Chapter 124: The Situation in Western Xia

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The reason Sun Meng left immediately, aside from the system notifying him of the task to intercept the Tribute Escort, was that he had also triggered the next phase of the Seven Stars Alliance mission—the strategic capture of the Tribute Escort. Previously, Sun Meng had thought that Gongsun Sheng and the others would seize the Tribute Escort, and then he would retrieve it and deliver it to Cai Jing. After completing those two tasks, he would hand it over to Gongsun Sheng and the rest. But judging from the current task description, it wasn’t that simple.

Liang Zhongshu would report his presence to the Song Emperor—this was certain. If he acted again after that, even if no one noticed, suspicion would arise. Handling the relationship with the Song court afterward would be difficult. The subsequent main storyline was closely tied to the Song Dynasty’s court. Was it worth risking so much for such a minor matter?

While Sun Meng pondered this, Kokolaru spoke through the team channel.

“The situation in Western Xia is becoming increasingly tense. I’ve managed to evade their scrutiny, but based on current clues, something major is about to happen soon, something that could potentially lead to the destruction of the entire Western Xia Kingdom!”

“No way!” Sun Meng frowned. “Didn’t you say earlier that the Western Xia royal family holds considerable power?”

Kokolaru replied, “It’s because of what you did last time. The Western Xia royal family now has several retired emperors, but their own army has become very weak. And now, those people seem unwilling to manage affairs anymore.”

Sun Meng felt awkward. “Then I’ll make a trip there! If that group of martial arts experts can assist Song, it would greatly help with the second phase of our mission.” He had originally given Western Xia a pathway to advance their martial arts and provided the Song side with methods to enhance their army’s internal energy and spirit, thinking it wouldn’t have much impact. But now, it seemed the effects were significant.

Reviewing the current situation among Western Xia’s leadership, because of the martial arts path Sun Meng had provided, the Lingjiu Palace faction, which should have declined or perished, was thriving. The entire Western Xia royal family had essentially become a branch of the Lingjiu Palace. The original Western Xia nobility was no better than the old Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands factions—this was largely thanks to Xu Zhu not being as ruthless as the Old Lady.

Moreover, Lingjiu Palace was clearly aligned with Song in this national conflict, especially since their leader had died at the hands of the Liao. Combining his status and strength, binding Western Xia firmly to the Song camp was not impossible. With Dali on their side, these two could directly confront both Tibet and the Western Regions.

Although Buddhism was widespread in the western steppes, it hadn’t reached the extent of every household having a follower. Most of the steppe people still adhered to their traditional ethnic belief systems. Alongside the prevalence of martial arts, a true national war would not be against overwhelmingly strong enemies. Western Xia’s level was sufficient to handle it.

With these thoughts, Sun Meng quickened his pace. Approaching the Song border, he sensed the clash of atmospheres between nations. This was something that couldn’t be felt within the country. The border soldiers were battle-hardened with no trace of weakness.

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‘By the way, where exactly is Kokolaru now? Still in the capital or elsewhere?’ Sun Meng frowned as he crossed the Song-Western Xia border. Even with his strength, being too reckless would alert the border guards—not because they directly spotted him, but because a defensive mechanism formed from years of accumulated vigilance would detect intruders.

Upon entering Western Xia territory, Sun Meng immediately felt the stark contrast between the two sides. Although the Lingjiu Palace’s overall martial strength was high, their governance style was unsuitable for ruling a nation. Most border towns were seventy percent Song people, with both popular support and military presence.

If war broke out, these towns would change hands almost instantly without large armies arriving.

Feeling less suppressed, Sun Meng took out the Houyi Bow. “Target: the ground near Kokolaru!” He shot an arrow and quickly followed its path.

In Western Xia’s capital, within a well-decorated courtyard, Kokolaru waved her hand, dismissing the original owner who had come to report. She hadn’t expected to encounter so many other contestants here. Although each was at least late second-tier in strength, Kokolaru herself was not as combat-oriented as Sun Meng and the others.

If eight or so late second-tier participants attacked together, she would have already fled with serious injuries if she hadn’t feared damaging the city. Fortunately, the secret realm’s entrance remained unchanged. She had cleverly reopened the entrance, drawing the others’ attention and hiding herself by taking control of a Western Xia noble family’s head and observing the contestants’ actions to provide intelligence to Sun Meng and his team.

If the system hadn’t indicated her involvement in the large-scale Western Xia split mission, she wouldn’t have planned to reveal the situation to them. Although teammates, she clearly knew she was only a side player. In a truly critical situation, she might end up as cannon fodder. Moreover, she had expended excessive resources creating a civilization flagship and was now facing another civilization war requiring even more resources, so she aimed to earn as many points as possible within the mission world.

“Still, compared to the other contestants outside, I’ve been lucky,” Kokolaru murmured, reflecting on the information she had gathered.

Those contestants gathered in Western Xia were all no stronger than late second-tier. They faced the dual challenge of the civilization war and scarce civilization advancement resources. Only the mid-second-tier contestants came here to gather points and other resources.

Realizing this, Kokolaru felt fortunate. She had first allied with Sun Meng, then joined the joint operation with Mu Xingye and Pikes, gaining significant advantages during the assessment phase to barely reach the third tier. Otherwise, she would have been just another desperate contestant outside.

Thinking this, Kokolaru glanced at the team’s public channel. Sun Meng was arriving soon, so she no longer worried about her safety.

However, she knew this wasn’t because of any personal connection. After reaching the third tier, the transcendence of life itself made her realize that at such a level, simple emotions could no longer sustain normal relationships.

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The leap in life’s essence was far more compelling than any feelings.

When the tasks were assigned, she had sensed that Pikes and Mu Xingye didn’t consider her a full member, never intending to involve her in the main storyline. Without Sun Meng providing a path, she wouldn’t have known how much she could gain from this mission.

Suddenly, a sensation came over her. Kokolaru looked up to the sky—a single arrow descended, aiming in her direction.

“Is this an attack or...” Kokolaru drew her staff to defend but then recalled Sun Meng’s methods and refrained from acting first.

The arrow landed beside her, leaving a hole in the ground.

Within three minutes, Sun Meng arrived in the courtyard. “It seems you’ve improved your mastery of formations. If not for the arrow guiding me, I might not have found you.”

“Those contestants have come to a consensus: to help the Western Xia nobility and Lingjiu Palace fight for control of Western Xia. They want to severely damage or even destroy Lingjiu Palace and seize all their martial arts techniques. From what I can tell, that’s their main goal.”

“You triggered the opposite mission?” Sun Meng asked.

Kokolaru nodded. “But as long as the Lingjiu Palace’s legacy is preserved, I only need to leave the Western Xia battlefield to complete my task.”

“That’s no problem then,” Sun Meng said, looking toward the palace. If it were only about Kokolaru’s presence, he wouldn’t care, but since this involved the second phase of their main mission, they needed sufficient means to face the national war ahead.

Therefore, the Lingjiu Palace faction must be subdued. Western Xia must be made to serve their cause!