"Ah?"
A deputy general who had followed Chen Xi to Gu Xiao Pass stared at the scene before him with a stunned expression. "You just killed him?"
"I couldn't hold back for a moment."
Chen Xi fiercely threw Wang Ling's head to the ground, frowning. "Such a treacherous minister and rebellious official... I truly have no patience to watch him put on a show of proving his innocence. I'll just kill him and be done with it. You send someone to throw Wang Ling's corpse out of Gu Xiao Pass and spread the word that Wang Ling colluded with the demon race to subvert Gu Xiao Pass. After I discovered some clues, he felt guilty and committed suicide!"
"Ah!?"
The deputy general was taken aback. "He's dead, and you still want to frame him for colluding with the enemy and treason?"
"Is he wrongly accused?"
Chen Xi raised her delicate eyebrows.
The deputy general couldn't help but chuckle. "He's not wrongly accused at all."
"That's the point."
Chen Xi said indifferently. "If such a treacherous minister and rebellious official can return to Bai Di City in glory, then in the future, which general in my Great Shang Dynasty will be willing to contribute to the human race? Won't everyone be forced to become a villain? Gu Xiao Pass is thousands of miles away from Bai Di City. As the commander of the vanguard, a decisive killing should not be considered excessive."
The deputy general pouted. Was this considered decisive killing? You almost dug up the ancestral grave of the treacherous minister and rebellious official. Wang Ling was indeed a traitor, but killing a second-rank military officer without a word was still somewhat presumptuous. Later, there would inevitably be villains in Bai Di City who would make a fuss about this. Fortunately, in the Great Shang Dynasty, whoever held military power had the final say. Chen Xi held the twenty thousand Cang Nan Iron Cavalry and was the Lord of Tian Ji City, controlling the military and political affairs of the entire Yun Prefecture. To be honest, there were very few people in the Great Shang Dynasty who could touch Chen Xi. It was precisely because of this that Cao Ying attempted to assassinate Chen Xi last time.
"I'm leaving now."
Chen Xi looked down at the city. The banners of the Pan Shi Army were already visible in the distance. She frowned and said, "You stay and temporarily manage the remaining twenty thousand Ji Han Legion. Wait for Lin Ruo to return and hand over Gu Xiao Pass to him. I won't meet him. You can tell Lin Ruo that he owes me a drink for today's events."
The deputy general chuckled. "Yes, your subordinate obeys!"
...
In the early morning hours.
Lin Ruo led nearly eighty thousand Pan Shi Army troops back to Gu Xiao Pass and took over the pass from the deputy general of the Cang Nan Iron Cavalry. He arranged for the armored soldiers to heal, eat, and rest. Everything was handled smoothly. Before dawn, Lin Ruo ordered the ten-thousand-man commanders of each battalion and regiment to gather in the council hall for a meeting. Everyone dared not disobey and assembled one by one. The council hall was illuminated by flickering torches, with armored soldiers lining the hall like a forest. Lin Ruo's personal guards were present, not only with swords at their waists but also with crossbows slung over their shoulders.
"Commander."
A ten-thousand-man commander frowned. "You're not letting the brothers rest so late. Is there still a war? Is the retreat of the demon and devil races just a ploy?"
"No."
Lin Ruo gently kicked a heavy bronze chair, sending it sliding across the floor with a sharp sound. He slowly walked forward, sat on the bronze chair, and looked at the fifteen Pan Shi Army ten-thousand-man commanders before him, frowning. "I won't hide it from you brothers. I've asked you here for no other reason than to settle accounts after the autumn harvest."
"..."
Everyone was shocked, and many were already feeling uneasy.
"Close the door."
Lin Ruo waved his hand, and a group of armored soldiers immediately closed the heavy iron door of the council hall. Lin Ruo slowly stood up and looked at their expressions. "In this battle, our army was forced to engage the enemy in the north with inferior numbers, which ultimately led to a crushing defeat. We lost over seventy thousand brothers. The corpses of these brothers are still lying by Que Yu Lake, some even becoming food for the demons."
Everyone was silent.
Lin Ruo sneered. "In the court of the Great Shang, there have always been people who wanted to eliminate the Pan Shi Army and eliminate me, Lin Ruo. Don't some of you know this? Hmph, the two gold plaques from the Ministry of War were real, and the Emperor's decree was also real. But was the Emperor's decree personally written by the Emperor? Originally, I, Lin Ruo, intended not to care about personal fortune or disgrace. I would bear the death penalty for disobeying military orders and the imperial will, as long as I could protect the lives of my fifteen thousand brothers in the Pan Shi Army. If I, Lin Ruo, were to be executed in Bai Di City, so be it. But some people are foolish enough to be the knives of those treacherous officials. They led people to surround my room late at night and force me to abdicate. I don't want to say any more. Who was present that night? Step forward."
"..."
Everyone was silent. After nearly half a minute, a ten-thousand-man commander with his hand on the hilt of his sword slowly stepped out, knelt on one knee, cupped his fist, and said, "Commander, your subordinate admits his guilt..."
Then, a few more people stepped out and knelt. Finally, seven ten-thousand-man commanders stepped forward. It was they who had led a group of thousand-man commanders to kneel and demand abdication outside Lin Ruo's room that night.
"Hmph..."
Lin Ruo smiled bitterly. "What you did that night was actually a military remonstrance. You should know this in your hearts, right? I can withstand the gold plaques from the Ministry of War, and I can also withstand the Emperor's decree. But I cannot withstand the military remonstrance from you old brothers who have fought with me for many years. If Lin Ruo insists on going his own way, the Pan Shi Army will have internal strife, and there might even be a civil war."
His eyes were slightly red. "Your military remonstrance resulted in the annihilation of the entire Pan Shi Army. If Lin Baiyi had not led the Snow Region Army to reinforce us, how could we have returned to Gu Xiao Pass alive?"
"Commander..."
A middle-aged general gritted his teeth. "We... admit our guilt!"
"It's good that you admit your guilt!"
Lin Ruo said solemnly. "I know that some of you must have been bribed by the corrupt officials in the court, and perhaps the ringleaders were. But I, Lin Ruo, don't want to pursue this anymore. Everyone must take responsibility for their actions. Your military remonstrance almost buried the entire Pan Shi Army. In fact, it caused seventy to eighty thousand brothers to die in battle."
A young ten-thousand-man commander trembled all over. He was once Lin Ruo's personal bodyguard, and he had risen to his current position through his military merits. When he looked at Lin Ruo, his eyes were already filled with tears. "Commander, your subordinate... your subordinate has no regrets even if he dies, and will not resent you..."
"Mm."
Lin Ruo nodded. "Don't blame me."
Saying this, Lin Ruo's gaze became firm, and his fist intent flowed. "Alright, all of you draw your swords and commit suicide as atonement. I will promote your trusted subordinates to replace your positions. I know some of you must feel wronged, but the deaths of over seventy thousand Pan Shi Army brothers must be accounted for!"
"Commander!"
The young ten-thousand-man commander drew his battle sword with a clang, its blade still stained with the blood of the demon cavalry. Tears streamed down his face. "Your subordinate is leaving. I hope Commander will take care of himself in the future..."
With that, a flash of sword light swept past, and a young life ended. The remaining ten-thousand-man commanders also drew their swords and committed suicide one after another, mostly without hesitation. Only one middle-aged ten-thousand-man commander held his long sword horizontally, hesitating to strike.
"It's you, isn't it?"
Lin Ruo's eyes were filled with a chilling glint.
"Commander, your subordinate was also confused for a moment, can..."
He gritted his teeth, his expression complicated.
"Go, the wicked will not be punished, and I will not hold your families accountable."
Lin Ruo said, "All seven of you will be counted as having died in battle. The Great Shang will take care of your relatives. Except for you, the other six will have shrines erected in their hometowns. Go in peace!"
"Thank you, Commander..."
A splash of blood bloomed, and the seventh ten-thousand-man commander also knelt and died.
Lin Ruo clenched his fists, his expression extremely grim. He had taken charge of the Pan Shi Army at the age of eighteen, and these were all capable subordinates who had followed him for many years. Lin Ruo naturally felt heartbroken, but he had to do it, otherwise, if such a precedent was set, the Pan Shi Army might be close to disintegration in the future.
...
At dawn, the morning light fell on Lin Zhao's face. He was actually tired after the fierce battle. Just then, the version event on the Qiufeng Plain battlefield ended, and he still held the first place with a far leading honor value. A bell sound rang through the air, and everyone who participated in the event received a large number of rewards—
"Ding!"
System Announcement: With everyone's efforts, we have finally repelled the combined forces of the demon and devil races and successfully resolved a crisis of the Northern Four Races marching south. Congratulations to everyone! Among them, player [Bai Yi] ranked first in honor value and received rewards: Level +5, Charm +10, Reputation +30000, Jin Zizhi Qian +10, and an additional reward: [Sun Chaser's Chain] (Ghost Artifact). Player [Gu Ke Wu Ming] ranked second in honor value and received rewards: Level +4, Charm +8, Reputation +20000, Jin Zizhi Qian +7, and an additional reward: [Adventurer's Helm] (Heavenly Artifact). Player [Zheng Du] ranked third in honor value and received rewards: Level +3, Charm +6, Reputation +15000, Jin Zizhi Qian +5, and an additional reward: [Sword Forger's Boots] (Heavenly Artifact). The remaining players in the top ten by honor value are: Bu Jian Xing Kong, Leng Yan, Xian Bai, Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng, Yi Shi Cang Liang, Jian Huang, Ren Jian Xiao Ku Gua. All players who received honor values will receive rewards of varying amounts. Congratulations to everyone, and we hope everyone will continue to strive and protect one side of the world!
...
The rewards arrived suddenly, with golden rain continuously descending from the sky. Lin Zhao's level rose from 133 to 138 in one go, and he gained a large amount of charm points, even ten Jin Zizhi Qian. When Lin Zhao opened his inventory, he found that these ten Jin Zizhi Qian were unbound, meaning players could exchange them for universal currency! Currently, one Jin Zizhi Qian is equivalent to 100,000 gold coins, which translates to over 1 million universal currency. This means that the reward of Jin Zizhi Qian alone brought Lin Zhao a huge income of 10 million universal currency, a true windfall!
In addition, there was a ghost artifact-level necklace.
Finally, there was something to be happy about. Lin Zhao grinned, opened his inventory, and saw the fiery red necklace. He took it out and placed it in his palm, feeling a scorching sensation. With a wave of his hand, the attributes floated before his eyes. Ghost artifact-level equipment was naturally quite powerful—
[Sun Chaser's Chain] (Ghost Artifact)
Strength: +189
Stamina: +185
Agility: +183
Effect: Critical Hit +12%
Effect: Damage Increase +60%
Effect: Lifesteal +18%
Effect: Precision, Hit +120%
Effect: Sun Chaser's Strike, 5% chance to trigger a 1500% attack damage when attacking.
Skill: [Sun Infusion], drags a projection of the sun from the sky and unleashes it on targets within a 60x60 yard area, dealing 1000% of user's attack damage and causing them to be petrified by sun scorch, petrification lasts for 3 seconds, skill cooldown 120 minutes.
Additional: Increases user's attack power by 65%
Additional: Increases user's defense by 63%
Biography: Sun Chaser's Chain, a treasure passed down from ancient times, said to be the masterpiece of a divine craftsman from the Sun Chaser clan in the ancient eternal secret realm. It is forged with the essence of the sun and moon and absorbs a large amount of immortal aura. Once worn, it can control a portion of the power of the sun's radiance, truly a great fortune.
Requires Strength: 2500
Requires Level: 135