Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1704: Report

"Most of the soldiers are beyond help, but there is hope for the others," Fan Leiwei reported. "However, it will take them a lot of time to recuperate fully."

Wan Yanmei calmly looked at his pale face, deep in thought. After a moment of silence, she asked: "Is there really no way to save them?"

"Back home, yes, but in this desolate place with limited resources?"

"In that case, let’s send them home."

Fan Leiwei frowned. In the court, a ruthless commander is looked at suspiciously, but being overtly kind is also a cause for concern — especially for women. However, given Wan Yanmei’s previous ruthless act of a Grand Sacrifice, such an act of kindness might benefit her reputation.

"We’ve gathered enough sacrifices to activate the [Time Gate], so you can do as you please," Fan Leiwei shrugged. "However, in your next attack, don’t forget to prioritize Empress Wu’s capture."

Now it was Wan Yanmei’s time to frown. "Aren’t you a little too focused on this woman?"

"I’m telling you: she will be one of our greatest obstacles. So, we must nip the danger in the bud."

Wan Yanmei’s eyes scrutinized him for a few seconds. "If you say so. But don’t forget the court’s rules about dating foreign enemy combatants."

"What are you insinuating?" Fan Leiwei suddenly yelled with a red face, his expression that of a child caught red-handed in a sneaky act. "How absurd. I’m giving you sound advice, but you want to assassinate my character?" He snorted coldly before storming out of the room, leaving Wan Yanemie with an even more profound frown.

It’s very common for expeditions to fail because a commander falls in love with the wrong person. That’s why the Infinite Divine Court has many rules regarding this subject, and the Commander Academy’s courses include how to deal with such a situation. There are even a few conservative families that forbid marriage with creatures from other timelines.

’I need to keep an eye on him in case this becomes a problem,’ Wan Yanmei thought. Under normal circumstances, she would have assigned someone to watch over him secretly, but she was currently short of manpower. There is also the fear that Fan Leiwei will lash out if he discovers the truth.

Wan Yanmei sighed, then closed her eyes and waited. A few hours later, she received a report from Fate Eye regarding the information they had gathered about the Primordial Timeline. Without wasting a moment, the second heiress to the Wan Clan headed to a secret room in her quarters, facing a mirror with silver handles the size of a human.

An intense light emanates from the mirror for a few minutes before revealing a middle-aged man in black-gold armor, a stern face, a bushy beard, and one eye closed.

"Minister," Wan Yanmei bowed politely.

"Report!"

"Yes, sir." Wan Yanmei did not dare to show any signs of impoliteness. Although her family also had a Second Step, Ascendant Saint, no one could compare to Minister of War, Chu Shenfeng. This was a man with a record of killing other Ascendant or Tribunal Saints, and it’s more than one.

Wan Yanmei did not waste time as she transmitted everything that had happened, along with the information that the Divination Department had acquired. Due to restrictions from the Primordial Timeline, the process took more than 10 hours. Usually, Wan Yanmei would never feel tired, but the pressure the Minister of War brought her, even across timelines, was immense, so she almost fainted.

After receiving the information, Chu Shenfeng did not immediately say anything, and Wan Yanmei quickly lowered her head and said, "I have failed you."

"How have you failed me?" he asked in a deep voice.

"I’ve lost too many of our troops, and after being here for so long, I’m still stuck in the landing base."

"We expected the invasion to be filled with challenges, so the number of casualties allowed is greater than you imagined. You are far from that number."

"Even so," Wan Yanmei uttered.

"Do you know why I chose you for this expedition despite so many people being as qualified as you — if not more?"

"This subordinate does not know."

"For two reasons," Chu Shenfeng calmly explained. "Firstly, you have something to prove. I knew that passion and desire would become the fuel for you to do whatever was necessary to ensure success. But that was not the primary reason I selected you. The deciding factor is your ability to navigate the political landscape of the court."

A sudden realization dawned on Wan Yanmei. One of her strengths has always been how to manage the scions of these powerful families. The expedition to the Primordial Timeline is sought after by every powerful faction in the Infinite Court, and the commanders — especially the First Commander — must be someone capable of handling all of them.

"I understand," Wan Yanmei replied with a soft sigh. Fate is truly fickle. In the academy, many people claimed she was pandering to other family members and even called her a sycophant; however, who knew that this approach was what ultimately helped her secure such a lucrative military assignment as the Primordial Timeline Expedition?

"The information you’ve retrieved is a great merit," Chu Shenfeng continued. "You only need a few more achievements, and you can request to use a Heaven-Grade Saint Transformation Platform."

Wan Yanmei’s eyes lit up. There are many reasons transcendent in other timelines that are more challenging, one of which is the fact that these timelines are not perfect; they are missing something crucial that only the Primordial Timeline has. The Infinite Divine Court has created Saint Transformation Platforms to make up for these deficiencies. Unfortunately, their creation requires rare materials, and only Ascendant Saints can refine them.

Her clan has many platforms, but the highest level is only upper-Earth Grade. Only the court has access to the Heaven-Grade Platform that grants the highest chance of success.

"I will do my best, sir."

"Good," Chu Shenfeng nodded. "Do you need anything?"

Wan Yanmei’s eyes lit up with excitement after hearing these words. Normally, there is a chain of command she needs to go through to ask for support and reinforcements. Now that the minister was asking, this was a perfect opportunity to ask for some rare resources.

Wan Yanmei took a moment to analyze her current situation. First, she needed a Dream Master. The woman named Ma Liquiu has been using Dream Dao to infiltrate the base, and she needed someone to deal with him. Second, there is the issue of the Dao Contamination. She not only needed to solve the physical issue, but also deal with the clans and factions behind these people, causing trouble. Finally, she needed to prepare for the next attack. So, after taking all these issues into account, she did not hesitate to raise her demand.

"Everything is fine except for the Stabilizer Talisman," Chu Shenfeng responded.

"Can I ask why, sir?" Of all the things she asked, the talisman was the one she had the most confidence in. With it, she could remove most of the influence Heavenly Dao and Grand Dao had placed in the base, thus regaining the absolute control they used to have.

"The Grand Preceptor has noticed some fluctuation in the court’s luck," Chu Shenfeng revealed, which shocked Wan Yanmei. How powerful was the Infinite Divine Court? Any signs of fluctuation from their Qi Luck were a sign of something major.

"Is it related to the Primordial Timeline? Or is there a rebellion somewhere else?" Wan Yanmei knew some timelines — despite being conquered — remained unstable because their Saints had survived the hunt and hidden, using guerrilla tactics to cause trouble for the court.

"It’s most likely the primordians," Chu Shenfeng nodded.

"I see," Wan Yanmei muttered. It’s a shame about the talisman, but in the current situation, it’s indeed impossible to use the court’s luck to condense them. There are no reserves since they are created on a need-to basis.

"Can I contribute in any way?" she asked.

"You will be notified if there is."

Wan Yanmei understood the subtext: she can’t interfere in an event of such scale. So, she obediently nodded before ending the communication. "Trouble is coming," she muttered. If the Primordial Timeline attacks at full force, the court will have to expand a significant portion of its military strength to deal with it.

Wan Yanmei was confident in her people, but the issue is that if the war does not end swiftly, the other unstable parts of the court’s territory will definitely use this opportunity to cause trouble. In the end, they might even have to abandon a few timelines,

’Well, the worst-case scenario is we abandon all our foreign territories and isolate ourselves again,’ Wan Yanmei thought. One of the advantages of the court’s isolation is that it has become impenetrable. So, no matter what chaos they caused outside, they can still return to their Divine Timeline to rest, recuperate, and start over. Of course, the price paid is incalculable, but it’s better than destruction.