Vol 2 Chapter 9 (1/2)
Even your life isn’t enough to atone for all the sins you’ve committed. Tell me Gong Hua, what should I do?
Everyone’s heading towards death anyways, but would your death be enough to offset this hatred of mine?
Of course not! One measly life isn’t enough!
But you only have one life. After I kill you, it’ll be gone.
Even if I kill you, it won’t be enough. And after you’re dead, I won’t have anyone to take revenge on…
―Cas
“Are you really not the one who wants to kill the peace offerings to start another war?”
Zhan ∙ West ∙ Paladin stood in front of the window in his study. When he heard the question, he turned around and said angrily, “Chris! Am I not the one who fought beside you in the war all those years ago? I know better than anyone, better than you, how tragic and devastating that war was! When Chakou fell, I was the one who led the remaining soldiers to escape. The Danyas weren’t the only ones chasing us back then, Nightclaw and his pack were also following our trail. Can you even imagine the tragedies I’ve seen?”
In contrast to West’s anger, Chris said calmly, “Those things happened twenty years ago. People often forget to learn from past lessons.”
“There are some lessons you can never forget your entire life,” West replied coldly.
Looking at West’s chilly expression, Chris didn’t want to quarrel with him anymore. “I apologize. I simply can’t think of anyone else who has the power to do something like this. Prince Edward isn’t an incompetent prince. For him to be unable to investigate the truth of this matter, I’m afraid only a few people are capable of doing that.
Upon hearing Chris’ apology, West calmed down. “You and I command two of the three spiritmancer regiments. There’s still that guy, the one who never experienced the disasters of war.”
Chris paused and looked at West. He asked, “Do you mean the commander of the Qi Sheng Regiment, Andrew Xi Jiang? The Qi Sheng Regiment is mainly responsible for protecting the capital, Qifeng. Even if a war were to happen, Andrew Xi Jiang would never be ordered to lead his regiment onto the battlefield. He doesn’t have any battle achievements at all… Perhaps he wants to utilize the war to weaken the powers of Xialan and the Racing Flames?”
“That’s probably not the case.” West frowned and continued, “His sons are all in the military. One of them, Anselo, is a spiritmancer you’ve personally praised before. If a war doesn’t happen, Anselo would never rise to the rank of Xi Jiang until his father dies. Not to mention, the process of obtaining a medal is strictly-regulated these days. Even if he’s a War Marshal, he would never be conferred a higher t.i.tle if he doesn’t obtain any battle achievements.”
Doesn’t the same apply to Owen? Chris did not voice out the thought. It was for this reason that he was suspicious of West for wanting to start a war. Without war, soldiers had no way of obtaining any achievements. Without achievements, rising to the military rank of Xi Jiang or obtaining a t.i.tle higher than War Marshal was impossible.
Owen was in the same situation as Anselo: both of them could only wait until their fathers retired from their positions before they themselves could rise to the rank of Xi Jiang by becoming the new commanders of their respective regiments. However, even then, it’d still be impossible for them to be conferred t.i.tles higher than War Marshal.
Although West treated his son harshly on the outside, Chris understood how he really felt on the inside. West didn’t love Owen any less than he loved Mila, he was only expressing his love in a different way.
West furrowed his brows and pondered the situation. “The Danyas are matchless in their swiftness and ferocity. Even though they don’t have any spiritmancers or spirit charmers, their inherently strong physiques more than make up for that deficit. Their only weakness is their food shortages. However, they live and subsist off of war. What they don’t have they can obtain by plundering. But that isn’t the biggest problem…”
“If another war starts between our two countries, would we be able to win again?” Chris murmured.
“We both know the answer to that question!” West continued a bit angrily, “No one knows better than us the real reason why the Danyas haven’t started another war these twenty years! If they hadn’t been scared out of their wits back then, why would those belligerent Danyas be willing to maintain peace for these twenty years!”
“The Danyas weren’t the only ones scared out their wits,” Chris said simply. “I was also scared out of my wits.”
If someone else had heard Chris, they definitely would have thought he was telling a joke. How could there have been anything that could’ve scared the calm and collected Commander Chris out of his wits?
However, West knew the man was telling the truth. He said seriously, “If another war starts, scaring the Danyas out of their wits again would be impossible as we don’t have…”
West trailed off. He didn’t know what words he should use to describe… Her.
“Gong Hua.” Chris finished the other’s sentence and added, “Even if you’re scared of her, don’t avoid her name. The Danyas were so afraid of her power that they haven’t invaded us for twenty years. They’re terrified of coming across her again…her power was that dreadful.”
“It’s fortunate that they don’t know we’ve lost Gong Hua,” West replied, but felt something was off. “Are you regretting the fact that you agreed to her execution?”
“No!” Chris immediately shook his head and refuted the claim. “I never approved of using her powers back then. It’s the same now. That sort of power shouldn’t be controlled by anyone.”
“If Owen hadn’t brought Gong Hua before me, the entire Racing Flames would’ve been annihilated. The Xialan Regiment wouldn’t have fared any better!” The Owen that West mentioned obviously wasn’t his son, but an old friend who had already pa.s.sed away.
Chris quieted when he heard West. He couldn’t deny that if it hadn’t been for Gong Hua, Zhan Yan might have fallen into Danya’s hands… No, it would be more accurate to say that the entire continent of Xi Zong would have suffered devastating losses. The way the Danyas were fighting back then, it didn’t seem like they would have quietly returned home after defeating Zhan Yan.
Gong Hua had only slaughtered around ten thousand Danyas. For a continental war, that number wasn’t enough to turn the war towards Zhan Yan’s favor. When the war first started, the Racing Flames had lost sixty thousand soldiers. Compared to that, the ten thousand Danyas Gong Hua killed wasn’t a large number at all. Despite that, the most important thing Gong Hua had done was plant the seed of fear in the Danyas’ hearts.
For soldiers to march forward fearlessly and slaughter their enemies, their enemies had to be at least someone they could defeat, not an evil spirit that was cleaning up the battlefield like she was merely weeding the yard.
Even if Chris didn’t approve of using Gong Hua’s powers, he had stayed silent when West sent her onto the battlefield. In a way, that was tacit approval. If Gong Hua were to be sent onto the battlefield, then thousands, or even tens of thousands of soldiers could be saved from dying. In war, that number was a lure that a general of the army couldn’t ignore.
“I don’t want another war, Chris. The fact that I’m in the pro-war faction is only a front for the public,” West said quietly. “Even if Owen never obtains any battle achievements or receives any rises in ranks or t.i.tles, at least that’s better than sending him to die on the battlefield. The Danyas aren’t easy opponents. Not to mention, Das.h.i.+ and Yi Shuang lies to our West and North. Much of Das.h.i.+ is covered with deserts and Yi Shuang is permanently covered with snow. The way they covet the fertile Old Zhan Plains is like how an eagle has its eye on a fat rabbit. Even if we manage to defeat the Danyas again, Das.h.i.+ and Yi Shuang might decide to take advantage of when we’re regrouping to invade.”
“Whether we want another war or not, the final decision lies in His Majesty the King’s hands,” Chris replied solemnly. “If the king doesn’t want a war, then I wouldn’t fight back even if my opponent has his sword up against my neck. However, if the king declares war, then as a solider, it’s my duty to become his sword and cut down his enemies!”
“Your stubborn views will attract you a horde of enemies!” West replied as he shook his head.
Chris smiled in response. “My duty is to become the king’s sword. As for whether it’s an appropriate time for war, that’s your duty to explain to the king.”
“Well, what an easy job you chose!” West said irritably. “If Andrew ever comes to challenge me, you better remember to mention that you’re supporting me.”
Chris smiled and said, “Why would that be a problem? Since when have I not supported you? If you really are pro-war, then I might hesitate a bit. But if you advocate for peace, then I won’t hesitate at all.”
West smiled back at the other, but couldn’t help a light sigh. The two of them were commanders of military regiments, yet if they had a choice, they’d rather not fight a war at all.
“Truly, it seems like the Danyas weren’t the only ones who were scared out of their wits.”
Yin Qie Zi expressionlessly walked down the hallway of the royal palace. The people he pa.s.sed by couldn’t resist glancing back at him, but the real reason why they kept stealing glances had nothing to do with him. Before going to the palace, he had put on the extravagant outfit Owen had gifted him. At the palace, however, his outfit wasn’t nearly extravagant enough, so that definitely wasn’t the reason why he was attracting so much attention.
The reason why people kept glancing at Yin Qie Zi was because the people strolling alongside him were of exceedingly high status: Prince Edward, the only son of Warlord Paladin, and two others who had clamored to join them―Gawain and Anselo.
All of the most important, powerful, and predetermined successors of the country were gathered around him! It would be odd if they didn’t attract any attention walking down the halls together. However, the one who drew the most eyes among them was still Yin Qie Zi, mainly because he wasn’t a successor of the country. It was like someone had stuck a bun made of coa.r.s.e grains amidst a feast of delicacies, but the coa.r.s.e bun turned out more eye-catching than any of the delicacies.
It was a frustrating matter.
Gawain made a point to frown at Yin Qie Zi the whole way down the halls while carrying on a whispered conversation with Prince Edward. The onlookers didn’t even have to think to know whom he was whispering about.
Yin Qie Zi’s expression was as hostile as it could’ve been. Gawain and Anselo frowned at his reaction, while Owen seemed surprised that Yin Qie Zi hadn’t decided to turn around and leave. The spirit binder was definitely getting better at restraining himself.
Besides Yin Qie Zi, Edward was also making an unpleasant face, albeit inwardly. He’d been thoroughly occupied with the matter of a.s.sa.s.sins these past few days, but now these four were nosing in, wanting a piece of the fun by saying that they were going to protect the Leaves. Although they were all strong fighters, their families’ influence was definitely stronger than their own personal strength. It’d be troublesome if something ended up happening to any one of them. So how could he actually send them to act as bodyguards for the Leaves?
Yin Qie Zi was probably the only person Edward could use out of the four. At least Yin Qie Zi wasn’t an heir to a large family. Moreover, he was also the strongest out of all of them. However, if something were to happen to Yin Qie Zi, Mila would probably have his head in return.
Though the other three couldn’t be used as bodyguards, they could be used to scout out the movements of the powerful factions within the country. That was one reason why Edward hadn’t outwardly rejected them for coming along. The best way to learn of everyone’s intentions concerning the looming war was to use these loose-mouthed n.o.bles who were in the know about everything.
Yin Qie Zi suddenly stopped and turned around to regard the others. He said coldly, “I want to go and pick out a Leaf alone. I won’t trouble you all with following me anymore.”
So he’s losing his temper after all? Owen nodded to himself. This was how Yin Qie Zi should be!
“You―” Gawain expression froze. He had meant to criticize Yin Qie Zi’s rudeness, but he swallowed his words after glancing at the prince standing beside him. He didn’t want to become a target for criticism himself by yelling at someone in front of the prince.
Edward wasn’t all that surprised at Yin Qie Zi’s reaction. Although he had never seen the spirit binder lose his temper, he’d heard Owen complaining about Yin Qie Zi for a whole year. Because of that, he had thought of Yin Qie Zi as an odd person who was both unreasonable and bad tempered. After meeting Yin Qie Zi, however, he felt that the spirit binder wasn’t as unreasonable as Owen had made him out to be.
“Are you selecting a male or a female?” Anselo suddenly spoke up.
Yin Qie Zi turned to frown at Anselo. He didn’t really understand this person who only had a thoroughly average appearance. Prince Edward could be described as elegant, Owen as handsome, and even Gawain as cultured, but there wasn’t any sort of praise that could be used for Anselo. He definitely wasn’t ugly, just average. His pair of eyes were constantly narrowed, as if he were smiling, but expressions rarely graced his face.
“Don’t tell me you plan on picking a female?” Gawain smiled and said, “That might not be good.”
“What’s not good about it?” Yin Qie Zi replied coldly. “Isn’t it even better to pick out a female and make Mila jealous?”
Gawain’s smile froze on his face. He didn’t expect Yin Qie Zi to make such a blunt reply. It was blunt enough that he couldn’t pretend that this whole exchange didn’t happen.
Owen immediately tried to smooth things over. “Gawain, this is just Yin Qie Zi’s personality! I’ve been made speechless with anger by him many times already. Don’t mind him!”