Chapter 282 - 233: Sudden Upheaval

Just as the situation in Jinmen grew increasingly intense.

「Liuhu Town, on the border of the three provinces of the Northern Territory.」

This unassuming town was a critical transportation hub connecting the three provinces of the Northern Territory to the Central Plains. Several railways and highways ran through it, and with a tributary of the Liao River System passing by, its waterways were also quite active. Its geographical location was of immense importance.

Thus, as the situation in the Northern Territory grew more tense, Liuhu Town became increasingly bustling.

First, the Beidou Army established its Northern Territory command post there. Soon after, the Phoenix Army reached an agreement with the Beidou Army, and their joint headquarters was set up in the town.

After the Martial Arts Association’s world tournament in Jinmen, the major armies initiated joint operations to curb its expansion. They dispatched masters to Jinmen, but at the same time, sent forces to garrison the Northern Territory border. This was to prevent defensive vacuums from the troop movements, which might have given the Chengtian Army and the Neon Nation an opportunity to strike.

As a result, most of the masters from the various armies stationed at the Northern Territory border for this joint operation were now gathered in Liuhu Town.

At this moment, within the small town of Liuhu, five of the Sixteen Generals had gathered. Below them were about ten other Harmony masters, over thirty Half-Step Harmony masters, and countless more experts at the Five Qi Tongxuan, Inner Cultivation, and Cross-Training levels.

Furthermore, a United Legion equipped with firearms was stationed near Liuhu Town. Numbering a purported two hundred thousand strong, they guarded the Northern Territory border together, remaining on high alert.

In the West Suburb of Liuhu Town stood a train station. A railway line snaked its way through, extending from the north all the way to the south.

The Tongnan Railway. Built during the final years of the previous dynasty, it was funded by the Neon Nation using special privileges acquired through various unequal treaties. The railway cut through the three provinces of the Northern Territory and stretched south into the Divine Land, making it a vital north-south line.

Now, despite the tense situation in the Northern Territory, relations had not yet completely broken down, so the railway had not been blockaded and was still in operation.

However, even though the railway was not completely blockaded, the united command, led by the Beidou Army, would hardly let trains pass so easily.

Per orders from the Upper Level, every train, coming or going, had to undergo a rigorous search before it was allowed to pass. The subordinates tasked with this, however, used it as a pretext to secretly take bribes. They also frequently impounded perfectly good cargo without reason, then found ways to resell it themselves. This made life miserable for the merchants traveling north and south, and incidents often flared up inside the station.

This evening, a train pulled into the station. Not long after, a commotion could be heard from inside. It seemed a verbal argument had escalated into a physical fight. The disturbance lasted for a full hour before a train finally, slowly, pulled out of the station and continued its journey into the Northern Territory.

But just as the train left the station, the locomotive suddenly erupted in a blinding flash of fire.

BOOM!!

Accompanied by a deafening roar, the train was engulfed in a terrifying explosion. A large section of the track snapped and twisted in the blast. The garrison from the station rushed out and recovered nineteen corpses from the overturned train, identified as "Neon People" and mangled beyond recognition.

Barely half an hour later, the Neon Nation acted. Citing the Divine Land’s military for long-term malicious damage to the interests of the Tongnan Railway, destruction of its facilities, and the murder of Neon citizens, they mobilized the Neon Far East Army. This force, stationed in the three provinces of the Northern Territory under a defense agreement, launched an all-out attack on the united forces.

Shortly after, the Chengtian Army also issued a declaration. They claimed the other seven major armies were jointly blockading the Northern Territory and disrupting the peace of the Divine Land. They proceeded to list a litany of crimes committed by these armies, proclaiming the Neon Empire to be a friend of the Divine Land and that they must protect Neon’s interests within its borders.

And so, the Chengtian Army, long prepared for this moment, also mobilized.

The Divine Land was thrown into turmoil. The flames of war had been fully ignited.

The war long-planned by the Neon Nation had finally begun.

「Liuhu Town. The war room of the United Army Headquarters.」

Fifteen Harmony masters and nearly twenty Half-Step Harmony Martial Artists were gathered in the room. At the head of the table sat a man who appeared to be in his thirties.

He was tall, with exceptionally broad shoulders. His face was shockingly covered in a crisscrossing web of scars, both large and small. His eyes were as unfathomable as an abyss. Even among this gathering of masters, he stood out. His transcendent aura could not be overshadowed, not even by the terrifying experts surrounding him.

He was the leader of the Beidou Army’s Sixteen Generals, "The Unique," Zhang Hu.

Normally, upon reaching his realm, one’s body would undergo a Purifying of the Body and Soul. No matter how grievous the injury or deep the scar, the power of Harmony could heal it without a trace. But this man had chosen not to. He would never erase the scars that had nearly claimed his life as he rose through the ranks. Instead, he wore them as a permanent reminder, a warning to never make the same mistakes again.

The web of scars on his face and body showed just how many times he had walked to the edge of the Ghost Gate. "The Unique" had once been the top master of the previous dynasty’s Great Inner, famed for having mastered a hundred schools of Martial Arts. He hadn’t earned that title simply by using his privileged access within the Great Inner to study countless Martial Arts Classics. He had earned it by teetering on the brink of life and death time and time again.

"Gentlemen, the Neon Nation has made the first move. Their forces are deploying, but we were prepared. The Divine Land is not the same nation it was during the Daqian Dynasty. This time, we will make these foreigners understand our power."