The Young Master Sends His Regards, Commander-in-Chief Yuan

"It is a pleasure to see you again." Inside the dark, secluded chamber, an even voice accompanied the sound of footsteps, drifting into the ears of the young scholar seated behind the desk. Opening his eyes to look at the middle-aged man walking slowly out from the shadows, Yuan Hao first showed a flicker of puzzlement, followed by a flash of recollection. He smiled and said, "I remember you. Three years ago in Wanxiang City, you were nothing more than the head of some local street thugs. To think that in just three years, you have climbed so high." "To be remembered by you is this Bai's utmost honor." Stepping out of the shadows, the man came to a halt beneath the flickering candlelight. Dressed in opulent robes, the middle-aged man paid no heed whatsoever to the disdain in Yuan Hao's words. Back then, though he had been the emperor of Wanxiang City's underworld, to a figure like Yuan Hao, his former subordinates were indeed nothing more than a band of petty ruffians. "However, everything I possess today was bestowed by the Young Master." "Is that so?" Yuan Hao stroked his chin with a faint smile, briskly cutting off the pleasantries to ask, "Enough with the courtesies. The Third Young Master had you escort me out of the Tianyuan Mountain Range; surely he doesn't intend to reassign me somewhere else on the very eve of battle?" Though Yuan Hao was handpicked by the Chancellor as the commander-in-chief in charge of the entire Hongnong theater of war, considering the Third Young Master's standing in the Prime Minister's Manor, being suddenly sent away right before battle still left him feeling somewhat uncertain. Changing generals on the verge of battle was a taboo in warfare, yet the Black Scale Army had at least two other generals capable of commanding the Hongnong campaign besides him. Compared to him, their taking of the Tianyuan Sword Sect would merely be a matter of greater casualties and more time. Bai Jingtian perceived the doubt deep in Yuan Hao's eyes and its root cause, asking impassively, "Commander Yuan, do you believe the Third Young Master transferred you away specifically to protect Mr. Ran?" Yuan Hao answered with silence. He knew full well the relationship between the Sword Sect's eldest disciple and the Third Young Master, and the Young Master likewise knew of his lunatic habit in war of leaving no survivors. Were he to command the Battle of Hongnong, if the Sword Sect showed any backbone at all, having two out of ten survive would already be a generous estimate. Because of this, the Third Young Master had every reason to reassign him. Bai Jingtian took a deep breath, meeting Yuan Hao's gaze as he said slowly, "Your guess is correct. The Young Master does indeed intend to reassign you." "..." Hearing this, Yuan Hao instantly deflated like a punctured ball. Rubbing the space between his brows, he leaned back against the chair. The shadows beyond the candlelight's reach obscured the gleam in his eyes. He felt that the Third Young Master he knew should not be such a person, yet human emotions were sometimes just that unreasonable—especially when one wielded monstrous power. Bai Jingtian was unaffected by his demeanor, his tone remaining devoid of ripples. "Commander-in-Chief Yuan need not be discouraged, for the Third Young Master has given you another assignment." Yuan Hao sneered, waving a hand in total resignation. "To guard the gate in the Western Desert? Or watch a warehouse on the Northern Border?" "Neither." "Neither? Don't tell me he wants a psychopath like me to oversee Di'an?" "It is Jiangnan." "..." "..." Dead silence. Then— "Heh... haha... Jiangnan?" The low chuckles, along with the tremor of his body, abruptly froze. Yuan Hao raised his eyes inch by inch, staring at the former street boss across from him, savage ruthlessness flickering in his narrowed gaze. "People really dare to act presumptuously before me nowadays... Bai Zhao, have the past three years made your life too comfortable?" Hearing his former name, Bai Jingtian's expression remained unchanged as he said in a low voice, "This Bai has no intention of joking—" Before his words finished, Bai Jingtian suddenly realized that only an empty chair remained in the shadows behind the desk. Yuan Hao was gone. Just as he went to search for him, a chilling coldness pressed against his neck, accompanied by an icy voice from behind: "Of course I know you are not joking. But did you think keeping me in suspense just now was humorous?" The torrential baleful aura congealed the air. Surrounded by this killing intent, Bai Jingtian's body stiffened instantly, the hands beneath his sleeves trembling slightly despite himself. He knew his probe just now had displeased this Black Scale God of Slaughter, but he still braced himself and whispered, "For the Young Master's sake, this was a necessary test." In his view, anyone holding military power had to maintain absolute loyalty to their leader, especially a general like Yuan Hao who loved to lead the charge, distribute rewards, and celebrate alongside his troops. Staring at the side of Bai Jingtian's face, Yuan Hao said coldly, "A test? So, do you think I am loyal?" "..." Bai Jingtian did not speak. The man's impatience aroused his suspicion, yet he could not voice it openly. Unexpectedly, Yuan Hao answered for him: "If you won't answer, then I will answer for you. I, Yuan Hao, have never been loyal to the Third Young Master, nor even to the Chancellor." "..." Hearing these outrageous, treasonous words, cold sweat broke out across Bai Jingtian's body in an instant, and he swallowed hard with difficulty. Seeing this, Yuan Hao chuckled once more. He retracted the torrential killing intent that felt nearly tangible, patted Bai Jingtian on the shoulder, and strolled back behind the desk, remarking casually, "There is no need to panic. Both the Chancellor and the Third Young Master know about this. My allegiance to the Prime Minister's Manor merely stems from an initial transaction—" At this point, Yuan Hao plopped down into the shadows behind the desk, clasped his hands over his stomach, and crossed his legs. "The Chancellor provides me with stages to slaughter others, and I give him my all, including my life." With those words spoken, amidst the frozen gravity of the room, Yuan Hao suddenly clapped his hands together once, spread them wide, and smiled. "It is that simple. So there is no need to suspect me; my disloyalty has already been tacitly accepted by both the Chancellor and the Young Master." Cold sweat poured down Bai Jingtian's back. At this moment, he seemed to finally gain a rudimentary understanding of the Black Scale God of Slaughter before him. No ambitions or desires—purely a lunatic. "This Bai overstepped." "No matter." Yuan Hao waved a hand with a smile. Thinking for a moment, to ensure the other man didn't misunderstand why he had gotten angry, he explained plainly, "My scaring you just now was not personal. I simply want you not to let suspicion interfere with my military decisions, and even more so not to hold me back in logistics." Bai Jingtian was loyal, but numerous precedents told Yuan Hao that sometimes loyalty was the very thing most capable of ruining matters. If this former gang leader suspected him of plotting rebellion and stabbed him in the back regarding logistics while he was deploying troops, that would be quite a farce. "This Bai understands," Bai Jingtian bowed his head in assent. Yuan Hao gave a slight nod. "In that case, let us discuss business. Bring out the documents for this campaign." "Yes." Bai Jingtian stepped forward at his command, retrieving from his Sumeru ring over a dozen mountain-high stacks of confidential documents. "This is the strategic plan proposed by the Young Master and refined by the Chancellor. You may adapt it as circumstances require." Seeing this, Yuan Hao remained unfazed, immediately using his intent soul to rapidly scan the contents. Whether it was large-scale maneuvers, the rations and provisions for hundreds of thousands of men and mounts, or the coordination between over a dozen military branches, laying it all out in writing produced astronomical figures. Bai Jingtian spoke slowly from the side: "Commander-in-Chief Yuan, throughout the campaign, you will directly command a massive army totaling two hundred and seventy thousand troops, three war colossi, and six thousand seven hundred demonic birds of various kinds. Subordinated to it are four first-grade elite divisions: the Second Division, the Third Division, the Seventh Division, and the Thirteenth Division... "The Institute of Natural Philosophy will provide three Heavenly Craft Battalions consisting of two thousand three hundred formation-inscribers, alchemists, and beast tamers to handle logistics... "The Black Scale Guards and the Neiqing Division will provide over seventy high-ranking cultivators, including seven in the Transcendent Realm and twenty-one in the Origin Realm, to act in support... "..." "The army began departing in secret batches twenty days ago. It is projected to set out from north of Hongnong, proceed east along Qianqin Ridge and the Han River, fly to the Endless Sea, and travel south over the waters across two hundred and thirty thousand li. To maintain secrecy, this journey is expected to take twenty days, culminating in a rendezvous at Qianji Island offshore, from which the forces will make landfall near Lin'an Prefecture, the core metropolis of Jiangnan... "..." "Abandoning the offensive against the Hongnong Sword Sect is because they are already prepared, and our intelligence regarding their territory is severely lacking. "Jiangnan, on the other hand, is where Great Yan's sects flourish most. It is affluent and has known prolonged peace, yet at the same time, over the past several decades of trade and commerce, the Black Scale Guards have thoroughly infiltrated the region. Our Chancellor's Manor possesses an absolute intelligence advantage here... "..." "Ever since the Young Master submitted the Immortal Pacification Tax Law, though the sects and noble clans of Jiangnan have begun purging their internal ranks, they certainly could not relocate the various ore veins, large depots, and strategic armories leaked over the past decades in time. The Black Scale Guards have already marked these locations on the map. "The Young Master and the Chancellor will personally appear in the Tianyuan Mountain Range to draw the Sect Alliance's attention to Hongnong, while the Black Scale Army launches an unprecedented surprise raid in Jiangnan. "Commander Yuan, you will be directing the largest airborne drop in human history! Two thousand war birds and ninety thousand elite troops equipped with military arrays will assault the cities and towns using Flowing Cloud Boots, clearing landing grounds for subsequent forces... "..." "..." "...With the Prime Minister's Manor's vessel count, we cannot maintain a maritime supply line stretching across one hundred thousand li. Therefore, your objective is not occupation, but to thoroughly destroy every critical target listed in these documents within the allotted time, crippling the Sect Alliance's future war potential to the greatest extent possible!" "..." His voice finally trailed off, and the secret chamber returned to utter silence. Yuan Hao said nothing, merely browsing through the mountainous pile of military secrets in silence. Time slipped by noiselessly within the dim chamber. No one knew how long passed, until Yuan Hao had completely committed the very last word of these military documents to memory. Only then did he voice his objection slowly: "These secret dispatches do not seem to record how the army is to withdraw once the objectives are achieved. A raid spanning hundreds of thousands of li will exhaust the life potential of the aerial mounts and demonic birds; they cannot sustain such a long round trip." Bai Jingtian smiled faintly, drawing a confidential letter from his robes. "This is a secret dispatch for you from the Third Young Master. It should explain that matter." Yuan Hao accepted it in silence. With a soft tear, he broke the seal. Having read through the letter's contents, he clicked his tongue in an involuntary chuckle and murmured: "I see. The Third Young Master is truly talented... Aside from that, I have one final question." Bai Jingtian responded, "Please, speak plainly." Yuan Hao uttered four words: "Supplies are not enough." This problem was even more disastrous. A raid spanning hundreds of thousands of li made transporting supplies virtually impossible. In other words, Yuan Hao would have to fight the entire war using only the provisions brought along with them. Yet that was fundamentally impossible. The rations and fodder consumed by an army of ten thousand on the march was already an astronomical figure, let alone two hundred and seventy thousand. Although the baggage carried by the six thousand seven hundred aerial mounts and demonic birds, alongside the two hundred military-grade Sumeru rings supplied by the Black Scale Army, was substantial, it was still far too meager to sustain a war involving two hundred and seventy thousand troops. However, Yuan Hao raised this objection not to dispute the feasibility of the operation, but to wait for the other man to lift a certain "restriction" for him. After all, provisions were something that could be gathered as circumstances allowed. Especially in a land as wealthy as Jiangnan. And soon enough, Bai Jingtian gave the exact order he wanted: "Commander-in-Chief Yuan, the depots recorded in the Black Scale intelligence files are all the sweat and blood of Great Yan's populace. Setting aside the sects of Jiangnan, the noble clans there are far wealthier than you imagine. However, you had best act during the initial phase of the war; no one knows whether those clans might choose a scorched-earth strategy to drag you down with them." Hearing this, Yuan Hao smiled, looking as delighted as a child, though the excitement in the depths of his dark eyes resembled a demon from the abyss. Yet abruptly, as if recalling something, Yuan Hao suddenly asked in a low voice: "By the way, isn't Di'an afraid of an accident, entrusting such critical military secrets to someone with cultivation as meager as yours? In my view, delivering military intelligence of this level would be far better suited to someone like the Chief of the Black Scales, or perhaps the Director of the Neiqing Division." Bai Jingtian smiled faintly upon hearing this, casting a glance toward the door. "Commander-in-Chief Yuan misunderstands. Chief Lou is also aboard this thunderbird." Yuan Hao raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, pondering for a moment before asking slowly, "Oh? In that case, are you here delivering military intelligence on behalf of the Chancellor, or the Third Young Master?" Hearing this, Bai Jingtian felt a slight solemnity in his heart. Yuan Hao's question seemed casual, but it carried profound implications. Though the Chief of the Black Scales was close with the Third Young Master, she was nonetheless an extension of the Chancellor's will, whereas he, Bai Jingtian, represented the will of the Third Young Master. A war of the impending scale should properly fall under the sole authority of the Chancellor, yet abnormally, it had been entrusted to a representative of the Third Young Master to deliver and oversee. Thus, the meaning behind Commander-in-Chief Yuan's words was already obvious. Was the Prime Minister's Manor—or rather, the Xu family—about to see a change of leadership? Yet to all of this, Bai Jingtian merely rose slowly, bowed deeply, and replied truthfully: "The Young Master sends his regards, Commander-in-Chief Yuan."