Chapter 224 - That Year, the Ideals of a Group of People (1)

The enormous black eagle descended from the sky, blotting out the sun as waves of wind rolled across the ground.

The next moment, source qi stirred, and a row of translucent steps condensed from the pavilion’s array patterns, appearing one after another along the black eagle’s side.

Xu Yuan stood on the pavilion deck and shook his head with a faint smile.

According to Xu Xinyao, it was much like buying a car in his previous life and choosing the optional extras. These stairway array patterns cost extra. They served no practical purpose whatsoever, but they certainly looked impressive.

Unfortunately, there was no one waiting below to admire them. Yuan Hao clearly had no intention of coming to welcome him. He had not even sent a deputy in his place.

Xu Yuan was not angry, though. If anything, he found Yuan Hao’s behavior rather amusing. After all, his arrival meant there probably would not be a fight.

He descended from the black eagle pavilion along the source qi steps and finally saw the eastern wall of Myriad after the battle.

Since the operation had involved attacking the town from within, with an airborne assault thrown in for good measure, hardly any destructive siege equipment had been used. The wall itself remained intact. Its surface, however, was coated in many places with a rather disgusting layer of thick green slime.

As the two drew closer, Xu Xinyao finally noticed it. She froze for a moment, then asked in a trembling voice, “Is that... source blocking slime?”

“What?” Xu Yuan glanced at his sister. Seeing the strange look in her eyes, he casually asked, “You invented this stuff?”

Xu Xinyao nodded. “Yes.”

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow and swept the substance with his Soul Sense. Then he smiled. “It didn’t damage the structure of the formation patterns themselves, but it cut off the flow of source qi. This new weapon seems quite effective.”

Xu Xinyao pressed her red lips together, her fists slowly tightening. “When I first developed it, I only wanted to test whether individual formation circuits could function independently. That way, one failed section wouldn’t ruin all the materials. That’s why it doesn’t damage the formation patterns themselves.”

At this point, her eyes dimmed considerably as she stared at the green slime. “But... they actually turned it into a weapon.”

Plowshares beaten into swords. Xu Yuan stopped walking and gave Xu Xinyao a long, searching look. In the end, he merely sighed and said nothing.

As they continued onward, he had to admit that Yuan Hao truly knew how to command an army. After a brief period of chaos, the eastern wall of Myriad had already returned to perfect order.

Blackscale soldiers bustled beneath the wall. Captured equipment was being inventoried, casualties were being counted, and troops farther inside the town were clearing the streets and maintaining order.

Their fallen comrades had been laid out neatly in the shade beneath the wall, awaiting specially assigned flying demon beasts that would carry them home.

The bodies of the town’s defenders were not treated nearly so well. They had been tossed haphazardly onto a specially made tarpaulin, forming a small hill of corpses.

Beyond that, Xu Yuan also saw many Blackscale troops that had already re-formed their ranks and reorganized their command structures, ready to carry out their next order at any moment.

Yuan Hao, it seemed, was already itching to get started.

By the time Xu Yuan reached him, the man was surrounded by a group of officers in mid- and high-ranking armor, issuing a steady stream of orders.

Seeing this, he did not approach immediately. He simply stood off to the side with the silent Xu Xinyao and waited. He knew Yuan Hao was aware of his arrival.

And Yuan Hao did indeed know. He also knew Xu Yuan was standing nearby, watching him. He simply did not want to face him.

The deputy at his side tried several times to remind him that the commander had arrived, only to be silenced each time by a fierce glare.

Yuan Hao had grown rather fond of the Third Young Master’s words, a general in the field did not have to obey every order from above.

Ignoring military orders suited him perfectly. But now that the man giving those orders was standing right in front of him, continuing to ignore them would be less bold defiance and more sheer ingratitude.

The surrounding officers exchanged awkward glances in silence. Yuan Hao had not dismissed them, so none of them dared leave. They could only remain there and listen as he droned on about military discipline.

In the end, the deputy could no longer stand it. He leaned closer and reminded him quickly in a low voice, “General, the commander has arrived. Perhaps you should...”

Yuan Hao slowly turned his head and looked at him. “Hm? The commander? Where?”

“I’m right here.”

Yuan Hao looked back.

Xu Yuan smiled and waved at him. “Don’t mind me. You can finish what you were saying.”

Yuan Hao turned around as naturally as could be and waved his hand, signaling for the officers to hurry up and get lost.

Then he quickly jogged over to Xu Yuan and said with a smile, “You should have just called out when you arrived.”

Xu Yuan replied teasingly, “I was afraid I might interrupt your lecture on military discipline.”

Yuan Hao’s expression turned solemn. “It was necessary. Now that we’ve taken the town, it belongs to us. Any damage done to it is our own loss.”

With that said, his expression suddenly relaxed. He rubbed his hands together and asked with a low chuckle, “Well... how did the negotiations go? Judging by the order you issued earlier, the Blackscale Army is almost fully reorganized. Once the Seventh Battalion enters the town and finishes restoring order, we can...”

“That’s enough. There’s no result yet,” Xu Yuan interrupted helplessly.

Yuan Hao’s eyes widened for a moment. He looked as though he wanted to smile, but restrained himself. Instead, he frowned and asked gravely, “Has the Myriad Manifestations Sect refused to appreciate your generosity?”

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. I just told you there’s no result yet.”

Yuan Hao probed cautiously, “Then our plan...”

“Continue.”

“Then this subordinate will first—” Yuan Hao clenched his fist, cupped his hands, and eagerly prepared to leave. A general in the field did not have to obey—

“Not so fast. You’re staying with me.” Xu Yuan immediately crushed that little dream. “I have something to ask you.”

“Young Master, the military affairs—”

“I said I have something to ask you.”

Yuan Hao fell silent.

Xu Yuan pointed toward the cleared road ahead and said quietly, “We’ll talk as we walk.”

Yuan Hao and Xu Xinyao followed without a word. ℯ

The bodies had already been removed, but fresh bloodstains still marked the road. Xu Yuan looked at the bright crimson smears and asked in a low voice, “Is Bai Zhao dead?”

“Huh?” Yuan Hao froze for a moment. Military affairs were pressing, and the Third Young Master had kept him nearby just to ask about this?

As he watched Xu Yuan’s back, he sighed inwardly.

It appeared Third Young Master had indeed realized how much he liked that saying about generals in the field not having to obey every order. There probably would not be a fight after all.

He answered honestly in a low voice, “He tried to kill himself, but I stopped him. He’s currently being held two blocks away.”

“Have someone bring him here,” Xu Yuan said.

Yuan Hao silently went off to make the arrangements, though he remained within Xu Yuan’s line of sight.

Seeing this, Xu Xinyao asked quietly, “Third Brother, are you planning to silence him?”

Xu Yuan shook his head but did not answer. Instead, he called softly, “Big Sister?”