I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely

Chapter 335 - 288: Nine Nether Demon-Subduing Formation, Besieging the Imperial City (Part 2)

Therefore, to kill Emperor Yuanwu, Zhou Di, one had to crush the nine Royal Guard Cities and shatter the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array. Only then would they have a chance to march on the Imperial City.

At present, the Great Zhou Martial Country had dispatched the majority of its forces to garrison the nine Royal Guard Cities in order to resist the armies of the Jiuzhou Alliance. This was effectively the last line of defense for the Great Zhou Imperial City.

It was, by its very nature, incredibly fortified and difficult to breach.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

The great battle erupted.

Battle cries thundered in all directions.

The battle raged for three days and three nights. The Jiuzhou Alliance lost over a million soldiers, yet they were still unable to completely crush the nine Royal Guard Cities. Most importantly, they could not break the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array.

The following morning.

Wang Miao and the other eight leaders gathered.

"This can’t go on."

Wang Miao spoke first. "We’ve been attacking for three days and three nights. Because of the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array, we simply can’t break the armies in the Royal Guard Cities."

"He’s right!"

"It’s been three days and three nights. We’ve lost at least a million soldiers."

"If this continues, we’ll only be adding to our casualties. It will be meaningless."

"We have to find a way to break the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array."

"That’s right."

"If only Senior Huo Yuanjia were here. With his power, he could definitely help us break the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array."

"..."

The nine of them, including Wang Miao, were discussing what to do.

"I have a way."

Finally, Yue Ling, the Lord of the Divine Continent, stood forward. She was one of only two women among the nine Lords of the Nine Provinces; the other was Yue Qingfeng, the Lord of Liang Province.

"Lord of the Divine Continent?"

"You have a way?"

"Really?"

"What is it?"

"..."

The other eight all turned to look at her.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!!!

With a wave of her elegant hand, Yue Ling sent nine streaks of light flying out. Each streak hovered in the air and materialized into its true form: nine purple-gold Tokens.

"What are these?"

The others looked at Yue Ling, confused.

"These are the Martial Emperor’s Array-Breaking Orders."

Yue Ling took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "First of all, the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array was constructed shortly after the founding of the Great Zhou Martial Country. The one who built this great array was none other than the strongest Array Master in the Great Zhou Martial Country at the time, Yue Fei."

"However, after the great array was successfully deployed, Emperor Zhou Wu grew paranoid that someone might know the weaknesses of the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array. He actually gave a secret order to kill Yue Fei, the very Array Master who had designed it."

"Unfortunately, Emperor Zhou Wu had no idea that the Array Master, Yue Fei, had already made a contingency plan. He had been refining the Martial Emperor’s Array-Breaking Order, specifically to counter the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array."

"And that man, Yue Fei, the strongest Array Master in the Great Zhou Martial Country, was my ancestor."

"This..."

"To think there was such a story behind it."

"With this Martial Emperor’s Array-Breaking Order, the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array is certain to fall!"

"That’s right."

"As expected. Great Zhou should have fallen long ago."

"..."

Wang Miao and the others were overjoyed.

Just like that, the next day arrived.

Wang Miao and the others exchanged a look. Each person clutched a Martial Emperor’s Array-Breaking Order in their hand. Taking a deep breath, they led the army to attack once more.

RUMBLE!!!

Explosions thundered in all directions.

The battle cries were deafening.

The war erupted once more.

Time passed, and after the battle had raged for another day and night...

"Now!"

"..."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

Wang Miao and the other eight leaders each took out their Martial Emperor’s Array-Breaking Order. The purple-gold Tokens were incredibly dazzling as they took up positions in nine different directions.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!

Dragon roars resounded.

BUZZ! BUZZ!!!

Amid bursts of brilliant, dazzling, purple-gold radiance, each Martial Emperor’s Array-Breaking Order slowly transformed into a purple-gold True Dragon.

At that moment, everyone saw nine majestic, purple-gold True Dragons circling in the sky above, letting out earth-shattering roars and cries.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

Finally, the nine purple-gold True Dragons charged toward nine different locations—the exact locations of the nine Royal Guard Cities.

BANG! BANG! BANG!!!

Explosions erupted.

The nine purple-gold True Dragons dove down, burrowing deep into the earth and destroying the nine foundations of the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array, triggering a chain of explosions.

CRACK! CRACK!!!

And so, the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array began to shatter.

Countless cracks appeared on the invisible barrier of light. The fissures spread with incredible speed, covering the entire array in a fraction of a second.

"What?!"

"This is bad!"

"Something’s happened! Something terrible has happened..."

"The All Heaven Martial Emperor Array... it’s been broken..."

"..."

Horrified and terrified, the people in the nine Royal Guard Cities could never have imagined it. The All Heaven Martial Emperor Array had only held on for three days—not even four—and now it was broken.

「At the same time.」

「Inside the Great Zhou Imperial City.」

「Imperial Palace Hall.」

"Your... Your Majesty..."

"Something terrible has happened..."

A soldier immediately rushed in to report.

"You are dismissed."

Zhou Di’s expression was calm. He simply waved his hand. "I am already aware."

Inside the hall, none of the ministers showed any panic. They had clearly anticipated that the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array would not hold for long, and they had long been aware of Yue Ling’s identity.

"My dear ministers," Zhou Di asked, "what do you think we should do next?"

"Your Majesty," said Xiao Yin, "the more than three days that the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array bought us were extremely precious. In that time, I have completed the deployment of the Nine Nether Demon Suppression Array. All we are waiting for now is Huo Yuanjia’s arrival."

"We still have the National Protection Array."

"That’s right!"

"With the National Protection Array shielding the Imperial City, what do we have to fear from a few rebels and traitors?"

"..."

The ministers all chimed in.

"Excellent."

Zhou Di merely nodded, appearing to trust his ministers completely. But their eyes flickered, each of them harboring their own schemes.

「At dusk.」

RUMBLE!!!

Wang Miao and his forces, leading the Jiuzhou Alliance army, completely crushed the armies of the Royal Guard Cities. Having shattered the All Heaven Martial Emperor Array, they rested for only a single night.

The next morning.

The Jiuzhou Alliance army set out once more.

This time, they headed straight for the Great Zhou Imperial City.

「At noon that day.」

The sun blazed high in the sky, and the air was scorching hot.

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!!!

However, Wang Miao and the others, leading the Jiuzhou Alliance army aboard a fleet of flying warships, had already arrived at the Great Zhou Imperial City and completely surrounded it.

At this very moment, their forces were at the gates of the Imperial City.

"Everyone." Guo Anshi’s expression was tinged with excitement. He took a deep breath, standing tall on the warship’s deck as he gazed down at the Great Zhou Imperial City, which resembled an ancient Giant Beast lying prone upon the earth. "We have finally reached the Great Zhou Imperial City. The real final battle is about to begin. Whether we succeed or die trying will all come down to this next fight."

"That’s right."

"Everyone, if you have any trump cards left, don’t hold back in the coming battle."

"We can only win. We cannot lose."

"..."

Wang Miao and the other leaders all made their appearances.

「Inside the Imperial City.」

「Within the Imperial Palace.」

Emperor Yuanwu, Zhou Di, sat upon the Dragon Throne. His gaze swept over the ministers present, all of whom kept their heads bowed in silence.

"My dear ministers." Zhou Di took a deep breath and asked in a heavy voice, "The traitorous rebel army is at the gates of the Imperial City. Tell me, which of you dares to volunteer to battle?"

The next moment, there was only silence.

Complete silence.

"Civil Minister."

Zhou Di looked toward Xiao Yin.

"Your Majesty," Xiao Yin immediately replied, "I have already deployed the Nine Nether Demon Suppression Array. This array requires me to maintain it, so I am afraid I cannot lead our forces to face the rebels from Kyushu."

"Your Majesty."

"I..."

"..."

And so, the ministers all began to speak, offering various excuses to shirk the duty. One of them, apparently unable to think of anything better, even claimed he was constipated from the day before and thus couldn’t go out to fight...

Absurd.

Utterly absurd.

"Hahaha..."

Zhou Di threw his head back and roared with laughter, yet it was a laugh tinged with desolation...