An egomaniac, daring to charge into the enemy's lair with three thousand men.
Although reinforcement was troublesome, they were, after all, the crown prince. I had to put on a show. I instructed the spear captain to relay a message in my name to Dai Lu, ordering her to gather fifty cannons and 500 G98 rifles, and to march directly towards Sanyin Hall. Along the way, for every town they encountered, they were to have one-third of their formation follow them. By the time they reached Sanyin Hall, they would have amassed a considerable force.
Simultaneously, I had this order copied and sent to the King of Hell for his perusal. If he found it unsuitable, she could devise other methods. As for me, I had no other plans.
Xiao Nu and Zheng Baobao couldn't keep up with my Gale Force technique, so they had to stay behind to guard Li Yuanba. However, upon hearing that we were going to a distant place, Li Yuanba stepped forward and said, "Lord Wu, I can keep up with you."
"...I'm not riding a horse, I'm flying," I explained. He was indeed fast, but only faster than a horse. I was subsonic!
Li Yuanba nodded emphatically, "I can fly too!"
"You can fly?" Zheng Baobao exclaimed, "You mean, you know Qinggong (lightness skill)?"
"Yes, a little."
"Then show me, let me see how fast you are," I said.
"How do I show you?" Li Yuanba scratched his head.
The city gate was open. About four or five li outside the gate was a patch of woods, not really a forest, just a few scattered drought-resistant trees, not even enough to hide ten people.
"See that patch of woods?" I asked.
Li Yuanba nodded, "I see it."
"Run over there, knock down a tree, and come back," I said. The distance was too great. By the time he ran there, he would have become a tiny black dot, and I wouldn't be able to determine his exact location. With his innate divine strength, he could surely knock down a tree. Once the tree fell, I would know he had reached his destination.
"Alright!" Li Yuanba spat in his palm. I was puzzled. Qinggong requires footwork, right? Why the effort in his hands?
However, I understood soon after.
With a whoosh, Li Yuanba set off, his feet kicking up dust, like an arrow. While not as monstrous as my subsonic speed, a speed of three hundred meters per second, he was still close to one hundred meters per second.
In about half a minute, Li Yuanba had already reached the patch of woods. I saw a tree that had been knocked down by him. What happened next truly shocked me. The tree, trailing a huge cloud of dust, was running towards us. The soldiers on the city wall screamed in panic, "Oh no! The tree has come alive! It's running towards us with legs!"
As the tree "ran" closer, I finally saw clearly that it was Li Yuanba carrying the tree by its roots and running back, his speed barely decreasing!
The tree shot into the city gate like a rocket. It was moving so fast that it scraped off quite a bit of brick and stone from the sides of the gate. The wind howled, and the tree was forcefully thrust into the ground, penetrating five to six meters deep!
After planting the tree firmly, Li Yuanba emerged from behind the trunk, which was over a meter in diameter, and grinned sheepishly, "Lord Wu, how was it? Is my speed alright?"
"You're more suited for planting trees!" I laughed. Absolutely perfect! He wasn't as fast as me, but I could wait for him. The key was that having him with me would be extremely useful. Even if he couldn't sweep through armies like a whirlwind, just looking at his strength in carrying that tree, he could definitely carry the Little Yama King out of the enemy camp. Wouldn't that resolve the crisis? As for the three thousand Xuanjia Army, there was nothing to be done. The Little Yama King's arrogance and underestimation, coupled with his faulty command, meant they had to pay a price.
I took two maps from the spear leader, one for myself and one for Li Yuanba. I told him our rendezvous point, about two hundred li south of Sanyin Hall, at a place called Daxing. I didn't know if it was a town or a fortress, but we would meet there.
Li Yuanba said it was no problem and that he would wait for me there.
"...I will wait for you," I corrected him.
Li Yuanba tilted his head and cupped his hands in a salute, "Lord Wu, I am probably the fastest spirit race member in the underworld."
"But I am human," I said.
"Could it be that Lord Wu... is even faster than me?" Li Yuanba seemed incredulous.