Chapter 785: Northern Barbarian Hearts, The Divine Capital's Heaven

Deep in the wilderness.

Atop a mountain peak, over ten thousand warriors were stationed.

These warriors of the wilderness mostly wore animal hides, with tattoos covering their faces and exposed skin.

The ornaments hanging from their necks were the bones of various exotic beasts!

This meant that every one of the more than ten thousand Northern Barbarian warriors stationed here had hunted at least one exotic beast.

Exotic beasts, not mere wild animals!

In the Northern Barbarian lands, a qualified warrior must, after coming of age, hunt at least one wild animal alone in the wilderness jungle.

And a qualified martial artist must have hunted at least one exotic beast of the first rank or higher alone.

In the Central Plains, among exotic beasts of the lower three ranks, there may exist those that are very gentle and have little aggression.

But in the Northern Barbarian lands, any exotic beast is absolutely more terrifying than the most ferocious tiger!

A qualified martial artist is known in the Northern Barbarian lands as a "Tuodu Warrior."

The more than ten thousand people stationed here are all Tuodu Warriors!

They are the personal guard of the Northern Barbarian King!

Every time the Northern Barbarian King Boerhu conquered a tribe, he would select a powerhouse from that tribe and have them bring a group of elite Tuodu Warriors to follow by his side.

After he gained the allegiance of eleven tribes, this personal guard following him grew to over ten thousand, and the army was filled with powerhouses!

This personal guard by the Northern Barbarian King's side has now become the most powerful force in the entire Northern Barbarian lands!

A massive tent was pitched at the highest point of the mountain peak.

A woman with wheat-colored skin and short hair walked toward this tent.

She carried two curved blades on her back; her figure was slender yet full of explosive power, possessing an indescribable wild beauty.

As the warriors along the way saw her, no one dared to look twice, and they all lowered their heads in salute.

The woman was the only daughter of the chief of the Wuri Tribe, one of the four strongest tribes among the seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes—Wuya Nana.

Wuya Nana moved with swift, decisive steps and barged directly into the largest tent.

Inside the tent, a man sat on the ground, holding a book and reading.

The man wore a full set of black armor, which was rare in the Northern Barbarian lands where iron was severely lacking.

He wore his hair long, and his features had the ruggedness typical of a Northern Barbarian, yet his temperament held a touch of refinement rare in the north.

He was the Northern Barbarian King—Boerhu!

"My King."

Wuya Nana walked into the tent and called out to Boerhu.

Boerhu looked up; he had eyes like stars, and anyone who met his gaze would be involuntarily drawn in.

"Nana."

Boerhu put down the book in his hand and smiled, gesturing for his wife to sit.

"My King, I heard you intend to go personally to rescue the Mengshi Tribe?"

Wuya Nana asked directly.

Boerhu nodded: "That is correct."

Wuya Nana became anxious immediately; she rushed over and cupped her husband's face in her hands:

"My King, my Boerhu! Do you not know that this is a trap specifically set by the Central Plains people to kill you?"

Boerhu faded his smile and looked at her earnestly:

"I am the King of the Northern Barbarians; when my people are in trouble, how can I not go to save them?"

Wuya Nana: "But..."

"Nana!"

Boerhu interrupted her, a massive sense of majesty radiating from him:

"I wish to truly unify the Northern Barbarian lands; this is a test I must undergo! I will let all the Northern Barbarian people know that their King will not abandon any one of them!"

Having said this, he stood up from the ground.

His stature was not particularly tall, but when this Northern Barbarian King stood up, his figure became as towering as a sacred mountain in Wuya Nana's eyes, standing firm between heaven and earth!

Wuya Nana looked at him with both admiration and worry.

She knew that once he made a decision, it could never be changed.

No matter how dangerous or difficult this decision might be, he would certainly see it through!

Just as he had told her back then, he would challenge all the "Badu Powerhouses" of the seventeen tribes, become the strongest "Badu," and then come to marry her!

In the Northern Barbarian lands, ordinary martial artists, and even Martial Masters and Qi-Refining Martial Masters, all belong to the Tuodu Warriors, just at different levels.

Further up, Dao Foundation martial artists are known as Tudu Warriors.

Martial Dao Grandmasters are known as Badu Powerhouses!

Boerhu did not belong to any of the seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes; he came from a small tribe that had lived in seclusion in the deep mountains for years.

When he first emerged, he was already a Badu Powerhouse!

Later, he traveled among the tribes, met Wuya Nana, the daughter of the Wuri Tribe chief, and the two fell in love.

But Boerhu came from a small mountain tribe; his family background was like heaven and earth compared to Wuya Nana's.

Even though he was a Badu Powerhouse, he still could not get the Wuri Tribe chief to agree to let his daughter marry him.

Wuya Nana's original mission was to be sent away for a political marriage with the son of another powerful tribe's chief.

To be able to marry Wuya Nana, Boerhu chose to challenge all the Badu Powerhouses of the seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes!

Over the next six years, Boerhu defeated almost all the Badu Powerhouses of the Northern Barbarian lands, becoming the recognized "Strongest Badu"!

And at that time, he was only 35 years old, truly young and promising, with a boundless future.

Thus, the Wuri Tribe chief agreed to let his daughter marry him.

After gaining the support of the Wuri Tribe, one of the four strongest tribes in the Northern Barbarian lands, Boerhu soared directly to the sky!

In just two years, he broke through the bottleneck that seemed like a natural chasm to others, advancing from a Badu Powerhouse to a Tiandu Powerhouse, which is to say, a Grandmaster!

That year, the 37-year-old Boerhu conceived a new ideal—

He wanted to unify the Northern Barbarian lands and become the second Northern Barbarian King!

So he began to lead the elites of the Wuri Tribe to conquer in all directions, either threatening with force, persuading with personal charisma, or enticing with benefits...

In ten years, he had successively conquered eight tribes!

Last year, he had six tribes join forces to invade the Northern Frontier, winning several victories and seizing a large amount of grain and various weapons and equipment for the Northern Barbarian lands.

The harvest that year was more than the previous three years combined!

Leveraging the momentum brought by this war, Boerhu decisively led a large army to threaten the main base of the Huolin Tribe, one of the four powerful tribes, and intentionally waited for the reinforcements of two other tribes.

Afterward, he publicly signed a covenant with the powerhouses of the three tribes, and under the joint witness of over a hundred thousand troops, he fought the three Tiandu Powerhouses alone!

The final result was his victory, and thus he gained the joint allegiance of the Huolin Tribe, one of the four powerful tribes, and the two other tribes that had been allied with them for generations.

This year, Boerhu is only 48 years old, and he is already the King revered by eleven Northern Barbarian tribes, including the two great tribes of Wuri and Huolin!

So when he decided to rescue the Mengshi Tribe and issued the order, almost the entire Northern Barbarian land was set in motion!

Lava flowed atop a high mountain, like a giant torch, burning the sky above red.

This mountain is the sacred mountain of the Huolin Tribe, one of the four powerful Northern Barbarian tribes.

On the sacred mountain, all the elders and the chief of the Huolin Tribe gathered.

Boerhu's decision to rescue the Mengshi Tribe could not possibly be carried out by him alone with just his ten thousand personal guards.

Although his ten thousand personal guards were all martial artists, they certainly could not compare to the Qingshuang Army.

So before setting out, he issued orders to the eleven tribes that pledged allegiance to him, requiring these tribes to immediately dispatch elite warriors to rush to the location of the Mengshi Tribe's main base!

This order was also conveyed to the Huolin Tribe, so the Huolin Tribe urgently convened this meeting.

There is an altar at the peak of the sacred mountain, and at this moment, the six elders and the chief gathered before this altar.

These seven people were all Badu Powerhouses!

The titles of Northern Barbarian powerhouses do not distinguish between Martial Dao and the Occult Dao; of the seven Badu Powerhouses present, four were Martial Dao Grandmasters, and three were True Persons.

The seven powerhouses stood before the altar, waiting quietly.

A moment later, an old man wearing a bright red robe, with a burly build and white hair on his head, yet looking more robust than the vast majority of warriors, walked toward this place.

"Great Elder."

Including the chief, the seven bowed to the newcomer.

The newcomer was the Great Elder of the Huolin Tribe, Nuomuhan.

A top-tier True Person cultivation base, and a top-tier True Person at the "Great Perfection of the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend"!

Nuomuhan gave the impression of being more of a Martial Dao powerhouse than an occultist; he walked toward the seven with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, his momentum majestic:

"Everyone knows the King's order; start stating your positions."

Without any nonsense, Nuomuhan went straight to the point.

"I believe Boerhu is too careless; the Central Plains people's target is clearly him. To mobilize all troops in a rush to rescue them will disrupt all the established defensive zones, which will give the Central Plains people an opportunity!"

Huolin Tribe chief Nuomumeng'er spoke first.

Nuomuhan looked at him, scolding him with a stern gaze:

"Meng'er, you must not address the King by his name directly!"

Nuomumeng'er was startled and immediately lowered his head: "Yes, Great Elder."

Nuomuhan looked at the others: "What are your opinions?"

One elder said: "I think we can send troops; our Huolin Tribe, plus the Yanxin Tribe and the Qingye Tribe, can send a total of thirty thousand elite warriors to rescue the Mengshi Tribe, which is enough to give the King an answer."

Another elder immediately retorted: "How can we easily sacrifice the lives of thirty thousand sons just to provide an account?"

"I think we should immediately advise the King and tell him not to lead troops to the rescue."

"That is impossible; the King has already set out with his men, and the order has already been issued to the eleven tribes."

"Since the King has already issued the order, we have no choice but to send troops."

"."

The Chieftain, along with six elders—three of whom felt they should send troops to rescue, while the others held opposing views.

After listening to everyone's opinions, Nuomuhan said with a solemn expression:

"I intend to mobilize fifteen thousand elites from the three tribes, and I will lead the troops myself to rendezvous with the King!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expressions changed.

"Great Elder, that is absolutely impossible!"

The Chieftain Nuomumeng'er was the first to object, "This journey will surely be fraught with danger. Once the fifteen thousand elites suffer heavy losses, our three tribes will be severely crippled!"

Before the other elders could object, Nuomuhan said sternly:

"If we know it is fraught with danger, wouldn't sending only thirty thousand men be a waste of lives?"

Nuomumeng'er wanted to speak but stopped.

Previously, the high-level members of the three tribes—the Huolin Tribe, the Yanxin Tribe, and the Qingye Tribe—had all publicly sworn allegiance to Bo'erhu on the Sacred Mountain.

Under these circumstances, if Bo'erhu ordered the three tribes to send troops for support and they remained indifferent, would that not be a public violation of the oath of the Sacred Mountain?

Even for the sake of the three tribes' reputation and credibility, they should send tens of thousands of warriors to support him.

But if they were to exhaust their strength to respond to Bo'erhu's order, send a large number of elites to the rescue, and even risk the Great Elder Nuomuhan, Nuomumeng'er was absolutely unwilling!

"Since we have already sworn allegiance to the King on the Sacred Mountain, now that the King is in trouble, how can we not exhaust our strength?"

Nuomuhan asked sternly.

"Great Elder, it is not that we are unwilling to go to the rescue, but that the Central Plains people have come too quickly and too suddenly this time; they have even deployed the entire Qingshuang Army!"

An elder stood up and said, "Great Elder, apart from that battle over five hundred years ago, when have the Central Plains people ever deployed a ten-thousand-strong Imperial Guard army to penetrate deep into the Northern Barbarians? If we take one wrong step in the coming situation, the entire Huolin Tribe might be doomed!"

"Indeed, Great Elder, you shoulder the fate of the entire Huolin Tribe; you must not be impulsive."

"That's right, Great Elder, you are being too impulsive."

"."

Everyone tried to persuade him, and even the three elders who had previously supported sending troops for support now disagreed with Nuomuhan's plan.

Nuomuhan looked at everyone present and sighed.

How could he not understand what they were thinking?

They had sworn allegiance to Bo'erhu before because no one had expected that three Heaven Realm experts joining forces—including him, Nuomuhan—would actually lose to Bo'erhu!

They could not go back on a promise made in public, and with Bo'erhu's massive army pressing down, the situation forced them to choose allegiance.

But as for loyalty, it could certainly not be considered very high.

Now the Great Lan Dynasty had suddenly launched a war, and for the first time in over five hundred years, they had sent the Qingshuang Army to slaughter their way into the wilderness!

In such a situation, many people were no longer optimistic about Bo'erhu.

To put it bluntly, after this battle, Bo'erhu would very likely die!

At that time, the Northern Barbarians would return to their previous state of fighting amongst themselves.

Naturally, everyone wanted to prioritize preserving their own strength.

"Everyone, our Northern Barbarians have been divided for over five hundred years, and it has also been over five hundred years since we last produced a 'God of the Heaven Realm'."

Nuomuhan said in a deep voice.

The highest Martial Saint is called the 'God of the Heaven Realm' among the Northern Barbarians.

The first Northern Barbarian King over five hundred years ago was a 'God of the Heaven Realm'. After unifying the Northern Barbarians, he ambitiously led the seventeen tribes of the Northern Barbarians to invade the Central Plains, only to be beaten to death by the Founding Emperor on the battlefield!

In the hundreds of years since, the Northern Barbarians had not produced a second 'God of the Heaven Realm'.

"If the King can truly unify the seventeen tribes of the Northern Barbarians, he will have the chance to become the second 'God of the Heaven Realm' of our Northern Barbarians!"

Nuomuhan revealed this secret.

This matter involved destiny, which was profound and mysterious; very few people truly understood the inside story.

Nuomuhan was a top-tier True Person at the 'Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch Great Perfection' realm, and he had some knowledge of the Dao of destiny, so he had seen more of the future.

"What?"

Everyone present was shocked:

"Is it true?"

"As long as someone can unify the seventeen tribes, they can become a 'God of the Heaven Realm'?!"

"."

Nuomuhan shook his head: "It is not that unifying the seventeen tribes will definitely make one a 'God of the Heaven Realm', but the King's current strength and realm are already very close to that step. If he can successfully complete the unification, there is a great chance he will break through!"

"This..."

Everyone fell silent.

They all knew very well what it would mean if the Northern Barbarians could produce another 'God of the Heaven Realm'.

The Great Lan Dynasty was no longer what it was five hundred years ago; if the Northern Barbarians produced another God of the Heaven Realm, the Great Lan Dynasty might not be able to stop them.

At that time, everyone would have the opportunity to possess more fertile land and abundant resources!

"This is why I chose to fully support the King this time. As long as we can help the King get through this hurdle, his great cause can be achieved!"

Nuomuhan said.

"Great Elder, since that is the case, why don't I personally lead the tribe's elites to support him, and you can sit in command at the rear."

Nuomumeng'er was silent for a moment, then suddenly said.

The seventeen tribes of the Northern Barbarians had existed for over a thousand years; their heritage had existed ever since humans had martial arts and sorcery.

Each of the seventeen tribes could guarantee at least one Grandmaster or top-tier True Person within their ranks!

Or they could borrow some kind of secret treasure or special environment to reach that level of combat power.

This was the secret of their respective heritages that the seventeen tribes had guarded for thousands of years.

Every Great Elder of the Huolin Tribe was a top-tier True Person and the guardian of the Huolin heritage secret.

As long as the Great Elder was still there, even if the Huolin Tribe lost most of its elite warriors, it would still not perish!

Therefore, the Chieftain Nuomumeng'er would rather lead the troops to support him himself than let the Great Elder take the risk.

But whether or not a top-tier True Person like Nuomuhan, who was at the 'Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch Great Perfection' realm, participated in the battle would definitely have a huge impact on the outcome!

Nuomuhan frowned, wanting to say something more.

"Great Elder, let me go!"

Nuomumeng'er suddenly knelt on one knee and performed a grand salute to Nuomuhan.

With their Chieftain doing so, the other six elders also knelt on one knee toward Nuomuhan:

"Great Elder, we are willing to go with the Chieftain!"

These seven Hegemon Realm experts joining forces could barely match a slightly weaker Heaven Realm expert on the battlefield.

Nuomuhan sighed; faced with this situation, he ultimately had no way to forcefully carry his will to the end.

Thus, one day later, the Huolin Tribe, the Yanxin Tribe, and the Qingye Tribe sent a total of thirteen Hegemon Realm experts, plus fifteen thousand elite warriors, to rendezvous with the Northern Barbarian King Bo'erhu at the fastest speed!

At the same time, the other eight tribes also had their own reactions after receiving Bo'erhu's order.

Some sent a small amount of troops, while others sent a large number of elites.

For a time, troops from all directions converged in one direction.

The Northern Barbarians, war clouds were gathering!

PS: I am preparing for a major life event these few days, so there will be fewer updates. I hope you understand~

(End of this chapter)