Chapter 2696

It's a pity, otherwise the Great Emperor of Nine Abysses could have devised a better strategy and more quickly weakened the Heavenly Demon's power in the mortal realm.

He Lingchuan gazed out at the deep darkness outside the house and let out a soft sigh:

"Divided loyalty and hesitation are a great taboo for a king."

To seek peace through compromise is to invite destruction.

He did not know whether the Demon Emperor had ever had the chance to understand the essence of this saying.

￥￥￥￥￥

Both vanguard armies failed to capture Fulugou, and Bei Jia lost his precious initiative.

When Fu Shanlie's army arrived, they could only station at the town thirty li south of Fulugou, where the terrain was ordinary and could not serve as a bridgehead for attacking the Panlong Wasteland.

Having failed to make a good start, the war ahead would be arduous and difficult.

Seeing the head of the Prince of Bolanguo sent back with the prisoners, Fu Shanlie's anger rose from the depths of his heart, and he slammed the table heavily.

Crack— the table split into pieces.

That scoundrel Hu Yi has been asleep for five years, five years!

The Pan-Bei War has also been going on for a year and a half—why is it that others commanding troops in battle fare smoothly, but whenever he seizes an opportunity again, prepares to achieve merit and establish himself, the surname He just opens his eyes?

Years ago, he infiltrated Lingchuan and launched a surprise attack on Yuheng City; originally everything proceeded smoothly, but the then Commander-in-Chief of Yuheng City, He Lingchuan, intervened and shattered his do-or-die battle to seize Yuheng City by force.

He had once issued a military order, so after suffering this defeat, returning to Lingxu City would have meant punishment; fortunately, someone interceded for him, and the Emperor also valued him, so the punishment was reduced.

However, though he escaped punishment, his path to promotion was cut off.

After that defeat, Fu Shanlie was sidelined for five years, then only by his own solid abilities did he make a comeback, but his promotion speed was as slow as a turtle's crawl.

This time, receiving the command in crisis, he still bore the heavy responsibility of opening a third battlefield, yet he encountered He Lingchuan again!

How could the God of Fate not favor him even once?

Fu Shanlie rubbed his temples. Ah, the God of Fate, Naluotian, seems to be of the Sharili Heaven, not the Lingxu multitude—probably unwilling to favor this Bei Jia general of his?

Just then, an orderly from outside entered, holding up a command arrow with both hands:

"Report, enemy communication."

Fu Shanlie's trusted personal guard stepped forward, took the slip from the command arrow, glanced at it hastily, and immediately presented it to him:

"General, please look."

The slip contained only a few lines; Fu Shanlie finished reading it in two breaths, but his gaze lingered on the signature, unmoving for a long time:

Hu Yi.

General Hu Yi invited him to meet at Sunset Ridge in an hour's time to catch up.

Fu Shanlie bared his teeth—what does this fellow want again?

When enemies meet, they are foes—what old friendship is there to reminisce about?

……

Despite that, the two supreme commanders still met at Sunset Ridge.

Sunset Ridge lies in the middle of the forest, a bald little hill, with relatively open surroundings.

Of course, it is also very close to the front line where the two armies face off.

Fu Shanlie arrived at Sunset Ridge with over a hundred personal guards, seeing that the opposing side seemed to have roughly similar numbers.

Under the jujube tree stood a square table; General Hu Yi sat upright and proper, and upon seeing him approach, did not rise, merely lifting his hand forward:

"Come? Sit."

An air of easy familiarity.

Fu Shanlie sized him up with two glances, seeing that his appearance had not changed much compared to before, but his bearing was now more composed and seasoned.

He also took his seat at the table, sitting upright and proper.

The two locked eyes.

He Lingchuan's gaze fell on Fu Shanlie's right arm, and he smiled faintly.

Just that gesture made Fu Shanlie's mouth twitch.

Back then, when He Lingchuan escorted Lu Xun to Yuheng City, Fu Shanlie had ambushed them in the river, only to be unexpectedly cut off at the right arm by Lu Xun's immortal artifact, returning in vain.

As a zombie-like corpse, Fu Shanlie's self-healing ability is remarkably strong—this minor injury had long healed.

Yet this past event also reminded Fu Shanlie that the man before him had been his enemy for a long time, still lively and active to this day—truly, heaven is blind.

He leaned back against the chair: "You called me over—what's the matter?"

Both had their guard units retreat ten zhang outward, without prior agreement.

They are both formidable cultivators, neither fearing the other's sudden violent assault.

He Lingchuan raised his hand, lifted the silver pot, and poured two cups of wine:

"Long separated, reunited—shouldn't we have a good chat?"

This small hill originally lay between the two armies, thick with killing intent; anyone coming here would be alert and on guard, ready to draw swords at the slightest sign of trouble. Yet the rustling mountain wind mingling with the sound of pouring wine made this moment unusually tranquil.

Fu Shanlie's heart also calmed down; he could not help but admit that this fellow Hu Yi truly knows how to command the scene—if he wants stillness, the environment follows suit.

He crossed his arms, lifted his legs: "What do you want to talk about?"

He Lingchuan's opening words were already deeply cutting:

"After all these years, I originally thought that with your background and your abilities, you could at least become the leader of the Panglong Guard. Among the military officers of Lingxu City, there are plenty of useless remnants—once on the battlefield, their true colors show. They are all inferior to you, yet their ranks are all above yours?"

The Lingxu Royal Palace is located on the highest floating island—Heart Island—while the Panglong Guard is responsible for the security of Heart Island.

Although the palace has its own dedicated guard unit, those assigned to garrison Heart Island must be among the most trusted confidants of the Demon Emperor, for the floating island's terrain is special: once the teleportation array is severed, upper and lower levels disconnect, turning Heart Island into an isolated isle.

Thus, though the title of the Panglong Guard's commander is not high, military officers all vie fiercely for it—even if later reassigned elsewhere, they will only rise higher and higher. To aspire to this position as commander, there is one hard requirement: one must be of common origin, with a clean and transparent promotion path.

Therefore, the children of the Heavenly Palace, nobility, and officialdom basically have no chance.

Looking around, this position seems tailor-made for someone like Fu Shanlie—but he never managed to obtain it.

Seeing He Lingchuan act righteous and confident, Fu Shanlie rolled his eyes at him on the spot: "Isn't it all thanks to you?"

Back then he was a rising star general within Beijia; if not for running into He Lingchuan, he would have soared straight up long ago.

This bastard seems to have sucked away all his luck; for the few years after leaving Longchuan, he had bad luck year after year — even messes that had nothing to do with him could stick to him. That's why his promotion and raise got delayed, isn't it?

"Don't blame me." He Lingchuan hurriedly waved his hands, "The past five years have nothing to do with me."

It's that you yourself aren't up to snuff.

Fu Shanlie's face darkened: "Speak business if you have business."

No matter how playful and smiling the person sitting opposite is, he is still Beijia's enemy.

Today's main event has arrived; He Lingchuan pressed on his neck, letting out two cracking sounds: "However, right now I can let you rise straight to the blue clouds, and never again have to slowly grind military merit on the front lines, being randomly commanded by mediocrities far inferior to you."

Fu Shanlie gave a half-smile: "You'd be this kind-hearted?"

Last time they clashed, he already knew the Tiger Wing General was different — he had especially many crafty schemes, and they worked.

He Lingchuan didn't dawdle either, directly slapping a note heavily onto the table: "Giving you a sky-high merit."