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"Your Majesty, Xiaofeng is not an officer in our army. He is here only to assist us brothers, so he does not appear at the daily assembly unless we invite him or he thinks it is necessary to come."
"Oh, I see."
"Your Majesty, please take your seat." After saying this, Liu Guanlei offered his commanding position.
Sun Liang shook his head, saying, "That won't do. Although I am Your Majesty, this is a military camp and your territory. I will not overshadow you; I will just sit here." With that, Sun Liang took a seat to the left of Liu Guanlei.
Before long, the generals entered one by one. When they saw Sun Liang, each came forward to pay their respects, but all were stopped by Sun Liang waving his hand. He said, "We are in a military camp now, and the highest authority here is the Grand Marshal. Therefore, there is no king here; there are only the Grand Marshal and the Vice Marshal. So in the future, when you see me in the camp, there is no need for formalities. Even I must listen to the arrangements of both Grand Marshals."
Sun Liang's words were well received by Liu Guanlei and Liu Guanyu. Once all the generals had gathered, Liu Guanlei began issuing orders: "Jin Rong, Sima Kui, Fei Tian, listen up!"
"I am here."
"Jin Rong, you will be the general, and Sima Kui and Fei Tian will be your deputies. I am giving you thirty thousand Troops to attack Starshine City. Are you willing?"
The three generals were taken aback: thirty thousand people to attack Starshine City? Was the Commander joking with them? How could that possibly succeed? However, as military officers, they had no choice but to accept the order. So Jin Rong stepped forward to take the golden command order from Liu Guanlei, saying, "I am willing to go."
"Jin Rong, after you assemble your troops, go find Liu Jianyan. He has something to discuss with you. You must set out immediately and ensure that you capture Starshine City in the shortest time possible before returning to support us."
"Understood."
Jin Rong led Sima Kui and Fei Tian out of the tent. He said to them, "Commander wants us to use thirty thousand people to attack Starshine City. Isn't that a joke? How could we possibly take it down without even being given new weapons?"
"By the way, didn't Commander tell you to find Liu Jianyan? Perhaps he has a plan?"
Jin Rong slapped his forehead: "Right! How could I forget about that? The fact that Commander wants me to find Liu Jianyan means he must have a solution. Alright, I'll go look for him now; you two gather the troops immediately. We'll set out as soon as I return."
"Okay, then we'll split up." With that, Jin Rong, along with Sima Kui and Fei Tian, went their separate ways. Jin Rong hurried straight to Liu Guanfeng's tent. After being announced, he entered and saw Liu Guanfeng. He knelt on one knee and said, "I have come to see you, Liu Jianyan."
"General Jin, please rise. What brings you to me?"
"Liu Jianyan, the Commander has ordered me to lead Sima Kui and Fei Tianling with ten thousand men to attack Starshine City. The Commander also instructed me to seek your advice. As you know, if we launch a direct assault, we will not be able to capture Starshine City."
Liu Guanfeng nodded and whispered a few words in Jin Rong's ear, causing Jin Rong's eyes to light up. Finally, Liu Guanfeng said to Jin Rong, "Just follow my method, and I will send you a liaison."
"Thank you, Liu Jianyan."
"It's no trouble; Senior Brother, I appreciate you making the trip."
Little Black got up from the ground and nodded at Liu Guanfeng. Liu Guanfeng then told Jin Rong, "Once you reach Starshine City, just wait for my Senior Brother to relay the message."
Jin Rong looked at Little Black and said awkwardly, "Liu Jianyan, I know your Senior Brother is capable of delivering messages, but I can't communicate with him; I don't understand what he says."
Little Black looked at Jin Rong and asked, "Can you understand what I'm saying?"
Jin Rong widened his eyes and nodded blankly, "I can understand."
"Then that's settled. Let's go." With that, Little Black swayed his body and walked out of the tent. Jin Rong deeply bowed to Liu Guanfeng before leaving the camp.
Inside the tent, Liu Guanlei continued with the roll call: "Liu Qiang, Hua Qibing, Nangong Sword Pavilion, Su Ke—where are you?"
"I am here."
"You four will have Liu Qiang as the commander and the other three as his deputies. I will give you five thousand horses to attack Star Gate City. Do you have confidence in capturing it?"
"I will do my utmost," Liu Qiang replied as he took the command token from Liu Guanlei.
"Liu Qiang, I command you to capture Star Gate City in the shortest time possible and then return to reinforce us. Remember to find Liu Jianyan; he has something to discuss with you as well. You may go prepare now."
"Yes."
Liu Qiang led the other three out of the Tent, arranging for them to gather the team while he headed straight for Liu Guanfeng's tent. As he approached the tent, he saw Little Black and the smiling Jin Rong coming out. After exchanging greetings, Jin Rong prepared to leave, while Liu Qiang entered the tent.
Upon seeing Liu Guanfeng, Liu Qiang knelt on one knee: "I greet you, Liu Jianyan."
"General Liu, please rise. If I’m not mistaken, it should be the Commander who sent you to attack Star Gate City, right?"
Liu Qiang nodded: "Exactly. The Commander asked me to find you. I wonder what brilliant strategy you have for us to take Star Gate City?"
Liu Guanfeng smiled slightly: "It's not a brilliant strategy. I'll assign two more people to assist you: Du Zhenyang and Song Haitao." Shortly after, Du Zhenyang and Song Haitao walked in from outside.
The two clasped their fists towards Liu Guanfeng: "Master."
"I want both of you to take five thousand soldiers with General Liu to attack Star Gate City. Also, bring my air force along; with their help, you can capture it more quickly. Du Zhenyang is more familiar with the air force, so I’ll leave that to you to command. Song Haitao will handle the ground troops. You all will leave together with General Liu. Remember, it’s crucial to capture Star Gate City in the shortest time possible."
"Master, rest assured, we will definitely take Star Gate City in the shortest time."
"Also, take two Catapults and two Well Platforms with you. Since the Well Platforms and Catapults are quite large, you should bring a few more Siege Engineers; they will dismantle the Well Platforms and Catapults before taking them away."
"Understood."
After bowing again to Liu Guanfeng, Liu Qiang left the tent with Song Haitao and Du Zhenyang.
Inside the Tent, Sun Liang saw Liu Guanlei arrange for both groups of generals to head out and asked: "Liu Marshal, what should we do next?"
"Your Majesty, let’s rest today. Tomorrow morning we will head straight for Starlight City."
"Alright then, I will return for now. See you tomorrow."
"Your Majesty, we bid you farewell."
After sending off Sun Liang, the military camp began a tense mobilization. Jin Rong and Liu Qiang each took away two batches of troops, totaling eighty-five thousand men.
Subsequently, the entire camp fell silent again, with each soldier engaged in their own tasks, as they needed to prepare necessary items for departure the next morning.
The next day, after breakfast, Liu Guanlei and Liu Guanyu, fully armored, stood on the Command Platform. He left one martial general and ten thousand soldiers with three crossbow carts to defend the city, while he led the remaining eighty-three thousand troops along with Liu Guanfeng and his private soldiers, as well as Sun Liang and his guards, to leave Shining Star City.
In the distance at Starlight City, Wu Ta returned to the imperial capital with his defeated soldiers. In the main hall, Wu Ta knelt on both knees, while Divine Envoy Jiang Xingshi stood beside him.
They were discussing the war situation with Yelü Chuxing and reflecting on their own failures.
Yelü Chuxing frowned as he listened: "Wu Marshal, can you really confirm that the enemy has three Divine Knights among them?"
Wu Ta nodded: "Your Majesty, if you don't believe me, you can ask Divine Envoy."
Jiang Xingshi nodded: "Wu Marshal is correct; there are indeed three Divine-Level Experts on the enemy's side. However, two of them are not very strong; they seem to have just been promoted. But one of them is indeed powerful and his strength is on par with mine."
"Those three are the two Grand Marshals of Starfall Kingdom, Liu Guanlei and Liu Guanyu. The other one is their brother Liu Guanfeng."
"Liu Guanfeng? That name sounds familiar. Is he the one who ambushed Xiahou Shenfeng?"
Jiang Xingshi nodded: "That's right. However, in my opinion, Xiahou Shenfeng's injury should not have been caused by this person’s ambush."
"How could that be? How old is he?" Upon seeing Jiang Xingshi's expression, Yelü Chuxing felt something was off and immediately asked: "Divine Envoy, are you saying that the person whose strength is comparable to yours is…"
Jiang Xingshi helplessly nodded: "That's correct; that person is Liu Guanfeng. Therefore, I believe Xiahou Zhongtian must have lied. If the enemy truly wanted to ambush him, he wouldn't have walked out of Starfall Kingdom alive. Even in a direct confrontation, Xiahou Zhongtian would find it difficult to last ten exchanges against him. Because even I do not have full confidence in defeating this person."
Yelü Chuxing immediately instructed the warriors in front of the hall: "Someone go summon Xiahou Zhongtian to the hall."
Time passed quickly, and Xiahou Zhongtian was brought to the Golden Throne Hall. Upon entering the grand hall, Xiahou Zhongtian knelt on both knees. Ever since he returned from the Starfall Kingdom, all his martial arts skills had been rendered useless. However, Yelü Chuxing, considering that he had suffered such a fate for the sake of the country, removed his position as Divine Envoy but still allowed him to enjoy the benefits of that title. The only difference was that his Divine Servant Residence was reclaimed, and he was assigned a small courtyard instead. Although Xiahou Zhongtian could no longer practice martial arts, his monthly stipend remained substantial, and combined with what he had saved over the years, he could still live a comfortable life.
Today, upon hearing that His Majesty summoned him, he immediately sent for a palanquin to take him to the palace. After seeing Yelü Chuxing, he knelt and performed a deep bow, as he was now a commoner enjoying the stipend of a Divine Envoy: "Commoner Xiahou Zhongtian pays his respects to Your Majesty."
"Xiahou Zhongtian, I want to ask you how you received your injuries."
Xiahou Zhongtian was taken aback; why did he suddenly ask this question? Had they solved the case? Nevertheless, Xiahou Zhongtian insisted on sticking to his story about being ambushed: "Your Majesty, I have already explained clearly about my injuries. I was ambushed by a brat named Liu Guanfeng during the Sun Yong incident and subsequently suffered severe injuries."
"Nonsense! Even now you still want to shirk responsibility. Xiahou Zhongtian, do you know that because of your claim of an ambush we lost a city?"
"What? Your Majesty, where does this come from?"
Jiang Xingshi, standing nearby, snorted coldly: "Xiahou Zhongtian, you were once a renowned Divine-Level Expert. If you were outmatched, you should say so directly. Yet you insist it was an ambush. To seek justice for you as a Divine Envoy, His Majesty mobilized troops from across the nation to attack Starfall Kingdom. But unexpectedly, even I could not defeat that person who supposedly ambushed you. If he truly enjoyed ambushing others, do you think you would have returned alive? How long do you intend to conceal this matter?"
Hearing this, Xiahou Zhongtian had nothing more to say and could only nod in acknowledgment of his mistakes: "Your Majesty, it is Commoner's incompetence. During the raid on Execution Ground, I was defeated and captured by Liu Guanfeng, who then rendered me powerless. In my moment of anger, I fabricated a lie; please forgive me."
Yelü Chuxing sneered: "Hmph! Forgive you? How can I forgive you? If you had reported the situation truthfully upon your return, do you think I would have mobilized the entire nation against them? Now look at what has happened; not only have we suffered losses on our side but we also lost Shining Star City. If I am not mistaken, they will soon be attacking our imperial capital. Xiahou Zhongtian, our Huaxing Kingdom is doomed because of you. Guards! Take Xiahou Zhongtian away and execute him."
Upon hearing this, Xiahou Zhongtian immediately cried out in protest: "Your Majesty! Commoner is wronged! I am wronged; spare my life..."
In the court were two of Xiahou Zhongtian's disciples; however, they did not speak up to stop Yelü Chuxing because what Yelü Chuxing said was true. If they intervened, they would surely be implicated as well. Additionally, Xiahou Zhongtian had been very harsh towards his disciples; many had long been dissatisfied with him.
Especially these two individuals in court; Xiahou Zhongtian demanded that half of their monthly stipends be given to him and that they show respect during the three festivals and two birthdays each year. Thus, everything that happened to Xiahou Zhongtian today was entirely retribution for his actions.
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