Within two days, Sien, who was cornered by the Holy Roman army, received word from Sbotan and immediately set off for the Poison Rust Dragon Legion.
The terrain along the way was flat and clear, unlike the rugged and precipitous mountain paths rumored, which caused Sien considerable worry.
With a heart full of apprehension, Sien finally arrived at the Poison Rust Dragon Legion and met King Chachai.
King Chachai, inheriting his lineage, possessed a strong army and ample resources, ruling the Poison Rust Dragon Legion alone, and no one had dared to challenge him.
Even when Sien swept through the major tribes of the Barbarian territories, he had not troubled King Chachai due to his good personal relationship with Sbotan and his prior knowledge of the strategic difficulty of the terrain.
It was precisely for this reason that when Sien raised the banner of rebellion against the Holy Romans, King Chachai had sent some troops to support him.
As Sien led his troops into the Poison Rust Dragon Legion, he finally met King Chachai. The king was obese but remarkably robust, clearly living quite comfortably in the Poison Rust Dragon Legion.
With Sbotan's introduction, King Chachai treated Sien with great warmth.
Sien voiced his doubts. King Chachai and Sbotan exchanged glances and burst into laughter. King Chachai explained, "My Barbarian King, if I seal off the road you came by, how will the Holy Roman army cross?"
Sien considered this and nodded. While he understood the logic, he couldn't help but ask, "If we seal off the entrance to the legion, how will we get out?"
King Chachai chuckled, appearing confident. "My King, you are unaware that there are two ways to enter my Poison Rust Dragon Legion. The one you took is the main road. Besides that, there is another path. This path is treacherous and narrow. Though there are small trails, they are infested with venomous snakes and scorpions, making it extremely dangerous. At night, miasma rises, and it only dissipates by late morning."
At this point, King Chachai paused, a sinister smile spreading across his face. "Furthermore, the dangerous path leading to my Poison Rust Dragon Legion has four poisonous springs: the first is the Mute Spring. Its water is sweet, but once drunk, one can no longer speak and will surely die within ten days. The second is the Destroyer Spring. Its water is like boiling water. If one bathes in it, the flesh will rot, and once the bone is exposed, death is certain. The third is the Black Spring. Its water is slightly clear. If it splashes on the body, the limbs will turn black and death is inevitable. The fourth is the Soft Spring. Its water is like ice. If one drinks it, there will be no warmth in the throat, and the body will become as weak as straw, leading to certain death."
There are no insects or birds here. Only in the past did Duke Han Shenwei lead an army to this place. Since then, no one has been able to break into my Poison Rust Dragon Legion.
As long as my army blocks the northeastern great road, the Barbarian King will be secure in the Poison Rust Dragon Legion.
Barbarian King, imagine this: if our army cuts off the eastern road, the Holy Roman army will surely advance from the south. If they encounter these four springs, they will inevitably drink the water. Even with a million men, it would be difficult to survive. Why engage in battle with them?
Sien was overjoyed upon hearing this. "With such terrain, Your Majesty is already in an invincible position!"
Unexpectedly, King Chachai shook his head repeatedly. "If you think I only rely on terrain to win, then you are mistaken!"
"Naturally, Your Majesty's strong army is also your capital for dominating our Barbarian territories!"
King Chachai laughed heartily. "Barbarian King, you do not know. I speak of the guardian divine beast of my Poison Rust Dragon Legion—the Eternal Poison Rust Dragon!"
"Is there truly such a divine beast in the Poison Rust Dragon Legion?"
Sien was naturally not entirely convinced. If King Chachai possessed such a fierce beast, why would he have been unified by Sien in the Barbarian territories?
"That is natural!"
He mused slightly, "Then I shall have to witness the beast's grace another day!"
Seeing Sien's hesitation, King Chachai understood his thoughts and let out a long laugh. "That is natural!"
With that, he laughed heartily, toasting Sien as a brother, and the atmosphere was very cordial.
Seeing Sien entrenched in the Boluo Legion and not emerging, Xiao Xun, before departing with his army, marched from the Qian Du River towards the Boluo Legion.
It was now June, and the weather in the Barbarian territories was unbearably hot, even more so than in the Holy Roman Empire. In such weather, let alone marching, even standing was difficult. The Holy Roman army's advance was extremely slow.
While marching, Xiao Xun received battle reports stating that Sien's main force had retreated to the Poison Rust Dragon Legion, blocked the legion's entrance, and that fierce beasts occupied the area, making progress difficult.
Xiao Xun quickly summoned Faluy, who was familiar with the terrain, to inquire.
"Lord Sween, your subordinate has heard some rumors about this. This legion is located at the border of the Barbarian territories and the Witch Realm. I've only heard that it is an extremely dangerous area among the eighty-one legions of the Western Barbarians, but I don't know the specifics."
Xiao Xun frowned.
The other generals were deeply resistant to the hardships of the Barbarian territories and the intense heat. Seeing the difficulties in conquering the west, they all advised Xiao Xun to retreat.
Xiao Xun waved his hand to silence the generals' clamor and said earnestly, "Gentlemen! If we truly do this, we will fall into Sien's trap! Think about it, if our army retreats, all our previous efforts will be in vain. Our army has exerted immense effort to capture Sien four times and push into the heart of the Barbarian territories. How can we give up halfway?"
The generals looked at each other, silent.
Therefore, Xiao Xun ordered the army to set up camp and rest, while assigning the usually steady Tusen to the vanguard, with the surrendered Barbarian troops leading the way to find an alternative route.
The Holy Roman army's campaign against the barbarians was in full swing, and the war in Atlantis was increasingly tense, on the verge of breaking out.
After several months of preparation, the Winter Army was ready to advance into the Beastmen territory. The three armies moved in unison towards the Beastmen direction, with Emperor Tydarell of Winter personally leading the charge.
Faced with the powerful military pressure from Winter, the Beastmen were in a state of anticipation of impending conflict, with a highly tense situation.
Gage, the leader of the Beastmen, while actively preparing for war, also sent a plea for help to the Holy Roman Empire, requesting them to send troops to jointly repel the Winter army.
Of course, Gage did not hold much hope for the Holy Roman Empire. After all, the relationship between the Beastmen and the Holy Roman Empire was not yet firmly established, and he was only trying his luck.
Therefore, Gage placed his hopes on the Beastmen shamans.
The Wolf King, as the supreme commander of the operation against Winter, although he had received the approval of the Grand Magister and decided to repel the Winter army, he was not able to do so with mere righteousness against the hundreds of thousands of Winter troops. The Wolf King had no foolproof plan.
In order to defeat the Winter army, the Wolf King discussed with General Bear for a long time, deliberating for days until late at night before formulating the battle strategy.
Tusen led a small detachment deep into the hinterland of the Poison Rust Dragon Legion to scout for nearly two days. Not only did they gain little, but upon returning to camp, they discovered that many soldiers could no longer speak.
Xiao Xun investigated carefully and only then learned that these soldiers had suffered this fate simply by drinking the mountain spring water.
Xiao Xun knew that these soldiers had been poisoned. Currently, the poison only rendered them unable to speak, but no one knew what would happen next.
To be safe, Xiao Xun dared not delay. He immediately took his adjutant and left the main camp to investigate the place mentioned by Tusen.
In a moment, they found the pool of clear water mentioned by Tusen, but it was bottomless, exuding a chilling aura, with surging undercurrents, making it very unusual.
As Xiao Xun looked further down, he saw no living creature in the water.
As he was thinking, he heard Kent hesitantly say, "Strange! Why are there no birds in these deep mountains and old forests?"
Xiao Xun nodded. Not only were there no birds, but there were no wild animals either, only the occasional scorpion or insect.
The adjutant beside him pointed to the mountaintop and said, "My lord, there seems to be a temple!"
Xiao Xun followed the adjutant's gaze and looked up, indeed seeing an ancient temple on the hillside. He immediately said, "Let's go! Follow me to have a look!"
The three of them ascended the hillside and arrived before the temple. They saw that the ancient temple was dilapidated, its roof tiles broken and leaky. Even the plaque on the temple was unreadable.
As Xiao Xun observed, the adjutant had already leaped into the temple and, seemingly with great effort, identified, "Duke Han Shenwei, Dukel!"
The two exchanged glances and turned back, saying, "This is Lord Dukel's temple!"
Xiao Xun was surprised and chuckled upon hearing this, stepping into the temple.
Inside, they saw a stone statue of a general, seated and standing. This statue was preserved exceptionally well, with no signs of decay. Beside it stood a stone tablet, as dilapidated as the outside of the temple, its inscription extremely difficult to discern, but vaguely one could make out the characters indicating it was the temple of Duke Han Shenwei, Dukel.
Xiao Xun said leisurely, "I heard from His Majesty that Duke Han Shenwei once pacified the barbarians and came to this place. I presume the barbarians, in gratitude for his benevolence, erected this temple for him."
Kent said thoughtfully, "Since Duke Han Shenwei was able to win the hearts of the barbarians, Your Lordship will surely be able to as well."
Xiao Xun nodded, stood quietly for a moment, and then suddenly bowed down.
The adjutants said in unison, "My lord, you..."
Seeing that Xiao Xun had bowed, they could only follow suit and bow.
What was Xiao Xun's status? He was very likely the biological father of the next emperor. With his status, only Her Majesty the Queen was worthy of receiving such a bow from him; no one else had the right.
This bow carried a sense of kindred spirit between heroes.