Chapter 1343: Serve the “Country”
Actually, everyone could tell that the four races of Evernight were far stronger than the Empire if united. There were only two reasons as to why the Empire had thrived for the past millennium.
One of them was that the four major dark races treated humans as the fifth race instead of facing them as a faction. The enmity between their races wasn’t inferior to their hatred for the human race—between the vampires and werewolves, between the vampires and the demonkin, between the demonkin and the arachne, etc. One or two races would form the primary fighting force in every war, while the remainder would do their best to trip them and increase their casualties.
There was also a difference between long-lived races and short-lived ones. The humans lived shorter lifespans, so they attached great importance to moments of glory. There would always be heroes willing to risk life and limb for the country. Comparatively, it was much more difficult for the dark races to sacrifice hundreds or even a thousand years of life.
That was why the Empire would usually claim the final victory in decisive battles.
Now the four Evernight races had united under Nighteye. Although they were still afraid of death, transferring power to Nighteye through her domain wouldn’t put their life at risk. The two great advantages the Empire had enjoyed in the past were no longer viable after Nighteye’s appearance.
The Empire’s talented geniuses below the heavenly monarch realm had lost one after the other—there was actually no one left to pick.
The heavenly monarchs couldn’t join the fight, so only a handful of superior divine champions remained that could outperform the Zhao-Song duo. These people were either too old, timid, unsuitable, or unwilling.
The only ones remaining were clan powerhouses like Zhao Weihuang, but they were too important. It was fine for them to lead troops, but they couldn’t be allowed to risk their lives on the front line.
The Radiant Emperor asked again, “Who is my agent of resurgence?”
The court once again fell silent.
The Radiant Emperor was planning to ask a third time, but his eyes landed on the exhibit wall at the other end of the hall. It was as though his gaze could pierce through the structure and see the small calligraphy-work on the other side.
The hall was full of honorable subjects, but the absence of that one person made things quite lonely.
…
Fort Continent. By the time Qianye had returned to Cerulean Wave City, he found out that an imperial emissary was there for him and that he had been waiting for an entire day.
Qianye had no idea what the Empire would want with him at this point. He summoned the envoy after dealing with internal matters.
Kong Yu arrived with this emissary and began by apologizing. “I went back to the Empire for some business and found out that Lord Pei was planning to visit you. So, I volunteered to be his guide. Lord Pei is an old friend, he’s now working at the military department and his future is limitless.”
The emissary seemed around thirty years of age—elegant, handsome, and somewhat proud. He cupped his hands at Qianye, saying, “I’m Pei Zijun, currently working as an a.s.sistant to the commander of the staff office. I came here to request Sire Qianye to serve the Empire. Please lead your troops to Blacksun Valley and defeat the dark race alliance!”
Qianye sat still. “Serve the country?”
Pei Zijun said with a loud voice, “Sire Qianye, you’re a hero of the generation. Now that the Empire is facing difficulties, you should step up and fight for the country, for the human race, do your powerful cultivation justice.”
Kong Yu’s expression changed slightly as he let out a dry cough. Pei Zijun, however, ignored the gesture.
“What if I don’t?”
Pei Zijun took a step forward. “Sire Qianye, everyone has a duty to help when the country is in danger! How can you feign ignorance when you’re so powerful? Do you feel no shame? Even if you don’t, did you ever think about the consequences of disobeying the Empire’s summons?”
Qianye sneered. “Disobedience? Whose order am I disobeying? Who has the right to give me orders? Give me a name.”
Pei Zijun’s expression turned cold. “Sire Qianye, are you intent on refusing? I must report everything back to the superiors when I return. The outcome…”
Qianye let out a drawn-out laugh. With a wave of his hand, a surge of origin power slammed into Pei Zijing’s body and sent him flying out of the door. The man’s entire body became embedded in the structure.
Pei Zijin coughed out a mouthful of blood, unable to move a muscle as he was stuck in the wall. Only at this point did he reveal an expression of shock, not having expected that Qianye would really attack.
Qianye roared, “Destroy the dark races? Do you really think I don’t know who their commander is? How dare you come here and demand that I destroy them. Are you tired of living? I’ve killed quite a few people from the military back in the day, and I won’t hold back if I have to kill some more today!”
Kong Yu’s expression was ashen. He fell to his knees and said hurriedly, “Sire! I really didn’t know he was here to say these things. Brother Pei has always been devoted to his work, perhaps he’s just too eager to distinguish himself. It probably isn’t his intention to offend you, and it’s not a crime worthy of death, either. Please spare his worthless life!”
Qianye said slowly, “Eager to distinguish? At the cost of his life? Then why not go to the battlefield? Have the cursed remnants of the Longevity Monarch still not given up on trying to kill me?”
Kong Yu was shocked out of his wits. He knew that a calamity would befall him should he make a wrong answer.
Fortunately, Qianye didn’t wait for him to reply. “Since you brought him here, you shall take him back. Your Kong family had better find out who sent this idiot here, and you know what you should do after you figure it out. If your Kong family wishes to make an enemy out of me, I’ll make sure you cannot take half a step onto Fort Continent!”
Kong Yu was finally panicked. “Rest a.s.sured, Sire! I’ll handle everything!”
He carefully plucked Pei Zijun from the wall and walked out. The latter was in a semi-conscious state, but he woke up from the pain of being moved around.
He poked his head out from behind Kong Yu’s shoulder and cried out, “My death… isn’t worth anything, but the Empire… its existence is in peril… How can you… ignore…”
His voice slowly faded into the distance, but its echo bounced off the corridor walls.
All of a sudden, Qianye felt a strange sense of frustration. He walked over to the window and gazed out at the boundless Jade sea, his thoughts flying out to the distant Blacksun Valley.
Qianye had never been to the place, but he had heard the name countless times. Recent battle reports both big and small were all related to the Blacksun Valley. Even someone without a lick of tactical knowledge could tell that the two armies were locked in a showdown.
Why had the imperial military picked Pei Zijun to persuade Qianye? Was it to provoke him, or were they really at their wit’s end? Or was it this man’s personal actions?
Qianye couldn’t tell, nor did he try. He simply stood in front of the window until night fell upon the land.
William appeared behind him at one point. “Got time for a drink?”
“Sure.”
The man was holding a crate of wine, which he duly placed on the ground. They didn’t pick any particular place and simply started drinking in Qianye’s office.
William looked like he wanted to say something a few gla.s.ses in, but the hesitant werewolf didn’t know where to begin. Qianye said, “If you’re trying to console me, let it be, just drink.”
“Okay, bottoms up!”
The two filled gla.s.s after gla.s.s until they had emptied half a crate. William eventually got drunk—he flipped over in his giant wolf form and fell into a snoring sleep.
Qianye’s eyes were clear at this point, without an ounce of intoxication. His heart was so heavy that no amount of alcohol could make him drunk.
He sauntered down the stairs and was just about to take a stroll in the city when he heard a certain ruckus. Some aides were chasing after a man, who ran straight for Qianye and grabbed his arm.
Qianye didn’t dodge because it was actually Wei Potian.
The guards soon arrived and surrounded the area. The captain’s forehead was drenched in sweat as he said, “I was incapable and simply couldn’t stop him! Please forgive me.”
Qianye waved his hand. “This is my brother. It’s fine, you guys can withdraw.”
The guards were relieved to hear that the intruder was a friend. Knowing how powerful Qianye was and that there was no need to worry about his safety, the soldiers bowed and left.
After the guards were gone, Wei Potian said, “Qianye! Please save the Empire!”
Qianye was surprised. He didn’t continue the topic and instead pointed at Wei Potian’s left sleeve. “What happened? Who did this?”
Qianye’s voice contained a hint of killing intent.
Wei Potian’s left sleeve was empty, his arm nowhere to be found.
“This isn’t important…”
Qianye cut him short. “Not important? Tell me, who did it?”
Wei Potian laughed wryly. “It’s no use telling you, why bother?”
Qianye’s expression was as gloomy as still water. “Why would you say so? Even if the enemy is a prince or a great dark monarch, they will still die in my hand one day.”
Wei Potian shook his head. “It’s fine if it was anyone else, but her… let it be.”
“You mean…” Qianye’s heart sank.
Wei Potian said, “You can’t blame her for this. She’s already let me live twice, but I insisted on appearing in front of her with the army. And she only cut off an arm the last time, anyone else would’ve died several times over. An arm is nothing, I’ll just get a replacement. It’ll be expensive, but I have no lack of money,” Wei Potian said casually, almost as though the lost arm wasn’t his own.
A new arm could be transplanted and with gradual cultivation, it could be used naturally. If there were no irreversible hidden injuries, all he would need was a vast amount of resources. But his strength would be greatly discounted during this period which meant a greater chance of death during wartime.
How could it be the same?
Since the topic had been breached, Qianye stopped avoiding the obvious. He took a deep breath and said, “Didn’t she recognize you?”
“Do you think that’s possible? I’d be dead if she didn’t recognize me.” Wei Potian laughed wryly, breaking Qianye’s last hope.
“She… why is she doing this?”
Wei Potian sighed. “I should be asking you, how should I know? But… you need to find a way to stop her. I don’t want you to kill her, but please find a way to make her withdraw. The Empire… our forces in the new world are doomed!”
Qianye was surprised. “Isn’t Jundu holding the fort?”
“Jundu was stabbed through the chest. He’d be dead by now if Prince Greensun hadn’t taken the risk to save him. Zining fell unconscious while fighting her through divination and is still out cold. One general after the other has taken the field, but all of them were defeated. At least… at least forty thousand soldiers have fallen in her hands.”
Wei Potian’s voice was trembling, and Qianye’s body had long since turned cold.