Lin Qian continued, looking at the group before him, "Even though you've regained your true strength after using the Refining Potion, it's still not enough..."
His eyes sharpened, and his expression became stern. "The Huaxia Empire demands victory in war—absolute victory, crushing victory, a victory that inspires, a victory that moves forward without hesitation, a victory that cannot be stopped!"
"When encountering the enemy, we must overwhelm them."
As Lin Qian spoke, he glanced at the people before him, shaking his head slightly. "Perhaps the four elders barely meet this standard. Yue Liqun might have a chance, but the rest of you clearly fall short of what I require."
"I don't want drawn-out battles, nor do I need so-called narrow victories!"
After Lin Qian finished speaking, many of those present, especially Xu Mengqing, showed expressions of defiance.
"Your Majesty, I am now at the third stage of the Awakening Realm. I am confident that I can fight against the Blackhorn Kingdom and slay their strongest warriors!" Xu Mengqing declared loudly. "Your Majesty may have capable subordinates, and I might not be as strong as you, but I don't believe I would lose to them."
Lin Qian laughed heartily. "Hahaha, Xu Mengqing, I admire your confidence, but compared to my generals and beast generals, you're still far behind."
"Perhaps, under my guidance, you could one day stand on your own, maybe even compete with them. But for now, you are far from qualified!"
"I don't believe that!" Xu Mengqing replied, bowing deeply. "I respectfully request that Your Majesty grant me a chance to prove myself, to compete against one of the generals or beast generals you mentioned."
Lin Qian appreciated Xu Mengqing's confident attitude, recognizing his potential for growth.
Having confidence in oneself and the courage to face challenges—these qualities, when nurtured by the Empire, would surely lead to rapid improvement in strength.
"Since you insist, I'll give you the opportunity." Lin Qian agreed. Xu Mengqing, like Yue Liqun, had a certain stubbornness, though his was far more constructive.
His was the stubbornness born of self-confidence, not the kind of evasion and refusal to face reality that Yue Liqun had once shown.
In the Huaxia Empire's Fantasy Star, on an endless plain, countless blood soldiers were swinging their war blades in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized as if cast from the same mold.
At the forefront of this army stood a towering man, bare-chested, wielding a three-foot war blade as he led the formation.
"Hah!" The giant man gripped the blade's one-foot-long hilt with both hands, shouting as he swung it forward. His bulging muscles formed mounds, veins popping out like dragons coiled beneath his skin.
At that moment, a voice echoed in the giant man's mind. "Demon, I'm sending you away from Fantasy Star to take care of something for me—go and spar with a new subject of the Empire who needs a lesson."
Hearing his emperor's voice, the demon's eyes lit up. He dropped to one knee, plunging his war blade into the ground. "Understood, Your Majesty!"
The next moment, the demon noticed a white light surrounding him, twisting like a vortex and enveloping him completely.
"Finally, a chance to serve His Majesty!" The demon grinned, revealing his white teeth as he laughed aloud, exhilarated by the prospect.
The next instant, his surroundings shifted, and he found himself in a strange land. Looking up, there was no sky, only a strange, burning canopy.
"So, this is the underground world of His Majesty?" Before being summoned from Fantasy Star, the demon had already been briefed on everything.
Lin Qian could instantly transmit information to every unit in the Huaxia Empire on Fantasy Star, and as a general, the demon naturally knew everything he needed to know.
To avoid startling everyone with the demon's sudden appearance, Lin Qian had summoned him just outside the courtyard.
Creak...
The demon pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped inside. Everyone's eyes turned to him, curious.
At this point, Xu Mengqing also stood up, looking at the bare-chested giant who had entered the courtyard, suspecting that this was to be his opponent.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Upon entering, the demon's first action was to salute his emperor. He could barely contain his excitement, breathing heavily, thrilled to finally leave Fantasy Star and serve his emperor.
As Lin Qian gazed at the towering figure before him, memories of familiar scenes from his previous life began to surface, one by one.
This figure, known as the demon, was a middle-ranking general of the blood soldiers, able to command blood soldiers and lower-ranked knife soldiers.
The demon had been a powerful general, and to be precise, in Lin Qian's previous life as a gamer, none of the generals he had trained at that stage were weak.
Seeing the embodiment of his past memories standing before him, Lin Qian felt both excitement and nostalgia, eagerly anticipating the upcoming battle against the Blackhorn Kingdom.
Although the highest cultivation level he could currently summon among the imperial army and beast army was still at the Life and Death Realm, the power of the middle-ranking units had been significantly enhanced. With no change in their cultivation, their combat strength had improved dramatically.
Moreover, Lin Qian could now summon generals and beast generals to lead the imperial army and beast army into battle, greatly amplifying their combat strength compared to the past.
From the moment the demon appeared, Xu Mengqing's gaze remained fixed on him, his expression serious.
He could sense that this bare-chested giant before him was no ordinary man; his strength was formidable.
"Already equipped with a primordial weapon, I see." Xu Mengqing took a deep breath, summoning his own primordial core and components to perform a primordial weapon transformation.
With his soul power infused, a slender, green-patterned long blade appeared in his right hand, which he gripped tightly as he stared intently at the demon.
"Rise, and face him in battle. Break through his primordial weapon, but go easy on him—don't hurt him," Lin Qian instructed the demon.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The demon nodded solemnly and turned to face Xu Mengqing, raising the massive war blade and resting it on his shoulder. He motioned for Xu Mengqing to attack first. "You go first."
Xu Mengqing's eyes narrowed as he stared at the demon in silence, his expression darkening. The gesture felt like blatant disrespect.
"Very well, I shall humbly accept your offer," Xu Mengqing said as he gripped his primordial weapon tightly, addressing the demon seriously. "I ask that you do not hold back—please fight with all your might."
Hearing Xu Mengqing's words, the demon frowned slightly, looking troubled. "All my might? If I fight with all my strength, I might kill you with a single blow."
The first general to be summoned happens to be based on a character from our original group—an absolute powerhouse. Writing him always brings to mind his avatar of a muscular man.