The Human Emperor
The Human Emperor - Chapter 253: The Goguryeon's Treasure

Given that the battle had just begun, it was impossible that a hundred men had died within the first base. Without a doubt, the notices the Destiny Stone sent involved the Goguryeon soldiers from the other bases as well.

"Could this be the reason why?"

In the blink of an eye, a thought flashed across Wang Chong's mind. He took a resplendent golden token out from his embrace.

This was the token that King Song gave him, and it also represented the complete authority that he wielded over this operation. After much contemplation, the only reason why the dead Goguryeons in the other bases could be attributed to him had to be due to this token of unparalleled authority.

Does this mean that such a token... or perhaps the authority of an official, would allow the kills to be attributed to me in such an operation, and I need not slay the men personally?, Wang Chong thought.

Having come to this realization, Wang Chong was delighted. He had found a way to make his Bane of the Battlefield grow swiftly.

Hong long!

At this moment, Wang Chong had finished the final step to his metamorphosis. Hong long long, furious winds raged, and thunder rumbled within his head. Along with this rumbling, a massive, formless ripple was suddenly pulled inward, dragging a huge surge of energy back to him.

【Congratulations to user for killing more than 100 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire! The Bane of the Battlefield aura is upgraded from level 0 to level 1!】

The distinctive cold voice of the Destiny Stone echoed in Wang Chong's head. At the same moment, the area of Wang Chong's Bane of the Battlefield aura expanded greatly.

In an instant, all of the Goguryeon troops in the first base were covered in the area of effect of the halo. A white ripple abruptly appeared around them, scaring the Imperial Army guards fighting with them. Thinking that it might be a hidden means of their enemies, they immediately fought even more furiously.

However, the Goguryeon troops they were facing were even more shocked than them. They were already in a disadvantageous position, and this aura only made it worse for them.

Some of the True Martial realm 1-dan “Single Halo” experts even found their Thorn Halos flickering weakly, like candles before a strong gale. However, the ones who were hit the worst were the Origin Energy Tier 9 Goguryeon soldiers. Putting aside how their cultivation fell to Origin Energy Tier 8, there were signs that it was going to fall even further.

"What's going on?"

The unkempt Li Jiuhuan was astonished and angered. As the head of the base, he wasn't affected by the Bane of the Battlefield. As such, he couldn't understand what the others were experiencing.

However, it was clear to him that none of his men were in their best states.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Li Jiuhuan bellowed loudly. The Great Tang Imperial Army had clearly come well-prepared. Not only were their formations organized, they also had plenty of experts with them.

Li Jiuhuan knew that now that they were exposed, the base was a goner.

The only hope he had now was that the only place exposed was theirs.

Xiu xiu xiu!

Steel arrows suddenly whizzed out from the depths of the residence like venomous vipers. At this crucial moment, the condor snipers in the first base had made their moves.

Even though there were only two of them, they clearly displayed the incredible might that condor snipers wielded. In just a moment, five deadly arrows had struck the Imperial soldiers in the courtyard.

Boom!

But not long after they made their move, a sound reminiscent of the heavens being torn down sounded from afar. Before Li Jiuhuan could even react, hong hong! The two condor snipers were impaled in their chests by two thick and sharp arrows, their bodies nailed firmly to the floor.

Too fast!

They had no time to react at all. In just an instant, the two condor snipers that they had spent great effort to groom breathed their last.

Li Jiuhuan's face immediately turned as pale as a sheet of paper as he gazed into the distance.

Sou!

Without any hesitation, Li Jiuhuan immediately leaped onto the roof and escaped eastwards.

This base was doomed, it was impossible to salvage the situation anymore.

Li Jiuhuan knew that the best he could do was to preserve his own life.

"Where do you think you are escaping to?!"

A furious bellow echoed through the air. Just as Li Jiuhuan was jumping across the walls of the residence, an Imperial Army commander suddenly appeared before him. With rumbling Stellar Energy, his saber cut down to intercept Li Jiuhuan...

At the same moment, in the distance, the two-meter tall master archer that King Song sent to Wang Chong also lowered the humongous bow in his hands. There wasn't the slightest emotion on his face, as though he had only accomplished something unimportant.

"Good job!"

Beneath the shadow of the tree, Wang Chong immediately uttered a compliment generously upon seeing this feat.

This fellow was simply too powerful! He was at an entirely different level from the others!

If he had been there on Kunwu on the night of the assault, he would have been able to destroy all of the Goguryeon and Turk master archers singlehandedly.

That was how formidable this expert King Song assigned to him was!

Klang!

Without any hesitation, Wang Chong drew his sword and charged forward with a roar.

"Gongzi, be careful!"

Seeing Wang Chong charging forward, Miyasame Ayaka was alarmed. She immediately leaped out from the nearby bushes and followed behind him.

"Haha, don't worry. Given the huge army we have here, what kind of danger could there be?"

Wang Chong chuckled as he drove his Phantom Steps to its limits, flitting into the distance.

【Congratulations to user for killing 140 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】

【Congratulations to user for killing 141 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】

【Congratulations to user for killing 142 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】

【Congratulations to user for killing 175 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】

【Congratulations to user for killing 176 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】

【Congratulations to user for killing 177 soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】

As the emotionless voice continued calling out in his head, an immense amount of energy seemed to seep continuously into Wang Chong's body, strengthening him.

The Bane of the Battlefield halo grew rapidly. The formless ripple around Wang Chong was expanding at a rapid pace.

Putting aside how it had covered the entire first base, it was even swiftly creeping toward the location of the second base.

Furthermore, the effects it had on True Martial realm experts was growing stronger by the moment. Some of the True Martial realm 1-dan Single Halo cultivators found their Halos of Thorns being extinguished altogether as Wang Chong's Halo grew stronger.

——Robbed of their martial Halos, their strength immediately declined sharply once more.

On the other hand, the Origin Energy realm Goguryeon troops found the effects of the Halo capping after their cultivation fell to Origin Energy Tier 7.

Wang Chong was still perplexed initially, but he soon understood the logic behind it.

The ability of his Halo affected only the Origin Energy within cultivators, and not their physical prowess.

As such, the cultivation of Origin Energy realm Goguryeon troops didn't fall any further than Origin Energy Tier 7. But even so, the Bane of the Battlefield halo was sufficiently fearsome with just this.

After all, almost everyone in the first base found their cultivation plummeting by one entire tier.

In a battle, it could easily spell the difference between victory and defeat. This was the might of a war-type halo!

By this time, the battle in the first base was nearly settled. Wang Chong only managed to engage a couple of opponents before the battle concluded entirely.

Goguryeon corpses filled the entire courtyard, and blades and steel arrows were scattered all over the ground.

"Reporting to gongzi, we found a few steel chests in the depths of the Goguryeon base!" After the battle concluded, an Imperial soldier walked up to Wang Chong and reported the presence of a few chests in a secret underground chamber in the first base.

Wang Chong followed the Imperial Army soldier to the secret underground chamber, and indeed, a row of locked chests was by the wall.

What is inside? Weapons?, Wang Chong thought.

Given that the Goguryeons were prepared to go on a slaughter in the capital, they had to be in possession of a huge amount of weapons. Thinking so, Wang Chong drew his Wootz steel sword and klang!, the lock was split apart. Then, with a creaking sound, the lid was opened.

However, an unexpected sight appeared before the group. The moment they opened the chest, a brilliant golden gleam mixed with a strong medicinal aura surfaced before them.

Contained in the chest were not weapons, but highly matured Goguryeon ginsengs!

Sssss!

Upon seeing the entire chest of Goguryeon ginsengs, even the Imperial soldier gasped in shock.

They might not know much about the Goguryeon empire, but they did know the value of the ginseng produced there. It was one of the most precious treasures that a martial artist could obtain!

Yet, there was an entire chest of it before them at this very instant. Making a rough estimation, there were at least six hundred of them here. This was a humongous wealth!

... I've really struck it rich this time!

Seeing the brilliant Goguryeon ginsengs before him, Wang Chong was dumbstruck for an instant. His harvest for this operation was far greater than he had expected such that he fell into a momentary daze.

"If contained within this chest isn't weapons but ginsengs, is it possible for the other chests to be..."

Suddenly, a thought flashed across Wang Chong's mind as his gaze fell on the other chest. Agitation and excitement immediately struck him.

Klang klang klang!

With this thought in mind, Wang Chong swiftly broke all of the locks with his Wootz steel sword.

Prying open the remaining eleven chests, the same resplendent golden glow flashed before him once more. There were twelve chests of Goguryeon ginsengs here!

He had really struck it rich this time!

In that instant, Wang Chong couldn't help but burst out laughing from sheer delight.

"Gongzi, how do we deal with these Goguryeon ginsengs?"

Bowing slightly, the Imperial Army soldier sought for instructions. His attitude was humble and had no intentions of laying his hands on this huge wealth here. Wang Chong was the highest commander for this operation. Not to mention, with King Song's token on him, he represented King Song himself.

Even if it was a mountain of gold or chest of divine pills, no one would possibly dare to vie with King Song for it.

At the very least, the Imperial Army was sufficiently disciplined to know better than to do so.

"Leave behind one chest to share it with the brothers. As for the rest, carry them to my residence!"

Wang Chong contemplated for a moment before waving his hands majestically.

As the head of this operation, he did have the right to determine the allocation of the loot. King Song would have no qualms about it even if he were to learn of the matter.

Striking down the Goguryeon base and diminishing their influence in the capital was a huge merit in itself. While Wang Chong wouldn't be officially recognized for his efforts, and promotion and the like didn't apply to him, he was at least entitled to such benefits.

"Thank you, gongzi!"

Hearing that Wang Chong had left a chest for them, the Imperial Army member was delighted.

One must know that going by the rules, Wang Chong had the rights to claim it all for himself. Yet, he chose to leave a chest for them. Considering the number of ginsengs in each chest, that was a massive sum of money!

Also, their contribution in this matter would also be recorded down as their merits, so they would benefit greatly from this operation as well!