Chapter 548: The Court's Army Has Fled

Wu Rui’s request for reinforcements was rejected by the other generals.

In their eyes, Changyang had died because of his own arrogance.

They had already suffered a major defeat in the first battle; the news sent back to the Court was grim enough. And now, he wanted to ask for reinforcements?

Was he tired of his career path being too smooth?

Even if he didn’t want a promotion, he couldn’t stand in the way of theirs.

In the end, Wu Rui could only give up.

He could have forced the issue, but it would have definitely caused discontent among the generals. And then what?

He was the Commander-in-Chief, true, but he couldn’t fight a war all by himself.

The result was that he was swept along by the tide of popular opinion.

“Grand Marshal, we should be wary of an enemy night raid.” The old general who had previously gone to rescue Changyang, An Qian, came into the tent to remind Wu Rui.

It was already a quarter past 9 p.m., but Wu Rui was still awake, frowning as he handled his official duties.

“I know. I’ve already arranged for men to be on guard.”

“What are they thinking?” Wu Rui asked.

After the unpleasantness in the afternoon, he had asked An Qian to help him sound out the situation.

An Qian was one of the few generals who supported the call for reinforcements, but he also knew that circumstances were stronger than men, so his support was rather subtle.

After so many years, he had naturally learned to be tactful.

But Wu Rui had seen through An Qian’s thoughts, which was why he had asked for his help.

“They’re taking it seriously, but the situation is far from optimistic.” An Qian sounded helpless about it. “In their eyes, they are just a group of disaster victims who got lucky. Not a real threat.”

“It seems we can’t be reckless. Our only option is to besiege them and wear them down,” Wu Rui proposed, opting for a more stable strategy.

They were the Imperial Army; they didn’t have to worry about provisions or supplies. The Divine Martial Association, on the other hand, only had three cities.

Factoring in the drought, there was no way they could outlast the Imperial Army.

As long as their external supply lines could be cut, all the army had to do was wait.

“Grand Marshal, while this method is sound, I’m afraid the Court won’t accept it,” An Qian reminded him.

They only want a decisive, overwhelming victory, not one won through attrition.

After all, the Court needs this victory to deter other rebel armies.

“I know. The Divine Martial Association is not to be underestimated. If we rush in recklessly, the entire army could be annihilated.”

‘The situation would become even more critical.’ How could Wu Rui not understand? If the very army meant to be a deterrent was defeated instead, the inevitable result would be that rebellions everywhere would grow even more rampant.

Therefore, playing it safe, fighting steadily, and leveraging their own advantages was the true path to victory.

“I’m just afraid they’ll change the commander on the eve of battle.” An Qian knew of the conflict between Wu Rui and the Court; replacing the commander was the most likely outcome from their perspective.

But that would be a resolution between the Court and Wu Rui, not between the Court and the Divine Martial Association.

If they really did replace him, the new commander might not see things as clearly as Wu Rui. If they just charged in recklessly, the result would be predictable.

“Let’s talk about this later.” Wu Rui had considered it, but he had no good solution.

Hearing this, An Qian added, “If the Grand Marshal is replaced, I too will request to retire to my hometown.”

If the Court wanted him to die, he could accept it; An Qian’s family had received imperial favor for generations.

But it depended on how he died.

If it was a meaningless death, An Qian would certainly not accept it.

He would rather resign and flee than suffer such an undeserved disaster.

As for the thought of turning the tide against all odds, he might have had it ten or twenty years ago.

Now, his sharp edges had long been worn smooth; such thoughts were gone.

Just as he finished speaking, chaotic sounds erupted from outside.

“It seems the Divine Martial Association has come for a night raid on the camp. They’re a bit early, but thankfully we made preparations.”

“Excellent. We can use this opportunity to annihilate them and send a victory report to the Court to stabilize the situation there.” Wu Rui listened to the chaos outside and breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been worried they wouldn’t come tonight.

“The Grand Marshal is absolutely right,” An Qian first agreed, then continued, “But the people of the Divine Martial Association are cunning. What if they… succeed in raiding the camp?”

These words made Wu Rui’s heart skip a beat.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered it, but his army was huge. Unless the Divine Martial Association sent more than ten thousand troops for the raid, it would be impossible.

But if they deployed ten thousand men, could it still be called a night raid? That would be a full-blown night battle.

Therefore, he estimated their numbers at five thousand at most, which was already a large force.

“Elder General An might get to retire in peace after all,” Wu Rui joked. If that happened, there was nothing he could do.

His replacement would be a foregone conclusion. Losing twice in a row, and in the span of a single day at that… no matter how much the current emperor valued him, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure to replace him.

The first defeat could be blamed on Changyang’s arrogance. For the second, even if he wanted to shift the blame, there would be no good excuse.

He was the commander of the entire army. If he wasn’t the one primarily responsible, who was? With great power comes great responsibility.

Otherwise, if he just enjoyed the power without fulfilling his duties and constantly passed the buck, it wouldn’t take long for every last one of his subordinates to lose faith in him.

Just as An Qian was about to speak, one of Wu Rui’s personal guards burst in, covered in wounds.

“Grand Marshal, it’s bad! The enemy… there are too many! At least ten thousand of them! They’ve already broken into the camp! You must flee!” the guard panted.

In that instant, the expressions on both Wu Rui’s and An Qian’s faces changed.

It was the worst-case scenario. This wasn’t a raid at all—they were prepared for a full-scale night battle.

This was, in itself, absurd.

Most commoners suffer from night blindness and can barely see in the dark.

Even if soldiers ate a little better than ordinary civilians, it wasn’t by much. Eight or nine out of every ten of them also had night blindness.

They weren’t fighting to win; they were fighting for mutual destruction.

Even if the Divine Martial Association managed to defeat the Imperial Army, the final result would only be a pyrrhic victory for them.

But on second thought, the enemy had over eighty thousand men. Even if all ten thousand-plus of these attackers were lost here, it would be an acceptable loss for them.

But the Court could not afford such a loss.

“Notify all divisions! Retreat! Abandon all provisions, supplies, weapons, and armor!” Wu Rui ordered without hesitation.

An Qian started to speak, but then stopped himself.

‘This is the time to fight the enemy with all our might. Only that could save Wu Rui’s career. Otherwise, when the Court holds him accountable, he’ll be skinned alive, even if he isn’t executed.’

However, Wu Rui’s actions would ensure the Imperial Army’s survival to the greatest extent possible.

Even if they couldn’t win, at least some could escape.

“Yes, Grand Marshal.” The personal guard naturally didn’t question the order and hurried off to relay it.

After the guard left, Wu Rui cursed, “Madmen. A bunch of madmen.”

“They treat human lives like grass.”

An Qian ignored Wu Rui’s outburst and said, “Grand Marshal, you should leave as well. It’s not wise to remain here.”

Wu Rui sighed. “Let’s go.”

He couldn’t die. He had to bear the responsibility; otherwise, the Court would take its anger out on the other generals.

—————–

“So many people died. How are we going to explain this?” Jiang Peng asked.

Hu Shichan, however, looked nonchalantly at the distant, burning Imperial Army camp, unconcerned.

“Explain to whom?” Hu Shichan retorted.

“To the Leader, of course. Who else?” Jiang Peng said bluntly.

“You think the Leader cares about this?” Hu Shichan answered his own question. “No, he doesn’t. He only wants results.”

“The Leader won’t ask about the process.”

“Besides, the only reason you think so many people died is because they were our troops.”

“You didn’t see any of the people who died in the drought, did you?”

“In the three cities of Liu Xing, Xueyue, and Iron Rock, tens of thousands have died since the drought began.”

Hu Shichan’s words silenced Jiang Peng.

Because Hu Shichan was right. He had only asked because he was pained by the loss of his own troops.

This time, a total of fifteen thousand men had been committed, with the troops drawn equally from all the major factions.

Everyone had already prepared for the possibility that none of them would return.

“Tell me, what on earth is the Leader thinking?” Jiang Peng changed the subject.

In the Divine Martial Association today, besides Qi Suian, he, Jiang Peng, and Hu Shichan were the two most powerful figures—second only to one, but above tens of thousands.

But neither of them wanted to stop there. It was only the balance of power between the various factions within the Divine Martial Association that prevented them from breaking away or usurping the throne. Otherwise, why would they be willing to bend the knee to another?

Besides, they truly could not see through Qi Suian’s plans.

“Who knows?” ‘Why would I ever say?’ Hu Shichan thought. ‘Speaking cautiously and acting prudently is the only way.’ He then changed the subject. “Let’s go. Time to clean up.”

“They want to flee, but we can’t let them get away so easily.”

“At the very least, the Imperial Army’s Commander-in-Chief needs to be replaced.”

—————–

“These people really don’t treat others like human beings.” Qi Suian felt this probably wasn’t his influence.

He hadn’t given the survivors’ avatars the effect of a protagonist’s plot armor, so this was a case of the dragonslayer becoming the dragon.

Furthermore, Qi Suian had chosen only capable and ambitious individuals, and with some further catalysis, it had ultimately led to this result.

Fifteen thousand men, abandoned just like that. But for them, it wasn’t something that couldn’t be abandoned.

If it was in exchange for greater benefits, then it was naturally worth it.

Qi Suian cared even less. They treated their own compatriots this way, so how could an outside invader like him be expected to feel any empathy?

Even if he did, it would be a fleeting thought, never translating into action.

“I wonder if they’ve considered the subsequent problems.”

“The Imperial Army suffered a major defeat. The next force they send will, in all likelihood, include people from the three great Daoist Lineages.”

“When that time comes, I definitely won’t be able to hide anymore. This rebellion will likely escalate into a war between Daoist Lineages.”

Compared to a war between Daoist Lineages, a mere rebellion is nothing more than child’s play.

And there was a high probability that the three great Daoist Lineages would gang up on him.

“Fortunately, my path of becoming a one-man army has already been set. Even without them, once I’m fully developed, I can take down the whole world by myself.”

Qi Suian looked at the fame clinging to his body. It was like a liquid approaching a solid state; all he needed now was a catalyst.

In fact, that catalyst was close at hand: the Imperial Army being annihilated by the Divine Martial Association, and the news of it spreading.