Eastern Border.
Li Tianyue and Li Kuangren returned to reality from the Ancestral Space, their eyes filled with shock.
The hidden secrets of the Zishu family were extraordinary, yet both of them shook their heads.
The clansmen were right: Fourth Prince's promise of the Body Integration stage was too hollow and grandiose.
Focusing on the reality before them was the true path.
Suddenly, the two of them paused, stunned.
Li Tianyue walked outside.
Beyond her dilapidated residence, the spacious alleyway was bustling with moving figures, the clamor of voices rising and falling.
These were all soldiers of the Eastern Border, and among them were even two Divinity Transformation stage generals!
Upon their arrival, every single one of these soldiers knelt down before Li Tianyue!
"Your subordinates pay respects to General Yue!"
The soldiers knelt on one knee in succession, the friction of their armor creating a rasping sound.
Just by sensing with her Primordial Spirit, she realized there were over a hundred thousand of them.
Li Tianyue had already anticipated something like this.
Her brows furrowed as she looked toward one of the Divinity Transformation stage generals.
"What are you doing?"
At a glance, one could tell he was a veteran of the battlefield.
His entire body radiated a killing aura, and clad in silver chainmail, he looked incredibly imposing.
Hearing Li Tianyue's question, he gritted his teeth and replied, "Reporting to General Yue: We are all veterans of the Eastern Border. The Eastern Expedition Army is unjust, but justice and conscience still exist in this world."
"We learned that General Yue dared to stand against the Marshal.
Since the General is willing to risk her life for her subordinates, there is not one among us two hundred thousand soldiers who will not follow you in life and death."
"Your subordinate implores you, General: Please allow us to join your command!"
As the Divinity Transformation stage veteran general paid his respects, the multitude of immortal soldiers shouted in unison, "General, please take us under your command!"
The cries rose wave after wave, resounding throughout the entire Eastern Expedition Army.
Every eye turned toward Li Tianyue's residence.
Li Tianyue looked toward Li Kuangren, who currently held the position of Prefecture Lord, and asked via voice transmission, "Can we take these people with us?"
"Aunt, the elders in the Ancestral Space said that even if you wanted to burn the Eastern Expedition Army to the ground, that would be fine. However..."
Li Kuangren smiled, but then a trace of trouble flashed through his eyes as he hesitated.
"Please don't actually burn it, though. Otherwise, your nephew here will be swamped with work for the foreseeable future."
Hearing this, Li Tianyue was stunned for a long time.
She sensed a presence and immediately looked up toward the clouds.
It was the aura—the aura of the numerous commanders of the Eastern Expedition Army, as well as the auras of many border generals.
With a single rallying cry from them, countless troops would swarm in to intercept.
She should not have taken these hundred thousand immortal soldiers who supported her.
She ought to have waited ten days, until all preparations were complete and contingencies were in place, before leaving.
That was the most basic and rational course of action for a general.
But this time, she did not want to prepare!
She had spent her entire life making preparations: preparing to marry into the Liu family, preparing to raise her child Wuhuan to adulthood, preparing to become a general...
This time, she wanted to be nothing more than a normal girl—the little girl seen through the eyes of her elders.
She wanted to be willful, just this once.
She floated into the air, and under the gazes of all the soldiers and those prying in the shadows, she headed toward the city gate!
Li Tianyue slowly turned her head back.
Looking down at the immortal soldiers who were staring at her in a daze, still kneeling on one knee, she finally revealed a faint smile.
"What are you all waiting for? Are you not coming with me?"
As that gentle voice entered their ears, the immortal soldiers sprang to their feet one after another, shouting, "We swear to follow General Yue to the death!"
...
"Old General, Li Tianyue is acting with utter recklessness! She has taken away another hundred and twenty thousand men!"
"She is leaving, Old General! These are our soldiers!"
"That is a total of three hundred and twenty thousand troops... Old General, you must stop them quickly!"
"..."
Dongfang Liancheng hovered in the air.
On the ground below, the soldiers moved like a black dragon; the earth was like a shallow shoal, and they swam out of the Eastern Expedition Army, brazen and unbridled.
He saw Li Tianyue flying in the sky.
In the three hundred years she had served by his side, this was the first time he had seen Li Tianyue look so free and joyous.
He could even sense her delight at this very moment.
And this army of three hundred and twenty thousand... how many years had it been since he had seen his own troops look so valiant and high-spirited?
He had forgotten. It had been too long.
The voices of persuasion from those around him drifted into his ears, sounding like the chattering of demons and monsters.
"You are free."
Dongfang Liancheng let out a long breath.
He paid no further heed to the urgings of his subordinates and sent no troops to intercept them.
Just then, Tang Miao approached, his face filled with rage.
"Old General! They are leaving! That is an army of three hundred and twenty thousand!
If they leave, what will become of our face?
They should be fighting for our Eastern Border City; even if they die, they should die on the battlefield of Duskwild Prefecture!"
But Dongfang Liancheng only looked at him with a cold expression.
The Old General's voice held not a shred of emotion.
"This is the decree of the Imperial Dynasty. Since they have gone, let them go. Do we not still have you?"
Tang Miao's expression changed. "Old General, what do you mean by that?"
"You will not have the opportunity to find out." Dongfang Liancheng sneered.
"Did you really think your petty tricks could deceive the Li family?
You understand them far too little.
I fear that by now, the Li family has already slaughtered their way into your Forgotten Immortal Lands."
"What?!!" Tang Miao's face turned pale.
"Oh, right. The Imperial Capital has also issued an order to severely punish those involved."
At this moment, Dongfang Liancheng's expression appeared incredibly indifferent before Tang Miao's eyes.
The Old General's voice was like the freezing snow of the high mountains.
"Leave my Eastern Expedition Army within one hour. Otherwise, I will hand you over to the Immortal Suppression Department for interrogation, and you will die without a doubt."
"You..." Tang Miao dared not hesitate and fled instantly.
As Tang Miao fled and Li Tianyue's grand army departed, Dongfang Liancheng let out a long breath.
He flew onto the border city walls. Gazing toward the distant Duskwild Prefecture, his aged eyes held the ferocity of an eagle battling a tiger!
"Fourth Prince, the troops on both our sides are drawn from various major factions.
Moving forward, in order to eradicate this accumulated rot, we will continuously send the immortal soldiers of these factions to their deaths."
"This is, after all, the world of the Zishu clan.
These individuals with ulterior motives deserve to lose their lives in this death trap.
They shall pay the price for their greed, and in doing so, purge the treacherous evils for the sake of the Imperial Family and my Human Race."
"In this regard, our thoughts have aligned."
Saying this, he took a deep breath and turned his head to look behind him.
"Those who did not deserve to die have all left. This is for the best. I only hope that you all find a bright future."
As he murmured to himself, a dark crow flew over.
Dongfang Liancheng raised an eyebrow. "A letter from the Old Li family?"
He opened it.
It was a letter from Li Dalong, containing only two words.
[Thank you]
"Hmph."
The Old General crushed the dark crow in his grip.
Leaning his hands on the ramparts, he gazed out at the boundless battlefield in the distance.
---
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