Chapter 1311: Winning People Over with Virtue

After finishing the business, he turned around and found the ghost hand still there, not having left.

"I'm afraid I don't have time to look after you right now!" Ye Liuyun tried to make the ghost hand leave on its own.

"You know, the soldiers now must hate those puppets to death; if I go out like this, they'd vent their anger and chop me into mush!" the ghost hand explained.

"Emperor Xia has already informed all Leaders, telling them that you may have been controlled by Song Fanjun. They shouldn't make things difficult for you!" Ye Liuyun said indifferently.

"The soldiers are already blood‑shot; later they won't listen to my explanations. I'm just an Artifact Refining Master, not a murderer! If they kill me, that would be a grave injustice!" the ghost hand insisted on staying.

"They wouldn't be this calm with you. Please, just take me with you. You focus on your tasks; I'll follow your troops, cause no trouble, and need no protection," the ghost hand said.

"Fine then!" Ye Liuyun felt embarrassed to refuse and had no time to argue.

He immediately produced a Transmission Talisman and began contacting the various armies to learn the battlefield situation.

Their counter‑offensive went smoothly and caught the Foreign Tribe completely off guard.

Moreover, the soldiers vented all their resentment and hatred onto them, fighting especially fiercely, so the Foreign Tribe suffered heavy losses.

Opportunity knocks but once; this is the perfect moment for a counter‑offensive.

Thus Ye Liuyun gave the army an order,

the whole force continued forward, advancing in turns. Qin Peng and Zuo Mu served as the two wings, guarding against Foreign Tribe counter‑attacks or ambushes.

Later, Ye Liuyun announced to everyone: "Rebel Song Fanjun has been executed, and the controlled Ling Haokun has recovered. The Puppet Army has been completely annihilated!"

The Leaders who received the news immediately relayed it to the soldiers, prompting cheers from all the armies.

Even at a distance, Ye Liuyun and his men could be heard clearly!

Seeing Ye Liuyun no longer busy, Ling Haokun stepped over and said, "Prince Ye, did I forge the artifact incorrectly?"

Ye Liuyun replied sincerely, "The fault lies not with the maker of the artifact but with its user. Like this sword in my hand, neither its creator nor the blade itself is right or wrong; it depends on whose hand wields it!"

Hearing this, Ling Haokun looked at Ye Liuyun with newfound respect.

In the past, people said he forged killing devices and disparagingly called him 'ghost hand.' Even many upright Martial Cultivators avoided seeking his services.

This created a vicious cycle. More and more villains came to him for forging, further tarnishing his reputation.

Now that Ye Liuyun's words struck a chord, he naturally held Ye Liuyun in higher regard.

"Prince Ye, I heard you have a Refining Alliance; may I join?" Ling Haokun asked tentatively.

He was used to being ostracized, fearing that Ye Liuyun or the Refining Alliance would reject him.

"Of course! You are already a Refining Master! Moreover, the Refining Alliance welcomes masters like you!"

Ye Liuyun said it without hesitation.

"Really? Can I join?" Ling Haokun was overjoyed.

He also longed for recognition and respect.

But he still cautioned Ye Liuyun: "My past reputation isn't great; I don't know if the Refining Alliance can accept me..."

Ye Liuyun smiled, "The Refining Alliance has its own rules. As long as you obey them, that's fine. As for the artifacts you forge, good or bad, they're just artifacts; no one will make a fuss over them. Inside are many Artifact Refining Masters who understand this principle."

Hearing this, Ling Haokun relaxed.

"Then after I return, I'll join the Refining Alliance!" he said happily.

"Welcome! Take care of your own safety; I really can't look after you right now!" Ye Liuyun instructed him.

"Alright!" Ling Haokun nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Ye Liuyun chuckled inwardly, "This must be winning people over with virtue! I didn't expect a few words to recruit a Refining Master!"

Then Ye Liuyun led his troops onward, periodically communicating with the various armies and controlling the overall battlefield situation.

【7】 He would also consult Qin Peng in advance, seeking his counsel.

He would also communicate with Qin Peng in advance, asking him for advice.

Ye Liuyun himself led a reorganized elite squad behind, ready to strike whenever the front troops met a tough obstacle.

The Foreign Tribe commander Tuomu Hai never expected the imperial forces, after suffering a heavy blow, to launch a counter‑attack.

Of the three‑million‑strong army, he had wiped out over a million, yet they could resume the counter‑attack without pause, which defied all logic.

It also wasn't the imperial army's usual fighting style.

Ironically, this tactic caught him completely off guard.

So he could only force the Foreign Tribe's forces to keep retreating. Some units that failed to withdraw were devoured by the imperial army.

By this point, both sides had suffered heavy losses.

First the Foreign Tribe lost a small contingent, luring the imperial army deeper into the encirclement,

then the imperial side lost a million troops.

But a reversal came quickly; the Foreign Tribe was instantly counter‑attacked, and now their losses have exceeded those of the imperial army.

Especially since their equipment was already scarce, it became the focus of the strike. Most of their Warships were almost completely wiped out by the imperial forces.

Future battles will have to be hand‑to‑hand; their losses will be even greater then.

Moreover, with the momentum now, the Foreign Tribe's retreating defensive line keeps slipping further back.

In just a few days, Ye Liuyun led the imperial army to push the Foreign Tribe back to the southern third of their territory.

Although Tuomu Hai kept arranging resistance, he never reversed the decline; it only handed heads to Ye Liuyun for free.

At first, Emperor Xia was still a bit worried, fearing the army couldn't endure such strain.

But he later realized that Ye Liuyun skillfully exploited the soldiers' grief‑and‑anger, winning a splendid turnaround battle.

The Leaders of the various armies were utterly impressed by Ye Liuyun's command.

Just when everyone thought Ye Liuyun would push straight to the Foreign Tribe's stronghold, he suddenly ordered a retreat—pulling back all the way to the original starting point and returning the captured territories to the Foreign Tribe.

As soon as the army withdrew, he ordered the rear supplies to be prepared immediately, demanding the forces replenish all resources within a Wu‑day and get ready to fight again.

This left all the generals bewildered.

"Why did we retreat so suddenly? Doesn't that make the territory we captured a waste?"

"Isn't that giving the Foreign Tribe a bargain? All the soldiers we lost died for nothing?"