"They were warriors."
Xiahou Chan looked solemnly at the Guard Corps soldiers covered in white sheets at the center of the camp. Those hundred-plus sheets represented more than a hundred elite soldiers, more than a hundred followers loyal to the goddess.
"They weren't warriors, and neither are we."
Elder Ge spoke.
Xiahou Chan looked at him, frowning deeply. The fallen soldiers were true warriors, and warriors should not be disparaged. He didn't understand why their leader would say that.
Wanmeng and Qi Tianque also looked at him, frowning deeply. They were just as puzzled, and though they were angry, they held it in. They wanted to hear what their leader had to say.
Elder Ge sighed deeply and looked at the surviving Guard Corps soldiers. He had taken off his helmet. Looking at the brothers who had followed him for ten years, he said earnestly, "They and we are all sinners."
"Bullshit!"
Furious, Xiahou Chan raised his halberd to Elder Ge's neck and shouted, "They died fighting for the Garden and the goddess! They were warriors, heroes! I won't let anyone insult heroes, even if you're their leader."
As soon as Xiahou Chan finished speaking, the sounds of guns being raised rang out. He looked toward the sounds and saw the Guard Corps soldiers pointing their guns at him. Even through their faceplates, he could feel the killing intent in their eyes.
The Manifest Existence Army soldiers who had come with them instinctively raised their guns, but Wanmeng stopped them. She had read the divination signs. Though this trip carried risks, the danger was not here and now.
Sure enough, Elder Ge raised a hand to stop the Guard Corps soldiers. They obediently lowered their guns, but kept their hands on the triggers, ready to fire at any moment.
"General, please don't be hasty. Saying we are sinners isn't an insult. As the Garden's elite guards, we were responsible for maintaining its order and security. But after the rebellion began, not only did I fail to execute the head of the Garden on the spot when he went astray, I even allowed him to topple the goddess's statue. We are sinners against the Garden.
"But I can't die. I still have to atone. We all do. If I die, I'll go to my grave with my sins. I don't want to enter the Corridor of Existence carrying them. I have no face to meet the Garden's forebears. So I have to live. I'll behead that traitor Dong Tian with my own hands!"
Xiahou Chan looked at the other Guard Corps soldiers and saw that their heads were all bowed, their bodies trembling slightly beneath their heavy armor. It was an expression of humiliation and anger mingled together.
They were angry because the head of the Garden had betrayed them, angry that he had personally led the Garden into the abyss.
They were humiliated because they had watched helplessly as the statue was toppled. As the Garden's most elite force, they had failed to protect the goddess's statue. And with the head of the Garden rebelling in the Garden's name, they, as former members of the Garden, felt an overwhelming shame.
Hearing Elder Ge's words, Xiahou Chan withdrew his halberd and looked at him. A moment later, he reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
"I was rash just now. I'm sorry."
Five days had passed. The Xianzhou Daiyu still hadn't arrived, but its forces had reached the planet: a total of one hundred thousand soldiers. That was the limit of what Daiyu could spare now, as it needed soldiers to defend the Xianzhou Daiyu.
Qingxin had brought the hundred thousand soldiers, along with a piece of news they couldn't afford to ignore: the Denizens of Abundance had used a miracle of Abundance to tie down Helmsman Qingzhu.
"A miracle of Abundance..."
Xiahou Chan drummed two fingers on the table. If it was a miracle of Abundance, that would explain why Qingzhu still hadn't arrived after five days.
Although Qingzhu was an Emanator, it was a miracle personally bestowed by The Plagues Author. It was only natural that a miracle containing the divine power of Abundance could tie her down.
In that case... he was the only Emanator left to fight on the front lines. But he had a feeling things weren't that simple. Wanmeng's divination had made everything clear.
Four Aeons were involved this time. Existence and Abundance had now entered the fray, so who were the other two Aeons?
Wanmeng's divination had also indicated that there would be a major crisis this time, but nothing beyond that. What was this major crisis?
Xiahou Chan rubbed the space between his brows. Sure enough, this kind of brainwork needed to be left to Qingzhu or Qingxin. He was just a military general. Wasn't this pure torture?
Just then, Qi Tianque walked in. Seeing Xiahou Chan rubbing his brow, he knew that big brother Xiahou had been tormented into a headache.
Qi Tianque used Tuning, making Xiahou Chan feel a little better.
"Thanks, Tianque."
"You're welcome, big brother Xiahou. I came with some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear?"
Xiahou Chan looked at him and, seeing the smile on his face, thought for a moment. "Let's hear the good news first."
Qi Tianque said, "The good news is that our forces have grown again. A full hundred thousand came from other star systems this time."
Xiahou Chan replied, "Mm, that is good news. What's the bad news?"
"The bad news is that Sister Qingzhu is still trapped. Those Denizens of Abundance have been using sacrifices to keep the Xianzhou Daiyu trapped. The Xianzhou is fine, but it probably won't be able to send support anytime soon."
Xiahou Chan fell silent. This was the worst possible news, bar none. It wasn't because they were down an Emanator here, but mainly because there was so much to deal with. If it were only military matters, he wouldn't mind. He was a general, after all, and could handle army affairs.
But the problem was that it wasn't just army affairs! Ever since the other factions learned that the Xianzhou Daiyu had two Emanators, more and more people had come to support them, including people from other Paths. Even the commander of the allied forces had changed from Elder Ge to him.
Xiahou Chan put down his brush and looked up at the roof of the tent. "Arbiter of Life above, please, send someone to help me!"
Qi Tianque said, "Isn't Sister Qingxin still here?"
Xiahou Chan's eyes lit up. "Has Qingxin finished what she was busy with? Can she come help me?"
Qi Tianque shook his head. "No. Sister Qingxin is still handling logistics, tallying the numbers and assigning people. The situation you're dealing with here is already what's left after Sister Qingxin handled it."
"If Qingxin isn't finished, what are you bringing her up for, you little brat?"
Qi Tianque chuckled and left the tent. As soon as he was out, Xiahou Chan's playful expression changed. He stood and raised his right hand, fingers curled as though gripping something.
The next moment, ripples spread like waves across water, and a silver-haired boy appeared in his grasp. The boy wore a black cloak, and Xiahou Chan's hand was clamped around his throat.
"A spy from the Garden? I have to say, this thing you're wearing is interesting. It let you slip past Tianque's senses and follow him into my tent."
As he spoke, he reached for the cloak. The boy struggled to force out a word: "Run!"
The next moment, the cloak came off and turned into a pink-haired girl. Her pretty eyes glared at Xiahou Chan as she said, "I won't! You're General Xiahou, the leader of the Manifest Existence Army, right?"
Xiahou Chan loosened his grip slightly. "Oh? Interesting. A cloak with a mind of its own?"
The girl's face darkened. "I'm not a cloak with a mind of its own! I'm a beautiful girl who can turn into a cloak! I have a name! I'm Xiaohe!"
Xiahou Chan released the boy and sat down in his chair with a smile. Qi Tianque and Wanmeng, who had entered through the tent's entrance at some point, watched the pair with interest.
Seeing the boy released, Xiaohe hurried over and helped him up. Qi Tianque used Tuning to adjust the boy's condition.
The boy's complexion visibly returned to normal. He looked at Xiahou Chan, his face full of apology.
"General Xiahou, I'm sorry. I really am not a spy from the Garden. My name is Amo. I was just curious what sort of person the legendary Military Force of the Four Existences Atop Nihility, a general who is also an Emanator, would be. That's why I asked Xiaohe to come in with me. I'm truly sorry."
Amo bowed in apology, and Xiaohe followed suit, apologizing loudly. "I'm sorry!"
The two of them made Xiahou Chan laugh. In his eyes, they were only children. The reason he hadn't dealt a killing blow at the start was that they had neither weapons nor killing intent. Otherwise, he would have killed them both already.
"All right, they're only children. Hello, I'm Wanmeng, master diviner of the Xianzhou Daiyu's Divination Commission and Calculation Force of the Four Existences Atop Nihility."
"I'm Qi Tianque, heir to the Halovians of the Xianzhou Daiyu and Sound Force of the Four Existences Atop Nihility."
Xiaohe's expression remained unchanged, a lively smile on her face, while Amo looked awkward. The Four Existences Atop Nihility were his idols. Now the Military, Calculation and Sound Forces were all in front of him; only Qingzhu, the Command Force, was missing. How could he not be excited?