Gate of God

...

Ten days later.

"Zoom!" An arrow shot through the air. It was a jade green arrow flying faster than a shooting star. It sailed through the air and exploded upon impact with the ground.

"Aroo..." An armored scaled pig screamed in pain before falling to the ground, blood flowing from an open wound.

Just at this moment, a figure appeared in the distance.

A figure dressed in leopard prints and holding a jade green bow skipped next to the big. He hummed a tune as he did so.

Fang Zhengzhi wanted to get to the Iron Hill settlement. It was the closest to the Sagely Mountain city.

For the past 10 days, he used the map to find a way around the four major settlements. Coupled with the keen hearing he developed from his years on Cang Ling Mountain, he managed to avoid getting into trouble.

Right now, he was already outside the four major settlements.

This allowed him to relax a little. He wanted to hunt some game to make a nice meal for himself. This pig became his target.

"Forgive me, I am just hunting for food!" Fang Zhengzhi bowed to the Arrow Toothed Pig, then smirked.

It was quite the overkill.

He kept his Sun Shooting Bow and retrieved a small knife. As he cut off pieces of meat, he murmured to himself, "Pig tails, pig ears, pig tongue, yummy..."

However...

After all, one man’s meat was another man’s poison.

That being said, change and surprises were an inevitable part of life!

Just as Fang Zhengzhi hummed his tune and butchered the pig, there was a movement in the surrounding bushes.

He was now on alert.

It was not rare to encounter ferocious beasts here. However, ordinarily, there would not be too many small beasts where the dangerous ones roamed.

He had already picked a position with many small beasts.

Just as he thought about it, he heard a "zoom zoom zoom..." in the air. Then, rays of black fell from the sky.

"Spears?" Fang Zhengzhi immediately saw what those black rays were.

This was slightly different to the lances used by the army. Those were not usually thrown, but one could throw a spear. Furthermore, they did a lot of damage to beasts.

Did he wander into the hunting grounds of a tribe?

But there was nothing on the map?!

Fang Zhengzhi easily dodged all the falling spears. However, there was an order as to how they were thrown. They were not used to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

They were used to trap him.

Circles of spears formed around Fang Zhengzhi. It was not large, but it trapped Fang Zhengzhi in the center.

"Freeze!" A voice could be heard from the bushes.

Then, hundreds of figures appeared around him. Each one of them held a long black spear in their hands and wore green rattan armor.

Fang Zhengzhi had seen this armor before. Shan Jia had worn it in The Vast World.

However, these men wore armor which was much weaker and simpler. It only covered the vital areas like the chest and the groin. Everything else was left uncovered. They were all tanned from prolonged exposure to the sun.

Aborigines!

Fang Zhengzhi recognized these people instantly. He was certain that these men were from the Southern Mountain Range army.

If it was just a hunting tribe, their dressing and weapons would be more varied.

However, all of their armor and weapons were standardized.

They had to be from the Southern Mountain Range army.

If he had indeed run into the army...

His plan would be foiled.

"Which settlement are you from?" One of the middle aged men looked at Fang Zhengzhi’s dressing and asked suspiciously.

"Which settlement?" Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes brightened. He wanted to just use any random name, but he realized that it was not going to work.

If he hadn’t seen the aborigines...

He would have thought of assimilating into the army or a settlement. However, after seeing their appearance, he basically gave up on that idea.

Because...

He was too white.

By asking which settlement he was from, his opponent was trying to trick him.

The people of the Southern Mountain Range were not dumb at all.

However, Fang Zhengzhi never expected that he would run into the Southern Mountain Range Army the moment he stepped outside the boundaries of the four settlements. He was not prepared for that.

He did not have many options right now.

His first option was to be weak and act like an idiot. He could refuse to answer every question and used some dance moves to shock them. Then, he may be able to seize an opportunity to escape.

His second option was to be strong!

There was a saying, if my enemy is weak, I am powerful. If my enemy is powerful, I am weak.

It was a very simple equation.

Fang Zhengzhi calmed himself down and looked slightly arrogant. He wagged his finger at the middle aged man.

The middle aged man looked around his surroundings, his suspicions raised. However, this was still his territory.

He walked next to Fang Zhengzhi.

"I asked you which settlement you are from?!"

"Smack!"

With a clean swipe of his hand, one of the spears in the ground was split into two by Fang Zhengzhi. It was a clean cut.

"You..." The middle aged man was stunned by Fang Zhengzhi’s actions. He subconsciously tightened his grip on his spear as he took a step back.

All of the soldiers behind him also raised their spears. They prepared to charge forward when they heard the command.

"What settlement?! Can’t you see my leather? Do I look like a villager to you? I am an envoy! Are you blind?" Fang Zhengzhi replied rudely.

After showing his power, he had to be fierce enough.

"Envoy? You... are?" The middle aged man was slightly taken aback.

He did not attack Fang Zhengzhi immediately because he noticed that Fang Zhengzhi was wearing superior leather. Only two types of people could wear such leather.

An "ignorant" spy from the Great Xia Dynasty...

Or someone of serious standing...

But now, he did not attack Fang Zhengzhi because of an additional reason...

Fang Zhengzhi was very powerful!

"If I had chopped your neck, what do you think would have happened? Enough crap, get your people to move aside! Who are you to question me?" Fang Zhengzhi waved him off in exasperation. He had to show them that he would not tolerate nonsense.

"Send the signal!" The middle aged man’s expression darkened when he heard this. He waved to the soldiers behind him and Fang Zhengzhi was surrounded.

After the middle aged man finished speaking, Fang Zhengzhi saw a soldier shoot an arrow into the sky.

"Bong!" A crisp sound could be heard.

Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback. What the hell is going on? Did he fail in his plan?

That’s impossible.

He would have been able to kill the middle aged man without any problem. The fact that he didn’t showed that he was one of them. Furthermore, his attitude should have been convincing enough. There should be no reason for a ‘rebellion’.

"Are you trying to violate my status?" Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to stick to his story. He had no idea how many people he was facing.

"If you really are an envoy, tell us your intentions. If not, you can forget about leaving this place!" The middle aged man did not have any intention of attacking just yet.

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll have your head for this?" Fang Zhengzhi replied coldly.

"I am just doing my job, I fear nothing!" The middle aged man replied with determination.

"Fear nothing?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the middle aged man. This was only the second time he had interacted with someone from the Southern Mountain Range.

However, he could see a strong determination in the eyes of the middle aged man.

All these while, Fang Zhengzhi had read that those who grew up in harsher environments were stronger. He could see this trait from this man.

The people from the Southern Mountain Range...

Were really different from those of the Great Xia Dynasty!

"Tell us!" The hundreds of soldiers shouted in unison when they heard the middle aged man. Their crisp voices echoed throughout the woods.

Could Fang Zhengzhi say?

He was not familiar with the Southern Mountain Range. The more he said, the larger the gaps in his story. He could not just come up with a random story.

Fang Zhengzhi had two choices.

He could kill them, or run.

Killing was an option. However, killing without reason was unnecessary. Furthermore, he did not know how they were like.

Kill all of these soldiers?

He was not a maniac.

Even if he killed all of them, he would still have to run.

Fang Zhengzhi knew he should be running.

He wanted to be stronger than these people, but they were definitely stronger than him.

It was not that he was not witty enough, but his opponent was much too determined. He wasn’t even afraid of death. Such a person was not antagonizable.

He turned...

And ran.

"You want to run? Even the fastest beasts cannot outrun us, haha!" The middle aged man chuckled icily when he saw Fang Zhengzhi run.

The sky was filled with spears even before the middle aged man ordered for it.

A row of spears blocked Fang Zhengzhi’s escape route.

Then, hundreds of soldiers surrounded him from both sides. They all growled in a deep voice.

"Aroo ooh ooh ooh..."

"Dong, dong, dong!"

"..."

Fang Zhengzhi was rather depressed. The road ahead was blocked and the soldiers surrounded his flanks. Was he really going to have to resort to killing?

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard crashing sounds in the near distance. Then, he heard waves of roars from beasts.

He turned and was stunned by what he saw.

Within moments, there were thousands of soldiers surrounding him. They all rushed his position, each one riding a two meter high beast.

It was a wolf like creature with blueish-purple fur. It had a single silver horn on its forehead, and it was two to three times larger than the wolf.

It was the silver horned wolf!

It was a beast which was even more ferocious than the Blue Fire Wolf. Each one had the power of a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator.

"Damn it, why did I have to run into the elite army of the Southern Mountain Range!" Fang Zhengzhi paled.

He did not know how many silver horned wolf squads there were in the Southern Mountain Range. He didn’t think that there were many, so what was with the 1000 he saw in front of him?

If this wasn’t the main force of the Southern Mountain Range army?

What was?

"Hang on! I was just testing your reactions. You’re right... I am an envoy!" Fang Zhengzhi raised his hands. He could not defeat them. There were more than 1000 silver horned wolves and soldiers. They could grind him down easily.

He couldn’t run either. His only choice was to try to prolong his life.

"Then please tell us what you’re here for." The middle aged man raised his hand, then walked briskly to Fang Zhengzhi without fear.

"What if I killed you right now?" Fang Zhengzhi asked as the man walked over.

"I will become one with the mountain. My flesh and bones will provide nourishment for the plants and my blood will give moisture to the ground. I will be with the Southern Mountain Range!" The middle aged man replied proudly.

"Okay, I was just kidding." Fang Zhengzhi’s lips twitched. He knew that there were religions out there.

They were capable of banding people together and produce zealots blindly faithful to their cause.

"Tell us what you are here for." The middle aged man was in no mood to waste time.

"I can say it, but I can’t tell it to you."

"Then who can you tell it to?"

"Your general of course."

"General?" The middle aged man frowned, then nodded, "I understand. Envoy, please follow me!"

Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

What a change of attitude?

Did his plan succeed?

Okay then, he will meet with the general in charge then think of a plan from there. In the worst case, he could kidnap the general!

A lieutenant may be dispensable, but was a general?

Fang Zhengzhi smirked. Everything was still in control, all he had to do was find a suitable opportunity to escape.

...

Initially, Fang Zhengzhi thought that he would be bound or blindfolded. However, none of the above happened.

He began to relax a little.

However, he was on alert right after exiting the woods.

There was a hundred meter high rock in front of him. There was a large army camp below it. It was constructed using wood, with leaves as camouflage.

It was quite well camouflaged. Anyone looking for it from a higher position would have been hard pressed to find it.

This was a real army cam, and it was well hidden and set up. But why would there be a camp here?

Fang Zhengzhi wanted to run but he had no chance to.

He had run into the main force of the Southern Mountain Range!

The middle aged man led Fang Zhengzhi through the camp for more than 15 minutes. Fang Zhengzhi finally saw what the Southern Mountain Range army was like.

Each soldier was dark skinned and wore the same rattan armor. They held long spears and were hulkingly huge.

When Fang Zhengzhi walked through, he piqued the interest of all the other soldiers. However, no one asked any questions.

He lost track of time.

The middle aged man finally stopped then fell to his knees, murmuring almost as if he was saying a prayer.

Soon after, he stood up and pointed respectfully to a wooden path in front of him.

"Envoy, please!"

"Thank you." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

Fang Zhengzhi realized something different about the tent in front of him. It was covered with a thick layer of greenery and there were all sorts of carvings on the pillars.

The middle aged man had kneeled towards these carvings.

The defences around this tent were also much stronger. There were at least 20-30 guards in each of the four directions. There were no less than 100 soldiers guarding this tent.

After seeing Fang Zhengzhi and the middle aged man.

The guards at the front of the tent finally spoke. He lowered his spear at Fang Zhengzhi and the middle aged man.

"Who is that man?"

"Envoy." The middle aged man replied respectfully.

"I understand, please enter." The soldier nodded. Then, he returned to his original position.

The middle aged man quickly stepped forward and opened up one of the flaps to the tent. Then he nodded to Fang Zhengzhi.

As the flap was opened, Fang Zhengzhi heard a caucus within, almost as if there was an ongoing intense discussion.

Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to enter.

He stepped into the tent.

The tent fell silent.

Fang Zhengzhi was silent as well. He realized that there was more than one person inside the tent.

More than 20 people sat in two rows beside a table.

They were all dressed differently from the soldiers outside. Their armor was more intricate and they had a layer of leather.

More importantly, their arms had a faint glow. Upon closer inspection, they were all rather queer pictures.

Of course, Fang Zhengzhi fell silent not because of the 20 people inside the tent. He quietened down because the person sitting at the top...

Was a lady.

A lady laying on a piece of golden leather.

Her skin glowed and she was clearly in the pink of health. A snow white piece of leather wrapped around her privates.

Her belly button and slender legs were there for all to admire. She was quite the attractive lady.

There was a leather ring wrapped around her right leg. She had two daggers kept there.

Other than the fact that she was dressed differently, what made her stand out was that she wore a bone toothed accessory on her head. It was also adorned with a five colored feather.

She was a person of power!

"How exotic?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the features of the lady in front of him, admiring her glowing eyes.

This lady was an exotic beauty.

She was not hulking or tough, but exquisite and dainty.

However...

Fang Zhengzhi was still in the position of weakness.

After all, she was the boss.

Was this the way the culture of the Southern Mountain Range?

"Princess, the fake envoy is here!" The middle aged man walked in and fell to his knees. He did not even dare to look up.

"Okay... you may leave now." The lady’s voice rang out. Then, she sat upright.

Fang Zhengzhi’s expression changed instantly.

Princess?!

He knew this term well. After all, he had just had a hotpot and drinks with over a dozen princesses.

But now...

When he heard the term being said...

He knew he was finished!

Which envoy would call the princess a general?

As such, all the pleasantries were just a trap to lure him here. And now, he had stepped right into the trap.