"Ah?!"
Louis suddenly stopped in his steps; he sat on his horse in fear. In his black eyes, the black blade spun. However, it seemed like his body was unable to raise any strength at all and he could only wait for death. The despair and sadness in his eyes weren"t just a little. His son had just died in battle but he was about to die in the hands of the enemy that he wanted to kill.
Just as Louis" head was about to be ripped off, the warhorse suddenly neighed and a white robe flashed across. A golden shield went in front of Louis. It was w.a.n.g Ze Cheng!
"Keng!"
The blade reflected and w.a.n.g Ze Cheng was forced back several steps with his horse. He also lost 10 thousand health. Our Steel Blade Cavalry took at least 20 thousand damage per hit, one could see how high w.a.n.g Ze Cheng"s defenses were.
"Quick, protect the Marquis as he retreats!" w.a.n.g Ze Cheng didn"t show any fear at all, "Men, grab the corpse of the young general, quick. I will block the Barbarian Wolf Cavalry. Ice Spirit Cavalry, attack together with me!"
Call Me Master, Free Time, and Su Yan followed their guild master over and they clashed with the Barbarian Wolf Cavalry. However, they could barely stay above losing. Compared to the Rank 7 Hybrid Demons, the Ice Spirit Cavalry"s solo skills weren"t on the same level. If not for the healers, they would have collapsed long ago!
I took a look at the Ice Spirit Cavalry and confirmed that they wouldn"t stab us in the back before I continued to bring Royal Army and [Zhan Long] to attack. In the end, the various guilds of Tian Ling City and armies attacked together. In just an hour, the 100 thousand Barbarian Wolf Cavalry all laid on the sh.o.r.e as corpses. They dropped equipment and cards for us.
……
Smoke bellowed and several deep holes exploded by the sh.o.r.eline by the Dragon Crystal Cannons. The beach became a four-meter deep moat and after the ocean water entered it was enough to drown one.
Li Mu and w.a.n.g Jian brought people to clean up the battlefield. I brought Han Yuan, Xia Ye, Xiao Lie and Long Xing to the main tent. Han Yuan was furious; his expression was really ugly. To protect the Heavy Cannon Unit, we lost several thousand men and horses. This was something that he couldn"t accept.
"Hua!"
After ripping open the curtains of the tent, I held my sword and I strolled in. Luo Xun was sitting at the seat only lower than that of Lochlan’s. He smiled casually, "Berserker Lei Ding"s strength is just that — Royal Army General Li really is strong; he actually crushed that bunch of people!"
With a "keng", the Dragon Reservoir Sword came out of its sheath. I pointed it right at Luo Xun"s throat and said solemnly, "Luo Xun, you still have face to drink tea here?"
Lochlan was shocked, "Master Li, what are you doing? Let go of him. What happened?"
I laughed coldly, "Why not ask your valiant and heroic father?!"
Luo Xun was shocked, "Li Xiao Yao, what do you want?"
I hollered, "What do you think? I lent you 5,000 Heavy Cannon Units to help you win. Your Rongdi Army actually directly abandoned them when you couldn"t hold on anymore, letting them face the Barbarian Wolf Cavalry head-on. You still have the face to ask me? You know how many people the Royal Army had to sacrifice because of your cowardice?! Luo Xun, how many dog lives are you worth?!"
Luo Xun"s face was really ugly, "Li... General Li calm down, I... I don"t know about this matter. I will investigate it, this..."
Lochlan quickly flew off his throne and held my hand, saying anxiously, "Master Li, don"t kill my father... No matter what he did, it doesn"t warrant death. Put down the sword and we will talk about it. I will judge the situation."
I retracted my anger a little, and the sword returned to my sheath. I looked coldly at Luo Xun and said, "Okay, let me hear you explain this."
……
Luo Xun"s face was devoid of color as he stood up. "Investigate who retreated and abandoned the Royal Army Heavy Cannon Unit. Get to the bottom of it!"
Instantly a Rongdi Army Major cupped his fists and said, "Heavy Cavalry Unit Major Wuxin ordered the retreat!"
Luo Xun was furious, "Men, push Wuxin out and behead him. Bring his head over!"
A few seconds later, a soldier carried a b.l.o.o.d.y head over. It was that Wuxin who gave the order to retreat. Rage burned in my chest; Luo Xun was obviously shedding responsibility. Without him giving instructions, how would a major dare to let hundred thousand troops retreat?
Seeing that I was still furious, Lochlan said nervously, "Master Li... Lochlan only has one father, why not... why not pardon him?"
The instant he said that, Lochlan"s expression turned serious, "The Rongdi Army abandoned their allies and retreated. All lieutenants and above will be fined half a year’s worth of salary. The South Protecting King has failed to manage them well, so they will be fined for a full year!"
Since Lochlan was speaking up for his father, then I could only take the loss. I stood to the side and looked toward Luo Xun viciously, "Rongdi Army fought a good war!"
Luo Xun"s face turned green and purple. Most probably he felt that he was in the wrong, right?
At this moment, sobbing sounds spread from the outside. Louis’ left hand was bloodied like it was injured. A bunch of soldiers were carrying him, and his left hand was bloodied like it was injured. However, what one couldn"t stand was that a bunch of shattered things were carried behind. All of it was blood. Needless to say, they were the pieces of Luote"s body.
"Your Majesty..."
Louis knelt on the ground, tears flowing like a river as he cried, "Your Majesty, I only have Luote as a son. Today he died on the battlefield — he is loyal to the Empire and everyone will miss him!"
Lochlan stood up and walked over quickly. He held onto Louis" arms, "Marquis... Don"t be sad, Little General Luote sacrificed himself for the country and is the model for all. You are a rare general too. Marquis Louis, please get over it and continue to serve the Empire!"
As he said that, Lochlan said, "Men, give Luote the t.i.tle of Commander in Chief and posthumous t.i.tle of Marquis Zhongyong!"
Everyone was shocked. No one expected that Lochlan would actually give Luote the t.i.tle of Commander in Chief. One must know that there were only three in the empire: Qin Ye, Les, and I. However, he was dead and being a Commander in Chief was pointless — he wouldn"t get any salary at all.
At the side, the soldier looked at the pieces of Luote"s body. Lin Wan Er frowned and looked at me uncomfortably. I hugged her and said, "Stop looking... Don"t look..."
I didn"t bother as I had seen such gory scenes more than once. I had killed many, and it was normal for the Artificials to be sliced into dozens of pieces by Xiao Hei.
……
Lochlan calmed down Louis and headed back onto the throne.
After sitting down, he looked toward the crowd and said, "The Generals have fought for Tian Ling Empire; I have seen all of this. I hope everyone can work together and force back the Hybrid Demons. After this I will reward you one by one, I won"t treat any of you all badly. Now report the various losses and general deaths!"
The various army clerks tabulated their results and handed the scrolls over.
Lochlan looked at each and every one of them and said, "Three Majors from Fire Dragon Army died. What a waste, even the deputy general died. Alright, Major Fang Ge Que has fought well, he will become the Deputy General. The rest of the major slots will be replaced by meritorious lieutenants."
Longzhong cupped his fists and said, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Lochlan looked toward me, "Master Li, the Royal Army also has a shortfall... Major Mowen died in the battle. It is time to promote a new major."
Luo Xun said, "Your Majesty, the Rongdi Army has many generals. I don"t mind lending a few to the Royal Army. My Lieutenant Chouqi is really strong and can be a major."
Lochlan turned toward me, "Master Li, what do you think?"
I couldn"t help but laugh, "The Royal Army has many talents. Our Lieutenants are definitely no weaker than the Rongdi Army majors. I am worried about the Rongdi Army that had so many deaths. Do they need a few lieutenants to help make up for their losses?"
Luo Xun said furiously, "Li Xiao Yao, what kind of words are those? How can the Royal Army"s Lieutenants compare to my Rongdi Army majors?"
My brow rose up, "Why not I select five lieutenants to fight five of your majors and we can see who wins?"
Luo Xun was instantly afraid; if they really fought, it would be tough to say. The Royal Army had been through many wars and our lieutenant levels and grades were really high. Them not losing to the Rongdi Army majors was true.
Situ Xin, Baili Ning, Han Yuan, Xiao Lie, and the other generals laughed. Luo Xun"s face turned red but he didn"t dare to challenge me. He wanted to place spies in the Royal Army but who would’ve known that I would bite him back and want to send Royal Army Lieutenants into the Rongdi Army? As long as a dozen enter, half of their strength would be mine!
……
Lochlan smiled and said, "Father, don"t compare with Master Li. You are my father and he is my teacher, don"t put me in a tight spot."
Luo Xun cupped his fists, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Lochlan continued to read the scrolls, "Fire Axe Army Deputy General died too — out of the 6 majors, 3 died. The most suitable one to become a Deputy General is Bei Chenfeng. How about we promote him to deputy?"
Marquis Louis stood up, "Your Majesty, I have another choice. "
"Oh, who?"
"It is this Little General behind me." Louis moved to the side. Behind him was w.a.n.g Ze Cheng who carried a spear and shield, whose shoulder shone the dark gold of the lieutenant rank.
Lochlan was shocked, "This Little General w.a.n.g is just a lieutenant?"
Louis cupped his fists and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, but I have seen his courage. He risked his life to save me and also took care of Luote"s body. I have made my mind up. How about we appoint him as the deputy general?"
At the side, Q-Sword’s face was really ugly, "Marquis, why not let me take over?"
Louis looked toward Q-Sword and said expressionlessly, "When I ordered you to protect Luote, did you do it? I ordered you to strike Barbarian Wolf Cavarly"s docking point, but did you listen to my orders? The Fire Axe Army needs generals that listen obediently and not arrogant generals. General Beichen, you still have more to learn!"
Q-Sword was annoyed and embarra.s.sed. He suppressed his anger and cupped his fists, "I will learn a lot by following the Marquis. Don"t worry, I won"t let you down."
Louis nodded his head and smiled, "That"s the way!"
……
I was silent as I stood opposite them. However, in my heart, I was laughing out loud. F***, Q-Sword who was said to be the most perfect male in the China Region, was actually facing such a situation!
At the same time, it also proved that no matter how much effort you spent in doing something, other people could just suck up. That was life, and one just had to accept it!