Investigation Results and an Unexpected Twist (6K)

After Qian Shougang's death, Zhao Xing rushed back to Long Xiao's location.

At this time, Long Xiao had also dealt with the remaining Black Dragon Guard on the warship.

"How is it?" Long Xiao asked.

"He's dead."

Long Xiao said, "That's good. Shall we leave now?"

Zhao Xing said, "Even if we have to retreat, we must take this warship back with us. We are currently pursuing the enemy, and it wouldn't be right to leave the spoils of war here untouched."

Long Xiao hesitated and said, "Didn't you say that reinforcements are coming soon? My five hundred men can't fight against tens of thousands."

The Black Dragon Guard was no ordinary force either; the Liang King's private army was also a formidable force.

They also put in a lot of effort to deal with Qian Shougang; it can be said that both Long Xiao and Zhao Xing did their best.

Although Qian Shougang was Sixth Rank official, he was only a commander of a thousand men in the Black Dragon Army. There were many Sixth Rank Qian Shougang.

"We've arrived." Zhao Xing pointed in a certain direction.

Five Black Dragon Warship appeared on the eastern horizon, one of which swiftly landed at the spot where Qian Shougang had died.

Two warships split into numerous flying boats, which surrounded Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, and their five hundred men, as well as the warships, in a massive, overwhelming manner.

The other two ships suddenly turned north to take precautions.

"What do we do now?" Long Xiao asked gravely.

"Don't panic," Zhao Xing said. "Our men have arrived. Raise your flags upwards and say that the Divine Might Army is annihilating the enemy."

After killing a Sixth Rank and over a thousand Black Dragon Guard, Long Xiao felt a bit weak after the initial shock, but Zhao Xing remained calm.

Why did he have to be so ruthless? Was it not enough to just punish Qian Shougang?

Firstly, if Qian Shougang were alive, even if he were defeated now, Qian Shougang would still be Sixth Rank strongman, and would inevitably seek revenge in the future. Whether it was open revenge or underhanded sabotage, the trouble would be endless.

Zhao Xing's approach was to cut off the source of the trouble directly and resolve it once and for all.

Secondly, the sudden rise of the Divine Might Army, coupled with its cultivation of the Earth Fire Lotus, amplified the speed of its rise.

As the saying goes, fame brings trouble.

Qian Shougang succeeds in his "forced expropriation" today, nothing will happen to him.

Tomorrow, there will be endless 'Li Shougang', 'Wang Shougang'... anyone can come and bully them.

Then Zhao Xing can forget about making any merits, because you just cultivated the Earth Fire Lotus and gained merits, and then you were forcibly conscripted and your merits were deducted. You were just doing the work for someone else. What's the point of doing it?

Note that Qian Shougang were not normal conscription; they were illegal forced conscription, no different from robbery.

The proper procedure requires a "Divine Spirit Contract" witnessed by the gods, specifying exactly how much is borrowed and when it will be returned.

Qian Shougang only had the password; he didn't even invite any gods, and the temple in City No. 98 wasn't built either. He just wanted to renege on his debt later and didn't intend to pay it back.

In this way, while City 98 loses battle merits, Qian Shougang can generate many more battle merits by holding this batch of Earth Fire Lotus.

A weak general can't outmaneuver Qian Shougang, who came from a strong army.

In the wilderness, there are many situations that cannot be supervised. Even military merits need to be counted from multiple sources, requiring witnesses and physical evidence. Finally, it also requires comprehensive consideration by those above and calculations based on the Creation Disc.

Such competition for credit and spoils between two armies is common during major wars.

Qian Shougang died because he was beaten once, so that he wouldn't suffer a hundred blows in the future.

Zhao Xing understood this principle, and so did Liao Rulong.

So he immediately led his army to the scene.

Because Zhao Xing controlled the clouds in the sky, the Black Dragon Guard reinforcements and Liao Rulong's troops arrived almost simultaneously.

"Commander Qian Shougang of my Black Dragon Army is dead. This area will be sealed off. Please cooperate with the investigation, Divine Might Army." On a Black Dragon Warship, Commander Zheng Liu gave the order to the fleet of warships ahead.

On the warship, Chen Shijie raised an eyebrow upon hearing the news.

Zhao Xing... has already killed one of the Black Dragon Army's commanders?

Liao Rulong learned the whole story on his way here, which was analyzed for him by Pu Zhong.

My heart skipped a beat; this guy was incredibly Divine Speed.

Despite his thoughts, Liao Rulong reacted quickly.

"The Divine Might Army is pursuing the alien enemy forces. This area is our battle zone. Please leave immediately!"

His attitude was also very tough, insisting that the Divine Might Army was chasing and killing alien enemy forces.

These procedures are now subject to review afterward. Liao Rulong is a veteran in the military, and with Pu Zhong and Chen Shijie by his side, he naturally knows how to proceed.

The two sides exchanged flags and commands.

Liao Rulong repeated the order three times, and the warships began to advance.

Seeing that Liao Rulong had a large number of men, the first batch of five Black Dragon Warships that came to support him dared not make any rash moves and withdrew from the area above Zhao Xing's head.

Because they didn't understand why Qian Shougang died here, and why the Divine Might Army was using the pretext of killing the enemy.

The first batch of five warships were led by a man named Zheng Liu, who was a rather upright man and had no idea of Qian Shougang's arrival.

Seeing that things were strange, he had no choice but to give up checking Qian Shougang's ship. He simply Qian Shougang's body, called for his superiors from his own flagship, and confronted the Divine Might Army.

Whoosh~ A Fifth-Tier Premium Dragon Bone Tower Ship landed on the hill.

Qian Shougang's Black Dragon Warship was only a mid-grade fifth-tier vessel. Compared to Liao Rulong, who had upgraded his weaponry, his warship was like an old hen standing next to an elephant.

"Zhao Xing, Long Xiao." Liao Rulong, Chen Shijie, Yu Ziqi, and Pu Zhong flew down from the ship, while Wen Shaoyang and Jiang Ming took up their posts at Fire Dragon Pass.

Liao Rulong bought five Fifth-Tier Premium Dragon Bone Warship, and now he has sent three of them over, which shows that he attaches great importance to them.

"Are you two alright?" Liao Rulong asked, looking at the severed limbs scattered on the ground, he couldn't help but be shocked.

Damn, how many were chopped off?

"It's nothing, thank you for your concern, Commandant," Zhao Xing said. "They're all enemy corpses."

Liao Rulong asked in a deep voice, "Are there any survivors?"

Zhao Xing glanced at Liao Rulong. No wonder the Divine Might Army was able to rise to prominence; they were all ruthless individuals.

Old Liao's second question was whether there were any survivors.

If there are still survivors, deal with them immediately.

"No, the enemy has been completely annihilated," Zhao Xing said. "The looted treasures from the supply city are all on this ship."

"Activate the records on the Dragon Bone Warship and summon the statues in the Military Hall to oversee the battle," Pu Zhong said. "Keep the battlefield as it is."

Pu Zhong began preparing for the aftermath. As a strategist, he knew very well that the death of Sixth Rank military officer was no small matter.

Now they are trying their best to make this matter seem reasonable.

Fifteen minutes later.

The Black Dragon Army shouted at Liao Rulong again.

Their attitude also became tougher.

Because the one who shouted was no longer Zheng Liu, but Zheng Liu's superior, Xie Kuiguang, Official Sixth Rank, Upper military officer.

"The Divine Might Army has some nerve, daring to intercept and kill one of our Sixth Rank military officers?"

"Enforcement team, take the prisoner and the evidence back for trial!"

Xie Kuiguang's voice echoed across the sky as the warship aimed at the location where Zhao Xing and Long Xiao were.

"Let's see who dares!" Liao Rulong soared into the sky, and thousands of people simultaneously drew their swords, standing menacingly in front of the small team sent by Xie Kuiguang.

"Liao Rulong!" Xie Kuiguang shouted. He already knew Liao Rulong's name from Zheng Liu, and he even knew the names of Zhao Xing and Long Xiao. "Are you protecting a criminal?"

"You bastard, who do you think you are? How dare you judge my Divine Might Army?" Liao Rulong had an even more explosive temper than him.

"This place has been turned into a temporary war zone for the Divine Might Army, and there are hundreds of thousands of troops on the way. Try touching me!"

"Your Divine Might Army is rebelling by intercepting and killing Sixth Rank military officer?!" Xie Kuiguang roared angrily.

"Are you committing treason by attacking friendly forces' war zone?!" Liao Rulong retorted sharply.

Tensions were high.

The crossbows and cannons on both sides were also loaded, and clusters of blood-red battle formations gathered in the sky.

It must be said that after defeating the Wolf God Tribe and capturing Fire Dragon Pass, Liao Rulong's Divine Might Army's momentum is no less than that of the Black Dragon Army.

For a moment, Xie Kuiguang really didn't dare to make a move.

The same applies to Liao Rulong.

The two are currently evenly matched and are just exchanging words.

Once a real fight breaks out, no one can withstand the consequences.

But Xie Kuiguang couldn't let Liao Rulong and the others leave.

Since Qian Shougang and a thousand Black Dragon Guard died right under his nose, how could he easily release them?

"Ugh~"

A Dragon's Cry Resonance echoed from afar, signaling the arrival of Xia Jing and Li Que's troops.

When Xie Kuiguang saw that Liao Rulong indeed had reinforcements behind him, he immediately felt that the situation was troublesome.

Moreover, why are the Black Armor Army and Sea Pacifying Army here too?

Xie Kuiguang knew that Qian Shougang was bullying the Divine Might Army, but he really didn't expect it to cause such a big commotion.

"The wings of the Divine Might Army have really hardened..." Xie Kuiguang knew that he probably wouldn't be able to defeat Zhao Xing and Long Xiao's group.

It's also impossible to take Qian Shougang's warship away.

If they could take the lead and seize Qian Shougang's warship and Zhao Xing and Long Xiao's Valiant Camp, it would be advantageous for their Black Dragon Army in dealing with the situation.

Now, it's hard to say.

"Xie Kuiguang." Xia Jing arrived between the two armies in a flying boat. "What's going on? Why are you attacking our own troops?"

"Your Heir Apparent." Xie Kuiguang's tone softened when facing Xia Jing. He could disregard Liao Rulong and Yang An behind him, but Xia Jing's father, Xia Hou, Liang King would still treat him as honored guests.

Xia Hou was known as the strongest Fourth-Rank Yuan Soul artist and had once killed a Third-Rank Yuan Soul demon.

"One of our Sixth Rank military officers and a thousand Black Dragon Guard died here, suspected to have been killed by the Divine Might Army," Xie Kuiguang said. "We must take them back for interrogation..."

"The way you're acting doesn't look like you're going to interrogate someone," Xia Jing interrupted. "If there were fewer Divine Might Army, would you have taken action?"

Xie Kuiguang remained silent; that was indeed what he thought.

"Xie Kuiguang, you are Official Sixth Rank, Upper, and Official Sixth Rank, Upper is Captain Liao. There is no difference in rank between you. You have no right to order other military commanders around," Xia Jing said calmly. "Let's ask the Military Realm supervisory department to intervene and find out the truth of this matter."

Xie Kuiguang's face was gloomy, but he knew he couldn't handle the matter, so he could only report it.

Liao Rulong also reported the matter to Jia Pu and Yang An.

The matter escalated, but the highest rank on the battlefield was only Sixth Rank, so the wrangling had to be left to those above.

Xier County, the residence of the commander of the Divine Might Army.

"What?! He killed a Sixth Rank of the Black Dragon Army?" Jia Pu jumped up. "What exactly happened?"

Pu Zhong and Liao Rulong stood Military Hall. At this moment, their phantom images also appeared in the commander's mansion of the Divine Might Army, reporting the matter to Jia Pu in detail.

The story was the same old one: City 98 was attacked by the enemy. The defending general, Wang Ji, was seriously injured, several deputy generals were wounded, and the precious supply Earth Fire Lotus, was stolen.

Zhao Xing and Long Xiao led the Valiant Camp to the rescue, caught up with the alien enemy troops disguised as the Black Dragon Army, and slaughtered them all.

Unexpectedly, this was a real Black Dragon Guard.

Liao Rulong said confidently, "General, this can't be blamed on Zhao Xing and Long Xiao. If it were our Great Zhou army, why would they attack City 98 and steal the fifth-tier Earth Fire Lotus that we worked so hard to obtain? Who could have imagined that!"

Jia Pu: "..."

Seeing Liao Rulong's clumsy acting, Jia Pu was speechless.

If you don't know, who would believe you?

But saying it out loud is one thing, and stating the objective facts is another.

Jia Pu inquired about the details and discovered that Zhao Xing's actions, from rescue to murder, were entirely based on this set of objective facts.

This provides strong evidence for the Military Realm trials.

Well done.

Jia Pu glanced at the two men's detailed reports and inwardly praised them.

It's hard to imagine that this was done by Zhao Xing has been in training and serving for less than two years.

"I understand," Jia Pu said. "You all stay where you are and do not make any moves. Keep your men in check and prevent any further conflict."

"Yes." Liao Rulong nodded, and the illusory figure disappeared.

The man was killed on September 27th. On that day, the Divine Might Army and the Black Dragon Army, totaling 120,000 troops, were facing off near West String Territory.

The standoff between the two armies has naturally attracted considerable attention.

The Fire Demon Tribe commander of West String Territory was quite frightened. He thought the two armies were putting on a show and actually wanted to attack him.

They immediately withdrew their troops, adopted a strict defensive posture, and remained holed up in the open.

The Military Realm quickly noticed this anomaly.

But it wasn't until October 1st that anyone from the Military Realm's Judicial Nether God Department and Inspection Department departments intervened.

West String Territory, on an ordinary hill.

Zhao Xing waited quietly.

At that moment, a Yin Wind blew by, and the sky suddenly darkened.

"Whoosh~"

The sky howled, and a phantom a hundred meters tall appeared between heaven and earth.

It looks fierce and menacing, holding a curved sword and carrying many command flags on its back.

"Third Grade Judicial Nether God, Deng Gang." Zhao Xing looked at this Yin Spirit and couldn't help but stand up.

Beside them were six smaller figures.

Zhao Xing knew three of them.

First, there is Fan Zhaoli, the Director of the Earthly Advantage Institute, who is also Fifth Grade Agricultural Official in Yang City, Military Realm.

Second is Liu Tianning, who is a member of the "Inspection Department".

Third is Tantai Ming, Tantai Ming is Fourth Grade Military Sima Nong in the Nine Heavens Responding Origin Prefecture. The current West String Territory Commandery is under his jurisdiction.

All three are qualified to participate in this investigation, but it seems that only Fan Zhaoli and Zhao Xing are somewhat related.

In reality, they are all the result of a game of strategy.

When Fan Zhaoli, Liu Tianning, and Tantai Ming looked at Zhao Xing, their gazes were relatively gentle.

The other two looked at Zhao Xing with scrutinizing eyes.

It is obvious that it is the faction of the King of Liang King.

Zhao Xing sized them up; the two men were Fifth Grade military officers, and the remaining man was a Fourth Grade Priest.

"Greetings, Your Excellencies," Zhao Xing said, bowing.

"Zhao Xing, commander of the Nine Section Battalion, will now be investigating your 'interception and assassination of Qian Shougang '," a Fifth Grade military officer said coldly. "I need to ask you a few questions, and you must answer truthfully."

Tantai Ming said, "The matter is not yet settled, so how can we use the term 'ambush'? Let the Yin Spirit Deng Gang perform the soul summoning first, Lord Shen. Thank you for your trouble."

Fourth Grade Priest Shen Yiheng nodded. "That's how it should be."

"The summoning of the Yin Spirit is an unstoppable force." Fan Zhaoli waved his hand, and a shadow was cast on the ground, from which a vibrant and lush tree suddenly sprouted. "Lord Dan, please have Zhao Xing wait here."

"Mm." Tantai Ming nodded.

Zhao Xing cupped his hands in greeting and stood under Fan Zhaoli's big tree.

It's true what they say, "It's good to have a big tree to lean on."

After Zhao Xing stood next to Fan Zhaoli, the chilling feeling disappeared, replaced by a refreshing sensation.

"May your soul return!"

The Yin Spirit Deng Gang, carrying a soul lamp, danced with joy, his mouth uttering a unique melody that echoed between heaven and earth.

I called out three times, but there was no response.

The Yin Spirit Deng Gang, looked at the Priest Shen Yiheng: "We cannot summon the soul."

"Why is this happening?" asked the Fifth Grade military officer beside him. "Where has Qian Shougang's soul gone?"

"After a person dies, they become a ghost; after a ghost dies, it becomes a spirit."

"I can sense that the souls of Qian Shougang and the Black Dragon Guard have already turned into demons and cannot be summoned back."

Shen Yiheng immediately looked at Zhao Xing: "He not only killed someone, but he also crushed their soul? This wasn't accidental killing; you knew Qian Shougang's identity and still killed him!"

Tantai Ming looked at Zhao Xing: "How do you explain Lord Shen's question?"

Zhao Xing remained calm, a gentle breeze appearing in his palm. "My lord, I know the advanced technique [Netherwind of the Fiend]."

"My magical attacks are just like this. Does Lord Shen expect me to show mercy when facing the Southern Barbarians tribes?"

The Netherwind of the Fiend is a spell specifically designed to target the soul.

"Why don't you verify his identity?" a Fifth Grade military officer hissed.

Zhao Xing replied, "The situation is critical. A single meeting would be a life-or-death battle; there's no time to confirm identities."

"And why rob City 98 of its rare resources?"

Another Fifth Grade military officer said, "It's a conscription."

Zhao Xing asked, "If this is a conscription, where is the Divine Spirit Contract? Why were people injured?"

"To put it another way, if he really is Qian Shougang, why doesn't he just surrender?"

"..."

The two were speechless when asked.

They were the ones who came to question Zhao Xing, but now they're acting like the criminals.

The military officer, somewhat embarrassed and angry, retorted, "That's all just your side of the story!"

Zhao Xing said calmly, "Then please have my spirit summon Qian Shougang for questioning, sir."

"You..."

Money is now worthless.

If you want to summon Qian Shougang for questioning, there is only one possibility: ask the First-Rank Rebirth True Lord to summon his soul and transform Qian Shougang into Yin Spirit.

However, Qian Shougang did not have a million battle merits. He arrived at the battlefield relatively late, and his battle merits were not as good as many Seventh Grade.

If he had a million battle merits, he wouldn't have bothered to steal the Earth Fire Lotus from the Divine Might Army.

The rules of the Yin Spirit system are set in stone, and it's impossible to have a First-Rank Rebirth True Lord summon the soul during a case investigation. Otherwise, anyone could die in this way and become Yin Spirit.

Isn't this a disguised form of undermining the Yin Spirit system?

Fan Zhaoli Zhao Xing's calm and composed reply, Fan Zhaoli couldn't help but smile.

In fact, it was Qian Shougang broke the rules in this matter. As long as Zhao Xing insists that it was a mistake rather than intentional killing, the punishment will be minimal.

If it was intentional, then that won't do. Qian Shougang's crime doesn't warrant death, and it's not Zhao Xing's place to punish him.

However, the Liang King's faction did not expect that Zhao Xing would possess nine high-level techniques and act so Water Drop.

There is no temple in City 98. In the Southern Wilderness, the Yin Spirit's surveillance system is not as effective as in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Even the determination of military merits requires multiple factors, let alone in this situation.

Therefore, the only option was for the Inspection Department's judicial officers to conduct visits, collect evidence, and investigate.

After questioning the people in City 98 and examining Wang Ji's injuries.

Soon the Military Realm Inspection Department released a preliminary result:

Qian Shougang brought this upon himself by failing to follow proper procedures when requisitioning supplies for the Divine Might Army.

Using the authority of his superiors, he injured the city's commander and forcibly seized the Divine Might Army's precious supplies; this act was tantamount to robbery.

This led Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, and others to mistake them for enemy troops disguised as barbarians, and they were killed in West String Territory.

After the preliminary investigation results were obtained, they were submitted to the Nine Heavens Responding Origin Prefecture, the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, the Military Realm, Liang King, and the commander of the Divine Might Army for review.

Seven days later, the final investigation results were released: Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, Valiant Camp were found innocent and did not even need to be punished for their meritorious service.

This result immediately caused quite a stir.

Even Zhao Xing himself was somewhat surprised:

"Huh? This is the result?"

"I expected both acquittal and minor offenses, but why wasn't even meritorious service punished? What exactly happened?"

I'm not writing today, I need to adjust my schedule, I'll write more during the day tomorrow.

Let's check at the end of the month how many updates we've made and how much we still owe.