The Final Preparations

The pavilion in the east of the city was quiet, with only a few rooms.

Xu Yuan sat alone behind a desk piled high with files, repeatedly checking some important information on the case files.

He can formulate the overall plan, but whether it can be implemented requires a lot of professional knowledge.

Forced into this position, Xu Yuan has to learn many things on the spot.

Fortunately, Xu Yuan had Aunt Lou Ji by his side.

Lou Ji is much better than that clueless old man Luo Daofan.

If you don't understand something, just ask her. She can answer most of the questions. Even if she can't answer them, you can immediately ask others through the Heavenly Message Crystal).

After gathering all the intelligence, Xu Yuan discovered that the Barbarian King was indeed a desperate gambler.

Throughout history, only a handful of battles have achieved lasting fame through unexpected victories; most who have tried to pull off this tactic have ended up in their own graves.

If the positions were reversed, and Xu Yuan stood in the position of that Barbarian King...

He has most likely already led his tribe, taking advantage of the heavy snow, to escape back into the depths of the Snow Plain with the rich spoils of their previous victory.

Everything is reciprocal.

The Barbarian Tribe' current practice of bypassing the mountains and valleys to the Beifeng City has not only cut off the supply lines for the 700,000 elite troops of the Great Yan, but has also severed their own food supply.

If the garrison in Beifeng City hadn't been so sparsely defended, or if the blizzard had subsided during the month-long treacherous terrain, all of the hundreds of thousands of the Barbarian Tribe would have perished beneath the walls of this city.

Xu Yuan was pondering.

"Squeak--"

The door to the side room was opened, and a voluptuous figure pushed the door open and entered.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan immediately looked up and asked:

"How is the situation?"

Lou Ji swayed gracefully to the opposite side of the table, sat down, took a sip of tea, and handed Xu Yuan a brief report:

"We've already retreated back into the city. The surprise attack we launched with the flying Demon Beast inside the city caused quite a bit of trouble for the Barbarian Tribe. This is a brief summary."

Xu Yuan reached out and took it, glanced at it briefly, and got a general idea of what it was like.

Flying Demon Beast carrying Source Crystal bombs bombarded the Barbarian Tribe army formation unfolding in the east of the city, drawing their attention away from the enemy. Meanwhile, three thousand iron cavalrymen roared out from the south to clear the way, while seven thousand heavy infantrymen formed ranks to launch a surprise attack.

The moment the two armies clashed, although the Barbarian Tribe were on guard, their formation was still breached because they were deploying their forces to surround Beifeng City.

Unfortunately, after the Barbarian Tribe army condensed the war totem, they immediately stabilized their battle line and dispatched wolf riders to annihilate the Black Leader army that was attacking them.

After carefully reading the report, Xu Yuan sighed:

"However, the Black Scale Army, numbering just over ten thousand, lost more than half its strength in just half an hour; the Barbarian Tribe army was indeed the majority of its main force."

Xu Yuan paused for a moment upon hearing this, then asked Lou Ji:

Where is Yuan Hao?

"He's back, but he was detained by Wu Yuan as soon as he entered the city."

As Lou Ji spoke, she sighed, "Judging from Wu Yuan's expression, if Yuan Hao can't provide a reasonable explanation, it seems he intends to execute him."

Xu Yuan frowned. "Execute him?"

To launch an attack outside the city and achieve such a victory despite being outnumbered, and even manage to withdraw half of his troops— Yuan Hao's military talent should not have been wasted like this.

Seeing this, Lou Ji smiled slightly and comforted her:

"Of course, Wu Yuan is probably just thinking about it. After all, Changtian, didn't you tell Yuan Hao before that you should just pin the blame on the person in charge of our Prime Minister's Estate in the Northern Border?"

Xu Yuan felt a sense of relief.

As they were talking,

Lou Ji suddenly raised her eyebrows slightly, gestured for Xu Yuan to be quiet, and took out the Heavenly Message Crystal from her Sumeru Ring:

"What business does Your Highness have with me?"

"Chief Lou."

Li Qingyan's rustling voice came from the Source Crystal, simple and direct. "Did you instigate Yuan Hao to leave the city?"

Lou Ji winked at Xu Yuan and replied with a charming smile:

"I guess so, is there a problem?"

Li Qingyan's voice was unreadable.

"I don't know what you're plotting, but I don't want this to happen again."

Lou Ji narrowed her eyes and asked:

"I can't guarantee that to Your Highness, but I'm quite curious, if it happens a second time, are you planning to use an array to kill me?"

"."

Upon hearing these provocative words, Li Qingyan did not utter any harsh threats, for threats that cannot be carried out are the most naive.

Lou Ji cannot die.

Anyone can die, but she cannot.

Many of the Black Scale Guard communicated directly with their superiors and subordinates; without her, the intelligence network was completely destroyed.

Both sides are well aware of this.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then Li Qingyan's tone cooled slightly:

"Send Xu Changtian back."

"Laugh"

Lou Ji scoffed, "Didn't Your Highness just lend me Changtian? I haven't even had my fill of it yet."

Li Qingyan's voice was slow and deliberate:

"I miss my husband tonight. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for him to stay overnight at your Chief Lou?"

Lou Ji replied with a smile:

"What's inappropriate about it? Changtian has always liked sleeping in the same room as me since he was little."

Li Qingyan felt a chill run down her spine.

"Since you like her so much, how about Chief Lou become my concubine after my wedding?"

"."

Lou Ji was about to retort when she saw Xu Yuan suddenly shake his head at her.

In fact, Xu Yuan was quite happy to watch the fun from the sidelines.

When two strong-willed women meet, this is the result: neither will give an inch.

If his cultivation level allowed, given Li Qingyan's personality, he would probably fight with that old aunt Lou Ji.

However, Xu Yuan understood the true meaning behind their words.

Li Qingyan and Lou Ji seemed to be fighting over him, but in reality, one wanted to take him away as a hostage to prevent the Prime Minister's Estate from making any trouble, while the other wanted to take him directly out of the city and escape.

Upon seeing Xu Yuan's actions, Lou Ji frowned slightly and transmitted her voice:

"Changtian, are you really not leaving the city? If you don't leave now, you might really never be able to leave again."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly and transmitted his voice in return:

"Sister, you already said that even people with the status of children of sect leaders and elders were stopped by Li Qingyan?"

Lou Ji's voice was slightly stern:

"They were stopped because their status wasn't prestigious enough, Changtian, you're different."

"Sister, I know I'm different."

Xu Yuan chuckled lightly, then calmly shook his head, looking towards the South City:

"Those who occupy a position should bear its responsibilities."

"Those ten thousand Black Scale Army soldiers were able to risk their lives because of my order, so I naturally cannot let down their sacrifice. I need to stay in Beifeng City and do something."

Lou Ji gave Xu Yuan a complicated look, then hung up the Heavenly Message Crystal and asked seriously:

"Changtian, with such a sudden turn of events, I have to personally transport the Cloud Qi Bomb and those Sumeru Ring, and I won't be able to stay by your side afterward. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Hmm." Xu Yuan nodded just as seriously.

"Alright." Lou Ji sighed softly.

Xu Yuan smiled slightly, half-jokingly:

"Thank you. I thought you were going to knock me out and take me away because I was being disobedient."

Lou Ji rolled her eyes:

"I was thinking of that. Your father told me to support your actions. I'll give you the contact information for several spies in the city. If the city falls, they'll do their best to help you escape."

Xu Yuan didn't waste any more words and tapped the table:

"Sister, alright, see you later. But before you leave, there are a few things I need you to do. Could you take a look and see if it's alright?"

Lou Ji pouted, a hint of resentment in her eyes:

"Our Changtian is getting more and more bossy. Tell me, I'll definitely be the older sister if I can."

"."

"."

"."

After explaining everything, Lou Ji gave Xu Yuan a big hug and then left.

Xu Yuan traveled alone in a carriage to the Beifeng Government Office where Li Qingyan was located.

Two quarters of an hour later, at the entrance of the government office.

This was a wide avenue, with official gazettes and notices posted on both sides. The tracks of the troops being mobilized and the carts carrying siege equipment had crushed the snow on the ground into slush.

After producing the token from the Prime Minister's Estate's residence, Xu Yuan entered the government office without any hindrance.

The interior was heavily guarded, with tall, burly soldiers holding their weapons and standing guard at their posts.

As soon as Xu Yuan stepped into the Drill Ground outside the inner hall, he subconsciously stopped in his tracks.

Several burly men dressed in thin cloth were seen kneeling in the snow with their hands tied behind their backs, while behind them stood several soldiers in military uniform holding large swords.

Their cultivation levels are not weak; two are at the fourth rank and two are at the fifth rank.

There were officers and soldiers from the Black Scale Guard, as well as officers and soldiers from the Feather Forest Guard responsible for guarding the city gates.

Two each.

As he pondered, the blade fell.

"Bass--"

The head rolled off the ground with a thud, and the bright red blood gushing from the severed head stood out starkly against the white snow.

"."

Upon seeing this, Xu Yuan knew that Li Qingyan's words were a way of putting him in a difficult position, so he appropriately showed a look of astonishment.

After three breaths, Xu Yuan composed himself, frowned, and continued to step forward.

He suddenly realized that he had changed a lot.

Over the past year, I've become so accustomed to bloodshed and scenes of heads rolling that I'm almost numb to it.

Along the way, my hands have been stained with the blood of many.

There are enemies, innocent people, and now even our own people.

With a sigh,

Xu Yuan stepped onto the stairs and entered the military council hall.