Amidst these thoughts.
Tang Miao's expression suddenly changed.
He saw that down in the execution grounds, his own subordinates were being executed one by one!
No matter how they cried or begged for mercy, Li Tianyue showed not a shred of leniency.
She did not even intend to let these people provide any testimony.
Among those executed were many disciples whom Tang Miao had brought from Cloudreach Mountain, as well as two Elders.
"General Yue, you dare conduct unauthorized executions?!!"
To his surprise, Li Tianyue did not spare even a glance at the clouds above; she merely stood quietly, sensing her surroundings.
Soldiers!
Soldiers from all directions had surrounded the execution grounds so tightly that not a drop of water could trickle through.
Even the strategic assets she had arranged within the Eastern Expedition Army—the city gates, the War Artifacts, and the logistics supplies—were now being intercepted by the loyalist forces of the Eastern Expedition Army.
Dongfang Liancheng arrived, his expression dark, leading the army's top experts.
Floating amidst the clouds, he peered down with disdain at Li Tianyue and the dense mass of Soldiers standing behind her.
Li Tianyue's Soldiers had already completed their battle formations.
Even though they had not fought side-by-side for years, their Spiritual power linked together effortlessly, forming a Grand Array that resembled a war machine of astonishing power!
The combined Spiritual power of this array, powered by two hundred thousand Soldiers, was already strong enough to threaten a cultivator at the Void Refining Realm.
Yet, the truly terrifying aspect was its vast attack range; if a single strike were to land, the entire Eastern Expedition Army camp would likely be devastated.
Li Tianyue stood at the forefront, commanding the Spiritual power of two hundred thousand soldiers.
High in the clouds, the forms of three Desolate Primordial Beasts materialized: a Blood Dragon, a Blood White Tiger, and a Blood Vermilion Bird.
This crimson battle formation had once swept across the battlefields of the Eastern Border, victorious in every engagement.
"Old General Dongfang!"
As soon as Dongfang Liancheng arrived, Tang Miao finally emerged from his hiding place and appeared beside the Commander, looking as relieved as if he had been granted a great amnesty.
Yet, he dared not utter another word; Dongfang Liancheng's gaze upon him was cold, causing him to involuntarily swallow hard and sheepishly retreat behind the older general.
In his heart, however, Tang Miao sneered. What a hypocritical poseur.
When you were short on Soldiers, didn't you still have to come to my Cloudreach Mountain in the Forgotten Immortal Lands, wagging your tail and begging for pity?
Dongfang Liancheng looked down.
Below him stood the veteran general who had once followed him across countless battlefields, the very person who had helped develop the Eastern Border to what it was today.
A trace of shame inevitably flashed through his eyes.
However, the Soldiers were massing, and swords were drawn, and bows were bent.
Given the situation, he had no choice but to speak in a deep, grave voice.
"General Yue, how long do you intend to keep up this nonsense?"
Li Tianyue remained completely silent.
Dongfang Liancheng's expression softened slightly.
However, there were words that could not be spoken in the presence of others.
With so many soldiers watching, he had no choice but to use Voice Transmission.
"General Yue, the enemy from Duskwild Prefecture is currently invading our territory right to the east.
You are a general who has fought in the Eastern Border campaigns for many years; surely you realize that your actions today will cause the army's morale to crumble?
This Commander is aware that your subordinates have been wronged and that you have suffered unfair treatment over these years, but you have made enough of a scene now."
"Let us reduce this major issue to a minor one, and the minor one to nothing at all.
After today, I will find a way to restore your military authority, and I will strictly discipline the others in the army so that they do not..."
"Hahaha!"
Dongfang Liancheng had not yet finished his transmission when, standing beneath the three Desolate Divine Beasts, the woman threw her head back and laughed aloud.
The gale force of her Spiritual power whipped her short hair wildly in the wind.
Dongfang Liancheng's expression turned grim. "General Yue, you are being impudent!"
"I am impudent?!!"
Li Tianyue's expression was cold and austere. Yet, standing within these execution grounds, her army of two hundred thousand appeared utterly tragic and desolate.
She held her head high, glaring furiously at these high-and-mighty commanders and generals—and at the old general she had steadfastly supported for three hundred years.
Her every word rang out with the clang of steel, as if she were finally unleashing the rage she had suppressed deep within her chest for all these years.
"Who is the impudent one?"
"For three hundred years, the soldiers of our Dynasty have traveled thousands of miles from every prefecture, solely to resist foreign enemies and protect our homeland!
Among the soldiers under my command, how many have stained the battlefield with their blood?
To guard the land behind them, how many have not returned to their homes for years, or have lost their lives upon these very sands?"
"Every single one of these soldiers standing behind me has survived bloody battles, one after another.
I once told them that because our comrades died on this frontier, we must remain here at the Eastern Border.
We must continue to guard this land for the sake of those fallen brothers, and to protect our kin and friends thousands of miles away."
"Yet today, without a word of explanation, you slapped the charge of 'colluding with the enemy' onto my subordinates. Colluding with the enemy!"
Li Tianyue roared in fury, "They have risked their heads and spilled their hot blood on this border! If they were to go to the Underworld, with what face could they possibly meet their fallen comrades while bearing such a shameful crime?!"
"Dongfang Liancheng, you tell me! What exactly are my soldiers fighting to protect?!"
The woman's voice was hoarse, yet it carried no shrillness.
Surrounding the execution grounds were no fewer than a million soldiers.
They lowered their eyes and brows. Indeed, what were they protecting?
And what right did they have to lay siege to these veterans of a hundred battles?
Even beside Dongfang Liancheng, the expressions of several generals turned grim.
They had come here to suppress a rebellion, yet now they felt only a profound sense of desolation.
Li Tianyue's plight would inevitably be their own fate one day!
"Stop poisoning the hearts of the people!" Dongfang Liancheng's face was pale, yet he forced himself to shout sternly.
"You are leading troops in rebellion; of course, you can spout any excuse you like!
Do not persist in your stubbornness.
Surrender immediately—do not throw away the lives of your soldiers!"
Yet, at the mention of the word "rebellion," not a single subordinate behind Li Tianyue showed fear.
They drew their weapons and struck the earth with them, displaying their might!
The war drums beat, and the battle horns resounded.
Old veterans will not brook insult.
Their Blood-Robed General stood before them, and their General shall not be insulted either!
If they called this rebellion, then they would rebel against him!
They had traveled thousands, nay, tens of thousands of miles to come here.
This land—they were capable of guarding it, and they were capable of destroying it!
Li Tianyue held her head high and sneered.
"Dongfang Liancheng, justice resides in the hearts of the people.
Whether or not I am truly rebelling is for future generations to judge.
Why bother with this hypocritical act of persuading me to surrender?
Where were you when my subordinates were being reassigned?
Where were you when my subordinates suffered injustice?
And where were you when I was being humiliated?"
"Now that I hold a great army in my hands, now you come to offer terms of surrender?
You are the one being impudent!
You are the one persisting in your stubbornness!"
Dongfang Liancheng's expression turned grim.
Yet, judging by the expression of Li Tianyue—who had endured in silence for so long—and the look of her generals, he feared they truly would not hesitate to wage war!
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