Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Zhao Hong Takes Action!!_1
After discussing everything in detail with my elder brother Zhao Wu,
Zhao Hong, who controlled Black Tiger Fortress, immediately left Qingshi Town.
He headed back in the direction of Black Tiger Fortress, located outside of Qingshi Town.
The next day, early in the morning,
when the sky had not yet fully brightened,
and a thick mist still lingered in the air,
atop a hill outside Qingshi Town, within a rather large mountain stronghold,
there sat Zhao Hong, the second son of the Zhao Family, quietly on a wooden armchair.
Next to him lay a blade that seemed to have undergone countless forging processes, a grade higher than the Hundred-Forged Steel Knife.
Beside him sat a scholarly-looking man with a pallid face and a mediocre appearance.
“Gao Qi, I don’t know why, but I’ve been feeling rather uneasy,”
“I understand all of my brother’s strategies,
“and I am aware of the ambitions and dreams he harbors in his heart,”
“If everything could go according to the best possible plan, using Qingshi Town as a base, expanding our influence gradually in all directions,”
“then certainly, there would be nothing better.”
“But if…” As he spoke, Zhao Hong couldn’t help hesitating, “What if we fail?”
Zhao Hong silently turned his head, his face tinged with worry, and spoke in a low voice to Gao Qi beside him.
Gao Qi did not immediately answer the question.
He simply silently picked up the cup of hot tea next to him.
He brought the tea to his lips and took a sip.
Allowing the slightly scalding liquid to pass through his throat and into his stomach,
he then slowly exhaled, turned his head, and calmly said to Zhao Hong beside him, “Brother Zhao, we will not fail.”
“As long as the over two thousand strong and blade-wielding young men of Black Tiger Fortress surge into Qingshi Town,”
“As long as we can lock down Qingshi Town completely in the shortest time possible,”
“Trap all the officials inside their homes,”
“we will have achieved half our goal.”
“The other half depends on the Luo Family, one of the four great families of Qingshi Town.”
“The Luo Family has always been the sworn enemy of the Zhao Family, and they control the other half of the Qingshi ore veins outside of Qingshi Town.”
“If only we could wipe out the Luo Family, kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, and take control of all the ore veins they hold, our mission would be accomplished.”
Gao Qi’s voice was not loud, even somewhat weak.
Yet such a speech always managed to bring endless courage and boldness to Zhao Hong’s heart.
“If that’s the case, let’s proceed as planned,”
“I will mobilize all the vigorous young men from Black Tiger Fortress,”
“Gao Qi, wait here for a moment,”
Said Zhao Hong, the second son of the Zhao Family, who possessed Bone Refinement Perfection realm skills.
He straightened up and walked out of the room.
As Zhao Hong’s figure gradually faded into the distance until it disappeared from Gao Qi’s sight,
Gao Qi’s composed face began to show traces of contemplation and a shade of worry.
Could this really succeed?
Gao Qi did not dare to guarantee it one hundred percent.
He could only say that the likelihood of success was about ninety percent, or even slightly more.
Mobilizing the young men of Black Tiger Fortress to enter Qingshi Town was not a difficult task.
And locking away all the officials in their homes was not hard either.
The only thing giving Gao Qi pause was the Luo Family, one of the four great families of Qingshi Town.
The Ancestor of the Luo Family, named Luo Changfeng, was indeed somewhat peculiar.
Just yesterday, when he was on the Luo Family Ancestral Land, he even met with the physician Wang Kun, who was within the Zhao Family grounds.
He had asked Wang Kun why he had made such a judgment,
why he claimed that the Ancestor of the Luo Family was certain to meet his end within half a month.
The answer given by Wang Kun was very certain.
Wang Kun said that in his decades of practicing medicine, he had seen people numbered in the tens of thousands,
those who were at the end of their lives, half in the grave already,
And Wang Kun was no stranger to such cases.
Therefore, Wang Kun’s judgment was wholly reliant on his decades of experience in practicing medicine.
With that being the case, a question arises.
Why has the ancestor of the Luo Family still not passed away to this day?
Did his cultivation break through to the Organ Refinement Realm, extending his life by twenty years?
Or did the Ancestor of the Luo Family take some kind of Spirit Pill that can prolong life?
Alternatively, was every sign that the Ancestor of the Luo Family’s time was near all a disguise?
Considering these three possibilities, Gao Qi dared not make a hasty decision.
However, the one thing he could be certain of was this.
Out of the three possibilities, the first one was probably the least likely.
If one were to judge in terms of percentages, the first possibility would not exceed one percent.
Indeed, above Bone Refinement Perfection is Viscera Refinement.
Yet in reality, it is not so easy to break through to the Organ Refinement Realm.
Moreover, as one ages, qi and blood will gradually deplete.
Cultivation will also decline with the passage of time.
Under such circumstances, how could the Ancestor of the Luo Family possibly force a breakthrough to the Organ Refinement Realm with his frail and aged body?
“Second in command? Second in command?!!”
Just as Gao Qi was furrowing his brow, pondering over the answer to this question,
a robust young man from within the Black Tiger Fortress suddenly trotted into the room.
Bowing slightly, he said softly to Gao Qi, “Second in command, the boss says everything is ready, and we’re just waiting on you…”
“Everything is ready?”
Gao Qi silently raised his head, looking at the fortress’s robust young man in front of him.
He stood up, stretching his body a bit.
Then, he walked straight out of the room.
The Black Tiger Fortress, located in a deep mountain not far from Qingshi Town,
was exceedingly hidden and strategically positioned.
It seemed to be set up for further development.
Nearby the fortress, many fields had also been cleared.
Come next spring, they could start planting crops.
In doing so, not only could they be self-sufficient, but they could also produce plenty of food to continue expanding the fortress’s power.
However, it was somewhat regrettable.
It seemed that these newly cleared fields would no longer be needed.
The Black Tiger Fortress, where over two thousand young men wielding brand-new steel knives were gathered.
There stood Zhao Hong, the current leader of the Black Tiger Fortress.
He stood quietly on a somewhat crude platform.
“Two thousand strong young men doesn’t seem like a lot,” he thought.
“But now, seeing it with my own eyes…”
“I’ve realized that these two thousand plus men are indeed numerous.”
Atop the platform, Zhao Hong, clad in a dark red suit of iron armor, watched silently over the two thousand plus men, some in leather armor, some in wooden armor, and others in iron armor.
He couldn’t help but murmur to himself with a hint of emotion.
“Gao Qi!” Suddenly, Zhao Hong turned his head, speaking in a very serious tone to Gao Qi beside him, “There are not many people I trust. My brother Zhao Wu is one, and you are another.”
“So, before we set off, I want to ask you one last time.”
“Can our Zhao Family really succeed this time?”
Zhao Hong’s voice floated away with the wind.
The intensity of his gaze was so potent that it made Gao Qi somewhat uncomfortable.
Lie to Zhao Hong again, to reassure him?
Gao Qi suddenly found that he no longer felt able to do such a thing.
With no other choice, he could only tell the truth.
“On this continent, there’s nothing that is certain to succeed.”
“So for what we’re about to do, I think… there’s probably a ninety percent chance of success!”
“Ninety percent?” Hearing this, Zhao Hong silently nodded his head.
If Gao Qi said there was a ninety percent chance of success,
then he would go ahead and take that chance!!!