Counterattack

The sudden activation of the city-protecting array inevitably threw Zhenxi Prefectural City—a city long out of practice with warfare—into immense chaos. However, as the various generals took their posts and order after order was dispatched, the sheer efficiency of military control quickly stabilized the situation within the walls. Yet in Xu Yuan's plan, this was merely the beginning. If the intelligence provided by Mu Xingchen was accurate, the enemy would begin their assault on the city in two days at the earliest. To hold this fortress of Zhenxi Prefectural City against those Saints, every last resource within the city had to be utilized to its utmost limit. Everything had to be requisitioned under military control, whether it was the wandering warrior bands and merchant caravans staying in the city or the various war stockpiles held by the prominent aristocratic clans. And this was what truly gave Xu Yuan a headache. Back in Beifeng City, with the Barbarian host already at the gates, the chest-binding princess had commanded a Beifeng Army completely loyal to her and used absolute violence to suppress all dissent, yet it had still cost her immense effort to unite everything inside the city. Compared to Beifeng back then, Zhenxi Prefectural City now could only be described as a heap of loose mud. The great clans within the city had intricate, deep-rooted ties with Zhenxi Manor, and some mid-ranking officers even hailed from those very families. Pulling everything together within two days was virtually impossible. Fortunately, the advisory council of Zhenxi Manor had long since prepared contingency plans for just such a situation. How to requisition, how to allocate, how to compensate—they had corresponding measures for it all. Once Xu Yuan learned of this, he had no intention of meddling further. Even though he had browsed through numerous similar cases in the Prime Minister's Manor internal reports and possessed the relevant knowledge base, he still knew far too little about Zhenxi Prefectural City. Blindly following precedent could easily turn into theoretical grandstanding on paper, so it was best to leave professional matters to the professionals. Consequently, at this most critical juncture, Xu Yuan found himself with leisure instead, browsing alone through some of Zhenxi Manor's confidential records inside the Military Affairs Hall. Li Junwu had gone to convene the pre-war council according to plan. Tianye, meanwhile, had run off to tease the "dog." She seemed to have been on good terms with the Linlang in the past, making the creature one of the few surviving old "acquaintances" the enchantress had left in this world. As for Jiayi, Xu Yuan avoided seeing her whenever possible for now. It was not because he feared retaliation from that slender-waisted vixen after having kept her tied up for a full day, but primarily because he saw no reason to provoke unnecessary conflict. However, this pre-battle tranquility was shattered before long. Li Junwu returned. Footsteps sounded in the quiet hall. Xu Yuan had just looked up to greet her when he caught sight of the somber, grim expression clouding her face. She looked at him, striving to maintain a soft tone: "I plan to make a trip to the Xuanting military camp." Hearing this, Xu Yuan's heart sank, and he instinctively rose to his feet: "Something went wrong at the council?" Li Junwu turned around and said slowly, "Lu Baizou didn't show up at all." *** The Xuanting military camp. After Zhenxi Prefectural City transformed from a military fortress into an economic hub, the various barracks within the city had been relocated toward the outer edges to prevent soldiers from disturbing the populace, separated from the residential quarters by high walls and guard posts. Under normal circumstances, the fourth quarter of the hour of Chen would be the time for soldiers to muster on the drill grounds. However, due to the city defense canopy hanging above, a chilling, solemn air hung over the entire camp, leaving it deathly silent. Inside the commander's quarters, a low, quiet exchange of words drifted past the sand-table battle map and the weapon racks, softly echoing in the center of the room. "Mister Wen, I need an explanation." Clad in heavy armor and wearing his helmet, Lu Baizou sat in the seat of honor, staring at the middle-aged man across from him. "Why did this old man never know beforehand that Zhan Xian'an was also one of yours?" The middle-aged man wore a black-and-white scholar's robe and held a folding fan with a red ribbon tied to its base. He gave an unhurried, gentle smile. "Commander Lu, although the Marquis of Zhenxi is merely a military man, he is a shrewd one. If we had told you and he detected something amiss, what would we have done? Besides, is there any point in bringing this up now?" Hearing this, Lu Baizou lowered his eyes slightly and said in a heavy voice, "By defying the summons, the person behind that girl will inevitably instigate her to move against me." The middle-aged man surnamed Wen gazed at the veteran general behind the desk, maintaining his tepid smile. "Commander Lu, you don't truly believe that if you went to the yamen, the person backing the Commandery Princess wouldn't see that you have already betrayed the Marquis of Zhenxi, do you?" Lu Baizou's brow furrowed slightly, a tinge of anger entering his voice. "Brat, mind your words. This old man has never thrown his lot in with you, nor have I ever done anything to betray the Marquis." The middle-aged Wen let out a direct sneer at this. "Commander Lu, don't deceive yourself. The fact that I, Wen, am still standing here alive by your side is already your greatest betrayal of the Marquis of Zhenxi." *Bang!* Lu Baizou smashed the desk before him to splinters with his fist. Staring at the middle-aged scholar who no longer showed any deference, he said coldly, "This old man said from the very beginning: as long as the Marquis draws breath, I will not take orders from you for a single day." The middle-aged scholar restrained the smile at the corner of his lips, stepped forward slowly, and murmured in a low voice, "I know well that you, Commander Lu, merely felt powerless to change Zhenxi Manor's current situation and wished to keep an escape route open. "But that escape route has now been cut off. "You must have seen it as well—the person directing the Commandery Princess is ruthlessly decisive. Zhan Xian'an was the commander of an entire division, yet he was executed on the spot without trial. If you answer the summons and go, you will inevitably be detained in the yamen. When that happens, do you think your fate will be any better than Zhan Xian'an's? I am merely saving your life." At those words, Lu Baizou remained silent for a long time. Weariness crept across his aged face, and his calloused fingers tapped lightly against the back of his chair. "If they are so decisive, doesn't laying our cards on the table like this amount to seeking death? That girl's cultivation may be shallow, but she can already strip away my military array's power." The middle-aged Wen smiled faintly. "Which is why you only have one path left to walk." Lu Baizou's eyes narrowed. "What?" A strange, eerie smile surfaced on the middle-aged Wen's face. "Raise the military array, breach the city defenses, and welcome the Saints." *Hum—* The moment the words left his mouth, the veteran general seated in the position of honor vanished like a phantom from the middle-aged Wen's sight. When the man reappeared, he was already right in front of him. The sensation of weightlessness and the constriction around his throat causing suffocation made the middle-aged Wen realize in an instant that the old general had seized him by the neck and hoisted him off his feet. Lu Baizou's eyes were concealed in the shadow of his helmet, yet chilling, bloodthirsty intent had already permeated every corner of the barracks. Despite this sudden shift, even as his face flushed red, the smile in the corner of the middle-aged Wen's eyes did not waver. He transmitted his voice with Source Qi: "Commander Lu, a fine bird chooses the branch upon which to roost. The loyalty you bore the Marquis of Zhenxi shattered the moment envy took root in your heart. What I offer you now is merely an opportunity. Moreover, breaking the array does not mean sacking the city. We only want the Commandery Princess's life." *Thud!* Lu Baizou hurled the middle-aged Wen to the floor, turned, and walked back to the seat of honor, his voice icy: "This old man has guarded Zhenxi Prefectural City his entire life. Mention this once more, and you die." The middle-aged scholar rolled more than a dozen zhang across the floor, struggled to his feet, and rubbed his swollen throat. With a soft chuckle, he said, "I knew you would say that, Commander Lu, which is why I have prepared an alternative plan for you." Having retaken the seat of honor, Lu Baizou rubbed his bracers, staring at him without a word. Seeing this, the middle-aged Wen went on of his own accord: "While you were at the yamen demanding an explanation, I already spread a piece of news through the city: that our esteemed Commandery Princess has improper ties with the Divine Maiden of the Great Desert, and, bewitched by her, has welcomed the Linlang into the city." As he spoke, he turned around with affected ceremony to glance at the sundial in the courtyard outside the door, then chuckled: "Calculating the time, this news should have spread throughout the city by now. Those high-ranking generals in your Zhenxi Manor ought to have received word of it as well." "..." After listening attentively, Lu Baizou was silent for a brief moment before asking, "What are you trying to say?" The scholar spread his hands, then brought them together in a deep bow. "That Commandery Princess will undoubtedly arrive at your Xuanting military camp very soon. I have already summoned the various generals in the city under your name. When the time comes, you need only question her in public, demand that she share control of the array, and activate the Soul-Locking Array to verify whether the Linlang has entered the city!"