Chapter 1362: Phase Two (Part 1)
At dawn, the Imperial relay station.
Song Zining rose at first light and headed toward the military department. Considering the seventh young master’s status, his office was fairly big despite the scarcity of s.p.a.ce in the military department.
Holding office in the military came with one perk at least. He was able to see every battle report immediately and grasp the overall situation of the fight against Evernight.
Song Zining hadn’t even taken his seat when his aide announced that a guest was here to see him.
Song Zining instructed the man to lead the guests to the conference room, to which he headed only after reading the morning’s reports.
There was a young but capable-looking general, seemingly in his thirties, seated in the meeting room. He first bowed at Song Zining before speaking, “This subordinate is Zhang Zhao, I work under the command of the Profundity Monarch.”
It turned out to be one of the Profundity Monarch’s men. Song Zining gestured for the man to sit while he himself took the main seat.
Zhang Zhao said, “The prince has some military affairs that require your help.”
“Whatever that has caught the prince’s attention must be an important issue. Please speak freely.”
Zhang Zhao said, “This matter is of the utmost importance. The prince didn’t issue any written doc.u.ments, only an appointment letter for me. Here it is, please take a look.”
With that, Zhang Zhao produced an official letter and pa.s.sed it to Song Zining.
Seeing that the seal was intact, Song Zining opened the letter and fished out a paper from within. After going through the contents in detail, he said, “The prince must trust you to pen a letter of appointment personally. Very well, what does the prince need?”
Zhang Zhao said, “This matter is related to Qianye. Despite him ending his life in mutual destruction with Nighteye, there are a lot of things that need… cleaning up.”
“What are you implying?”
Zhang Zhao continued after confirming that Song Zining’s expression was normal. “The prince said that Qianye was highly capable, he had built up such a force and foundation within a short period. He might be gone, but his power remains and that power cannot fall into Evernight hands. The first matter of business is the Martyr’s Palace. This guardian national treasure must be retaken.”
Song Zining said, “The Martyr’s Place has always been mysterious and no one can tell where it is. The vessel disappeared immediately after Qianye’s departure. How do we even find it?”
Zhang Zhao replied, “The palace might be partially sentient, but it’s still under human control. From what I know, there are tens of thousands of soldiers garrisoned in the palace. These people have to return to the ground at one point, and the most likely place for them to land is Cerulean Jade City.”
He paused to observe Song Zining for a bit, only continuing after seeing no change in his composure. “According to our investigations, there are three groups on the Martyr’s Palace, the humans of Fort Continent, the werewolves of the Jade Sea, and the backbone forces from Dark Flame. The overseeing expert on the Martyr’s Palace is Caroline of the Thunderfrost Temple. That’s why the prince believes you have the natural advantage in taking back the airs.h.i.+p. Please accept this important task and do not refuse it.”
“Are you telling me to head back to Fort Continent, kill my old subordinates, and take over the Martyr’s Palace?”
Zhang Zhao noticed something wrong in Song Zining’s tone. “Of course you don’t necessarily need to kill them. It would be best if they’re willing to see the light and work for the Empire. We can also give them sufficient rewards.”
Song Zining’s expression darkened. “Is this the prince’s intention or your opinion? If the Profundity Monarch sent you to tell me this, please go back. I will talk to the prince personally at a later date! I’m not that easy to bully!”
A shocked Zhang Zhao stood up and bowed deeply. “Please, curb your anger. I don’t know how I offended you, but I know you’re a magnanimous person, please forgive me.”
Song Zining looked down. “There’s nothing to say, let’s end this discussion here.”
After a while of hesitation, Zhang Zhao said, “There are some things the prince instructed me to tell you only after you’ve agreed. I can reveal it in advance, but please do not mention that to the prince or my life will be in danger.”
“Speak.”
“The prince said that you’ll be the main contributor in this operation. He’ll arrange a new army corps designation for you and your old subordinates from the neutral lands. All human mercenaries will be granted an official ident.i.ty in the prince’s territory and become a citizen of the Empire. You will be given half of Qianye’s territory on Fort Continent and half of the profits that came from it. To deal with the forces on Fort Continent, the prince can dispatch his trusted subordinates and even take action himself if needed.”
Qianye’s territory on Fort Continent was nothing to scoff at; it was far bigger than an ordinary va.s.sal state. Even half of that was several provinces worth of territory, not to mention how prosperous Cerulean Jade City was. The land would return to its divided state sooner or later if there was no leader to take the reins. With the Summit of Peaks around, the humans might be driven out very soon. Taking over that land would be much faster with the Profundity Monarch’s promise.
Song Zining’s expression eased up. “Now that’s more reasonable. What else?”
Zhang Zhao cursed inwardly—this Song Zining might be famous, but his att.i.tude had changed immediately after seeing the benefits. The man was all smiles as he said in a hushed voice, “The prince has a small condition.”
Song Zining’s expression darkened again. “What condition, speak.”
Zhang Zhao laughed. “It’s not a big burden. You see, the prince has some granddaughters. The eldest and second princesses have always received his favor. They are also famed beauties in the territory. Since Marshal Song isn’t married yet, why not pick one to be your wife? It’ll be a fine thing if two families can become one.”
Song Zining was lost in thought. He seemed attracted by the idea, but he finally shook his head, saying, “I’m only back in the Empire to recuperate for a few days, I’ll be heading back to the new world tomorrow. There’s no time for these things.”
“There won’t be any wars in Blacksun Valley for a while. You’ll be able to return before long. It’s fine to start working on this case at that time.”
Song Zining stood up and paced about. “There are more than just werewolves and natives on Fort Continent. The Summit of Peaks is also there, so I’m expecting things to be difficult. I won’t have any soldier on my hand to deal with the situation once things go in an unexpected direction.”
Seeing that Song Zining was moved, Zhang Zhao said hurriedly, “Rest a.s.sured, the prince has already made arrangements for this matter.
Song Zining nodded slowly. “That will be great! It’s just that those men must head to Fort Continent first and remain hidden there. That way, we’ll be able to operate when the time comes. We’ll become a big target if they operate with me. Also, this mission must be kept completely secret! The Summit of Peaks has a powerful military presence there. We’ll be in trouble if they discover us.”
Zhang Zhao became spirited. “Of course! Don’t worry, Marshal Song, I’ll make all the necessary arrangements after reporting back to the prince! Everything will be ready once you return from the new world, waiting for you to set out!”
“I’ll trouble you then.” Song Zining saw the guest off with cupped fists.
Zhang Zhao understood that this scheme had deep implications, so the less he interacted with Song Zining before its success, the better. Now that he had accomplished his objective, he decided to leave as quickly as possible.
After seeing Zhang Zhao off, Song Zining continued reading the battle reports as usual. He also ordered his men to bring a series of doc.u.ments related to Qianye, including regional battle reports and several doc.u.ments related to the aristocratic families.
The doc.u.ments he had gone through only proved that Song Zining was preparing for his position in the military. Any marshal would have to familiarize himself with the military affairs of the entire country.
After going through the doc.u.ments, Song Zining instructed his men to prepare a car for him and made ready to head out.
…
Evernight Council.
There were still thirteen seats at the roundtable conference.
Unlike the past meetings where the powerhouses’ surging aura would fill the entire hall, no one released their power this time despite it being a full house.
The members overseeing the meeting were also different. Apart from the Lightless Monarch Medanzo of the vampires and the Moorland Overlord Sousa, the rest were all demonkin.
The bronze throne that belonged to the chairman was now occupied by a ma.s.s of pure darkness. Although one could hardly sense any aura from it, whoever paid attention to it would feel a chill down their spine. It was as though they had been baptized by pure darkness.
To the left of the Demon King was the Eternal Flame, Klaus, and down the line were famous clan lords such as Masefield, the Dark Abyss, and Jeruson.
To the right of the Demon King was a young warlock with light blonde hair. Down the line were the cloaked chairman and some of Evernight’s famous prophets.
No one objected to such an unusual seating arrangement, not even Medanzo and Sousa who would usually pay attention to their status.
A demonkin prince stood up, bowed toward the Demon King, and began presenting the recent war reports.