We arrived in Hangzhou at noon the next day. We ate outside first and returned home at 1pm. Out of the few of us, Lin Wan Er was in the best mood and she carried the Allstar trophy happily. Dong Cheng Yue, Tang Qi, and I only got one medal each as consolation.
We placed her trophy inside the glass cabinet. This was also a form of glory. One day, if we stopped, this trophy would bring back good memories. However, thinking about this, I also felt a little sad. I missed the finals of Wings of Heroes because I was sleeping, and when I got MVP in the country war, I did not get any trophy. The world was just too unfair.
I cleared up my room and went online that afternoon!
Shua!
I entered the game and appeared at Tian Ling City. I stood on the north square; a minute later, the system notified me that a War Hawk Knight was looking for me. A Royal Army War Hawk Knight landed and cupped his fists. "General, the empire had a military meeting that began seventeen minutes ago; please head over!"
"Okay…"
NPC meetings did not wait for players, and if one managed to attend, then that was good; if not, then it was still fine. At most, one would just lose a chance to gain merits.
I flew toward the palace. After entering, the guards around lowered their heads. "Commander in chief!"
The empire had two commanders; one was me and the other was Situ Xin. After I rejected The Executor title, I helped increase the weight of the Commander in chief title.
……
I entered the hall and stood nearest to Lochlan. I smiled at Situ Xin, who said, "General Li, you're late."
I smiled. "Unlike you, I am not from this world, so I can't always be here to get summoned."
Situ Xin understood what I meant, or rather he did not, so he just smiled back at me.
……
Lochlan stood in front of the sand board. Ever since Lochlan became emperor, his greatest strength had been that he did not forget about military affairs. When Owen was the emperor, this area was empty or, rather, there were just dancers. Now, with Lochlan at the helm, a large sand board of the continent could be seen in this hall, and on it were the various troop strategic positions.
"Master Li," Lochlan looked at me and said, "Moon Empire and Swirling Abyss Empire have laid out troops at their borders; what should we do?"
I said, "We should do the same."
"En!"
I then asked, "Lochlan, how are Tian Ling City's troops situation now?"
Lochlan replied, "The Fire Dragon Army has reached eighty thousand. Situ Xin has moved many troops from the areas near the ocean to strengthen our army. The Purple Spirit Army has expanded to fifty thousand and the Guards Army has close to one hundred thousand. As for your Royal Army, you have close to one hundred twenty thousand and more than half of them are experienced soldiers."
I nodded. "En, that is good."
I looked at the crowd and noticed a young female General. I recognized that person to be Floating Clouds, Luo Xun's girl. Why was she here?
"Lochlan," I frowned, asking, "didn't Floating Clouds get demoted? Why… is she still here?"
Lochlan answered, "Master Li, she… is my cousin!"
"Cousin?" I was shocked. "Since she's your cousin, how did she become your father's concubine? This… What is going on?"
Lochlan smiled. "It is like this. There is a tradition in the north. To ensure the purity of bloodline, cousins are allowed to marry."
"Still… Floating Clouds threatened you with the South Protecting King and even tried to kill the Royal Army. That's already a crime punishable by death, so why is she still a general?"
Lochlan was in a tough spot. "The Dragonling Army only has ten thousand people and it’s the only navy force of the empire. Someone has to monitor the ship building, and she is the only one fit for the job. Moreover, she is my cousin. I didn't want to send her too far, for she might be tortured."
I looked at her; that was true. People in charge of escorting criminals were mainly perverts. If they encountered someone like Floating Clouds, who knew what they would do to her? Moreover, she used to be the South Protecting King's woman. Toward those who had been suppressed for such a long time, it was indeed quite tempting. Twisted guys would have such thoughts. If the South Protecting King could play with her, they could, too!
"Forget it."
I did not continue pursuing this matter and merely said, "Lochlan, you had better send a few more trusted people to keep an eye on her. When your father killed himself, I could sense her hatred. I don't hope for a woman to destroy the empire."
"Okay, I'll follow Master Li's words!" Lochlan smiled. "Don't worry, Master Li; I’ve already instructed General Situ to pay attention to her camp. They're only in charge of making boats. As for expanding the naval force, I'll put someone else in charge to reduce her influence."
I nodded and smiled. In my heart, I was quite happy. Lochlan was becoming more and more like the emperor that he was. Promoting Situ Xin to commander in chief and expanding the Guards Army to one hundred thousand was also to keep me in check. An empire should be like that; one could not let a single side get too strong. That was good; I should continue being the Royal Army General. I was confident that, in terms of army strategy, no one in the Tian Ling Empire was my match. In terms of troops, no one was the match of the Royal Army. Even if the Guards Army expanded to two hundred thousand, they still might not be our match.
……
Another General cupped his fists. "Your Majesty, the area between Fire Crystal Basin and Giant Demon Bamboo Forest is flat and suitable for farming. Please send the Violent Thunder Army over to open up that land so that they can have enough food. Also, we can raise horses there!"
That person was Violent Thunder Army's latest, twenty-five-year-old General, Xu Yan. He was a Major from the Guards Army before Lochlan appointed him as one of his personal bodyguards. After developing him, he was promoted to a General. He looked really strong with a sword hanging by his waist. He looked like those kind of fearless generals. One must admit that Lochlan really had an eye for talent.
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Lochlan smiled. "Then General Xu can go ahead. We will give that piece of land to the Violent Thunder Army. Apart from that, send two hundred blacksmiths to the Violent Thunder Army so that they can build weapons and Dragon Crystal Cannons. I want you to build the Violent Thunder Army into a one-hundred-thousand-strong army within half a month!"
Xu Yan cupped his fists, "I won't let Your Majesty down!"
"Okay!"
……
The meeting ended really fast. Right when I was about to leave, Situ Xin stopped me. Once everyone left, he smiled. "Master Li, you won't blame His Majesty, right?"
I was shocked. "Why do you say that? Why would I blame him?"
Situ Xin said, "Let me be honest; when Master Li wiped out the Rongdi Army, you could have become the most powerful person in Tian Ling City, but you rejected it. His Majesty promoted me to commander in chief and used Xu Yan and Luo Fei to expand the army. To an extent, that reduced the troops under you."
I sucked in a deep breath and slapped his shoulder. "No, it isn't like what you think. The stronger we are, the happier I will be. As long as they are in our hands, not the enemies, I’ll be more than satisfied. After all, the wars will be with Moon City, Swirling Abyss City, Nine Heavens City, Iron Skull City, etc. Just the Royal Army alone isn't enough."
Situ Xin was stunned and then he looked at me. He knelt on one knee. "Because of Li Xiao Yao, the Tian Ling Empire is like this today. I've always treated you as a senior, so I swear that my Guards Army will listen to your orders as long as you don't make me kill the ruler. It is fine even if our bones get shattered in the process!"
I was touched. After thinking about it for a bit, I helped him up. "I shall recognize you as a brother, but no matter what, we can't act alone. We must inform His Majesty. I won't ask for anything else, just that you can help stop His Majesty if he makes a wrong decision, and that is enough."
Situ Xin cupped his fists. "This brother understands!"
I slapped his shoulder again., "Good! Time for me to go back."
"En!"
……
After walking out, I sucked in a deep breath and looked into the sky. What color would the sky above the Tian Ling City be in the future?
