Chapter 413

The Great Jin military's specially made airship, its whole body covered with sails, named 'Wind Fire Meteor', slowly descended and finally hovered above the gate of the manor that originally belonged to Zhang Xibai, now occupied by Wu Tie.

Wu Tie and Pei Feng stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the manor gate; Pei Feng's face was icy and expressionless, while Wu Tie wore a beaming smile, even slightly bending his waist, putting on a respectful demeanor as he looked at the airship.

Pei Feng's peripheral vision kept stealing glances at Wu Tie.

Seeing Wu Tie's expression, Pei Feng couldn't help but feel speechless.

Although she did not personally witness the deaths of Zhang Xibai, the Heavenly Silkworm King, the Silver Dragon King, etc., she personally saw Wu Tie transform a single hair into her likeness, and herself change into 'Pei Feng' as she left.

It goes without saying that Zhang Xibai and the others were all personally slain by Wu Tie.

One who dares to kill a prefect's overseer, and is so ruthless as to slaughter all of Zhang Xibai's hundreds of subordinates, would actually be so respectful, even showing a bit of humility?

After watching Wu Tie for a while, Pei Feng pursed her lips and let out a soft hum.

"What's wrong? Is the commander feeling unwell?" Wu Tie turned his head and expressed concern to Pei Feng.

"No." Pei Feng remained aloof.

"Oh!" Wu Tie nodded, continued to smile broadly, and lifted his head to look at the small airship.

The two stood at the gate, with a large group of aides and commanders behind them, waiting at the gate for about the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, when finally there was some movement on the airship hovering above their heads.

A youth wearing a blood-red robe, with a black sash around his waist, black boots on his feet, and a black gauze hat on his head, his face deathly pale as if coated in powder, his lips also a pallid white, stepped onto a blood cloud and slowly floated down from the airship.

Behind the youth, closely followed were hundreds of sturdy men dressed in black clothing and black boots, wearing black gauze hats. Their upper bodies were clad in black half-armor, with long black capes tied on, giving them a rather imposing appearance.

"Sorry for the disturbance... I just received a message, so I handled some urgent matters; sorry to have kept you two waiting for so long." The pale-faced youth landed before Wu Tie and Pei Feng with a smile, his eyes quickly sweeping over Pei Feng's stunning face before slowly glancing at Wu Tie.

"Sir, it's only proper for me to receive you." Wu Tie did not perform a military salute; instead, he mimicked the manner of civil officials, raising both hands and deeply bowing to the pale-faced youth.

"Ha, no need for formalities, no need for formalities!" the pale-faced youth lightly waved his hand, speaking calmly: "I am Zhao Yin, directly under the Military Department's Law Enforcement Bureau; I have been ordered to come to Great Marsh Prefecture to inspect some matters... um, may I ask which general this is?"

Wu Tie silently cursed to himself; the situation in Great Marsh Prefecture is clear here—being able to bring so many people to welcome, and being a military officer, you, a high-ranking official from the Military Department's Law Enforcement Bureau, actually don't know your own identity?

Putting on a smile, Wu Tie said gently to Zhao Yin: "I am your subordinate, Huo Xiong, the commander-in-chief of Great Marsh Prefecture's forces."

Zhao Yin nodded, set aside Wu Tie, and cupped his hands toward Pei Feng, smiling as he asked: "This general bears an extraordinary presence... I suppose you must be the current commander of the Black Phoenix Army, General Pei Feng? Indeed, as rumored, you truly are the first female general of the Great Jin military lineage!"

Pei Feng twitched the corner of her mouth, too stingy to even give Zhao Yin a hint of a smile: "Oh? Is that so?"

Zhao Yin nearly choked on Pei Feng's three cold, indifferent words; he stared blankly, then gave a dry laugh: "Of course, of course, even if it's in Anyang City, I too have... heard your name like thunder."

With a hint of resentment, Zhao Yin glanced at Pei Feng, his face changing; his already pallid face and lips were already grim, but now he set his jaw, making him look like an old corpse that's been rotting for years.

Staring with eyes mostly white and little black, Zhao Yin fixed his gaze on Wu Tie and said coldly: "General Huo Xiong, since you are the commander of Great Marsh Prefecture, could you tell me why the spatial gate leading from Great Marsh Prefecture to the Great Jin was destroyed?"

Wu Tie drew a deep breath; his smiling face instantly filled with an expression of sorrow and resentment, like that of a deep-palace resentful lady.

He suddenly stepped forward toward Zhao Yin.

Zhao Yin was startled by Wu Tie's sudden change in expression, and inexplicably goosebumps rose all over his body.

Indeed, the face of 'Huo Xiong' is, as the old-timers of the Black Phoenix Army have said, not particularly good-looking. On such an unsightly, purely masculine face, to put on the expression of a deep-palace resentful lady—how awkward that would be!

Zhao Yin instinctively stepped back, but then he realized that, in front of Wu Tie and before so many commanders, he could not show weakness, so he stepped forward firmly, staring wide-eyed at Wu Tie.

"General Huo Xiong, what explanation do you have?" Zhao Yin shouted, "As the commander of Great Marsh Prefecture..."

Wu Tie let out a soft sigh: "Lord Zhao Yin, Lord Zhang Xibai died a horrible death!"

Zhao Yin's face twitched, and he said in a low voice: "I'm asking about the spatial gate... um, is Lord Zhang Xibai's death also related to this matter?"

Wu Tie let out a heavy sigh; his gaze was... how to describe it?

Wu Tie's gaze was deep and enduring as he stared into Zhao Yin's eyes, and he softly said: "What happened that day was truly terrifying... indeed, it was heaven-shaking, spirit-weeping... Lord Zhang Xibai, he was a loyal subject of our Great Jin, truly a loyal subject..."

Wu Tie sighed long: "Though I, a lowly officer, have also known life-and-death struggles, crawling out of piles of corpses, only upon seeing Lord Zhang Xibai's magnificent achievements did I realize... what true heroes and outstanding figures are—none other than Lord Zhang Xibai himself!"

Pei Feng tightened her facial expression.

Qian San and the others bit their tongues with their teeth, using the sharp pain to keep from laughing out loud.

Wu Tie's talent for spouting nonsense with his eyes open really makes people want to laugh.

"You..." Zhao Yin stared blankly at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie looked at Zhao Yin and said sorrowfully: "I am incompetent; that day, the three great demon chiefs of Great Marsh Prefecture—named the Heavenly Silkworm King, the Silver Dragon King, and the Silver-Tongued King—these three wicked beasts led countless minions in a joint attack!"

"Hundreds of millions?" Zhao Yin forced down a gulp of saliva, glancing askance at Wu Tie.

"Hundreds of millions, Lord Zhao Yin! They filled the skies and covered the earth, above and below ground, in water and soil—no one could say how many demons and monsters came attacking." Wu Tie spoke solemnly while spouting nonsense; his mastery of the Nine Revolutions Mystic Technique over his body was superb, his eye sockets reddened and two streams of tears fell.

"With hundreds of millions of demons and monsters joining forces in attack, I am incompetent; just a single encounter left me gravely wounded by the Heavenly Silkworm King."

Wu Tie suddenly tore open his chest clothing; on his chest were clearly visible several palm-length fresh red scars, each resembling a centipede lying on his chest—just looking at these scars shows how severe his injuries were at the time.

Before tearing open his clothing, these scars did not exist.

However, given Wu Tie's control over his own flesh, a mere thought makes these scars appear; even if a veteran military doctor of many years came to examine them, they could only conclude that these scars are indeed from injuries sustained over two months ago, and that the wounds were indeed caused by the Heavenly Silkworm King's innate flying sword.

"I am gravely wounded and unable to fight further; Lord Zhang Xibai, a mere civil official, stubborn and insensible... oh, no, is fearless of death, leading his sons and troops forward." Wu Tie looked at Zhao Yin with tear-filled eyes and said: "Truly heaven-shaking, spirit-weeping... Lord Zhang Xibai cried out..."

Wu Tie raised his voice, his tone suddenly becoming exactly like Zhang Xibai's: "With me, invincible; if you want to breach the city, to slaughter my Great Jin's people, you must step over my corpse!"

Pei Feng's face twitched again.

Qian San and the others bit hard on their tongues, already having broken them and drawn blood.

"Lord Zhang Xibai said that, and he did just that; then... he got what he deserved... oh, no, he achieved his benevolent goal." Wu Tie looked at Zhao Yin's twisted face and said somewhat embarrassedly: "Please forgive me, sir; I am of military household origin, having had little education since childhood, so if I have used any wrong words, please excuse me."

Zhao Yin took a deep breath, stared at Wu Tie, and said coldly: "And then?"

Wu Tie, tears streaming yet smiling, said to Zhao Yin: "And then, Lord Zhang Xibai achieved his benevolent goal... I personally witnessed how horribly Lord Zhang Xibai died... the Silver Dragon King and Heavenly Silkworm King, those two beasts, one grabbed his head, the other his feet, then with a mighty toss—'crack'—Lord Zhang Xibai was split in two... his intestines, his belly..."

Zhao Yin's face became extremely unsightly.

He angrily said: "Lord Zhang Xibai just... died like that?"

Wu Tie spread his hands, tears streaming, while looking at Zhao Yin with a solemn expression.

The Nine Revolutions Mystic Technique is truly marvelous; Wu Tie could adopt such a solemn expression without hindering the flow of his tears, which poured down like 'splash splash', and his tears were extraordinarily abundant—at least ten times more than a little woman's heartfelt sobbing—soaking his entire front clothing.

"Of course it's not that simple... truly heaven-shaking, spirit-weeping... Lord Zhang Xibai had already been split in two, yet he could still muster a counterattack; I don't know what scheming tactics Lord Zhang Xibai used... oh, no, I don't know what miraculous means he employed—only a flash of divine light in the high heavens, and the Silver Dragon King and Heavenly Silkworm King were gravely wounded, while the Silver-Tongued King fled in fright."

"The Silver Dragon King and Heavenly Silkworm King—blood poured from their bodies in 'splish splash', and in their fury they each took a bite and swallowed Lord Zhang Xibai whole—how brutal, truly brutal, they actually ate a living person!"

Wu Tie let out a long sigh: "And then, the commanders under Lord Zhang Xibai's command—truly they were the loyal and heroic souls of our Great Jin; they fearlessly charged forward, launching a full-scale assault on the Silver Dragon King and Heavenly Silkworm King!"

"The Heavenly Centipede King and the Silver Dragon King were heavily injured, right? So hundreds of Embryonic Storage realm commanders surrounded them, beating them until they were covered in wounds, utterly miserable, on the brink of death, worse than dead... Looking on, the two great demons were about to be slain..." Wu Tie heaved a heavy sigh: "What a pity!"

Zhao Yin stared blankly at Wu Tie: "What a pity about what?"

Wu Tie looked at Zhao Yin with inexplicable sorrow: "It's a pity those two great demons brought too many subordinates—hundreds of millions of demonic monsters."

"Hundreds of millions of troops surrounded them; those loyal and peerless commanders were all... all beaten into heavy wounds, then devoured by the Silver Dragon King and the Heavenly Dragon King."

Wu Tie looked at Zhao Yin pitifully: "How pitiful those commanders are—they died without intact corpses!"

Zhao Yin looked at Wu Tie with a gloomy expression: "And then?"

Wu Tie let out a deep sigh, lowered his head, and tears dripped in succession onto the stone slab beneath his feet: "Then, the Silver Dragon King and the Heavenly Centipede King boldly moved to destroy the spatial gate."

"I, the subordinate, watched as they were about to succeed; I know well that this spatial gate is the lifeline of our Great Marsh Prefecture—if it were destroyed, Great Marsh Prefecture would be cut off from the heartland of Great Jin... This is like an infant losing its parents, how tragic and desperate!"

"I, the subordinate, have received the grace of Great Jin generation after generation; I cannot let such a thing happen!"

"So I, the subordinate, rose up and fought desperately, sparing no face to launch a sneak attack, and miraculously, I slew the Silver Dragon King and the Heavenly Centipede King!" Wu Tie raised his head, his face covered in tears, tears still spurting from his eye sockets, yet he wore a relaxed smile as he said to Zhao Yin: "Miraculous, miraculous—I, the subordinate, miraculously succeeded in slaying the Silver Dragon King and the Heavenly Centipede King... scattering hundreds of millions of demonic monsters."

Shaking his head, Wu Tie sighed long: "It's a pity that the spatial gate was still destroyed by those demons."

Squinting his eyes, Wu Tie, while shedding tears, fervently sighed to Zhao Yin: "How delightful, how congratulatory—today Lord Zhao Yin has finally come... Lord Zhao Yin to us is like sweet rain after a long drought, sweet rain after a long drought!"

"Just thinking that from today onward, our Great Marsh Prefecture will again receive news from Great Jin and hear the teachings of the esteemed persons of Great Jin—our whole body will be filled with vigor..." Wu Tie chuckled: "Indeed... sweet rain after a long drought!"

Zhao Yin vigorously shook his head, he stared fixedly at Wu Tie: "Are you done speaking?"

Wu Tie looked at Zhao Yin, astonished: "How could it be finished? You don't know, sir—those demonic monsters have retreated, but Great Marsh Prefecture is left with a mess; I, the lowly official, have exhausted my mind and energy, diligently, leading my staff, spending countless thoughts and blood to clean up this mess..."

The tears on Wu Tie's face miraculously vanished; he smiled at Zhao Yin and whispered: "I, the subordinate, believe that the merits I have earned are also worthy of pride... As for this merit, please, sir, submit a report to the Ministry of War to request recognition for me, the subordinate."

Wu Tie narrowed his eyes, a glint of precision flashing in his pupils: "I, the subordinate, believe that relying on my ability to turn the tide and save the entire Great Marsh Prefecture, I need not speak of anything else—no hopes of being ennobled as a marquis or count... But I, the subordinate, believe that I am both civil and military, talented and outstanding, capable of single-handedly holding the posts of Great Marsh Prefecture Governor and Great Marsh Prefecture Army Chief Commander—more than sufficient."

Zhao Yin and his retinue behind him were all dumbfounded.

They had seen all kinds of vicious, wicked, treacherous and deceitful people, but someone as shamelessly brazen as Huo Xiong... they had truly never seen such a person before!

Zhao Yin stared fixedly at Wu Tie for a long while; in the end, he was so angry he laughed.