Chapter 385

As soon as the military order was issued, Li Guanyi and these western frontier troops had no time to coordinate, no shared battle experience; theoretically, even a legendary general could not command these western troops under such circumstances.

But the Nine Cauldrons of the West revealed their power.

Even troops with no coordination, no joint training.

As long as they fell within the Nine Cauldrons' recognition, Li Guanyi, relying on the Cauldrons' power, performed only the most basic guidance—combined with General Wang Shunchen's leadership—in an instant, arrows fell like rain.

The Yu Langwang's forces instantly raised their shields.

The battle formation shifted; the spirit of the Canglang Army raised its head and roared, shattering every arrow—this coordinated volley from the western allied army failed to inflict significant damage against Yu Langwang, a top-tier divine general, paired with a first-class troop.

But it was enough to seize the initiative.

Li Guanyi's forces instantly closed the distance; Yue Qianfeng was severely wounded and could not fight—on his left stood Yan Xuanji, clad in heavy armor, wielding an immensely heavy cudgel; on his right stood the radiant Li Zhaowen.

The military momentum converged like a straight, sharp sword, thrusting violently forward.

Yu Langwang was fully pinned down!

Faced with Li Guanyi at this stage and state, even Yu Langwang could not simply ignore him and leave—he could only turn his troops to meet the assault, bringing down his twin-bladed heavy spear with crushing force; Li Guanyi met it with his battle halberd.

Boom!!

A shockwave exploded between them; Li Guanyi felt immense pressure, his Immortal Lifespan Body nearly cracking under the strain, his blood qi surging violently. Sa Lu Zi opened its mouth and spat out Lei Ting; Yu Langwang's divine steed reared its head and neighed.

The surrounding gales churned and shattered the Lei Ting.

The air around them churned violently; the clashing of their weapons rang like thunder.

A colossal Canglang loomed overhead; the Azure Phoenix circled above.

Lu Youxian climbed the city wall to observe—this famed general had many Mo Family disciples under him; he was the first to propose this tactic: standardized components, cast by Mo Family disciples, transported by the army, assembled swiftly upon arrival to form a fortress.

The Tian Kehans enfeoffed by Yu Langwang had their teeth ground to dust by this old turtle—Lu Youxian built a city wherever he went; the Kehans, imitating Central Plains military tactics, sent him women's clothing as gifts, and Lu Youxian replied, "Well delivered."

When I capture your wives and daughters, I'll make them dance in them.

This enraged the Tian Kehans so badly they nearly spat blood.

They cursed him as a turtle.

And with Lu Youxian's tactic:

In short, first unleash ten volleys of crossbow fire to level the ground.

Lan Wendu had once thought this approach excessively wasteful.

Lu Youxian replied:

"Spending arrows is far cheaper than spending the lives of your comrades."

In just a short time, this man had actually constructed a crude fortification.

Now standing high, he looked far away—the western lands stretched vast and boundless; the New Year had just passed, the air still biting cold; black clouds rolled low and heavy overhead, the colossal Canglang raised its head and roared, shattering the clouds.

The Azure Phoenix soared into the sky, circling with flapping wings—equally magnificent.

The Canglang bore the heavens; beneath this vast sky, armored cavalry charged forward like an ink-wash painting swept by a brush—Lu Youxian's hand gripped the stone bricks tightly, his pupils contracting violently.

The strategy had failed…

Lu Youxian instantly realized—if the strategy failed, that might be explainable; but that the western lands and Li Guanyi reacted immediately after its failure could only mean one thing.

There was a traitor.

Lu Youxian's gaze fell on Lan Wendu, the deputy general arriving beside him; his hand pressed on his sword hilt, a hint of lethal intent in his eyes.

The famed Chen general Lu Youxian had uncovered the plot.

On the battlefield, Yu Langwang and Li Guanyi clashed dozens of times; Yu Langwang felt his Hukou growing numb, then slammed into Li Guanyi again, saying: "Good lad, youth truly is different…"

"Each time we meet, your transformation is immense."

Li Guanyi raised an eyebrow and said: "Uncle's grown old. The scenery of Jiangnan is fine—why not return with me, rest well, admire flowers, grow old peacefully? Besides, my great-grandfather is bored stiff alone in Jiangnan."

As he spoke, Li Guanyi gripped the Tiger Roar Heaven Halberd with both hands and pressed downward, the force increasing steadily, veins bulging on his forehead:

"Uncle in this state is a worthy opponent."

"How about coming to Jiangnan to play chess with my great-grandfather?"

Yu Langwang laughed: "You're trying to crush me with your sword?"

If he had an army at his back, with the might to conquer kingdoms, riding across a million troops, Yu Langwang would fear not the Master Jiankuang—but without troops, without divine weapons, stripped of armor, retired to civilian life, relying solely on martial skill, a single sword from the Master Jiankuang could pin Yu Langwang down, immobile.

With the Master Jiankuang present, even if Yu Langwang was ambitious, he could never stir up trouble.

Li Guanyi said: "Uncle, a true warlord—nothing else will do."

Yu Langwang burst into laughter: "Nephew speaks warmly, yet your strength shows no slack—how have you grown even harsher?"

Both unleashed their ultimate techniques; their spiritual forms clashed, stirring storms and clouds, cracking the earth; Li Guanyi's blood qi surged, a metallic tang rising in his throat, yet he declared loudly: "Canglang in armor, heroes of the world."

"If I'm not careful, I'll be dragged back to play chess."

The two clashed, exchanging blows like pieces in a game.

Li Guanyi's thirty-thousand-strong army split into center and left-right wings.

Yan Xuanji led his troops sweeping past one flank.

He and Li Zhaowen each commanded the left and right wings, driving deep into Yu Langwang's formations; among the troops, Li Kedi, Yu Chi Xiong, and other battle generals were highly active—unconsciously, Li Guanyi's officers had already matched the caliber of first-tier troops.

Moreover, there were the core elites of the Fire Qilin Army brought by Yuan Zhi.

These elite Fire Qilin troops infiltrated the army, becoming squad leaders and Captains.

The original western allied army's momentum instantly improved.

They successfully pinned down Yu Langwang's forces.

"Good, good, good."

Yu Langwang realized he had fallen into the trap.

Though it was Lu Youxian, this hidden pawn,

He never expected the western alliance had changed its alignment.

The Wolf King clashed with Li Guanyi, while the armies slaughtered each other, but in the eyes of this white-haired, aged warlord, there was little rage—mostly astonishment, as if he had discovered that the junior he should have easily subdued with one hand had grown strong enough to flip him onto his back.

After the astonishment in his eyes came a sense of admiration.

He uttered three "good"s in succession.

Unlike with Master Yan Daiqing, who, given the Wolf King's nature and brutality, would have wanted to break that mild scholar's limbs and bury him alive in a jar so he could watch the world burn.

But watching Li Guanyi, watching this young general, who at first had been caught by the tail, beaten into desperate survival only by the might of the Tangut Wang Da.

By the second clash, he had used legends of martial arts and surprise tactics.

Li Guanyi could now trade blows with the Wolf King.

Yet even then, the tide still favored the Wolf King—until that bastard Yan Daiqing, whose ancestors' graves should smoke and whose flesh should rot with sores, used his poison scheme to overturn the tide.

The third time, he attacked the city and was blocked by Li Guanyi; now this is the fourth clash.

The tide has already slipped into the hands of this young general—Wu Gong, military momentum, even his bearing—no longer comparable to their first meeting beneath the gates of Zhenbei City; now he is calm, now he has courage.

He is like a famed general.

He is a divine general!

This transformation came from the crushing pressure the Wolf King imposed; the Wolf King was like a great hammer, striking again and again, polishing away all the arrogance Li Guanyi had gained from his string of victories since Zhenbei City, shaping him into what he is now.

Thus, the Wolf King witnessed this process firsthand.

Of course, the Wolf King only felt regret—that he hadn't taken this boy back to become Tai Ping Gong before his wings had fully grown.

Yet now that Li Guanyi had grown, he also felt a deep satisfaction.

Even in this dire situation, the Wolf King's troops still retained considerable combat strength; Li Zhao Wen and Yan Xuanji led their forces in fierce combat, holding their own.

Most crucially, the arrows from the Western Regions came as if endless.

They poured forth without pause.

Solely suppressing the Wolf King's front-line troops.

This prevented the Wolf King's forces from breaking out, trapping them on the battlefield; Chen Wenmian tried several times to break through, but each time was crushed by volleys of arrows—now Li Zhao Wen had arrived, and only with Xue Huiyang's help could they hold their ground.

Turning back, he saw the Westerners' arrows falling like rain; the Westerners excelled at mounted archery and hunting, but were poor at coordination—how much less so under such a relentless barrage?

Chen Wenmian had experience: if one Western archer faced one Central Plains archer, the Westerner would likely win; if a hundred faced a hundred, the odds dropped to fifty-fifty; if over a thousand coordinated, the Westerners lost seven out of ten times.

Chen Wenmian instantly grasped the truth: "... Has the commander changed?!"

He turned to assess the situation, but felt a sharp aura—he barely blocked it, and a long spear grazed his cheek, tearing a thin blood trail; before him stood a warrior of dragon-and-phoenix bearing:

Li Zhao Wen smiled and taunted:

"Crown Prince, it's best not to lose focus at a time like this."

The spear's momentum grew fiercer.

In the Western army, Fan Qing's expression was solemn.

He was not skilled at commanding troops; his command limit was only seven thousand.

This had risen suddenly after the Lord's cauldron was cast, for reasons unknown.

This was already the absolute limit.

Fan Qing had tried repeatedly, but had not grown further.

He had been entrusted by Li Guanyi with the heavy responsibility of holding the Western border troops.

So he changed his approach, adapting the formation to his own style—using each Kehan and general as a military force, guiding them through the battle array, while the Kehans and generals guided the archers.

He divided the entire army's archers into three groups: Jia, Yi, and Bing.

Jia and Yi were archers; Bing were crossbowmen.

He used drumbeats as signals: heavy drums meant Jia fired.

Yi and Bing rested.

Light drums meant Yi fired.

If the drumhead was struck, Bing fired.

Continuous drumming accelerated the arrows; slow drumming made them heavier; if the war drum was slammed hard, all three groups fired in unceasing volleys—linking together one hundred thousand Western troops with his own strength, producing an unbroken rain of arrows, pouring forth in frenzy.

The Wolf King's breakthrough attempt was directly blocked.

Divine Archer General Wang Shunchen: "…………"

First, he thought: standard military arrows cost one tael of silver each—this one breath, one exhale, nearly a hundred thousand arrows flew out; the Lord would surely faint, eyes blackening, and fall from his horse in grief.

Then he noticed: along the frontline, the archers' coordination, initially clumsy, quickly became fluent.

Arrows fell like rain.

Never ceased.

And their coordination was rising rapidly.

This aging, famed Tai Ping general stared at Fan Qing as if seeing a ghost: "How did you do this?"

Fan Qing explained his thinking.

The Divine Archer General stared as if seeing a ghost again; Fan Qing replied: "I'm just an ordinary battle general, my command limit is only seven thousand. Besides, this situation only works because I don't need to manage coordination, movement, or formations—only attack."

"I only need to ensure these one hundred thousand archers maintain no gaps, sustain steady attacks, and adjust intensity, force, and frequency according to enemy movement—deciding whether to fire lightly, in volleys, or with furious suppression."

Divine Archer General: "…………"

He had seen much, and slowly realized a problem.

Fan Qing's command limit was indeed only seven thousand.

But he was not limited to commanding troops—he could perfectly coordinate with any unit.

In other words, he could seamlessly integrate into any unit.

The various generals could not coordinate well with each other.

Yet each could achieve perfect coordination with Fan Qing.

A perfect relay.

And as it happened, Fan Qing's foundational knowledge of military strategy and formations was learned from the great general Yuwen Tianxian, the Immovable King of Heaven, who excelled above all in multi-army coordinated warfare.

This isn't a general who commands troops—this is a general who commands generals.

Unshaken in crisis, undaunted by hardship, steady and measured, unyielding as Rushan.

This is not the talent of a general.

This is the talent of a commander-in-chief.

The Divine Archer General could not help but sigh deeply: to think that the young master had unearthed such an exceedingly rare commander-in-chief, yet he also realized that without Li Guanyi, Fan Qing would merely have been a condemned prisoner jailed for killing an officer.

He was only thinking of giving up, of the dead second-tier Heaven soldiers.

Even if he possessed the talent of a thousand-li steed.

Yet imprisoned in a dungeon, even if one told every general in the army that here lay an undiscovered commander-in-chief, who would give him thousands of troops? Who would provide Fan Qing with the treasure medicine to transform his foundation?

To subject him to dozens of major and minor battles over these three years, entrusting him with critical responsibilities, until Fan Qing reached this point.

Such a lord may be even rarer than a commander-in-chief.

The Divine Archer General sighed deeply and murmured: "My lord, your son is no less than you…" He gazed at the rising young generals and commanders-in-chief, plucked a strand of white hair from his temple, and suddenly felt a surge of heroic spirit.

He drew his bow, his gaze fixed on Yu Langwang in the midst of battle.

The aura of the Qizhongtian Sect's Master Realm gathered in his palm.

At the same time, Lu Youxian on the battlefield suddenly ordered: "Advance the troops, disrupt Tian Ge'er's formation, and create an opening for Yu Langwang's breakout." Upon hearing this order, the young generals who had just retreated from the front line—Ye Buyi and others—were stunned.

Zhou Liu's camp was one thing, but Ye Buyi, normally so calm, stormed forward to confront the commanding general: "General, why this? Our comrades just barely feigned retreat against Yu Langwang and have already suffered ten to twenty percent casualties. Morale is low—now you want us to drag ourselves forward toward Anxi City?"

"Even if this is a strategic shift, how many of our troops will die as a delaying force?! General, our comrades' blood and flesh may die for our homeland, but not in such a senseless way!"

Lu Youxian replied, his voice as hard as an ice plain: "This is the army."

"Gong Zhenyong, lead your unit forward. Do not let Yu Langwang fall here."

Ye Buyi stared at him, unblinking.

Zhou Liu and Zhou Pinglu pulled Ye Buyi back, bowing repeatedly in apology. Ye Buyi shook off Zhou Liu's arm, stiffly saluted to accept the order, then turned and strode away. Lu Youxian remained silent. Lan Wendu said: "General, rescuing Yu Langwang now—even if not openly declared—will surely invite suspicion."

Lu Youxian replied: "Our deception is merely to assist Yu Langwang."

"If Yu Langwang dies, our entire strategy in the Western Regions collapses. Do you not understand what is truly at stake? If Yu Langwang dies, our Great Chen state will be powerless to contend in the Western Regions—this is the end of the world's great tide."

"No matter how sturdy the fortifications we build, they are merely crafting coffins."

Lan Wendu was rebuked, and further angered by Lu Youxian's repeated obstruction of his actions in the border city. Accumulated resentment, combined with his mockery of Master Wen Qingyu—treating Master Wen Qingyu like a pawn, a clown—

Gradually, arrogance grew within him.

He came to believe that Lu Youxian and others had achieved their battlefield successes in the Western Regions solely because he had extracted sufficient intelligence from Master Wen Qingyu, that Lu Youxian, Ye Buyi, Gong Zhenyong, and others merely executed his strategies.

All because of Master Wen Qingyu's "support" and "cooperation."

Lan Wendu, once humble and composed, was gradually led astray.

He began to see himself as the peerless strategist who plans from behind the curtains and decides victory a thousand li away—always victorious in battle, always conquering in assault—and who could manipulate enemies to his own advantage, serving both army and state without betraying himself.

Lu Youxian? Master Wen Qingyu?

Just clowns and puppets—thinking of them makes one laugh.

The more he looked down on Lu Youxian, the more he bowed and withdrew.

Lu Youxian watched him depart, gripping his sword, growling: "This brute nearly ruined my grand plan. With battle imminent, I cannot execute an officer now—but if I could, I'd cut him down!"

He then thought of Ye Buyi. Such a direct young general—he had been there himself at that age. Lu Youxian fell silent for a long while. This famed defender of the city was weary. He sighed softly:

"Your Majesty, I hope your strategy succeeds."

"The world's great tide surges—why, of all nations, must our Great Chen rely on such meekness to claim the world? If we succeed thus, what then?! What then?!"

Lu Youxian slammed his fist onto the table, his voice heavy with exhaustion and regret—warring spirit unfulfilled—yet he failed to notice the flicker of strange light in Lan Wendu's eyes.

Between Ye Buyi and Zhou Liu's departure, Zhou Pinglu remained silent for a long while. He had begun to sense the Chen Emperor's scheme—perhaps it was to coordinate with Yu Langwang. If so, was the plan to make Chen Wenmian, Yu Langwang's son, the future legitimate heir of Chen?

Then what are we, these young generals, supposed to be?!

And if Yu Langwang rises to power, what fate awaits us, these generals who once clashed with Chen Wenmian in the Western Regions? Even if Chen Wenmian does not care, what of his old loyalists?

Zhou Pinglu suddenly realized: all of us young generals who followed Lu Youxian here—whether Chen Dingye's strategy succeeds or fails—we are destined to be discarded pawns. If it succeeds, Chen Wenmian ascends, and we will surely meet a grim end.

If it fails, our strategy in the Western Regions collapses.

We will become the frontline pawns blocking the Yan state, bearing the consequences of defeat and the Emperor's wrath.

The young strategist fell silent for a long while. After seeing through the Emperor's scheme, he felt a profound sense of helplessness and boredom. He was a genius—capable of seeing through many things even while trapped within the game.

But precisely because he was a genius, he understood more clearly: trapped in this game, powerless, forced to watch himself fall—quietly he whispered: "Your Majesty… you truly are a venomous dragon."

"The sovereign commands, the subject must die…"

"But…"

He suddenly recalled more than a year ago, when he was still at the Imperial Academy, playing the qin and chatting with friends, discussing the world. If Wen Lingjun were here, he would march forward with righteous clarity. If Yuan Zhi were here, he would seek survival through military formations.

If Wen He…

Ha. If he had faced this situation.

Now, Wen He could not be found at all.

That fellow had surely packed his bags and fled.

With his sharp instincts, by now he'd be at least three hundred li away.

Zhou Pinglu's thoughts paused.

He could imagine Wen He fleeing three hundred li.

That fellow? He'd be far beyond three hundred li.

Thinking of his old friend, Zhou Pinglu smiled.

Yet he felt the helplessness of being caught within a noble house.

After all, they were young and full of spirit, so he pulled Ye Buyi and the others aside, sternly warning them not to appear too eager: "Now, gaining merit is itself an error—the greater the merit, the greater the fault to come later. Remember this, remember well."

"If the situation becomes so dire that you and I are both to be discarded as pawns."

"Go to Anxi City, display your valor as much as possible, then find a way to be reassigned under the Anxi garrison under the guise of the Alliance forces, taking orders from them. As long as the Alliance holds, there will still be a path to survival."

In Zhou Liu's camp, Gong Zhenyong and the others still did not understand, but Ye Buyi seemed lost in thought.

Ye Buyi, solemn and calm, was a commander of the Fifth Heaven Realm—a talent unattainable by his generation. Once, over thirty young officers of the Jinwu Guard served under him, leading troops into battle, undefeated in every engagement.

Ye Buyi's command limit stretched nearly to thirty thousand.

Zhou Liu said: "But if we go to Anxi City, what of our families?"

Zhou Pinglu replied: "As long as the Alliance holds, our families will be safe. Even if the Alliance collapses and we face Anxi City in war, His Majesty's nature and methods would never harm our families simply because we are inside Anxi City."

"He would only treat our family members better and better, hoping to use this to drive a wedge between us and the lord of Anxi City. The Emperor is a dragon—yet cruel and venomous. Blind obedience will only invite cruelty from Mu Zi Yi."

"This is the only way to ensure the Emperor leaves our family unharmed."

Zhou Pinglu had seen right through Chen Dingye.

Then he looked at these young war commanders—Ye Buyi, Zhou Liu, Gong Zhenyong, and the other Jinwu Guard Captains—and said: "All of you, remember this: before you meet the lord of Anxi City, propose that the Alliance wishes to serve as the vanguard."

"As for the rest, you need not worry."

Ye Buyi remained silent for a long time. They had fought for so long—though they had earned merit, disappointment had piled up endlessly, until it finally erupted under Lu Youxian's two clear strategies of treating them as expendable pawns.

Zhou Liu said: "If we do this to protect our families, will the lord of Anxi City even accept us?"

Zhou Pinglu smiled: "If he is truly such a hero, there will be no problem."

He had already guessed the identity of the lord of Anxi City. The name Yan Daiqing of the Western Regions had spread—but it must be false. Yet only one person in all the world possessed the cunning, ruthlessness, and dominance to execute such a scheme.

For Wen Lingjun, Wen He, Yuan Zhi, Feng Xiao, Xiao Zhi, Wei Xuancheng, Fang Ziqiao, Du Keming, and Zhou Pinglu—the Nine Sons of the Academy—each knew the others far too well.

That very day, Zhou Pinglu sat straight up, and everything in the Western Regions fell into place.

The stench of this scheme nearly numbed his skull.

For days, Zhou Pinglu had not slept well.

It was his body's instinctive reaction to the Academy's number one scoundrel.

With the lord of Anxi City's magnanimity and Wen He's methods, once these young war commanders entered, they would never leave—and their pasts would be buried with them. Zhou Liu and Ye Buyi often drank together, speaking of old comrades.

Zhou Pinglu smiled and replied: "A true man, when he meets a lord who understands him, outwardly upholds the bond of ruler and minister, inwardly binds himself with the ties of kinship—his words are fulfilled, his plans followed, fortune and misfortune shared, achievements pursued together. How could one begin as a discarded pawn?"

"All of you, go."

Zhou Liu said: "Then what of you, elder brother?"

Zhou Pinglu said: "I have a gift of my own to give to that lord."

The young war commanders departed, leaving only Zhou Pinglu alone.

He bore no ill will toward Lu Youxian—he had merely seen through Chen Dingye's grand strategy, realized that from the very beginning, Chen Dingye had treated them as disposable straw, and his heart had grown cold.

When a ruler treats his ministers as straw, the ministers regard the ruler as an enemy!

Must a minister die if the ruler commands it?

The fourth great strategist of the younger generation laughed bitterly.

Bullshit!

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