Chapter 911: Conscription

"Evil gods from beyond the domain, things that cannot be named, the origin of all fear..."

Xue Yeyu sat before the White Jade Radiant counter, reading the "Frontline Express" that had just been delivered, looking very focused.

That newspaper was a fresh novelty that had emerged in the last two years. Thanks to the great development of real-time transmission Dharma Artifacts, many pieces of news from ten thousand miles away could be transmitted to the Human World for the first time, reaching every place. Thus, at the suggestion of a certain high-level figure, the Suiyu had this first newspaper, one issue every ten days, publishing first-hand news. Any strong individual above the rank of Sword Guest or any faction or organization with a certain contribution could subscribe.

The express news was timely and rich in content, and with the official intention to promote it, it had expanded to every corner of the Human World and the Suiyu in just two short years. Factions in the Human World like Zhuoyu Villa had also subscribed, and they had subscribed to several copies, one of which was delivered directly to the White Jade Radiant main store.

Xue Yeyu was reading the newspaper at the inner hall counter, and she was stunned the moment she saw the first glance.

The front page of the newspaper was a large photo of a mass of green, looking extremely disgusting, and upon looking again, it felt inexplicably terrifying. Behind it was another small picture, on which was a blister that seemed to be oozing pus, and inside the blister, a soft tissue that looked like brain matter could be vaguely seen.

Xue Yeyu immediately felt uncomfortable all over, wishing she could throw away the newspaper and never look at it again, but she was also a bit curious: why on earth would they put such a disgusting thing on the front page? One must know that the front page had always only featured the most frontline battle results or major decisions of the Sword Court. Even the epic victory that had previously wiped out thousands of Tianmo did not have such a large picture.

It would have been better not to look; the more she read the content, the more Xue Yeyu's heart pounded, and she couldn't help but clench the newspaper tightly.

"How did this monster suddenly appear? Devoured half a world? An enemy more terrifying and evil than the Tianmo? What kind of enemy could be more evil than the Tianmo? Or rather, if they are all in the category of those who deserve to die, there is no need to distinguish between them, right?"

"Knock, knock." The door sounded.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a young man entered, with upright features and a calm expression like an ancient well without waves.

As soon as Xue Yeyu saw it was him, she nodded very casually and said, "Weise? Or are you here for a new order?"

Weise said, "There is indeed a new order. Just placed from the frontline, one thousand stealth shields, one thousand..."

Hearing this, Xue Yeyu couldn't help but pinch her forehead and said, "Such a large number again; we are already operating at full capacity. Although Azhao said that taking on military supply orders is a great opportunity for our shop to take off, we really can't handle it anymore. It doesn't matter if we make money or not, the key is that if we can't deliver the goods and delay the major affairs of the frontline, that wouldn't be good."

Weise said, "Manager Liu has been looking for subcontractors, and the two confirmed now are quite decent. Especially that Longyuan, which has been actively trying to win more contracts."

Xue Yeyu said, "Yes, Longyuan has always been very active. Azhao also said that Longyuan has strength, and they have always wanted to shake off the Shadow of the remnants of the previous dynasty, and they have always spared no effort in work that earns merit, so they can be entrusted appropriately. However, I still don't want to just simply subcontract the tasks. We cannot just be an alliance leader and Manager of the Human World's Talisman Sword Master factions; our own strength must also be first-class. In the future, we won't just rely on Azhao's signboard to accept orders."

Thinking about it, she also felt emotional; without realizing it, White Jade Radiant had grown so large that even Longyuan, one of the old Seven Great Factions, had become their subcontractor.

Tang Zhao founded White Jade Radiant single-handedly. Although he became a hands-off manager after founding it, and the daily operations and expansion were mainly relied upon by key members like Xue Yeyu and Manager Liu, Tang Zhao's role was truly irreplaceable.

One was to act as a living signboard to promote White Jade Radiant's products in a wider arena, and the other was to accept large-scale orders for the shop. From Yunzhou to the Imperial Court and then to the Sword Domain, they were all the largest military supply orders, big orders that could make any shop take off. But most importantly, it was the business philosophy, which was both novel and solid, making the shop's development both rapid and steady, with every step taken firmly.

Nowadays, Xue Yeyu's troubles were also happy troubles; how could others worry about supply falling short of demand? She complained a few times, but she was still full of energy.

Weise smiled and said, "Manager Liu has been scouting for outside Talisman Sword Masters, and the Academy of our Zhuoyu Villa has also expanded several times, and the teaching system has already been formed. Everything will get better."

Xue Yeyu said, "Yes, it will definitely get better. By the way, how are those bastards from Yuanji Palace, who have been working against us, hindering our order deliveries several times, and damaging our reputation, doing now?"

Weise said, "Hmm, they are fine now."

Xue Yeyu said happily, "Hmm? Have they given up working against us?"

Weise said, "You could say that."

What they gave up was not just working against White Jade Radiant, but also their attachment to the Human World for their whole families...

Xue Yeyu breathed a sigh of relief. Although she was a Sword Guest, she had always been busy with shop business and the technical work of Talisman Sword Masters, rarely facing enemies, and her experience in struggle could be said to be infinitely close to zero. These matters were always left to Weise and the others to handle. She couldn't immediately think of how Weise would do it, but as long as the trouble was gone, wasn't that enough?

"It is thanks to your help that we all together brought White Jade Radiant to today's situation."

Weise's expression was solemn, and he said, "Sister Xue, I was just about to tell you about this. I am afraid I won't be able to look after the shop for a period of time. I am going to the frontline."

Xue Yeyu was startled and said, "This... how... is it your turn?"

Basically, all Sword Guests had to go to the frontline once; this had been the case for a long time. Because of the brief peace in the first three years, many Sword Guests stayed behind, but with the renewed outbreak of war, the conscription of Sword Guests was more frequent than in the past. As young Sword Guests who had not served, Weise and Xue Yeyu actually had a high priority for conscription. The reason they hadn't gone yet was, firstly, because of Tang Zhao's face, and secondly, they were actually military suppliers, also contributing to the war, which was equivalent to serving.

However, if one did not look at these extra conditions, there was nothing to criticize about conscripting Weise as a Sword Guest. Although Xue Yeyu was surprised and unwilling in her heart, she could not stop him.

She just frowned and said, "I heard that a monster appeared on the frontline, said to be... indescribable..." She unfolded the newspaper and said, "An indescribably terrifying monster. This looks like a very dangerous thing. You won't run into it when you go to the frontline, will you?"

Weise pondered slightly and still told the truth, saying, "I am precisely going to conquer this monster. Jianshan has decided to intervene in the war of the Tianmo Jie and send a large force to pincer-attack that evil god monster. This newspaper, and the various news sent from the frontline, should be preparing public opinion for this matter. For this battle, the reserve forces that were still in the Human World, such as me, have been conscripted again."

Xue Yeyu was very puzzled and said, "Joining forces with the Tianmo? How can this be?"

Weise said, "For the sake of the big picture, I suppose. When the lips are gone, the teeth are cold. Now this monster is the most dangerous enemy at present."

Seeing Xue Yeyu's expression, Weise knew she didn't understand. In fact, this was the norm for the Human World and the frontline. The Human World and the Tianmo had been fighting for so many years, and they could be said to have a blood feud with each other. How could it be reversed by just saying "the big picture is important," or by publishing some images of the evil god in the newspaper and writing a few articles to promote the power of the evil god?

Xue Yeyu had been in the rear and still couldn't understand; how could those Sword Guests who had been fighting bloody battles with the Tianmo on the frontline for years or even half their lives understand?

In fact, the reason Weise could accept it was, of course, because his own emotions were relatively indifferent, but more because he trusted Tang Zhao. Tang Zhao had mentioned to him in a letter before that the strategy on the frontline had a lot to do with Tang Zhao, and it could even be said that Tang Zhao was pushing the development of the big picture with his own strength. Then this decision must have been approved by Tang Zhao. Then Weise would choose to support it.

Conversely, if Tang Zhao opposed it, then Weise would also oppose it.

Xue Yeyu felt awkward in her heart, but she was powerless to interfere, so she could only say, "Be careful when you go to the frontline. The evil god is so terrifying, it is definitely not something you can confront. Just follow the main force to attack. Earning merit and glory is important, but you must take care of your own life even more."

Weise said, "I have always cherished my life. Sister Xue doesn't need to worry. My Sword Essence has now accumulated to a certain level, and I am just about to hone my Sword Heart and ascend to the level of 'Heart-to-Heart,' becoming a Sword Hero in one go. Going to the frontline to hone myself now also fulfills my wish. After I leave, all defense matters will be left to Jiang Shixiong. Fortunately, we shouldn't have any strong enemies left. The scope of this conscription is not small, and most of the Sword Guests whose strength is up to standard have been drawn away. Those left in the Human World are just some crooked melons and split dates, so I think Sister Xue can handle it."

Xue Yeyu said in surprise, "So many people? Then in Yunzhou Prefecture..."

Weise said, "Quite a few people should have been drawn away as well. In the past, except for those with military posts, most other officials in the Imperial Court and various prefectural offices were not conscripted, but this time it is a vigorous conscription. For example, several Commanders of the Yunzhou Land Inspection Division, including Commander Xing, should have received the order to go to war as well. According to the instructions, I am going to the Yunzhou Conscription Office to assemble, and I should be able to see several acquaintances and be able to travel together on the road."

Xue Yeyu was terrified to hear this and said, "So many people? Where is this going? Shouldn't the strongest Sword Immortals and Sword Saints be used to fight the evil god? What use are you Sword Guests? Using numbers to pile the evil god to death?"

Although it was said that humans could continue to this day by relying on generation after generation of Sword Guests fighting one after another, viewing death as returning home, and the power of Sword Guests also played a huge role, but fighting against Tianmo of equal or slightly superior strength was different from fighting against this kind of monster that was indescribable and even unknown how to start with. Xue Yeyu would not refuse to go to the frontline to fight, but she always felt guilty when facing this kind of monster.

Weise shook his head and said, "How could that be? The several Sword Saints on Jianshan, as well as the Master, are all wise men. Before making such a far-reaching decision, they must have thought about what to do next. Since they are conscripting us, they will naturally put us in a useful place."

Xue Yeyu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes, Azhao is still here. He can always be trusted."

Weise continued, "However... this scale of conscription is unsustainable, and the logistics cannot support it for too long. I think... this time, it is really going to be a decisive battle, isn't it?"