Towards Godhood

It was already deep into the night after the first day of travelling towards Jiankang.

Xiao Fan was inside a tent with Qian Ki, cuddling before they were about to go to sleep, but their plans came to a sudden halt before that.

They hadn't noted anything else even existing outside their tent when Du Lan suddenly came running into the tent screaming.

¨Get up, you two! Someone is stupid enough to attack this caravan, and the fight has already been going for some time, yet you two are here enjoying the other¨ She yelled, then shutting the cloth that was blocking the entrance and running back.

Xiao Fan, who was holding Qian Ki from her stomach, had now gotten into a small lean where his hand kept him in to hear her out.

And hearing what Du Lan had to say to them, bot of them who were still in their night garments jumped up to action from the shock of the news.

¨Ki'er take your time, its most possible that the person who has come for us is too strong for us to do much anyway so don't come out too soon¨ He quickly spoke, getting on his robes on while picking up the Rising Ruler before running outside.

¨You should do the same!¨ Qian Ki tried to persuade him.

But when her words left her mouth was he already halfway past the door, and though he had said for her to keep a low profile she couldn't.

Meantime as she was starting to get something on.

Xiao Fan running outside the tent realised how tunnel-visioned he had been on those heavenly curves for not noticing what was going on.

All around him, dust was being thrown up by attacks while items and people were being thrown around.

But unlike the items that would be smashed into the bits, the guards in armour seemed much more resilient.

Noticed by him as he got out.

For a guard in the Liang Dynasty armour was blown towards him from somewhere, yet that person just got up a few seconds later as if he was alright.

That person then joined a group of people who had gathered around his tent.

Amongst them, there was the representative, and Du Lan, who moments ago had been waking them up, yet was now shooting her bow without a stop.

After seeing the guard thrown around recover, Xiao Fan was greeted by the representative, who apparently had had a quick wakeup as well, for he only had some underclothes on him.

¨Were being ambushed by someone!¨ The representative shouted to him. Nothing could be heard if one spoke in their normal voice in the current situation.

¨I can see that! But what's the situation!¨ Xiao Fan shouted back to the man while closing the distance between so that he could hear.

The clanking and breaking of items and such were becoming so loud that nothing could be heard over it, even a person's scream would go unnoticed here.

¨Everything is happening too fast. We haven't heard anything from the elite troops yet!¨ The representative explained briefly.

The man knew that the real fight wasn't happening here.

The fight going on here was only some Body Warming military personnel, the real deciding fight was going somewhere they had no idea of anymore.

They hadn't gotten any message to them nor from them which was expected in a situation like this so while they fought out, they needed to hold out.

Xiao Fan, who had also done such commanding could easily discern what the man meant and didn't ask about it more ¨Well, how are the things going here! Any information about the enemy or such!¨

¨The enemy has a slight advantage currently, but it will not take long before we can stabilise the line! As for the enemy they are of course the pigs from the Bald Eagle Dynasty and some of their minions!¨ The man cursed after the second sentence.

Xiao Fan having now all the knowledge needed nodded to the man as there was no more need to shout here.

As for the current situation?

Well, one should have expected something like this happening, for the two dynasties although currently not mobilising real forces against the other were still in a state of war, so them trying something like this in the neutral territory was to be expected.

All thinking and information gathering now done; there was nothing else to do than join the ranks of the guard were defending.

Though he was staying safe, only dealing with people who were threatening Du Lan.

If he wanted, could he easily run into the enemy ranks to have an impact, but what was the enemy's idea doing this?

Laughable easy to guess even for him.

Their target was him, of course, so the one thing the enemy would want to happen was him running blindly into their troops.

So as the representative and the leader the troops had said he only hold the line like everyone else was doing.

Both side right now were just keeping the status quo, waiting for the results of the decisive battle.

This, however, didn't mean that blood was spilt and that men didn't die.

Xiao Fan, himself was already racking some five men under his feet while Du Lan should already be in the tens with her bow ruling the battlefield dropping anyone from afar.

Seeing the Serpent's Bone Bow in its real use for the first time, Xiao Fan felt a little inclined to learn the way of the bow. Yet remembering what had happened during his last try, he shook off that notion.

Denying the thought of trying to learn the bow himself.

And so Xiao Fan became content to watch her do it with one eye while sharpening his skills with the way of the sword.

Better get good at one weapon first.

And although Xiao Fan didn't dislike the sword, he didn't feel comfortable in using it as his primary weapon.

Noting to himself that at some point he should find something else maybe lighter maybe heavier, he didn't know yet.

For now, the sword was enough, he concluded, as he sliced another Bald Eagle Dynasty soldier into the ground.

¨Sixth¨ he counted.

When he was fighting.

He began to understand that who the other group was currently attacking them as no one else would wear almost no clothes into an ambush if they were the ambushing side.

It was that dammed Rising Fox Sect, he muttered, as he watched how women some of them not wearing any body armour run towards the line of spears only to get impaled.

The only thing he could think of this tactic was that they had a lot of neophytes, who wanted to show their prowess to the real members by trying to pull off some heroic feat during the battle.

Of course, Xiao Fan didn't care a lot about this as they were his enemies, so it was all the same if the person coming at him was a soldier in armour or a woman in u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r.

Soon, however, there came a lull in the fighting below the ridge they had been camping in.

The lull in the fighting came since a few groups had appeared on that slope, towards Xiao Fan and everyone else was now looking.

These two groups little separated from one another were, of course, the elite troops of both sides who had been fighting.

And now that the real influential people had come back not even a neophyte of the Rising Fox Sect was idiotic enough to throw her life away just to end up looking like an idiot.

Moreover, when these two groups came.

The enemy's foot soldier leader, Han Bai was seen running up the hill towards the elite group of his side and messaging his soldiers to regroup there.

Han Bai did so, and so did the entourage of Xiao Fan and the representative's men also inch closer in their formation to get into the safety of their elites.

Both sides feared that a single elite getting into their lines could break it in a minute or two.

And due to that fear, both sides relocated to the cover of these smaller groups.

Xiao Fan, looking at what was going on begun to realise what it means to have the meaner and stronger elite force than the other.

Sure while a lot of foot soldiers were needed, the war wouldn't be decided by not them nor the king, but by these people.

Million-foot soldiers might destroy the smaller army of the enemy but facing the elites of the other side would their leadership be crippled and then eaten in small pieces.

In the case of a powerful King, the elite troop could still handle one person who was realm or even a two higher with enough punching power and willingness to sacrifice.

In simpler terms, the elites would cut an army of foot soldiers, and punching over their weight class with numbers wasn't a problem either.

Even now, this was happening.

Seeing as the representatives of the two sides who were still the most mighty cultivators here and owned a noble title begun asking how the fight had gone.

And from there they devise their wider strategy.

Coming to hear this conversation.

Xiao Fan heard how it had gone surprisingly even if the enemy had outnumbered them for they had better morale, plus the enemy consisted of two distinct groups of cultivators.

Hearing this, he also took a look towards the enemy elites.

Who were either the same looking as the Liang Dynasty elites if not for the different colour.

Then amongst them, there were the people who he had seen inside the shop.

Seeing them, he cursed inside how he was so weak.

Right now he had the best opportunity to vent some of his anger onto these Rising Fox Sect ¨s.l.u.ts¨ like the White Sun Sect had said their names.

However, when looking at them, he noticed that there was a clear distinction between these women and the neophytes.

They at least seemed to wear some combat armour that might block a hit every now and then.

Also, he couldn't but see how there was a surprisingly big gap between a neophyte's and an elite member's looks.

Yes, Xiao Fan was becoming keen on beauty even a little too much considering the situation he currently was in.

But he had to let that sink in, for their sect was indeed a weird one, for they were undeniably giving their members ranks based upon appearances.

This thought through he shook his head a little to refocus.

He realised that he should be contemplating something else, like how was he supposed to stay alive?

And so forgot about considering how much the rating difference of the Rising Fox Sect disciples was; it was 2 points in the scale of 10.

But when he came back to think about the strategy, they were hatching Han Bai, and his leadership was already starting a shouting match between the other.

Han Bai opened it by stating his generous terms ¨Give Xiao Fan to us, and we will let you leave!¨ He shouted from the other side of the bank.

¨Oh, Let us go and maybe you can still have a life in the court!¨ Came a reply to his offer.

¨Zheng Chao! We both know that I have more men than you, so don't act like I'm the losing side!¨ Came a slightly angry response.

¨So the Bal Eagle Dynasty is going quantity over quality, huh! Even enlisting neutral sect to do your bidding yet you still can't beat us!¨ Zheng Chao laughed back at Han Bai, trying to anger him into making a rash decision.

From there on their shouting match was starting to become more of a political quarrel than a negotiation.

Since after Zheng Chao had insulted the Bald Eagle Dynasty's troop quality, Han Bai had begun attacking the weak points of Liang Dynasty's governance.

Han Bai was even going so far to laugh how a kid like Xiao Fan would be elevated almost above the law because they had no other way to coax anyone to join their side.

The two were much more of the administrative and diplomatic people.

They weren't like the warlike elites, who much preferred fighting.

Even the others seemed to know this since when this had started, everyone else got comfy and begun doing other stuff.