Chapter 96: The Witch Lilian
Shaosheng Year 411, November.
The cold wind began sweeping across the lands of Western Prefecture. With the submission of the King of Huanghai, the situation in the northeastern region of the Western Prefecture took a sharp turn.
The rebel forces in the two counties of Shule and Jinpu crumbled swiftly under the advance of the Anxi Army.
Before Jiang Zhaoming’s great army even reached the county seats, the rebel leaders had already packed up their valuables and fled in haste with their closest followers.
Those who reacted slower—harboring delusions of luck or attempting to organize resistance—had no ti to struggle at all.
The Gryphon Riders led by Yue Fei struck like thunder, always finding the rebels’ hiding places with deadly precision.
A flash of cold light— The rebel leader’s head fell. Their subordinates, now without command, instantly broke apart and surrendered.
The process of reclaiming the four counties—Shule, Jinpu, Qiemo, and Huanghai—went so smoothly it was almost uneventful. There was no fierce resistance as anticipated.
The reason was simple. The true powers entrenched in the Western Prefecture were the two colossal forces—the Kingdom of Jingjue and the Kingdom of Yutian.
During this westward campaign of the Anxi Army, both had remained in puzzling silence, never interfering in the battles of the northeastern four counties.
Now, the western border of Jinpu Capital directly bordered the Yutian Kingdom.
Jiang Zhaoming did not hasten to advance. Instead, he dispatched an enormous number of elite scouts and spies.
Disguised, they infiltrated Yutian territory, determined to uncover the truth of that highland kingdom.
The intelligence they brought back was far more shocking than what Tulam had previously described.
The people of Yutian revered their Zanpu and Great Priest Sangji Jiacuo with a fanaticism bordering on madness.
That frenzy did not arise rely from fear of secular royal power.
Its root lay in a supre faith known as the “Kingdom of Sunlight.”
According to the divine oracles widely spread among the people, every century, that unreachable Kingdom of Sunlight would descend with blessings, showering its radiance upon the mortal world.
Wealth would spring forth like fountains, diseases would vanish, and even the mysteries of longevity would be revealed to the devout.
Such deeply ingrained faith possessed a terrifying power of assimilation.
Even the descendants of Great Zhou still living within Yutian, after years of cultural imrsion, had long lost their loyalty to their ancestral empire.
In its place was devout worship toward that ethereal yet omnipresent “Kingdom of Sunlight.”
And as the only representatives of that divine kingdom in the mortal world—the Zanpu and the Great Priest— they naturally beca the concrete symbols of the believers’ devotion.
Their authority was divinely ordained and thus unquestionable.
—Huanghai County City—
Though the city had changed rulers, traces of exotic customs still lingered.
Jiang Zhaoming stood alone atop the palace roof. The cold wind lifted the black hem of his royal robe.
He slowly exhaled a breath of white mist, his gaze piercing through the thin winter clouds toward the distant south.
There lay Yutian— a land guarded jointly by pious faith and the icy highlands.
Reports lay gathered before him. Jiang Zhaoming understood clearly: to conquer Yutian by pure force would be a path of certain death.
Even if the Anxi Army’s sharp might could crush the plateau, the price would be unbearable.
The faith carved into the bones of Yutian’s people would drive them, under the call of the Zanpu and Great Priest, to resist unto mutual destruction.
What he would gain in the end would likely be nothing but scorched earth and empty villages.
Yet abandoning Yutian was no option either.
However, a crucial insight gradually took form in his mind.
The people of Yutian did not truly worship the Zanpu and Great Priest themselves—
but rather the “Kingdom of Sunlight” behind them!
Since that was the case, Jiang Zhaoming need not directly shake the foundation of that ethereal faith.
What he needed was to seize the title of “Divine Proxy.”
To let Yutian return to the rule of Great Zhou— and only then, gradually dissolve its theocratic influence.
This could be a gradual process.
The first goal: to replace the current proxy, to make Great Zhou— or rather, the representative designated by Jiang Zhaoming— the new embodint of the “Kingdom of Sunlight’s” will.
Once the regi was stabilized, he could, through ti and subtle ans, quietly erode the influence of that foreign godly power and rebuild royal authority—this was the superior path.
Thus, the core of the campaign to conquer Yutian lay in the struggle for the title of this “Divine Proxy.”
The Zanpu and Great Priest—their greatest advantage over generals like Yue Fei—
was not absolute power, but mystery— those unfathomable “miracles” regarded by their believers as divine acts.
To have Yue Fei play the role of a mystic who could summon wind and rain and manifest miracles?
That was far from his forte.
What Jiang Zhaoming needed was soone who could wield profound spells, was skilled in bewitchnt, and excelled at cultivating an aura of enigma.
Soone who could battle the Zanpu and Great Priest on the battlefield of faith— a true “competitor.”
“Looks like there’s no need to hesitate about the destination of that final strand of red fortune.”
Jiang Zhaoming gazed toward the southern skyline, resolution firm in his heart.
The next morning, the gates of the Huanghai royal palace opened.
A woman stepped gracefully into the winter sunlight.
Her figure was tall and elegant, clad in a deep violet witch’s robe tailored to her form.
Silver threads embroidered intricate, arcane runes across the robe, glimring faintly with her every movent.
Her hair was a fiery mass of crimson waves cascading over her shoulders, its brightness accentuating her skin that was pale as snow.
Her face bore distinct foreign features—a high nose bridge, deep-set eyes, and a pair of amber, crystalline pupils that now shimred with curiosity and scrutiny
as she gazed at the unfamiliar sky.
A faint smile lingered on her lips—seductive, yet tinged with lazy cunning and insight.
【Divine Hero · Lilian】: A high-level witch from the Cavern Plane, possessing strength roughly equivalent to the Late Golden Body Realm. Proficient in all manner of bizarre and unpredictable witchcraft.
「So this is the true sunlight? Back in the caverns, I had only ever heard of such a thing.」
The Cavern Plane where Lilian lived had no sunlight—only endless hollows and tunnels.
The sun of Great Zhou was her first glimpse of true daylight.
Jiang Zhaoming followed her out of the hall, the winter sunlight making him narrow his eyes slightly.
He said in a deep voice, 「Lilian, according to our intel, the ‘Centennial Blessing’ ceremony of the Kingdom of Sunlight is imminent. We don’t have much ti left.」
At his words, Lilian slowly turned around.
Her amber eyes locked onto Jiang Zhaoming’s, their depths seeming to pierce through his soul.
Her smile deepened, brimming with unshakable confidence.
「My esteed king, when it cos to guiding ignorant lambs, to weaving illusions they are eager to believe as ‘miracles,’ and to making lies more enchanting than truth—」
She perford an elegant witch’s salute from the Cavern Plane.
「This is precisely my area of expertise. Please rest assured, Your Highness— this play of faith shall end with thunderous applause in your na.」
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