728 Doubts (2/2)

”It's not the right time yet.” Standing before the desk, Gu Shenwei answered Second Consort's question with just six words.

”Then when will you think that it is the right time? The kings are about to lose the war, so now is the perfect time to demand their acknowledge of Prince Duodun's imperial identity as Khan. If we don't do this right now, I'm afraid that there won't ever be a better chance.”

Second Consort had under-performed. After handing over her cavalry force, she seemed to have been deprived of her confidence, along with her unique, bold, and forthright temperament.

Khan's comments about her suddenly occurred to Gu Shenwei: Her falling in love with prince Duodun was in of itself a punishment for her.

In a gentler tone, Gu Shenwei attentively explained, ”The Royal Court is merely a minor battlefield, while the whole grassland is the real stage. The chaotic situation has probably already ended in the southeast frontier region, from where a real, powerful enemy will arise. He, not the kings, will be the best opportunity for Duodun. Only the sole descendant of Khan who wins the final war will indisputably become the new Khan. The temporary acknowledgement of the kings is irrelevant.”

Eyes narrowing slightly, the Second Consort was obviously mulling over the Dragon King's words. ”And then you will hand your army over to Duodun?”

”If we don't make an alliance, then none of us will be a match for the strong enemy emerging from the southeast.”

”Nonetheless… I think that it's necessary to inform the troops of the existence of Prince Duodun. We can't just order them to pledge loyalties to a different commander for no good reason someday in the future.”

Gu Shenwei's eyes swept through the faces of the eleven people in front of him. 'I've only met Prince Duodun, once and I barely got to know him. I placed my faith in him because of you all. So, if he is, like you said, truly eligible to become a Khan, then under no circumstances will he have achieved nothing.”

Just like the southeast frontier, there were very few messages from the Western Region. Nobody knew whether the more than 100,000 strong cavalry was still under Duodun's command.

The Second Consort narrowed her eyes even more, and her wariness of Dragon King flared up.

Liman was the first one among the ten officers to step forward. He said, ”I think that the Dragon King has a point. We are not giving Prince Duodun a free army. He himself is capable of winning the loyalty of the grassland cavalry. In no case would he be defeated by a ten-year-old.”

”What concerns me is that the opponents he will have to face in the future will not merely be children,” Second Consort retorted as she stared at Dragon King. The situation had changed too fast. With the giant roc coming from out of nowhere, the Dragon King seemed to have suddenly cultivated some kind of divinity in himself, which made her feel alarmingly threatened.

Only descendants of Khan could be the rightful heir of the throne, but with supernatural power and the banner of the previous Khan, who knew how many tricks Dragon King would be able to play and how much more admiration he would actually win?

”I believe that the kid is totally incomparable with Prince Duodun. How much faith do you have in him after all?”

”Prince Duodun is indisputably the most valiant and intelligent man in the whole grasslands,” an officer said before the former one could even finish his sentence.

”Then what do you all have to worry about?” Gu Shenwei used ”you all” in each of his replies, but his eyes had been starting straight at the Second Consort the whole time.

All of a sudden, the Second Consort broke into laughter. In the same forthright manner she used to have, she turned to the officers and said, ”See? I told you that Dragon King is not that easy to deal with. Haha, he is of more help to Prince Duodun than all of us combined. We all have sharp eyes. Dragon King, we have just as much faith in you as we do in Prince Duodun.”

”I'm truly honored.” Gu Shenwei didn't act too modestly, but he also felt he should make some concessions. ”Prince Duodun's reputation is in your hands. As a foreigner, my recommendations are of little value. The troops are right here. The people who pledged their loyalty to you will do the same to Prince Duodun in the near future.”

It meant that Second Consort and her followers were free to publicize the name of Prince Duodun and that no interference would come from his side.

After they departed, the Second Consort returned to her usual manner, seeming highly content with this meeting.

Azheba stayed behind with an excuse of making an intelligence report. He was now one of the major commanders. With his superb archery, his name was becoming increasingly well-know.

Fang Wenshi found his chance to enter then, pretending to be raking in piles of paper while eavesdropping on them.

Azheba saw the military counselor and paid no particular attention, because he knew that Dragon King took much advice from this fat, white man.

He was even more straightforward than the Second Consort.

”I thought that the Dragon King was a hero, but now I'm a little doubtful about it now.”

Fang Wenshi barely managed to stop himself from turning his head and seeing how the Dragon King would deal with this bold offence from a subordinate, but all he could do was listen. The Dragon King didn't say anything, as if he was encouraging Azheba to keep talking, which greatly surprised the military counselor.

”When I heard that the Dragon King had stood out to protect a dozen of his men surrounded by hundreds of thousands of enemies, I believed that he had to be a deeply beloved supreme commander. When you were helping us tackle the crisis, I believed that you were a sage. And when you challenged the Great Shaman in front of the two opposing armies, I believed that you were a true king.”

Azheba tried his best to subdue his emotions, but his anger was growing uncontrollably. He was never good at speculating on the thoughts of his superior, and today he had made up his mind to face his commander head on. ”I was entirely disappointed with this battle. Do you intend to just get rid of the Court Attendants Army with one battle after another? They just pledged their loyalty to you and are spilling their blood for you in the battlefield without a hint of hesitation. You're burying your followers with your own hands.”

Fang Wenshi became anxious and gave several deliberate coughs to indicate to the Dragon King that he should stop Azheba from continuing. Schemes should stay covert and were not something to be discussed publicly. This general was violating a forbidden taboo.

But not only was Azheba surprised by his response, he was also disappointed. The Dragon King behaved very powerlessly. In a tone even more gentler than usual, he said, ”What else? Just list it all out.”

Azheba was panting heavily. Dragon King's attitude gave him nothing on which he could take his rage out. In a low voice, he said, ” Nothing more. I just want to know what you plan on doing with the rest of the Court Attendants Army.”

”Don't tell him,” Fang Wenshi thought. Then, the sound of Dragon King pulling out his saber gave him a sudden feeling of delight.