Chapter 618: Chapter 376: Winning This War
...
Yan Xiaobao secretly agreed with Wan Qiao’s reasoning, but hearing that he would have so much funding to control, his face was still filled with disbelief. Soon, a faint smile appeared on his face; he now knew that fulfilling those terms wouldn’t be difficult. Luring their experts into a frenzy and swiftly and ruthlessly killing their enemies to obtain money wouldn’t be a problem. The real reason Yan Xiaobao wanted this was to quickly finish their opponents. They needed to win this war swiftly, with as few casualties as possible.
"Alright, what I need you to do is find my maps. Several maps showing every route through the forest toward the Siban Empire. I won’t be crossing the forest itself; we need to use the highways since our team isn’t small. I need a map alongside a guidebook—something to help me plan the directions properly."
Wan Qiao swallowed all of Yan Xiaobao’s words, her expression turning serious, but the excitement in her eyes continued to sparkle. Her task wasn’t easy, but she finally had the chance to assist Yan Xiaobao in the war—a war she had been deeply passionate about.
Seeing the unwavering determination in both Lords, Yan Xiaobao gently pushed back his chair and stood up. Once again, he nodded at the two Lords.
"I plan to rely on you to resolve these matters for me," Yan Xiaobao said with a smile on his face. "I need to return to my room, as I also need to prepare for the war." The young man spoke, and after a while, he finally turned to leave the room. He walked steadily, neither hurried nor slow, and returned to his room. Sitting again under the moonlight, he began to draw Yin Energy from the essence of heaven and earth.
While Yan Xiaobao was busy cultivating his Inner Energy, Wan Qiao and Pan Long left the room with bright smiles on their faces. Wan Qiao went to the library to search for maps, while Pan Long headed toward the quarters in the castle where many Lords currently resided.
Night slowly descended upon the castle, and everyone was busy with their respective tasks. Although each person focused on different things, there was one commonality that united them all. It ensured the castle never truly fell silent. That commonality was war. The impending conflict loomed large, and the Magic Beasts were busy making their preparations. No one knew for sure how prepared the Magic Beasts were for the upcoming war—except the humans, apart from Yan Xiaobao.
The following day, Yan Xiaobao granted the experts a day off and wandered the castle, delegating tasks that required his attention. This was especially true for those stationed in the Divine Domain, whom he had pushed to their limits. Although all the Saints were tirelessly traveling across the breadth of the Divine Domain, they did their utmost to gather Gold, food, and maps. Watching them, Yan Xiaobao was deeply grateful that all the guards were equipped with armor and weapons. If he had needed the Saints to procure armor and weapons for the entire army as well, he could only imagine how chaotic it would have been.
As the Saints returned to the Capital from their hometowns, Yan Xiaobao allowed the army to relax briefly. This meant they all had to train themselves individually, and to Yan Xiaobao’s surprise, he noticed no one engaging in individual combat anymore. All battles now took place in groups.
These groups seemed to enjoy this new combat approach, their eyes sparkling with excitement. Their faces were adorned with uncontrollable smiles. They had grown accustomed to fighting together, familiar with each teammate’s diverse attacks—not to mention the trust they had built among themselves. They knew someone always had their backs, allowing them to push forward and attack boldly. Watching how well the groups cooperated, Yan Xiaobao felt a sense of pride swell within him.
Strolling through the military camps, Yan Xiaobao encountered numerous individuals or groups training together. They were experimenting with new combat techniques or cultivating their Inner Energy.
Yan Xiaobao was deeply engrossed in refining Yin Energy to create more martial power. However, despite the Blue Cloud driving his cultivation, the process was still remarkably slow. Yan Xiaobao admitted to himself it would take at least a year to reach the ninth star of King-level. He sighed deeply at the thought, but then, remembering the significant help he’d received from the monks, he felt he couldn’t ask for more.
Although Yan Xiaobao felt the weight of these pressures, he knew he had to focus on extracting the essence of heaven and earth in his cultivation. For him, maintaining the high quality of his Inner Energy was crucial—high enough to avoid imbalances in his foundational training.
Sighing again, Yan Xiaobao turned toward the castle gates. In the air, he spotted a fleeting blur—a figure moving so rapidly that only those trained to recognize it would know its significance. Yet Yan Xiaobao immediately understood the meaning of that fleeting figure. He knew he would soon be summoned, as another Saint had returned to the Capital.
The Forest King returned home to gather Gold and food. It was expected that everyone would return home, but oddly enough, procurement deals seemed to be the biggest issue. In a world devoid of ordinary beasts, people needed to capture less intelligent Magic Beasts in the forests and turn them into food supplies. Some beasts lived on farms where forests had already been cleared to grow crops; they were raised alongside corn, rice, and other staples.
Seeing that a Lord had returned, Yan Xiaobao needed to meet this Saint to receive the supplies he had brought. Yan Xiaobao hurried back to the castle and found himself inside half an hour later. Upon arrival, he saw a Forest King waiting for him. This was one of the experts who didn’t plan to directly participate in the war, yet when he respectfully nodded to Yan Xiaobao, his expression remained stern. He handed the young man two premium-grade storage stones.