THE LING TIAN LEGEND
episode 72

In an instant, ten years had passed.

In these ten years, each Empire on the continent had repeatedly engaged in warfare. Although most of them were small battles, those who were smart could tell that the monarchs of each country were starting to be a little unfriendly to each other. After the rounds of investigating each other's defenses, the confusion of the war would likely descend upon the entire continent.

At this point, self-preservation is not enough of an excuse for a country to use to maintain peace. A man has no intention to harm a tiger, but a tiger has the intention to kill the man; even for self-defense, everyone must enter into this war for hegemony!

The Sky Bear Empire was involved in various wars non-stop over the past few years. Because it was located in the middle of several countries, the country became an ideal target for the opposing countries to place troops to investigate them. Moreover, they were definitely considered to be fat meat! Fortunately, the Sky Bearing Empire had an invincible commander, General Ling Xiao. In addition, other countries are reluctant to engage in all-out war to prevent cases where grasshoppers stalk crickets, unaware of the oriole behind. Whether they would be raided when they went to attack someone, then that was tantamount to handing over all their hard work to the others!

Thus, even though the Sky Bear Empire faced many shocks, it did not leave irreparable damage. The citizens believed that as long as General Ling was alive, there were no worries about any invasion. Thus, even though the situation of the country is a bit tense, the people still show happiness and prosperity.

The West Line Military Camp. General Tent.

Ling Xiao furrowed his brows, looking at the deployment map, his eyes betraying his worries.

Behind him stood a neat row of officers, staring at their general steadily, waiting for Ling Xiao's next battle plan.

Ling Xiao sighed internally as he pointed to the topographic map. “See this place. The two mountains were clinging to horns, leaving a narrow gorge in the middle of which was almost five or six miles long. The narrowest part here isn't even a hundred feet. However, this is the place we have to go if we want to go forward or backward. If the Western Han army is going to make an ambush here, they can hide along the two walls of the valley to wait for our soldiers to pass by. When we appear they can use stones or fire to attack us and our losses will definitely be disastrous! Even if we make it through, we will definitely not have the military power to clash directly with the enemy forces. However, this narrow gorge is a path that we have no choice but to take if we want to advance our troops!”

All the officers stood behind Ling Xiao, staring at the map meticulously. Most of them already knew about this trap; the reason why Western Han and the Sky Bear had not been involved in the war for the past 10 years was the fact that this canyon was among them. From the past to the present, countless numbers of troops were located within this canyon. Soldiers refer to this place as “Weeping Spirit Valley” and two flanking mountains as “Memoring Soul Mountain!” It was the extent to which the Sky Bear Empire retreated as they approached this place, with no intention of conquering the land any further.

One of the deputy generals raised his head to look at Ling Xiao, and hesitantly spoke, “General, in the past, we have always stopped our war at this moment. So why should we take over the Weeping Spirit Valley this time around? We can also rely on natural barriers, and will likely not suffer any losses! ”

The rest in the tent echoes his sentiment, “Ya, that's right!”

However, Ling Xiao instead shouted furiously: “Stupid! Time is no different and the continent will break into chaos; if our Sky Bearing Empire can conquer this Weeping Spirit Valley in one go, this will guarantee our safety heading west. If war and strife occur, the initiative to attack or defend will be in our hands with this canyon in our hands! How can this be the same as the past? ”

Stop for a while, he continued, “There's news from the scouts?”

A young officer stepped out and saluted, before saying, “Reporting, so far no news!” As he spoke, worry covered his face. Since the war began, they had employed more than 10 rounds of scouts to scout this place, but not a single one had returned. From this, they could tell how tightly the enemy kept their secret.

The worry on Ling Xiao's face grew clearer, “Commander of Western Han, Han ShiZe is very proficient in military arts. After defending the Weeping Spirit Valley for several years, he should have long since turned the place into an impregnable fortress with all his experience. How hated! However, our forces must defeat the Sobbing Spirit Valley, otherwise when chaos strikes, we will be surrounded on both sides and most likely annihilated! ”

The young officer replied, “About five days or so.”

Sighing deeply again, Ling Xiao spoke, “They most likely no longer exist!” After a short pause, “Send another batch!”

The other officers remained silent. They all knew that their general had the ambition to defeat the valley at all costs. Otherwise, their empathetic generals would have long given the order to retreat from the valley.

From the importance that their general emphasized towards the Valley of Sobbing Spirits, the crowd started to sense something was amiss. Could it be that chaos will soon invade the continent?

Seeing the look on the faces of all of his officers, Ling Xiao knew that they were all unaware of the scenario. Therefore, he ordered some people to take down the current topographic map, replacing it with others. When they all looked, it was actually a map that depicted the territory of government for each country in general.

Ling Xiao gestured with his finger, “The latest intelligence report shows that Northern Wei has amassed an army force of around 150,000. They will soon be deployed northward from our Sky Bearing Empire. Within 3 months at most, they will reach their destination. Adding a guarded force of 80,000, they would have a military force of 230,000! Without speaking, I believe you can all know what their motives are. ”

Everyone present inhaled a breath of cold air hearing this news.

Ling Xiao's finger now shifted eastward, where he continued, “In our east, the Moon God Empire is still at war with the Great Zhao Empire and both are deadlocked. However, whichever side claims the final victory, our Sky Bear Empire will have to bear its burden. In our south, although the Wu Empire and Southern Zheng seem to be biding their time, they are all gathering soldiers secretly, making them a threat in the future. Being in the central region of this continent, the Sky Bearing Empire will be surrounded on all sides after becoming a mess, no matter how stable we are now!”

Ling Xiao turned around, facing the crowd, before saying in a loud voice, “Therefore, no matter what the price, we should defeat the Weeping Spirit Valley in the shortest possible time, stabilizing the west. When the time comes, we will have 100,000 people defending the west, leaving 60,000 people to handle the other three battlefields to prevent the loss of territory.”

The audience stared agapely, even in their dreams not expecting that the situation had deteriorated to such an extent!

A forty-year-old officer spoke with a mask of confusion, “In recent years, our Sky Pads Empire has maintained harmonious relations with our neighboring countries. With Wu, Southern Zheng and Northern Wei, they even had a political marriage with us. So why they..”.

Ling Xiao looked at him, but remained silent. Innately, he cursed, “You stupid senile!  the old! No wonder you are still an officer even after 30 years in the army! Just a simple political marriage, how can it compare to the allure of global domination? At this moment, which king was so foolish as to care about such things? ”

Right now, all the scenery was fixed on the battle between the Sky Bearing Empire and Western Han in the possession of the Valley of Sobbing Spirits. If the Sky Bearing won, the continent would see peace in a few years. If the Sky Bearing Empire were to lose this war, the flames of war would soon flare up to the point of no return! No sovereign state would allow Western Han to upset the balance of power and monopolize the Sky Empire. Thus, everyone would send their troops to gain a share of their profits.

This war, while only a confrontation of less than 200,000 people between the two countries, was the key!

Ever since they came to the West Line for the past half a year, both armies have received their fair share of victories and defeats. However, the Western Han general, Han ShiZe, was also a veteran and could see Ling Xiao's intentions! Therefore, he was only focused on guarding the Weeping Spirit Valley, not advancing prematurely. This left Ling Xiao without any alternative; if the battle continued to drag on, it would be disastrous for the Sky Empire!