Chapter 1207: The Will to Figh (1/2)

As for Xu Jingxuan’s family members, he never had time to pick them up. He only requested Qianye to send someone to the capital to bring them over. It could be assumed that Qianye’s foot soldier would hold more weight than Xu Jingxuan in front of the new king.

Qianye, of course, wouldn’t refuse such a small request. Xu Jingxuan was a rare, outstanding talent, one who would’ve broken through to the divine champion realm if it weren’t for having to grow up on Fort Continent. He was also a talented general, producing textbook-worthy accomplishments in several battles since his assignment to the western region. It was just that Zheng was too busy with civil strife to consider an expansion, allowing such good opportunities to slip away.

Now that Qianye was here with an unprecedented advantage, he naturally wouldn’t let go of this opportunity. Having found a glimpse of hope for the aspiration he had hidden deep inside his heart, Xu Jingxuan was highly motivated and dedicated to the cause.

Three days went by in the blink of an eye, and the army in Pagoda City was starting to take shape. The city itself couldn’t support an army in the tens of thousands, but the western region was quite fertile, so there were small towns and villages scattered all over the area. The population scattered in the vicinity was several times greater than that of the city itself, serving as the main source of troop replenishment. It was Xu Jingxuan’s familiarity with the situation that allowed him to set such a seemingly-impossible recruitment target.

But raising an army was no joke. The equipment alone was barely enough, and the subsequent consumption of supplies was no small number. Pagoda City’s food production and reserves were far from enough to support such an army.

Qianye understood this perfectly, but he did not object to this recruitment target. Xu Jingxuan understood from this that their future supplies would come from the dark races. He actually became more motivated after finding out Qianye’s will to fight.

Just as Pagoda City was at the height of activity, another unannounced guest arrived at their doors.

Qianye was stunned after listening to the attendant’s report. “Royal Guard? What are they doing here?”

The attendant replied, “This Royal Guard officer wishes to see you and discuss matters related to a handover.”

The attendant lowered his voice. “Yes, the officer wishes to confirm when you will hand Pagoda City over to them.”

Qianye was dazed for a minute. This demand was so outrageous that he couldn’t even get angry about it. He simply couldn’t figure out what kind of deity this Royal Guard officer was. For a split second, he really wanted to see what was in that person’s brain to entertain such thoughts.

But Qianye quickly pushed these wilful thoughts aside as there were numerous decisions for him to make. Xu Jingxuan might be capable, but many strategic decisions required his attention. The remaining time wasn’t even enough for him to cultivate; how could he have enough time to spend on such people?

He told the attendant, “Assemble all generals, I’ll be waiting for them in the war room in thirty minutes.”

The attendant ran away at top speed. Thirty minutes wasn’t long, and any delay might end up in people being late.

Moments later, all the generals had arrived in the war room, some of them huffing and puffing. Apparently, those people were located further away from the center and had to run at top speed. Qianye glanced at the time and found, to his satisfaction, that only twenty minutes had passed.

“I heard the Royal Guard is outside the city, how many people are there, where are they stationed?”

Xu Jingxuan stood up. “They have thirty thousand men under the command of the first and seventh divisions, the best in the Royal Guard. The commander is the vice-commander of the entire Royal Guard, Xue Yang.”

“The number one general of the Royal Guard, huh?” Qianye laughed. “How strong is he?”

Xu Jingxuan replied again, “Just like me, he’s rank-sixteen in cultivation. However, I heard he switched to a cultivation art handed down in the Zheng Royal Family after Royal Consort Xue was promoted. If we do fight, I’m more likely to lose.”

Qianye nodded. “No wonder his tone is so big.”

At this moment, the generals had all heard about this commander’s demands. His army of thirty thousand was less than ten kilometers from the city, seemingly ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

The mercenaries were all quite angry. If it wasn’t for Qianye’s presence, they would’ve started shouting to charge out. Xu Jingxuan, on the other hand, was quite reserved and his expression was serious. Even with the defender’s advantage, his six thousand soldiers weren’t a match for Commander Xue’s thirty thousand Royal Guards.

Seeing that everyone was waiting for him to speak, Qianye said, “Okay, let’s talk about organizing the new army.”

The new army’s organization was multi-faced. The food, lodgings, and supplies of fifty thousand men were no small matter. These generals knew that Qianye’s time was precious, so they summarized their reports as best they could. Even then, it took an hour for the discussions to end.

The attendant at the door peeped into the room repeatedly, looking quite nervous.

Qianye called the attendant in and asked calmly, “What’s the matter?”

The attendant said, “Sire, the emissary from the Royal Guard has been waiting outside. He’s already quite impatient.”

Qianye turned to Xu Jingxuan. “Is this one of your men?”

Xu Jingxuan stood up hurriedly, sweating on the forehead. “Yes, please punish me for the lack of discipline!”

Qianye said calmly, “What’s the point of leaving such a spineless person in the army? Drive him away.”

“I understand.”

Xu Jingxuan walked over to the door in large strides. He picked up the attendant and tossed him to one of his trusted followers, saying, “Take him away and remove his military rank, never accept him again!”

The follower affirmed the order and dragged the crying attendant away.

After Xu Jingxuan was back at his seat, Qianye said, “Since it has been brought up, let’s get it done with. It’s not an important matter, so there’s no need to discuss it in-depth. Jingxuan!”