western Xia had still been her former home, and to see it breached like this by the Liao army made it impossible for her not to feel a surge of anger.

"Have you tried charging their formation?" Sun Meng looked toward Li Qingmeng.

Li Qingmeng shook her head. "With such a dense military aura, I wouldn't dare guarantee I could go in and come back out!"

Sun Meng smiled. "I plan to give it a try." Earth civilization would undoubtedly encounter similar civilizations in the future, so trying this out now would not be a loss.

Flying straight from the city wall toward the Liao army camp, his unmasked movements were immediately spotted by the Liao sentries. The next moment, a rain of arrows engulfed Sun Meng.

Instantly, Sun Meng shot upward in altitude, soaring higher into the sky. Even so, he unleashed an internal energy strike that collided head-on with the volley of arrows.

According to Sun Meng's estimation, an internal energy strike that should have completely neutralized this wave of arrows only managed to shatter two-thirds of them. He could sense that these were not ordinary arrows formed from aura alone; they also carried the collective will of the army. However, they had not gained any tracking capabilities.

Within the Liao military camp, Yelu Zonglin's mouth twitched slightly. He knew that Sun Meng was yet another grandmaster-level expert who had surpassed the Xiantian realm, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to fly so high.

*It seems that martial artists are taking advantage of this breakthrough to surpass the Xiantian restrictions in great numbers! I wonder if this will have any impact on our campaign against the Song.* As a major general, Yelu Zonglin was well aware of the Liao nation's core objective this time: they intended to defeat the Song Dynasty in one fell swoop, and even if they could not completely destroy the country, they would shatter its national fortune so severely that it could never rise again.

Martial artists—beings they had originally considered beneath their notice—were now actually beginning to pose a minor threat. Casting a glance at Sun Meng high in the sky, Yelu Zonglin raised his hand to summon his long spear. With his entire body shooting upward into the heavens, the cold light gleaming from his spearhead pointed straight at Sun Meng.

Since it was confirmed that he might pose a threat, he would simply eliminate him first. As for whether the man was truly innocent, he could not care less!

Bolstered by the collective will and battlefield aura of the legion, Yelu Zonglin broke through his previous late-Xiantian strength, reaching the early Third Tier.

"Taste my spear!"

Sun Meng's eyebrows arched. In the next instant, his figure flickered and appeared in the distance. The Divine Bow of Houyi materialized in his hand, and a celestial star chart shimmered behind his back.

"Ten thousand arrows fall together!"

Starlight transformed into arrows, merging over ten thousand projectiles into the shape of a colossal arrow. As Sun Meng released his grip, it streaked toward Yelu Zonglin like a falling star.

"Shatter!" Yelu Zonglin's spear thrust forward in a blur, creating a torrential storm of afterimages.

"Explode!" A cold smirk touched the corner of Sun Meng's mouth. Did they really think he was relying purely on physical arrows to inflict harm?

The immense energy of the ten thousand starlight arrows detonated all around Yelu Zonglin. The blinding light forced both Li Qingmeng and Kokolaru down below to instinctively shield their eyes.

"The Great Sun Hangs in the Void!" This time, Sun Meng employed specialized arrows he had spent an entire year refining.

The illusory projection of the sun appeared behind Sun Meng, and the majestic image of a Golden Crow enveloped the arrow as it hurtled toward Yelu Zonglin.

Yelu Zonglin, who had only just caught his breath from the previous explosion, saw the Golden Crow charging directly at him. His expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly mobilized his military aura and legion will to form a defensive barrier, throwing his full strength into blocking it.

The next moment, the Golden Crow-enveloped arrow smashed into the barrier, pushing Yelu Zonglin backward as it crashed straight down into the encampment below.

The active battlefield aura seemed to catch fire at that exact moment. If anyone observed the condition of the soldiers within the camp, they would have seen that they appeared to be trapped in a sea of flames, gasping for breath and dripping with sweat. Had the legion will and aura not continuously dispersed and diluted this agonizing sensation, many would have succumbed and died instantly.

However, as the tip of the arrow finally pierced into Yelu Zonglin's chest, the Golden Crow-shaped internal energy erupted, instantly igniting the surrounding tents. At that very moment, the morale of the Liao army began to plummet precipitously.

Li Qingmeng and Kokolaru flew up to meet him. "How is it? Is he dead?" The destructive power of the attack just now had left them feeling a lingering sense of palpitation, and that wasn't even with them as the targets. An assault of this magnitude should have been more than enough to overwhelm a mere late-Second Tier Yelu Zonglin.

"Not dead, only heavily wounded. When all is said and done, he is a major general of the Liao; his personal fortune is intertwined with the nation's destiny. If not for the special nature of my arrow, I doubt I could have injured him at all!" Sun Meng shook his head as he sensed the outcome. He was deeply dissatisfied with this result, for it meant his personal combat power would be severely suppressed throughout the second-stage mission.

With a wave of his hand, the arrow flew back to his grasp. "They should behave themselves a bit more now. I'm going to deal with the other two!"