Firmament Sword

Mo Yun’s voice was soft, but her expression was resolute as she said, ”If my death could ensure your survival, I would not hesitate. But in a situation like this, if we go back, all of us... will be dealt with by military law. Slaughtering our comrades is a capital offense, an unpardonable crime!”

At that moment, Zhou Bo gritted his teeth, a look of grim determination flashing in his eyes.

He dropped to his knees before Mo Yun, turned to the others, and roared, ”Have some fucking backbone! We’re the ones who dragged the General into this! It’s not the General who wronged us! Who dares say the General was wrong?! I’ll cut him down myself! So what if we have to live as outlaws? What’s the big deal? I was getting tired of being a soldier anyway! I’ve been wanting to try being a bandit chief!”

A trembling staff officer also knelt down. Gritting his teeth, he declared loudly, ”According to the Empire’s laws, infighting is an internal military affair. The punishment does not extend to one’s family. What’s done is done, there’s no turning back. I will follow the Grand General forever! Through life and death, I will never leave her side!”

”Through life and death, we will never leave her side!”

All the high-ranking officers among Mo Yun’s remnant forces quickly grasped the consequences. They knew they had no path of retreat. Therefore, as difficult as the decision was, it was one they had to make.

Otherwise... there was only death!

The soldiers now understood as well. It wasn’t that the Grand General was unwilling to sacrifice herself to protect them, but that her sacrifice would be meaningless!

It wouldn’t protect them at all!

With military infighting that had caused such massive casualties, none of them... could hope to escape responsibility!

Having their families spared was the most they could hope for.

As for themselves, returning to the Empire meant certain death!

With a great clatter, everyone knelt. Their sorrowful cries shook the valley. ”Through life and death, we will never leave your side! We will follow the Grand General forever!”

...

Atop the mountain, the members of the Martial Soul Squad stared, dumbfounded, at the deeply moving scene in the valley below.

”Gods... Second Brother Xu, this isn’t... uh, quite how I pictured things... To think that Female General you’ve got your eye on would have such daring...”

Li Hong stared, dumbfounded, at the legion in the valley, which now seemed to burn like a fire. He couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh, ”Well, trying to subdue them now is going to be difficult.”

Huangfu Chongzhi and Xu Luo couldn’t help but gasp.

This woman, Mo Yun, was simply too decisive!

It was as if this impossibly difficult decision was as easy as eating or drinking for her. She hadn’t hesitated at all... To think she’d made up her mind in such a short time!

”Thank goodness she’s a woman... If she were a man, who could possibly stop her? I’m afraid General Cao is in for some major headaches. Even if his coup succeeds, having such a terrifying force within the Cao Kingdom will be a source of endless trouble in the future!” Xu Luo sighed softly.

”Yeah, it’s terrifying. She has an expert advising her, and she herself has the makings of a ruthless warlord,” Huangfu Chongzhi sighed.

Xu Jie stared blankly at the powerful scene in the distant valley. For some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of envy for the soldiers following Mo Yun. If he could, he even wished he could be one of them.

Xu Luo walked up, patted Xu Jie’s shoulder, and said softly, ”No matter what, you have a better chance than anyone else. She would never choose a partner from among her own soldiers. As for anyone from the outside... do you think anyone else stands a chance?”

Xu Jie gave a bitter smile and said nothing.

Xu Luo added, ”Have you forgotten what I just told you?”

”She’s so decisive. Will what you said even work?” Xu Jie asked sullenly.

”No matter how decisive she is, she’s still a woman.”

Xu Luo smiled, draping an arm over Xu Jie’s shoulders. ”Let’s go, my dear Second Brother Xu. We completed this mission brilliantly. Next, the Martial Soul Squad will become phantoms of the night, relentlessly haunting every grain convoy that dares to use this road!”

”That’s right. We still have a lot to do!” Huangfu Chongzhi walked over and patted Xu Jie’s shoulder. ”We’ve got a long way to go, so chin up!”

The others also came forward to either console or encourage him.

Finally, Li Hong came over, looked at Xu Jie, and said, ”Don’t worry. I fancy myself a pretty smart guy. I will definitely see this through and help you. If I can’t help you bring Mo Yun home as your wife, I’ll marry my sister to you!”

”Piss off! Who wants your sister!” Xu Jie couldn’t help but grumble, seeing the pained, reluctant look on Li Hong’s face as if the words were being torn from him.

”What! You don’t want my sister? Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to say that? Son of a bitch, you don’t want her, huh? When you see my sister in the future, don’t you dare regret it! Remember that, don’t you dare regret it!”

Li Hong jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and said furiously, ”If it weren’t for the fact that you’re injured... Hmph!”

Xu Jie rolled his eyes and ignored him, striding forward. ”Alright, I know you’re all trying to comfort me about this little crush of mine. Don’t worry, I’m not that fragile! She’s just one woman. When I’m powerful enough one day, I’ll just go right up and take her for myself!”

”Haha, now that’s my Second Brother Xu!” Liu Feng gave a thumbs-up.

”Agreed. That’s Second Brother Xu,” Sui Yan said with a deadpan expression.

”Cool!” Xiaotian nodded.

”Very cool!” Liu San praised.

”So cool!” Xu Lingtian said timidly.

His face was a mask of grief. ’Go to hell, all of you!’ he cursed wildly in his heart as he stared speechlessly up at the sky.

...

Word of the massacre on the grain supply route spread quickly, sending shockwaves through the neighboring kingdoms.

Even the Cangqiong Kingdom was stunned; they couldn’t even believe the matter was true. It wasn’t until the commander at the front, Xu Zhongtian, received a secret report from Xu Luo via military falcon that he finally understood.

”Attaboy! Like father, like son! Hahahaha!” Xu Zhongtian put down the letter and couldn’t help but roar with laughter.

’But... for a traitor to appear in Divine Techniques’s camp... and to think it’s *him*,’ Xu Zhongtian mumbled to himself. ’The evidence is conclusive. Should I warn Divine Techniques now?’ He immediately gave a slight shake of his head.

’No. The war is at a critical juncture. If I tell Divine Techniques now, with his temper, he’ll definitely act on it immediately. He’ll arrest the man, and that could easily cause chaos... That little rascal Xu Luo must have thought the same thing, which is why he told me instead of him.’

Xu Zhongtian composed himself, then began summoning his men to make arrangements.

Xu Luo and his squad had already done so much behind enemy lines. As their elder on the front lines, he had to set an example.

...

Cao Tianyi looked at the letter in his hand and couldn’t help but slam his desk in admiration. He looked at Instructor Zhou and laughed, ”You’ve really trained a fine group of soldiers!”

”Oh? That business on the grain route... was that the work of those little rascals?” Instructor Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then said disbelievingly, ”That’s not very likely, is it? Goading the enemy into slaughtering each other... even if they’re from different factions, they wouldn’t go straight to an all-out battle, would they? Isn’t that just giving their enemy an opening to exploit?”

Cao Tianyi sighed softly. ”Those youngsters had timing, terrain, and popular sentiment all on their side. The whole thing was rather coincidental, but the most important factor was the mutual distrust between the two parties. That was the root cause.”

Instructor Zhou nodded slightly and said, ”People from different camps, how could there be any trust? But it’s said that after Mo Yun’s remnant forces seized the grain, they vanished within the Cao Kingdom. General, will this incident affect your grand plan?”

Cao Tianyi gave a faint smile. ”There will certainly be an impact, but in the short term, I doubt they have the energy to interfere with me. They’ll need at least six months to rest and recover. After that, the board will be set in my favor. Since I could defeat them once, I can defeat them a second time!”

”However, for now, I think I’ll help those little rascals fan the flames,” Cao Tianyi said, a strange smile spreading across his face. He muttered, ”A bunch of real troublemakers.”

...

Wu Xiaxian stared in shock at the person kneeling before him, an expression of disbelief on his face. He cried out, ”This... How could this be? Mo Yun... How could she! I don’t believe she would do something like this. This must be a lie!”

With that, Wu Xiaxian shouted harshly, ”Guards! Seize this man for daring to fabricate slander against an Imperial General! Tie him up, drag him out, and execute him!”

”Hahaha!” The Grain and Grass Officer, who had escaped death’s door to deliver this message, let out a few tragic, bitter laughs. ”Grand General, oh Grand General,” he said, his voice choking with emotion. ”If I were lying, the lie would fall apart under the slightest scrutiny. But if I am telling the truth, Grand General, you will regret killing me today!”

At this moment, Guards had already rushed forward to bind the Grain and Grass Officer.

Wu Xiaxian waved a hand to stop them. He then stared at the Grain and Grass Officer with a frigid expression and said coldly, ”Don’t say I kill the innocent indiscriminately. I will give you this chance. If you dare to lie to me about a single thing, and I find out later... Hmph. I will have your three clans exterminated!”

Staring into the Grain and Grass Officer’s eyes, Wu Xiaxian sneered, ”And don’t quote me the rule about families being spared. I, for one, do not like being deceived!”

”Grand General, if I am lying, I will accept any punishment you see fit!” The Grain and Grass Officer decided to risk it all. He recounted the entire incident in detail, from beginning to end.

When he got to the part about how his group, full of grievances, went to Mo Yun to demand an explanation, Wu Xiaxian suddenly raised a hand and interrupted him.

”You said... those men were wearing night-raid gear over their uniforms? And one of your men happened to grab a scrap of cloth? You determined it was General Mo’s people based solely on a piece of cloth and your own assumptions?”

Wu Xiaxian’s expression grew even more frigid. He gritted his teeth. ”Are you all a bunch of idiots? General Mo’s forces were defeated. Her soldiers are wounded, sick, and their morale is shattered. Where would they get night-raid gear? Why would they be secretly spying on you? Brainless fools!”

Exhaling a long breath, a glint flashed in Wu Xiaxian’s eyes. ”Continue,” he said coldly.

The Grain and Grass Officer felt deeply wronged. ’What’s wrong with making an assumption?’ he thought. ’Even if we were wrong, is that any reason for General Mo to slaughter us?’

”A few of us Grain and Grass Officers went over, but General Mo was completely unreasonable...”

”Wait. How was she unreasonable? Tell me about that first.” Wu Xiaxian once again cut off the Grain and Grass Officer.