Star Gate

Chapter 1020: The Rise of Human Dao (III)

In a mountain valley.

Ying Hongyue and the rest of the people with him looked into the distance.

“Damn it,” someone sighed. “The three great organizations have killed countless people, but when it’s all added together, have we killed as many as he’s killed in one night?”

Li Hao had slaughtered more than one hundred thousand that night. Although the three great organizations had killed a lot of people in their time and even more had died because of them, the amount that they’d outright killed was not nearly that much.

The world called for their heads and labeled them evil, but what of Li Hao?

He was met with cheers and adoration! Well killed!

The three great organizations could hear the cries even from their hiding places deep within the mountain. The entire northern continent was shaking; countless people exulted with frothing blood. Thousands upon thousands of youngsters had left their homes to pursue their idol Li Hao. They wanted to kill Great Li invaders!

The northern continent was suffering from an invasion, but the situation seemed entirely different at this moment.

“Li Hao... is very shrewd!” Ying Hongyue said softly. “He might not have done this unintentionally, it could all be a carefully laid out plan. He is using the senior levels of the four provinces to incite the people’s resistance and stoke their fervor...”

Was Li Hao broadcasting his actions just to intimidate his enemies?

Not at all!

He might be doing so to shatter the fear in people’s hearts. He was showing them that this was all there was to their terrifying enemies.

The young man could’ve gone straight to Silver Moon, but he didn’t. He’d wasted a pivotal day at a time like this. it looked like he’d only taken the recalcitrant soldiers with him. In reality, he’d aroused the hearts of billions of people.

Everyone denounced the three great organizations, but Li Hao was as if a saint gracing the world.

“Hypocrite!” laughed the Flying Sword Immortal. “This kid is really such a hypocrite, but his methods are exemplary. We are evil because we kill people, but he is good for doing so! He is regarded as hunting down evil—even his army is called the Demon Hunter Army!

“Everyone accepts his facade. You can hear it too, listen to those shouts and cheers. The north is about to celebrate the new year for a second time. Where is the concern of being invaded by Great Li?”

She looked at Ying Hongyue. “What are we to do? Li Hao has come to the north and so is Great Li here. Do we band together and join hands with Great Li? We can deal a heavy blow to Li Hao if he’s hit from inside and out.”

The rest looked at Ying Hongyue as well; this was indeed an opportunity. When the three great organizations and Yonder Mountain were combined, that put quite a number of powerhouses at their disposal. They had tens of thousands of superhumans and several hundred Arcanus following their orders.

They were a formidable force!

If they coordinated with Great Li and hit Li Hao at the same time from behind, that might deal a devastating blow to the young man.

“Great Li will lose!” Ying Hongyue suddenly said. “Do you guys know how many heavyweights he has?

“Li Hao likely has the blessing of the heavens.” The Red Moon leader looked into the distance, “He talks about the situation as if it’s serious so he can rouse the hearts of the people to protect their homeland. In reality, he left some of his people behind to defend Skystar’s central region. He isn’t afraid of Great Li’s invasion!

“Those guys behind the curtains may wish to bring Li Hao a great deal of trouble.” Ying Hongyue took a deep breath. “But they may not have much of an effect. Of course, they may have their own plans in mind in compelling the four nations to invade. When enough people die... a different result might come about.”

He more or less knew of certain situations at this point. Those behind the scarlet cloak would not care even if the entire Great Li army died. They cared more about the second awakening! It didn’t matter who died.

Would it deliver a bigger blow to Li Hao if they attacked him from two fronts at once? All was useless if they didn’t kill the young man. The group looked at Ying Hongyue.

“Then what do you want to do?” asked Yama. “Watch Li Hao dismantle Great Li? To put it bluntly, Li Hao won’t let you off the hook even if he doesn’t kill everyone. It’s not a good plan for you to keep avoiding him!”

Ying Hongyue seemed to have been staying away the young man all this time. That was not a good sign!

“You speak truly,” Ying Hongyue smiled. “So let’s take advantage of his distraction to do something else! Let them fight. What we need to do is strengthen ourselves and recruit powerhouses! In addition, we need resources. So while these guys are preoccupied, let us go to... Great Li!”

The crowd shook.

“The Great Li king is here in person.” A light danced in Ying Hongyue’s eyes. “He has brought great sums of powerhouses with him and left very few heavyweights inside his borders. Great Li has many resources and some ruins, plant spirits, and even treasures from Initial Martial. We can make use of their war to visit their nation and seize everything they have!”

Everyone swallowed hard.

“Won’t this be helping Li Hao?” asked the Yonder mountain lord.

“No no no...” laughed Ying Hongyue. He shook his head. “This is forcing the Great Li dynasty to fight to the bitter end with Li Hao! They have no avenue of retreat available! We’ve severed that road, so they must fight until they triumph in Silver Moon! If Li Hao only wants to defeat them, we’ll let him know that Great Li is still incredibly strong when their backs are against a wall and they have no other choice available!

“Do you think Great Li stand any other chances if they don’t conquer the central plains? They’ll have enemies at their front and back! There will be no way back for them!

“The three great organizations have tens of thousands of supernaturals and many heavyweights. If they seize all of Great Li’s resources and don’t leave a single feather for them, do you think Great Li can still retreat then?”

The rest of the group looked around. That was true. Their own factions were very strong. They couldn’t face Great Li head-on, but since that nation had emptied their country, there were very few heavyweights left at home. Once the factions took the rear and seized everything that Great Li had, it would be a tremendous gain for them as well.

“Someone like Li Hao is very hard to contain, so what we need to do is to constantly strengthen ourselves!” Ying Hongyue laughed. “Only then do we stand a chance of survival! Also, the Forbidden Sea runs through the world. I’ve found that its origin might be in Great Li. If we can ignite the Forbidden Sea and release some antiques ahead of time... there may be a good show to watch!

“We need to make good use of this opportunity. Otherwise, there is too great of a difference between the two sides. There will be nothing in it for us if Li Hao and the rest are spontaneously erased!

“We have one major advantage compared to Li Hao—mobility!” Ying Hongyue grinned radiantly; he was particularly eye-catching at the moment. “We can leave at any time and go elsewhere. He cannot, he must stabilize Skystar Dynasty! Therefore, do not cause too much trouble for Skystar. Otherwise, he might give it up if push comes to shove. He’ll be a difficult opponent then!”

The crowd nodded.

“Hurry and retreat out of the north with everyone.” Ying Hongyue didn’t waste time on further talk. “Cross Ash Mountain to the limits of the very north and kill everyone who sees us. We enter Great Li!”

A massive palace hall rose into the air, followed by a mountain and a wheel of the red moon. Since Li Hao had come, they would retreat. They would head to Great Li.

There was another major benefit in that Great Li was responding to the Ash Mountain monster spirits at the moment. The monster spirits were fighting that king and his army; they weren’t in the mood to pay attention to the three great organizations. The large-scale mobilization created quite the opportunity for stowaways.

Otherwise, with how many monster spirits there were in Ash Mountain typically, the group would certainly raise attention when they tried to slip through. Secrets would be hard to keep then. This had already been demonstrated when the mountain’s monster spirits learned of the trespassers so early on. It was unavoidable!

......

On this day, the three great organizations and Yonder Mountain left through the void. They didn’t follow the ancient cities’ commands to deal a devastating blow to Li Hao in Silver Moon. Rather, they vanished without a trace from the northern territories.

......

At the moment, Li Hao was also on guard against the three great organizations that had retreated to the north. However, Ying Hongyue and the rest were so mysterious that he couldn’t find them. Not even the supernatural who could hear from five hundred kilometers around could detect them.

The young man rushed to Silver Moon. The rises and falls of cheers could be heard anywhere he was. It quite stunned his companions. Could killing people result in such an effect?

They’d thought that some backlash might develop from Li Hao killing so many, but not a single bit had. Even if some felt it inappropriate... The rest of the population quickly drowned them out.

No one dared criticize Li Hao anymore as it would be promptly meant with the curses of countless others.

“It’s my first time learning that one can become a saint from killing others!” Yu Luocha couldn’t help herself. She’d heard how many were hailing Li Hao as a saint incarnate. However, was there a saint like the young man?

More than one hundred thousand had died the first night. Armies of nearly two million were being escorted by the Demon Hunter Army and Battle Heaven Army to Silver Moon. Countless casualties would ensue once they participated in battle. How could this demon that would end up slaughtering one million be hailed a saint?

Yu Luocha found it quite incredulous. Compared to Li Hao, Yuan Shuo seemed quite the innocent! How many had Yuan Shuo killed? Was it even three hundred?

And yet, Yuan Shuo was publicly recognized by the martial world as a demon, whereas Li Hao was a saint! It was... quite maddening. The master and disciple should trade titles!