With the retreat of the Dragon Cauldron Army, the Scarlet Moon Army readily advanced, taking over the abandoned camps and pushing up the overall line of defence.
But they did not stop at just that.
By the orders of Marshal Xianming, the overall commander of the Scarlet Moon Army, the forces of all five battlefronts advanced even further, eventually convening at a single point.
Rockfall Plain.
It was a vast area spanning more than a thousand kilotres wide. There, dry grass grew up to waist level, but trees were sparse, providing little for concealnt. Two small mountains rose to both the eastern and western ends, making the Rockfall Plain appear like a piece of lowland.
Dozens of huge rocks, each the height of a grown man, lay randomly scattered throughout the plains. They appeared out of place in the grassland, as though they had simply fallen from the skies. This special characteristic was also what gave Rockfall Plain its na.
But more importantly, Rockfall Plain acted as the line of division where the borders of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom were supposed to connect with that of the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom.
It also ant that prior to this, all five battlefronts had been fought within the official borders of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom.
That alone was more than sufficient to depict just how the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom had always been intruding upon the lands of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom in the past!
Unfortunately, the Dragon Cauldron Army had always been stronger than the Scarlet Moon Army.
Thus, the Scarlet Moon Kingdom had been in a difficult position to do anything even though the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom was obviously trying to take advantage of them.
That was, until now.
So believed that the Scarlet Moon Overlord had finally lost his patience, while so believed that he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Whatever the reason was, it no longer mattered.
What mattered was that just as the Scarlet Moon Overlord had wished, this war had progressed completely in their favour!
They had already successfully pushed the Dragon Cauldron Army out of their own borders.
Now, all that was left was to re-establish a permanent defensive position on the small mountain at their side of the Rockfall Plains, thereby strengthening their borders to guard against any future threats from the Dragon Cauldron Army.
To construct a fortress that could weather future attacks, that was the aim of the Scarlet Moon Army.
As for the small mountain at the western end of the Rockfall Plains, a huge fortress belonging to the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom had long been established at its peak.
Large portions of the two kingdoms' borders covered treacherous terrain that was difficult to traverse, especially for those below the Origin Core realm. Thus, the Rockfall Plain had beco a vital location that both kingdoms had always kept their eyes on.
Whoever controlled Rockfall Plains would control the main flow of personnel between the two kingdoms.
With the growing montum of the Scarlet Moon Army in this war, it was no surprise that they were now attempting to regain control over Rockfall Plain.
That said, the Dragon Cauldron Army should be just as clear about this matter. Thus, how would they just sit by and watch on as they did such a thing?
Without a doubt, this would be where the next battle would be fought.
And this ti, with all five battlefronts convening at this point, the battle was only going to beco even fiercer, even more brutal.
Everyone was expecting the upcoming battle to be on an unprecedented scale, unlike any that had occurred in the war up till now!
***
Regint after regint stread into the camp, as soldiers from the different battlefronts started to arrive.
"Looks like even more soldiers are here," Juncheng remarked as he watched a new group enter the camp. "Where are they from? The Fifth Battlefront?"
"That's right. They should be the last of them too," Nanqing Haowen nodded, apparently having heard so news over the past few days of hanging out with other soldiers.
Lu Tianzi and the rest of the Second Battlefront were among the firsts to arrive, but they had simply been instructed to stay put and remain on alert. While Lu Tianzi spent most of his ti cultivating, Nanqing Haowen had taken the chance to mix around with the others.
"What happens now? Do we just defend this position while the builders construct a fortress?" Juncheng asked.
"Who knows? I asked around, but no one seems to have any idea," Nanqing Haowen shrugged. "I guess everyone is waiting for the highest echelons to decide on the next course of action."
"That's what we should be doing, right?" Juncheng speculated. "After all, it's not like we are intending to take over the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom's fortress at the other end of the Rockfall Plain. Staying here seems to be the safest plan."
"That is unlikely," Lu Tianzi shook his head with a smile. "Even if the Dragon Cauldron Army stays put, we will probably be moving out once we are ready."
"Why do you think so?" this ti, it was Nanlan Qianxue's turn to ask.
"There is no way that they will station such a big army here just to watch the construction of the fortress. While it appears to be the safest plan, it would be difficult to appease those prideful experts who aren't originally part of the Scarlet Moon Army. Many of them are seeking lucky chances in this war, and staying put would do little in terms of that." Lu Tianzi gave his thoughts. "What's more, in order to truly deter any future attacks, we need to show that we are not afraid of them. And the best way to do so is by attacking instead of defending!"
Indeed, the construction of a fortress might strengthen their defensive capabilities, but it was sowhat lacking as a form of deterrent.
If the difference between the strengths of their forces was large enough, the existence of a defensive fortress would do little to bridge that gap.
It was only when the Dragon Cauldron Army believed that they no longer held an advantage over the Scarlet Moon Army, would they finally give up on the idea of infringing on the borders of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom in the future.
"Even so, I wonder why there hadn't been any movents from them so far." Lu Tianzi pondered out loud.
If he were the commander of the Dragon Cauldron Army, he would definitely launch an attack before the Scarlet Moon Army fully gathered their forces upon this eastern mountain.
Yet surprisingly, there had been no visible movents from the Dragon Cauldron Army up till now. That remained the case even as more and more soldiers from the Scarlet Moon Army arrived.
What exactly was going on?
Had they already given up?
"That is confusing indeed," Nanqing Haowen let out a deep breath as he turned his gaze towards the Rockfall Plain to the west. "I can't help but feel that this is the calm before the storm."
"There you are!"
A familiar voice sounded out from behind, instantly breaking their thoughts.
"Did you just arrive with the rest of them?" Lu Tianzi let out a welcoming smile when he saw who it was.
"I heard all about what you have done," Beimu Fei walked up to them with a playful grin on her face, conveniently ignoring Lu Tianzi's question altogether.
"Oh? What have I done?" Lu Tianzi asked.
"Still acting, aren't you?" the grin on Beimu Fei's face grew. "Single handedly orchestrating the victory of the Second Battlefront, resulting to a chain effect that led to the advance of all five battlefronts You monster, are you really a ground soldier like the rest of us? Aren't you overdoing it a little? At this rate, our achievents would only appear insignificant, completely outshined by you!"
"Oh, so it is about that" Lu Tianzi let out an embarrassed smile.
It was not as though Lu Tianzi did not understand just how huge his contributions were. In fact, even a clueless person would have certainly learnt how things were after having many people co up to praise him over the past few days.
However, Beimu Fei had only just arrived!
Lu Tianzi certainly did not expect the news to have already spread to the soldiers from the other battlefronts as well.
After that first battle at the Second Battlefront when Lu Tianzi had been sent in to raid the enemy recovery tents, Beimu Fei had been sent to the Fifth Battlefront where Formation Master Beimu's expertise regarding formations was urgently required.
Still, that did not seem to have stopped her from learning exactly what Lu Tianzi had done.
"Isn't it amazing?" Juncheng chid in from the side in excitent. "It is so surreal following Squad Leader Nanlu into battle. He just runs over the enemies like they are nothing but straw targets!"
"That's overexaggerating it!" Lu Tianzi laughed. "I just got lucky, that's all."
"That, on the other hand, is being a little too humble. Now it feels like you are mocking the rest of us," Beimu Fei remarked.
"Isn't that right?" Nanlan Qianxue agreed imdiately.
"What?" Lu Tianzi turned to look at Nanlan Qianxue in surprise. "Why are you agreeing too?"
"What's wrong?" Nanlan Qianxue tilted her head innocently. "I am just speaking my honest thoughts though?"
"You" Lu Tianzi was speechless.
Similarly, Nanqing Haowen fell silent by the side upon seeing this rare side of Nanlan Qianxue, a faint smile starting to show on his face.
In fact, even Beimu Fei was surprised at the interaction between Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, but politely decided not to ask any further.
"Ahem!" Beimu Fei cleared her throat loudly to draw back Lu Tianzi's attention before finally speaking in a solemn tone. "But in all seriousness, are you all right?"
Lu Tianzi was startled for a mont before letting out a warm smile. "Yes, I am fine. Thank you for asking."
It was always easy to see the glorious side of others, but how many would rember the hardships and sacrifices that they had gone through in order to achieve that?
Right before the battle that resulted in the Second Battlefront's victory, Lu Tianzi had been chased into the wilds by the enemy Origin Core realm martial artist Chiren.
Now, everyone was praising him for his achievents in battle, conveniently ignoring the fact that he had almost lost his life during that incident. Even those who ntioned it glossed over it nonchalantly, laughing it off as though being targeted was just a good asure of Lu Tianzi's achievents during the war.
This was the first ti that soone outside of the Nine Suns Sect had asked about his well-being with such seriousness.
Indeed, he was not just a mber of the Nine Suns Sect, but also a student of the Beimu Clan!
"Is Teacher here too?" Lu Tianzi asked, dispelling the air of seriousness that had fallen over the group.
"Of course! How can she not be here when I have already arrived?" Beimu Fei laughed despite knowing that Lu Tianzi was simply trying to shift the topic. "I offered to help her with so administrative matters, but she asked to co see how you are doing first. It seems she is quite worried about you. Let's go et her later!"
"Yeah, let's do just that," Lu Tianzi nodded with a smile.
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