Chapter 316: Frontline fortress (2/2)

Hong, dong, dong, dong, dong……

Several dozen black chains were pulled back and an incomparably large iron bridge slowly came down, perfectly filling the wide and deep trench.The iron gate that was tight enough that not even a single leaf could come out slowly opened and several hundred cavalry soldiers charged out. Each soldier was wearing a black armour and holding a three meter long spear in their hand, quickly separating to both sides of the royal party.

A full bearded old general wearing black armour came out with several rows of officers, walking out of the fortress to offer their greetings, “This old soldier, Dongfang Zhan greets your majesty!”

The black armoured generals, cavalry, foot soldiers, and even the archers in the tower, each one had the symbol of the Dongfang Family on their armour.It was clear that these were all soldiers of the Dongfang Family. This senior general that was sent out to protect Southern Summer’s most important fortress had to be a high level member of the Dongfang Family.

This old general actually called himself an old soldier, this was an impressive display of humility.

Meng Qingwu was filled with respect, “This is senior marshal Dongfang Zhen?”

Chu Tian had never heard of his name, “Is he very famous?”

Meng Qingwu said, “Frontline marshal Dongfang Zhan, spending over fifty years on the frontlines.The Divine Wind Marquis, the Golden Arrow Marquis, and the others have all taken orders from the senior marshal before.Dongfang Zhan himself is an expert of the peak 9th Awakened Soul Layer, but his military merits surpass any single marquis.”

“Then why wasn’t he granted the marquis title?”

“This is the senior marshal’s most honourable point.”Meng Qingwu said with a look of admiration, “The senior marshal believed that the Dongfang Family had already enough prestige, having both the Southern Summer King and the head ruler.With such a stable position, why did they need another marquis? It was better to give the marquis title to someone else, using it to encourage a brave Southern Summer youth to kill the enemies for merit.He also said that he could still fight soundly on the frontlines even without the marquis title.”

So the matter was like this!

Dongfang Zhan was the frontline marshal, only being inferior to the Calm Martial Ruler.Although he had a highly respected position, but he never had a day of happiness, never marrying, and not even having a son.He had given most of his life to the Southern Summer Country, protecting its borders.

The Calm Martial Ruler had once praised Dongfang Zhan with, “Bravely serving the country, having an undivided heart, unparalleled courage, and having extraordinary strategy, even if the sky falls down, is there a need to fear the War Hounds Tribe entering my Southern Summer?!”

This was the highest appraisal the Calm Martial Ruler had ever given to an officer.

Dongfang Zhan was actually worthy of this appraisal.In fact, Dongfang Zhan was of a higher generation compared to the Calm Martial Ruler, being the uncle of both the Southern Summer King and the Calm Martial Ruler.

Before being titled a ruler, the Calm Martial Ruler had spent ten years experiencing the front lines, which he spent learning tactics from Dongfang Zhan.When Dongfang Gan had been titled the Calm Martial Ruler, his position had surpassed Dongfang Zhan’s. Dongfang Zhan did not have a single complaint, always following the Calm Martial Ruler’s orders, becoming his most efficient assistant.

“Old general, please quickly rise!”The Southern Summer King personally raised Dongfang Zhan, as he spoke with a look of guilt, “General has guarded the frontline fortress for many years, having great honour that no one could match, but never seeking a higher position.This king has not been worthy of this general since I’ve ascended, how could I accept this old general’s greetings?”

Dongfang Zhan’s face turned black, “A king is a king and a general is a general, how could this old soldier dare not offer a greeting?”

The Southern Summer King could not deal with his uncle’s stubbornness at all.He changed the topic and turned to introduce, “The Battle Dragon Army’s young commander, Wang Tianlong and the great scholar, Gu Qianqiu.This old general should be familiar with them.”

Wang Tianlong and Gu Qianqiu cupped their hands.

Dongfang Zhan greeted Gu Qianqiu, but he did not reveal any reaction to Wang Tianlong.This strange scene did not escape Meng Qingwu and Chu Tian’s eyes. This was a bit strange since Dongfang Zhan should have only met Gu Qianqiu a few times and Wang Tianong was not the same.

Wang Tianlong was a vice commander on the frontline and the young commander of the Battle Dragon Army.After Dongfang Zhan abdicated, the one most likely to take over as the frontlines commander was Wang Tianlong.So why did Dongfang Zhan not look at Wang Tianlong?

Could there be a contradiction between the two?

Dongfang Zhan’s eyes fell onto Chu Tian’s group and his two white, sharp brows tightly knit together, “Who are these two people?Forgive this old soldier’s rudeness, but the frontline fortress is not a place anyone can enter, random people are not allowed here!”

The senior general had a look filled with discontentment.

The Southern Summer King had come to the frontlines for an inspection, he had not mentioned anything about this.

The Southern Summer King had to come inspect the frontlines every year.On one hand, it was to inspect the frontlines situation and on the other hand, it was to respect the soldiers, letting them know that the kingdom did not forget about them, letting the soldiers raise their morale.

Could the Southern Summer King not know?

With the fortress’ heavy guard, not a single civilian was allowed to enter!

For the layout of the frontline fortress and the defenses hidden within, these were all national secrets, so how could normal people look at them?Now there were people here that they did not recognize, not to mention the fact that there were two of them!

A youth like Chu Tian was already acceptable, but what made Dongfang Zhan dissatisfied was that there was also a woman here unexpectedly.

This was a woman that could be considered a national flower!

The lives of the frontline soldiers were very barren, with many of them having not returned home in many years.For a beauty to appear in a place like this, it would easily cause a disturbance and would severely impact morale, which was intolerable for Dongfang Zhan!