Besieged and Torn Between Choices!

Prince Lin's funeral was held simply. Only his youngest son, the old subordinates who had followed him through countless battles, and Lin Junyu attended.

Lin Weiguo was only ten years old. Too young to understand what death meant, he only knew that he had lost his father forever.

Lin Junyu walked over, picked him up, and whispered in his ear.

"From now on, I'm your Uncle Yu. I'll take care of you!"

Lin Weiguo stared at him blankly before suddenly burying his face in his arms and bursting into tears.

Watching the crying Lin Weiguo, Lin Junyu seemed to see his own younger self. Only, Lin Weiguo was luckier than he had been.

After the brief funeral, Lin Junyu summoned the Southeast Legion's ten commanders to the city lord's residence for a meeting.

Everyone seated around the long conference table was in low spirits. Only Lin Junyu, seated at the head, wore a grave expression.

"Everyone, now is not the time for grief. We need to figure out how to deal with the Demon army that has besieged the city for so long!"

"Since Uncle Yuan entrusted you to me, I will naturally lead you to wash away this humiliation and show them what we're capable of. But let me make this clear first: I expect all of you to obey my orders completely. Don't pretend to comply while working against me and ruin our chance in battle. Otherwise, I won't go easy on you just because you were Uncle Yuan's old subordinates!"

Everyone lowered their heads, expressing their willingness to obey Lin Junyu's orders.

"Although most of the Demon army outside the city consists of Orc legions with weak fighting spirit, there are simply too many of them. If our army leaves the city to fight them head-on, our losses will be severe as well! Besides, there are another three hundred thousand elite Demon troops in their camp. We cannot let our guard down!"

During the time the Demons had besieged the city, they had not been idle. They had thoroughly investigated the Demon army's strength.

Overall, taking Bartley City from their defenses was nothing but a pipe dream. But surrounding them was still possible.

"General Qu has brought fifty thousand troops and is stationed behind the Demons to the southeast. The enemy is in the open while we are concealed. Those fifty thousand troops may become the key to this decisive battle between legions. But only if we can throw the Demon army's formation into chaos and have our main force pin down the enemy's core troops can they achieve miraculous results!"

"We can only pin down the enemy's main force. As for how to create chaos in the Demon army, we have no ideas!"

Led by Lin Junyu, everyone voiced the solutions they had analyzed. Either they would pay a tremendous price in a frontal battle, directly engage the enemy, and slaughter the Demon army's lines into disarray, giving General Qu's hidden fifty thousand troops a chance to enter the fray and finish them off; or they would find a way to throw the Demon army into chaos, have the Southeast Legion firmly hold down the Demon army's main force, and let the old general strike the enemy formation from behind, disrupt their deployment, and then press forward with the entire army to wipe them out.

"There is only one way to throw the Demon army into chaos: kill their commander, Shaluoluo, and leave them leaderless!"

Lin Junyu spoke the most direct, fastest, and also most difficult solution that had been on everyone's minds.

"The Demon commander is protected by elite Imperial Guard troops, with another three hundred thousand elite Demon soldiers around him. Setting aside whether we could even kill the Demon commander, going there would be suicide. No one could come out alive from among three hundred thousand elite Demon troops!"

Lin Junyu's eyes flickered as he weighed the chances of success if he led eight hundred Feather Forest Army soldiers to charge at the Demon commander under the cover of the Southeast Legion's hundred thousand troops.

Zichuan Mingyue sat beside him. Seeing the contemplation in Lin Junyu's eyes, her heart skipped a beat. He isn't thinking of taking those eight hundred men and breaking through three hundred thousand elite Demon troops to kill their commander, is he? That would be throwing his life away.

"Enough. Everyone, return and lead your respective troops to rest and prepare yourselves. I'll find a way to deal with killing the Demon commander. General Qu brought very little grain and supplies, so we must end this quickly. I'll finalize the plan tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, we'll fight the Demon army!"

Lin Junyu was decisive and forceful. He had decided to fight the Demon army of a million the day after tomorrow. The longer things dragged on, the more unfavorable it would be for him.

"If Your Highness has a solution, that would be best. Otherwise, we can only fight a bloody battle at the front and see whether we can carve out a path!"

"Hmph, we aren't afraid of a fight to the death at the front. Those Orc legions have such weak fighting spirit that I'm afraid they'll go soft before I've even had my fill of killing!"

"Hahaha, enough, Commander Fang. We know you're brave. Hurry back to camp and prepare your military equipment. This time, you'll have to bring out everything the Black Cavalry has!"

"That's right. We shouldn't disturb His Highness while he thinks. I believe His Highness can lead us to victory, because he is someone the prince valued!"

"Hey, Mingyue, why aren't you leaving with us?"

Everyone was preparing to leave the hall. Seeing Zichuan Mingyue still seated where she was, Fang Hao immediately asked in his blunt manner.

"Why is your mouth so big? It's her business if she wants to stay here. You crude fool, don't meddle!"

Several more perceptive commanders immediately covered Fang Hao's mouth and dragged him swiftly out of the hall.

"Sister Mingyue, why aren't you leaving with them?"

Zichuan Mingyue kept her eyes fixed on Lin Junyu and slowly spoke.

"Of course, I want to ask Your Highness exactly how you plan to kill the Demon commander."

"Ah? That? Then I'll tell you. I plan to lead eight hundred Feather Forest Army soldiers, charge straight at the Demon commander's war chariot under the cover of the Southeast Legion's hundred thousand troops. You know how strong the Feather Forest Army is. As long as we reach them, the Imperial Guard protecting him won't be a match for me. I can spear that Demon commander's head right off—"

The more Lin Junyu spoke, the more excited he became. He failed to notice that the girl beside him had gone pale with fury. Just as he was getting carried away, a delicate hand seized his ear and twisted it.

"Ow, ow, ow! Sister Mingyue, let go! Why are you suddenly twisting my ear for no reason again, just like when we were kids?"

"You still know pain? Do you think you're some god who can never die? You dare charge into the camp of three hundred thousand enemy troops with only eight hundred men? Have you gone mad from wanting to die? Do you know how dangerous that is? If you die, what am I supposed to do? We finally found each other again, and now you want to make me lose you again?"

Zichuan Mingyue was furious. She did not dare imagine what would happen if Lin Junyu truly did this. But merely thinking that she might lose him forever once more left her panicked and enraged.

Lin Junyu was confused. From his perspective, this was indeed a good opportunity to fake his death. Besides, he truly was immortal. Even if he suffered fatal injuries, the Immortality Gene in his body would rapidly restore him.

In the Zichuan World, which was still in the age of cold weapons, he was invincible. Naturally, he had not considered so much.

But the people around him did not know his thoughts or abilities. They would only think that if he went, he might never return.

Lin Junyu fell silent, not knowing how to explain it to Zichuan Mingyue.

He looked at the beautiful woman seated before him. Her lovely face was unadorned by makeup, fresh and refined, yet it carried a heroic air absent from ordinary women. He found himself staring, marveling at how much she had changed since growing up.

"What are you looking at? I'm asking you a question! Have you gone mute?"

Zichuan Mingyue blushed furiously under the gaze of the man she loved, but she still kept a stern face as she scolded him. This was a serious matter, after all.

Lin Junyu did not know how to answer. There truly was no better solution now. The temporary army enhancement aura he had obtained could only last three days, and it had already disappeared when he led the eight hundred Feather Forest Army soldiers into Bartley City.

Without the aura's support, the Feather Forest Army was only slightly stronger than the Demon Imperial Guard. If he took them with him this time, he could survive because he possessed the Immortality Gene, but they would certainly die. If there had been any other way, he would not have wanted to lead them to their deaths.

If he could continue to possess that cheat-like army enhancement aura, he could either lead the army straight through the enemy or take eight hundred Feather Forest Army soldiers to charge the opposing commander. Both could be easily carried out at once.

Just as Lin Junyu was troubled, the system that had been dormant in his mind for so long finally woke up.

[Ding. Strong emotions detected in the host. You are facing a major life choice. Life choices are now being activated for you.]

[Choice One: Insist on leading eight hundred Feather Forest Army soldiers to charge and kill the Demon commander, accomplishing a battle feat rarely seen in the world, completely changing Zichuan Mingyue's future life and greatly affecting the future destinies of people in the Zichuan World.]

[Reward: 1,000,000 Life Points, unlock the Life Destiny Store, temporarily gain a 500% valor enhancement aura for the entire Feather Forest Army, one map of an ancient Zichuan civilization ruin.]

[System Comment: Host, you don't want Zichuan Mingyue's future life to end in sorrow, do you? Think about how you can still change the future. Isn't that exciting? Choose it. You won't lose out. But whatever happens afterward, the system won't take the blame. Hehehe.]

[Choice Two: Lead the army into a frontal decisive battle against the Demons, use overwhelming strength to eliminate every danger, crush all obstacles, make your name resound across this continent, and let the world know that the Empire's new War God has been born!]

[Reward: Permanently gain a 200% overall strength enhancement aura for all troops under your command, War God Gene.]

[War God Gene: The stronger the battle, the stronger you become; the stronger the enemy, the stronger you become. Genetic talent—War God Stance. All abilities and strength increased tenfold.]

[System Prompt: Choosing Choice Two will preset the abandonment of the main quest. The host will plan his own life, and the system will find it difficult to interfere.]

[System Comment: Both individual strength and overall strength are maxed out. Can't you choose already? Sob, sob, sob... But the system really covets the main quest rewards!]

Looking at the two choices offered by the system, Lin Junyu found himself in a dilemma for the first time. Although either choice could resolve the current predicament, both would have a tremendous impact on his future.