Chapter 474: Fenghai War Affairs

The Palace Master's iron bones did not need too many words to express; this one sentence was enough.

All Sword-Wielders raised their heads, their gazes converging on the Palace Master. In those gazes, there was persistence, respect, and trust.

"All of you, the moment you became Sword-Wielders, you took an oath, and in the rituals you participated in, there was also a sentence."

"Guard the human race, cut off the dawn's calamity, bloom the light of heaven and earth."

"This sentence is not a slogan. You have shouted it, and I have shouted it. And now... we need to do so." The Palace Master spoke calmly.

"So next, you must be like brothers, help each other with all your might, never waver, never admit defeat!"

"We will coexist and perish with Fenghai County, fight to the end!"

"Even if the entire Fenghai County falls into war and collapse in the future... our human army will continue the battle under the holy decree of the Human Emperor."

Until the appropriate moment arrives, the Saint-Lan Clan's fire of inheritance will eventually be extinguished!"

The Palace Master gazed at the one hundred thousand Sword-Wielders below.

"Now, I will issue an order!"

"Xu Qing, record."

The Palace Master's voice carried a coldness.

Xu Qing took three steps forward, took out a jade slip, his expression serious, preparing to record.

"Conscript all human sect forces in Fenghai County except for the Yinghuang Prefecture and the Quzhao Prefecture that are countering the Corpse and Clothing Prohibitions!"

"The Saint-Lan Clan's invasion is for the sake of extermination; if those sects do not obey orders, even if they don't die at the hands of Saint-Lan in the future, they will become traitors to our human race."

"Notify the Sword-Wielding Courts of each prefecture, let them lead the human cultivators of each prefecture, unify under the command, gather into an army, and head to the western battlefield immediately to prepare for the battle."

"Notify the Fengxing Palace, organize the allied army of foreign clans, order the Yao family to cooperate, and guard the northern front of Fenghai County!"

"Notify the Criminal Law Palace, organize the three major sects of the Capital District, act as a bridge for the two major battle zones in the northwest, and cooperate with logistics transportation!"

"Notify the County Chancellor, use the power of the county system to guard the Capital District and maintain the public order of Fenghai County."

"Also... notify all foreign clans and forces in Fenghai County that have not participated in the war. Regardless of whether they are demons or weirdness, to prevent internal chaos during the war, all cultivators at the Spirit Storage and Void Returning realms must participate in the war. Not one can be left behind. Those who resist will be exterminated!"

"Notify all human forces to activate all taboo magic treasures. During this period, except for Yinghuang and Quzhao, the Capital District taboo will take over all authority."

"Four Deacons."

The four Deacons of the Sword-Wielding Palace, including Daoist Sinan, heard this and walked out immediately, bowing solemnly to the Palace Master.

"You four, be responsible for supervision. If there are any who do not obey the order, kill!"

"Respect the imperial edict!" The four Deacons had serious expressions and spoke in deep voices.

As the orders were issued one by one, Xu Qing recorded them all. This was his duty. He had to notify and execute them immediately after the meeting, and record the completion status.

"Brother Yunfan, Brother Shentu!" The Palace Master turned his head to look at the two Vice Palace Masters of the Sword-Wielding Palace. The two old men stepped forward, their expressions respectful.

"The Criminal Prison Division prisoners have broken out of prison and need to be resolved as soon as possible. Three-tenths of the Capital District Sword-Wielders will remain in the Capital District, and seven-tenths will be divided into seven hundred middle-sized teams, one team of one hundred people, and then divided into several small teams, turning into at least seven thousand teams."

"Each team will be responsible for a part of the area, equipped with several foot soldiers, to kill the escaped prisoners!"

"Capture if you can. If it

"I ask the two Vice Palace Masters to lead the teams; you must complete the arrests within ten days. After ten days, assemble at the County Capital and head to the battlefield!"

The two Vice Palace Masters nodded immediately upon hearing this.

And the one hundred thousand Sword Holders below also had their killing intent rise, all responding in unison to obey the order.

Especially the Prison Division guards among them; their expressions were cold and their killing intent even stronger, as their duty was to suppress prisoners, and they were incomparably familiar with them. With the cooperation of other Sword Holders, their efficiency would be even higher.

In fact, for the Prison Division guards, even if the Palace Master had not given this order, they had already reached a consensus: that is... they would go and capture the prisoners from their own cells.

Regarding this, Xu Qing had the same consensus!

At this moment, following the order, all Sword Holders in the night immediately began to act, most of them leaving the County Capital under the arrangements of the two Vice Palace Masters.

Although Xu Qing did not go out, his subsequent work was extremely tedious, with almost no time to rest; he had to assist the Palace Master in handling complex government affairs and summarizing the war reports coming in from all eight directions.

So after the meeting ended, in the small meeting convened by the Palace Master with the Administration Palace and the Penal Law Palace, Xu Qing also stood to the side, recording everything while rapidly issuing the Palace Master's notices.

Soon, Xu Qing's voice was transmitted through the internal power of the Sword Holder Palace to every state in Fenghai County. After the transmission of each decree, in the span of a single night, all forces in Fenghai County knew of the accompanying Secretary-Commandant by the Palace Master's side.

And following the Palace Master at such close range, Xu Qing witnessed the Palace Master's mental exhaustion from lack of sleep over the next few days; almost every day, the Palace Master had to maintain communication with the County Chancellor and the other two Palace Masters.

In this process, more decrees were issued, and Fenghai County was suddenly in a state of turmoil.

And the war reports that Xu Qing needed to summarize became more and more numerous, to the point that he eventually simply conscripted some Sword Holders to his side and established the Secretary-Commandant Division.

Qingqiu was among them.

She had returned two days ago, and Xu Qing, through the convenience of his position, learned of it immediately and conscripted her at once.

And upon seeing Xu Qing, Qingqiu's expression was clearly complex and strange, but Xu Qing had no time to say much at the moment and rapidly arranged a large number of matters.

"If only the Captain were here..." Amidst his busyness, Xu Qing thought of the Captain many times, but unfortunately, there was no news of the Captain.

Besides this, occasionally there were visits from alien races; often at these times, it was Xu Qing who received them on his behalf.

At this moment, in the Guest Reception Hall of the Sword Holder Palace, Xu Qing was rubbing his brow while looking at the furious alien cultivator in front of him.

This was an envoy of the Spirit Ear Clan; this race looked similar to the human race, except they had an extra pair of ears, double pupils in their eyes, grayish skin, and no hair.

"Lord Xu, our clan is not refusing to participate in the war; our ancestors and the others truly cannot leave. Once they leave, our great enemy, the Purple Water Clan, will surely take advantage of the chaos and attack."

Xu Qing held a jade slip in his hand; during this period, almost all the alien races that arrived were there for one thing: the Palace Master's requirement that the Spirit Repository and Void Returning cultivators of all races must participate in the war.

This matter caused a backlash from many forces, but they dared not resist, so they could only come here to complain and protest.

"Your clan has nine late-stage Nascent Soul, thirty-seven mid-stage, and one hundred forty-five early-stage, with as many as three hundred Core Formation cultivators, and your strength is equivalent to the Purple Water Clan... where does this talk of taking advantage of the chaos come from?"

Xu Qing's gaze was cold as he stared at the alien in front of him. As soon as his words were spoken, the Spirit Ear Clan envoy's expression changed; the numbers Xu Qing stated were incredibly precise, and in reality, this was their clan's secret, with thirty percent being secret cultivators who had never been revealed.

Now that he had been exposed in a single sentence, he hesitated and was just about to speak when Xu Qing received the Palace Master's summons, so he stood up and spoke calmly.

"Either obey, or be exterminated. Qingqiu, you handle this; if they do not obey, inform Deacon Sinan."

Qingqiu, to the side, acknowledged the order and walked to the front of the Spirit Ear Clan cultivator. Xu Qing did not pay any more attention and left for the Sword Holder Hall.

There were too many matters like that of the Spirit Ear Clan; their thoughts were actually very simple: on one hand, their clan's powerhouses did not want to be tied to Fenghai County on the battlefield.

On the other hand, they also had other thoughts; for example, if Fenghai County were to fail, the clans and forces that still had powerhouses would be better able to secretly take a share of the spoils. By being careful, they were not worried about being liquidated in the midst of the war.

This was actually what the Palace Master was worried about, which was why there was this mandatory decree.

And regarding the recent exterminations, the four great Deacons had already carried them out several times.

"Internal and external troubles."

Xu Qing murmured in his heart; what kind of state the entire Fenghai County was in now, it could be said that the Secretary-Commandant Division was the place that knew the most about all of this.

All war reports from the eight directions had to be gathered here, and after being organized and verified by him, they were reported to the Palace Master at the first opportunity.

This was the Palace Master's appointment; while everything was simplified during wartime, Xu Qing's burden was also incomparably heavy. He not only had to organize, but also find ways to determine accuracy.

While contemplating this, Xu Qing soon arrived at the Sword Holder Hall.

As the Palace Master's only accompanying Secretary-Commandant, he possessed the right to enter without announcement. Amidst the respectful bowing of the Sword Holders outside the hall, Xu Qing walked in quickly.

At this moment, inside the hall, it was not just the Palace Master alone; the County Chancellor and the Palace Masters of the other two Upper Profound Palaces were also present, and there was even a middle-aged cultivator dressed as a scholar.

Xu Qing had seen this person in the past few days and knew that this was Yao Hou.

Right now, these five people were arguing.

"Brother Liangxiu, at such a time, how can we overly oppress the various clans in the county? If this matter cannot be resolved in a short time, and each falls into riot, by the time the taboo power dissipates, our preparations for forming an army will also be delayed!"

The one speaking was Yao Hou.

"What he says makes sense, Liangxiu. Is this matter perhaps a bit inappropriate? In fact, we could use other methods to utilize the powerhouses within these alien races."

The County Chancellor sighed and spoke from the side.

As for the Palace Masters of the Administration Palace and the Penal Law Palace, these two great experts, one woman and one man, were expressionless at this moment, watching with cold eyes.

Xu Qing lowered his head and came behind the Palace Master, seeing the Palace Master's expression was cold, listening to the words of Yao Hou and the County Chancellor without saying a word, so he stood there without disturbing them.

Until half a moment later, the Sword Holder Palace Master spoke calmly.

"Xu Qing, read out today's war report."

Xu Qing nodded, stepped forward, and spoke calmly.

"The Corpse and Clothing Prohibitions have broken out on a large scale, with the Corpse Prohibition disaster being the greatest, and the Clothing Prohibition second. In the end, through the efforts of Yinghuang State and Quzhao State, both prohibitions have been successfully contained and are now in a stalemate. According to the reports from the Sword Holder Courts of the two states, they can hold out for one month."

"Among them, the Seven Blood Eyes of the Eight Sect Alliance in Yinghuang State have invited ninety-three alien races from the Forbidden Sea and the Nanhuang Continent to assist."

"The Sword Holder Courts of the other eight states have each completed all conscriptions today, gathering thirty-seven great sects, nine hundred seventy-five medium sects, and seven thousand eight hundred thirty-one small sects, which have successively headed to the Western Battlefield."

"A total of thirty-nine human sects of various sizes refused to obey orders; in accordance with the decree issued by the Sword Holder Palace, they have been dealt with by their respective Sword Holder Courts as a warning to others."

"The alien coalition army organized by the Administration Palace and the Yao family has reached thirty percent of the Northern Battlefield; the remaining seventy percent of the alien races are demanding huge supplies and have not yet mobilized."

"The Penal Law Palace has organized the three great sects of the County Capital, which are fully armed; in particular, the three great sects have used the full strength of their sects to send the first to sixth batches of strategic supplies to the battlefield."

"In addition, among the alien races and forces that have not participated in the war, four hundred twenty-one have refused to send powerhouses, and only two hundred fifteen clans have responded to the decree. The four great Deacons have exterminated thirteen clans today, which has had a great deterrent effect; I request permission to continue."

"The takeover of the taboo magic treasure rights of the human forces was completed half an hour ago."

"Within Fenghai County, Sword Holders who went out today killed forty-nine thousand five hundred thirteen prisoners, an increase of ten percent over yesterday, but nine hundred seventy-one Sword Holders were sacrificed."

"The Western Battlefield is in imminent danger; the Saint-Lan Clan has appeared with several Void Returning third-stage powerhouses, and the Ditu Dynasty has joined the war. The net of taboo magic treasures in the County Capital has retreated seventy thousand miles."

"On the Northern Battlefield, the Tianfeng Dynasty has descended today, and their Emperor is leading the expedition in person."

Xu Qing spoke softly, and after finishing, stepped back.