World Online

by Srtyi

Earth Online – a virtual MMORPG that takes place in the future year of 2190 – a game that everyone will bet their futures on. Set in a map that is ten times the size of real-world Earth, players battle for supremacy in the first game to feature personal adventure, territory construction, and grand warfare. For every death you experience in the game, your level would drop back to 0.

16. 441

Read The World Online - Chapter 441- South Alliance Strikes online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 441- South Alliance Strikes

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

An hour later, Song Jia and her mother returned to the loft.

When Song Jia saw Ouyang Shuo and her father casually drinking tea, she knew that they had settled the official matters. Even so, Song Jia looked at Ouyang Shuo with worry. Only after he nodded did she cease to fret.

At night, Ouyang Shuo held a feast in the manor to welcome them. From his side, Cui Yingyu and Qing'er attended the feast. Oh, and of course, little Bing'er attended too.

Seeing Ouyang Shuo treat the two NPCs sisters so well, Song Jia's mother could not help but frown. However, she did not mention the matter during the feast.

Song Jia's parents spent a night in Shanhai City before leaving the next afternoon.

In all likelihood, a massive storm awaited in Tianshuang County.

However, Ouyang Shuo did not need to worry about this matter.

In their short interaction, Ouyang Shuo had already ascertained that his future father-in-law was not a simple person. Although he seemed invisible in the game, in truth, one could not underestimate the influence he had in his family.

Song Jia's father was highly supportive of Ouyang Shuo's proposal to establish a Song chamber of commerce.

Just as Ouyang Shuo was planning for post-war Zhaoqing matters, little did he know that a storm was slowly sweeping over Zhaoqing.

Lingnan Province, Jiaozhou Prefecture, Jade Buddha County.

Jade Buddha County was located at the southeast tip of Jiaozhou Prefecture. It was similarly a port city, and outside the city was the biggest harbor in Lingnan Province, Jiaozhou Harbour.

The seventy odd members of South Alliance had gathered here to discuss certain matters. The leader of the meeting was the Lord of Jade Buddha County, and the alliance leader, Hefu.

"Guys, Zhaoqing is about to fall. We can't just sit and wait." Hefu said solemnly, "If we don't take action, Shanhai City will target either Shaozhou or Jiaozhou next. In the end, the entire Lingnan Province will fall into their hands. Qiyue Wuyi building the Nanjiang Governor-General House shows his ambition."

"That's right. We must stop their invasion."

The one who spoke was Yuan Ping, the previous love rival of Ouyang Shuo. This aristocratic family son had watched his marriage attempt fail. Ouyang Shuo's actions had insulted and humiliated him, making him a laughing stock amongst aristocratic families.

When he mentioned Shanhai City, Yuan Ping gritted his teeth.

The Yuan Family was a pinnacle existence in South Alliance. Hefu and Yuan Ping's expressing their opinions caused an uproar in the meeting hall, as the Lords discussed amongst themselves.

They would need a lot of courage to go up against Shanhai City. Amongst the Lords, more than half had joined the Battle of Julu, where they had witnessed the strength of the Shanhai City Army.

Especially the final battle of the palace Guards. Their red capes were basically the stuff of nightmares.

It left such a lasting impression.

They could not imagine how an army could be so strong. Even the invincible Jiangdong Warriors lost. In comparison, their armies were basically uselessness.

Most crucially, that was in the battle map. The Lords did not know how many elite forces Shanhai City had in the main map.

After a period of time, Shanhai Territory was not a secret anymore.

A single Lord taking over Lianzhou Prefecture, Qiongzhou Prefecture, and Leizhou Prefecture, a simply terrifying affair. The other Lords could not dare to imagine how many troops Shanhai had.

The thought alone made people feel despair.

Now, they wanted to face Shanhai City head on, which obviously required courage aplenty.

However, Hefu's words made undeniable sense.

Before this, the fall of Leizhou Prefecture had stunned all the Lords in Lingnan Province. They did not expect Shanhai City to possess such a huge the appetite. Directly after occupying Leizhou Prefecture, they instantly turned their sword to Zhaoqing Prefecture.

If they watched on as Zhaoqing fell, it would be their turn next. The theory of slowly heating water to kill a frog was something they all understood.

However, knowing it was one thing, acting was another. Luckily, at the crucial moment, Hefu had stepped out. He insisted they start a war with Shanhai City.

"Leader, just say it. What should we do?"

After a tough battle, the members of South Alliance finally came to an agreement to act together.

When Hefu heard this response, he laughed heartily. At least they were not stupid. He looked around and said, "Send our troops to Zhaoqing and chase the Shanhai City Army out; it is best if we destroy them."

"Ah?"

The other Lords did not expect their alliance leader to have such a huge appetite. They thought that just stopping Shanhai City's attack was good enough.

Who would have expected that Hefu even wanted to destroy the Shanhai City Army.

Undeniably, if they could win this battle, South Alliance could gain great fame.

"Guys, please don't have doubts. Half of the Lords in Zhaoqing have already agreed to join South Alliance."

"Leader is a genius!"

Hefu had not even finished his words, and he had already won himself praise.

One could only say that Hefu was a man that placed a lot of heart into his actions. Long before Leizhou Prefecture fell, he had started to contact the Lords in Zhaoqing to discuss the formation of an alliance.

He really had foresight.

If not, in Ouyang Shuo's last life, Hefu could not have led the South Alliance to take control of Lingnan Province.

The current Zhaoqing Prefecture was split into three factions. Apart from a few that were neutral, they either were in the Shanhai alliance - Tianshuang Alliance or they had joined South Alliance.

On the verge of death, no Lord would willing just wait there.

With that, the situation in Zhaoqing grew more and more complicated.

After roughly knowing one another, they focused on the specific battle plans. South Alliance had seventy Lords, above half of which were grade 3 counties. Some of the leading ones were just a step away from upgrading to a prefecture.

Hefu suggested that for fairness sake, each territory would sent three thousand troops to form a 210 thousand alliance army to assist Zhaoqing Prefecture.

The three thousand army number was similar to the amount one would send to a battle map.

In that case, the teleportation fees and logistics was something each territory could somewhat afford. Even if they lost three thousand troops, the territory would not be badly hurt.

Even in the worst case, Shanhai City attacked Jiaozhou Prefecture or Shaozhou Prefecture, each territory would have enough soldiers to defend themselves.

Three thousand was a number that Hefu had chosen after much contemplation. Any higher would cause opposition.

Expectedly, even three thousand was a number that worried some grade 2 counties. To them, three thousand was a third of their troops.

Soldiers were important to a territory. They determined the life of death of a territory.

Each battle and war must be treated carefully.

If one was not a Lord, they would completely fail to understand the pressure from within.

One must know that in the wilderness, one mistake would cause a Lord to lose. At that point, even their entire territory might suffer destruction.

Additionally, sending out troops to help Zhaoqing Prefecture was to defend against a common enemy. Even if they won, they would not receive any rewards.

They could not say that once they won the war, they would stay in Zhaoqing and not leave, right? If that was the case, the entire South Alliance would break in minutes.

Hefu would not be so dumb.

Hefu took care of all their doubts.

Toward certain territories with problems, the alliance lowered the number of troops they had to send to two thousand. After these adjustments, the alliance army reached a nice two hundred thousand men.

In addition to the local armies of Zhaoqing Prefecture, Hefu was confident in their attack. He believe that they would not only chase Shanhai City Army out of Zhaoqing, they could even attack Leizhou Prefecture.

Of course, the prerequisite would be that Shanhai City would not send reinforcements.

Shanhai City was not foolish; they definitely would have some countermeasures.

The Battle of Leizhou and its happenings had already spread in South Alliance. The only change was the alliance Yanhuo Yaonie created.

After the Battle of Leizhou, Shanhai City had prepared for such a scenario.

Even so, Hefu was confident that Qiyue Wuyi would never have thought that not only the Zhaoqing Lords had allied, even the entire Lingnan Province Lords had gathered up.

"The wolf is coming!" These were not just empty words, as Shanhai City's threat to the neighboring territories was simple too great.

On the forums, some people said that the uprising armies in the wilderness were less scary than Shanhai City. They would rather face the threat of the uprising army than face Shanhai City.

However, a strong dragon was only equal to a local snake.

Hefu was confident that with 200 thousand troops, even though Shanhai City was a dragon, they could force Shanhai City to bow their heads.

After discussing the number of troops to send, they had to choose the target.

Based on the news from the Zhaoqing Prefecture Lords, the current Zhaoqing battlefield was locked in a stalemate. Thirty odd territories, which belonged to different factions at different positions, were biting at one another.

The three divisions of Shanhai City had split into three, as they pushed toward the south.

Any faction that stood in the attack path of the army surrendered without exception. Baiqi was calm; he did not move the troops rashly.

They would need to renovate and modify each city that they occupied.

He would wait until the city, as well as the subsidiary territories, formed some level of retaliation ability. Then, he would move forward. Step by step, he pushed Zhaoqing Prefecture to the edge of the cliff.

Baiqi saw it clearly. The Lords in Zhaoqing were unable to form up, and they did not dare to gather up to go all out against the Shanhai City Army.

With that, the battlefield proceeded as expected for the Shanhai City Army. If nothing went wrong, they would slowly swallow up Zhaoqing Prefecture.

To break out, the only way was to shift the army to the north of Zhaoqing. They would need to gather up the local armies to form unified a fighting strength.

With that, two hundred to three hundred thousand troops waltzed from north to south, searching for the Shanhai City Army for a head on battle.

However, Hefu did not think that way.

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Chapter 442- Target Tianshuang County

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

"Guys, where do you all think the key to the Battle of Zhaoqing lies?"

Hefu looked around and asked solemnly.

"Surprise?"

"No." Hefu shook his head, "The Shanhai City Army isn't composed of amateurs. Even if we launch a sneak attack, we would fail to gain victory with a single battle alone. You guys have probably heard of the battle of Tanmu County?"

"How would we not?" a Lord replied, "Shanhai City had a division trapped. Even then, the attacking army couldn't do anything to them."

At this point, all the other Lords probably understood.

That was right, under such terrible conditions, the alliance army still failed to do anything to the Shanhai City Army. It was just wishful thinking to try and replicate such a situation.

After such a lesson, the Shanhai City Army would unlikely fall for the same trick.

Winning stably and safely was their strategy.

Amongst the uproar, Yuan Ping suddenly stood up and loudly proclaimed, "I feel that the key to the battle is how to prevent reinforcements!"

When the other Lords heard that, they fell into deep in thought.

Only Hefu could not help but frown. Before the meeting, Hefu had a short conversation with Yuan Ping and a few other Lords.

At that time, the few of them had already arrived at a consensus.

If not, Hefu would not have confidence to push such an agenda during the meeting.

What made Hefu unhappy was that Yuan Ping actually did not stick to the agreement. He just directly spoke the conclusion to their meeting. Originally, Hefu was supposed to speak those words.

Hen, you want to increase your influence in the alliance?

The idea was right, but it was such a selfish decision. In his heart, he was already unhappy.

When Yuan Ping noticed the expression on his face, he did not care much.

In such a huge alliance, Hefu alone was not enough. He could not hold such great power, as he did not have the charm. To be able to obtain power, one needed to fight for it. Who cares about going through some despicable means?

Hefu was too old school.

Seeing that his words had shocked all the other Lords, Yuan Ping decided to strike while the iron was hot; he continued, "With the current three division strength of Shanhai City, we aren't afraid. What we fear is the situation where they send more troops. Think about it, if Shanhai City wants to send reinforcements, what is the fastest way?"

"Tianshuang County!"

At this point, some of the Lords reacted.

"That's right." Yuan Ping nodded. He did not seem to notice that Hefu's face had slowly turned black, as he continued, "The fastest way would be to teleport to Tianshuang County. Hence, the main goal is to strike down Tianshuang County."

The moment his words sounded out, applause broke out.

Some of the Lords were looking at Yuan Ping with awe and worship.

Of course, some old foxes smelled the gunpowder in the air, so they did not make a sound.

Luckily, Yuan Ping knew what was enough and returned to his seat. He also knew that he could not successfully challenge Hefu in just a day.

Hefu looked coldly at Yuan Ping. However, he wore a large warm smile on his face, "Yuan Ping's words make sense, and I agree."

"Now, the key is how to take down Tianshuang County without alerting Shanhai City?"

The teleportation formation had not been destroyed before, so the moment a territory was occupied, the teleportation formation would disappear. This was the way it would normally work.

No one had heard of any teleportation formation being destroyed.

Hence, the moment they attacked Tianshuang County, Shanhai City's Army could teleport over to assist. If that happened, wouldn't everything go to waste?

The only way was to prevent Tianshuang County from contacting Shanhai City.

After the system update, during wartime, Gaia had already prevented all communication channels. If one wanted to spread information, they had to go through relays.

Apart from that, Tianshuang City could also directly teleport to Shanhai City to report to them.

Hence, to achieve a situation where both sides did not notice, one had to block up both sides.

This was too hard.

Song Wen was not a fool. During wartime, Tianshuang County was heavily guarded.

You want to send someone in to sabotage?

Difficult!

Even if you infiltrated Tianshuang County and blocked up the teleportation formation and relay, the moment the army arrived, it was over.

Hence, this mission was impossible to complete.

Even Hefu did not have the confidence.

Prior to this meeting, the results of the few Lord's discussion were: they needed to infiltrate first. Then, would see how long they could cause sustained damage to the structures.

The main goal was to gather up the troops and crush Tianshuang County. Even if the Shanhai City Army teleported over, they would also be finished.

Hefu's confidence came from two sources.

Firstly, the expensive teleportation costs meant that Shanhai City could not teleport over too many at once; thirty to forty thousand troops was the max.

These troops could not face off against a two hundred thousand men army.

Secondly, Shanhai City could not gather enough troops in such a short amount of time. Shanhai City was not a town but a prefecture, so their main forces would not all be in their main city.

Hence, they could at most send the troops housed in Shanhai City. Those elsewhere, even if they rushed back, South Alliance would have already crushed Tianshuang County at that point.

Based on these two points, Hefu was confident.

Of course, there was an element of risk. After all, the number of troops in Shanhai City was a mystery. No outsider could be certain how many there were.

Apart from that, there would be the possibility of interference from the other Shanhai Alliance members.

The moment Qiyue Wuyi asked for help, they would have a problem at their hands. A hundred thousand men could teleport over at any moment.

Thinking about it, one already had goosebumps.

After all, could they move allies to disturb the other Shanhai Alliance members?

Could they do that? No.

In the end, they were just a regional alliance, without connections and power.

Ask for help, work together?

That was not reliable.

Such a shark, the moment one made contact with them, they would be hard to shake off.

An olden phrase was great here, 'Inviting a god was easy, sending them away was hard.'

This was only a battle of reinforcements, not one of survival. Hefu definitely would not be willing to associate himself with those wolves.

Hefu was also from an aristocratic family, so he understood the ways of Di Chen and the others.

Too risky.

Hefu was also one with ambition; he would not allow others to take control of him.

So, what should he do?

As the alliance leader, he faced the greatest pressure.

The moment he failed, not only would his alliance leader position be lost, the entire Lingnan Province would be affected. Then, it would merely be a matter of time before they fell into the hands of Shanhai City.

Hence, any battle strategy needed to be carefully thought out to the extreme.

In serious terms, they needed to do everything perfectly. However, the current situation did not allow them to be so careful.

As they all thought about this, the hall fell totally silent. All the Lords seated were not fools. This was a life or death battle; all sides wanted to win.

Attacking Tianshuang County was still risky.

However, they had to do so and quickly at that.

Everyone knew that Tianshuang County was a huge nail in their sights on Zhaoqing. If they did not remove it, they could not go all out against the Shanhai City Army.

If not, when both sides went head-to-head and a huge army suddenly rushed out of Tianshuang County, their plans would be spoilt.

"Why don't we surround them but not attack?" someone suggested.

"What do you mean?"

Hefu was stunned and asked.

"I mean that we should arrange sixty to seventy thousand troops to surround Tianshuang County. However, we won't attack them, just surround them. How about that?"

"That's interesting."

"However, in that case, we would have to reduce the number of alliance army troops."

"That's right, taking out sixty to seventy thousand troops all of a sudden, do we still have the confidence to destroy their main army? You must know that apart from the three divisions, they still have a Garrison Division in Leizhou Prefecture. Along with the Tianshuang County city protection division, their numbers would already reach sixty to seventy thousand."

"There's a risk, but it's better than sieging!"

"If no one has any other ideas for the battle, then that is our only way."

Hefu sighed and looked around, 'Any of you have any ideas? This is really important, so please chip in your thoughts."

The moment his words sounded out, the hall burst with various voices.

The Lords spoke incessantly; they said out their ideas one by one, which were all rejected.

Half an hour later, the voices grew weaker and weaker.

It was obvious that no one had a good idea.

Only Yuan Ping sat calmly at a corner, his mouth slowly turned into a gleeful smile, and his chest pumped up with confidence.

The most crucial person was naturally left last.

"Guys."

Yuan Ping suddenly stood up. His voice was not loud, but he had become the focal point of the entire hall.

When Hefu saw Yuan Ping's actions, he felt a growing annoyance. This a*hole, he only knew how to snatch the limelight. However, Hefu did not express his thoughts because of his good upbringing.

Yuan Ping did not care about Hefu's feelings. For this battle, Yuan Ping was highly confident. He wanted to use this chance to expand his influence in the alliance.

Yuan Ping walked to the middle of the hall and looked around. He smiled, as he said, "Guys, I've an item that can break Tianshuang County's teleportation formation."

Earth-shattering, truly earth shattering!

"Yuan Ping this matter is huge; you can't sprout nonsense. The teleportation formation is system-built, so how can you break it?" Hefu could not take it anymore and scolded out.

When Yuan Ping heard this response, a flash of coldness appeared in his eyes, as the corner of his mouth revealed a slight mocking expression.

Hen, I was waiting for these words.

Watch how I'll deliver a slap to your face.

As expected from a scheming prince, Yuan Ping had really planned it all out. What item was he going to take out that made him feel so confident?

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Chapter 443- Formation Breaking Talisman

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Only to see Yuan Ping smirk, as he took out a talisman from his bag.

"Guys take a look, this talisman is known as the Formation Breaking Talisman. Its specific purpose is to break teleportation formations. This is a treasure that I expended much effort to find. I'm especially taking it out to aid the alliance."

The Lords took the talisman and passed it around. Instantly, shock and awe filled the hall.

Formation Breaking Talisman: Once you paste this talisman onto a teleportation formation, you can stop its operation for a day.

Strictly speaking, this talisman could not be called a real formation breaking talisman, as it did not really break the teleportation formation. It would just stop it for a day.

Apart from that, the talisman also made it clear that it could only be used on territory teleportation formations, not on imperial city teleportation formations.

Even so, this talisman could be considered priceless. Especially to South Alliance, its presence was comparable to a god weapon.

Although it was only one day, if used properly, they could take down Tianshuang County with no problem.

Even Hefu was shocked, he did not expect Yuan Ping to actually possess such an item.

Such schemes, such methods.

Yuan Ping had this talisman all along. However, he did not leak anything before the meeting. Even during this meeting, he had kept his silence and allowed the other Lords to discuss.

Only at the very end did he reveal his huge secret.

Utilizing this method, the members of South Alliance would feel gratitude toward Yuan Ping. At the same time, after Hefu doubted Yuan Ping, his reputation was dealt a blow.

Hefu cold smiled, as they would say, 'Intelligence in turn, turns around to bite you.'

Yuan Ping was too scheming, and he had underestimated his allies. Did he really think that others would not notice his small actions?

Childish!

Inside the meeting hall, many Lords were ecstatic. The young Lords were naturally pleased with Yuan Ping, while the more experience and smart Lords silently frowned.

This Yuan Ping was really a jerk.

He had a special weapon from the start, but he did not take it out. Instead, he allowed them to discuss until they hit a dead end.

Was he just bent on seeing them make a fool out of themselves?

Yuan Ping was not a fool either, so he could sense the weird atmosphere in the hall. After a brief moment of thought, a realization him.

He was too greedy, too greedy.

He needed to do something. Otherwise, he would waste all his effort.

"Guys, I, Yuan Ping, has joined this large alliance. Seeing the alliance in such danger, I'm willing to give up this talisman. Not only that, for the task of infiltrating Tianshuang County, I'm willing to take responsibility for that matter too." Yuan Ping seemed to be smiling, but he was bleeding deep down.

Originally, he had expected the alliance to purchase this talisman. If he placed this talisman on the market, it could sell for more than tens of thousands of gold.

This time, he could only bear the pain.

"Great, Lord Yuan Ping is righteous."

Yuan Ping's actions had gained him praise. Without bothering about the reasons behind his actions, just his contributions to the alliance were evident to everyone.

When Yuan Ping heard such a response, he secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

After the meeting ended, some Lords took the initiative to talk to Yuan Ping.

Yuan Ping replied to them one by one, as he enjoyed the fruits of his success. Only Hefu had a weird expression on his face.

8th month 6th day, Tianshuang County.

The entire Tianshuang County was already in a state of high alert; outsiders could not even enter. They had even set the teleportation formation to specified teleportation, where only people the Lord selected could use it.

The people within Tianshuang County were scared and jittery.

Not only because of the imminent Battle of Zhaoqing, as within the Song Family, a change had also occurred. After Song Jia's father returned, he laid all the cards out on the table with his father that very night.

All of a sudden, a storm brewed.

The entire Song Family was flipped upside down.

Some people supported Grandfather Song, while some supported Song Jia's father.

The battle of control between the two generations had officially entered a crucial moment.

These past two days made the situation really clear. Song Jia's father, Song Tianxiong, acted quickly and suppressed his second brother, Song Tianli, as he slowly obtained the upper hand.

Song Jia's Grandfather was slowly pushed into a tough spot.

If matters proceeded like this, giving up control was his best option.

At this point, he was also a smart person; he was already prepared to accept his failure. He really did not expect to lose to the hands of his own son.

However, today, the situation suddenly changed.

The grandfather of the Yuan family expressed that he could not bear to watch the younger generation humiliate Grandfather Song, so he wanted to come over to Tianshuang County to seek justice along with two other families.

When Grandfather Song received the letter, he weighed everything and decided to agree.

He did not know the true reason the Yuan Family was so eager; they were scheming something. However, he was currently in a pickle, so the Yuan Family was his best chance.

At this point, he could only try his best to save his own skin.

When Song Tianxiong received the news, he felt furious, but he did not dare to reject.

Aristocratic family; aristocratic families were a circle of friends. If he wanted to live on in that circle, he could not have the title of someone who humiliated the older generation. If not, he would not be able to gain a foothold in the circle.

That morning, the representatives of the three families teleported over to Tianshuang County. The moment the four families met, naturally, each side would express their own views, thinking that they were right.

However, they could not resolve the situation. As such, it ended in a stalemate. The same day, the representatives of the three families decided to just stay; they stated that they would not leave until they settle this matter.

Song Tianxiong was very unhappy about their behavior.

No matter what they said, this was an internal matter.

Why are you all being such busybodies? Even if you are, you can't just stay here and not leave, right?

The entire Tianshuang County was thrown into chaos.

Song Tianxiong's brother, Song Tianli, thought he had found a backing, so he started to make noises again.

Amidst the chaos, a huge scheme slowly creeped in. That night, a man in a black shirt walked out of an inn and headed to the teleportation formation. He stuck a talisman onto the teleportation formation.

A white shine glowed, and the teleportation formation immediately stopped working.

Everything was done in a ghostly manner; no one else even noticed.

The next morning, a fellow that looked like a butler arrived at the relay.

"Who are you?"

During wartime, members of the city protection squad guarded the relay. Song Wen had sent out orders to not allow strangers to collect and send letters at the relay.

"I'm the Yuan Family's guard. I'm here to send a letter for the Grandfather."

The guard stopped him and said, "The Lord has orders. During wartime, strangers cannot use the relay."

"Are you blind, am I a stranger? Even if I am, is the Grandfather of my house a stranger?" The butler instantly raged out and scolded.

Seeing the situation, the guard did not do anything, "Please calm down, this is my duty. Without orders, no one is allowed to enter."

"You!" The butler was furious, "Such nerve, you wait!"

As he said these words, he was about to leave.

Coincidentally, Song Tianli passed the relay.

When the butler saw Song Tianli, he shouted in delight, "Sir, sir."

"Who's calling me?"

Song Tianli walked over.

"Sir, I'm a butler of the Yuan Family. We met yesterday."

"Oh, it's you."

After the reminder, Song Tianli recalled that such a person worked for the Yuan Family Grandfather.

Seeing the letter in his hand, Song Tianli asked, "Why, are you here to send a letter?"

"That's right. The Yuan Family Grandfather had something urgent, but he pushed it away to rush over. Now, he's away, but he still needs to handle the urgent matter at home."

"He's so righteous, help me thank him."

When Song Tianli heard these words, he felt touched, See, that is called brotherhood, that is called righteousness. Without the help of the Yuan Family, he would have really lost.

Song Tianli pointed to the guard in front of the relay and asked, "Then what's this?"

"Haiz." The butler sighed, as he frowned," I wanted to send the letter, but I was stopped. They said that it was the orders from Lord Song Wen."

The butler purposely emphasized the words 'Lord Song Wen.'

"Hen, preposterous."

As expected, when Song Tianli heard these words, he immediately exploded. This master was hot tempered. Furthermore, he had been through a lot today, so he was in a bad mood.

"Insolent servant, do you recognize me?"

"Yes, yes."

Although the guard felt humiliated, he did not dare to retort. No matter what, Song Tianli was a member of the Song Family, and he was a member of the people who lead the county. He, as a guard, did not dare to anger them.

"Good, apologize immediately to the guest."

Song Tianli said in a forceful and fierce manner.

The guard was helpless, and he could only do as said. Who knew that the humble-looking butler would now put on such an arrogant and despicable face.

He had no choice; he was lower ranked than him.

Tianshuang was not like Shanhai City. Rather, there was no other territory that treated NPCs the way Shanhai City treated them.

Knowing or unknowingly, one would feel that you were better than the NPCs.

The butler arrogantly accepted the apology.

Only then did Song Tianli's anger feel appeased, "What are you standing there for? Step aside and let the guest send the letter. If you affect their matters, can you handle it?"

When the guard heard these words, he was put in a tough spot.

Apologizing was not a huge matter but stepping aside was difficult.

Looking at Song Tianli, the guard stuttered, "But, but, the Lord has orders..."

He could not say out the following words, as the furious Song Tianli had walked up and slapped him.

"Bastard. My words cannot be compared to his orders?!"

The guard did not dare to say another word.

The other guard was smart. Seeing the situation, he stepped out to resolve it, "Second master's words, we naturally will listen to. He's new and doesn't know the rules. Please don't be angry."

"Hen." Only then was Song Tianli appeased.

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Chapter 444- Tianshuang County Falls

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

When the butler Song Tianli's actions, he turned around, looked at the latter, and cupped his fist.

"Thank you, Elder Song."

Song Tianli waved him off and walked away. In his eyes, this butler was only a servant; he was just a servant in a somewhat higher position.

In the end, he was still a servant.

Hence, facing such a person, Song Tianli did not have the mode to deal with him.

When the butler saw this treatment, he lowered his head modestly, but coldness flashed in his eyes, Stupid fellow, to actually underestimate me like this. Today is the death day of your family.

After Song Tianli had completely left, the butler waltzed into the relay.

When he passed the guard, he purposely stared at him arrogantly.

The guard did not bother reacting.

The butler walked into the relay and found the manager.

When the territory built a relay, the system would naturally spawn a manager to be in charge of the collecting and sending of mail. The manager did not belong to the territory, so if he died, he would revive in a day.

The manager laughed as he waved, "Guest, are you sending or receiving?"

"Neither."

"Neither? Then what are you here for?"

"To kill you!"

"You!"

Before the manager could even finish his words, a needle stabbed into his heart with lightning speed. The poison entered his body and spread, causing him to die instantly.

This unassuming butler was actually a martial arts expert the Yuan Family had spent a large sum to hire. For this operation, the Yuan Family had really expended a lot of effort.

With a flash of white light, the body of the manager disappeared. He would only revive a day later. The guards outside did not hear anything, so naturally, they would not enter to take a look.

The butler cleaned up the scene and walked out cooly. Just like that, they had sabotaged both the teleportation formation and the relay, completing blocking the Tianshuang County's communication route to the outside.

After the butler left, the arrived at a remote alley and shot out a signal bullet before disappearing.

"Who shot the signal bullet?"

Song Wen had just gotten up and was training in the courtyard.

"Men!"

"Present!"

"Go investigate."

"Yes, my Lord!"

At this point, any small movement would trigger his sensitive being. His Father was trying to rally the family and as the eldest son, he had to ensure that nothing went wrong with Tianshuang County.

When he woke up, Song Wen already felt that something was off. When he suddenly saw a signal bullet, he felt a bad premonition, as if something big was about to happen.

Just as Song Wen was frowning deep in thought, the two hundred thousand troops of South Alliance had swarmed toward Tianshuang County. The huge army directly entered the surroundings of Tianshuang County through the teleportation formation.

The moment they received the signal, they immediately charged out of the camp.

The guards at the city gate trembled in fear upon seeing the huge army bear down toward them.

Two hundred thousand troops; when they lined up together, one could not see the end of them. Instantly, a black tide gathered around the city and swarmed toward the county like a flood, as they threatened to swallow up Tianshuang County clean.

Under the blue sky, the black flood charged, their flags waving in the sky.

Formation after formation gathered up orderly, sword-shield soldiers, archers, and cavalry. In the midst of the troops were siege chariots, trebuchet, as well as archer turrets.

Before the army even reached the city, their overbearing presence engulfed the city.

The killing intent covered the sky, making it hard for one to breathe.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The heaven-breaking shouts reverberated through the wilderness.

The soldiers stepped forward along with the beat of the drums, as they shouted their chants. They crushed everything in their way to dust. The commoners living outside the city were all killed; they did not even have a chance to run away.

Within several square miles of the city, the soldiers filled any and all empty space.

Run? Where to?

Amongst the formation, an arrow rain shot out and sent the commoners down the path of the Yellow Springs.

The army did not even flinch, as they stepped on the bodies and moved on. They did not waste any time. It seemed like they felt they had not killed people with lives but a bunch of ants.

In a chaotic world, what pity remained?

The city gate was a disastrous mess.

"Don't squeeze; don't squeeze!"

"Let me in; let me in!"

"Son, where's my son; has anyone see my son?" Amongst the crowd, a madame was walking in the opposite direction, looking worried.

"Close the gates. Quick, close it!"

At this crucial moment, the city guards did not even bother about the lives of the people and directly pulled up the drawbridge. They killed anyone who dared try and stop them.

"Ah, murderer! The army killed people!"

"Devils! You are all devils!"

"You are all going to hell!"

"It's me, your neighbour, save me!" One woman shouted at one of the soldiers, anxiety evident in her words, but her voice still contained a thread of hopefulness.

That guard seemed as calm as water, like he was totally deaf, as he waved his sword. However, on his face, two stream of tears flowed down.

These people were their neighbours; some were even their family members.

Today, however, the soldiers needed to sacrifice them, what kind of cruelty was that? That woman was killed amidst the chaos before she could be saved; her expression filled with shock.

The other woman, who had lost her child, was still shouting out to try and locate him.

"Son, Son!"

Just at this moment, at the corner of the city gate, a young child walked out.

The woman let out tears of joy, as she walked up. She tried to push the people away to get to her son. His face similarly had a wide smile; he looked truly adorable.

Suddenly, a sharp arrow pierced through the air and directly embedded itself in her chest.

"Argh!"

The happy expression remained on her face, but immense fear and worry filled her eyes. At this moment, all she thought about was the safety of her child. Her own life was not important.

"Waaaa!"

When the young child saw his mother fall and not rise up, he cried out.

His cries, amidst all the chaos, seemed exceptionally ear piercing. At this very moment, a guard could not take it anymore, so he rushed out to carry the child.

"Waaaa!"

The young child could not stop crying, as his head constantly turned back to the position where his mother fell.

The eyes of the brave mother, upon seeing her child saved, flooded with gratefulness. Along with her, many other civilians were sacrificed.

Before the battle even began, bodies and blood filled the city gates.

In such moments, human life was like dirt.

"Quick, report to the Lord!"

The guard trembled, as he spoke with clattering teeth.

"Yes!"

One guard hurried down the city wall and dashed straight for the Lord's Manor.

Even with the guards report, the sound of the war drums had already caused unrest in the city. The commoners inside were far too familiar with this sound.

All of a sudden, the commoners panicked.

Just as Song Wen rushed out of the Lord's Manor, he bumped into the guard that was on his way to report.

"What's happening?"

Song Wen tried to calm himself down. At such a moment, everyone could panic, except for him.

"Lord, Lord it's bad. An enemy, a large army."

The guard was obvious freaked out, as he stuttered in his speech.

"How many, which army?"

Songwen was not furious, as he asked in a soothing and concerned tone; his words had the power to calm one down.

Hearing Song Wen's words, the guard regained his composure, "We couldn't count them all, but there are at least more than a hundred thousand. There were many flags that we have never seen before."

When Song Wen heard these words, his eyebrows locked up tightly.

Within Tianshuang County, there were only three thousand troops. Song Wu led the main force, which joined the Shanhai City Army under Baiqi.

Song Wen did not expect the enemy to turn their eyes to Tianshuang County.

This did not make sense; it did not make any sense.

The Lords of Zhaoqing Prefecture could not even protect themselves. Why would they launch an attack on TIanshuang County?

Thinking about how the guard mentioned many unknown flags, Song Wen realized that powers outside of Zhaoqing had thrown themselves into the mix.

As for their identity, it was not important anymore.

Most importantly, he had to think of how to get past this situation; Tianshuang County could not fall.

If they fell, they would not just affect Shanhai City's strategy. Most importantly, the county was the hard work of their family. If it fell, the Song Family would lose everything.

Thinking up to this point, Song Wen felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Men!"

"Present!"

Song Wen took out his lord verification item and passed it to the guard, "Take this and teleport to Shanhai City. Ask for help, and say that it is an emergency."

"Don't worry, my Lord!"

The guard knew that a serious matter was on hand, as he turned around and dashed for the teleportation formation.

Similar to Shanhai City, the teleportation formation in Tianshuang County was near the Lord's Manor. Just as Song Wen was about to check on the battle, the guard's shouts rang out.

"Lord, it's bad!"

The guard ran over; his face ashen white.

Song Wen felt another chill run down his spine, as his bad premonition grew stronger and stronger.

"Say it, quickly!"

"Lord, the teleportation formation has stopped working; we can't use it."

"What?"

Song Wen panicked, unable to maintain his calm.

At this moment, Song Wen knew that Tianshuang County had lost, and the Song Family was finished.

"Lord, Lord!"

The guard looked at Songwen with concern, as his expression grew more and more anxious.

"I can't fall. Even if we battle to the last one, the Song Family will not surrender."

Song Wen tried his best to calm himself down. He already had no mood to investigate why the teleportation formation had failed. The most important matter was to inform Qiyue Wuyi and Baiqi of the situation.

"Go and check to see if the relay is working."

Song Wen wrote a letter and instructed the guard.

This weird situation made Song Wen sense a huge scheme. At this moment, anything weird and outlandish was possible.

The relay was the only communication channel to the outside for Tianshuang County.

Please be okay, Songwen prayed in his heart.

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Chapter 445- Song Wen's reply

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

A short while later, the guard returned, his face ashen white.

Song Wen raised his head. His heart stilled upon seeing the guard's expression.

"Speak!"

"Lord, the relay manager was assassinated."

Bada!

The brush in Song Wen's hand fell to the table, the ink splattered everywhere, making the unfinished letter messy and dirty.

It was too much of a coincidence!

Song Wen knew that if something was too much of a coincidence, it was not a coincidence but a plot. Thinking back to the broken teleportation formation, it was obvious that someone purposely tampered with it.

Who would it be?

During wartime, Tianshuang city was on high alert; no outsider could enter the city.

Is it them?

Thinking up to this point, Song Wen's expression turned cold.

"Men!"

Song Wen's voice was really low, filled with disgust.

"Lord!"

The same guard replied; he was Song Wen's right-hand-man.

"Go check. In these past two days, who went to the relay? Especially from last afternoon to this morning."

"My Lord!"

"Oh?"

The guard did not move. Instead, he approached Song Wen and said softly, "Lord, when I went to the relay to check, I asked the guard there, and he said that a butler of the Yuan Family had entered."

"Bastard!" Song Wen was furious, as he smacked the table, "Didn't I say, without my orders, no one can enter? You can't even stop a simple butler?"

"My Lord, please don't be angered."

"Based on the guard's words, second elder ordered them to listen, and he even slapped one of the guards."

When Song Wen heard this news, his face turned so dark that water was about to drip out. The brush in his hand had snapped into half, resulting in an ear piercing pa! sound, showing the anger in his heart.

This Lord was on the verge of exploding, merely moments away.

A traitor in the family!

Before this, Song Wen could not understand his father's actions in the family. He thought that his father was too cold. He did not expect Tianshuang County to fall because of his own family.

Even if they managed to survive, it was time to settle family matters.

"Send men to gather up the Yuan Family people."

Song Wen's voice was icy and completely emotionless.

"Yes, my Lord!"

The guard felt shocked; this was the first time he saw his Lord so angry and emotional. In his eyes, Song Wen was a calm and polite Lord.

This was the first time he had completely closed up his heart.

After the guard left, Song Wen started to plan. He was clear that without reinforcements, Tianshuang County would definitely fall.

To fight head on was not a smart idea.

He needed to consider how to minimise their losses.

The Song Family was not truly lost. For such an aristocratic family, they obviously had a way out. When he first built Tianshuang County, the Song Family had already prepared an escape route.

Who knew they would need to use it so quickly?

After Song Wen walked out of the room, he met his father before leaving the Lord's Manor.

His father would naturally inform the family members. Song Wen, as the Lord, had better things to do. He arrived at the treasury and emptied out all the gold and resources.

Following which, he went to the storage room and swept up all the rare resources. The resources were not like gold, which took up space. As such he chose to take away items such as tokens, secret manuals, and technical manuals.

He could only leave the other items for the enemy.

Lastly, Song Wen walked into the Four Seas Bank branch. He was clear that the gold inside the bank branch was a lot more than the gold in the treasury of Tianshuang County.

The worst part was that NPCs were in charge of The Four Seas Bank branch. Without his help, they could not move the money. Most crucially, Song Wen would not forget them.

Whether the Song Family would rise up, it all depended on Shanhai City.

Compared to the scenes on the streets, the bank was really calm.

Upon seeing Song Wen, the treasurer respectfully bowed, "Greetings, my Lord."

At this time, Song Wen did not have time to worry about greetings, so he directly said, "Based on the current situation, we can't defend Tianshuang County, so I'll help you to bring all the gold out. You guys also follow me."

"Thank you, Lord."

The treasurer was also a smart person, so he did not say any useless words. He directly brought Song Wen to the gold vault.

Inside the vault, glittering gold coins were stacked up like mountains.

The treasurer opened the books and said, "My lord, there's a total of 67,542 gold, 127,580 silver and 257,300 copper."

Song Wen sucked in a cold breath. He knew that the Four Seas Bank was rich, but he did not think they would be so rich. The gold, apart from the sum the main branch provided, was largely composed of the commoners' savings.

"My Lord, don't worry. The savings of the people, we won't take a single cent. When you return to Tianshuang County, we can exchange all of their money back."

The treasurer misunderstood Song Wen when he saw the weird expression on the latter's face.

When Song Wen heard these words, he nodded. No wonder the Four Seas Bank could expand to such a scale; they relied on honor and reputation.

If it was other banks, they would have just taken the money and ran.

When they left the bank, the treasurer said something to Song Wen that surprised him.

"Thank you, my Lord, for your good intentions. The workers in the bank will stay in the bank. Even if Tianshuang County falls, the bank will still operate normally."

Song Wen remained silent at these words for a moment.

"Great!"

As he said that, Song Wen left and blended amongst the people on the streets.

Seeing Song Wen leave, a worker behind the treasurer walked over, "Sir, the intel has been sent through the Feng Bird."

"En."

The treasurer nodded and turned around, walking into the bank.

Who knew that the Four Seas Bank branch was one of the hidden locations of the Black Snake Guards?

The South Alliance members would have never expected that under such circumstances, the enemy could still relay information out.

In less than two days, Baiqi could receive the news.

The treasurer decision to stay in the county, apart from continuing the operations of the bank, the main reason was to spread the intel in the city to the commanding force.

Of course, even if the enemy destroyed the Four Seas Bank, the Black Snake Guards still had other locations.

This point was something even Song Wen did not know.

The intel network that the Black Snake Guards had stitched up was shockingly wide and powerful.

When Song Wen walked out of the bank and saw the chaos, he could not help but frown.

With an army bearing down on them, rumors would naturally spread. Those who saw the situation would know that Tianshuang County was about to fall. What happened at the city gate had spread around the city.

All of a sudden, a sad and worried atmosphere enveloped the city.

The commoners all tried to use their own methods to avoid the battle. The most common method would be to lock themselves up and be an ostrich. The smart ones would choose to hide in more obscure hiding spots like rice vases.

Amidst the chaos, the scums of society emerged. Some took the chance to rob, stealing from stores, raping women, and deeds of the like.

The guards in the city were either defending the city walls or had other duties. They did not have any time or effort to care about such matters.

When Song Wen saw this situation, he frowned yet again.

He looked at the stats of the territory, only to see that the law and order stat and the people's sentiment stat dropping. In less than an hour, it fell 10 over points.

This could not do.

The moment he lost the hearts of the people, it was too hard to win them back.

"Men!"

"Lord!"

The other guard following behind Song Wen walked over.

"Use a squadron of men to settle these scums."

"Lord?"

The guard could not understand. At this time, each soldier was precious, yet the Lord wanted to use them to suppress scums?

"Go quickly. Are my words useless?"

"Yes, my Lord!"

The guard was stunned, but he did not dare to take the matter lightly, as he ran off quickly.

Back in the Lord's Manor, the guards had captured the Yuan Family and the others.

"Song Wen why do you capture me? Let us go."

Grandfather Yuan immediately scolded out.

"Hen, what despicable acts you committed, you guys should know." Song Wen was not polite anymore. He scolded back in retaliation.

When Grandfather Yuan heard such a response, his face reddened with embarrassment.

"Hen, what did I do? Say it clearly."

"Ok." Songwem was furious, but he smiled, "Didn't you sabotage the teleportation formation? Didn't you kill the relay manager? You dare to commit the act, but you don't dare to admit to it?"

"What proof do you have?" The Grandfather insisted his innocence.

"You want proof? Bring him up."

The guard who protected the relay walked in and repeated everything that had happened in the morning.

"Don't sprout nonsense. I didn't let anyone send a letter."

These words made Song Wen frown; it seemed like this fox was prepared. He turned his head and looked at the guard, "Do you remember which butler it was?"

"Yes!"

"Take a look, which one is it?"

The members of the Yuan Family and the other families were all captured and present.

When the guard heard this command, he raised his head to look, but he could not help but frown.

Grandfather Yuan laughed gleefully, "Is there? If there isn't, you are blaming a good man."

This damn fox, that butler must have hidden himself.

Now that it was so chaotic, they definitely could not find him.

At this very moment, his grandfather walked in, with Song Tianli in tow.

"Wen'er what's this?"

"Grandfather!"

Song Wen did not dare to be slow, so he repeated everything to his grandfather as it happened.

When Grandfather Song heard the details, he frowned. Although he was not happy with his son vying for power, it was a family matter after all; this pertained to the survival of their family.

If the Yuan Family had actually committed such acts, they were truly evil.

Such an action was not something that they could take sitting down.

Thinking up to this point, Grandfather Song asked Song Tianli, "Tianli, is what Wen'er said true? Did you allow a butler into the relay?"

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Chapter 446- Grain

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

"No, never."

When Song Tianli heard this accusation, he immediately denied association.

Song Tianli already knew that others had used him. However, he did not want to admit it. The moment he made an admission, he would become the guilty party in the family. He could never gain a foothold in the family again.

"It was all done by Second Elder."

The guard that was called suddenly pointed his finger at Song Tianli.

These words caused Song Tianli's face to turn black; he sent the guard a deathly stare. However, the guard did not back down and gave it his all. The humiliating experience in the morning had made this guard unhappy to the extreme.

Grandfather Song obviously was not a fool. He could tell what was happening, so he raised his head and looking at Grandfather Yuan. He calmly pronounced, "Leave the criminal, as for the rest, execute them."

The siege had started outside the city, and the enemy had almost leveled out the city protection river.

The soldiers on top of the city wall had suffered heavy casualties under the hefty hits of the trebuchets. The moment the enemy crossed the city protection river, Tianshuang County would fall.

Members of the Song Family hurriedly gathered their assets. Under the protection of two hundred guards, they left through the secret tunnel and exited Tianshuang County.

They had kept the location of the tunnel as a highly guarded secret. Even if the enemy took over the county, they would not find the tunnel in a short amount of time. Hence, their family had enough time to escape.

Before they left, they burned up all the grain in the city, leaving none of it behind.

Originally, Song Wen did not have such thoughts. Burning the grain would cause the troops to disturb the families and commoners. In the end, the ones hurt would be the people.

Grandfather Song was much more vicious; he did not hesitate and directly gave the order. In his eyes, it was enough as long as it delayed the enemy.

As for the lives of the commoners, it was not within his current considerations.

During noon, the alliance army successfully sieged Tianshuang County.

Members of the South Alliance Army raised their chests, as they walked into Tianshuang County.

The lacking part was that there were no civilians there to welcome them. The vast streets did not even have a single person. One could only see puddles of blood the scums and hooligans left behind.

Hefu rode on his horse at the front of the army; a wide smile hung on his face.

The first battle ending in victory had made him partially relieved. The next step was to search for the main force of Shanhai City and end them. As long as they successfully chase them away, South Alliance could solidify their positions as rulers of Lingnan Province. No one could shake their position.

Hefu was already imagining the future of South Alliance.

The future alliance would start a closer level of cooperation. It was best if they could build a combined city, linking their economies and armies.

With such actions, they could make Lingnan Province truly infallible.

Yuan Ping followed closely behind. He had a happy expression, but his expression also contained a hint of worry.

Undoubtedly, he carried the most credit for the Battle of Tianshuang County. To obtain victory, he had paid a weighty price. Using his own grandfather as bait was a risky move.

In the game, even if his grandfather was killed, he could be revived. As such, to a casual player like him, in game death did not mean anything. The key was that he would lose plenty of face.

Especially to old people, where death was something they all feared. Even in the game, no one expected to be killed and revived, much less someone like Yuan Ping's grandfather, who cared much about his face.

The moment they broke through, Yuan Ping sent people to search for his grandfather.

The news he received sent a shiver down his spine.

Based on the reports, all the NPC followers had been killed, their bodies hung on the square opposite of the Lord's Manor.

Only the butler that performed well had successfully escaped.

Don't tell me they really killed him?

Truly a vicious move. After all, their families had tens of years of relationships.

Yuan Ping grew more and more worried, while Hefu's face also started to change.

After they entered the city, they instantly took down the important structures like the Lord's Manor, the treasury, and the granary. The news they received made the members of South Alliance bleed deep inside.

There was no one in the Lord's Manor; it was like the Song Family had disappeared into thin air. There was not even a single copper in the treasury, and the storage only had a bunch of useless iron left. The granary, on the other hand, was burned. No grain was left.

The entire Tianshuang County did not have anything left but people.

"Bastard!" Hefu was furious, "They must be nearby; chase them!"

"Yes!"

Instantly, two thousand cavalry hurried out of the city and disappeared into the wilderness.

Members of South Alliance looked at one another. They were all clear that finding them in the wilderness was as difficult as ascending the heavens. Now, they could only try their best and hope for a miracle.

These events washed away the joys of victory.

The alliance army originally wanted to use this county as their base of operations to sweep down south to take on the Shanhai City Army. However, now they faced grain problems. Helplessly, Hefu could only order them to gather grain and ask the Lords in Zhaoqing to send grain over.

Two hundred thousand troops, including war horse, would use up four to five hundred thousand units of grain in just a day. Without millions of units of grain as logistical supply, the army would not even dare to act.

Teleportation formations could not transport grain. During wartime, even the Super Trading Platform was closed. To obtain grain, one could only manually transport it.

To transport tens of millions of units of grain, solely labourers, they would need around two hundred thousand people. They naturally threw this task to the commoners of Tianshuang County.

The poor commoners not only had their houses swept, they even had to help the army transport goods, such bad luck.

Hefu was still okay, as a son of a aristocratic family, he had some good upbringing. The other Lords were far worse; they just did as they wished in the city.

The entire Tianshuang County cried out under the alliance army.

However, due to the burden of grain, the alliance army had no choice but to prepare and gear up themselves in Tianshuang County.

This change in plan helped Shanhai City gain valuable time.

One had to mention that ginger was hotter the older it grew. Compared to his grandfather, Song Wen was too inexperienced. Mercy was good, but it depended on the situation.

At crucial moments, one needed to viciously act.

To Lords, especially to Lords, one had to take cold and merciless action.

Zhaoqing Prefecture, Cangcheng County.

8th month, 9th day, the Feng Bird the Black Snake Guards sent out had smoothly flown to the command unit and brought with it the newest intel.

In the main base was the middle troops that Baiqi led, including Mu Guiying's 4th division of the Dragon Legion, as well as the Tianshuang County's city protection division, which Song Wu led.

The left wing troops were Luo Shixin's 2nd division of the Dragon Legion.

On the right was Han Xin's 1st division of the Leopard Legion. Zhang Han was at the back, in charge of prisoners and choosing the elite to form the 2nd division.

After he read the new intel, Baiqi's eyebrows perked.

Baiqi had predicted that the enemy would form alliances in the middle and ending parts of the war to try and retaliate. However, he did not expect South Alliance to hold such attraction, able to send two hundred thousand troops.

With that, the originally easy and peaceful Battle of Zhaoqing would turn into a full-scale war that exceeded the Battle of Leizhou.

And this situation was not what the Lord desired.

During this period of time, Shanhai City was focused on the philosopher's debate to expand their cultural influence. Qiongzhou Prefecture and Leizhou Prefecture were still growing, and they were not ready for such a huge war.

Only now, matters had already developed to such a stage. They had to fight, even if they did not want to.

Strategic retreat?

In Shanhai City's dictionary, the word retreat did not exist.

Immediately, Baiqi ordered the left and right side troops to reduce their defence line. They would use the currently occupied territories as bases and keep close to the middle troops.

The three wings of the troops must be ready to assist one another.

At the same time, Baiqi sent a letter to the Military Affairs Department to suggest they move the Garrison Division in Leizhou Prefecture to assist. If they could, it was best to move another two divisions to help.

Baiqi's attitude was care. Since they wanted to fight, we would too.

After he received Baiqi's letter, Du Ruhui immediately ordered the Leizhou Garrison Division to move toward Zhaoqing Prefecture and meet up with the middle troops.

Earlier, when he had built the Nanjiang Governor-General House, he had given power to the Military Affairs Department to move the city protection forces. Amongst the army, regiment-level armies could be moved without his permission.

As for division level, as a director, he could not make the decision.

In the current Nanjiang Governor-General Manor, Ouyang Shuo was meeting Zhang Yi. Based on Wei Ran's words, this representative figure of the school of diplomats had the intentions of moving into Shanhai City.

Hence, after curing the poison in his body, Ouyang Shuo took some time to meet him.

In the reading room, both of them chatted happily.

It was obvious that in this first meeting, Ouyang Shuo had left a great impression on the other man.

Ouyang Shuo could basically say with certainty that Zhang Yi would move into Shanhai City. With that, he could complete the quest.

At this very moment, the guard reported,

"My Lord, Director Du requests to meet you. He says it's an emergency."

Ouyang Shuo frowned.

When Zhang Yi saw the situation, he stood up and bid Ouyang Shuo goodbye. Although there were some things that were not said clearly, it was nearly there. After all, outsiders should not interfere in military affairs.

Ouyang Shuo personally sent him out and received Du Ruhui.

In his heart, uneasiness rumbled. One must know that Du Ruhui was a very calm and composed person. If it was not a huge emergency, he would not disturb his Lord.

Especially today, when he was meeting such an important guest.

"Sorry Lord, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Ouyang Shuo waved him off, "There's no need to apologize for that. What happened?"

Du Ruhui took out the letter that Baiqi had sent, and he respectfully handed it to Ouyang Shuo.

When Ouyang Shuo read the news, he stayed silent for a long while.

"The rain has come!"

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Chapter 447- Losing All Face

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

"Keming, what's your opinion?"

Ouyang Shuo placed down the letter and looked toward Du Ruhui, expressionless.

In the truth, the fall of Tianshuang County surprised Ouyang Shuo; it also infuriated him. This loss was too huge. The extent of the loss was something that even Baiqi and Du Ruhui probably did not understand.

On the surface, because the Lord of Tianshuang County was Song Jia's brother, the fall of county made him lose face.

Ouyang Shuo could imagine that some would laugh at Shanhai City after this battle.

A few days ago, Ouyang Shuo had just discussed with his father-in-law about the post-battle situation. Who knew that a few days later, he would receive a slap to his face. The humiliation from within was not something an outsider could imagine.

Arrogance would lead to defeat.

In the end, this loss stemmed from Ouyang Shuo underestimating South Alliance.

Black Snake had reported to Ouyang Shuo that South Alliance was making some weird moves, but it did not raise Ouyang Shuo's suspicions. In his view, such a scattered regional alliance could not do anything.

In truth, the powers of South Alliance were much stronger than Ouyang Shuo had imagined. Evidently, the alliance leader was not a total scrub, and he had his methods too.

Baiqi and the others were NPCs after all, so they could not completely understand the players' motives. However, Ouyang Shuo was different, as the number one Lord in the China region, he should not have acted so arrogant.

The consecutive victories had really clouded his mind.

Before this, Ouyang Shuo had thought that taking down Zhaoqing was just a matter of time. He did not expect South Alliance to actually have such courage and strategic foresight.

He was too careless!

Tianshuang County was a hugely important territory in his plans. It was not because of any special properties, but because he could control the Lord of the county.

Hence in his plans, Tianshuang County had a similar role to Mulan territory. He planned to merge it into the Shanhai City system. With that, Shanhai City would gain one more teleportation point in Lingnan Province.

After all, compared to real life, the in game map was ten times larger.

This meant that if one wanted to rule a territory effectively, they had to make use of teleportation formations.

If not, solely one trip around the Lingnan Province would take one to two months.

Tianshuang County was at the center of the future Lingnan Province. Unfortunately, he failed to protect this core. This loss was not something that one could measure in gold.

Despite the self blame and anger, Ouyang Shuo remained calm on the surface.

During this period of time, his cultivation had improved.

Du Ruhui was unable to see any signs from the words or expression of the Lord. As an official, he needed to understand and think like his Lord. However, in this case, he did not know what Ouyang Shuo was thinking.

Whether the Lord would choose to fight or retreat, he could not see a decision.

"I feel that we should gather up our troops."

In the end, Du Ruhui chose to describe his own opinion. After receiving the letter, he had made contact with Zhao Kuo. Combining the information in the letter with the intel from the Military Intelligence Division, they made a battle simulation.

Ouyang Shuo remained unmoved.

"On the battlefield, we will move the 2nd division and the 4th division of the Tiger Legion and seven divisions to prepare for a final battle. Meanwhile, we will arrange two squadrons out to attack Jade Buddha County from the sea. It's the brain of South Alliance. The moment it falls, South Alliance will fall into chaos. The moment the alliance grows disorderly, the time for the final battle will arrive."

Du Ruhui was in charge of strategic planning, while specific battle commands were left to the commander-in-chief.

Ouyang Shuo nodded; Du Ruhui had described his intentions accurately.

He had to grab back the face he had lost.

The only way now was to show his strength in battle.

If Shanhai City chose to retreat, the drop in morale would allow the enemy to see a weak point.

The moment they exposed a level of weakness to their enemies, they would face more problems that just alliances like South Alliance in the future.

The pack of wolves in Yanhuang Alliance definitely would not give up such an opportunity. In such a scenario, Shanhai City would have to face enemies from all four sides.

They needed to fight, and they needed to act fast as well.

"Sneak attack Jade Buddha County. Apart from the two squadrons, send out the Divine Martial Guards. We must take down the county before they notice. Apart from that, immediately gather the Guards Division and send them to assist the troops on the main battlefield."

Ouyang Shuo did not just agree with his plan, he even upped the stakes. In this battle, Shanhai City could be considered to have gone all out, as Ouyang Shuo even threw out all his trump cards.

The entire Shanhai City only had its city protection division left to defend them.

Luckily, they had totally cleaned out the Lianzhou Prefecture. Enemies could not use teleportation formations to directly enter the Lianzhou Basin.

If not, with just one legion, they could take down Shanhai City.

"Yes, my Lord!"

Du Ruhui knew of the importance of this battle; he nodded solemnly.

"On the side of the Divine Martial Guards, we need to send a military advisor. Keming, do you have anyone in mind?"

Wang Feng was a really strong general, but in terms of strategy, he was truly lacking. Asking him to lead an army, Ouyang Shuo would not feel at ease.

Especially a sneak attack, where any sort of situation could occur; they needed a commander that could adapt.

Originally, Ouyang Shuo personally leading them would be the best choice. However, the philosophers debate had started, so many people had swarmed into the city.

It was not appropriate for him to leave in this situation.

Apart from Ouyang Shuo, Du Ruhui was also a suitable choice.

However, similarly, as the Military Affairs Director, he could not leave during war time. He needed to prepare and arrange logistics, personnel movement, strategic planning, and related affairs.

"Zhao Kuo can handle it."

Du Ruhui's choice surprised Ouyang Shuo.

"Zhao Kuo?"

"That's right!"

Ouyang Shuo looked at Du Ruhui, deep in thought.

Du Ruhui was a really calm and stable person; he could clearly judge a person's character. If he said that Zhao Kuo could do it, there was an 80% chance that he really could.

It seems like Zhao Kuo had really changed a lot in the Military Affairs Department. With his past personality, it would have been hard for him to take up such a role.

The only possibility was that he had completely changed.

In his impression of Zhao Kuo, the only shining moment was in the strategic planning of the Battle of Chiyou City, where he suggested they use Zhaoqing as a base to launch their attack.

As for other moments, Ouyang Shuo did not have much time to meet him.

Du Ruhui was different. Both of them worked in the Military Affairs Department, so they probably bumped into one another everyday.

"Okay, that's settled."

Ouyang Shuo immediately made the decision without hesitation.

When Du Ruhui saw his decisiveness, he nodded his head happily. Ouyang Shuo's swift decision could be said to be trust in Zhao Kuo, but it was more so his trust in Du Ruhui.

Zhao Kuo's performance would be his own personal test, as well as a test of Du Ruhui's ability to judge a person.

If the situation went south, Du Ruhui could only resign and seclude himself.

After settling all the matters, Du Ruhui stood up and went to plan everything.

This involved three divisions, two squadrons, and the Divine Martial Guards. The only happy matter was that they had finished the first grain harvesting season in Leizhou, so they had enough grain.

If not, they would need to transport grain over from Lianzhou. In such a situation, they should just surrender and not fight at all.

After Du Ruhui left, Ouyang Shuo sat alone in the reading room, closing his eyes, as he fell into deep thought.

Through one failure, one gains knowledge.

The fall of Tianshuang County was something that Ouyang Shuo had to be blamed for.

The strategy set out before was probably overconfident. Would Chiyou City and Taiping Country really follow their set plan like a script?

Probably not.

Let us talk about Chiyou City first. The entire Chiyou City was being constantly constructed. The situation in it was not something spies from the Military Intelligence Division or the Black Snake Guards could find out.

The black bird of Chiyou City was simply too scary.

The entire city was a mystery.

Chiyou, after one year, who knows what scary thing they would have prepared inside.

Chiyou City was not purely composed of mountain barbarians. From other areas of Wuzhou, Chiyou accepted tribes and commoners.

However, the higher ranked people in the territory were all mountain barbarians.

If one said that Chiyou City was a small illness, Taiping Country was a cancer. Ouyang Shuo really did not have the confidence of taking them down alone anymore.

With their current strength, it did not seem possible.

At such a stage, he would probably need to rely on his allies.

Thinking up to this point, Ouyang Shuo let out a sigh.

Thorns and problems covered the road to becoming an Overlord. Using his advantage, he had built a solid base. However, this preparatory work only allowed him to get on the same starting line as Di Chen and the others.

There were still many changes in the China region.

Apart from their enemy, Yanhuang Alliance, there were other local strengths that he could not underestimate.

At this point, Ouyang Shuo thought of Caiyun Alliance.

It seems like they needed to increase their infiltration of Caiyun Alliance.

Although the Black Snake Guards had formed an intel network, they had just built it after all, so they could not come into contact with high-level secrets. As for core information, that was needless to mention.

The appearance of South Alliance, including them sending troops, didn't they avoid the Black Snake Guard's detection?

In the future, Ouyang Shuo would not allow such matters to happen. The fund to the Black Snake Guards could not be stopped and must be increased instead. Even if they had limited funds, he must support their expansion.

In the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo asked to meet Black Snake.

Apart from the matters of the Black Snake Guards, most importantly, he needed to inform them to work together with the Divine Martial Guards to attack Jade Buddha County.

As people would say, 'A sneak attack without internal information is very difficult.'

Black Snake nodded; his face incredibly solemn. This time, they did not investigate properly and failed to notice the movements of South Alliance. Although the Lord did not say anything, Black Snake himself felt pissed off to the extreme.

It was time to display their skills.

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Chapter 448- Using Your Plan Against You

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

"Lord, I have a plan."

Black Snake was not willing to fail just like this; he had thought of a great plan.

"Speak."

"In the South of Zhaoqing Prefecture, there's a territory known as Wulong County. Our Black Snake Guards has basically infiltrated it. I advise us to temporarily ally with them and direct our troops directly behind the allied army."

When Ouyang Shuo heard this suggestion, he looked at Black Snake curiously, 'Do you have confidence?"

Forming an alliance was okay. They only feared that the alliance would fail and alert the enemy instead. Along with the fall of Tianshuang County, the Shanhai Alliance-Tianshuang Alliance had also fallen.

In Zhaoqing Prefecture, Shanhai City was now alone without allies.

"I'm willing to give the military order."

"Great, I'll give you two days."

With such a chance, Ouyang Shuo was willing to gamble. Although Black Snake might look brutish, he was exceedingly precise in his actions. Since he dared to speak so confidently, no problems would occur.

8th month 10th day, the army of the Nanjiang Governor-General House started to act.

From Shanhai City, three thousand Divine Martial Guards rushed to Behai Harbor under the leadership of Wang Feng and Zhao Kuo. They gathered and left along with the Beihai Squadron 1st division, heading toward Jiaozhou Bay to attack Jade Buddha County.

The entire journey was close to four thousand nautical miles, requiring ten days of travel.

Qiongzhou Prefecture, Sun Bin led the 1st division of the Tiger Legion to continue to take charge of Qiongzhou, suppressing the local rebellion forces. The 2nd and 4th divisions rushed to Qiongzhou House. They immediately took a boat over the Qiongzhou Strait onto Leizhou Prefecture, heading for Zhaoqing Prefecture.

The entire journey exceeded two thousand kilometers. Even if they rushed, it would still take them twenty days. With that, one could see how difficult and vexing it was to fight a war without teleportation formations.

Moving two divisions this time, apart from increasing the help in Zhaoqing Prefecture, also held another meaning.

The operation in Qiongzhou Prefecture to clear out the opposition had basically reached its end. To continue leaving the Tiger Legion in Qiongzhou was a huge waste.

Ouyang Shuo was planning to let Fan Lihua lead the 1st division and stay in Qiongzhou, basically ensuring its safety. One must not forget that Yashan Squadron was expanding, and the future Qiongzhou Prefecture military would mainly be composed of navy.

On the island, with one division and also the Garrison Division, they would have more than enough troops.

Taking the chance, Ouyang Shuo wanted to slowly shift the Tiger Legion to the Lingnan Battlefield. The next step, be it to attack Chiyou City or Taiping Country, would require a huge army.

Apart from that, after they took down Zhaoqing, the east region would similarly need large amounts of troops.

At the same time, the 1st division of the Yashan Squadron set off from the South Mountain Harbor to meet with the Beihai Squadron 1st division to head for Jiaozhou Bay.

This was the first time both squadrons had fought together; it would be good training.

The only difference would be the city protection division.

The moment the Guards Division gathered up, they received another military order to temporarily remain in their camp.

Even if it was for sneak attacking the back of the alliance army, Ouyang Shuo still would not push both the 2nd and 4th division of the Tiger Legion up. If the three divisions were in the back lines and did not receive enough grain, the outcome would be catastrophic.

Such an important task was something only a trump card force like the Guards Division could handle. Ouyang Shuo believed that even without a stable grain supply, they could solve that particular problem themselves.

As they say, before the soldiers move, grain would move first.

The supply of the Combat Logistics Department never stopped. Various counties and Houses each built military granaries and amassed large amounts of grain, with the local city protection forces protecting it.

Hence, no matter the location of the army, they could still receive sufficient logistical supplies.

This also helped to save up a lot of manpower.

As the Battle of Zhaoqing opened up, under the coordination of the Combat Logistics Department, large quantities of grain were transported to the front lines.

Now that the situation had changed and more troops would be thrown in, the initial amount they calculated was not enough. Hence, the Combat Logistics Department started a new round of grain transportation.

Director Zhu Hongliang personally stood watch in Leizhou Prefecture to monitor the grain transportation.

Apart from grain, there were weapons, equipments, arrows, siege weapons, and the like. Hence, the Combat Logistics Department had set up a main arsenal in every prefecture and one in each House and county.

The Shanhai City weapons workshop did not provide normal bolts and arrows. Instead, the various weapons workshop in each prefecture would craft them. After a huge battle, they would use up around a hundred thousand bolts and arrows.

If the war lasted for an extended period of time, the military would use up millions of arrows. If they solely relied on the supply of Shanhai City, the transportation costs alone would account for more than the costs of the bolts and arrows themselves.

Be it grain or logistical supplies, they all used up actual gold. Other territories could not truly understand the consumption of funds during a war.

Zhu Hongliang's planning and logistical structure gained Ouyang Shuo's praise.

Combat logistics was the lifeline of the war.

Undoubtedly, Ouyang Shuo felt pleased about this combat logistics director.

In the future, the military works in Shanhai City would only craft high end equipment like Mingguang Armor and Buren Armor. As for other items like the horse lance and arrows, the other workshops would complete them.

Apart from considering the element of craftsmen, iron and resource supply posed another problem.

In this area, Gaia had made the situation life like. Although a mine might have a huge capacity, the workers would have difficulty mining the deeper they dug.

With the mining standards of olden times, they could only mine a small portion of the ores. Those ores deeper in, if they tried to mine, they could lose of lives.

The two iron mines in the west of Shanhai City, the earliest one found at the village stages, had already been used up. They could not mine it anymore.

The second mine already approached its limits.

In this one and a half year span, Shanhai City had crafted a massive quantity of weapons and equipment. Solely the usage of iron and ores was shocking. Apart from that, the steel making factory was also a huge client for iron.

Ouyang Shuo found experts to calculate the depletion rate. The supply of mines in the entire Lianzhou Prefecture would only last for another one and a half years at their current consumption rate.

In one and a half years, Shanhai City would face an awkward situation of possessing no usable iron.

When he received the news, Ouyang Shuo instantly panicked.

He did not expect a new round of resource crisis to appear for the territory so quickly after the grain crisis.

In his last life, Ouyang Shuo was just an adventure gamemode player after all. Although he had some impression of the grain crisis, he did not pay much attention to the iron prices.

He did not expect that, so he nearly commited a grave mistake.

Luckily, he realized the problem soon enough and there was still enough time.

If Shanhai City did not have such a monstrous consumption rate of iron, this problem would not have surfaced so early. At that time, it would really be too late.

Ouyang Shuo was also a decisive person. He immediately ordered the local mines to slow down their mining rate by half to ensure that they had enough backup iron supply.

After all, to transport iron from other places was a hugely expensive matter. This transportation was a much more complicated than moving grain.

Slowing the mining speed only mitigated the problem on the surface.

Ouyang Shuo commanded all the prefectures to investigate their mines and report to the Combat Logistics Department.

The good news was that in Qiongzhou and Leizhou Prefecture, they had over ten large-sized iron mines.

Ouyang Shuo immediately ordered that of the iron mined from these two prefectures, apart from the ore they needed for their own consumption, they must transport more than half to Shanhai City.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo also specifically instructed the shipyard to build transport ships. Compared to land transportation, sea transport was more faster and cheaper.

With that, he temporarily solved the iron shortage problem.

Even so, Ouyang Shuo did not dare to grow careless.

It was foreseeable that as the territory expanded, the scale of the army would increase, and their need for equipment would increase. At the same time, their consumption of iron would only grow greater and greater.

Apart from that, one had to mention Research Institute No. 7.

The number of experts there had expanded to over a hundred people. After they built the steel making factory, the steel research had progressed quickly.

In the future, the creation of guns, cannons, and even steel warships were possible, or even a necessary. In such a scenario, the need for iron would turn into a huge, bottomless pit.

Ouyang Shuo could not be sure that the prefectures he took over in the future would have plentiful iron supplies. Hence, iron importation became necessary.

In the late game, when territories realize this problem, it would be too late.

Shanhai City had to remain a step ahead of them.

Ouyang Shuo immediately instructed the Financial Department to grant the Combat Logistics Department a sum of money every month to buy iron on the market. At the same time, they would sign iron purchasing agreements with the various Chamber of Commerce.

From now on, Shanhai City would start to amass iron.

Ouyang Shuo also commanded them to build ten large-sized iron storages on the east of Shanhai City.

Purchasing iron did not cost a small amount. On the market, a unit of iron ore cost 120 copper, more than six times the price of grain.

If they acquired iron on a large scale, they would place a huge burden on the territory's finances.

Even so, Ouyang Shuo needed to grit his teeth and stick to this strategy.

Apart from importing iron, there was another method—pillaging. In the South Ocean, there was a huge landmass known as Australia.

In reality, it was a massive iron exporter.

In the game, with the strict settings of Gaia, it naturally would be the same. As long as he occupied Australia, the entire territory would not face iron supply problems.

Unfortunately, the current Shanhai City was too small, and they could not start a country war.

One must know that with the game map having ten times the area of reality, Australia had reached a colossal size.

At the very least, it would not be a barbarian land like Qiongzhou Island.

To attack it posed a high level of difficult.

During the mid-game stages, they could probably think about iron trade deals. Naturally, the end goal was to take over Australia entirely.

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Chapter 449- Alliance Army Heads down South

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

8th month, 12th day, Tianshuang County.

In the meeting hall, members of South Alliance were having a discussion.

"Leader, the first batch of grain has already been transported to Tianshuang County. Should we continue to wait for grain or?"

"What do all of you think?"

Hefu did not directly answer. Instead, he looked toward the other members. Although he had an idea in his mind, he did not want to leave his allies with the bad impression that he made all the decisions alone.

In the last few days, he had made a decision for the alliance on his own, and it was not right if he took such action again.

"I think we should wait till we amass enough grain before going all out."

Voiced the Lords that wanted a more calm and sure battle.

"I don't agree. Our alliance army took down Tianshuang County because we were fast and swift. At this point, we should just head down south in one breath for a final battle."

Countered the Lords that craved battle. Their voices were much louder, and the moment this suggestion sounded out, they cheered out.

"That's right!"

As expected, no matter the location, hot blooded people would outnumber others.

"Our current grain can only last us a week. What if we run out? Two hundred thousand troops, if we set out, there is no way back. Naturally, we need to be careful."

"That makes sense; we cannot be reckless." Another group of cheers broke out, these bunch of people really did not want to take a side.

"This isn't being reckless. If we act too slow, we will miss the opportunity. Shanhai City Army aren't scrubs; their commander is Baiqi. Since the Song Family has escaped, they definitely know that Tianshuang County has been conquered. If we just wait, they would have time to prepare and everything would be for naught."

The three thousand cavalry sent after the Song Family returned the same day.

Needless to say, they achieved nothing.

At this moment, the Song Family had already reached the command force of the Shanhai City Army.

The entire hall was completely silent.

Be it those who wanted to wait, or those who wanted to fight, they all frowned with a solemn expression.

The name of Baiqi certainly made everyone terrified and fearful.

Battle of Changping, Battle of Lianzhou, Battle of Leizhou, and Battle of Julu. Four major battles where Baiqi was the absolute star.

The name of Baiqi had already spread out across the China region.

Facing such an invincible Asura, no one felt confident, even if they outnumbered the Shanhai City Army. Even if they had ten times more men, no one could say they would win for sure.

The way one saw it, waiting might seem safer, but in truth, such a choice would lead to a dead end.

"Attack!""Strike!"

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly flared up and war cries belted out.

In the end, South Alliance came to a common consensus—they had to strike

When Hefu saw the result of their discussion, he let out a slight smile, "Since that's the case, let the army rest for a day to prepare things. Tomorrow morning, all our troops will head down south."

"Yes!"

The members agreed in unison. Although they felt fearful, they also felt excited about the upcoming war.

After the meeting, the entire Tianshuang County grew busy.

Housed in Tianshuang County, apart from the two hundred thousand allied troops, there were also the troops from over ten Lords in Zhaoqing Prefecture. They either used the teleportation formations or rushed over to reach Tianshuang County.

Calculating everything, purely the Zhaoqing Alliance Army had reached a hundred thousand men.

In contrast to South Alliance, the Lords of Zhaoqing sent out all their troops. They were crystal clear about one thing—they could only win and not lose this battle.

The moment they lost, no matter how many troops they had left, it was useless.

Why not just take a gamble?

Hence, the small Tianshuang County housed three hundred thousand troops. They filled the barracks in the city to the brim, while various troops just camped outside of the city.

Tent after tent covered the city in white, creating a majestic scene.

Inside and outside of the city, in the alleys and streets, armored soldiers walked around with weapons. The commoners, apart from the old and sick, were basically shifted to the grain transportation force to help move grain for the army.

On the road toward Tianshuang County, transport carts and horses continuously moved. To increase the speed, the officer in charge did not mind using his whip.

Now, mountains of white rice filled the previously empty granary in the city.

The moment the order for war was given, the entire city woke up.

When the soldiers received the order, they hurried back to their units to report. The grain and resource transportation forces would start leaving even before tomorrow.

Hefu had prepared thirty thousand troops housed in Tianshuang County to take charge of the grain transportation routes. He already knew what would happen if the grain was stolen.

It could be said that all the Lords in the north of Zhaoqing had gathered. However, with his character that doubted all, he still was not at ease. If amongst the Lords, one of them worked for Shanhai City, they could create a nightmare for the alliance army.

How did they attack Tianshuang County?

Hefu was unsure if Shanhai City would try to pull the same trick on them.

Hence, he needed to be wary and prepared.

The main matter he needed to be wary of was Tianshuang County. Apart from that, he needed to remain on guard against the other territories in Zhaoqing Prefecture.

The only part that made him feel uneasy was that the Lords of Zhaoqing Prefecture had sent all their troops. As such, only some city protection forces or reserve forces remained.

If Shanhai City really attacked, these territories would fail to put up a defence.

The problem was that Hefu could not reject their good intentions. More importantly, he could not reject a hundred thousand troops. In truth, with just two hundred thousand alliance army troops, Hefu did not have confidence.

However, with a hundred thousand more, the situation would completely change.

Hefu had the confidence to start a huge war with Shanhai City. He did not believe that they would lose when they had ten times the troops.

At night, Hefu tossed and turned, thinking about what would happen if the Shanhai City Army suddenly appeared in the north of Zhaoqing.

For the entire night, he could not catch an ounce of sleep.

When he woke up, he had black eye circles under his eyes. He splashed his face with cold water and finally made a decision.

He would take out 25 thousand cavalry from both the alliance army and the Zhaoqing Alliance Army to form a cavalry force of fifty thousand to take care of the north of Zhaoqing Prefecture.

In the morning, the members of South Alliance and the Lords of the alliance army gathered once more.

During the meeting, Hefu described his worries. Some did not bother about his suggestion, while others felt impressed.

The first ones to express their support were naturally the Lords of Zhaoqing Prefecture.

In truth, going all out this time was something that made them extremely nervous. During the Battle of Leizhou, didn't the Lords there lose their bases because they went all out?

To have a cavalry force protecting them helped to put them at ease.

When they observed the situation, the South Alliance members found it not good to straight up oppose the suggestion, so the matter was settled.

Hence, apart from the thirty thousand troops guarding Tianshuang County, and the fifty thousand cavalry, they only sent out 220 thousand troops. Even so, they still had a colossal force.

Since they had 220 thousand troops, they naturally could not go out all at once.

Fifty thousand cavalry acted as the vanguard and went out first. In the middle stood the one hundred thousand main force. Lastly, they had a mixed force made of seventy thousand infantry and cavalry. At the same time, these last members were in charge of transporting the grain.

The huge army left the county, like a black dragon, they surged southward.

A titanic battle was about to unfold.

The moment the army left, the intel station of the Black Snake Guards received the news. An unassuming Feng Bird flew into the air and disappeared.

After the alliance army took over Tianshuang County, they naturally had to clean it up. The first place they went to handle was the Four Seas Bank.

It was different from previous days. Not only was the Four Seas Bank famous among the Shanhai Alliance, even the entire China region knew of its existence.

Hefu and the others were no exception.

As for how to deal with the bank, the members of South Alliance were split.

The reason for the split was because they failed to find a single copper in the entire bank. Even a blind person could tell that the Song Family took away the money.

Only a building, a treasurer, and twenty odd workers were left.

Yuan Ping suggested that they kill them all, and some of the Zhaoqing Lords agreed with him.

Hefu had other ideas. The way he saw it, killing them did not bring any benefits.

Killing a few people would not harm Shanhai City. If there was harm, it was only harming their face.

Yuan Ping's goal was also just that.

But after venting their frustration? They would only be left with a major trouble.

Hefu was very clear on one thing. Even if the alliance army won this battle, they could not shake the foundations of Shanhai City. Lianzhou Prefecture, including Qiongzhou Prefecture, were far too stable.

No one would be so arrogant to think that they could destroy the best Lord in the world in one battle.

Hence, they had to consider post-war plans. The way he saw it, both sides could agree for Shanhai City to give up on conquering Lingnan Province, while the South Alliance would not go any further either.

South Alliance was located in Lingnan Province. As such, no matter what, they had to come into contact with Shanhai City.

It was not a smart idea to break the bridge just because they wanted to vent their frustration.

Attacking Tianshuang County was part of war. No matter what they did, no one could say anything about it. However, if you won but still decided to kill the workers in their bank, you would have committed an immoral action.

If it was Hefu, he would not let it rest.

Based on that basic consideration, Hefu shut down Yuan Ping's suggestion and only monitored the Four Seas Bank.

One had to say that this action saved his life in the future.

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Chapter 450- Kong Zi

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Zhaoqing Prefecture, Cangcheng County.

8th month, 14th day, Zhao Yan led the Leizhou Garrison Division and arrived at Cangcheng County at the stipulated time. He brought along vast amounts of grain and resources.

If they were not transporting items, the Garrison Division would have probably arrived a day earlier.

After Zhao Yan took charge of the Leizhou Garrison Division, he did not dare to act slow. Apart from coordinating with the officials to take down criminals, he would clean out bandits and suppress resistance. On normal days, he would seriously trained his division.

He felt exceedingly grateful toward the Lord. From a normal soldier, he worked his way up and the Lord eventually promoted him to the rank of major general. If he did not do well, he would not feel good about himself.

Passion and love for the army filled this steel blooded male.

During normal days, he trained his troops like crazy. He would teach what he had learned in the special forces training camp to his division.

Based on his words, although the Garrison Division was a regional protection force, they could not look down on themselves. They must train themselves like a war unit, prepared for battle at all times.

After such tiring training, the soldiers in the division naturally let out cries of pain.

However, their respect for their major general grew by the day. Apart from those who were there to grab food and wait for death, no one in the military was willing to let others look down on them.

The members of the Garrison Division were all former war prisoners. They were all born the same, so why could not they enter the war armies and enjoy higher pay and better equipment?

They were unhappy!

Members of the Garrison Division were unhappy. They trained hard day and night. From hunting bandits and raiders, they raised their rank and combat strength.

They eagerly awaited the day when they could return to the main battlefield and display their strength.

Hard work always paid off.

Their chance had arrived!

When they received the military order, the entire division's blood boiled.

The training levels of the Leizhou Garrison Division were not far off from the war troops. Their combat strength, although it could not compare to the war troops, could still allow them to fight on equal grounds with the alliance army.

The same day, Baiqi inspected the Garrison Division outside of the city.

He had a rarely seen smile on his face.

Gaining the recognition of the commander-in-chief, the entire Garrison Division's blood boiled. Facing the upcoming war, they were not afraid. Instead, they looked forward to it.

Most recently, the Military Affairs Department had started to implement the military reward system.

Before this, the titles that Lin Yi and the other generals received was a trial Ouyang Shuo conducted. In the future, major generals, colonels, majors even lieutenants and sergeants would receive rewards for meritorious deeds.

They would award anyone who performed well.

The Military Affairs Department had already sent out the news that the military reward system would be effective from the Battle of Zhaoqing onward. Although the battle had changed greatly, it became a good chance for them to gain favor.

Needless to say, Du Ruhui sneakily spread out this news.

In truth, how would this whole system get past Ouyang Shuo? In regards to their specific progress, Ouyang Shuo was clearer than anyone.

The preliminary idea was still on his desk, waiting for his approval.

Setting a military reward system was not a small matter. Not only did it involve the welfare of the military, it also affected other areas like rank.

Rewards would come in the form of gold, positions, and ranks.

As for nobility, Ouyang Shuo did not have the power to confer that.

The money portion had to do with the military expenses, so they could not decide it so easily. The moment they decided, they could not change it easily. Otherwise, Cui Yingyu would probably kill Du Ruhui.

The salaries of the soldiers already made the commoners extremely envious. If the additional rewards were too high, it might make others unhappy.

If it was too little, it would have no point.

After all, without temptation, how would the soldiers risk their lives?

Hence, Ouyang Shuo thought of a middle ground. They would mainly use monetary rewards and only use rank rewards when necessary.

In truth, to majors and above, glory meant more than money. For example, when Lin Yi received his title of Huwei General, many other generals grew red with envy.

Hence, to set up a reward system, they needed to set up a rank system as well.

They could not work out all the small details in a short amount of time.

It was obvious that Du Ruhui threw down a smoke bomb.

His actions naturally aimed to raise the morale of the troops, his intentions benign. Hence, Ouyang Shuo did not oppose the spreading of the new. He could only rush them to perfect the reward system before the war ended.

He did not want the soldiers to lose their trust him.

When Du Ruhui received the news, he frowned and begged for mercy.

Unfortunately, Ouyang Shuo remained unmoved.

What was this called?

Smashing your own foot with a rock.

Since the Lord had already given the order, the entire Military Affairs Department could only work overtime. They had to consider frontline matters, while also rushing to complete the system.

As he had no other choice, Du Ruhui had to borrow additional people from the Army Military Academy. If not, they would not have enough manpower. Luckily, Sun Wu was nice, sending over ten teaching staff to help out.

The next day, the news that the alliance army was travelling down south spread to the command force.

Their actions had exceeded Baiqi's expectations; they were a week faster than he had anticipated.

It seems like they were really anxious!

In the tent, Baiqi stared at the map of Zhaoqing Prefecture, as his eyes focused in thought.

On the map, the three points where the Shanhai City troops were housed in were marked with red. They were on the west, while the left flank troops were located in Yaogu County, the middle Cangcheng County, as well as the east of Genglou County.

The three counties formed a triangle, with the two others less than two hundred kilometers away from Cangcheng County. If they rushed, they could reach each other within two days.

Above the three red dots was Tianshuang County.

A huge black arrow stretched from Tianshuang County to Cangcheng County.

Their actions meant that Baiqi had to make a choice. Should he continue to defend the three counties or focus his forces all in Cangcheng County?

For the entire morning, his eyes never left the map.In the afternoon, military orders were sent to the various divisions through the relay.

It was obvious that Baiqi had already made a decision.

The order was for the 4th division of the Dragon Legion, as well as the Leizhou Garrison Division housed in Cangcheng County, to move to Yaogu County.

The Dragon Legion 2nd division housed in Yaogu Region would leave and move outside of Genglou County to hide and wait for further orders.

With that, he strengthened the troops of both Yaogu and Genglou County, while the command force only had the Tianshuang County city protection division.

Is Baiqi attempting another empty city plan?

The military order specifically mentioned that the three counties must erect the flag of their main general.

Cangcheng County naturally erected the flag of Baiqi, Yaogu County erected the flag of Xuanwei General Mu Guiying, while Genglou County erected Han Xin's flag.

Undeniably, this was another one of Baiqi's schemes.

As for whether the alliance army would fall for it, only time would tell.

8th month 15th day, Shanhai City.

Just as the flames of war on Zhaoqing battlefield experienced a short rest, Shanhai City welcomed a prominent figure.

The Knowledge Saint Kong Zi brought his disciples on a learning journey all the way to Shanhai City. A day prior, Han Feizi of Legalism had sneakily reached Shanhai City.

The two heavyweights of Confucianism and Legalism had finally gathered.

Everyone knew that the most intense aspect of the philosophers' debate would be the debating segment.

During this half a month, the philosophers followed the plan. First, they entered the book collection house for a week to understand the various achievements of each school of thought and faction in the various dynasties.

One had to say, they learned a lot.

Especially Confucianism, it changed and progressed a lot as time went on.

Following which, the philosophers' forum would begin.

Various school of thoughts and factions could head to the forum to describe their own thoughts and main goal. The prerequisite was for the contents to be new. If it was the same as the old thoughts, they did not need to go up.

The most attractive one was Wei Yang.

As one of the representative figures of Legalism and the person who affected the Warring States, Wei Yang, with his new identity as the director of internal affairs, headed to the forum.

His experience in Shanhai City had taught him a lot. All of his previous views were changed or improved because of his experiences.

In his last life, Wei Yang had always said that people should either be farmers or soldiers; there was no third option. Everything was to serve their country.

Focusing on agriculture and less on commerce was his strategy. The cruel punishments were his way of rule.

Everything in Shanhai City went against his strategy.

The commercial system of Shanhai City was something that opened up his eyes. Interestingly, Shanhai City's agriculture was similarly prosperous. Promoting both commerce and agriculture seemed possible.

His way of thinking naturally changed.

Of course, his core Legalism thinking still remained rock steady. What changed was the methods and strategy; the way he pushed out.

Undeniably, his words had won him plenty of praise. Confucian scholars like Meng Zi all had solemn expressions when they left.

The next day, it was Meng Zi's turn.

Interestingly, he described the ethical relationship between aboriginals and players, which extended to the legal problem of player Lords.

One had to say that Gaia really created a bunch of monsters.

Think about it, Meng Zi and the others were all smart people in history. Now, Gaia had given him five thousand years of knowledge and also let him live in such a wonderful world.

It made him stronger and stronger.

The first battle between Confucianism and Legalism ended in a draw.

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Chapter 451- Zhang Yi Moves in

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Han Feizi and Lao Zi, one after another arrived at Shanhai City. However, they received different treatments.

Let's first talk about Han Feizi, who came a day earlier.

After he came to Shanhai City and greeted Jiang Shang, he was dragged off by Wei Yang, Shen Buhai, and Sheng Dao to Wei Yang's residence.

During this period of time, Shen Buhai and Sheng Dao did not move into Juxian House and stayed at Wei Yang's residence instead.

The four giants of Legalism had finally gathered.

If someone else was present, they would feel astonished. As for what the four discussed, it was not about how to win against the Confucians. Instead, they talked about the thinkings of Legalism.

In their eyes, the way of Legalism obviously held a far greater importance than this debate.

Han Feizi, the man who combined the three factions, caused a lot of sparks when he met the three founder.

After all, when Han Feizi combined the three factions, he could only use records. Mistakes in understanding and recording would definitely occur.

Their meeting truly made them feel that they should have known each other earlier.

As they talked, they forgot about the passage of time.

Only after their stomachs growled did they look at one another and laugh.

"Quick, quick!"

Wei Yang laughed boisterously and ordered the maidservant to bring the prepared dishes into the reading room.

The four of them ate and discussed at the same time.

The olden rules were not to talk during eating or sleeping times. However, the four of them were so happy that they tossed this old rule to the back of their heads. When they started to drink some of the Three Flowers Wine, they started to grow high and even more unrestrained.

After hurriedly consuming their lunch, they continued to talk.

This conversation took up another day, as they forgot all about the flow of time.

The four giants of Legalism, although their main ideas were different, they were still extremely similar to one another.

At night, Han Feizi naturally stayed in Wei Yang's residence.

In a huge coincidence, Kong Zi brought his disciples to Shanhai City the very next day.

The moment Kong Zi entered the city, he directly went to greet Jiang Shang. Kong Zi's main idea was to recreate the old; he followed and respected the rites of Zhou.

Although the main promoter of the rites of Zhou was not Jiang Shang but Zhou Gongdan, Jiang Shang was still one of the founders of Xizhou. As such, he was worth Kong Zi's visit.

Kong Zi, this cultural giant, was an exceedingly humble person. He was a role model for everyone. The fake Confucians and corrupt Confucians were truly a disgrace to him. They were in completely different leagues.

Along with his appearance, Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi, and other important figures all appeared.

A previously lackluster cultural occasion had welcomed its brightest moment.

Observing that the time was right, the ancestor of philosophers, Jiang Shang, unexpectedly invited Kong Zi, Meng Zi, Zhuang Zi, Mozi, as well as Han Feizi and his companion to the Fallen Star Island.

Before this, Jiang Shang only met the philosophers in the book collection hall.

Obviously, this conversation would be highly unusual. One must know that the invited individuals were all heavyweights of their school of thoughts; the highest existences out of all philosophers.

The only one unhappy about these arrangements was probably Lu Buwei.

After all, he did not receive an invitation. If one mentioned this matter, it actually seemed pretty normal. Lu Buwei did not even get a 'Zi' title, so he could not be considered an ancestor of a faction.

On Fallen Star Island, this gathering of saints was an event history would record. As for their exact words, no one knew. Even Ouyang Shuo knew nothing of their exchange.

Only at noon did Jiang Shang finally send someone to tell Xiao He that the philosophers' debate would officially start the next day.

He also sent out a small paper note.

In the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo sat in the main hall for a meeting with the four directors. Apart from them, Xiao He, as well as one of the representative figures of diplomacy, Zhang Yi, was present.

They were discussing two matters, one being the establishment of a diplomat organization, second would be to settle the philosophers' debate matter.

Fan Zhongyan suggested they name the organization Honglu Temple. Members of the temple would spread the good name of the territory.

The main officer of the Honglu Temple would be called Honglu Temple Minister, taking charge of all diplomacy issues. They would naturally appoint Zhang Yi to the position.

The established Honglu Temple would not be placed under the control of the four departments. Instead, it would report directly to Nanjiang Governor-General House and Ouyang Shuo. The rank of the Honglu Temple Minister would be situated between director and secretary.

The basic level officials and civil servants would be taken from the Administration Department.

The culture and traditions that the Culture and Education Division took charge of had the most similarities to the job of Honglu Temple. Hence, the officials under the Culture and Education Division that they sent to the Honglu Temple could easily pick up Zhang Yi's teachings.

Apart from that, Ouyang Shuo also granted Zhang Yi the permission to choose elites with good personalities from the school of diplomacy. Zhang Yi could decide all personnel changes.

This trust made Zhang Yi grateful to the point of tears.

"Thank you, Lord, for your trust!"

The moment they established the Honglu Temple, a system notification spread out from his ear.

"System Notification: School of diplomacy representative has moved into Shanhai City, taking charge of the Honglu Temple and accepting disciples. Shanhai City has met the three requirements for a school of thought to move in. The school of diplomacy officially moves into Shanhai City.""System Notification: School of diplomacy has officially moved in. Shanhai City is awarded the title of 'Maneuvering Amongst Political Groups'."When the system notification sounded out, the other players in the China region did not have much of a reaction. Only Hefu and the others, who were on route, felt their faces cramp up.

Problematic fellow!

They were fighting a war here. Meanwhile, their enemy actually stayed in his main base maneuvering amongst political groups.'

Comparing with others would genuinely make one die from anger.

This system notification was a significant blow to Hefu and the others.

The moment they heard it, Hefu and the others experienced a shocking reality check. It made them realize again that they were going to face a terrifying opponent.

Compared to him, they were not even on the same level. They needed to personally lead their troops, while he could remain in Shanhai City and expand his circle of influence.

Philosophers, Hefu would dream and crave for them.

To Shanhai City, it was like eating rice. One after another, school of thoughts moved into Shanhai City.

As Hefu rode his horse, he felt thankful in his heart. Thankful he acted calm and rational when dealing with the Four Seas Bank. He felt lucky that he did not do anything out of hand.

Facing such an opponent, anyone would feel a headache.

If he could, he totally would not want to fight Shanhai City. Helplessly, this was the cruel reality of the wilderness—a win-win situation did not exist.

It was either you die or I die.

Since he had no way out, he could only move forward.

His expression suddenly turned more resolute, and he looked a lot more courageous.

Ouyang Shuo did not have any time to think about the thoughts of Hefu and the others. He only wanted to check the stats of the title.

Maneuvering Amongst Political Groups: 15% increase in territory reputation, 25% reduction in animosity toward territory, 20% decrease in trade difficulty, 30% increase in favoritism of tribes.

Compared to the other titles, not only was the title granted by the school of diplomacy different, even the stats headed in a different route.

The other three schools gave a one-sided raise.

Only this title had buffs and debuffs. It was not hard to see that these stats were comparable to the rest.

Raising the territory's reputation, needless to say, was a rare stat. It was one that would only normally appear on hidden buildings.

Shanhai City's ability to attract so many talents had to do with such stats.

As for lowering animosity and lowering trade difficulty, it might look useless for now, but in the late game, it would be an overpowered stat.

Let's not talk about animosity yet. Purely in terms of trading, the phrase would make one drool. With this buff alone, Ouyang Shuo felt more confident in his trading with Australia.

The last stat was great for his strategy toward tribes.

In the territory, he had three tribal groups, mountain barbarians, nomads, as well as the Li Race aboriginals. Apart from the mountain barbarians, who voluntarily moved over, they had forced the rest to join them through war. Hence, they still held some negative feelings toward Shanhai territory.

With this new title, such feelings would definitely be abated to an extent. It would greatly help in their soft approach in regards to Qiongzhou.

Apart from the current tribes, it was also helpful for the integration of future races.

One must not forget that in Chiyou City, a huge number of mountain barbarians lived. Ouyang Shuo had worried over the fact that even after conquering Chiyou City, the mountain barbarians within would not be willing to join them.

After all, Chiyou's influence on mountain barbarians was simply too great.

With this added stat from the title, he had an additional 30% chance.

Most importantly, this title did not only apply to races like the mountain barbarians in Chiyou City. One must know that in the settings of Gaia, commoners in other regions were also listed as other races.

With that, the meaning behind it was huge.

One could foresee that with this step, if Shanhai City started a global war in the future, they would have an easier time ruling over new territories.

With such an analysis, one could see the incredible strength of this title.

Undeniably, this title would be an unparalleled existence in the later parts of the game.

This time, he had really picked up a treasure.

After Ouyang Shuo finished looking at the stats, he thought about whether or not he should try and recruit the other representative figure, Su Qin, to prevent other territories from receiving the title.

Thinking up to this point, a cold look flashed across his eyes.

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TWO Chapter 452-Bingshan Goddess

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Ouyang Shuo regained his focus and continued the meeting.

The philosophers debate, apart from the debating portion, would also hold an important ceremony—the heaven worship ceremony. Ouyang Shuo, as the host, would have to lead the philosophers to pay respect in the Yellow Emperor Temple.

The Yellow Emperor was the ancestor of the Chinese race. He also set up the ruling systems of China, so they naturally had to worship him.

After settling all the important matters, Ouyang Shuo announced the end of the meeting. He left Xiao He with the task of making contact with Su Qin to see whether or not he was willing to work in Shanhai City.

As the organizer of the philosophers' debate, Xiao He also had an important task apart from arranging daily matters. He had to contact the various philosophers and invite them to move into Shanhai City.

Ouyang Shuo believed that Xiao He had the ability; he could help them recruit some talents.

The results proved that. In this half month, no less than a hundred philosophers had already expressed their willingness. These people belonged to different factions and schools, so they were suitable for different industries.

Based on their specialities, Xiao He coordinated with the four departments to arrange everything in an orderly manner.

At this time, Xiao He's elder official identity played a crucial role. In the territory, apart from Ouyang Shuo, only he had the power to move the four departments.

Through the philosophers' debate, Xiao He was slowly building up his prestige in Shanhai City.

Everyone was clear that Xiao He would replace Fan Zhongyan as the head of the officials sooner or later. However, Fan Zhongyan himself did not mind, as Xiao He was truly amazing.

The talents that Xiao He recruited either entered the four departments or moved into the various Houses and counties. Those who did not want to be an official entered the two schools to teach the various industries as advisors, or they would establish an association.

One must know that there were hundreds of types of philosophers apart from the ten school of thoughts, although the rest were not that famous. However, their values had spread down in the various professions like wood craftsmen, carvers, and leather workers.

The industry associations in Shanhai City appeared like bamboo shoots after a rain.

Before this, the main associations in Shanhai City were the textile association and the fishing association. In less than half a month, more than ten associations registered at the Financial Department. The most famous ones among them were the carpenter association, carving association, and the leatherwork association.

Apart from establishing associations, some philosophers themselves were high level talents of their industry. Based on Xiao He's calculations, about five of them had reached the master rank.

When they received the buff from Shanhai City's specialty and ranked up to grandmaster one by one, Shanhai City's work occupation would truly boom.

Apart from Ouyang Shuo feeling delighted, work occupation players who lived in Shanhai City were similarly ecstatic. These mysterious disciples and masters were all people that they wanted to learn from.

If their luck was good, the players could even receive the inheritances of these NPCs in the form of quests. They could become a successor of some faction or school of thought.

All of a sudden, members of the Fallen Moon Guild crazily swarmed the streets.

Amongst which, a lucky person called Zhi Shui actually triggered the inheritance quest of the carpenters. This lucky fellow, probably because he was too happy, revealed the matter on the forums.

This time, the pot really blew open.

Work occupation players in the China region grew red with envy.

The guild leader of Thread even directly teleported to Shanhai City when she received the news.

"Lord Wuyi, you can't be so biased. Thread and Fallen Moon Guild are both under Shanhai City, so you can't treat us differently."

Bingshan Beauty, if her cold glance bore into a normal person, they would surrender right away.

Luckily, Ouyang Shuo was experienced. He knew that if he really allowed members of Thread to come down to Shanhai City to fight with members of Fallen Moon Guild, Sun Xiaoyue would rip him apart.

Although Sun Xiaoyue might look like a gentle next-door-type girl, she was terrifying when angered.

Thinking about this point, Ouyang Shuo felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Guild leader Qing, I am not being biased. After all, Shanhai City is where Fallen Moon Guild is registered, while Thread is registered in Yashan City, right?"

When Qing Sikou heard this response, she froze. She did not expect this jerk to not even hesitate before he rejected her. Was her charm really so useless?

However, beauties with cold exteriors had the strongest of hearts.

When she was in Jingdou, the number of guys chasing her could probably form two circles around the Jingdou city wall. Qing Sikou did not even glance at these suitors.

Especially the chasing incident of Xingzhe Zichen, which made Qing Sikou more and more cold. After she moved into Yashan City, there basically was not as much action.

Even so, it did not mean that Qing Sikou did not like it when others praised her. It did not mean that she could stand guys not falling for her charm.

For girls, especially beauties, they could not tolerate such a reaction.

However, toward Ouyang Shuo, she was helpless.

Who was the guy in front of her?

He was the best player in the China region, probably even the world, and the most pinnacle existence. His words and actions were the focal point of the China region. Some envied him, some despised him, and some even worshipped him.

However, no one dared to act insolent toward him.

After all, this man held incredible power.

Thinking about this point, Qing Sikou felt more and more annoyed. Anxiously, she could not control her feelings and blew up, "I don't care, help me out."

In her words, there was actually a tint of playfulness. When Ouyang Shuo heard her, his eyes widened.

Bingshan Goddess acting playful?

When she saw his expression, only then did Qing Sikou realize that she had lost her demeanor, and her face instantly reddened.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

Ouyang Shuo calmed himself down. He knew that at such a time, he needed to give Qing Sikou a way to step down. Otherwise, she might really freak out.

"Cough, how about this, arrange twenty people over to Shanhai City to either take a master or accept quests. As for whether they can become successors, that will depend on the heavens. Is that okay?"

"Yes."

Qing Sikou took in a deep breath. She was not willing to stay anymore, so she turned around and left.

Seeing that, Ouyang Shuo let out a long sigh.

Was she trying to kill me?

Not long after, Ouyang Shuo received a letter from Sun Xiaoyue in Yashan City.

When he opened the letter, he only found a white sheet of paper.

When Ouyang Shuo saw this, he shook his head, that girl was really too jealous.Apart from scattered individuals obtaining jobs, if schools or factions moved in, they could even open a college in Xinan University to accept disciples.

The moment this news spread out, even Mohism and the other big school of thoughts felt tempted. After all, they all wanted to spread their thoughts in an influential school.

Furthermore, Xinan University also had Jiang Shang and the book collection house. Even if the various schools and factions did not station themselves in Shanhai City, just opening a college in Xinan University was still possible.

Xinan University's ability to accept all slowly gained everyone's recognition.

After this battle, Shanhai City's foundation grew more and more stable.

The entire China region could not compare with them.When the Lord asked him to invite Su Qin, Xiao He looked at the Lord with a weird expression. In theory, with Zhang Yi in charge of the Honglu Temple, why would the Lord feel interested in Su Qin?

Xiao He could only keep such thoughts to himself and not speak them out loud. He only nodded his head in response.

After Xiao He left, Ouyang Shuo looked at the blue sky through the main door, deep in thought.

Su Qin ah, Su Qin. I hope that you're smart enough and don't make me take that final step.

Nanjiang Governor-General Manor, Wuji Palace.

The night sky looked like water, and the frogs croaked. The Wuji Palace, on the other hand, was silent. Be it the patrolling guards or the maidservants, they all walked quietly, afraid to disturb the Lord.

Wuji Palace was where Ouyang Shuo slept.

When they built the Nanjiang Governor-General Manor, they expanded the entire palace once again. The Yingyu sisters, as well as Bing'er, all had their own palace wing.

Bing'er, that little girl, had slowly grown up. It was time for her to learn to live independently.

As the Shanhai City system grew more and more perfect, class systems were starting to show. Although Ouyang Shuo did not want this to occur, this game was set in the olden time after all. He could not alter the natural progression of things.

Cui Yingyu and the others, as the sisters of the Lord, all took chariots when they travelled.

The number of servants in the manor grew by the day. The rules in the manor became more and more strict. The Housekeeping Division they set up long ago started to play a more and more important role.

Zisu performed well and took good care of the back palace.

Even Ouyang Shuo did not expect Zisu, that brat, to be so capable. Be it Cui Yingyu, Qing'er, or even Song Jia, everyone felt impressed.

Although the palace had expanded many times, the decorations in Wuji Palace were still relatively humble and simple. Although Ouyang Shuo possessed many riches, he was not a materialistic person.

Due to Ouyang Shuo's influence, the entire manor was very simple.

Inside the sleeping chamber, Ouyang Shuo took out the secret manual—Killing Sword Sword Manual. After he removed the poison from his body, Ouyang Shuo had rested for several days to prepare to cultivate this sword manual.

The killing sword would soon appear in the world.

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Chapter 453- Path of the Killing Sword

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Ouyang Shuo pressed his right hand onto the secret manual, prompting a system notification to sound out.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi for obtaining the Emperor Rank cultivation method, Killing Sword Sword Manual. Will you learn it?"

"Learn!"

With a Shua! the secret manual turned into a crimson light and shot into the middle of his brows. All of a sudden, his consciousness was pulled into a blood red battlefield.

A red sun, withered grass, cold air, and the scent of blood, which filled the nostrils.

Ouyang Shuo was familiar with this scene.

The last moment, before he revived, he had seen this exact same scarlet sky.

On the battlefield, the sounds of war horses bellowed toward the heavens.

On the vast wilderness, one red, one black, two huge armies engaged one another. Upon closer inspection, the two armies were not equally numbered; the red side had four times more troops than the black army.

Even so, the massacre on the battlefield was split extremely evenly.

This was because amongst the black army, there was an Asura.

A blurred out middle-aged general in the black army had attracted Ouyang Shuo's attention. He wore Qin Armor and held a Qin Sword, while the killing aura around him boiled, as he killed wantonly.

The exquisitely forged Qin Sword was long and heavy, and the thick scent of blood enveloped the blade itself.

As the blade flashed, a head fell to the ground.

The weirder part was that the middle-aged general could seemingly feel Ouyang Shuo's attention. He was cold, as he picked up his sword. He actually started practicing his sword arts in the middle of the battlefield.

"1st, killing life!"

The middle-aged general calmly pronounced, as he cut down forward with his sword. He simply killed an enemy with a horizontal strike.

"2nd, killing soldier!"

He did not retract the blade that chopped downward, as he slashed sideways toward a soldier. Before the soldier could react, the middle-aged general had slit his throat.

"3rd, killing sergeant!"

The middle-aged general seemed numb to killing, expressionless. It was like he had found a home in this chaos. With a sidestep and a block, he stopped the crescent blade of the enemy sergeant. He pushed it upward and before the sergeant could react, the middle-aged general stabbed down on his chest.

The sharp Qin Sword directly pierced the armor and embedded itself in the sergeant's heart.

"4th, killing general!"

As the sergeant died, a black-faced enemy general blocked the middle-aged general. The enemy wore a red armor and held an exquisite crescent blade. His aura was extremely strong. With a glance, one would know that he was not simple.

The middle-aged general maintained his expressionless face. The Qin Sword in his hand moved in more and more complex manners. The sword arts before were just the most basic. However, there were now many changes.

The long sword parried and blocked, chopped and cut, leaving Ouyang Shuo dazzled.

Ha!

The middle-aged general cried out. Exerting all his strength, he directly broke the enemy' crescent blade into half.

The black-faced general was shocked.

In just that instance, the Qin Sword swept past, one stroke.

When Ouyang Shuo saw this move, his blood boiled.

As expected from the killing sword, a real battlefield massacring sword technique.

One stroke and one stance. Nothing for show; it was all just to kill the enemy.

"5th, killing oneself!"

As the middle-aged general started to practice the fifth stroke, Ouyang Shuo felt extremely confused.

Killing oneself? Would he really commit suicide?

That seemed rather contradictory!

The middle-aged general seemed to notice Ouyang Shuo's doubt, and he suddenly gave out a weird smirk. For a blurred out face to suddenly smirk, it looked truly creepy.

When Ouyang Shuo saw the smirk, he felt shivers run down his spine.

Only to see the middle-aged general turning the sword around and aiming for his abdomen. The sword plunged through his body and did not stop, directly piercing a general behind him.

So that was it.

Ouyang Shuo was enlightened. The so-called killing oneself was a move to deal the highest damage, while paying the smallest price.

This move needed one to have exquisite control over the position and timing of the sword. If not, you would die before the enemy.

"6th, killing all life!"

The middle-aged general pulled out the sword from his own body. Blood splattered everywhere, but he did not even frown.

Looking over, although the general was strong, his army did not have an advantage, and the enemy slowly withered them down.

The middle-aged general laughed coldly and swung his sword.

This unassuming swipe caused a colossal change. A lightning bolt crashed down from the vast sky.

Then, the bloodthirst and killing intent on the middle-aged general's sword formed a crimson blade, killing life. In an instance, over ten soldiers fell.

When Ouyang Shuo saw this move, his brows tightened. He could not understand it. In his last life, he was a decent player amongst adventure gamemode players, so he understood a bit about the martial way.

When Gaia designed martial arts, it did not break away from reality. Based on theory, even with a buff, a move could not bend the laws of physics.

This move was something he could not understand.

What kind of move was that? The middle-aged general used the killing aura of his sword to create a formless killing intent. It was like the action of a god.

After all, to killing using just their aura, wasn't that the action of a god?

Or maybe, the Killing Sword Sword Manual was not a true secret manual. Maybe it was just an in-game thing? That could be it, but Gaia should not be so contradictory.

Before this, Gaia had pointed out that all 'manuals' and 'scriptures' were real. Hence, this made Ouyang Shuo exceedingly confused.

Did Gaia really predict martial arts to reach such a level?

Thinking in this direction, it did make sense.

Unfortunately, the middle aged-general was not planning to explain things to Ouyang Shuo. He just showed the move. Whether Ouyang Shuo could understand or not depended on his own ability.

If he learned it, then that was good. If he did not, then too bad.

Ouyang Shuo could only memorize what he had seen.

"7th, killing spirits!"

The middle-aged general did not pause. He cleared out all the enemies around him and charged straight for the enemy commander. He would kill anyone that dared to block his path.

Ouyang Shuo noticed that when the middle-aged general killed, he used the first four strokes seamlessly.

It was obvious that the way of the killing sword was not a simple seven strokes. Instead, the moves interconnected with one another to create thousands and thousands of variations, allowing one to easily kill even when surrounded by many enemies.

The killing sword was a way of killing and also the way of survival.

To kill the enemy, one must first survive.

Apart from assassins, no one would not know how to protect themselves.

The killing sword took this idea to the extreme.

That was because the killing sword was the way of the battlefield. On the battlefield, swords had no eyes and dangers lurked everywhere. The method to survive and protect yourself was a true art.

The middle-aged general had practiced the sword to an extreme, each stroke was a killing blow.

The huge army could not even stop him for a moment. Everywhere he passed, bodies fell and blood flowed like a river.

"Quick, stop him!"

The enemy commander panicked.

"Kill!"

The red wave fearlessly charged.

Numerous crescent blades formed light after light, as they encompassed the land.

"Hen!"

The middle-aged general did not care; these lines of soldiers were not at his level. Regularly, the middle-aged general would use the 6th killing move to slay enemies.

Ouyang Shuo looked on in astonishment.

Based on theory, Shi Wanshui and Er'Lai were also emperor rank generals, but Ouyang Shuo did not see them possess such strength, able to kill the commander among millions of troops.

Where did this manual come from?

He could not believe that such a technique only stood at the emperor rank.

What secret did it hide within?

Ouyang Shuo did not have time to think anymore, as the middle-aged general had already charged to the front of the commander.

Yet another sweep, killing anything in his path.

The commander rode high on his warhorse, his expression exceedingly serious. He could also fight, and he wielded his spear in preparation for a final clash.

The middle-aged general smirked coldly. He jumped up from the ground, and the sword in his hand pierced forward. He totally ignored the spear plunging toward him.

The sword was like a shooting star, slashing through the sky and into the chest of the enemy.

"Ah!"

The enemy commander lowered his head in disbelief and looked at the sword in his chest.

The spear brushed against the body of the middle-aged general before falling to the ground. At the crucial moment, the blade of the middle-aged general was faster by a step.

The essence of this move was speed.

Ouyang Shuo looked on; his eyes did not even blink. Killing spirits did not really mean killing a spirit. Rather, it alluded to killing the enemy commander.

All the killing sword moves were designed for battle. Each move was focused on the enemy.

No wonder the evaluation would contain such a line: User of the killing blade, Qin Army using Qin Sword on the battlefield, an ultimate technique refined through battle.

The way of this sword truly befitted the title of ultimate.

Seeing their commander killed, the furious soldiers rushed forward to destroy the middle-aged general.

The middle-aged general jumped down from his horse, as his sword glowed with an evil red light. He raised up his head and looked at Ouyang Shuo coldly, "A hundred mile massacre!"

Ouyang Shuo felt a shiver run down his spine; this was the final killing move of the killing sword.

The red glow of the sword seemed to suck up and absorb a certain quantity of blood from the enemy general body. Instantly, an enormous blood energy exploded into millions of small swords.

Silence, the entire battlefield fell completely silent.

Numerous soldiers instantly died.

Bug, this was a bug! Ouyang Shuo exclaimed in head.

Ouyang Shuo originally thought that it was just a description, who knew that it would actually be true?

A hundred mile massacre?

Ouyang Shuo muttered.

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Chapter 454- Marketplace

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Killing sword was the sword of killing.

The moment the sword left the sheath, it must taste blood. Otherwise, it would not be withdrawn.

The moment these words left the middle-aged general, the entire blood red illusion broke down. Ouyang Shuo slowly opened his eyes. In his mind, he was still thinking back on the sword strokes he witnessed.

Just at this moment, a system notification sounded out.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, bone structure exquisite, comprehension strong. Player has obtained the teachings of the blood red illusion, Killing Sword Sword Manual has reached the 'just learned the fundamentals' level."The sudden appearance of the blood red illusion, receiving comprehension out of nowhere.

At this point, Ouyang Shuo was sure that the Killing Sword Sword Manual hid a huge secret.

The other cultivation methods did not have anything like this, including the Yellow Emperor Internal Cultivation Technique, the Yang Family Spear Technique, and the rest. None of them created such an illusion.

"System Notification: Player Qiyue Wuyi lacks comprehension, 7th killing temporarily sealed.""System notification: Player Qiyue Wuyi lacks comprehension, 6th killing temporarily sealed.""System Notification: Player Qiyue Wuyi lacks comprehension, 5th killing move temporarily sealed."The three successive system notifications left him speechless. He looked at his own stats. With the help of the Yellow Emperor Internal Cultivation Technique, his comprehension had reached a terrifying 32 points.

Even so, it was not good enough.

These facts aligned with the truth. After all, when he was in the blood red illusion, Ouyang Shuo did not understand anything about the last two strokes.

Making use of this chance, Ouyang Shuo took a look at his own stats.

Name: Qiyue Wuyi

Title: Mighty Lord (45% increase in NPCs' relationship, 20% increase in the success rate of recruiting historical people)

Occupation: General (sub-occupation)

Territory: Nanjiang Governor-General House

Level: 70

Merit: 26200/1000000

Rank: 1st Class Marquis

Reputation: 173000/1000000

Primordial Energy: 710/2000

Body Structure: 39

Comprehension: 32

Luck: 8

Charm: 10

Command: 80

Force: 75

Intelligence: 27

Political: 65

Talent: Wargod (Permanent 20% increase in combat power)

Talent: Ice (Attacks have an additional icy effect)

Speciality: Magic God Possession (200% increase in combat power for 30 minutes, followed by a period of added weakness)

Specialty: Way of the King (raises sensory abilities and gives birth to the aura of a king)

Internal Art: Yellow Emperor Internal Cultivation Technique (layer 8/12)

Technique: Ba Ji Fist Art (achieved mastery through comprehension). Yang Family Spear Technique (achieved mastery through comprehension). Killing Sword Sword Manual (learned the fundamentals).

Movement Skill: Floating Ghost Shadow

Art of War: 'Liu Tao' (Wu Tao Volume)

Skills: Wild Beast Taming Technique (Intermediate)

Mount: Qingdian (Platinum)

Equipment: Tianmo Spear, Chixiao Sword

Armor: General Mingguang Armor (Dark Gold)

Cape: Divine Martial Cape

Accessories: Qilin Golden Seal (Platinum), Dragon and Phoenix Pendant (Platinum)

Unique Items: Yin Yang Copper Coin, Beihai Bay Treasure Map

Ouyang Shuo's current stats, even compared to adventure gamemode players, could allow him to be considered a pinnacle existence. Out of all his equipment, he only lacked a pair of good boots.

In the last few days, Ouyang Shuo had passed the king beast scale armor that Song Jia had gathered to Qing'er. He instructed her to tailor two inner armors and two pairs of boots.

That brat was really confident. For these few days, she had locked herself up in her shop.

Based on her normal speed, she should finish up soon.

Although it was dead at night, Ouyang Shuo was not tired at all. He got up and took out the Chixiao Sword.

Shua! the red sword exited its sheath. Contrasted to the night sky, it looked exceedingly elegant.

Ouyang Shuo held the sword in his hand, as he started practicing in the room. Each stroke and move closely followed the seven killing strokes that he had understood. He practiced it very slowly, as he ran it through his memory. Sometimes, he would even stop and close his eyes and fall into a moment of deep contemplation.

The original sword strokes, which seethed with killing intent, lacked that certain fire in his hand.

If an expert was present, they would feel shocked.

That was because Ouyang Shuo's strokes seemed weak and floaty, but in truth, his movements contained the essence of the sword strokes. Although it seemed formless, it actually concealed a hidden killing intent.

After a short while, Ouyang Shuo sheathed the sword.

In just that short while, the practice had left his forehead covered in sweat, while his face looked ashen white.

"Killing sword?"

Ouyang Shuo muttered.

As the light wind blew, the night remained utterly silent. The only audible sounds were someone sighing.

As the night sky passed, a red sun rose up from the east mountains. The golden glow of the sunlight scattered onto Shanhai City, waking up this titanic beast.

Outside the city, in the cover of the night, the farmers either pushed their carts or carried their items. They were bringing the fruits and vegetables that they had grown to sell in the city.

The moment the city doors opened, the farmers formed up lines and entered the city orderly.

Friendship River riverside, the area of the various Chamber of Commerces. It took up the greatest area and sold a large variety of products from the nine imperial cities. Naturally, it was the most bustling area.

Canyon Riverside, people crowded the harbor. Numerous merchant ships docked at the harbor, waiting to unload or load up the Shanhai City specialties onto their boats to sell elsewhere.

The coolies on the harbor had reached more than a thousand in number.

The streets and alleys of the city already brimmed with people.

At the private schools at the sides of the streets, sounds of children studying spread out.

Today, the number of private schools in Shanhai City had reached a number no less than a hundred. One could see such private schools everywhere. Some were built by the Culture and Education Division, some by Shanhai City, while others were built by funds that scholars donated.

Shanhai City's cultural luster was predicated on this.

Maybe a famous scholar would appear from these schools in the future.

The women who woke up early dressed up prettily, as they carried their baskets to purchase vegetables in the market. On the way there, they would purchase buns from the breakfast shop to take back home.

Seeing familiar neighbors, some people would definitely start chatting on the streets, talking about things at home, prices of vegetables, materials of their clothes, and the like.

Some vain ones could even talk about make-up.

All along, Shanhai City was an exceedingly open society. They would not look down on women. Especially with the rise of prominent women like Cui Yingyu, Mulan Yue, and Mu Guiying. They helped to push females to a high point.

Hence, these women could do as they wished.

Some of their family males even followed them to the breakfast shop to have soy milk and breakfast, as they gossiped about rumors on the streets.

Amongst them, some people had connections. They talked about the rumors inside the Governor-General Manor.

"Little princess is being so naughty at school. She drew turtles on her friends' face while they were taking a nap."

"Cui Hua, who lives beside us, has been recruited as a maidservant. Her whole family is so honored now."

"Some servants didn't follow the rules and took vases from the manor to sell. After being found out, they were sacked and sent to the Procuratorate Division."

"In the back garden of the manor, there's a playground and a weird looking castle."

The people would gossip about everything they heard regarding the manor. Moreover, the biggest topic today was naturally the philosophers' debate.

The people naturally understood a lot about the philosophers. The officials placed so much importance on them, and they could be seen all around.

"I heard that four to five factions and schools have decided to base themselves in Shanhai City."

"What four to five, I think more than ten."

"That's right, on this earth, there's no place more suitable than our Shanhai City."

"I really want to make a trip to the imperial city to take a look. What do you think it looks like inside?"

The people that spoke were migrants that came not long ago.

After the three cities merged, the imperial city became a forbidden ground for the commoners.

"Hei, talking about that, I've been there before and stayed there for a while."

The one that spoke was an old man over fifty in age.

"Old Zhang, did you really? Tell us about it!"

A table of people instantly crowded around.

Even those from neighboring tables peeked across, their eyes all filled with curiosity.

When Old Zhang saw such a response, he smiled, "You all came too late. Last year, when I arrived, Shanhai City wasn't so big."

"That's right, that's right. I heard that Shanhai City was only a small city. The Lord brought everyone and built it up step by step."

"What small city? I heard that it was a small village."

"Old Zhang, you are wise, and you have seen a lot. What do you say?"

"It really was a village."

"That's amazing!"

"Stop asking questions and let Old Zhang speak about what the imperial city is like."

The teen from the start eagerly said.

"That's right!"

"The imperial city, ah. It's really amazing. Golden tiles on the floor, jade as walls, paintings hung around; that place is beautiful beyond belief. There's a temple of heaven for worshipping, the temple of our old ancestor, the Yellow Emperor, is also built there. However, the most amazing thing is still the old Lianzhou Lord's Manor…."

Old Zhang's words were half real and half fake but mostly his exaggerations. The teens crowding around were all stunned and amazed. They all exclaimed out in awe.

These events at the corner of the streets was just a small happening in the city. The same scene would happen at other corners, forming a realistic, lively, and beautiful painting.

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Chapter 455- Worshipping the Heavens

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Nanjiang Governor-General Manor, Wuji Palace.

Under the help of his servant, Ouyang Shuo donned his coronation costume and crown. On the left side of his waist hung the Chixiao Sword, while the Qilin Golden Seal hung on his right.

After he wore everything, he walked out of the Wuji Palace, and exited through the gates.

At the main gate, a carriage specifically crafted for the Lord was already prepared. Five elite Qingfu Horses pulled the carriage, their fur entirely green.

The entire carriage was not locked up but open instead. On the top, there was an imperial canopy design. Ouyang Shuo boarded the carriage and walked toward the Temple of Heaven. Along the way, the Divine Martial Guards stood at attention.

Under the blue sky, the marble floored Temple of Heaven seemed endless and vast.

The Divine Martial Guards carefully guarded the Temple of Heaven. Sentries stood guard every three to five steps. This subgroup of the Divine Martial Guards only had two hundred people; they were the core strength that guarded Ouyang Shuo. They never headed out to war with the army.

They all had solemn bearings, as their fresh red divine martial capes floated in the wind.

On the Temple of Heaven square, in front of the Yellow Emperor Temple, all the important generals and civil servants apart from Baiqi had gathered. According to their ranks, they stood orderly on the sides of the square.

Elder Official Xiao He stood at the front of the group.

Beside him was the principal of the Army Military Academy, Sun Wu.

Closely behind them were the four directors, then Honglu Temple Zhang Yi, Shanhai Magistrate Zhang Wenzhong, and Lianzhou Governor Wei Ran. Lastly, there were the secretaries and the few prefects of Lianzhou Prefecture.

They had also invited the various deans and lecturers of Xinan University and Army Military Academy to the ceremony. Apart from that, they also invited two hundred odd student representatives from the two schools.

All of them wore a standardized uniform, and they all looked majestic.

On the left side of the square, naturally, it was the philosophers.

The ancestor of philosophy, Jiang Shang, was the deacon of the ceremony. As such, he stood at the front.

Closely behind him was Kong Zi, Lao Zi, Mozi, and Han Feizi. Further behind was Zhuang Zi, Meng Zi, Lu Buwei, Sheng Dao, Xun Zi, Huishi, Zhou Yan, and Su Qin, the representative figures of the nine school of thoughts.

Lastly, there stood the representatives of the other factions and school of thoughts.

Apart from that, they also extended an invitation to the scholars who decided to move into Shanhai City.

This was also the first time that all the philosophers had gathered together.

Such a scene would only occur once in a lifetime.

At the two sides of the Yellow Emperor Temple stood a hundred odd ritualists and music officials the Culture and Education Division trained. The ritualists were in charge of arranging the sacrificial ceremony items, while the music officials were in charge of all the tunes and music during the ceremony.

On the large square stood four hundred odd people, but it was not a tight fit at all.

Each group stood orderly and strictly arranged by rank.

Although the ceremony had not begun, the square was utterly silent and extremely dignified.

Undeniably, they needed to conduct this worship ceremony before the philosophers' debate. Ouyang Shuo wanted to use this chance to display the power and ability of Shanhai City.

The carriage stopped at its designated area and Ouyang Shuo slowly disembarked.

Under the shine of the sun, Ouyang Shuo seemed larger than life, his presence domineering.

Secretary Bai Nanpu loudly proclaimed, "Shanhai City Lord, Nanjiang Governor-General, Lianzhou Lord arrives!"

The Nanjiang Governor-General post that the imperial court granted him was just a position. To Ouyang Shuo, the Lianzhou Lord title held the most value, and it was also one of his significant titles as a Lord.

"Greetings, Lord!"

Xiao He led the officials to greet and bow to him.

"Greetings, Lianzhou Lord!"

Jiang Shang led the philosophers; they similarly bowed, as they greeted.

In the entire square, only Ouyang Shuo still stood up straight.

Seeing such a scene was enough to make one's blood boil.

When he saw Kong Zi and the others bow to him, Ouyang Shuo felt an immense sense of pride.

During the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, the philosophers were really respectful to the Lords. Hence, in such a situation, Ouyang Shuo could accept their bows and greetings.

The taste of power truly made one feel drunk.

Even if the road forward had many thorns that he would have to face alone, Ouyang Shuo would have no regrets.

His mindset was slowly improving.

A truly mighty Lord was rising in the wilderness. The future Ouyang Shuo would act even colder; he would toss aside his burdens completely and use his own power to climb to the apex.

He had to complete his mission to become an overlord in this life.

Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Do away with the formalities."

"Thank you, Lord!"

"Thank you, Lianzhou Lord!"

Under the guidance of the ritualist, Ouyang Shuo sat right in front of the offering.

Observing this, Xiao He announced, "Please take your seats, the offering has begun!"

"Welcome, Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor."

As his words finished, the music officials started playing the music and the drums.

The sound spread across the Temple of Heaven, past the city walls of the imperial city, and throughout Shanhai City.

The commoners in the city were praying at their own homes, similarly worshipping the Yellow Emperor. Instantly, the invisible power of incense gathered around the Yellow Emperor Statue.

Jiang Shang moved forward and raised his hands toward the sky, "Ancestor Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor, please return!"

Xiao He sang, "Dianbi."

Following which, they followed a set of complicated rituals.

The entire ceremony was exceedingly strict and severe; they did not miss anything out.

Be it Kong Zi or Lao Zi, they were all knowledgeable about such ceremonies, so they could not afford to make a mistake.

After the three offerings, Xiao He sang, "Read the blessings."

Jiang Shang faced the altar of the Yellow Emperor and knelt, as he read the blessings.

"Gaia 2nd year, 8th month, 6th day, bright and aunt day. Shanhai City commoners, as well as philosophers, have gathered here at the Shanhai City Yellow Emperor Temple to worship our Ancestor, Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor. Our ancestor has performed many good deeds, building the palace and blessing our people. Teaching us agriculture and letting us live. Riding cows and horses, opening up roads and paths. Correcting our dressing and creating books and traditions. A Lord everyone worshipped; someone who united the nine states. Pushed for education and for everyone to practice the same religion. The core of Chinese culture; the pride of our people. The pinnacle of the Chinese, the dragon bloodline will continue. In the wilderness, the philosophers will rise. Worshipping the ancestor; please bless us with prosperity. The worship ceremony is complete!"

After the blessings were read, Xiao He sang, "Enjoy the wine and meat."

Yet another set of complicated rituals.

Lastly Xiao He sang, "Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor has left; the worship ceremony has been completed!"

Only then did they finish the entire ceremony.

The moment it ended, the Yellow Emperor Statue suddenly emitted a golden glow. The radiance directly shone past the temple and spread across the entire Shanhai City.

Seeing such a scene, be it the philosophers or the commoners, they all felt delighted beyond tears.

A sign of god!

"The ancestor has sent a sign!"

At the corner of his face, Ouyang Shuo let out a smile.

The Yellow Emperor showing his spirit was enough to prove that Ouyang Shuo's city running standards were recognized. As a Lord, his morals were approved.

Only a city ran well could receive such an auspicious sign.

Especially Kong Zi, a smile covered his face.

Originally, Kong Zi thought that the Lianzhou Lord had exploited Wei Yang. As such, some of the people in the territory would complain and feel unhappy. Who would have guessed that such a scene would occur?

At the same time, a system notification sounded out by his ear.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi. Ancestor auspicious sign has descended onto Shanhai City, 2 point increase in people's sentiment, instant 25% increase the quality of the people in the city. Congratulations!"

Don't think that 2 points were very little. One must know that Shanhai City had reached 92 in this category, so they were already near the max. Each point was exceptionally precious.

The matter was not over, following which, another system notification rang.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, Yellow Emperor Temple has been worshipped by the philosophers. Stats have greatly increased."

Name: Yellow Emperor Temple

Type: Hidden Building

Function: 50% increase in resident satisfaction, 20% increase in reputation of territory.

Specialty: Ancestor Blessing (55% increase in body quality of residents). Cultural Prosperity (30% increase in resident culture).

Evaluation: the Yellow Emperor Temple has the name of "First Temple in The World" and is where the south Chinese people worshipped the ancestor of the Chinese race.

The worshipped Yellow Emperor Temple had a new specialty, and its other stats also rose.

Ouyang Shuo did not expect to receive such a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

Thinking about this point, Ouyang Shuo turned his eyes to the Confucius Temple and the Martial Temple beside the Yellow Emperor Temple. Not because of other reasons, but because Kong Zi and Jiang Shang were present.

Such a scene was also once in a lifetime.

Apart from Shanhai City, no other territory could have such an overpowered opportunity.

After worshipping the Yellow Emperor, the next step would be to move to Xinan University for the philosophers' debate.

However, Ouyang Shuo hurriedly kept Kong Zi and Jiang Shang. He asked them to rewrite the horizontal inscriptions in the Confucius and Martial Temples respectively to act as a memory of such an occasion.

When the both of them heard his request, they did not reject it.

Of course, without the previous scene, Kong Zi probably would not have agreed. One must know that Kong Zi was an exceedingly humble person. He would not easily leave any personal writings.

When he obtained the precious writings, Ouyang Shuo felt delighted. He immediately asked Xu Shuda to follow it and rewrite the horizontal inscriptions.

Ouyang Shuo wanted to see what kind of changes would occur to the two temples.

Following which, Ouyang Shuo led everyone to Xinan University.

Seated scholars filled up the entirety of the philosophers' platform.

Ouyang Shuo sat at the front of the hall; he was prepared to quietly listen.

On the platform, there were only three people, Jiang Shang, Kong Zi, and Han Feizi.

The debate of Confucius and Legalism had entered its second stage.

Oddly enough, be it Kong Zi or Han Feizi, neither looked desperate to win. Ouyang Shuo had a feeling that this debate might have a wholly different outcome.

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Chapter 456- Land of Culture

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Xinan University, Philosophers' Platform.

Kong Zi and Han Feizi did not go straight at each other's throats, nor did they try to pinpoint each other's faults. The entire debate was peaceful. Rather than calling it a debate, it was more akin to a sharing and exchanging of ideas.

Be it Kong Zi or Han Feizi, they had hung around the wilderness for a long time, so they had a clear understanding of the social structure of the wilderness. These experiences had a hefty influence on their ideas.

Not only that, the players also influenced both of them.

That was right, players like Ouyang Shuo. The China Region was so huge, and there were many hidden dragons and tigers. Even other territories would more or less use an advanced ruling system that contained elements taken from the real world.

These new and special systems and the bold ideals of these territories undoubtedly came as a huge blow to both of them.

The world in the game and the Warring States Period were two completely different concepts.

However, they were saints. No matter how the world changed, their ideals would still stay strong. From the things they learned through their travels, solely a few words about it could make one reflect and think deeply.

"Amazing!"

Within the hall, cheers would regularly erupt.

Even as you grow old, you would continue to learn.

These two knowledgeable heavyweights used their own actions to give all the philosophers a real lesson.

In the future, Confucianism and Legalism, even the rest of the philosophers, would continue to have debates. However, it would have a new requirement—they would need to accept the thinkings of other. They must not hold onto the path and close themselves up; they develop with the times.

Lastly, Jiang Shang walked up the stage.

"Philosophers, each faction and school of thinking has its strengths and weaknesses. Debating is not for deciding a victor but to motivate one another. Let's hope that this age of debating lasts forever!"

Ouyang Shuo stood up and led the applause.

The age of debating, well said.

The regret the Spring and Autumn philosophers felt was not because of who won or lost, but because the debating atmosphere and cultural platform was totally wiped away. It only allowed one school of thought and one faction to take the stage.

This action was good in that it preserved a rule, but to cultural progression and thinking, it was detrimental.

Ouyang Shuo turned around and looked at all the philosophers. Then, he made a solemn promise.

"Shanhai City will accept everyone and every school of thought. We won't cling solely on one faction or school of thought. Every philosopher can move into Shanhai City and lay their roots here."

Within the hall, thunderous applause broke out.

At this point, the philosophers' debate officially ended.

The moment it ended, a system notification sounded out in his ear.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyu for completing the A rank quest 'Reappear philosopher's debate.' Player rewarded 4000 merit points and 40,000 reputation points.""System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, Shanhai City is awarded the title of 'Land of Culture'. Please take a look."

Ouyang Shuo immediately looked at the stats that the title granted.

Land of Culture: 45% increase in education standards of people, 10% increase in culture value of territory, 25% increase in civil servant standards, 35% increase in talent attraction rate.

As expected from such a title. With it, Shanhai City did not need to worry about failing to attract talents.

This completed the grand event. However, it did not end just yet.

Ouyang Shuo had past through many trials and hardships. Now, he had finally obtained the recognition of Jiang Shang after the debate. This ancestor of the philosophers accepted Ouyang Shuo's invitation, and he officially became the principal of Xinan University.

The moment the news went out, the philosophers were shocked.

The first to express their interest were the Confucians. Although Kong Zi still mainly took traveling and learning as his core, he announced that he would teach at the university for a month.

The moment the news went out, all the Confucians in the world were stunned.

Before this, Kong Zi had travelled around. He would hurry around and travel mysteriously, never living for long in an area. This time, he would spend a month here, breaking the old precedence. One could foresee that in the next few days, many Confucians would swarm in to Shanhai City to listen to him.

Ouyang Shuo instructed Fan Zhongyan to use this opportunity to recruit some talents.

This event wiped away the unhappiness and disadvantage Ouyang Shuo felt because of the Qin Shihuang incident. Who knows, maybe those Confucians who left Xianyang and were ready to seclude themselves would come to Shanhai City.

Apart from Kong Zi, Meng Zi also accepted Ouyang Shuo's invitation to become the Dean of the Economics College. He would help to spread and research of economics.

Along with Meng Zi, a large number of Confucians stayed too.

The economics college now brimmed with talent.

In the future, the college would produce a large number of economics professors for the territory.

However, there was still one cause for regret. Due to the presence of Kong Zi, even if Meng Zi chose to base himself in Shanhai, it did not mean that Confucianism had moved in. One could foresee that Confucianism would probably not base themselves in any territory.

Following behind Confucianism was Legalism.

The powerhouse of Legalism, Han Feizi, accepted Ouyang Shuo's invitation to set up a law college. Apart from that, Sheng Dao would also become the vice dean of the law college.

With these two huge heads forming the base of the Law Division, they would develop Legalism disciples including commissioners, jail officers, and forensics officers.

The other representative figure of Legalism, Shen Buhai, entered the Nanjiang Governor-General House to work. Compared to the others, he was more ambitious.

Not because of other reasons, but only because the main ideology his faction pushed for was technique.

His technique was a blade, a blade created for the lord. Hence his technique could only have place through serving a Lord.

Using this blade, the Lord would have the power to kill, and his position as the Lord of the territory would not be threatened

Apart from using the knife to blade, one must have the ability to control the officials.

In other words, they must have the ability to monitor, test and prevent the officials from misusing their powers.

The above two were acts that they showed to the world. Apart from such Yang methods, they must also utilize Ying methods that were hidden in the dark.

The Lord needed to place ears around, to understand the situation amongst his officials. The moment he found any problems or schemes, he could prevent or sack the related individuals.

Ouyang Shuo understood Shen Buhai's ability, so he immediately thought of a suitable position. It was the Safety Division that he had always wanted to create.

Shen Buhai was greatly attracted toward Ouyang Shuo's suggestion, so he happily accepted the job.

Just like that, before anyone else knew anything, they secretly established the biggest intel organization in Shanhai City.

Under his suggestion, they named the division the Shanhai Guards; they would guard and protect the power and administrative ability of Shanhai.

The Shanhai Guards was not only in charge of monitoring the officials, but they also kept an eye on the Black Snake Guards and the Military Intelligence Division.

Shen Buhai was appointed as the commander.

Apart from him, Shanhai City also recruited a bunch of Legalism and Mohism scholars to join in.

That's right, Mohists.

Following Confucianism and Legalism, Mohism also made its stand.

Mozi accepted Ouyang Shuo's suggestion and became the dean of the natural sciences college.

Mohism had vast amounts of knowledge in the areas of Cognition, Logic, Geometry, Optics, Mechanics, and Engineering.

It was highly suitable for Mozi to become the dean.

The moment he accepted the role, a system notification sounded out.

"System Notification: Mohism representative figure Mozi has entered Shanhai Territory and joined the natural science college to recruit disciples. Philosophers' school of thought, Mohism, has officially based itself in Shanhai City."System Notification: Mohism has officially moved in to Shanhai City. Awarded the title, Land of Mohism, Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi!"Ouyang Shuo smiled and took a look at the stats.

Land of Mohism: 35% increase in territory technology levels, 40% increase in siege weapons research efficiency, 15% increase in territory talent skill familiarity, 10% increase in territory law and order.

As expected, Mohism mainly increased the skill branches of the territory.

The research of the Mohists on siege weapons and siege tactics was first rate. Apart from Mozi, they also had another important figure who would become a chief at the Army Military Academy.

Additionally, their scholars would also enter the academy to teach matters such as engineering, city building, and sieging.

Amongst the Mohists, apart from the research faction, there was another faction adept at martial arts.

The Shanhai Guards recruited this faction. Furthermore, the commoner intel network they had created would be placed under the control of the Shanhai Guards.

Ouyang Shuo specially made one of the best disciples of Mozi the Shanhai Guard Garrison Officer, his position only lower than Commander Shen Buhai.

Hence, the newly established Shanhai Guards became a place of both Mohism and Legalism.

Although Ouyang Shuo trusted Shen Buhai, he would not completely trust him. Instead, he would try to balance the powers between the Shanhai Guards. Only then could he fully control them in his hands.

Be it Shen Buhai or the Mohists, to control the power of the Shanhai Guards, they needed the support of Ouyang Shuo.

An organization like the Shanhai Guards was the easiest way for subordinates to wrestle leadership and render it useless.

Ouyang Shuo knew the importance of the organization, so he would prevent that from happening. Apart from letting Mohism and Legalism control one another, he also had a trump card—Cui Tianqi and the other disciples training in the special forces camp.

Cui Tianqi was his real right hand men.

In the future, the kind of role he could play in the Shanhai Guards would depend on him.

Mohism now held really high positions in both the universities and the Shanhai Guards. Their position could be compared to that of Legalism and Confucianism, as expected from a large school of thought that had a solid foundation and ability.

Out of the four main schools of thought, only Taoism was determined to not stay. After the debate, Laozi, Zhuang Zi, and the rest all disappeared.

The entire Shanhai City slowly regained its calmness and peace.

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Chapter 457- Land of Philosophers

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Out of the philosopher groups, other than Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism, and Taoism, the other factions and school of thoughts all had disciples move in. More than half chose to either study in Xinan University or accept disciples.

The philosophers were the best at the research of theories.

Hence, Xinan University was the most suitable place for them. With all the philosophers moving in, Xinan University was comparable to any learning institute in history, probably even better than all of them.

After all, which learning institute had Jiang Shang, Han Feizi, Mozi, Sheng Dao, Xu Hang, and more?

They also preserved the philosophers' platform from the debate.

Based on Principal Jiang Shang's plans, every month in the future, Xinan University would hold one debate.

The age of debating was slowly showing its glamor.

From this philosophers' debate, Shanhai City had reaped insane rewards. However, amongst the joy, they also felt numerous regrets.

Hui Shi, Sun Long, Lu Buwei of the miscellaneous school of thought, Su Qin, and the others, were like Lao Zhuang. They left right after the debate ended.

Especially Su Qin, no matter how much Xiao He insisted, Su Qin rejected him. Based on Su Qin's words, he did not want to work together with Zhang Yi. He wanted a different platform.

When Ouyang Shuo received the news, he seemed calm and composed. However, a flash of coldness appeared in his eyes. That afternoon, Cui Tianqi, who was still undergoing training, was summoned to his reading room.

"Lord!"

Since this was the first time Ouyang Shuo had summoned him, Cui Tianqi felt both nervous and excited.

"Do you dare to kill someone?"

Cui Tianqi felt a shiver run down his spine, but he cupped his hands and said, "if the Lord wants me to, I'll jump into flames without hesitation." When he trained in Yazhou, Cui Tianqi's sword had already tasted human blood—the blood of raiders.

When Ouyang Shuo heard this response, he shook his head in amusement. Who knew who he learned those words from.

Ouyang Shuo picked out a portrait from his desk and said expressionlessly, "Get rid of this person."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Cui Tianqi walked up and carefully accepted the portrait. He took a look before he stored it away. He definitely would not ask who the person was or why the Lord wanted to kill him.

No matter what the Lord instructed, he just had to act.

When Ouyang Shuo saw this, he nodded his head, pleased. Although Cui Tianqi was young, he was very mature and reliable. He knew his position and was not hot blooded, a real good seedling.

"Remember, you must keep this matter a secret. Don't let anyone know."

"Understood!"

Cui Tianqi had a solemn appearance, and his heartbeat quickened a beat.

If this matter was revealed, even Ouyang Shuo could not imagine how he would deal with the consequences. After all, it was truly unbecoming for a Lord who announced during the philosophers' debate that he would accept everyone and be gracious to assassinate a philosopher the next day.

Ouyang Shuo would not give any justification. However, anyone who stood in his way was an enemy. Toward any enemy, Ouyang Shuo naturally would not grant any mercy.

If you wanted to blame someone, just blame that person for not knowing what was good for them.

"Go! After you finish, go back to the base; there's no need to come back. If you fail, you must inform me straight away. Definitely do not do anything rash."

As this was Cui Tianqi's first mission, Ouyang Shuo had to specifically instruct him.

"En!"

Cui Tianqi nodded his head like a little kid. Then, he turned around and left the reading room.

Ouyang Shuo looked at the fading back of Cui Tianqi and let out a soft sigh. Who knows whether leading this kid on this path was right or wrong. If Cui Yingyu knew what he did, she would probably be triggered.

At 4 PM, just when Ouyang Shuo was dealing with official documents, a system notification suddenly sounded out in his ear.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, Shanhai City's Confucius and Martial Temple has obtained the writings of both saints; its glory shines. Shanhai City awarded the title of 'Civil and Military Assemble'."

Xu Shuda was really efficient; he had quickly carved the words written in the morning into boards.

Civil and Military Assemble: 15% increase in quality of civil servants, 15% increase in quality of soldiers.

Although the name of this title seemed overpowered, its stats were only decent; it could not be compared with the other titles. At least, it was better than nothing, so Ouyang Shuo was still pleased.

Unexpectedly, the changes did not end there.

At this moment, another system notification sounded out.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, Land of Military Strategists, Land of Legalism, Land of Agriculture, Land of Mohism, Land of Culture, Maneuvering Amongst Political Groups, Civil and Military Assemble, these seven titles can be merged."

Who knew that Shanhai City had actually amassed so many titles; it truly drove one crazy.

The last merger of titles had let Ouyang Shuo realize that merging would not result in harm. Instead, it would result in a strengthened title.

However, this time, he was not merging gold titles like Home of Fist Arts but platinum titles.

"Merge!"

Ouyang Shuo gritted his teeth and decided to take the gamble.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, Shanhai City has obtained the title of Land of Philosophers; the seven other titles have automatically disappear."

Ouyang Shuo eagerly checked out the new title, as his heartbeat quickened. He was afraid that some accident might happen.

Title: Land of Philosophers

Specialty: 25% increase in territory reputation, one grade increase in territory commoner potential, 25% increase in territory industry prosperity, 25% increase in the four territory indices.

Unique Specialty: Respect the King (25% increase in deterrence to outside races).

Evaluation: Merged from numerous titles and buffed by the philosophers; it raises every industry. Unique, cannot be improved, cannot be traded.

"Phew!"

Ouyang Shuo let out a huge sigh of relief; he had made the correct gamble.

The original seven titles, a total of twenty-six stats, were all combined into four specialties and one unique specialty. Although each of them seemed simple, it meant a lot.

The buff to the territory's reputation, needless to say, was a pretty standard speciality, but it was still a rare one.

However, the insane part was the increase in grade of the commoners' potential. During the last system update, their potential was split into A, B, C, and D; a huge divide separated each grade.

This grade affected the NPCs speed in raising their skills, their ability to break bottlenecks, and increase research standards. It was similar to the bone structure stat of players.

Now, this buff would raise their potential by one grade. What kind of concept was that? It was incredibly overpowered. Just this one specialty was better than the specialities that the other seven titles granted him.

Undeniably, under this buff, the NPCs with an A grade would improve rapidly. Who knew whether those with original A grades would experience any change?

The problem was that the A grade was already the highest. In that case, did Gaia have any hidden settings planned? This problem could only be solved in the future.

Raising the prosperity of industries, be it agriculture, business, handicraft, was an overall raise.

This specialty not only took over the title of Land of Agriculture and Land of Mohism, it even improved the two stats, covering all the industries.

Raising the territory indices was a huge overall increase for the four indices. It was similar to what the Land of Culture and the Land of Military Strategists brought. Apart from that, it also helped to raise the economic index.

Last of all was a totally new concept, the unique specialty, Respect the King.

It was obvious that this stat replaced the diplomacy stat. It improved it and even directly increased the prestige and deterrence of the Lord.

Strength!

When Ouyang Shuo read the information about this unique specialty, he could not help but grin.

The title of Land of Philosophers was the best explanation of this philosophers' debate. With this title, Shanhai City was in an unbeatable position in the China region.

In terms of NPC quality, no other territory could compare with them.

In the future, the territory would explode, and they could receive endless benefits.

Along with the philosophers' debate coming to an end, the scholars who wanted to work in Shanhai City had already expressed their intentions. They would move out of Juxian House and enter the official residence area.

Those who wanted to could even directly move into the two education areas, which had many facilities and hundreds of mansions.

Those who did not move in started to pack up and leave Shanhai City. If they were scholars from the imperial city, naturally, they left through the teleportation formation.

If they were historical people added to the game after the war ended like Lu Buwei, they would disappear into the wilderness. With Gaia's buff, they could travel thousands of miles in a day.

Ouyang Shuo had previously asked Wei Yang about this matters.

It seem that each historical person would receive a Divine Travelling Talisman from Gaia. With this, they could travel thousands of miles in a day and remain totally safe.

If they choose to work for a territory, Gaia would take back that the talisman.

When Ouyang Shuo heard about this, he felt incredibly envious. Such a talisman was pretty much the god weapon of god weapons. If he had such a talisman, he could visit territories everywhere, everyday.

Tomorrow, Lu Buwei and the others would leave.

That night, Juxian House was bustling. The philosophers were still relishing and reliving what had happened during the day, and they only dispersed late at night.

Just as everyone fell asleep, a black dressed man sneakily arrived outside Su Qin's room. Seeing that no one was around, he carefully pushed open the door.

After he entered, he did not even stop. He directly charged straight at Su Qin, who was deep in his slumber.

Coldness flashed across the man's eyes, as he used his hand to press onto Su Qin's mouth, while the other hand slashed at his throat.

This representative figure of diplomacy fell just like that.

The black dressed man quickly took out a black bag and placed the body inside. Then, he left the room and disappeared into the night sky.

The next day, even if people found out that Su Qin was not present, they would just assume that he had left early.

The night was just so dark.

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Chapter 458- Personally Leading

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

8th month, 17th day, Shanhai City.

Xiao He represented Ouyang Shuo to send off the philosophers. Weirdly enough, Xiao He could not seem to find any signs of Su Qin. Thinking back to Ouyang Shuo's expression, Xiao He felt a chill run down his spine.

Although the event had ended, Shanhai City had grown busier instead.

The establishment of the Shanhai Guards, the law college, the change in personnel of Xinan University and Army Military Academy, the welcoming of the Confucians scholars who came over to listen to Kong Zi, and more.

Luckily, Ouyang Shuo had officials handling all these matters, so he did not need to personally settle the matter. After dealing with the philosophers' debate, Ouyang Shuo turned his eyes back to the Zhaoqing Battlefield.

Based on the intel Baiqi had sent, just yesterday, fifty thousand alliance army vanguard troops had housed themselves in Yun An County. Yun An County was located north of Cangcheng County, just a short distance away.

Shortly behind them, the hundred thousand alliance army main force also arrived.

A huge battle was about to erupt.

At the same time, the 2nd and 4th division of the Tiger Legion had just crossed the Qiongzhou Straits. To rush to Cangcheng County, they still needed two weeks.

The anabasis squadron, on the other hand, had reached Jiaozhou Harbor.

Along with the alliance army gathering up, on the main battlefield, Shanhai City Army did not have any advantage anymore. At this point, it was time to send out their trump card, the Guards Division, to assist them.

Black Snake had previously promised him that they had successfully infiltrated Wulong County, and they had the Lord there sign an alliance contract with Shanhai City. Ouyang Shuo promised him the position of a County Magistrate and a rank of grade 1 viscount.

The Guards Division could teleport there at anytime.

The only problem was based on the battle report, the alliance army had eighty thousand troops at the back. Would it be enough to purely relied on the Guards Division?

At least till now, South Alliance had not shown any weakness.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo was ready to personally set out. Firstly, he had settled the required matters in Shanhai City, so they did not need him present. Secondly, he wanted to get in on the action. After all, staying in the city was really boring, and his body was growing sore.

Once he took this trip, he could not return to Shanhai City in a short time.

The Battle of Zhaoqing, logistical preparations, the Battle of Chiyou, and the like would definitely take up a lot of time. He would probably return to Shanhai City at the time of the next battle map.

The fifth battle map trigger point would be the presence of fifteen prefectures in the country.

Twenty odd days had passed since the Battle of Julu ended. In this period of time, King County, Pill Sun County, and Xunlong County had all upgraded to prefecture grade.

The China region was seven territories from reaching the fifteen prefecture target. Ouyang Shuo predicted that within two months, they would not trigger the fifth battle.

Despite this, before he left, Ouyang Shuo still needed to carefully plan all matters.

"Men!"

"Present!"

"Summon the Guards Division. Tomorrow, they will set off together with me!"

"Yes my Lord!"

When the guard heard his orders, he excitedly turned around and left. If the Lord was about to head to battle, their two hundred personal guards squad would have to follow.

At 2 PM, Ouyang Shuo gathered the four directors and Xiao He to discuss certain matters.

In just one morning, the news that the Lord would head out to battle had spread amongst the entire Nanjiang Governor-General House. Although in the eyes of Xiao He and the civil servants, it was normal for the Lord to take charge from Shanhai City, they did not dare to try and persuade him.

In a chaotic world, for the Lord to personally lead the troops was really normal.

"For this trip out, I don't think I'll return in a short amount of time. During this time, apart from important matters that will be sent through letter to me, Senior Minister Xiao He will handle all daily matters."

This decision was the outcome of Ouyang Shuo's heavy deliberation.

During the war between Chu and Han, Liu Bang went to war, while Xiao He guarded the back and ran the country. Hence, Xiao He had the ability to take up this task.

The only disadvantage of this choice was that Xiao He had just joined, so his prestige was not too high. However, through the philosophers' debate, he had shown beautiful work and started to gain recognition.

Furthermore, with the instructions of Ouyang Shuo, there would not be much problem. This was also the reason why Ouyang Shuo called the four directors over. As long as the four of them supported him, everything would be okay.

When Xiao He heard this command, he stood up and bowed solemnly, "Thank you, Lord, for your trust." Xiao He knew the preciousness and degree of importance of this trust.

When the four directors saw his actions, they all nodded one by one.

Ouyang Shuo nodded and continued, Toward the four departments, I have some plans."

"Please instruct us!"

"Firstly, the Military Affairs Department. Apart from supporting the front lines, you have two more missions. First, perfect the logistics support system. Second, set the military rewards system and the military rank system."

"Yes, my Lord!"

This matter was of utmost importance to him, and Du Ruhui understood its significance.

"Next, the Administration Department." Ouyang Shuo looked at Fan Zhongyan, "The department will make use of the philosophers' debate and the new people to start a personnel change."

The four directors and Xiao He were astonished; they could all smell blood.

"We took over the other two prefectures of Qiongzhou and Leizhou just a short while ago. To ensure the stability of the two, in terms of officials, we had to take a discount. Now that stability has been restored, it's time to solidify our rule."

Ouyang Shuo was resolute, "I recommend that the Administration Department use one to two months to test all the officials in the territory. The worthy will rise, while the poor will be sacked. It's a good opportunity for the students that graduated Xinan University and the scholars we have recruited."

To put it bluntly, of the current officials in the territory, more than half lacked proper training and were raised from the ground up.

The reason why such a situation occurred was naturally because they lacked talents when they were building the territory. Even Shanhai City had faced the same situation, with Zhao Dewang and some others as examples.

As Shanhai City had taken over those territories, their problems were now theirs.

However, undeniably, amongst this batch of people, the fire had moulded a few talents like Zhao Dexian. However, sixty percent and above remained useless, slowly becoming a burden to the territory.

Ouyang Shuo was slowly receiving news of corrupt officials in the various Houses and counties. Some officials had started to leech off the people. Ouyang Shuo naturally could not tolerate such actions.

The territory did not have a complete talent selection system like the imperial examinations. Even if they wanted to implement such examinations, they currently lacked the ability. At the current stage, they could only choose personnel through the tests and examinations of the Administration Department.

This job not only used up a lot of time, but it also affected the interests of many parties.

If they did not act carefully, situations might occur.

To prevent such a scenario, they had to implement these tests quicker, and they needed to remove this tumor from the territory.

If they just let these people do as they wished, this small cancer would continue to grow into a huge aberration. At that time, not only would they hurt the people, it could even affect the entire rule.

Ouyang Shuo was exceedingly wary of this point.

This was also part of the reason for his establishment of the Shanhai Guards. The future Shanhai Guards would act as a sharp sword that hung over the heads of the civil servants and the military generals to instill fear.

In the road to kingship, wars only formed the surface, and internal rule was the main matter. Only by ruling well could one amass enough energy to start wars and expand.

If not, blindly expanding would mean destabilizing the base. In the end, just like a sandcastle, it would look good but crumble with a small push.

Undeniably, taking this job would make it extremely easy to make enemies.

Ouyang Shuo believed that only the fair and uncorrupt Fan Zhongyan could take this task.

"Xiwen, this matter depends on you."

"Don't worry, my Lord!"

The Lord's worries aligned with his own. To him, as long as he could stabilize the rule and help the people, his personal loses did not mean anything.

Ouyang Shuo nodded; he believed that Fan Zhongyan had the ability to do so.

"Let's talk about the Internal Affairs Department."

When Wei Yang heard these words, he focused. From the missions the Lord had given to the Military Affairs Department and Administration Department, Wei Yang did not dare to lower his guard. The senses of the lord were truly sharp.

Each request he made cut directly into the jaguar of each department.

Wei Yang had heard that the Lord had single-handedly built the entire structure of the Nanjiang Governor-General House. Before this, he had some doubts; he vaguely thought that Fan Zhongyan and the others were acting humble.

Now that he thought about it, he was genuinely impressed.

Although the Lord was young, he had the foresight of a king. No wonder Fan Zhongyan, Du Ruhui, and other great people would respect him so much.

In truth, Wei Yang was not the only one shocked.

In Xiao He's heart, waves had also broke out. This was the first time he had seen the Lord plan for the future of the territory. He basically performed like a born king.

In comparison, the Liu Bang he had followed was nothing.

"The matter the Internal Affairs Department needs to handle would be the establishment of a perfect inspection, judgement, and review system. In the future, the case settling powers will be handed to the internal affairs director of each House and not their Prefect or County Magistrate."

This action broke the olden tradition.

In the olden days, the County Magistrate handled all cases.

In Ouyang Shuo's eyes, such a choice was stupid.

A County Magistrate should take charge of the overall picture, not judge cases. This command aimed to make the Internal Affairs Department establish a real world politics and law committee.

In the department, the Law and Order Division was in charge of maintaining law and order and catching criminals, the Procuratorate Division would judge and review cases, while the Supervisory Division took charge of regulating officials and taking up charges.

Ouyang Shuo wanted to give up power and allow them to truly run. His first step was to remove the County Magistrates and the Prefects' power to deal with cases.

Purely this first step was astonishing.

When Wei Yang heard this command, he felt his blood boil. The feeling of a huge burden had never felt so good.

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Chapter 459- Territory Law System

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Ouyang Shuo looked toward Wei Yang before continuing.

"Apart from establishing a system, we must also develop professional officials. Luckily for us, we can make use of the recently built law college. Including the law system of the territory, we can use the resources of the law college."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Wei Yang nodded, highly motivated.

If one said that the Shanhai Guards supervised and monitored in silence, the Internal Affairs Department acted as the supervisory system. The Shanhai Guards were the method, while the department was the way.

The law system reflected the way of the Internal Affairs Department. With the system, the department would have something to rely on to solve and deal with cases. They would not have to based decisions solely on one person's deductions and experiences.

Only with the law system could the Internal Affairs Department have something to fall back on.

One could say that the law system formed the core of the entire department.

The law system was something that Ouyang Shuo had talked to Wei Yang about when the latter first took up the role. He only did this because the matter was too complicated, and it involved many aspects. It concerned too many things, so it was not something Wei Yang could handle alone.

The arrival of Han Feizi, Sheng Dao, and Shen Buhai let Ouyang Shuo heave a sigh of relief.

When the four heads of Legalism were free, they all showed a great amount of interest in the territory's setting of the law system. This was also the reason why Han Feizi and Sheng Dao were willing to teach in the Xinan University.

For Legalists, if they could craft a suitable system, it would naturally be much better than any theory they could think up.

A system was a raise in the entire Legalism culture.

The four of them were confident that with the potential and development speed of Shanhai City, their system could radiate through the entire wilderness.

In this way, no matter what faction, they could not look down on Legalism.

However, due to these factors, they also needed to exercise extreme caution. Based on the calculations of Wei Yang, if they could finish a draft by the year end, it would be remarkable.

Apart from the four of them, the team also consisted of law experts from real life.

To these professionals, they had two motivations for joining in the creation of the system.

Firstly, they could use the chance to understand the thinking of the Legalists and open their own eyes. Although Legalism was different from modern day thinking, there were certain areas that overlapped.

Hence, be it for Wei Yang or the law professionals, working together presented a learning opportunity.

Wei Yang and the others were also very interested in the theories the law professionals pushed out.

Secondly, the law professionals wanted to make use of the chance to try out and explore.

In the future, when the spaceships reached planet Hope, the laws of the Federal Government would also need to change because of the societal structure and the running system changes.

The law professionals were exploring the section on laws for the Lord. How should the laws grant the Lord enough power but also monitor and supervise his or her actions?

This was a problem that the law world had not faced before. After all, the model of the territory on planet Hope would not have the same restrictions on the Lord. If not, it would affect their eagerness to explore.

Undoubtedly, this was an interesting question.

Hence, the law professionals living in Shanhai City saw the opportunity and decided to try out ideas and experiment.

Of course, there existed a time difference, one was olden times, the other modern. Their current law system would not work on planet Hope.

However, some of the laws were similar.

The law professionals were bored after all this time, so they naturally held a trying attitude and threw themselves into this project. Their eagerness even shocked their own family members.

Not only that, they also spread the news out amongst the law world, which made interested folks teleport over.

Amongst these law professionals, they had people who covered business laws, administrative law, economic law, and various important law topics. They greatly helped Shanhai in setting a law system.

Of course, when Ouyang Shuo met these professionals, he made it clear that this system's main goal was to protect the sole rule of the Lord.

If not, he definitely would not support the law system they designed. Ouyang Shuo naturally would not allow ideas like all humans are equal, freedom, and other such sayings.

His shamelessness shocked the professionals. Where would they find such a person, who could openly pronounce that he was the only one to hold power? Weren't such words supposed to be spoken in the dark?

Some professionals could not accept his attitude, which they perceived as arrogance, so they directly left. Ouyang Shuo politely sent them away; his attitude sincere and resolute.

Hence, even those who left could not say much. After all, each person had the right to chase for their own interests. Furthermore, this was just a game.

Of course, Ouyang Shuo's attitude also left some of professionals awed. In their eyes, the exploration of planet Hope needed a talent like him.

Only an overlord could calm a chaotic time.

All in all, everyone had their own tastes.After dealing with the Internal Affairs Department, he was left with the Financial Department.

"The Financial Department also has two matters to handle. Firstly, adjust the role of the Industry Division. The future Industry Division must focus on setting and leading the industrial strategies of the territory. As for the running of the territory, this aspect should be left to the locals. For example, the Three Flowers Wine factory, and the Langshan Minefields can be passed to Shanhai City. The hands of the Industry Division only needs to hold the mines, the military industry, the shipbuilding industry, and other core matters."

Cui Yingyu nodded to show that she had remembered his words.

Apart from the military industry, the future shipbuilding industry also had a bright future. Its profits could compare to the military industry.

Aside from the various Chambers of Commerce, adventure gamemode players also bought ships.

As they slowly opened up Yashan City, merchants ships and small-scale warships became hot products. Especially after Lin Jing's exploration team found a treasure island; the other guilds went crazy, and they each formed their own exploration teams.

To players, it felt great to have the opportunity to explore the unknown. All of a sudden, sea exploration became a new craze.

Now, if a guild did not have a sea exploration team, they would not have the face to show themselves.

Based on Sun Xiaoyue's words, the influx of people had reach nearly two thousand a day. Solely collecting teleportation fees was enough to cause their hands to ache.

Apart from that, when the various guilds went out to explore, they only had Yashan City as a supplies base. These sales alone generated more than half of Yashan City's income.

Ouyang Shuo saw the business opportunity, so he directly sent the excess equipment from the Shanhai City military to sell there.

The empty islands that players found came in a huge variety; there was a chance to encounter desolate beasts, rare mines, and even the burial places of pirates.

There was even a chance that they could find aboriginals. If they were unlucky, they might land on an island that pirates had taken as their base.

Of course, they were most likely to find an uninhabited island with nothing at all.

As there were many possibilities, the players felt their blood boil.

Of course, exploring came with risks. Amongst which, the part that gave the most headaches were naturally pirates. The Yashan Squadron had only removed the pirates in the vicinity of Yashan City.

Apart from pirates, deep in the oceans lurked giant beasts that also posed a huge threat to ships.

Rather than putting their hopes on the Yashan Squadron, some guilds like the War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group started to form up their own elite navy squad to face the pirates and water beasts.

After all, be it pirates or deep water beasts, although they were terrifying, they would leave behind amazing rewards if defeated.

A chase of riches and excitement aptly described the current situation.

Amongst the adventure gamemode players, especially the leaders of guilds, there were many with foresight. They had another goal—to prepare for the future country battle.

Everyone knew that in the future country battles, the enemy would most likely attack the various island countries. Especially Japan, which saw China as a nail in their sights that they needed to remove.

Maybe because the Lords had too much to consider, so they had some doubts. Adventure gamemode players were different. When their blood boiled, they were willing to do anything.

The various guilds did not lack hot blooded individuals.

Even Ouyang Shuo had participated in the war against Japan in his last life. The animosity and patriotism they felt was not something that players from other countries could understand.

Ouyang Shuo could still recall the high intensity of that battle.

In the end, the troops from the China region suffered heavy loses and retreated. This was the second exploration mission that the China region had formed up; they would not rest until they destroyed Japan.

Thinking about this matter, coldness flashed across his eyes.

The regret of his last life, he would end in this one.

Because of such considerations, the various guilds were eager to explore. The two navy squadrons that Shanhai City had built was also a clear sign.

Toward the foresight of Ouyang Shuo, the leaders of the guilds felt really respectful.

All of this was the result of Ouyang Shuo's silent manipulation, and Lin Jing's exploration was also instructed by him.

To obtain victory in a country war, they needed to develop a strong navy. Solely depending on Shanhai City was not enough, so he needed to borrow the strength of the entire region.

Ouyang Shuo was playing a massive chess game.

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Chapter 460- Era of Sea Travel

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Apart from adventure gamemode players, Ouyang Shuo also treated lord gamemode players the same way.

In the future, if those territories located around the sea wanted to buy warships from Shanhai City, Ouyang Shuo would not reject them. He wanted to raise the navy strength of the China region from the start to prepare for country warfare.

As for whether doing so would in turn increase the navy strength of other territories and threaten Shanhai Territory, Ouyang Shuo did not fear such a scenario.

It was not due to arrogance or magnanimity. Any person with foresight could look past the obvious interests to achieve long run gain.

As the territory continued to expand, Ouyang Shuo had grown more confident, and his attention had started to break away from this small area. He had started to pay attention to the entire China region.

The higher you stood, the further you could look.

Strengthening oneself and forever suppressing your opponent was a reliable method. Moreover, it was time place the Yashan and Beihai Bay Squadron under some pressure.

Ouyang Shuo was confident that Shanhai City could easily reign as the overlord of the seas in the China region.

Based on what Cai Mao mentioned in the letter, Yanhuo Yaonie had performed stellarly in the 1st division of the Yashan Squadron, and he was improving at godspeed.

A naval star general was slowly being born.

Ouyang Shuo believed in Cai Mao's judgement. As such, before the Yashan Squadron set out, he promoted Yanhuo Yaonie to the position of deputy general of the Yashan Squadron 1st division, his position only lower than Cai Mao's.

When the Yashan Squadron reached Jiaozhou Harbor and returned, if Yanhuo Yaonie performed well, Ouyang Shuo would allow him to lead a navy squadron. Moreover, he would grant Yanhou Yaonie the rank of chief general.

The island exploration boom did not just stimulate the shipbuilding industry. It also increased the trading in Yashan City.

For the rewards they gained from the explorations, some of the players were not willing to go back to the imperial cities to trade. As such, they directly dealt at Yashan City. Thanks to this, a bunch of guilds started to solely collect items from adventure gamemode players.

Amongst which, the biggest purchaser was Thread.

Just from relying on the resources gained from Five Finger Mountain and the islands, Thread managed to solve their resource problem. Under the leadership of Qing Sikou, the guild quickly moved onto the right path.

From the money spent by the adventure gamemode players in Yashan City, at least 10 percent entered the pockets of Thread. Thread produced everything adventure gamemode players needed, be it medicine, equipment, special items, bags, or anything else that adventure gamemode players needed.

Apart from that, as Thread was the first guild to move into Yashan City, the shops that they bought were all in prime locations and would definitely prosper.

Not talking about other matters, as Yashan City prospered, solely the value of the shops that Thread owned had doubled. Obviously, Qing Sikou would not stupidly sell her shops.

All of the above proved that Ouyang Shuo had fulfilled his promise to Thread.

Of course, Yashan City and Thread were both in a win-win relationship.

The rise of Thread was no doubt a huge humiliation and insult to Xingzhe Zichen and his associates. Some people had already predicted that in less than a year, Thread would regain their position as one of the top 10 guilds.

In comparison, Star Alliance was having a tough time.

Under the silent support of Shanhai City, Shadow Alliance, and Yimeng Pavilion had risen through the chaos and entered a stalemate against Jianqi Zongheng and Star Alliance.

A single party did not rule the current Jingdou. Instead, they formed a four way deadlock.

As a result, the growth of Star Alliance stunted. If Di Chen had not lent a helping hand at the crucial moment, Star Alliance would most probably fade from existence.

Putting it another way, the current Jingdou was a battle between Di Chen and Ouyang Shuo. The two guilds that they each supported were pitted against one another.

Star Alliance, who were able to gain the limelight for a while, had totally fallen. They were now just a chess piece.

The trading interests of players had let Yashan City become a trading city.

The development of Yashan City was enough to prove the strategic foresight of Ouyang Shuo. The potential of island cities was enough to make Lords located along the sea red with envy.

Ouyang Shuo had heard news that Xiong Ba had started to turn his attention to Yizhou Island. Similar to him, many other Lords had the same idea, including Xunlong Dianxue.

As an island that was similarly famous to Qiongzhou Island, and after witnessing the money making ability of Yashan City, Yizhou Island became a sausage that everyone wanted a bite of.

Even Ouyang Shuo had such thoughts.

However, Shanhai City was facing their own problems, so it was not the right time to join a battle for Yizhou Island.

No one knew who Yizhou Island would fall to in the end. However, no matter who took it, Ouyang Shuo planned to steal it sooner or later.

He was just so obnoxious!

Ouyang Shuo raised his head and looked toward Cui Yingyu, "Apart from that, the Industry Division needs to establish a freight squadron to totally open up the trade routes between the three prefectures. This trade can help stimulate the economy of the territory."

Ouyang Shuo also had another goal for building the freight squadron; he wanted to form a solid base for future long distance trade. It would help them develop talents and amass experience.

The next step naturally had to do with Jiaozhou Harbor, which would help to open up sea trade between Shanhai City and Lingnan Prefecture. After that, he would turn his eyes to the Quanzhou Harbor of the imperial city.

Step by step, they would set up Shanhai City's sea trade network.

Undeniably, sea trade would be the core adventure of the territory. Ouyang Shuo had taken this point into account since the county grade.

Ouyang Shuo's plan this time had something to do with the upcoming third system update. Now was the end of the 8th month, just four months till the 3rd year of Gaia.

Based on normal circumstances, Gaia would have one system update at the third year.

If nothing changed, according to his memory, the third system update would bring about a huge ecology change.

Naturally, Ouyang Shuo would use his advantages to plan for the future.

After Cui Yingyu nodded her head in acknowledgement, Ouyang Shuo ended the meeting.

Although Ouyang Shuo had just spoken a few words to the four departments, they would have to expend a lot of effort to achieve his goals.

As for the normal matters, Ouyang Shuo believed that they had the ability to decide for themselves. Even if they did not have the confidence, Xiao He was present to help settle problems.

Such a plan, even without Ouyang Shuo here, the territory could still develop as he had envisioned. He would quickly blow his competitors out of the water.

Ouyang Shuo could finally rest his worries and start leading his troops.

During dinner, Ouyang Shuo did not see any signs of Qing'er.

Although the Lord's Manor had expanded, they preserved the tradition of eating together. Although he had grown colder and colder, he did not really want to become a complete loner.

"Qing'er, that little brat, why isn't she here?"

"I know why." Cui Yingyu, who was sitting opposite to him, placed down her chopsticks, "Big Brother is going out tomorrow, right? Because of this, Qing'er wants to rush the inner armor and boots."

"That brat." Ouyang Shuo shook his head, as he felt warmth in his heart. These two little sisters were so smart, so smart that it made one's heart feel pained, "Zisu, prepare a lunch box and send it to Qing'er."

"Yes, my Lord!"

"I also want to go!"

Bing'er, who was sitting to the left of Ouyang Shuo, started to become restless.

Ouyang Shuo knocked her little head, "You're not going; don't disturb her."

"Hen, Brother is so evil. I just want to go see sister; I won't be naughty." As she spoke, she turned her head and made an angry expression.

When Ouyang Shuo saw her response, he laughed in amusement.

"Hei, you still dare to spite your brother. I still haven't taught you a lesson for drawing a turtle on my face." Ouyang Shuo brought up an old matter.

When Bing'er saw him bring this up, her face turned bitter, and she did not dare to throw a tantrum. This matter had become a blot in her life. The smart Bing'er should not have acted so careless, allowing her brother have something over her.

After dinner, Ouyang Shuo dragged Song Jia to talk.

Ever since Tianshuang County fell, Song Jia had stayed in the Governor-General House and had not returned to the sect. She only felt relieved after she learned that her family had reached Cangcheng County.

Even so, her eyebrows were tightly locked every day.

The fall of Tianshuang County was a huge loss to her family. As one of them, she could not do anything, so she naturally blamed herself for the matter.

These few days, Ouyang Shuo was busy, so he did not have the time to console her. Tomorrow, he was going to leave, and who knows when he would return.

"Jia Jia don't worry. The fall of Tianshuang County is not a bad thing for the Song Family."

"En?" Song Jia felt confused; she laughed, "Blockhead, don't try to console me."

Ouyang Shuo shook his head, "Do you think that I'm lying to you?"

"Then tell me why it isn't a bad thing."

Hope filled her eyes; she was like a drowning person that yearned to grab onto something. She knew that Ouyang Shuo would not spout things randomly. Since he spoke such words, he might really have something in mind.

"Although your father managed to win over power, he didn't win it cleanly. Your second uncle and some of the family still weren't happy, and the Yuan Family butted in. These uncertain elements all disappeared with the fall of Tianshuang County."

Along with the fall of Tianshuang County, Song Tianli had lost the faith of his father. After experiencing blow after blow, Song Jia's grandfather had decided to retire and live life happily.

As for the Yuan Family, they still had a score to settle. How would they interfere in the Song Family business?

With that, Song Tianxiong taking over control of the Song Family would not face any obstructions. The only bad point was that as the Lord, Song Wen had to take responsibility for the fall of Tianshuang County.

He had to take responsibility for this failure.

Luckily, still had Ouyang Shuo's support behind them.

In truth, the fall of Tianshuang County was something that Ouyang Shuo held the most responsibility for, and he should take most of the blame. At the appropriate time, he would compensate Song Wen.

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Chapter 461- Imperial Chamber of Commerce

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

When Song Jia heard his explanation, she relaxed slightly and asked, "Then where do we rise from?"

In her eyes, the current Song Family was a burden; her father taking control was not something to feel proud about. Instead, he was just carrying an exceedingly hefty burden.

Ouyang Shuo smiled slightly, "Before this, I mentioned something to your father. After Shanhai City takes over Zhaoqing Prefecture, the Song Family would back out of Tianshuang County and change to establishing a Chamber of Commerce. Before your brother left, did he not bring all the funds of Tianshuang County out? Is this not a good time to establish the Song Chamber of Commerce? You can send a letter to your father and talk about this."

"Shanhai City has so many Chambers of Commerce. With our little funds, it is incredibly difficult for us to gain a footing." Song Jia was an intelligent woman; she also had knowledge in business matters.

For a Chamber of Commerce to gain a certain status, they needed opportunity, time, luck, and connections; they could not lack a single aspect. Even so, numerous generations of people must run it before it could increase its scale and grow solid and stable.

The Song Chamber of Commerce, apart from some starting funds, did not have any connections nor have any items they could sell. To enter Shanhai's commerce so suddenly, others would eat them up in minutes.

The business field was like a battlefield, fraught with uncertainty.

"Luckily, I'm the future son-in-law of the Song Family. Naturally, I will not treat them badly." Ouyang Shuo could see Song Jia's worries, "Firstly, the sixty-eight thousand gold Song Wen brought out from the Four Seas Bank branch, I will not take it back. Instead, I'll loan it back to him for a low interest loan. Secondly, the Song Chamber of Commerce will become the sole pearl distributor of the territory. Thirdly, we will fund ten merchant ships. Just like that, your Chamber of Commerce will have funds, items, and a right channel. As for how to develop, I think your father has the experience and the know how. I believe that with your father's experience and ability, the rise of the Song Chamber of Commerce is only a matter of time."

When Song Jia heard his words, her eyes turned red, and she said in a low tone, "Wuyi, you don't need to do that." She knew that for her family, Ouyang Shuo had broken a precedence.

This was the first time an Imperial Chamber of Commerce had appeared in Shanhai City.

Ouyang Shuo planned the matter in such a way, apart from making things up to the Song Family, because he did not want to put Song Jia on a spot. She was the eldest daughter. During such a tough time, if she did not help out, they would crucify her.

Taking a step back, Ouyang Shuo helping them out at such a moment resulted in a win-win situation.

In the circle of Chambers of Commerce, having one he genuinely trusted did not harm Ouyang Shuo at all. The potential for problems lied in whether or not the Song Chamber of Commerce would abuse his support and destroy the rules of the marketplace.

Ouyang Shuo believed that Song Tianxiong was not a dumb person. In fact, not only was he not dumb, he was actually keenly intelligent. With his ability, he could definitely enter the circle of Chambers of Commerce like a fish to water.

He also did not wish for Chambers of Commerce like Hequanji to block up the future distribution channels of Shanhai City products.

As the commerce in Shanhai City grew more and more prosperous, their reliance on imperial cities for goods would decrease. Thanks to the help of the Chambers of Commerce, they could obtain spices, fine ceramics, and jade items. Thanks to the Chambers of Commerce's workshops, such as the blusher powder workshop, and the pearl processing workshop that Shanhai lacked, they did not need to import anymore.

The only problem laid in the supply of ingredients and raw materials.

They could gather the fragrance tree needed for the blusher powder on Qiongzhou island. This was also the reason why the various Chambers of Commerce loved Yashan City so much. The mountains contained many priceless raw materials.

The only source of regret was the lack of a single jade mine in the three prefectures. They had to import all of the raw jade. The moment a lack in raw materials appeared, the jade item market would immediately skyrocket.

Out of the four great jade lands in China, none were located near Shanhai City. On the other hand, Myanmar, a place connected to the Yunnan Prefecture, exported jade. In the future, Ouyang Shuo would definitely turn his eyes onto it.

Apart from jade, various precious stones were also in limited supply.

Shanhai City had a great geographical location, but in terms of rare resources, they did not have any advantage. At the same time, its people were rich, so they had an ever increasing demand for gems and jade.

Just this one aspect was enough to let the various imperial city Chambers of Commerce make a killing. Especially those from Xianyang and Luoyang, who were the main jade sellers.

The jade supply of the city were in the hands of these Chambers of Commerce.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo planned to nurture them.

Apart from the Song Chamber of Commerce, he would do the same for the Cui Chamber of Commerce. The relationship between the Cui Family and Shanhai City had grown closer and closer. Ouyang Shuo had also heard the news that the Cui Family had plans to move their headquarters over.

With the support of these two Imperial Chambers of Commerce, Ouyang Shuo could finally feel more free and relaxed.

Of course, pros and cons both existed.

As more and more powers entered, the conflicts of interest in Shanhai City would become more and more complicated. The way to handle these interests would pose a huge test to Ouyang Shuo.

At this point, it was a true test of a Lord's standard.After settling the worries of Song Jia, he needed to discuss another matter with her.

For this expedition, the moment he entered Zhaoqing Prefecture, Gaia would block his access to the alliance channel. Hence, Ouyang Shuo needed to arrange for someone to carry out his duties in the alliance.

Although the Shanhai Alliance members rarely gathered up, in truth, they handled ninety percent of their matters through the alliance channel.

When this big war erupted, Xunlong Dianxue and the others wanted to send reinforcements, but Ouyang Shuo rejected them.

In his eyes, the current situation was still under his control, so he did not need backup just yet. If he needed to pull in his allies just to take over one prefecture, the luster of Shanhai City would a lose its sheen.

The role of his allies was to expand their influences in their respective regions.

The fall of Tianshuang County was the greatest learning experience. Although Song Wen had agreed to the Shanhai Alliance-Tianshuang Alliance under Ouyang Shuo's suggestion, the alliance that they formed alliance was just a clump of scattered sand that could not stand up to any challenge.

At the crucial moment, the members of the Tianshuang Alliance did not band together, which truly disappointed Ouyang Shuo. He did not want the other regional alliances of his allies to be so weak too.

Amongst all his allies, the one in the toughest spot was naturally Wufu. In the entire Jingdou Region, there were probably not many Lords that dared to ally with him.

Based on the news Ouyang Shuo received, Di Chen was ready to press down on Stone County once again, his end goal to totally remove it.

After all, Di Chen saw the entire Jingdou Province as his own. Everyone knew how angry and annoyed he felt to have a territory part of the Shanhai Alliance in his core area.

Since they knew about Di Chen's plans, Ouyang Shuo would naturally not allow him to get away with it.

Recently, Ouyang Shuo had the intentions of increasing his support of Stone County, including priority equipment purchases and monetary support through the Four Seas Bank.

Stone County was Shanhai City's bridge in the north; they could not lose it.

Not only Ouyang Shuo, the other allies all supported Wufu. Bai Hua and Feng Qiuhuang similarly prioritized sales to Stone County. As for the other allies, they had no complaints.

Wufu was originally thinking that the alliance would forsake and abandon him. Who knew that there would be such an outcome. Wufu was a quiet man and not a person good with words. Nonetheless, he swore that he would remain a stubborn rock and resolutely stand in the north.

Apart from Wufu, Gong Chengshi in Jiangchuan Province, and Xunlong Dianxue in Minnan Province were both facing strong opponents. In the face of such tough challenges, their situations did not look all that optimistic.

Even Feng Qiuhuang was facing many challenges. On the east of Fallen Phoenix City stood Asura County, with Handan City to the east, Fallen Leaf County southwest, Luoyang at the south, and Pill Sun City further south.

If one looked at it, the Yanhuang Alliance completely surrounded Fallen Phoenix City.

The reason behind this situation had to do with the Six Tyrants of Handan at the start of the game. Before the game had started, the six powers had already arrived at a consensus to devour the center area of the China Region.

As a result, the six territories were all basically located in the middle plains region.

Who would have guessed that Feng Qiuhuang would quarrel with her family and break out of the alliance?

With that, her old allies naturally surrounded Fallen Phoenix County, resulting in her bleak situation.

At the current stage, the various powers of each region had not exited the province. However, in the mid to late game, when territories started to fight for provinces, Fallen Phoenix City would face an exceedingly perilous scene.

As a result, Feng Qiuhuang's planned to go all out in the future, raising her influence in Taiyuan Province to try to quickly solidify her rule.

Amongst all his allies, only Bai Hua had a smooth time. This overlord of the Yunnan Province in his past life was slowly climbing to the top, as she slowly took over territories in the province.

Toward the entire situation in Nanjiang, Ouyang Shuo actually had a large-scale plan. However, some matters were not easy to announce, so he needed them to silently find out.

And to fulfil his strategic plan, the various members must grow strong. At the least, they must become the strongest power in their respective provinces.

If not, everything would just be a bunch of empty words.

Hence, in this period of time, not only would Ouyang Shuo not ask them for help, when the time came, he would even send troops to support them.

The entire alliance would exchange information everyday.

The moment Ouyang Shuo was not able to receive any information, the entire alliance would probably fall into chaos.

Before this, when Ouyang Shuo was not here, Mulan Yue took up this role.

However, she was still the prefect of Mulan House, so she was extremely busy. Based on Ouyang Shuo's observations, that Yue Yue brat had great potential, so he was ready to develop her to another level.

In the future, when the time was right, Ouyang Shuo was even ready to promote her to the governor position.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo needed to find a replacement.

Sun Xiaoyue had also played a similar role before, but she seemed to have set her mind on remaining in Yashan City. She was not prepared to leave in the short term.

Helplessly, Ouyang Shuo thought of Song Jia.

Thinking about it, she was the most suitable candidate. The alliance members knew that she was his girlfriend and the future female Lord of Shanhai City.

Most importantly, she had enough ability to take up this task.

One must not merely look at her wielding blades and swinging them around. In reality, she was a business genius. Be it in terms of communication skills or coordinating skills, she was amazing.

However, was she willing to descend the mountain?

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Chapter 462- Blessed Land of Artisans

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

"Ok!"

The moment Ouyang Shuo opened his mouth, Song Jia cleanly agreed without hesitation.

"Eh?" Ouyang Shuo was pretty astonished.

"In truth, I wanted to help you out long ago." Song Jia turned her body to face Ouyang Shuo; her eyes incredibly alluring and stunning, "Everyday, I see you so busy, but I was unable to help you. I could not stop worrying."

"What about your dream of being a heroine? Jia Jia, I don't want to burden you."

This aspect worried Ouyang Shuo.

"Who says that without a sect, I cannot become a heroine? Furthermore, at the current stages, there are no proper sects and factions of the martial way yet, so there's no rush."

After staying at Dongli Sword Sect all day long, Song Jia had started to feel a little bored.

"Since that's the case, I have nothing to worried about."

Ouyang Shuo immediately announced this matter through the alliance channel. From this day on, Song Jia would represent Ouyang Shuo in the Shanhai Alliance and coordinate all alliance matters.

Song Jia officially announced herself at this forefront stage.

This legendary woman, what kind of the role would she play in Shanhai Alliance?After the talk, Ouyang Shuo did not return to Wuji Palace. Instead, he went to Qingji Palace.

Qingji Palace was the sleeping quarters of Qing'er. Qing'er had specially ordered people to build a tailoring workspace inside it. As such, when she wanted to research her art, she did not need to run all the way to her shop.

As Shanhai City expanded, Qing'er's tailoring shop had shifted to seven to eight kilometers away from the Lord's Manor.

Within the hall, the flames flicked, indicating that the owner of the hall was not asleep. Upon seeing Ouyang Shuo, the servants within backed off to the sides and bowed.

Ouyang Shuo waved his hand and told them to not disturb the owner. Then, he walked toward her workspaces in the west courtyard.

The entire west courtyard had five to six rooms, but in actuality, they were mostly her workspaces. There was the leather storage room, the garment storage room, processing rooms, and two rooms for disciples.

Apart from, there was the blueprint room, the technical manual reading room, and her workstation. There were so many things, which packed up the entire west courtyard.

The Qingji Palace completely did not look like a sleeping quarters of a girl.

The moment this little sister dedicated and focused herself on something, like tailoring, others could not help but respect her.

Ouyang Shuo walked across the corridor and stood outside of the workspace. Then, he looked in.

The huge workspace only contained Qing'er. The oil lamps around her let out small, flickering sounds, while the mighty wind caused the flames to cast shadows onto the walls.

Under the light, Qing'er focused, and the needle in her hand moved like the wind, leaving only afterimages behind. An inner armor was slowly taking shape, and it seemed like she would complete it very soon.

The magical part was that her needle easily penetrated the originally tough king beast scale armor like paper. Ouyang Shuo guessed that this was a result of her skills.

A master tailor definitely was not ordinary.

Apart from that, the needle in her hand was not some common item.

Last year, Ouyang Shuo had gifted her a dark gold tailoring kit. However, she recently used her own money to purchase a platinum tailoring kit.

Just these tools used up half of the money she had accumulated. This money freak was incredibly obsessed with her savings, so Ouyang Shuo could imagine her pained expression when she bought this item.

Hence, that unassuming needle was likely a platinum item.

Ouyang Shuo also noticed that beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. Obviously, such a high difficulty job took a huge toll on her physical strength and stamina.

Not far from the workstation was a food box.

Needless to say, this brat had not touched the food box that Zisu brought over.

Ouyang Shuo did not want to disturb her, so he quietly waited outside of the door.

In about half an hour, she formed the inner armor. An ecstatic look appeared on her face, while her soft cheeks looked extremely cute and beautiful under the shine of the candles.

At the same time, a system notification sounded out in Ouyang Shuo's ear.

"System Notification: Congratulations Shanhai City for giving birth to the first grandmaster tailor. Shanhai City awarded the title of Home of Tailoring; please take a look."Qing'er had finally, through the help of the king beast scale armor, taken an important step and successfully upgraded to the grandmaster rank.

Ouyang Shuo stood outside and checked out the stats of the title.

Home of Tailoring: 10% increase in speed of tailoring in territory due to tailoring skill familiarity raise, 10% increase in territory tailoring bottleneck breaking chance, 25% increase in territory attractiveness to tailoring commoners.

Amazing, this girl had made a huge contribution.

Compared to the Home of Tailoring title, that inner armor was nothing in Ouyang Shuo's eyes.

Ouyang Shuo believed that currently, the tailoring players who had not fallen asleep would feel excited. Just this small title, who knows how much effort it could save them all?

Shortly afterward, another system notification sounded out.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, territory titles Home of Smithing, Home of Shipbuilding, and Home of Tailoring can be merged."

Not long ago, Zheng Dahai had become a grandmaster shipbuilder, so the territory had obtained the title Home of Shipbuilding.

Home of Shipbuilding: 10% increase in speed of shipbuilding in territory due to shipbuilding skill familiarity raise, 10% increase in territory shipbuilding bottleneck breaking chance, 25% increase in territory attractiveness to shipbuilding commoners.

Along with the rank up of Zheng Dahai, the territory's shipbuilding industry had welcomed a titanic explosion. Till date, apart from Beihai Harbor, the territory also had large-sized shipyards in South Mountain Harbor and Leizhou Harbor.

The three shipyards would all have daily profits.

"Merge!"

This time, Ouyang Shuo did not hesitate.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Ouyang Shuo, territory titles merged successfully. Shanhai City has obtained the title of Blessed Land of Artisans."

Title: Blessed Land of Artisans.

Specialty: 10% increase in territory reputation, 10% increase in speed of skills due to territory skill familiarity, 10% increase in territory bottleneck breaking chance, 25% increase in territory attractiveness.

Specialty: Spirit of the Artisan (15% increase in beneficial effects to artisans)

Evaluation: This title can be upgraded to Land of Artisans. Upgrade condition: possess two more skill titles."

When Ouyang Shuo read the stats, he let out a long sigh. This was an all-round buff for talents in the territory. It seems like members of Fallen Moon Guild and Thread would feel delighted.

Of course, the one that benefited the most in the end was the territory.

Which was why Ouyang Shuo really yearned for the title of Land of Artisans. This was not a result of blind confidence but because of the philosophers that settled in the city.

With the buff of this title, those unassuming legacies would give birth to two to three grandmaster rank talents.

Ouyang Shuo could even imagine the future, where talented individuals would rise up in the city. Just as Ouyang Shuo stood stunned outside, Qing'er noticed his presence.

"Big brother, why are you here?"

Surprise and tiredness filled Qing'er's voice.

When Ouyang Shuo heard her words, he raised his head and walked into the workshop. Then he said in a caring tone, "You, ah. Silly girl." He took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

When Qing'er heard his words, she felt happy deep down.

"Men!"

"Present!"

The servant, who stood at the corridor, quickly walked in.

"Instruct the kitchen to prepare a meal. I'll eat together with the second miss. Also, ask them to prepare a ginseng chicken soup for her."

"Yes, my Lord!"

The servant quickly backed off and left.

The kitchen of the Lord's Manor was open twenty-four hours a day. As such, when Ouyang Shuo wanted to eat, there was food waiting for him.

Needless to say, Zisu had especially instructed the kitchen to ready themselves to prepare food at any time.

It was obvious that Zisu understood Qing'er's personality well. She knew that the moment the latter started to get busy, she would forget all about food.

"Big brother, it's already so late. I can eat by myself. You need to leave tomorrow; go rest."

"It's okay!"

Ouyang Shuo waved his hand and asked her to stop attempting to persuade him.

"See, this is the inner armor I made. Take a look; there's a surprise."

The inner armor looked simple and was deep grey in color.

The magical part was that the entire inner armor lacked signs of being welded together, despite being made from the scale armor. It just seemed like a full armor in the first place.

Ouyang Shuo was quite curious about this armor, so he took a look at its stats.

Name: King Beast inner armor (Platinum)

Type: Light Armor

Weight: 2 kilograms

Defense: 105

Toughness: 85

Specialty: 20% increase in internal cultivation technique speed.

Evaluation: Made from the rare king beast scale armor, it is high quality and can be improved using primordial energy. Channeling primordial energy into it can raise its stats and even upgrade it.

The entire inner armor only weighed two kilograms, but its defense and toughness were higher than the General Mingguang Amor. Who knew how she performed this feat.

The more amazing aspect was that Qing'er had actually used the specialty she understood from the training uniform on the inner armor, and she even improved it.

As for the possible upgrades through primordial energy, it was the specialty of the king beast scale armor itself.

With the way Gaia was, Ouyang Shuo predicted that things were not as easy as they seemed. It would not only take a few simple months to upgrade it. The process would probably take a few years before he gained a chance.

"Amazing." Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Little brat, you're really a genius."

"Of course."

Qing'er, this little girl, was so happy that her face squished together, and her eyes formed a single straight line.

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Chapter 463- Du Sijing

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

In terms of defense equipment, apart from the inner armor, Qing'er also crafted a pair of boots.

Compared to the unassuming and normal looking inner armor, the war boots seemed a lot more extravagant. It had a tiger head design, golden sides, and looked as intricate as the Mingguang Armor. Qing'er had an incredibly elite aesthetic sense as always.

Ouyang Shuo took the war boots and looked at their stats.

Name: Qingmang War Boots (Platinum)

Type: Armor

Weight: 1.5 kilograms

Defense: 85

Toughness: 75

Specialty: 10% increase in movement speed

Evaluation: Crafted from the rare material, king beast scale armor, it possesses a high grade toughness. High in quality, primordial energy can improve it. Channeling primordial energy into it can raise its stats and even upgrade it.

Another elite product.

The specialty of the Qingmang War Boots was the best for a pair of boots, as it raised the wearer's movement speed by 10%. With that, along with the buff from Floating Ghost Shadow, Ouyang Shuo's movement speed had reached a terrifying level.

With the addition of this pair of war boots, Ouyang Shuo was now stacked with high quality equipment.

"Go, let's go and eat!"

Ouyang Shuo stored both the armor and the boots. His mood was simply too good, and he tapped Qing'er's head.

"En, I'm so hungry!"

Qing'er grabbed Ouyang Shuo's hand and hopped out of her workstation.

8th month, 18th day, imperial city.

The morning fog had not faded, while the fog blocked off the thin rays of sunlight.

As the morning breeze blew, it brought with it a cold feeling.

Ouyang Shuo had donned his golden Mingguang Armor, and his red divine martial cape. Additionally, he had the Chixiao Sword at his waist. Under the accompaniment of Song Jia, Cui Yingyu, and the others, he walked out of the Nanjiang Governor-General Manor.

A month had passed since Ouyang Shuo had worn all of his gear. This signaled the end of the internal changes of Shanhai City. Now, their expansion would quicken. The Southern regions of China would soon witness a blood rain.

The fully equipped Ouyang Shuo was not the warm and nice Lord of past. Now, he was a merciless general.

In the square of the imperial city, the Guards Division had already gathered up.

For this trip, they planned to teleport behind the enemy lines. Hence, they kept their mission a highly guarded secret. They had sealed up the entire imperial city, so outsiders could not see the situation within.

Xiao He and the other officials had all gathered really early in the square to send him off.

"Farewell, my Lord!"

"I'll leave the territorial matters up to all of you!"

He had already spoken the words he need to, so there was no need to repeat anything. Hence, Ouyang Shuo only nodded, as he flipped himself onto the horse and took the lead to the teleportation formation.

The two hundred Divine Martial Guards followed quickly behind him.

As he passed them, each and every Guards Division soldier bowed in an orderly manner.

This was also the first time the Guards Division had headed out with Ouyang Shuo. Before this, although the Guards Division was the direct unit of the Lord, Baqi had always commanded them.

No wonder all the Guards Division soldiers were so pumped up this time.

"Brother, come back soon!"

Bing'er's clear and crisp voice seemed exceptionally warm amongst the solemn military formation. Xiao He and the other officials could not help but smile. The solemn atmosphere was instantly lessened and lightened.

Ouyang Shuo waved back at her from his horse, smiling as he disappeared into the teleportation formation.

"Let's go!"

When Lin Yi saw them go, he led the Guards Division and followed closely behind.

Zhaoqing Prefecture, Wulong County.

Wulong County was a grade 3 county, located at the northmost point of Zhaoqing Prefecture. In order to not expose himself, the Lord, Spicy Snack Prince, had no choice but to lead three thousand troops of his own down south with the alliance army.

The one guarding Wulong County was his most important official, Du Sijing.

Du Sijing, also known as Zi Jinpu. They treated him really well in the Pan Manor, where he learned from Xuheng. He was the government sub-prefect of Pingyang. Then, he became the censor, calendar ministry assistant minister, minister of the secretariats, and finally the supervisor of Shun De, An Xi.

28th year of Zhiyuan, he was appointed as a secretary and was allowed to join meetings. 10th year of Dade, he became a minister. While he was working, he grew interested in medical arts.

Although Du Sijing was not famous, he was a capable official. He was born in the Yuan Dynasty that the Mongols ruled. For a Han man to become a minister was not easy.

For Spicy Snack Prince to receive such a helper, he could be considered lucky to the extreme. Unfortunately, he met an obnoxious neighbour, Ouyang Shuo, so he had no choice but to surrender.

As they would say, only a wise man could understand the situation.

For Spicy Snack Prince to make such a decision, Du Sijing caused it. In his eyes, no matter if they won or lost, the Lords of Zhaoqing Prefecture would not have a good outcome.

If they lost, needless to say, the outcome was certain. Even if they won by luck, the Lords of Zhaoqing, who had lost many resources, would either be eaten up by the South Alliance, or they would face a second attack.

Whatever the outcome, it was not optimistic. This was the helplessness of the weak.

Rather than that, why not just place their bets on Shanhai City?

Sending help when one needed it was better than being the icing on a cake.

Naturally, Du Sijing was not the only to accurately judge the situation of Zhaoqing Prefecture. But to have such decisiveness, only Spicy Snack Prince managed to do so. Just based on this point, he was better than many others.

Reality proved that his choice was right.

His good intentions had granted him great rewards. A County Magistrate position and a rank. Although such fruits could not compared to being a Lord of Wulong County, it was still very stable.

After the Battle of Julu ended, the battles between the Lords in the wilderness had entered its climax. In the vast lands of China, wars would break out every day.

Territories were constantly wiped out, becoming a part of history.

The victors were delighted, while no one would care about the losers.

Only the strong could survive.

Each and every Lord were under a lot of pressure. They feared that when they woke up, an enemy would have taken down their territory. Hence, for Spicy Snack Prince to back down happily and gain such a stable job, he was fortunate.

Normally, when Lords surrendered, Ouyang Shuo might not accept it. After all, accepting too many Lord gamemode players was bad for his rule; they acted as an uncertain factor.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo would rather pay a heavier price to clear out the enemies in battle. However, South Alliance had forced him into a corner, so he had no other choice.

Apart from strategic considerations, Du Sijing was also one of the key elements. He sent his troops to Wulong County. Apart from attacking the enemy from behind, he also wanted to observe Du Sijing closely.

Before coming, Ouyang Shuo had even taken the time to research Su Sijing. His experience could be considered eye-catching, since he had handled administrative matters and worked in the imperial court.

If nothing went wrong, after the battle, Ouyang Shuo could grant him the position of Governor.

Amongst the civil servants of Shanhai City, scholars and student that graduated from Xinan University basically filled up the middle level and basic level officials. He only lacked important civil servants.

Especially choices for governors, which was exactly so.

With the game map being ten times larger than reality, a governor was more like an inspector-general of a province.

Inspector-General. In any dynasty, it was a huge position. It was a position that tens of thousands of officials would never reach.

Hence, scholars who did not have much experience definitely would not be up to the task.

For example, Leizhou Governor Bao Shuya had once held the position of prime minister of a country, but the size of the Qi Country was like the Shandong Province. In the game, it was just a prefecture.

The position of Governor was basically Bao Shuya's limit.

Compared to him, Du Sijing was not any worse. In fact, he might even be better. The only problem was his loyalty toward Ouyang Shuo.

This was the problem with such talented people.

Since he was attacking Zhaoqing Prefecture, Ouyang Shuo had no choice but to plan for its future Governor.

Ouyang Shuo originally planned to choose Song Wen, but his performance in Tianshuang County was lacking. If he allowed Song Wen to take the position, he would be unable to appease the people.

Hence, Song Wen needed to gain more experience before he could receive a chance. The fall of Tianshuang County could be considered a huge lesson for him.

If he could learn from the matter, his future potential was something to look forward to.

Excluding him, there were even better choices.The appearance of the Guards Division in Wulong County had caused a frenzy, as the commoners looked on in fear and apprehension.

Everyone knew that the current county only had several thousand city protection forces. If these troops were enemies, the county would fail to survive.

Luckily, the scene that followed let the gathered commoners heave a sigh of relief.

"Du Sijing greets the Governor-General."

Du Sijing led the officials in the city to greet Ouyang Shuo.

Ouyang Shuo could not act arrogant toward him. After all, they were still partners for now; they were not master and servant.

"Sir Du, I've made you wait!"

Ouyang Shuo dismounted from his horse and cupped his fists; he looked warm and mysterious.

"Please!"

Seeing that the Nanjiang Governor-General was not arrogant, he also felt relieved. If nothing went wrong, the person in front of him would be his future Lord.

If one said that Du Sijing was not a little selfish, no one would believe him.

Lin Yi led his forces and took over the defense of Wulong County. Ouyang Shuo led the two hundred personal guards and moved into the Lord's Manor.

Although Ouyang Shuo was confident that they would not try to pull any tricks, he had to be safe. Who knows whether Wulong County had any spies of the other Lords.

After moving into the manor, Ouyang Shuo had to meet the powers and nobles in the county. After the greetings, he used the excuse of feeling unwell to return to the accommodation that Du Sijing had prepared for him.

In less than ten minutes, the person in charge of the Black Snake Guards in Wulong County rushed outside Ouyang Shuo's courtyard. The Divine Martial Guards waiting outside knew of the existence of the Black Snake Guards. As such, after checking his identity, they allowed him to enter.

"Lord!"

"Speak, what's the situation?"

Currently, Ouyang Shuo did not have his usual polite and warm expression. In fact, he was cold beyond belief.

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Chapter 464- Famous General Di Qing

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

After listening to the report of the Black Snake Guards, Ouyang Shuo's brows tightly locked together.

In the entire north region of Zhaoqing Prefecture, including Wulong County, there were a total of twelve territories. Each city had around one to two thousand troops.

The problem laid in the fifty thousand iron cavalry on patrol.

The camp of the fifty thousand iron cavalry was fifteen kilometers north of Tianshuang County.

Based on the intel from the Black Snake Guards, the twelve cities had formed a wartime alliance. The moment one of them were attacked, the fifty thousand iron cavalry would learn of the news and head to assist.

It seems like a smart person was instructing the South Alliance. The entire north region of Zhaoqing Prefecture was airtight, and it did not seem to have any weakness.

Ouyang Shuo's goal was to take down Tianshuang County, which acted as the grain base of the alliance army.

Wulong County was a three days journey away from Tianshuang County.

The fifty thousand cavalry patrolled the entire north side. Hence, to attack Tianshuang County, they needed to deal with the cavalry first. If not, the enemy could easily pincer them in.

With only one division to fight fifty thousand soldiers, it was another one versus five scenario.

Considering that there were around thirty thousand troops housed in Tianshuang County, they could only play it smart in this battle. Without specific intel, Ouyang Shuo did not dare to strike.

The same day, Ouyang Shuo sent out around ten spy squads to investigate the movement patterns of the enemy.

Zhaoqing Prefecture, Yun An County.

220 thousand alliance army troops had already gathered up at Yun An County. Along with them, there were also large amounts of grain and siege weapons. They transported the endless supply of grain from Tianshuang County to Yun An County.

The fifty thousand vanguard force had investigated the locations of the Shanhai City Army. The South Alliance members had gathered once again to discuss tactics.

Hefu did not solely make decision anymore.

The other Lords brought their advisors and generals, who would voice their opinions one by one. After all, they were better at wartime commanding. Hefu and the others were only in charge of strategic decisions.

Amongst the generals, one of them was the most eye-catching, he was the famous General of North Song, Di Qing.

Di Qing had a tattoo on his face, and he was skilled at riding and shooting. He was born in a cold and povertous area, a courageous man. During the Song Xia War, he wore a bronze mask and charged to the front, gaining many war credits.

In the imperial court, Yin Zhu, Han Qi, Fan Zhongyan, and other important generals all had relationships with him. Fan Zhongyan had given him the Spring and Autumn Annals, causing him to start to read and get familiar with the art of war.

Di Qing had participated in a total of twenty-five wars, and he gained fame for his night assault on Kunlun Pass. However, the imperial court had doubted him, which resulted in him dying of depression. After his death, he was respected and worshipped, given the title of Wuxiang.

"For military matters, what we worry the most about is a person who doesn't know much giving orders to people who are more experienced." Hefu looked around, "Hence, I suggest that we Lords don't do anything. We will leave the military matters to the generals. What do you all think?"

"Alliance leader is right. I agree!"

"I agree!"

"Good, so that is settled." Hefu continued, "Since that's the case, we must choose a commander to lead all the troops. The order of the commander is equal to my orders, so whichever general dares to betray or go against the orders, the commander will deal with them based on military law. We Lords won't interfere. What do you think?"

"Great!"

"I agree!"

The Lords knew that although the alliance army was strong, it had many problems. The biggest issue was that the soldiers came from many territories. Without military law controlling them, they were just like scattered sand.

Just a few simple words from Hefu solved the two biggest problems of the alliance army. Even Yuan Ping felt impressed, and he did not jump out to create problems.

As expected, Di Qing was pushed to become the commander of all the troops.

In front of all the Lords and generals, Di Qing was handed the power. Hefu and the others backed out of the tent and allowed Di Qing to lead the battlefield.

Di Qing was a person of few words. Only after considering everything and thinking clearly would he strike. He desired absolute certainty. His style was similar to Baiqi's.

Di Qing had planned the troop distribution to the north of Zhaoqing Prefecture.

Di Qing knew that in a war, grain was of utmost importance. As the grain base of the army, they needed to defend Tianshuang County; they could not lose it.

As the Lords backed down, Di Qing officially started the meeting. Like the legends said, he wore a bronze mask and had disheveled hair. He sat at the lead position, emitting the aura of a leader.

Not all the generals in the alliance army were happy with him leading them.

"The enemy is housed in three cities, forming a triangle formation. How should we break it?"

Di Qing was an eccentric character, directly throwing the hardest question to the generals seated.

When the other generals heard his question, they all looked at one another. They did not know what he meant.

This was the intelligence of Di Qing in play. He knew about matters of the military. It might seem like the other generals did not have any objections to him taking the lead, but in their hearts, it was different.

Since the olden times, there was was no second to martial arts.

Hence, Di Qing decided to act independently from the start. He wanted to use this chance to clearly learn the characters of the generals present. After knowing them, he would make plans.

Only by knowing oneself can you win all wars.

"Why, you all don't have any ideas?"

Seeing the tent remain silent, Di Qing took the chance to speak, stimulating the generals.

"We should gather all our troops and attack one city."

As expected, one of the generals could not hold it in and stood up.

Di Qing shook his head, "Since the enemy has formed a triangle formation, they would naturally help one another out. If one side gets attacked, the rest would act. If we aren't careful, we might get caught. We mustn't forget that their general is the invincible Baiqi. Even Han Xin is in their ranks. Their ability, I'm sure all of you know about it."All the other generals were left speechless.

"Commander don't praise them too much and dampen your prestige." The generals in the alliance army were all bold; none of them were cowards. One of them got up and retorted, "Our army has the absolute advantage in numbers. Naturally, we can defend against the other two sides while taking down one. With that, the cities will each be fighting for themselves."

"Well said!"

The generals cheered.

When Di Qing heard this response, he gave a slight nod and said, "Your words are logical but you have forgotten something."

"Please enlighten me!"

The General that retorted did not dare to act truly preposterous.

"The enemy is in three cities. They have formed a formation of three, and it is easy for them to switch around. Although we have the numerical advantage, they are much stronger. Moreover, our armies are not well meshed. Just these two points alone are enough to lower some of our advantages. Hence, the gap isn't really as big as it seems."

There was also another point that Di Qing did not speak out to save some face for the generals. To put it bluntly, their generals were weaker than that of the enemy.

Any general from the Shanhai City Army was a famous general; their ability far stronger than any of them present. In such a large-scale battle, this advantage would grow exceedingly obvious.

As expected, although the generals felt slightly miffed, they did not oppose his words.

When Di Qing saw the situation, he looked around and said solemnly, "Which is why the current situation doesn't allow us to be careless. If the troops we send to attack are too little, we can't take the city down. If we send too much, the defending troops won't be able to hold on, and we might lose."

Through these words, one could see how careful Di Qing was when he commanded troops.

When the other generals heard these words, they could help but look on in awe.

"Thank you, General, for your words."

At this point, the other generals finally woke up. Their commander had done a large-scale analysis of this battle.

When Di Qing heard such a response, he knew that the time was right, and the other generals had basically acknowledged him. Hence, he finally spoke out his plan, "The key to this battle is just real and fake, two words."

"What's real, what's fake? There are two meanings. Firstly, the enemy troops. The enemy troops are in three cities. Now, we only know whose the main general there. As for how many troops are in each city, we have no idea. If we can't find out the truth about the troops, we can't fight them. Which city would be a trap that we shouldn't touch it?"

The other generals all nodded at these words.

"Secondly, our own troops. Although we don't have an absolute advantage, we must make it such that our enemies cannot see through us. Before we officially attack, we must make it that the enemy doesn't know which city we will attack. When we reveal the truth, it must be too late for them."

Clap! Clap!

Applause broke out in the tent.

With such an analysis from Di Qing, all the generals felt a lot more confident about this battle.

Di Qing pressed his hand down to calm down the atmosphere in the tent, "These two words, real and fake, are easy to say but hard to execute. The key would be investigating and scouting. Hence, after this meeting ends, we need to send out more spies. Around the three cities, we mustn't miss out anything."

"Yes, commander!"

"Spies investigating is only the first step. The enemy troops are in the city, so all the gates should be tightly locked. Hence, to find out about the enemy, the most effective method is to attack them. We should use the smallest number of sacrifices to exchange for first hand intel."

As a result of Di Qing's words, only the gods would know how many soldiers they would sacrifice.

The generals all understood that the enemy was not simple. In order to test them out, normal probes would not work. Rather than a probe, it was more of an assault. The alliance army could only relentlessly attack the enemy until they revealed their weakness.

Even so, no one said anything.

"Please give the order!"

"We await your order!"

The more than ten generals all stood up and shouted.

"Tomorrow, we will split our troops into three and attack the cities. Before they reveal their weakness, we mustn't back off. If any one of you doesn't give your all, don't blame me for being merciless."

With a Shua! Di Qing unsheathed the sword at his waist. With a shine of light, a corner of the table was cut off. A chilling aura spread out from his body. Along with the bronze mask, it was an overbearing presence.

"We will follow your orders!"

The other generals were all stunned, and they did not dare to take him lightly.

The next day, the alliance army split into three routes and launched probing attacks against Yaogu County, Cangcheng County, and Genglou County.

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Chapter 465- Risky Use of Troops

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

On the Cangcheng County city wall, Baiqi looked at the black ocean of troops bearing down on them; his eyes seemed unsettled.

The enemy was moving exceedingly slowly. After they covered a short distance, they would stop to organize themselves. The reason behind this was that the army was made up of ten different forces, so their timings were different. As a result, they moved in a disjointed fashion and would need of reorganization.

If they did not stop, before they even reached the city wall, they would fall into a scattered chaos.

Baiqi's observations were so sharp and intricate.

He counted silently in his heart. The intervals between their stops were getting shorter and shorter. The entire army had grown more orderly and familiarized with the movement speeds of one another.

The enemy was an extremely careful person.

Baiqi defined the enemy commander.

220 thousand alliance army troops, apart from forty thousand in Yun An County, the remaining 180 thousand were split into three and pressed on toward the three counties.

On the rods, the flags swung around all over, while swords and spears were held upright. Dust rose, as they moved.

The enemy troops were like three sharp knives, which stabbed toward the Shanhai City Army.

Sixty thousand troops, for Yaogu County that had two divisions, defending should not pose too much of a problem. Even Genglou County, under the adjustments and leadership of Han Xin, would not face any problems.

The key was the main camp, Cangcheng County.

There only had ten thousand troops, and they were the Tianshuang County city protection division that were comparatively weaker. If they faced the attack of forces six times their number, Baiqi was not confident.

Under consecutive attacks, the city protection division would reveal their weakness.

What should he do?

Baiqi knew that he needed to do something. Otherwise, the next attack could be eighty thousand or even a hundred thousand men.

Should he activate the 2nd division of the Dragon Legion that hid outside of Genglou County?

That was reserved for the worst case scenario.

The moment he made use of Luo Shixin's division, it would reveal the real and fake of the Shanhai City Army to the enemy. Not only that, it would rent Baiqi's plan so far useless.

Baiqi did not turn his head and asked, "Whose their general?"

"Di Qing."

The one who replied was the intel officer that the Military Intelligence Division had sent out.

During every large-scale war, the Military Intelligence Division would send intel officers to take charge of intelligence matters. Even in the patrolling squadrons, they would have an intel officer leading them during wartime.

With that, through the Military Intelligence Division, the army could build a highly efficient and unified intel network that would effectively use the available resources to obtain the best intel.

"Di Qing?"

Baiqi frowned. He only knew a little about history.

"Immediately send a letter to the Military Affairs Department and ask them to prepare a detailed report on Di Qing."

"Yes, General!"As the sun set in the west, along with the last rays of the sun, the alliance army abandoned the thousands of bodies and retreated like a flood. They completely lacked the intentions of staying.

Under the cover of the night shade, the soldiers were tired. Some felt fortunate, while others were pumped up.

This was war!

Compared to the determined faces of the alliance army, exhaustion filled the soldiers on the city wall. Some soldiers directly fell into a deep slumber on the city wall, while they grabbed tightly onto the spears in their hands.

In just one day, the city protection division had nearly fallen apart. If it was not for the leadership abilities of Baiqi, the enemy would have seen through the weakness of Cangcheng County.

Although they had survived, Baiqi's eyes lacked even a sliver of joy. They were already at their limit. At tomorrow at the latest, their weakness would be revealed to the enemy.

Baiqi had to make preparations for the worst, so he ordered Luo Shixin's division to get ready to assist them.

In truth, Luo Shixin did not feel good today either.

The enemy scouts were like mad dogs, charging aimlessly around the wilderness.

He had no choice but to send out scouts of his own. In the wilderness, the scouts killed one another to prevent the enemy's investigation.

Although the scouts that he sent out had successfully misdirected the enemy, if this continued, the enemy would uncover the hiding spot of the division. After all, they were a cavalry division so trying to hide was really difficult.

Night.

Cangcheng County, which was busy throughout entire day, had finally regained its peace and quiet. On the streets, the soldiers on patrol could not see a single person outside.

The soldiers, who had fought valiantly for a day, had already fallen asleep in preparation for the huge battle tomorrow.

In the room of Commander-in-Chief Baiqi, the oil lamps still burned bright.

Within the room, Baiqi sat upright, as he read the information on Di Qing that the Military Affairs Department had sent.

The profile only had four pages with thousands of words. It not only had an introduction of his life, but also a personal evaluation by Du Ruhui.

"Uses soldiers carefully? Seems like that's the case."

Baiqi muttered.

"Since that's the case, let's use a plan against his plan!"

Baiqi placed down the document and decided to take a chance.

Baiqi rarely took risks in war, but the situation had forced his hand.

"Now, the only change would be the Guards Division the Lord is leading."

Baiqi looked up. Outside of the window, the clear bright moon hung high above the sky. Bright moon and little stars, tomorrow would have good weather again.

Wulong County, Lord's Manor.

After receiving Baiqi's latest intel report, Ouyang Show knew that he could not wait any longer. The moment the main battlefield fell into a disadvantage, the consequences would be dire.

At that time, what would Spicy Snack Prince think?

Ouyang Shuo did not want to place the fate of the territory in the hands of someone else, even an ally.

People were always complicated.

If Shanhai City lost their advantage, Spicy Snack Prince could betray them.

Ouyang Shuo had once read a book and liked one of the phrases inside, 'If you don't want to be betrayed, don't give other people a chance to betray you.'

In his last life, he did not understand this concept, so he was betrayed.

In this life, he understood that phrase.

As he contemplated, a cold flash appeared in his eyes.

"Men!"

"Present!"

"Invite Mr. Du over!"

"Yes, my Lord!"

The guard turned around and left.

A short while later, Du Sijing hurried over. Doubt filled his eyes, as he did not know why he was summoned.

"Sit!"

Ouyang Shuo's face did not reveal anything strange.

When Du Sijing heard this, he sat down respectfully, as he grew more and more anxious.

"I have something I need you to instruct me on."

"Please ask!"

The more polite Ouyang Shuo acted, the more uneasy he felt. He had just sat down, but now he stood up once again.

"Mr. Du, don't worry."

Ouyang Shuo raised his hand and asked Du Sijing to calm down.

When Du Sijing heard these words, a flash of astonishment appeared in his eyes. His performance today was really unkempt and inappropriate.

"I've heard that the moment the twelve territories are attacked, they can inform the fifty thousand iron cavalry, right?"

"That's right!"

"Does the attack have a sort of judging standard, or can anyone send an alarm that reinforcements will definitely respond to? Apart from that, the army that arrives, is it the whole fifty thousand or just a portion?"

"Lord, please elaborate." Du Sijing calmed himself down, "Since the establishment of the wartime alliance till now, no territory has set off the alarm. Only, before the war, the commander sent orders to the territories. If they are attacked, they must make the number of enemies clear."

When Ouyang Shuo heard these details, he nodded, "In that the case, can Mr. Du spread the word tomorrow that Wulong County is under attack and needs reinforcements?"

"This…." Du Sijing could not understand, "Wouldn't that expose the Lord?"

Ouyang Shuo smiled but did not say anything.

Suddenly, a light bulb lit up in Du Sijing's mind, and his face instantly turned ashen white. He had understood what Ouyang Shuo was talking about. He wanted to bait the fifty thousand cavalry. Then, he would wipe them out.

This plan was simply toxic.

The problem was that this plan was not within the terms they had discussed.

It was easy to forsee the result that would occur the moment Wulong County lied about intel and led the troops over. No matter their fate, it would reveal the betrayal of Spicy Snack Prince, who was amongst the alliance army. He would fall into trouble.

At that time, death would be something that he wished for. How the furious alliance army would treat a traitor, one could only imagine.

Just the thought alone sent a shiver down Du Sijing's spine.

Seeing Du Sijing's expression, Ouyang Shuo sighed. He knew that the other man had already seen through his plan. He also knew that this course of action treated Spicy Snack Prince unfairly.

Unfortunately, Ouyang Shuo could not wait any longer.

Who knows since when, but Ouyang Shuo's heart had grown colder and colder.

However, he needed Du Sijing to spread the news of the attack. Hence, Ouyang Shuo needed to calm him down. If not, the plan would not work.

This was also a dangerous move on Ouyang Shuo's part.

The South Alliance were impressive, as they could force both Ouyang Shuo and Baiqi to take risky moves at the same time.

"After this war, I'll give an explanation to your Lord."

Ouyang Shuo took a look at Du Sijing, but he did not make any promises. Du Sijing would understand. At the current moment, any promises could not compare to an explanation from Ouyang Shuo.

Although Ouyang Shuo had become cold-hearted, that did not mean he was a liar. On the contrary, his words were worth their weight in gold. One he said something, it would not change.

If not, it would cause a deadly blow to his prestige and reputation.

When Du Sijing heard this promise, his expression turned mixed.

Ouyang Shuo, on the other hand, was relaxed. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip.

From how Du Sijing had persuaded Spicy Snack Prince to form an alliance with Shanhai City, Ouyang Shuo knew that he was a person who knew how to measure pros and cons.

Dealing with such a person would only be beneficial to him.

As long as he saw that the temporary loses could be exchanged for greater benefits, he would agree. Unexpectedly, Du Sijing raised up a requirement, "You have to promise that after the war, you will rescue my Lord from the alliance army."

Du Sijing's expression was resolute.

If Ouyang Shuo did not agree, he would not budge. Who cares if his life was on the line, he was not afraid of such matters.

It seems like Du Sijing had tossed death out of his worries.

Spicy Snack Prince had developed a great minister.

Ouyang Shuo looked at Du Sijing, delighted in his heart. This only proved that his judgment was correct. If Du Sijing had agreed without hesitation, he would have felt disappointed instead.

"I promise you."

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Chapter 466- Life of a Spotter

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

On the vast ocean surface, waves rose up one after another, forming a beautiful ripple effect.

Two squadrons in around two hundred small-sized warships. They formed up into their battle formations, as they sailed forward. On the masts of each warship hung many flags, including a majestic golden dragon and a vast blue dragon.

The two dragons added to the radiance and beauty of one another.

Amongst the squadron, two huge five floor turreted ships were the most eye-catching.

These two ships were the flagship of each squadron. The flagship of the 1st division of the Beihai Bay Squadron was Flying Cloud, while the flagship of the 1st division of the Yashan Squadron was Gaihai.

Two ships, one on the left and one on the right. They were like two giants on the deep ocean, leading the other warships.

In their journey here, apart from a rare few pirates, they had faced no opponents. Even the large-scale pirate organizations nearby retreated upon seeing such a huge fleet.

On the first floor of the Flying Cloud, three generals stood and looked ahead. In the middle was the military advisor for this trip, War Division Secretary Zhao Kuo.

As the two squadrons were not under the same rule, Zhao Kuo was both the military advisor and the commander.

To his left was a younger general, the leader of the Divine Martial Guards, Yulin General Wang Feng. On the right, it was naturally the captain of the Beihai Bay Squadron 1st division, Pei Donglai.

Above Gaihai was the captain of the Yashan Sqaudron 1st division, Cai Mao and the deputy captain, Yanhuo Yaonie.

The leadership ability of Cai Mao was more than a level higher than Pei Donglai's.

Pei Donglai's presence was partially due to his status as one of the ancestor of the Shanhai City Army. Moreover, they had set up the 1st division of the Beihai Bay Squadron first, so the soldiers had higher ranks and greater combat strength. Hence, for this battle, they were the main force.

This was also the reason why Zhao Kuo and Wang Feng stayed on board the Flying Cloud.

As for Wang Feng, his role was for the battle after they landed. Naval warfare was something the Divine Martial Guards would not join. Although, if nothing went wrong, the naval force would basically not fight any navy war.

The strong ocean winds blew their capes around, creating a distinct sound.

Pei Donglai held onto the map and pointed at the shoreline that they could vaguely see, "Commander, in about an hour, we will reach Jiaozhou Bay!"

Zhao Kuo nodded and asked, "Has the Cima Boat we sent out reported any news?"

"Yes. Jade Buddha County has built a port and a harbor there. They also have a bunch of sailors patrolling the sea region. However, they are small-sized warships and won't pose a problem."

"Order the troops to get ready to fight."

When Zhao Kuo heard this news, he knew that a fight was unavoidable.

"Yes!"

Pei Donglai waved his flag and sounded the war drums. The entire fleet increased their speed and charged ahead. As such a fleet definitely needed to land at a harbor, there was no need to act discreet.

Jiaozhou Bay.

Ten small-sized warships patrolled the bay, free and relaxed.

Jiaozhou Bay was considered an inland harbor, where pirates were not active. The entire Jade Buddha County Unit was more of a life saving unit, rather than a group that protected the safety of the fishers.

Zhao Wu was one of the spotters on board one of the navy unit ships. He was hanging on top of the mast, similarly doing nothing.

The ocean was mysterious; you would see different sights everyday.

However, looking at it day in day out, no matter, who it was, they would feel bored to death.

Zhao Wu was like that. He was just praying that he could quickly complete this patrolling mission and return to the city to find his girlfriend.

Sigh!

Zhao Wu sighed and looked out the ocean habitually to check for any unlucky fishers that needed their help.

In truth, Zhao Wu really hoped for something that they could do.

A spotter was a lonely person. Apart from the wind, they did not have any companions, not even someone to talk to.

After being a spotter for so long, Zhao Wu had even started to mutter to himself. Toward the air, toward the birds, and even toward the ocean, he would speak to all of them.

The words that he spoke were basically about things that had happened between him and his girlfriend. However, the surrounding birds had grown sick of him, and they did not want to visit his spotting platform.

Hearing too many mushy words, one would vomit out the food they had just eaten.

After squatting all day on the spotting platform, sores were about to form on his butt. The cold and salty ocean breeze caused his cheeks to hurt and cracks to form.

Everytime he went back to the city, his girlfriend would pity him and cry for him.

Women, they were all made out of water.

When they were gentle, they were feminine and tender like water. At such times, even their waists were like snakes, where each twist and turn would ignite a fire in one's heart. A man would not mind dying on a woman's voluptuous and white body.

However, this water was sometimes a massive problem.

Each time she cried, Zhao Wu would be in trouble.

Young women were like that. Most of them could not handle a little pain.

In truth, these cracks were nothing to him.

Zhao Wu, on the other hand, wished that he could have a real fight with pirates. He wanted to receive a few injures and obtain some battle scars. Only then would he be a true man. Who knows, he might obtain some rewards that would allow him to buy her some gifts.

Compared to now, with his pitiful salary, which clinged and clanged in his pocket. He had caused his girlfriend to suffer along with him.

Men had to have money.

If one did not have enough money, no matter how good or skilled they were, in life, they were bound to be the underling of someone else.

"This stupid job!"

Zhao Wu grumbled, as he scolded out toward the ocean, a mouthful of saliva splattering out. Just as he was about to turn around, something stunned him. He rubbed his eyes and looked out at the horizon once more.

This look scared the soul out of his body.

He saw warship after warship charge toward them like beasts on the surface of horizon. There were too many, so Zhao Wu could not count them all.

Warships filled his entire visual line.

Apart from the numbers, the key laid in the domineering appearance of the approaching warships. They were several floors high, even higher than the Jade Buddha County Lord's Manor.

Zhao Wu swore that he had never seen such a tall warship in his life.

Was that still a ship? It was practically a castle on water.

In comparison, their warship was a shrimp.

All of a sudden, Zhao Wu was astonished beyond words, and his whole mind went completely blank.

"It's over. It's over; this time I am going to be buried in the ocean!"

Zhao Wu's face was ashen white; he was not as ambitious and as confident as moments ago. What military contribution, what reward, to hell with that! He was only praying that he could escape with his life.

Although life was tough, as long as you were alive, there was hope. The moment you died, nothing remained.

"Alarm, sound the alarm!"

Zhao Wu tried his best to calm himself down, thinking about his job and pulling the alarm on the spotter platform.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere of the entire bay grew exceedingly serious.

Of course, the sailors on deck did not mind him. They thought that Zhao Wu, that idiot, was trolling them again. Zhao Wu pulled these kinds of act often.

When patrolling became boring and mundane, such things were a source of pleasure and excitement.

Zhao Wu sounded the alarm, as he looked out once again. However, what he saw stunned him again; the enemy squadron was visible to the naked eye.

"Oh? No pirate flag?"

For Zhao Wu to become a spotter, his eyesight was naturally perfect. Although the approaching warship was far away, he could already clearly see the flag that flew on the enemy ship.

"Golden dragon? What kind of flag is that? Is that the legendary Quanzhou Imperial City Squadron?"

Zhao Wu was only an ordinary, low-class commoner. He only knew of the existence of the imperial city because of his occupation as a sailor.

If not, he would only be exposed to Jade Buddha County, this small piece of land. Apart from Quanzhou, Zhao Wu's brain could not think of any other place.

The ships were getting closer and closer!

Zhao Wu could even start to see the soldiers, who were all equipped with their armor.

Under the shine of the sun, the ice cold armor reflected a glaring light into their eyes.

They really were not pirates.

Zhao Wu was already certain that pirates would not have such a soldier formation. Those bunch of scums were all despicable humans, and they did not emit such an aura.

In his heart, a sense of eagerness built up.

"It's not an enemy, not an enemy!"

At the current moment, the deck was in chaos. Without the need for confirmations, the soldiers on board could clearly see the ships charging toward them.

Apart from praying, as a spotter, he could not do anything else.

This kind of feeling where you could only depend on the heavens truly did not feel good.

Unfortunately, his prayers were useless.

In an instant, an arrow rain broke out and turned the Jade Buddha County Navy Unit into a bunch of arrow porcupines.

Unfortunately, Zhao Wu was also hit, right in the heart.

"Wow, I'm really unlucky."

Zhao Wu could not hold on any longer; he fell down from the platform and onto the deck. With a loud smash, he instantly died.

At the last moment, the waist of his girlfriend came to his mind.

"I really want to touch that again!"

In the next moment, he completely fell into the darkness.

The massacre in Jiaozhou Bay started and ended fast.

In less than half an hour, the huge bay, apart from Shanhai City ships, lacked any other perfectly fine warship. Bodies littered with arrows, and broken ships floated on the surface.

Even the nearby fishermen who could not move away in time were stuck too.

"Get to shore and disembark!"

On the Flying Cloud, expressionlessly Zhao Kuo watched the scene unfold in front of him. Such a victory did not mean anything; the real war had not even begun.

"Yes!"

The two large squadrons orderly docked. The first to disembark was naturally the Divine Martial Guards.

The real war had started!

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Chapter 467- Sacrificing the Knight to Protect the King

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

The entire harbor was a total mess.

Wang Feng led the Divine Martial Guards. They stepped onto the wooden boards the placed Flying Cloud placed down and disembarked first.

Jiaozhou Harbor was similar to Beihai Harbor in that both the military and commoners used it. The Jade Buddha County Navy Unit still had two hundred more soldiers guarding the camp.

Only a bunch of fishers remained.

Ouyang Shuo had instructed his troops to not act as mindless killing machines. Unless they really had no choice, they would not massacre defenseless people.

Hence, the moment the Divine Martial Guards disembarked, they charged straight for the navy camp.

Navy soldiers still had combat strength on land. The two squadrons on this trip all disembarked, apart from a portion left behind in the harbor.

If not, solely relying on the Divine Martial Guards, they would not be able to take down Jade Buddha County.

When the two sides fought the naval battle, the troops in the units had already gathered up. Facing the fierce enemy troops, the major wanted to retreat into the city, but he did not dare to do so.

Escaping from battle was a death crime.

Of course, even if they stayed, only slaughter awaited them. In front of the Divine Martial Guards, they were defenseless. After clearing out the soldiers at the harbor, the entire squadron could finally disembark.

The two navy squadrons, apart from those guarding the harbor, could gather into eighteen thousand men to fight on the land.

In addition to the Divine Martial Guards, the had over twenty thousand soldiers. After a short rest, they charged straight for Jade Buddha County.

The current Jade Buddha County was in a state of high alert, the city gates tightly shut. The city protection forces were waiting in formation on the city walls. If they were purely a navy squadron, they really could not do anything to the county, unless they had cannons.

Shanhai City had made preparations for this battle for a long time, so how could they lack arrangements? The enemy waited, only to see arrow towers and scaling ladders taken down from the ships and assembled together.

The hundred odd movable arrow turrets were the key to this battle.

Apart from the sword-shield soldiers, they navy forces were mainly archers.

Thanks to the help of the movable arrow turrets, they suppressed the firepower of the defending troops. The Divine Martial Guards acted as the front unit, using the scaling ladders to climb up the city wall in less than an hour.

Of the Jade Buddha County city protection division, Hefu had taken away five thousand of the elites, so only around eight thousand men remained. Facing a sieging force of around twenty thousand, they should not feel so pressured.

Unfortunately, the opponent that they faced were the Divine Martial Guards, who had taken down the Jiangdong Warriors. Each and every one of them could take on ten alone.

This bunch of warriors trained in hell. The moment they rushed up, the outcome was already predictable.

At 11 AM, the Divine Martial Guards had completely occupied the city wall.

They had broken the defences of Jade Buddha County.

After taking down the county, Zhao Kuo followed Ouyang Shuo's instructions and did not destroy the stone steele. Instead, he arranged for five hundred Divine Martial Guards to defend the teleportation formation.

In the surroundings, two thousand archers waited.

If Hefu dared to teleport back to try and help, before he even walked out of the formation, arrows would rain on his troops.

Apart from that, Zhao Kuo also arranged for ten thousand soldiers to control the Jade Buddha County city gates, arrow towers, treasury, granary, and other important areas.

The entire county had now fallen under their control.

Meanwhile, one thousand Divine Martial Guards led the remaining soldiers out of the city to destroy the subsidiary territories of Jade Buddha County; they swept the entire territory.

When Jade Buddha County was attacked, Hefu who was thousands of miles away had already received the notification.

At that moment, his face turned ashen white.

His first reaction was to lead his troops back to help out.

He was about to look for Di Qing, but he stopped prior to walking out of the room.

He could not go.

The moment he went back, the entire alliance army would fall apart.

The worst part was that Yun An County was just a territory that Shanhai City had occupied before. As such, the place did not have a teleportation formation. He needed to travel back to return through teleportation.

This was where Baiqi's genius showed.

When the alliance army came down south, Baiqi had started to consolidate their defenses. He had given up territories they had taken over, making the main camp as the core area to defend.

With that, Baiqi created a situation where the enemy could not directly teleport their troops without alerting the Shanhai City Army. If they teleported reinforcements to the back, the Military Intelligence Division would definitely find out.

Now, the question that remained was whether the alliance army had the courage to cut off all means of retreat and charge ahead.When Hefu summoned Di Qing, the latter felt a little confused.

After the probing attack in the morning, Di Qing had basically confirmed that the enemy main base, Cangcheng County, was the weakest point.

Baiqi had truly played it well.

Unfortunately Di Qing did not fall for it. The prestige of the Asura did not deter or scare him.

Di Qing was already planning to adjust the forces and focus their attack on Cangcheng County. The moment it fell, the enemy would face imminent defeat.

He was highly confident about this battle.

As a result of his careful nature, he would not give the enemy any way back into this.

The moment he discerned the enemy's weakness, he would go all in and destroy them before they could react.

Even the Asura, without soldiers under his control, was like a lion without claws.

The chance to defeat Baiqi on the battlefield caused waves to break out in Di Qing's calm heart.

At this very moment, his Lord had suddenly summoned him.

In his heart, a bad feeling arose. He obtained the commanding rights because of his Lord. Logically, in the current morning, his Lord would not interfere in military matters.

Unless... unless an unthinkable situation had occurred.

Di Qing's premonition came through. When he heard the news that Jade Buddha County had fallen, his mouth widened. His expression was exactly the same as Hefu's.

"What a genius!"

In his heart, he was not arrogant any longer.

Jade Buddha County was thousands of miles away from Shanhai City. Even by ship, they would need over ten days to cover such a distance. This meant that even before the war started, Shanhai City had planned to attack Jade Buddha County.

In terms of strategic planning, the alliance army had lost.

"What are the Lord's intentions?"

Di Qing looked at Hefu; doubts and questions filled his mind. With his experience, he knew that sending reinforcements would not do anything. Instead, they would just fall into the enemy's trap.

Jade Buddha County was attacked, but there was no notification of enemy occupation, why?

There were two possibilities.

Firstly, the enemy had failed to take down the county, so it remained under their control.

Secondly, the county had already fallen, but the enemy had not landed the final blow.

Without even thinking, Di Qing dismissed the first option. The generals of Shanhai City were not fools. Since they had planned this out so long ago, how could they fail to bring enough troops?

If they were not confident, why would they even act?

Hence, Di Qing was sure that Jade Buddha County had fallen. If they teleported back now, what awaited them were not their commoners but an arrow rain.

Even so, Di Qing did not dare to directly try and persuade his Lord to give up such an idea. He knew incredibly clearly what a territory meant to a Lord.

In Hefu's heart, he was struggling. He called Di Qing over to ask him to come up with a plan. Hearing Di Qing's question, Hefu sighed. It seems like he was the one who had to make the decision.

"If we don't return, do you have confidence in taking down the Shanhai City Army?"

Hefu looked up at Di Qing solemnly.

When Di Qing heard this question, he felt shocked. He knew that the Lord was giving up his own base and putting it all on this battle.

Weighing everything, Di Qing said carefully, "With the current soldier strength and my deductions of the battlefield, defeating them should not pose a problem. But crushing them or annihilating them is impossible."

Di Qing's reply was full of substance; he did not dare exaggerate anything.

Any false information could adversely affect Hefu's judgement.

When Hefu heard these words, he had a complicated expression. As expected, Di Qing had not disappointed him. In just two days after he took control, he had found a way to victory.

However, just defeating them was not enough.

Hefu would only give up Jade Buddha County if he could rise up again in Zhaoqing Prefecture. In such a scenario, using Jade Buddha County to exchange for the South of Zhaoqing was worth it.

To be able to gain a footing, he had to decimate and crush the Shanhai City Army. He had to make it so that they could not send another force in a short amount of time.

Only then could he have the time to form up his army and build up his defenses to fight against Shanhai City. Even taking back Jade Buddha County was a possibility.

After hearing the plans of his Lord, Di Qing was speechless.

Ambition filled his words, and he wanted to try and rise up from the ashes.

Now, the key laid within Di Qing's hands.

After a long silence, and only afterl he considered all elements, Di Chen spoke once more, "Lord, give me another fifty thousand troops, and I will crush them. I can even chase them out of Zhaoqing Prefecture."

"Great!"

Hefu smacked the desk and stood up, "The problem with the number of soldiers, I'll settle it. Matters of the battlefield, I'll hand it to you. I hope that you can do as you say and not disappoint me."

"I'm willing to set a military order. If we don't win, I'll give you my head!"

Di Qing was also exceedingly serious, so he bet his own life on this battle.

Hefu shook his head, "I don't want your head. I want victory, do you understand?" The current Hefu was like a gambling addict, gambling his last chance at survival away.

"Understood!"

Di Qing nodded.

"Go!" Hefu waved his hand in an exhausted manner, his voice hoarse, "At the day after at the latest, fifty thousand troops will rush here!"

Di Qing bowed when he heard these words. Then, he left.

After sending Di Qing away, Hefu walked out of his room. He needed to gather the members of South Alliance to hold an emergency meeting. Moreover, he needed to find a suitable reason to convince them to send more reinforcements.

He knew how difficult this would be.

Sending three thousand troops already approached their limit.

Now, to send another thousand, that was basically cutting at their flesh.

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Chapter 468- Chess Master

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

"I do not agree!"

In the Yun An County Meeting Hall, Yuan Ping was the first to stand up and oppose Hefu's suggestion, "The war is already in our favor. Why increase the troops and raise the risk?"

Although Yuan Ping did not know the reason behind Hefu's suggestion and the latter's hidden motives and considerations, he knew based on his gut instincts that he could not let Hefu get what he wanted.

If not, Hefu's influence in the South Alliance would reach a simply unassailable state.

"Lord Yuan is right. Alliance leader, please give us an explanation."

After the Battle of Tianshuang County, one could not underestimate Yuan Ping's influence in South Alliance. Similarly, a bunch of allies in the alliance went up against Hefu.

Hefu had guessed that his allies would oppose the suggestion. Hence, he looked around and repeated Di Qing's prediction, "Guys, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. If we can crush them, not only will we gain fame in Lingnan Province but the entire China region."

"Apart from that, the entire south of Zhaoqing would be ours for the taking. With that, the losses of this trip would be recouped and even earned back, so why not?"

Hefu wanted to use fame and fortune to drag his allies along with him.

"This is only the judgement of Di Qing alone. What if it fails? Did the alliance leader even consider that if we utilize so many troops, the entire Lingnan Province will fall into chaos in the event that we fail?"

Seeing that Hefu's words tempted some people, Yuan Ping stepped out once again.

One had to say that Yuan Ping had a good grasp on human nature and the human heart.

A normal Lord would not have the courage and boldness of Hefu. In comparison, they would subconsciously want to mainly protect themselves. During the Battle of Zhaoqing, if Shahai City was not about to reach their doorsteps, South Alliance probably would not have even acted.

"Anything has its risk. How is there anything with complete certainty?"

Hefu was annoyed with Yuan Ping's attempt to stir up trouble.

"Even if there's a risk, alliance leader should not drag us all down for some personal gain."

Yuan Ping bit on; he did not want to let go. He had the intentions of taking this argument all the way.

When Hefu saw Yuan Ping's attitude, he knew that there was no meaning in arguing with the latter. As such, why not just go around him, "Since that's the case, this reinforcement is purely voluntary. However, after the victory, the rewards will be based on the number of troops sent. How is that?"

"Great!"

Hefu's suggestion was immediately passed.

If one wanted to take the risk, they could increase their troops. If not, they could choose not to.

The search for riches was always dangerous; no one would force it upon others.

The truth proved that there were still many greedy Lords. In the end, they added a total of sixty thousand troops, surpassing Di Qing's prediction.

When Yuan Ping saw this situation, his expression was one of awkwardness. After all, he had lost once again.

After they dispersed the meeting, the Lords sent letters to the territory, starting to move troops and generals. Tomorrow at the latest, they could gather up at Yun An County.

When Di Qing heard this news, he decided to announce that they would rest for a day and wait for reinforcements. On the 8th month, 22nd day, they would launch their assault on Cangcheng County.

Of course, he would not relax their surveillance of the Shanhai City Army.

8th month, 20th day, Wulong County.

The night was like ink, the light from the stars dim.

In a corner courtyard of the Lord's Manor. Although it looked unassuming, it was actually heavily guarded.

This courtyard was the place where Ouyang Shuo stayed.

The entire courtyard, apart from Divine Martial Guards, there was not even a single maid or servant. The personal Guards handled all of Ouyang Shuo's food and living matters.

In his eyes, he was fighting a war. Naturally, everything would be done according to military rule. If he arranged for maids and servants and the soldiers saw that, what would they think?

Although they would not say anything, Ouyang Shuo wanted to set a good example. During the period that he stayed in Wulong County, he did not consume a single drop or wine.

Be it nobles or merchants who invited him to feasts, he rejected them all.

Ouyang Shuo had let out the word that now was wartime, so everything should be simple. If they wanted to celebrate, wait until the war was over. Then, he would invite them all.

Not just Ouyang Shuo. Although the tens of thousands of warriors he brought along took over the defence of Wulong County, they were polite and did not do anything unbecoming toward the commoners in the city.

The warriors of Shanhai City were all professionals with huge salaries. If they still killed and pillaged to earn extra money, Ouyang Shuo would kill them.

Especially the Guards Division. As the personal army of the Lord, they faced even harsher discipline.

As a result, the commoners of Wulong County felt a sense of security from the presence of the Shanhai City Army, rather than fear.

Just based on this point, Ouyang Shuo had gained a good reputation in the county.

The huge courtyard was completely quiet. It was like a different world, with no noise at all.

The bustle and hustle of the outside world seemed to have no relation with this place.

In the main room, through the window, one could see a orange-yellow glow, warm but quiet. The Divine Martial Guards that were on duty tonight felt their hearts warm when they looked through the window.

They could see a man sitting up straight, reading books.

Ouyang Shuo sat in front of the table, as he dealt with all the letters that were sent here.

Amongst the letters, there were battle reports from Zhao Kuo, Baiqi, and even the latest meeting decisions from Spicy Snack Prince.

Hefu definitely would not expect that even within the alliance, Ouyang Shuo still had eyes. Every action of the South Alliance was relayed back to Ouyang Shuo through letters.

If there was a need to, Ouyang Shuo would send the intel over to Baiqi. For example, the reinforcement matter today and Di Qing's plan, Baiqi was clear about all of it.

Apart from that, there were letters from Xiao He regarding territory matters, asking for his opinion and help.

The letters on his table had stacked up to one foot high.

Apart from letters, there was secret information from the Shanhai Guards and the Black Snake Guards.

As there were simply too many matters to handle, Ouyang Shuo could only burn the midnight oil.

All of the things that had happened today were simply too much; too many changes had occurred.

Ouyang Shuo personally sat in charge of Wulong County and looked at the eye of the storm that was so far away. In truth, he was the heart of this entire war. Any movement could not escape his eyes.

The current Ouyang Shuo was not a rash Lord that dashed in head first. He was a true Lord that no matter could shock.

His heart was calm like water as he planned tactics.

Be it Baiqi, Zhao Kuo, or Xiao He, they were all chess pieces of Ouyang Shuo.

He had expected the fall of Jade Buddha County. Only the reaction of Hefu exceeded his projections. The surprises that Hefu had given him had already surpassed his expectations three times.

He was a truly interesting opponent.

In this game of chess, Hefu had bet everything. Unfortunately, he was not the chess master.

In the morning, Du Sijing followed Ouyang Shuo's instructions and sent out the emergency signal. Based on the secret letters of the Black Snake Guards, the fifty thousand iron cavalry were on their way.

This noon at the latest, the army would reach Wulong County.

The arrangements of Hefu were a step late in the end. Who knows what Hefu's reaction and expression would be when he learns that his back garden was on fire.

Ouyang Shuo could not see through such a gambler.

That was fine, as the situation on the battlefield had already reached his planned state. He was the true chess master. No matter how Hefu struggled, he could not escape.

At this very moment, Huwei General Lin Yi asked to meet Ouyang Shuo.

"Come in!"

The moment Lin Yi entered, he bowed, "Lord, everything is arranged!"

After the trainings of the few wars, this general had matured greatly, roughly having the feeling of a great general. This young general was slowly completing his transformation.

"Okay!"

Ouyang Shuo nodded and continued dealing with the letters.

When Lin Yi heard this response, he left and lightly closed the door, disappearing into the night.

"Quick, keep up!"

On the road toward Wulong County, dust flew into the air.

Fifty thousand iron cavalry galloped across the land. Amongst the forces, there were occasionally the shouts of the generals.

Qu Yi rode on his prized mount at the front of the force.

During the end of the East Han, Qu Yi was a general under Yuan Shao. He was good at battling and earned many battle merits. In the earlier years at Qiongzhou, he was well-versed in war and tactics, leading Yuan Shao's elite forces.

In the end, because he grew arrogant from all his achievements, Yuan Shao killed him.

In the game, Qu Yi was summoned by players through the summoning token and appeared once more. Defending the backline was the mission handed to him.

For a few consecutive days, the north of Zhaoqing remained incredibly peaceful.

Qu Yi was so restless and bored that he would rather just charge to the main battlefield and fight a real war.

When he received Wulong County's call for help, his energy perked, and he immediately gathered his men and charged. He wanted to see which idiot dared to fool around in his territory.

"Faster!"

Qu Yi slapped his horse and scolded the men behind him. After many years of leading the cavalry, he had earned a vast experience in cavalry warfare. Such quick movement of troops was normal; it was like eating rice to him.

However, he had forgotten that the soldiers he was leading were just ordinary soldiers of the alliance army, not the elite under Yuan Shao.

Rushing day and night was something that some of the cavalry could not handle.

Seeing that, Qu Yi remained merciless.

During the period of the Three Kingdoms, soldiers were the property of the generals. If they died, they could just recruit more men. During a chaotic world, soldiers commonly thirsted to join the army. At the very least, they could get food in the army.

10 AM, Wulong County was already in their sights.

Amazingly, Qu Yi had actually reached them two hours earlier than anticipated.

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Chapter 469- String of Plans

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

"General, that's Wulong County."

The vanguard general arrived beside Qu Yi and pointed at the city a distance away.

Qu Yi looked over, only to see a city standing tall. However, its city walls looked torn and tattered, like the aftermath of a huge war.

"That's bad, are we a step too late?" Qu Yi frowned, "Go, let's go take a look!"

As they proceeded forward, they could see the drawbridge of the city protection river broken and dangling on the shore. The city gate stood slightly ajared, and on the floor, there were dried up blood stains that had not been cleaned up.

"General, what should we do?"

The situation in front of him had greatly exceeded his expectations.

"Lets enter the city and take a look."

"This…." the vanguard general thought for a moment, "General, to prevent a possible plot, let me bring some men to take a look first!"

"Okay!"

Qu Yi had been through hundreds of battles, so he was not a rash person at such times.

The vanguard general brought with him two hundred iron cavalry, preparing to cross the city protection river. At this very moment, the city gates suddenly opened and out came ten odd men on horses. Their leader was a civil servant.

When the vanguard officer saw these people, he pulled back on his horse.

The civil servant crossed the city protection river and rushed to the front of the army. Then, he dismounted, "Wulong County Minister Du Sijing greets general."

Before the Lords situated north of Zhaoqing headed out for battle, they had all left a minister behind to handle matters. These ministers were all registered with Qu Yi.

Qu Yi recalled his name and believed that he was in fact the minister of Wulong County. He did not dismount from his horse. Instead, he pointed at the blood on the city gates and asked, "Mr. Du, what is this? You sent out the emergency signal, so where's the enemy?"

"This matter is a long one; let's speak in the city."

"Okay, lead the way!"

After confirming Du Sijing's identity, Qu Yi had basically lowered his guard. He definitely would not expect that Du Sijing was on Shanhai City's side.

This entry into the city was one of no return. However, Qu Yi did not know that.

Since they had fifty thousand troops, they naturally could not all enter. Qu Yi led two hundred personal guards in, while the remaining soldiers set up camp outside of the city.

Du Sijing rode on a warhorse and followed beside Qu Yi. Seeing that Qu Yu was enjoying the sights and welcome of the commoners, he felt sad and empathy for the latter.

The plotting ability of the Lianzhou Lord were simply too terrifying; he considered even the smallest of details.

Be it the broken drawbridge, the blood stains on the city gates, or the welcoming commoners, all these matter were planned out.

The goal was to let Qu Yi completely lower his guard.

With such an interruption, it was already noon.

Du Sijing had arranged a feast in the Lord's Manor to welcome Qu Yi.

At the same time, he also arranged men to send wine and dishes to the soldiers outside. After rushing all day, the fifty thousand cavalry were all famished. With such good food before them, they naturally felt delighted.

The military had their rules; the army camped outside the city could not accept the food of the people inside. If they wanted to eat, they could only consume the rations they brought and drink water.

As for drinking wine, that was prohibited.

However, Du Sijing's welcome was just too warm. He said that this gesture was the good intentions of the people in the city. He did not want Qu Yi to reject them. If not, they would feel uneasy, and it was like Qu Yi was looking down on them.

Facing such words, Qu Yi could not say anything; he could only agree.

Since their general agreed, the fifty thousand soldiers naturally feasted. They took out all their exhaustion and hunger on the dishes and wine.

Qu Yi himself was the same. He drank wine and bit into a drumstick, looking exceedingly rough and unkempt.

"Speak. What exactly happened?"

Qu Yi was still responsible, and he had not forgotten his role.

"A day ago, a two thousand strong enemy army attacked Wulong County. My men and I tried our best, and we barely fended them off. We did not expect that the enemy general would say that they were only the vanguard forces, and that more troops would come tomorrow. I did not dare take him lightly. As such, I asked for help."

Qu Yi nodded, "I see. What's the background of the enemy?"

"As for their specific background, I do not know. They were wearing a black armor without any flags."

"Black armor?" Qu Yi also had no idea, "No matter who it is, if he dares to come, he will not leave."

"On behalf of all the people, I thank the general!"

When Du Sijing heard these words, he hurriedly stood up and bowed.

Qu Yi waved him off. He was an old brute and did not care about such customs.

Suddenly, a servant walked in.

"Sir, someone wants to meet you!"

"Let him wait. Can't you see that I'm with the general?"

Du Sijing raged.

"But he said that it's an emergency and needs to tell you face-to-face."

"No!"

Du Sijing rejected.

Sigh, this time, Qu Yi spoke, "Mr. Du, just go."

Qu Yi waved his hand impatiently, as he grabbed a drumstick and chomped down.

When Du Sijing saw this response, he got up and left. He did not return.

The feast was held in one of the courtyards in the east of the Lord's Manor. The Guards that Qu Yi had brought along all stood guard in the courtyard.

Just as he left, hundreds of bowmen and crossbowmen suddenly appeared on the four walls of the courtyard. Each one grasped a god-arm crossbow, and they fired a round at the guards.

Instantly, cries of pain broke out.

"What happened?"

Qu Yi was also highly alert, and he immediately picked up his weapon and charged out. He did not even bother wiping the oil on the sides of his mouth. The sudden sneak attack had caused them heavy casualties and less than fifty of the men remained.

"It's a trap!"

Qu Yi was stunned, and his face turned ashen white.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Charge out with me!"

Qu Yi knew that if they tried to fight here, only death awaited them. Their only path to survival was to charge out and gather with the troops outside.

Although the chance was slim, it was his only choice. He courageously charged out under the protection of his few remaining guards.

Just at this moment, the doors of the courtyard opened up and a bunch of armored soldiers charged in.

They were the personal Guards of Ouyang Shuo, the two hundred Divine Martial Guards.

Qu Yi's personal Guards were not a match for the Divine Martial Guards.

The only tough opponent was Qu Yi himself, as he was a King Rank general.

His opponent was not anyone else but Ouyang Shuo.

"Who are you? Say your name, who dares to act so despicable?"

Qu Yi engaged with Ouyang Shuo.

Ouyang Shuo wielded the Tianmo Spear in his hand, as he matched Qu Yi without too much difficulty, "Listen up, I do not change my name or my surname; I am the Lianzhou Lord."

"What?"

When Qu Yi heard these words, he was astonished and knew that he had no way out.

The name of the Lianzhou Lord was famous in the entire Lingnan Province. As a general, Qu Yi had naturally heard of him. For him to appear in Wulong County, the consequences were dire.

"Lord, I'm willing to surrender!"

At this crucial moment, Qu Yi was able to think smartly.

Ouyang Shuo laughed coldly, "Unfortunately, I do not accept your surrender!"

"You!"

Qu Yi felt infuriated and utterly humiliated.

"Since that's the case, give me your life!"

Qu Yi was a man after all, so he decided to give it his all.

The two of them fought one another, creating a dazzling scene.

Unfortunately, the current Ouyang Shuo was not some weakling. Facing this King Rank general was nothing to him. After fifty rounds, Qu Yi died under his spear.

Ouyang Shuo did not think about recruiting him. First, he was arrogant in history and Ouyang Shuo did not favor him. Secondly, for him to surrender in such circumstances, his loyalty was questionable.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo would rather just kill him and obtain a general soul.

In less than half an hour, they took out the remaining guards.

Needless to say, this was all a trap. When Qu Yi received the emergency signal, the fates of his fifty thousand men and himself were already set.

Apart from surrounding Qu Yi, outside of the city, Lin Yi's Guards Division had already engaged the enemy camp.

After traveling a long distance, these fifty thousand troops were enjoying a feast, so they were caught totally unprepared. Needless to say, the food they had sent contained extra ingredients that would made the eater weak.

Facing a trump card force like the Guards Division, the fifty thousand iron cavalry could only surrender.

After killing Qu Yi, Ouyang Shuo brought the personal Guards back to the meeting hall. In less than an hour, Lin Yi returned to report.

"Lord, of the fifty thousand cavalry, we killed twelve thousand. We captured and locked the rest in the city barracks, apart from a small number that escaped."

Lin Yi's efficiency was incredibly high.

"Not bad." Ouyang Shuo nodded his head, pleased, "Follow the plan!"

"Understood!"

Lin Yi backed down to handle the future matters.

Just taking down the fifty thousand cavalry, Ouyang Shuo naturally would not feel pleased. His goal was to attack Tianshuang County and cut off the enemy's grain supply.

Tianshuang County was a stronghold, and they even had an army defending it.

Although the Guards Division was strong, without siege weapons, it was a useless endeavour.

Hence, he could only plot.

Ouyang Shuo had designed a string of plans for this matter.

Taking down Qu Yi was only the first step. In just two hours, the Guards Division had taken off their Mingguang Armor and equipped themselves with Qu Yi's army's armor.

Apart from that, they swapped out their identity tokens, flags, and miscellaneous items.

Ouyang Shuo was trying to make use of information and time difference.

The news of the iron cavalry falling definitely would not spread so quickly. As such, the Guards Division would disguise themselves and attack Tianshuang County.

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Chapter 470- Baiqi Loses Cangcheng

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

8th month, 22nd day, Yun An County.

After a few consecutive gloomy days, it was finally sunny today. The clear sky contained no clouds for thousands of miles.

Outside of Yun An County, three well-equipped armies were ready to go.

Yesterday afternoon, the sixty thousand reinforcements troops that South Alliance had transferred over reached Yun An County. At that point, the originally unassuming Yun An County had gathered 280 thousand troops.

The entire county instantly became a giant army barracks.

Apart from the soldiers, there were the commoners in charge of logistics. Apart from them, there were no other people. Be it the Black Snake Guards or the Military Intelligence Division, neither could infiltrate Yun An County.

Members of South Alliance stood on the city wall and focused on the army that was about to set out. Each and every one of them felt confident.

During the rest period yesterday, the three cities opposite them did not have any movements. This meant that the Shanhai City Army would not receive any reinforcements.

Victory was right in front of them.

The famous Asura was unable to stop the determination of the alliance army.

The only unharmonious matter would be that Spicy Snack Prince had left the troops at night and disappeared into the wilderness.

After destroying Qu Yi's troops, Ouyang Shuo did not go too far. He ordered Du Sijing to write a letter to Spicy Snack Prince, asking him to find a chance to leave.

Luckily, Spicy Snack Prince was not a famous figure in the alliance, so his disappearance was not a hot topic.

The eyes of the alliance army only saw the imminent battle.

During the night, Di Qing had burned the midnight oil to plan for the battle.

280 thousand troops, on the left and right routes, he planned for eighty thousand troops to monitor Yaogu County and Genglou County. The remaining 120 thousand would charge straight for the command base of Shanhai City—Cangcheng County.

He focused all of the siege weapons that the alliance army brought on the middle.

Di Qing wanted to take down Cangcheng County with breakneck speed. He would not give the enemy any chance.

After a simple morale rouser, the troops moved out simultaneously.

The commander, Di Qing, personally led the middle route troops, as they pushed forward valiantly toward Cangcheng County.

At noon, the army had already reached the outskirts of Cangcheng County. At this point, they reached the camp that the alliance army had set up the day before. Di Qing ordered his troops to take a slight rest before they attacked in the afternoon.On the Cangcheng County city wall, Baiqi stood at his familiar position, as he once again looked out.

The opposition army waltzed forward, and they did not bother to hide their tracks.

Water far away was not able to quench your thirst.

The victory at Wulong County was not able to save the dangerous situation at Cangcheng County. Baiqi had already made preparations to give up Cangcheng County. To try something when you know it was not possible did not fit his fighting style.

Defeat; this was a defeat.

However, before he left, he wanted to give his opponent a hefty lesson.The attack in the afternoon went as predicted, perhaps surprisingly smoothly.

Although the army that defended Cangcheng County remained stubborn, they were helpless against the huge number of enemies. Under the relentless assault, they were forced back in defeat.

2 PM, the city protection river fell.

5 PM, the north city wall fell. 5:30 PM, the north city gate fell.

Shanhai City had chosen to give up on this base in the end, and they exited through the south gate. After this large-scale war, of the ten thousand city protection division members, only around two thousand survived.

The Tianshuang County city protection division would probably become history.

The alliance army was like a flood, swarming in through the north gate and completing their occupation of Cangcheng County.

This was a historical moment.

This was the first time the Shanhai City Army had lost their base in a battlefield and was forced to escape.

The name of Di Qing would be remembered in history.

Just with this one battle, South Alliance would gain fame.

Once they received the news that Cangcheng County had fallen, Yun An County was delighted and celebrated wildly.

Members of South Alliance had already started the festivities. Some had arranged for players to teleport back to their territories to remove the channel and forum restrictions, as they prepare to brag about this feat.

Even the calm and composed Hefu could not help but cheer out loud.

The result of this battle pushed Hefu's reputation and position in the alliance to the peak. He had solidified his position as the alliance leader. His prestige in South Alliance was somewhat comparable to Ouyang Shuo's in Shanhai Alliance.

Members of South Alliance were already discussing how to split the spoils of war. The ten plus cities were like a massive cake waiting for them to cut up.

A sense of regret filled those members that did not send reinforcements.

A crazy atmosphere enveloped the entire alliance.

Apart from members of South Alliance, the Lords of the north of Zhaoqing Prefecture were also delighted. This victory meant that their territories were safe.

These Lords only stopped short of putting up fireworks to celebrate.

Luckily, Spicy Snack Prince was not in Yun An County. If he was present, he would be petrified.Cangcheng County.

Surrounded by all the Lords, Di Qing walked into the city with his chest held high.

"Commander, do you want to give chase?"

One of the generals excitedly ran in front of Di Qing and asked.

"No." Di Qing shook his head, firmly declining, "The enemy still has a hidden division that has yet to appear. If we, chase we might fall into a trap."

Although Di Qing felt excited, victory did not cloud his mind, and he remained calm.

"Commander is intelligent!"

Di Qing's judgement amazed the Lords. To say that he was exceedingly careful in using troops was not an exaggeration.

Occupying Cangcheng County, breaking the enemy formation, and breaking their spirit. At this point, he had reached his strategic goal. He did not want to do anything more and risk losing.

Now, the initiative of the war laid firmly in their hands.

Based on Di Qing's style, they should fight calmly and not give the enemy any chance to turn the situation around.

In truth, there were no hidden troops outside of the city. Even under such circumstances, Baiqi did not make use of Luo Shixin's division.

After a few rounds of battle, Baiqi had a rough understanding of Di Qing's character. He was careful in using troops, and he would not blindly give chase.

In comparison, Baiqi was still a skill level higher. A god general was a god general. Apart from combat strength, a god general also had the ability to recognize the character of the enemy and subsequently exploiting it.

Baiqi had set up this hidden move within the city but not for the sake of a sneak attack. With the character of Baiqi, since they were going to fight, he wanted to maim the enemy. Small fights were not his style.After taking down Cangcheng County, the remaining a hundred thousand troops all entered.

Night, Cangcheng County, Lord's Manor.

The Lord's Manor was once the command center of the Shanhai City Army and where Baiqi worked. Now, the owner of the manor changed hands to Di Qing.

After settling the troops, Di Qing once again held a meeting to discuss the war that would happen tomorrow.

After taking down Cangcheng County, the alliance army had two choices. Firstly, attack Yaogu County on the west, or secondly, attack Genglou County on the east.

On the surface, Yaogu County had two divisions and held the strength advantage. Hence, some general suggested to coordinate with the right route army to take down Genglou County before surrounding Yaogu County.

Di Qing did not see the matter in the same way.

"Tomorrow, we should focus all our strength and destroy Yaogu County. Their two divisions are the core of their strength. If they fall, they would only have one division left."

Di Qing's voice was still so calm and low, "On the contrary, if we attack Genglou County first, the troops in Yaogu County can create problems if they retreat or launch a counterattack. Genglou County is different. Since it only has one division, they cannot cause any huge waves."

"Commander is a genius!"

Di Qing nodded, ready to give out the military orders.

Suddenly, screams and shouts sounded out from outside the door.

"Commander, Commander it's bad."

"Who's making noise outside; bring them up!"

When Di Qing heard these words, he felt furious. He could not stand when his men did not follow the rules.

The shouting soldier was dragged into the meeting hall.

"Speak, what has happened?"

"Commander it's bad; there's a fire!"

The guard had totally freaked out; it was like his soul had left his body.

"What fire? Where?"

Di Qing was merciful; he was not too harsh on the soldier.

"The city, everywhere…."

Dang!

The teacup in Di Qing's hand instantly dropped onto the floor and smashed into pieces.

Asura Baiqi!

This turn of events had happened too quickly.

It had just turned dark, and the alliance army was having their meals in the barracks.

Since the enemy had just entered and the situation was still chaotic, the Shanhai City daredevil squad hidden all over the county took the chance to appear, and they lit up the timber they had prepared.

Instantly, flames rose up to the heavens.

The entire Cangcheng County turned into a sea of flames.

The fire mainly spread to the four city gates.

The houses in Cangcheng County were mainly composed of wood. The flames were like merciless death gods, as they turned the county into an ocean of fire.

Amongst the flames, numerous screams pierced the ear.

Under the protection of the generals, Di Qing struggled to escape from the city.

The alliance army soldiers and the people within the city were not as lucky as him.

The fire had spread too quickly, and it was all too sudden.

The flames blocked all the roads and exits, and there was no way out.

Apart from that, along with the fire, the rising black smoke was also akin to a death god. Numerous people suffocated to death within the billowing smoke.

"Baiqi, you mad man!"

Looking at the huge flaming county, Di Qing cried out.

To kill the alliance army, Baiqi had dragged along hundreds of thousands of civilians with them.

Killer!

Asura!

Utilizing such a cruel method to gain victory, Baiqi announced the return of the Asura.

Post battle calculations showed that less than twenty thousand alliance army troops had escaped. Including the civilians in the city, a total of 140 to 150 thousand people had died in one night.

The entire Cangcheng County had completely burned to dust.

Baiqi and his cold heart used a massive fire to turn the battle around.

After the battle ended, the after effects were serious to the extreme.

From that day onward, whenever Ouyang Shuo toured Zhaoqing Prefecture and got near Cangcheng County, he would take another route. He was afraid that the moment he appeared, the commoners would try to tear him to shreds.

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Chapter 471- Han Xin's Shocking One Shot

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

If one said that the fire that Asura Baiqi ignited in Cangcheng County created a nightmare for Di Qing and South Alliance, one had to say that their nightmare was far from over.

8th month, 23rd day, Genglou County.

Early in the morning, before nature had awakened and the wilderness was still utterly silent. Dew gathered on the branches and formed small droplets, which shone like crystals under the morning light.

The camp of the left road troops of the alliance army was similarly silent. Yesterday afternoon, the news of the victory had spread to the camp, and the entire left road troops relaxed.

The only shocker was probably the flames that rose up from Cangcheng County's direction at night.

However, because the two cities were too far away, they did not know what had happened in Cangcheng County. They might even think that the people there were starting a campfire to celebrate the victory.

Suddenly, the thunderous sounds of horse hooves and birds scared from their tree perches shattered the tranquil atmosphere.

Large quantities of morning dew splattered around, as the warhorses trampled over them. It was like a vivid and peaceful ink painting had suddenly transformed into a boisterous troupe.

The smell of smoke rose in the air.

Han Xin, who had not moved his troops yet, finally showed his claws. He struck the enemy at their weakest moment.

This was Han Xin, the assassin that no one could predict. Facing a prey, Han Xin had enough patience. Moreover, he had unrivalled decisiveness and insight.

It was okay if he did not strike, but if he did, his one strike would be deadly.

When he received Baiqi's letter last night, Han Xin had already planned for this stunning strike.

The 1st division of the Leopard Legion that stayed in Genglou County rushed out, working with the 2nd division of the Dragon Legion outside of the city to suddenly assault the left route troops of the alliance army.

Two divisions, one north and one south, pincering the enemy completely.

The enemy camp was just a temporary base, and they did not even have wooden walls. Numerous tents were scattered around, and it was like a refugee camp.

The two huge armies were like knives. At their fastest speeds, they charged into the camp.

The camp, which was silent moments ago, suddenly became boisterous. The shouts of the patrolling soldiers, the sounds of the officers asking them to gather, and the neighs of the horses. When all these noises combined together, it would make one annoyed.

The left route army, which were deep in slumber moments ago, hurriedly put on their ice cold armor under the scolding of their officers. They picked up their spears and walked out of the tent, ready to face their enemy.

The entire camp became a hot mess.

The soldiers could not find their horses, and the soldiers could not find their officers.

The left route army, who hurriedly tried to put up a resistance upon facing the elites of Shanhai City, had no retaliation ability. The Shanhai City Army chased away the entire eighty thousand men alliance army like sheep.

The war horses neighed, and blood boiled on the battlefield.

Luo Shixin led the Cavalry Division, the elite force that was only second to the Guards Division. The tens of thousands of golden armored cavalry were like gods, as they unleashed all the anger that had pent up over these past few days.

Spears struck out, and the blades glinted under the light.

The godly troops had descended!

Under Luo Shixin's command, the cavalry split up and attacked, slicing the entire camp into pieces. The alliance army could not even gather together.

The golden armored cavalry would quickly disperse any group that managed to gather into groups of above a thousand.

The light armored infantry cavalry mixed division were not to be outshone. In the camp, they proceeded calmly and attacked together, dragging numerous enemies into the depths of hell.

When the battle reached such a situation, the alliance army was unable to form up any form of retaliation. Even if Di Qing was present, he would not be able to do anything. Much less the current general, who was just a normal general.

He did not have the ability to obtain victory from this chaos, nor did he possess the prestige necessary to help the army regain their footing.

Over ten armies originally formed up this entire army. In such a negative situation, this weakness was exposed, and they instantly became a bunch of scattered dirt.

Each army started to fight for themselves.

In the chaos, the soldiers subconsciously grouped up with the other soldiers from their territory.

The more such events occurred, the more chaotic the situation grew.

The General was unable to gain a grasp of the situation, and he was unable to command the troops. The moment an army lost contact with the commanding core, it would just collapse.

In the end, it was a full-scale collapse.

Tens of thousands of soldiers cried out, as they were utterly crushed. Some even threw down their helmets and armor to try and escape.

Just like that, they completely defeated the left side of the alliance army.

Han Xin's knife was fast and accurate.

During this battle, the Shanhai City Army had killed fifteen thousand men and captured over forty thousand. The entire left side of the alliance army was only left with twenty thousand cavalry, who had escaped to Yun An County battered and bruised.

It was not over yet.

Han Xin ordered Wei Zhang's division to take charge of cleaning up the battlefield and collecting prisoners. Luo Shixin's division would continue to give chase. If possible, they would take down Yun An County in one fell swoop.

One must know that the current Yun An County did not have a single soldier. The moment the Shanhai City Army broke the left side of the alliance army, a straight road to victory laid before them.

Han Xin wanted to treat them like how they tried to treat him. He desired to take away all their hope.

Luo Shixin led the Cavalry Division and chased. Just like how one would peel an onion, they took down the twenty thousand alliance army layer by layer.

Numerous soldiers fell off their horses and formed a road similar to hell.

The cavalry of the alliance army could only blame their warhorses for being too slow. They did not even think about the fact that their remaining numbers were much more than Luo Shixin's division.

They had completely lost their fight and determination, so they did not dare to retaliate.

Their only thought was to run and to run with all their life.

As long as they ran faster than their associates, they would have the chance to survive.

Along the way, many tragedies played out. On some narrow roads, for the numerous cavalry to quickly pass, they kicked their friends and partners down from their horses.

Turning on one's brothers….

When they had reached the outskirts of Yun An County, they only had half their numbers left.

If Di Qing did not lead the remnants of the middle troops and return in the nick of time to Yun An County, it would have probably fallen.

Han Xin's strike had pushed the alliance army to the end of the road.

Luo Shixin led his men and did a round around the city. Upon seeing that there was no chance to lay siege, he led his men and left.

He had finally vented the anger and frustration in his heart

On the city wall, members of South Alliance heaved a sigh of relief when they saw the cavalry leave. They immediately ordered the right side troops to return to Yun An County.

Yun An County, Lord's Manor.

Dead silence.

An atmosphere filled with despair and a sense of defeat permeated the hall, bearing heavily down on them.

Members of South Alliance, including the Lords in the north of Zhaoqing Prefecture, had finally experienced the feeling of dropping down from heaven to hell. The higher you climb, the harder you fall.

Yesterday afternoon, they were still celebrating their historical victory, dancing and singing away. The moment they woke, they found out that the entire world had turned on its head, and they were now stuck in dire straits.

Thinking about how they told their men to prepare to brag about their victory on the forums, the Lords felt utterly embarrassed.

Loss of face, a huge loss of face!

This time, South Alliance had truly gained 'fame' in the China region.

If one said that the loss of the middle troops broke their wings; then the lost of the left side troops had pushed them down into hell.

In just one day, the 280 thousand alliance army troops were reduced to less than 110 thousand, less than half of their original numbers.

Victory could cover up embarrassment.

However, the moment they lost, these embarrassing moments would jump out to the forefront.

The first people to create problems were the members of South Alliance.

Under Yuan Ping's instructions, his cronies stepped up and openly chided the commander, Di Qing.

"The loss of Cangcheng County is all because of the army's misjudgment. After victory, the commander let down his guard. The enemy had set up such a trap, and the middle troops completely failed to notice. Truly an unforgivable mistake."

"That's right. This time, as the commander, Di Qing, needs to step up and take responsibility."

"I agree!"

"He must be heavily punished!"

"The army losing its advantage, the commander is useless!"

All of a sudden, voices that scolded Di Qing filled the hall.

Everyone knew that just yesterday afternoon, in the same place, the same bunch of people had praised Di Qing up to the heavens. They even said that he was a god general better than Baiqi.

In the blink of an eye, he became the target of everyone's insults.

Scolding Di Qing was in fact also scolding Hefu, who stood behind him. Yuan Ping wanted to take the chance to drag down Hefu from the leader spot.

Hefu sat at the main seat, completely expressionless. He only used his gaze to stop Di Qing from talking. He knew that at this time, whatever he said was wrong, so he might as well just not say anything.

Within the alliance, Hefu also had his aides. Some people might go against him, but some would support him.

"Who would have thought that Asura Baiqi would be so cold and merciless, killing an entire county of people? Hence, this defeat is just an accident. General Di Qing's strategy was correct. The only problem was that we underestimated the thinking of Baiqi."

"That's right."

"How is he not to blame? At the very least, he should be blamed for misjudging the situation, right?"

All of a sudden, the entire hall fell into a mess.

The alliance was merely inches away from collapse.

No matter what one did, this defeat had cause Hefu to lose all his say in the alliance.

After Yuan Ping observed the situation, he did not say anything more. After all, his goal was to pull Hefu down, not for the alliance to collapse.

If that was the case, it would be a loss-loss situation, and no one would benefit.

One had to mention that Yuan Ping, this descendant of an aristocratic family, was much better than Song Wen. His actions and knowledge were much better than a normal person.

If he had the chance, rising up to the top was not completely impossible.

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Chapter 472- Hiding from Everyone

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

"Everyone!"

Yuan Ping stood up, attracting the attention of all the people in the hall. Many of them thought that Yuan Ping was planning to personally create problems for Hefu.

The atmosphere in the hall grew more and more serious.

"Everyone." Yuan Ping looked around, "Everyone, please listen to me. Now is not the time to chase responsibility. The most crucial question is, what do we do now?"

The moment his words sounded out, the hall fell silent.

All of their moods instantly became heavy, and they all lost the mood to quarrel.

That's right, what should the alliance army do now?

At this point, they had two choices.

Firstly, they could continue to reinforce the troops and go all in against Shanhai City.

Although the alliance army had suffered heavy loses, they still had deep pockets after all. The 110 thousand troops that remained were twice the numbers of the Shanhai City Army.

If they gritted their teeth, they could take the fight.

Secondly, they could accept the defeat and escape.

The back side of the alliance army was still stable for now. As such, if they chose to retreat, the Shanhai City Army could not do anything about them. However, this had a downside—if they did so, South Alliance could never raise their heads again.

Apart from the problem of face, there were also strategic considerations.

The moment the alliance army retreated, the fall of Zhaoqing would be imminent. The moment they lost this barrier, the other few prefectures in Lingnan Province would be at risk.

Hence, in a long term standpoint, retreating would not be a good idea.

Unexpectedly, the majority of the Lords decided to retreat. Baiqi and Han Xin's two strikes had blinded these Lords, causing them to lose all their courage.

They only saw the actual threat in front of them. As for the long term implications, there was still time, so who knows what would happen?

Typical ostrich mentality.

"Everyone, the longer this war drags on, the more beneficial it is for them. They will have enough time to gather more troops to attack us. At that time, even if we want to escape, it would be too late. Why not just leave now and keep our losses to a minimum? Our side has low morale, so if we leave, we can wait till the spirits rise to have a final fight with them. This strategic retreat will give us the chance to deal a heavy blow to Shanhai City in the future. No matter what, we have taken down Cangcheng County in this battle and forced Baiqi to escape, so we have already attained good achievements."

"Well said!"

Yuan Ping's words gained the approval of everyone.

This fellow's eloquence was truly commendable. Based on Yuan Ping's' words, the alliance army had not lost, and they had won this encounter instead.

Although Yuan Ping hated Ouyang Shuo to the core, he still supported the decision to retreat. He had his own plans. Despite their side losing this battle, it was not all bad for the alliance.

From this battle, it was enough for them to realize the terrifying strength of Shanhai City. When they returned to their territory, they would definitely increase their preparations.

Apart from that, they would band together.

Under the suppression of Shanhai City, not only would South Alliance not disband, it would even grow closer, increasing their cooperations with one another. For example, the city-state system that Hefu had used in the last life might come to work.

With this, Yuan Ping would have a chance to rise up. In the alliance, the prestige of Hefu had plummeted to the ground. Naturally, Yuan Ping now had a chance to win the position of alliance leader.

If he could lead the alliance and successfully build up the city-state system, he could solidify his position. Not only in Lingnan Province, but even the entire China region.

Most importantly, only this move could grant him the capital to go against Ouyang Shuo.

Hence, Yuan Ping resolutely decided to retreat.

Thanks to Yuan Ping rallying and motivating them, even some neutrals chose to join the retreat camp.

Of course, there were obviously some who insisted on staying, like Hefu for example. His territory had already fallen, so he had no way back. Taking down the south of Zhaoqing was his only hope.

The moment his territory fell, Hefu had already lost the way of return.

Unfortunately, Hefu's words held no weight now.

As time moved on and both sides continued their debate, the people who supported leaving gradually gained an overwhelming advantage.

Just as Yuan Ping was ready to enjoy the fruits of this small victory, a shout jolted everyone's senses.

"We cannot leave!"

This shout was incredibly loud, so it immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Looking over, the ones who spoke up was one of the Zhaoqing Prefecture Lords, who had not made a sound till this point. For South Alliance to retreat, the Zhaoqing Prefecture Lords would naturally not agree. If they left, that meant that they would be left alone against Shanhai City.

"This brother, it seems like you do not understand the situation."

A member of the South Alliance stepped up and mocked, "In the end, our South Alliance came down as a form of humanitarian help. Why? The Lords of Zhaoqing Prefecture still dare to order us around? We will leave if we want to. Can you even stop us?"

"That's right; we only came to help!"

The attitudes of the South Alliance members were atrocious, and they instantly angered the Lords of Zhaoqing Prefecture. The honeymoon period between the two sides was about to end.

"Sh*t teammate!"

When Yuan Ping heard these words, he shook his head.

It is okay if you want to back off, but why sprinkle salt onto their wounds?

That is so stupid.

The Zhaoqing Lord that had spoken up stepped out once again, his tone similarly mocking, "The way I see it, you're the one that does not understand the situation. If you want to leave, we will not stop you. However, our teleportation formation is reserved for friends only. If you are not our friends, you can just walk back yourself!"These words left the South Alliance members speechless.

This was when they realized something they had forgotten in the heat of the moment. The teleportation formations were still in the hands of the north region Zhaoqing Prefecture Lords. If they did not agree to help, South Alliance could not teleport out.

This time, they had lost all their face.

Hefu looked on, as he coldly watched these developments.

A bunch of idiots!

This was great, they broke the bridge and even harmed themselves in the process.

"Brother, everything can be discussed. I apologize on the behalf of that brother."

When Yuan Ping saw the situation, he could only try to salvage the situation.

Unfortunately, the Lords of Zhaoqing Prefecture did not buy it.

The entire meeting entered a standoff just like that, neither side happy with the other.

Luckily for them, Shanhai City army did not act at this moment.

However, the Guards Division would soon break this stalemate.

8th month, 24th day, Tianshuang County.

Lin Yi led the disguised Guards Division and finally reached the outskirts of Tianshuang County.

Under his lead, a soldier walked up and shouted at the guard on the city wall, "Open the gates! Quick, open the gates!"

"Who are you?"

The thirty thousand alliance army troops were in charge of defending Tianshuang County. As the logistical core of the alliance army, their defence was airtight.

Even during the day, they kept the city gates locked tight.

There was only a small door opened at the side to transport grain. Even this small door was totally shut before the Guards Division had arrived.

"Are you blind? we are Qu Yi's forces." The soldier Lin Yi chose was truly an acting genius. He projected an attitude of arrogance.

The city guard had little understanding of Qu Yi's forces. Upon seeing the cavalry dressed in fancy armor, they had already believed in half of the story.

In the entire north region of Zhaoqing, the only active cavalry force was Qu Yi's troops.

Even so, the city guard did not relax and asked, "Since it's General Qu Yi's forces, what are you all doing here?"

"We do not have enough grain, so the general has sent us here to rush the transportation of grain."

This was the reason that Ouyang Shuo came up with after discussing the matter with Lin Yi. As the grain supply of Qu Yi's forces truly came from Tianshuang County, there was nothing false about this part of their story.

"Do you have any token of identification?"

"Naturally, we brought the personal insignia of the general."

"Bring it up!"

As they spoke, they lowered a basket from the city wall.

The soldier went up and placed Qu Yi's personal item in the basket.

After the city guard saw the item and verified it, he would never have guessed that Qu Yi's forces had all fallen.

At this time, the city guard had no reason to stop them.

"Since it's members of General Qu Yi's forces, based on the rules, no more than five hundred of you can enter. As for the rest, wait outside!"

The city guard really followed his duty.

"What bullsh*t. I'm following orders from my general to rush here, so both my horse and I are tired. We only want to enter the county to rest. You actually want us to camp outside, how bold are you? When I go back, I'll report this matter to the general!"

"This…."

When the city guard heard this outburst, he was put on the spot.

"What rights do you have?""Let us in!"

Under the silent cues of Lin Yi, the Guards Division vented their frustration.

When the city guard saw their actions, he wiped off his sweat. He truly did not dare to mess with this bunch of people. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to let them in. After all, they were their allies, and this was not going against the rules.

A short while later, they slowly lowered the drawbridge of the city protection river, and the city gate opened.

Just like that, the Guards Division smoothly entered the city.

What happened next, they did not need to describe it in words.

After entering the city, the Guards Division suddenly attacked and took control of the city gate. Their second target was the relay. They wanted to prevent the spreading of the news of Tianshuang County being sneak attacked.

A massacre followed.

Facing the sudden attack from right beside them, the thirty thousand alliance army in the county were caught completely unprepared. In less than three hours, the Guards Division had taken full control.

The thirty thousand alliance army soldiers either died in battle or were captured.

Half a month later, Tianshuang County had fallen into the hands of Shanhai City once again.

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