Chapter 2843: Annihilation Envoy

“Big brother Zu...” Isabella felt worried but moved, knowing that Zu An was doing this for her.

First Elder Oberon gave a heartened nod. “Good. I’ll leave the invaders to you, Zu An. Mastema, you’ll take on his responsibilities in the northwest, lest those rebels make a comeback.”

Fourth Elder Mastema looked troubled. He was reluctant to leave the prosperous capital for some rundown countryside province, but he knew how important this matter was. He had no choice but to swallow his grievances and accept the decision.

“You can’t laze around anymore, Lilith. You’ll be taking on Mastema’s work in coordinating logistics to the northeast and managing the imperial court’s finances,” First Elder Oberon said.

Lilith smiled. “Don’t worry, big brother. The Conglomerate’s survival is at stake. I know my priorities.”

Augustus’ death spelled the doom of one of Order’s two main powers. This was an earthquake for the Order faction. Just the thought of it sent shivers down her spine.

First Elder Oberon felt heartened by her remark. His flustered heart calmed down. With my brothers and sisters here, there’s no challenge we cannot surmount. He spoke with increasing gusto. “Bella, you’ll reach out to the Zheng clan and try to bring them under our fold. It’ll be a great help to our war effort if we can utilize their navy to attack the enemy’s main camp.”

“Yes!” Isabella was delighted to receive that order. That would put her in a better position to assist Zu An in investigating Chu Chuyan’s whereabouts.

First Elder Oberon continued the discussions while issuing tasks to those present.

Zu An left the Imperial Library to look for Zheng Dan.

This time, the mood between them wasn’t as light-hearted as their initial reunion. Zheng Dan worriedly said, “Ah Zu, I heard that many of our soldiers have died at the borders. You must make sure to tread carefully.”

Zu An consoled her. “I’ll only know what I’m up against once I’m there, but I won’t let my guard down. You have to be prepared as well. In history, Li Zicheng breached Beijing[1] and destroyed the Ming Empire. Empress Yi’an hanged herself shortly after. The same might not happen in this world, but you should have an escape plan just in case.”

Zheng Dan knew that he tended to have such random knowledge, so she didn’t doubt the credibility of his statements.

“Don’t worry. I've familiarized myself with the imperial court.” Zheng Dan’s expression suddenly darkened. “But if that happens, I doubt there’s any point in me escaping. I was transported here after taking on Order’s trial. The imperial palace’s fall spells the collapse of Great Ming’s order and the failure of my trial. I won’t be able to escape death if so.”

Zu An grabbed her hand and said, “You mustn’t give up until you’re truly cornered. Trust me. I’ll find a way to remedy the situation.”

He didn’t think this trial would be as difficult as the Deity of Death’s trial. In that trial, he, Firework, Isabella, and Yan Xuehen had been in different camps, and the setting decreed that only one of them could survive the trial. Yet he'd still found a way out.

This time, he had the Universal Conglomerate’s support. Great Ming’s circumstances were much better than they had been in history, and he, Tang Tian’er, and Zheng Dan were in the same camp. Things looked more positive.

All of a sudden, though, he felt a pang of unease. Chuyan is still nowhere to be seen. Could she be on the Manchus’ side?

But he quickly dismissed that thought. Isabella had found that Chu Chuyan was likely in the Zheng clan’s territory in Taiwan. It was unlikely that she was aligned with the Manchus.

“I’ll also do my best. I’ll let you know if I receive any news from the imperial palace.” After hearing her lover’s composed tone, Zheng Dan also slowly calmed down.

It wasn’t convenient for them to stay together in the imperial palace for too long, so they soon reluctantly parted ways.

With the imperial edict in hand, Zu An teleported to Ningyuan City, where the Jiliao Military Governor’s manor was located. He quickly gathered his subordinates to understand the current circumstances.

It turned out that Augustus and his Holy Knight Order had dealt a heavy blow to the Manchus[2] in the Battle of Ningyuan, slaying their commander. That greatly boosted the morale of the Ming army.

But Augustus hadn't been satisfied with that victory. His goal was to reclaim Great Ming’s land, vanquish the Manchus, and restore Great Ming’s order as tribute to the great Deity of Order.

Thus, he'd abandoned the Ming army’s conservative war strategy and pushed their defensivee line forward. He and his men had marched tens of kilometers northeast to rebuild Dalinghe City, hoping to use it as a base to attack the Manchus.

Initially, everything had gone smoothly.

They'd successfully transported a huge amount of military resources to Dalinghe City, and the Manchu soldiers had made no moves in the meantime. The Holy Knight Order thought that the Manchus were intimidated after their previous defeat, and that greatly bolstered their will to reclaim the northeast.

Who could have expected the missing Manchu army to suddenly appear one night and encircle Dalinghe City? Their forces were much stronger than what the Holy Knight Order had faced in the Battle of Ningyuan, and they'd even brought magic cannons along.

Augustus, living up to his reputation as the Holy Knight Order’s captain, had kept his cool and organized his subordinates to guard the city. Under his efforts, the Manchus struggled to take down Dalinghe City.

But the Manchus hadn't been planning to take down Dalinghe City in a single swoop. Instead, they'd resorted to a long-term encirclement strategy, tightly surrounding Dalinghe City to isolate it from the rest of the world.

When Second Elder Hermes and Sixth Elder Naraka learned about the encirclement, they'd immediately dispatched their armies to aid the Holy Knight Order. Unfortunately, their forces were ambushed and defeated.

The Manchu soldiers had been far stronger than before. The Annihilation power they wielded was far more potent than that in the Battle of Ningyuan. The two elders had sent reinforcements several times, only to suffer terrible defeats.

Only then did all of them realize that the Manchu army was baiting them out so that they could encircle them and slowly wear down Great Ming’s forces. However, they had realized it too late.

To make things worse, even though the Holy Knight Order had been stockpiling resources in Dalinghe City, they hadn’t had time to transport ample rations in.

Months had passed, and the troops trapped in Dalinghe began resorting to cannibalism. Annihilation's power had begun to grow. Augustus then knew that at this rate, Dalinghe City wouldn’t last long, so he gathered the Holy Knight Order and attempted to break out of the encirclement. He was confident that he could make a comeback as long as they could return to Jinzhou.

But the Manchus were prepared. The Holy Knight Order had been swiftly surrounded, and after a grueling battle, they were wiped out. Even the renowned Augustus had fallen in battle.

This battle greatly shook Great Ming’s morale. Were it not for the two elders’ firm stance, the Manchus could have succeeded in breaching Guanning’s defensive line.

That said, the situation still remained pessimistic. The Manchus had already advanced to Jinzhou, where Sixth Elder Naraka was holding the fort.

Just then, Second Elder Hermes arrived at the Jiliao Military Governor’s manor. As soon as he saw Zu An, he frowned. “Why are you here?”

“The First Elder and the others believe that I’m the most suitable person for this role, so they sent me here,” Zu An replied. “The situation has gone awry. Second Elder, I hope you can put aside our differences and work together with me to resolve the situation.”

Second Elder Hermes harrumphed. “I know what’s important.”

Zu An proceeded to inquire about the details of previous battles.

Hermes worriedly replied, “The Manchus are extremely strong. They harness pure Annihilation power. I suspect that the Manchus are backed by at least an Annihilation envoy, if not more.”

1. The capital of the Ming Dynasty ☜

2. Author Note: They were still called Jurchens at this point in history, but we’ll address them as Manchus for simplification's sake. ☜

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