Chapter 0831 Before the Battle
She was sitting alone in the tent and suddenly became interested in her own name. Her Royal Highness the Princess, Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, Her Royal Highness the Queen... The title she was most familiar with was "Your Highness", and she was always the "Your Highness" who received the most attention. , just like she once monopolized the title of "Princess" in Xijie Kingdom. Among a group of royal members, if the word "Your Highness" suddenly sounds without any prefix, it is most likely that she is being called.
Xin Youxun, her real name, has become a strange and mysterious symbol. It has almost never been spoken by anyone. Even her biological parents have never called her by this name.
"Xin Youxun." She muttered softly, as if it was a mantra, but her eyes fell on the ink jade statue not far in front of her.
There are not many black jade statues, and there are only about six or seven in the entire Fuhai City. The one in front of her is very beautifully carved. The sculptor's nimble fingers alone cannot achieve this level, and magic must be used to help.
Someone walked into the tent, and Queen Xun knew who it was without raising her head. She said: "The ancient gods have three faces. I always thought that indifference represents the emperor, compassion represents the queen, and death represents the general."
"There are many explanations for the three statues." Xiao Qingtao walked over and took a look at the statues without paying any particular attention.
"What is the orthodox explanation?"
"The Taoist tradition has no explanation, because the Taoist priests simply do not believe in the existence of ancient gods."
"Dao Tong is the ancient god." Queen Xun raised her head and showed an inexplicable smile, "In the eyes of mortals, Taoist priests are gods. We felt deeply about their compassion and indifference to human beings. Until Dao Tong turned around and left, we Only then did I know the true meaning of death.”
Xiao Qingtao looked at Queen Xun calmly. The two had never been particularly close friends and could never talk about everything. She was able to walk in without being notified. It had nothing to do with friendship. It was because Xin Youtao connected the two. , also because she is in charge of an army of tens of thousands of monks.
Queen Xun was quite far-sighted and used her influence to recruit monks from all over the world long before the Taoism retired. She started earlier than Hong Futian and on a larger scale. However, the monks were used to being unorganized and the grievances between the sects were extremely complicated. Even a great talisman master would find it difficult to control them. Xiao Qingtao, a Taoist priest, solved this problem.
Nowadays, Xiao Qingtao is only a name that only a few people can call her. General Wanxiu is her official title, and people usually call her "Xiu Shuai".
"Taoist priests are not gods, they are just a group of humans with stronger abilities." Xiao Qingtao said. She is no longer the little girl with a soft voice. Her family, cousins, Taoism, Fangfang, Mu Xingqiu, Yang Qingyin... ...All the power she could rely on either died or disappeared. From the moment she decided to stand on her own feet, she was Pei Xiu Shuai.
"This means that when a certain power is too strong to be understood, we call it a god. Just like in the eyes of ordinary people, the royal family is also a god." Queen Xun stood up. She had already put on a full set of light leather armor. , only the helmet was not put on, "We also have three faces. I have always refused to admit the side of death, but I can't hide it. The Taoist unity turned around, and millions of human beings were plunged into despair. A mistake in judgment by the emperor and I led to More than half a million people died in the demon fire.”
Xiao Qingtao didn't say anything. Queen Xun was a strong woman who could come out of the abyss. What she needed was not comfort, but a listener.
"I don't hate the demon clan." Queen Xun's helmet was placed next to the black jade statue. She did not move, but picked up the statue, "because hatred will bring more deaths. Some people regard war as a career, and some people I regard it as a hobby, some people regard it as a way to vent, I only regard it as a means. We must win this battle. After that, Xiu Shuai, I hope to talk to your cousin, the Holy Mother of All Sons, and any demon clan who is willing to sit down. After all, those who hold death in their hands should be more compassionate."
Xiao Qingtao never knew Queen Xun very well. They were two completely different types of people. They had no chance to meet each other. They were in the same boat because of a series of accidents. Until this moment, Xiao Qingtao suddenly felt a sense of respect and understood. Learn how Xin Youtao has changed over the years.
"Our Lady of Ten Thousand Sons and Pei Zihan have clearly rejected my request to join forces, but... if this battle can really be won, they will be willing to talk."
"We will definitely win." Empress Xun said firmly, all the fatigue and hesitation on her face disappeared, and her slender fingers held the ink jade statue tighter.
The statue of the god shone slightly with a layer of soft light.
"Look, the Ancient God is on our side, not because we are humans, but because of the mercy of the Ancient God. It is the controller of death and does not allow too little or too much." Queen Xun said with a smile, She walked outside the tent without wearing a helmet. She stopped at the door and asked, "Do you think Mu Xingqiu will show up?"
Regarding the statues of gods that suddenly appeared all over the city, Xiao Qingtao knew very well what was going on. She did not object to Xin Youtao doing this, but she did not express her support clearly. When she heard Queen Xun's question, she didn't know how to answer, "Well ...There is no clear news yet.”
"Have hope." Queen Xun smiled again.
Outside the tent, it was dawn, and the guards had all mounted their horses, making all preparations. Queen Xun's unicorn died in the imperial capital, and she jumped onto the back of a war horse without anyone's help.
Xiao Qingtao also rides a horse. She has two major responsibilities today, one is to command the monk army, and the other is to protect Queen Xun. Xin Youtao is commanding the entire army and insists on not letting her sister go to the front line to charge again.
The road outside was full of old, weak, women and children. All the men who could wield weapons had gone to the battlefield. Fuhai City had originally stored a large amount of military supplies, and with the weapons and armor shipped from various cities, equipment was not a problem.
The crowd was very quiet, not as excited as usual when they saw Queen Xun, and their eyes were even a little dull. Queen Xun had seen such eyes. When the imperial capital was destroyed and the refugees were desperate and had no way to deal with it, the only choice was to force herself not to think about anything, refusing to admit that death was imminent, and refusing to accept hope.
This was despair that drowned below the nostrils.
Queen Xun slowed down, controlled the reins with one hand, and raised the black jade statue high with the other hand. No one looked at it, and said nothing, focusing all her faith on the statue.
The statue glowed again, and it became brighter and brighter, wrapping half of her arm in it.
But in the current situation, the truth is exactly the least important.
More and more people raised the statues in their hands, of different sizes and materials, but with the same faith.
The crowd was still silent, but their eyes were not so dull. Even Xiao Qingtao had to admit that there seemed to be more hope in her heart.
The battlefield was densely covered with a large number of wooden platforms and catapults, some of which were as huge as castles. These were built by hundreds of thousands of people day and night. Even with the help of magic, it was a miracle.
Queen Xun was sent to a high platform, and Xiao Qingtao went to inspect the nearby monk army. There were many bunkers between the platform and the catapults, where a varying number of casual cultivators were stationed. With the help of a large number of magic weapons, they had to fight against the sorcerers underground to ensure the safety of the Huang Fu army.
The largest monk army stopped not far from the high platform where Queen Xun was, with a number of 7,000 people. Neither Hong Futian's monk team nor Lan Binghu's monk group in the past had reached such a scale.
These monks are more like soldiers, wearing uniform armor of talismans, not yellow, but the black of the Xuanfu Army, but their weapons have their own characteristics, swords, staffs, rulers, knives, etc. They are reserve forces and will not be put into the battlefield immediately.
Xiao Qingtao still did not fly, but rode past the monks on horseback. Everything has been arranged. She is not good at speaking. Finally, she shouted "The fire of Taoism will not be extinguished."
"The fire of Taoism will not be extinguished!" The monks responded in unison. They like this sentence. Since the Taoist tradition has retired, the casual cultivators are the group of people closest to the Taoist fire, and can even be said to be the successors of the Taoist fire.
"The fire of Taoism will not be extinguished." Xiao Qingtao shouted three times in a row. She also needs a little faith, which is something that the ancient statue cannot provide, but these four words can. She has never complained to anyone, including Xin Youtao, but when she decided to accept the method of re-destruction and spit out the Taoist inner elixir, she was really heartbroken.
Her desire to become a Taoist priest is stronger than most people.
When the voice of "The fire of Taoism will not be extinguished" sounded, she felt that she was a Taoist priest again.
Xiao Qingtao returned to the high platform and stood beside Queen Xun. Both of them looked at the same person in front of them.
There were countless soldiers lined up more than ten miles ahead, all wearing yellow talisman armor, with only a gray patch in the middle. They were the talisman masters of the Longbin Society. As the commander of the entire army, Xin Youtao rode a horse and stood in the front row of the talisman masters, higher than the others. There were hundreds of officers and talisman masters around him.
It is not easy to command hundreds of thousands of troops. It requires the cooperation of professional officers and talisman masters.
The two women on the high platform in the back looked at each other and felt warm in their hearts at the same time. That was her brother, her lover, and their pride. In just a few years, the changes that happened to Xin Youtao shocked everyone who knew him. Xiao Qingtao sometimes even felt that Xin Youtao had become a stranger, but it was this change that made her love him more deeply.
"Maybe Mu Xingqiu will really appear." Xiao Qingtao whispered. She finally understood that what everyone needed was not a person or a god, but a hope.
Dark clouds mixed with red and white light slowly floated over, and the sun was covered as soon as it rose. The horns of the demon clan sounded, and the drums of humans thundered.
In the far distance, a huge bust slowly rose. It was not the ancient god, but the self-sacrificing king. "There is no demon clan, no Taoism, this is a decisive battle between the demon clan and humans!"
The voice reached everyone's ears, equally clear and powerful.
Xin Youtao responded by offering a paper talisman. With him as the center, the ancient god statues in front of all the soldiers emitted light, no matter it was made of jade, copper, iron, wood, or just a wooden stick that had just taken shape, all emitted the same size of light.
The talisman master offered talismans, the slingshot threw, the soldiers activated the magic tools on the high platform... Ten thousand spells flew over the army's heads, carrying their beliefs to face the more numerous magic.