Chapter 1205: Barren Land (1/2)
Seeing squad after squad of mercenaries driving into Pagoda City and making a beeline for the defensive structures and turrets, the general could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. “Winning with numbers is not true ability!”
One of the mercenaries broke into a laugh. “If you’re really capable, why don’t you put together a group of ten champions?”
The general was speechless. None of the clans and families in Zheng possessed that many generals. This went to show just how terrifying Dark Flame was.
A different mercenary general said disdainfully, “Your Royal Tutor didn’t last three minutes against our commander. You can keep on being stubborn if you can take a single slap from him.”
The general was once again speechless.
His social circle was naturally made up of similar experts, and they had come to a fair conclusion about the Royal Tutor. As they saw it, the old man had lost since the first move. After taking Qianye’s Shot of Inception, Liu Zhongyuan was destined to be crippled if not dead. The moves that followed were not necessary at all. Qianye had probably intercepted the man because he wanted him dead on the spot. Otherwise, with how old and weak the Royal Tutor was, there was no way he would be able to maintain his divine champion state. That was akin to being crippled.
These high-ranking experts possessed a different level of insight. Reportedly, one of them had sensed the terrifying might of that shot and claimed that anyone under the divine champion realm would die without a doubt. The general thus knew very clearly that Qianye could kill him in a flash.
It was just that he couldn’t figure out why this murderous god would come to such a low-level place like Fort Continent.
It was at this moment that a massive shadow drifted across the city wall, and the battlecruiser flew over Pagoda City at a low altitude. At less than a hundred meters away, the citizens saw the battlecruiser as an unprecedented colossus, almost as though an entire street block was floating in the sky.
The main cannon stinging out from its bow, the two rows of auxiliary cannons on each side, and the bullet holes that proved how thick its armor was—all of them filled the beholder with nothing but despair.
As for himself, he might be able to charge into the battlecruiser if he were a divine champion and perhaps find a way to deal with it from the inside. But at rank-sixteen, he still couldn’t do battle in the void, let alone confront this nimble battlecruiser. He simply couldn’t overrun the warship and would probably be shot into a sieve midway.
In his dejection, he never noticed that a person had arrived before him.
“You’re one of Liu Zhongyuan’s disciples?”
The sudden voice startled him. When he saw that excessively beautiful young man before him, he suddenly connected the dots. “You’re…”
Qianye replied, “Correct, I was the one who defeated Liu Zhongyuan.”
The defending general collected his thoughts and said respectfully, “The Royal Tutor did indeed instruct me for a period of time. Later on, he saw that I had no hope of breaking through to the divine champion realm, and it just so happened that someone was needed to defend the western region. Hence, I was let go. Strictly speaking, I can only be considered his nominal disciple.”
“You’re called Xu Jingxuan, yes?”
“Yes.”
Qianye nodded. “I heard you have accumulated a fair bit of accomplishments against the dark races. Why are there so few soldiers in Pagoda City? Did you really think you can guard such a big region with what you have?”
Xu Jingxuan smiled wryly. “The princes have been fighting amongst themselves recently, so everyone has been coming to request troops. A commoner like me with no power or connections has no way to decline. It’s already a wonder that I was able to retain this much.”
Xu Jingxuan trembled as Qianye sized him up from head to toe. He felt himself being seen through entirely, and that all his secrets were being put into light.
The general felt easier only when the blue tinge in Qianye’s eyes faded away.
“Now that everything has been settled, would you be interested in following me on a westward expedition to drive the dark races out of this maple-leaf petal?”
Xu Jingxuan was excited but also hesitant. “Sire, this won’t be easy.”
Qianye smiled indifferently. “I know it’s not easy, so I’ll be at the van throughout the fight. You people can follow me from the flanks. Dying on the battlefield while fighting against the dark races is a much better fate than falling in a civil war. What say you? Do you dare?”
Xu Jingxuan’s blood began to burn. “Soldiers like us are born to fight and die on the battlefield. Why would I not want to seize territory from the dark races for our descendants? I would not have taken this post if I were afraid of death!”
But once the fervent episode was over, Xu Jingxuan said with a difficult expression, “It’s just that…”
“What troubles you? Speak freely.”
“My family is in the Royal Capital. All border generals like us leave our families and homes in the core region. If I follow you on this expedition, I will be considered a deserter, and that’s a crime punishable by familial execution.”
Qianye understood that this was a method the country employed to restrain border generals. It was the same for Great Qin in its early years. After a formal system was established for the major clans and families, the border regions were left to them to defend. The restraints placed upon border generals were relaxed thereafter.
The aristocracy located at the borders had to exchange the flesh and blood of their kin for every inch of land—land they planned to take root on. Hence, there were often examples of the defenders fighting to the last man during dark-race invasions.
Qianye said after some thought, “How about this? I’ll give you some time. Go to the Royal Capital and bring your family here. I will dispatch a corvette to send you back so that you don’t waste too much time traveling.”
“But…” Xu Jingxuan looked awkward.