Fu Qingyang snapped his eyes open. He saw interlacing roof beams and fish-scale tiles. Rolling over and sitting up, he looked around—he was inside an ancient military barracks. Several recurve bows hung on the wall, three swords were set on a long table, and spears, halberds, long lances, and pikes stood in a weapon rack.
His upper body was bare, thick bandages wrapped around his right chest with faint traces of blood seeping through. When his fingertips lightly pressed against it, a surge of intense pain shot out.
This body was gravely injured, with trauma penetrating to the heart and lungs.
Just then, the Puppeteer imprint on his forehead grew slightly warm, transmitting a fractured, brief memory.
Fu Qingyang's current identity was the Southern Dynasty's youngest General of Agile Cavalry, a grand official of the secondary first rank named Yang Ce.
One month ago, the Northern Dynasty had mobilized an army of four hundred thousand to campaign southward, conquering cities and seizing fortresses all along the way. The Southern Dynasty's forces were weak; they either abandoned their cities and fled or defected and committed treason.
Commissioned in a moment of crisis, General of Agile Cavalry Yang Ce was appointed Commander-in-Chief. Leading the Southern Dynasty's final fifty thousand elite troops, he garrisoned Linxia City, sworn to halt the Northern Dynasty's southward advance and repel the enemy outside the capital.
That was all the information there was.
So it was a role-playing dungeon. No wonder the main quest was a "character quest." As an experienced Spirit Realm walker, this was not the first time Fu Qingyang had encountered this type of instance.
Role-playing instances were usually high in difficulty.
Furthermore, such instances had another characteristic: one had no idea what roles their teammates held.
[Ding! Main quest activated: Repel the Northern Dynasty's army, or preserve the Southern Dynasty's capital.]
"The Spirit Realm placed no restrictions, meaning this identity of mine doesn't need to be kept secret and can be revealed to my teammates. Is it because I'm the supreme commander of the three armed forces?"
Fu Qingyang felt out his physical condition. His skills as a Puppeteer were intact, his inventory could be opened, and none of his skills or items as a Spirit Realm walker were restricted. However, the physical injuries on his body were very real, severely impairing his combat prowess.
He walked over to a bronze mirror standing on the table and saw a pale, handsome face.
His appearance was still Fu Qingyang's; there was no change.
He swiftly made a judgment: his Spirit Realm quest required no deciphering, no hiding, and no scheming and intrigue—it demanded war, war, and more war!
"A concise and clear main quest often implies the enemy's strength is terrifyingly formidable. Better get a clear grasp of the current situation first..."
Practiced and steady, Fu Qingyang donned his fish scale armor, picked up a fine sword at hand, and strode out of the barracks.
"Commander-in-Chief!"
Seeing him emerge, the two soldiers stationed at the door bowed their heads in greeting one after another.
With a stern face, Fu Qingyang nodded and looked toward the soldier on the left. "Go assemble all the generals in the army to convene for council."
He then turned to the soldier on the right. "Lead the way."
The soldier on the left voiced his assent and departed, while the soldier on the right, though bewildered as to why the Commander-in-Chief needed an escort to the Hall of Military Affairs, obediently carried out the order.
Along the way, Fu Qingyang observed his surroundings. This place was the military camp inside the city. Looking far into the distance to the north, one could see towering city walls, fluttering battle standards, and vigilant soldiers bearing sharp weapons.
Before long, Fu Qingyang followed the soldier to a building with soaring eaves. Hanging beneath the eaves was a plaque inscribed with three characters: "Hall of Military Affairs."
The soldier stood guard outside. With the sword at his waist, Fu Qingyang pushed open the lattice doors, crossed the threshold, and swept his gaze across the room. He saw high-backed chairs surrounding an enormous sand table.
Behind the seat reserved for the Commander-in-Chief hung a meticulous ancient map.
Fu Qingyang walked up to the map and stared deeply at it, quickly locating Linxia City. It was situated due north of the imperial capital.
The two cities were forty li apart. Once Linxia City fell, the enemy army could march directly upon the Southern Dynasty's capital.
Staring at the map, Fu Qingyang gradually constructed a 3D model in his mind, with mountains, rivers, and topography surfacing one by one.
In just five minutes, he had imprinted the terrain within a ten-li radius of Linxia City into his memory—assuming the map had been drawn accurately.
Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
Twelve people, all experts: three Earth Monsters, two Wood Demons, two Fire Specialists... Fu Qingyang turned toward the lattice doors just in time to see them pushed open. A group of senior generals clad in fish scale armor, heavy armor, and light armor stepped over the threshold and entered the Hall of Military Affairs.
Fu Qingyang's gaze narrowed. He spotted several familiar faces—Lingjun, Zhao Chenghuang, and Tianxia Guihuo.
Their appearances hadn't changed either. At this moment, they were looking around curiously, observing the environment and their peers while cautiously concealing the fact that they were newcomers.
At that moment, the three also noticed Fu Qingyang. Expressions of delight surfaced on their faces before being promptly suppressed.
Standing with his hands behind his back, Fu Qingyang looked at the senior generals entering the room and said flatly, "Be seated!"
The nine native generals naturally found their respective seats. Seeing this, Lingjun, Zhao Chenghuang, and Tianxia Guihuo quickly seized the remaining three armchairs.
Before Fu Qingyang could speak, a burly man with rough features and slightly reddened eyes snorted coldly:
"Commander-in-Chief, with enemy forces bearing down on our borders, we have numerous duties to attend to. If you have something to say, say it directly. But pray do not make any more reckless moves and drag down the soldiers of the three armies."
As the burly man spoke, Fu Qingyang keenly noticed that the other generals wore expressions of disdain, contempt, or disgust, harboring immense dissatisfaction toward Yang Ce.
He couldn't help but glance at Lingjun.
Living up to his status as the Money Prince's old flame (longtime partner), Lingjun understood implicitly and said in a grave voice:
"Commander-in-Chief, the day before yesterday, you disregarded the objections of the officers and soldiers and led troops out of the city on your own authority to raid the enemy camp, only to fall into an ambush. Everyone fought with all their might and sacrificed three thousand men just to rescue you. As commander, being so rash fails the trust of the imperial court, fails the trust of the common folk, and even more so fails the soldiers who died on your account."
The generals were filled with deep respect, looking at Lingjun with faces full of admiration.
Fu Qingyang looked at everyone expressionlessly, already recognizing the first predicament he faced: morale had scattered and hearts were divided.
As a commander, one had to possess the prestige to command total obedience from the armed forces. Without prestige, one could not control an army; once battle commenced with the enemy, defeat was guaranteed.
Then the primary task now was to establish prestige and rally hearts!
Fu Qingyang pondered. Under ordinary circumstances, the quickest and simplest method would be to lead troops out of the city and win a battle. But right now, he was a commander who couldn't command respect, and because of his unauthorized sally two days ago, the Southern Dynasty army had suffered heavy losses. If he repeated that, brewing resentment among the troops, there wouldn't be the slightest chance of victory.
Marching out of the city would be seeking death.
As thoughts flashed through his mind, Fu Qingyang said calmly, "This commander already recognizes his error. Gathering you all here today is precisely to hear everyone's views. The enemy surrounds the city, and Linxia is fraught with peril. How shall we break this impasse?"
He intended to obtain detailed intelligence on the enemy forces first before deciding.
Hearing this, the generals showed astonished expressions. This haughty young commander had actually admitted his mistake?
Had the sun risen in the west?
Fu Qingyang looked left and right, his tone chilly. "What, are you all good-for-nothing gluttons with no stratagems in mind?"
Goaded by this provocation, the Fire Specialist among the generals couldn't hold back first. Slapping the table, he rose to his feet and began holding forth, elaborating on his strategy and thoughts.
Seated at the head, Fu Qingyang rested his elbows on the table, listening with a cool expression, nodding at times and shaking his head at others.
Before long, amid the generals expounding on statecraft and military strategy, Fu Qingyang gained a thorough understanding of the enemy army's situation. The supreme commander of the Northern Dynasty's forces was Tuoba Guanghe, hailed as the number-one powerhouse of the Northern Territory.
This man had reached the pinnacle of the Northern Territory more than a decade ago. In the ten years following his emergence, he had terrified the Northern Territory's major sects into trembling subservience. Once peerless in the martial world, he entered the imperial court as a general and founded the Juque Army, sweeping across the realm without rival.
His most glorious feat occurred six years ago when he led five hundred Juque soldiers north against the barbarians, rampaging across eight hundred li all the way to the royal court of the northern barbarians. He finally suppressed the barbarian scourge for the Northern Dynasty, allowing them to focus entirely on their southern conquest and achieve their ambition of unifying the realm.
According to legend, Tuoba Guanghe was built like an iron tower, possessed three heads and eight arms, could hold off an army of a million on his own, and never tired. The Juque Army he led was the same; throughout that eight-hundred-li campaign across the grasslands, this army required no food supplies or logistics whatsoever.
An Ancient God of War, and the Juque Army under his command is made up of Bewitching Demons... A hint of solemnity appeared on Fu Qingyang's handsome face.
Ancient Gods of War were born for slaughter and forged for war. What was more, this Ancient God of War had assembled an army of Bewitching Demons; its combat capability could well be imagined.
Naturally, Fu Qingyang was not afraid, because Puppeteers were also born for war. To use an expression from ancient novels: Puppeteers in the south, Gods of War in the north—the real fight is between these two brothers.
Next, Fu Qingyang gained a detailed understanding of the troop types on both sides, his own supplies and siege equipment, the city's civilian population, grain granary reserves, and so on. Lingjun, Tianxia Guihuo, and Zhao Chenghuang listened with utmost concentration.
Once every general had voiced their opinions and proposed their strategies, Fu Qingyang declared in a clear voice:
"I, Ce, have taken all of your valuable words to heart and will ponder them deeply tonight. You all have pressing military duties, so today's council ends here. You may withdraw."
Although the meeting had yielded no concrete outcome, the generals had each been given a chance to speak their minds. They departed satisfied, their opinion of the arrogant Yang Ce slightly improved.
"The three of you, stay behind," Fu Qingyang said, stopping Lingjun and the other two.
Tianxia Guihuo took the initiative to close the lattice doors. Lingjun immediately resumed his languid posture, short only of resting his feet upon the sand table.
Fu Qingyang cut straight to the point: "What intelligence have you gathered?"
Zhao Chenghuang spoke plainly:
"What we heard most were the soldiers' private criticisms of you. Yang Ce comes from an aristocratic clan, and his elder sister is the reigning empress. Relying on family background and nepotism, he became the General of Agile Cavalry. When the Northern Dynasty invaded this time, the foolish monarch in the capital listened to pillow talk from the empress and actually appointed an inexperienced scion of an influential family as Commander-in-Chief to confront the Northern Dynasty's four-hundred-thousand-strong army and the Northern Territory's number-one expert, Tuoba Guanghe."
Tianxia Guihuo added:
"I observed the soldiers in the barracks. At best, they can be described as an adequate army, but they are far from a force of fierce tigers and wolves. Facing the Northern Dynasty's iron cavalry, defeat is certain. Furthermore, Tuoba Guanghe is bloodthirsty and warlike. Whenever he breaches a city, he invariably carries out wanton slaughter. The city's populace is in a state of panic; if the army weren't guarding the gates and executing a scorched-earth policy, the people in the city would have fled long ago."
Lingjun sighed with emotion. "Morale among the troops has collapsed, the people's will has dissolved, and fifty thousand are facing four hundred thousand. Alas, if this were an open-field clash, the Southern Dynasty would already be extinct. Fortunately, I manipulated birds to survey Linxia City's geography: it leans against mountains to the south and borders water to the north. With elevated terrain, it is easy to defend and hard to attack."
Having said that, he added, "Well, our only advantage is the city wall."
Fu Qingyang listened in silence, then dealt his three teammates a harsh blow: "I estimate that Tuoba Guanghe's level is at least peak Level 8, and very likely early Level 9. And that's not even counting the Northern Dynasty's other Dominators."
"Fuck!" Lingjun sprang to his feet, grimacing. "I'm only a Saint..."
The expressions on Tianxia Guihuo and Zhao Chenghuang grew graver than ever before. The former hesitated for a moment before saying, "My main quest is to survive for ten days. What about you two?"
"Same!" Lingjun and Zhao Chenghuang said simultaneously.
"My main quest is to repel the enemy army, or preserve the capital," Fu Qingyang said.
Lingjun cast a look of pity at his close friend. "Let's get this straight in advance: after ten days, I'm quitting the Spirit Realm immediately. Don't expect me to stay and help you."
Fu Qingyang replied coldly, "I don't need cannon fodder."
After a brief pause, he asked, "Have you seen Yuanshi and the other members of Return of the Dead?"
The three shook their heads slightly. Lingjun said, "No idea where that kid is. That's right—we need to find them quickly. With them around, this battle can actually be fought."
Tianxia Guihuo and Zhao Chenghuang thought the same. In such a high-difficulty instance, Yuanshi Tianzun could provide them with a sense of security.
Fu Qingyang let out a cold sneer:
"This dungeon is called Ruler of a Fallen Nation. Since we descended into the barracks, then who do you think the foolish monarch is?"
The three looked at one another. Lingjun shouted, "Fall back to the capital at once!"
Just then, a deafening roar detonated across the barracks, rolling out in shockwaves of sound.
The expressions of the four inside the Hall of Military Affairs shifted slightly. Fu Qingyang strode out, looked toward the soldier on guard outside the door, and said in a deep voice:
"Scout it out immediately."
The soldier didn't budge, looking as if he were entirely used to it. "Commander-in-Chief, that's just the Northern Dynasty prisoner shouting. It's like this every day. Have you forgotten?"
A Northern Dynasty prisoner?
Fu Qingyang's mind stirred. "Take me to him."
Chapter 838