Chapter 202: Investigation Results and an Accident (6K)

With Qian Shougang dead, Zhao Xing rushed back to Long Xiao's location.

By now, Long Xiao had also eliminated the remaining Black Dragon Guards on the warship.

"How is it?" Long Xiao asked.

"Dead."

Long Xiao said, "That's good, should we retreat?"

Zhao Xing said, "Even if we retreat, we must take this warship back. We are currently pursuing and killing the enemy; leaving the spoils of war here without taking them makes no sense."

Long Xiao hesitated, "Didn't you say reinforcements were arriving soon? My five hundred men cannot fight ten thousand."

The Black Dragon Guards were no ordinary troops; Liang Wang's private army was also a strong force.

Eliminating Qian Shougang had cost them considerable effort; one could say both Long Xiao and Zhao Xing had exerted their utmost.

Although Qian Shougang held the official Sixth Rank, within the Black Dragon Army he was merely a commander of a thousand men; there were plenty of Sixth Ranks stronger than Qian Shougang.

"They have already arrived." Zhao Xing pointed in a certain direction.

In the eastern horizon, five Black Dragon warships appeared; one of them descended rapidly to the spot where Qian Shougang died.

Two warships dispatched numerous flying boats, covering the sky and surrounding Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, their five hundred men, and the warship.

The other two suddenly turned toward the north to stand guard.

"What now?" Long Xiao's expression was solemn and heavy.

"Do not panic," Zhao Xing said. "Our people have arrived. Signal from above that the Divine Might Army is exterminating the enemy."

Having killed a Sixth Rank and over a thousand Black Dragon Guards, Long Xiao felt somewhat shaky after his initial bloodlust, but Zhao Xing remained very calm.

Why did he insist on wiping them out completely, rather than just punishing Qian Shougang?

First, if Qian Shougang had lived, even if they defeated him now, as a strong Sixth Rank of the elite army, he would inevitably seek revenge later; whether open or covert, the trouble would be endless.

Zhao Xing's approach was to cut off the source of the trouble directly, solving it once and for all.

Second, the Divine Might Army had risen suddenly, and combined with his own cultivation of the Earth Fire Lotus, this amplified the speed of the Divine Might Army's rise.

As the saying goes, when a person is famous, many troubles arise.

If Qian Shougang had succeeded in "forcibly requisitioning" today, there would be no trouble at all.

Tomorrow, a "Li Shougang," a "Wang Shougang"... would appear endlessly; anyone could come to bully them.

Then Zhao Xing would not be able to claim merit, because the moment he cultivated the Earth Fire Lotus and gained military merit, someone would forcibly requisition it immediately afterward, stripping away the merit and doing the work for others; what was the point of that?

Note, this was not a normal requisition by Qian Shougang; it was an illegal forced requisition that did not follow procedure, no different from robbery.

Following normal procedure requires a "Divine Contract" witnessed by a deity; how much is borrowed and when it is to be returned must be clear.

Qian Shougang only had a verbal order; he did not even invite a deity, and the temple in City 98 had not been built, intending to default on the debt later with no plan to repay.

In this way, City 98 would lose military merit, while Qian Shougang, taking this batch of Earth Fire Lotus, could generate much military merit for himself.

A weak general could not argue with Qian Shougang from the elite army.

In the Barbarian Wastelands, there are many situations beyond supervision; even military merit requires statistics from multiple sides, requiring human witnesses, material evidence, and finally comprehensive consideration by superiors, calculated by the Fate Disk.

Matters like two armies fighting for merit or seizing battle results are by no means rare during major wars.

Killing Qian Shougang was like striking one fist to open the way, preventing a hundred fists from coming.

Zhao Xing understood this principle, and Liao Ru understood it as well.

So he immediately led the main army to rush there at top speed.

Since the clouds in the sky were controlled by Zhao Xing, the Black Dragon Guard reinforcements and Liao Ru's forces arrived almost simultaneously.

"Commander Qian Shougang of our Black Dragon Army is dead. This area will be sealed off; please cooperate with the investigation," a Black Dragon warship transmitted orders to the fleet ahead, with Commander Zheng Liu speaking.

On the warship, Chen Shijie heard this news and raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Xing... had already killed a commander of the Black Dragon Army?

On the way, Liao Ru also learned the full story, analyzed for him by Pu Zhong.

At this moment, his heart gave a thump; this younger brother was too miraculous.

Thoughts aside, Liao Ru quickly made his response.

"The Divine Might Army is pursuing alien enemies; this area is our war zone; please leave immediately!"

His attitude was also very tough, sticking firmly to the claim that the Divine Might Army was hunting alien enemies.

These procedures would be investigated afterward; Liao Ru was an old hand in the army, and with Pu Zhong and Chen Shijie by his side, he naturally knew what to do.

Flag signals passed back and forth between the two sides.

Liao Ru reiterated three times, and the warships began to advance.

Seeing that Liao Ru had more people, the first batch of five supporting Black Dragon warships did not dare to act rashly and withdrew from the area above Zhao Xing's head.

Because they also did not understand why Qian Shougang died here, while the Divine Might Army claimed to be killing enemies.

The commander of the first batch of five warships was named "Zheng Liu"; he was a relatively upright person and knew nothing at all about Qian Shougang's arrival.

Seeing the situation was strange, they could only give up inspecting Qian Shougang's ship, merely collecting Qian Shougang's corpse, calling their superior from their flagship, and confronting the Divine Might Army.

Whoosh~ A fifth-tier supreme-grade Dragon Bone Tower Ship descended onto the hilltop.

Qian Shougang's Black Dragon warship was only fifth-tier medium-grade; compared to Liao Ru, who had upgraded from a bird gun to a cannon, his warship was like an old hen standing beside an elephant.

"Zhao Xing, Long Xiao." Liao Ru, Chen Shijie, Yu Yu Ziqi, and Pu Zhong flew down from the ship; Wen Shaoyang and Jiang Ming jointly held the Fire Dragon Pass.

Fifth-tier supreme-grade Dragon Bone warships; Liao Ru had bought five, and now directly sent three over; one could say he attached great importance to this.

"Are you two unharmed?" Liao Ru asked; looking at the severed arms and limbs scattered on the ground, he could not help but feel shocked.

Damn, how many did they chop down?

"We are fine, thank you, Commandant, for your concern," Zhao Xing said. "They are all enemy corpses."

Liao Ru asked in a deep voice, "Are there any survivors?"

Zhao Xing looked at Liao Ru; no wonder the Divine Might Army could rise; the whole crew was a rhythm of ruthless people.

Old Liao's second question was whether any survivors remained.

If there are still survivors, deal with them immediately.

"None. The enemy forces have been annihilated," Zhao Xing said. "The supplies and treasures that were plundered are all on this ship."

"Activate the records on the Dragon Bone warship and summon the deity statue from the Army Hall to preside over the scene," Pu Zhong ordered. "Keep the battlefield exactly as it is."

Pu Zhong began preparing the aftermath; as a strategist, he knew very well that the death of a Sixth Rank military officer was no small matter.

Now, they had to maneuver this incident in a direction that favored their justification.

A quarter-hour later.

The Black Dragon Army resumed shouting at Liao Ru Long.

Their attitude had also become much more aggressive.

For the one shouting was no longer Zheng Liu, but Zheng Liu's superior, the official Sixth Rank Commandant of Yangwei, "Xie Kuiguang."

"What boldness the Divine Might Army has, daring to ambush a Sixth Rank officer of our army?"

"Law Enforcement Squad, take the criminals and the evidence back for trial!"

Xie Kuiguang's voice echoed across the sky as the warships aimed directly at Zhao Xing and Long Xiao's positions.

"I dare anyone to try!" Liao Ru Long soared into the sky, and over a thousand men simultaneously drew their battle blades, forming a ferocious barrier in front of the small squad Xie Kuiguang had dispatched.

"Liao Ru Long!" Xie Kuiguang roared. He had already learned Liao Ru Long's name from Zheng Liu's mouth, and had even clarified the names of Zhao Xing and Long Xiao. "Do you intend to shield criminals?"

"You bastard, what are you? Dare you pass judgment on our Divine Might Army?" Liao Ru Long's temper was even more explosive than his.

"This area has already become a temporary war zone of the Divine Might Army, with hundreds of thousands of troops still on the way behind us. Try moving a finger against me!"

"Ambushing a Sixth Rank officer, does your Divine Might Army intend to rebel?!" Xie Kuiguang shouted in fury.

"Assaulting a friendly army's war zone, do you intend to betray the nation!" Liao Ru Long retorted point for point.

Swords drawn, bows bent.

The mechanical crossbow cannons on both sides' warships were loaded, and clouds of blood-qi battle formations condensed in the sky.

It must be said that Liao Ru Long's division of the Divine Might Army, after defeating the Wolf God Tribe and capturing the Fire Dragon Pass, now possessed a momentum that did not yield to the Black Dragon Army.

For a moment, Xie Kuiguang truly dared not act.

Liao Ru Long felt the same.

With both sides evenly matched, they could only exchange verbal threats.

Once a true clash occurred, neither side could bear the consequences.

But Xie Kuiguang could not let Liao Ru Long and his men leave.

Since Qian Shougang and a thousand Black Dragon Guards had died right before his eyes, how could he possibly let them go easily?

"Aaaah~"

A clear dragon cry echoed from the distance; it was the arrival of Xia Jing and Li Que's forces.

Seeing that there were indeed reinforcements behind Liao Ru Long, Xie Kuiguang immediately felt the situation was tricky.

Moreover, why had the Black Armor Army and the Sea-Suppressing Army also arrived?

Xie Kuiguang knew that Qian Shougang had bullied the Divine Might Army, but he truly never expected it would attract such a massive display of force.

"The Divine Might Army's wings have truly grown hard..." Xie Kuiguang knew he probably could not capture Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, and their group.

Nor could he take away Qian Shougang's warship.

If he could have moved first to take away Qian Shougang's warship and Zhao Xing and Long Xiao's Brave Camp, handling the situation would have been beneficial to his Black Dragon Army.

Now, it was unclear.

"Xie Kuiguang." Xia Jing arrived between the two armies on a flying boat. "What is going on? Why are you attacking a friendly army?"

"Your Highness." Facing Xia Jing, Xie Kuiguang's tone softened somewhat. He could disregard Liao Ru Long and the Yang An behind him, but Xia Jing's father, Xia Hou, and Liang Wang were both to be treated as honored guests.

For Xia Hou was known as the strongest Fourth Rank Yuan Soul martial artist, having once beheaded a Third Rank Yuan Soul Demon Daoist.

"A Sixth Rank officer of our army and a thousand Black Dragon Guards have died here, suspected to have been killed by the Divine Might Army," Xie Kuiguang said. "We must take the people back for trial..."

"You look nothing like someone conducting a trial," Xia Jing interrupted. "If the Divine Might Army had fewer people, would you have attacked?"

Xie Kuiguang fell silent; he indeed thought exactly that.

"Xie Kuiguang, you are an official Sixth Rank Upper, and Commandant Liao is also an official Sixth Rank Upper; there is no hierarchy between you. You have no right to command officers of other armies," Xia Jing said calmly. "As for how this matter truly stands, go and request the Military World Inspectorate to intervene."

Xie Kuiguang's face darkened, but he also knew he could not handle this matter himself, so he could only report it upward. On Liao Ru Long's side, they were also reporting to Jia Pu and Yang An.

The incident had escalated, but the highest rank on the battlefield was Sixth Rank; the bureaucratic wrangling could only be handed over to those above.

Xi'er Commandery, the Divine Might Army Commander's Mansion.

"What? He beheaded a Sixth Rank officer of the Black Dragon Army?" Jia Pu shot to his feet with a "Zeng!" sound. "What exactly happened?"

Pu Zhong and Liao Ru Long stood inside the Army Hall; at this moment, their phantom images also appeared in the Divine Might Army Commander's Mansion, reporting the details of the incident to Jia Pu point by point.

The story remained the same: City No. 98, encountered an enemy ambush, the city's defending general Wang Ji was severely injured, several deputy generals were wounded, and the precious supply, the Earth Fire Lotus, was hijacked.

Zhao Xing and Long Xiao led the Brave Camp to rush to the rescue, caught up with the alien enemy forces disguised as the Black Dragon Army, and slaughtered the enemy forces entirely.

Who would have thought they were actually the real Black Dragon Guards.

Liao Ru Long declared solemnly, "General, this cannot be blamed on Zhao Xing and Long Xiao! If it were our Great Zhou army, why would they attack City No. 98 and steal the Tier Five Earth Fire Lotus that we worked so hard to obtain? Who could have imagined that?!"

Jia Pu: "..."

Watching Liao Ru Long's clumsy acting, Jia Pu was left speechless.

If you don't know, who would believe it?

But what is said is one thing, and the objective facts are another.

Jia Pu asked for the details of the process and discovered that Zhao Xing's actions, from rescue to killing, were entirely based on this set of objective facts.

This provided favorable evidence for the Military World trial.

Well done.

Jia Pu glanced over the detailed reports from both men and sighed with admiration in his heart.

It was hard to imagine this was the work of Zhao Xing, who had undergone training and enlisted less than two years ago.

"I understand," Jia Pu said. "You stay here, make no moves, restrain your subordinates, and ensure no further conflicts occur."

"Yes." Liao Rulong nodded, and the phantom vanished.

The people were beheaded on September 27; that same day, the Divine Might Army and the Black Dragon Army, totaling 120,000 troops, faced off near the Western String Territory.

The standoff between the two armies naturally drew considerable attention.

The Fire Demon Tribe's general in the Western String Territory was thoroughly frightened; he had thought the two armies were merely acting, but in reality, they intended to attack him.

He immediately consolidated his forces, maintained strict defense, and retreated into a turtle-shell formation, refusing to emerge.

The Military Realm naturally discovered this abnormal situation very quickly.

But it was not until October 1 that the Judicial Yin Spirit Department and the Surveillance Department of the Military Realm finally intervened.

On a completely ordinary hill in the Western String Territory.

Zhao Xing waited silently.

At that moment, a cold wind swept through, and the sky suddenly darkened.

"Whoosh~"

The sky howled, and a hundred-meter-tall phantom appeared between heaven and earth.

It looked ferocious and demonic, holding a curved blade and carrying numerous command flags on its back.

"Third Rank Judicial Yin Spirit, Deng Gang." Zhao Xing looked at this Yin Spirit and stood up as well.

Beside it were six smaller figures.

Among them, Zhao Xing recognized three.

The first was the Director of the Earth Advantage Institute, Fan Fan Zhaoli, who was also a Fifth Rank Agriculture Official in the Yang City of the Military Realm.

The second was Liu Tianning, a member of the 'Surveillance Department'.

The third was Tantai Ming; Tantai Ming belonged to the Fourth Rank Military Agriculture Official of the Nine Heavens Ying Yuan Bureau, and the current Western String Territory war zone fell under his jurisdiction.

All three were qualified to participate in this investigation; it seemed only Fan Fan Zhaoli and Zhao Xing had some connection.

In reality, it was the result of a game of chess.

When Fan Fan Zhaoli, Liu Tianning, and Tantai Ming looked at Zhao Xing, their eyes were relatively gentle.

The other two, however, looked at Zhao Xing with an intent to scrutinize.

It was obvious they were from the Liangwangyi Sect.

Zhao Xing took a look; these two were Fifth Rank martial generals, while the remaining person was a Fourth Rank priest.

"Greetings, my lords," Zhao Xing said, clasping his hands.

"Zhao Xing, Commander of the Nine-Section Camp, we are now investigating your 'ambush and killing of Qian Shougang'." A Fifth Rank martial general said coldly. "We need to ask you a few questions; you must answer truthfully."

Tantai Ming spoke up: "The matter has not yet been finalized; how can the term 'ambush and kill' be used? First, let the Yin Spirit Deng Gang perform the soul-summoning. Lord Shen, the trouble is yours."

The Fourth Rank priest Shen Shen Yiheng nodded: "That is only right."

"The power of Yin Spirit soul-summoning is formidable." Fan Fan Zhaoli waved his hand; a shadow cast upon the ground suddenly grew into a magnificent, lush tree full of vitality. "Lord Tantai, please have Zhao Xing wait here."

"Mm." Tantai Ming nodded.

Zhao Xing clasped his hands and stood beneath Fan Fan Zhaoli's great tree.

Truly, leaning against a big tree makes for good shade.

After Zhao Xing stood beside Fan Fan Zhaoli, that chilling sensation vanished, replaced by a cool feeling.

"Soul, return~"

The Yin Spirit Deng Gang held a soul lamp, dancing wildly, emitting a unique tone from his mouth that echoed between heaven and earth.

He shouted repeatedly three times, but there was no response.

The Yin Spirit Deng Gang looked at the priest Shen Shen Yiheng: "Unable to summon the soul."

"Why is this so?" the Fifth Rank martial general beside him asked. "Where has Qian Shougang's soul gone?"

"After a person dies, they become a ghost; after a ghost dies, they become 【??】."

"I can sense that the souls of Qian Shougang and the Black Dragon Guards have all turned into 【??】, making them impossible to summon."

Shen Shen Yiheng immediately looked at Zhao Xing: "Killing him is one thing, but crushing his soul? This is not accidental killing; you knew Qian Shougang's identity and killed him anyway!"

Tantai Ming looked at Zhao Xing: "How do you explain Lord Shen's question?"

Zhao Xing, calm and unhurried, produced a gentle breeze in his palm: "My lord, I possess the high-level technique 【Malevolence of the Yin Wind】."

"My spell attacks are exactly like this; facing the southern barbarian tribes, does Lord Shen expect me to hold back?"

The Malevolence of the Yin Wind was, by nature, a spell targeting souls.

"Why did you not confirm his identity?" a Fifth Rank martial general shouted in a low voice.

Zhao Xing replied: "The situation was critical; the moment we met, it was a life-or-death battle; where was there time to confirm identity?"

"And why did you plunder the rare supplies of City No. 98?"

Another Fifth Rank martial general said: "It was requisition."

Zhao Xing asked: "If it was requisition, where is the Divine Contract? Why did you injure people?"

"To take a step back, if he truly was Qian Shougang, why did he not surrender?"

"..."

The two were left speechless by the questions.

Clearly, they had come to question Zhao Xing, yet now it felt as though they were the criminals.

The martial general was somewhat angry and embarrassed: "This is all your one-sided account!"

Zhao Xing said calmly: "Then please, my lord, summon Qian Shougang's soul and ask him."

"You..."

At present, Qian is in a?? state.

If one wishes to summon Qian Shougang for questioning, there is only one possibility: request a First-Rank Soul-Returning True Lord to summon his soul and transform Qian Shougang into a Yin Spirit.

But Qian Shougang did not possess a million military merits; he arrived at the battlefield relatively late, and his merits were inferior to those of many Seventh-Rank officials.

Had he possessed a million military merits, he would not have resorted to seizing the Divine Might Army's Earth Fire Lotus.

The rules of the Yin Spirit system are set in stone; even during an investigation, it is impossible to have a First-Rank Soul-Returning True Lord summon a soul, otherwise anyone could die by such means in the future to achieve Yin Spirit status.

Would that not be a disguised destruction of the Yin Spirit system?

Seeing Zhao Xing's calm and unhurried response, Fan Zhaoli could not help but reveal a faint smile.

In truth, this matter was Qian Shougang who broke the rules; as long as Zhao Xing insists it was an accidental killing rather than intentional, the punishment will be negligible.

If it were intentional, it would not work; Qian Shougang's crime did not warrant death, nor was it Zhao Xing's place to punish him.

It is just that the people of the Liang Wang faction did not expect Zhao Xing to personally bear nine high-level arts, and to act with such flawlessness.

City No. 98 has no temple; in the Southern Wastelands, the Yin Spirit Supervision System does not function as well as in Great Zhou, where even the determination of military merits requires comprehensive verification from multiple sides, let alone in such a situation?

Thus, it could only be that the Sikou of the Supervision Department conducted visits and gathered evidence for investigation.

After questioning the personnel of City No. 98 and examining Wang Ji's injuries.

Soon, the Military Realm Supervision Department issued a preliminary result:

Qian Shougang brought death upon himself; he requisitioned Divine Might Army supplies without following the proper procedures.

Using the authority of a superior, he injured the city's defending general and forcibly conscripted the Divine Might Army's precious supplies; this act was no different from robbery.

This led Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, and others to mistake him for an enemy army disguised as barbarians, resulting in his death at West String Territory.

After the preliminary investigation results were produced, they were submitted to the Nine Heavens Ying Yuan Mansion, Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, the Military Realm, Liang Wang, the Divine Might Army's main general, and other parties for verification.

Seven days later, the final investigation results were released: Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, and the Brave Camp were innocent, and even their military merits did not need to be penalized.

Once this result was released, it immediately caused quite a stir.

Even Zhao Xing himself was somewhat surprised:

"Hmm? Is the result actually this?

"Innocence and a light crime were both within my expectations, but why would even the military merits not be penalized? What exactly happened?"