Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 366

Chapter 847 Before the Decisive Battle, on the Same Front, Different People

February 15th, two days later the Lantern Festival, the decisive moment.

As dusk fell, in a forest in the northeast, seventeen seventh-tier warriors were preparing dinner. This was their last meal before the decisive battle, their last moment of leisure. Afterward, they would proceed to the battlefield in an orderly fashion, doing nothing unnecessary along the way, and conserving their fighting spirit to its peak.

The seventeen people did not gather together, but split into five groups.

Under the big tree were three Taoist priests, all of whom practiced the Six Harmonies Technique. Although they came from different sects and different mountain gates and usually looked down on each other and even belittled each other, at this moment, they could call each other fellow Daoists. This was not hypocritical politeness, but because they were truly comrades-in-arms fighting side by side to eliminate evil.

The three Taoist priests had a very simple dinner: a large pot of white porridge cooked in a hanging pot, pancakes made on a heated stone slab, and each of them had their own different pickled vegetables, pickled mustard greens, dried plums, and pickled radishes.

"Decades of secluded cultivation vanished in an instant."

"People say that the stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade. This may be an opportunity to glimpse a way to overcome bottlenecks."

"It is precisely because of this thinking that my Dao heart is unstable."

The three Taoists came because they wanted to see the power that transcends the bottleneck, but as Taoists, their actions were driven by desire, and their Taoist hearts were unstable.

On the grass were five scholars. They were either former high-ranking officials who had retired many years ago, or former heads of a certain academy. They had students all over the world, but they were also connected to these students. When faced with this situation, they had no choice but to go out.

Just like back in the Kingdom of Phos, when some of Ronan's policies affected the entire magical world, Ussel could turn a blind eye, Rabelais, a bachelor, simply joined the rebellion, while Stefan had to come out and have a serious talk with Ronan.

Having graduated with bachelor's degrees and now at the seventh level, their diet has always been understated yet luxurious. It usually looks ordinary, but the preparation is actually meticulous and the flavor is rich.

Fortunately, one of the five scholars was a gourmet with superb culinary skills. His cooking skills, enhanced by his extraordinary power, were already exquisite. He usually only cooked for himself as a pastime. So, it could be said that the other four were in for a treat.

Five people, four dishes and one soup, and a jar of Shaoxing wine.

The soup is made with hazel grouse from Northeast China, small white shrimp and baby squid brought from the coast, dried mushrooms brought along, and pork ribs bought on the way. This pot of soup has been simmering since the afternoon. The soup is fragrant and fresh, not just ordinary fresh, but a rich and layered freshness. Despite its heavy flavor, the texture is not sticky, but refreshing and smooth. This is what can be achieved when the proportions of ingredients and the cooking time are almost perfect.

With just this little bit of soup, you can do without anything else.

"Brother, your cooking skills are the best in the world."

"Brother Bolin, you flatter me. My meager culinary skills are nowhere near those of the true number one chef of our time."

"Ha, it's too kind of you to say I'm the number one person in the world. The leader of the rebels is the real number one. Even I couldn't maintain my composure when Brother Youwen, Brother Zijin, and Brother Zhaowen joined forces."

"With Brother Bolin leading the way, we are sure to succeed this time."

"To wipe away the shame of the past."

"To eliminate demons and protect the righteous path."

On the other side, by the rocky beach, the four warriors' dinner was much more rustic: roasted mutton, steamed river crabs, boiled prawns, a large bowl of rice, beef sauce, and deer blood wine.

Eat meat in big bites and drink wine in big bowls, and that's it.

In fact, samurai were also cultured people. The books they read were similar to those of these scholars, and their knowledge was no less. Some of them even came from genuine scholarly families, while some of the scholars on the other side were from humble backgrounds. But in order to deliberately distinguish themselves, samurai had always acted this way. Anyone who did not act this way was considered an outcast.

"Old Bai, tell me, should we do our best, or risk our lives?"

“Old He, if we don’t fight to the death, we might lose our lives. You know Zhang Youwen, Yang Zijin, and Long Zhaowen, those three old scoundrels who have no martial virtue. Judging from their appearance, they probably didn’t get the better of them in Luoyang. But you know their strength.”

"Old Bai, Old He, I will definitely do my best to support you from behind."

"Ha, you, Old Wang, are surrounded by those women. It's a miracle you can even concentrate."

"Bullshit, those women may look like pretty ladies, but they're all old women at heart. I'd rather find a village girl nearby."

"Hahahaha, drink, drink."

In the distance, on a hillside, three women sat together. All three appeared young and beautiful, not just in their faces, but in their entire bodies. However, their actual age was nearly a hundred. This was a deliberate alteration of their appearance, requiring high cultivation and a constant supply of spiritual energy to maintain. Otherwise, with their cultivation, while they wouldn't look like old women, they would be around forty years old, at most still charming, not like the beautiful women in their twenties they were now.

"These bastards actually forced me to play a supporting role from the back. I'm clearly more suited to charging into battle."

"Well, we can't act impulsively."

"Of course not. Anger aside, we cannot be careless in the slightest."

"Yes, if something happens to them, we'll save them even if it costs us our lives."

Although the three women were somewhat resentful, they had absolutely no intention of sabotaging the project.

Meanwhile, their hot pot was ready. The three beautiful women were eating a hot pot with Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, and butter, which was the kind of heavy-flavored hot pot that the laborers at the Yuzhou wharf were eating.

At the very back, behind a large rock, were two people.

One of them was Zhao Zhen'e. His name doesn't sound noble or scholarly like a royal name at all. The reason is that he was born on the Dragon Boat Festival, which is considered an "inauspicious day" and the birth of a child is considered unlucky. His generation name happened to be "Jin", so his father, the emperor at the time, named him Zhao Zhen'e.

The other person was the only untrained individual in the group, and the only cripple. He had no legs below the thighs and used a knife and a sword as crutches to walk.

Their last meal was unusually simple: tea, rice balls, and cured meat.

"I never expected you to come out of seclusion," Zhao Zhen'e remarked.

"If people like you, who would rather be an emperor than a carefree prince, are willing to come, then it's normal for me to come too," the white-haired, disabled old man joked.

"I am no longer a prince. According to the rules of this dynasty, one retires at seventy-five and relinquishes his title at eighty-five." Zhao Zhen'e laughed. High-level extraordinary individuals generally live to be over ninety, and can maintain their vitality until their time is up. If they are not forced to retire, young people will not be able to make progress, and wouldn't they rebel?

"To be honest, although the tactics were meticulously planned this time and we didn't underestimate our opponents, look at these old guys, they're too relaxed, which isn't a good thing," Zhao Zhen'e said with concern.

The white-haired, disabled old man smiled helplessly, "There's nothing we can do about it. The world has been at peace for a long time, and those at the top value harmony above all else. Let alone them, have you and I ever fought anyone after we reached the seventh rank?"

His words silenced Zhao Zhen'e completely. After a long while, Zhao Zhen'e spoke again, "No matter what, we must take down this rebel leader. The world is already unstable. If we don't take him down, there will be great chaos."

The old man did not respond, because he felt that even if they took control, chaos would still ensue. The contradictions between the South and the North, between farmers and merchants, between radicals and conservatives, had reached an irreconcilable point.

Chapter 848 The Final Battle, Defeat, and Reopening

Lantern Festival, in the far north.

This world, which Seris calls the Yaksha Kingdom, is nominally part of the Siberian Khanate, and the Rus' people have no influence here yet.

As for Seris, Seris wouldn't even look down on such a despicable place.

In Ronan's original timeline, this was the Chukchi Peninsula, in northeastern Russia, with the Bering Strait just to the east.

Although this place is a harsh and cold land in the far north, it is not the most harsh kind of land. There are mountains and snowfields everywhere, but there are also coniferous forests. There are many animals, wild vegetables and fruits. Therefore, the people here are not like some people living on the snowfields who can only eat raw meat and drink blood.

They weren't particularly poor, because there were whales along the coast. They would hunt them, refine the whale oil, and sell it to the Siberian Khanate in the southwest, in exchange for some goods. Of course, the final buyers of this whale oil were the noble lords of Seres.

Now, this place, where several small tribes, totaling only about ten thousand people, live, is the battlefield designated by "Ronan".

The top superhumans from Seris who came to challenge them had different thoughts. Some wanted to take the opportunity to advance further, some hoped for world peace, some were unwilling to fall behind, some were driven by a competitive spirit, and others simply wanted to do something interesting after a carefree or wasted life.

For Ronan, this is the starting point for a fresh start. For most of the past few decades, he has either been preparing to run away or already on the run.

He wanted to defeat the Seres, establish his own power, reshape Seres according to his own ideas, change the world's格局 (geju, a concept encompassing overall structure, overall situation, and overall situation), and usher in a new era. After that, he would seek the method of immortality. Since some people in this world could achieve immortality, there was no reason why he couldn't.

As for achieving immortality, you can do whatever you want.

It can only be said that compared to Ronan, Ronan has not been to many of the "otherworldly ruins" and has a much lower level of understanding of the secrets of this world. He does not have a clear understanding that this world will be destroyed if nothing unexpected happens, and he has almost no understanding of the longevity method. Even his proud talent-granting technique has been surpassed by Ronan.

He is stronger than Ronan, and much stronger in combat ability.

“They’re here,” Ronan said, both to himself and to Candice beside him.

Candice was shrouded in a massive skeletal exoskeleton armor, ready to engage in battle at any moment.

She didn't have many thoughts about this battle; her heart was only with Ronan, and she would give her all no matter what Ronan did.

On the horizon where white meets sky blue, small black dots gradually appear.

The next second, bang, crack, a sharp, ear-piercing explosion like transparent glass shattering rang out. Suddenly, a gigantic square "transparent glass shield" 1,000 meters long, 500 meters wide, and 1,000 meters high appeared in the air around Ronan and Candice, which had been empty before. It shattered with a bang, but the fragments of "glass" almost disappeared into the air as they exploded, completely losing their physical form.

This was Ronan's arrangement, and eliminating this arrangement was the first step in the plan of Seris and his group of powerful figures.

Once the first step is completed, the second step arrives seamlessly, with the spell locking onto the target.

However, it failed; to be precise, the spell could not be completed.

Ronan looked at the other party's sudden hesitation in mid-air and said, "Surprised? What you just destroyed was actually a seal. Once the seal is broken, this domain will prohibit any rule-based spells."

This is one of the two abilities he acquired at the core of the Celestial Transcendent System.

"The area is actually very small, you can run away."

"Ronan" said, then countered that it wasn't that big, just a sphere with a diameter of 500 meters centered on himself.

But the problem is, if they run, can't he chase after them?

If the seventeen people on the other side choose to run, he will launch a fierce attack. If they encounter a fierce attack while fleeing, and even one person makes a mistake in the rush, the formation will be difficult to maintain. Ronan also knows about the group of strong people in Seris. The other side is not completely of one mind. Once the formation is difficult to maintain, someone will immediately choose to "sacrifice a friend to save himself".

Ronan did not get what he wanted.

The group of Seris did not retreat; none of them chose to leave.

“It is precisely because we distrust each other that we will not break up.” The speaker was Ning Zhongyu, whose courtesy name was Bolin.

In the blink of an eye, the seventeen people formed a formation, with twelve surrounding Ronan and Candice, and the other five providing support from the outside.

Plan Two, Begin.

A host of negative effects were applied to Ronan and Candice.

However, when the Ronan bone mask was generated, the negative effects of each status ailment quickly subsided, and for Candice, the demon spirit, it was as if she was not affected at all, as the effects of each negative status ailment were greatly reduced.

Plan Two had already failed halfway through.

Plan Two was originally intended to afflict Ronan with a host of negative status effects, then drag him into a war of attrition, until he was completely exhausted.

But now there's no doubt we have to go straight for it.

The three Taoist priests made the first move.

They are all practitioners of the Six Harmonies Technique. Although their divine magic and transformation are relatively strong, their other abilities such as materialization, transformation, summoning, and elemental manipulation are relatively weak. However, they are not non-existent. As long as they are available, they can be used in combination.

One person transformed into lightning, another into flames, and yet another became a falling leaf.

From tangible to intangible.

Immediately, Ronan was struck by lightning, the flames burned him, and his skin cracked and flower branches sprouted. Whenever he used magic, the flower branches would absorb magic and grow further. The growth of the flower branches would fuel the flames, which would continuously consume his defensive membrane. Whenever he moved, the lightning would strike the weak points in his defensive membrane.

These are not rule-based spells, but rather effects resulting from the combination of multiple forces. They can be broken, but they are also very difficult to break.

Ronan didn't try to break through the defenses; instead, he chose to take the damage head-on. This amount of damage was nothing to him in the short term.

At the same time, "Ronan" launched an attack, targeting the outer support units.

Four warriors immediately came forward. As warriors, their physique was their most commendable feature. Although they could not compare to the pure celestial transformation of the West, they were among the strongest in Seris.

Unfortunately, Ronan's physical abilities were even stronger than those of a pure Oath of Heaven mutant. The four of them could withstand him and inflict some damage on Ronan, but they couldn't stop him at all.

The scholars made their move; many of their spells were not based on rules, but rather resembled elemental magic.

In an instant, the color of heaven and earth changed.

Various spells erupted, turning the area within several kilometers centered on "Ronan" into a gathering place for natural disasters. In an instant, countless spells rushed towards "Ronan." If viewed from more than ten kilometers away, it didn't look like countless spells rushing towards Ronan, but rather like countless natural disasters being sucked into a small black hole at an extremely fast speed, forcibly twisting and gathering into a single point.

Countless spells were used without any blind spots, determined to crush and pulverize "Ronan".

Chapter 849 A Clumsy Approach, The Final Plan, Heavy Blade and Swift Sword

Countless magical impacts converged and merged together, obscuring the original forms of these spells. All that could be seen was a huge black sphere, its surface constantly flashing with incandescent sparks, which sealed Ronan within it.

The sphere shrank inward several times, then bounced back a bit, then compressed itself several times, and bounced back again.

The ball kept getting smaller, from initially being big enough to hold a small house, to just being able to fit a carriage, and now it can only fit half a person.

The black ball is compressing inwards much less than it did at the beginning, and it looks like it's struggling a lot. But it still needs to be compressed several times before it bounces back. Overall, the black ball is still getting smaller little by little.

Four scholars stood in four different directions, arms outstretched and palms open. They were constantly channeling their spiritual power to compress the chaotic black sphere formed by countless magical impacts, trapping "Ronan" and eroding his strength.

This kind of struggle is a completely inefficient method.

But as Zhao Zhen'e said, this group of people hadn't fought anyone for at least thirteen or fourteen years, and some had gone for thirty or forty years. Their skills and adaptability had greatly deteriorated, and they themselves were well aware of this. The three who had fought "Ronan" before were especially aware of it.

Therefore, this is the only clumsy method we can use.

At this moment, the veins on their faces were bulging, sweat was pouring down their foreheads, their eyes were bloodshot, and blood was seeping from the corners of their mouths.

At the same time, the blizzard and sandstorm brought about by the previous chaotic magical attack began to slowly subside, and the scene began to become clearer.

A few minutes later, the shocking scene finally disappeared.

The ground had long been swept away by the impact; snow, soil, weeds, and giant trees were nowhere to be seen. The only thing that could be seen were deep, crisscrossing cracks in the ground, as if it had been through more than a dozen earthquakes.

In my field of vision, the black sphere became incredibly clear, and it was slowly shrinking.

Just as the black sphere shrank to the size of an infant, it suddenly exploded.

The silence created a complete stillness, with only the aftershocks of the black light rapidly spreading outwards and engulfing everything.

After a long while, the black light dissipated.

Ronan still stands in the sky.