Chapter 300: Chapter 174: Bro, I’m Done For Today

"And another thing—that rascal Gu Gaoxu! Make sure you bring him back to me alive!" the Grand Ancestor Emperor added, his face flush with anger.

The last time Gu Gaoxu came to the Imperial Capital, there was the matter of him "inventing" the corn sheller.

The Grand Ancestor Emperor had turned a blind eye and didn’t expose Gu Gaoxu.

Gu Gaoxu’s disposition—mischievous and frivolous since childhood—was practically hereditary.

The Grand Ancestor Emperor himself had been quite a handful in his youth, once having secretly butchered his landlord’s calf for a meal.

Every time Gu Gaoxu visited the Imperial Capital, he would infuriate the Grand Ancestor Emperor to the point of having him seized and paddled.

It was tough love.

Born into the imperial family, one’s life was not their own to command.

There was another reason: the Grand Ancestor Emperor knew of the profound relationship between Gu Gaoxu and Lu Yuan, and he was naturally unwilling to let a big fish like Lu Yuan get away.

With his shrewd judgment, the Grand Ancestor Emperor could tell that Lu Yuan was no ordinary person; he had far too many secrets worth uncovering.

When Gu Ziye had secretly left through the Imperial City gates, the Grand Ancestor Emperor had already received the news, yet he allowed her to go and find her nephew, Gu Gaoxu.

If not for the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s tacit approval, Gu Ziye would have been dragged back to the Imperial Capital long ago.

Alone in the Imperial Study, the Grand Ancestor Emperor pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head, cursing under his breath, ’Not a single one of them gives me any peace!’

Riding his modified bicycle, Lu Yuan drew closer and closer to the Northern battlefield as time passed.

The official road grew increasingly desolate, and even the number of wild Xingzi began to rise.

Especially at night, the Xingzi would drift about, making it difficult for Lu Yuan and his group to travel or sleep in peace.

They could hear the Xingzi rustling and roaming through the woods on both sides of the road, punctuated by the occasional hoot of an owl.

Here, they were getting closer and closer to the border of the Divine Ling Empire.

Looking at the scene, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but remark to his wife, "Even a prosperous Empire has places its light doesn’t reach."

"You’re right, my love. The closer we get to the Beastman Race, the fewer people we see on the road," Su Liyan said, sticking close to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan and his group had been traveling continuously for several hours without so much as a sip of water.

Lu Yuan was truly going above and beyond for Gu Gaoxu.

"Young Master Nephew, take the middle path at the Three-Way Fork ahead," said a Personal Guard, holding a map Lu Yuan had given him.

He would give the Young Master Nephew directions every so often.

When Lu Yuan first transmigrated, he had discovered a massive map on the wall of his simple home.

At the time, Lu Yuan had recognized it as a map of the Great Ming Empire.

Furthermore, judging by its layout, it seemed to be a map from the Hongwu Period.

Lu Yuan learned from the original owner’s memories that the map had been left behind by his great-grandfather and hung on the wall.

Lu Yuan’s great-grandfather had been a County Magistrate in the previous dynasty and had acquired the map from some unknown source.

Lu Yuan had taken the map down from the wall of his old home and stored it in his System Space, never taking it out.

When he had just transmigrated, Lu Yuan had assumed it was a map of the current dynasty.

It was only after becoming the County Magistrate of Taiping City and comparing the map of Taiping City with the one from his old home that he confirmed his theory. The two maps had different scales, but Lu Yuan was able to vaguely match the main roads on the Taiping City map to the national map.

Only then did he confirm that the territory of the previous dynasty was nearly identical to that of the Divine Ling Empire.

Fortunately, the transportation routes and city strongholds hadn’t changed much from the previous dynasty.

So, Lu Yuan gave the map to one of his Personal Guards, who was now responsible for navigating for the group.

Even though it was an old map, it was better than nothing.

Along the way, Lu Yuan’s Personal Guard would also ask for information from people they met to avoid taking a wrong turn.

At a fork in the road, Lu Yuan dismounted and had everyone take a short rest.

Lu Yuan retrieved a suit of Golden Soft Armor from his bike and handed it to his wife, saying, "Put this on. I won’t allow you to get even the slightest scratch."

Su Liyan took it, nodded, and found a sheltered spot to put the Soft Armor on beneath her outer clothes.

Lu Yuan turned to his Personal Guards and asked, "The Armor I distributed last time—are you all wearing it?"

The Personal Guards replied that they were all fully prepared for this trip.

The Armor was made from the skin of the Long Snake and had so far only been distributed to his Personal Guards.

There were over a hundred more sets, which Lu Yuan kept in his System Space.

Lu Yuan’s Personal Guards left markers along the way to guide the men following on horseback.

...

In less than two days, Lu Yuan’s group could already see King Yan’s grand army locked in a chaotic melee with the Beastman Race. The battle had reached a fever pitch.

"Young Master Nephew, there’s a large number of Beastmen guarding the pass up ahead. I’m afraid we won’t be able to break through," a Personal Guard reported, returning from a forward scout.

King Yan hadn’t been able to blast a path through with dozens of cannons, so there was no way Lu Yuan could do it with only a dozen or so Personal Guards.

"My love, there’s a very powerful Da Xingzi at the pass. I don’t think a direct assault will work," Su Liyan said, able to sense the battle ahead.

The Ancient Poison Scorpion was already covered in wounds, yet it continued to fight with desperate tenacity.

"We’ll abandon the bikes and cross the mountain ahead." Lu Yuan spat, tasting some foul impurity that had drifted into his mouth on the stinking air as he spoke.

The Personal Guards understood. ’We might be able to cross the mountain,’ they thought, ’but getting back out is another story.’

Lu Yuan took out his brick phone to call Gu Gaoxu, but the call wouldn’t connect.

The signal was probably bad at the foot of the mountain.

Since that was the case, Lu Yuan decided to find another way—by crossing the mountain.

During their last call, Gu Gaoxu had said he was hiding in a mountain gully with several hundred men.

As long as they reached the summit—the mountains were all connected—Lu Yuan would be able to find Gu Gaoxu once he engaged the Beastman Race.

The only fear now was that Gu Gaoxu wouldn’t be able to hold out until Lu Yuan arrived.

Lu Yuan encouraged everyone, promising he would lead the charge and would never abandon them to save himself.

The Personal Guards trusted Lu Yuan’s character and declared their willingness to follow the Young Master Nephew to the death.

Under Lu Yuan’s command, the small team of a dozen or so men snuck into the forest and headed for the summit.

King Yan, back in his command tent, had also sent men to try and bypass the choke point to find that rascal, Gu Gaoxu.

However, the men he sent out had all vanished as if into thin air, losing all contact.

On their way up the mountain, they encountered a few members of the Beastman Race.

Lu Yuan took the lead, silently approaching with the dagger forged from the Long Snake and slitting their throats with a single strike.

With his formidable Martial Arts, dealing with a few stragglers was more than manageable for Lu Yuan.

As Lu Yuan and his group neared the summit, Su Liyan’s sharp hearing could already pick up the sound of gunfire and cannons from the mountain gullies.

"My love, I think I hear Gu Gaoxu fighting the Beastman Race," Su Liyan said from behind Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan and the others stopped to listen carefully, but all Lu Yuan could hear were the battle cries from the direction of the pass.

Lu Yuan lay on the ground and pressed his ear to it, catching the faint sounds traveling through the rock.

Only then did Lu Yuan confirm it: Gu Gaoxu was engaging the Beastman Race.

His Personal Guards heard nothing.

Urged on by Lu Yuan, they quickly ran to the summit.

Lu Yuan saw the faint glint of firelight in the distance—exactly where Gu Gaoxu was.

Lu Yuan immediately ordered his Personal Guards to find sturdy wooden poles nearby. With so many trees on the mountain, such things were plentiful.

Lu Yuan then discreetly took out some canvas, metal wires, and other materials from his System Space.

Once the men returned with the materials, a few stood guard while the rest followed Lu Yuan’s lead, skillfully assembling wooden frames.

Even Su Liyan was at his side, handing him things and helping out.

A dozen or so medium-sized gliders were soon laid out on the ground.

Since Lu Yuan was able to lead everyone in building them, he naturally knew what they were and how to use them.

Each glider had a control rope on the left and right side for steering.

Time was short, so Lu Yuan could only give them a simple lesson on gliding techniques.

It didn’t sound difficult, but the actual operation would depend on each person’s reflexes and their ability to overcome their fear of heights.

At Lu Yuan’s command, the Personal Guards all strapped on their gliders. There wasn’t a single coward among them.

With a running start and a gust of wind blasted by Lu Yuan from behind, his Personal Guards all took to the sky, gliding toward Gu Gaoxu’s position.

Lu Yuan and Su Liyan departed last, following behind the others. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Gu Gaoxu watched as a dozen black dots appeared in the sky and swooped toward his position. He cursed, "Holy hell, is that a flock of Flying Beasts? This is it, I’m done for today!"