Chapter 580

Chapter 580: Demon Slaying Order

In the year 3874 of the Xia calendar, the Datong Army cleared all the regions of Southern Chen Kingdom, completely taking control of the realm. Southern Chen Kingdom faded into history.

Perhaps members of the royal family and loyal subjects of Southern Chen Kingdom were hiding in the mountains, overseas, or among the people, but they could no longer change the situation. This is what is called the overall situation being set.

In the summer of the seventy-fourth year, the Datong Army completely took control of all the borders. Just in the north of Datong, they stationed three million soldiers, plus the garrisons in various states. The Datong Army had over seven to eight million troops.

Luckily, the Datong Country is currently the strongest country in the world, with a population of at least seven to eight billion. It’s hard to count exactly because many areas have only recently been brought under control and the rule is not stable yet.

In the more than thirty states of Datong, most places were seized through war, resulting in severe losses. In order to recuperate, Lin Jiang insisted on collecting only regular taxes from most of the people, and also provided subsidies to the people who performed forced labor in some major construction projects.

However, when it comes to commercial taxes, Lin Jiang is not lenient, especially on luxury goods. Taxes have already increased several times, barely managing the current situation.

After taking over the border defenses, the Datong Army gradually clashed with the Demon Human. When facing the minions of Demon Human, the Datong Army is not weak at all, but if they encounter the Demon Human Tribe, they are at a slight disadvantage.

From Mizhou State to Deng State, advancing north by three hundred miles, according to our incomplete statistics, there are over three hundred Demon Human Tribes, ranging from fifty to three thousand people in each tribe. It is conservatively estimated that there are over a hundred thousand young and strong Demon Human.

Within the Demon Human, the strength of different tribes varies, but even the weakest have elites similar to our postnatal martial artists. If more than half of the young and strong have the strength of an Innate Martial Artist, then we are facing fifty thousand Innate Martial Artists among the Demon Human.

This is purely theoretical, but in our Datong Country, according to the latest statistics, there are over twenty-three thousand five hundred martial artists above the postnatal level within our court system."

"Your Majesty, according to the reports from our scouts sent to the north, the high-level Demon Human have also noticed that Datong has replaced Chen Kingdom. The Demon Human around Qing State, the original states, are moving south…"

"Your Majesty, according to the news from Immortal Kingdom…"

In a meeting, the leaders of Datong Army were discussing how to fight against Demon Humans. Demon Humans are strong because they are naturally powerful and everyone in their nation is trained as elite soldiers.

On the other hand, Datong Army had just finished a civil war and was at their weakest. There were only around 20,000 innate martial artists in the entire military system, and 99% of them were Innate Martial Artists.

"What strategy does the Military Department have?"

"Your Majesty, the Military Department does have a few strategies."

"Tell me about them."

Yes, the first point is that the Military Department suggests increasing the armor and weaponry of our Datong Army, such as improving armor protection and increasing the number of bows and crossbows, especially powerful ones. They also recommend heavy weapons like catapults that can launch massive rocks, which even Martial Saints would have trouble avoiding.

The second point is to enhance the strength of the soldiers in the army. The Military Department recommends increasing the number of martial arts instructors in the army, providing thorough training to the soldiers, and focusing on nurturing those with exceptional talent…"

The officials from the Military Department proposed several ideas, and Lin Jiang agreed to all of them. He instructed people to carry out the plans. The Military Department was very efficient and didn’t make hasty decisions.

"Your Majesty, the remaining forces of Immortal Kingdom, including the Great Wall Legion and the Qing River Legion, have agreed to cooperate with us and are willing to work with us in our operations. However, Zhou Dynasty still refuses to cooperate and has made strict demands."

"Do you still want territory?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Foolish."

Lin Jiang snorted coldly, knowing that Zhou Dynasty and Chen Kingdom had a deep-seated rivalry for hundreds of years.

In the past, Zhou Dynasty’s predecessor, Liao Kingdom, took advantage of Chen Kingdom’s weakness and claimed much of its land, forcing Chen Kingdom to submit. As Chen Kingdom grew stronger and Liao Kingdom weaker, the tables turned. Chen Kingdom reclaimed its territory, forcing Liao Kingdom to submit. Now, Zhou Dynasty has inherited most of Liao Kingdom’s legacy and considers the territories reclaimed by Chen Kingdom as its own.

So when faced with Lin Jiang’s proposal for cooperation, Zhou Dynasty made strict demands, requiring Datong Country to submit to them and return the previously reclaimed territories to Zhou Dynasty.

For Lin Jiang, this demand was impossible to accept. He had a strong desire for land and was determined not to lose any territory, even in the face of challenges.

"Your Majesty, Zhou Dynasty’s current strength is formidable, like a fierce tiger lying on a bed. We must not underestimate them."

"I know, there’s a plan. Send someone to persuade the Qing River Legion of the Immortal Kingdom to move one of their defense lines from backing the Zhou Dynasty to backing my kingdom. Any losses will be compensated doubly by my kingdom."

Lin Jiang calmly explained that the Zhou Dynasty feels so confident because they have no direct contact with the Demon Human. Their northern region is vast marshland, east is the sea, south borders the Great Harmony, and the Qing River Legion guards the west, which is why they are so arrogant.

Lin Jiang decided to convince the Qing River Legion to give up half of their defense line, so that the Zhou Dynasty can feel the strength of the Demon Human forces. Let’s see if they will still be so bold then.

······

In the 3877th year of the Xia calendar, in late autumn.

When the autumn wind blows, the land in the north of Chen Kingdom turns yellow. The winters in these provinces are very cold, sometimes with knee-high snow.

The Demon Human were very fond of meat, so they raised many cattle and sheep. Every autumn, they stockpiled a lot of fodder for the animals to survive the winter.

This year was no different, but there was an unexpected event. A tribe of Demon Human went out and saw ashes falling from the sky, which were caused by someone setting fire to the forests in the distance.

On top of a certain hill, a group of horsemen quietly appeared. They were only about a hundred strong, each riding at least three fast horses, stealthily observing the Demon Human in the distance.

"Captain, the fire has been set and there are multiple fire points, we can’t save them, we can only let it burn out."

"Great, the fire-setting mission is completed. Next, we will distribute these Demon Slaying Orders. We will split into three teams, avoid being seen by Demon Humans, and go to human villages to distribute as many Demon Slaying Orders as possible."

The leading captain spoke, then he opened the scroll, inside were thousands of Demon Slaying Order notices. The notices were short, but filled with a strong desire for revenge.

The first part of the notice described the cruel acts of the Demon Humans, while the latter part offered rewards. Anyone who killed a Demon Human and brought a part with Demon Human characteristics to the south could exchange it with the Datong Army for food, gold, silver, land, title, martial arts techniques, and more, without any limits.

The Demon Slaying Order has been spread within the Chen Kingdom, calling on civilian warriors to go to the north and kill demons. Now, it also needs to be spread among the human population in the north.

In the north, many humans have become the servants of Demon Humans, but there are also many humans who have irreconcilable grievances with the Demon Humans, which can be used to turn them against each other.

It can also sow discord between the Demon Humans and the human population in the north. Even if only a fraction of the people act and kill a few Demon Humans, it is enough to make the Demon Humans distrust the humans and weaken their power.

After distributing the Demon Slaying Orders, the captain and his team split into three groups and entered some human villages. Demon Humans are very cautious of human villages and don’t allow them to openly carry weapons, so the team’s actions went smoothly. They entered the villages, scattered the Demon Slaying Orders, loudly announced the policies of the Datong Army, and then left immediately.

Timid people naturally wouldn’t dare to touch them, but there will always be some brave individuals who secretly hide the Demon Slaying Orders.

The Demon Slaying Order has a big influence. The people in the northern lands have always resisted. Many had stopped resisting before because they couldn’t see hope and no one supported them. Now, the Datong Army can support them, and these people have become active again.

In just one month, dozens of Demon Humans were sneak attacked and killed. In retaliation, the Demon Humans couldn’t find the real culprit, so they started slaughtering human villages. This sparked a strong resistance among the humans, causing the relationship between Demon Humans and the Northern human tribes to quickly deteriorate.