Chapter 651: Army Morale

Hidden in the shadow of the courtyard's corner, Xu Yuan watched silently as events unfolded ahead.

The elderly man of Jin surname, loyal to the Western Town Marshal, lived up to his reputation as a veteran of countless battles—concentrating an entire regiment of soldiers into one location at the magistrate's office within a short span was no small feat.

Who would be sent to notify which branch, who would lead each branch into the magistrate's office, and how each unit would be positioned on the field—all required meticulous coordination. Yet, they had managed it all flawlessly within just two minutes.

As one after another branch was led into the magistrate's office, the hum of murmurs began to rise like a swarm of flies throughout every corner of the courtyard. From the commanders of regiments and armies to the lowest-ranking soldiers, whispers spread like wildfire.

"Old Zhou, why has your unit been recalled too?"

A toothed officer's steps toward the front were abruptly halted by a familiar voice from within the ranks. Turning, he saw a commander with a helmeted iron mask, his eyes filled with concern.

After a moment of hesitation, he stared at the mask, uncertain:

"Are you Ai Renhua?"

"Old sergeant, who else could it be?" the masked commander retorted with irritation.

The Zhou officer glanced at the senior officers ahead, then spoke softly:

"It can't be any clearer? The entire Second Town should have been pulled back to the prefectural office already."

The voice of the iron-faced general echoed through the mask, deep and resonant, laced with palpable concern:

"Didn't the pre-battle briefing earlier already confirm that the initial assault of the swarm would target your eastern city wall? If you're retreating now, who will defend the city? And along the route to the prefectural office, my troops from the Quyu Division have seen several groups of martial clansmen marching steadily toward the eastern wall."

Zhou, the man whose surname was Zhou, stared at the other for a few breaths:

"Obedience is all. The general above has his own reasons."

And with that, he stepped past the man and continued forward.

Yet in that mere dozen paces, Zhou heard whispers spreading among the soldiers—words that sowed doubt and unrest:

"Have you heard? The Jiaping Quarter was overrun by those rabble."

"The puppet theater?"

"Yes, the men from the Sixth Quyu reported that the performers inside were in terrible straits."

"That old ruffian from the entertainment pavilion—has he really been there, and yet he looks down on me as a coarse, uneducated brute? Doesn't he think that without us, who would protect their feasts and revelry? Now that we're gone, only one thing remains: a good death."

"Enough, enough. One entertainment pavilion? I heard from Zhou Ya's men that large martial factions near the eastern city wall are preparing to storm the gates."

"Brave rogues! But it's no wonder—how could we not have been recalled?"

"Recalled or not, you've seen what happened today. Suppressing these rabble-rousers is easy. But who in the hell is going to suppress those sages? I've served in the army for over a decade, and this is the first time I've ever fought a battle so humiliating."

"..."

The moment those words were spoken, the murmuring suddenly fell silent. Yet this silence did not spread outward—it instead seeped back into the surrounding chaos.

"The sage? Someone must be able to handle that."

"Yes, I heard from above too—there are sages within the city, though they've been restrained due to the larger situation."

"I'm not talking about the sages."

"Can you not just say it straight? Speaking in fragments like that—do you think I'll cut your head off with a single stroke?"

"Are you serious? You think just because she's healed, she's forgotten the pain?"

"Enough, Zhang Xing—whom are you talking about?" A voice, deep and aged, cut through the heated exchange.

At the sound, both soldiers, their tempers flaring, snorted dismissively and grumbled:

"Last morning, there was a large-scale mutiny near the eastern wall. A woman general intercepted dozens of Zhunjun arrows shot from there."

"A female general? You're out of your mind."

"Our Western Garrison—besides the First Battalion's Wan General, doesn't have any female officers, right? But she's already off with the Marquis."

"Are you going crazy, Zhang Xing? Thinking of women to the point of delusion?"

"Didn't you remember the Princess? She knows military formations, she's a woman, and isn't there still a Princess in the household?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"I'm dying laughing—stop making up stories."

"Believe me or not, I saw it with my own eyes."

Zhang Xing turned his face away, lifting his gaze toward the training platform, hoping to confirm if the woman he had seen this morning was indeed the Princess. But the platform remained empty now.

The soldiers around him paid no further attention to him, instead chatting among themselves:

"Speaking of the Princess—have you heard about that rumor?"

"What?"

"It came from the Xuan Ting Army. The Princess is secretly keeping the goddess of the Great Desert, and then she's been seduced by the third son of the Imperial Household, that pretty-faced fool. She's planning to risk the lives of our two thousand soldiers in the Second Garrison to protect them."

"Oh?"

"It's said the holy ones are after the third son of the Imperial Household—hand him over, and they'll withdraw."

"So why not just hand him over? The matter is entirely unrelated to our Western Garrison."

"Because he didn't tell the whole truth. The holy ones don't just want the third son of the Imperial Household—they also want the Princess."

"Phew. So it makes sense now—no wonder they're holding on so tightly."

"Li Wu, what's with your expression? Are you actually thinking of handing over the Princess?"

"No way. How could I possibly do that? The Princess is from the imperial bloodline—her life is priceless. Even the lives of all these common soldiers and the entire city's millions of people don't come close to matching her worth."

"Besides, be careful—get caught stirring up unrest and you'll be beheaded."

"Beheaded? Fine by me. Cut me if you want. I'm not afraid."

"I think Li Wu is right."

"Six saints attacking the city—either way, we're all going to die. At least we pick a way to die. Didn't the scholars say something like, 'dying with honor'? Well, we might as well die with a purpose."

Amid the laughter of the crowd, several soldiers who had remained silent all along suddenly spoke up:

"Dying with honor? You vermin just want to incite everyone to force the Princess to die for us. Make the Princess die in our place."

"I'm fighting for the Marquis, not some idle, spoiled Princess!"

"You have sworn loyalty to the Lord Marshal, so you should never have the thought of injuring the Princess."

"Zhang Xing was right—this morning's rebellion at the western city wall was indeed resolved by the Princess."

"Fear of death? Then fear it. What's the point of acting so magnanimously and righteous?"

"Am I afraid of death? Did you forget, Zhang Xing, when I stepped in front of you and was pierced through the body? You forgot that, didn't you?"

The soldier named Li Wu stared fiercely at the man before him, shouting angrily:

"I fought to the death against those wolf pups of the Tartar hordes—while that spoiled Princess was enjoying herself in Di'an City. I built tombs for the fallen brothers—while she was playing with women in the pleasure houses. Now you want me to die for her? What right do you have?! What right?!"

Li Wu's voice carried far and wide. As it was about to be swallowed by the surrounding noise, the entire field fell into sudden, silent stillness—like a wave of wheat rolling in, swiftly and completely.

All the tens of thousands of soldiers on the field instinctively turned their gaze toward the point where silence had first spread.

Carrying the noonday sun, two figures clad in heavy armor moved slowly into the broad entrance of the training yard.

Their steps heavy, the clink of armor striking against one another sharp and resonant, echoing in the ears of every passerby.

"Tap."

"Tap."

"Tap."

The index finger pressed against his chest, tapping rhythmically against his arm. In the shadow, Xu Yuan couldn't help but press his lips together.

The clamorous, biting words rising from the training yard—he could hear them clearly. As the master of city defense formations, Li Junwu could hear them even more distinctly.

"Are you worried?"

The shape of Tian Ye, elusive and appearing from nowhere, suddenly materialized beside him, adopting the same posture of arms folded across his chest, leaning against the corner shadow beside him. "If you don't trust her, why not go yourself?"

"If I didn't trust her, I wouldn't be standing here at all," Xu Yuan replied with a smile, glancing back. "To say she's not clever is just comparing her to me."

“Ser.”

The gleam in Tian Ye’s eyes was sweet, tinged with a hint of disdain. “If you’re not worried about her, then what’s the point of this expression on your face?”

Xu Yuan remained silent for a moment, his expression shifting into something complex before he smiled lightly.

“I’ve just realized how crucial control of public perception is. The unrest within the Western Garrison was entirely due to the sect’s media being exposed. Once we return to the capital, we must pay close attention to grassroots public messaging—don’t let the rumors about my past indulgences spread into the lower ranks of Black Scale Army.”

“Contradictory lies.”

Tian Ye stared at him calmly, not pressing further, but simply continuing along his line of thought. “Still, shouldn’t your indulgent past have already spread across the empire by now?”

“It’s easy to sanitize the narrative—just claim I was deliberately hiding my true nature. That way, the Black Scale Army will think I’m utterly enigmatic and beyond comprehension.”

“Hmph.”

Tian Ye’s clear voice carried a smile as her gaze passed through the ranks of armored soldiers, settling on the woman advancing steadily ahead. She spoke softly, almost in shadow:

“Xu Yuan brother, do you think your friend would handle this matter in such a way? As I just observed, one-third of these soldiers are thinking exactly like Li Wu.”

Xu Yuan slightly lowered his head, his eyes hidden in the shadows, speaking softly:

"Courage is always humanity’s rarest virtue, yet the Zhongxi Army does not lack it."

Tian Ye tilted her head, pondering for a moment, murmuring quietly:

"Given that these soldiers are already so compromised, how can you still praise them so highly?"

Xu Yuan looked at the armored woman moving steadily through the ranks, a smile playing at his lips:

"Because the Zhongxi Army—elite of the Great Yan—has never established a corps of close-combat supervisors."

Tian Ye, upon hearing this, furrowed her brows slightly, her gaze somewhat puzzled.

She found this kind of military structure hard to comprehend.

Since the establishment of martial academies open to the common people, the composition of the Great Yan’s military forces had undergone subtle yet profound transformations.

From the beginning, when aristocratic offspring held sixty-seven percent of the military ranks, to now, where eighty-nine percent are former commoners,

this transformation has not diminished the army’s quality—on the contrary, it has brought about a qualitative leap in the Great Inland Army, surpassing even the standards of Xu Yuan’s previous life.

They are all civilians who have voluntarily enlisted after rigorous selection, most of whom are fearless and unyielding.

The incentive of the Great Inland’s military merit system plays a part, but equally significant is the primal loyalty they feel toward those who gave them a second chance at life.

As he spoke, Xu Yuan pointed with a finger at the insolent soldier and the armored woman standing before him, whispering softly:

“They are currently lacking a leader who can step forward at this critical moment—whether performative or genuine—a leader bold and fearless, capable of guiding their followers forward, to continue fighting.

“And now,

“perhaps, such a leader has finally emerged.”

Gazing upon the armored woman before him, Li Wu’s face twitched momentarily, then broke into a smile—relieved, mocking the very death symbolized by the woman before him.

Li Wu did not choose to speak loudly enough to be heard by all, but instead murmured with a quiet chuckle:

"Your Grace used my worthless life as a sacrifice to establish authority—thus, Li Junwu has also repaid the favor of the Lord's recognition."

Li Junwu looked at the young man before him, scarred across his face, his long, elegant eyes slightly lowered. His voice was calm and measured:

"You don't accept me, and I understand. While the armies of Zhuanxi were fighting on the front lines, I indeed indulged myself in pleasure at Di'an. These facts—what crime is there in them? Why did Your Grace choose you to be sacrificed?"

Upon hearing this, Li Junwu's expression seemed to freeze for a moment. He hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

Li Junwu then cast his gaze over the soldiers surrounding them.

In silence, their eyes toward her held curiosity, confusion, mockery—and only a few, faint traces of respect.

His fists, clenched beneath his armor, tightened slightly. Looking at Li Junwu, who now seemed at a loss, he spoke softly:

"Your Grace paused only to tell you—since the founding of the Zhuanxi Army, there has never been a single act of negotiation.

"I only wish to tell you that the intentions of those outside the city are truly mine, Li Junwu—but they are also the Zhuanxi Prefecture as a whole, and this very city we stand upon, the heart of the prefecture. What they desire is not merely my life, but a Zhuanxi Prefecture without an heir, internally shattered and in chaos!"

The words fell,

Under the shifting, uncertain gaze of Li Junwu, she slowly turned her body, stepping steadily toward the training platform, with the elderly general named Jin following close behind.

And then her voice spread slowly across the entire courtyard:

"I know my absurd forgetfulness has made you distrust me. I know you desire a leader like Wu Yuan Princess more than I. I know how scornful and mocking you have been toward me. So now I offer you a choice: if you believe in the peace negotiations, if you think this battle is certain to end in defeat, then I will willingly go out alone to save the lives of a million common people and all of you."

"Princess."

At the sound, the elderly general beside her wanted to speak, but was immediately cut off by Li Junwu, whose voice remained cool, measured, and calm:

"But regarding the condition involving Xu Changtian—I have no authority to interfere. Yet I hope you will not harm him, for if he dies here, the resurgence of the Chancellor’s power would be far more terrifying than the six sages beyond the walls."

"...Some whispers began to spread, and chaos quietly took root in the shadows of the courtyard."

Xu Yuan glanced at Tian Ye by his side and murmured softly:

"It's time to start the official denunciation. At this moment, the scholars will surely use their parasitic influence to stir up trouble."

"Always relying on me," Tian Ye muttered, slightly resentful.

"All of them are low-level cultivators, not a difficult task—Tian Xian could handle it just as well."

"Hmm."

Tian Ye let out a soft, dismissive hum, her radiant golden eyes sweeping over the ranks of soldiers and people, and then whispered a single word quietly:

"Silence."

"..."

The chaos of shadows ceased. The courtyard fell into stillness.

Li Junwu had now walked steadily to the platform, gripping the hilt of his sword at his side, facing the unblinking gazes of tens of thousands below:

"I know that your silence stems from loyalty to your father, fear of my status, and dread of defying me. But since no one has spoken, you now have only one path left—faith in me."

As she spoke,

Xu Yuan, hidden in the shadows, saw the sharp, teasing slant of the woman's eyes—now hardened with resolve—and heard her voice remain as cold and rough as ever:

"The Six Sages launched their assault, rumors spread like wildfire—now those lofty sages standing beyond the city walls are mocking us from without, watching our own ranks crumble from within.

So now,

Regardless of whether you fear or not, we have no choice. Before this war ends, many of you here will die. But if we retreat—those ancient foundations, built with blood by our ancestors and our father, the Western Garrison City; the vast domain of the Northern Desert, erected upon the bones of the fallen—will all be destroyed, simply because of your cowardice and hesitation!

Within the prefectural hall, form the military array, abide by orders.

I, in the name of the Western Garrison, solemnly pledge to you:

Until the military formation is broken,

Until I have exhausted my strength—"

In silence,

the cultivation technique stirred, resonated, coalesced.

The murmurs within the ranks of the army spread, only to be instantly severed by a blade of sky-reaching clarity.

"Crack—!"

Li Junwu drew his long knife from his waist,

standing before the crowd,

the sharp, resonant sound of the blade cutting through the air, carrying with it a cold wind that swept across the courtyard, his voice clear and piercing:

"Among those two thousand of you, not one has died at the hands of the Sage before this moment!"