Martial King's Retired Life

Mount Daluo pulled out all the stops to study everything they could about Six Evils – not in the sense that they all sat around a table, discussing and reading books, then trading notes. Their research extended for generations, and every generation meticulously every character on the pages. Every generation that was forced to fight put the notes into practical experiments against the Chaofeng and recorded their experience for others to collate into more data for, even if it was just one more characteristic they were aware of, it could save hundreds of people.

Hero Shenzhou and Ming Huayu’s records couldn’t be used as averages as every generation apart from them sacrificed lots of lives to slay the beasts. Ming Huayu was the only patriarch in history to ever bring down not one but two beasts without any casualties.

Using Mount Daluo’s standard – rather, the world’s most validated standard – the dragon race was undoubtedly the fiercest of the six beasts. In the damage department, the other five couldn’t hold a handle to the damage the dragon could inflict. Mount Daluo’s Overarching Heaven couldn’t penetrate its scales. The phoenix in legends might’ve been able to keep up with the dragon’s speed, but its strength paled in comparison. If its claws were metal knives, mountains would be what tofu was to a metal knife. If its tail was an adult’s feet, city walls would be sandcastles to adults’ feet.

“Ming Feizhen says that the beasts dwelling in Nieyao are dragons without a doubt. Unless the army of mutated beasts from ages ago was revived, there is no other beast that could obliterate a state’s capital overnight.” Ming Suwen pulled out a seat to rest and smiled at those who were irked or stunned. “Confirmation of this cannot be considered good news since we would have numerous viable tactics if it were any other beast that had yet to mature. When it comes to dragons, they are always at their strongest.”

Ah Neath, even A-Lan, wasn’t very educated on Six Evils. As a matter of fact, Ah Neath still speculated if such fiends existed.

Only Luo Ming, Feng Xue, Emperor Yuansheng, and Abels could digest the information. Luo Ming already fought one in the flesh. Feng Xue wasn’t familiar with Ming Suwen; however, he had held a prominent post in Nanjiang for an extensive period as well as heard the details of Nieyao from Ming Feizhen. Abels was a knowledgeable man who was once one of the Supreme Ten Saints.

Emperor Yuansheng’s knowledge source wasn’t so clear-cut. Li Clan’s intelligence on Six Evils was passed down as a parcel with the throne. The previous dynasty was shrouded in mystery, though, so Li Clan could be called a second Mount Daluo, but they could also be totally ignorant to Six Evils. Although Emperor Yuansheng’s reaction bespoke he was informed on Six Evils, to what degree was anyone’s guess.

Upon receiving eye contact from the four in the loop, the calm, somewhat peculiar, maiden stretched up the corners of her lips once again. “What we can be certain of now is that there is more than one dragon. Unfortunately, we are not sure how many there are. There is a big gap between when a dragon conceives and when it gives birth; it could easily be a century.

“Our chances ride on the numbers one to nine. If it is nine, to be frank, you should just snack on some fruit. Enjoy the show. Take a tour, and then go home. There is no reason to make a snack out of yourself. This goes double for you, Your Majesty. The fate of the world is linked to you. Should you flop here, your swordsman will not be able to take over.”

My swordsman? Is she referring to someone, or is she using a euphemism?

“It definitely is not nine,” Luo Ming asserted. “This one and his Nanjiang brothers managed to vanquish one ten years ago. Given you said it takes a long time for one to be born, it is unlikely another one has been born since.”

Emperor Yuansheng voiced, “In the worst case scenario, we will be combatting eight.”

“By my estimates, there should be around six,” opined Feng Xue. “Should Nieyao’s rumours be supported, even if nine of them destroyed Beussent’s capital back then, they cannot have done so unscathed. Based on Beussent’s strength back then, I hypothesise two dragons were lost in the tragedy.”

“Five.” Beussent kept a subtle upward curve to his lips. “Five because Morcher did not go down without a fight, either. From my vague memories, Morcher’s guards put up a valiant fight to the bitter end.”

“All your guesses are sound, but none of you are correct,” Ming Suwen proclaimed. “All Mount Daluo can say is this: the number of beasts we have to face is not overwhelming to the point where we will be wiped out. Candidly speaking, if there are more than six dragons, then you would not be seeing me right now but my cousin, Hero Shenzhou. In other words, there would practically be nothing we can do.”

Ming Suwen showed two fingers. “We have two things we can count on at present. First, the dragons did not voluntarily give birth. As aforementioned, dragons prefer to hibernate. Therefore, man has introduced a catalyst for them to reproduce. Logically then, while a Yanhui may have spawned, it is not a threat – far from being one. We have a chance at triumph if the other dragons are also at the same stage.

“Second, Shaman Faith has a means of some sort to control the dragons. Most likely, the dragons are tools to achieve something ambitious. It is the most moronic idea anyone can have. Mount Daluo has records of innumerable colossal idiots who attempted the same thing, and not one of them succeeded. Please bear in mind that the enemy are perilous beasts, not humans. The existence of those idiots will only increase our odds of winning.”

The meeting was adjourned at daybreak and then continued later. In just twelve more hours, every state’s military would convene at Mount Wanyu.

Glossary

My swordsman? Is she referring to someone, or is she using a euphemism? – Rewritten joke. It’s the same word play on “sword” and “scum”. If you’re wondering why anyone could mix them up, it’s because the verb Ming Suwen attaches to “wielding a sword” is commonly used for “being” in “being scum”.