World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 574 - 291: Beauty, wound!

Chapter 574: 291: Beauty, wound!

The Night Orchid Duchy, located southwest of the Rage Wave Kingdom.

In the entire Human World, it was one of the powers just below the four great kingdoms.

But tragically, as it was sandwiched between the Flame Empire, the Rage Wave Kingdom, and the Xiliang Kingdom, it never saw an opportunity for expansion. At present, the duchy had reached its greatest extent of development.

Fortunately, because it was situated between these three great powers, it also hadn’t been swallowed up.

Originally, the Night Orchid Duchy had four provinces, but later one was seized by the treacherous Ashi Clan, leaving only three provinces.

Twenty years ago, Rou Ran City was still just a part of the Night Orchid Duchy, with Ashimo serving as the governor of Rou Ran Province.

However, for some unknown reason, Ashimo suddenly rebelled against the Night Orchid Duchy. At the time, although he was the governor of Rou Ran Province, only his own core troops joined him in the rebellion, merely a quarter of the province’s territory.

Twenty years ago, the Night Orchid Duchy dispatched an army of three hundred thousand soldiers to quell the rebellion, while Ashimo had only a little over twenty thousand at his disposal.

With no other choice, Ashimo sought help from the Rage Wave Kingdom and pledged his allegiance to the Zhi Family of the Rage Wave Kingdom.

At that time, King Quo Bian, who had just ascended the throne, sent Turing Tuo and Earl Suo Long with two separate armies to save Rou Ran City.

Turing Tuo led his army to attack the capital of the Night Orchid Duchy, while Earl Suo Long led his troops to lift the siege on Rou Ran City.

In that battle, the Ashi Clan and the Rage Wave Kingdom won a complete victory. From then on, Ashi Clan’s Rou Ran City became a vassal of the Rage Wave Kingdom.

After that defeat, the Night Orchid Duchy was unable to recover for nearly a decade.

Seizing the opportunity, Ashimo expanded his territory by bullying the smaller, continuously invading the Night Orchid Duchy, and eventually, he took control of the entire Rou Ran Province.

Originally, Ashimo intended to continue expanding and even planned to annihilate the Night Orchid Duchy and replace it.

But the Xiliang Kingdom and the Flame Empire would not sit idly by and watch the Rage Wave Kingdom completely absorb the Night Orchid Duchy; even King Quo Bian was unwilling to see the Ashi Clan expand so quickly or replace the Night Orchid Duchy.

Under the pressure of the three great powers, Ashimo could no longer move; he had to halt his march of expansion. His obsession with the art of immortality thereafter was no doubt a sign of his frustrated ambitions.

As for the Night Orchid Duchy, Rou Ran City remained a source of national shame.

The entire nation considered the Rou Ran Province part of its ancestral land and dreamed daily of reclaiming it.

Comparatively speaking, based on Earth’s history, the fight for Rou Ran City years ago was for the Night Orchid Duchy what the Jingkang Incident was for the Song Dynasty.

Because back then, the ruler of the Night Orchid Duchy, Duke Lamu, died under the walls of Rou Ran City, and Crown Prince Lan Xue died in the battle defending the capital.

If not for the Xiliang Kingdom’s army of two hundred thousand that crossed the desert and threatened the Rage Wave Kingdom, the Night Orchid Duchy might have already fallen.

That battle cost the Night Orchid Duchy both its ruler and his heir.

Not only that, but they also lost a quarter of their territory and a fifth of their population.

This was more than just a severe blow; it was an eternal national disgrace.

Since then, the relationship between the Night Orchid Duchy and the Rage Wave Kingdom hit rock bottom. Even after the ceasefire, they remained hostile nations, ceasing all diplomatic relations.

The Xiliang Kingdom, however, became the Night Orchid Duchy’s greatest ally and savior.

In the nearly ten years since, the Night Orchid Duchy had regained military strength from its peak times and now possessed an army of four hundred thousand.

Meanwhile, although the Rage Wave Kingdom had not fallen into a civil war, the struggle for power between Zhi Yan and Zhi Li, and King Quo Bian’s paralysis, had rendered the kingdom powerless despite its formidable strength.

And Rou Ran City had just lost two generations of leadership in a single night, finding itself at its weakest.

This opportunity was once in a lifetime; the Night Orchid Duchy immediately mobilized the full force of the nation to invade Rou Ran and reclaim their lost territory.

Crown Prince Lan Tu had virtually sworn an oath in front of the citizens of Night Orchid and Grand Duke Lan Shi: to win this battle without fail, not returning until Rou Ran City was recaptured.

And Grand Duke Lan Shi had decreed that this battle was to wash away the national disgrace, and no one was to hinder the Crown Prince. Anyone daring to obstruct this war of redemption, no matter their status or power, was to be executed immediately without mercy.

...

Helan Pass was the gateway to Rou Ran.

The southwest of Rou Ran Province bordered the Night Orchid Duchy, and most of it consisted of high mountains and great rivers, presenting treacherous terrain.

To enter Rou Ran, one must first take Helan Pass.

And after more than a decade of fortifications, Helan Pass had far surpassed the Suo’s Tianlang Pass and Barbaric Gorge. It was one of the rare strongholds in the world, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Rou Ran City typically stationed over thirty thousand troops at Helan Pass, but now faced with the full-scale invasion by the Night Orchid Duchy, the garrison had swelled to over fifty thousand.

The two sides had been battling for several days and nights.

In fact, the Night Orchid Duchy’s army of three hundred thousand had already assaulted Rou Ran City a few days prior, Helan Pass to the southwest had been under siege for days, and the armies had been fighting fiercely.

A few days ago, Ashi Liren had already sent messengers, using carrier hawks to send letters asking for help to Zhi Du Royal City.

However, by now, King Quo Bian was merely clinging to life and could no longer manage any state affairs.

Princess Zhi Yan made a decisive decision, borrowed King Quo Bian’s Jade Seal, and issued orders for the kingdom’s army to rescue Rou Ran City.

But besides the tens of thousands of troops in Tianshui City and the Forbidden Army guarding the royal palace, Zhi Yan was now incapable of mobilizing a single soldier.

The Forbidden Army was not to be touched. The land forces of Tianshui City did not exceed twenty thousand, needed to defend Tianshui City as well as Tianlang Pass. They were completely powerless to aid Rou Ran City.