Chapter 458: For Family and Country
Main General’s Tent.
Sun Qian sat upright in the main seat, wearing a smile, and gestured for Ning Zhuo to take the seat on his left.
He leaned slightly toward Ning Zhuo. “Strategist Ning is indeed a young talent, refined and outstanding!”
Ning Zhuo smiled, sat up straight, and offered a slight cupped-hand salute. “General Sun overpraises. May I ask if General summoned me here today to divine whether returning to the city is safe?”
Sun Qian’s pupils contracted slightly. He stopped leaning forward and instead sat back against the chair, his expression unreadable. “Then did Strategist Ning come here because he already divined in advance that our army intends to return to the city?”
Ning Zhuo shook his head lightly. “I am not actually proficient in divination. It’s only when crises loom that I tend to feel uneasy and get a vague premonition. Only at such moments can I perform a relatively accurate reading.”
“As for our army returning to the city, there's no need to divine that at all.”
“We are the rear army and should be linking up with the main force. But not long ago, during our march, we were ambushed and suffered severe losses.”
“The Barbarian-Demon Army has only its commanding general and personal guards left. The White Jade Camp has barely more than a hundred survivors—it's a devastating sight.”
“The Red Flower Camp and the Three Generals Camp have also suffered significant casualties. Only the Fire Cloud Army and the Golden Halberd Army came through without a single loss.”
“Overall, more than half our forces have been wiped out. Even if we proceed to rendezvous with the main army, the purpose of such a move is already lost.”
“Furthermore, with most forces severely damaged and only the Golden Halberd Army under Lord Sun emerging unscathed, it would sound quite unbecoming if such news were to spread.”
Sun Qian narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening.
Ning Zhuo's words struck directly at the heart of his concerns.
If the Golden Halberd Army had taken some losses, it would be easier to explain.
But the entire army suffered none, while other forces were devastated. Should this become widely known, others might suspect that Sun Qian had prioritized self-preservation and allowed allied troops to fall to preserve his own performance.
Even without proof, such a perception could greatly damage Sun Qian’s reputation and prestige.
As for the Fire Cloud Army, they moved through the skies and employed key tactics to defeat Grandfather Long. No one would criticize them.
Normally, Sun Qian wouldn’t care too much about idle gossip.
But now, there was serious trouble—White Jade Camp had suffered terribly, with barely a hundred soldiers left. Too many sons of aristocrats and high-ranking nobles had perished in that ambush.
As their commander, Sun Qian would surely be held accountable.
He was deeply concerned that the nobles in the capital would blame him for the deaths of their heirs and cause trouble for him.
Under such circumstances, if whispers against him spread within the army, vengeful parties would surely seize that as solid evidence to launch accusations against Sun Qian.
With public outrage mounting, it was possible he might even be impeached and stripped of his position, replaced by another!
Ning Zhuo continued, “The situation in Thousand Peaks Forest is unpredictable.”
“At present, the Fire Cloud Army has already been exposed and can no longer serve as a surprise force. Moreover, Grandfather Long is still alive, and the Dragon Ginseng King excels in vitality and healing. Treating Grandfather Long would be easy for him.”
“Our side has suffered severe losses. If we continue forward and fall into another ambush, then what?”
Sun Qian tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers, deep in thought, saying nothing.
Ning Zhuo smiled faintly. “Actually, enemies like Grandfather Long are the lesser concern.”
“What I truly fear... is the Stone Dwelling Old Monster!”
“This Nascent Soul expert’s Earth-Elemental Art is simply too formidable.”
“He travels underground as if through an empty field!”
“I have watched the combat footage at least three times. The Stone Dwelling Old Monster does not match previous intelligence. This cultivator is deeply scheming, quick-witted, and harvested the most spoils from this battle—he was the biggest winner.”
“A Nascent Soul cultivator like him might well be hiding right under our noses, quietly eavesdropping on this very conversation between you and me.”
Sun Qian took a deep breath and slowly spoke, “Your words make sense.”
Ning Zhuo studied his expression and saw his grave look, guessing that the Golden Halberd Army likely lacked any effective means to counter Earth-Elemental Arts.
Just as he was about to speak, the tent flap was suddenly lifted, and Double Purity strode in.
“Strategist Ning speaks most reasonably! Our army has fought the Stone Dwelling Old Monster before and knows well that while he may look honest and dull, he is in truth sly and cunning. In the last battle, he barely lifted a finger but reaped the most credit!”
As the one who had suffered most, Double Purity bore a deep grudge against the Stone Dwelling Old Monster. His jaw clenched reflexively as he spoke, his face filled with hatred and fury.
“General Double,” Ning Zhuo greeted with a cupped-hand salute.
Sun Qian frowned, glaring at Double Purity. “General Double, you barged into my command tent without reporting. What is the meaning of this? At this hour, shouldn't you be inspecting your own camp and consoling your wounded troops?”
Double Purity shrugged. “My army has already been decimated. What’s left to organize? Right now, I just want to get back to Canglin Immortal City and request reinforcements from the capital!”
“So why are we still lingering here? Waiting for those bastards from Thousand Peaks Forest to come back and strike again?”
Sun Qian snorted coldly. “With my Golden Halberd Army present, what is there to fear!”
He was about to continue speaking when the tent flap lifted again.
A burly Nascent Soul body cultivator burst in—it was General Xu Dali.
Xu Dali held a jade slip in his hand, his face filled with anger as he confronted Sun Qian. “Sun Qian! What nonsense is this? Our forces suffered the brunt of the assault, endured the heaviest casualties, and bought you all precious time to react!”
“And this is the result?” Xu Dali raised the jade slip. “You give us this little in condolence funds? Do you have any idea how many just gave their lives for the nation? And you’re being stingy and cold-hearted? Shameful!”
“Silence!” Sun Qian exploded in rage. He shot up from his seat and bellowed at Xu Dali, “General Xu, you’d better get this straight. I am now the rear army’s commanding general. And your combat performance was poor—you're already a disgraced general. What right do you have to shout in front of me?”
“Once we return to Canglin Immortal City, prepare to be held accountable!”
Xu Dali’s face flushed with anger. “Sun Qian, you petty scoundrel! You commanded poorly and now want to shift the blame onto me. I refuse to believe the civil and military court of the capital will let you twist facts and deflect responsibility!”
Sun Qian slammed the table. “Shut up, you blockhead!”
Xu Dali stepped forward and shoved Double Purity aside as he passed, walking straight up to Sun Qian. He glared across the table and roared, “Raise the condolence funds immediately, or today won’t end well for you!!”
Sun Qian and Xu Dali immediately fell into a heated argument.
Double Purity shook his head and gave Ning Zhuo a wry smile, then gestured toward the tent flap.
Ning Zhuo took the hint, rose to his feet, and cupped his hands to bid farewell to Sun Qian.
Sun Qian was entangled in the quarrel, face red, neck bulging with veins, too distracted to notice Ning Zhuo’s departure.
Double Purity and Ning Zhuo exited the tent one after another. The former immediately extended an invitation: once they returned to Canglin Immortal City, he would host a banquet and hoped Ning Zhuo would honor it with his presence.
Although Double Purity was a Nascent Soul cultivator and Ning Zhuo was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, his demeanor was warm and amiable.
Such courtesy would never have occurred before this battle.
Clearly, Double Purity had also seen the accuracy of the prophetic poem. The heavy losses this time made him grasp the true peril of warfare. Thus, he was willing to humble himself to make allies of every factor that might secure victory.
Ning Zhuo immediately accepted, expressing his humble gratitude.
There was absolutely no harm in building ties with Double Purity.
Ning Zhuo held a decent impression of him: “Though this noble-born general is arrogant, he has a strategic mind. During the battle, he took the initiative to order resupply of the armory, deliberately delaying the Stone Dwelling Old Monster. A sound strategy indeed!”
When Ning Zhuo returned to the Three Generals Camp, the three generals were discussing matters.
“Strategist, you’ve returned so quickly?” General Liu Er stood up, full of good cheer, and came forward to greet him.
Ning Zhuo gave a wry smile. “Sun Qian and Xu Dali started quarreling.”
He briefly summarized what had transpired and mentioned Double Purity’s banquet invitation.
Liu Er’s heart tightened. He immediately realized Double Purity was likely trying to recruit Ning Zhuo, and his smile became even warmer.
Liu Er grabbed Ning Zhuo’s arm and led him to a seat. “We were just discussing future plans. Your strategies and merits are well recognized. Please enlighten us.”
Ning Zhuo smiled lightly. “I had suspected that our army would return to Canglin Immortal City. This visit to Sun Qian has confirmed that speculation.”
“Such a move benefits our army greatly.”
“We lack proper training, after all. A single Long Snake Formation and a Triangular Arrowhead Formation are far from sufficient. At the very least, we need a defensive battle formation.”
Liu Er sighed. “Strategist, you are absolutely right. We three were just saying the same thing. But there is a problem!”
Ning Zhuo understood instantly. “General Liu is referring to military funds?”
Liu Er sighed again. “Exactly! We've suffered many casualties and need to allocate a large sum for condolences to stabilize morale.”
“But our funds were already stretched thin.”
Ning Zhuo smiled. “Indeed. I spent quite a bit of funds on divinations and formations earlier.”
Liu Er quickly waved it off. “Strategist, that was money well spent! If not for your predictions, we’d be in even worse shape than the Barbarian-Demon Army right now.”
Ning Zhuo waved his hand, cutting off Liu Er’s impending gratitude. “I feel a strong affinity with you, General Liu, General Guan, and General Zhang. And given my family’s enmity with the Six Caves Sect, doing everything I can to assist you is my heartfelt intent.”
“As for military funds, I can offer my help too.”
“In particular, this time, the Three Generals Camp made a great contribution by capturing Flying Legs alive—this is a major achievement.”
“Our army will surely be rewarded, and this reward can serve as military funding.”
“Not only that, I’ll immediately send a message to my Ning Family to report the latest developments, hoping the family’s Golden Core Ancestor will lift the restrictions and allow me to use more precious materials. That way, I can subsidize the Three Generals Camp.”
Liu Er was deeply moved.
Guan Hong found Ning Zhuo even more pleasing to the eye.
Zhang Hei grinned and gave Ning Zhuo a firm slap on the shoulder, making Ning Zhuo wince in pain.
Liu Er immediately struck out, slapping Zhang Hei’s hand hard, his face darkening as he sternly rebuked, “Third Brother, how can you be so disrespectful to our Strategist!”
Zhang Hei pulled back his reddened hand and cried out in pain, “Big Brother, you hit harder than I did.”
“I was just being friendly with our Strategist!”
Ning Zhuo smiled and said a few words to ease the situation for Zhang Hei.
Liu Er cupped his fists to Ning Zhuo, apologizing on Zhang Hei’s behalf.
Ning Zhuo promptly returned the gesture.
The four of them were at ease and in harmony. When the topic shifted to the upcoming rewards, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation.
The argument between General Xu Dali and Sun Gan was never stopped.
Shuangjing couldn’t wait to respond, while Mu Lan busied herself tending to the entire army.
In the end, Xu Dali and Sun Gan soared into the skies and fought a match. As the commander of the Forbidden Army, Sun Gan had exceptional strength and fine equipment, giving him a natural advantage.
Xu Dali, on the other hand, was already injured and not in good shape.
So, the result was naturally Sun Gan’s victory.
But due to this battle, Sun Gan utterly lost face as the lead general. Xu Dali refused to yield to him, Shuangjing wouldn’t give him any courtesy, and Mu Lan—coming from the Grand General’s Mansion—paid him no attention either.
For this reason, Sun Gan had no desire to linger. Early the next morning, he ordered the camp to be broken and the troops to return to the city.
The Three Generals Camp once again marched in the long snake formation.
And this time, all other troops also fell into formation. Gone was the previous urgency to rush ahead.
Ning Zhuo returned to the same carriage he had used before.
On the right was the Heavy Armor Blood Ape, Dasheng. On the left was the Buddhist Doctor, Meng Yaoyin. Still the same dual protection.
Within the Wanli Dragon, Sun Lingtong sent a thought transmission, joyfully reporting to Ning Zhuo, “Little Zhuo, this time our gains are really huge!”
He had just finished tallying the spoils.
“How so?” Ning Zhuo asked.
Sun Lingtong shared the details.
One Earth Milk Pure Spirit Mana Reservoir, three Sage Light Illumination Towers, hundreds of White-Plume Gentle Dust mounts, as well as military gear such as Jade Armor, Glare Lance, and Moon Phase Shield.
Among them, over eighty White-Plume Gentle Dusts were Foundation Establishment-grade, and more than three hundred and eighty were Qi Refining-grade, totaling over four hundred and sixty. Market price: eleven million three hundred and twenty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones.
As for the seven additional armories looted later, including gear like the Jade Armor and Glare Lance, a rough total value of three million five hundred thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones.
All together, the total market value amounted to thirty million five hundred and forty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones.
The greatest gain was undoubtedly Gao Sheng’s Testament—its value simply immeasurable!
“Sudden wealth! We got rich in a single battle!” Sun Lingtong was dancing with joy inside the Puppet Dragon.
Ning Zhuo also smiled. In this moment, he felt he had escaped poverty and suffering.
“So, the hardship of that battle was all worth it.” Ning Zhuo sighed.
Sun Lingtong nodded repeatedly in agreement, “Don’t forget, Little Zhuo. There’s a major reward from the Thousand Peaks Forest, and Liangzhu Kingdom will also grant us honors!”
Ning Zhuo took a deep breath, “This is the wealth of war... It truly is a wonderful feeling.”
“Compared to our earnings, we lost at most thirty percent of the Western Pure Land.”
“That kind of cost, compared to our return, is less than a drop in the bucket!”
Sun Lingtong chuckled, “If we can have a dozen more wars like this, I wouldn’t mind at all.”
Ning Zhuo, however, reined in his elation, “Boss, we still need to be cautious.”
“There’s something I hadn’t told you earlier. In this ambush, I nearly lost my life.”
Sun Lingtong’s expression changed instantly. “What?!”
Ning Zhuo then explained how he survived using the Directional Escape Talisman.
Only then did the pride on Sun Lingtong’s face fade.
“Indeed, war on the battlefield is dangerous,” Sun Lingtong said solemnly.
Ning Zhuo: “If you walk by the river often, how can you avoid getting your shoes wet? Boss, you and I see things differently. I think it’s better to have fewer of such experiences and stay safe.”
“Can our good fortune truly last forever? That’s almost impossible.”
“Rather than personally fighting, I’ve come up with a safer and still profitable idea.”
At this point, a strange expression crept over Ning Zhuo’s face.
Sun Lingtong’s curiosity was piqued, and he asked immediately.
Ning Zhuo, of course, didn’t hide it: “I was reminded by Grandfather Long’s trade request before we left.”
“These military supplies we looted—we can’t use them. It’s hard to send them back to the clan or to the Myriad Medicines Sect either.”
“So the best way to offload them... is to sell to the Thousand Peaks Forest.”
“But what about beyond the weapons? We can trade even more. The Thousand Peaks Forest desperately needs military gear—don’t they?”
“And on the other side, does Liangzhu Kingdom not have demand?”
Sun Lingtong looked puzzled: “Thousand Peaks Forest doesn’t have a state backing it, so their lack of supplies makes sense.”
“But how come Liangzhu Kingdom’s military is short on gear too? That shouldn’t be.”
The corners of Ning Zhuo’s mouth curled slightly, then he forcibly straightened his face: “Boss, the Stone Dwelling Old Monster is skilled in Earth techniques—wouldn’t him stealing gear make perfect sense?”
Sun Lingtong instantly understood and clapped his fists together. “Brilliant! If Liangzhu Kingdom isn’t short on arms, then we’ll work harder and create that shortage.”
“We can sell the stolen gear to the Thousand Peaks Forest too.”
Ning Zhuo coughed twice: “Boss, we are citizens of the Southern Dou Country, and before going abroad, we received a secret commission from Royalty—Lord Zhu Xuanji.”
“Southern Dou Country needs a weakened Liangzhu Kingdom.”
“For our nation, we must fully utilize our talents—to ease the King’s worries and bring blessings to our people.”
“The Thousand Peaks Forest cannot collapse, and Liangzhu Kingdom must not stabilize.”
“The longer this war lasts, the better!”
Sun Lingtong took a deep breath, a flush of excitement spreading across his face. “Thrilling—this is too thrilling.”
“So fun. Truly fun!”
“Little Zhuo, it was right that you and I traveled the world together.”
“This life... is just too wonderful!”
“Let’s stir this place into a blazing battlefield, turn the heavens upside down!”
Ning Zhuo shook his head, once again stressing, “No no no, we are enduring hardship and bearing burdens—for home and country.”
Sun Lingtong wiped the tip of his nose, “Hmph, say what you want.”
A few days later.
Sun Gan led the rear army and returned once again to Canglin Immortal City.
Yet the first to enter the city was not the Golden Halberd Army, nor the Fire Cloud Army—
But a prison wagon.
Inside the wagon sat the humanoid Flying Legs under escort.
The city’s people cheered at the sight.
Following that was Sun Gan, riding a fine steed, waving all the way like a triumphant hero returning in glory.
As for Liu, Guan, and Zhang—the Three Generals who captured Flying Legs alive—they followed closely behind.
Ning Zhuo, who had made a name for himself with a prophetic poem and gained attention from numerous commanding officers, walked behind the Three Generals and soaked up another wave of reputation.
The army paraded through the city, then most cultivators once again left the city to set up camp.
Ning Zhuo stayed behind and went straight to Jin Li the Master Craftsman, purchasing many precious materials with the intention to independently repair the Wanli Dragon.
Liangzhu Kingdom’s rewards came swiftly.
On the second day after entering the city, an envoy arrived bearing the royal edict.
And the special honors Ning Zhuo had requested—arrived along with it!