Ye Rong was overjoyed. "Brother Jiang, so you've agreed?"
"Well put — we're both gold buried in sand, not shining just yet. But neither you nor I am the kind of person content to stay buried forever. Perhaps joining forces would be an ideal choice for us both."
Clap clap clap clap!
Ye Rong clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "Now that's refreshing! Jiang Chen, it's been far too long since I met someone as straightforward as you. Come — let's have a drink!"
"Cheers!"
Since his rebirth into this world, Jiang Chen had been constantly on the move, with almost no opportunity to venture out. Apart from Xuan Pangzi and Huqiu Yue left behind by his predecessor, he had virtually no one he could call a friend.
Princess Gouyu might count as one, but their relationship had basically gone beyond the bounds of mere friendship.
As for everyone else, they were either family or subordinates.
And this Ye Rong was the first person he'd met with whom he felt he could truly converse — someone who gave him the genuine feeling of friendship. At the very least, the two of them were kindred spirits!
"Brother Jiang, we've hit it off like old friends. Take this Dayu Bow as my meeting gift, along with this quiver of arrows — thirty-six in total, matched to the bow. A treasure bow paired with divine arrows — only then can you draw out their full power."
Ye Rong was in high spirits. After sharing several cups of wine with Jiang Chen, he found that the two of them actually got along remarkably well.
"Prince Ye, you don't need to call me 'Brother Jiang' either. You're probably a year or two older than me — you can just call me Jiang Chen, or 'Little Brother Jiang' if you like."
"Heh, then I'll call you Brother Jiang or Little Brother. Oh, by the way, Jiang Chen, this Dayu Bow gives you at best a ten percent edge. Killing Ren Feilong — that's still far from a sure thing."
Indeed, even with a mystic bow in hand, amid an army of hundreds of thousands with countless powerful experts guarding Ren Feilong's side, killing him would be no easy feat.
"Could it be that you have another idea, Brother Ye?"
"I do have one, but it's... somewhat ruthless." Ye Rong hesitated.
"When two armies clash, there's no room for scruples about ruthlessness. If we let the Black Moon Kingdom invade the Eastern Kingdom — Ren Feilong is nicknamed the God of Slaughter, a true butcher. The people of my Eastern Kingdom would number their dead in the tens of millions."
Ye Rong nodded. "When two armies clash, you truly can't afford to be squeamish."
As he spoke, Ye Rong made another move like a magician. His right hand grabbed at the air, and suddenly a snake covered in green spots appeared, coiling around his arm.
The snake had tiny eyes — on either side of its triangular head, its fine black pupils gleamed with a terrifying ferocity.
"Brother, this snake is called the Seven-Star Moon Serpent. Its venom is extremely bizarre. Those afflicted by it will find their blood boiling and their organs deforming, until they slowly transform into bloodthirsty monsters. These monsters have peculiar appetites — a primal urge to feed, with an especially desperate craving for living flesh and fresh blood. Imagine it: an army of a million, and if a batch of them were afflicted with this venom — one biting the next, like stars linking in a chain, each passing it on to the next. Before long, a million-strong army would collapse without a single battle."
"Seven-Star Moon Serpent?" In Jiang Chen's mind, memories from his previous life surfaced. This serpent was exactly as Ye Rong had described — it possessed this strange, endlessly contagious toxicity.
Once an afflicted person bit someone else, the victim would contract the venom as well. From one to ten, ten to a hundred.
How long could an army of a million withstand that kind of devastation?
It was just that this venomous serpent was said to be extremely difficult to raise. How had Ye Rong managed to get his hands on one?
"Brother, please don't look at me. This serpent isn't something I could afford to keep. I borrowed it from a friend in the Treasure Tree Sect. There's only a fifteen-day time limit—after that, I have to return it. If he found out I'd used this venom to meddle in a mortal kingdom's war, I'd probably be dragged into the trouble as well."
At this point, Ye Rong looked rather troubled. It was clear he had spent a great deal to win Jiang Chen over and befriend him.
"You needn't worry, Brother Ye. The venom of the Seven-Star Moon Serpent can be refined and transformed into an entirely different poison—unrecognizable as the serpent's venom."
"Refined?" Ye Rong blinked, incredulous. "Brother, you actually know the art of poison refinement?"
Jiang Chen laughed. "It sounds like your intelligence work hasn't been thorough enough. Poison usage might be an unorthodox path, but I do know a thing or two about it."
"Oh? Now that really is a pleasant surprise. Poison craft, at its root, stems from the art of alchemy. Brother, could it be that you've also studied the alchemical arts?"
"A thing or two," Jiang Chen replied with a modest smile.
"Brother, if you truly have a talent for alchemy, then your chances of joining the Treasure Tree Sect are much greater. The Treasure Tree Sect is a sect that places great emphasis on alchemical talent. Among the four great sects of the Alliance of Sixteen Kingdoms, when it comes to alchemy, the Treasure Tree Sect is absolutely first-rate."
With the Seven-Star Moon Serpent in hand, Jiang Chen's inspiration was instantly ignited. Combining the various poison techniques from his previous life, he immediately devised a number of tactics.
When Jiang Chen appeared the next day, his face carried an even more confident smile.
After a full day and night of refinement, he had transformed the Seven-Star Moon Serpent's venom into large quantities of modified toxins.
These toxins were then sealed into several hundred small vials and distributed to the battalion commanders, squadron commanders, and platoon commanders.
……
The army of the Black Moon Kingdom had been marching for seven days since departing its Royal Capital.
On this day, the great host assembled in a wide valley. Once all the lines of battle were arranged in proper order, they began making camp.
Two more days of marching would bring them to the border, and the Eastern Kingdom would come into sight.