"General! Urgent news from the Xianzhou!"
A Manifest Existence Army communications soldier shoved open the tent flap and rushed inside, his face flushed with excitement.
Hearing that it was urgent news from the Xianzhou, Xiahou Chan shot to his feet. Discipline was strict in the Manifest Existence Army; unless the matter was extremely urgent, a communications soldier would never have burst into his tent at a time like this.
Could something have happened to the Xianzhou? Had an Aeon entered the fray?
"Speak!"
Xiahou Chan spoke in a low voice. He couldn't lose his composure. He was the backbone of the Manifest Existence Army in the Ayinai System. Even if something really had happened to the Xianzhou, he couldn't panic!
He thought it was very likely that an Aeon had intervened and occupied the Arbiter of Life, giving the Denizens of Abundance a chance to launch a fierce assault on the Xianzhou.
So he had to prepare for both possibilities.
At Xiahou Chan's command, the communications soldier could no longer contain his excitement. He shouted, "Helmsman Qingzhu sent word! The Xianzhou's newborn is safe and sound. Both mother and daughter are well!"
After a brief moment of shock, Xiahou Chan, Wanmeng, Qi Tianque, and the other Manifest Existence Army generals in the tent erupted in loud cheers.
The gravity on Wanmeng's and Qi Tianque's faces gave way to excitement. Not only had Qingzhu made no mention of the Denizens of Abundance, but she had also brought such wonderful news.
Clearly, the Xianzhou Daiyu was perfectly fine, and the Xianzhou's first new life had even been born safe and sound!
After a brief moment of shock, Xiahou Chan burst out laughing. This was simply the best, most wonderful news he had heard in all this time, without exception!
"Good, wonderful! I'm happy today! Tell the kitchen to pull out all the stops. Everyone's going to have a proper celebration! Everyone except the essential patrol personnel gets the day off, and add some drinks to the patrols' meals too!"
He had ordinarily forbidden alcohol in the army, because too many things were held up by excessive drinking. It was no exaggeration to say that drinking could interfere with important matters. Of course, it didn't have much effect on Pathstriders like them, but not everyone in the army was a Pathstrider.
"Yes, General!"
That day, a rare atmosphere of joy filled the Alliance Army camp. When Amo and Xiaohe returned from an assassination mission outside, they were puzzled by the scene.
Could the Alliance Army have wiped out the Garden's main base while they were away on their mission?
No, they had to go back and ask the general what was going on. If they really had wiped out the Garden's main base, it would be such a shame that he hadn't taken part.
When Amo and Xiaohe reached the main tent, they saw a group of generals drinking and eating meat in the open space in front of it. Even Wanmeng and Qi Tianque were drinking low-alcohol fruit wine.
Their eyes widened at the sight. He could have understood if Xiahou Chan had dragged Qi Tianque into having a drink, but why was Wanmeng drinking too?
After spending the past few days with them, he had noticed a few things. Wanmeng kept a low profile, but she was actually the brains of the group, and she was meticulous in her work.
Qi Tianque was gentle with others and even-tempered. He carried himself like a young master from a noble family, but he wasn't unpleasant.
Xiahou Chan was a warrior through and through, a reliable big brother who usually didn't like to think, but was at his most excited and strongest in a fight.
But now, the most levelheaded of them, Wanmeng, was actually drinking with everyone else?
Laughing, Xiahou Chan spotted Amo and Xiaohe and immediately waved them over. "Amo and Xiaohe are here! Come, come, sit with us. Your Brother Xiahou is happy today, so come have a few drinks with us. Xiaohe's a girl, so she can have some fruit wine like Wanmeng, but Amo, you'll have to drink the strong stuff with me."
At Xiahou Chan's words, two generals immediately led them over to the three. Xiaohe held the fruit wine she was offered up to her nose and sniffed it. Her eyes immediately widened, and she looked at the wine in her hand with delight.
She took a small sip, and an expression of enjoyment immediately appeared on her face.
"Mmm~ delicious."
Seeing this, Wanmeng ruffled Xiaohe's hair. "Let the men have their strong liquor. We'll just have some low-alcohol fruit wine."
Xiaohe nodded obediently, then looked at Qi Tianque. "Brother Tianque, why are you drinking fruit wine too?"
Qi Tianque smiled and answered, "Because I'm a Halovian, I need to keep a clear head. Alcohol can numb the nerves and affect my Tuning. Strong liquor has too high an alcohol content, so the effect is obvious. Low-alcohol fruit wine like this suits me very well."
Xiaohe nodded, then turned her full attention to sampling the food on the table.
Things were peaceful on Xiaohe's side, but Amo was having a rough time. Although he could usually hold his liquor well, even he couldn't withstand a group of Pathstriders plying him with drink.
Right now, for example, four bottles of high-proof liquor were already lined up neatly on the table in front of Amo. His face was slightly flushed from drinking so much.
Amo's awareness gradually grew hazy. He refused the drink Xiahou Chan pressed on him, only to pick up an entire bottle of high-proof liquor himself.
"Hahaha, come on, let's keep drinking! No going home until we're drunk!"
As he spoke, he stood up, planting one foot on his chair and the other on the table. The mood was already lively, and at Amo's antics, the remaining generals stood up one after another and followed his example.
After a few more drinks, Amo couldn't hold out any longer. He dropped into his seat and fell asleep against the back of his chair.
Seeing that Amo had been drunk under the table, Xiahou Chan teased him with a laugh. "Hahaha, this kid still can't hold his liquor. He needs more practice. That's all it took to put him down."
"Come on, brothers. The kid doesn't have the fortune to enjoy this. Let's keep drinking."
"These men."
Wanmeng pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly, a look of resignation on her face. Beside her, Xiaohe covered her mouth and giggled. As she watched Amo sleeping against his chair, his mouth smacking a couple of times, the amusement in her eyes gradually gave way to affection.
At last, after six hours of revelry, the remaining generals said their goodbyes and returned to their tents. Only Xiahou Chan, Wanmeng, Qi Tianque, Xiaohe, Elder Ge, and the unconscious Amo remained at the table.
Seeing the four gathered together, Xiaohe quickly helped the unconscious Amo up and said, "Amo drank quite a lot today, so I'll take him back first. Brother Xiahou, Sister Wanmeng, Tianque, see you tomorrow."
After the two left, the four turned and entered the tent.
"Elder Ge, how are the arrangements?"
Elder Ge cupped his fists and replied, "Everything is in place. Every corps of the Alliance Army is ready to march. They're only waiting for your order to launch the surprise attack tonight."
"Very good. Presumably, the mole has already told Dong Tian what we were doing just now. Seeing us like that, Dong Tian and his garrison will surely let down their guard. Pass on my orders: check everyone's weapons and equipment. In two hours, we launch a surprise attack on the Garden's important granary stronghold!"