The Attack of the Wastrel

Of course he wanted that! Which King would not want to open up new territories and lay more land for his own country?

With repeated assurance from Yuan Hang, Xie Jianyu was no longer indecisive and ordered his subordinates to call over the leaders of the neighbouring countries.

On the other hand, Gu Lingzhi had finally arrived at the Minglan Kingdom after two days of journeying and met up with Tianfeng Jin and the others.

Seeing the appearance of the two, the rest had a disapproving look on their faces.

“Lingzhi, you and His Highness are now the highest members of the Alliance’s command and should not come here to take risks.” Although the actions of the Empire were somehow within Rong Yuan’s control, they were after all, facing their most elite troops. No one could guarantee that they would not be harmed in this battle and it was just too unwise for the both of them to come here.

“You’re all here, how could I sit still back there?” Gu Lingzhi laughed as she spoke. With the Inheritance Space at hand, she really felt that nothing could possibly threaten her.

Ever since she became a Marital Sage, the Inheritance Space has ushered in another big change. Not only has the Spiritual Essence Spring become three times larger than before, the space inside has also grown by a lot. It became like a miniature world. Gu Lingzhi was rather delighted by her discovery as she could now bring others into the space. In fact, Rong Yuan was now a regular customer.

“Nonsense!” Yan Liang scorned with dissatisfaction, “Do you know the bounty that the Empire has set in exchange for your heads?” He looked at Rong Yuan afterwards, “It’s too dangerous here. Are you really going to let her do whatever she wants?”

Gu Chengze also nodded along, “Yes, indeed. Lingzhi, you are now a walking treasure in the eyes of the people from the Empire. It is too dangerous for you to be here.”

Originally, Gu Chengze had mediocre Spiritual Roots. After consuming the Spirit Cleansing Pill given by Gu Lingzhi, his Spiritual Roots had since undergone dramatic changes. Although he was not as powerful as Gu Lingzhi, he had nevertheless, reached the rank of a Martial Lord. He was highly regarded among his peers and was now a mainstay of the battle between the Alliance and the Empire. Because of Gu Lingzhi’s Spirit Cleansing Pill, he was now loyal to her.

Rong Yuan glanced at Gu Lingzhi and pulled her behind him before snorting at Yan Liang, “Since I’m here, I have the confidence in protecting her. Little General Yan, you need not worry.”

Yan Liang felt a sense of bitterness after hearing this. He had joined his father’s army after graduation and had climbed to the general position after all these years. In order to distinguish him from his father, a “little” character was added before the title. He felt indifferent when others said it, but when the words came out of Rong Yuan’s mouth, he felt like he was below him.

Seeing how Yan Liang shrivelled, An Ningxi, who was standing at one side, could not help but to cover her mouth and laughed. She teased, “Little General Yan, you can stop worrying now. I believe that His Highness has the ability to protect the Princess Consort.”

Qin Xinran snorted, “You say it as though you know His Highness very well. Aren’t you afraid of causing a misunderstanding?”

“What do you mean?” An Ningxi’s face turned black in an instant.

Qin Xinran looked at her without hesitation, “I literally meant what I said.”

Seeing how the two of them were showing signs of starting another fight, Gu Lingzhi immediately jumped out to intercept while holding onto the arms of Qin Xinran and smiling, “Speaking of that, you all have been here for a few days and must have already familiarised yourself with the environment here. Quickly take Rong Yuan and I to meet the person-in-charge here. We still have important matters to discuss with him.”

Upon listening to this, Qin Xinran knew that this matter should not be delayed and did not bother to spend any more time bickering with An Ningxi. She brought Gu Lingzhi to the Minglan Kingdom’s garrison straight away. Seeing this, Rong Yuan quickly followed behind and took Gu Lingzhi’s hand affectionately after catching up. He held onto Gu Lingzhi with a dominant stance while taking a provocative glance at Yan Liang before keeping up with Qin Xinran’s steps.

The Minglan Kingdom was located right beside the Sangna Kingdom. As Minglan had exchanged the defending period with Nieyun Kingdom, Nieyun Kingdom’s soldiers were now guarding the junction between the Minglan Kingdom and the Empire. Upon hearing that the Xia Kingdom’s Third Prince had arrived, Lin En, who was sitting in the military tent and was in the midst of discussion with his subordinates, was taken aback. He wondered what could be the reason for Rong Yuan to come. He reacted quickly and let the soldiers welcome Rong Yuan and the others before ordering the generals in the tent to withdraw.

After the generals had left the tent, Rong Yuan and the others proceeded to enter. Lin En stood up to express his joy before allowing Rong Yuan to take his seat.

Rong Yuan smiled and looked at the seat that belonged to Lin En and shook his head, “It's okay, General Lin. I’ll just sit at one side.”

After that, he pulled Gu Lingzhi and sat beside Lin En. Seeing this, Lin En’s eyes flashed with satisfaction.

Lin En was the Marshal of the Minglan Kingdom and possessed the cultivation of a Martial Sage. Although Rong Yuan had a higher position in the Alliance, he was just a gifted junior in his eyes. It was just a pretentious act when Lin En got up from his position. If Rong Yuan were to really sit down, he would not have been happy about it. Upon hearing such humble words from Rong Yuan, he felt a sense of satisfaction instead.

“I have just heard from Advisor Feng not long ago that Your Highness was commanding in the headquarters. I wonder what brought Your Highness all the way here?” Lin En asked casually as he felt that it was strange for Rong Yuan to be here. After all, Rong Yuan was the representative against the Empire and had already been here more than twice. It was likely that this trip would be the same as previous where he would enquire about the military strength. The Minglan Kingdom had lost quite a number of troops in their previous engagement. He could make use of this opportunity to gain some benefits from Rong Yuan and groom a new batch of talents.

Lin En was delighted with his plans but once he heard Rong Yuan’s words, he almost fell to the floor. Because Rong Yuan said, “Marshal Lin, you may be unaware of this, but the Empire has already brought one hundred thousand troops into the territories of the Sangna Kingdom.”

“What?” Lin En suddenly stood up. He stared at Rong Yuan in the eyes, “Your Highness, this matter isn’t a joke!”

A hundred thousand troops? There were only thirty thousand Martial Artists in the Minglan Kingdom’s forces. A hundred thousand was a very large number. How could they enter the Sangna Kingdom right under his watch?

If this was the case, the Sangna Kingdom would have already fallen. Rong Yuan would not need to come here personally and inform them of this matter.

However, Rong Yuan’s expression did not seem fake. Unless…something really happened right under his watch?

Rong Yuan sat calmly in his spot until Lin En broke out of his astonishment. He then slowly explained that Sangna and the other Kingdoms were all spies of the Empire. After listening to Rong Yuan, Lin En began to have doubts about his life.

“How can this be? It makes sense for the Minglan and Nieyun Kingdoms. But the Sangna Kingdom has established quite a few contributions at the beginning of the war. Half of Minglan’s land was conquered and given by the Sangna Kingdom. How could they be the Empire’s spies...”

Knowing that he would not come to terms with this reality within a short span, Rong Yuan patiently waited for him to digest this heavy piece of information. He pulled Gu Lingzhi’s hand and played with it as though there was nobody around. He was so caught up that he even sucked on Gu Lingzhi’s hand and caused her cheeks to flush. Only when she used her index finger to lightly scrape his jaw did Rong Yuan let go reluctantly. Upon looking at the finger that was drenched with his saliva, he could not help but to give it a kiss. He glanced at Gu Lingzhi who looked so charming and alluring.

“Cough! …About that, Your Highness…” Lin En had just regained his consciousness from the shock and had to stumble across this scene. His face turned red instantly and he awkwardly reminded Rong Yuan that there were still other people here. Gu Lingzhi also made use of this chance to take back her hand while glaring at him.

He was becoming more and more daring. He actually dared to be so presumptuous in the presence of others.

He looked at his now empty palms with disappointment. Rong Yuan then turned his head and asked Lin En, “Is anything the matter, Marshal Lin?”

“Nothing. No, there is a matter…” Lin En almost spoke wrongly under Rong Yuan’s puzzled gaze. He then corrected himself, “Your Highness, let's discuss the important matter at hand.”

It was known that he and the Consort were deeply in love, but there was no need for them to showcase their affection in front of an older and single man.

“Has Marshal Lin calmed down?” Rong Yuan raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “If you are still doubtful of the matter regarding the Sangna Kingdom, I think you will have a better understanding after reading this information.”

With that, Rong Yuan casually took out a stack of letters from his Storage Ring and tossed it onto the table in front of Lin En. They contained evidence of communication between Sangna, the other Kingdoms and the North Qiu. The stack not only comprised the letters between the four Kingdoms before the war, but also the following years. These were all found by Zi Zi while they were making rounds around the Kingdoms. Although this Duobao Spiritual Squirrel from the Spirit Tribe’s Sacred Lands had been mostly staying in the Fenlan Painting without caring about the worldly affairs, he was still reliable when Gu Lingzhi needed him.

Lin En randomly took one of the envelopes with skepticism, but after one glance, his face changed suddenly. Once he had finished reading half of the letter, his face turned red.

“Never did I expect that Sangna and the other Kingdoms had such huge ambitions!” Lin En slammed the table suddenly. The table that was made of Spiritual Wood, could not handle the blow and turned to ashes instantly. Fortunately, the letters on it had been given a Protective Talisman as they were too important. Otherwise, they might not have survived.

“No! This matter must be reported to the headquarters so that they could send over more manpower for support. The forces in Minglan alone could not withstand the Empire and the other Kingdoms’ attack!” With that, Lin En fished out the Communication Conch as he intended to seek the headquarters for help.

“That will not do,” Rong Yuan managed to stop him in time.

“Even if you were to inform the headquarters now and let them send the troops over, it would take at least ten days for them to arrive. The Empire was no fool and would know immediately from this large-scale dispatch. They would then guess that the information has been leaked. If they were to launch an attack in advance, there would be no room for escaping.”

“What do we do then?” Lin En was disheartened and sunk back into his chair, “Do we just resign to our fate?”

“Marshal Lin…” Seeing this, Gu Lingzhi could not help but to remind, “We’re here for a reason.”

Lin En’s eyes brightened when he heard this. Since Rong Yuan rushed here after knowing the news, he must have come prepared. He thought of how Rong Yuan had suddenly sent a group of extremely talented people from the Royal School for inspection and even stayed here for a few days. He must have come prepared!