Chapter 424: Faking the Emperor's orders
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The sharp aura danced in the air.
However, Shan Ling's blade stopped in mid-air. He did not want to believe what Fang Zhengzhi said.
But…
He had to listen to it.
He was the Crown Prince of the Southern Region.
He could set up his brothers in pursuit of the throne, but, he could not risk the lives of the soldiers.
"Speak! You only have one chance!" Shan Ling's voice was icy and aloof.
Fang Zhengzhi was a talent.
But he was just a talent. He would still die in the face of absolute power and ability.
"I do not like people to point their blades at me." Fang Zhengzhi's mouth twitched in scorn as he glanced at Shan Ling.
"Hum!" The blade whirred.
Shan Ling's knuckles whitened as the tip began to shake. As a man, he felt that he should just keep his word and drive the sword into Fang Zhengzhi.
But he could not.
He was the Crown Prince, and he could not defile the honor of his ancestors.
Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he looked at the ferocious Shan Ling. Then, he used his finger to tap the blade.
"Clang!" A crisp sound rang out.
The blade was dropped.
The King and Princess Shan Yu looked at each other and heaved a sigh of relief. However, they did not understand something…
The situation now was critical and tense…
Yet, Fang Zhengzhi still looked cool as a cucumber!
Was he that confident?
"Crown Prince, please answer this question. If the 3000 Silver Horned Wolves were here, can they reach the Iron Hill Settlement before the Demons?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.
"Of course…" Shan Ling replied, then hesitated.
He already understood where Fang Zhengzhi was going with this.
The Demons may be powerful individually, but they could not match up against the elite soldiers of the Southern Region.
Furthermore, the 3000 Silver Horned Wolves would be launching a surprise attack and could take the settlement before the Demons.
The King and Princess Shan Yu also seemed to understand.
However, they could not understand something else…
The 3000 Silver Horned Wolves were not in the Sagely Mountain City, so this hypothetical had little meaning.
"The Silver Horned Wolves are the elites of the Southern Region. For the Great Xia, they are the Mountain Breaking Army and the Dragon Protection Squad!" Fang Zhengzhi continued calmly as he looked around.
At that moment…
The expressions of Shan Ling, the King, and Princess Shan Yu changed.
Fang Zhengzhi had not stated it explicitly, but it was clear to them all. The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were here!
"If you are all willing to negotiate with the Great Xia, the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army will get ahead of the Demon army. They will join up with the 80,000 soldiers already there and fight the Demons together. There is still time!" Fang Zhengzhi added.
Shan Ling was silent.
His gaze was conflicted. He looked like he was thinking deeply. Rays of iciness filled the room.
"How do I know I can trust you?" Shan Ling finally responded after 15 minutes of silence.
"You have no choice." Fang Zhengzhi's voice was calm.
"What I am asking is, you're just a rank four Sword Envoy. How can you claim to represent the Emperor's wishes!" Shan Ling's tone was icy.
"What if I add this to the mix?" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled lightly. He had anticipated this question way in advance.
He took out a golden token.
The token was not big, but it was made from pure gold. It was adorned with dragons and had one word carved into it.
"Emperor!"
This was the Emperor's token.
Fang Zhengzhi had seen Xing Qingsui use this. Of course, his was not meant to give him control over the army.
It was…
For him to enter the Ministry of Rites.
Seeing the token was akin to meeting the Emperor.
This was a great token to use. Furthermore, the token would never state the intended use of the token, so his ruse would not be broken.
However, there was a price to pay…
If used 'inappropriately', then he would be guilty of 'misrepresenting the views of the Emperor'. If he was found out, there was only one fate for him…
Death!
"This is… the Emperor's token?!" Shan Ling could not believe his eyes. He immediately withdrew the icy aura.
"That's right." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. This was the effect he was aiming for.
"Why do you have this?" Shan Ling could not understand what was happening.
"Your Highness, do you really think that I am here only to participate in the examination? I entered the Southern Region and the Princess's camp. Do you really think that this is normal?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.
Shan Ling was silent.
He had his spies in Princess Shan Yu's camp. As such, he knew who Fang Zhengzhi was and had heard of his exploits.
He also knew that…
Princess Shan Yu had given Fang Zhengzhi command of 500 Silver Horned Wolves before.
However, when he heard Fang Zhengzhi say this, he frowned. He knew exactly what Fang Zhengzhi meant.
As a result, he felt a chill down his spine.
Initially…
He had thought that he was in control of this war. But now, seeing the Emperor's token in Fang Zhengzhi's hand, he had a feeling…
That he was just a puppet.
To the Demons, he was someone to be taken advantage of. To the Great Xia, his every move had been calculated by the Emperor.
Sweat poured from his forehead.
"This is impossible, how can the Emperor guess that you will be negotiating with me? How could he have sent you in preemptively? Most importantly, how could he have known that the Princess will let you go and let you rejoin the examinations!" Shan Ling was in disbelief.
"Is there a difference if the Princess did not let me go? Does my participation in the examination matter? Your Highness, please think about it, what is the most important thing here? It is that the Demons will definitely attack the Southern Region… as such, my presence is necessary!" Fang Zhengzhi replied as he kept the token.
Silence.
Shan Ling did not speak.
The King and Princess Shan Yu did not speak either. However, the two of them knew that it was over.
Since there was no other option…
There was no need to hesitate.
"Fang Zhengzhi… tell us what the Great Xia wants!" Shan Ling broke the silence. He was keenly aware of the situation now.
There was no free lunch in this world.
"Even though the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army are strong, they are not familiar with the terrain here. If we are to beat the Demons to the Iron Hill Settlement, we need your cooperation."
"What kind of cooperation?"
"The terrain, we need to know the terrain!"
"You want a map of the Southern Region?!"
"Yes."
"No way! That is the advantage that we have. The map is owned only by the royal family. If we hand it to you, we will be showing the Great Xia everything we have."
"Mm, you make sense. So, please give the order."
"What kind of order?"
"The order for your men to come with us? Since you are not going to give us the map, we will need a guide!" Fang Zhengzhi added.
"No need, I will be your guide!" Princess Shan Yu interrupted and walked to Fang Zhengzhi's side.
She did not seem to be asking for permission.
Shan Ling looked at Princess Shan Yu and the King. He bit his lip so hard that blood began to trickle down from the side.
"And me… I will guide you too!" Shan Ling made a decision.
"My son!"
"Father, please take care of the city!"
"Son… daughter, please be careful." The King nodded as he looked at Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu.
Someone needed to defend the Sagely Mountain City.
This was the core and root of the Southern Region. As long as it stood, the morale of the Southern Region soldiers would never be broken.
"Long live the King, long live the Crown Prince, long live the Princess!" All of the servants hollered in unison.
Princess Shan Yu looked at the servants, then back at Fang Zhengzhi.
She felt like there was something strange about this. Fang Zhengzhi would normally have taken advantage of such an opportunity to rob the Southern Region.
But…
He didn't ask for anything.
The negotiation was far too easy and smooth.
There was no draft, no signature, no document. They had simply made a verbal promise! That was it?
Princess Shan Yu felt that something was wrong.
But, that was how it went down.
…
Fang Zhengzhi did want to take advantage of the situation. However, the situation was critical and he didn't have time.
As for the agreement Princess Shan Yu was thinking about.
He would never sign it.
Because…
He wanted to forget it all. He never wanted anyone else to know that the deal with the Southern Region had anything to do with him.
It wasn't because he was noble.
It was because he did not want anyone to know that he had used his Emperor's Token inappropriately.
He was much too young to die. This was despite the fact that it was likely that the Emperor would spare his life in this case.
Even so, he wasn't willing to risk it.
It was just a possibility.
He would not dismiss the possibility that it would go wrong. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of rising through the ranks and becoming a politician.
As such, he would never take such a risk.
Finally…
And most importantly…
He did not know if the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were here. This was just a guess.
He also had no idea if they could really beat the Demons to the Iron Hill Settlement and buy enough time for the rest of the army.
These were all questions.
There were too many uncertainties.
As such, all the terms, deals, and agreements would be meaningless.
"Shall we go?" Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She didn't know what he was thinking about, but she knew that they had no time to lose.
Shan Ling looked at Fang Zhengzhi as well.
The Sagely Mountain City had 20,000 guards initially. However, the battle had already killed 30% of them, leaving only 14,000 behind.
These men would remain to defend the city.
They were here just in case the Demons doubled back and tried an attack on the capital.
As such…
Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu were only waiting for Fang Zhengzhi's soldiers. To be more precise, they were waiting for the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army.
"Okay, let's go!" Fang Zhengzhi stood up and nodded. Then, he wiped the water off of his body and walked out.
Outside…
The six wounded soldiers raised their broken spears when they saw Fang Zhengzhi exit.
"Stop!" Shan Ling bellowed.
The six spears froze in mid-air.
Fang Zhengzhi did not even take a second look at the guards. He simply walked through them.
Because…
His first order of business was to find the Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army.
"Xing Hou… I believe in you. If I can see the hidden message in the order, I am sure you can too! Where are you all? Inside the city? Or at the foot of the hill? Could you… give me a hint?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sky.
The night was calm.
Stars filled the night sky and an icy wind assaulted his body. Winter was coming.
