Chapter 246: The War Escalates (2)

Most of those trusted to work inside the estate were long-serving retainers. Because of that, Xu Yuan, now wearing his real face, was able to pass through without the slightest obstruction.

No distant-branch young master suddenly appeared to question him, nor did some arrogant high-ranking servant leap out to make trouble for the Third Young Master returning from abroad.

As he walked, more than half the people bowing to him possessed auras so deep and powerful that he could not see through them at all.

Had this been Azure Point, they would probably have been elite bosses with blood-red question marks floating over their heads.

After all, the Chancellor's Manor had been one of the hardest final-boss lairs in the entire game.

Xu Yuan gathered his thoughts, chuckled, and shook his head. Casting the absurd notion aside, he raised a hand and pushed open the wooden door before him.

Most of the Chancellor's Manor consisted of the outer grounds. The inner residence, where the direct members of the family lived, was actually not very large. There was one courtyard for each of the four siblings, one for Xu Yinhe, a study, and a main hall where the family ate together.

With that thought, Xu Yuan stepped inside. A familiar stone path greeted him. Unknown flowers and plants grew along both sides, and the main hall stood at the far end, a little over ten meters away.

Inside, an older man and a younger one were already seated.

Rain pattered softly around the courtyard. Water streamed from the worn roof tiles and fell from the eaves like curtains of pearls, striking the puddles below and sending ripples spreading across their surfaces.

Neither of the two had waited for him.

They had already started eating.

At the sight, Xu Yuan smiled unconsciously and quickened his steps.

There were no carved dragons, painted phoenixes, or lavish decorations inside the main hall of the inner residence. There was only a simple square table, large enough to seat two people on each side.

It was remarkably plain.

That was because the inner residence was the true forbidden ground of the Chancellor's Manor.

It was a rule Xu Yinhe had set personally.

Apart from members of the family, no one was allowed inside. Even high-ranking figures like Lou Ji were barred from entering.

Since there were no outsiders here, there was naturally no need for pomp or ceremony.

Although this was Xu Yuan’s first day back in the Imperial Capital, neither his father nor his brother had any intention of holding a welcome feast for him.

Lunch was still the usual four meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and one soup.

That was the standard whenever someone was missing. When the whole family was present, they would add one more meat dish and one more vegetable dish.

But… the whole family would probably never be present again.

The small main hall was filled only with the crisp clinking of chopsticks against porcelain bowls and the patter of rain outside.

Xu Yuan greeted them when he entered. Xu Yinhe nodded, and Xu Yuan sat down.

There was no idle conversation, no asking whether he had eaten well or slept well on the road. It was as though he had not been gone for two years, but had simply left that morning and returned for lunch.

The father and his two sons quietly shoveled food into their mouths without speaking.

It was not because of some rule. Xu Yinhe was not a strict father. Forget talking during meals, even if Xu Yuan flipped the table over, he probably would not say a word. Xu Yuan, however, would merely have to prepare himself for Xu Changge to string him up and beat him afterward.

After a long silence, Xu Yinhe slowly set down his chopsticks and looked at his newly returned son. “Your marriage will still take some time to arrange.”

Xu Yuan raised his eyes. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “Why?”

Xu Yinhe had no intention of hiding it from him. “Marquis Wucheng has gone to the northern frontier. The marriage will have to wait until he returns.”

Marquis Wucheng has gone north? Xu Yuan immediately frowned.

That was no small piece of news. He had now witnessed the power of military battle formations firsthand, and he had learned much more about them during the journey. Naturally, he no longer underestimated the Great Flame Empire’s famed God of War as he once had.

First and second rank powerhouses could theoretically exhaust a military formation from a safe distance, striking and retreating until its strength ran dry. In a real battle, however, that tactic was rarely attempted.

Once they went in, there was a good chance they would be like a meat bun thrown at a dog, never coming back.

Military cultivation arts differed completely from conventional cultivation. They followed an entirely separate path.

Their purpose was to gather the strength of thousands of soldiers into a single body.

Aside from a handful of monstrous exceptions, almost any cultivator could thrash a military commander of the same rank in a one-on-one fight. But the moment the troops began circulating their cultivation arts, even without forming a proper battle formation, the resonance of their source qi would cause the commander’s strength to grow exponentially.

The commander’s five senses, soul, physical power, and everything else would surge. As long as the experts accompanying the army could delay an attacker for even a brief moment, that attacker would almost certainly never return.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Yuan asked quietly, “Mister Zong can’t handle it alone?”

Zong Qingsheng commanded the Blackscale Army, so his mastery of military formations went without saying. Yet now one commander was apparently not enough. Even Marquis Wucheng had been sent north.

Xu Yinhe considered the question for a moment before replying calmly, “The situation is somewhat complicated. In brief, the foreigners from the Great Desert appear to have formed an alliance with the barbarians.”

His father had said it lightly, but the implications behind those words touched on far too many things.

Xu Yuan quickly sorted through his thoughts, then asked, “Father, may I see the detailed reports?”

Ever since parting ways with Lou Ji, the head of the intelligence network, his only real source of information during the two-month journey north had been the official gazettes issued by the government. Those gazettes were filled almost entirely with tales of peace and prosperity. Even the war on the northern frontier was supposedly proceeding without the slightest difficulty.

Yet over the past two months, the fighting in the north had not subsided. If anything, it seemed to have escalated again. This war, one that had barely received a mention in Azure Point, was beginning to show signs of becoming the spark that plunged the world into chaos.

At the thought, Xu Yuan’s heart grew heavy.

Xu Yinhe studied his expression for several breaths before smiling faintly. “Changtian, you seem rather interested in this war.”

Xu Yuan set down his chopsticks, took out three teacups, and poured one for each of them. “The Emperor intends to eliminate the foreign races surrounding the Great Flame Empire. If the barbarians have allied with the Great Desert, then at least for the time being, we may not have to cross swords with the Li Family.”

Those outrageously treasonous words fell softly within the room.

Xu Yinhe showed no reaction. “The situation on the northern frontier is not good. Many of our supply routes have been cut off. At present, a considerable portion of our supplies can only be transported using Sumeru Rings.”

Xu Yuan immediately understood. “The sects did it?”

Xu Yinhe did not answer, but the darkness in his eyes gave Xu Yuan all the confirmation he needed.

Xu Yuan sighed. When nearly a million soldiers clashed in opposing battle formations, the true contest was logistics.

After decades of preparation, the Great Flame Empire’s imperial family and the Chancellor's Manor had amassed vast reserves of wartime supplies.

The problem was that they could not get those supplies to the front.

The sects’ informants were scattered throughout nearly the entire northern frontier. People could slip through in small groups, but there was no way to secretly transport supplies on such a massive scale.

In other words, they could only use Sumeru Rings. Yet an ordinary Sumeru Ring contained a space measuring only about four meters in length, width, and height.

After thinking for several breaths, Xu Yuan suddenly recalled something. “Father, are you saying that we can only transport supplies using Sumeru Rings right now?”

Xu Yinhe did not answer. Instead, he glanced sideways at Xu Changge.

At that look, the normally domineering Xu Changge obediently took a paper dossier from his Sumeru Ring and placed it on the square table.

Xu Yuan did not read it immediately. There was something he first needed to report to his father. “If you need Sumeru Rings, I discovered a secret realm near the Goddess Mountains during my travels.”