Seven hundred thousand troops clashed for a day and a night. Observing the battle from afar, Han Yue couldn't sleep. Her senses were sharp, as if she could smell the faint scent of blood in the air. Finally, she went to find Fan Li, only to be told he was still resting.
Zhao Tieniu, who had received another one hundred lashes the previous day, stood guard outside the tent. Seeing Han Yue approaching, he had learned his lesson.
He didn't look, he didn't speak, he didn't ask, he didn't listen. He treated her as if she were invisible.
"What should I do?"
"Should I wake him up?"
"But I don't understand military matters. I'm just restless…"
Han Yue paced back and forth outside the tent. Suddenly, a desperate cry echoed from the sky. "Hu Zongxian! Come to my rescue!!!"
Crash!
The gates of Yunzhou City swung open. An armored battalion, lying in wait, surged towards the battlefield.
Han Yue was startled by Crown Prince Wanli's cry, wondering if Fan Li had also been woken up. As expected, a familiar figure, barefoot, emerged from the tent.
"Assemble the troops! Prepare to move out!" Fan Li shouted.
"Where are we going?" Han Yue asked urgently. "To kill Crown Prince Wanli? Or to intercept Hu Zongxian's reinforcements?"
"Huh?" Fan Li blinked, then shook his head. "Kill my ass! Intercept my ass! Yunzhou City is empty. We're going to seize it."
Han Yue was stunned. "But… your allies…"
Wasn't Fan Li supposed to be close friends with the three emperors of Wei, Han, and Wu?
Fan Li patted her on the shoulder. "You're too innocent. You wouldn't understand."
As long as he complimented her, Han Yue believed anything he said.
"Too innocent." Hearing those words, her heart fluttered with delight. She didn't press him further.
The Three Kingdoms hadn't consulted the Great Chu before launching their attack on the Great Ming.
Therefore, Fan Li had no obligation to assist them in the Yunzhou campaign. He could do whatever he pleased without betraying his allies.
"Reporting to My Lord!"
Just as Fan Li finished donning his armor, Zhao Jinniu arrived with a report.
"Hu Zongxian has led his troops out of the city to rescue Crown Prince Wanli."
"Yes, I know."
Fan Li mounted his spirit beast warhorse, capable of traveling thousands of miles in a single day, and issued another command.
"All troops, advance into Yunzhou City!"
…
Hu Zongxian's cultivation was at the eighth rank of the Unity realm, the strongest among the armies currently assembled. He wasn't a Great Vehicle realm master. His personal strength couldn't turn the tide of battle.
But when it came to commanding troops, Hu Zongxian was undoubtedly the best in the Great Ming Dynasty.
The battlefield lay ahead. The earth beneath his feet was stained crimson with blood. Dark clouds choked the sky, occasional bolts of lightning illuminating the gloom, followed by rumbling thunder.
Hu Zongxian's face was grim. He said to the soldiers accompanying him, "Brothers, it is I, Hu Zongxian, who has failed you."
"Grand Coordinator!"
Fifty thousand Great Ming warriors dropped to one knee.
Hu Zongxian's body trembled, his fists clenched so hard that they made a clattering sound, and tears welled up in his aged eyes.
"Today, we must fight to the death."
"Grand Coordinator! Give us the order!"
Hu Zongxian raised his hand, about to order them to charge.
Suddenly, Wanli's desperate cry echoed once more. "Hu Zongxian! You dare to abandon me?! I curse you to a fate worse than death!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Zongxian's face changed several times and his body almost shook.
The fifty thousand Yunzhou veterans, hearing their Prince's harsh words, grew restless.
Who had insisted on marching out of the city?
Who had refused to trust the Yunzhou troops?
Who had sidelined their Grand Coordinator, refusing to utilize his expertise?
Now, facing defeat, he remembered to call for their rescue, but even then, his attitude was one of arrogance and disdain?
For a moment, resentment simmered in the hearts of the Yunzhou soldiers.
"…Silence!"
Finally, Hu Zongxian regained his composure. He raised his hand and said calmly, "Kill the enemy. Serve our nation."
His words were their compass, their guiding star.
Fifty thousand men, united in purpose, surged forward like a lone wolf across a blood-soaked plain.
The enemy's numbers, however, were overwhelming.
Crown Prince Wanli's four hundred thousand fresh troops were dead.
The allied forces of Wei, Han, and Wu had also suffered heavy losses. But Hu Zongxian still faced an impossible task – fifty thousand defeated troops against one hundred thousand remaining allied soldiers!
And they had to rescue Crown Prince Wanli, who was fleeing for his life.
"I am Hu Zongxian, Grand Coordinator of the Great Ming's northern territories and Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince!
"You rebels dare to challenge our might?!"
…
Yunzhou City.
Fan Li had just finished pacifying the city's citizens, though his efforts were merely a temporary measure.
Everything had gone according to plan. Yunzhou City was empty, not a single enemy soldier remaining.
He assigned a few thousand troops to guard the main streets, government offices, and treasury. He personally led the remaining troops to defend the northern gate.
Sixty miles north of the city lay the battlefield.
An emotional Sage Ruler Han Yue explored the city for a while before returning to Fan Li's side.
"This is unbelievable."
"Wei, Han, and Wu sent three hundred thousand troops to capture Yunzhou City. The Great Ming army was even larger. They fought a fierce battle, yet Fan Li took the city without losing a single soldier."
She couldn't help but think, if she were one of the allied commanders, witnessing Fan Li snatching their victory, she would definitely challenge him to a duel.
"Fan… What are your plans now?" she asked softly. "Do you need my help? Remember, I promised to do three things for you."
Her tone held an unexpected deference.
Was it because he commanded one hundred thousand troops?
Fan Li glanced at her, puzzled, and shook his head. "My army has successfully captured a Great Ming city. My mission is complete. I don't need to do anything."
"Oh."
Han Yue was disappointed, mostly in herself. She prided herself as the world's strongest female sword cultivator, yet she hadn't even had a chance to draw her sword.
What was the point of her cultivation?
Just then, Zhao Yinniu approached.
"Reporting to My Lord, all the spirit treasures, medicinal pills, spirit ores, silver, and supplies within the Yunzhou City treasury have been accounted for!"
Fan Li nodded. "Load the spirit treasures, pills, ores, and silver onto the carts. Leave the supplies."
"Yes, My Lord!"
After Zhao Yinniu left, Han Yue couldn't hold back any longer. "What are you going to do with all those things?"
"Take them with us, of course," Fan Li said vaguely.
"Huh?" She was even more confused.
"You're leaving? But you just captured Yunzhou City?"
Fan Li smiled. "We can capture it… and then transfer it, or rather, sell it."
Yunzhou City?
He didn't want it. Looking at the map, the city bordered the Three Kingdoms – Wei, Han, and Wu – but it had no connection to the Great Chu. He wasn't stupid. He wouldn't turn Yunzhou City into a Great Chu enclave.
Han Yue was speechless. He was not only emptying the city's treasury, but he was also selling the city itself?