Outside Bountiful Nation, at the Alliance Army's camp.
Inside a tent, Elder Ge slammed his palm down hard on the long table before him.
The Garden's tactics were despicable and shameless, but they were undeniably effective. The civilians had been used as shields, leaving Elder Ge unable to bring himself to attack. He had no choice but to withdraw his troops. The two sides had been at a standstill for an entire day, and if this continued, they would miss the time for the full-scale assault.
Elder Ge sat in the main seat, clutching his head. Could it be that I really have to attack those civilians? No! Absolutely not!
Elder Ge was frowning, at his wits' end, when a Guard Corps personal guard walked in.
"What is it?"
Elder Ge was beside himself with worry, and his tone involuntarily carried a trace of impatience.
The guard cupped his hands. "Elder Ge, a young man outside who calls himself Amo requests an audience."
Elder Ge's eyes lit up at once. He had heard Amo's name mentioned frequently of late. Since joining, Amo had never failed an assassination mission, maintaining a one-hundred-percent success rate.
He had been paying attention to such a talent for some time. After all, he had never considered the possibility that his side might lose.
When an army backed by an Emanator attacked another with no Emanator, it was obvious at a glance which side had the advantage.
So he had been searching for a candidate to become the next head of the Garden. He had quietly observed many people, but they either put on a good show or lacked ability.
Amo alone had grown from a nobody into someone whose name now struck fear into enemies. Such a rate of growth was monstrous. Though Elder Ge did not know how capable Amo was at management, he thought highly of him for his decisive ruthlessness and clear sense of right and wrong.
So he had indeed kept an eye on Amo ever since he made a name for himself. Elder Ge himself was no longer up to it. He was old, and managing the Guard Corps was tiring enough. If he had to become head of the Garden and deal with all those tedious documents and reports, he reckoned he would reach the Corridor of Existence before his strength ran out.
(I forgot to add this earlier, so I'll add it here: the Corridor of Existence is the final resting place of all who walk the Path of Existence. All deceased walkers of the Path of Existence come here. The corridor records the events of their lives to remember that they once existed. Its standing is comparable to that of Abundance's The Xianzhou's Herb Nursery and Remembrance's Palace of Memos.)
"Let him in."
Elder Ge gave the order, and the guard withdrew to carry it out. Half a minute later, the tent flap opened again, and Amo and Xiaohe walked in. Xiaohe stayed half a step behind Amo, making it clear that she deferred to him.
"Elder Ge, the assassin Amo reporting for duty."
Elder Ge stood up. "Mm, you've come at just the right time. Bountiful Nation's defending army is using ordinary civilians as shields, causing our forces great difficulty. In your opinion, how should we break this deadlock?"
Amo answered without a moment's thought. "Elder, lend me fifty Guard Corps personal guards, and I'll break the deadlock!"
Elder Ge slowly folded his arms, which had been resting on the table, and straightened his back. He looked at Amo with a serious expression.
"This is war, not some game you play online. You'd better think it through."
"Yes! I have! I only need fifty personal guards! Give me fifty, and I'll break the deadlock!"
Elder Ge excitedly slapped the table. "Good! Make a military pledge, then."
"A military pledge?"
Xiaohe frowned and instinctively started forward. Amo reached out and caught her arm, stopping her. She puffed out her cheeks and glanced at him, then could only obediently retreat behind him.
"That's right, a military pledge. The fifty personal guards I'd lend you are the best of the elite I brought out of the Garden. They're all brothers who have faced life and death with me. As long as you make the pledge, I can lend you these fifty men!"
The military pledge was not just a deterrent. It was also a test of whether Amo had the courage.
If he did not dare make it, Elder Ge could not possibly lend him the fifty men. They were soldiers. They could accept charging to their deaths alongside a fearless commander, but they were unwilling to die covering a cowardly commander's retreat.
They had to atone for their sins. Even if they died, they could only die on the charge.
"Agreed! I, Amo, hereby make a military pledge: if I fail to complete the mission, I'll bring you my head!"
"Good lad! You've got guts! Go on. The fifty personal guards have already been assembled and are waiting at the training ground. Remember, if you fail, bring me your head."
Amo nodded firmly, then turned and left the tent. Xiaohe followed him, but before stepping outside, she turned to look at Elder Ge and waved her little fist at him as if venting her frustration. Then she turned back and followed Amo away.
"Those two children... I hope they come back safe."
Night fell.
Bountiful Nation was ablaze with lights, and the clinking of wine cups could even be faintly heard from the town.
Under the cover of night, Amo reached out and felt something smooth and cold. Looking at the empty space before him, he turned to Xiaohe beside him.
"There's a barrier here. Xiaohe, attach yourself to me."
Xiaohe nodded. The next moment, she transformed into a streak of black light and covered Amo's body. Amo looked back at the fifty personal guards and gestured for them to follow.
The fifty personal guards lined up behind him in pairs. Amo reached out, and a long saber formed from the power of Nihility appeared in his hand.
Amo lightly slashed at the barrier. The sturdy barrier split open like a piece of cloth, revealing a gap. He signaled for the others to follow and led the way through, with the rest close behind.
As soon as they entered the city, Amo divided their forces. He took ten men to the city lord's residence, while the remaining forty split into four squads and headed respectively to the communications station, the barracks, the granary, and the place where the soldiers had gathered.
The situation was that the Garden's defenders had let their guard down, with officers and soldiers gathered in two separate places: the officers at the city lord's residence, and the soldiers ten li outside the barracks.
After the fighting, fewer than seven hundred defenders remained in total, including those guarding the granary, barracks, and other locations. In fact, fewer than three hundred soldiers were gathered there. For the battle-hardened, fully armed Guard Corps personal guards, it could hardly have been easier.
Outside the city lord's residence.
Looking at the brightly lit residence and listening to the mocking laughter and clinking wine cups within, Amo's lips curled into a cold sneer.
He flicked the blood from his saber, his face filled with cold killing intent.
"Come on, let's go in."
Behind him, the silver-white armor of the ten Guard Corps personal guards was covered in red blood. They silently pulled their swords from the ground and followed him toward the gates of the city lord's residence.
Behind them lay bodies spread across the ground. Blood flowed from the corpses and pooled at the foot of the steps, forming a small lake of dark red.
The lake of blood reflected the bright lights of the city lord's residence. The faint lights reflected in it seemed to mirror the final fate of the residence's master.