A General in the Field... Has No Choice but to Accept

"A general in the field may decline his lord's command!" "..." The disciple of Arhat Duowen Xiting wore a thoroughly troubled look. "Relay it exactly like that!" Xiaoyu barked sharply. The monk did not dare disobey. He had no choice but to half-close his eyes, his lips moving faintly. Yet before he could even open his eyes again, the disciple of Arhat Miluo Guangjia beside him straightened up and said in a solemn voice, "Realm Lord's decree: 'If the artillery battery remains stationary, a passage of weak firepower will open within the zone of fire. If a Northern Liao general discovers this passage and concentrates heavy forces to break through, that would hardly be good! Xiaoyu, if you're bad at arithmetic, read more books and learn to admit your mistakes.'" Before Xiaoyu could flare up, the monk rattled off several commands without pausing for breath: "Shift Artillery Battery East 3 northward by one hundred zhang." "Add one basic load of ammunition to Artillery Battery South 1." Xiaoyu grabbed the adjutant beside him and gritted his teeth. "Get these two monks out of here!" The adjutant was horrified and hastily said, "You must not! That's a capital offense!" Xiaoyu froze. "Since when is there such a charge?" "Since yesterday." Xiaoyu smelled the thick stench of deliberate spite. Just then, a smudge of grayish white appeared on the distant horizon, gradually drawing closer. Soon, a tide line emerged across the skyline as countless Northern Liao cavalry appeared, slowly advancing. Massive surges of military qi also rose on both the northern and eastern flanks, converging in a three-sided encirclement. Xiaoyu narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over several tyrannical, murderous auras embedded within the military qi. In all three advancing armies, the commanding generals were at Scenery Command. Xiaoyu sneered inwardly; Northern Liao was certainly paying him considerable respect. The adjutant's expression was grim. "The enemy's forces are vast. Shouldn't we call for reinforcements?" Xiaoyu said coolly, "Merely three early-stage Scenery Command cultivators whose path has already dead-ended. There's no need to ask for reinforcements." "But—" Xiaoyu cut the adjutant off at once. "You take command. Lure the enemy in first; wait until they draw close before opening fire. It's only in this opening clash that military merits can be easily reaped—don't waste the opportunity." The adjutant was startled. "My Lord, you—" "I'm going to test the caliber of these three fellows first." The adjutant dared not stop him. Xiaoyu soared skyward, flying straight beyond the firmament into the void. The Liao Clan possessed a fierce, valiant nature and would never back down from a duel of magical arts; all three Scenery Command generals immediately took flight toward the void beyond. Although Xiaoyu looked down upon such Scenery Command cultivators whose potential was exhausted, his combat readiness was not lacking in the least. As he ascended, immortal radiance continuously rippled around him, activating one magic treasure after another until he transformed into a dazzling orb of light and vanished beyond the firmament. The overwhelming extravagance of a great family's direct lineage prodigy was displayed to the fullest in those treasure auras. Within the Sea of Bitterness, the eyes of Wei Yuan's dharma body opened and gazed downward. With a single thought, two beams of Buddhist light descended from heaven, falling upon the two monks trailing Xiaoyu. In an instant, both monks' auras and physiques expanded drastically, a set of dharma robes appearing on each of them. In the blink of an eye, their cultivation soared to the mid-to-late dharma idol level. Exchanging a glance, they took to the sky as well, closely following behind Xiaoyu. By now, the Northern Liao cavalry had completed the encirclement. Yet, looking at the bizarrely constructed fortress before them, several experienced battle-hardened generals vaguely sensed something amiss. But the young son of a tribal khan was utterly disdainful. Pointing his horsewhip at the fortress, he laughed loudly: "What good are walls so low?! Boys, charge! Cut down all those treacherous human sheep!" Tens of thousands of iron cavalry instantly erupted into shouts, spurring their horses in a charge toward the fortress! The Liao Clan's horsemanship was superb. Nearing the trenches, they urged their steeds into high leaps, soaring straight over the trenches and nimbly bounding between them, rapidly closing in on the fortress walls. Only when the foremost riders reached the foot of the wall, accelerating for a final burst to leap onto the ramparts, did the adjutant's raised hand suddenly slam down, a flash of Buddhist light gleaming across his body. The commanding officers at every artillery battery similarly had Buddhist light flash on them, instantly receiving the order. And so, a tremendous roar tore through heaven and earth! It was only a single roar, yet it resonated endlessly. A ring of fire suddenly erupted around the fortress, instantly slicing the Liao cavalry in two. The first volley from all the heavy cannons landed nearly simultaneously; hundreds of detonations converged into a solitary, world-shaking boom! Gunfire erupted immediately after. Countless firing ports spewed tongues of flame. Between the numerous bunkers, there were no blind spots whatsoever; everywhere was a zone of death. In an instant, the Northern Liao ranks were thrown into chaos with horses tumbling and men thrown, suffering catastrophic casualties. This was not the first time the Northern Liao iron cavalry had faced firearms. Even as comrades fell in droves around them, the survivors still charged forward desperately. Steeds surged into a final leap, briefly gliding through the air to clear the final dozens of zhang in one bound, landing inside the city! But waiting for them inside the city was the radiant gleam of countless Dao Foundations! Within the fortress, countless heavy-armored infantry formed hollow squares, waiting in stern formation. Fortress-like heavy plate, gigantic shields, and short blunderbusses with muzzles thick as fists—it was an absolute nightmare for cavalry. No matter how fierce the Northern Liao cavalry were, only centurions had reached the Dao Foundation. Yet the heavy armor garrisoned inside the city were all Dao Foundations! In an instant, both inside and outside the fortress became meat grinders reaping lives. Occasionally, a Qingming heavy-armored soldier was injured and fell, a Liao saber raking across his armor in a shower of sparks. He was immediately dragged back into the formation by his comrades; as he was dragged, several pieces of armor fell off, exposing the road-construction worker's uniform worn underneath. The Northern Liao army now had to withstand the twin slaughter of artillery fire and fortress machine guns, fighting their way into the fortress only to engage in life-or-death struggles with heavy-armored infantry squares. Before the bloody battle had lasted long, the military qi of several Northern Liao legions began to unravel. Up above the firmament, however, Xiaoyu was locked in a bitter struggle. Not yet at Scenery Command, he was naturally at a disadvantage battling beyond the heavens. Though the Northern Liao Scenery Command experts had reached the end of their cultivation path, their combat experience was exceedingly rich. Fighting three against one, they quickly had Xiaoyu parrying left and right in disarray. He barely held his ground only because of his immense personal wealth, possessing more than twice as many magic treasures as the three opposing Scenery Command experts combined. Yet the three Scenery Command generals coordinated seamlessly. Their spells and spirit treasures were of the yin element, specifically counteracting Xiaoyu's Great Sun power. They had clearly come prepared. Star Lord Shaoyang manifested to assist in the fight, but the enemy also released two dharma spirits that firmly pinned him down. After battling for merely a brief moment, Star Lord Shaoyang already harbored thoughts of retreat. Xiaoyu naturally refused; if he withdrew, those three Scenery Command experts would return to the main army, introducing endless variables into the battle. Most importantly, at that point, he would have no choice but to request reinforcements. The forces deployed before him had been meticulously calculated by Xiaoyu as the bare minimum required to accomplish the mission. Winning this battle would undoubtedly be a resounding, glorious victory, enough to leave a notable mark even among the fierce champions filling the Qingming Army. Yet Star Lord Shaoyang's urge to retreat grew ever stronger. He had sensed a profound murderous intent, though the enemy had concealed it well. Almost instantly, a realization struck him: Northern Liao no longer feared the Xiao family immortals and was planning an ambush to slay Xiaoyu! At this thought, Star Lord Shaoyang was chilled to the bone! Realizing their trap had been seen through, the Liao Clan no longer masked their killing intent, letting it surge like a tidal wave! Immediately, all three Scenery Command experts struck in unison, their blows merging into a torrential saber beam aimed straight at Xiaoyu! And within this saber beam was surprisingly a trace of immortal impetus! Only at this instant did the massive karmic causality of total annihilation finally reveal itself. Seeing this saber beam, equivalent to a strike from a late Scenery Command expert, Star Lord Shaoyang suddenly felt his body beginning to float upward and turn tenuous. Relying on his essence as a Star Lord, he had glimpsed the outcome of the very next instant ahead of time: Xiaoyu was already dead! In a sense, it was the Wise King of the Left striking across space, pinpointing and assassinating Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu was momentarily stunned, having likewise foreseen his own end. Then, the brilliance of all the magic treasures on his body flared multiple times over! Seeing the end, Xiaoyu's first thought was neither flight nor despair, but to self-detonate all his magic treasures, taking at least one or two opponents down into the grave with him. Though pampered since childhood, at the moment of life and death, his ferocity and courage yielded to none. Yet at this very moment, his exquisitely beautiful face was entirely tranquil, his gaze profound and inscrutable. An instant before the saber beam struck, a beam of Buddhist light descended from heaven, warping time itself to land upon Xiaoyu ahead of the blade! In that instant, mighty power was bestowed upon him, smoothing away the turbulence of all the treasures about to self-detonate. Xiaoyu swung his sword; outside the heavens, the great sun rose anew, not only obliterating the saber light, but also severing the arm of one of the Liao Scenery Command experts! The moment the Buddhist light appeared, Star Lord Shaoyang nearly cried out. Fortunately, long years of cultivation allowed him to maintain his composure and dignity. The tide turned, and the Northern Liao Scenery Command experts scattered in flight at once. Shrouded in Buddhist light, Xiaoyu did not pursue them; instead, he slowly turned around. In the void beyond the heavens, the two monks stood shoulder to shoulder. One of them wore a solemn, dignified expression, his eyes fixed on the empty space ahead as he spoke word by word: "Realm Lord's decree: 'Xiaoyu, a general in the field... this, do you accept it, or do you not?'"