Chapter 79 — The Sun-Driver of the Wasteland
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
Let the generals' divine powers and flying swords fall upon it as they would, they could not shake the great ship in the slightest. The two armies of the Kingdom of Jingping had merged into one, their numbers immense; now there was no road left for flight. Even adepts who soared into the air were struck by the Sun-Boat's lifted legs, as simply as swatting a fly to death.
The vast Sun-Boat moved on and on, trampling and crushing countless officers and men along the way. That General Lu hurled all his strength at the Sun-Boat, but it was no more than an ant shaking a tree; he could not budge the great ship a hairsbreadth. At the Yanbian Pass, the mighty frontier fortress of Jingping, sword-light after sword-light flew out, chopping at the towering ship-mountain; sparks flew in all directions, but they could not wound the Sun-Boat.
And when the swords were recalled, the strong ones of the Yanbian Pass could not help but change countenance: their swords had been burned red, and had even begun to melt! Within the Yanbian Pass, tens of thousands of adepts worked their arts, raising wild winds and torrential rain, thunderclouds rolling; but before they reached the ship's side, they were scattered by the searing heat. — Though what the Sun-Boat hauled was an extinguished sun, it was a sun after all, and its fire was truly too fierce.
This ship had twelve legs and moved fast; before long it came before the Yanbian Pass. Creak, creak, a harsh sound came, and the Sun-Boat gradually halted.
Then a humming sound came through the air, and that black sun drifted on with its momentum, nearly floating into the borders of the Kingdom of Jingping. Countless officers and men within the Yanbian Pass stared up in a daze at the colossus lying athwart the pass. The Yanbian Pass was towering and magnificent, but beside this unimaginable giant before them it seemed utterly small.
Some generals were pale, their bodies trembling, scarcely able to stand; and the soldiers in the pass, though warriors and adepts, had their courage shattered by the sight before them. "The Sun-Boat created by the living things of the age before the Darkness fell is indeed extraordinary.
" The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping stood upon the tower, gazing up at the Sun-Boat.
This magnificent ship gave off an incomparable sense of oppression; even he felt a flutter of dread. At the top of the Sun-Boat, before the splendid palaces, he saw figures standing there.
He raised his head and looked at that black sun. Though this black sun was not so vast as the true sun, it still shook the heart.
One could well imagine what a magnificent sight it would be if this sun were lit again! Though this sun had gone out, to send the armies of the Kingdom of Jingping to collide with such a colossus was no different from a mantis blocking a chariot, from overreaching one's strength. He sensed the breath of a god coming from the Sun-Boat.
"So there are still living gods. The mysterious Wasteland is not a place one may lightly tread, after all.
.
. " The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping raised his hand and gave the order: "Pass the command: withdraw the troops.
For fifty years, none shall set foot in the Wasteland!
" Behind him, the generals of every command were shaken at heart, then passed the order down.
The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping lifted his head, his gaze falling upon those palaces, and said softly, "The Sun-Boat cannot protect the Wasteland forever. Gods die too; the Sun-Herders are no more than a fallen race.
Fifty years from now, my Kingdom of Jingping should have the power to unify the Wasteland; now is not the time to pit hardness against hardness. " He turned and walked down from the tower.
From within the city came the urgent clang of the gong; the officers and men outside the Yanbian Pass, hearing the signal to withdraw, each felt a weight lift from them, and hurried back toward the Yanbian fortress.