Chapter 459: First Attempt

Everyone said in unison, "We heard clearly!"

Their angry voices thundered, reaching the sky, startling countless night herons.

The envoy swallowed, watching as General Hong tossed the imperial decree back to him. "Someone, take the envoy to rest well. He still needs to deliver this decree to Panlong City tomorrow."

Two soldiers stepped forward and led the envoy away.

General Hong stood facing the Panlong Army, her hand resting on her waist-saber.

Today, she wore a ghost-head mask, which looked particularly fierce under the flickering torchlight.

A gust of night wind blew past.

She remained still, and thousands of soldiers also stood motionless.

After a long while, General Hong finally ordered in a deep voice, "Wait for Commander Zhong to make the final decision. Disperse now, everyone go back and rest!"

The crowd remained still.

General Hong turned and strode away.

Only when her silhouette vanished into the darkness did the West City Plaza erupt in a roar, almost exploding with angry shouts.

The Panlong Army's fury almost burned hotter than the torches they held.

Spitting and cursing were everywhere. He Lingchuan heard someone nearby already cursing the monarch's nineteenth generation of ancestors.

There was truly no respect.

Men Ban hadn't brought his shield, so he could only stomp his feet hard on the ground. "Damn those cowards from the capital, spineless wretches with no dignity!"

Hu Min spat into the indentations his feet had made. "Why don't we just fight our way back to Xiluo and take the capital? It would save us from this humiliation!"

A Luo shushed him. "Don't talk nonsense."

Liutiao asked He Lingchuan, "Broken Blade, what's wrong with us fighting our way back? Our homeland wouldn't even need to send a single soldier for support. Why would the monarch—why—" She couldn't continue, too angry. She took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Why is he afraid of us returning?" He Lingchuan said calmly. "We are too strong, and our homeland is too weak."

Everyone exchanged glances, recalling the imperial decree General Hong had just read. It sounded condescending and majestically worded, yet it was filled with barely concealed frustration.

"Guarding against the people of the northwest border more than against the enemy."

"Exactly!" Soldiers from other units nearby heard and loudly echoed, "Guarding against the people of the northwest border more than against the enemy. Our homeland is guarding against *us*, against *us*!"

Having single-handedly defended this isolated enclave for over a decade, only to be feared, suspected, and ostracized by their homeland—anyone's heart would grow cold.

"Yes, our homeland would rather borrow troops from the Beijia Kingdom than let us return!"

"Such a homeland is better off without!"

A clamor rose all around.

After an unknown amount of time, He Lingchuan finally heard the most crucial sentence:

"Such a homeland is better off not returning to!"

Soon, someone responded:

"Yes, going back would only lead to being ostracized and looked down upon. We might as well stay on the Chipa Plateau."

"Understand this: it's the high-ranking officials who would be ostracized back home, not us. We are just soldiers; how can they not want us?"

"Go back to be cannon fodder?" someone else retorted impolitely. "The 40,000 elite troops recalled by our homeland last time were all heroes here. After going back, they were scattered and reassigned to various places. The result? Some died, some fled. How many are left now? They talk about elite soldiers and valiant generals, but if you and I go back, we'll all meet the same fate!"

"Will the monarch love his soldiers like Master Zhong does, or deploy troops like General Hong, as if by magic? Look at how they suppress rebellions domestically—the more they suppress, the more chaotic it gets!"

"Indeed, a cowardly soldier affects one, but a cowardly general affects a whole group. If we go back like this, at best we'll be mere vagrants in a chaotic world. How can that compare to the prosperity we have on the Chipa Plateau!"

He Lingchuan listened to the clamor around him and softly exhaled.

So, the Xiluo monarch's reaction was indeed within Panlong City's expectations, wasn't it?

Everything Panlong City did seemed to intentionally trigger the Xiluo monarch's fears.

Before the monarch even issued the relocation order, Panlong City jumped the gun—this showed their impatience.

The Panlong Army completely disregarded the Jinxin Corridor offered by the Baling Kingdom and instead forged a new path, intending to fight their way back through the Xiji Kingdom—this showed their disregard for authority and their willfulness.

Annihilating a kingdom in just a few days, something Xiluo was far from capable of—this demonstrated their proud and fierce generalship.

With these traits combined, which monarch wouldn't be wary?

If Zhong Shengguang were to return to Xiluo with such an army, who in the entire country could be his match?

Wouldn't such an army effortlessly capture the Xiluo capital?

Therefore, even if the monarch had hesitated before, upon hearing of Zhong Shengguang's great victory in Xiji, he finally made up his mind:

"They must never be allowed to return!"

The relocation order? No longer to be issued.

Some court officials had already opposed the relocation, arguing that Panlong Wilderness was Xiluo territory, an ancestral inheritance, and could not be ceded at will.

So, in the name of righteousness, he would order the Panlong Army to guard the border region and forever protect the land!

He Lingchuan even suspected the timing of General Hong's victory report.

If they had waited until the Xiji royal palace was captured to send word back to their homeland, the message exchange would have taken at least ten days, meaning the envoy from Xiluo's capital couldn't have arrived at Yuheng City so quickly.

This implied that General Hong sent the victory report to Xiluo first, and only then led her army to leisurely besiege the Xiji royal palace.

General Hong, or rather the God Mitian, truly didn't consider the Xiji and Xiluo kingdoms significant.

This night, in the west of Yuheng City, the Panlong Army was destined to spend a sleepless night.

He Lingchuan looked in the direction where General Hong had disappeared earlier.

This must be Zhong Shengguang and General Hong's strategy.

They clearly understood that public opinion could not be defied or suppressed, but it could be guided. Thus, they directed the populace's grievances and anger towards the Xiluo Kingdom.

This is known as advancing by retreating.

In truth, the Xiluo Kingdom was the true culprit, and this blame was not misplaced.

Had it not been for its weakness and incompetence, the Panlong army and its people would not have had to endure so much suffering.

And Zhong Shengguang and the others had no idea what price their decision to remain in Panlong Wilderness would exact from them in the future!

If they insisted on returning home now, could they avoid the tragic heroism of more than a decade later? Could everyone live peacefully and safely?

Due to the monarch's reprimand, the Panlong Army temporarily halted their eastward advance, remaining stationed in Yuheng City, facing off against the Jintao army.

The Xiluo envoy rode quickly to Panlong City to find Zhong Shengguang.

Clearly, General Hong and her army had to await Panlong City's final decision.

At dawn, He Lingchuan went to fetch water with a bucket, but saw a few figures by the river.

One was by the river, the others were far away.

Just from her silhouette, he could confirm that the person by the river was General Hong.

Her aura was simply too powerful.

"Who's there?" General Hong's personal guard behind her sensed his presence and cast a sharp glance.

General Hong's voice was very calm: "It's fine, fetch your water."

Without turning her head, she knew what he was going to do.

He Lingchuan walked forward, rinsed his bucket in the river, and said, "General, why aren't you resting?"

General Hong stood facing east, gazing at the white mist floating on the river:

"I don't need to."

Ah, He Lingchuan then remembered that she had achieved a demigod body through Mitian's divine power, and did not need to eat, drink, or sleep like ordinary beings to maintain her physical strength.

Though there were people around and behind her, He Lingchuan felt she stood alone, isolated from the rest of the world.

"General."

General Hong didn't speak, merely tilted her mask slightly.

"Even if the monarch opposes it, the army can still fight its way back, can't it?"

"If we fight our way back, do you know what we'd face?"

He Lingchuan shook his head. "I only know what we wouldn't have to face."

"Oh?"

"After returning home, at least we wouldn't have to face the combined attacks of Baling and Xianyou, and we wouldn't be isolated and helpless anymore."

General Hong nodded. "And then?"

And then...

"Even if you could return home, do you think the Panlong Army and these millions of civilians could from then on live stable, prosperous lives, far from war?" General Hong said calmly. "That's impossible. There's no such peaceful haven in this world."

But they could avoid annihilation, and the story of Panlong Wilderness wouldn't end with its most tragic conclusion. Of course, He Lingchuan couldn't say these words out loud, so he stated decisively, "It's worth a try! At least in the Xiluo Kingdom, there are two things worth fighting for with all our might!"

"What are they?"

"The future and hope!" And the chance to escape fate.

General Hong slightly raised her head, as if moved.

"Do you think the future and hope lie within Xiluo?" Her voice was indifferent, and only by listening carefully could one detect the hidden sarcasm.

"Or in the Panlong Wilderness, surrounded by enemies?" He Lingchuan retorted impolitely. "Even if Master Zhong returns to seize the realm, wouldn't the foundation he establishes there be stronger than here in the wilderness?"

General Hong smiled. "You dare to speak so boldly? He Lingchuan, you have considerable courage. Back home, anyone daring to utter such words would lose at least half their life, if not their head."

"What I'm saying is merely what the Panlong Army thinks," He Lingchuan took a deep breath and earnestly requested, "General, please lead us back home!"

General Hong didn't reply, turning her head instead to look east.

A few miles past the river lay the heavily guarded border of the Jintao Kingdom.

He Lingchuan wondered if she, too, was battling within herself.

"Once you've fetched the water, go back."

So He Lingchuan bowed to her, filled his bucket with clear river water, and walked away without looking back.

Regardless, he had tried.

However, even though he had joined the Great Wind Army, his influence was negligible, and General Hong wouldn't listen to his advice.

This excellent opportunity to alter Panlong City's ultimate fate might just have been missed.

He Lingchuan sighed helplessly, then recalled the conversation between Prince Yuan and his nephew Shao Jian that he had overheard in the ruins of Qianxing City.

Prince Yuan firmly believed that the three items he wanted his nephew to deliver to Zhong Shengguang were more important than himself, and even more important than the entire Yuan Kingdom.

What about Zhong Shengguang?

Would he think the same?

Back in the dilapidated house, He Lingchuan lay down again, gazing at the starry sky through the large hole in the roof.

The deeper he immersed himself in this soul-land, the more he cared, and the less he wished for it to meet its fated end.

Yet, this period of history was incredibly stubborn, and it seemed very difficult for him to change its outcome.

After daybreak, everything was as usual.

Hu Min then said to everyone, "Let's open a betting pool. Who bets on advancing east, and who bets on returning west?"

"Did you catch that gambling addiction from Fatty?" Liutiao snorted. "One tael of silver, I bet General Hong will continue eastward. We've already fought our way here; why would we turn back now and spoil everything?"

Hu Min gestured with his chin towards He Lingchuan. "Captain, what about you?"

"I bet on returning west."